< Chapter 6 >

“Seori, don’t play with the ball near those flat cars. They’re worth more than a hundred bungeoppang.”

Grandma had always warned me about those “flat cars.”

Now, here I was sitting in one, the passenger seat of Seok Haewon’s expensive car, with my neck stiff and body tense.

Everything about this was a problem.

The car that cost more than a hundred bungeoppang and the way Haewon kept glancing at me like I was some odd creature.

Leaning forward against the steering wheel, Haewon’s face was filled with irritation. He rubbed the back of his neck and ran a hand through his hair.

‘Is he already regretting bringing me back?’

Worried, I swallowed hard.

“How are you supposed to put a dog in a car anyway?”

So much for that concern.

“I guess as long as it doesn’t fly out the window.”

He muttered to himself, then pulled the seatbelt across the passenger seat. The click of the buckle sealed me in tight.

Beyond prejudice, his sense of law and order was almost frighteningly thorough.

After about five minutes of driving, he suddenly pulled over. Someone was running along the side of the road.

Whirrr. Haewon lowered the window.

“Mr. Kwon?”

“Young Master!”

Mr. Kwon’s face appeared against the glass, grim and frantic.

“Young Master, the puppy ran awa—!”

He froze when his eyes met mine, trapped in the seatbelt like a prisoner.

“…Never mind. She’s been captured.”

“So that’s why you were at the park,” Haewon said, glancing at him slowly.

“You were the one who took her out of the house, Mr. Kwon.”

The lazy look in his eyes turned sharp and cold.

Mr. Kwon, unable to bear the silent pressure, stared off into the distance.

Tap. Tap. Haewon drummed his fingers on the steering wheel thoughtfully.

“Mother doesn’t like dogs, right?”

He seemed to have pieced the situation together.

“Young Master,” Mr. Kwon said suddenly, voice filled with conviction.

“Animals must be cared for with love. They understand us more than we realize.”

I flinched, scratching my ear. He wasn’t wrong. I understood everything.

“I trust in your good heart, Young Master.”

“Someone once said my good heart was just for decoration.”

That stung. Mostly because it sounded like something I had said to him long ago.

“Please convince Mrs. Han. If the puppy disappears, the Chairman will be furious.”

Mr. Kwon’s face loomed closer to the window, his expression frighteningly intense.

“Just the thought of it terrifies me.”

“You’re scarier than the Chairman right now.”

Haewon pushed him back with practiced ease.

“I’ll talk to her. You go take care of your work.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, yes.”

“I love you, Young Master.”

“Rejected.”

Ignoring the icy rejection, Mr. Kwon turned and held out a massive fist toward me.

“Good luck, puppy.”

Haewon raised an eyebrow.

“Puppy?”

“These days the young ones call dogs ‘ddangddang’ or ‘daengdaeng.’ Anyway, I’ll leave her in your care.”

After saluting smartly, Mr. Kwon stepped away from the car.

Haewon watched him go, then picked up his phone. The line rang a few times before a cold voice filled the car.

[Keep it short. I’m busy.]

Haewon’s mother. Even just hearing her voice made my ears stand up straight.

“I’m heading home now. With the dog.”

[Mr. Kwon already told me.]

She didn’t need further explanation to know everything.

[I don’t want it here. It sheds, it smells, and no matter how clean you keep it, a house with a dog is different from one without.]

Well, she wasn’t wrong about that part.

“You’re the one who told me not to go against the Chairman.”

[There’s no need to obey him in trivial matters like this.]

“What if bringing the dog wasn’t trivial?”

[…]

“Don’t you think it’s strange? He doesn’t even like dogs, yet he brought one home himself.”

Now that he said it, it was strange.

Why had the Chairman spent so much time at that park?

He didn’t like dogs, and he even had allergies. Yet he’d gone to the lake park, a hotspot for dog owners.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a reason.

“Let’s just keep her for now. It’s not like she’ll be around forever.”

Haewon leaned his chin against the steering wheel, sounding bored.

I had a feeling his mother was about to give up. She always did when he got like this.

That detached, indifferent tone had a way of wearing people down.

[If I see it even once, it’s gone.]

As expected, it wasn’t exactly approval, but it was close enough.

[You really do go out of your way to make trouble.]

Haewon tilted his head, voice light and almost teasing.

“She’s kind of cute, though.”

His mother scoffed.

[You say that before even giving her a name.]

Haewon paused, unable to answer right away.

Fair enough. I didn’t have a name yet.

After a moment’s hesitation, he moved his lips.

“Big—”

If you finish that word, I’ll bite you.

I growled lowly, flashing my teeth. He scratched his chin with one finger.

“…Daengdaeng?”

[Unbelievable.]

Click.

The call ended.

Haewon leaned back against the seat and reached over to pat my head. His thumb brushed over my skull as he spoke softly.

“It’s rude to call someone Big Head to their face.”

You’re already rude just by breathing.

Why did all his stupid nicknames start with the same sound?

I couldn’t help but wish to escape from this cursed “D” universe.

* * *

Back home, Haewon set me down on the bed.

“Seok Daengdaeng, stay put and behave.”

“…”

“No reaction.”

“…”

“Should I rename you Big Head? Or Daengdu?”

He’s insane.

“Daengdaeng.”

“Woof.”

“Ah, you’re late, Daengdu.”

Would I ever get the chance to wipe that smug face off him?

He wrapped me snugly in a blanket and stood up. The bathroom door clicked shut.

I poked my head out of the blanket and stared blankly into space.

The moment I came back to Haewon’s house, a new nightmare awaited me.

That nightmare was…

‘Oh dear, she got dirty in the snow. Let’s rinse her off.’

Bath time. Courtesy of the housekeeper.

Day two of being a dog, and my human rights had officially been revoked.

‘Well…’

Technically, my dignity had already been gone since last night, the moment I ate dog food to survive.

After recovering from the mental trauma, I quietly slipped out from under the blanket.

‘He’s still showering?’

The sound of running water echoed through the bathroom.

From what I’d seen today, Haewon had a habit of leaving his laptop on the bed.

Flattening myself to the floor, I crept over until I was right in front of it.

‘How do I open this thing?’

With only stubby paws, it was a challenge from the start. I nudged at the edge until I managed to wedge my head into the gap and push it open.

The screen lit up, reflecting a dog with triangular ears. It was me.

‘If I’m going to be stuck here for a while, I should at least figure out what kind of family this is.’

What was the chairman’s name again? At the park, people called him Grandpa Haecheon. If his last name was Seok…

I recalled the memory and started typing clumsily with my paws.

Tap, tap.

‘Seok…’

If he was a chairman, his name had to be online somewhere.

Tap, tap.

‘Hae… cheon.’

Clack!

My paw hit Enter, and an article popped up, showing his photo.

Chairman Seok Haecheon of S Group.

I’d heard of that company before.

‘Then Haegang must be—’

‘I refuse.’

Vice Chairman Seok Haegang, the only son of Chairman Seok Haecheon.

‘That’s right. All because of CEO Han Eunsoo’s decision.’

And his wife, CEO Han Eunsoo of H Hotel.

I quietly closed the laptop. The truth about this bungeoppang family was enough to crush an ordinary civilian’s spirit.

‘So Seok Haewon was the grandson of S Group.’

I knew he was rich, but not this rich. For the first time, the vast gap between us felt real.

‘We really had nothing in common except grades.’

Our worlds had become completely different after adulthood. Why had I ever tried to compete with him?

Regret mixed with stubborn pride inside me.

‘…Ugh, I’m so sleepy.’

My head grew heavy. I forced my eyes open and rested my chin on my paws.

‘I have to stay awake until he comes out. I need to tell him I’m Kim Seori.’

But the memory of last night flashed through my mind, that sudden, shocking kiss. The way his lips had brushed against my muzzle.

‘…Ugh.’

Kissing Seok Haewon was more traumatic than eating dog food or being bathed.

Maybe I should wait until tomorrow. Just one more day.

My ears burned as I squirmed under the blanket. Sleep pressed down like a heavy fog.

It felt unnatural, almost forced, like something was pulling me under.

Just like that moment before everything went black the night I became a dog.

‘That same… strange feeling…’

Then darkness swallowed me whole.