The suffocating heat swallowed up the spring. My mind, which had been submerged in unconsciousness, surfaced. Waking up from sleep due to the heat, frustration flared up.
With my eyes still closed, I fumbled around the bedside for the air conditioner remote. But all I could grasp was the soft sensation of fur.
“Ugh, it’s hot.”
I irritably pushed away whatever was covering my body.
“Kiiim.”
A faint whimper of an animal followed.
Only then did my senses fully return. Rubbing my barely open eyes, I turned to the side and saw a sleek, black-furred creature curled up, staring at me. Its golden eyes gleamed with a sorrowful light.
“…Sorry.”
I mumbled an unclear apology, and Raum cautiously approached, rubbing his head against my neck. He’s hot, though. I flicked his forehead.
“The air conditioner remote.”
Raum leaped off the bed and trotted away on all fours. Before long, he returned with the remote in his mouth. I absentmindedly patted his head twice before turning on the air conditioner. A mechanical hum filled the room as cool air spread, slowly dispelling the heat.
I lay back down, seeking the sleep I had lost. I could feel Raum, still in his beast form, pressing himself snugly against my back.
The cool air was refreshing. Turning over, I pulled Raum’s fluffy black body into an embrace.
“Soft. Nice.”
Last night, Raum had been overcome with heat, grinding his hips against me. Now, he was simply a warm, comforting presence beside me.
The most noticeable difference between last night and this morning was the number of legs, two last night, four now. But whether as a beast or as a person, Raum was still my one and only companion.
Raum was a peculiar creature that could shift between human and animal form.
I first met Raum half a year ago, in the dead of winter.
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It had been a snowstorm, a true blizzard. Winter, refusing to yield to the approaching spring, seemed determined to carve its presence into people’s memories by unleashing a relentless downpour of snow.
And it succeeded. Even years from now, I wouldn’t forget this day’s snowfall; just recalling it would make me shiver.
Large, clumped-together snowflakes plummeted rapidly, carried by the wind. The city, the streets, the cars, even the umbrella I held above my head, all were buried under a thick layer of snow.
Beneath my sneakers, which lacked proper insulation, the snow crunched noisily.
Fierce gusts of wind slipped under my umbrella, constantly trying to yank off my hood and my old padded coat, which I had bought when I first entered college. Strands of my hair flailed wildly in the wind’s grip.
Wearing my hood made holding my umbrella with one hand difficult, but giving up on it meant my ears would freeze.
It was a ridiculous struggle, but I kept pulling my hood back on every time the wind blew it off. Annoying as it was, this was my best option.
A walk that usually took me ten minutes felt like it had dragged on for at least twenty.
I told myself that once I got home, I’d take a long, hot shower and curl up in my heated blanket for a cozy rest. With that thought in mind, I pushed my nearly frozen legs to keep moving.
Familiar streetlights cast a warm glow over the road. Looks like they finally fixed it.
Two months ago, I had noticed one of the streetlights flickering ominously before it went completely out a month later. Since it was the only light illuminating this dim alleyway, I had immediately filed a complaint.
But either the authorities were busy with other complaints, or they simply chose to ignore this sparsely populated alley. Weeks passed, and the streetlight remained dead.
Then, a few weeks ago, there was an attempted assault in the neighborhood, sending the whole town into an uproar.
The perpetrator was still at large. The victim’s friend posted about it on an online forum, bringing the incident to public attention. A few reporters even interviewed local residents.
Of course, the public lost interest in less than a week.
And then, the streetlight was suddenly fixed. Guess they got scared of bad publicity. I scoffed, pulling my hood back on as it was once again blown off by the wind.
As I neared my house, lost in various stray thoughts, I noticed something out of place among the vast whiteness, an oddly black lump.
At first, I thought it was a plastic bag. But it was strange that it wasn’t blowing away in this harsh wind. Brushing off the snowflakes clinging to my eyelashes with my gloved hand, I took a closer look at the black object.
What is that? Normally, I would have just glanced at it and walked past. But for some reason, my eyes were fixed on this strange black shape.
I stepped closer to it.
“…Huh? No way.”
It wasn’t a plastic bag. It was a small, shivering puppy, very much alive.
Without a second thought, I tossed my umbrella aside, letting the wind carry it away, and scooped up the tiny creature in my hands.
Snow had piled up on its little black head and dainty nose like tiny white hills. Its round golden eyes blinked up at me in a dazed manner.
“…No collar.”
To think someone had abandoned such a young and innocent pup in this freezing cold… Even Satan would probably shake his head at such cruelty.
The puppy, blissfully unaware of its dire situation, nuzzled its head into my palm with pure, harmless eyes. Its heavy eyelids drooped, blinking slower and slower.
“No, no! Puppy, you can’t fall asleep here!”
I shouted like a disaster movie protagonist. But the little creature, oblivious to my desperation, slowly closed its eyes.
Without hesitation, I sprinted home through the blizzard. I didn’t even remember how I managed to punch in the door code and get inside.
“What do I do? What do I do?!”
Still cradling the puppy in both hands, I anxiously paced around my living room.
Bringing this puppy home had been an impulsive act of sympathy. The only thought in my head was that I had to save it. But the real problem was: I had no idea what to do next.
Calm down. Stay calm.
I carefully set the puppy down on my two-seater couch.
It groggily shifted, rubbing its tiny black paws against its head before rolling onto its back, exposing its round belly.
I reached out and placed my index finger near its little nose. Its soft, rhythmic breaths gently brushed against my fingertip.
“…Hah.”
Feeling its steady breathing, the tension in my body finally eased. I wiped my sweat-dampened hands on my clothes before pulling a bath towel from the bathroom cabinet and draping it over the puppy.
“Would any animal hospitals even be open at this hour?”
Though the sleeping puppy looked peaceful, there could be underlying health issues I wasn’t aware of.
I unlocked my phone. 11:29 PM. I searched, ‘24-hour animal hospital near XX-dong,’ but, unsurprisingly, nothing came up.
The latest-closing vet clinic had shut down at 10 PM, and even that was a bus ride and a half away.
With a heavy heart, I turned off my phone screen.
“Just hang in there until morning.”
I gently rubbed the puppy’s small, round head with my finger. Its warmth and softness spread a strangely comforting feeling through me.
“…So cute.”
Afraid of waking it, I covered my mouth with my hand, stifling my squeals. Then, as if possessed, I grabbed my phone and started taking pictures, left side, right side, top-down, close-up, switching filters as I went.
Then it hit me, I didn’t have any food for the puppy.
Panicking, I bolted to the kitchen and yanked open the fridge.
I took out the side dishes I had bought from the supermarket one by one. I remembered seeing my grandma in the countryside mix soy paste soup with rice for her dog. Maybe I could just mix some of these together and feed it to the puppy.
I stood there, staring seriously at the side dishes, then glanced over at the tiny puppy sleeping on the sofa like an angel.
“…Yeah, that’s probably not a good idea.”
Without hesitation, I put everything back. Luckily, I found an unopened carton of milk I had bought just yesterday. I had seen countless scenes in cartoons and dramas where people fed milk to stray kittens or puppies.
I poured some milk into a small bowl and brought it to the puppy, but for some reason… I hesitated.
A nagging doubt clung to the back of my mind. Placing the bowl on the table, I quickly searched, "Can puppies drink milk?"
“…Wow, I almost made a huge mistake.”
To my surprise, most sources said that puppies can’t properly digest milk.
One person even shared a story about their puppy getting severe diarrhea and vomiting after drinking milk, forcing them to rush it to the vet. Just reading that made a chill run down my spine.
Without a second thought, I chugged the milk I had poured for the puppy in one gulp. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I cursed those cartoon characters who always handed out milk to animals.
“They should at least put a warning: For 2D puppies only.”
I realized I couldn’t just trust my instincts and memories. From now on, I’d have to look everything up. I kept scrolling on my phone, researching until the battery warning popped up.
“Honey water instead of milk… Good for hydration and energy… If you don’t have dog food, you can use boiled chicken breast as a temporary substitute… Supermarket dog food often contains harmful ingredients, so check carefully…”
My eyes started to strain from staring at my screen for so long. I lowered my phone and pressed my palms against my eyes. A flood of random information had entered my brain, but there was only one conclusion.
There was nothing in my apartment that the puppy could eat.
Honey water? Boiled chicken breast? There was no way my pathetic fridge had anything like that.
Outside the window, the blizzard still raged on. I placed a bowl of warm water next to the puppy and spent the night anxiously watching over it, worrying if it was sick.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the long-awaited sun broke through the heavy snow clouds.
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and layered on warm clothes. The only scarf I had, I wrapped around the puppy instead.
Nestled in the scarf, the puppy let out a long, relaxed yawn, completely unguarded. Tiny baby teeth peeked out, and its little pink tongue curled up in a circle.
God, that’s painfully cute. Its round golden eyes locked onto my face and didn’t look away.
“We’re going to the hospital now, okay?”
“You’re getting a check-up and some proper food.”
Of course, the puppy had no way of understanding me. It simply blinked, then burrowed deeper into the scarf. A strong urge to squeeze it tightly welled up inside me.
No, stay calm. Control yourself. (T/n: Haha, cuteness aggression rearing its head.)
Suppressing my trembling hands, I took a deep breath and opened the front door.
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