Don’t Mess with the Puppy! - Vol.2 Chapter 3 Part 8
Yoon Chi-young took the flattened puppy to receive special care. The first place they went was a beastmen grooming shop.
Beastmen grooming shops were all-in-one. You could get the care you wanted, whether in human form or your original form. Among them, Yoon Chi-young, who had gone to a high-end care shop, sat in front of the mirror. In his arms, the puppy, whose pride was hurt, had his face buried in Yoon Chi-young’s arm, hiding his expression.
Yoon Chi-young didn’t mind and just said with a bright smile,
“Please trim the puppy’s nails and give him basic grooming.”
“Then, will the guardian please wait separately in the waiting area?”
“Ah.”
As the groomer tried to take the puppy, Yoon Chi-young smiled softly and pulled the puppy into his arms.
“He has separation anxiety.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Then, please stay with him, guardian!”
“…?”
The groomers spoke readily as if they understood. The puppy listening to that conversation found it absurd.
‘This muscle lump is the one with separation anxiety.’
Even when the puppy grumbled with a frown, the groomers prepared for grooming, saying that could happen with puppies. Heeseong wanted to be a bit apart from Yoon Chi-young because of the morning’s events, but he resigned himself and received care in his arms. In fact, Heeseong found Yoon Chi-young’s embrace the most comfortable.
Afterward, the puppy received nail trimming, which he hated and screamed about―it was scary because Park Geon-tae often made him bleed while cutting his nails―and his white fur was fluffed up nicely. After stylishly leaving the long fur on his folded ears, he could leave the pet shop with an even rounder appearance.
For their next course, the two went to a department store.
“What new clothes should we buy for the puppy?”
‘…Why is it just you and me here?’
The puppy looked around, puzzled. He had come to an unfamiliar private space in the already unfamiliar department store. A personal shopper was accompanying them, and Yoon Chi-young and Heeseong just had to sit on the sofa and look at the clothes he introduced.
Among them, the puppy picked out all the clothes the personal shopper introduced just by wagging his tail.
“How about this coat? Do you want to try it on, baby?”
The puppy, secretly excited, had completely forgotten about the morning’s events and went into the fitting room. There, he personally transformed into a human and tried on new clothes. It was proof that his anger had mostly subsided.
When he came out wearing the new coat, Yoon Chi-young, who had been waiting, smiled brightly with satisfied eyes. Although Heeseong was on the shorter side, his white complexion and good body proportions made the long coat look adorable on him. It was a different feeling from the model-like, tall Yoon Chi-young.
“Do you like it?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then let’s wear it out.”
Yoon Chi-young smiled brightly and hugged Heeseong from behind as he stood in front of the mirror. Yoon Chi-young seemed to like this situation even more than Heeseong wearing new clothes.
Feeling a bit guilty, Heeseong looked down at his expensive new clothes and asked,
“Why are you buying me clothes? It’s okay…”
“I’m buying them for my own pleasure.”
Heeseong’s anger had subsided, but he hesitated to apologize to Yoon Chi-young. He felt like he would look materialistic if he apologized now.
‘My anger didn’t subside because of the clothes, but because you treated me like usual…’
Hesitating to apologize, Heeseong held Yoon Chi-young’s hand tightly as they walked instead. Even when Yoon Chi-young looked at him with a smile, asking if his anger had dissipated, Heeseong couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes, but fortunately, that seemed to be enough for Yoon Chi-young.
Afterward, Yoon Chi-young acted affectionately as he usually did when he was in a good mood. He stamped kisses on Heeseong’s face and black hair several times, but still, Heeseong was glad that he didn’t bring up the marriage talk that made his heart uneasy.
Instead, Yoon Chi-young brought up a more important topic in the car on the way back.
“Why did you suddenly disappear from the hospital last time?”
He must have been referring to when Heeseong disappeared from the hospital alone last time. It was an issue they needed to discuss seriously in their relationship.
Yoon Chi-young and Heeseong were just the two of them, but they were one pack. However, Heeseong had left his sick packmate behind. Although it still didn’t seem quite right to call Yoon Chi-young his packmate, as a mutt tribe member with a strong pack mentality, it was an act he felt sorry for.
Heeseong hesitated to answer for a moment, but soon decided to answer honestly out of guilt.
“A dog from the gambling den had come to the hospital looking for me. He was my friend… He called me out directly, saying he had something to tell me.”
“So you directly followed him?”
“…Yeah.”
Heeseong answered softly. And since he had already opened up, he explained everything to Yoon Chi-young about how he ended up leaving the hospital. From his friend from the same species at the gambling den coming to find him, to being captivated and following him, and meeting the guards who tried to dispose of him as a traitor, he told him everything.
At the end of the story, Heeseong couldn’t even meet Yoon Chi-young’s eyes and struggled to say the words he was worst at.
“I-I’m sorry for going out alone.”
“You’re sorry?”
Yoon Chi-young chuckled and rested his head on Heeseong’s shoulder at the apology. Heeseong tried to push him away, thinking he was teasing him, but the broad-shouldered, sturdy body didn’t budge an inch. Nothing went Heeseong’s way. The puppy cursed softly, asking what he was teasing about, and looked out the opposite car window. Yoon Chi-young, who had been openly gazing at Heeseong, spoke in a languidly drowsy voice,
“It’s okay. The puppy took responsibility for me all night, so what’s the big deal?”
“……”
Heeseong’s face turned bright red. It was a fact he didn’t want to acknowledge.
Anyway, it was Heeseong who had first kissed Yoon Chi-young to calm him down, and it was also true that he had been swept away by Yoon Chi-young’s pounce, slept with him, and enjoyed it. Even now, when he recalled the passionate sensations from the night before, his newly sprouted white ears twitched, following the excitement of that day. Still, it was only annoying that Yoon Chi-young was teasing him.
Then Yoon Chi-young, with his head resting on Heeseong’s shoulder, spoke secretively,
“But you know… The puppy will have to attend the formal family meeting with me anyway.”
“Why is that?”
At Heeseong’s absurd question, the wolf ears resting on his shoulder fluttered. The wolf ears brushed against Heeseong’s cheek. The texture was soft, but the smile beneath them looked somewhat cunning.
“If the dog from the gambling den knew we were at the hospital and came to find us, it’s pretty obvious who gave them the information…”
“…Yang Hye-chan?”
Yoon Chi-young smiled as if it was the correct answer. His elegant smile was definitely beautiful, but his gray eyes felt eerie.
“Then if we dig into Park Geon-tae, my sister might come up. The opposite is also true.”
“……”
Come to think of it, it was strange for a dog from the gambling den to find him at such a high-end hospital. Moreover, it was only the second place Heeseong had been to in his life, yet he met an acquaintance there. Heeseong’s white ears twitched as he noticed the oddities.
Originally, Park Geon-tae was petty and good at cozying up to people here and there. But if a powerful wolf leader asked for information about Heeseong first, saying it would be good, Park Geon-tae might have readily provided it and said he would follow their intentions. It was easy to guess the other party’s nature after all.
And if Yang Hye-chan had investigated Heeseong even a little, Park Geon-tae would have naturally come up. Since Heeseong had directly told Yang Hye-chan his name last time, it would have been easy to find information about him.
In that case, it was obvious. Heeseong muttered blankly,
“Then… the wolf leader and Park Geon-tae could be connected.”
“That’s right.”
Yoon Chi-young spoke, secretly shining his eyes. He was now sitting upright and lightly pulled the pondering Heeseong onto his lap. Heeseong flinched at first but soon sat comfortably on his lap like when he was a puppy.
In that embrace, Heeseong thought absentmindedly. Anyway, if Park Geon-tae and the leader had united, he would take revenge together with Yoon Chi-young, and even if not, Yoon Chi-young would be with him.
However, if it were the former, Heeseong wanted definite revenge.
“If your sister and Yang Hye-chan are really connected to Park Geon-tae… will you take care of it?”
It was a cruel question. Heeseong regretted asking if he could kill his own blood relative. He thought it could hurt Yoon Chi-young, who was a guardian.
But Yoon Chi-young rather laughed satisfactorily, raising the corners of his mouth wide. Laughing loudly for a long time, he lowered his head, kissed Heeseong’s hair, and said,
“Ha, of course…”
“……”
“They tried to touch my puppy.”
Even after hearing the clear answer, Heeseong couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling. The way Yoon Chi-young spoke as if it were natural felt unfamiliar, but a subtle excitement lingered.
Right now, there was something that felt as sweet as revenge to Heeseong. It was the trust and affection of a packmate he could believe in.
Moreover, this was the first time he had a packmate with such similar tendencies and intentions. The heart of the small puppy, who had always had to fight alone or endure while crouching, couldn’t help but be delighted.
“Then let’s go meet your sister. …It’s not a formal family meeting.”
Heeseong spoke with determination. Yoon Chi-young happily scheduled a visit to the wolves’ base, saying anything was fine. It was tomorrow.
***
