PUPPY 55

“No, it’s nothing.”

“You said you had something to talk about today.”

Juwon, as if conscious of the other people in the elevator, whispered in a low voice into Seowoo’s ear. So Seowoo also replied in a low voice.

“Yeah. About Gureum.”

At Seowoo’s words, Juwon let out a soft chuckle. Then, in a low voice, he spoke into Seowoo’s ear.

“When you put it like that, it sounds like we’re talking about our child.”

Even though it was a small voice, perhaps because it was an enclosed space, the people in the elevator seemed to have heard Juwon’s words. Everyone tried not to make a sound, but the sound of them gasping for air could be heard.

“…Did you post a picture of our baby on InXta?”

“Yeah. I posted it a little while ago.”

Seowoo played along with Juwon’s joke and asked, and Juwon replied with a smile. With a ding—the elevator doors opened.

The post Juwon was supposed to upload was one promoting Gureum’s adoption. The first post Juwon uploaded had garnered a lot of attention, but no serious adoption inquiries had come in.

“Here, look.”

Juwon handed his cell phone to Seowoo.

(Photo)

juwon.chaaaaa Please contact me if you are interested in adoption.

1. He is a baby dog, not yet a year old.
2. He only relieves himself outdoors, so please only contact me if you can walk him every day or have a yard at home.
3. He had symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition. His joints are also not good, so he needs lifelong care.
   odongdong00 ??? A lovestagram picture was posted over there
   └ odongdong00 #abandoneddog #abandoneddogadoption #outdoorpotty #couple #puppy #pomeranian #pomeranianadoption #lovestagram #dog #myfriendisadog #pleasewatchmyfriendisadog #iloveyou #daily #puppystagram #puppygram #doggie #dontshopadopt #dogstagram #dog #cute #dog #dogstgram #doggy #highschoolboy #godlikebeauty
   └└ k_dw___ As expected of an InXta expert, the king of clickbait
   myboyfriendisadog1109 Do you also take inquiries for high school boys?
   YJH_official I’ll be cheering for you, fighting!
   .
   .
   .

“It got a lot of likes.”

Seowoo said, looking at the post Juwon had uploaded. He read the comments as well, but most of them were left by friends or were sponsorship inquiries. The number of comments was incomparably greater than Seowoo’s, but perhaps because of that, it was actually harder to find useful information. The people who sent messages also seemed to be more interested in other things than the dog.

“Among the people who sent DMs, I think these two look good.”

Juwon opened the message window and showed it to Seowoo. Amidst the flood of messages in a mixture of various languages, there was an adoption inquiry that Juwon seemed to have barely found.

One of the people who sent a message seemed to be a famous influencer. He could tell because there was a verification mark next to the ID. They were appealing the fact that although they had no experience raising a dog, they could provide unstinting financial support.

“It’s a house with a yard…”

“It’s small, but it doesn’t seem too bad.”

The photo attached to the message was of a country house with a large yard. It looked quite spacious to Seowoo, but Juwon flatly said it was small.

Seowoo and Juwon had completely different standards when it came to the size of a yard. It was understandable, considering Juwon’s yard at home was as large as a sports field.

“Should we take our time looking?”

At Juwon’s question, Seowoo hesitated for a moment to answer. Then, he spoke in a voice filled with lingering regret.

“My grandmother and grandfather asked if it wasn’t about time we found him a home.”

“Really? That’s surprising…. I thought they were taking good care of the dog.”

Juwon said in a low voice in response to Seowoo’s answer. As he went in and out of Seowoo’s house through the doggy door every day, Juwon frequently encountered Gureum. He recalled that Gureum’s face had brightened noticeably when they met in the yard last time.

Even Juwon, who had been wary of Gureum at first, was slowly changing his mind. Unlike the Ha family’s dog, who wagged his tail wildly, Gureum spent his time quietly. Moreover, the fact that he didn’t make an effort to be held by Seowoo earned him major points with Juwon.

“I think they’re worried they’ll get attached. Since we can’t keep him at home.”

“Didn’t you say they have allergies?”

A passing remark Seowoo had made came to Juwon’s mind. However, as far as Juwon knew, Gureum had been staying in the living space of his grandmother and grandfather for several days.

If the two of them had allergies, they would have sneezed or something, but he hadn’t heard any such sounds.

“Actually, it’s not because of allergies…”

“Yeah.”

“It’s because my bronchial tubes are weak, so they don’t have a dog because they’re worried I’ll cough if things like fur or dust fly around.”

“…I see.”

Juwon nodded and replied. He had been worried that his grandparents’ actions might seem overly protective to others, but surprisingly, Juwon’s reaction was ordinary.

It was a reaction that said, That can happen. Seowoo, feeling relieved, stretched and let out a short sigh.

“Ah…, I don’t want to study.”

The evening sky he looked up at with his head tilted back was pitch black. The day was already coming to an end. Tidy up and wash, and if Jjokko comes over to play, play with Jjokko for a bit and then sleep. Then tomorrow morning would come again, and he’d have to wake up and go to school…. It wasn’t that he disliked the routine that went round and round like a hamster wheel, but still, it sometimes felt tedious.

“I don’t want to either.”

Juwon also said with a smile at Seowoo’s complaint.

“Why am I so tired today.”

“I guess it’s because we’ve been running nonstop.”

“We’ve had a mock exam almost every month. And we had midterms too.”

“The exams for our school records will be over soon.”

“Once that’s over, all we have to do is prepare for the CSAT…. It’s really not that far away.”

The days passed slowly, studying from morning till night. But those days quickly gathered to become a week, and then a month, and disappeared. Before he knew it, a semester was already coming to an end. Juwon, who had heard Seowoo’s sigh-filled words, stopped in his tracks. Seowoo, who had been walking in step with Juwon, also came to a halt.

“Are you going to keep living at your current house even when you go to college?”

Juwon asked, looking at Seowoo. At Juwon’s question, Seowoo fell into deep thought.

This neighborhood had good transportation to Korea University. Seowoo, who had good grades, had always aimed to go to Korea University. He hadn’t decided on a major yet, but his target university had never changed.

So he thought he would continue to live in this house with his grandparents in the future as well. He might move if he got a job in a different region, but he had never thought that he might live in a different place for the next four years while attending college.

“If I go to Korea University, I’ll probably keep living here, right? I think I’ll meet the minimum requirements…. But then again, you never know.”

Seowoo gave a very matter-of-fact answer to Juwon’s question. Juwon, who heard Seowoo’s words, tapped the ground with the tip of his shoe.

Juwon lifted his head and looked directly at Seowoo.

“If I go to Korea University too…”

“Yeah.”

“Should we live together?”

Instead of a matter-of-fact answer, Juwon threw a curveball.

If I go to Korea University too…

At those words, Seowoo, who had been expecting something along the lines of ‘Should we commute together then too?’, was caught unprepared by Juwon’s words.

Oh Dongjae, Kim Dongwon, or Yang Juhyeon asking to live together was different in weight to Seowoo than Juwon asking to live together. It was because his feelings for Juwon were different from friendship.

Once we go to college, move out and live together?

It was a suggestion he had never even imagined before, and Seowoo doubted his own ears.

“…Huh?”

‘It’s not like he can read minds, so of course you have to make it super obvious when you say it.’

The words Oh Dongjae had said suddenly came to Seowoo’s mind. He didn’t know about anything else, but asking to live together wasn’t something you could easily say between friends. At least, not for Seowoo.

Could it be that Cha Juwon received the same advice from Oh Dongjae? An immediate question popped into Seowoo’s head.

Seowoo lifted his head and looked at Juwon’s face. He saw Juwon’s deep-set eyes. From their locked gazes, Seowoo could tell that Juwon’s offer to live together wasn’t just a casually thrown ‘joke’.

Seowoo felt his heart thumping, thumping, beating faster and faster.

“Juwon.”

Seowoo, who licked his dry lips with his tongue, called out to Juwon. He felt his mouth go dry with nervousness.

“Yeah.”

“You…”

This time, he gulped. He seemed to be trying to do it quietly, but Juwon heard it clearly.

The question of whether they should live together when they go to college was thrown out impulsively. The timing was impulsive, but the content itself was not. This was something he had really, really wanted to ask someday.

“Yeah.”

“By any chance, are you…”

Juwon, already anticipating what question would follow, took a deep breath.

“Do you like me…”

The moment he parted his lips to answer the long-awaited question.

Trrr

Seowoo’s cell phone started to ring.

On the brightly lit cell phone screen, Seo Jae-ha’s name was displayed.