PUPPY 35

Impulsively leaving his seat, Seowoo headed straight for home. The entire way home, he thought, ‘What am I doing right now.’

It wouldn’t be enough to try to look good by being kind and affectionate to the person he likes….

He came to dislike himself for seeming to have gotten annoyed for no reason at Cha Juwon, who likely knew nothing. Seowoo, who had no idea how to resolve his frustrating and regretful feelings, just walked aimlessly. Because he had walked briskly out of frustration, he arrived in front of his house faster than usual. An unexpected person was standing before his eyes.

“Huh?”

The person standing near Seowoo’s house was dressed in black sportswear with a cap pulled down low.

“Ah…. We meet again.”

Coming face to face with Seowoo, Seo Jaeha took off his cap and slightly ruffled his hair. Perhaps he had been exercising, as Seo Jaeha’s forehead had a light sheen of sweat, and his breathing was a little fast.

“Hello. What brings you here….”

“I was trying to go to the convenience store up ahead, but there was no place to park. This place was the most familiar, so I came in here.”

“Ah. I see….”

As if he had prepared the answer in advance, Seo Jaeha replied without hesitation. Seo Jaeha, who gave a bright smile despite the flat reaction, asked how Seowoo was doing.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes.”

“Your phone.”

Seo Jaeha said, pointing to Seowoo’s hand. The cell phone, with its cracked screen and dented frame fixed, looked as good as new.

“It’s fine.”

“Are you sure it’s really fine? I didn’t get any contact from you.”

“Ah….”

Seowoo reacted awkwardly to Seo Jaeha’s smiling words. Seowoo wasn’t the type to actively maintain his connections in the first place. Moreover, he was even less the type to be friendly to an older man who was not his peer and was quite a bit older.

To be honest, he thought that after he had fixed his cell phone and received the money, they would become strangers who wouldn’t contact each other again.

He had thought that his saying he would ask about various things in the neighborhood was just a courtesy….

Seo Jaeha took another step closer to Seowoo, who was hesitating to answer. He looked at Seowoo once, as if observing him, and then placed a hand on his shoulder.

Seowoo flinched at the sudden hand, but Seo Jaeha nonchalantly brushed off Seowoo’s shoulder. Then he looked at his own fingertips. After confirming that there was nothing on them, he asked Seowoo.

“Is the dog doing well?”

“I found the owner for the dog I had back then.”

“It had an owner?”

Seo Jaeha showed a slightly surprised expression at Seowoo’s answer. Seowoo added a little more detailed explanation.

“Yes. It had a microchip, so I found them with that. It was a little difficult because the person who had been fostering it right before me showed up.”

He recalled Haeun, who had grown so attached to the dog during the short foster period that she had wailed, saying she couldn’t return the dog to its original owner. She was a really good kid, and her voice was so loud it made him wonder if she had mastered singing at a young age.

“I see. Did you go to the vet to check the microchip?”

“Yes.”

Seo Jaeha, who slowly nodded at Seowoo’s answer, pulled his cap back down low. Then, he stood by the driver’s side with an amiable smile.

“I’d like to hear more, but I have to go today, so I’ll contact you again later. Are you busy studying?”

“Ah, I don’t really look at my phone when I’m studying…. I’ll probably be able to reply in the evening.”

“I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“Ah…. I’m fine.”

“It’s because I have a favor to ask. Well then, see you later.”

After saying that, Seo Jaeha got into his car. Before going into his house, Seowoo watched Seo Jaeha’s car as it leisurely exited the alley.

The watch on his wrist was the same one from his SNS profile picture, but the car he saw last time and today was a multi-passenger van of a domestic brand, not the supercar shown in his profile picture.

A quick glance into Seo Jaeha’s car revealed that the back seats had been completely removed, and it was filled with various items. What kind of personal business did Seo Jaeha run? He suddenly became curious.

🦴

‘If he wasn’t sick, then why did he look so down?’

Juwon thought, recalling Seowoo who had disappeared as if running away. There was no reason to stay longer in the study room without Seowoo, so Juwon also packed his things and left.

It was all the more shocking because he had never been rejected when he had asked Seowoo to go for a walk with him until now. He had thought that Seowoo also quite enjoyed walks, getting fresh air and smelling the surrounding scents….

Perhaps it was because his body hadn’t fully recovered yet. Whatever it was, the conclusion was that he was worried about Seowoo.

As soon as he got home, Juwon threw off his bag and school uniform and turned into a dog.

A few days ago, his parents, who had gone on an overseas business trip, had called and warned him, ‘Absolutely do not go around showing that you’re a beastman.’ He suddenly recalled that. The kidnapping incidents, which had only been rampant rumors in the beastman society until now, were gradually becoming more concrete. As the years of persecution had not been short, it was only natural that the beastman society had become cautious. Because of that, Juwon’s conscience pricked him as he left the house transformed into a dog.

Juwon looked around as carefully as he could and ran quickly to Seowoo’s house. He passed through the doggy door in the wall and entered the yard. Juwon shook his head from side to side and stretched his front and hind legs out straight.

Sniff sniff—.

Juwon, who was habitually checking Seowoo’s yard and sniffing around, suddenly felt a sense of unease and jerked his head up.

“Woof!”

The cat that hadn’t been seen for a while was in front of Juwon’s eyes. Perhaps to avoid leaving a scent on purpose, there was no smell left in the yard.

‘And…. please go back.’

As if it had understood the words Juwon had left, the cat had disappeared for a while.

“Meow—.”

The cat, making a very small cry, hastily swallowed the food in its bowl and quickly turned and ran away. Juwon chased after it, but it leaped to a high place using the trees and the wall as stepping stones.

“……”

“……”

For a moment, their eyes met in mid-air. When Juwon carefully took a step, the yellow-furred cat turned without any lingering attachment and leaped over the wall.

On one of the cat’s legs, there was a noticeably large wound.

The sight of the cat disappearing with a limp felt like a warning to Juwon. Instead of heading straight to Seowoo, Juwon began to search the yard. He sniffed every nook and cranny to see if there were any traces of suspicious people, but there was nothing special. Juwon, letting out a whining sound, headed to Seowoo’s room.

While resolving to watch over Seowoo’s surroundings a little more diligently starting tomorrow.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Juwon scratched Seowoo’s door with his front paws. Seowoo, who had been forcibly stuffing math problems into his head, heard the sound and greeted Juwon.

“Jjokko, you’re here.”

At the feel of Seowoo’s moist lips on his forehead, Juwon felt like he just wanted to be a dog.

🦴

Although he had retired long ago, Seowoo’s naturally diligent grandfather’s day was packed. Waking up early in the morning, his job was to feed the cats and birds. Sometimes, he would check Jihye’s shift schedule and go out to meet her at the bus stop early in the morning. After that, he would go to the saxophone academy he attended as a hobby or meet his friends. In the afternoon, he would prepare juice for Seowoo, who would briefly stop by home after returning from school before going to the study room.

Previously, meeting Seowoo was also part of his routine, but he stopped after seeing him walking with Juwon, the youngest son of the tile-roofed house, with a bright smile.

“I heard you found the owner of the dog that came by last time.”

“Did I find it? The youngest son of that tile-roofed house over there found it.”

Seowoo’s grandfather, holding the broom he was sweeping the yard with like a cane, pointed outside the main gate and said. The person standing next to his grandfather was the woman who lived in the house at the end of the alley.

“I heard Seowoo helped find it too. You must have kept it until you found a home, didn’t you.”

“No, no, still. No.”

The grandfather, who had been listening to the woman’s words with a pitiful expression, shook his head as if he had made up his mind. At that, a torrent of complaints flowed from the woman.

“We would have kept it if we could, but no, you wouldn’t believe how much our Coco hates it, he was having a fit.”

Coco was the woman’s Chihuahua, and in terms of size, he was the smallest among the dogs in this alley, but in terms of bravery and belligerence, no one could beat him.

“……”

“It looks like he just got weaned and is just starting to walk, and I’m afraid he’ll die if he’s just left on the street.”

In the arms of the woman who said that, was a small, white Pomeranian. The little dog was blinking its eyes slowly, as if sleepy.

“It sounds pitiful, but you know. Because of our Seowoo’s cough, we absolutely can’t let anything that sheds fur or dust into the house.”

“Then, can’t we just let it sleep outside? It’s so pitiful because it’s so young…. We tried to have it sleep in our yard, but that Coco, he just, oh my goodness.”

The woman said, shuddering as she recalled the atrocious behavior Coco had displayed when the new dog appeared.

“I’m home.”

Just then, the main gate opened and Seowoo, who had finished school, came in.

“Seowoo, you’re here.”

“It’s been a while, Seowoo. Are you studying well?”

“Oh, hello.”

“You must have lost weight from studying hard.”

“Ah…. It’s not from being tired, I lost a little because of the heat.”

“We should have made Seowoo an actor.”

An idol would be good too…. At the woman’s compliment, Seowoo smiled, his eyes crinkling. Seowoo, who had said goodbye to his grandfather and the woman who were talking, saying he would go inside first, stepped onto the stairs leading to his room on the second floor.

“Grandfather, then please let him sleep here for just one day. Tomorrow, I’ll tell Juyeon’s dad and have him take him to the city hall. If I take him back, our Coco will have another fit.”

Seowoo’s footsteps stopped at the woman’s words. When he turned his head, he finally noticed the white dog nestled in the woman’s arms like a doll.