[Gwon Jintae: It really seems like it was abandoned.]
A reply finally arrived exactly one week after I sent Gwon Jintae a picture of the puppy. It was something I had somewhat expected, so I calmly tapped on my phone screen.
[Got it. Thanks for looking into it.]
[Gwon Jintae: Are you going to keep the puppy?]
I looked down at the puppy sprawled out on my lap like a lazy loafer. What a life of luxury.
[Probably.]
[Gwon Jintae: How are you going to raise a puppy when you live alone and have a job? Send me a few more pictures. I'll see if I can find a temporary foster home or someone willing to adopt it.]
I carefully took pictures of the puppy lying idly on its stomach. Before I knew it, ten minutes had passed as I snapped away.
Which one looks best? I kept choosing and re-choosing, but in the end, they were all great shots, so I just sent all thirty of them.
[Not expecting much, but since you asked, here are the pictures. Also, the puppy doesn’t have separation anxiety, it stays perfectly calm even when I go to a café.]
I casually slipped in a little praise, mentioning how mature the puppy was for its age. Usually, Gwon Jintae was quick to reply, but this time, he took longer. He was probably busy admiring the pictures. Understandable.
A few minutes later, a message notification popped up. It was from Gwon Jintae.
[Gwon Jintae: ...Is this really the same puppy you sent me a picture of a week ago?]
[Gwon Jintae: Did it really grow this much in just one week?]
A series of surprised bunny emojis followed. Curious, I scrolled up to compare the pictures I had sent a week ago with the ones from today. I was at a loss for words and scratched my head awkwardly.
…It does look really different.
[Puppies grow fast, don’t they? Isn’t this normal?]
[Geon Jintae: This is a bit extreme. Also, you said it was a Maltese. In what world does this look like a Maltese? It looks more like a Husky.]
The puppy, which now had long legs and a thick, fluffy coat, looked well over five kilograms. I suddenly recalled the vet saying it wouldn’t exceed five kilograms when fully grown. Yeah… I’m never going back to that clinic.
“Hey, puppy.”
Its tall, pointed ears twitched. Then, it turned its head to look at me, its golden eyes lazily unfocused. Its expression screamed, If you have something to say, say it quickly, you're bothering me.
“Should we check your weight?”
The puppy turned its head away. A clear rejection. Well, too bad. If it won’t do it willingly, I’ll make it. I grabbed one of its front paws covered in thick black fur and pulled gently. The puppy, looking like it had already given up on life, allowed itself to be dragged without resistance.
“Let’s see how much my little cutie has grown.”
As I lightly patted its rear, its thick, fox-like tail swished aggressively. The message was clear: Don't touch me.
“Sorry.” I quickly apologized. Wait… do dogs even feel embarrassment? Did I just become some kind of puppy harasser?
I placed the scale in front of it, and the puppy, acting like it was doing me a great favor, gracefully stepped onto it.
18 kilograms.
When I first took it to the vet, it had only weighed 1.1 kilograms. Could a puppy really grow eighteen times its weight in just one week? No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t normal.
The puppy, oblivious to my confusion, finished its task and effortlessly leaped back onto the sofa. It flopped down, making it clear that this was its throne.
That day, I finally signed up for an online dog-owner community where my older brother was active. However, to read most of the posts, I needed to level up my account. So, I spent the next week working toward that goal.
In the meantime, the puppy continued to grow at an absurd rate, like it had eaten a Super Mario power-up.
Finally, when I had leveled up and could access the posts, I eagerly scrolled through them. Among the 1.5 million members, not a single one had reported their pet’s weight increasing eighteen times in just a week.
Because the puppy grew noticeably every day, I had to replace its harness at least once a day, at the very least, every other day. I already had six unused harnesses piling up in the corner.
“Puppy, are you not going for a walk today either?”
The puppy turned its head away with a huff.
According to the pet owner’s forum, dogs must go on at least one walk per day. It even emphasized that there was no such thing as a dog that didn’t like walks.
But strangely, my puppy found the idea of walking extremely bothersome. Not scary, not unfamiliar, just bothersome.
I tried everything in front of it, holding up the harness.
“If you go on a walk, you can sniff tree trunks and even smell other dogs’ poop! Still not interested?”
In response, the puppy smacked my face with its tail. Was that a coincidence? Yeah… it had to be.
I even tried putting the harness on myself. Hooking it over my arms, I grinned as if I was the one excited to go.
“I’m going on a walk! It’s going to be so much fun!”
“…"
The puppy just stared at me in silence. Somehow, I felt embarrassed and quietly put the harness down.
I had begged and pleaded enough times that we had managed to go out for a walk a few times… but not once did we last more than ten minutes.
It was always the same: The puppy would suddenly refuse to walk. No matter how much I coaxed or pulled, it wouldn't budge.
Eventually, I’d be the one to surrender, sighing, “Fine, let’s go home.” And just like that, the puppy would immediately take the lead, confidently pulling me all the way back.
“…Are you actually a cat?”
“…”
“You’re a cat in a dog suit, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Ugh, whatever. If there are dogs like that, I guess there are dogs like you, too. Come here. Let’s check your weight.”
When I placed the scale in front of the puppy, it climbed onto it as if it were already familiar with the routine.
"37 kilograms. That’s 5 kilograms more than last time. Congratulations, puppy."
At this rate, is it going to outgrow my apartment? I said it jokingly, but considering its current growth speed, maybe it wasn’t a joke after all.
A chilling thought brushed through my mind, and I quickly shook my head to push away my unease.
Even if it didn’t grow bigger than my home, there was already a problem. In my tiny one-bedroom apartment, handling a large dog wasn’t easy.
They say that large dogs need plenty of exercise. If they don’t get enough, they build up too much energy and end up destroying the house...
“Puppy, just so you know, this place is a rental.”
“...”
“Don’t yawn. The furniture is mine, so even if you break it, my heart will just shatter a little. But the walls? Don’t break the walls. Got it?”
I pointed my finger at the puppy sternly. In response, it leaned its forehead against my chest. Was that its way of saying it understood? The gesture was so endearing that I couldn’t help but stroke its head.
“You want more pets?”
The puppy pressed its head against me, refusing to move. Whenever I paused for even a second, it barked loudly “Woof!”
In the end, I had to keep petting it until I was sweating. If my phone hadn’t vibrated nonstop, my arm might have fallen off.
The buzzing must have caught the puppy’s attention because it pressed its paw against the phone.
A flood of messages from Gwon Jintae filled my screen. Apparently, several people were interested in adopting the puppy.
Their information was listed in the messages, but I scrolled past them without reading. These were people who had only seen pictures of the puppy when it was half its current size.
[Thanks for looking into it. But I’ve decided to keep the puppy myself.]
[Gwon Jintae: What? Are you crazy?]
[It gets aggressive around strangers, and honestly… I’ve gotten attached. I’ll treat you to a meal later.]
A few more messages came in after that, but I ignored them. I shoved my phone aside and pulled the puppy in front of me.
"It looks like we’re officially family now. We should at least introduce ourselves, don’t you think?"
The puppy perked up its ears. At this point, it really seemed like it understood what I was saying. Maybe it was a genius dog.
"I'm Ju Inah. Ju. I. Nah. No final consonants, so it’s easy to remember, right?"
“...”
"You don’t have a name yet, so I’ll give you one. I’ve thought of a few, but my favorite is this."
I held up a small mirror to reflect the puppy’s face.
"Blackie."
The puppy immediately let out a loud bark, "Woof!", startling me so much that I nearly dropped the mirror. Then it growled, its entire body radiating disapproval.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Blackie is a great name! Look at you, you’re completely black!”
The puppy spun in circles around me, headbutting me repeatedly in protest.
“Okay, okay! How about Raum instead? It’s a mix of ‘cute’ and ‘blackie.’”
“Woof! Woof woof!”
This time, the barking was even louder. Panicked, I grabbed the puppy’s long snout with both hands.
“Shh! Someone might hear you.”
“...”
“No more negotiating. From now on, your name is Raum. I can’t keep calling you ‘puppy’ forever. If you don’t like it, too bad. If you wanted a name of your choice, you should’ve been born as a human.”
I chuckled and patted Raum's back. The puppy didn’t bark again, but it did sulk visibly.
Following advice from online pet forums, I started saying its name dozens of times a day to get it used to it.
When it ate: "Is it tasty, Raum?"
When it slept: "Sweet dreams, Raum."
When it just sat there: "What are you thinking about, Raum?"
I called its name at every possible moment.
At first, Raum ignored me. But before long, whenever I called out, “Raum!” its ears and tail perked up instinctively. The puppy looked confused by its own reaction.
Seeing that, I smirked in satisfaction.
“Our Raum finally recognizes its name, huh? You’re so smart.”
I gently stroked its head. Raum didn’t seem thrilled, but it didn’t pull away either.
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