Hello Vet! How are you?

The spot where the man stood was soaked with red liquid dripping down—it was blood mixed with rainwater.

“Give it to me.”

Lee Joon took the puppy cradled in the terrified man’s arms and quickly ran to the treatment room.

Hissss sizzle!

The puppy threw its head back and howled, its entire body stiffening like a rock.

The pain had caused its body to seize up, yet its hind legs showed no strength at all.

Although the legs were wrapped and hidden, Lee Joon vividly felt their condition as he carried the puppy.

The man’s words were true—the legs were broken.

However, Lee Joon wasn’t focusing on the legs, or rather, he couldn’t focus on them.

Blood dripped onto the floor while the hind legs dangled, but it was the sound of the puppy’s cries that had Lee Joon on edge.

The puppy still screamed in distress, but it was not the same sound as before.

Its voice had become hoarse, likely from overexertion.

Worse yet, its breathing became increasingly labored.

Lee Joon shouted.

“Respiratory rate critical, Pneumothorax!”

“Gasp!”

As soon as Lee Joon yelled, ‘Pneumothorax!’.

Go Gijin, sprinting behind him, let out a gasp before darting ahead like an arrow.

Bang!

Lee Joon burst into the treatment room and immediately pulled down a yellow line hanging from the ceiling.

Once Lee Joon laid the puppy on the treatment table, Go Gijin swiftly brought the mask attached to the yellow line to the puppy’s nose.

Jang Sora was equally quick.

She had run over with intubation equipment, promptly unwrapping the cloth enveloping the puppy.

The Pomeranian, weighing just over three kilograms and soaked in blood and rainwater, looked pitiful.

Its blood-soaked hind leg was twisted, with the bone protruding through the skin—a sight shocking enough to evoke a gasp.

Yet Lee Joon did not bat an eye and promptly performed intubation.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Jang Sora focused intently on her task.

She poured sterilized water over the wound, washing away debris.

As the blood and foreign material were rinsed away, the wound became more apparent.

Though the bleeding persisted, Jang Sora was unfazed, and she meticulously disinfected the gaps using a 50cc syringe filled with saline.

Every second was precious.

Meanwhile, Lee Joon completed the puppy’s vital check and blood collection.

“Respiratory rate critical; breathing rate over 90 per minute; BP normal; mucous membrane color normal.”

As soon as the disinfection was complete, Jang Sora dashed away with the blood tube Lee Joon had collected.

The two quickly secured the leg.

Thanks to the blood test and analgesic administered by Lee Joon, the puppy’s expression eased slightly.

However, there was no relaxation for either of them.

Once Lee Joon aligned the fractured femur, Go Gijin wrapped it with cotton bandages, leaving no room for blood to concern him.

As soon as the bandaging was completed, they seemed in sync, heading straight to the radiology room.

Thanks to Jang Sora’s preparation, the examination proceeded rapidly.

Once completed, Lee Joon scanned the monitor with sharp eyes.

The 3rd to 5th left ribs were fractured.

“Pulmonary contusion, pneumothorax, hematoma, diaphragm rupture. The ribs pierced the lung.”

A lung hemorrhage, pneumothorax, and hematoma, along with diaphragm rupture.

Go Gijin, who was watching the monitor beside him, asked.

“Is the heart okay too?”

“Fortunately, it’s fine. Hmm, but the leg is the issue….”

Lee Joon pondered momentarily before speaking again.

“We’ll plate just the right femur and leave the left tibia just cast, assessing the situation.”

Lee Joon, who decided to surgically repair the right femur and bandage treat the left tibia, stood up.

“Let’s get ready. I’ll explain the situation to the guardian, and Dr. Go, please check the vitals….”

Lee Joon paused mid-sentence, recalling the hyperbaric oxygen chamber they had recently acquired.

The hyperbaric oxygen treatment apparatus could supply oxygen directly into the body, not just through respiration, thus quickly stabilizing oxygen saturation.

Although it also helped with tissue recovery, stabilizing breathing was the priority at the moment.

“Place it in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and check the vitals. Director Jang, prepare for surgery. We’ll perform thoracic surgery first, followed by fracture repair.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

Both scattered in different directions as Lee Joon approached the man.

As Lee Joon exited the treatment room, the man standing outside asked him.

“Our Mongshil… is he alright?”

His voice grew quieter as he spoke.

“He’s had painkillers and is in the oxygen capsule. He’s somewhat stabilized.”

“Whew….”

The man sighed in relief.

Watching him, Lee Joon took a deep breath himself.

Delivering bad news to a pet owner always weighed heavily on him.

Yet, Lee Joon, who had to quickly update him and then rush for surgery, couldn’t afford to hesitate.

“Let me tell you Mongshil’s condition. I’ll also explain the surgery process.”

He needed to obtain consent for the surgery.

Lee Joon guided the guardian to the examination room, displaying the monitor for explanation.

“So, our Mongshil is… whew.”

The guardian sighed deeply at the radiographic image displayed on the monitor.

However, after a brief struggle, the guardian signed the surgical consent form presented by Lee Joon.

Thinking that even as he hesitated, Mongshil hovered between life and death, he wanted to send him into the operating room as soon as possible.

“Will our Mongshil survive?”

The guardian’s eyes were filled with desperate hope.

Lee Joon met that gaze and replied.

“I will do my best.”

The memory of the previous Cocker Spaniel case still lingered in Lee Joon’s mind.

“I will save him. Definitely.”

Lee Joon’s determination reached the guardian.

Grasping Lee Joon’s hand firmly, the guardian spoke.

“Please save him. I’m begging you.”

Lee Joon squeezed the trembling guardian’s hand and replied.

“I’ll do my best.”

Conviction echoed in Lee Joon’s voice as he responded.

***

Pop.

Standing beneath the surgical lights illuminating the table, Lee Joon spoke up.

“Let’s begin.”

The surgery commenced.

Lee Joon wielded the scalpel, swiftly opening the wound to secure space between the ribs.

“Wire.”

Even before Lee Joon finished speaking, Go Gijin, who was on standby, handed over the requested tools.

His skill from collaborating in the school’s operating room with Lee Joon had not faded.

A subtle smile graced Lee Joon’s lips but soon vanished.

He spoke with a furrowed brow.

“C-arm.”

As Go Gijin illuminated the surgical area with the fluoroscopic device, Lee Joon’s eyes gleamed sharply.

When Lee Joon extended his hand, Go Gijin placed tweezers in his palm.

Though there was silence between them, their actions, from Lee Joon extending his hand to Go Gijin placing the tweezers on it, were remarkably natural.

Lee Joon used the tweezers to extract a rice-grain-sized bone fragment.

Blood erupted momentarily, but Go Gijin quickly stanched it.

Despite his large build, Go Gijin’s swift actions earned Lee Joon’s admiration.

“How did you even notice that?”

Since he wasn’t truly expecting a response, Lee Joon continued with the surgery seamlessly.

He observed the internal organs intermittently using the C-arm.

Once his view was clear, Lee Joon’s hands moved with greater freedom.

Moreover, the advanced hemostatic device in Lee Joon’s hand was a new addition that clamped and cauterized simultaneously.

Previously, such procedures would have been challenging, but he didn’t have to meticulously focus on each tiny vessel thanks to this equipment, allowing for uninterrupted work.

After reconnecting the torn thoracic muscles and thoracic wall and installing a chest tube for potential fluid leaks, Lee Joon’s hand never paused except when checking the monitor.

After this, he smoothly repaired the diaphragm rupture.

He set back a portion of the small intestine that had been sucked into the thoracic cavity through the ruptured abdominal wall.

Once Lee Joon rapidly completed repairing the diaphragm defect, he moved directly to the leg.

“Now you’ll need to help me, Go Gijin. Once you check the vitals, come straight down.”

“Sure.”

Lee Joon cleanly incised the skin of the right hind leg using the scalpel.

Blood control was swiftly managed once more with the high-end hemostatic equipment.

Lee Joon visually confirmed the fracture fragments of the femur and checked with the C-arm for accuracy.

He then performed blunt dissection to reveal the femur.

“Retractor.”

Jang Sora, who had been prepared on the side, handed over the retractor, which Go Gijin accepted to widen the space where she had performed blunt dissection.

Yet again, Lee Joon and Go Gijin’s coordination was impeccable.

While inserting an intramedullary pin into the medullary cavity of the proximal femoral fragment, Lee Joon thoroughly employed the fluoroscopic device.

This spared him from repeatedly needing separate X-rays for measuring between the time he inserted pins and gauged gaps.

After inserting the intramedullary pin through the medullary cavity of the distal fragments, he restored the femur to its natural alignment.

“Plate.”

Once Go Gijin secured the plate to the fracture site, Lee Joon solidly fastened it.

“Drill.”

“Got it.”

Using the drill bit, Lee Joon perforated the screw insertion points on the tibia and, for each hole, measured the bone thickness to determine the screw length.

He then inserted the screws and commenced the fixation.

“Whew.”

Go Gijin, assisting next to Lee Joon during surgery, exhaled.

They had been in the operating room for four hours already.

Just the thoracic surgery alone would have been arduous, even for someone of Go Gijin’s large build; his legs were just short of trembling, yet Lee Joon’s expression and gaze remained intense and alert, as at the beginning.

As Lee Joon began suturing the facia and subcutaneous tissue and nearing the end, outside the operating room, Mongshil’s guardian grew increasingly anxious.

“It, it’s already been four hours….”

However, there was still no hint that the ‘surgery in progress’ sign outside the room would switch off.

What was happening inside, they wondered?

Could their Mongshil come out alive?

The guardian’s unsettled heart refused to calm.

It was then that the cats, who had been waiting with the guardian, padded over to the operating room.

The guardian’s gaze naturally followed them to the operating room, thoughts paused.

The cats’ tails swayed gently.

Even the guardian, who had only ever raised dogs, could see the cats’ tails swaying cheerfully.

Defeated by despair, but clinging to hope, the guardian’s eyes were tinged with sudden brightness.

“N-no way…?”

Just then, the door of the operating room opened, and Lee Joon stepped out.

“Our Mongshil, how…?”

Before the guardian could finish, Lee Joon answered.

“The surgery went well.”

The guardian’s expression utterly crumbled at Lee Joon’s words.

“Sob, sob.”

The guardian, releasing a noise somewhere between a sigh and a cry, spoke to Lee Joon.

“Thank you, truly thank you.”

“Mongshil was incredible. It endured the long anesthesia very well.”

“Whew….”

“It’s in recovery now. Would you like to see Mongshil?”

“Yes, yes, I must see our Mongshil.”

The guardian responded with a trembling voice.

Shortly after, seeing Mongshil comfortably breathing in the ICU, the guardian sighed deeply in relief.

“Thank goodness, it’s truly a relief.”

Drip, a teardrop fell from the smiling guardian’s eye.

Looking up at Lee Joon beside him, the guardian said.

“Thank you very much.”

“As I said, it was thanks to Mongshil’s determination to pull through. For a little one like him to endure four hours of anesthesia is no small feat.”

The guardian, listening to Lee Joon, slowly shook their head.

“Even so, if it wasn’t for you, Mongshil might have crossed the Doggy Star by now. Thank you so much.”

With a gentle smile as his reply, Lee Joon continued.

“He’ll need to be confined for a while.”

“Yes, we’ll definitely keep him in, but at night here…?”

The guardian, who had rushed to the nearest animal clinic in a frenzy and knew that they weren’t open 24 hours, trailed off.

“It’s crucial to monitor Mongshil closely for now.”

“Then, what about at home…?”

The guardian’s speech faltered once more.

“I’ll rotate with Dr. Go for night duty, it’s no problem.”

“Still, it feels like you’re going to be terribly inconvenienced because of us.”

“Mongshil survived, isn’t that what’s truly important?”

Lee Joon responded, looking at the guardian before him.

The guardian had arrived at the clinic in sheer panic.

Over the course of the surgery, they had become so anxious that their face had turned black with worry, changing its original complexion.

“So, please go home to gather what Mongshil might need.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll be back shortly.”

“No, come tomorrow. It’s better for you not to be there when Mongshil wakes up.”

“But why is that?”

Wouldn’t it be joyful for a puppy, waking up hurt and in an unfamiliar place, to meet its guardian?

However, witnessing their guardian, only to soon be left alone again, could cause any companion animal to get excited.

“Seeing you might cause him to bark with excitement and risk reopening his surgical wounds.”

Lee Joon said while setting up the app on the guardian’s phone to monitor Mongshil remotely and then sent the guardian home.

“Whew, it really is a relief, isn’t it?”

“It’s truly a relief.”

“It really is. I wondered why you purchased so much equipment, but it was indeed well thought out.”

As Go Gijin spoke, Lee Joon nodded, contemplating.

‘I think I need to expand the clinic a little more.’

At that moment, the cats surrounded Lee Joon’s legs.

『Hyung, great job, you did well.』
『You did well.』

Encouraged by the cats, Lee Joon lifted them up, rubbing his head against them affectionately.

Feeling their warmth brought calmness to his heart.

It was the kind of feeling Mongshil’s guardian would experience as well.

A smile slowly crept onto Lee Joon’s face.

Watching him, the cats followed suit, smiling as well.

『Can we go see our Mongshil?』
『We should tell him not to move much.』

Concerned about Mongshil, who had hurt his leg like the Gray one, he asked Lee Joon.

“Yes. Just don’t get too close since he’s still hurting.”

As soon as Lee Joon finished speaking, the cats trotted off to the ward quickly.