Big Puppy (2)
Big Puppy (2)
"Okay... got it."
- I named him, so you have to take lots of photos!
"I'll take just enough not to startle him."
Lil' One must have been bored too, which was why I'd brought him along.
A-ra had told me to take lots of photos of the Samoyed puppy.
If I'd known the puppy was this active and playful despite being so young, I would've brought a proper camera... but I only brought my phone because I was worried he might be sleeping or that I might startle him. In hindsight, that was a mistake.
Anyway, the name A-ra gave him was a bit...
It was cute, but I thought it might be too simple.
"What did she say?"
"....."
"Ah, just tell me already! What did A-ra say!"
He grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.
He was threatening to go crazy if I didn't tell him soon — but since he was already half-crazy, the threat was meaningless.
"R-eum..."
"What? Say it louder."
"She said... Cloud."
Why was I so embarrassed when I wasn't even the one who named him?
I couldn't see it myself, but the heat rising to my face told me I was blushing.
I'd been a little worried she might name him Cotton Candy or something,
but then Cloud came along, which was even worse.
With this level of naming sense, it was going to be hard to look forward to the names of any children we might have in the future.
"It's not bad, though...?"
"What?"
Had I misheard?
It seemed like he was saying the name Cloud wasn't bad.
She didn't name him Cloud just because he has a lot of fur, did she?
It seemed like she just thought of whatever suddenly came to mind...
"Cloud... isn't it really pretty?"
"Mm... not pretty, but it is cute."
Still, since he seemed to like it, I nodded.
After all, I wasn't really in a position to criticize, given that I'd named mine Lil' One.
"From today, you're Cloud."
"Meong."
As if he understood, Cloud started enthusiastically licking Lee Min-ho's cheek.
Should I raise another Samoyed too?
He's so cute.
***
Lee Min-ho's mother asked if I wanted to stay for dinner, but I politely declined and headed out.
Because if I ate dinner there, A-ra would probably end up eating cup ramen again.
I laughed at myself for even thinking that...
A superstar who only eats cup ramen because her husband doesn't cook for her.
It was probably hard to even imagine.
"I'm home."
As I took off my shoes and coat, A-ra came out from the bedroom, stretching.
It seemed she'd been taking a nap while Lil' One and I were gone.
"You're back? There's still fur on you."
"Fur? Ah..."
The fur from when I held the Samoyed earlier seemed to still be clinging on.
Honestly, I couldn't tell whether it was Lil' One's fur or the Samoyed's, though.
Hmm...
I'd been brushing off my coat to remove the fur since earlier, but it refused to come off.
If anything, the static electricity was getting worse, making it cling even more stubbornly.
"It's not coming off."
"Wouldn't it be better to send it to the cleaners?"
"Oh, come on. Who sends clothes to the cleaners just for something like this?"
But putting fur-covered clothes straight into the washing machine wasn't great either.
Maybe I should just use tape to remove the fur.
"I've got some things to send to the cleaners too, you know? I'll send it along with mine."
"Well, if that's the case."
The fur refused to come off because of the static electricity.
Summer was just around the corner, and yet static electricity was still ruling the world.
"So? Did you take lots of puppy photos?"
"He was still scared of strangers. I only took a very few."
"Aww... that's a bit disappointing."
A-ra, who clearly wanted to see more, was fidgeting with Lil' One's cheeks.
Was she really that disappointed?
"Such a shame~ I didn't even know you liked dogs this much, noona."
"Well, it's only a few, but take a look at these anyway."
A-ra sat on the sofa, and Lil' One hopped up onto her lap.
With his ears perked up like a rabbit, he stuck his head out as if asking to be petted,
and A-ra smiled brightly and kept petting his head.
"Show me, quick."
"Here."
I took out my phone and held it out to A-ra.
Photos of Lee Min-ho holding the Samoyed, or the puppy lying sprawled out on the mat.
Photos of them playing together with Lil' One, and so on.
Even though I'd said I hadn't taken many, there were well over a hundred photos, so A-ra seemed satisfied.
"To think you went and saw such a cute little thing all by yourself..."
"But it's Lee Min-ho's place. I don't know about a friend, but bringing my wife over is a bit..."
Since Lee Min-ho's room had plenty of A-ra-related bromides and photos, his mother might know what A-ra looked like even if she'd never met her.
In that situation, having her son's friend bring his wife over was a bit...
Maybe if he lived alone, but not like this.
"Hing... I wanted to hold him just once."
Seeing A-ra so disappointed, I started to feel like I wanted to make it happen somehow.
Hadn't I promised to do anything and everything within my power for her!
"Ahem... in that case, I'll bring Lee Min-ho over to our place next time."
"Lee Min-ho?"
"If Lee Min-ho brings Cloud over to our place, that solves it, right?"
"Aha... our Seong-hwan is really smart."
There was such a simple solution all along.
All I had to do was stop by Lee Min-ho's place and bring him back with me.
Lee Min-ho could say hello to A-ra too — good for the sister-in-law, good for the brother-in-law, wasn't it?
"Well, there'll always be a next time."
"Sigh... so cute."
She'd become a full-fledged dog lover now.
Was this one of those things?
That phenomenon where the mother who swore she'd be furious if you brought home a dog ended up doting on it the most.
The one where they couldn't resist once the puppy acted cute with them.
Well, A-ra didn't dislike dogs from the start, so maybe it was a bit different.
*
After passionately talking about the puppy for a good while, A-ra suddenly said she remembered something and stroked my thigh.
Usually, stroking my thigh was a precursor to 'that,' but today was different.
Hadn't there been something I was supposed to buy for A-ra recently?
She probably wanted to ask whether I'd bought it.
"Seong-hwan-a, did you buy that thing?"
"Of course."
Who did she think I was?
I was the kind of man who, at the very least, never forgot and always took care of what A-ra said.
"But why can't I see it?"
She slowly looked around and then tilted her head.
Then she put on a wounded look, as if to ask whether I was lying about having bought it.
"I left it at the front door."
"Why did you leave it there?"
"Because noona only talked about the puppy, so I got sulky."
I pouted my lips and voiced my complaint.
I was happy that A-ra liked the puppy too, but the fact that she'd only been looking at puppy photos from the moment I got home —
even so, as her husband, I couldn't help but sulk a little.
"Hehe, are you sulking?"
"I'm sulking."
"At times like this, you really seem like a little boy."
This time, A-ra smiled brightly while stretching my cheeks out.
Since I didn't dislike it, I puffed up my cheeks with air as a small protest.
Just then, a small 'koreureuk' sound came from A-ra's stomach.
Lil' One, sitting on her lap, got startled and looked around before letting out two 'meong!' barks.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah..."
Once again, the koreureuk sound came from her stomach.
She'd eaten quite a lot for lunch, though.
"Then wash your hands and come to the kitchen."
"Okay! Tonight's dinner is king crab~"
Humming to herself, she dashed off to the bathroom in the hallway.
So cute. Really cute.
***
"Alright, we'll end today's lecture here."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Since my major class was canceled today, I packed up my bag and stood up to go home.
Because I sat at the desk right by the door, I was in the best position to leave quickly.
"Oh, right! Now that I think about it, I forgot to hand out your assignment."
Oh no.
I'd already packed up everything, and now there was an assignment.
This professor's assignments were usually individual ones, so they were mentally comfortable, but the workload was always heavy, making them physically exhausting.
Especially two weeks ago, the topic was so difficult I'd spent a lot of time worrying over it.
"While we're at it, how about we try a group assignment for the first time?"
At that moment, exclamations of dismay escaped from the students sitting nearby,
and hearing those groans, the professor started laughing.
"Haha, since you've only had individual assignments so far, it's about time you tried a group assignment."
"Professor! I have a question."
A student from another department who sat in the front row and diligently listened to the professor's lectures raised her hand high.
The professor nodded and granted permission to speak.
"How will the group members be formed?"
"Hmm... random assignment would be best, don't you think?"
"...Are you serious?"
The questioner's face, which had been smiling brightly just moments ago, instantly crumpled.
Her expression seemed to say, 'I'm giving you a chance here, so cut that crap.'
What a terrifying person.
"Wouldn't it be boring for all of you to do the assignment only with people you're close to?"
"No, I think that would be way more fun."
"In any case, the group members for this assignment will be randomly assigned."
The professor completely ignored the student's words and just continued on with what she wanted to say.
Seeing her act no differently from any other professor, I let out a sigh.
We were the ones doing the assignment, so why not take even a single opinion into account?
This was exactly why she got one-star lecture reviews on E-ta.
"I'll run the program to assign group members and post it in the chat room, so that's all for today."
"Sigh..."
I was already swamped and dying under my major assignments lately, and now a group project in an elective on top of that — the sigh came out automatically.
It was exhausting to the point where I suspected they thought we only took their classes.