“Eight, eight!”
I was playing with Nabi, shaking a cat toy. I held a fishing rod-like toy and waved it in front of Nabi’s eyes. Nabi, with her feline instincts, chased after the fish-shaped toy attached to the rod.
“Ah!”
But my dribbling skills were terrible. Nabi caught the toy, and I let go of the rod, giving her time to play with it.
“Meooow!”
Nabi excitedly ran around the room with the fish toy in her mouth, then swiftly climbed to the top of the cat tower. I stared blankly at her antics. Compared to when she first arrived, Nabi had changed a lot.
She was eating enough cat food, and maybe because I gave her water with my hair dissolved in it, she was growing much faster. Her weight had already increased by over 100 grams. It was getting hard to call her a kitten anymore.
“Nabi, come here!”
I patted my thigh and called her. Nabi listened to me very well.
“Meow!”
Nabi dropped the toy and climbed onto my lap. I petted her head. Nabi was a female, as I found out by flipping her over. While I was petting her, Bora entered the room.
“Hana, let’s take Nabi to the hospital.”
“Huh? Didn’t we go last time? Are we going again?”
“Yeah.”
As soon as Nabi heard the word “hospital,” she jumped off my lap with bullet-like speed. I tried to catch her but failed. Nabi hid under the bed, and there was no way to get her out.
I looked at Bora. She smiled helplessly and pulled out a Churu from her pocket. As soon as Nabi saw the Churu, she forgot her earlier actions and ran to Bora, licking the treat with all her might.
“Here! Let’s put her in the cage!”
“Okay!”
We successfully lured Nabi into the cage with the Churu. Realizing she was trapped, Nabi cried, but there was no way out. Unless she became a skinny cat, there was no escaping the cage.
“But Bora, Nabi already got her vaccinations last time, right? Why are we going again?”
I asked Bora curiously. I clearly remembered her saying Nabi had all the necessary vaccinations… Bora had said it herself, so it was vivid in my memory.
Bora looked slightly flustered by my question.
“Ah…! The vet said there was a vaccination they missed last time!”
“Really?”
The best vet, huh? Missing an important vaccination! I thought about scolding the vet. I imagined myself with my hands on my hips, reprimanding the vet.
“Meooow!”
Nabi cried like a prisoner, gripping the cage bars. I looked at her sternly.
“Nabi! You shouldn’t be afraid of the hospital! If I were you, I’d go to the hospital smiling and confidently get checked!”
I gave Nabi a pep talk. She shouldn’t be afraid of the hospital and should be grateful to those who check her health.
But something felt off. Bora’s gaze at me seemed unusual, like she was holding back laughter. I tilted my head, sensing something strange. Instinctively, I felt uneasy, but since I couldn’t figure it out, I just followed Bora, carrying Nabi’s cage.
“Ugh…”
I got into the passenger seat with the cage. Nabi inside seemed restless, just like last time we went to the hospital.
“Nabi! The hospital isn’t scary!”
“Meow…”
Bora looked at me and asked, “Hana, aren’t you scared of the hospital?”
The hospital… it was scary. Those sharp needles and all sorts of threatening tools were there. But I couldn’t show weakness in front of Nabi. I put on a brave face and answered Bora.
“Of course not! I’m not scared of the hospital like Nabi!”
“Really?”
We took Nabi out of the cage. Since we were in the car, there was no worry about her running away. Bora started the car, watching us.
“Nabi, ererel!”
I stuck out my tongue and made a funny face at Nabi. She responded with a playful paw swipe, though without her claws out.
I had to calm Nabi down on our way to the hospital.
I had it, so it was only natural that I was playing with Nabi like this now.
Vroom—
But the direction the car was heading seemed a bit off. I thought we took a left here last time…? But now we were turning right. Curious, I asked Bora.
“Bora, don’t we need to turn left to get to the animal hospital? Why are we turning right?”
Bora smiled at my question and said, “Last time, the vet at the animal hospital was a bit off, so we’re going to a different one.”
“Oh, really?”
Well, the vet who forgot Nabi’s vaccination last time didn’t give us a reason to go back. It’s not like that’s the only animal hospital in Seoul. I spent some time playing with Nabi.
When we arrived at the parking lot, we got out of the car. I put Nabi back in her carrier. Looking at the hospital, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
“Bora, is this really the animal hospital? Isn’t this a hospital for people?”
“There’s an animal hospital inside here too. Come on, Hana, let’s go in. We’ve got a lot to do today.”
“Really? I thought Nabi just needed a shot?”
Feeling uneasy, I walked into the hospital. Nabi seemed anxious too, meowing loudly in her carrier, as if looking for her mom.
“Nabi! The hospital isn’t a scary place! If I were you, I’d face the checkup confidently! Your fear is all in your head! Get a grip!”
I gave Nabi a pep talk as we walked into the hospital. Inside, instead of the usual waiting room, we were directed to a special VVIP area where you could get treatment without waiting. I guess Nabi really was a VVIP. I carried her carrier and followed Bora.
Sitting in a chair outside the examination room, I gave Nabi some Churu. Bora got up and started talking to a nurse. Soon after, a bell rang, and the nurse called out, “Hana, please come into the examination room~”
“Huh?”
Why were they calling my name? Wasn’t this Nabi’s vaccination? Bora, noticing my confused expression, said, “Come on, Hana, let’s take Nabi into the examination room.”
“Okay…”
I carried the carrier into the examination room, sweating nervously. Something felt off today.
—
Meanwhile, Kim Sehee, after hearing Hana’s request, looked into a factory that made cat food.
After some market research, she found that most cat food in the country was imported. Domestic cat food wasn’t very popular, and some brands were even blacklisted. Seeing this, Kim Sehee breathed a sigh of relief.
A market dominated by imports didn’t seem too intimidating. In fact, it was easier to enter than a market saturated with domestic products. The government also welcomed domestic products in a market flooded with imports, as relying too much on foreign goods could lead to vulnerabilities.
If imports were cut off or some natural disaster occurred, the supply could be disrupted. Of course, since it was just cat food, it wasn’t a top priority. Humans came first, after all.
So Kim Sehee smoothly entered the cat food market, unlike the rice and beef markets, which faced government and market interference.
After successfully acquiring the factory, Kim Sehee started making cat food using Starlight Beef. The process was already well-known, so there were no major issues.
