PUPPY 51

Seowoo let out a regretful sigh. Hearing the sound, Gureum craned his head up to look at Seowoo before facing forward again.

Today, Seowoo was scheduled to meet an acquaintance of Seo Jae-ha who was interested in adopting Gureum. Originally, he was supposed to come with Juwon, but he ended up going alone because of a sudden family matter that came up for Juwon. Seowoo was disappointed too, but Juwon showed so much more disappointment that Seowoo couldn’t bring himself to complain.

「I wanted to go with you ㅠㅠ」

「My hyung is sick」

「No, it’s okay」

「I hope your hyung gets well soon.」

「ㅠㅠ」

「Let’s see each other for a bit tonight」

「Okay」

「I’m almost there. I’ll contact you later.」

「(Emoticon)」

An emoticon of a puppy blowing a kiss with a heart popping out appeared on the screen. They exchanged many emoticons, but for some reason, just seeing this particular one always made him feel good, and a smile immediately appeared on Seowoo’s face.

The reason Juwon couldn’t accompany Seowoo today was because of Juwon’s older brother. He said that his hyung, who was an English literature major at Korea University, had collapsed while coughing up blood. Even Seowoo, who had his fair share of being sick, had never coughed up blood before, so he asked in surprise. Juwon replied that his hyung was naturally weak, so it was something that could easily happen.

Hearing that explanation, Seowoo understood why he had felt such sincerity when Juwon had comforted him. It was because he had a family member who was frail.

The meeting with Seo Jae-ha’s acquaintance was at a cafe not far from the school, which had a large outdoor terrace and allowed dogs. Looking around, aside from the people standing nearby smoking, he was able to find Seo Jae-ha’s acquaintance without difficulty. However, Seo Jae-ha, who was supposed to meet them together, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hello.”

I got the right person, right? Seowoo approached the woman sitting alone and greeted her in a cautious voice.

“Oh, hello. You’re here about the dog, right?”

“Yes. Hello.”

The woman lowered her head to look at Gureum. Seeing a gentle smile spread across her face, Seowoo inwardly sighed in relief.

“My name is Kim Hye-yoon. I heard about you from Jae-ha oppa.”

“Ah, but is hyung not coming?”

At Seowoo’s question, Kim Hye-yoon took out her cell phone and spoke. She answered without taking her eyes off the phone screen, as if checking a message.

“He said he’s going to be a little late. What would you like to drink?”

“Ah, I’ll just have water.”

“Alright.”

After they got the drinks and water, he thought they would start talking about Gureum in earnest, but Kim Hye-yoon’s gaze was back on her cell phone.

“Just a moment…”

“Yes…”

He had thought she would be showering him with questions about the dog, since she was the one taking time out of her busy schedule to meet, so this was unexpected. Kim Hye-yoon’s, Seo Jae-ha’s acquaintance’s, gaze lingered on her cell phone screen for longer than it did on Gureum.

“I’m sorry. It’s a work-related message.”

Just then, as if she had read Seowoo’s mind, Kim Hye-yoon turned off her cell phone screen.

“Ah, it’s alright.”

Only after Seowoo’s reply did Kim Hye-yoon’s gaze finally fall on Gureum.

“The dog is so cute. What’s his name again?”

“It’s Gureum, but it’s okay if you want to give him a new name later.”

“You said his owner abandoned him, right?”

At Kim Hye-yoon’s question, Seowoo’s brow furrowed slightly. He had written about what Gureum had been through on social media, but hearing it put in such a condensed sentence felt different. Even if Gureum couldn’t understand human words, it felt a little inconsiderate.

“…Yes.”

“He’s so pretty. He still looks like a baby, what a poor thing. Ah, just a moment. I have to see this…. I’m sorry.”

Kim Hye-yoon, who had just been praising Gureum’s cute appearance, turned her gaze back to her cell phone screen. When they had talked through Seo Jae-ha, he got the impression that she was interested not only in Gureum’s appearance but also in his natural temperament and medical history, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all, and he felt a sense of dissonance. It felt like he was talking to a completely different person.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this, but I have a lot of work today for some reason.”

“…It’s okay.”

Seowoo replied with a smile. Kim Hye-yoon, who sipped her cold drink, lowered her gaze and looked at Gureum again. Gureum was lying on his belly in the carrier, slowly observing his surroundings.

“He’s really calm.”

“Yes. I didn’t know, but they say it’s an extremely rare personality. To be this calm and well-behaved…”

“I have a dog right now, too. Did you hear? My baby has a bit of a personality, but if he’s this calm, they’ll get along well.”

Kim Hye-yoon smiled brightly at Seowoo. Then she started to add an explanation about the dog she was currently raising. She said it had separation anxiety, so it would exhibit strange behaviors like barking or tearing up the wallpaper when she went out, and that as expected of a small dog, its patella joints and such were not in good condition. Seowoo nodded slowly.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Oh…, you’re, you’re here?”

Just then, Seo Jae-ha appeared at the cafe. Kim Hye-yoon greeted him first, and Seo Jae-ha, with his characteristic gentle smile, looked at the two of them in turn.

“Were you two talking?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Gureum is just as cute and calm as I heard.”

Kim Hye-yoon said, looking down at Gureum. Seowoo had brought the dog carrier he borrowed from Juwon today. The inside of the fabric bag was padded and soft, and Gureum didn’t seem to want to come out of it, as if he found it comfortable.

“I think he’s generally a calm dog. Gureum is staying in our yard right now, but he usually just sits inside the house.”

“What kind of toys does he like?”

At the next question, Seowoo fell into thought for a moment. Come to think of it, he had never played with Gureum with a toy.

“Um…. I’m just fostering him temporarily, so I’m not sure. But I think he likes stuffed toys.”

“The dog Hye-yoon is raising is cute too. Have you seen a picture?”

“No.”

“Ah, should I show you?”

Seowoo, sitting across from them, watched the two. The two people sitting side by side were a handsome man and a beautiful woman, but they didn’t seem to see each other as potential romantic partners at all, which he found a little strange.

🦴

“What do you think of Hye-yoon?”

“…She seems like a good person.”

Seowoo thought for a moment before answering Seo Jae-ha’s question. At first, he was bothered by how she just stared at her cell phone and seemed uninterested in Gureum, but as they talked, his opinion started to change little by little.

“She can be surprisingly shy with strangers, did you two talk well?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if she told you, but she dotes on the dog she’s raising now.”

“Yes, she did mention it.”

“I’m not just saying this because she’s my friend, but if you let her adopt him, she’ll take good care of Gureum too.”

“Yes. I’ll think about it seriously.”

Seowoo nodded and replied to Seo Jae-ha’s words. As he said, Kim Hye-yoon was a good candidate. However, entrusting Gureum, who had already been abandoned once, for adoption was something that required careful consideration, so he didn’t give her a definite answer right away. But since there were almost no other good candidates, Seowoo’s heart was leaning heavily toward Kim Hye-yoon.

“How did you get here?”

“I just took the town bus.”

“If I had brought my car, I would have given you a ride, but someone gave me a ride too.”

“It’s okay.”

“If not, do you want to take a taxi?”

At Seo Jae-ha’s question, Seowoo shook his head from side to side. He had taken the bus on the way here to make it in time for the appointment, but it was actually a distance he could easily walk home.

“Ah, no. It’s really okay. I’m just going to walk and think of it as taking Gureum for a walk.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then shall we walk together?”

“Yes, let’s go that way. The main street has too many people.”

Seowoo said, pointing to a side street that branched off from the main road. The main street leading from the cafe to his house was always noisy with the sound of music coming from the stores. On top of that, these days there were delivery drivers riding motorcycles on the sidewalk, so he judged it was dangerous to walk there with Gureum.

“Ah, does this road connect through? I didn’t know.”

“It’s a road that people who don’t live here don’t really know about…”

Seowoo had lived in this neighborhood ever since he was a child. Before his parents were dispatched overseas, he had lived in an apartment, not his grandparents’ house, but it wasn’t far from here. So, Seowoo knew all the roads well, from the main streets to the small alleys.

“Did you come from a workout today?”

Seowoo asked, looking at Seo Jae-ha’s comfortable clothes. Just as Seo Jae-ha was about to open his mouth to answer Seowoo’s question.

“Yelp!”

Suddenly, the sound of a dog’s scream was heard. The moment Seowoo frowned, wondering if he had misheard something, he heard the shrill scream of a dog again.

“Yelp— Yelp!”

It seemed Seowoo wasn’t the only one startled by the sound; Gureum, who had been walking slowly in step with Seowoo, stopped in his tracks.

“What is that…”

Seo Jae-ha, who was next to him, muttered in a low voice. The sound of the dog in distress, which had been coming from far away, was getting closer and closer. He saw Gureum, who was standing as if frozen to the spot, urinate. He had never seen Gureum relieve himself anywhere other than on a grassy patch before, which made it all the more surprising.

“What is that…”

At Seo Jae-ha’s lament, Seowoo lifted his head.

“Ah…”

In front of Seowoo’s eyes, he saw a large Jindo dog being dragged away by a dog meat trader. At the cruel sight, he was at a loss for words, as if someone had covered his mouth.