Hello Vet! How are you?

“Let’s go, gray.”

Lee Joon placed the carrier holding Gray one over his shoulder and left the house.

As he walked through the alley, cats approached quietly and greeted Gray one.

『Good morning, boss.』
『The weather’s perfect for sunbathing today, boss.』

Some cats exchanged light morning greetings, while others showed more concern.

『How are you feeling today, boss?』
『I will escort you to the end of the alley, boss.』

Like Norang from Evergreen Park, some cats volunteered to escort Gray one.

Gray one responded diligently to each and every cat.

Once the greetings were mostly over, Lee Joon spoke up.

“I’ve left food and water at the alley house, so go have some.”

Gray one had a habit of asking visiting alley cats if they had eaten yet.

Food and safety were, after all, the primary concerns for animals living on the streets.

Having overheard this several times, Lee Joon had arranged to leave food and water for the cats in his yard.

『Thank you.』
『Thank you, Doctor Woof Woof.』
『We’ll eat well.』

None of the cats forgot to express their gratitude to Lee Joon.

Gray one, too, showed his appreciation.

『Thank you, meow.』

“It’s nothing.”

Lee Joon smiled as he told the cats.

“You must be hungry, go and eat. I’ll make sure to take care of your leader.”

『Right, meow. Go and take a rest, everyone, meow!』
『Then, I’ll just go up to the front, meow.』
『I’ll go that far, meow.』

The care and affection for one another were palpable in the conversation between the cats.

‘These guys really are good to each other’.

Lee Joon thought.

A smile spread across his face as he watched them.

Listening to the cats’ heartwarming exchanges, they eventually reached the traffic light.

Standing at the traffic signal, Lee Joon chuckled softly.

“I used to think this road was quite long, but now it feels so short.”

It was enjoyable listening to the conversations between the cats.

More so because Gray one was beside him, no longer walking alone but together.

Lee Joon hummed a tune as they waited for the light to change.

Just then, he heard Gray one sniffing with his nose.

It was surprising to clearly hear such a small sound amidst cars passing by, but Lee Joon picked it up distinctly.

Perhaps he had become attuned to such sounds since treating Tofu.

“Gray one, is your nose hurting?”

『It doesn’t hurt, meow!』

Gray one insisted he wasn’t in pain and continued to sniff.

“Then why are you sniffing so much?”

『I’m trying to catch a smell, meow!』

“A smell?”

『There’s a very nice aroma, meow!』

“Where?”

『Over there, from there. It’s a scent I really like, meow!』

Gray one pointed towards the flower shop.

“You mean flowers? That?”

Lee Joon pointed a finger at the flower shop.

『Yes, meow. It smells wonderful, meow.』

Lee Joon’s eyes widened before a soft laugh escaped him.

‘Kongdori used to like flowers too.’

Although Lee Joon wasn’t entirely sure if Kongdori liked them.

Whenever it was the blooming season, Kongdori would go outside, either to the yard or the park, and bury his nose in the flowers to sniff them intently.

Despite his playful nature of tearing up toys, Kongdori only enjoyed smelling flowers.

Even bouquets received as gifts remained intact, with Kongdori simply taking in their scent.

Seeing that, Lee Joon thought Kongdori must have liked flowers.

With memories of Kongdori and Gray one’s fondness for the fragrance, Lee Joon’s gaze rested on the flower shop as he waited for the light.

‘Seeing they’re selling carnations, it must be May already.’

Lee Joon visited his former teacher every May and at the year’s end.

Barring any changes, he planned to visit the school again this year.

‘I should ask Jinhan for the professor’s free days while I’m thinking about it.’

Having arrived at work, lee Jun left a text message for his junior, Um Jinhan, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in surgery.

Almost immediately, Um Jinhan replied with the professor’s schedule.

‘Instant reply, huh. Must not be too busy.’

It seemed Um Jinhan was living as if he owned the world with no seniors around.

Despite being in his second year of the doctoral program and officially an ace in the surgical department, Lee Joon still viewed him as a junior needing guidance.

‘I should go straighten him up a bit.’

Lee Joon chuckled to himself and sent a text to Choi Woo Jin.

『Me: It’s May. Time to visit the school. I’m free next Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. How about you?』
『Choi Woo Jin: How about Wednesday?』
『Me: Sounds good.』

***

A week later, on Wednesday.

Lee Joon and Choi Woo Jin arrived at the school.

Without hesitation, they made their way toward the animal clinic next to the veterinary building, thinking this was where they were most likely to find the professor.

As they reached the front of the clinic, barking welcomed them.

Bow-wow-wow.

Woof-woof-woof-woof.

“Wow. It’s been a while since I heard this.”

“Yeah. It used to be tiring just to listen to this, but now it’s kind of nostalgic.”

While they reminisced, three students came out of the building, holding the leashes of dogs eager to head out.

The dogs strained against their leashes, trying to move forward with all their might.

The juniors were experiencing exactly what Lee Joon and Choi Woo Jin had once faced.

“Look at that. Holding it that weakly will only get them dragged along.”

Choi Woo Jin clicked his tongue while watching the students.

As if on cue, the students did start to get pulled along by the dogs, just as Choi Woo Jin had predicted.

“Woedong, calm down, calm down.”

“They’re going, they’re going.”

“Woedong, don’t rush…”

Despite the students’ attempts to calm the dogs, their excitement rendered the efforts futile.

No matter how tight the leashes were, the dogs leaped energetically.

Eventually, the students, conceding to the dogs, began to run as well.

The excited dogs sped up, dashing forward.

『Woohoo, this is fun. So fun.』
『Let’s run, run!』
『Ohh, how long has it been? We gotta sprint hard.』

“Ahhhhh!”

“Hey, hey, slowly, slowly.”

“Woedong…”

Watching the students being dragged by the dogs, both Lee Joon and Choi Woo Jin chuckled.

“Looks like a two-hour ordeal, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you’ve got to be dragged around at that age to learn.”

“You had your fair share of being pulled about, didn’t you?!”

Lee Joon teased.

Choi Woo Jin’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“I wasn’t the only one being dragged. It was just you being special. Others got dragged too.”

“Of course, of course!”

Lee Joon responded teasingly.

“It’s true!”

Flustered, Choi Woo Jin struck his chest in confusion.

In reality, while many experienced fatigue from handling the school-managed animals, none of them witnessed Lee Joon, in particular, facing any difficulties.

Thus, all his peers hoped to be in the same group as Lee Joon.

“Fine, I get it. But look over there!”

Lee Joon pointed.

“What?”

“There, the turtle.”

He pointed to a turtle slowly ambling along.

“A turtle, huh?”

“That turtle’s pretty big. It looks larger than two palms put together.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty big. But it’s pretty cute.”

With curiosity, Lee Joon and Choi Woo Jin observed the turtle.

“Isn’t it a tortoise?”

“Seems like it’s not a star tortoise?”

“Judging by its shell pattern, maybe. One thing’s for sure, times have changed if a turtle is roaming around the campus.”

“No kidding. Why’s it moving so fast, by the way? Ever seen tortoises taking walks?”

“Nope. The only land tortoises I ever saw were sick ones.”

Even Choi Woo Jin, specializing in exotic animals, encountered a turtle on a stroll for the first time.

“But it seems to be having fun. Hey, turtle, what’s your name?”

Lee Joon asked while approaching it.

The turtle only kept scrambling forward, indifferent to the question.

Instead, an approaching student offered the answer.

“It’s Starry.”

“Starry?”

“Yes, it’s my turtle.”

“You named it Starry after the star tortoise? Really following a stream of consciousness, aren’t you?”

“Hehe, it’s easy to call and sounds nice.”

“True, true.”

“You’re seniors, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I could just tell by looking.”

“Right. What year are you?”

“I’m in my third year of veterinary medicine. Please feel free to speak comfortably.”

“Alright then. Third year, huh? Must be hectic.”

“Yes, it’s madness. Oh, hang on.”

Starry’s owner ran after the fast-moving turtle and picked it up.

『Put…… me…… down.』

The student watched another turtle with a red harness, captivated by the change.

“This a trend now?!”

Lee Joon asked, pointing to a turtle with a red harness leading the way.

“Uh, yes. I guess it is.”

“A lot of future turtle experts, then!”

Lee Joon chuckled.

“That’s all thanks to you, senior. No, that’s because of you, senior. The professors are quite pleased.”

“Me?”

Lee Joon pointed at himself.

“Yes, senior Lee. Lately, lots of juniors have been looking up to you as a role model. They say they want to be like you and mimic you.”

“Why? What’s the connection between me and turtles?”

Baffled, Lee Joon blinked in confusion.

—