< Chapter 10 >

When I bowed my head as if reflecting on my sins, Seok Haewon, who had been wiping my paws, muttered in a serious tone.

“Guess your body balance finally gave out because of the weight of your head.”

Does half of this man’s brain revolve around my head size or what.

I lifted my head in irritation and instantly froze. I locked eyes with Seok Haewon’s father, who must have returned home without me noticing.

“…”

His eyes were quiet yet cold. He didn’t seem about to throw me out like his wife might, but he clearly didn’t think kindly of me either.

Feeling tense, I quietly hid behind Seok Haewon’s back. He glanced at me, who had clung to him, then said lazily with a small laugh.

“You’re home.”

Haewon’s father gave only a brief nod before turning away.

“Vice Chairman, have you had dinner?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then how about some ginger tea? The Chairman sent some, and it’s really good.”

Haewon, Madam will be here soon.

The housekeeper, who took the Vice Chairman’s coat, mouthed the warning at him.

Lifting me into his arms, Haewon walked toward the corridor leading to his room.

“If you run into my mother again, she’ll throw you out.”

Still on his shoulder, I looked over at Haewon’s father.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t once seen the Bungeoppang family have a proper conversation while I stayed here.

The atmosphere was dry and suffocating. It was nothing like the image of a warm family people imagined.

They greeted each other when they met, but that was all. They even ate separately. Despite living under the same roof, there was almost no communication at all.

‘This is no time to worry about other people’s problems.’

I sighed softly and rested my chin against his shoulder.

It felt strange, like I was secretly watching too many sides of Seok Haewon that no one else saw. I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

* * *

Tonight, I’ll definitely reveal who I really am.

That was the plan, but Seok Haewon had no intention of cooperating. He fell asleep before I could even try.

I had no choice but to sleep on the banana-shaped cushion again. But when I woke up, I was somehow in his bed.

‘Haewon must’ve put me up here.’

Staring at the ceiling bathed in morning sunlight, I let out a troubled sigh.

If I revealed my identity now, it would cause another problem. Once he realized the dog that slept in his bed was actually me…

‘Get out.’

‘Disgusting.’

‘Creepy.’

Images of myself being kicked out like a cursed dog shimmered in my mind.

Click.

Haewon stepped out of the dressing room, fastening his watch.

He looked crisp and sleek in a perfectly fitted suit. It was a sight I wasn’t used to seeing. Back in school, he was always in a hoodie or uniform.

It suddenly hit me that the two years he spent in the military hadn’t been such a short time after all.

As I was lost in thought, he picked up a white phone from his desk.

“I’d return it if anyone actually called about it.”

It was my phone.

He stared silently at the screen, then suddenly turned toward me.

‘Wait.’

Maybe he noticed that the dog in the wallpaper looked like Seori’s pet.

This was the perfect chance to tell him the truth.

Before I could move, Haewon reached into his pocket, pulled out his own phone, and aimed it at me.

“Hey, Seok Daengdang, look over here.”

Click. The sound of the camera shutter went off again and again.

“Good job.”

Click click.

“Such a genius model.”

Click click click.

“Ah, you blinked. One more.”

Click click.

‘What the hell.’

I realized too late that I had been posing like a professional model.

“The ratio between your head and body is almost perfectly symmetrical.”

Wow.

He sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the photos with genuine admiration. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice the resemblance between Seori’s dog and Daengdang.

“Maybe I’ll use this as my wallpaper.”

Haewon placed a hand on my head and lightly scratched between my brows. His touch was gentle enough to tickle.

I pushed his hand away with my paw.

That easy familiarity, that small smile, that unguarded warmth he showed only to animals. From my perspective, as Kim Seori, it all felt foreign and uncomfortable.

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a call.

“What.”

[…! …~]

A man’s voice came faintly from the other side. I couldn’t hear the words clearly.

“Sounds like it, maybe.”

Haewon replied flatly, then sprawled across the bed.

Before I could even blink, he playfully grabbed my paw and tugged it close. His lips brushed lightly against my paw before pulling away.

“Study group for the major?”

What?

I froze in horror. My poor paw had just been kissed.

“Not interested, too much effort.”

He laughed at my expression, then asked with a slight frown.

“…You’re saying to include Kim Seori?”

Why did my name suddenly come up?

I pressed my ear close to his phone, but I could only catch fragments of words like classmates, study, and report.

As the voice on the other end continued, Haewon’s face slowly stiffened. The corners of his mouth flattened into a straight line.

“You sure talk a lot of crap.”

His voice dropped cold. His gaze sharpened like a blade, black eyes sinking deep like a still ocean.

Because he was usually so easygoing, seeing him like this was startling.

“Forget it. Ask someone else.”

He ended the call without waiting for a reply.

Judging by the tone, someone had asked him to recruit me for their study group, and he had refused.

He tossed the phone aside and ran a hand through his hair. The sleek strands of black hair slipped through his fingers in disarray.

I just sat there, staring blankly at his back.

‘Genius model dog.’

His teasing smile overlapped with the icy expression from moments ago.

Maybe I had started to mistake things without realizing it.

That smile wasn’t directed at me at all.

Somewhere along the line, I had forgotten that to Seok Haewon, Daengdang and Kim Seori were two entirely different beings.

Thump, thump. My heartbeat echoed in my ears.

‘Why am I even hurt by this.’

If I avoided him, of course he would do the same. I knew that. I really did.

Yet it still hurt.

I pressed my paw against my chest, trying to ease the tight ache there.

‘Forget it. Ask someone else.’

Ouch.

Why did his voice sting like a splinter in my heart?

* * *

After Haewon left, I stared at the steep little staircase in front of me.

The ramp that led from the floor to the bed. It was the “dog slide” the housekeeper had bought.

For these short legs, this was practically a mountain trail.

I shook out my hind legs, bracing myself.

‘Don’t slip.’

My back legs wobbled and slid, but I kept going. Failure wasn’t an option.

Finally, I reached the top.

Victorious, I wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead.

Feeling confident, I used my head and paw to open Haewon’s laptop. At this point, even that was easy.

As the browser loaded, his voice echoed in my mind again.

‘Forget it. Ask someone else.’

I shook my head hard.

The truth was, I had been thinking about this all wrong. Depending on others, especially someone like Seok Haewon, was a mistake from the start.

The transformation itself was already absurd enough to cause public panic.

It might be safer to keep living as Daengdang for now and quietly find a way to turn back into a human.

After all…

‘We’re not exactly the kind of people who get along, are we?’

If Seok Haewon disliked human Seori but cared for Daengdang, maybe it was smarter to strengthen that bond.

For now, Daengdang could stay here safely.

‘KaTalk requires verification, so I can’t log in there… hmm.’

Resting my chin in thought, I suddenly brightened.

Tap tap tap. My paws danced over the keyboard.

* * *

Hearing Haewon leaving through the front door, Madam Song came out from the kitchen.

“Heading out, Haewon?”

He slipped on his shoes and jingled his car keys.

“The Chairman called me.”

“Right, you said you’d start learning about company work soon, didn’t you? Poor thing, must be tough.”

After she saw him off, Haewon got in his car and started the engine. Then he paused.

His pocket felt heavy. He had accidentally brought both his phone and Seori’s.

The white phone was still silent. The owner hadn’t called once.

The screen lit up, showing a photo of Seori cheek to cheek with a beige dog. The soft, feline curve of her face didn’t quite match the gentle, round little dog.

As the screen dimmed, he tapped it, bringing the photo back to life.

Her eyes were bright, her lips curved in a smile. A look he had never seen from her, not once in over ten years.

Tap. Tap. The screen brightened and dimmed again and again.

[Haewon, I heard you’re returning to school soon.]

That familiar voice echoed in his mind, from the call just before.

[You went to high school with Kim Seori, right? I, uh… actually like her. She’s really pretty, and,]

‘So?’

[Oh, uh, I mean, she’s kind of hard to approach, you know? But since you talk to her sometimes, maybe you could ask if she wants to join our study group… just once, please?]

Haewon glanced at Seori’s phone resting on the passenger seat. His lips curled faintly in dry amusement.

Just then, his own phone vibrated with a short buzz.

He frowned at the unexpected notification.

‘…Email?’

It was an email from Kim Seori.