Hello Vet! How are you?

Another busy day at the “Woof Woof Animal Clinic” had passed.

“Director Jang, it’s time to go home now.”

Lee Joon said as he glanced at the clock.

“Yes, director.”

Shortly after, as preparations for leaving had concluded, Jang Sora noticed Lee Joon seated in the examination room.

Unlike herself, who had already changed out of her uniform, Lee Joon was still clad in scrubs and a gown.

“Aren’t you leaving, director? Are you expecting a patient?”

Sora asked while making her way back to the break room.

“No, I’ve made plans to meet with friends today, but it seems I’ll be a bit late.”

“Oh, I see.”

“You’ve worked hard this week as well.”

“Hard work? Not at all. The animals listened so well, it was a breeze.”

Sora’s words brought a deep smile to Lee Joon’s lips.

“The animals may be well-behaved, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Go and get some rest.”

“Yes, you too, director. See you next week.”

After Sora left for the day, Lee Joon returned to the examination room and resumed tidying up the charts.

Lee Joon had always been meticulous when it came to organizing the charts.

He noted even the passing comments of pet owners such as, ‘I don’t know why he occasionally trembles’, or ‘He hasn’t eaten well for several days’, or ‘He vomited’.

Comparing these notes with the tests assisted in the early detection of illnesses.

However, recently, with the addition of direct information provided by the animals themselves, there was more to record.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

For some time, only the sound of typing echoed in the examination room.

About an hour passed when a man entered with a jingling sound, carrying a large backpack.

“Welcome…”

Lee Jun’s lips curved into a smile as he habitually greeted and walked out of the examination room.

Lee Jun, who had no family, had two friends who were like brothers to him, and one of them was standing before him.

Though only a few steps away, Lee Joon’s feet moved quicker.

“Gwak Soo-ho!”

The voice calling Soo-ho’s name was filled with delight.

“Congratulations on opening the clinic.”

“Thanks. You flew in because your friend opened a clinic.”

“Of course, I should come.”

Kwak Suho, who was in Africa, had initially planned to return to Korea in about three months.

However, upon hearing the news that his closest friend, lee Jun, was opening an animal clinic, he couldn’t just sit idle.

Not when it was Lee Joon.

Soo-ho immediately decided to return home.

“Have you been eating properly? You look like a complete mess.”

“What does not eating properly have to do with looking like a mess?”

“Just look at yourself and say something. Didn’t people say anything when you came here?”

“Did they?”

Soo-ho paused, contemplating.

“Now that you mention it, it seemed like people didn’t sit next to me on the subway.”

“It’s a wonder you weren’t kicked out.”

“Whatever.”

Shrugging it off casually, soo-ho looked around the clinic.

“It looks much more impressive than in the pictures.”

“Right?”

The smile naturally grew on Lee Joon’s face at his friend’s compliment.

“Yeah, it feels kind of cozy. Maybe it’s the green color?”

Thinking Woof Woof Animal Clinic somehow reminded him of the African plains made Soo-ho chuckle inwardly.

‘Thinking such thoughts in the middle of Seoul.’

Feeling incredulous at his own thoughts, soo-ho’s gaze landed on a drawing of Mong-i and Lee Joon, both smiling brightly.

“Wow, who drew this? It’s marvelous.”

“A little guardian drew it for me.”

A smile played on Lee Joon’s lips as he answered.

‘The drawing is filled with gratitude.’

It was surprising that a guardian felt such gratitude shortly after the clinic opened.

“She must have been really thankful.”

“Well, yes.”

“I thought I’d be the first. Guess I missed my chance.”

Soo-ho moved to his backpack and pulled out a square package.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“A gift for opening the clinic.”

“Is it a painting?”

Judging by the look, it seemed to be a frame.

Taking off the bubble wrap revealed it indeed was a picture frame.

In the frame was a man in a white coat, flanked by a cat and a dog, with an elephant, a lion, a leopard, a hippo, and more animals standing behind them.

However, all the animals were small and cute babies.

The baby animals were all smiling at Lee Joon.

Lee Joon’s eyes lingered on one spot on the painting.

Schnauzer.

The dog in the picture was none other than Kongdori.

And the cat next to Kongdori was also a familiar one to Lee Joon.

‘That’s Soo-ho’s Geumdal. Then, where’s Chacha?’

Caressing the frame slowly, Lee Joon noticed green and yellow dots beside the hippo.

At the eye-catching colors, Lee Joon chuckled softly.

The yellow and green dots turned out to be the bird, chacha.

‘Yes, that’s just like him.’

For a bird, it’d be fitting to have it perched on Lee Joon’s shoulder or on the elephant, but Soo-ho hadn’t done so.

Whether large animals or not, he never placed anything atop them.

That was a characteristic of Soo-ho’s paintings.

Lee Joon’s lips curled slightly upward.

Noticing this, soo-ho let out a sigh of relief.

Honestly, soo-ho had pondered while painting.

Whether or not to include Kongdori.

However, knowing what Kongdori meant to Lee Joon, soo-ho couldn’t leave him out.

Lee Joon, as Soo-ho knew him, would want to introduce the animal clinic to Kongdori.

“Thanks, soo-ho.”

“Time is all I have.”

Soo-ho shrugged it off, but Lee Joon patted his shoulder.

“I know how busy you are.”

Soo-ho uploaded videos or drawings of animals to MyTube, mainly focusing on wildlife.

Especially, orphaned baby animals frequently appeared in Soo-ho’s drawings or videos.

His works were so renowned now that people lined up to buy them even before they were finished.

“If you’re aware, why don’t you come to Africa sometime?”

Gwak Soo-ho, understanding what his invitation meant, laughed and responded.

“Sure, someday.”

“By the way, when is Woo Jin supposed to arrive?”

“Not sure. He said he’d be a bit late today. Seems like his consultations are running late.”

“Really?”

Just then, they spotted someone approaching from outside the window.

“There he is.”

“True. But why does he look so worn out?”

Just as Soo-ho mentioned, choi Woo Jin collapsed onto a seat in the lobby right after entering.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

“Hey, it’s been a year since you saw this friend and you don’t even say hi?”

“Hi my ass. We did a video call last week. Just seeing you standing here means you arrived safely.”

“You’re all the same. By the way, Joon, you’re really making waves.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, soo-nim.”

Laughing, Woo Jin mentioned Soo-nim.

“Hey, a protector just called me that.”

“Soo-nim?”

Lee Joon and Soo-ho both blurted out in unison.

“Our esteemed Lee Joon made quite an impression.”

Woo Jin leaned further back into his chair, explaining the post about Tofu on the Cats are Adorable Forum with exaggerated expressions.

“Wow, did something like that happen? If it did, why didn’t you tell this hyung?”

“Who’s the hyung here?”

“Who do you think? I’m your hyung.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Joon, you’re amazing. Your name is already spreading.”

Soo-ho showered praises on Lee Joon, not giving much ear to Woo Jin’s grumbles.

“The guardian gave a good review.”

“Hey, winning over a guardian’s heart isn’t easy. For a little kid to think that of you is amazing.”

Soo-ho gestured toward the wall with the portrait.

Woo Jin’s eyes naturally drifted towards the wall.

Having plopped down on the lobby chair upon arrival, Woo Jin hadn’t noticed the drawing.

“What is it?”

As Woo Jin rose and walked towards the examination room, the drawing came into view.

“It’s a picture.”

“It was a gift from a guardian.”

“This?”

“Yeah, Joon here. Don’t those puppies look incredibly happy?”

“They do.”

Woo Jin stared silently at the painting for a while.

As he observed Woo Jin, Lee Joon picked up the framed picture leaning against the counter.

“Soo-ho, where do you think I should hang this?”

Upon hearing Joon’s question, Woo Jin turned his head around.

“Oh, another framed picture. Is it the trend to give framed pictures these days?”

Woo Jin’s eyes widened upon seeing the picture inside the frame.

Within it, Joon’s Kongdori, soo-ho’s Geumdal, and his own parrot Chacha were all smiling brightly at him.

“… It’s truly an impressive gift for opening the clinic.”

“I think the same. Where should I hang it?”

“Hang it somewhere visible. Everyone’s smiles might put people’s minds at ease.”

“Yeah, perhaps animals coming for consultations would all smile like them. Their guardians would be pleased too.”

Woo Jin, looking at the picture with a touch of envy, seemed to recall something and turned to Joon.

“By the way, Joon, is it true?”

“What?”

“What else? That you examined and treated that animal named Tofu all by yourself.”

“Oh, that? Yes.”

“It must have been deeply depressed. No, no, how could you even set a line on your own?”

“No, it was perfectly fine.”

“Is that true?”

Woo Jin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It was a good-natured animal.”

“That doesn’t make sense. How did you handle a cat, not a dog…”

Woo Jin’s voice trailed off as he shook his head.

Watching Woo Jin, Joon smirked and jokingly teased him.

“What, did a patient cat scratch you again?”

“No, I wasn’t scratched today… but phew.”

Woo Jin sighed, recalling the day’s events.

“Why? What happened?”

“There was a severely dehydrated animal, and it was so ferocious, I thought I’d go crazy. The cat wreaked havoc in the examination room and then climbed atop a bookshelf to hiss down at us… geez.”

“You’re quite something, doing this job despite fearing cats so much.”

“No, I’m telling you, I’m not scared of them. That one was just overly sensitive.”

“Sure, sure. Even in the past, cats didn’t seem too fond of you.”

“Are you belittling me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then just ask to be exempted from dealing with cats. You’re excellent with dogs and exotic animals.”

“Well, usually Dr. Joo handles the cats. The issue arises on his day off.”

“Today must have been Dr. Joo’s day off.”

“Right. Ah, Joon, do you happen to have some time soon?”

“Some time?”

“There’s a chronically ill FLUTD cat at our clinic. But it’s unusually sensitive. Dr. Joo thought it’d be nice to have your help with the examinations.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Any time after work hours is fine. Oh, even on Sundays, just give me a heads-up, and I’ll make time.”

“Thanks. If only I could communicate with cats, I’d love to ask why they get so angry. Seriously.”

“Ask them.”

“What?”

“Why they dislike you.”

Both men chuckled at Joon’s comment.

“Seems like your energy levels have plummeted. Let’s go eat.”

“Yeah, my stomach feels like it’s stuck to my back. Let’s go.”

“Soo-ho, is there anything you’re craving?”

“Yeah, let’s go have whatever you want to eat, soo-ho.”

“Just some samgyeopsal with this.”

Soo-ho mimicked holding a drink with his wrist.

“And kimchi stew.”

“Alright then, let’s go eat.”

The three left the animal clinic and headed to a barbecue restaurant.

—