About the 'Puppy' Som (1)
The long, grueling semester had finally come to an end, and the project team’s after-party was in full swing. Loud music, excited voices, and glasses clinking nonstop. The atmosphere I hadn’t felt in so long made me feel tipsy for no reason at all.
“Krr~ It’s finally over! This is what life’s about… So, are we all just gonna become good friends and stay unemployed together?”
“Unemployed, my ass. I’m heading straight to the professor’s lab as soon as vacation starts. You guys are so damn lucky.”
At Chan-uk’s words, Yong-jun, whose grad school admission was already set, let out a sigh.
“The guy who already has somewhere to go sure talks a lot… Did you see? N Corporation just put out their hiring notice.”
At Jae-hyeok’s comment, the mood at the table sank for a moment under the weight of reality.
“Yeah, I saw. But Seung-ho doesn’t have to worry, right? With your skills, you could get in anywhere. Where are you planning to apply?”
At Chan-uk’s question, everyone’s eyes turned to me. If it had been the old me, that question would have made my heart drop. But now, things were just a little different.
“Well… I’ll just have to work hard and see.”
I answered with a faint smile. The weight of the pure white being who had changed me—and who was waiting for me—felt pleasantly heavy on my shoulders.
“I’m heading out first.”
I stood up after staying for about an hour. Chan-uk grabbed my arm, looking disappointed.
“We still need to leech off you. How can you leave already?”
“Dude, without you our success rate is screwed.”
At their obvious flattery, I gave them a firm smile that felt different from before and replied,
“Sorry. I’ve got someone waiting for me at home.”
At that answer, Chan-uk, Jae-hyeok, and Yong-jun glanced at each other before breaking into meaningful grins and nodding.
“Aww… This bastard’s going to meet his girlfriend.”
“Did he even have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, Som, remember?”
“Bullshit…”
Leaving their teasing behind, I stepped out of the noisy bar and into the cold night air. Strangely, it didn’t feel cold at all. Just knowing that someone was waiting for me made every chill in the world feel like it was sliding right past me. My steps toward home had never felt lighter or more excited.
When I arrived home and touched the cold door lock, I tilted my head and listened. Even before the mechanical beep finished and the door opened, I heard the frantic sound of paws hammering the floor from inside. A white blur shot out through the gap like a bullet and clung to my leg.
“Som! Did you wait for me?”
“Woof woof! Woof woof!”
I scooped Som into my arms. The little creature’s whimpering breath and the warm scent of its fur pressed against me brought me an enormous sense of comfort. I realized then how much solace this small life gave me.
After washing up, I lay on the bed stroking Som when my phone gave a short buzz. On the brightly lit screen in the dark room, the name Park Yu-ri appeared.
That day when Som had scratched Yu-ri, I had promised to buy her a meal as an apology. Her witty text brought a smile to my face. It was a feeling I had forgotten. The very ordinary excitement of making plans with the opposite sex and looking forward to them. Right at that moment, a strange, ticklish flutter mixed with awkwardness brushed against a corner of my heart.
“Woof woof woof!!! Grrrr… Bark bark!!”
Som, who had been quietly nestled beside me, suddenly lunged toward the phone screen as if facing a mortal enemy and began barking furiously.
“What’s wrong, Som? Telling me not to go?”
“Woof woof!”
Som climbed straight onto my body, wedging itself between the phone and my face. It almost seemed like it was answering me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Pfft… And you’re the reason the promise was even made.”
Its interference was so adorable I couldn’t help but laugh. I hugged Som and patted its back. Only then did it seem satisfied, resting its chin on my chest and panting happily. I kept stroking its back and murmured softly,
“At this rate… I won’t be able to get a girlfriend later…”
I joked as I settled Som down to sleep in my arms. Feeling that pleasant weight, I slowly closed my eyes.
**
“Over here, Seung-ho!”
When I arrived at the meeting place, Yu-ri—who was dressed more carefully than her usual comfortable clothes—waved at me with a bright smile.
“Hello. Have you been waiting long?”
“No, waiting for you could never be boring… Hic!”
Yu-ri seemed startled by her own blurted honesty and quickly covered her mouth with both hands. Seeing her flushed face made me feel awkward too, so I just smiled silently.
“Ah… Haha… Then… shall we go eat?”
“…Yes! Sounds good…! Let’s go quickly!”
The cozy Western restaurant wrapped in warm lighting helped melt some of the stiffness in my heart. But what really eased the atmosphere was Yu-ri herself. When the steaming pasta and steak arrived, her cheerful voice floated over the plates.
“Wow, this looks delicious! What kind of food do you like, Seung-ho? Any preferences?”
“I… don’t really have anything I avoid.”
“Come on, that’s boring. Then what don’t you like?”
“Seung-ho, you know…”
Contrary to my expectation that it would be awkward, the conversation flowed surprisingly comfortably. She mostly talked about her school life and friends, while I mostly told stories about Som.
“Show me some pictures of Som! I miss that little one so much.”
At her request, I pulled out my phone as if I’d been waiting for it and opened the gallery. Sleeping Som, walking Som, eating Som. At some point, my phone had become completely filled with pictures of Som.
“Wow… You really must love that dog. Honey is literally dripping from your eyes.”
She looked back and forth between Som on the screen and me explaining the photos, laughing the whole time.
“Seung-ho… you seem like such a gentle person. I can tell just from the way you talk about Som. It’s obvious how much you cherish that dog. Have you always liked animals this much?”
“No, Som is my first.”
“Really? Then… are you just naturally a warm-hearted person?”
I didn’t know how to answer that, so I fiddled with my suddenly burning ears and looked away.
After the meal, we also stopped by a cafe. On the way home, under the glow of the streetlights, Yu-ri smiled with a hint of regret.
“Today was really fun. I’d love to see Som again sometime. Or maybe that’s just an excuse because I want to see you again.”
Her face was slightly flushed.
“Ah. Yes… Let’s have another meal together sometime…”
The words that came out of my mouth felt unbelievable even to me.
“You promise? You promised! If you break it I’ll be upset~ Then… see you at the cafe! Get home safely!”
“Ah… Yes, yes! You too, be safe…!”
Yu-ri smiled as she spoke. I stood there blankly, watching her figure grow smaller in the distance. My heart was beating wildly on its own. It was a different kind of flutter from the warmth Som gave me—somewhere between ticklish and dizzying. Her words, “a gentle person,” kept echoing in my ears.
After that day, my relationship with Yu-ri grew a little closer. We exchanged silly jokes at the cafe more often, and sometimes we even grabbed coffee together during breaks. Her bright energy created small ripples in my once-gray daily life. It was still awkward, but that awkwardness now carried a pleasant tension.
**
Time passed, and before I knew it, the last day of the year had arrived. Around this time last year, I had spent New Year’s alone in an empty room, eating a cup of ramen that had gone cold, feeling completely listless. The sound of fireworks and people’s cheers drifting through the window had felt like noise from another world that had nothing to do with me, echoing hollowly in the room.
But this year was different. Som sat pressed tightly against my side, alternating its gaze between the flashy lights on the screen and my face. It clearly had no idea what all the commotion meant, but it kept wagging its tail nonstop, happy just to be by my side.
The room was still quiet, but it wasn’t lonely. The steady, warm breaths coming from the small body leaning against my chest filled all the silence in my world.
The countdown began, and the moment the new year dawned, I looked into Som’s dark eyes staring up at me and whispered softly,
“Som, I hope you have a happy new year.”
Instead of answering, it licked my cheek once.
“You’re two years old now. In dog years, that is… If we count it as a human, you’d already be over twenty, huh?”
I stroked its small head and unconsciously let my inner thoughts slip out.
“I wish you could live as long as a person… No, as long as me…”
As if it couldn’t possibly understand the meaning of my words, Som simply wagged its tail harder and burrowed deeper into my arms.
The next morning, January 1st. Instead of pouring water into a cup of ramen like last year, I searched for “New Year’s special meal for dogs.” With clumsy hands, I mashed and minced sweet potato and chicken breast, making a misshapen “dog rice cake soup.”
The two of us sitting side by side, each eating our own rice cake soup. …My bowl was still a pathetic instant version, but as I looked at Som’s bowl, licked completely clean, I smiled with a sense of fulfillment I had never felt before in my life.
After finishing the dishes, I sat on the sofa and absentmindedly opened my phone. A huge “New Year’s Fortune” banner was plastered across the portal site’s main page. I wasn’t the type to believe in these things, but using the excuse that it was the first day of the new year, I clicked on it without thinking.
I entered my birthdate, and soon the overall fortune appeared on the screen. One sentence in particular caught my eye.
An unexpected connection from those around you will completely change the course of your entire life.
An unexpected connection from those around me…
Suddenly, Yu-ri’s face came to mind. Her bright, refreshing smile. The eyes that sparkled when they looked at me. The promise to meet again. A small, wry chuckle escaped me. There was no way something like that would happen to a guy like me.
I turned my head and looked down at Som, who was sleeping peacefully at my feet, completely unaware of the world.
‘An unexpected connection, huh.’
I smiled faintly and gently stroked the small back of the sleeping pup. I already had the most extravagant connection in the world right beside me.