Chapter 5 : From Stray to Savior

“What did you just say?”

“He’s just pretending to sleep because he’s sulking.”

As if he’s actually sick.

I let out a dry chuckle.

“Kid, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“How do you even know that?”

It’s obvious if you look.

He’s been awake for ages but loves the attention, so he’s faking sleep.

“Hey, get up already!”

I poked the chubby belly of the white puppy with my finger, and it flinched ever so slightly.

“You’re worrying your owner. Keep this up, and you’ll end up with a shot.”

“Yip?!”

The mention of a shot made the dog’s eyes snap open, and he started scanning the room warily.

“Oh my gosh, my baby!”

He scrambled toward his owner’s voice, short legs pattering as he threw himself into her arms.

“Are you okay?”

The woman stroked the puppy’s head gently.

“He’s been sulking hard because I haven’t played with him much lately. That’s why he’s pretending.”

“Whine?”

Nestled in his owner’s embrace, the dog shot me a curious look, as if wondering how I’d figured him out.

You’re amazed, huh?

So am I.

I couldn’t speak their language like I used to, but I could still pick up on their moods and what they wanted to say, more or less.

“These past few days, I’ve been so caught up with my daughter’s wedding that I neglected him. Oh, you little troublemaker, trying to stress me out?”

“Whine—whine!”

The puppy, as if he’d never been sick, wagged his tail furiously, showering his owner with apologetic affection.

“Hmm, well, at least he’s not actually sick. That’s a relief.”

“Thank you, dear.”

The woman clasped my hand, her gratitude warm and sincere.

“No big deal.”

This was nothing to me.

Easier than eating a meal, really.

“Huh?”

“Haha, I’ve been abroad for so long that my Korean’s still a bit rusty.”

The old man gave an awkward laugh, patting my back twice, as if inviting me to join in.

I flashed a bright smile at the woman.

“Oh, no wonder I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood! Such a handsome boy with a smile like that—your parents must feel full even without eating.”

It’s only natural I’m good-looking, but every time my owner heard compliments like that, he’d thank them, so I followed suit.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve been abroad for a while, huh? Where were you? Our kid studied abroad too, so he speaks English—”

“Whoa, look at the time! It’s getting late; don’t you need to head home soon?”

“Oh, you’re right! My husband will be here any minute.”

The woman, who’d been about to dive into a full-blown conversation, glanced at the hospital clock and started bustling to leave.

“Hurry along now. This little guy shouldn’t worry about you like that!”

The old man taped the dog’s wet nose twice as they left, and soon, it was just the two of us in the clinic.

I should’ve said it earlier, but I missed my chance.

What was it that drama’s male lead said again…?

I was trying to recall and mimic the line when the old man spoke up.

“Your name’s Hyunjae, right?”

“Yeah, Jung Hyunjae.”

“No memories, no place to go?”

“Yup.”

“You want to stay here, don’t you?”

It was like he’d peeked into my heart, picking out exactly what I wanted to say.

“Yeah, so just stay here for a while.”

“Really?”

I hadn’t even gotten to do my drama lead impression, but he nodded coolly.

“Just don’t cause any trouble and behave yourself.”

“Don’t worry, give me a cushion, and I’ll sleep like a rock.”

I’d been stressing about where to go if they didn’t take me in, so this was a relief.

“That’s the spirit. But before that…”

“Huh?”

I looked down at the old man, who was a good two hands shorter than me, wondering what else he had to say.

“You little punk, why do you keep talking so casually?”

He grabbed my ear and yanked, dragging me along as my back bent in half.

“Ow, ow!”

What’s wrong with talking casually?

I was just mimicking how my owner spoke to me.

Did I mess up?

“Did I say something weird?”

“You lost your memories, but did you forget how to speak politely too?”

“What’s that? Ow! I’m in pain—can’t you let go and talk?”

My ear was burning red, and I stomped my feet.

Only then did he release me, hands on his hips, speaking with resolve.

“First, we’ve gotta make you into a proper person before you’re of any use.”

Startled, I blurted out, “Do I seem like a dog right now?”

How did he know I was a dog?

Is it because he works at an animal clinic?

Does he have some kind of special insight?

I asked, half-worried he’d figured me out, but he just sighed and shook his head.

“Ugh, you’ve got a long way to go.”

And so, I settled into a small animal clinic in a rural village.

***

One Year Later

“Hyunjae!”

“Yes, sir!”

I’d been staying at Uncle Kyungho’s place, gradually adjusting to life as a human.

“Looks like someone abandoned another one. Ugh, those jerks.”

Kyungho placed a large crate on the table, and inside was a Welsh Corgi, curled up tightly, wary of us.

“Judging by its grooming, it was probably done two or three months ago, but it looks like it’s been through a lot.”

The Corgi’s fur was matted and filthy, as if it had been rolling around somewhere, its body hunched defensively.

“I’ll take a look.”

I took the dog out of the crate and spoke to it.

“Where’d you come from? Tell me, and I’ll help find your owner.”

“Grr… grrr…”

Too weak to even growl properly, it puffed itself up, trying to look as menacing as possible in case we meant harm.

This little punk, talking to me like I’m nobody.

Growling at your elder, huh?

No way that was gonna work on me.

Living with Uncle Kyungho had armed me with Confucian values, and I wasn’t fazed.

“Spit it out. You don’t want to end up in that guy’s hands—he’s ruthless.”

“What am I doing?”

I kept trying to get it to talk, but it stayed stubborn, and there was no ID chip either.

“This one’s got some serious grit, huh?”

“No choice then. We’ll have to keep it here for now.”

Just then, a man walked through the door.

“I heard you’ve got a Welsh Corgi here.”

“Oh! Are you the owner?”

“Yeah, I lost him and heard he ended up here.”

“How’d you lose him?

Come this way.”

“I let him run around freely for a bit since no one was around, and he just disappeared.”

The man came inside, and the moment he saw the Corgi, he scooped it up into his arms.

“Why are you here? Yep, this is my baby.”

“Make sure to keep a leash on him from now on.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you. Let’s go, buddy.”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I stepped in front of the man, who was about to leave with the dog after a quick thank-you.

“Huh?”

“You can’t just walk out.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s been checked and treated here.

You need to settle the bill.”

“What? You’re charging me for finding my dog?”

He looked flustered at the mention of payment.

“This isn’t a charity. You know animals aren’t covered by insurance, right? Let’s make it simple—500,000 won.”

“500,000 won for what? You’re straight-up robbers!”

He raised his voice and lunged forward, but seeing my larger frame, he backed off.

“You’re not the owner, are you?”

A real owner wouldn’t bat an eye at a fee like that for their pet.

“Don’t be ridiculous.

Why would I be here if I wasn’t the owner?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering. Should we head to the police station and sort this out?”

“Screw you scammers!”

As Kyungho made a move to call someone, the man threw the Corgi down and bolted.

“Phew, almost dropped him.”

I caught the dog just in time, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Dog trafficker, huh?”

“100%. The guy reeked of dogs.”

I nearly choked on the stench when he walked in.

“How’d he even track this one down?”

“Probably stole a purebred to breed, neglected it, and came chasing when it escaped.”

I was an abandoned dog myself before meeting my owner, but I’d been lucky, I realized, only after becoming human.

“Poor thing.”

“I’ll check SNS for the owner.”

Given it was caught by a trafficker, it probably wasn’t from around here.

“You’ve come a long way from not even knowing what SNS was.”

The clueless kid I was when I first became human was long gone.

The title of genius dog wasn’t for nothing.

“Teach me one thing, and I’ll figure out ten.”

“Oh, please. The same kid who told a dog’s age when someone asked how old you were yesterday?”

“Haha, come on!

You didn’t even snap at that guy—you should’ve charged and bitten him instead of cowering!”

Embarrassed, I turned to the Corgi, who finally spoke up, maybe trusting me after seeing me scare off the man.

“So, where’re you from? What’s your name?”

Using the Corgi’s info, I tracked down the owner on SNS, and the process was smooth.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

A woman bowed deeply, gratitude pouring from her.

Thanks to her posts racking up likes, the dog’s info was easy to find.

“I lost him on the way to get him registered. I thought I’d never find him.”

“We can register him right here. Let’s do it now.”

“Yes, thank you!”

While Kyungho and the owner handled the registration, I chatted with the Corgi, who’d warmed up to me.

“Your owner must love you a lot—she came running.”

“Woof, woof!”

“Yeah, yeah. Take care, and come back with your owner sometime to hang out.”

I’d grown a bit attached over the past few days.

He was a smart one, easy to talk to.

“Excuse me? You just need to sign here and here.”

“Oh? Yes, okay.”

“He gets along with dogs so well; they’re practically on the same level. All done—you’re good to go!”

Kyungho grinned at the woman, who’d been watching me talk to the dog with fascination.

“Thank you. Haneul, let’s go!”

“Take care!”

“Bye!”

After a final wave, the woman turned back hesitantly.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Yeah?”

“How old are you?”

“Oh, I’m twenty.”

I was twenty here, in this place.

“Oh my gosh, really?”

Why was she so thrilled about my age?

Her beaming smile felt… off.

“So… are you interested in becoming an idol?”

“An idol?”

Where’d that come from?

“Oh, come on, an idol? That’s for good-looking kids!”

“What are you talking about?

He’s plenty good-looking!”

Her gaze lingered on me, intense enough to make me squirm.

“You’d need to dance and sing well, but I’m no good at that stuff.”

Singing?

Dancing?

Never tried, never planned to.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! You don’t need to know how—it’ll all be taught.”

“Who’d teach a clueless guy like me?”

“We would.”

She handed me a business card with a confident smile.