It's Okay
Reina handed over her phone with a grimace like she'd just chewed sand. The screen was plastered with the names of Veterinary Association Chairman Oh Tae-san and Taesan Animal Hospital dominating the trending searches.
Taesan Animal Hospital—the largest veterinary franchise chain in the country, a massive operation under the Taesan Group owned by Oh Tae-san himself.
"Ugh, seriously. Isn't this just way too obvious? With all the backlash from the cat terror stuff, they saw their chance and jumped on it. Desperately trying to rehab their son's image."
Oh Hyeok-su, university senior to some and Oh Tae-san's son. He'd ridden his father's coattails into a starring role as a panelist on Animal Kingdom, staying plenty busy. Right up until the sexual harassment scandal blew up.
He was always a sleazy guy, but... sexual harassment? I still can't wrap my head around it. What the hell was he thinking?
Handsome features that drew people in, plus the blinding halo of his father's influence. Oh Hyeok-su, who never had to worry about money or career paths, had single-handedly flushed Taesan Animal Hospital's reputation down the toilet.
Oh Hyeok-su was facing trial for allegedly harassing a nurse at the Gangnam branch of Taesan Animal Hospital where he worked.
But the victim suddenly settled and dropped the charges. Of course, that only fueled even bigger suspicions.
"I saw they settled with the victim recently, but honestly, it just feels even shadier to me. Suddenly announcing free treatment for abused cats they find? No matter how you slice it, it's obvious damage control."
The way to bury one issue? Overwhelm it with a bigger one.
Classic move for the powerful and connected. But.
"Whether it's for show or not, if it helps, that's good. As long as abused cats get treatment, whatever the reason."
No matter Oh Tae-san and Oh Hyeok-su's motives, all Min-hyeok could hope for was that the cat abuser got caught soon.
The winds were shifting, bit by bit.
The heavy summer sun and hot gusts quietly retreated, making way for cool breezes that danced in on light steps, heralding early autumn.
Behind clouds tinged red, the full moon began to peek out shyly, and closing time was upon them before they knew it.
"Another whirlwind day. Good work, everyone."
"Haha, you too."
"Great job, all."
As Min-hyeok gave his closing greetings after the last appointment.
"Oh? Doesn't this mean dinner tonight?"
Kim Mi-so, passing the waiting room, moonwalked over to glance at the calendar on the wall.
"It's already been a full month? Has Ha-neul started yet?"
"Haha, has it been that long already? Feels like he just started, but time flies."
"This calls for a team dinner, right, Director? Dinner on the house tonight?"
"Last time we got cut short, so I went home starving. Ended up mixing rice into instant noodles, haha."
Ah... I see. After inhaling six servings of pork belly solo.
Min-hyeok was briefly flustered watching Kang Ha-neul pat his bulging belly with a straight face, but company dinner didn't scare him.
Over the past month, patient visits to Hanmaum Animal Hospital had surged, and Kang Ha-neul had more than earned his keep.
"It's that time. Card-swiping day. Let's go. Tonight, we'll eat till we burst..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Min-hyeok pulled out his wallet and struck a pose, a pounding shook the front door like it might shatter.
Followed by a frantic shout.
"Anyone there? Hello? If you're in, please open up!"
Hours past operating time.
Someone banging despite the locked door? Had to be an emergency.
Kang Ha-neul moved first.
"I'll check."
He rushed to the entrance, unlocked the door, and a tear-streaked young woman burst in.
But Ha-neul's eyes went straight to the black cat cradled in her arms.
"How did it get hurt?"
"It's not breathing right! It hasn't died, has it? I-I saw it staggering in a nearby alley and brought it here. Closest hospital. What do I do? Please save it. Help!"
Shaken, her words tumbled out incoherently. Ha-neul carefully took the trembling black cat from her hands.
"Treatment first."
"I-I called the police, but it looked so urgent. I-Is it okay?"
"We'll... do our best."
With that, Ha-neul hurried toward the exam room.
"What's the situation? Serious?"
"Unconscious. Severe wounds all over, possible fractures. But the worst is the tail..."
"Tail? Oh, no..."
A tail just two finger-widths long—far shorter than a typical Bombay's. The tip soaked in blood, the base bound tight with a cable tie.
Shocking enough to steal their breath, but what stunned Min-hyeok more was...
Bombay? No way?
The cat in Ha-neul's arms looked exactly like a familiar face.
...Nero?
Even if Nero was Big Rock's notorious tough cat, no justification for this horrific abuse.
"Straight to treatment. Sorry, but can you two assist...?"
—Grrr... N-no, don't... stop... Kyaaak!?
As Min-hyeok reached for Nero, it thrashed like waking from a nightmare, snapping alert.
Hiss!
Nero's yellow eyes flashed wildly, snarling ferociously, claws out in an instant.
Slash!
"Ngh."
It twisted and raked a long gash across Kang Ha-neul's right eye.
"Dr. Kang!"
It happened in a blink.
With fractures suspected, he couldn't grip tight?
"B-blood! That thing..."
Mi-so rushed in at the scream, reaching for Nero. But.
"Sorry. Got spooked by the scary-looking big guy, huh?"
Ha-neul shook his head like it was nothing.
—Let go! I said let go! Kyaaak!
"I won't hurt you. Just calm down a bit and bear with it."
Blood streamed from the deep cut above and below his eyelid, but Ha-neul kept smiling.
"Director. My eye got scratched. Sorry, but can you handle this one's treatment?"
"Go get treated first. Mi-so and I got this."
"Thanks."
Min-hyeok took the still-thrashing Nero and headed to the exam room.
—Die... I'll kill you. Die... N-no, stop... H-help...
Nero thrashed for a while.
The venom spewing from its mouth only stopped once the anesthesia kicked in.
And the more they examined, the more their tongues went numb. Nero's condition was that dire.
What the hell happened? What kind of psycho...
Skin peeled away in patches across its body, exposing raw flesh; fractured ribs and hind leg needing plates.
But the tail was the most gruesome.
"I've never seen anything like this... What kind of human scum..."
"At least it's not a complete severance. Small mercy."
Even at Big Rock, Nero's tail had been noticeably short for a Bombay.
Clearly, it'd been injured before. This was round two.
"Yeah. No amputation needed, thank god... But the remaining tail..."
"Tip's sutured. Now dress the base fracture from the cable tie and wrap it."
"Yes, Director."
A cat's tail extends the spine. Mild fracture meant fixation dressing over amputation.
Lucky. Cutting off a tail twice mangled would be too cruel.
"Director Baek Min-hyeok?"
"Yes, that's me."
Even after surgery, the long day wasn't over.
"Sorry for the late hour, but could we ask you to come down to the station voluntarily?"
"Let's go. Mi-so, skip cleanup and head home. Good work."
"Don't worry about me. I'll tidy up quick."
In the waiting room, police requested a witness statement.
After heading to the station and detailing Nero's abuse evidence, the night sky held...
"...Way too bright."
A full moon glared, blindingly round.
"Ah... So damn tired. Did I feed Ssal-i? He'd have gotten it himself anyway. My boy's a genius. Yawwwn."
I dragged my last dregs of energy back to the hospital, stumbling.
Stretching off the bone-deep fatigue, I headed to the first-floor elevator when.
"You're back, Director."
"Whoa. Nearly screamed."
A low voice from the pitch-black silence made my hackles rise.
If I had any energy left, I'd have yelled.
"No lights... What're you doing here? Why at this hour?"
Kang Ha-neul popped out of the dark like a startled deer on the road.
"Haha. Didn't mean to scare you, sorry. The little guy's hurting bad, kept groaning. Just settled, so I was about to head out."
"Even so... You're not well yourself. What'd the hospital say?"
Under the green emergency light.
Ha-neul's right eye—the one Nero clawed—was wrapped thick in bandages.
"Just a few stitches. Come back in five days for removal. Ah, don't worry. I'll be in tomorrow, of course..."
"I'll process it as paid leave. Take the week off. Bill the surgery too."
"N-no... Director. My own fault..."
"Anyone would've gotten hurt there. You minimized it because you're you. Send the receipt or a photo."
"No need. Doesn't affect work."
"How not? I don't wanna be known as the tyrant director making you see patients with stitches in. Forgot? I'm half-celeb now. Gotta manage my image."
"But still..."
"Aigoo, just go already. Shoo."
God knows how long he'd been waiting.
I shoved the stubborn guy—his one eye red and swollen like a rutting heron—out the door.
No morning walk tomorrow. What a day.
Dragging my exhausted body to hit the elevator button again, when.
—Hey, human.
"...?"
A raspy voice echoed from the ward, where only snores should be.
Everyone was out cold earlier. Who?
Before sending Ha-neul off, the ward had been full of snores and sleep-talk.
Some patient about to test me?
I padded over, peered through the glass door. Glowing yellow eyes stared back.