PUPPY 18

“Seowoo, let’s go to the hospital.”

At the gentle hand shaking his body, Seowoo slowly lifted his eyelids.

“…I’m fine.”

“What do you mean, fine? I called you to eat and you didn’t answer, so I checked and you’re running a fever like this.”

Contrary to his words that he was fine, the breath he exhaled was hot, and his voice was terribly cracked. It was because he had caught a cold and had a slight fever.

“The taxi will be here in 10 minutes, so just put something on… Oh my, are you dizzy?”

“No. I’m okay, I’ll get up.”

The moment he sat up, his head spun. Without showing he was dizzy, he went out into the yard and saw his grandmother waiting for the taxi to arrive with the gate open. Next to his grandmother was a not-so-small travel bag, placed there in case he needed to be hospitalized.

🦴

After arriving at the hospital, there was a continuous series of registrations and payments. It was almost an hour later before he could see the doctor.

“The last check-up was two months ago… It’s clean.”

The doctor with glasses muttered in a small voice as he looked at the monitor screen. At the doctor’s positive reaction, his grandmother let out a sigh of relief.

“Is there anywhere else you’re feeling sick besides the cold? What about coughing or your breathing?”

“I’m not coughing. I think I caught a cold because it was a bit chilly yesterday.”

He kept it a secret that he and Juwon had been playing around and walking down the rainy street yesterday. He had felt a little shivery, but he hadn’t known he would end up bedridden as soon as he got home.

“Are you stressed because of the college entrance exams?”

“Um… No, the exams are fine.”

A faint smile appeared on the doctor’s previously expressionless face. The doctor, who had been in charge of Seowoo since he was young, didn’t have an affectionate personality, but he had a kind side behind his cool demeanor.

The doctor repeatedly emphasized to Seowoo that he needed to maintain a regular lifestyle and avoid stress as much as possible.

“You’re managing it well. Let’s see each other again soon.”

“Thank you.”

Seowoo was prescribed a fever-reducing injection and an IV drip to prevent dehydration. Lying on the hospital bed, Seowoo was looked upon by his grandmother with pitiful eyes.

“I’m really not sick….”

“Grandma is going to go pay, so keep your eyes closed. Your eyes have gotten red, my baby.”

“Okay.”

Seowoo nodded and closed his eyes, then slowly opened them after his grandmother had gone farther away. His body felt a little heavy and his forehead and eyelids were hot, but he didn’t think it was bad enough to skip school….

But recalling his grandmother’s worried face, he stared blankly at the IV fluid dripping, drop by drop. Just then, Seowoo’s cell phone vibrated, showing a message from Juwon.

「Are you sick?」

「No it’s just a cold」

「Do you have a fever?」

「A littleㅠ」

「(Emoticon)」

The emoticon Juwon sent was of a white dog looking dejected and frustrated. Thinking that the emoticon on the screen looked like Juwon’s dog, Juju, Seowoo typed out a reply.

「(Photo)」

「I’ll go home after I finish this.」

「Are you hospitalized?」

「LOL no it’s not that serious」

「I have to go home ㅠㅠ I have to feed the cats too」

This week, his grandfather had gone down to his hometown for a bit, so Seowoo had promised to feed the cats. Of course, another family member could do it, but Seowoo had an unusual sense of responsibility. And he didn’t want to be hospitalized for a common cold.

「Should I feed the cats?」

As soon as he read the message from Juwon, his cell phone began to buzz.

“…Hey, Juwon.”

Seowoo cleared his cracking voice and answered the phone. Juwon skipped the greeting and immediately threw a question.

— How do I feed them?

“Feed them?”

— I’ll feed the cats, so don’t worry.

The sound of footsteps and the boisterous chatter of children could be heard in the background.

“You’re at school.”

— I’m going to ditch. How do I feed them?

Juwon said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Seowoo hesitated, wondering whether to stop Juwon, but then slowly began to explain how to feed the cats.

“You need the gate key, but the spare key is in my school locker….”

🦴

Juwon opened the gate with the key he had taken from Seowoo’s school locker. Jihye, who worked shifts, had gone to work, and Seowoo and his grandmother were still at the hospital, so the house was empty. Unlike the yard of Juwon’s house, which was as wide as a soccer field, the cozy yard had meticulous touches of care everywhere.

‘There’s a cat house under the tree in the yard, and the food is stored in the small shed behind it.’

As Seowoo had said, when he opened the shed door, he saw large-capacity food for cats and birds. Inside the neatly organized shed, there were also cleanly washed blankets and neatly stacked dishes.

‘I put it in a plastic container so the mice won’t steal it. You have to make sure to close it tightly later.’

Juwon scooped up a generous amount of cat food and put it in the bowl. The presence of an animal that had been observing Juwon from a distance had suddenly drawn much closer.

“Meow—.”

“Eat up.”

The gray cat, which seemed quite accustomed to human hands, showed no signs of wariness even upon seeing the stranger, Juwon.

“…You must have been hungry.”

Juwon watched the cat eat and carefully surveyed the yard. Looking at the faint paw prints in the dirt, it seemed there were at least four or more cats that came here. In the distance, there were two small cats hiding, warily watching the gray cat.

Seeing the gray cat almost finishing its food, Juwon filled another bowl with food. When he placed the food a little distance away, the two cats that had only been watching approached, and looking around cautiously, they began to slowly munch on the food.

Suddenly, the injured cat he had seen before came to Juwon’s mind.

Was it a beastman?

He could instinctively recognize a beastman of the same species right away, but it was a bit ambiguous for other species.

“You ate the food I gave you, so promise me.”

Juwon said to the gray cat, which was lingering by his side even after finishing its food.

“Number 1, don’t rub your scent on Ryu Seowoo.”

The scent that sometimes came from Seowoo’s hands belonged to this one.

Meow—.

It couldn’t even understand his words, but its reply was booming.

“Number 2, don’t be held by Ryu Seowoo.”

This time, he said it while looking at the small cat that was eating cautiously. There were no signs that it had been held in Seowoo’s arms yet, but there was no harm in giving a warning in advance.

“Number 3, don’t act cute toward Ryu Seowoo.”

Meow—. Meow—.

“Got it? Just eat and go.”

I’m telling you to act mature. Adding that, Juwon got up.

Juwon, who was looking around, sniffed the air with a slight frown. Then he concentrated and listened to the ambient noise.

Letting out a short sigh, Juwon opened the gate, went out, and headed for his own house. Juwon went straight to the kitchen, took dumplings out of the refrigerator, and heated them in the microwave. In Juwon’s house, which ran a dumpling factory, there were always dumplings piled up, whether for commercial sale or for samples.

Ding—

When he opened the microwave, hot steam was rising from the dumplings. Juwon took those dumplings and headed back to Seowoo’s house.

The curious gazes of the cats fell upon Juwon, who had returned with the dumplings.

“…I don’t know what your circumstances are.”

“……”

“But please eat this. Dumplings are a complete food.”

Juwon spoke as if he were having a conversation with someone, looking at an empty space. Juwon’s low voice echoed in the garden.

“……”

“And… please go back.”

Juwon said with difficulty after a pause. He couldn’t be entirely sure of the cat’s identity, but if it was a beastman. No matter what story led to it being injured and wandering, he couldn’t let it keep coming in and out of Seowoo’s house.

In the brightly sunlit yard, a bird that had come to drink water was chirping cheerfully. Below it, a few seeds dropped by the birds lay scattered.

The cats, which had shown interest in the dumplings Juwon had set down, started eating their cat food, perhaps having decided it wasn’t their food.

After Juwon left, the cats, having finished their food, also began to leave one by one for their own territories. The dumplings, which had been steaming, were already cold.

In the yard where even the birds had fallen silent, a skinny cat revealed itself. Limping, it hobbled over and approached the plate of dumplings with squinted eyes.

Chomp, chomp.

Only the small sound of chewing on dumplings echoed quietly in the silent yard.

🦴

“Don’t buy it.”

“I’m going to buy it.”

“Don’t buy it.”

After the mock exam ended, Juwon and Seowoo headed to the reading room. After taking the test with concentration as if it were the real thing, they were drained and wanted to rest, but with the midterm exams not far off, they decided to study for at least a few hours. Instead, they had a delicious meal, left the reading room earlier than usual, and headed to the convenience store. The reason Seowoo stopped by the convenience store was to buy snacks for the cats. It had been bothering him all this time that he couldn’t feed the cats when he had a cold two weeks ago. Juwon was standing next to Seowoo, enthusiastically interfering with his selection of cat treats.

“I have to buy it.”

“Then buy me something too.”

Seowoo let out a small laugh at the sight of Juwon acting childish—Juwon, who naturally took care of the bill when they ate together and habitually offered to buy him things.

“Then pick something. I’ll buy you anything.”

“I’m picking the most expensive thing.”

“Okay.”

At Seowoo’s answer, Juwon grinned and began to actively explore the inside of the convenience store. And he found the answer in the alcohol section.

“Ryu Seo… Seowoo.”

Juwon, who was about to call him ‘Ryu Seowoo’ by his full name as he did with everyone, corrected the name.

Seowoo.

It was just calling him without the last name, just like how Seowoo called him ‘Juwon,’ but for some reason, the back of his neck felt ticklish.