PUPPY 36

Seowoo, who had turned around, came back to the woman and the grandfather’s side.

“Is it a puppy?”

He asked, looking at the puppy held in the woman’s arms. Startled by the sudden gaze, the puppy covered its face with its front paws and curled up.

“Oh, someone in that alley… It looks like they abandoned it on purpose.”

The woman said, lowering her voice to a whisper. She knew a small puppy couldn’t possibly understand human words, but it was a consideration born from the thought that it just might.

“I was on my way back from the market, and Coco started making a fuss, like she heard another dog somewhere. So I looked, and this little thing was trembling.”

At the woman’s vivid explanation of the situation, the grandfather let out a deep sigh. The other day, Seowoo had caught a nagging cough and had been sick in bed after taking his graduation photos, so a war on dust had been declared in the house. Because of that, the grandfather had been about to refuse, saying it would be difficult to look after the puppy.

But now that he had heard the story, the circumstances were utterly pitiful. Looking at the white puppy, it was clear from the grandfather’s expression that he was already halfway convinced. Without taking his eyes off the little puppy, the grandfather asked.

“Has it eaten anything?”

“I gave it some of our Coco’s food, but it wouldn’t eat, maybe because it felt self-conscious.”

Hearing that it hadn’t even eaten the scraps it was offered out of meekness, the grandfather sighed deeply again.

“We can’t bring it into the house. Seowoo was coughing just the other day, so….”

At the grandfather’s positive response, the woman let out a breath of relief. Seowoo also nodded quietly beside him. If there was one thing he had learned from playing with Jjokko every day, it was that there was no correlation between dog fur and coughing. But this was a secret he could never tell his grandmother and grandfather.

“Oh my, thank you, grandfather. I’ll tell them to call the city hall tomorrow. I heard that these days the city hall even posts them on an app.”

“Ah… I know that app, too.”

Seowoo took out his cell phone. He opened the “Please Be My Family” tab in the app he had downloaded to find the owner of the brown puppy last time and showed it to them. The grandfather’s and the woman’s eyes gathered on the cell phone.

“I should look it up, too. It looks like this one…. They both look like the puppy from Extreme Camping.”

Seowoo nodded. The puppy in the woman’s arms looked exactly like the puppy from the entertainment show that had been a huge hit last year.

“I think it’s a Pomeranian.”

“No wonder it didn’t look like a mutt. If I hadn’t known, I would have just thought it was a doll and moved on.”

At Seowoo’s answer, the grandfather brought his face close to the puppy. The puppy remained perfectly quiet the entire time the three of them were talking. It was completely different from the brown-furred puppy that had come into Seowoo’s house last time, which had whimpered and wriggled about constantly. Perhaps because it was young and had been abandoned on the street alone, it looked drained and exhausted.

“…I will.”

Seowoo, who had been quietly looking at the puppy, looked at the woman and spoke in a resolute voice.

“I’ll help you find the puppy’s owner.”

“No, no. It’s okay, I’ll look. Seowoo has to study.”

“Juwon, who lives in the house across the street, goes to an animal hospital, and they said they help find owners there, too.”

“Really? Then should I go?”

“…Next time Juwon goes to the animal hospital, I’ll take this one with him.”

Seowoo, who had been contemplating for a moment, said in a slightly smaller voice. Because of the jealousy he felt seeing Juwon and Lee Yerin standing together, he had acted strangely, and things had become awkward between them for a while. But just as they say time is the best medicine, their relationship soon returned to how it was before. At least, that was how it looked on the surface. For Seowoo, whose feelings had changed distinctly after his jealousy confirmed his one-sided love for Juwon, it was a different story.

Going to the animal hospital with Juwon was a way to find the puppy’s owner, but it was also a chance to get out of the school and the study room and go on a natural outing. When his thoughts reached this point, Seowoo was startled with himself.

‘Have I always been this opportunistic, this sly…?’

It wasn’t as if anyone could read his mind, but Seowoo felt a pang of guilt and lowered his head even further.

“No, Seowoo has to study. I’ll go.”

“No, it’s fine. I was feeling a bit cooped up just studying, so I was planning on going out with Juwon. And grab something tasty to eat with Juwon.”

As he hastily replied to the woman’s words, Juwon’s name popped out. Twice, at that. Feeling a needless pang of guilt, Seowoo looked back and forth between the grandfather and the woman. But neither of them seemed to have noticed at all.

“Oh dear, is that really okay?”

“Don’t get stressed out. That’s right, you have to go out once in a while.”

At their words, Seowoo nodded his head repeatedly and answered politely, “Yesss.”

“I should get going now.”

The woman’s cell phone rang, and the screen lit up. After thanking the grandfather once more, the woman left through the front gate. The grandfather, who was looking down at the puppy left all alone in front of the house made of a cardboard box, turned and headed for the shed.

A short while later, what was in the grandfather’s hands when he came out of the shed were the blanket and food bowl he had given to the brown puppy last time. He laid the soft blanket on the ground and placed the food bowl filled with kibble in front of the house.

Unlike Jjokko, who barked nonstop as if he had a lot to say, the white puppy had not made a single sound so far. Seowoo knelt in front of the puppy. Looking at the puppy, which passed the kibble and lay down on the blanket, Seowoo whispered softly.

“I’ll help you.”

“……”

Lately, Seowoo felt like his life was getting complicated. Starting with his mock exam scores, which were heavily influenced by his physical condition, to the frustration and helplessness of the one-sided love he felt after admitting he liked Juwon. Everything was a series of things that didn’t go his way.

Maybe that was why he felt a strong desire to find the puppy’s owner. It was because this felt like something he could accomplish entirely through effort. Of course, he couldn’t tell whether this feeling stemmed from petty sympathy or a selfish sense of charity.

“I can do it.”

Whispering as if making a promise to himself, Seowoo carefully extended a finger. Usually, when he extended a finger like this, Jjokko would wag his tail like a propeller and try to bite or lick it. But the puppy just turned its head away listlessly and closed its eyes as if exhausted.

🦴

[I’ll contact you when I get near the study room ^^ See you later.]

[Yes, I understand.]

Seowoo, who had sent a reply to Seo Jaeha, put down his cell phone. While replying to Seo Jaeha’s unexpected message, he had inadvertently ended up with dinner plans. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take up much time; they had decided to have a simple dinner near the study room.

The moment he was about to send a message to Juwon saying he probably couldn’t have dinner with him today, a call came in. The caller was Juwon.

‘Did we have a telepathic connection or something.’

Could this be fate….

Attaching immense meaning to the call from Juwon, Seowoo cleared his throat. He tried not to show how excited and happy he was and answered the phone in a calm voice.

“Yeah, Juwon.”

After hearing Seowoo’s voice, Juwon laughed in a low voice and then stated his business.

— Can you come out for a second? I’m in front of your house. There’s something I need to say.

“I’ll be right out.”

After saying that, Seowoo lifted the window blinds and looked outside. It was too far to see clearly, but he could make out Juwon’s figure. Before opening the door to leave, Seowoo checked his reflection in a small mirror and needlessly brushed his bangs. Trying not to seem too hasty, Seowoo walked across the yard at a moderately fast pace.

And as soon as he opened the gate and stepped out.

“You look amazing.”

An exclamation of admiration escaped him without him realizing.

“Ah, really?”

“Yeah….”

Seowoo nodded, unable to tear his eyes away. Juwon usually favored black t-shirts with a small logo on the chest.

‘Hey, Cha Juwon’s t-shirt was Vetem**** yesterday, but today it’s Balenci***.’

His friends had made such a fuss that he came to know those t-shirts were luxury brands. Unlike his usual simple attire, which was hard to recognize as a luxury brand if one wasn’t interested, Juwon was dressed in the kind of clothes many male celebrities wore. Perhaps because of that, Juwon had a mature vibe today and an aura like that of a movie star. There was no way to confirm whether it was the rose-colored glasses he’d put on since falling for Cha Juwon, or if he actually looked that way.

“The clothes really suit you.”

When Seowoo praised him honestly once again, Juwon swept his hair back, looking embarrassed. Although he wasn’t on the level of his older sister, who made a career out of fashion, Juwon was also quite interested in it.

As much as he preferred to be in his dog form, he collected dog clothes spanning all the luxury brands. He had a mountain of nice clothes, including capes and knits, as well as cardigans and suits, yet he had to show only a scruffy appearance with his face smeared with soot every day. The current situation, which he could do nothing about, was just unfortunate.

From Seowoo’s inability to hide his admiration, Juwon collected one important piece of information.

‘Seowoo likes luxury clothes.’

He fully intended to make use of this when he entered the stage of seriously seducing Seowoo.