As I entered the passcode, I heard the sound of four tiny, adorable paws tapping excitedly against the floor beyond the door. A smile was already creeping onto my lips.
"I'm here."
Raum barked, "Yap! yap!" and leaped into my arms.
"Hey, hey, wait a sec!"
I couldn’t handle his massive body and ended up toppling backward. As I groaned in pain, his tail, which had been wagging wildly from side to side, tucked itself between his legs.
"Ah, my butt..."
It hurt so much I almost cried, but when I saw my big, silly dog prancing around excitedly, the pain strangely faded away.
"This must be why people keep pets."
Without even taking off my shoes, I pulled Raum into a tight hug. I could feel him squirming, trying to escape from my grasp.
"I'm not letting go."
I held him even tighter, and he let out a sigh, almost like a human.
"Raum, for a second there, you really sounded like a person. Do you hate being hugged that much?"
Laughing, I finally let him go. His long, fluffy tail brushed against my face as he trotted into the living room. I watched his dignified retreat with amusement, but then he suddenly stopped and turned to glance at me.
"What?"
He let out another sigh, just like a person, before walking back toward where I sat at the entrance.
He gently tugged at the hem of my t-shirt.
"Oh, you want me to get up? Alright, alright..."
I tried to stand, but a sharp pain shot through my lower back. As I wobbled unsteadily, Raum walked behind me and pressed his head against my back, supporting me.
"What the... Are you helping me?"
I never imagined I’d be supported by a dog in my lifetime. Thanks to Raum's unexpected yet oddly touching assistance, I managed to make it to the couch safely.
He lay down in front of me, staring straight into my eyes. Seeing him like that filled me with a strange sense of comfort. At the same time, all the stress I had bottled up from earlier that day suddenly turned into overwhelming sadness.
"Raum, do you know what happened to me today?"
I started pouring out my thoughts, things I had never even told my family or my longtime friend, Gwon Jintae.
Like a drunken person rambling, I spoke without order or restraint. Raum, despite looking somewhat bored, stayed put and listened without interruption.
Of course, he probably didn’t understand a word, but just having him there was a huge comfort.
"...There was a time when I wondered, what if I wasn't actually their real child? Maybe they just took me in because they needed someone to take care of my brother. But then, the funny thing is... I look exactly like my mom. If I had been an orphan, it might have been easier, don’t you think?"
At least then, I could have accepted the way they treated me as just natural favoritism.
Raum, who had been lying down, suddenly jumped onto the couch. I felt the cushion sink slightly beside me.
He placed one paw on my lap and licked my face. The warm, rough sensation wasn’t exactly pleasant, but I could tell he was trying to comfort me, so I let him. At this rate, my face was going to be drenched.
I forced a smile and patted his head.
"Aww, my sweet Raum. Now that you’ve cheered me up, everything feels better. Even my back pain is gone. Good boy."
Raum, who had been enthusiastically licking my face as if I were the tastiest thing in the world, suddenly froze.
"Are you done now?"
Those glassy golden eyes blinked slowly once before Raum suddenly pressed a paw against my chest and instinctively went for my face again. With his entire weight shifted onto me, I could feel the full force of his body.
I wanted to tell him to stop, but he was only doing this for me. What if I hurt his little puppy feelings? I couldn't bring myself to push him away.
So, I exercised remarkable patience and let him have his way with my face. Only when the right side of my cheek started stinging did he finally back off.
"Thanks, Raum."
I cupped his face and planted kisses on his forehead. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes. Worried he might pounce again, I hurriedly pretended to need the bathroom and fled.
That day ended peacefully, but the real problem started afterward.
Raum began licking my face at every possible moment. After each enthusiastic session, he would stare at me expectantly, as if waiting for something.
"Thanks! Thanks to you, I feel all better now."
And then, two kisses on the head, morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This routine had to be repeated daily. Only after receiving his kisses in return did Raum finally sprawl out with a satisfied look, as if saying, "No one else but me, right? I'm the best, huh?"
Sure, my face was always a little damp, and the texture of his tongue was slightly uncomfortable, but I convinced myself that this was just Raum's way of expressing affection.
But when this routine lasted over two weeks, I started feeling like I couldn’t go a single day without it. It was becoming a necessary part of my life.
Whenever a rude customer came into the café, I vented my frustrations to Raum, and he, in turn, comforted me in his usual way.
These days, his persistence was so relentless that sometimes I’d fall asleep mid-session before I could even tell him to stop.
Before I knew it, my peaceful, simple life with Raum had become an essential part of my existence.
Was this what family was supposed to be? Someone who comforts you when you're struggling, someone you never resent no matter what they do, someone you’re just grateful to have by your side…
"Raum, I'll take care of you for the rest of my life. Let's sty together for a long, long time."
I mumbled as I drifted off to sleep, lulled by the sound of his breathing. The sensation grew stronger, scattering away the sleepiness that had settled over me like mist, but I didn’t mind. I was happy.
I had never seriously considered marriage, but at that moment, I genuinely imagined spending my whole life with Raum, just the two of us.
But as if to mock my naive thoughts, disaster struck the very next day.
An unexpected misfortune shattered my peaceful daily life, shaking me to my core.
"Raum, please… let’s go to the hospital, okay? I swear, just this once, please..."
Raum had collapsed.
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