PUPPY 57

As soon as Juwon, who had been called by the PE teacher, left the classroom, Seowoo stood up from his seat. After craning his neck to confirm that Juwon was heading to the gym, Seowoo turned on his heel and went to Oh Dongjae’s classroom.

At the beginning of the semester, Oh Dongjae couldn’t get attached to his new class and would come to Seowoo’s classroom to hang out whenever he had time. However, these days he had made close friends in his class and, above all, had gotten a girlfriend, regaining his vitality and peace of mind.

“Oh Dongjae.”

“Huh? Cha Juwon’s whatever, what are you doing here?”

At the sight of Seowoo carefully opening the back door of the classroom and coming in, Oh Dongjae’s eyes widened.

“I have something to ask you. Let’s go to the snack bar.”

“Are you buying?”

“Yeah.”

As if pleased with Seowoo’s answer, Oh Dongjae made an ‘Ooh—’ sound and got up from his seat. While walking down the hallway, Oh Dongjae was only looking at his cell phone screen, as if exchanging messages with his girlfriend. But he soon turned off the screen and asked Seowoo.

“You and Cha Juwon seem to be getting along swimmingly these days, so why are you coming for relationship advice?”

At his serious expression, devoid of playfulness, Seowoo asked Oh Dongjae with a grave face.

“…Is it obvious?”

“What are you talking about.”

“Ah…. Never mind.”

So it was just something he said. Seowoo swept a hand over his startled chest.

“So what did she say when you told her, making it super obvious you’re interested?”

Oh Dongjae recalled the advice he had given Seowoo last time and grinned. He thought it was cute and funny that Seowoo, who had never been interested in the opposite sex before, was secretly coming only to him for relationship advice.

“She said she likes me.”

“Cough. Aish, you scared me.”

Oh Dongjae, startled by the unexpected rapid development, coughed in surprise.

“……”

“So are you dating?”

“Ah but, she said that and then left. I missed the timing to answer. It’s already been about two weeks, what should I say… so it’s not awkward?”

At the sight of Seowoo frowning and seriously contemplating, Oh Dongjae’s expression also turned serious. The fact that she said she liked him meant things were going well, but Seowoo seemed to have something bothering him.

“Is there a need for a grand answer? Don’t you like her too?”

“That’s true but. She hasn’t mentioned the confession since then. She’s just… like usual.”

“She must have confessed first because she noticed something. It’s not easy for a girl to say it first.”

“Ah…. That’s not it.”

Seowoo replied with a troubled expression to Oh Dongjae, who was convinced it was a girl.

“So who is it? Is it someone I know? Someone from the study room, right? With short hair.”

“No. I’ll ask her and let you know if we start dating.”

“Oh. At this point, aren’t you two just dating without having said the words?”

At Seowoo’s manner of speaking, which was based on the premise that they would be dating, Oh Dongjae said, raising one eyebrow. At Oh Dongjae’s words, Seowoo shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

“Why?”

“We haven’t kissed yet.”

“Ah…, really?”

As far as Oh Dongjae knew, this was the first time Seowoo had said he liked someone. But the fact that he was so systematically thinking about locking lips first surprised him a little inwardly. I should ask what Ryu Seowoo’s MBTI is later. Is it a J?

“Did you pick everything?”

“Yeah. Are you really buying?”

“Yup.”

Oh Dongjae’s relationship advice had been quite useful so far, so Seowoo didn’t mind the money for the snacks at all. Just then, from afar, Juwon waved and called Seowoo’s name.

“Seowoo!”

If Juwon had a tail like a dog, I bet it would be wagging very fast right now, he thought.

“Hey, your main wife is calling. What’s Cha Juwon going to do for fun if you get a girlfriend?”

Seowoo, letting Oh Dongjae’s words go in one ear and out the other, looked at Juwon with a bright smile on his face. He found it amazing that Juwon had come straight to the snack bar to find him, even though he hadn’t said where he was going.

“How did you know I was at the snack bar?”

“I followed your scent.”

“Haha. What, are you a dog or something?”

“Hello, Cha Juwon…”

Oh Dongjae, who was instantly pushed to the side, greeted Cha Juwon in a wistful voice. But Juwon, as if he hadn’t seen Oh Dongjae at all, just smiled at Seowoo.

“It’s true. I can find you with my eyes closed.”

Juwon said, putting his arm over Seowoo’s shoulder and naturally leading him away.

“Oh, you were here too?”

And then he belatedly offered a dry greeting, looking at Dongjae. The sunlight shining down on the two of them had become hotter than before. Summer was approaching.

🦴

Spending time with Seowoo as a person was good, but being adored as a puppy had its own fun. He led conversations in a much more affectionate tone than usual and was generous with kisses and hugs.

About two weeks ago, Seo Jae-ha’s report of the dog meat trader to the police seemed to have had an effect, as the rumors that had been unsettling the hybrid society had quieted down a bit.

There were opinions that they should root out those who threatened the lives of hybrids and make an example of them, but there had been no significant progress yet. The hybrid society saying they would make an example themselves was a polite way of saying ‘We will tear them limb from limb and kill them.’

“You don’t leave when I’m watching you, do you.”

Seowoo said, looking at Jjokko who was still standing in the same spot.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

‘Because you’ll faint if you see me going into the house across the street.’

“I want to see you go in safely.”

“Woof! Woof!”

‘Don’t worry and go inside first.’

Juwon barked shortly and pointed to Seowoo’s door. Seowoo, knowing that the subtly stubborn Jjokko wouldn’t back down easily, regretfully turned his steps and said goodbye.

“See you later, Jjokko.”

He said see you later, in case saying see you tomorrow would be burdensome. Juwon, who was watching Seowoo, stuck out his pink tongue, smiled, and said goodbye.

“Woof!”

‘See you tomorrow.’

After saying goodbye, Juwon went down the stairs with pattering, quick steps, and passed through the doggy door in a crawl. Then, staying as inconspicuous as possible, he started walking forward with his body close to the wall.

“Pant, pant.”

The place he arrived at by moving his short legs diligently was a very small gap in the alley wall. A gap that only a small child could barely squeeze through. In front of it, trash and soju bottles discarded by people were rolling around.

These days, Juwon was using this place as his new hideout. To put it grandly, it was a hideout, but it was just a place to hide his body to monitor if there were any suspicious guys heading toward Seowoo’s house.

Juwon’s biggest worry these days was not his mock exam scores, his school records, or the CSAT, but Seowoo’s safety.

The fact that the cat hybrid who used to loiter around Seowoo’s house had disappeared meant that Seowoo’s house was not safe either.

Even if it was quiet now, he didn’t know when they would show themselves again.

‘Ugh, fuck, the smell of rot…’

Juwon, who had hidden himself in the hideout, growled in spite of himself. A foul smell emanated from the rolling soju bottles and trash. Nevertheless, the reason he chose this place as a hideout was that if he had to transform into a human in a possible emergency, he could pretend to be a homeless person who had passed out naked while drinking soju.

🦴

Gureum, who usually just lay quietly, scratched at the entrance of the carrier, as if wanting to get out. It was unusual behavior, as if he had a premonition of their parting.

“Whine. Whine.”

“Grandma isn’t doing it on purpose… it’s because she got attached… she’s sad to let you go, that’s probably why.”

A while ago, after much deliberation, Seowoo decided to send Gureum to Hye-yoon for adoption. It was a decision made after having sufficient conversations with his grandmother, grandfather, and Juwon.

His grandmother, who seemed to have already grown very attached to Gureum, deliberately made an appointment on the last day, today, to avoid the farewell. There was another reason why his grandparents didn’t have a dog, besides the shedding fur. It was because they thought they wouldn’t be able to easily handle the eventual parting.

The bag of Gureum’s belongings that his grandmother had packed contained snacks and toys that Gureum usually liked. The toys, in particular, were handmade by his grandmother, toys in which her care and affection were fully imbued.

Strangely, the timing never worked out for Gureum and Juwon. Today, the day Gureum was being adopted, Juwon had to attend an important family event, so he ended up not being able to see him off.

Seowoo walked down the street with the carrier containing Gureum slung over his shoulder and Gureum’s belongings in both hands. Fortunately, the meeting place was not far from Seowoo’s house.

“Gureum, noona will be a good person.”

Seowoo said, thinking of Hye-yoon’s neat house with its cozy yard and the other dog that Gureum would get along with. Of course, Gureum couldn’t understand him, but he hoped his comforting words would be conveyed.

The luggage wasn’t heavy, but it was bulky because it contained a stuffed toy and a blanket. Just as he was thinking of just taking a taxi and lifted his head, he saw a van in front of him. The car with heavily tinted windows was Seo Jae-ha’s.