Don’t Mess with the Puppy! - Vol.2 Chapter 3 Part 1
Yoon Chi-young decided to visit the hospital the next day as well.
It was because Heeseong had refused to sleep with Yoon Chi-young. A puppy that saw the wolf asleep sneakily left the bed and ended up sleeping on the fainting cushion in its own room. When Yoon Chi-young, who woke up in the middle, brought the puppy back to the bed cushion and all, Heeseong couldn’t fall back asleep, worried.
“What if he has another pheromone shock?”
Even though Yoon Chi-young was asleep, he occasionally breathed roughly, as if in pain. Anxious, the puppy licked his cheek and lay down across his eyes like a blindfold. Only then did Yoon Chi-young start breathing evenly again and fell into a deep sleep.
Eventually, the next day at noon, the puppy came to him with the medical card in its mouth, intending to take him to the hospital.
Thud.
“Why? Want to go to the hospital?”
‘You need to go.’
The puppy answered resolutely. For some reason, Yoon Chi-young liked that and ended up getting a barrage of kisses, causing the puppy some trouble. Eventually, the puppy, with its fur all messed up, ran back to the room and turned into a human. Whether in human or puppy form, it was hard to handle Yoon Chi-young’s aggressive affection.
Dressed in new clothes, Heeseong took Yoon Chi-young to the hospital. It was natural, as he was his guardian.
***
Upon arriving at the hospital, Yoon Chi-young went in again to get an anti-pheromone shot. Just yesterday, his pheromone level had dropped to 1,013, but today, it had shot up to 1,083. The doctor was alarmed at how it could rise so much in just one day.
Heeseong felt a bit guilty. After all, he felt a strong sense of responsibility as the guardian. He had followed the precautions, but he hadn’t expected the levels to rise this much.
‘Do we really need to have sex to ease his separation anxiety?’
Heeseong shook his head vigorously at that thought.
The idea of having sexual relations with Yoon Chi-young. Not to mention the size difference, just the thought of him being a man-eating wolf made it seem far off. Heeseong found it strange that he was even considering such thoughts and shook his head vigorously to dispel them.
Then, he saw someone standing at the end of the hallway.
‘Why is that guy here again?’
Yang Hye-chan was in sight. Heeseong tensed up inwardly at the sight of him but pretended to be unfazed in the hallway. After the last incident, he was ready to give as good as he got if Yang Hye-chan started anything. After all, he had tried to kill Yoon Chi-young, making him an enemy to Heeseong as well.
But Yang Hye-chan just sneered faintly at Heeseong and didn’t do much else.
However, Heeseong felt uncomfortable as Yang Hye-chan seemed to be muttering something into his phone as if he was having a conversation. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but it made him feel uneasy.
He decided it was best to stay out of Yang Hye-chan’s sight for a while. This time, Heeseong spoke to Ji Young-bae, who was the only one to accompany him to the hospital again.
“Hyung, can I go get some juice?”
“What will you use it for?”
“…To drink.”
Heeseong thought he’d use it as a weapon, but given his history of causing trouble, he kept quiet and answered.
Ji Young-bae glanced at his wristwatch, then nodded and moved heavily with Heeseong. It would take at least 30 minutes for Yoon Chi-young to come out of isolation anyway.
The cafe was on the first floor of the hospital. At the counter, Heeseong mentioned Yoon Chi-young’s name and got an orange juice. Strangely, mentioning his name was enough to get any menu item.
Heeseong handed a juice to Ji Young-bae as well — technically, it was bought by Yoon Chi-young — and sat on a sofa to chat. However, it was a bit awkward because Ji Young-bae stubbornly stood behind him at a diagonal angle.
“Hyung, how did you end up working with wolves being from the dog tribe?”
“Director Yoon personally hired me.”
“Really? How come?”
“I… killed a member of the wolf tribe.”
Heeseong’s black eyes widened in shock at the unexpected answer.
It seemed like a hiring based on ability, but the circumstances were a bit delicate. Heeseong took a sip of his juice and glanced at Ji Young-bae. The idea of a canine who had killed a wolf… Suddenly, Ji Young-bae’s large and sturdy figure felt imposing.
“……?”
Noticing Heeseong’s cautious glance, Ji Young-bae gently stroked his head. Heeseong felt odd, remembering how Ji Young-bae seemed to find him endearing after hiding behind his hem last time. Yet, he remained silent, not minding the affection since he knew Ji Young-bae to be a kind figure.
Then, Heeseong spotted something odd outside the window.
“…What’s that?”
Beyond the hospital was a beautifully maintained walkway by the river, with affluent neighborhoods and the city beyond.
But on the walkway, a familiar figure appeared. A yellow dog. The dog was looking directly at Heeseong. It could have been a stray, but Heeseong’s instinct told him it was more than that.
The dog from the gambling den.
Rising from his spot, Heeseong headed outside, drawn to the dog. Ji Young-bae gently held his shoulder, cautioning him.
“You shouldn’t go out recklessly.”
“Just need to check something.”
Heeseong muttered, moving towards the outdoors, and the dog distanced itself accordingly, yet its eyes remained fixed on Heeseong.
Heeseong recognized the dog instantly. It was a friend from the gambling den, close to him.
The dog communicated through body language, clearly signaling.
“I have something to say.”
“…….”
Heeseong’s hesitation was evident in his widened eyes. It was risky for a beastfolk to roam the city in their true form, yet his friend had come this far, surely with an urgent message.
Glancing back at the hospital building, Heeseong was conflicted about leaving Yoon Chi-young, but the desire for revenge that always lingered in his mind propelled him forward.
To seek revenge against Park Geon-tae, any information was crucial.
And the secretive manner of his friend’s visit indicated there must be a significant reason.
“Hyung, I’ll be back shortly.”
“That’s not allowed.”
“Just for a moment.”
Heeseong ran off, following the dog as it seemed to beckon him. As he dashed, the dog led him onward, and Heeseong quickly followed.
As Heeseong ran, Ji Young-bae, surprised, shifted into his beast form to catch up swiftly. The sturdy shepherd stayed close to Heeseong, vigilantly surveying the surroundings. Hesitant but determined to catch up with his friend, Heeseong crossed a bridge over the river. Beyond lay a part of the city known for its affluent neighborhoods.
December, Heeseong entered the snow-covered affluent area. It was a quiet neighborhood with high fences.
“It won’t take long, right…?”
Fortunately, the hospital remained visible even after crossing the bridge. The distance covered didn’t seem too daunting, giving Heeseong confidence for a swift return. Steadying his heart, Heeseong approached the dog loitering in the dim parking lot.
Ji Young-bae, in his true form, circled around Heeseong, offering a sense of security. With his presence reassuring, Heeseong felt slightly at ease and moved towards the parking lot.
Crunch.
However, Ji Young-bae bit his clothes, stopping him. Heeseong stood before the dim parking lot, staring at his friend. The narrow street nearby was unusually deserted.
It was wise not to enter the parking lot. The dogs from the gambling den appeared there.
Several large canine beastfolk, all guards from the gambling den, were familiar to Heeseong but not in a good way. The guards, who often punished or took out their frustrations on the troublemaking Heeseong, were not friends.
One guard with a scar on his forehead spat out, disdain clear in his voice.
“Traitor.”
Heeseong’s expression turned fierce. He knew his sudden disappearance might have led to misunderstandings, but he hadn’t expected a trusted friend to lure him out this way.
The guard from the gambling den delivered a message that felt like a verdict.
“Thought you’d be safe siding with the wolves after betraying your pack?”
“Fuck, who betrayed who.”
Heeseong bared his teeth in retort, but the guards remained unflinching. They were convinced of his betrayal.
‘Was this a plan to eliminate me secretly, away from the wolves?’
The reason for luring him out using a friend was clear. They wanted to deal with the traitor without crossing paths with the wolves. The guard spoke to Heeseong as if making a formal announcement.
“Heeseong, admit to your betrayal before we kill you here.”
In the canine tribe, where loyalty was paramount, betrayal was the gravest of offenses. Although not as vigilant as the wolves, traitors were always made to pay a heavy price. In particular, the canine tribe would often cripple a limb of the betrayer as punishment.
But Heeseong, despite knowing this, was unafraid.
Having come this far, he needed to gather any information he could. Heeseong bluntly asked the guard, not mincing his words.
“Did Park Geon-tae order you to take care of me without the wolves knowing?”
“Answer our questions first.”
“Your intelligence network sucks. How did you know I was with the wolves?”
Heeseong’s brazen question was met with a threatening response from the guards.
“No matter what a traitor does, we know everything. Just confess.”
Heeseong ignored their words, flicking one ear, lost in thought. The canine tribe’s organization was much less tight-knit than the wolves’. If they had information on him, it meant there was a separate informant.
“…Who’s collaborating with that blockhead again?”
Heeseong grumbled through gritted teeth, and the guards lost their patience.
“This fucking mutt!”
Two guards transformed into German Shepherds and lunged at Heeseong. The fighting dogs, about the same size as Heeseong, bared their sharp fangs and tried to tear at his throat. Heeseong instinctively raised his arms and ducked.
Kang!
Ji Young-bae bit and easily subdued the two German Shepherds. However, two more German Shepherds suddenly emerged from elsewhere and targeted Heeseong. It all happened in an instant.
‘Oh no.’
By the time he noticed, the German Shepherd’s sharp fangs were already right in front of Heeseong’s eyes. His instincts told him to run away, but Heeseong knew that turning his back would be even more dangerous. He had to either block or attack, even if it meant risking losing the use of his arms.
‘Too close.’
Gritting his teeth, Heeseong reached out with all his might. He planned to somehow grab the German Shepherd and throw it to the ground. He would surely get bitten somewhere by the other one, but he had to stop at least one of them.
The sharp fangs seemed about to tear Heeseong’s shoulder at any moment. Far from being frightened, Heeseong was prepared to get bitten and tried to grab its scruff. Just as the German Shepherd’s fangs barely grazed his new clothes—
Boom!
Two wolves rushed in from the side and tore the German Shepherds apart. The German Shepherds howled as if screaming, and the unharmed few tried to flee in a hurry. Heeseong took a deep breath to calm his tension and looked around at the scene that unfolded in an instant.
Before he knew it, a pack of wolves more than twice the size of the German Shepherds had silently gathered. Unlike dogs, the wolves bared their fangs and charged at the gambling den’s dogs without making a sound as they pounced on their prey.
‘How did the wolves get here?’
Heeseong looked around in surprise. He was amazed that the wolves had flocked this far, but the sight before him scared him. The ends of his black hair, damp with cold sweat, clung thinly to Heeseong’s tense forehead.
It was not a fight between the fighting dogs Heeseong usually saw. It was a one-sided hunt by beasts. The wolves bit the legs of the German Shepherds trying to escape over the wall and chased the fleeing dogs to the end. Heeseong stepped back little by little, catching his tense breath.
Then someone forcefully pulled Heeseong into their arms.
“Ugh…!”
Surprised by the powerful strength, Heeseong gulped and turned to look at him.
It was Yoon Chi-young with unstable eyes. He seemed to have run over in a hurry, breathing heavily in a disheveled state unlike usual.
“Yoon Chi-young…?”
“Gyeon Heeseong.”
Perhaps it was because his gray eyes had vertically elongated pupils, but Heeseong found his voice particularly chilling. His voice, lower than usual, and his rough breathing hit Heeseong with bone-chilling intensity. Goosebumps rising, Heeseong grabbed Yoon Chi-young’s arm that was tightly holding his waist, eyes wide open.
As their eyes met, Yoon Chi-young stared at him expressionlessly. Heeseong’s gaze fell on his distinctly reddened eyes. Yoon Chi-young, subtly gritting his fangs, seemed to have difficulty speaking as usual.
“Why do you keep suddenly disappearing like that?”
Although his words were laced with concern, something was off. The arm wrapped around his waist was squeezing with overwhelming strength. When Heeseong touched the back of that hand, he felt a temperature so hot it startled him.
Something was wrong. Yoon Chi-young seemed far too unstable. It seemed he might go into pheromone shock at any moment.
Forgetting about nearly getting torn apart just moments ago, Heeseong grasped Yoon Chi-young’s shoulders.
“Yoon Chi-young, are you… alright?”
Heeseong barely managed to ask, and Yoon Chi-young met his eyes. He was smiling, but that expression seemed even more terrifying.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Now that I found you.”
“For now, calm down. I didn’t mean to go far…”
“I want to calm down too, but…”
Yoon Chi-young laughed unsteadily, taking a deep breath, then swept back his disheveled black hair. As his reddened eyes were revealed, his nails grew long and black. It was a sign his body was trying to revert to its original form.
Heeseong tried to somehow calm him down and hugged Yoon Chi-young. He was sure this had lowered Yoon Chi-young’s pheromone levels before.
Then he heard a rough voice like a beast’s cry in his ear.
“You almost got hurt again… How can I calm down?”
“……”
“Huh? Gyeon Heeseong. Answer me.”
Heeseong’s face froze in shock. He could tell that Yoon Chi-young feared him getting hurt and crouching with his small body in an alley more than him disappearing. The whimpering sound Yoon Chi-young made before passing out last time Heeseong was injured was proof of that.
Soon, black cars stopped in front of Heeseong.
They were cars of the wolf organization members. Yoon Chi-young got in the backseat, holding Heeseong tightly. The force was too strong, but Heeseong obediently followed him.
Looking up at him from Yoon Chi-young’s arms, Heeseong’s eyes trembled with unease.
***
The car quickly headed home.
Meanwhile, Yoon Chi-young painfully struggled to control his increasingly heavy breathing. Although Heeseong’s body stiffened at the thought of Yoon Chi-young transforming into a black wolf, he did his best to hold him close and stay by his side.
However, none of Heeseong’s attempts at conversation or skinship to soothe Yoon Chi-young worked. Gradually, the vague fear residing in Heeseong’s heart grew.
He wasn’t sure in what state of mind he made it home. Only after dragging Heeseong into his domain, the house, did Yoon Chi-young finally face Heeseong with barely focused eyes. It was winter when the sun set early. The two gazed into each other’s eyes in the dim space.
“Baby…”
Yoon Chi-young called out to Heeseong with a sigh-like laugh, as if wanting to calm down. But up close, his gray eyes looked strange. Even his words were sticky, tinged with a smoky sound like a growling beast.
“If you keep disappearing like that, I think I’ll really go crazy.”
“I didn’t intend to run away and leave you.”
“Yeah, I know. I know, but…”
Yoon Chi-young barely managed a smile. The corners of his mouth trembled slightly, his fangs protruding. Heeseong warily observed his eerie appearance and took faltering steps backward.
Heeseong leaned against the wall, his puppy ears drooping back nervously. His white tail was also anxiously curled.
Yoon Chi-young pulled Heeseong into a tight embrace as if to catch him and whispered,
“I’d rather be the one getting hurt…”
“……”
“If someone hurts the puppy again, I think I’ll really lose it.”
Although his words were clearly affectionate, a chill ran down Heeseong’s spine. It felt as if a man-eating wolf had grabbed him by the nape. Mumbling incoherently, unable to control his strength, Yoon Chi-young already seemed out of his mind.
But Heeseong didn’t want to fear him. He had made Yoon Chi-young unstable in the first place. Even now, Yoon Chi-young was just temporarily in pain. Heeseong clenched his trembling hands tightly and tried his best to speak as usual.
“It won’t happen anymore. I won’t get hurt.”
“No. It’s already happened twice…”
Yoon Chi-young’s hot breath touched Heeseong’s nape. Heeseong lowered his head to the opposite side and buried his forehead against Yoon Chi-young’s shoulder. Sensitive heat circulated wherever Yoon Chi-young’s skin touched him.
On the other hand, Heeseong thought he understood why Yoon Chi-young was so anxious.
‘Gyeon Heeseong, Gyeon Heeseong…’
The uncharacteristically uneasy behavior of Yoon Chi-young when Heeseong disappeared after he first transformed into a wolf last time stood out in his mind. Recalling his desperate appearance then, Heeseong felt apologetic. Yoon Chi-young was of the same species as him. Perhaps he was more than that.
“…Calm down.”
Heeseong understood Yoon Chi-young’s unease. He had said Heeseong was all he had.
Even if the cunning wolf’s words were just superficial flattery, Heeseong knew that at least half of what Yoon Chi-young said to him always contained sincerity.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave you.”
At Heeseong’s steadfast words, Yoon Chi-young buried his face in Heeseong’s nape and laughed darkly. He didn’t seem to believe what Heeseong said. The strength of the arm around Heeseong’s waist intensified.
The situation only worsened. Yoon Chi-young’s fangs grew even longer in his mouth. Every time he exhaled, a boiling sound rang out. It meant he was struggling to control himself.
If Heeseong couldn’t calm him down here, he might go into pheromone shock again.
“Yoon Chi-young…?”
Heeseong raised his head from Yoon Chi-young’s embrace.
His puppy ears, drooping back from anxiety, twitched, and his eyes were glazed with tension. In front of him, he saw Yoon Chi-young’s tired gray eyes, full of pain.
Heeseong wanted to soothe him. It wasn’t just out of a sense of responsibility. A feeling more poignant than that compelled Heeseong to act.
Hesitantly, Heeseong lifted his heels slightly and returned the affection he had received thousands of times from him.
He brushed Yoon Chi-young’s smooth jaw with his lips and gently bit the side of it. Compared to the kiss they had last time, this was nothing more than a playful touch. His tongue barely grazed Yoon Chi-young’s lower lip.
Silence.
Even that was enough to widen Yoon Chi-young’s eyes. The tail of the wolf, said to be unshakeable, bristled and doubled in size. Heeseong felt a thrill so intense that his neck tingled at the sight of Yoon Chi-young’s surprised expression.
Heeseong was the first to pull away. Yoon Chi-young’s breathing had calmed down somewhat, and his hand was frozen, gripping Heeseong’s waist. Only the black wolf’s tail was twitching like an electrode.
Heeseong mustered up the courage to speak.
“Calm down.”
Silence.
Yoon Chi-young’s hazy eyes slowly shifted towards Heeseong. His slit pupils barely focused. He tilted his head slowly, looking at Heeseong, and a smile appeared on his lips, revealing his fangs.
“…Yoon Chi-young?”
Heeseong’s kiss seemed to have the opposite effect.
“Ah…!”
Yoon Chi-young pounced and showered him with kisses like a downpour. Heeseong tried to calm him down, but Yoon Chi-young was beyond reasoning. Heeseong’s clothes were stripped away as if torn, and Yoon Chi-young’s large hands gripped his small hips as if to crush them.
Heeseong trembled with fear, but soon relaxed, realizing that Yoon Chi-young would not bare his teeth at him. He closed his eyes and entwined his tongue with Yoon Chi-young’s. If it was to lower his pheromones, it couldn’t be helped.
No, if it was only Yoon Chi-young, it was alright. With that thought, Heeseong willingly surrendered himself to Yoon Chi-young.
***
