Hello Vet! How are you?

“Dalcom’s guardian.”

“Yes.”

“The doctor is waiting for you in exam room 3.”

“Already?”

Dalcom’s guardian walked to the exam room, puzzled.

She had expected that the examination and treatment would take over two hours, but it had been barely 30 minutes.

“Strange. Could something have happened?”

Her pace quickened, and she quickly opened the door to exam room 3.

“Doctor, is our Dalcom…”

“You’re here?”

She was startled.

Dalcom was sitting on the examination table, looking at her with bright, sparkling eyes.

“What, what’s going on? Is our Dalcom okay?”

Embracing Dalcom, the guardian asked in worry.

『Do, doctor. My owner’s voice is trembling. Is she hurt?』

Dalcom’s concerned voice was filled with anxiety, sensing his guardian’s distress.

“She’s worried about you. Didn’t I tell you? She cares about you very much.”

『… Yes.』

“Right.”

Lee Joon looked between Dalcom and the guardian with a pleased expression.

‘It’s such a pleasant sight.’

As Lee Joon basked in such thoughts, Dr. Joo began a consultation with the guardian.

“Were you surprised that Dalcom came out so early? We only did a blood test and bladder ultrasound.”

“I thought there would be an endoscopy and nasal cleansing today.”

“That was the plan, but this doctor suggested we try simpler treatment first today.”

“Simple treatment?”

The guardian looked at Lee Joon, who had been introduced as the endoscopy specialist.

Lee Joon explained the forthcoming treatment process to the guardian.

“We will clean the inside of the nose simply today. If there’s no improvement, we’ll proceed with the endoscopy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Looking at last week’s test results, I thought we could start with something simple. Let’s focus on the nose for now, and I have a few questions about the cystitis.”

“Yes… yes.”

“There are several reasons why idiopathic cystitis may recur, as you might have heard.”

“Yes, Dr. Joo explained that to me. So, I try giving him plenty of water, reducing noise… I’ve been careful in my own way, but I don’t know why it keeps recurring.”

The guardian sighed heavily.

“Cystitis tends to recur but Dalcom’s kidneys are fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Let’s start by asking about the litter box.”

“Litter box?”

“Yes, could you describe what kind Dalcom uses? The chart only mentions the type of litter.”

“He uses what everyone else uses. Like this.”

The guardian showed a picture of Dalcom’s litter box on her phone.

It was a closed cat litter box with a hood and a door.

Turning his gaze from the phone, Lee Joon asked the guardian.

“Um… what did you use when you first hyungught Dalcom?”

Not knowing that Dalcom had communicated with Lee Joon, the guardian was surprised.

‘How does he know that?’

But thinking it wasn’t important, she answered Lee Joon’s question.

“On the day we hyungught Dalcom, we hadn’t bought a litter box. We hyungught food and litter, but didn’t consider the rest. So we used something temporary from home.”

“Could you describe what that was?”

Dalcom had mentioned the original litter box was quite usable.

Lee Joon was curious about what it was.

“There was a tray at home for storing bread or tofu. It was worn out, so we were about to throw it away…”

Once again, the guardian showed a picture on her phone.

“It’s too old, right? So we replaced it recently with something better.”

“No, this is quite nice.”

Although Lee Joon had never seen this type of cat litter box, he liked it very much.

“This is nice?”

“Yes, the box is wide, not too deep, and most importantly, it has no dome.”

It seemed Dalcom might have adapted to the litter box without feeling unfamiliar.

『That litter box was good.』

Dalcom also agreed.

However, the guardian couldn’t believe what Lee Joon said.

‘Why would such an old, unattractive thing be suitable?’

She wondered if Lee Joon was just trying to make her feel less embarrassed.

The guardian, tilting her head, asked.

“Do you really think it’s good?”

“Yes.”

“It seems fine? Why didn’t I think of this? Maybe we should change to these for our clinic too.”

Following Lee Joon, even Dr. Joo showed interest in the guardian’s picture.

“Is this really so good? I tried to get him something nice, thinking it would make him happy, and changed it to this.”

The guardian again showed the photo of the new litter box on her phone.

“The previous one is better for cats. These ones might look neat since no sand spills outside, but it’s not how cats see it.”

“When Dalcom is in the litter box and we look at him, he scurries away immediately. So we bought this one…”

The guardian’s intentions were well understood.

In an attempt to offer privacy, she had bought a litter box with a roof and door, but it had been a poor choice for Dalcom.

“Dalcom has severe rhinitis. In a sealed box like this, the dust from the litter would make it less appealing. It’s also cramped.”

“… So that’s why he got sick.”

The guardian sighed deeply.

“Now that I think about it, his cystitis started after we changed the litter box.”

“Though it could be a factor, the stress from rhinitis would have been more significant.”

“Even so, he was already small and fragile, I just added to his burden.”

The guardian blamed herself.

“Listening to you, seemingly everything I did for Dalcom ended up stressing him out.”

“You tried nebulizers or nasal inhalers, right? He couldn’t get used to them.”

“Still…”

To imagine what she had put her timid pet through.

With a bitter smile, the guardian continued.

“Dalcom hid a lot for quite a while.”

Even Silver Rain agreed that timid Dalcom would hide at the slightest unfamiliar sound.

“He would hide under the sofa, behind the curtains, or behind the bed. He’d run away if he even met our eyes, or if we moved closer to him…”

She heaved another sigh.

“Dalcom trembling in the corner was so pitiful. I tried to show him it was safe by petting and holding him, but realizing now, those actions were stressing him.”

“People need time to get to know each other when they first meet. Gradually, they become closer.”

“That’s true. But seeing Dalcom in pain now… I just feel so sorry.”

Lee Joon shook his head at the guardian’s words.

“It’s thanks to you that Dalcom is alive.”

“…”

“If Dalcom hadn’t been rescued back then and had remained in that state for a few more days, he might not have survived.”

Dr. Joo, who had been sitting next to them, added to the conversation.

“You said that back then.”

“And Dalcom knows it too. That you saved him.”

Lee Joon’s words hyungught a small relief to the guardian’s face.

“I know you’re just trying to comfort me, but I’d like to believe it.”

“It’s the truth. And Dalcom loves you, very much so.”

『My owner is wonderful. I love it when she calls out ‘Dalcom~.’』

Dalcom meowed, trying to comfort her.

Unlike before, it was a loud and confident meow.

“See, even Dalcom agrees, doesn’t he?”

“Oh dear!”

The guardian knew nothing about Lee Joon.

However, Dalcom’s expression made her feel Lee Joon’s words might be true.

Moreover, she found herself wanting them to be true.

“I love Dalcom as well.”

『Thank you!』

Dalcom mewed again.

“Yes, yes. Dalcom. Thank you too.”

The guardian replied while stroking Dalcom, as if she understood his words.

Dalcom rubbed his forehead against her arm, then inched closer to Lee Joon and did the same, expressing his affection.

“Oh my, doctor, look at Dalcom! He seems so happy. He doesn’t even do this at home…”

“… Cats tend to like Dr. Lee a lot.”

Dr. Joo was surprised too.

‘That online post was right.’

While the two gazed at Lee Joon warmly, there was a momentary ‘sneeze!’ sound.

Dalcom had sneezed, and soon after, mucus dripped from his nose.

Lee Joon casually took a tissue and wiped Dalcom’s nose.

The guardian and Dr. Joo were left speechless.

“Dr. Lee, you’re incredible.”

“I agree. At home, it’s a battle to wipe once.”

“Dalcom says he will now let you do it properly.”

“Pardon?”

“Dalcom, you promised, right?”

『Yes.』

To the guardian, Dalcom’s meow seemed to sound like a ‘Yes’.

“Regarding that, we will clean the inside of the nose today. We’ll observe for a while and if there’s no improvement, we’ll consider the endoscopy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“After reviewing last week’s test results, I believe starting with something simple is appropriate.”

“Even if it’s simple…”

She wanted to question if anesthesia would be necessary, or if excessive stress might lead to complications.

Questions filled her throat, but she swallowed them, shaking her head.

There was no need to question. She simply felt like trusting Lee Joon.

“Yes, doctor, I’ll trust you.”

A little while later, the guardian realized she was right to trust him.

“Oh my, Dalcom!”

The mucus and eye discharge from Dalcom’s face were gone.

“It finished quickly because Dalcom cooperated well.”

『I feel great. Breathing is so much easier.』

Dalcom was delighted with how things turned out.

His cherished owner was right in front of him, and the doctor who understood what he wanted to convey to her was also present.

On top of that, his nose felt clear.

Meow-ow-ow!

Feeling joyous, Dalcom rolled over in front of his guardian, displaying his belly.

Ever since his nose was congested, he hadn’t done this, so the guardian was stunned to see him do it.

“Oh my, my! Dalcom!”

The guardian’s eyes grew misty as she petted Dalcom.

“Rhinitis is tough to cure overnight, but he’ll gradually improve. I will share methods you can try at home for Dalcom’s betterment.”

“Yes, yes, doctor. I’ll do exactly as instructed.”

The guardian’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lee Joon.

A new devotee of Lee Joon had been born right then and there.

***

Evergreen Park.

All at once, the napping cats woke up wide-eyed.

Sniff. Sniff sniff.

『Oh, oh?』
『Sniff sniff, this smell is…』
『Le, leader!』

Silver Rain nodded at his comrades’ surprised and joyful reactions.

『It’s Dalcom!』

“Meooooow!”

“Meooow!”

Amidst the collective cheers, a much-missed voice reached their ears.

『Leader~ guys!』

Dalcom, whose presence had been long awaited and confirmed by Silver Rain, was approaching them.

Hop, hop, hop.

Dalcom, usually walking gently, was now bouncing toward them with a bright expression.

『Dalcom!』
『Dalcom, we missed you so much.』
『Are you alright?』
『Are you okay?』

The cats surrounded Dalcom and greeted him enthusiastically.

『Yes, I’m fine now.』

Dalcom replied while locking eyes with the sparkling eyes around him.

『I missed you.』
『Me too!』
『Hoho, you look so well.』
『Hmmmm, you look well, Dalcom.』

After greeting his comrades, Dalcom stood in front of Silver Rain.

『Thank you, leader.』
『Hmm, I didn’t do much.』
『I heard from the doctor. You worked hard for me, leader.』
『I didn’t. It was these friends who worked hard.』

Silver Rain attributed the credit to the others with a smile.

『You’re okay now?』
『Yes. Thanks to the doctor, I’ve improved.』

Thanks to Lee Joon, Dalcom was using a litter box similar to the one he had used before.

And when he had a runny nose, he didn’t have to suffer as before.

『Thank you, doctor.』

Dalcom turned back and smiled at Lee Joon.

“Yes. Go enjoy with your friends.”

Lee Joon responded in a gentle voice, prompting Dalcom to turn back again.

『My owner helps clear my nose. And she sprinkles water droplets here so it doesn’t sting.』

So cats think of the mist from the nebulizer in that way.

Lee Joon chuckled at Dalcom’s vivid depiction.

『I can visit the leader and friends more often now.』
『What? Does it mean you’re coming back here?』

Silver Rain’s voice rose.

And before waiting for Dalcom’s response, he frantically continued.

『No way! I, we, can’t clear your nose or do that water thing!』

“Hahaha!”

Lee Joon couldn’t hold back his laughter.

『Why are you laughing? Cats like Dalcom need care and attention, hyung, you should explain well.』

Silver Rain hurriedly gestured towards Dalcom’s guardian standing a little distance away.

“Oh, how did you know that person is Dalcom’s guardian?”

『They smell the same. Dalcom carries that person’s scent. And Dalcom’s scent is strong where that person stands.』

Well, that’s how they blend in and live together.

Lee Joon smiled softly.

『It’s just that the doctor arranged for us to play in the park once a week.』
『Ah… is that so?』
『Yes.』
『Wow! That’s wonderful.』
『Dalcom, that’s excellent.』
『I’m really happy too.』

Dalcom, slightly bashful, lowered his head slightly.

『Dalcom! Dalcom!』

As his comrades cheered, Silver Rain spoke to Lee Joon.

『Thank you, hyung!』

“Nothing to thank for. Just stay healthy.”

Lee Joon petted Silver Rain, whose grin grew wider under his touch.

“Gray one, bring your friends tomorrow. A couple of them?”

Gray one!

Until just yesterday, Silver Rain had disliked being called gray one.

Yet, seeing Dalcom vibrantly among them made him perceive it positively.

Hence, he didn’t question why Lee Joon specifically asked for a couple of them to come along, not simply the hungry ones.

If the hyung said so, it must be followed.

『Got it!』

—