“Oh, so you do know.”
His face looked genuinely surprised at even that brief response, making it painfully clear just how low his expectations had been. …This bastard had a real knack for getting under someone’s skin. While Jae-ha quietly simmered with barely restrained irritation, a string of myth-like exposition poured out, reminiscent of an old folk painting.
A long, long time ago… back when tigers smoked tobacco and dragons played go-stop with flower cards. Countless spiritual beasts coexisted with humans on the Korean Peninsula. Dragons, lions, tigers, guardian beasts, three-legged crows, heavenly deer, kirins, the twelve zodiac spirits… and Haetae.
These mystical creatures, endowed with supernatural powers, fulfilled their roles by protecting or punishing the land, becoming deeply entwined with humanity. Meeting people, bonding, fighting, understanding—naturally, love followed. And before long, humans carrying the blood of these beasts began to be born, one by one.
“So you’re a descendant of Haetae?”
“That’s right. What you just saw was called yeongmulhwa—a transformation spell that temporarily borrows the body of a spiritual beast.”
That was a Haetae? Looked like a damn dog to him. Jae-ha folded his arms, frowning. He had almost zero knowledge about shamanistic traditions, cultural relics, or mythical creatures. What little he knew about Haetae was some vague notion that it looked like a mix between a dog and a bear.
“So which is it—are you a dog or a person? Speak clearly.”
“A person, obviously. I look like one right now, don’t I? I even have an ID.”
“Anyone who breaks into someone’s bed naked without consent doesn’t qualify as human to me.”
“…That was… an accident.”
The pervert finally looked a bit sheepish. So he did know that was wrong. He mumbled something about how this was the first time he’d ever transformed into a human in his sleep. Great, so the guy’s mouth still worked just fine.
“Fine. Let’s say I buy that. Then why the hell did you come into my house in dog form in the first place?”
If he could change between human and dog forms at will, that just made him even more of a bastard. Jae-ha had only brought the dog into his home because he thought it was an abandoned stray with nowhere to go.
Last night, after dinner, he was on his way home when he heard a rustling noise near his building. A cat? Jae-ha hesitated, but eventually turned toward the sound.
His apartment building had recently put up a notice asking residents to chase off any cats that tore into garbage bags. He didn’t want to completely ignore the noise after seeing that, so he figured he’d at least wave his hand and pretend to do something before heading inside.
That’s when he found the puppy in a cardboard box.
Or, well, calling it a puppy was a stretch—it was pretty big. More like a full-grown large-breed dog. The box was a massive moving-size shipping box. He wondered how someone had managed to abandon a dog that big without getting caught.
The way it lay there, slumped and lifeless, gave him a bad feeling. Instinctively, Jae-ha stepped closer. Was it even alive? He reached out and placed his hand on its matted, dirty but seemingly soft fur. A faint warmth and a weak heartbeat responded. Still time, then.
Was it okay to just leave it here? That was his first thought.
His eyes drifted back to the oversized box. It was clearly dumped there in haste. No old blanket, no leftover kibble—none of the bare-minimum mercy that even the cruelest abandoner might leave behind.
The box was right next to the trash area, in a spot where foot traffic was frequent. Someone else would probably find it soon. Maybe one of them would take action. Even as he tried to reassure himself, Jae-ha’s feet wouldn’t move.
What if everyone else had seen it and still left it there?
He had no idea how long the dog had been there. The last time he took out trash was two days ago, and it hadn’t been there then—so it must’ve been anywhere between a few hours to two full days.
The poor thing had probably been starving all that time. Maybe it hadn’t left the box not because it couldn’t, but… something about that thought made Jae-ha sigh softly and reach out.
First, save the damn thing.
And so, without ever planning to, he ended up bringing a giant dog into his home.
‘This ungrateful bastard dares take advantage of someone’s kindness…’ The thought made Jae-ha’s eyes flash with irritation. As the mood turned icy, the pervert’s eyebrows twitched like he was offended by the accusation.
“I-I was just resting for a bit—”
“Then you should’ve kept resting. Why the hell did you follow me inside?”
Before Jae-ha could even touch the crumpled cardboard box, the dog had perked up its ears, lifted its head, and tilted it curiously while staring right at him. Then it stepped out of the box on its own and came straight toward him.
Every time he took a step, the dog followed and rubbed against his calves, making it impossible not to reach down and pet its head. Before he knew it, they were at his front door. He couldn’t bring himself to chase it out, so he fed it, gave its dusty, grimy body a quick wash, and by the time he was done, it was nearly midnight.
‘It’s already late,’ he’d thought. ‘Let it sleep here for the night. Tomorrow, I’ll take it to a vet for a checkup. Then I’ll ask around to see if anyone’s looking to adopt. Someone who’d never abandon a pet…’
That was the extent of his plan. He had dozed off after patting the dog as it climbed onto his bed, never imagining that a few hours later—at the crack of dawn—he’d be dealing with this kind of shitstorm.
Realistically speaking, even if Jae-ha didn’t suspect that the stray he’d taken in might be a Haetae descendant who could transform into a person—hell, that would’ve been the crazy assumption—wasn’t it still wrong for the supposed “victim” of the misunderstanding to just settle into someone else’s house like it was nothing?
‘Looks normal enough, but…’
Jae-ha gave the pervert a once-over, eyes scanning him from head to toe. With a clean-cut face and the way he spoke and carried himself, the guy clearly had a proper education and seemed well-adjusted to everyday society. And yet, there was still something deeply suspicious about him.
Faced with that wary stare, the pervert scratched his cheek awkwardly, looking oddly self-conscious.
“Don’t you feel kind of heavy lately? Like your body’s sluggish and your dreams are getting weird?”
“I don’t believe in religion.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
The pervert instantly wilted, looking genuinely sulky, though he also seemed to have expected that kind of reaction.
“Sunbae, I know you don’t believe in this stuff, but… there’s something weird clinging to you right now.”
“Why the hell am I your sunbae?”
“…Hyung?”
“……”
They were clearly on completely different wavelengths. Jae-ha let out a long sigh as he glared at the pervert, who was gazing up at him with such bright-eyed innocence it was borderline offensive.
“What weird thing?”
“I think it might be a curse… but the energy’s kind of unusual. It’s too clean for a curse. I’m confused myself. Have you met anyone strange recently? Are you sleeping okay? Because whatever it is really acts up when you’re asleep.”
His tone was so serious that Jae-ha reflexively started going over the past few days in his head.
He hadn’t met any especially strange people lately, but now that he thought about it, it was true that he hadn’t slept soundly in quite some time. He often woke up drenched in cold sweat from vague, unpleasant nightmares, and the sleep deprivation left him nodding off during the day only to wake up feeling worse.
Just the other day, he had dozed off mid-walk and came to only to find himself headed in a completely different direction from where he was originally going. As if someone had been controlling his body, leading him somewhere else. He’d never experienced anything like that before, so yeah—it was a bit strange.
“So there is something, huh?”
The pervert, sharp as ever when it came to weird vibes, immediately perked up and leaned in close. He looked unreasonably pleased that he’d been right. Jae-ha responded with a reluctant shrug.
“I mean… it’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? I’ve never seen anything like this before. Usually, when I get close, stuff like that disappears right away.”
The pervert reached toward Jae-ha’s shoulder. The motion was light, like he was dusting something off.
“See? Still there. Won’t go away.”
Jae-ha looked at the spot the pervert had waved his hand over, but of course, there was nothing there. Still, the whole thing sent an undeniable chill down his spine.
“It looked dangerous, so I followed you. As long as I stay nearby, it won’t get worse.”
That was when Jae-ha suddenly realized something. Before that whole absurd episode where he woke up to a naked pervert on his bed, he’d actually been sleeping deeply. For the first time in forever.
He’d barely slept a few hours, yet his body felt light and refreshed.
Narrowing his eyes, Jae-ha gave the pervert a hard look. He didn’t seem like he was lying—not with that serious expression—but still…
“And why the hell should I trust you?”
“Huh?”
As far as Jae-ha was concerned, all of this was just his story.
“You said something weird was clinging to me, right? Well, you’re plenty weird yourself.”
Whether it was a spirit keeping him from sleeping or a freak who snuck into someone’s home pretending to be a dog, it was all the same to Jae-ha. Actually, now that he laid it out like that, the latter was clearly worse.
It wasn’t just that the ghost thing was hard to believe—if it was real, then he could always find a shaman or go to a temple to get it exorcised or whatever. But this guy needed to be dealt with first. Jae-ha shot the pervert a cold, sharp look.
“Get out.”
It was a final warning.
