Don’t Mess with the Puppy! - Vol.1 Chapter 2 Part 15

Awooo-!

Even after returning home, Heeseong continued to look out the window and howl several times. Yoon Chi-young tried to soothe the puppy, but seeing his fierce resistance, he didn’t stop him. Heeseong saw him contacting someone else, but the puppy didn’t care either.

‘My brother was looking for me.’

Heeseong was recalling the howling of his fellow clansman.

The howling he had heard earlier was definitely not from just one or two. He thought they would assume he had betrayed the pack, but the fact that they had come to the dangerous wolf territory to search for him was proof that they were waiting for Heeseong.

Moreover, his brother had come to the wolf clan’s headquarters before. He must have been believing in Heeseong until the end and searching for any clues.

Heeseong grew anxious. While he was wasting time with unnecessary worries, his fellow clansmen must have been constantly searching for him. Feeling guilty, Heeseong howled a few more meaningless times. Although his fellow clansmen were unlikely to hear it, he signaled that he was still here.

Someone approached behind the puppy.

‘Why are you here again?’

The one who carefully lifted the small body was the drug-addicted doctor. Heeseong, who didn’t even know he had come home, resisted a few times, but seeing him struggle, he gave up. He had to receive treatment well for now.

Soon, the puppy was seated on a table with a clean cloth spread out. On either side of him stood Yoon Chi-young and the doctor.

“How is the puppy doing?”

“Fortunately, he’s recovering quickly. His nutritional status is much better than when I first saw him.”

The doctor spoke with admiration. However, Yoon Chi-young stood on the opposite side with a subtle smile, quietly alternating his gaze between the puppy and the doctor. His gray eyes seemed to be unusually lowered today.

The doctor, who had been watching Yoon Chi-young’s reaction, took out tools from his doctor’s bag and said.

“Then… I’ll remove the stitches. But the puppy must not strain his leg for a while.”

“I know.”

Yoon Chi-young simply answered while stroking the puppy. Heeseong hated the sensation of the doctor removing the stitches to the point of getting goosebumps, but he endured it while thinking of a scheme in his small head.

‘If the recovery is fast, it should be okay to try transforming into a human now.’

Then he could contact his brother first and let him know the situation. If given a little more time, he would safely escape from Yoon Chi-young’s side.

Soon, the stitches that had been left ugly on his leg were removed one by one. The puppy buried his head in Yoon Chi-young’s hand and endured the pain. He was used to enduring pain.

Fortunately, the treatment ended quickly. The doctor disinfected the wound and finally examined the puppy’s teeth, eyes, and ears.

“You must have taken good care of your pet dog so far. If you maintain it well like this, it should be fine.”

‘I’m not a pet dog.’

The puppy stubbornly thought while biting the doctor’s hand, knowing he wouldn’t understand.

‘I’m a fighting dog from the gambling den.’

As soon as the doctor put him down on the floor, Heeseong limped back toward the window. He felt Yoon Chi-young’s gaze quietly watching him from behind, but Heeseong only thought about what he would do tonight.

‘I have to wait until Yoon Chi-young falls asleep.’

Yoon Chi-young had sensitive senses when he was awake, but when he slept, he took unknown pills and fell into a deep sleep. That’s why Heeseong decided to wait for the moment when Yoon Chi-young fell asleep or had no choice but to leave him alone.

Late at night came after Yoon Chi-young sent the doctor home. As it was already late, Yoon Chi-young tidied up a bit, took his medication, and tried to go to bed with the puppy.

Lying on the bed, Yoon Chi-young stared at the puppy for a long time and muttered to himself.

“At first, I didn’t know it would turn out like this…”

‘What is it now?’

“The puppy likes me too, right?”

“……”

The puppy tried hard to pretend he didn’t hear his words. He just wanted Yoon Chi-young to fall asleep quickly, no matter what he said.

Fortunately, he didn’t moan from pheromones like last night, so it seemed he would fall asleep soon. The puppy curled up his body near Yoon Chi-young’s shoulder and spent time anxiously until the man-eating wolf quieted down.

“……”

Soon, the room became silent. Yoon Chi-young’s hand, which had been habitually stroking the puppy’s body, also stopped moving. Heeseong peered at his face that had become quiet and checked the time on his smartphone. 3 a.m. It was the time Yoon Chi-young usually fell asleep.

The puppy quietly got up from his place. Then, he slid down the high bed, biting the blanket like a rope. It was a method he had naturally learned while living as a puppy.

The puppy examined his hind leg first in the dim house after entering the quiet living room.

‘It seems to have almost healed to this extent.’

Indeed, it seemed to be time to try transforming into a human, contact his brother to report the situation, and attempt the escape methods he had explored. No matter how familiar and comfortable it was by Yoon Chi-young’s side, Heeseong had to return to his place.

And Heeseong knew he couldn’t live as a puppy forever. He didn’t want to either. Heeseong wanted to live as a proper beastmen. He wanted to study and live an ordinary life like others.

Moreover, his brother had come to find him in person today. Thinking about how worried his brother must have been, he felt so sorry.

‘But if I go back to the gambling den…’

Gloom clouded the puppy’s eyes as he thought.

When he returned to being human, he had to go to the gambling den first. If that happened, he would be interrogated about losing the drugs this time and would have to take responsibility. He might have to do dirty work at the gambling den again to that extent. Being sexually harassed frequently, being beaten up by someone for no reason, cleaning up dirty rooms, kicking out customers with no money… He would work without a day off and live considering sleep as his only rest.

‘…But my fellow clansmen are looking for me.’

Heeseong’s thoughts toward his fellow clansmen were blind. Having been abandoned by his family in the past, Heeseong never wanted to be abandoned by his pack again. Never again.

The puppy looked around after making his decision.

‘I have to transform without Yoon Chi-young knowing.’

Heeseong headed to the home theater room, which was the farthest from the bedroom where Yoon Chi-young was sleeping. It was a place where Yoon Chi-young, who loved movies, often enjoyed relaxing with the puppy, and it was suitable for carrying out his plan as the lighting was dim.

Tap, tap, tap. The puppy walked carefully to minimize the sound of his claws with each step. Then he stood in front of the full-length mirror in the hallway leading to the home theater room.

The puppy closed his eyes and tried to transform. As if stretching his whole body, he forcefully stretched his stiff body.

Then, he gradually felt changes in his body.

‘Ah, ugh…’

Excruciating pain was felt in his injured leg. Heeseong’s body was instinctively refusing to change. It was a signal that he still needed recovery.

But the puppy gritted his teeth and endured it.

‘I can endure this much.’

The puppy curled up his body, trembling and enduring the painful time. However, the pain was so intense that it felt like the skin on his injured leg was tearing, and Heeseong was about to give up on transforming.

‘Ah, it hurts…’

Heeseong, who had been panting in pain while lying down, barely lifted his body. Then he saw the full-length mirror in front of him.

“Huh…?”

Heeseong’s eyes widened. His familiar appearance was reflected in the mirror.

He had succeeded. Instead of a puppy wearing a white fur coat, he saw himself transformed into a human.

Upon turning into a human, his pure white naked body was revealed. However, he hadn’t completely turned into a human, so his white puppy ears and tail remained the same.

Heeseong didn’t particularly care about his naked body and looked at the mirror with a frown.

‘Only my hair has grown longer, but I’m the same.’

Heeseong always disliked his pale and gentle appearance.

Due to his soft-looking, handsome features, strange guys often flocked to Heeseong. If only he were a bit taller, but his below-average height and slim build were always Heeseong’s concerns.

That’s why Heeseong always frowned to look fierce on his gentle face. It wasn’t very effective, but it was the only way to have a fierce expression befitting a fighting dog at the gambling den. However, when he relaxed his expression, his round puppy-like eyes still stood out. Heeseong glared at himself in the mirror with dissatisfaction, then turned his head away sharply with a frown.

Pain was intensely felt all over his body. Heeseong looked down at his thigh, where something was flowing down, with a wrinkled brow from the pain.

‘No wonder it hurts again.’

The wound on his thigh, which had barely healed, had torn again. Although it wasn’t deep, blood was already dripping and staining the floor. This was why beastmen who were injured shouldn’t carelessly transform into humans. Excessive physical transformation worsened the wounds.

‘If the smell of blood spreads, Yoon Chi-young might wake up.’

Heeseong endured the pain stoically and looked for a cloth that could stop the bleeding. Among them, he found a towel and wrapped it tightly around his thigh to stop the bleeding. He put on Yoon Chi-young’s nightgown on his exposed naked body.

Soon, Heeseong frowned, panting heavily.

‘Unnecessarily huge wolf bastard.’

Yoon Chi-young’s nightgown, which had reached his calves, dragged slightly on the ground when Heeseong wore it. He knew there was at least a head’s difference in physique, but he couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied. Whether as a puppy or a human, height and build were always a complex for Heeseong.

Swallowing his annoyance, Heeseong set his goal first.

‘I have to contact my brother first.’

As expected, his first target was Yoon Chi-young’s cell phone.

Heeseong carefully moved in the darkness to steal. Every time he moved with his heels raised, the wound on his thigh throbbed, but he didn’t care. Heeseong aimed for the bedroom first, with his puppy ears perked up sensitively.

As he approached the bedroom, he saw Yoon Chi-young sleeping loosely. Heeseong carefully approached the bed and searched for his cell phone. The phone was placed right next to Yoon Chi-young’s pillow. However, it was on the inner side of the bed, so he had to reach his arm across the man-eating wolf’s body.

Heeseong glared at Yoon Chi-young’s refreshing features and pondered.

‘He doesn’t wake up well anyway, so it should be fine, right?’

Usually, Yoon Chi-young didn’t wake up even when the puppy stepped on his body or sat on his chest, plotting murder. However, he tended to talk in his sleep, which gave the puppy a hard time. Occasionally, while sleeping, the puppy would be kidnapped by Yoon Chi-young’s hand or have his folded ears bitten like a bolt of lightning.

‘Stay still, seriously. I’m in human form.’

Although nervous, Heeseong put his pride aside and gently placed his knee on the bed like a cat. The bed was annoyingly wide, so he couldn’t reach the phone just by stretching his arm.

Heeseong carefully extended his arm over Yoon Chi-young’s upper body. The wound on his thigh throbbed, but he gritted his teeth to avoid groaning. Fortunately, when he flexibly reached out his hand, Yoon Chi-young’s cell phone was within his grasp.

However, it wasn’t that easy.

Swish.

“…!”

Yoon Chi-young, in his sleep, slipped his hand inside Heeseong’s gown. Then he naturally caressed the pale buttocks as if touching the puppy. Heeseong immediately bared his canines and let out a small growl.

Then he was surprised at himself. It was strange that he didn’t immediately throw a punch at Yoon Chi-young.

‘…Is it because I’ve been living as a puppy for so long?’

How long had they been together that he had become accustomed to skinship with Yoon Chi-young? Heeseong felt miserable about his situation. He even hated that he had grown used to living in his small puppy form, which was his complex.

Nonetheless, it was fortunate that he didn’t throw a punch this time.

Heeseong carefully removed Yoon Chi-young’s rude hand. His hand was so large that it could easily cover one of Heeseong’s buttocks. Out of spite, he wanted to bite Yoon Chi-young as usual, but Heeseong decided to let it slide this time and carefully got up.

The thieving puppy, who had finally escaped the bed, clutched the cell phone in his hand and fled from the bedroom as if running away.

Heeseong went to the room farthest from the bedroom, put the phone down on the carpet, and took a deep breath he had been holding. Due to the tension, cold sweat formed on his forehead, and his heart pounded.

‘My brother’s number must be saved.’

When he finally calmed down and touched the phone, as expected, Yoon Chi-young’s phone had no lock. The phone’s wallpaper was his selfie with an angry puppy, which was unpleasant to even look at, but Heeseong calmly recalled his brother’s number and pressed it. Fortunately, his brother’s number was saved on Yoon Chi-young’s phone, but it was carelessly added as just “Gambling Den 2.”

Heeseong hesitated to press the call button, then took a deep breath and impulsively made the call.

And before the ringtone connected three times, the other person’s voice was heard.

“……”

The high business tone of his brother’s voice was heard through the phone call. Heeseong anxiously looked at the dark doorway, although there was no way Yoon Chi-young could hear the sound. He put the phone back to his ear, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

‘…What should I say to my brother?’

Heeseong had been in Yoon Chi-young’s arms for nearly a month. What would his brother think of him, who had disappeared while losing the drugs during that time? Would it be better for his brother if he just disappeared? Or should he tell him everything as it is? Confused, Heeseong couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

But his brother on the other end of the call was also silent. Just as Heeseong, who had been gripping the phone tensely, was about to muster up the courage to speak.

“Bro…”

“……”

Heeseong’s eyes widened in surprise. With Heeseong’s short utterance, Park Gun-tae seemed to have confirmed his identity and poured out his words as usual, dropping the business tone.

“…Brother, I…”

“……”

Heeseong suddenly choked up. He wasn’t the type to show tears, but tears welled up in his black eyes. His brother was so affectionate that he felt pathetic for finding comfort in the man-eating wolf’s arms. Only then did Heeseong stammer in a low voice and speak.

“Brother, I… I’m s-sorry. It’s a long story, but I was attacked and injured while bringing the goods. So…”

“……”

With just a few kind words, Heeseong’s eyes finally turned red. For a moment, Heeseong caught his trembling breath.

“Brother, is it… okay for me to come back?”

His brother spoke in a worried voice, as if sighing.

“……”

Heeseong nodded, gritting his teeth. He felt pathetic for hesitating until just a moment ago.

As expected, his brother was his family.

His brother must have taken all the responsibility alone while Heeseong was gone. But hearing his brother say this first made him feel so sorry and grateful.

As expected, he couldn’t let his brother take all the responsibility alone.

Heeseong wiped away his tears and answered with a firmer gaze.

“Okay, brother.”

“No. I’ll come now, brother.”

Heeseong spoke firmly, looking at the door. Then he slowly got up from his place, keeping his voice low.

“I’ll tell you everything when I get there. Just wait a bit…”

Click.

Heeseong hung up without listening further. He couldn’t have a longer conversation anyway because of Yoon Chi-young. No matter how spacious the house was, Yoon Chi-young had sharp ears as well as a keen sense of smell. Even if he was asleep, it was better not to engage in suspicious behavior for too long.

Soon, Heeseong, who had made up his mind, acted quickly.

‘…Let’s go back home.’

Instead of putting Yoon Chi-young’s cell phone back in its place, he threw it far outside the terrace, fearing it might wake him up. The phone, thrown with all his might from the top floor of the apartment, had a high chance of not being found. Even if it was found, it would be shattered into pieces, and the call history would be unrecoverable.

Heeseong headed to the dressing room next. The house was dim, but Heeseong had become so familiar with the layout of this house that he could draw it with his eyes closed while living as a puppy.

‘It would be better to escape in a smaller form.’

Heeseong knew that organization members came and went or were on standby around this house as well. That’s why now was the time to actively use his small puppy form to escape.

Heeseong took out Yoon Chi-young’s T-shirt and the lightest pair of sweatpants. He bundled the clothes as small as possible into a bundle the size of a melon and held it in his arms. Then he took out several 50,000 won bills hidden under the sofa and stuffed them into the bundle. It was the money he had bitten and hidden when Yoon Chi-young had left a bundle of money that smelled of blood on the table before.

The preparations for returning to his brother were complete.

Lastly, Heeseong headed to the front door and looked toward the bedroom. It wasn’t that he had any lingering attachments, but he still cared about Yoon Chi-young.

He felt a little sorry for Yoon Chi-young, who would wake up alone around lunchtime, unlike usual.

However, knowing that Yoon Chi-young would be looking for the puppy, not him, Heeseong chose to escape. He couldn’t live as a puppy forever.

Click.

Heeseong carefully opened the door and went out, deliberately not using the elevator and walking down to the underground parking lot. More blood seeped from the wound on his thigh, but he ignored it and tightened the cloth wrapped around it for hemostasis. It was very cold as it was early December, but Heeseong didn’t care as he was going to turn back into a puppy that had finished shedding its winter coat anyway.

‘Fortunately, I didn’t run into anyone.’

Heeseong, who had safely reached the underground parking lot, transformed into a puppy on the last floor. He discarded the gown and the cloth that had been tightening his leg. Fortunately, turning back into a puppy was easy.

The small puppy started running vigorously through the parking lot with the bundle in his mouth.

No matter how much he ran, the exit didn’t seem to get closer, but Heeseong didn’t give up and ran diligently.

‘It’s almost done.’

Finally, Heeseong left the luxury apartment complex far behind and transformed back into a human in a public restroom, untied the bundle, and put on the thin clothes. The bitter cold that felt like his flesh was being cut by a knife every time the wind blew was felt, but he endured it.

Lastly, Heeseong headed to the road and hailed a passing taxi. After telling the destination, Heeseong shivered and curled up his body. Then the taxi driver looked in the rearview mirror and spoke worriedly.

“Oh my… Aren’t you cold in this winter, student?”

“It’s okay.”

“You transformed back into your original form after drinking, didn’t you? Right?”

“…Yes.”

The taxi driver rambled on, saying that he had experienced the same thing when he was young. Then he turned up the heater strongly. However, his words didn’t even enter Heeseong’s ears, and he was only concerned about the wound on his leg. Red blood was seeping into the gray pants he had changed into, which belonged to Yoon Chi-young. But Heeseong calmly ignored the wound and looked out the window.

It felt strange to come out alone after a long time. Even when he worked at the gambling den, he had never properly seen the outside. Unlike near Heeseong’s gambling den, the expensive and wealthy neighborhood where Yoon Chi-young lived was quiet and clean, without any drunks vomiting or shouting in the early morning.

‘…I can’t believe the escape was this easy.’

Heeseong felt like he was going to choke up with tears.

But he tried hard to ignore those emotions. Only his brother’s words saying it was okay to come back echoed in his ears.

When he heard his brother’s words, he felt a lump in his throat, and the dog clan’s instinct for returning strongly led Heeseong… But strangely, he kept feeling nauseous and had other thoughts.

He didn’t want to go back to the gambling den.

He was afraid of being interrogated about the unjust loss of the drugs, and he was also afraid of his fellow clansmen at the gambling den who might think he was a traitor. Just as Heeseong valued loyalty, they were the same. Heeseong might have to live with the misunderstanding or label of trying to run away from the organization in the future.

But he couldn’t turn his back on the only family-like existence he had left.

‘If I don’t go back… My brother will take all the responsibility.’

In the end, Heeseong had to go to the gambling den for his brother’s sake.

Resigned, Heeseong curled up his body and took a deep breath. For now, he should only think about returning to his brother. He stubbornly closed his mouth, trying hard to console himself.

“……”

The taxi sped down the early morning road. Soon, a familiar busy street came into view. Neon signs were lined up in a dizzying array, and various beastmans were soliciting customers on the street.

Looking at that sight, Heeseong remembered something completely different.

Strangely, he thought of Yoon Chi-young, who woke up late around lunchtime and tried to kiss the small puppy. His slightly hoarse voice asking what they would do today and the touch of his hands rubbing against his body were also vivid in his memory. He had always found it annoying and irritating, but now it felt a little different.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t a bad morning.

***