PUPPY 8

“It’s our senior year of high school,” they said, steeling their resolve. But everyone focused solely on their studies for just about a week after school started. Once that week passed, everyone continued their school lives much as they had before.

Each person had a different way of spending the spare time that came up during class. Seowoo, who didn’t have the stamina to study all night, was the type to study in bits and pieces during his free moments, while Juwon would immediately grab a ball and run out. Most kids played games or browsed social media on their phones, but recently, a new scene had appeared. It was the sight of them gathered closely around a single tablet, watching a drama.

“Don’t ask me to handle this much.”

“He’s so fucking tall. I wonder how tall?”

“Don’t ask me to handle this much.”

“Ah, shut up, I can’t hear.”

The drama that was the talk of the town these days was about two people who insisted they were friends, even though anyone could see they were dating. With misunderstandings caused by a pregnancy and their own fumbling mixed in, the story was getting more interesting by the day.

“Why is he acting like that at the airport railroad station?”

“Can’t he just change his mind and get on the airport train? The platform screen doors haven’t closed yet.”

“No. Go back. It’ll mess up the train schedule.”

Kim Dongwon was sitting on Yang Juhyeon’s lap, and the other kids were standing. Juwon, who had been wandering around the classroom with a ball, had at some point also stood leaning to the side, looking down at the drama.

“I want to date like ordinary people, and I want to be with you for a long time.”

“I want to date like ordinary people, and I want to be with you for a long time.”

As Juwon, who was watching the screen, repeated the male lead’s desperate line, Kim Dongwon expressed his genuine admiration.

“Oh… ah, I can’t say anything because Cha Juwon makes it sound so fucking handsome.”

“I want to be with you for a long time.”

“Shut your trap.”

“This bastard must be crazy.”

Another friend standing next to them repeated the male lead’s line in the same way, but all that followed were criticism and jeers. At the reaction of his now-boisterous friends, Seowoo, who had been standing at the back of the classroom to get a book from his locker, turned around, and his eyes met Juwon’s in the middle of the group.

“Do you watch this too?”

“No. I don’t.”

As Seowoo was about to return to his seat, his eyes fell on Kim Dongwon and Yang Juhyeon.

No matter how close they are, sitting on someone’s lap is a bit much, isn’t it?

‘I don’t think I could sit on Cha Juwon’s lap…’

It was something he had never paid any mind to before, but he couldn’t understand why he suddenly felt that the physical contact between friends was a bit excessive.

“There are 15 minutes left. Who wants to play basketball?”

“Me.”

Juwon, who had torn his eyes away from the drama, said as he held up a basketball that looked like it had been brought from the gym. A few kids who had been looking at their phone screens got up from their seats.

“I don’t think it’ll be too hot if we only play for 15 minutes. Should we just play amongst ourselves?”

“If we lose, we’ll go for revenge during lunch.”

Amidst the group that had suddenly become noisy, Juwon looked at Seowoo and asked.

“You want to play too?”

“Ah…”

As Seowoo was wondering how to refuse, Yang Juhyeon, who was behind him, answered for him.

“Ryu Seowoo can’t.”

“Really?”

“…Yeah.”

He wasn’t particularly fond of ball sports, and he had to refrain from intense exercise that left him out of breath.

So, it was right to refuse… but for some reason, he felt a little left out.

🦴

“I’m home.”

Seowoo, who had returned from the study library, greeted as he entered the living room, but his family’s attention was focused on the TV. A familiar man’s voice was flowing from the TV. It was the drama his friends had been watching during the day. It seemed like it was broadcast time now.

“Seowoo, you’re back?”

“Wow, his charisma is insane.”

Jihye, who was admiring the screen, was the first boarder Seowoo’s grandparents had taken in and Seowoo’s future sister-in-law. His grandmother and Jihye were so captivated they couldn’t even put the grapes in their mouths.

His grandfather was asleep in the massage chair with earphones on. It seemed he had lost the battle for the channel.

“I can’t help it if the jewel is too much.”

On the screen, the male lead was on one knee, holding a shining ring.

“Just as we’ve always done, I want to always be with you in the future. With you, and with our babies.”

At the male lead’s words, Jihye let out a shriek, “Ack!”, and his grandmother clasped her hands together as if she were about to clap. Although he had only seen it a few times by chance while passing by, the drama seemed to have plenty of reasons for its popularity. First of all, the male lead, with his gentle features, was remarkably handsome.

The drama must have been nearing its end, because soon after, the theme song started playing and flashback scenes of the main characters began to appear. It showed the two, who had been high school friends, playing soccer or exchanging sweet texts and calls wishing each other a good night’s sleep.

“Seowoo, you’re back?”

As he stood there watching the drama, still wearing his coat, his grandfather, who had woken up, called out to Seowoo. His grandmother, perhaps worried her concentration would be broken, waved her hand at his grandfather to be quiet.

“Yes. I’m back.”

“You need to drink your juice.”

At Seowoo’s words that he was back, his grandfather took off his earphones, stood up, and headed straight for the kitchen. Then, he expertly started blending a juice with apples, carrots, and other things.

“Ah, I’m full.”

“It’s good for you. It’s not bitter at all since there are apples in it, so drink up.”

He was full, and honestly, he didn’t want to drink it because it didn’t taste good, but even his grandmother and future sister-in-law, Jihye noona, who were watching the drama, sent him looks as if to say he should hurry up and drink. Seowoo squeezed his eyes shut and began to gulp down the juice.

“Ugh… it’s bitter.”

“It’s not bitter at all.”

His grandfather thought apples could overcome anything, but the juice still tasted distinctly of the other vegetables.

“I’m going to wash up and go to bed.”

“It’s still cold, so turn on the electric blanket before you sleep.”

“Okay.”

Seowoo went out through the main entrance again and walked up the outdoor stairs to the second floor. The building was designed with the first floor as a living space and the second floor for renting out, so the space where his grandparents lived and the space where Jihye and Seowoo lived were independently separated.

After taking a hot shower and lying down in bed, he couldn’t fall asleep. Thinking that the coffee he drank late must be the problem, Seowoo sat down at his desk. This was because no matter how wide awake he was, drowsiness would wash over him if he started memorizing English vocabulary words.

As he was circling and memorizing a few words, the cell phone on his desk vibrated briefly. The caller was Juwon.

「nite nite」

「You too hehe」

Seowoo, who smiled slightly after checking the message, replied quickly. After waiting a little, he disappointedly put down his phone, but the phone vibrated again.

「need the basketball tmrw plsㅠㅠㅠ」

「k」

「our class’s basketball poppedㅠㅠ」

「sucks」

The messages were from Oh Dongjae. Seowoo had a basketball his older brother used to use, and it seemed he wanted him to bring it. He sent a half-hearted reply to Dongjae’s text. Then Dongjae began to send a relentless stream of emoticons and texts.

“Ah, Oh Dongjae.”

Seowoo took out the basketball from a corner of his room and placed it next to his bag. Then he replied to Oh Dongjae that he would.

Seowoo, who was debating whether to sit at his desk again, just headed for his bed. There were no new messages besides Oh Dongjae’s emoticon bowing politely.

[Oh Dongjae]

[Cha Juwon]

[Dong-Dong Juu]

[Happy Family~♡]

[Year 3 Class 2 (Read announcements!)]

Lying in bed, Seowoo slowly scrolled down the messenger window from the top. Even though there were no new messages, he looked around like someone with lingering feelings, then touched Cha Juwon’s name.

The messages he exchanged with Juwon were mostly concise. What was unusual was that the messages Juwon sent were full of typos. At some point, Seowoo found himself scrolling back through the message history.

「Good night.」

「gd nite」

「g nite」

They talked about different topics every day, but there was one thing in common. Juwon always sent a “good night” message at the end of the conversation. Some days, there were no other messages at all, only the “good night” message remained.

Let’s just sleep…

Just as Seowoo, thinking that, was about to turn off the screen, a message came in from Juwon.

「(Emoticon)」

The emoticon Juwon sent was of a white puppy blowing a kiss. Every time the puppy blew a kiss, hearts popped up in the air.

“…Cute.”

Seowoo, who was looking at the emoticon of the puppy blowing kisses nonstop, pressed down on it. Then, the emoticon information popped up.

Genius Dog Grace and Her Family
#character #cute #playful

There were many other emoticons that could be used in daily situations, like ‘sleepy,’ ‘good night,’ ‘wake up,’ ‘let’s eat,’ and so on. The one that sent hearts flying flamboyantly was the only one Juwon had sent, so it made his heart feel strangely fluttery.

🦴

Juwon, who had transformed into a puppy as soon as he got home, came out after a shower. His white fur, which was longer than before, was soaking wet.

Shaking his body and head to instantly shake off the water, Juwon picked up his cell phone, which was much larger than his face, with his mouth. But it was too much for a palm-sized puppy’s body to carry the heavy phone, so he briefly transformed into his human form.

Juwon threw the phone onto a soft cushion, instantly changed back into a puppy, and lay down on his back with his belly up. After grinning to himself for a moment while lying down, Juwon lay on his stomach and tapped the phone screen with his front paws.

It would be convenient if facial recognition worked, but it couldn’t recognize a puppy’s face, so he had to unlock the pattern with great care. Juwon opened the messenger and started sending a text to Seowoo, whom he had set as a favorite. Although he typed the message stealthily with only the pads of his paws, he couldn’t avoid typos. Still, the meaning was understandable, so that was enough.

As soon as he sent the “good night” message, a reply came from Seowoo. Seeing the reply, Juwon stuck out his pink tongue and smiled. Looking at the messages he had exchanged with Seowoo so far, Juwon stuck out his tongue, and with intense focus, lifted his paw and pressed an emoticon.

The emoticon Juwon sent was one his noona, Grace, had released, made by editing a family photo taken in their dog forms. In the group chats with his friends, Juwon usually only used the default emoticons that were provided like side dishes.

The kissing emoticon, for which he himself was the model, was one he truly cherished, and besides his family, Seowoo was the first person to receive it. Having finished his task for the day, Juwon pushed the heavy phone under the cushion and lay down on his back with his belly up again.

Pant, pant…

Juwon’s closed eyes, in his small puppy form, curved pleasantly. After laughing with small pants, Juwon soon fell asleep, breathing softly.