Chapter 53: A Visit to the Vet

“Harang, wake up.”

Someone shook my sleeping body. Without opening my eyes, I reached out and grabbed the source of the disturbance.

It was warm and soft.

Still half-asleep, I realized it felt like someone’s hand. I absentmindedly fiddled with the delicate fingers that were interrupting my slumber and placed them on my chest.

It was as comforting as a warm pillow; hugging it seemed like a good idea.

I pulled the unknown arm closer with both hands and embraced it. That’s when the hand lightly brushed against my neck.

“Mm?”

Squinting, I glanced down. The long fingers on my chest were now poking at my neck.

Looking up to find the owner of the hand, I saw Yoon Bora standing there.

“Harang?”

“No… I don’t want to…”

I was determined to sleep more. With that resolve, I grabbed Bora’s hand and placed it over my face, using it as an improvised sleep mask.

Squish—

Her palm pressed lightly against my nose, making it slightly hard to breathe, but it was warm enough to ignore the discomfort.

“Harang, it’s lunchtime. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“No. I’m not eating.”

Sleeping at that time seemed far more worthwhile.

As I drifted off again, the five fingers on my face began pressing into me.

“You still need to get up, Harang.”

She punctuated each word by firmly poking my face.

“Stop…”

I wanted to push her hand away, but I was too tired to muster any strength.

Resorting to a counterattack, I licked her palm—sweeping my tongue from bottom to top.

“Ah!”

Yoon Bora flinched at my sudden move, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

As expected, Yoon Bora was a skilled hunter. Not even something like this fazed her.

So I licked her hand again. And again, until it was drenched in saliva.

“Ha-Harang!”

At last, she lifted her hand slightly, moving it out of my tongue’s reach.

“Hehe.”

Victory was mine. Grinning with my tongue still out, I heard a voice from the side.

“Bora, what’s wrong? Did Harang lick you?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, I’m jealous…”

Jealous? Of what?

I slowly opened my eyes and glanced around.

Yoon Bora was sniffing her hand with a perplexed look.

Raxy Bora stood nearby with my tablet hanging from her chest, staring intently at my tongue.

Her gaze was unsettling enough to make me quickly pull my tongue back in.

“Harang, human hands are full of germs. You shouldn’t lick them.”

Yoon Bora pinched my cheek and stretched it as she scolded me.

“Okay, I won’t. But aren’t your hands clean, Bora?”

“Well, um… they’re not exactly… I mean, not that I’m dirty, but…”

She fumbled over her words, glancing nervously at me.

The awkward silence stretched on, and my eyelids began to droop again.

“Mmnya…”

It didn’t seem like she had anything more to say, so I decided to sleep.

As I drifted off, a fragrant, salty aroma tickled my nose.

‘This smell…’

Even without opening my eyes, I knew.

Right in front of me was a stick of Churu—a delicious treat.

It was so close that all I had to do was stick out my tongue to reach it.

No matter how sleepy I was, missing out on Churu wasn’t an option.

Without opening my eyes, I extended my tongue.

The taste of the Pacific Ocean greeted me as I savored the treat.

But then the smell receded, just slightly out of reach.

“My Churu…”

I cracked open my eyes to see Yoon Bora holding the Churu in her hand.

Tired as I was, Churu was worth the effort.

Grabbing Yoon Bora’s hand with one of mine, I hooked my legs around her opposite shoulder, clinging to her like a koala to get closer to the treat.

“H-Harang?”

Bora lifted her arm slowly, and my body rose along with it.

Thanks to my naturally lightweight body, it didn’t seem to strain her at all.

It felt no different from lying down.

With Yoon Bora’s ability to lift hundreds with one hand, my weight was barely an issue for her.

There was no need to worry about causing her any discomfort.

Hanging onto her arm for a while, savoring the Churu, I heard Raxy Bora chuckling nearby.

“I thought Harang was a cat, but it turns out she’s a koala?”

“Why am I a koala?”

I asked, still licking the Churu, as I turned to Raxy Bora.

“Well, you’re clinging on like a koala.”

“I see…”

I nodded lightly and resumed licking the treat.

Still groggy, I occasionally licked Yoon Bora’s fingers instead of the Churu.

Oddly enough, the mix of Churu and Bora’s flavor wasn’t bad at all.

After all, she always smelled nice.

“Harang, you’re awake now, right?”

“Mm.”

Satisfied with my response, Yoon Bora set me down on the bed and handed me the Churu.

“Bora, why did you wake me up, though?”

It wasn’t even the end of lunch break yet.

Why go to the trouble of waking me up and even giving me a Churu?

I was curious, so my tail swept lazily across the bed.

“Well, we have somewhere to go today.”

“Where?”

“We’re going to the hospital.”

“Hospital…?”

The mention of the word instantly drained the color from my face.

Hospitals usually meant a high chance of something painful happening.

“I don’t want to get a shot.”

“No, Harang. You won’t be getting any shots.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Thank goodness.

If there were no shots involved, going to the hospital didn’t sound too bad.

I placed my hand over my chest and let out a relieved sigh.

“Shall we go, then?”

“Yeah, but… can I finish my Churu first? I want to focus on it.”

“Oh, sure.”

Yoon Bora plopped down beside me, and Raxy Bora joined her.

Licking the Churu, I looked up at them, a sense of happiness washing over me.

I wished I could stay like this forever.

Of course, that wasn’t possible.

We soon found ourselves heading to the hospital, holding hands Yoon Bora on my left, Raxy Bora on my right.

Jinhyang followed close behind us.

“But Yoon Bora, is there a hospital in our building?”

“No, the tower doesn’t have a regular hospital.”

“Then don’t we need to go outside?”

It was strange to me that we were wandering around inside the building if we were supposed to go to a hospital.

“Well, um…”

My question made Raxy Bora hesitate, her eyes darting nervously.

It seemed like she was reluctant to reveal something.

Jinhyang, standing behind us, finally broke the silence.

“You’re going to the vet.”

“…What?”

I turned to Jinhyang, tilting my head in confusion.

Why would I go to the vet?

“You’re always saying you’re a tiger, so what’s the problem now?”

“That’s… true.”

I couldn’t argue with her.

After all, I was a fierce tiger.

“But still, a vet…”

I mumbled under my breath, glancing up at Yoon Bora and Raxy Bora through our linked hands.

Yoon Bora deliberately avoided my gaze, while Raxy looked down at me with a bright grin.

‘So it’s true.’

Their reactions alone were enough to confirm it—I was really going to a veterinary clinic.

Sigh.

We arrived at the entrance of the vet clinic.

Feeling slightly dejected, I stepped inside. A staff member, presumably a nurse, greeted us warmly.

“Oh my, such special visitors today!”

“You don’t have to make such a big deal about it,” Bora said with a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of her head.

“May I ask what brings you here today?”

“Oh, it’s because of our Harang,” Bora answered, shaking my hand lightly as if introducing me.

The nurse’s pupils trembled as she looked at me.

It was clear she wasn’t used to seeing patients like me.

Which made sense—it wasn’t exactly common.

“Hmm… Wouldn’t the manager here be better off visiting a human hospital instead of a vet?”

The nurse spoke with an awkward smile, her tone cautious yet professional—the kind of tact only seasoned caretakers possessed.

“We’re not here because she’s sick. It’s about her ears.”

“Her ears?”

“Yes, see Harang’s ears?” Yoon Bora pointed to my ears as she spoke.

“Ah, I see. Can you tell me which breed they might be from?”

The nurse examined my ears closely as she asked.

“That person…!”

I mumbled under my breath, loud enough for her to hear.

“Oh, no misunderstanding! I was asking which animal’s ears they resemble,” the nurse clarified quickly.

“Then they’re probably tiger ears,” Yoon Bora said matter-of-factly.

“T-Tiger…?”

The nurse trailed off, clearly skeptical.

I couldn’t blame her; I knew my ears didn’t really resemble those of a tiger.

However, considering my natural ferocity and wild instincts, it made sense to think of me as a kind of mutant tiger.

Underestimating me might lead to trouble.

Just as I finished that thought, Yoon Bora began gently fiddling with my ears.

“I did some research, and it turns out these ears are pretty sensitive.”

“That’s true. They can be prone to infections because bacteria easily breed in such environments.”

“Yes, that’s why we’re here to learn how to properly take care of them.”

“Oh, in that case…”

The nurse nodded in understanding.

I nodded too, realizing that when it came to ear care, visiting a vet made more sense than a human hospital.

At least for this specific issue, I was closer to an animal.

“Would this be a bother to your clinic?” Yoon Bora asked hesitantly.

“Not at all. If the focus is on ear care, this is absolutely the right place to come.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

Yoon Bora let out a relieved laugh, smiling brightly at the nurse’s response.