Hakyeon stood in front of a small white building with a white sign hanging above the glass door saying in black elegant letters Cha's Animal Health Center. He grinned at the sign and glanced around at the empty streets surrounding him. It was still early in the morning and the sun had just risen over the horizon. Back in Seoul, the streets and sidewalks always had people going somewhere, so seeing the stillness in this small town was new to Hakyeon. 

A month ago, Hakyeon had a horrible fight with his boyfriend/fiance when he caught him cheating with the girl who worked at the front desk in the animal hospital Hakyeon was working at. When he had run out of a certain antibiotic, he went to the storage room himself to retreive more. He didn't expect to find his boyfriend making out with the pretty receptionist from downstairs, quite passionately he might add, when he opened the door.

Two weeks later, he made the decision to move out of Seoul and out to a small town called Gangsan. He figured he would try living a simpler life out in the country rather than forcing himself to survive the bussling city, dragging himself to the hospital where he would see that devil woman's face every day. So, he packed his bags, quit his job, and moved out to the sweet little town surrounded by farmlands and green forests to open up his own clinic. When he arrived, the building before him had boarded windows, chipped paint, and a bunch of junk piled high inside. It took Hakyeon two weeks to clean up the place, and now here he was finally opening it for business.

He grinned as he unlocked the front door and stepped inside the now clean little lobby. With a deep breath, he switched the 'closed' sign to 'open', and sat himself behind the counter to wait for his first patients.

~  ~  ~

It was nearly five o'clock in the evening, and Hakyeon heaved a sigh as he looked at the clock hanging above the door. He knew that he shouldn't expect to be very busy on the first day, but having only three patients come in for the entire day was a little discouraging. Many people had come in, but most of them were there to just welcome Hakyeon to Gangsan and they told him how excited they were to finally have a clinic so close. Even though he was a little disappointed in his first day of business, he had to admit that talking to the locals was refreshing and pleasant.

I think I like the country life already, Hakyeon thought to himself. I wonder what tomorrow is going to be like? Will I have more patients? Should I extend the hours so I close at seven instead of five?

Just as Hakyeon locked the front door and was about to switch the sign back to 'closed', a young man came running up with a panicked look on his face. 

"Help me, please!" The young man knocked on the glass frantically with one hand using his other to hold a small fluffy body. Immediately, Hakyeon unlocked the door and swung it open for the man to enter.

"What's wrong?" Hakyeon asked as he lead the taller man to the back of the building where the examination rooms and kennels were.

"I was just watering the plants outside when I heard her yelping in the backyard. When I went to see what was up, I found her fighting with a red fox. It ran off, but she was covered in blood and I don't know where it's coming from."

He set the fluffy creature on the metal table in the center of the examination room, and Hakyeon could see blood matting multiple areas on the pomeranian's body. The small dog looked up at him and wagged her tail excitedly, showing no signs of being in pain despite the red staining her fur. Even though it looked like a lot of blood, upon further inspection Hakyeon found that there were only a few cuts and bites on the back of her neck and her legs.

"Don't worry," Hakyeon said reassuringly to the animal's owner as he cleaned the wounds. "It looks worse than what it actually is. She's only got a couple cuts and bruises, and with a few bandages and antibiotics she'll be good as new in a week or so."

The young man visibly relaxed with a sigh of relief, "Thank god. I thought she was going to die in my arms or something."

Hakyeon chuckled, "Nope. There will be no dying today." He spoke as he finished cleaning and bandaging the wounds on the pomeranian's neck and legs. "So, what's this little angel's name?"

"Amber," he replied with a smile. "Oh! I'm Sanghyuk by the way." He quickly extended his arm out for a handshake which Hakyeon gladly returned.

"Hakyeon. It's nice to meet you," he tilted his head toward the metal table, "and little Amber."

Sanghyuk chuckled, "Don't be fooled by her size. She had that fox hightailing it out of our backyard."

"Ah, so our little Amber is a fighter?" The vet scratched behind Amber's ears and the little dog closed her eyes and wagged her tail at the attention. Hakyeon leaned down so he could let her his face. "Well, let's not get into any more fights. We don't want our Amber in here too often now, do we?"

The dog suddenly yipped a high pitched bark, startling Hakyeon slightly.

"That was either a bark of agreement, or a bark of defiance." Sanghyuk said with a smile.

"I think it was the latter." Hakyeon patted Amber's head, and lifted her off the table to hand her over to Sanghyuk. "Come on. I'll give you some antibiotics, and some more bandages to take home."

The vet led the younger man to the front of the building where Hakyeon's computer and cash register remained behind the counter. Hakyeon went to the computer while Sanghyuk moved to the opposite side of the counter. He watched the vet type into his computer and then pull out a small white paper bag that rattled as it moved.

"Have Amber take a half of a pill once a day for about ten days. The pills are already halved, so you don't have to cut them." He handed Sanghyuk the bag, which the younger took with his free hand. "The bandages are also in the bag, but I'm sure you won't need to use all of them. I suggest that you change them about once or twice a day until her wounds are scabbed over. Do you have a cone at home for her to wear?"

"No. She's never needed one before." Sanghyuk answered.

Hakyeon leaned down behind the counter, opened a drawer, and brought out a transparent semi-circular sheet with velcro on two opposite edges. He stood up and walked around the counter so he could place the cone around Amber's neck.

"Usually while wounds heal they tend to itch, so she needs to wear this until they're all healed up. We don't want her scratching at and reopening them to let in infections.Then she would be in some trouble." He returned to his computer to finish typing whatever he was working on before, and when he finished he grinned at Sanghyuk. "Your total is 40,691.23 won for the antibiotics and cone."

"Really?" Sanghyuk furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion. "I thought it would be more than that."

"I gave you a discount since it's my first day in business." Hakyeon cheerfully explained.

"Ah, thank you so much." Sanghyuk said with a smile, and he looked down at Amber as he continued which allowed him to see the watch on his other wrist. "Amber and I really tha--- !"

Hakyeon jumped at the unexpected shout, and Sanghyuk was suddenly running to the door with the pomeranian tucked under his arm like a football. As he swung the door open, he