< Chapter 15 >

What on earth had I done while drunk?

Did I finally act on those daydreams of throwing Seok Haewon across the room? Or maybe I confessed Dog Seori’s secret by accident?

“If it’s not Professor Shim, then who’s the guy you’re seeing?”

After a long pause, that was the question that came out of his mouth, one that I hadn’t seen coming at all.

“What do you mean, guy?”

“Do you not have a boyfriend?”

A boyfriend? Blinking to figure out what he meant, I soon replied with a dry smile.

“What, is there a rumor that I’m seeing another man besides Professor Shim?”

“Not exactly…”

He trailed off, tilting his head slightly.

“Then who’s the guy you’re kissing?”

“Stop saying weird things,”

And right then, like lightning, a memory flashed across my mind.

‘Please, stop kissing me so much.’

I had said that while drunk.

Heat rushed up my face, and I quickly looked away.

Even if someone put a knife to my throat, I could never admit that the person in question was Seok Haewon. Not to mention that it had been my first time.

“It’s none of your business.”

No sooner had I said that than Haewon stepped closer until he was right in front of me. His half-lidded eyes gleamed sharply.

“I wonder why your face is red.”

I tried to step back, but the wall was already behind me.

“It’s the alcohol. That’s all.”

“Your alcohol effects seem to come and go at random then.”

“It’s just my body’s reaction,” I said, fumbling for an excuse.

Alcohol?

‘No way.’

It wasn’t alcohol. The pounding in my head and the queasiness that had started the moment I woke up were clear signs.

It was almost time to walk on four legs again.

Sensing what was coming, I shoved Haewon away and ran.

“I need to go, I just remembered something urgent!”

“All of a sudden?”

Ignoring his confused question, I slammed the front door behind me.

I couldn’t risk calling a taxi since I had no idea when I’d change. My legs wobbled, but I forced myself to keep moving.

I had thrown my coat somewhere along the way, but I didn’t care. I ran until my lungs burned, desperate to reach somewhere safe before I turned back into a dog.

* * *

Left alone in the apartment, Haewon replayed Seori’s last words.

‘Something urgent?’

There was no doubt something was wrong with her.

The way she had been drinking, the way she kept disappearing, and how she seemed flustered when she was usually so composed all added up to something.

But what exactly, he had no clue.

‘The only lead I have is that guy she said keeps putting his mouth on hers.’

Still, it didn’t seem like a simple relationship issue. There was no reason she’d go without her phone for several days if that were the case.

Haewon glared at the white phone sitting on the table.

He wanted to look.

But going through someone else’s phone was the kind of thing a lowlife would do.

And yet, he already was a lowlife.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know the password.

As his thoughts hit that wall, he remembered the faint scar near her ankle.

‘I got bitten by a stray dog when I was a kid.’

He could see it clearly now. The image of a small girl being knocked over by a big gray dog, teeth sinking into her ankle.

Haewon sank into the sofa and covered his eyes with his hand.

“So a scar from when she was six still shows…”

His low murmur faded into the air.

* * *

He had everything from the moment he was born.

It was only natural that he would learn how the world worked early. No matter where he went, holding the hands of his parents or grandparents, Seok Haewon was always at the center.

When he smiled, people liked him. When he cried, they pitied him. When he joked, they paid attention.

When grown-ups several times his age bent down to match his height and flatter him, he realized something.

They weren’t really looking at him.

The goodwill the world showed him wasn’t meant for him at all. It was for the people standing behind him, his parents and grandparents.

“Everyone will be kind to you,” his mother had once said.

He finally understood what she meant.

Every kindness comes with a reason. He had learned that truth at only six years old.

With that understanding came boredom. Having everything too easily meant there was nothing left to want.

“Why did they send me to such a small kindergarten? This feels so unnecessary.”

“They say the grandfather is very particular. Apparently, he wanted his grandson to grow up like other kids because he’s too mature for his age.”

“Strange kid, really. Sometimes he looks like he’s already lived a whole lifetime. It makes me uneasy.”

Haewon walked past the gossiping teachers toward the playground.

Just a minute ago, they’d been patting his head and calling him well-behaved. Hearing them talk behind his back wasn’t surprising anymore.

Crunch.

A strange sound came from below. Haewon lifted his foot slowly. Beneath it was a completely destroyed sandcastle.

“My dumpling gang…”

The boss of the Dumpling Gang, whose creation had just been crushed, rose to her feet.

A girl, a head taller than him, cast a shadow over him. Her round face looked oddly serious.

“Apologize.”

The word apology didn’t exist in Haewon’s six-year-old vocabulary. Hands in his pockets, he gestured to the sand.

“You can just rebuild it.”

“You’re hopeless. Let’s settle this properly. With fists. That’s how the boss of the Dumpling Gang dies with honor.”

“You mean mission, idiot.”

She must have been watching too many noir dramas.

Annoyed by his correction, the dumpling boss puffed out her belly and put her hands on her hips.

“You’re even shorter than me.”

Haewon, already sensitive about his height, went up on his toes. Something about her, the way she stood so tall and confident, made him not want to lose.

“Your hair looks like dumplings.”

She flinched.

“My grandma made them for me.”

The girl touched her twin dumpling-shaped pigtails protectively.

“They look tasty.”

Haewon hadn’t meant to insult her family, but before he could say more—

“Waah!”

“Kyaa!”

“Mommy!”

Screams erupted all around them.

A blur of gray came charging their way. A large stray dog.

Haewon barely had time to react before it lunged. His legs froze in place.

He was going to be bitten. He shut his eyes tight.

“Ah!”

The dumpling boss threw herself over him, shielding him as the dog hit them both.

Thud!

Everything went blurry after that.

The stray dog ran off after adults rushed over. The girl was taken to the hospital first.

Haewon was brought later with the other children, but she was nowhere in sight. Someone mentioned she was being treated for a bite on her ankle.

All he had were a few scrapes from the sand, but he couldn’t shake the image of the dog charging at them.

“How did a stray even get in?”

He could still hear the teachers talking in the busy hospital.

“The back gate latch was open.”

“I nearly had a heart attack. What if Haewon had been hurt? The family’s secretary gave us so many warnings.”

“At least it was another kid, not him. Let’s hope this all blows over quietly.”

Haewon’s breathing grew rough.

“Shh, lower your voice.”

“Still, it’s such a hassle—”

Their voices stopped.

Someone’s small hands had reached from behind and covered his ears tightly. The muffled sound that replaced their words was warm.

Haewon turned and blinked in surprise.

It was her. The dumpling boss.

“Don’t listen to bad things.”

She took her hands away and stretched out her legs, pointing at the nurse talking to their teacher.

“There are nice teachers too. Like the one from Rose Class.”

They sat against the wall in silence after that.

Haewon fidgeted with his hands in his lap, unsure what to say. He had wanted to see her, but now that she was in front of him, his mind went blank.

When his gaze fell on the bandage wrapped around her ankle, his heart sank.

He didn’t know what this feeling was. The heaviness in his chest, the lump in his throat. No one had ever taught him what to do in moments like this.

After a long silence, he finally managed to speak.

“Does it hurt?”

She glanced down at her ankle and replied casually.

“Not really.”

Liar.

She was trembling, even though she was pretending not to. He could feel it through the arm that touched his.

Haewon swallowed hard.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing.”

“Just tell me. It’s fine.”

“I said I don’t want anything.”

Haewon turned his head and stared at her, puzzled.

“Then why did you help me?”

She frowned as if he were the strange one.

“Do I need a reason?”

Every kindness has a reason. The world he knew wavered.

“Young Master!”

The secretary of Chairman Seok Haecheon came running and scooped Haewon up.

“What in the world happened?”

“Wait,”

“Are you hurt anywhere? The Chairman will be here soon.”

The secretary’s sudden presence cut their talk short. Haewon tried to look over his shoulder.

An old lady had appeared and was stroking the girl’s face, murmuring how sorry she was that her baby got hurt. The girl just shook her head as if it was nothing.

“Yes, Chairman. Her grandmother declined politely. Yes, yes.”

That was the last thing Haewon heard, the secretary explaining that the grandmother had refused any compensation.

He never saw the dumpling boss again. His mother, Eunsoo, transferred him to another kindergarten the very next day.

One year passed, then two.

Three.

Five. Time went on, and the memory faded. He had been so young that it was only natural.

Sometimes, when he saw dumplings, the memory would surface for a moment. He’d think about finding her, but never actually did.

“Father, are you really going to ruin Haewon’s future like this? Please reconsider.”

Send him abroad.

“Look at his eyes. If we don’t keep him close, he’ll only get worse. He’s exactly like my mother.”

Keep him here.

“Father!”

“He can get all the education he needs here.”

While Eunsoo and Chairman Seok Haecheon argued fiercely about his future, Haewon started middle school.

It was boring.

Every day felt dull and gray. The only difference was that he now wore a uniform, and his knees sometimes ached from growing taller.

“There should be someone who ranked first on the placement test. Let’s see. Kim Seori, where are you?”

At the teacher’s call, there was a faint sound from right next to him. He turned his head lazily, then froze.

“…”

A once-faded memory suddenly came back to life in full color.

It was her. The boss of the Dumpling Gang.