Give Me Back My Dog!
"Whew, whew, whew."
Rhythmic breathing and a stable posture were the basics of long-distance running.
In that regard, Dojin's current form could be called the textbook definition of running.
To be precise, that was only true if one looked at his form.
"Pant, pant... Ugh, I'm dying. *Gasp*."
Dojin, clutching his knees as he gasped for air, turned his head to look at Sun-jam.
At his request, she was operating the scoreboard on the podium, but the result was disastrous.
"Sigh... I'm in this state after only five laps."
With this level of stamina, he didn't even need anyone to keep track of his laps.
In fact, it was almost embarrassing that he had asked Sun-jam to do it.
"Phew!"
Straightening up, Dojin estimated the perimeter of the schoolyard he had just run.
About two hundred meters a lap? So I ran a little over a kilometer? My stamina has definitely dropped.
Dojin originally had good stamina.
Even before his regression, when he lived like a wreck after losing his wife, he had been fit enough to work in a factory without much trouble.
Yet, that stamina was actually declining after his regression.
It's because life has gotten too comfortable.
He tried to live a structured life, but it couldn't compare to before.
Even if the factory had its comfortable moments, it was still a workplace where he earned someone else's money, whereas this place was his own business.
Although it required a lot of hands-on work and attention to detail, the fundamental level of comfort was entirely different.
I guess it can't be helped. My income is incomparable to before, too.
His channel's subscriber count had already surpassed one million and was nearing 1.5 million.
It wasn't an empty channel with inactive subscribers either; the views were so good that out of every two videos he uploaded, one would easily hit a million views.
Thanks to that, his monthly income had already surpassed ten million won.
Even after deducting necessary expenses and other costs, his net profit was several times the salary he used to receive at the factory.
Under these circumstances, anyone would inevitably slack off.
It was only because Dojin was the type who couldn't sit still that he had kept it together this much; anyone else would have grown lazy long ago.
But whether it was a blessing or a curse, Dojin wasn't allowed to be lazy.
Woof, woof!
"Sigh, alright, alright."
At the nagging whine, Dojin started running again.
Seeing this, Ttorang-i, who had been waiting ahead, happily ran along with him.
As soon as Dojin began running around the schoolyard, Ttorang-i had somehow noticed and come out to match his pace.
Thanks to her, Dojin couldn't even rest in peace and had to keep running.
If his speed dropped even slightly, Ttorang-i would trot over and nudge him to keep going.
"Whew, whew, whew."
Still, having rested for a moment, his legs felt much lighter.
It was just as the scoreboard on the podium changed to show the number 8.
Dojin came to a sudden halt.
"Pant, pant... What is that?"
At the shout coming from the main gate, Dojin stopped running and looked in that direction.
If he had been in the office as usual, he might not have heard it due to the distance, but since he was out in the schoolyard, the sound carried quite clearly.
"Sigh, this won't do."
As the commotion only grew louder instead of dying down, Dojin finally headed toward the main gate.
Although it was an area with little foot traffic, leaving it unchecked would only cause trouble for the residents of Boseok-ri.
Just then, another grating shout reached Dojin's ears.
A vein throbbed on Dojin's forehead before disappearing.
"What an ill-mannered person."
Showing up unannounced and causing a scene was already crossing the line.
However, he had kept an eye on the situation in case there was some misunderstanding, but the troublemaker's attitude was becoming increasingly frown-inducing.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, Director. It's nothing major."
At Dojin's appearance, the security team guarding the main gate hurriedly tried to wrap up the situation.
However, their efforts were rendered useless by the middle-aged man's rowdiness outside.
"What do you mean it's nothing major? Hey! Are you the boss here? You punk, get your ass over here right now! Let me see that smug face of yours."
"..."
Dojin, who had been cursed at out of nowhere, exchanged looks with the security team.
While looks of sheer absurdity and awkwardness quickly passed between them, the man's shout rang out once more.
"No, shit! Are my words a joke to you? None of you living here listen to a damn word, whether it's the boss or the servant bastards under him!"
Another vein throbbed on Dojin's forehead before vanishing.
This was the second time Dojin felt a surge of anger at the man's words.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Dojin asked the security team blocking the path between him and the man to step aside.
After looking troubled for a brief second, the security team saw Dojin's face and obediently stepped aside.
They already knew that while Dojin was usually considerate and gentle, he was absolutely unyielding when he wore that expression.
And sure enough, stepping in front of the man, Dojin spoke in a voice that was unusually cold.
"What is it?"
At Dojin's somewhat challenging tone, the middle-aged man's face contorted violently.
This young punk!
He was famous even in Mabong-ri for being a complete scoundrel.
Now that Chief Park's family, whom he had at least been wary of, was gone, he was literally like an unbridled colt.
So when Dojin, whom he had disliked from the start, acted this way, he thought it was actually for the best.
"Ha, 'what is it'? You young punk, how dare you speak to me like—"
"I asked what it is, but you don't seem to understand. Was the question too difficult, or are you just lacking in the head?"
"Wh-what, you bastard?"
"Go ahead and keep throwing a fit like that. I'm quite curious to see how it turns out."
Despite the man's verbal abuse, Dojin remained cold and composed throughout.
He knew that if he stooped to the level of a piece of trash, it would only cause him headaches later.
And in truth, responding like this was more than enough to provoke the other party.
"You wet-behind-the-ears little bastard!"
Sure enough, thoroughly riled up, the man lost his temper and began to run amok.
He kicked the main gate, picked up stones to throw at the wall,
and to make matters worse, he crossed the line he shouldn't have.
"What are you guys looking at!"
Finding nothing more he could do inside the gate, the man lunged at the security team standing outside.
Of course, it was the most foolish and reckless move he could make.
Whoosh, thud!
"Cough!"
"Stay still. If you struggle any further, your shoulder will pop out."
Using the lunging man's own momentum to slam him straight onto the ground, the security guard warned him in a chilly tone.
It felt as if they would truly dislocate his arm if he ignored the warning even slightly.
"Tsk."
"Huh?"
Turning his head at the sound from beside him, Dojin's expression became subtle.
He could sense a hint of regret on the faces of the other security guards.
In fact, just as Dojin suspected, the security team was indeed feeling disappointed.
What a waste. He should have lunged at me. I was right next to him.
Ah, he threw him so cleanly. If it were me, I would have thrown him off-beat to deliver a harder impact.
That tactless guy. Why did he handle it all by himself? He should have "accidentally" let him slip so we could get a piece of the action too.
Seeing the security guards smacking their lips as they looked at the fallen man, Dojin could only let out a bitter laugh.
Just looking at them now, he could feel how angry they had been.
Well, even I got this heated listening to it from the side.
They were only used to it because their security job frequently involved dealing with troublemakers, but they were human too.
Looking at the groaning man pinned to the ground, Dojin spoke.
"He seems to be just a simple troublemaker. Just report him to the police and hand him over."
"Yes, sir."
With the security team's response, Dojin turned around.
Or rather, he was about to turn around. If not for the man's shout.
"Sh-shit! Why are you guys acting so proud! You're nothing but dog thieves!"
"Dog... thieves?"
Stopping in his tracks at the man's shout, which sounded almost desperate, Dojin looked back at him.
"Yeah! You guys... you guys took our Nureongi! What did you do with our Nureongi!"
As he spoke, the man's resistance grew stronger.
Frowning, the security guard tightened his grip.
"Ugh!"
"Stay still!"
"Wait a moment."
Watching the two, Dojin stopped the security guard.
He felt something strange in the man's words.
And above all,
"Give me back Nureongi! Our Nureongi... *sob*!"
Tears were now streaming down the eyes of the man who, just moments ago, had looked ready to tear everything apart.
"I think we need to talk for a moment."
As Dojin signaled, the security guard holding the man down slowly stepped back.
He, too, had sensed something unusual in the man's behavior.
"Who is Nureongi?"
In the waiting room next to the main gate.
Dojin asked after they moved to the room, which used to be the guardhouse but was now used as a breakroom by the security team.
"...Are you going to keep playing dumb?"
The man replied coldly to Dojin's question.
Since some time had passed since they moved inside, the man had managed to compose himself to some extent.
Thanks to that, he wasn't hurling curses like before, but his words still carried a sharp edge.
"I'm not playing dumb; I'm asking because I truly don't know. Judging by what you said earlier, it seems to be a dog you raised. But why on earth are you looking for your dog here?"
"Ha, ridiculous. You're raising it here! You stole someone else's precious dog and are keeping it. How long are you going to act so shameless?"
"Excuse me?"
"?"
At the man's words, not only Dojin but also the security guards wore bewildered expressions.
The man's claim was simply too absurd.
Fortunately, Dojin quickly snapped out of it and corrected the misunderstanding.
"...I think you're mistaken. The only dog we raise here is Ttorang-i."
"Ha! Don't make me laugh! Someone from our village clearly told me. They said you caught our Nureongi and are raising it here. Give me back my Nureongi right now!"
"Sigh..."
A sigh naturally escaped Dojin's lips.
Since the man spoke with such absolute certainty, the conversation was going nowhere.
In the end, Dojin led the man out to the schoolyard.
"Ttorang-i! Come here, Ttorang-i!"
At Dojin's call, Ttorang-i appeared from the main building alongside Sun-jam.
Though relieved to see her, Dojin felt something was off.
When did she go back?
Ttorang-i had been running around the schoolyard with him just moments ago.
Even though a sudden commotion had occurred, the dog, who normally wouldn't leave Dojin's side, had gone back on her own.
Though he found it strange, Dojin brushed it off, assuming she had just gone back with Sun-jam.
Just then, the man also spotted Ttorang-i and shouted in delight.
"Nureongi! See, Nureongi is right here!"
Opening his arms wide toward Ttorang-i, the man glared at Dojin before raising his voice again.
"Nureongi, it's Daddy! Come here!"
"..."
Dojin and the security team exchanged glances once more.
It was a silent plea for anyone to explain the situation, but unfortunately, none of them could.
Fortunately, however, none of them needed to step forward.
This was because the man, who had acted as if he had found his lost family, gradually slowed down as Ttorang-i approached.
"Nureongi! Nureongi~ Over here, over here! Nureong... i?"
"..."
Woof?
Upon reaching the man, Sun-jam and Ttorang-i walked right past him and headed straight for Dojin.
It was only natural that they looked at the man, who had been waving his hands at them, as if he were a weirdo.
"..."
"Oh, you're back? But Ttorang-i, why are you acting like this again?"
Smiling at Sun-jam, who had brought Ttorang-i over, Dojin tilted his head as he looked at the dog.
For some reason, the dog, who had always been bright and cheerful since moving into Sekki House, was cowering completely.
She even tucked her tail between her legs and kept hiding behind Dojin's back.
Whine...
What is it? Something is strange.
Her disappearing without a word earlier, and her behavior now—this was not the usual Ttorang-i.
But Dojin couldn't pursue his thoughts. The man, who had frozen beside them, suddenly lunged forward.
"N-no! This isn't it! Where is our Nureongi? Where did you hide Nureongi?"
"Oh no!"
"Director!"
Startled by the sudden outburst, the security team rushed to pull the man away.
However, they couldn't drag him away because Dojin raised his hand to stop them.
"...If you're that suspicious, would you like to look for her yourself?"
"...What?"
"I'm saying this because I don't think you'll believe anything I say right now anyway."
"..."
"You can come and look around for hours, or even days. Go ahead and search for yourself. Until you're satisfied."
"D-do you think I'll back down just because you say that? Just you wait! I'll find our Nureongi and prove that you guys stole her!"
With those words, the man pushed past Dojin and headed toward the main building.
"Hey!"
"That guy!"
"It's fine. Leave him be."
Stopping the angry security guards, Dojin looked back at the man.
He knew how much the security team cared about him, but seeing that man, he couldn't help but stop them.
"He probably won't be able to accept it. I don't know how precious that dog named Nureongi was to him, but when such a presence disappears, a person loses the ability to look around rationally."
Dojin knew this all too well because he had been exactly like that before his regression.
If only he could find the lost Dohee, he would have done anything.
That man is probably feeling the same way.
But just like Dojin before his regression, the man wouldn't be able to find his family member either.
"Where are you! Nureongi! Oppa is here, where are you? Come on out!"
At the man's shouts echoing from here and there, even the security guards who were off-duty came outside.
However, they too must have heard the situation from the guards on duty, as they simply watched the man in silence.
One hour passed, then another. After a total of four hours, the man stopped moving.
"Ugh... Nureongi! Daddy is right here! Nureongi, come out quickly!"
Instead, his weeping voice echoed through Sekki House.
"Oppa..."
"Dojin-ssi..."
Dohee and Seung-wan, who had come out of the office, approached Dojin.
Their faces were filled with sorrow, having already heard the news from the security team.
Dojin sighed and spoke to them.
"It might not be of much use, but let's check the CCTV footage. A dog matching the description of the one he mentioned might have passed by this area."
"Okay..."
"Understood."
After some more time had passed, when the man's voice could no longer be heard, Dojin and his group approached him.
They needed to know what Nureongi looked like to check the CCTV footage, after all.