Don't Expect to Get Off Easy
Tinkle
"Hello."
"Welcome. You're early today as well."
The staff warmly greeted Dojin as he opened the door to the veterinary clinic and walked in.
The reason they welcomed him so warmly was simple.
It wasn't just because he was the biggest regular customer in this area, which was located on the outskirts of Paju City in Gyeonggi Province. No, it was because he truly loved animals.
"Meow~"
"Woof!"
One could tell just by looking at the animals that entered with Dojin.
Out of the one dog and six cats, not a single one had been formally adopted by Dojin from the start.
They were all animals that had been injured at Dojin's house or around the neighborhood, whom he had treated and taken in.
"People like him are what you call saints of the streets."
"So cool. Having money doesn't mean anyone would do that."
"I'm so glad people like him exist."
To the staff of Good Doctor Animal Hospital, Dojin and his employees were already more than just living Hippocrates.
"Is that Mr. Baek Dojin?"
Hearing the commotion outside, the director's voice echoed from the examination room.
Since this was a quiet clinic that only saw one or two patients a day besides Dojin's group, the director remembered them well.
"Yes, Director. We're a bit early for our appointment, but can we start the checkup?"
"Sure. Tell them to come in."
At the director's word, the staff guided Dojin's group into the examination room.
"Hello."
"Yes, welcome. My, it's a big family today as well."
The director greeted Dojin with a warm smile.
Unlike their usual visits when only the sick ones came, today was a routine checkup, so the animals completely packed the examination room.
"Bark?"
"Meow~"
Perhaps because they had seen him so often, none of Ttorang-i's or Bo-ri's family members showed any wariness toward the director.
Meeting once or twice a week at most, and at least once a week, it would actually be strange if they were still wary.
"Bo-ri's wounds have almost completely healed. You must have taken excellent care of her."
"Yes, Seungwan stayed right by her side and looked after her."
At Dojin's reply, the director smiled at Seungwan.
As a subscriber to the channel, he knew exactly how devoted Seungwan was to Bo-ri's family.
Except for the occasional times she flew off the handle, she was a near-perfect pet owner.
"Ttorang-i's breathing has improved a lot. Her muscle mass has increased significantly too."
"We have an extra pair of hands helping out lately. They're small hands, but very capable."
At Dohee's words, the director smiled with satisfaction.
He knew exactly who she was referring to this time as well.
Was her name Sun-jam? She's quite extraordinary.
Despite her young age, she was an amazing child who took full charge of walking and exercising Ttorang-i, a large dog, without any trouble.
He even looked forward to her growing up to become a world-class dog trainer.
"Samsaek-i, Jam-bo, Ul-bo, Kkamang-i, and Kkomaeng-i all look in great shape. Considering they were sick right after birth, their growth is coming along nicely."
"That's a relief. But why do they occasionally vomit or pass a bit of bloody stool?"
"Well, there could be several causes. They might be throwing up hairballs from grooming, or they might have overeaten. The bloody stool is most likely due to colitis. Their inflammation levels are still a bit high."
"Is it serious?"
"It can be dangerous if left untreated, but since you're taking such good care of them, they should be fine. Just give them the prescribed medicine on time, and bring them back in if the bloody stool persists."
"Understood. Thank you."
Thanks to their frequent visits, the checkup was over in an instant.
The smooth flow of the consultation came to a sudden halt, as if on cue.
"..."
"..."
"...Well, now we need to talk about the remaining ones. Shall we go take a look at them directly?"
As the director hesitantly spoke after gathering his thoughts, Dojin nodded as if he had been waiting for this.
"That would be best."
"The intensive care unit is quite cramped, so it might be difficult for everyone to go in..."
"I'll go. You two wait outside."
"Okay, got it."
"We'll be here."
At Dojin's words, the two headed to the waiting room with the animals.
"This way, please."
"Yes."
Following the director, Dojin entered the intensive care unit he had visited before.
It's been a while since I was here.
Once when he rescued Bo-ri.
And once more to check on Ttorang-i after she was hit by a car.
He had been here twice in total.
And now,
in the spot where those two had once been treated, much smaller animals were now receiving care.
The bandages tightly wrapped around their tiny bodies and the splints fixing their fractured paws made him sigh involuntarily.
"Their condition... is very bad."
"That's because they were in terrible shape when they first arrived at the clinic."
Dojin nodded at the director's words and took a step closer.
Then, the eyes of the animal he thought was asleep slowly opened and turned toward Dojin.
"...You weren't sleeping?"
At Dojin's words, the patient—the father otter—blinked his eyes.
It looked as if he was forcing himself to stay conscious, which broke Dojin's heart.
Those bastards...
Looking at the otter, who seemed to struggle even to breathe, Dojin felt a surge of rage toward the culprits who had done this to him.
Seriously, if they were just a bit younger...
A panorama of the events from a few days ago began to unfold in Dojin's mind.
Seeing the blood-covered baby otters, Dojin hurriedly reached out his hands toward them.
"Squeak..."
"Squeak..."
The little ones, who usually climbed onto his palms in an instant, were now stumbling, barely managing to crawl onto his hands.
Clenching his teeth at the sight, Dojin asked them,
"What happened? Who did this to you?"
"Squeak..."
Even at Dojin's question, the baby otters couldn't answer properly. They only turned their heads toward the direction of their nest.
"Oppa, what's—gasp! What is this?"
Dohee, who had followed Dojin, cut herself off and covered her mouth. The scene before them was just that shocking.
However, Dojin's subsequent words forced her to pull herself together.
"Dohee, hold on. Take them for a second."
"Wh-what?"
"It looks like something happened at the nest. I can't move quickly like this. Just hold onto them for a moment."
"O-okay. Give them to me."
Understanding Dojin's intent, Dohee hurriedly gathered the baby otters into her arms. Since her hands were smaller than Dojin's, this was the only way she could carry all four babies.
"I'll be right back. If the security team passes by, tell them to call it in."
"Okay."
Without even waiting for Dohee's reply, Dojin dashed toward the nest at full speed. It was a distance that usually took only a few minutes, but today, the path felt agonizingly long.
And the moment he arrived and saw the nest, a curse escaped Dojin's lips before he could stop it.
"You crazy bastards! What do you think you're doing!"
"Gasp!"
Startled by Dojin's shout, the people who had been throwing stones at the otter nest scrambled to run away.
But there was no way a group of elderly and middle-aged men could outrun Dojin.
Realizing this, they turned and began throwing the stones in their hands at Dojin instead.
"Get the hell out of here!"
"Don't come any closer, you bastard!"
"Those crazy lunatics!"
Seeing the stones flying straight at him, Dojin finally snapped. Although none of the stones hit him, it was obvious they weren't throwing them to scare him off—they were aiming to hurt him.
"I've had just about enough of you bastards!"
Swiftly closing the distance, Dojin yanked back one man who was about to throw another stone, and grabbed the other's arm, twisting it behind his back.
"Argh!"
"Let go of me, you bastard! Do you know who I am?!"
"Who else? You're just crazy bastards throwing rocks at harmless animals and trying to kill a person."
"Wh-what? How dare a young punk like you—urgh!"
"Shut up. Say one more word, and I'll break your arm right here."
"Ugh..."
Sensing the genuine threat in Dojin's voice, the middle-aged man gave up resisting and went quiet.
However, the elderly man rolling on the ground was a different story.
"You—you son of a bitch! How dare you act so violently without showing any respect for your elders!"
Dojin thought he had pulled him back gently, but perhaps due to his age, the old man couldn't easily get up. The problem was that even in that state, his mouth didn't stop spewing curses.
"The one acting violently is you, not me. And since when do you know me well enough to call me a bastard?"
"What? Look at the way this young punk talks!"
"Ha, 'punk' again? Does getting old make everyone else look like a punk to you? Man, I swear I'll never grow old to be as ugly as you."
"You—you rascal!"
"My ears work perfectly fine, so lower your voice while I'm still being nice. And don't expect me to let this slide just because you throw a tantrum."
There were always people like this. People who raised their voices even when they were in the wrong. It was a shallow trick to wriggle out of a disadvantageous situation through sheer bluster, but unfortunately for them, Dojin was not the type to fall for it.
Trying their cheap tricks on me.
Growing up as an orphan, one naturally faced all kinds of subtle discrimination. Having endured all of that to become an adult, Dojin had grown tough enough to handle dozens of old men like the one before him if he put his mind to it.
And now, he also had people to back him up.
"Boss!"
"Where are you?"
"Over here! Come this way!"
Having heard the situation from Dohee, the security team rushed over to find Dojin.
Only then did the culprits realize things had gone south and tried to flee, but it was too late. The middle-aged man was already pinned down by Dojin, and the old man was subdued by the security team before he could even stand up properly.
"These are the people who attacked the otters. They threw rocks at me too, so hand them straight over to the police. The cameras over there and there should have caught everything."
Handing the two over to the security team, Dojin pointed to the CCTV cameras installed nearby. They were cameras installed previously to monitor the waterway, and since they hadn't been removed yet, the entire incident was being recorded.
"Yes, sir. But are you alright, Boss?"
"I'm fine. But I'm not so sure about them over there."
Answering Eun-seop's question, Dojin hurriedly headed toward the otter nest. Considering the state of the babies and the behavior of the culprits who were throwing stones until he arrived, he couldn't help but worry.
And Dojin's fears became reality.
"Ah..."
"..."
Dojin and Eun-seop froze in place, as if nailed to the ground. The sight of the bleeding otters collapsed in the nest was just that shocking.
Their glossy fur had lost its color, stained by the blood flowing from various lacerations all over their bodies. Their legs were bent at bizarre angles as if fractured, and the skin on their heads was torn so badly that bone was visible, making him grimace just looking at them.
"...Team Leader, please help me. We need to get them to the hospital."
"Yes, sir."
Even in this horrific situation, Dojin did not lose his composure. In his heart, he wanted to run over to the culprits and kick them in the face, but he didn't have the luxury for that right now. Saving the two otters, who were still breathing faintly, was the priority.
And so, Dojin loaded the parent otters and their babies and headed to Good Doctor.
"Squeak..."
As if it was painful to open his mouth, the patient—the father otter—cried out weakly.
Snapping out of his memories, Dojin took another step closer and spoke.
"It's okay. You'll get better soon. The doctor here is extremely skilled."
"..."
Whether he understood the words or had simply run out of energy, the otter just stared at Dojin.
Meeting the otter's gaze, Dojin nodded and said,
"Don't worry about your family. They're all receiving treatment and doing well."
"..."
"What? Did you think they'd be perfectly fine when you got hurt this badly? Still, it's not the worst-case scenario. They're in better shape than you are."
"..."
Reassured by Dojin's words, a faint smile seemed to appear on the father otter's face.
"Look at you smiling. I'll have your favorite loaches ready for you, so just focus on recovering quickly."
"Squeak."
Perhaps because he felt relieved, the otter responded with a soft cry this time.
But that was the extent of his reaction.
Exhausted, he drifted off to sleep.
"How long do you think it will take for him to recover?"
"The fractures are relatively clean, so it should take about a month to a month and a half."
"Please don't worry about the treatment costs. I leave him in your hands."
"Haha, you always say that. Understood. We'll do our absolute best."
With those final words, Dojin and his group left Good Doctor Animal Hospital.
"...Seungwan, is the editing finished?"
At Dojin's question—his face having remained stiff ever since he stepped out of the intensive care unit—Seungwan nodded.
"Yes. The subtitles and mosaic blurring are all done."
"Then let's upload it to the channel."
The identities of the culprits who attacked the otters were Chief Park of Mabong-ri and his second son.
After Park Sang-hyun was arrested and the lucrative business that had been making them good money went under, they had harbored a grudge and committed this unspeakable act.
"Don't think this will end easily."
He had already heard about their expected punishment from the police and the officials in charge.
A fine of 7 million won each.
Although not set in stone, those who had seen years of legal precedents commonly predicted that the punishment wouldn't be very severe.
This was because they were first-time offenders and were claiming a state of mental and physical weakness due to alcohol consumed before the crime.
However, Dojin had no intention of letting it end with just a simple fine.
"If it looks like they're going to get off easy, we just have to make things difficult for them. Upload it as soon as we get back."
A crime involving an attack on a natural monument, and even on a human.
And what if the culprits were the family of the criminal who had been arrested not long ago?
He didn't know for sure, but there were very few internet users who would let such a massive bait pass by without taking notice.