PUPPY 58

Knock knock.

Why is Seo Jaeha’s car parked here, so far from the cafe? With a puzzled expression, Seowoo approached the driver’s side and knocked on the heavily tinted window.

“……”

Contrary to his expectation, the window did not roll down. Finding that strange, Seowoo calmly knocked on the window again.

Knock knock.

Then, this time, the driver’s side window slowly lowered. Seo Jaeha’s figure was visible through the halfway-down window. Wearing black athletic wear, Seo Jaeha had a hat pulled down low.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

Seo Jaeha turned his head and greeted Seowoo with a faint smile. Perhaps because of his different attire, he felt a sense of incongruity.

“Are you trying to park here…?”

Even knowing it was a nonsensical question, Seowoo spoke to Seo Jaeha as if possessed.

“No, I was just looking for a place to park nearby.”

At Seo Jaeha’s words, Seowoo’s gaze turned to the navigation system inside. The navigation screen showed a map with a starting point and a destination marked. The starting point was an alley not far from Seowoo’s house.

“Ah, I’m meeting Hyeyoon noona today because of Gureum. Are you here for that too, hyung?”

“Was that today? No, I have some business nearby.”

Seo Jaeha said, smiling again. It was a gentle voice, but the atmosphere was subtly different from usual. It felt cold and chilly.

“Okay, then I’ll be going.”

“Alright…. It’ll probably take some time to hand over the dog and the luggage to Hyeyoon.”

Seo Jaeha gestured with his chin at the large shopping bag in Seowoo’s hand. He felt embarrassed, as if carrying all these things with both hands was going overboard.

“Ah, this. It’s the toys Gureum used to play with and the blanket he always used. I brought them just in case he misses them.”

“Really…? Well then, have a good talk with Hyeyoon, and we’ll see each other later when we have time.”

“Yes, goodbye…”

Seo Jaeha seemed busy, and the time to meet with Hyeyoon was approaching, so he was about to say goodbye and turn around. Just then, from the back seat of Seo Jaeha’s car, where he hadn’t expected anything to be, came the sound of a dog barking. The resounding bark sounded like it came from a large dog.

“Woof—!”

“Ah, shit…”

Seo Jaeha closed his eyes and muttered a small curse. Seo Jaeha, who had always shown a calm and gentle demeanor, had completely changed his tune. Seowoo, who was about to turn around after saying goodbye, found his gaze drawn to the back seat as if by something.

Reward: 3 Million Won!
Blue eyes. A mix of long brown and white fur.

The contents of the flyer came to Seowoo’s mind as clearly as if he had taken a picture and stored it away.

“Woof! Woof!”

The dog barking desperately at Seowoo had eyes as blue as a lake.

“Hah…. I don’t know why it’s so noisy.”

Seo Jaeha gave an awkward smile and looked back and forth between the dog in the back seat and Seowoo. A thick iron chain, similar to the one that had been around the neck of the Jindo dog being dragged by the dog meat trader last time, was tied around the neck of the dog with mixed brown and white fur.

‘I also have a Jindo dog, and I feel sorry for this one. It looks like my dog.’

“Is that the dog you’re raising, hyung?”

Seowoo asked, recalling what Seo Jaeha had said when they met the dog meat trader on the street last time.

“Yeah. Is this the first time you’ve seen it, Seowoo?”

Seo Jaeha answered, looking at Seowoo with an unfazed expression. It was his characteristic relaxed and mature way of speaking. Seowoo, his face stiffened, felt goosebumps rising from his back.

‘I reported the dog meat trader. You won’t have to worry for a while.’

He wanted to believe he was mistaken, but Seowoo had watched the entire process of the reward for finding the Shetland Sheepdog in the back seat increasing from 1 million to 3 million won. Having seen several photos of it frequently, he had even come to recognize the dog’s unique fur pattern.

“Seowoo, where are you going.”

Seo Jaeha called out to Seowoo, who was about to take a step away.

“…Yes?”

“The place you’re meeting Hyeyoon is that way, not this way.”

“Ah…, ah. Right. But I remembered I left something behind.”

He didn’t know what was going on, but the moment he saw the missing Shetland Sheepdog in this car, Seowoo thought he had to run away. He didn’t know what kind of relationship Hyeyoon had with him, but the thought that he shouldn’t get involved struck his mind.

“You left something behind?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but I think I have to go quickly.”

With his wavering eyes and clumsy excuse, Seowoo’s lie was already completely exposed.

“Hyeyoon is waiting.”

“I’m sorry to noona… I’ll contact her separately.”

“Seowoo.”

The voice of Seo Jaeha, which he had always thought was soft and gentle, had sunk to a chillingly low tone. The drop was so great that it felt surreal.

“Woof—. Woof—.”

The Shetland Sheepdog in the back seat of Seo Jaeha’s car barked loudly again. This time, Seo Jaeha didn’t hide his rising irritation and spat out a low curse.

“Hah, fuck…”

Seo Jaeha, who was watching Seowoo’s retreating back through the rearview mirror, pulled his hat down deeply. Then he whipped his head around and glared at the dog in the back seat.

“…Whine, whine.”

As soon as its eyes met Seo Jaeha’s, the Shetland Sheepdog, which had been barking loudly, lowered its head as if it had never done so and made a pained sound of fear.

Slam—.

Seo Jaeha got out of the driver’s seat, spat out a curse in annoyance, and roughly closed the door.

🦴

The event that day was a dog hybrid event. Juwon attended in his dog form. He could have changed into his human form, changed his clothes, and come home, but it was troublesome and he was tired, so he took a taxi driven by a hybrid driver. His parents and older sister had a meeting with business partners, so Juwon returned home alone.

“Woof!”

‘Have a safe trip.’

The convenience store had blocked off the road leading to his house again, so the taxi couldn’t go all the way to the front of his house. He had to get out secretly and walk. Fortunately, there was no one in the alley leading to his house. Juwon moved with light footsteps, pat, pat, pat, pat, with his ears perked up.

Just then, from behind the empty alley, the sound of fast footsteps was heard. Juwon, whose hearing was good to begin with, but even better when he was a dog, instantly recognized it as Seowoo’s footsteps. Each person has a unique sound due to their weight or walking habits, and in Seowoo’s case, it was a pitter-patter sound.

‘Seowoo?’

Juwon had never heard Seowoo run so fast before. Instinctively feeling that something was wrong, Juwon turned around and started running toward Seowoo.

Seowoo’s face, as he ran into the alley, was pale.

“Woof! Woof!”

‘Seowoo!’

Juwon started running, calling out to Seowoo. From behind Seowoo, the sound of unfamiliar footsteps was heard. Seowoo, who was panting heavily, looked surprised and flustered when he encountered Juwon, that is, Jjokko, in the alley.

Seo Jaeha, who was much taller than Seowoo, ran with large strides, so the distance between the two quickly closed. Juwon, who was watching this from the front, didn’t know what was going on, but he thought he had to first change into a human and save Seowoo.

“Woof! Woof!”

Juwon ran toward Seowoo at full speed. And the moment he was about to put strength into his toes and transform into a human, the scruff of his neck was roughly seized.

“Woof! Woof…?”

‘What the?’

It was completely unexpected. Seo Jaeha, who seemed to be chasing Seowoo, had changed his target and snatched Juwon up. At the unfamiliar sensation of his body suddenly floating, Juwon twisted his limbs.

Seo Jaeha stopped in his tracks, holding Juwon’s scruff with one hand. The man who was breathing deeply was human, but he was one who could smell hybrids. Seo Jaeha was a very rare half-blood of a hybrid and a human who could distinguish hybrids.

“Hah…, so it was this bastard’s scent.”

“Grrrrrr.”

Juwon bared his sharp teeth, showing his hostility.

“Jjokko!”

Seowoo, clutching the carrier containing Gureum tightly, shouted at Juwon and Seo Jaeha. And then, as if having made a decision, he walked toward Seo Jaeha and Juwon. Seo Jaeha, while tightening his grip on Juwon’s scruff, whispered in a small, eerie voice.

“It seems your friend doesn’t know…, you should have been more moderate with your scent.”

“…Grrrrrrrrr.”

Juwon growled at Seo Jaeha in a voice that seemed to be boiling up from within. Seo Jaeha looked coldly at Seowoo, who was walking toward him, and turned around. He walked with large strides, and when Seowoo started to run, Seo Jaeha also picked up his pace and ran.

Half-blood hybrids were generally physically fit. If such a Seo Jaeha started to run with determination, there was no way Seowoo could catch up.

“Hah, hah.”

The distance between them was growing. He could hear Seowoo’s breathing getting rougher. It was clear that he was pushing his stamina to its limit. Juwon couldn’t bear to watch.

“Woof!”

‘Seowoo, just go.’

Even in the surreal situation of being kidnapped, something he had never even imagined before, Juwon was worried about Seowoo. The faraway Seowoo was getting smaller and smaller. But Seowoo’s voice calling for him did not easily fade.

“Jjokko!”