PUPPY 66

Seowoo, whose eyes had been lazily closed, opened them clearly and grabbed Juwon’s wrist.

“…You’re not going to change just because we kissed, are you? You’re still the same.”

As expected, it was just like the intelligent Seowoo, who always held the top rank in the entire school. Unlike Juwon’s vague, mumbled excuse, Seowoo’s point was sharp.

“You changed last time…. I think I did it wrong, so let’s try again.”

Juwon slightly turned his face and tried to bring his lips to Seowoo’s again. They were still damp from their lips having been pressed together just moments before.

“N-No, you can’t.”

Seowoo, having barely come to his senses, shook his head at Juwon and spoke. There was no active resistance, like pushing Juwon away or covering his lips. Seeing this, Juwon decided to try acting cute. Strangers might scoff, but this was a high-level psychological operation. At least, that’s what Juwon thought.

“Do it again. Huh?”

“I can’t….”

“Just once.”

“I’ve confirmed that you’re not changing, so go inside now….”

“Then I’ll go in after just one quick peck.”

“…A quick one.”

Okay. Juwon answered in a low voice and lowered his head. It was the moment he left a short, longing kiss with a—smack—sound.

Rattle

With the sound of the back door opening, a person popped out. It was followed by the sound of someone sucking in a breath. ‘Gasp.’ They slowly pulled their lips apart, turned their heads, and looked toward where the door had opened.

“Hey, hey. Get back inside.”

Yang Juhyeon was there, his arms spread wide.

“Yang Juhyeon, what’s with you all of a sudden? Hey, I need to get out.”

Kim Dongwon, who was still inside the classroom, shouted at Yang Juhyeon, his voice full of complaint. Seowoo’s gaze, who was practically trapped in Juwon’s arms, also turned to Yang Juhyeon.

“Ah, Kim Dongwon. Let’s just use the front door.”

“You must be crazy, Yang Juhyeon. Fine.”

Soon after, the classroom’s back door closed again with a rattle. Remembering Kim Dongwon’s words that he would use the front door, Seowoo lightly pushed Juwon away. Then he straightened his crumpled school uniform shirt.

“…You think they saw?”

“Probably.”

At Seowoo’s question, Juwon gave a slight shrug and answered as if it were no big deal.

🦴

After the drama ended and before going to bed, Seowoo’s grandfather came out to the yard for a moment. It was to clean up the leftover food and water the cats had left. Just then, he heard a knock, knock at the main gate. When the grandfather opened the gate, the person he saw was Juwon.

“Hello.”

“Ah…, the youngest son from the tile-roofed house.”

And the rascal who was in bed with his grandson, completely naked, last time. The grandfather couldn’t bring himself to say Juwon’s other descriptor out loud, so he swallowed the words. Unaware of the grandfather’s turmoil, Juwon smiled affably and said.

“I came to hang out in Seowoo’s room for a bit before I go.”

“…Ah, is that so?”

“I’ll play with my clothes on today.”

Juwon meant it as a joke, but the startled grandfather’s mouth did not close easily. Ah, ah. As the grandfather seemed on the verge of saying something, Juwon bowed his head deeply in greeting, then this time went up the stairs to the second floor where Seowoo’s room was.

“Knock, knock.”

Juwon said as he knocked on Seowoo’s door. He had frequented Seowoo’s room so often it was like he was punching a time card, but this was the first time he had come in human form. From beyond the thin door, he could hear Seowoo’s flustered voice, the sound of something being tidied up, and then the sound of him getting up and walking over, one after another.

“…What is it, Cha Juwon?”

“Hi, I came to hang out. I brought something tasty, too.”

Juwon said, shaking the round chocolate snacks he held in one hand.

“At this hour?”

“We always hung out together in the evening.”

At Seowoo’s question, Juwon smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth. To be honest, it was still hard to accept the fact that Juwon was Jjokko. It seemed to be because he had only seen him transform just that one time.

But Juwon was reacting very calmly. Seowoo let out a short sigh—Haah—and looked around. His grandfather was still in the yard. Seowoo whispered in a very small voice.

“Is it okay for you to be walking around like this?”

“Yeah. I got permission from my mom and dad before I came out.”

In truth, he had darted out quickly before they could catch him.

“How did you get into our house?”

“Trade secret.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your grandfather opened the gate for me.”

Seowoo could still see his grandfather lingering in the yard. Just then, as if having made a decision, the grandfather raised his head toward the second floor of the house where Seowoo and Juwon were and spoke.

“Should I bring you some snacks? Uhm…, how about playing outside instead of in the room? The weather is nice….”

“It’s okay. Juwon is just going to talk for a little while and then go home.”

While speaking to his grandfather, Seowoo could feel his face flush hotly. He had caused a huge misunderstanding with the scene he showed in front of his family last time. The suggestion to play specifically ‘outside’ seemed to be an extension of that misunderstanding. However, he couldn’t talk about the secret of Juwon turning into a dog outside.

“Come in.”

Seowoo said, opening the door wide. Whenever he entered the room, Seowoo had always given him a peck on the forehead, but Juwon was a little crestfallen at the dry reaction.

“You used to welcome me when I was a puppy. Are you not happy to see me at all like this?”

“I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

“…For not telling me?”

“Yeah.”

A deep silence fell after Seowoo’s answer. Juwon, who had been averting his gaze, finally seemed to make up his mind, looked at Seowoo, and spoke.

“…I was wrong.”

It was such an honest statement. Seowoo was slightly taken aback by Juwon’s words. He had seen people around him stubbornly insist they were right out of pride, but this was the first time he had seen someone admit their fault so directly.

“What… were you wrong about?”

He was asking because he was curious about Juwon’s words, but somehow it ended up looking like he was interrogating him about his mistake.

“I was jealous.”

“Jealous?”

Hearing the word jealousy, a scene instantly came to Seowoo’s mind. It was the time he witnessed Lee Yerin smiling at Juwon in the cafeteria and greeting him cheerfully in the hallway. That was what Seowoo knew as the emotion of ‘jealousy,’ so he was just puzzled by Juwon’s claim that he had felt jealous.

“What did I do to make you jealous…?”

“……”

“Huh?”

As Seowoo pressed him once more, Juwon let out a short sigh and spoke. It felt less like he was appealing to a mature and sophisticated image and more like he was baring his soul, down to the very bottom.

“Feeding the cat, petting it….”

“Huh…?”

An unexpected object of jealousy had appeared. Seeing Seowoo’s uncomprehending expression, Juwon let out a long sigh and added.

“You hugged another dog, too.”

“The brown dog?”

“Yeah.”

Juwon’s short answer was steeped in feelings of disappointment.

“The cat and the dog, I was just taking care of them.”

“I’m cuter than them.”

“That’s true….”

“I can do this, too.”

Juwon opened the bag of snacks he had brought. Tossing a round chocolate snack covered in almond powder high into the air, Juwon caught it in his mouth with a—chomp. Seowoo’s mouth fell open even wider at the marvelous trick Juwon had demonstrated. ‘You throw it.’ Juwon said, handing him a snack. With a doubtful face, Seowoo tossed the snack into the air. The snack didn’t go in the desired direction, but Juwon quickly moved his body and caught it.

“That’s amazing, but you still shouldn’t have pretended to be a dog.”

Seowoo was almost captivated by Juwon’s cute acts and tricks, but he barely regained his senses. Then, he chided Juwon in a deliberately stern tone.

“…That’s true.”

Juwon immediately complied.

“You could have just said it. That you wanted me to hug you.”

“……”

Juwon fell silent at Seowoo’s words. Along with the silence in the room, a tension flowed between them. But that tension had a very peculiar color to it. It resembled the tension from when they had pressed their lips together in the empty hallway during class. Thinking this was going to lead to another kiss, Seowoo vigorously shook his head and asked Juwon.

“Who else knows?”

“What, just.”

Faced with a difficult question, Juwon avoided Seowoo’s gaze and mumbled a vague answer. It was a clumsy reaction, but Seowoo didn’t press any further. It was because his heart had begun to pound like crazy due to the tension filling the room.

“Did you tell your family?”

“No, I’d be dead.”

“…Dead?”

Seowoo’s eyes widened at Juwon’s words. He then raised a hand and made a throat-slitting gesture. Juwon had meant it in a figurative sense, but it seemed Seowoo had taken it as a genuine death.

“Not actually dead, but I’d get in trouble.”

“Then why did you come? Really just to hang out with me?”

At Seowoo’s question, Juwon smiled and asked.

“Should I lie down?”

Lie down, bang. It was an action Seowoo had Jjokko do almost every day.

“Hah….”

“I can give you my paw, too.”

“…You scammer.”

“Here, paw.”

Juwon took Seowoo’s hand and made him open his palm. Then, he placed his hand on it with a plop. Juwon soon took his hand back, but a cell phone with its screen on was left on the palm.

“What’s this?”

Seowoo asked, looking at Juwon’s cell phone screen.

“Let’s go see a movie together. This Sunday.”

Seowoo couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the cell phone screen. The ‘movie’ Juwon had booked was a G-rated animation about the chaotic grand adventure of a young puppy.