PUPPY 3

Even though there was still a lot of time before his alarm was set to go off, Juwon, who had been lying down, suddenly opened his eyes. There was only one thought in his head.

‘I have to go to school with Ryu Seowoo.’

Juwon, with his eyes open, looked completely different from yesterday. Instead of a tall man over 190 cm, there was a white, fluffy puppy.

And a small one at that, only about the size of two palms put together…

Juwon, who was living among ordinary humans, had a secret. He was a descendant of a prestigious family of dog shifters.

Juwon, in his white puppy form, shot up from the cushion. Then he pressed his small front paws firmly onto the cushion he had just been lying on.

This invention, called the ‘drug cushion,’ was quite useful for something invented by a non-shifter human. It was so fluffy that just lying on it would relax his muscles until they were loose and limp, and he would fall asleep right away.

After finishing his stretches by extending his short limbs in his puppy state, he shook his head vigorously. The volume of his white fur, which had been flattened while he slept, fluffed up nicely.

“…Yaaawn.”

He moved his short legs diligently and walked to the bathroom inside the room. Juwon, in his small puppy body, slipped through the gap in the door and headed for the shower booth.

As if by magic, Juwon’s body transformed into that of a naked human as he stepped into the shower booth. The white fur vanished with a soft rustle, and his short legs stretched out long.

Juwon tilted his head back, letting the water pouring from the showerhead drench him. He satisfyingly stroked his distinctly chiseled abs. His body ached here and there, probably from curling up too much while sleeping yesterday.

After relaxing his muscles with hot water, he washed his hair with organic dog shampoo. He lathered it up with one hand and then rinsed it off cleanly. This shampoo was a product his older sister was currently selling through a group order on social media, and the scent was amazing.

Was the last group order the 23rd or the 24th…

As the group order became a huge success, Juwon and his older brother, Dowon, spent the entire winter break packing shampoo. Since their family business was dumplings, they had always grown up packing boxes during the holidays when orders flooded in. He had reached a level where he could pack with his eyes closed, but last winter was a nightmare. He had spent the entire day packing shampoo, surviving on only dumplings and kibble.

Just when he thought it was over, another group order would open. Thanks to the endless encore group orders, his sister was raking in cash.

After finishing his shower, Juwon shook his head from side to side to get the water out of his hair, just as he would as a puppy. Even when he was in human form, it was hard to break the habit of shaking his wet head like a dog. Juwon, dressed in his school uniform, picked up his tie.

“Grrr…”

He had intended to dress neatly since it was the first day of school, but he didn’t like the feeling of the tie tightening around his neck. A small growl rumbled in Juwon’s throat.

When he was younger and more active, his mother would transform Juwon and his two siblings into puppies and put them on leashes before going out. It was because she couldn’t manage the children who would otherwise run off in different directions.

“Ah, I’ll just get yelled at and be done with it.”

Juwon shoved the tie into the inner part of his bag. Juwon, who had crossed the yard and headed for the main gate, stopped in place instead of opening the door and going out, and pricked up his ears.

Not in a figurative sense, but he raised his ‘actual puppy ears.’

Puppy ears popped out from between Juwon’s hair, as if he were wearing a headband sold at an amusement park. Juwon, whose mother and father were both dog shifters, had a sense of smell and hearing that was incomparable to that of humans.

Detecting the sound of Ryu Seowoo, who lived across the street, opening his door and coming out was possible even with his human ears. But he could hear much better if he brought out his puppy ears.

“Ah, when is he coming out.”

He said, letting out an ‘Arrrr’ sound. When he was in human form, probably because he was tall and had a broad chest, the growling sound was quite intimidating. When he turned into a puppy, Juwon was a small dog weighing less than 3kg, but Juwon himself believed he had a rather dignified appearance.

The sounds that filled the morning continued: the dragging patter of footsteps, the sound of a car starting. Juwon, still with his ears up, stood crookedly and waited for Seowoo.

‘Don’t tell me he went to school by himself, right?’

Just as that suspicion was about to arise, he heard Seowoo’s voice from beyond the gate, saying goodbye.

“I’m off to school.”

Juwon shook his head to retract the perked-up puppy ears and hurriedly opened the gate and went out.

“Gasp.”

Seowoo, who came face to face with Juwon as he opened the door, inhaled sharply. His already large eyes grew even wider, as if in surprise.

“School?”

“Uh. You came out right on time…”

“Let’s go.”

“Um, just for today… you’re coming with me because you don’t know the way to school, right?”

To Seowoo, who asked cautiously, Juwon replied as if it were no big deal.

“We’ll see.”

In truth, he roughly knew the way to school from his new house. He wanted to get closer to Ryu Seowoo, but he couldn’t just say, ‘Be my friend,’ like a little kid, so he made a suitable excuse. Because walking alone is boring and dull.

The two of them walked through the alley without saying much. Juwon unconsciously almost headed toward the corners of the alley or near the trees and streetlights, but he got a hold of himself and stood next to Seowoo.

“……”

“Um… Cha, no. Ju…”

Seowoo, walking alongside him, mumbled, not knowing what to call Juwon. As if he had understood the incomplete sentence, Juwon asked Seowoo.

“You have something to say?”

“Cha Ju…”

“Yeah, I’m Juwon.”

“Juwon, I have friends I go to school with in the morning… They live in Haetae Apartments, so we meet in front of that big crosswalk over there.”

“Who?”

“Just Dongjae today.”

“Is he in our class too?”

“Oh Dongjae? No, he’s probably in Class 4.”

“……”

At Seowoo’s explanation, Juwon just looked down at Seowoo without a word. To Seowoo, Juwon’s gaze felt as if it were saying, ‘Why are you going to school with a kid from another class?’ Of course, it was possible he was just feeling that way because he was scared.

“I’ve been friends with Dongjae since middle school, and sometimes his dad gives us a ride, so I wait and we go together. He’s nice, for the most part.”

“You take a car when the school is right here?”

“It takes over 20 minutes to walk to our school…”

Seowoo made a puzzled face at the phrase ‘right here.’ It takes a whole 20 minutes to walk, how is that right here?

“Exactly.”

On the other hand, Juwon thought that since it only took 20 minutes to walk, it was indeed right here. After all, if he ran, he could get to school in a flash. Besides, the path to school was a well-paved flat road, not an uphill climb or a gravel path.

With different thoughts in mind, the two walked the road together. The morning breeze carried Seowoo’s scent.

“You smell good.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“Ah, thanks.”

It was strange, since he didn’t use any particular perfume or any products like diffusers that would leave a scent. It was the first time he had received this kind of compliment, so it felt unfamiliar and a bit ticklish. But it was definitely a pleasant compliment.

Just then, a short vibration came from Seowoo’s cell phone. The sender was Oh Dongjae, his school-commute mate for the day.

「whr r u?」

「onmywaydntb surprised」

「wut?」

As he walked nervously, matching Juwon’s steps, the not-so-short alley quickly came to an end. The convenience store was already visible up ahead. If they turned at the convenience store and went out to the main road, the crosswalk connected to Haetae Apartments would appear.

“I always meet Dongjae there. My other friends all live in Haetae Apartments.”

“…Got it.”

Seowoo said to Juwon, standing in front of the crosswalk. At the mention of having to wait for Oh Dongjae, Juwon stood beside Seowoo without a word. Even though it was winter, he was only wearing his uniform shirt and jacket without a coat. On top of that, he wasn’t wearing a tie and had several buttons undone, leaving his long, white neck exposed to the cold air.

Before long, the traffic light turned green. Many students in the same uniform began to cross the crosswalk.

“Ryu Seo…”

Oh Dongjae, who had crossed the street, approached Seowoo. No, he tried to approach. The reason his morning greeting failed was that Juwon naturally stepped in and blocked the space between Seowoo and Oh Dongjae.

“Oh Dongjae?”

“Uh…?”

“I said, are you Oh Dongjae.”

“Uh…”

Dongjae’s face darkened as if covered by a storm cloud. No matter how hard he tried to spin a hopeful narrative, Cha Juwon’s low voice sounded like a threat, an intimidation.

“Cha Juwon.”

“Uh…”

“My name.”

Juwon introduced himself, slightly lifting and then lowering his chin. At Juwon’s words, Oh Dongjae’s face showed confusion.

Do I have to introduce myself too? No, he already knew my name, didn’t he? Am I on his bad side now? All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind, but only a short, slow reply came out of Oh Dongjae’s mouth.

“Uh…”

“You know the way to school, right?”

“Uh, of course I do.”

“I don’t really know the way, so Seowoo said he’d show me.”

As Juwon finished speaking, Oh Dongjae swallowed hard. Now he understood Seowoo’s message telling him not to be surprised.

“Want to go by yourself today?”

“Ah, well.”

“Then get going.”