PUPPY 23

“Instead of cats at your house…”

“……”

“Did a dog really come over?”

Juwon asked Seowoo with a look of disbelief.

“It came over last night. It must have been cold outside.”

Seowoo’s answer put the final nail in the coffin of Juwon’s question. Upon hearing the answer, the first emotion that washed over him was regret.

I should have marked my territory properly when I went into Seowoo’s yard last time….

No.

He didn’t know how their relationship would develop, and he couldn’t just go and piss all over Seowoo’s house.

Juwon shook his head, trying desperately to regain his senses. Now that he had heard that a puppy had come to Seowoo’s house last night, the current situation became even clearer.

He didn’t want to believe it, but what had been stuck to Seowoo was indeed dog fur. What’s more, a faint dog smell had permeated his clothes, as if it had been held in Seowoo’s arms. What dog had dared to approach Seowoo so fearlessly?

He couldn’t regret more having distanced himself from Seowoo these past few days due to his complicated feelings and his uncontrollably pounding heart.

As he had thought, Ryu Seowoo wasn’t kind and pretty only in his eyes.

He should have kept his guard up so that strange things wouldn’t approach… Juwon let out a deep sigh and clenched and unclenched his fists for no reason. Then he slowly raised his head and looked at Seowoo.

At the look in his eyes, like one interrogating an adulterous spouse, Seowoo flinched and asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Show me the puppy.”

Juwon, who remained silent for a moment at Seowoo’s question, reached out, grabbed Seowoo’s wrist, and spoke. Juwon hadn’t used any force at all, but perhaps because of his warm body temperature, Seowoo felt as if he were being held tightly by Juwon’s hand.

What was the reason for him to suddenly talk to me now, after consciously avoiding me all this time? He couldn’t figure out the reason, and at the same time, he felt hurt by Juwon’s attitude of approaching and speaking to him so abruptly.

“I have to go now. You heard. My phone call.”

Slither.

Feeling Seowoo’s wrist slip away, Juwon dropped his head with a thud.

🦴

After stopping by the service center and dropping off his cell phone, Seowoo headed to the cafe where he had arranged to meet the man. His worry that they might miss each other or that he might not be able to find him was for naught. Despite it being the weekend, the man was dressed in a neat suit and stood out from the crowd.

“Here.”

“Hello.”

“I felt bad, so I wanted to at least treat you to a meal.”

“Ah… I just ate before I came, so I’m full.”

At the man’s words, Seowoo waved his hands and declined.

“One Americano. Mr. Seowoo, what would you like to drink?”

“I’ll have a strawberry smoothie.”

“And one cake, please. Yes, to go.”

The man, who gave the part-timer a gentle smile, held out his card.

“It’s okay if you speak comfortably.”

Seowoo said to the man as soon as he sat down. It was the first time he had been called Mr. Seowoo, and it sounded unfamiliar and awkward.

“Right? I was waiting for you to say that, Seowoo. If I did it first, it would seem like I was being a condescending old man, wouldn’t it?”

The man said with a laugh and took a sip of his coffee. He had felt it last time too, but the man was handsome.

He could feel the gazes of the customers in the cafe subtly turning toward him. It was the same flow of gazes he had felt when walking with Cha Juwon.

“Thank you for the drink.”

The man’s name was Seo Jaeha. He said he had been living abroad and had settled in Korea a year ago to expand his business. He explained in detail what kind of work he did, but there was a limit to how much Seowoo could understand.

“Mister… no, hyung, did you originally live somewhere else?”

“To be called hyung by a high schooler. I’m honored.”

“You look young.”

“I lived abroad, so I don’t have any connections here. I was trying to find a house as quickly as possible, and this is what I found.”

“Ah… I see.”

“You must have lived in this neighborhood for a long time. I just moved in, so I was completely lost.”

“Ah, so that’s why last time…”

“I was a complete idiot, wasn’t I?”

Seo Jaeha said with a laugh and took another sip of his coffee. He lowered his gaze slightly, thinking that he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction was appropriate for such a joke. He saw the strawberry smoothie, still half-full.

“Seowoo, do you have any pets?”

Just then, Seo Jaeha reached out his hand and asked.

“Pardon?”

“Here, you have some fur on you.”

Seo Jaeha took the brown fur that was on Seowoo’s shoulder. And he looked at that fur with a sharp gaze.

“Ah… No, I’m not raising it, but it must have gotten on me when I petted it.”

Seowoo replied, looking at Seo Jaeha. It was strange how he was staring intently at the animal fur, which one would normally just brush off thinking it had simply gotten on them, as if it held some important clue.

And yet, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. It was because it closely resembled the look in Juwon’s eyes that he had encountered right before coming here.

“From what I saw then, it seems like there are a lot of cats in the neighborhood.”

“You saw cats?”

“Yeah. There were a few passing by.”

At Seo Jaeha’s words, Seowoo’s brow narrowed slightly. An immediate question popped into his mind.

The cats are usually hiding, so they’re not easy to see….

Seowoo thought as he sucked up the now lukewarm strawberry smoothie. He could see the cats that came and went in the yard inside his house, but from outside the wall, it wasn’t easy to spot the hiding cats.

The cats living on the streets were very cautious and didn’t reveal themselves right away just because you gave them food. Even the gray cat, which had now taken over the yard as its own territory, had been very wary at first and would just eat the kibble in the dark of evening and quickly run away.

The reason that cat had opened its heart was because of the efforts of his grandmother and grandfather, who had diligently treated its wounds.

But it sounded strange that Seo Jaeha, who was visiting the alley for the first time, had seen cats, and in broad daylight at that.

“I raise both a dog and a cat.”

“Ah… both?”

“Should I show you a picture?”

When Seowoo nodded, Seo Jaeha took out his cell phone. The photo on the screen showed a dog and a cat lying in the living room.

When Seowoo gave a short compliment, saying, ‘They’re cute,’ Seo Jaeha smiled and put his cell phone away.

“Shall we get going now? You have to study, and I’ve kept you for too long.”

“Ah, no.”

“This is a bribe.”

Seowoo waved his hands at Seo Jaeha, who was handing him the whole cake he had packaged earlier.

“Ah, it’s okay.”

But Seo Jaeha, with his usual good-natured smile, said that he would ask if he had any questions about the neighborhood from time to time. It was a bit of a burden, but he felt that refusing further would be impolite, so Seowoo nodded his head and bowed.

“Okay, thank you.”

“Seowoo, let’s talk again.”

The man, leaving behind that friendly greeting, answered a call and left the cafe first. Seowoo looked at the cake in his hands and the spot where Seo Jaeha had left.

Seo Jaeha was handsome, like the representative image that immediately comes to mind when you think of a ‘successful adult man.’ His conversational skills that prevented the atmosphere from becoming awkward and his relaxed demeanor that showed from time to time made Seowoo think that he wanted to be just like him.

But that was all.

He felt envious and a little bit of admiration, but his heart didn’t pound, nor did he feel a desperate urge to spend more time with him.

The cell phone he picked up from the service center had both its screen and frame replaced, making it look like a brand new phone. As soon as he turned on the phone that had been off, messages poured in as if they had been waiting.

Seowoo, ignoring the messages in the group chat, opened the message sent by Juwon.

「I’ll be waiting, so contact me when you’re done.」

「Should I come pick you up?」

「(Emoticon)」

It was a neat message without a single typo, unlike the usual Juwon. At the end was a dog emoticon that Juwon often used. The white puppy was wailing with a dejected expression. It was funny and cute how he sent such a cute image that didn’t match his large build.

Seowoo sent a message saying he was heading home and put his cell phone in his pocket. He felt at ease, as if Juwon, who had been noticeably avoiding him, had returned to his old self.

🦴

When Seowoo arrived in the alley, Juwon was already out waiting for him. Juwon looked at Seowoo as if he had something to say, but then closed his mouth.

“Come in.”

Seowoo said to Juwon as he opened the main gate. Juwon, who entered the yard, stood in place and looked around. Then, he strode over to the cat house where Seowoo was sitting.

“Come here.”

At Seowoo’s words, the puppy, which had its eyes closed, buried deep inside the padded jacket, opened its eyes and stood up. ‘Come here.’ As Seowoo said it again in a gentle voice, the puppy struggled to pull itself out of the jacket and approached Seowoo.

Juwon, standing behind Seowoo, watched the scene with fire in his eyes. He was determined to at least see the face of whatever creature it was.

“It’s this one. Isn’t he cute?”

Seowoo asked Juwon while holding the puppy in his arms, and Juwon answered without even properly looking at the puppy.

“It’s ugly.”

“I don’t know how he got here when he’s still so young. Look.”

Seowoo readjusted the whimpering puppy in his arms and held it out to Juwon. Only then did Juwon give his attention to the puppy that had come closer.

“Ah…”

One of Juwon’s eyebrows rose slantedly as he looked at the puppy. Then, he let out a short, breathy sound and laughed. Ha—. It was clearly a sneer.