PUPPY 11

Cha Juwon

The caller was Cha Juwon. Seowoo answered in a puzzled voice at the sudden call.

“Hello?”

—Show me your face.

“Uh…?”

He was wondering what Juwon meant by show me your face when the screen switched to a video call, filling with Juwon’s face. On the screen, Juwon was wearing a neat white t-shirt with a small logo on it. You turn on your camera too. At Juwon’s urging, Seowoo dazedly turned on his camera and joined the video call.

—What were you doing?

“Showering…. Was about to study a bit and then go to bed. Didn’t you go to the PC bang with the guys?”

Seowoo, who had placed his phone on the bookstand, asked Juwon. The place where the comfortably dressed Juwon was located was brightly lit, so it didn’t look like he was out.

—PC bang? I just blew it off because I couldn’t be bothered. Are you going to study?

“Yeah, we have a mock exam next week. Did you prepare a lot?”

—Just so-so.

“Just so-so?”

—Since it’s the first mock exam, I’m just going to treat it as a check of my current skills without preparing too hard.

The screen shook as if Juwon was moving, and the sound of footsteps could be heard. Seowoo, who had been silent for a moment, spoke as he turned the page of a book.

“I’m a little weak in English, so I’m going to organize my wrong-answer notebook, for things like vocabulary and grammar.”

—Sorry, I just got into my room.

After saying that, Juwon must have lain down on his bed, as the angle of the screen changed, revealing his neat forehead.

—Ah, I’m hungry.

At Juwon’s unconscious whisper, Seowoo’s eyes widened as he asked.

“You didn’t eat? It’s late.”

—I ate, but it wasn’t good.

Juwon replied, looking at Seowoo’s face on the screen.

“What did you eat.”

—Cocoa Puffs.

He couldn’t very well say he’d shoveled down kibble, so Juwon made a suitable excuse. Kibble and Cocoa Puffs. The taste was completely different, but they looked more or less similar.

“That’s a meal?”

—Yeah, what did you eat?

“Me…. I had kimchi-jjim with pork, and my noona bought a sandwich, so I ate that as a snack. It had egg in it and it was soft and delicious.”

Seowoo explained in detail what he had eaten for dinner that evening. Juwon found it enjoyable to watch Seowoo on the screen, eagerly talking about food.

—I get why people watch live streams.

“What live streams?”

—My noona sometimes does live streams and walks around the house explaining all sorts of things.

“Is your noona a YouTuber?”

—Well, something like that.

Juwon’s older sister, Cha Hyewon, was an SNS star. In her dog form, she ran a channel called ‘Grace the Genius Dog,’ which received comments in languages from all over the world, including English, Spanish, and Arabic, calling her cute.

Building on the success of Grace the Genius Dog, she was gradually growing the account of ‘Human Cha Hyewon.’ Juwon would often witness his sister live streaming at home. At times like that, he would have to turn into a dog to avoid being on screen and crawl close to the floor.

“That’s cool. If she does live streams, doesn’t that mean she has a lot of fans?”

—I guess? I don’t really know.

Juwon replied as if it were no big deal. Judging by Juwon’s refreshing, handsome features, his sister was surely a beauty as well. Then she would probably be popular.

“What does she do when she live streams?”

—Sometimes she explains what she’s eating, and sometimes she shows things like shampoo. Honestly, I used to wonder why people watch that stuff.

Seowoo thought that if she streamed from home, it might be a little inconvenient for her family. He nodded his head quietly in response.

“I see….”

—But now I get why people watch.

“You do?”

—I guess it’s because they’re interested.

An uncharacteristically slow response came from Seowoo at the unexpected answer.

“Uh…?”

—I guess because they’re interested, they’re curious about all sorts of things. Like what someone is wearing, or what they’re eating.

He had just said he understood why people watch live streams while on the phone with him….

And what did he mean by being interested?

Juwon often threw out words like this that deviated from Seowoo’s expectations. It was a moment when the experiential data he had painstakingly built up in his narrow circle of friends became useless.

“……”

—Your face is red. Are you hot?

Seowoo shook his head at Juwon’s question. My skin must be going crazy.

“N-no. I think it’s just because it’s time for bed.”

—I was going to text you good night but just called instead. This is more comfortable.

“Are you going to sleep?”

—Not yet. I’m hungry, so I’m going to wait until Mom and Dad are asleep.

Juwon’s head turned on the screen, as if he were checking on his parents.

“What are you going to eat?”

—I don’t know yet. Hey, what’s that?

Juwon pointed to a corner of Seowoo’s screen. There was a bag of snacks that Seowoo had leftover from yesterday, sealed shut.

“Ah…. These are snacks.”

—Are you going to eat them?

Seowoo pondered for a moment at Juwon’s question. He had eaten a hearty dinner, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to have it as a snack. With the snacks in hand, Seowoo asked Juwon.

“Should I?”

—Yeah. Ah…, I want some too.

Juwon’s face was closer than before, as if he had adjusted his position. Gaining courage from Juwon’s focused expression on the screen, Seowoo boldly opened the snack bag.

The spicy and salty smell of the seasoning instantly spread through the air.

—Hurry up and eat.

Juwon urged him. Could he be thinking of me as some kind of eating show streamer? If so, Seowoo felt he should meet those expectations to some extent, and he began to lay out as much information about the snacks as he could.

“Then I’ll eat. I bought these snacks at the convenience store with my own money….”

🦴

Today, Seowoo made an effort to wake up early and finished getting ready for school. Just that alone made him feel diligent, but in the yard was an even more diligent grandfather.

“Seowoo, you’re leaving early. Aren’t you tired?”

The grandfather, who had just put a bag of cat food into a small storage shed, asked with a sympathetic expression.

“My friend might be waiting.”

“The youngest son from the tile-roofed house?”

“Yes. Juwon. Cha Juwon.”

Seowoo smiled shyly as he told his grandfather Juwon’s name.

“It’s still chilly in the evenings, so don’t take your jacket off just because you feel hot.”

“Okay. I’ll be going now.”

After saying his goodbyes, Seowoo went outside. One, two, three. He counted inwardly, but there was no sign of Juwon appearing. It was only then that he realized just how early he had woken up.

He felt good thinking that today it was his turn to wait for Juwon. Seowoo, who was about to take out his phone out of habit, stopped in his tracks. A flyer had caught his eye. The flyer, stuck to a lamppost, was about a missing dog.

“Reward 1 million won…. Blue eyes….”

The dog in the picture truly had clear, blue eyes like a lake. As Seowoo was reading the flyer closely, the main gate of the tile-roofed house across the street opened, and Juwon appeared.

“Why are you out so early.”

Juwon skipped the greeting and casually slung his arm over Seowoo’s shoulder.

“I just woke up early.”

Seowoo’s gaze was still on the flyer as he replied. Juwon’s gaze followed Seowoo’s.

“What were you looking at so intently?”

“Sometimes flyers for missing cats or dogs get posted here. I guess someone put up a new one yesterday. It even rained yesterday.”

At Seowoo’s words, Juwon looked around the alley. Laminated flyers were stuck on every utility pole to prevent the rain from smudging the contents.

“That’s not going to be easy.”

“Because it’s a purebred?”

Instead of answering the question, Juwon leaned his head on Seowoo and said.

“Let’s just go to school.”

“Your hair is still wet.”

“Is it cold?”

“A little.”

At Seowoo’s answer, Juwon grinned and shook his head, flicking water droplets all over Seowoo.

“Attack.”

“That’s cold!”

Seowoo squeezed his eyes shut and shouted at the surprise attack. Finding the sight amusing, Juwon said in a voice tinged with laughter.

“Alright. Alright, I’ll wipe it off for you.”

Juwon brushed his hand over Seowoo’s face. He had expected him to roughly wipe it with his sleeve, but Seowoo, flustered by the unexpectedly gentle touch, changed the subject.

“The guys asked us to wait just a little.”

Juwon pretended to think for a moment at Seowoo’s question, then said in a guilt-free tone. The three friends were good-natured and fun, but there was no reason to go so far as to wait to walk to school with them.

“Let’s ditch them and go.”

“…Okay.”

Juwon, who had been walking far ahead, stopped in his tracks to match Seowoo’s pace. Then, he looked at Seowoo, who was walking diligently toward him, and asked.

“Are you going to the study hall this weekend too?”

“Yeah. I’m planning to go to my academy on Saturday afternoon and then go straight to the study hall. What about you?”

Juwon had recently signed up for the study hall, following Seowoo. He didn’t like stuffy indoor spaces, but since his best friend Seowoo diligently attended the study hall, he wanted to do the same.

“I’m thinking of going for a walk this weekend. Want to come?”

“Where? Haetae Ecological Park?”

“No, Inwangsan Mountain.”

Seowoo’s steps halted at Juwon’s answer.

“Uh…?”

He had expected a neighborhood park at best, but Inwangsan Mountain? Just hearing the name sounded like too grueling of a course.

“It’s not that high, so I think it’d be good for a light trip. What do you think?”

“Inwangsan Mountain is?”

Seowoo felt a vast distance from Juwon, who regarded hiking Inwangsan Mountain as casually as climbing a neighborhood hill.

“Let’s go to Inwangsan early in the morning and then study together.”

“I can’t. It’s too tiring….”

If he were to go to Inwangsan Mountain on the weekend, he would surely have to spend the entire next week just sleeping to recover his stamina.

“I’d be bored going alone…. Then let’s go to the ecological park.”

Juwon replied as if making a great concession. Seowoo thought for a moment. It didn’t seem like a bad plan. Taking a walk with Juwon in the morning and eating something delicious might make the gloomy weekend of just studying a little better.

“Okay, then after the park, let’s have lunch….”

As Seowoo was nodding, Juwon suddenly turned around.

“Wait a second.”