PUPPY 21

Juwon, who had gotten out of the taxi, was holding a large box. Opening the main gate and entering the house, Juwon set the box down on the wooden floor and called his maternal cousin, Junseok.

The probability that a child between a human and a therianthrope would inherit the therianthrope’s abilities was about fifty percent. However, Junseok, born to a therianthrope aunt and a human uncle, was a human without the ability to transform.

“Junseok hyung.”

— Yeah.

“The package Mom sent to Dowon hyung was returned. She said she can’t get in touch with him either. Where did hyung go?”

Juwon asked as he tore open the box. Before his parents left to inspect the dumpling factory they had built overseas, they had received a notice that the package they sent to their son, who had moved out, had been returned. It had been sent back to the family’s shop in the city, so Juwon had no choice but to pick it up. The box was filled with dog food, as well as homemade treats and nutritional supplements.

— He’s chasing someone around these days, so he’s not going home.

“Really?”

— Yeah. I’ll tell him when I see him at school. To stop by the house. Ah, cousin. Because of the package.

An unfamiliar woman’s voice came through the receiver. It seemed to be Junseok’s girlfriend.

“I’ll put it in the fridge for now. Tell Dowon hyung to either come and get it, or I’ll mail the package again, so he should receive it properly.”

— Okay, got it. Yes, I’ll pick you up later.

“Hyung, is that your girlfriend?”

Juwon asked, having heard Junseok’s affectionate voice directed toward his girlfriend.

— Yeah.

“…Hyung, how did you get a girlfriend?”

Juwon, after a moment’s pause, asked Junseok. He intended to naturally express his curiosity about his cousin’s life, whom he hadn’t contacted in a long time, without revealing his own worries.

— What, did you get a girlfriend?

But Junseok, as if he had been waiting for it, raised his voice and asked.

“It’s not that.”

— Then is there someone you like?

At Junseok’s question, which hit the nail on the head, Juwon raised a hand and frantically ruffled his hair as he answered.

“Ah, I don’t really know.”

— What do you mean, you don’t know.

“I don’t know if it’s just that I care about him because he’s a friend… or if I like him.”

Juwon let out a deep sigh and confessed his honest worries to Junseok.

‘…Then do it.’

When he closed his eyes, he remembered Seowoo’s long eyelashes, fluttering as they settled down, almost every moment of every day. Seowoo’s face would pop up over his textbooks and between the pages of his workbooks, and he felt like he was truly going crazy.

But when they were actually face to face, his eyes would be drawn to Seowoo’s nose, which his own lips had touched. And even within that, the mole that was so cutely placed there.

Juwon, a dog therianthrope, had a heart that naturally beat faster than a human’s, but lately, it felt like it had truly gone insane.

— Should I put it simply? If you’re texting all the time and you miss him, then you like him.

“How can I be sure with just that? If I’m going to do it, I need to court him properly.”

Juwon let out a long sigh. While on the phone, Juwon finished putting away all the food that had been in the box and flopped down onto the sofa with a thump, speaking.

At first, among the boys who were each created to their own liking, he had wanted to become close friends with him because he alone smelled so good.

The corners of his eyes turned up, giving him a coy impression, but he had thought it was surprising how gentle his personality was, always responding with ‘Uh…’ to this and ‘Okay…’ to that.

He couldn’t help but completely let his guard down when he saw him taking care to feed stray cats and carefully reading flyers, worrying about the owner who must have lost their precious dog.

But liking him…

Before he knew it, an image of tying the knot with Seowoo was unfolding in Juwon’s mind. Juwon was thinking about how busy they would be if they started preparing for the wedding as soon as they entered university, when Junseok’s voice broke through his thoughts.

— It’s just like a dog to try to make a courting gesture right away…

“How were you so sure, hyung? That you really liked your girlfriend.”

— Hmm, at first, I didn’t think much of it either. But you get insanely jealous? Then you have to see it as 100% liking her.

“Oh.”

— Seeing her with another guy, I thought I was really going to lose my mind.

At Junseok’s unexpected solution, Juwon let out a small sound of admiration. He thought that he had done well to ask an expert who was in a successful relationship.

His trust in Junseok skyrocketed, knowing no bounds. Juwon pushed himself up from where he was leaning against the sofa and asked in an urgent voice.

“Hyung, and a really important question.”

— What is it.

“How do you fix it when you can’t be with someone because your heart is pounding?”

For Juwon, it was a very desperate problem.

🦴

For the first time in a while, Seowoo walked home from school with the three Dong-dong-jus. It had been a really long time since the four of them had walked together like this. Usually, someone had to go to a PC bang or a cram school.

“Cha Juwon isn’t reading it at all. He must have really gone somewhere.”

Juwon’s name caught the ear of Seowoo, who had been only half-listening to his friends. Oh Dongjae, who had been waiting for Juwon’s reply, turned off his cell phone screen.

“I’m craving some basketball for the first time in ages. Let’s play just one game before heading to cram school. The midterms are over, anyway.”

“Get lost, I’m gonna take a nap and then go to cram school.”

“What do you mean, a nap. Ryu Seowoo, we’re going.”

“Oh… see you.”

Seowoo, who had been walking with his friends but not participating in the conversation, finally raised his head and said goodbye. He had been so deeply lost in other thoughts that they were already in front of the crosswalk that split off toward the Haetae Apartments and the residential area.

“Are you coming with Cha Juwon tomorrow? Or, should we meet in the morning?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask him.”

Seowoo answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Until now, they had walked to and from school together even in the awkward atmosphere, but not today. So, what would happen tomorrow was anyone’s guess. As Seowoo, who had been contemplating, raised his head, his eyes met with Yang Juhyeon’s.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing. See you.”

Yang Juhyeon gave a bland reply to Seowoo’s question, then turned around and started to cross the street with their friends. Watching his friends’ backs, Seowoo walked past the convenience store and along the alleyway leading to his house.

Since school had ended early due to the midterm exam period, the scenery of the alleyway leading home was different. The sunlight was shining down warmly, and the trees planted in the yards were greener than before. Because he had been staying late at the cram school or the study room every day, he had been missing out on scenery like this until now.

It was when Seowoo had almost arrived in front of his house.

“Ah—.”

Seowoo, who had been walking dazedly, bumped into someone and staggered greatly. The moment his balance wavered, a large hand steadied Seowoo.

“I’m sorry.”

The man standing in front of Seowoo apologized in a polite tone. Just then, the cell phone that had been precariously perched in Seowoo’s uniform pocket fell.

Thud—.

“Ah, my phone.”

Seowoo immediately bent down and picked up his cell phone.

Ah….

Seowoo’s brow furrowed on its own as he checked his cell phone. A corner must have been hit when it fell to the ground, because the frame was dented and the corner of the screen was cracked.

“I’m truly sorry. Are you okay?”

The man standing in front of Seowoo apologized once more in a polite voice and asked. Seowoo tore his gaze from his cell phone and looked at the man standing before him.

There weren’t many houses in the alley, so it was natural to become familiar not only with the neighbors but also with the faces of guests or relatives who frequently visited the neighbors’ houses. The man, dressed in a neat suit, was a stranger he had never seen in this alley.

“I took a wrong turn and was trying to turn my car around, but a flowerpot got in the way. I wasn’t looking ahead while trying to move it for a moment. I’m really sorry.”

“Ah…”

At the man’s words, he looked ahead and saw a car parked there that looked too large to have entered the alley.

“Your cell phone is cracked, right?”

At the man’s question, Seowoo turned on his cell phone screen. The screen turned on without a problem, but glass particles were crumbling from the edge of the corner.

“Yes. The screen turns on fine, but…”

“I’m sorry. This is my business card, please make sure to contact me. I’ll compensate you if it needs to be repaired or if you buy a new one.”

The man must have been able to guess that Seowoo, wearing a school uniform, was a minor, yet he continued to use polite, formal language. Seowoo looked back and forth between the business card in his hand and the man.

He’s really handsome.

That was his immediate impression. The man, who had a somewhat sensitive-looking air about him, looked neat and mature, perhaps because he was dressed in a suit. He could count on one hand the number of handsome men he had seen in his life, and he found it fascinating to be seeing celebrity-level handsome men one after another, starting with Cha Juwon.

“Okay. I’ll contact you.”

“See you later.”

Leaving the man who was getting back into his car behind, Seowoo opened the main gate with his key. The moment the metal gate opened with a creak, a thought occurred to him.

The thought that, in fact, it wasn’t that he hadn’t seen handsome men until now, but perhaps that he just hadn’t been interested.

One more problem had been added to his mind, which was already complicated enough with college entrance exam preparations. And it was a difficult problem with no known answer and no one to help.

Letting out a short sigh, Seowoo stepped into the yard. His grandfather was in the yard, which he had thought would be empty during the daytime.

“Oh, Grandpa, you’re out here.”

Seowoo said, looking at his grandfather in surprise. His grandfather brought a hand to his lips and made a “Shhh—.” sound effect at Seowoo. Then, he spoke to Seowoo in a small, whispering voice.

“You’re home early.”

“Today was the last day of exams.”

His grandfather was sitting in front of the cardboard box house he had made for the cats to take shelter in when it rained.

“Seowoo, come here quietly.”

At his grandfather’s words, Seowoo swallowed shallowly and walked slowly toward the cat house.

“Look inside. It came in a while ago and it’s still sleeping.”

His grandfather moved to the side, making room for Seowoo. Standing in front of the cat house, Seowoo tilted his head. And he looked inside.

“Wow…”

Inside the cat house, a small, brown baby puppy was sleeping, breathing with soft purring sounds.