“Thank you, next!” I yelled to my next customer outside the waiting room, after prescribing pills to a cute, black and white Japanese Chin dog, who has been my right hand since he had settled down on the examination table.

 

“T-Thank you so much for treating my poor little dog, KKami! He has always been such a naughty little boy when he is with me but he acts like an angel in front of you,” he sighed.

“Aww, are you jealous?” I chuckled. He pouted and slowly nodded his head. “He had never once treated me right and I’m honestly sad… tell me Dr Kim… what did I do wrong?”
I took a deep breath slowly knowing that I have to say the words that might potentially hurt him. “Well Hyunjin, I feel like you’re not connecting with your dog enough… spend some time with him, train with him, talk to him and allow him to sleep in your bed occasionally. You need to understand him for him to get your attention and I know that all dogs want protection from their owner so you should try listening to what they want,”

 
He went silent for a while as he slowly processes whatever I had just said to his head. “You’re right… I have been neglecting him recently because of my work,” He picked up KKami, hold him up high and gave him the warmest hug he had ever given to someone. “From now on, you’re coming with me to work and if anyone object the decision then BITE them alright?” KKami barked twice to tell him that he has approved of the idea and continue to him from his forehead, which was covered by his black bangs, to his plump lips.
 

“Anyways, thanks for your help Dr Kim!” Hyunjin smiled. “Oh, please call me Yoonmi! I like to keep it casual here in my shop. I'm not used to the formalities, to be honest.”

 

Hyunjin chuckled. “Whatever you say, doc” Facing his back towards me he waved his hand, signalling that he was about to leave.

Once he had left, I waited for my next customer to arrive through the beautifully painted blue door but no one has knocked ever since. With nothing better to do, I proceed to check my phone. I whipped it out of my front pocket when the screen illuminates before me. I smiled when I saw my lock screen. It was a picture of me and my three adorable kittens. Suddenly, the memories came crashing back to me. *Sigh* I will never forget the day where I found them on my front porch on a cold and bleak afternoon.

 

I have just woken up from a long sleep mainly because of the number of works my lecturer gave to me. I remembered it was a Sunday when it happened and I was in the process of making coffee to finish off the rest when I heard cats meowing. Thinking that it was my imagination, I choose to ignore it and continue to make my coffee.

 
*Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow*

 

By now you would have guessed it correctly that I have already stopped dead in my track and was really starting to think that I am hallucinating from all the works my lecturer gave me but I quickly snapped out of it when the meowing continues. I searched around my apartment to find the source of it which eventually leads me to the front door; but knowing that it might be someone who might be pranking me, I peeked through the tiny hole on the door to check if there is anything that will lead me to my demise. I looked both sides but the hallway was empty. I unlocked the door to find someone or something crawling up my leg. I quickly looked down to see not one, not two but THREE tiny creatures crowding over my leg, trying their best to snuggle onto my sock for the warmness. I was in utter shocked and disbelief as I saw the kittens; because as far as I know, my neighbours were allergic to furs and they couldn’t stand the noises that they make… but I shrugged it off and carry them inside with the box itself. I placed the brown-coloured box and investigate thoroughly to find a small letter that was placed in one of the corners. The baby pink letter was thick and there was small cursive handwriting written on it. It said:
 

Please take care of me well~~~

There was no indication who wrote it nor a return address. It seems that the person who left this on the doorstep did it on purpose so that I can’t return it. Maybe he didn’t want them? But why? Many questions have already formed on my head that it makes my head go fuzzy however a distant tiny cat distracted me from my train of thought.

“Meow~~” I looked up from the carefully written letter and saw the three musketeers have already made their self at home. Well, I guess I have at least some sort of ‘entertainment’ to watch when I’m at home, right?

I went over to the opposite side of the table to carry them up, place them in the same box that comes along with them and observed them. On the left, the pure white kitten with scattered patches of brown was staring at me; not leaving his brown pupils on mine. He turned his head slightly towards the right which probably shows how confused he was as to why I placed them back in their box; however, the staring contest finally broke off when he disturbs his brother on his left. The white kitten uses his head to hit his adjacent brother which resulted in a head-to-head fight with one another. His brother was different compared to his white counterpart. He was full on brown and his fur was more ‘puffier’ than him which makes him ten times harder to groom him. Meanwhile, while both of them are in an intense combat, my eyes fell on the right and last remaining kitten that was on the box. Without looking at its bottom, I can already tell that it is a female kitten. Now you may ask how the hell do you think I would know that. Well… it’s easy! The look on her face obviously shows modesty and a stern expression but there is a small tiny expression she made that shows her softer side. Sadly, it will only come out once in a blue moon as I have only seen it once when her two brothers were playing around. It was also the first and final time I will ever see the glimpse of her petite smile when she sees her brother getting alone well. Sometimes I do wonder why she isn’t the oldest out of the family. Her appearance was unlike her two brothers. She was a tri-colour kitten: black, white and brown. Patches of the three colours were scattered everywhere from her head to her tail which makes her supreme over her siblings; however, she had never shown that side of her. She is always protective over her brothers and was always the last to eat even though she has a bowl in front of her. From that point on, I realized why she did it which also sparks my interest in becoming a veterinarian.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The sudden sound jolted me awake from my past memories. “Come in…” I sighed and closed my eye. “How may I hel-“

“Erm… Yoonmi... It’s only me, Jeongin, your friendly neighbourhood helper and your only part-time nurse and employee here!” My eyes quickly fly open and I started to chuckle.

 

“Geez… you don’t have to rub salt in my wounds as that wasn’t enough already!” He smiled at me and laughed. “Anyways, are there any poor animals I still need to tend to?”

 

“Nope!” He picked up the piece of paper he held in his left hand and rechecked my schedule and appointments. “Your schedule is open for the time being and there are no new or last-minute appointments in your slot for today.” He smiled. Wait… how long have I been dreaming?? Probably enough time to not realize what time it was. I looked at the clock to only figure out that there are only 15 minutes left until the black and long clock’s hand reaches 5:00 pm. I turned and looked at Jeongin again.

 

“Well look at the time… I think there wouldn’t be any more patients barging through the door at this minute, right?” Jeongin shrugged. “Anyways, why did you knocked on the door? You could have just busted the door down like what you always do. OR WAIT! Did you come to see me because you miss me? Is my face really that captivating that you have to see me again?” I asked with my smile growing wider by the minute.

 

He rolled his eyes. “Oh my God… I didn’t know you were that annoying. *sigh* I always knew that you are a fan of mine and this has already confirmed it.”

 

“WOAH, before you jump into any conclusion little tiny bean, I did not mean it in that sort of way… I was just playing with you since you’re always so sassy… but to be honest, I really like this side of you. I guess you could say that your ‘sassiness’ has never failed to make this place lively.” I smiled widely.

 

“Well… that’s great and all but I really need to tell you the bad news... I’m quitting the job….”