PUPPY 68

“Juwon…, no, Jjokko.”

Seowoo, who had almost called him Juwon out of habit, quickly corrected the name as he glanced around. As if finding Seowoo cute, Juwon, who had become a small puppy, smiled and barked softly at Seowoo.

“Arf!”

Seowoo stared at Juwon with a dazed expression. The situation felt so surreal because the tall man who had been standing in front of him just moments ago was gone, and only a small puppy… that is, ‘Jjokko,’ remained.

“Jjokko…ya, are you okay?”

“Arf!”

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

Is he surprised? Juwon studied Seowoo’s expression. He wagged his tail and his round, black eyes sparkled.

“Cute….”

The thought slipped out from between Seowoo’s lips unconsciously. It was a natural reaction to seeing a cute puppy.

“Arf!”

‘Thanks.’

“Why did you suddenly change?”

But Seowoo’s face darkened when he saw Juwon barking a small ‘arf’ instead of speaking. Last time, his family had burst into the room and he hadn’t had time to process it, but seeing the transformation right before his eyes made him suddenly feel afraid. He also worried if changing like this would hurt. Kneeling down, Seowoo brought his face close to the now-small Juwon.

“Juwon, does it hurt?”

“Whine….”

Juwon shook his head and looked up at Seowoo.

In fact, there was a reason why Juwon had transformed into a puppy right in front of Seowoo’s eyes. Originally, he was going to tell his mom and dad that he would have a boyfriend soon. He planned to announce his future blueprint with the human Seowoo as nonchalantly and composedly as possible. And he was going to casually ask his parents if it was okay to reveal that he was a shapeshifter to Seowoo. However, at a family dinner after a long time, he heard something terrifying before he could even open his mouth.

‘Cha Juwon, you’d better not get caught being a shapeshifter. You’ll be grounded.’

‘We’ve decided to shave his fur off and send him to study abroad right away.’

He could endure having his fur shaved or being grounded. But studying abroad? The thought of being separated from Seowoo for even a day felt like his subsided separation anxiety was flaring up again.

In conclusion, Juwon was ‘not yet’ able to reveal his identity as a shapeshifter to Seowoo. His conscience pricked him for having to deceive the naive Seowoo.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Arf!”

‘I said it doesn’t hurt even when I change!’

“…What do I do, Juwon?”

Seowoo bit his lower lip and looked around. Then, in a very small voice, he asked Juwon in a whisper. At that, Juwon shouted as if he had been waiting.

“Arf! Arf!”

‘Kiss! Kiss!’

But Seowoo had no ability to understand dog barks at all. He tilted his head from side to side, trying to interpret Juwon’s words somehow, but it was no use.

“I really don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Grrrr arf! Arf!”

‘Kiss! Kiss! A touch of the lips! A true love’s kiss!’

This time, Juwon rambled on for a while. He produced a sound that seemed to boil from within, a short bark, and even a sound like a howl, but Seowoo just tilted his head once more.

“…Huh?”

“Whimper….”

Juwon let out a short breath as if he couldn’t help it and stuck out his pink tongue. Then, he moved his tongue up and down, flapping it. Seowoo watched the furiously moving pink tongue with a troubled face.

“Are you thirsty, Juwon?”

Seowoo, misinterpreting Juwon’s action, gave a completely wrong answer. Frustrated, Juwon opened and closed his mouth. As he did, his teeth, quite pointy and sharp for being as small as millet grains, were revealed.

“Grrr arf! Arf!”

‘No, that’s not it, my tongue like this….’

Juwon let out a short breath—huff—and licked his lips again as if telling him to watch carefully. This time, the movement was much slower. Watching it, Seowoo came up with answers like ‘I’m hungry,’ ‘my lips are dry,’ and ‘my mouth tastes bitter.’ Just as Juwon’s tongue was about to go limp with exhaustion, Seowoo shouted the correct answer.

“Ah, a kiss!”

“Arf!”

‘That’s right!’

Juwon nodded his head, smiled brightly, and slowly closed his eyes. He was clearly signaling the timing for a kiss. Puppies have really long eyelashes too. Thinking that, Seowoo slowly lowered his head and gave Juwon a short kiss on the lips. At the same time, Juwon grew bigger and bigger.

“Wow….”

Seowoo stared blankly at Juwon’s transformation. It was a moment of fluid transformation where his short legs stretched out straight and his fluffy fur turned into smooth skin. Seowoo, who had been watching with his mouth open, realized that because he was still kneeling, his and Juwon’s positions had become suspicious, and he jumped to his feet.

“Get dressed quickly before people come. I’ll keep watch.”

Seowoo said, turning around and surveying the area. Under the dense trees where the playground was hidden, Juwon was as naked as a newborn. Even though he had quite a bit of muscle, perhaps because he was so tall and lanky, he felt more slender than bulky or intimidating. In that brief moment he had looked away, Seowoo had clearly imprinted Juwon’s butt and the muscles behind his parted thighs onto his retina.

“When you’re dressed…, let’s go quickly.”

I don’t want to go. Juwon put on his clothes as slowly as possible.

🦴

As they walked, they soon passed the shopping arcade with the convenience store and reading room and were in the alley that led straight to their homes. Unlike the main street, the small alley leading to the residential area was completely deserted. As they entered the narrow street, Juwon asked Seowoo.

“No—, paw today?”

“Huh?”

“You always ask for my paw.”

At Juwon’s words, Seowoo made an ‘ah-ah—’ sound. It was the training he had his puppy-Juwon do every day. The moment he was about to refuse, saying it was fine, Juwon’s large, long hand was extended in front of Seowoo’s eyes.

“Want my paw?”

“Sure.”

Seowoo was about to decline, saying it was fine, but he just took Juwon’s hand. He immediately felt the warmth from their clasped hands. As they walked down the alley at a slow pace, Juwon gave a slight squeeze to Seowoo’s hand and led him.

“Seowoo, wait a minute.”

The place Seowoo was led to by Juwon’s hand was a short dead-end in the alley. Seowoo, who found himself leaning against a wall in a narrow path with no way out except behind Juwon, slowly lifted his head and asked. Because of the close distance, Juwon’s slightly ragged breathing was clearly audible to Seowoo as well.

“Why?”

“…Do it one more time.”

“What?”

A kiss.

Juwon added a short word to Seowoo’s question. The voice of Juwon, who was saying the cute word ‘kiss,’ was somehow low and laced with moisture. Because he was hidden by Juwon’s large frame, there was no way they would be caught unless someone deliberately came down this narrow path. And yet, Seowoo was worried. He couldn’t clearly define whether this worry was about being caught kissing or a more fundamental worry about dating Juwon.

“But aren’t you worried?”

“Why.”

“Just, if we…, were to date.”

Just saying the word dating made his throat feel parched. Seowoo needlessly tightened his grip on the hand he was holding. Worry was evident on his face.

“Should I be worried?”

“Uhm.”

Instead, Juwon asked Seowoo back. Instead of answering, Seowoo bit his lower lip and pondered. As if telling him not to, Juwon gently swept his thumb over Seowoo’s lips.

“What are you worried about?”

“Well, in Korean society, it’s not exactly ordinary. We can’t have descendants either….”

Descendants…. Thinking that Seowoo seemed to be as forward-thinking as himself, Juwon continued.

“I’ll think about that with you. Other than that, is there anything else that bothers you?”

“Other than that…?”

Isn’t that the most important thing? While Seowoo was considering other people’s views and social systems, Juwon asked another question.

“What do you want our relationship to be like?”

“……”

It was a question not about anything else, but solely about the two of them, ‘you and me.’

Seowoo once again felt his lips go dry. The answer was already decided, but it wouldn’t come out at once, as if it were stuck in his throat. In his head, he was urging himself, ‘Hurry up and answer. Hurry up!’ but he couldn’t form a sentence and speak, as if someone had glued his mouth shut. Juwon, watching Seowoo’s twitching lips, smiled brightly as if to give him courage and spoke slowly.

“Seowoo, I want to be with you….”

“Me too.”

Before Juwon’s slowly spoken words could finish, Seowoo blurted out an answer. He thought his heart would pop out along with the answer. That’s how nervous he was, and it was a moment where Seowoo had squeezed out all the courage he had.

“I like you too, Cha Juwon.”

He had thought it would be a difficult thing to say, but he felt relieved after actually saying it. So, Seowoo added again in a small voice, ‘I like you.’ There was no reply from Juwon, and just as Seowoo was about to open his mouth again, Juwon hugged him with enough force to crush him.

“Ouch…, it hurts.”

“Sorry. I’m just so happy.”

As a moan escaped Seowoo’s lips, Juwon finally loosened his grip a little. At Juwon’s reply, Seowoo let out a faint laugh that sounded like air escaping. Along with the laughter, a mix of emotions like anxiety and relief flowed out.

Juwon held Seowoo like that for a long time. The weight of Juwon became familiar, and his wildly beating heart calmed down a little. Seowoo cleared his throat.

“…Juwon.”

“Yeah.”

He had just called his name, but a gentle response flowed out. Gaining courage from that, Seowoo opened his mouth.

“So now, are we da…, ting?”