“Louis?”
A pair of human feet was visible beneath the chair. Someone who kept repeatedly calling out a French-sounding name that seemed like it would enjoy macarons came to a sudden stop in front of the desk.
“Is our Louis here?”
Yi-hyeon clutched his pounding heart when—drag—the chair slid backward. Startled by the sound of the wheels, Yi-hyeon tucked his tail between his legs and shoved his head into the narrow gap behind the desk. His cotton-candy-round little butt trembled uncontrollably. When a warm hand wrapped around his body, he flailed all four legs in shock at the unfamiliar sensation, paddling helplessly in midair.
“Were you really scared earlier?”
“Kyiiing!”
Someone lightly lifted Yi-hyeon with one hand, pulled him into their arms, and gently patted his back. It felt like someone was groping his naked body. Feeling embarrassed and wanting to hide, Yi-hyeon burrowed his tiny head into the crook of the man’s arm.
“…Why? What’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere? The doctor said there didn’t seem to be any serious injuries…”
The hands rummaging through his fur and checking his body were deft and practiced.
Tickled by the sensation, Yi-hyeon rubbed his head against the solid muscles of the stranger’s side—then suddenly realized reality and stiffened completely.
As Louis’s guardian gently stroked Yi-hyeon’s back, a strangely pleasant—yet familiar—scent kept drifting to his nose, right as he was on the verge of crying. Come to think of it, even the voice calling him so affectionately felt oddly familiar.
Suppressing his fear, Yi-hyeon slowly lifted his head.
The first thing that came into view was the shirt pocket the man was wearing. A mark he had been sick of seeing for two years and three months was stamped right there.
But our school’s is red… this one’s gray.
The difference in color made him hesitate.
Because the guardian was quite tall, Yi-hyeon felt like he was riding an airplane and flailed his legs, asking to be put down. Then his eyes met the guardian’s—and in that instant, more shocking than flying through the sky, Yi-hyeon couldn’t help but scream.
“Kkieeeeng!”
The person holding Yi-hyeon was none other than Han Jun.
The reason the school emblem looked like a different color was because Yi-hyeon’s eyes had become those of a puppy. Waking up after a traffic accident only to find himself turned into a dog was shocking enough to nearly make him faint, but for that dog’s guardian to be Han Jun—one absurd situation after another made it impossible for Yi-hyeon to stay sane.
As if that weren’t enough, Han Jun suddenly tried to kiss him. Yi-hyeon twisted his neck and leaned his body all the way back. His small, flailing four legs looked pitiful.
Don’t, please stop!
“Kyiiing!”
Ignoring Yi-hyeon’s stubborn resistance, Han Jun’s lips ultimately landed on the top of his head. At the soft, fluffy, unfamiliar sensation, Yi-hyeon’s fur bristled sharply.
I told you not to!
“Woof!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Yi-hyeon thrashed his body and violently swung his front paw. In that moment, from the solid claw tip hidden beneath the downy fur, he felt something scratch—tuk.
Ah. A heavy groan followed immediately.
Left alone on the plush bed, Yi-hyeon was lost in thought.
He didn’t know how he’d ended up inside a puppy’s body, but he was absolutely certain of one thing: on Han Jun’s previously flawless, unblemished body, he had left the one and only mark.
Ha… this is driving me insane, seriously.
The vivid, red line slashed long across Han Jun’s neck refused to leave Yi-hyeon’s mind.
He’ll get angry, right? Of course he will. With Han Jun’s personality, there’s no way he’ll just let this slide.
Thump, thump, thump, thump. Yi-hyeon wandered around the soft blanket, stamping tiny paw prints no bigger than a thumbnail here and there. Just as he was sinking deep into guilt—click, the firmly shut door opened.
Startled by the sound, Yi-hyeon plopped down onto the spot. With that motion, a single goose feather popped out from somewhere in the blanket and landed on Yi-hyeon’s black nose. When Han Jun finally appeared after a while, a peach-colored bandage was carelessly stuck across his neck.
***
If it was a dream, he’d wake up. Even if it was reality, he’d return to his original body after some time.
Clinging to those thoughts as he anxiously killed time, the last ember of Yi-hyeon’s hope was completely extinguished. He opened his eyes and was still a puppy. Worse still, he had slept on Han Jun’s bed, sharing Han Jun’s pillow.
Aaaagh!
Seeing Han Jun’s straight, perfectly shaped nose right in front of his eyes, Yi-hyeon sprang up and tried to run—only to notice that the bandage on Han Jun’s neck was dangling, about to fall off. He stopped short.
Feeling guilty at the dark red line settled on that smooth, pale skin, Yi-hyeon turned his four legs back from where he’d fled and approached Han Jun’s face.
While Han Jun slept, breathing steadily and softly, Yi-hyeon waved his front paw in front of his eyes, then gently tapped—tap, tap—the bandage on Han Jun’s neck with his nose.
After confirming that the bandage was neatly reattached, Yi-hyeon tugged the corner of his mouth up in satisfaction—only to suddenly feel an uncontrollable itch surging upward, a sharp twinge shooting through his lower abdomen.
F-fuck, this is insane!
Racing down the pet-only stairs, Yi-hyeon stood in front of the door and pushed with his small body against the tightly shut door, whining as hard as he could.
There was no way it would open.
This time, he slipped his claw into a tiny gap—then scratch-scratch-scratch, accidentally scraped the door. Startled, he froze, but since the distance between the bed and the door was fairly far, it probably hadn’t reached Han Jun’s ears.
But that was Yi-hyeon’s mistake.
“Louis?”
At Han Jun’s low, slightly husky morning voice, Yi-hyeon sighed inwardly and squeezed his eyes shut tight.
“What are you doing over there?”
Ruffling his messy hair back, Han Jun got up from the bed. Sunlight pouring in through the large glass window settled on his face, making him look far more radiant than usual.
Using his fluffy butt to cover the claw marks on the door, Yi-hyeon blinked innocently up at Han Jun as he approached, pretending nothing had happened.
After silently staring down at the cotton-ball-like bundle sitting at his feet for a moment, Han Jun snorted softly.
“You know it’s the weekend and you want to go for a walk? Is our Louis a genius dog?”
Mistaking Yi-hyeon’s desperate need to pee for wanting a walk, Han Jun scooped him up.
“But not right now. Let’s eat first later.”
No. Now—now we have to go. I’m about to burst!
Yi-hyeon flailed his four legs with all his strength.
“Hold it just a bit, okay? Let’s go out around ten.”
Put me down right now. By then, it’ll already be too late! Unless you want to see me lose all human dignity and spiral into despair, please, Han Jun!
Trapped firmly in Han Jun’s grasp, Yi-hyeon was carried to the plush bed against his will. He was about to come out any second—why put him on the blanket of all places? He tried to escape again, only to be buried deep in Han Jun’s arms.
Unlike Yi-hyeon’s heart, which was burning up in panic, Han Jun’s expression—face buried against the nape of Yi-hyeon’s neck as he held him—was nothing but blissful.
***
An hour passed with Yi-hyeon trapped in Han Jun’s room, desperately holding it in. While Han Jun went into the bathroom to shower, Yi-hyeon stared at the door scarred with his claw marks and ground his teeth.
Please, someone open this door…
I’m really about to piss myself. Please, door, just open.
“Kyiiing, kyiiing.”
After enduring it as long as he could, Yi-hyeon finally reached his limit and waddled toward the most tucked-away pee pad among those scattered around, hoping to take care of it there. But the attempt failed when Han Jun walked back into the room, and Yi-hyeon couldn’t help but resent the man who refused to leave his side for even a second.
If only he’d gone to school. Of all times to get possessed, why did it have to be the weekend—what kind of dogshit suffering was this? Yi-hyeon groaned internally.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried the bathroom.
While Han Jun was brushing his teeth and briefly stepped out to grab his phone, Yi-hyeon leapt—hop!—onto the porcelain-smooth toilet. Then slip—his paws slid on the fur beneath his feet.
“Yelp!”
“Louis!”
Thanks to Han Jun rushing over and snatching Yi-hyeon up in the blink of an eye, he avoided the humiliation of being dunked in toilet water—but after that incident, Yi-hyeon swore never to climb onto the toilet again.
Next time the bathroom door opens, I’ll aim for the drain.
Ten minutes ago, when Han Jun headed toward the bathroom, Yi-hyeon had followed close behind. But the moment Han Jun started stripping off his clothes as if it were nothing to take a shower, Yi-hyeon panicked and bolted right back out.
