PUPPY 52

The dog meat trader was pulling on a thick iron chain wrapped around the Jindo dog’s neck. The Jindo dog was letting out pained noises, being helplessly dragged away by the trader.

“Geez. This thing is stubbornly not following….”

The dog meat trader pulling the Jindo dog was thin and short. Looking at his physique alone, he didn’t seem threatening at all, but the Jindo dog couldn’t even resist and was being dragged along.

Just like Gureum a moment ago, the Jindo dog started to leak urine onto the ground. Seowoo stood there, frozen like a stone, just watching the scene.

“Whimper, whimper.”

“What’s going on? Shouldn’t we report this?”

As the Jindo dog’s pained cries echoed through the street, the people passing by behind Seowoo started to murmur amongst themselves. Then, a sound Seowoo had heard not long ago reached his ears.

“Buying dogs or cats. Buying goats.”

It was the same monotonous, mechanical voice he had heard while walking with Seo Jaeha last time. Only then did Seowoo realize that the dog meat trader’s truck was parked not far away.

“That poor dog. Is that allowed?”

“Let’s not get involved and just go. We might get into trouble….”

The voices of the people watching from the sidelines grew louder. It was because the people walking down the street had started to properly spectate the dog meat trader dragging the Jindo dog.

“Hey, hyung…”

Seowoo, who had put the trembling Gureum into his carrier, stood up and called out to Seo Jaeha. He was about to ask if they shouldn’t stop him, but Seo Jaeha was already walking ahead.

“Mister, you can’t just drag a dog like that.”

Seo Jaeha, who had approached the dog meat trader, said in a polite voice. At the appearance of an uninvited guest, the dog meat trader just gave him a quick glance—but showed no other reaction.

“Whine—.”

As the trader pulled the chain again, the dog made a pained sound. As if it recognized that Seo Jaeha was the one who could save it, the Jindo dog was stretching its front paws toward Seo Jaeha.

“Mister—.”

“……”

“There are children passing by here and everything, you shouldn’t be doing this to a dog.”

Seo Jaeha, who had been speaking calmly to the dog meat trader, now spoke in a slightly more agitated voice. At that, the silent trader opened his mouth.

“Mind your own business and get going.”

As an eerie voice flowed from the dog meat trader’s mouth, the murmuring of the onlookers grew louder.

“But… how can I not get involved when the dog is crying like this.”

“It’s a crazy dog that doesn’t even recognize its owner, so don’t get involved and get lost!”

As if annoyed by Seo Jaeha’s interference, the dog meat trader shouted and pulled on the dog’s chain again. Instead of getting angry in that situation, Seo Jaeha asked with a gentle expression and voice.

“What do you mean, a crazy dog?”

“Its owner sold it to me himself, so mind your own business and be on your way.”

At the dog meat trader’s next words, the people began to murmur again, as if shocked. It seemed the only person who hadn’t lost their composure in this situation was Seo Jaeha.

“No, even so…. Sir, please don’t do this.”

“Whine, whine.”

Gureum’s whining sounds reached the dazed Seowoo’s ears. Gureum, who usually never made a loud noise, was expressing his distress with all his might. Even though he was inside the carrier and probably couldn’t see outside well, he was frantically scratching the bottom of the carrier as if anxious.

“Gureum, it’s okay. It’s okay…”

Seowoo held the carrier tucked under his arm and whispered quietly to Gureum.

‘But you said they don’t even have weapons.’

‘You said they’re old too. Honestly, couldn’t we take them down easily if we just put our minds to it?’

He had talked about dog meat traders with his friends last time while discussing the dogs and cats that had disappeared from the apartment complex. Seowoo had agreed with his friends’ opinions, but a vague imagining and facing the reality of the situation were completely different.

The dog meat trader was short, thin, and shabby, but he didn’t look like someone who could be easily overpowered as his friends had said. He exuded an atmosphere that was somehow creepy and hair-raising. He could understand why even dogs with sharp teeth and fierce dispositions would clamp their mouths shut and hide themselves when a dog meat trader appeared.

“Fuck, who the hell are you to try and ruin my business. Stop it and get on your way.”

“…How much is it.”

Seo Jaeha, who had been silent for a moment at the dog meat trader’s curse, spoke.

“What?”

“How much should I pay you for the dog?”

It was a very polite question, with no discernible intention of insulting the other party.

“Ha, for god’s sake…”

At Seo Jaeha’s words, the dog meat trader let out a sigh mixed with a scoff.

“Will this be enough?”

Seo Jaeha took out several fifty-thousand-won bills from his wallet. Seeing that, the strength drained from the dog meat trader’s hand.

“Sir, I’m not doing this to offend you. It’s just that I also have a Jindo dog, and I feel sorry for this one. It looks like my dog.”

While Seowoo stood there, unable to do anything out of fear, Seo Jaeha was reaching an agreement with the dog meat trader with a kind face and a skilled demeanor.

“……”

The dog meat trader snatched the bundle of bills from Seo Jaeha’s hand. As the thick iron chain fell to the ground with a clang—Seowoo felt a sense of relief wash over him. It seemed to be the same for the other people as well. Once the trader disappeared, the onlookers also began to go on their way, one by one. Only then did Seowoo also take a step toward Seo Jaeha.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… I was a little startled. But I’m okay.”

Seowoo nodded and replied to Seo Jaeha’s question.

“By the way, what should I do with this one.”

Seo Jaeha looked at the Jindo dog standing beside him and muttered as if talking to himself. He seemed at a loss, having ended up with the Jindo dog so suddenly.

“Cough— cough.”

Although there was no hand pulling on it anymore, the Jindo dog barked while coughing, as if the iron chain was still choking its neck. The sight was so pitiable that a sigh escaped Seowoo’s lips on its own. Seowoo opened the cap of the water bottle in his bag and handed it to Seo Jaeha. When Seo Jaeha tilted the water to the Jindo dog’s mouth, the dog drank the water gladly, despite making coughing, coughing sounds.

“Will you be able to get home?”

“Yes. It’s just a short walk from here for me.”

“Ah…. Is that so? I think I’ll have to ask Hyeyoon for a ride.”

Seo Jaeha said, gesturing toward the Jindo dog with his chin. Seowoo nodded and looked at Seo Jaeha, asking if there was anything he could do to help.

“Is there perhaps anything I can help you with…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Thank you for everything today.”

“Yeah, get home safely.”

After saying his goodbyes, Seowoo clutched the carrier with Gureum inside and started walking toward home. He felt completely drained, perhaps from having experienced so many things in such a short period of time.

🦴

When he reached the alleyway with slow steps, he ran into Juwon, who had come out to meet him. They hadn’t set a time, so he wondered how Juwon knew to come out, but for some reason, the question didn’t come out.

“Seowoo. Did you get back okay? Sorry I couldn’t go with you like we planned.”

“It’s okay…”

At Juwon’s apology, Seowoo just shook his head and said it was okay. Seeing that Seowoo’s complexion was so poor, Juwon asked with a puzzled expression.

“Seowoo, what’s wrong with your face?”

“Ah…. Why?”

“You’re incredibly pale right now. Are you sick?”

Having said that, Juwon immediately brought his hand to Seowoo’s forehead. And he began to gauge whether he had a fever. He touched his forehead with a serious expression, but Juwon tilted his head as if he couldn’t tell.

At that, even though Seowoo wasn’t in the mood to laugh, a small chuckle escaped him. Juwon’s hand on his forehead was so warm that even if he really did have a fever, Juwon probably wouldn’t be able to notice.

“What were you doing outside to look like this.”

Unlike Seowoo, whose body cooled down and heated up easily with the temperature, Juwon’s entire body was hot all year round. The feeling of the large, warm hand covering his forehead was nice. Seowoo, feeling a sense of stability from that warmth for some reason, let out a long breath and said.

“I just came from a cafe, meeting someone who wants to adopt Gureum.”

“……”

“Her name is Ms. Hyeyoon, the hyung who broke my phone last time introduced…”

“…Is that all?”

Juwon, who had been listening to Seowoo’s explanation, suddenly cut him off. And then he looked at Seowoo with an unfamiliar expression he had never seen before. It was a look as if he couldn’t believe his words and was suspicious.

“Uh, why?”

At Juwon’s serious tone, Seowoo became serious as well. Seowoo lifted his gaze and looked straight at Juwon, asking him what was wrong.

At that, Juwon asked the same question again.

“Did you only meet those people?”

Juwon’s eyes as he asked the same question again were sharper than Seowoo had ever seen before. Even though he wasn’t lying or hiding anything, receiving such a gaze made him suddenly feel as if he had done something wrong.

A major incident involving a dog meat trader had happened on his way home, but the only people he had directly met were Seo Jaeha and Kim Hyeyoon.

“Uh…. That’s all.”

At Seowoo’s answer, the space between Juwon’s eyebrows narrowed sharply.

“…Then why do you smell like blood?”

At Juwon’s question, goosebumps instantly broke out all over Seowoo’s back.