PUPPY 38

The closer he got to home, the more the ability to filter his instincts from his thoughts faded. It was later than usual, but it still wasn’t time for Seowoo to be asleep. It seemed like if he threw off his clothes and ran over as soon as he got home, he could play for at least a little while.

‘Seowoo will probably be disappointed too if he can’t see me for a day after seeing me every day.’

He might even worry. Juwon thought, rubbing his thigh with his palm.

“Please let me out here.”

Juwon said, pointing to the convenience store building registered under his name. And as soon as he got out of the taxi, he started running home. When he ran in his human form, his long legs certainly gave him speed. Juwon smiled as he dashed through the alleyway. Running always made him feel refreshed, so he would always smile automatically.

It was a short distance, so he wasn’t out of breath at all even after running at full speed. Juwon, who had arrived home, quickly threw off his clothes and transformed into a dog. It was a shame he had to take off the clothes Seowoo had liked.

‘Well, this form is kind of cute in its own way….’

Juwon thought, looking at his own shortened limbs. His opinion had changed recently because of Seowoo, who would say, “Jjokko is cute,” and kiss him on the head, but in truth, Juwon wasn’t very fond of being called cute.

As someone born the youngest son, it was his destiny to hear the word “cute” until his ears bled. Even when his human form was over 190 centimeters tall, he was still just a cutie. Even his blunt noona would sometimes mutter, “cute little punk,” under her breath.

It was even more so when he transformed into a dog. His paw pads and tongue were a particularly pale pink, so if he ever lay on his back with his belly up, he would hear that he was cute until his ears bled. He was sick of being called cute, but if that’s what Seowoo thought, he was more than willing to become Seowoo’s personal cutie.

Perhaps because he had eaten too much, getting through the doggy door was harder than yesterday. Juwon, who had struggled into the yard, stretched out his front paws and shook his head vigorously. A strange scent was carried in on the blowing wind.

Juwon’s lower jaw quivered with rage.

Again…!

“Woof!”

Juwon pressed his nose to the ground and sniffed, following the scent. He wondered if it might be a misunderstanding, but there was no fooling Juwon’s dog nose.

Another dog had come in…!

“Grrrrrr.”

‘You’re too popular, Ryu Seowoo.’

Juwon let out a growl mixed with a sigh and anger. It wouldn’t feel out of place at all to attach idioms like “a peerless beauty” or “a beauty that could topple nations” to him, and in terms of kindness, no one could match him, so he had expected Seowoo to be popular to some extent. But, he hadn’t known it would be to this degree. The moment he let his guard down, all sorts of neighborhood mutts swarmed around Seowoo.

“Grrrrr….”

The place he arrived at after following the unfamiliar scent was a house made of a cardboard box, situated in a corner of the yard.

“……”

“Woof!”

‘Come out!’

Juwon provoked it in a rather fierce voice. He wanted to crush its spirit from the start, whoever this fearless creature was.

“…Whimper.”

But the puppy, holed up deep inside the box house, only responded with a small voice, not revealing itself.

“……”

“……”

Juwon moved closer, almost as if he were about to enter the box. He had vaguely sensed it, but getting closer made it certain. This was not a were-animal, but a real puppy.

The youngest of the Ha family, who had gotten lost and rolled into Seowoo’s house, was a kindergartener around 7 years old, so he had a childish air even when transformed into a puppy. But the puppy Juwon was seeing now was much, much younger than that. He could easily deduce that it had just been weaned and had started walking on its own.

“Woof!”

“…Whimper.”

This time, Juwon spoke to it in a voice that wasn’t as fierce. Puppies this young usually move about bustlingly, as if they have propellers on their tails. But this puppy had almost no reaction at all. Even considering it had no energy from not eating, it was excessively quiet.

“Woof?”

“……”

Juwon barked softly again, but the young puppy just lay there listlessly, as if it were short on sleep.

“Woof….”

Looking at the puppy that didn’t respond no matter how many times he tried to talk to it, Juwon finally realized. This young puppy wasn’t weak or being wary of Juwon.

It was sick.

🦴

Oh Dongjae’s head, which had been shaved clean after his breakup, had sprouted hair as green as lawn grass. Oh Dongjae, who had finally taken on a human form again, was recently starting a new relationship.

“Your girlfriend goes to a different school? Where did you meet her?”

Kim Dongwon, who stuck to Oh Dongjae like they were a destined duo, asked as if puzzled. Seowoo also became a little curious as to how Oh Dongjae, who only went in circles between school, the study room, and the PC bang, had managed to get a new girlfriend. It was because ‘dating,’ which he had previously categorized as something completely unrelated to him, had recently risen to become Seowoo’s greatest interest.

“I’m telling you, we’re totally fated.”

They asked how their flirting stage had developed into a dating relationship, and he was going on about fate. Juwon and Seowoo’s brows furrowed at the same time. Kim Dongwon, watching them, snickered.

“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with this situation where freaking Oh Dongjae is giving Cha Juwon and Ryu Seowoo dating advice? Was dating never related to looks in the first place?”

“I don’t know…. Why are you asking me?”

Kim Dongwon asked toward Yang Juhyeon. Yang Juhyeon glanced at the serious expressions on Juwon and Seowoo’s faces and mumbled his answer. At the uninteresting reaction, Kim Dongwon asked toward Juwon.

“Hey Cha Juwon, you were flirting with Lee Yerin. Anything going on?”

“Ah, I’m not interested in the eldest daughter of the Lee family of Ahyeon-dong.”

Juwon’s brow furrowed even more at Oh Dongjae’s question. He had no idea why they had been linking him with Lee Yerin, in whom he had zero interest, for a while now.

“How do you know she’s the eldest daughter?”

Juwon answered in a blunt tone at the sight of his friends, who couldn’t seem to give up and were trying to find a connection with Lee Yerin.

“How could I not know? You, second son of the Oh family of Haetae Apartments, building 201.”

“I think Cha Juwon really does like guys.”

“Living proof of Cha Juwon’s type is right here.”

Kim Dongwon, who remembered the heartfelt cry Juwon had loudly shouted during the graduation photos, pointed at Seowoo. Hearing that, Yang Juhyeon suddenly shot up from his seat. Then, he looked back and forth between Juwon and Seowoo and said.

“Hey, I’m not prejudiced. Really. I would never curse you out for dating another guy.”

“What the hell, Yang Juhyeon’s sudden swerve is crazy. Since when were you such a supporter of a greater Korea?”

A startled Kim Dongwon blinked as he looked at Yang Juhyeon. Seowoo, who had been listening quietly to his friends’ conversation, looked at Oh Dongjae with a frustrated expression and asked.

“So, did you hold hands?”

Oh Dongjae, who had become noticeably more confident and cheerful after starting to date, was an eyesore, but at the same time, Seowoo was envious. At Seowoo’s question about holding hands, Kim Dongwon, who was standing next to him, said.

“Ryu Seowoo, you’re not an elementary schooler, asking about holding hands. Hey, did you kiss?”

At Kim Dongwon’s question, Oh Dongjae went ha—, laughed, and swept up his very short hair.

“Did you?”

The eyes of a serious-looking Seowoo widened slightly. It was the same for Juwon, who was sitting next to him. It seemed like it hadn’t been long since they decided to date, but at the news that they had already kissed, Juwon clenched his fists tightly. And with a serious expression, he asked Oh Dongjae. It was a kind of consultation.

“How did you do it?”

At Juwon’s question, Oh Dongjae excitedly began his explanation.

“It wasn’t a kiss.”

“Then what, a peck?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you do it.”

“We were flirting, but I was a bit unsure if we were actually dating.”

“Yeah.”

Juwon maintained a serious expression throughout his conversation with Oh Dongjae.

“There was a day the academy ended a little late because of a special lecture for the mock exam. I finished first, so I went to pick her up.”

“No, but how do you get a girlfriend when you hung out with me every day? Do you even study at all?”

At Kim Dongwon’s nagging, Oh Dongjae waved his hand dismissively. And he continued his explanation to Juwon and Seowoo, who were listening intently to his story.

“Ah, shut it. Anyway, she said she was hungry after the academy, so we ate something for a bit. And then we went for a walk.”

Juwon’s expression, as he listened seriously to Oh Dongjae’s story, wrinkled slightly. From studying to eating to going for a walk, it was no different from his daily routine with Seowoo.

And yet, Oh Dongjae had started dating the person he was flirting with, while he was still confused about whether he and Seowoo were just friends. And there were no other obstacles besides them being the same gender.

Wondering if perhaps they went to a park with a particularly good atmosphere, Juwon asked again.

“What park did you go to?”

“Haetae Ecological Park.”

“So you just kissed her out of nowhere there?”

Yang Juhyeon asked, shaking his head. Oh Dongjae continued to brag about how they just had a really light peck, and from that day on, they started dating.

“…You just kissed while walking?”

Seowoo, who had been listening very quietly, asked in a serious voice.

“How can you do it while walking? You have to find the right timing.”

“How do you find that timing?”

The moment Seowoo’s lips moved to ask another question, Juwon’s question came faster. And it was exactly what Seowoo had been about to ask Oh Dongjae.

“You’re making eye contact, and then one of you closes your eyes, right? That’s the timing for a peck.”