PUPPY 65

At Seowoo’s question about harassing a puppy, Juwon made a dumbfounded face.

“Me?”

As a were-animal, an existence between human and dog, he would protect dogs, if anything, so how could he harass them? Seowoo walked ahead with his mouth firmly shut. Watching Seowoo striding away on the walking path towards the classroom, Juwon thought to himself, ‘He’s quite fast for someone with short legs.’

“Seowoo, where are you going?”

“To the classroom.”

Juwon, who had been following Seowoo with long strides, reached out his hand urgently as they arrived at the hallway. And he gently grabbed Seowoo’s wrist so as not to hurt him.

“I didn’t harass a puppy.”

Juwon’s thumb gently rubbed the inside of Seowoo’s wrist as he answered. It was an act born of anxiety that Seowoo might just go into the classroom like this.

“Okay.”

Seowoo pulled his hand away from Juwon’s grasp and stroked the inside of his wrist with his other hand. It wasn’t an intimate area, but the moment Juwon’s hand touched it, it had tingled as if he’d been electrocuted. It wasn’t even that his wrist hurt.

He tried rubbing his wrist with his thumb again, just as Juwon had done. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, Seowoo lifted his head and looked at Juwon.

“…Didn’t the prince get cursed for harassing a frog?”

Seowoo asked Juwon in a voice full of suspicion. Juwon had a look on his face that seemed to say, ‘I’m being framed.’

“The prince harassed a frog?”

“Wasn’t that it…?”

“Uh. I don’t think a prince in a fairy tale would harass an animal… Wasn’t that Beauty and the Beast?”

Juwon mumbled, running a hand through his hair. It had been a long time since either Juwon or Seowoo had read fairy tales, so they couldn’t remember the details. An embarrassed Juwon avoided his gaze first. He had thrown it out there thinking it was a clever trick, but it was far from meticulous.

Unlike Juwon, who always came to quick and clear conclusions about everything, Seowoo was a deep thinker who tended to deliberate a lot.

Seowoo, lost in thought after hearing Juwon’s words, stood stock-still in the hallway. At Seowoo’s serious expression, Juwon circled around him, asking, “Why?” and “Seowoo, why?” From the classroom next door, the voice of a teacher conducting a lesson could be heard, and from Seowoo and Juwon’s classroom, where they should have been self-studying, the occasional chatter of friends could be heard.

“Did someone cast a curse on you or something?”

Seowoo said in a serious voice, his brow furrowed so deeply that a wrinkle formed between his eyebrows. The conclusion of his long deliberation was shamanism.

“A curse…? I think me turning into a dog is closer to a blessing than a curse…”

Juwon said, glancing at Seowoo. It seemed right that when Juwon’s ancestor, an abandoned stray dog, turned into a human to convey his feelings to his owner, it was a blessing from heaven, not a curse. Besides, when he recalled how he had monopolized Seowoo’s affection while he himself was in puppy form, the were-animal’s ability to transform was indeed a blessing.

“Then what is it…”

“In my opinion.”

Seowoo lifted his head in anticipation of what Juwon would say.

“Yeah.”

“I think I turn into a human when I receive a kiss of true love.”

Juwon lied without batting an eye. He even feigned a puzzled expression, as if he wasn’t sure. Seowoo stared into Juwon’s sparkling black eyes and muttered quietly.

“…A kiss of true love?”

“Yeah.”

“No way… what do you mean, a kiss? You and I are both guys…”

He had been thinking that he liked Juwon, but suddenly true love? This was moving too fast. Seeing Seowoo hesitate, Juwon’s black eyes sparkled and shone once more.

“Why, we’re gay.”

“We are?”

“Yeah.”

Juwon nodded, answering in a confident voice. At Juwon’s overly confident demeanor, Seowoo was, on the contrary, taken aback.

“Why am I gay?”

“…You’re not?”

“……”

“You asked me.”

When did I ever ask Juwon something like that? Seowoo frowned slightly, lost in thought. No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed like that never happened… The conversation he had with the puppy ‘Jjokko’ flashed through Seowoo’s mind.

‘…Ryu Seowoo is gay.’

‘Yip! Yip!’

‘Ryu Seowoo.’

‘Yip!’

‘…Likes Cha Juwon.’

Seowoo’s face gradually turned red with shame.

“…You.”

He had thought Jjokko was just a neighborhood puppy that wandered around. So he thought he had said all sorts of things, but it was actually Juwon. Seowoo leaned against the hallway wall and tried to recall the things he had said and done to Jjokko, no, to Juwon. The moment he squeezed his eyes shut, Juwon strode over to Seowoo.

“So you’re not going to try it?”

“Why… should I.”

A dark shadow fell over Seowoo as Juwon approached. If someone were to pass by in the hallway now, they wouldn’t notice Seowoo’s presence, hidden by Juwon’s large frame.

The distance between the two narrowed sharply as Juwon took another step. He was now so close that Juwon’s breath touched Seowoo’s face softly.

“You want to kiss me right now too, don’t you.”

“……”

At Juwon’s words, Seowoo held his breath. It felt as if the air surrounding him had suddenly become heavy.

“Don’t you want to test it? To see if I change.”

Juwon whispered in a very small voice, as if he only wanted Seowoo to hear. It felt as if he were tempting him to do something bad together.

Do you want to test it?

Do you want to kiss me…

Seowoo slowly lifted his head and looked at Juwon. He opened his lips slightly, but the answer ‘no’ did not come out. Instead, only the sound of Seowoo swallowing his saliva echoed in the quiet hallway. To Juwon, that sound was particularly loud.

“But Seowoo.”

“…What.”

“I’m not kissing you just to test if I turn into a puppy.”

“Huh? What do you…”

“I told you before.”

“……”

One of Juwon’s hands, which had been resting on the wall, dropped down. Juwon, with his gaze lowered, exhaled carefully and tapped Seowoo’s hand with his index finger.

Again…

Again, he felt the same tingling sensation as when Juwon had grabbed his wrist earlier.

“I like you.”

“……”

At Juwon’s words, it felt as if all the fine hairs on his body were standing on end. It was electrifying from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, as if electricity were flowing through him, but at the same time, it felt overwhelming. Juwon was showing his feelings boldly. And with a very direct expression at that. Seowoo, on the other hand, was still hesitating. Even though he himself didn’t know what was holding him back.

“I like you, so I want to kiss you.”

However, there was one thing that even Seowoo was sure of.

That right now… was the definite kissing timing that Oh Dongjae had talked about.

Seowoo closed his eyes slowly enough for Juwon to notice and be aware. Almost simultaneously, Juwon tilted his head sharply. The shadow Juwon created enveloped Seowoo. He thought their lips would meet softly, but the first thing he heard was the brutal sound of their front teeth clashing.

“Ouch…”

A short groan escaped Seowoo’s lips. Juwon must have been nervous too, because as soon as their lips parted, he let out the breath he had been holding. Then, with a serious expression, he asked Seowoo.

“Did that hurt?”

“Yeah, it hurts, but…”

Before Seowoo could finish his answer, Juwon hurriedly spoke.

“Sorry, I won’t make it hurt anymore.”

“Ah…”

He was about to ask if they were going to continue, but Juwon’s lips reached him faster. Juwon cupped Seowoo’s face with both hands and kissed him with loud smooching sounds. After pressing his lips firmly like stamping a seal, Juwon stuck out his tongue slightly.

Even in human form, Juwon retained a few of his puppy habits. Sticking his tongue out slightly was one of them. As he gently licked over Seowoo’s lips with his tongue, he could see Seowoo’s eyelashes trembling.

“Eung…”

“Ah…”

Juwon let out a breath that resembled a sigh and tried hard to maintain his composure. He felt really fucking, fucking good. There was no more appropriate vocabulary than this to express this intense emotion immediately.

Just as he had imagined, Seowoo’s lips were very soft. Not to mention the refreshing and sweet scent that became stronger as their faces drew closer. Except for the accidental touch of their lips last time when he was in puppy form, this was Juwon’s first peck and first kiss. Juwon thought to himself, ‘Why didn’t my cousin Junseok hyung tell me how good this was?’ He felt a slight pull in his lower abdomen.

If it were up to him, he would have liked to run a big circle around Seowoo and then press their lips together again. The thought that he needed to cool down this heat, even by running, dominated Juwon’s mind. And in the brief moment their lips parted, Seowoo opened his eyes, looked at Juwon, and said.

“But you’re not changing…”

Ah… we were supposed to be testing if I turn into a puppy.

With a low sigh, Juwon scratched his forehead with his finger. The moment Seowoo’s lips touched his, all his thoughts had evaporated. Only then did he remember what kind of bullshit he had spouted to get a kiss.

‘Will I change…?’

Thinking that, Juwon looked around the hallway. Just then, Seowoo grabbed the arm of Juwon, who was checking his surroundings.