A Dog's Day
"Haram."
The moment Lee Yeonjae spoke, Han Haram answered right away.
"Yes! I'll sit right here and not move!"
"If you need to go anywhere—"
"I'll tell Jinbae hyung!"
These were questions he'd been asked several times already, so answering them was easy.
Only after Haram's confident replies came to an end did Lee Yeonjae get up, his face easing into relief.
"Then I'm off to shoot. I'll be back."
"Good luck, hyung!"
Han Haram was currently seated in the staff chairs just outside the set. With crew members standing right beside them, Yeonjae had even switched to honorifics on the off chance someone overheard. The boy's sharpness made Lee Yeonjae stifle a laugh.
—Woof!
The moment Yeonjae stepped onto the set, the dog waiting on the floor sprang to its feet.
"Happy, let's have a good one today too."
—Hah, hah.
His voice was flat and businesslike, but the hand stroking the dog was nothing but gentle.
Watching Lee Yeonjae's profile from the side, Han Haram thought:
How is he like this?
A film set wasn't so different from a photo shoot. Strangers swarmed everywhere, and expensive equipment like cameras cluttered the space. That meant he had to stay quiet and stay out of the adults' way — that part was the same too.
But it's different.
The set he was in now was clearly unlike any of the places he'd been before. Han Haram felt a steadiness and a vivid sense of relief stronger than usual. He wasn't anxious at all, wasn't restless, and deep down he was even excited about the shoot to come.
And he knew exactly what had brought about this change.
Yeonjae is such an amazing person.
Lee Yeonjae. The kind of person Han Haram had never encountered before. Yeonjae had told him that being unusual wasn't something strange — that it just meant being different from everyone else, that it meant being unique.
...Yeonjae really is special.
Was there any word that described Lee Yeonjae more perfectly than that? He was different from other people, different beyond all measure.
I want to be with Yeonjae every day.
That a single person could change everything — and in that moment, without realizing it, Han Haram thought: I wish this moment could last forever.
"Filming will begin shortly~! Everyone to your places!"
Just then, the director called out in a booming voice. Amid the bustle of scurrying crew members, Lee Yeonjae sat quietly with his eyes closed. Han Haram stared at him without blinking once.
"Ready, action!"
At the director's shout, Lee Yeonjae opened his eyes. And somehow, standing before Han Haram was a complete stranger.
Do Yooyoung, trapped in the dog's body, sat on the bed with a troubled expression.
"Yooyoung, are you okay...?"
And Shin, trapped in Do Yooyoung's body, was fidgeting anxiously beside him.
"Didn't you eat too little earlier? Are you sure you don't want more?"
Do Yooyoung shook his head. Now that he was inside a dog's body, the taste of kibble didn't bother him at all. He'd always had a small appetite anyway, so he simply had no interest in food. His attention was fixed on one thing and one thing only.
Mom's call is due any minute.
Do Yooyoung's gaze drifted to the phone beside the bed. Shin followed suit and stared at the phone too.
"...Oh!"
At first Shin looked baffled, then he cried out brightly.
"You're worried about Mom calling, aren't you!"
Shin's face finally registered understanding.
"Don't worry, Yooyoung! I'll handle it!"
Watching that innocent, beaming face, Do Yooyoung squeezed his eyes shut.
S-stop it, I'm too worried already...
—Rrring!
The moment the phone rang out loudly, Do Yooyoung shot up from his spot, and Shin picked up the receiver with a face full of excitement. And he shouted:
"Hello!"
In an extremely loud, hearty voice.
—...Hello?
A bewildered woman's voice came through the receiver.
—Is this not Yooyoung's number? I dialed, um...
Her confusion soaked through every word. Beside the phone, Do Yooyoung squeezed his eyes shut.
Damn it, here we go.
And Shin, oblivious to Do Yooyoung's distress, answered cheerfully.
"It's Yooyoung! I'm Yooyoung!"
—Oh... r-right, of course.
"When are you coming home? Yooyoung misses you SO much, Mom!"
Oh, please.
Do Yooyoung let out a low whimper of agony.
Hang up. Hang up now.
He kicked Shin's knee — tap, tap. It was a desperate gesture. But unfortunately, Shin's entire attention was consumed by the first phone call of his life.
—Wh-what did you say?
"He misses you! When are you coming?"
—...Yooyoung, are you sick? Are you hurt somewhere?
"Nope! Not hurt at all! I just miss my mom so mu—mrph!"
Do Yooyoung finally lost it and tackled Shin. That's enough, you brat.
"Ow, ow! Stop biting me!"
—Woof!
When a large dog topping well over 30 kilograms threw himself at you for all he was worth, a mere human had no choice but to be pinned helplessly beneath him.
—Hello? Yooyoung?
Amid the racket coming through the phone, Do Yooyoung's mother grew only more bewildered. She had dialed like any ordinary day, yet her son's reaction was so utterly unlike his usual self that her head was spinning.
—What's going on? Did something happen?
Her question earned no proper answer — just the sound of what seemed to be a ferocious wrestling match.
Is that really Yooyoung?
The voice was unmistakably his. But there was none of the prickly, high-strung edge she was used to hearing. Where had the boy gone who was always bristling at her?
At the same time, a strange feeling stirred in her.
...When was the last time Yooyoung ever said he missed me?
She ransacked her memory, but nothing came to mind. Do Yooyoung, shouting his feelings without holding anything back?
Should I call 119?
But then what do I even say? That my son seems off? That he talks like he's someone else entirely?
They'd think I've lost my mind.
Her head was past complicated and one breath from bursting. Then suddenly, a familiar voice cut in.
"Auntie, it's Haesoo."
—Haesoo?
It was Ji Haesoo, Do Yooyoung's friend from school.
"Yes. Yooyoung's a little out of sorts right now."
—Is he sick somewhere? He seems so different from usual.
"Ah, that... he's not sick. I think he just hasn't fully woken up yet."
Ji Haesoo answered with an awkward look on his face, glancing to the side. In his line of sight, a dog and a person were locked in furious combat.
"I told you not to bite!"
—Woof! Woof!
"Yooyoung! Stop it! It hurts!"
What kind of circus is this.
Ji Haesoo nearly clicked his tongue, forgetting he was mid-call.
—Are you sure he's all right? Should I come over?
"No, don't worry. If anything happens, I'll call you right away."
Do Yooyoung's mother was still visibly confused, but Haesoo's steady reassurance won out in the end. She said she understood and hung up.
Click.
Setting the phone down, Ji Haesoo finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
"Haa, if I'd been even a minute later, that would've been a disaster."
He scratched the back of his head, then went to break up the two, who were still busy brawling.
"Hey! Hey! Cut it out already! Do Yooyoung, you're the one who needs to come to your senses. What do you think you're doing?"
When Haesoo barked at the dog, the dog yelped back as if protesting his innocence.
—Woof!
At the same moment, the person pinned underneath shouted too.
"Don't yell at Yooyoung!"
Two pairs of reproachful eyes turned on him. Ji Haesoo let out a long, deep sigh.
"...How does this kind of madness even happen."
Why is this my burden to bear.
Ji Haesoo scrubbed his face with both hands, looking utterly pained.
"Anyway, both of you, stop. We've got to get ready for school. Shin, hurry up and change into the uniform. I'll make breakfast."
"What's for breakfast today?!"
"Kimchi fried rice."
"Wow!"
As if he hadn't been glaring at him moments ago, Shin broke into a delighted laugh.
"Haesoo, thank you! It's going to be so good!"
He flung his arms straight around him, and Ji Haesoo muttered with a sour face:
"Please, please stop doing that while you're wearing Do Yooyoung's body..."
—Woof!
Do Yooyoung barked irritably, as if to say he felt exactly the same.
Can I really let him go?
Do Yooyoung watched Shin with a complicated expression. Shin, already in the school uniform, was wolfing down the kimchi fried rice.
"Hey, I told you not to eat so fast. You'll give yourself indigestion in Do Yooyoung's stomach."
At Ji Haesoo's words, Shin flinched for a moment and slowed down — just a very, very little.
...Haa.
Watching him only deepened Do Yooyoung's misgivings.
Wouldn't it just be better to skip school altogether?
No matter how he turned it over, that seemed the more sensible option. But he couldn't casually dismiss what Haesoo had said last night either.
Hey, Do Yooyoung. Think about it. Vacation starts Wednesday. Three days of school and it's over.
—...Woof.
You get it, right? I'm nervous too. But it's better than skipping for no reason and getting hauled in front of the village chief, isn't it? Trust me, this way's better.
The two of them had carried on that conversation with more seriousness than anyone alive. So serious, in fact, that Do Yooyoung momentarily forgot he was sitting there in the shape of a dog. Haesoo had said, I'll be right there next to you. If anyone tries to talk to you, I'll run interference, so don't worry.
It was a surprisingly dependable, trustworthy thing to say. But since the one listening to it was a golden retriever, the whole scene couldn't help but look utterly ridiculous.
I don't know anymore.
Do Yooyoung shook his head, still turning over last night's conversation. He dreaded being found out, but there was no way he could tag along to school either.
Haesoo will manage something.
After vacation started, he could hole up at home and do nothing at all. That was Haesoo's argument: hold out until then somehow, and look for a way to switch back after vacation. Since he'd decided to go along with Haesoo's plan, there was nothing Do Yooyoung could do in the meantime.
I'm sleepy.
Maybe it came with being a dog, but his eyes kept drifting shut every time he had a spare moment. Somehow, his heart felt looser than before, too.
"Hey. Hey. You have to put your shoes on properly."
"How do you put shoes on?"
"...I'll do it for you."
Ji Haesoo knelt down with a sour look. While he tied Shin's laces, Shin said his goodbyes to Do Yooyoung.
"Yooyoung, I'm heading out!"
Do Yooyoung lay stretched out full-length on the floor and gave a lazy flick of his paw.
"We'll definitely find a way to turn you back! Me and Haesoo will figure it out! So don't you worry!"
Shin clenched his fist and cried out with all his might — a cute, earnest pose straight out of an anime.
"Ah, my eyes."
Do Yooyoung breezily ignored Ji Haesoo's muttered complaint and waved his paw with even more enthusiasm than before.
"Look, Yooyoung's waving at us. What do I do, he's SO cute!"
"Hey, we're going to be late. Let's go."
"Yeah. Let me just say bye to Yooyoung one more time!"
"You've said it ten times already. That's enough — let's go."
Ji Haesoo grabbed Shin by the scruff of the neck and dragged him along. Even as he was hauled out the door, Shin kept waving at Do Yooyoung.
"Yooyoung, we'll be back!!"
"Enough already, you lunatic."
It was, to the very end, a chaotic exit.
Watching the two disappear around the corner of the alley, Do Yooyoung looked around. The neighborhood was dead silent, as if the commotion had never happened. Not a breath of wind stirred on this unusually calm day, and there was nothing but the quiet.
Has the house always been this still?
Wandering back inside, half lost in the oddness of it, he found the bed a wreck from the morning's chaos. Do Yooyoung took the edge of the blanket in his teeth and straightened it neatly. Feeling a little hungry, he licked up a few more bites of kibble. The TV Haesoo had left on to keep him company was too much of an eyesore, so he simply switched it off.
And so, after prowling the whole house, Do Yooyoung ended up back out on the floor.
...There's nothing to do.
So he discovered, at last, just how achingly boring a dog's day could be.