PUPPY 67

As he spun like a hamster on a wheel between school, the reading room, school, and the reading room, the long-awaited Sunday quickly arrived. He was finally able to shake off the Dong-Dong-Ju trio, whose paths overlapped with his to a sickening degree, and go see a movie alone with Seowoo.

“Why did you come out looking so cute?”

As soon as he saw Seowoo come out the door, a bright smile spread across Juwon’s lips. Seowoo, wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, had his bangs styled slightly differently than usual, which revealed his neat and round forehead.

“Me?”

“Yeah. Fucking cute.”

Adding ‘fucking’ to a compliment was the highest form of praise Juwon could offer. Embarrassed by Juwon’s serious expression, Seowoo needlessly fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt. Then, he lifted his head and asked Juwon.

“And you?”

“Me?”

“Why did you come out dressed so…, handsomely?”

Juwon looked so handsome that he had almost stared at him, slack-jawed and mesmerized. Out of his school uniform, Juwon looked like a model, perhaps because of his tall stature.

“I’m glad if I look handsome.”

Juwon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. It was worth splurging on clothes with the sole intention of looking handsome to Seowoo.

Yesterday, Juwon had called his older sister, fully expecting to be nagged 100% of the time. Juwon’s sister, Cha Hyewon, the eldest daughter who would lead the next generation of the Gwanghwamun Cha family of dog-shifters, was a successful influencer and shopping mall CEO. His sister, who was on an overseas business trip and had been woken up in the middle of the night, was extremely angry and growled.

Despite his sister’s threat that she would come home and rip his throat out if he said anything useless, Juwon mustered his courage and continued.

‘I’m going on a date with my boyfriend….’

‘What does that have to do with me? Do you think that’s a good enough reason to call me at dawn?’

I’m sorry…. As he apologized politely, his sister’s expression softened a little.

‘Please, please help me pick out my clothes. You’re an expert, noona.’

‘…Hah, what do you have.’

At his sister’s question, Juwon showed her the clothes spread out on his bed. They were all from luxury brands, made famous by idols or actors who had worn them.

‘Seowoo likes luxury brands, you know…? So I picked a few.’

‘Throw those out, you look like new money.’

And so, Juwon came out armed from head to toe in his sister’s picks. He did get an earful for buying clothes plastered with logos, but seeing Seowoo’s admiring face, it couldn’t have been more rewarding.

🦴

The movie theater, where they had arrived earlier than planned, was bustling with people. It seemed that many people had come to the theater due to the success of a recently released hero movie. However, this had little to do with Juwon and Seowoo, who had come to see the animation of the little puppy’s chaotic grand adventure.

“Is it because it’s Sunday? There are so many people.”

“I know, right? The weather is nice, so why aren’t they out for a walk?”

Juwon wore a look of incomprehension at Seowoo’s question. In fact, Juwon extremely preferred outdoor activities to indoor ones. He thought it would be nice to go on a light hike with Seowoo or run along the river, but he couldn’t pass up a movie theater date.

In dramas and movies, the movie theater was always an essential date course. This was something even Oh Dongjae, the master of dating, acknowledged. There was still some time before the movie started, so Seowoo and Juwon decided to sit on a bench and wait. While they were playing around, fiddling with each other’s fingers, Juwon took out his cell phone and spoke.

“Should we take a picture?”

“A picture?”

“Yeah. To post on InXta.”

“…Well, okay.”

Seowoo replied to Juwon’s words in a casual voice. As soon as permission was granted, Juwon turned on the camera. When he held up the phone with his long arm, the two of them, with their arms around each other’s shoulders and pressed closely together, were captured in one frame. When Juwon pressed the button, there was a click-click-click-click-click sound as dozens of photos were taken.

“I’ll post this one.”

Juwon, who had been carefully examining over a hundred photos, made a decision and started writing a post. Seowoo also turned on his phone and checked Juwon’s social media. The number of followers had increased noticeably since he last saw it.

“You have a lot of followers.”

“It’s because I’m mutuals with my noona. She has a lot of followers.”

“Ah, you said your noona is famous….”

Seowoo looked through the list of accounts Juwon was following. Among the accounts of friends Seowoo also knew, he saw an account with a verification mark. The woman in the profile picture had a perfect and beautiful side profile that resembled Juwon’s. Curious, he tapped on the profile. Seowoo’s eyes widened at the unexpectedly huge number of followers. When he returned to his feed, he saw the post Juwon had uploaded.

(Photo)

juwon.chaaaaa Movie with Seowoo (ᐡ— ﻌ •ᐡ)♥

YJH_official I’ll be cheering for your beautiful friendship!

└ k_dw___ ??what are you talking about anyone can see they’re dating

└└ odongdong00 yep u can see they’re dating even from a ktx train #highschoolcouple #couple #lovestagram #highschoolparents

It was a post that hadn’t been up for long, but it already had a considerable number of ‘likes.’ Seowoo also double-tapped the screen to leave a ‘like.’ Juwon, watching him, asked Seowoo.

“Aren’t you going to leave a comment on the picture?”

“I don’t really leave comments…. I barely post pictures either.”

“You posted the picture you took with me last time.”

“That was because I was trying to find Chun-sam’s owner.”

“Don’t just comment on the Dong-Dong-Ju trio’s posts, comment on mine too.”

“What should I write?”

“Whatever you want. I’m going to go buy popcorn.”

Juwon, who had checked the time, smiled at the still-pondering Seowoo and stood up. On Juwon’s wrist was the luxury watch he had received as a gift from his dad.

Seowoo, who had been watching Juwon’s back as he walked away to buy popcorn, turned his head again. On the phone screen, he saw the selfie he had taken with Juwon.

What should I write….

Seowoo started to type, ‘The picture came out nice,’ then deleted all the letters he had already written. He felt awkward making such a compliment on a picture they took together. Letting out a small sigh, Seowoo fiddled with the screen. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he left a comment.

rsw0111 ♥

He was inspired by seeing a foreigner who had left a praying emoji and a ton of heart emojis on Juwon’s post. He hadn’t written a lengthy explanation, and he had just copied the comment at the end of the post Juwon left, so he figured it would be fine.

🦴

“Hah—, the action was insane.”

Juwon said, breathing out as he threw away the empty popcorn bucket. Juwon was steeped in a deep afterglow, as if he had just watched a blockbuster action movie. A smile appeared on Seowoo’s lips at the sight.

“How was it for you?”

“I had fun too.”

Half of the audience filling the theater were preschoolers and lower elementary school students, so he had worried it might be childish, but the animation was more interesting than he had imagined.

After leaving the theater and having a filling meal, the two of them headed in the direction of home.

“…Juwon?”

Juwon, who always walked ahead or right next to him, was slowly following behind Seowoo today.

“Yeah.”

“Hurry up.”

At Seowoo’s urging, Juwon forced himself to take larger strides. But as soon as the distance to Seowoo narrowed, he stopped walking again. Seowoo, who was listening, smiled quietly to himself. He didn’t know what he was hesitating about, but this different side of the always-uninhibited Juwon felt cute somehow.

“Why are you walking so slowly?”

Seowoo slowly turned his head and asked Juwon. Juwon, who had been tapping the ground with the tip of his shoe, stood next to Seowoo as if he were being reluctantly dragged along. Why was he walking slowly.

Because I don’t want to go home and I want to be with you more….

Juwon rolled the words he wanted to say to Seowoo around in his mouth. The date he had diligently prepared for had definitely been fun, but seeing Seowoo trying to go home early, as if he had hidden snacks at home, made him a little disappointed.

I want to spend more time with him somehow, is there a good way? Just then, a good idea popped into Juwon’s head.

“Want to stop by the playground before we go?”

“…The playground?”

“Yeah. I’ll push you on the swing.”

Juwon said in a determined voice. Juwon was talking as if pushing him on the swing was some great temptation. At first, he hadn’t known because it was hidden by his tall stature and fierce eyes, but Juwon sometimes had this quirky and innocent side. Seowoo, swallowing a laugh, nodded his head. The two of them’s fingers brushed against each other as they headed to the park. And not long after, the two arrived at the playground hidden among the park’s tall trees.

“Seowoo.”

Just then, Juwon grabbed Seowoo’s wrist. He was frowning slightly, as if he had a headache.

“Yeah?”

“You know, but I….”

As he was speaking, Juwon vanished from before Seowoo’s eyes in an instant. No, he hadn’t vanished, he had just shrunk in an instant. A startled Seowoo called Juwon’s name loudly.

“Juwon!”

“Arf!”

What remained before Seowoo’s eyes was Juwon, who had turned into a small puppy.

“Gasp.”

Juwon, who had become small after turning into a puppy, was buried deep inside his clothes. The watch that had been on his wrist also fell to the ground with a thud. The diamonds embedded where the numbers should have been sparkled as they caught the sunlight.

“What should I do…?”

A flustered Seowoo looked around. Fortunately, there was no one else at the playground. Juwon, who had wriggled his way out from between the clothes, wagged his tail gently and stuck his tongue out.