Hello Vet! How are you?

A quiet neighborhood park.

People out for a stroll were leisurely spending their time.

At the center of it all, three dogs gathered, conversing with serious expressions.

『Did you hear about that rumor, guys?

『What rumor?』

『If you go that way, there’s a clinic, right?』

『You mean the new one by the roadside?』

『Exactly.』

『I heard the doctor there can understand our language.』

『What are you talking about?』

『It’s like I said, the doctor can understand what we say if we go there.』

『That’s amazing, but what’s it got to do with us?』

『Isn’t the food you’re eating now tasteless?』

『Don’t even mention it.』

『I heard that if we tell that doctor, they’ll switch it to something delicious for us.』

『What?』

『They even give Caesar treats, I’ve heard.』

At that moment, the eyes of the three dogs gathered in the park turned in one direction.

Simultaneously, their tails began to wag slowly and steadily.

***

『It’s been a while, hasn’t it, hyung? Have you been well?』

A familiar face appeared.

A dapper creature with lush gray fur and white hair around the eyebrows and snout.

With a mischievous look, it stuck its tongue out slightly, smiling broadly.

Its tail wagged vigorously without a break, and it looked at Lee Joon with eyes full of love.

It was Kongdori, who he had grown up with since they were little.

『Congratulations, hyung. You’ve finally taken a step closer to your dream.』

Tears welled up in Lee Joon’s eyes at the sight of Kongdori after so long.

He wanted to say what had been on his mind hundreds, thousands of times.

That he missed it so much. And that he was sorry.

But not a word crossed his lips.

He felt like he could reach it with just an outstretched hand. Yet, he couldn’t move his hands or feet, not even a single step.

However, Kongdori, seeming to understand Lee Joon’s heart, wagged its tail vigorously and spoke again.

『No, it’s not your fault, hyung. I was so happy to have met you.』

As it always did, Kongdori approached Lee Joon, licking his face warmly.

『So don’t feel sorry for me, hyung. And the others, they feel for you the same way I do. They like you, too.』

Woof!

And with that, Kongdori’s figure slowly faded away.

As its image nearly vanished, Kongdori’s voice was heard for one last time.

『Oh, hyung, I forgot a present. You’ll surely like it. Bye, hyung!』

“Kongdori!”

Awaking from his sleep, Lee Joon looked at the familiar ceiling and let out a hollow laugh.

“It was a dream… Still, I’m glad Kongdori seemed to be doing well.”

Lee Joon stood up and looked at the picture placed by his bedside.

Kongdori, in the same appearance as he had seen in the dream, was smiling brightly at him.

“You came to cheer for me today, didn’t you? Thank you, Kongdori. I’ll do my best, just like you said.”

***

The first day at ‘Woof Woof Animal Clinic.’

Lee Joon was smiling constantly after dreaming of Kongdori for the first time in a while.

He stood at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal as he gazed across the street.

His eyes were fixed on a sign with six green characters against a white background.

『Woof Woof Animal Clinic』

Upon seeing the sign, the corners of Lee Joon’s mouth lifted again.

After a while, the signal changed, and Lee Joon stepped onto the crosswalk.

His steps were as light as a feather.

Reflecting his mood, a clear sound greeted him as he opened the door to the animal clinic.

Jingle.

Simultaneously, a familiar voice reached his ear.

“Doctor, you’re here?”

“Ms. Sora, you came early.”

Even though it was the first day of opening and Lee Joon intended to arrive early, Jang Sora had already arrived ahead of him.

“Of course. It’s the first day, after all. That’s why you also came early, isn’t it? Oh, my. I called you ‘Doctor’ instead of ‘Director’. I’m sorry, I’m so used to calling you ‘Doctor’…”

“It’s fine. I should also be calling you Manager Jang, but I’m not used to it yet.”

Jang Sora was a colleague who worked with Lee Joon during his first job as a resident vet.

Back then, lee Jun received a lot of help from Jang Sora, who was a veterinary hospital technician in her 3rd year.

Jang Sora was not only skilled as a veterinary technician but, most importantly, she genuinely cared for and cherished animals.

Upon hearing that Lee Joon was opening his own clinic, she immediately offered to help and follow him.

“Since I’ve come this far following Director, I really hope our animal clinic does well.”

“Then I would be glad too. However, it might be tough in the beginning, right? Especially with a big animal clinic nearby.”

“Oh, director, are you already feeling discouraged on the first day? I came all the way here, betting on you…”

“Well, anything takes time to settle…”

Lee Joon trailed off.

It wasn’t that he lacked confidence.

It meant he wouldn’t compromise his beliefs as a vet just to increase sales.

Sora respected Lee Joon’s integrity and followed him because of it.

Sora smiled as she continued speaking.

“I didn’t follow you for money, and you know it. I came because I like your way of practicing medicine. So, don’t worry about my salary being delayed for a few months.”

“Even if it’s just words, thank you. Hearing Manager Sora’s words gives me strength.”

“Don’t be too thankful, as I’ll eventually claim them all.”

Sora smiled brightly.

“Of course.”

Lee Joon smiled back at her.

“Then I’ll continue tidying up the lobby.”

“Alright. I’ll organize the treatment room.”

Both Lee Joon and Jang Sora scattered to tidy up the animal clinic.

Despite having organized for several days already, there were still things left to do at the clinic.

Both worked busily to finish tidying up before the opening.

After some time, Lee Joon looked around the now-clean clinic and spoke.

“Phew. We barely finished in time.”

“Thankfully, since we never know when our first client will arrive.”

“Why are you already talking about clients arriving?”

“Who knows? Someone could step in at any moment.”

“Well, it’d be gratitude.”

It was at that moment.

Suddenly, a sound came from the front door opening.

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

The bell attached to the glass door jangled vigorously from the force with which it was opened.

Both Lee Joon and Sora stood up immediately.

Someone coming into an animal clinic in such haste meant an emergency situation.

As imagined, a young girl stood by the door, her face stained with tears.

She held a white Maltese in her arms.

“Doctor, please… please save our Mong-i.”

The girl, barely choking out her words, pleaded with tears streaming down her face.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know. Suddenly, Mong-i couldn’t breathe… her body stiffened… What if Mong-i dies?”

Just as the girl said, the Maltese was trembling.

For a moment, Lee Joon thought of Kongdori while looking at the Maltese named Mong-i.

Mong-i and Kongdori looked completely different, including fur color and every other aspect.

Yet, in the struggling face of Mong-i, Lee Joon saw Kongdori’s exhausted expression, as it strained to breathe before death.

“Hand it over!”

The girl, still crying yet showing care, carefully handed Mong-i to Lee Joon upon his words.

Understanding the girl’s anxious feelings, Lee Joon received the Maltese and called Sora.

“Manager Sora.”

“Yes.”

Although he just called her name, Sora caught onto Lee Joon’s intention immediately.

Sora approached and began comforting the young owner.

“Don’t worry. Our Director is exceptional and will fix everything.”

“Rea- really?”

“Yes, so please sit over there and wait.”

After reassuring the owner, Lee Joon headed straight to the examination room.

Within the short interval of carrying the Maltese to the exam room, its condition worsened significantly.

The rasping breaths grew intermittent, and saliva dripped continuously from its mouth.

Lee Joon examined the Maltese’s condition with his eyes.

He then recalled potential causes of the breathing difficulty and corresponding treatment protocols in his mind.

Tracheal collapse, pulmonary edema, pneumothorax, laryngeal paralysis, foreign object ingestion…

“It seems like it might be a case of foreign object ingestion…”

However, this was merely a hypothesis.

A precise diagnosis would require imaging techniques like CT scans.

But a small animal clinic like Lee Joon’s didn’t have such equipment.

There was no CT equipment or even fluoroscopy at Lee Joon’s clinic.

Amidst all that, they couldn’t afford the time to head to a large animal hospital.

“Let’s do what we can manage for now…”

Plugging in a stethoscope, Lee Joon called out.

“Manager Sora, prepare for an X-ray…”

“Director, the X-ray is ready.”

Sora, who had entered the exam room already, replied before Lee Joon even finished speaking.

“I’ll do a quick auscultation, then we’ll proceed with the X-ray. Oh, get the oxygen ready, please.”

“Yes, understood.”

Then, unexpectedly, Lee Joon heard a child’s voice that shouldn’t have been audible in the exam room.

“Ms. Jang, please escort the owner out.”

“Pardon?”

“The owner is…”

“The owner is waiting outside.”

“What?”

It was then another young voice reached Lee Joon’s ears again.

『Ugh, there must be something stuck in my throat.』

For a moment, Lee Joon looked around in surprise.

But there was nobody around who could make such a voice.

Except for one non-human being, of course.

『Please, ugh… get it out.』

Lee Joon stared at the Maltese in disbelief for a moment.

Yet, realizing the desperation in the voice, he rid himself of doubt.

Instead, he focused on saving the small, frail life suffering right in front of him.

Quickly, Lee Joon swept a stethoscope over the Maltese’s body, listening carefully to its heart, lungs, and internal organs.

‘There really is something in the esophagus.’

Lee Joon’s eyes widened with that conclusion.

It matched the voice that had just begged for him to remove it.

However, Lee Joon did not question the “how or why”.

Time was too precious for any doubt.

“It might hurt a bit.”

He positioned the Maltese’s belly upwards, with its head tilted downwards, then swept his hand-palms compressing the thorax upward toward the head.

Afterward, he positioned a fist below the ribcage and applied momentary pressure on the abdomen with another hand.

Every movement was fluid and natural.

And in one final effort of abdominal compression by Lee Joon, the Maltese expelled something from its mouth.

“Grape.”

What had been blocking the Maltese’s throat was a grape.

For a small dog like a Maltese, even a single almond-sized food piece could be dangerous.

So, it was beyond imagination how dreadful it must have been, having a grape stuck in its throat.

“You held out, Mong-i.”

He wasn’t just saying it.

Holding out that long had indeed been an amazing feat.

Releasing Mong-i, Lee Joon matched eyes with it, smiling reassuringly.

And Mong-i, though still shaken, wagged its tail gently in response.

And simultaneously:
『Thank heavens! Thanks to you!』

“What?”

『Thank you, doctor! I survived!』

Again, the voice that had been unheard until now echoed in the room.

“… Mong-i, is that you?”

『Yes, it’s me.』

“… Really?”

『Yes! My name is Mong-i, 4 years old! I love my old teddy with missing limbs and tuna snacks!』

—