< Chapter 19 >

A video for dogs that lack social skills.

Late in the evening, I sat on the bed, staring blankly at the video Seok Haewon had put on his laptop.

‘He says I have a big head but small respect for my owner.’

So that was it. He was trying to fix my growling habit.

‘Like that’ll work.’

My growls and nips were not random. They were special gestures reserved only for Seok Haewon.

Tap.

I hit the spacebar to pause the video and turned my head. Cold air slipped in through the gap of the terrace door.

‘What is he doing out there?’

Curious, I stepped outside and saw his back leaning against the railing, cigarette smoke curling into the air.

‘…He smokes?’

As the night breeze stirred his black hair, a realization hit me.

At some point, Seok Haewon had stopped wearing earrings and started wearing his school uniform properly, even if only half-heartedly.

After entering high school, he had also kept his hair black.

Maybe that was why I had automatically assumed he did not smoke.

Sensing my presence, he turned his head.

His eyes flicked from me to the cigarette between his fingers, then to the smoke in the air. He slowly pressed the cigarette into the ashtray to put it out.

“Enjoying the show?”

He slipped off his windbreaker and wrapped it snugly around me. Then, lifting me up, he leaned back against the railing.

“Here. Get some fresh air.”

My gaze lingered on the cigarette he had not fully smoked and the jacket that bundled me up. Finally, my eyes stopped on his relaxed face as he softly hummed to himself.

I shut my mouth tightly and turned my head away.

Chairman Seok had been right when he said his grandson liked dogs. Every small gesture like this proved it.

The real problem was me. I was starting to get used to this effortless kindness.

‘I need to turn back into a human as soon as possible.’

Before the day comes when he starts seeing me only as the dog, not as Kim Seori.

Bzzz.

Just as I thought about keeping some distance, his phone vibrated.

Wait, no.

‘That’s my phone.’

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white phone. I stretched my neck to peek at the screen.

Buzz. Buzz. It was a KaTalk notification. The password kept the message hidden, but the sender’s name appeared clearly.

Haewon rested his chin on one hand and muttered, “You sure have a lot of guys messaging you.”

I stared at the screen, my mouth twitching awkwardly.

They were people I barely remembered. Men I had met through part-time jobs or volunteer work, sending meaningless messages.

‘I never even replied to them.’

It felt unfair to be misunderstood by someone whose own reputation for complicated relationships was far worse.

Buzz. Another message came in.

A different name. It was strange how they always managed to text around the same time.

Haewon’s jaw tightened. His expression twisted into something between irritation and disgust as he stared at the screen.

Would he throw my phone away because he found it annoying? Honestly, it would not surprise me if he tossed it into the trash and called it done.

I watched him nervously.

Then he said, “I’ll give you your phone back tomorrow.”

How was he planning to do that?

* * *

Around noon the next day, I hid inside the closet and held my breath.

It was a relief that Seok Haewon had started learning company management.

If he had been home, he might have seen me suddenly change back into a human. Lucky me.

Still, it was strange.

‘There is no pattern to when I change. No regular timing. What is triggering it?’

Resting my forehead on my hand, I retraced my memories carefully.

This was the third time I had turned back into a human after falling asleep.

The first time was on the day it snowed, right after Haewon found me in the park and I barely slept that night.

The second time was after I slapped his cheek for touching my butt and could not sleep afterward.

And the third was today.

Last night, he said he would give me back my phone. I was so anxious about it that I barely got any sleep.

‘Hmm.’

I bit my fingertip as my thoughts tangled.

There was no solid proof, but one thing stood out.

Every time I turned back into a human, it happened the day after something emotional or unsettling.

If that was true, this would be quite a problem. It was not as if I could control my emotions at will.

‘I can’t just decide not to feel things.’

After rubbing my face, I opened the laptop I had brought into the closet.

Since I was human again, hiding all day would be a waste.

• Dog transformation
• Human turning into a dog
• Transformation spell
• How to break a transformation

Enter. Enter. Enter.

Nothing useful came up. Only posts like “My gentle puppy turned into a demon after seeing a treat.”

So Dog Seori was not the only one possessed by snacks.

I was halfway through watching an “evil dog” video when I snapped the laptop shut.

‘This isn’t helping.’

If I could not find the answer online, where could I go?

A shaman? A church?

The more I thought about it, the heavier my chest felt.

If Dog Seori really had become some kind of spirit, what if someone tried to exorcise her?

No way.

Dogs never committed sins. If she had turned into a restless spirit, it was my fault for failing her.

The last thing I wanted was to have her “driven away” instead of helped.

‘Even if she has become something supernatural.’

If it is her, then it is my duty as her owner to carry that burden.

‘Still, I should treat it as something unreal. Like a fantasy story.’

Fantasy. Right. Fantasy. Fan…

“…!”

Suddenly, I thought of someone who might actually help.

‘Class list, class list.’

My fingers flew over the keyboard.

* * *

Haewon left work early and stood outside a café near the university.

He had seen Seori here a few times before during the semester.

His hand hesitated on the door handle when he noticed a few strands of dog fur on his black coat sleeve.

That small detail instantly brought back the strange scene from the night before.

His father had come home and lingered awkwardly in the living room until a dog suddenly ran up, headbutting him neatly before he finally went to his room.

No mistake about it. He had been waiting for the dog.

Ever since the day the puppy saved his mother, there had been something odd between his parents.

‘Madam Song said that ever since the puppy came back from the vet, it never fails to greet the Vice Chairman every morning.’

That bit of gossip had left Haewon completely speechless.

Meanwhile, he thought of his own interactions with the same dog.

Growling, ignoring him, smacking him with its paw, and only ever saying a robotic “Woof.”

Especially that tail.

Dogs wag their tails when they are happy, but this one was always stiff and still.

Yet apparently, it wagged plenty for other people.

‘So it’s not broken after all.’

Maybe the dog’s cold attitude was reserved just for him.

“Ha.”

He gave a dry laugh and scratched his chin.

Why was he even thinking about this?

Why was he comparing how the dog acted around him with how it acted around others?

Since when did he care enough to feel jealous or hurt about it?

He shook off the thought and pushed open the café door.

He looked around but did not see her.

‘Guess I missed her today.’

After ordering coffee, he sat down near the window and stirred the ice in his cup.

Even without direct contact, finding Seori was never difficult. She was a creature of habit, always eating the same food and going to the same places.

If he waited long enough, she would appear. It was just a matter of when.

Then a chair scraped behind him.

“There you are. I thought you were not coming. Maybe I waited too far in the corner?”

Haewon’s half-lidded eyes widened slightly. That was Seori’s voice.

“I have never set up a meeting over email before.”

The soft voice that answered sounded familiar too. He realized it was one of her classmates.

“…”

What was his name again? Whatever. A classmate.

“I didn’t have your number, and I don’t have my phone right now.”

“Why?”

“Someone else has it.”

“Who?”

“Seok Haewon.”

Silence fell over the table. After a short pause, the man asked bluntly,

“Are you two dating?”

“…”

“I’ll take that as a no. You don’t have to make that face.”

What kind of face was I making?

Haewon’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he listened from behind.