Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Overflowing Attendance
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Lee Seol-gi's concern had become reality.
"Wow! More than half the seats are already taken."
"This is no joke."
"Looks like there are a lot of people like us."
The veterinarians who had come to audit found seats in Room 307 and continued their chatter as they sat down.
"Of course. Other lectures... you can always catch them again, but this is the first time for Teacher Lee Jun's lecture."
"You're right."
Most of the veterinarians settling into their seats were looking forward to Lee Jun's lecture at 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, Professor Kang, preparing for his 10 a.m. lecture, smirked.
"What is this? My lecture is packed."
The lecture Professor Kang was giving was titled [Licking Paws in Dogs: The Complete Guide to Pododermatitis].
Pododermatitis refers to dermatitis between the toes, or interdigital dermatitis.
Once interdigital dermatitis sets in—where the skin between the toes splits open and oozes pus—it's prone to frequent recurrence even after treatment.
There had been a surge of cases visiting the university animal hospital that summer complaining of chronic interdigital dermatitis.
Professor Kang had ambitiously prepared this lecture for that reason, but he hadn't expected it to be this popular.
Unaware of the truth and caught up in the misunderstanding, Professor Kang delivered his lecture with great enthusiasm.
After the lecture ended, it was lunchtime.
Attendees could use meal vouchers provided by the organizers to eat at the cafeteria, but the lunch seminars set up by sponsors promoting new products or equipment were a big hit.
Not having to line up at the cafeteria was a plus, but the real draw was munching on high-quality bento boxes—far superior to cafeteria food—while attending the seminars.
Kim Kang-seok, the representative from global pharmaceutical company 'Joringer Parktiheim' running the lunch seminar in Room 307, couldn't stop grinning.
The entrance to Room 307 was bursting at the seams with people.
"I knew this would happen, so I ordered 350 bento boxes."
When Kim Kang-seok had gotten approval for 350 servings from the company, he'd gotten an earful about why 350 boxes were needed for a 250-seat lecture hall.
They'd even scolded him, saying if that was the case, he should have secured a larger hall.
But the larger halls had already been snatched up by other companies.
Left with no choice, he'd been assigned the next best available: the relatively spacious Room 307.
As someone who went around pitching to animal hospitals, though, he already knew Lee Jun's lectures were generating buzz.
And right then, the schedule had been released, with Lee Jun's lecture prominently slotted for Room 307.
So he'd gone all in confidently.
Not with the usual bento boxes, either.
He'd insisted on premium, tastier special ones, and instead of samples, he'd prepared full retail products as giveaways.
The product he'd brought was an itch-relief spray—an improved version of an existing one, priced at a whopping 70,000 won.
"We're really reaping the benefits thanks to Director Lee."
Kim Kang-seok, who knew better than anyone that every veterinarian crammed into the aisles and hallways had come for Lee Jun's lecture, beamed.
"I should go say hi to Director Lee later."
Thanks to Lee Jun, Kim Kang-seok hadn't lost his audience to competitors' lunch seminars. His eyes gleamed. Unrelated to that, his hands moved quickly.
"Teachers, take some of these new product gifts too."
The lecture hall was packed tight, but no one complained.
Plus, though it was a 250-seat tiered hall, the aisles between rows were wide enough that sitting on the steps wasn't too bad.
Many knew each other, but more than that, they all understood why everyone wanted to hear Lee Jun's lecture.
That was why the veterinarians looked out for each other even more.
"There's room for one more here."
"Come over here too."
"Senior, have a seat here."
A seated veterinarian stood up as he spoke.
The veterinarian next to him turned, eyes widening in surprise, then shot to his feet and bowed his head.
"Se-Seniors. Please, sit."
The senior was none other than Cha Wook. Standing beside him was Yoo Dae-hyun, co-director of the Korea Animal Medical Center.
"It's fine. We can sit here."
Yoo Dae-hyun, famous for his friendly nature, smiled and plopped down on an empty step.
"St-Still... we'll sit there."
"Exactly, Seniors. How could we sit here if you're over there?"
The veterinarians shouted, glancing at Cha Wook standing there sullenly.
Just then, Cha Wook thudded down next to Yoo Dae-hyun and spoke to the juniors.
"Eat your rice."
With that, he popped open the lid of his own bento box.
"Looks like they put some effort into this."
"Yeah. Not bad."
As the two began eating, nearby veterinarians followed suit.
In this heartwarming scene, the lunch seminar wrapped up, and the alert for the next lecture rang out.
***
Lee Jun had already heard that a huge crowd was gathering for his lecture, but seeing it with his own eyes left him dumbfounded.
"So many people came."
Looking at the packed audience, Lee Jun thought to himself.
'They must all be frustrated from their own treatments.'
He steeled himself to give it his all and climbed onto the podium.
The moment Lee Jun stepped up, thunderous applause echoed through the entire third floor.
Clap clap clap clap!
Stunned by the overwhelming welcome, Lee Jun soon bowed in greeting.
"Hello, teachers. I'm Lee Jun."
Clap clap clap clap.
Woooaaah!
This time, cheers joined the massive applause.
Lee Jun smiled and responded to the cheers.
"I'm at a loss with such a warm welcome. Honestly, this is my first lecture since my face became a bit known, so I was nervous already, and now I'm even more so."
Lee Jun flashed a grin, and laughter erupted from the seats.
"It's embarrassing for me to be lecturing on animal communication. We have Professor Yoon Hyeong-guk here, and Professor Lee Hye-eun too."
Yoon Hyeong-guk was the behavioral medicine professor from Lee Jun's alma mater, Jeil University, and Lee Hye-eun was from Myeongseong University.
Standing before these two experts made Lee Jun feel terribly awkward.
"What are you talking about? I'm here to learn too."
Professor Yoon Hyeong-guk laughed as he spoke, and Professor Lee Hye-eun, seated beside him, smiled and chimed in.
"How are Gray and Shadow doing?"
With their friendly expressions, Lee Jun relaxed a bit as he replied.
"I had to scold them to keep them from following me."
"Oh, why didn't you bring them?"
"I miss them!"
"Aren't Gray and Shadow the ones giving the lecture?"
Laughter rose from the audience as veterinarians joked.
"Haha, you're right. Truth is, the real instructors should be the animals, not me."
Lee Jun candidly shared his feelings and brought up a screen.
The photo showed a puppy with its face pressed flat to the floor, rear end raised high.
"This pup is in play position. As vets, our first suspicion is usually pancreatitis."
The audience nodded in agreement.
"Like this, animals send signals to their owners when they're in pain. Of course, in the wild, they'd hide it. Showing pain is a survival issue. But the animals we mostly deal with are pets living with guardians."
The hall fell silent.
Veterinarians focused intently on Lee Jun's next words.
"In the wild, they hide pain for survival, but animals that trust their guardians express it."
Lee Jun shared insights gained from Gray, Shadow, and Sapsari.
All three had initially hidden their pain, pretending to be fine.
But lately, they voiced it when hurting. Even the park cats did now.
Of course, Lee Jun's ability to understand them played a part, but it was also because they'd opened up seeing his efforts.
'And the main thing dogs and cats say is that too.'
During treatments, Lee Jun heard it often from animals.
'I told them I was hurting that much...'
Animals grew frustrated that guardians didn't understand.
Timid pets even grieved over it.
"Kittens learn to mew very quickly. Even before a week old, eyes still closed, they meow 'nyang nyang' calling for mom."
Lee Jun mimicked the mew perfectly, drawing laughter from the hall.
Naturally— it sounded just like a real cat.
"It's a signal from the kitten to mom: I'm hungry, my butt itches, something hurts, etc. But as they grow, adult cats mew less and less."
"Right."
Cha Wook nodded quietly in agreement.
Yoo Dae-hyun, beside him, glanced over.
'What's up with this guy?'
Normally, at seminars, he'd sit arms crossed with a sour face.
Truth be told, if not for the mandatory 10 hours of continuing education per year, Cha Wook wouldn't be here.
Skip it, and you'd face fines plus extra training. So he'd been forcing himself through.
But his reaction now was refreshingly engaged.
"They no longer need mom's care. So wild adult cats rarely mew. Though strays getting food from people do."
"Hmm, I see."
Yoo Dae-hyun stopped paying attention to Cha Wook's reactions.
He too was hooked on Lee Jun's lecture.
The other veterinarians were in the same boat.
Just five minutes in, every eye in the hall sparkled, fixed on Lee Jun.
"You've probably heard that pet cats see their guardians as mom cats. That's why house cats mew a fair bit at owners—spoiling for attention. Do this, I need that. That's how they communicate."
Got it. Everyone was immersed.
"Not long ago, during a consult, the guardian said their cat always purred but strangely growled when touched."
Purring is known as the sound cats make when content, relaxed, satisfied.
"Purring—or purring—is a 25-hertz sound that calms the mind and body. That's why it's woven into music for soothing cats. And it's said to aid bone regeneration or muscle tissue repair. So they purr to reduce pain too."
"Eh? That's what it was?"
"Didn't know that."
Surprised murmurs rippled through.
Some nodded knowingly, but shock dominated.
"Mom cats purr right after giving birth. The kittens find her by that grrr grrr to ease her post-birth pain. That's the memory that makes purring comforting. So even in pain, they purr."
"Makes sense. That's why that cat grimaced while purring."
Cha Wook recalled a cat from months ago, bladder packed with stones. It had purred grrr grrr during surgery.
Lee Jun explained research-backed info blended with communication insights.
"Any teachers here who've treated cats eating dirt or litter?"
A few hands went up. Lee Jun asked them to share cases, and they did.
After hearing them out, he continued.
"It's normal in kittens and usually stops quickly. But in adults persisting, it could be anemia, GI issues, tumors, or neurological problems. Um..."
Lee Jun clicked the remote, and a video played on screen.
A Maltese scratched irritably with hind legs, then licked them.
Lick, lick. The sound boomed.
"This was my patient last month. Came in for dermatitis initially."
The pup looked itchy all over, so vets agreed.
"I thought skin disease too. Fur patchy bald spots everywhere, paw pads so licked the skin was raised like tree bark peeling. But..."
Lee Jun gave a meaningful look.
"During the exam, a noise came from outside. Road noise. The pup flinched, suddenly licked frantically, then went to the guardian, pressing its head into their hand. Eyes pleading. The guardian petted it and said..."
Lee Jun scanned the room before continuing.
"It's the dog acting cute knowing it did wrong. Licking what it shouldn't, then begging forgiveness by eyeing the owner."
A common view; vets nodded without suspicion.
"A new building was going up right next to home. The noise stressed the dog alone."
Ah! Stress-induced scratching. All understood.
"But it wasn't just that. Stress spiked its intracranial pressure, causing abnormal itching."
Intracranial pressure? Shock rippled.
"The dog brought its head to the guardian's hand because the pressure hurt. Like this, pets send signals. We have to read them."
The 120-minute lecture flowed by without a break.
Questions poured in, but the 4 p.m. slot cut it short.
Lee Jun promised more next time and stepped down.
Outside, the two professors approached.
"Teacher Lee, impressive. You grasp animal psychology better than me, who studies it full-time."
Professor Yoon Hyeong-guk praised him.
"Truly amazing. Even in Berlin, no one reads animals like you."
Professor Lee Hye-eun, from German Berlin University, was sincerely impressed.
Then Cha Wook and Yoo Dae-hyun walked up.
"Teacher Lee."
Cha Wook called.
"Great lecture. Felt so refreshing."
"Thank you."
"Loved it. Mind if I call next time something comes up?"
Yoo Dae-hyun asked.
"Of course, anytime."
"Thanks. Looking forward to your next one."
"We all are."
Not just them.
Veterinarians swarmed Lee Jun with greetings.
Like the two, they didn't forget to ask about future consults.
Lee Jun spent quite a while surrounded by the crowd after that.