PUPPY 78

It had been exactly 75 hours, 32 minutes, and 8 seconds since Seowoo had distanced himself from him. Juwon, who had become too lazy to even transform into his full dog form, was in a state of being only half-transformed.

With white ears and a tail, Juwon was lying sprawled out—flop—not in the living room, but in the middle of the hallway leading to his room. His cell phone was placed in front of him, but no call came from the person he was waiting for.

Juwon listlessly watched a hand wave back and forth in front of his eyes before closing them.

“Don’t you want to go for a walk?”

His mother, who had bent her knees and sat down in front of Juwon, asked in a worried voice. Juwon’s gaze briefly turned to his mother, but he soon shook his head.

“I don’t want to go.”

Juwon, still occupying the floor, answered in a voice that sounded uninterested. Hearing Juwon’s reply, his parents’ expressions turned serious.

Refusing a walk. This was no ordinary matter.

This was the same Juwon who would go out for a walk whether it was raining, snowing, or even when a typhoon came, putting his light body at risk of being blown away by the wind.

“Should Dad throw a ball for you outside? Shall we play catch just 100 times?”

“……”

As if his father’s proposal was tempting, Juwon’s drooping ears perked up, and his tail began to wag gently. But that too was brief, and Juwon shook his head again, letting his body go limp on the floor.

🦴

Juwon, who had secretly transformed into a dog at the study hall, whined as he hung his bag around his neck. It didn’t matter if he left his books and uniform behind since he had spares at home, but he absolutely had to take his cell phone, just in case Seowoo contacted him.

The weight of the cell phone was 240 grams. And Juwon’s weight, having lost some due to recent heartache, was exactly 2.48 kilograms. After packing the heavy cell phone into his doggy bag, Juwon quietly began to follow behind Seowoo.

‘Don’t talk to me until you tell me the truth. Don’t even hang around.’

It was a clear warning. Because of it, Juwon, who could no longer get close to Seowoo, began to secretly trail him. He was repentant, but being told not to hang around was too harsh a punishment.

Seowoo, sitting in the cafeteria and holding a vigil in front of his food.

Seowoo, digging into the floor with his sighs.

Seowoo, fiddling with his cell phone screen, then uploading a picture edited in black and white.

From a distance, Juwon took in every single one of Seowoo’s movements.

“Pant, pant.”

Juwon diligently followed Seowoo, who was heading home from the study hall, with his short legs.

‘He’s walking with earphones in. That’s dangerous.’

Juwon thought as he followed Seowoo, who was walking while listening to music. Of course, he didn’t neglect to survey the surroundings and be on guard for any strangers approaching.

Seowoo didn’t listen to music often because it interfered with his concentration. But the last three days had been different. Songs about a cooling-off period or breakup between lovers all sounded like his own story, so he listened while clutching his aching chest.

“Whine….”

Juwon took in the sight of Seowoo, whose back view alone seemed gaunt. He felt as if his heart were being pricked, prick, prick, by a sharp needle. Though he seemed to lack energy, Seowoo was generally living well.

He ate at least a few spoonfuls of food, concentrated on his classes even harder than before as if to erase his distracting thoughts, and was walking home from the study hall just fine by himself. Since these were things he had originally done alone, it was natural that he could manage them well. But Juwon’s heart, watching him, was nothing but anxious. If more time passed, it felt like he would just be pushed aside from Seowoo’s life like this.

Pant, pant, Juwon let out short breaths as he diligently followed Seowoo.

Juwon carefully thought about what it was he was missing right now.

The existence of being a Beastman and the unwritten rule to protect one’s life from external threats.

These things floated around, cluttering Juwon’s mind.

From a young age, Juwon was taught that he must not reveal his identity as a Beastman to humans. He was brainwashed against transforming by memorizing songs with rewritten lyrics from various children’s songs. Of course, the effect was minimal….

Beastmen appear in webtoons, movies, late-night X-rated talk shows, and even web novels, so why couldn’t he tell Seowoo? A whine—, sound mixed into the small dog’s sigh.

Just then, Seowoo, who had almost reached his house, stopped dead in the alley.

“……”

“……”

Juwon tilted his head and looked at Seowoo’s back. Instead of opening the gate to his own house and going in, Seowoo was looking at Juwon’s house, which stood opposite.

As if time had stopped, Seowoo stood in the same posture, looking at the same place. It was impossible to know what he was thinking, but the endlessly somber atmosphere was felt fully even by Juwon, who was far away.

“……”

Seowoo looked at the door of Juwon’s house for a long time before lifting his head. A deep sigh spread through the air. Only then did Juwon realize.

That Seowoo was holding back tears.

A lie once started could not be covered with another lie, or brought to an end. It was impossible to clear up a misunderstanding with the truth buried.

Juwon watched Seowoo, his small body hidden behind a telephone pole. The thought that he needed to make a decision became increasingly firm. More than anything, a life without Seowoo had now become completely meaningless to Juwon.

After confirming that Seowoo, who had been standing blankly and holding back tears, went into his house and the lights went out, Juwon finally turned his steps toward home.

‘Did you even like me?’

Suddenly, he remembered what Seowoo had asked him. Just recalling those words made his chest ache as if it would tear apart.

Juwon trudged, trudged, powerlessly across the yard. It was late evening, but it didn’t seem dark, so he lifted his head and saw a round, full moon shining brightly.

“Awoo—. Whine. Whine.”

Feeling a piercing loneliness, Juwon looked up at the sky and made a sorrowful sound. It wasn’t an instinctive act. Perhaps because he was a small dog, Juwon didn’t howl like the large dogs.

Perhaps because he lacked the knack, his throat hurt from just imitating it a little. Juwon coughed and choked, gag, gag, and stopped howling. Then he flopped down onto the dirt ground. As he rubbed his body all over the damp earth, his distracting thoughts began to disappear one by one, and the things he had to do began to become clear in his mind. Juwon stood up from his spot, his eyes wide open, and began to walk toward his house with confident steps.

🦴

After washing his mud-covered body and drying his hair until it was fluffy, Juwon packed his things.

The priority of the things Juwon packed was entirely Seowoo. Juwon put the doll Seowoo gave him, the t-shirt Seowoo had worn, the t-shirt Seowoo said was cool, the cardigan Seowoo said looked good on him, and so on, into a suitcase.

His parents, who were in the living room, looked at Juwon, who came out with a large suitcase, with puzzled expressions. Before they could even ask where he was going, a determined voice flowed from Juwon first.

“I’m leaving home.”

“What?”

his surprised father shouted.

“……”

His mother, who had been lying down in her dog form, got up, cursing him with her eyes. Even though she didn’t speak, it was as if he could hear a voice saying, ‘This kid is causing all sorts of trouble.’ A growl, grrr—, sounded threateningly.

“What are you talking about so suddenly at night, Juwon. Put the bag down and let’s talk first.”

“A misunderstanding arose between us because I couldn’t reveal that I’m a Beastman.”

It was a common occurrence when a Beastman and a human were dating. Juwon’s parents both lifted their chins slightly at the same time, as if to say, ‘go on.’

“…I’m going to tell him I’m a Beastman. I absolutely can’t break up with Seowoo. It’s okay if my fur gets shaved off. I’ll accept a grounding order too. But, I can’t study abroad.”

There was no wavering in the voice of Juwon, who had made up his mind.

“……”

“So I’d rather take responsibility and….”

“You’re going to get disowned and leave home?”

His father recited the exact plan Juwon had in mind. Though slightly surprised on the inside, Juwon didn’t show it and declared with a confident tone that he would commit this undutiful act.

“Yes.”

Juwon, who usually spoke to his parents in a friendly manner, had a properly disciplined tone today.

“Seowoo is that kid from the house across the street we saw last time, right?”

“Yes. The kid who received a police commendation for catching a Beastman Hunter last time.”

Juwon didn’t miss the opportunity to appeal to Seowoo’s kind heart and courageous actions. Since witnessing Juwon and Seowoo’s lovers’ quarrel in the alley last time, Juwon’s parents had been mentally preparing themselves to some extent.

As if it were deeply engraved in their instincts, there was a fervent and blind side to the love of dog Beastmen. They had thought Juwon would one day cultivate such a love, but they hadn’t expected their third-year high school son to try and shoot a whole drama with the boy from across the street.

“…You like him that much?”

“Yes, if I can just be with Seowoo, even if I die tomorrow, it would be a happy death.”

“Yip!”

‘The things he says!’

His mother, who had been lying down and listening quietly to what Juwon was saying, couldn’t stand it anymore and got up. And then, she bit Juwon’s ankle—chomp. A tooth mark the size of a grain of rice was left on Juwon’s skin.

“Please give me your permission.”

At Juwon’s words, his father let out a long sigh, and his mother let out a short huff—phhht.

The saying that no parent can win against their child was certainly no exception for Beastmen either.