Now there’s a sound I wasn’t expecting. Jiyong’s eyes snap open as the sound of his cat hissing and apparently a dog barking filter into his ears.

He springs out of his bed, instantly regrets making such a sudden movement due to the ensuing head-rush and totters towards the source of the commotion.  In his kitchen, he finds his cat Mari (technically Mari was his sister’s cat, which Jiyong had borrowed indefinitely) perching on the breakfast bar, hackles up and hissing furiously.  Jiyong turns his head to find the subject of Mari’s distress and his eyes land on a mysterious puppy, who was quite happily helping itself to Mari’s water dish.

Jiyong sinks to his knees behind the puppy to take a closer look. It was clearly a bulldog, no older than 4 weeks old. It was wearing the cutest little red and white striped t-shirt, which went well with its white fur. And it was clearly a male.

“Awwww!” Jiyong couldn’t help cooing as he gently picks up the puppy and holds it to his chest. The puppy was very friendly, instantly cocking its head back to snuggle into Jiyong's t-shirt. Jiyong ran his finger between the puppy’s little ears, feeling his annoyance at the early wakeup call vanish. The puppy lets out a very happy sounding bark, rubbing his head up against Jiyong’s hand. The only one who didn’t seem to be enjoying the moment was Mari, who yowls balefully and hops down from the counter. She stalks off to another part of the house and Jiyong feels guilty for a second, until the puppy playfully nips at his fingers.

“Where did you come from?” Jiyong mutters to the puppy, though he wasn’t really expecting an answer. He stands up, puppy cradled in his arms and he is about to return to bed for more snuggles when he hears a harried rapping on his front door.

Quick as a flash, Mari reappears and bolts out of the cat flap. Jiyong only has a second to ponder what has got into that crazy cat, when he hears bright laugh on the other side of his front door. Clearly Mari knew whoever was out there, so Jiyong heads towards the door to investigate. He has already unfastened the latch when he realises that he was only wearing the ratty vest he had fallen asleep in and his Superman boxers. Oh well, it was 9.30am on a Saturday morning – first impressions.

When he pulls open the door, his eyes land on Mari lying on her back and paws in the air. She is having her belly rubbed by an incredibly attractive set of hands, which are attached to