PUPPY 5

Seowoo’s friends, who always went home with him, vanished quickly as soon as the end-of-day announcements were over. Seowoo, who was slowly packing his bag, let out a short sigh and sent an angry emoticon and a single ‘ㅗ’ (middle finger) to the group chat. As he finished packing his bag, resenting his friends who saw the message but didn’t respond, a dark shadow fell over his desk.

“……”

When he slowly raised his head, what came into view was Juwon with his bag slung over one shoulder. Juwon stood there with his arms crossed, silently looking down at Seowoo. It seemed to be a signal to go home together, but there was no sign of him rushing. So Seowoo spoke first.

“…Shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

Juwon replied with a nod. And so, the two of them found themselves walking side-by-side down the hallway again. A few people who had remained at school glanced at them, finding the combination of Juwon and Seowoo strange.

Seowoo, like the other students, stole a glance at Juwon. The high bridge of his nose and his strong jawline were certainly special. He wondered what it would feel like to have a face like a god, one that wasn’t just handsome but elicited admiration.

Juwon, who was much taller than Seowoo, had exceptionally long legs. Even after just a few steps, the distance between them quickly grew due to the difference in their stride.

When the distance between them grew like that, Juwon would stop in his tracks and wait for Seowoo to catch up. After this happened a couple of times, Juwon started to make an effort to walk slowly.

“Are you going to do evening self-study?”

Juwon broke the silence that had been filled only with the sound of footsteps and asked Seowoo. Seowoo caught his breath, which had become ragged from trying to walk faster, and spoke.

“No. I go to the math academy on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on other days I just do it at the study café.”

“Which study café?”

“The one on the 5th floor of the convenience store building. A lot of kids from our school go there.”

“Was there a study café in that building…?”

At Seowoo’s explanation, Juwon muttered as if talking to himself. The 7-story commercial building at the end of the alley was a building under Juwon’s name, gifted to him by his parents, but he didn’t know in detail what stores were located there.

“It pretty much has everything.”

“Oh Dongjae, Lee Dongsoo…? No, do the Dongdongjus go to that study café too?”

They usually just dropped off their bags and ran straight to the convenience store or the PC café, but since they were registered, you could say they ‘went’ to the study café.

“They do go. Ah…, just a second.”

Just then, the cell phone in his uniform pants pocket vibrated several times.

「Sorry;; we’ll be leaving first;;」

「How’d u get close to CJW? R u in gang fights now lol?」

「What gang fight ㅡㅡ」

「Huh, a hidden powerhouse is hereㅠ」

「Ryu Seowoo the top delinquent theory lololololol」

「Hyung-nim, I apologize for acting up. I’ve slammed my head so hard the school is now 4 floors underground.」

「ㅗ」

「Thanks for everything until now, don’t act like you know me from now onㄴㄴㄴ」

「Ryu Seowoo??????? who dat?」

「This number has been blocked.」

「lolololololololololololololololololololololol」

The group chat was filled with laughter. Finding it absurd that they were teasing him when they were the ones who ran away scared of Cha Juwon, Seowoo also left a short, blunt reply.

“Shall we go?”

“Sure.”

Cha Juwon asked, readjusting his bag on one shoulder.

“The Dongdongjus.”

“…They said they’re leaving first.”

“The nickname Dongdongju… is kinda lame.”

To be honest, he thought it wasn’t ‘just’ lame but fucking lame. But because of the assumption that Ryu Seowoo might have been the one to give them that nickname, Juwon phrased it as mildly as possible.

“They said the adults called them that because they were always stuck together since elementary school.”

“That explains it… Weren’t you with the Dongdongjus in elementary school?”

“Ah… I became friends with them later.”

Seowoo hesitated slightly in his answer. In truth, Seowoo had gone to the same elementary school, but he had spent his lower-grade years in and out of the hospital, so he only became friends with them in the upper grades. The process of becoming friends wasn’t exactly natural, but in any case, they were close now.

“Did you transfer?”

Seowoo mumbled, deflecting Juwon who seemed to want to hear more about his friends. Then he threw a question to divert Juwon’s attention.

“It’s not really like that… Is there anything you need to buy at the convenience store?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Juwon furrowed his brow slightly and fell into thought. But nothing particular came to mind.

“I don’t think so…”

“You?”

“Me neither.”

“Not buying any snacks today?”

At Juwon’s question, Seowoo looked puzzled. Then he remembered that he had been buying snacks when he met Juwon at the convenience store.

“I still have a lot left from what I bought last time, so I’m good.”

“You bought cat cans and treats then too.”

At Juwon’s words, this time Seowoo looked a little surprised. He must have seen them for only a very short time, yet he knew the items so well. He must have a good eye for detail and a great memory. Seowoo made another positive assessment of Juwon.

“Yeah. I still have those left too.”

Juwon nodded at Seowoo’s answer. And then the conversation came to an abrupt halt, and silence followed again.

He was definitely not the type to initiate conversation, but Seowoo was the type to find silence more uncomfortable. This was probably because he hung out with friends who were the type to have only their mouths float if they fell into water. The silence felt so awkward that just as he was opening his mouth to say something, anything, Juwon stopped walking and asked Seowoo.

“Do you like cats?”

At the rather random question, a question mark appeared on Seowoo’s face. Juwon had a serious expression, so much so that he couldn’t tell the context of the question.

“Cats?”

“Yeah. Cats.”

Juwon said, stressing the word ‘cat.’ His voice was endlessly serious.

“I like them.”

At Seowoo’s answer, Juwon’s expression noticeably contorted. In fact, Juwon had tried to control his expression in his own way, but his inner thoughts had been laid bare.

When there are dogs, humanity’s most loyal friends and companions. Why. Why on earth would anyone like selfish and tyrannical cats? It was hard to understand.

In fact, Juwon was a hardliner who thought it was disgraceful that dogs and cats were even grouped together as rivals.

“Why?”

“Because they’re cute…?”

At Juwon’s follow-up question, Seowoo answered after careful consideration this time. But it seemed it wasn’t an answer to his liking, as Juwon responded in a listless voice.

“What’s cute about them.”

“They are cute. Their fur is so soft and they’re so affectionate…”

“Then you.”

“Huh?”

“What about puppies?”

Juwon stood still and asked with a serious face. He had an expression as if he were giving him one last chance. At that moment, his grandmother’s words flashed in Seowoo’s mind.

‘A few puppies, about the size of my palm, were going in and out of the gate.’

His mind finally cleared, having belatedly discovered the correct answer.

“I like puppies more than cats.”

At Seowoo’s answer, a bright smile spread across Juwon’s face. It was, without a doubt, the correct answer.

“Ryu Seowoo.”

“Yeah.”

“You know a thing or two.”

If you look at their characters, dogs are 1000 times better than cats, Cha Juwon added a cryptic remark and smiled brightly.

🦴

After that day, commuting to and from school with Juwon became a natural part of his daily routine. The silence that he had thought was suffocating became bearable.

The morning air was cool, as if it were too early for full-fledged spring to arrive.

One, two, three.

After leaving his house, Seowoo silently counted in his head. And not long after, a clattering sound—clatter-clatter—came from the gate of Juwon’s house. Today, too, Juwon was without a tie, his shirt buttons undone.

“Your hair is still wet, aren’t you cold?”

“Me? I’m fine.”

At Seowoo’s question, Juwon raised a hand and touched his hair. It wasn’t dripping wet, but it was damp. Juwon shook his head out of habit to dry his hair. Shaking his hair out with a big motion from a very small recoil was a skill he had learned in his puppy form.

“Ouch, cold…”

Seowoo muttered reflexively as a drop of water that flew from Juwon’s hair felt cold. At that, Juwon abruptly bowed his head, brought his face close, and asked.

“Did water splash on you?”

“Ah, but it’s okay…”

“Sorry.”

With the sudden closeness, he could see Juwon’s somewhat dejected-looking eyes.

“Your hair is still wet.”

Was it because he had gotten a little more comfortable with Juwon? Seowoo found himself raising his hand and touching Juwon’s hair. And just as he was about to pull his hand back, Juwon spoke.

“Pet me.”

“…Like this?”

“Yeah.”

Seowoo gently stroked Juwon’s head from top to bottom. He could feel the damp hair at his fingertips.

“……”

“My hair is soft, right?”

Seowoo, who swallowed hard, answered in a rather awkward voice.

“Ye—ah.”

“Keep petting me.”

Juwon closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the hand stroking his bowed head. A quiet voice flowed from Seowoo’s lips.

“…You smell nice too.”

“I don’t usually let just anyone pet me.”

“……”

“It feels good.”

As the youngest in his family and being so cute when he transformed into a puppy, he had been pestered by the bothersome hands of his family members who wanted to pet him. Because of that, he had been reluctant to let anyone pet him. But Seowoo’s touch felt good for some reason.

“……”

“Let’s go now.”

Juwon, who slowly opened his closed eyes, raised the corners of his mouth and grinned widely. Then he raised one arm and put it around Seowoo’s shoulders. The distance between them had become closer than before, and the area where their bodies touched had widened.

We’ve gotten a little closer.

Seowoo thought to himself and walked down the road with Juwon.