01x01 - Episode 1

[bunniefuu]

PARK SOO-YEONG

CHOO YOUNG-WOO

BAEK SUNG-CHUL

JUNG SUK-YONG, BAEK JI-WON,

KIM YOUNG-SUN, PARK JI-AH, YOO YEON

NA CHUL, PARK YE-NI, ROH JAE-WON

ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN

Let's see.

How is Mr. Walnut?

It's a typical case

of Brachycephalic Syndrome.

Short-snouted dogs like him

tend to have upper respiratory conditions.

This isn't his first time

and he's an old dog.

So I think we need to have

a closer look at his throat.

Doctor, your phone.

It's okay. It's a spam call.

The exam is quite simple,

but it requires full anesthesia,

so it could be hard

on an old dog like him.

- I see.

- Good job. See you next week.

- Let's go.

- Thank you.

ASSISTANT LEE

Hi, Ms. Lee. What's up?

- Give me your car key.

- Why?

- I'm taking your car, okay?

- Why?

Hey, why?

GRANDPA

The person you're calling is unavailable.

Please leave a

GRANDPA

The phone is turned off

The person you're calling

The phone is turned off, and you

The person you're calling is unavailable.

Please leave a

HUIDONG

Grandpa!

Grandpa!

Grandpa!

Damn it. What do I do?

Hello?

Were there any accidents reported

in Huidong today?

Okay, thank you.

Damn it.

What do you think you're doing?

I'm just

It's not what you think.

I just need to check something in there.

I'll explain afterward, so please just—

Someone suspicious is trying to escape.

Requesting backup.

No!

I just want to check

if someone is in the house!

Some petty thief has been

roaming around these past few weeks,

stealing pocket money from the elderly.

No matter how much you deny it,

I need to check who you are.

- So show me your ID.

- All right!

Here.

So why were you trying to climb the wall

of an empty house on this rainy

DRIVER'S LICENSE

NAME: HAN JI-YUL

Empty house?

This house is empty?

What do you mean, this house is empty?

I'm their grandson,

so tell me what you know.

Come on, where did they go?

Well, they

- They

- Hey! Get your hands off her!

Are you okay?

What?

- What the heck?

- He's awake!

Are you all right?

Can you tell us your name?

Han Ji-yul.

This was the closest building,

so we brought you here

to treat you right away.

It's still a hospital.

Do you have any other symptoms

like nausea or dizziness?

No.

Grandpa.

What about my grandpa?

He and his wife went

on a cruise this morning.

They're both just fine.

I even called them a cab to the airport.

You can trust me.

What about that phone call?

I just did what I was told,

Little Doctor.

They forced me to do it, really.

Wait, so you mean

"Hurry," "You should come immediately,"

"There's not much time left."

All of that was about the flight?

I'm just a pawn.

A powerless pawn.

What is this?

The keys to the house and the hospital

that the director told me to give you.

But why?

Hey, what happened?

You knocked out a civilian?

Oh, my.

I am so sorry about this.

Are you hurt at all?

No.

I'm sorry. I thought he was

trying to harm Officer Ahn.

I'm sorry.

He's Director Han's grandson.

He came after he got a call,

- but I think there was a misunderstanding.

- Director Han's grandson?

Director Han of this place?

Here.

Grandpa.

Yeong-suk didn't use

the words "critical condition."

Were you startled?

What in the world is going on?

Yeong-suk didn't do anything wrong.

I left a letter for you at the house,

so read that.

And look after the hospital

until we return.

There's only one veterinary hospital

in the village.

There must be at least one vet.

That's why I had you come.

- Honey, where are the passports?

- What?

Passports?

Hang on a moment.

Anyway, I take it that you understand.

Bye now.

No! Wait, Grandpa.

I also work at a hospital, Grandpa.

Did you forget?

I just talked to Yun-hyeong.

He says the hospital will run

just fine without you.

That's not true.

Where are the passports?

Check the front pocket of the bag.

I really have to go now.

And Han Ji-yul,

don't try so hard to do a good job.

Just keep that in mind.

I'm really hanging up now.

Grandpa

Oh, my. The director is such a prankster.

I mean, isn't he too old

to pull such a prank?

He can really freak someone out.

Anyways, regarding

the excessive use of force earlier,

- as the chief of Sandeul Police Station

- Hey, guys.

You can save all that for later.

Take a look at

this one's right leg first.

I've been waiting for a while now.

What?

Here.

HAN DEOK-JIN VETERINARY HOSPITAL

Excuse me.

Mr. Han Ji-yul.

Go ahead.

What is it?

I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have done that

when we had just met.

Okay.

Wait.

Get in.

It's okay.

I have a lot to think about,

so I'll just walk back.

Please get in. It's an emergency.

I'm telling you.

Five minutes after you left,

he called and went,

"You're my grandson too, right?"

And he practically begged.

Hey, those two have worked so hard

all these years,

and they're finally going on one trip.

Can't you just do it for them?

I told him to not worry.

You agree with me, right?

But how will you manage?

I relied on you and goofed off a little.

But I can handle the workload

if I put my mind to it.

I already gave my fellow vets a heads-up.

So don't worry about a thing over here,

and think of it as repaying them

for what they did for you.

If you need clothes or anything,

I'll send them over.

Just text me the address.

All right.

Thanks. I'll call you again later.

This can't be your first time in Huidong.

When did you last come to visit?

I'm just asking out of curiosity.

Careful!

Hey, are you okay?

Why were you standing

in the middle of the road?

You were distracted!

I was not! You just popped

out of nowhere!

I

I'm sorry, okay?

Is this a new shirt? Oh, no.

Oh, my. Your butt.

I'm so sorry about this.

And your hair. This is bad.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Are you mad?

Anyone can make a mistake.

Hey, I'm sorry.

I'll wash it for you.

See you later, okay?

I have to go to Mr. Cho's place.

Okay? I'm sorry.

Bye!

Don't be distracted

while you're driving, idiot!

Wait, who was that guy?

Hey,

is it okay to just leave like this?

It's fine.

One way or another,

that boy will die at my hands.

I wasn't distracted.

Mr. Cho.

Hey there!

Turns out, I didn't have to call you.

- What?

- I mean,

don't even get me started.

I thought this one was a goner

and my heart sank.

But apparently,

it was just faking it to survive.

Look.

Look at her go!

- That's a relief.

- Right?

But as for that damn dog, I ought to

Oh, my

It's been caught.

As it should have.

This one's k*lled seven chickens

over the last month.

Get rid of this thing for me,

Officer Ahn.

You could toss him into one of those

facilities that take care of dogs.

It needs to be treated first.

If not, it may never walk again.

"Treated"?

Don't you watch the news?

You can't think of this as just a dog.

It's gone completely feral

and it raids chicken pens.

What do you mean, treat it?

Even criminals in prison

receive treatment if they're sick.

Also, you set this trap

to catch this dog, right?

Of course! It's been k*lling my chickens.

I couldn't just sit and watch.

Intentionally setting a rat trap

to catch a dog

is a violation of animal protection law.

It's ill*gal.

Do you know how many rats

there are in the countryside?

I set it up for rats

but this one went and got caught in it.

What do you mean, ill*gal?

You just said you set the trap

to catch the dog.

And we have a witness.

One who's very close to the law.

I'll go talk to him.

So

He didn't know it was ill*gal,

and it was his first time.

I'll give him a fair warning

and make sure he doesn't do it again.

And let's send the dog to a shelter

after the treatment.

They'll take care of it.

Dogs like this one get euthanized

at those facilities.

I'm sure you want to help the pitiful dog

since you're a vet,

but I'm a police officer here.

So I have to think of the resident

who's lost his property.

Whatever the case,

the dog destroyed his property.

So are you saying

that dog deserves to die?

What?

That's not what I said.

Do you think we should release that dog

after it's been treated then?

Pitiful or not, chicken or dog,

I'm saying it would be wrong

to just leave them to die.

It's not the dog's fault

that it got abandoned.

Officer Ahn!

I called him to take a look

at the chicken,

but he's talking about

treating the dog that hurt it

and he's telling me what's legal or not?

What the heck is this?

Well

And if you treat it and release it,

it will definitely come back.

You can't do that!

I'll take it to the hospital for now

and check if it has a microchip.

If not, I'll keep it there

for the time being.

I can go now, right?

You should do your job properly.

Don't go easy on him

just because he's your neighbor.

That little

Luckily, there's no fracture.

- Let's do a blood test first.

- Okay.

- Do you have something to say?

- Yes.

Go ahead then.

I'd rather not.

Hello?

Right now?

Okay. Yes, I'll be there soon.

Yes.

It's the goat guy.

Oh, no. He did say

he was going to house a buck.

I knew this was going to happen.

What did it ram into?

Not another buck, right?

A pipe. He's bleeding a lot.

I'll be checking

this one's an*s and ears,

so go with Officer Ahn.

It's within walking distance.

And take this.

Everything you need is in there.

Go where?

Didn't you hear?

All hell breaks loose

when goats are in heat.

But it's time to go home.

What's that?

I don't know what that means.

I'm sorry?

We're never off work here.

We're always on call.

You'll be here for a few months,

so keep that in mind.

Around here, you go wherever

and whenever they call you.

Day or night, weekends or holidays.

As long as you're alive.

All done.

What are you doing? Let's get going.

Go. Follow her.

I mean

This is a shortcut.

By the way,

when animals get sick,

why does everyone call you

and not the hospital?

It's the quickest solution.

- Oh, my gosh!

- Come on!

Are you okay? My goodness.

- For crying out loud.

- Oh, no.

Goodness.

No. Hey.

Why are you doing that? Hey, hold on!

Good boy. Wait, what's wrong with you?

- Come on. Just leave it by the door.

- It's fine.

- We'll leave soon.

- Oh, my goodness!

Who are you?

If you were home, why didn't

I mean, you were home.

Wait, what happened to your clothes?

Did you get hurt?

No?

If you're fine, wash up a little later.

Let us in.

- Gosh, it's so heavy.

- Goodness, so heavy.

Jeez.

Let's see what's in here.

My goodness.

There are a lot of things in there.

His grandma made him so much food

so he wouldn't starve.

- All right. Just open them up.

- Yes.

- We'll set them here.

- What is

- You organize them.

- No, this

Could you start by telling me

who you are first?

Oh, us? Sure.

Just a second.

All right. Let me show you. Here.

That's right.

And you have to replace that doorbell.

HUIDONG WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT JANG SE-RYEON

I pressed it countless times,

but no one answered.

So we thought no one was home

and let ourselves in,

and here you are, a pleasant surprise.

You let yourselves in

when you thought no one was home?

Yes!

Gosh, we knew Director Han was handsome,

but we didn't know his grandson was too.

How can he be so handsome

like a chiseled statue?

Look at that! Wow!

He's certainly not a block of tofu.

I was worried livestock would be

too tough for a city boy.

But he seems pretty strong.

Just a second.

You can't just barge in like this

without any prior explanation.

If this happened in Seoul,

the police would have charged you

with breaking and entering.

We've got the police right here.

"Police."

What?

Jeez.

Look here, Doctor Han.

Pink lid, perilla leaves.

Blue lid, lettuce kimchi.

Green lid, radish kimchi.

Okay? And the plastic lid is eggplant.

Breaking and entering,

calling the police

You can preach that crap in Seoul

I mean, you can talk about it.

Just remember the colors of the lids

and enjoy the dishes.

Our women's association

poured our hearts and souls into them.

And if you open the lids too often,

they'll go bad. Okay?

- But I still

- No

They heard Director Han's grandson

had come from Seoul,

so they came to give you

some side dishes they'd made.

But no one answered,

and the door was unlocked,

so we came inside.

We're sorry if we offended you.

Let's go now.

- Auntie, let's go. He needs to rest.

- Okay, let's.

Gosh, we came to share some food

only to get an earful.

Can't say it feels good.

Jeez.

Anyway

Come on.

We didn't mean to startle you like that.

We're sorry.

We all meant well,

so please understand and rest well.

After all,

it's your first day in Huidong.

I heard you'll be staying for a while,

so here's a tip.

If you say you don't need something,

we give it to you.

If you say you do,

we give you more than you need.

That's just how people are around here.

Your grandparents are like that too.

All right.

Put that down.

We don't have smart locks around here,

so if you don't want to get robbed,

make sure to lock up.

Don't worry. I will.

Their side dishes are really delicious.

So don't let them all spoil

and at least try them a little.

I can take care of myself.

I really doubt that.

Have a good night.

That was exhausting.

Animals, people, the whole lot.

I know this is quite sudden,

and you must be very shocked.

And I know you've worked hard for

the life you've established in Seoul.

So it makes me feel really bad

to jokingly burden you like this.

But Ji-yul

I looked back,

and it's been 50 years

since your grandma and I got married.

HAN DEOK-JIN VETERINARY HOSPITAL

It was your grandma's dream

to travel the world on a big ship,

and I had put her through

so much for so long.

I've put her through more hardship

than she deserves.

After seeing her son

and her daughter-in-law pass away,

she's been living like

she's already half-dead all this time.

I decided to take her on this trip

to make her wish

from her twenties come true

before it was too late.

But now I'm worried about you,

who's in the most critical moment in life.

Could you please forgive

your goofball of a grandfather

who jokes and laughs away his shame?

It's confusing, isn't it?

HAN DEOK-JIN VETERINARY HOSPITAL

You

Subtitle translation by: Daniel Shin

ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN

Do I need to get a bed?

Move it!

Some work environment.

Why are you taking it out on the rock?

Hey, are you okay?

How could I be okay?

There's really a thief in this town?

Who are you?

Did you get conned by someone

who looked like me?

I did get conned by someone

who looked like this.

But that person seems

to have forgotten about it.

ONCE UPON A SMALL TOWN