Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Let's Focus on Animals' Signals
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The veterinarians who had been blown away by Lee Jun's lecture now paid even closer attention to the animals during their checkups.
They were already the type to carefully observe the animals' expressions and behaviors in an effort to pinpoint any pain.
But with even more focus, they began noticing things they had overlooked before.
"Teacher Lee Jun was right."
The vets marveled.
Just as Lee Jun had said, animals expressed their pain to veterinarians in all sorts of ways.
Especially those who had a close bond with their vets—they were even more proactive.
The vets realized.
"They were telling us they were in pain."
Having achieved even a small level of communication with the animals, the vets' touches grew gentler, laced with concern.
In just those two hours of lecture, the veterinarians had come to understand animals better.
Park Tae-ui was one of the vets who had listened intently to Lee Jun's lecture.
Grrrr.
The Shih Tzu growled and bared its teeth the moment Park Tae-ui touched its body on the exam table, leaving him puzzled.
It was a regular patient who usually wagged its tail furiously at the sight of Park Tae-ui.
Park Tae-ui shifted his gaze from the Shih Tzu to the owner and asked.
"When did Jjang-ah start trembling?"
"She was fine when I left for work. But when I got home after work, she was like this, so I brought her right in, Doctor."
"Was Jjang-ah home alone?"
A sudden change like this meant an accident had likely happened while she was alone.
"No, she was with Mom. Hold on."
The owner, who had rushed the usually laid-back and good-natured Jjang-ah in right away due to her sudden sharpness, called home.
She relayed Park Tae-ui's questions over the phone. After the conversation continued, she explained the situation to him.
"My sister and nephew were there with her too?"
"Did she fall off the sofa or bed?"
"I didn't hear anything like that."
"I see."
Park Tae-ui looked down at Jjang-ah.
Something had been bothering him since earlier.
Jjang-ah kept fussing at her rear.
She twisted her head back and scratched at something with her hind legs nonstop. But it wasn't a specific spot.
If her legs hurt, she wouldn't be using her hind legs like that.
Nor would she be able to twist her waist so flexibly.
'Hmm, what could it be?'
The sudden prickliness suggested a bruise or maybe a back injury.
An X-ray would reveal it right away, but he wanted to get a rough idea first.
X-rays didn't show everything anyway.
'Should I just take one? Or ask Teacher Lee Jun first?'
Park Tae-ui checked his watch and hesitated. It was already past 7 p.m.
'It's past 7— is it okay to call?'
It was still working hours for him, who stayed until 9, but he had no idea about Lee Jun.
Still, recalling how Lee Jun had smiled and said to contact him anytime after the lecture, Park Tae-ui told the owner.
"I'll make a quick call."
"Okay."
Park Tae-ui immediately dialed Meongmeong Animal Hospital, and soon connected with Lee Jun.
-Hold on, can we switch to video call?
"Yes, yes. Thank you."
Soon, Lee Jun's face and voice appeared in the exam room.
"Oh my!"
Jjang-ah's owner, who had always liked her vet, was startled to be video calling with him.
But right now, Jjang-ah's checkup came first.
She watched as Lee Jun conversed with Jjang-ah.
Yip yip.
Whine.
Jjang-ah barked reliably in response to Lee Jun's questions.
'It seems like she's actually answering.'
'She's responding.'
Jjang-ah, her owner, and Park Tae-ui watched the screen and Jjang-ah in fascination.
And as they expected, Lee Jun and Jjang-ah had a conversation.
-That must hurt.
[Yes, it hurts a lot!]
-Wait a sec. I'll make it better real quick.
Lee Jun soothed the whining Jjang-ah, who was saying it hurt, and called out to Park Tae-ui.
-Park Teacher.
"Yes, yes, Teacher."
-Touch the tip of Jjang-ah's tail.
"The tail? Did it get caught in a door crack?"
Park Tae-ui recalled a cat from a few months ago whose tail bone had broken after getting caught in a door.
Jjang-ah had long hair tied up in a ponytail on top of her head, with body fur so long it dragged on the floor.
Her tail fur was naturally fluffy and long too.
Park Tae-ui slowly felt along Jjang-ah's bushy tail.
Jjang-ah flinched but didn't growl, following Lee Jun's lead.
-The very tip of the tail.
Following Lee Jun's instruction, Park Tae-ui moved his hand to the tip and carefully palpated. Soon, he felt something foreign amid the tail fur.
"Huh? What's this?"
-It's a rubber band.
Sure enough, a thin cord was tied tightly around it.
Park Tae-ui immediately grabbed scissors and carefully cut the band.
A thin pink string like thread fell onto the exam table.
Seeing it, the owner widened her eyes.
"That's Jjang-ah's hair tie! Why was it there?"
Park Tae-ui quickly examined the tail.
The swollen tip came into view.
The tight rubber band had cut off circulation.
"Oh my god, Jjang-ah!"
The owner hugged Jjang-ah tightly, her eyes welling with tears. In contrast, Jjang-ah beamed and barked happily.
[It doesn't hurt anymore!]
Her tail still hurt too much to wag much, but Jjang-ah shook her butt to express her joy.
***
Lee Jun's actions were immediately picked up by the Animal World Forever production team.
One of the writers' jobs was collecting animal stories.
They checked large pet cafes like Ggui Cafe on their laptops and scrolled through Photogram on their phones constantly.
That wasn't all.
The writers always kept their ears open for on-site stories at hospitals.
They'd heard about Lee Jun at one animal hospital.
Writer Yeom had stopped by her neighborhood regular on her way home from work.
She was picking out treats for Ddam-i, her dog waiting eagerly at home, when a familiar name caught her ear.
"Director Park called just in case, but how do you solve it over the phone? He didn't notice even with it right in front of him."
"So everyone just goes to Su-neunim."
"Looks that way. Director Park's a full-on fan of Director Lee now. Can't blame him though. He answered so kindly."
"What he said in the lecture was real. He told us to call if we had questions—I thought it was just talk."
"Right? Skilled, nice guy. Amazing person."
Writer Yeom's mind lit up.
'Even that quiet director's raving, so Su-neunim must've done something incredible, whatever it was.'
The next day, Writer Yeom shared the news with the other writers upon arriving at work.
"Really?"
"They say he talked to the dog like it was a person."
"Wow, isn't Director Lee really something?"
As the writers marveled at Writer Yeom's words, Park Ju-hwan PD walked down the hall with a furrowed brow.
Park Ju-hwan had a lot on his mind lately.
The theme he'd planned for the fall special had been scooped by Animal World a few days earlier.
It was the animal abuse episode he'd even mentioned to Lee Jun before.
Park Ju-hwan had planned to develop it thoroughly with him.
With Lee Jun, who had made Aji's story a hit, on board, he was sure the fall special would succeed too.
But Animal World bundled abuse and abandonment cases into a five-week fall special.
"Why'd they have to do that? They could've just done abandonment."
He could change the title and push his theme anyway.
"Well, with Director Lee, Gray, and Shadow, ratings are guaranteed."
But Park Ju-hwan didn't want to.
"It'd feel like betraying Director Lee somehow."
He was endlessly grateful that Lee Jun had chosen Animal World Forever over Animal World.
He didn't want such a person hearing he'd done a knockoff of Animal World.
Park Ju-hwan burst into the writers' room shouting.
"Everyone, got any ideas?"
"Oh, PD-nim's here."
"Hello, PD-nim."
"What's everyone doing at Writer Yeom's spot?"
"We were praising Director Lee."
"What? Director Lee?"
"Yeah, Writer Yeom heard some news about him yesterday."
"Really? What?"
Park PD's face lit up as Writer Yeom recounted the story.
"Director Lee just saved my bacon. Okay, first call Director Park Tae-ui for details. Then hit up the other directors and scrape every bit of Lee Jun Director material."
That evening, with the materials in hand, Park PD grinned like he'd conquered the world.
"Heh heh heh, good thing I asked Director Lee to come back for fall. Now, what to title the special?"
He typed [Animals Speak with Their Bodies] then promptly backspaced it.
"Nah, let's go academic this time."
In Park PD's view, Animal World's popularity came from fun, emotion, and just the right info mix.
Animal World Forever was similar but lagged in info content.
Park PD typed a new title.
[Let's Study Animals' Signals].
"Nice. Looks good."
Park PD called over Writer Yeom, who was diligently writing.
"Writer Yeom. What do you think?"
"Of what?"
He confidently showed her his title, but Writer Yeom said nothing.
"It's good, right?"
"...You're really gonna use that?"
"It's not bad."
"How about 'We Figured Out What Gray Was Thinking from His Expression'?"
"Oh! That's good. Writer Yeom, as expected."
"What do you mean good? Let's go with Director Lee's lecture title: [Let's Focus on the Signals Animals Send]."
"Should we?"
With the title settled, Park PD called Lee Jun right away.
-Hello, PD-nim.
"How've you been, Director Lee?"
-Fine, thanks. And you, PD-nim? All good?
"Good? I'm living the dream on the flower path you paved. Everyone treats me like royalty these days... total free pass. Haha."
Park Ju-hwan frankly admitted he was coasting thanks to Lee Jun's breakout success.
-Aw, come on, that's all you. You run a pro team.
Why's even Director Lee's speech so kind?
Park PD smirked and replied.
"Hahaha, thanks for saying that. Anyway, Director Lee. I found out something amazing today. You gave a lecture."
-As expected of PD-nim. You know everything.
"Haha, thanks. So, Director."
Park PD called Lee Jun in a sly tone.
-Yes, go ahead.
"I'd like you for our fall special."
-The one you mentioned before?
"As expected, you remembered. Haha, thank you. I was gonna turn that into a special, but Animal World beat us to it."
-Ah, I see.
"Disappointing, but that's how it goes. So how about basing it on your lecture?"
-My lecture?
"Reading animals' minds. [Let's Focus on the Signals Animals Send]. Turn your lecture content into a broadcast format."
-Wouldn't that be weird? There are plenty of experts... I know just the perfect person—want me to introduce you?
"No. You do it. Please."
"That's a bit..."
As Lee Jun hesitated, Park PD grew urgent.
"Director Lee! Please, I beg you."
-It's just... I'm no expert...
Lee Jun's reluctance made seated Park PD jump up and plead into the phone.
"Good influence! Director Lee, teach viewers to read animals' hearts so guardians love them more. Yes? Director!"
As Park PD's desperate voice echoed through the receiver, someone entered the animal hospital.
"PD-nim, I have a patient. Talk later."
-Oh, of course. Understood.
Park PD hung up and shouted.
"Writer Yeom, let's go."
"Ready."
The reply came from the junior writer.
The junior writer had packed and waited at the entrance the moment Park PD said "Hello, Director Lee?" into the phone.
She knew his personality: he'd rush to Meongmeong if Lee Jun agreed, or persuade if he refused.
Her ulterior motive was seeing Gray and Shadow again, but oblivious Park PD praised her.
"Our junior's always so prepared. Let's roll."
"Can I come too?"
One writer tried to join slyly.
"Where? You have a planning doc to write."
And so the three dashed to Meongmeong Animal Hospital amid envious stares from the rest.