I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

The terrifying part was the ride home in the moving box they called a car. Hayoung had me in her arms while Shortie Eunji was playing with a round greyish thing and stealing displeased glances at me every now and then.

Everything outside the window flew past in a blur. Houses, poles with lights on them, humans and other cars with more humans in them. The sensory overload had me reeling as I snuggled deep into Hayoung’s arms. Her scent calmed me somewhat as I closed my eyes and listened to her beating heart and the rumble of her voice as she continued arguing with Eunji.

“Well who’s the one who said I needed a companion and learn some giving and receiving?” The conversation was heated, a contrast against the gentle streams of cool air I felt coming from little vents on the inside of the car.

“Yes I did! But didn’t you see what that mutt did to me? HE FREAKING BIT ME!" Eunji took her bandaged hand off the wheel and brandished it in Hayoung’s face. It smelled pungent and irritated my nose, as I burrowed deeper into my warm soft refuge.

Eunji didn’t stop. “Of all the doggies you could have taken a liking to in there, you chose him!”

“I felt a connection unnie.”

“What connection? He just freaking stole your first kiss and you decided to go soft at that moment?”

“I like him. Lots” Hayoung held me up to her face and looked at me again with the same doleful eyes from earlier. She brought her nose up against mine. “And I look forward to living together with him for the rest of my life.”

She got the second kiss of her life.

Secure in my owner’s arms, I managed to sneak a short nap while the bickering continued through the rest of the journey.

We exited the car and got into a big silver looking box which vibrated as if it was moving and opened with a loud “Ding!” after a while. We walked out onto a passageway lined with doors and stopped in front of one that smelled of Hayoung. I looked on curious as she pressed her fingers rhythmically on the door and it opened with shrill beeps and a click.

I have arrived at my new home.

Hayoung set me down on the floor of the biggest room and went about with Eunji, unpacking groceries they bought from the stores, and other stuff they got from the pet shop. I was elated to be able to stay in a proper house finally, the two previous being in a cage, and a small glass tank. Some of the floors in the house were soft, filled with Hayoung’s scent, while the rest of the house were slick and hard. They made my feet skitter out from under me as I tried moving around, my paws unable to get used to the surface and I stumbled about trying to follow Hayoung.

She saw me struggling to walk and picked me up. I could feel the affection flowing from her, so strong it gave me a hollow feeling in my tummy, almost like hunger. I leaned into her, lapping at her chin, determined to let her know I felt the same way already.

Hayoung set me down on the carpet next to a bowl filled with something delicious. I dove in hungrily. It has been a while since I’d eaten, the last was back in the shop early morning before it opened for business. She must have sensed I was famished, cos she refilled the bowl as soon as I was done and set down another filled with water. She knew exactly what I wanted. So nice.

As soon as I was done, she lifted me onto her lap and played with me using a piece of cloth. She would dangle it near my nose, and when I snapped at it, she tugged. I tugged back and growled as fiercely as I could, which made her laughed and dropped the cloth. It’s mine now! I won!

This whole time, Eunji was grumbling while still busy packing. She would look in my direction with a scowl, then to her hand and mumbled something under her breath. I took in her smell and made a mental note to add another mark in the future.

I was let down onto the floor to continue battle with my trophy as Hayoung went over to help Eunji. I gave the cloth a few more shakes, but it wasn’t nearly as interesting without someone attached to the other end. I looked around for something else to play with. There they were, shoes lined up on the floor at the entrance. I made my way gingerly across the slippery floor to the nearest one and started wrestling with the laces. I bit on one and started pulling at it. I tried to run away with it, managing to pull it along with the shoe it was attached to, onto the carpet, but somehow the shoe got caught on a table leg and it yanked me back, sending me tumbling head over heels. Snarling, I dove once more onto the shoe, biting the lace again, giving it a furious shake.

The shoelace had given up and flopped limply in my mouth. Since I had shown the shoelace who was boss, I decided this would be a good time to take a little break. I squatted, leaving a brown blob on top of a wet stain on the carpet.

Suddenly, the people got very busy.

I heard Eunji screaming “Holy crap!” over and over while Hayoung calmly went about cleaning my handiwork. After they finished whatever it was they were doing with wet cloths and squares of soft paper and some kind of spray that smelled so sharp it made my eyes water, Hayoung picked me up again and set me on her lap, tickling my chin and scratching my ears.

“How about we name him Muttly?” Eunji started.

“Why?” Hayoung replied.

“Cos he’s a little troublemaker and he should be named such.”

“No! I’m going to take my time thinking of a good name for him. In the meantime, he’s just gonna be puppy.

“ty.”

“I said no!”

“Ok Crappy then.”

It got exhausting. I plopped down for a nap with my head on the girl’s leg.

When I woke up, the people still hadn’t gotten tired of this game. It went on for a little while longer before Eunji got up and prepared to leave.

“I’m giving you a week off since it’s kinda slow right now at the office. House train Mr Muttly here and rest up well. We will need you back a hundred percent and mentally prepared for the next project. Gotta start on it as soon as the client signs on the dotted line.”

“I will. Thanks unnie.”

Eunji vanished from the door after a final glare at me, perfectly riposted with a sharp bark and a show of puppy teeth from yours truly.

Add another bite to that mental note.

The rest of the night passed by with Hayoung giving me a tour of the house in her arms. She must have wanted me to get used to the surroundings before we turn in for the night. The house wasn’t much bigger than the pet shop, with the big room I was in the whole time being the most furnished. It had a soft grey couch on one end, backed by blue coloured shelving set into the wall. There’s a glass table in front of the couch. Yes, the same table whose leg stopped the shoe I was playing with earlier. On the other side of the room, there was a big black box on top of a long cabinet with all sorts of curious gadgets on them.

I was brought into a bedroom on the left of the entrance way. The room was lacking the smell of anything or anyone, and barely furnished with just a wardrobe and a mattress.

To the right on the other end was Hayoung’s room, I’d barely made out her scent cos I was distracted by the kitchen on the way. The scent of food filled the air. There was a tall humming box on one side, which Hayoung stopped by and opened for a bottle of liquid. Cold air assaulted me as she leaned in for the bottle. I shivered and whimpered a bit while the girl whispered soft apologies and quickly brought me into her room.

Hayoung’s room was neat and tidy like the other bedroom, the only difference was an L-shaped table set on one end with three smaller black boxes, similar to the big one outside, sitting on it. I yelped in surprise when she pushed a finger into another big box and was greeted with intense lights coming out from the three “monitors”.

“Oh gosh I’m sorry! You must have never seen a computer screen before, much less three.” Hayoung chuckled. She managed to calm me my head and back, plopping me down on her lap as she started punching her fingers on a glowy gadget in front, and clicking on another on her right.

“Welcome to the most advanced gaming station in whole of Korea!” She proclaimed proudly. “The night is still young, shall we check out this shooter that's been creating a buzz amongst the PUBG community recently?"

A few clicks later and we were greeted with colourful human characters parading themselves on the screen and Hayoung busy clicking and typing away, finally settling on a human female in all black attire, jumping into the air from a flying box and floating onto the ground. I was soon startled again by sounds coming out from yet another two boxes on either side of the centre screen, in sync with that female whom Hayoung seemed to be controlling, judging from her hand movements on the gadgets they were resting on.

“Gotta find a weapon asap, or I’m done with” Hayoung looked serious as I switched between looking up at her sharp chin and back at the avatar on the screen, running through houses and picking objects from the floor.

“BANG!!!” I flinched as a loud crack came at me through the speakers. I was startled yet again when Hayoung’s avatar jumped from the roof of the building she was on and shot back from a stick she was pointing at another human who came into sight.

“BANG! BANG! BANG!” Hayoung was getting animated. She would conjure walls out of thin air while exchanging fire with her opponents and zipped around the landscape jumping, crouching and dodging bullets. Caught up in the excitement, I started barking at every enemy I’d spot and Hayoung would take them down. She would pumped her fists in the air and showered me with cries of “good boy!”. I wondered what “good boy” meant at that time, only the fact her eyes would light up and she would smile and pat my head.

The session continued for a few more hours before Hayoung switched off her PC and settled down with me on her bed. She brought me up onto her chest and gave me soothing scratches all over.

“Thank you for rescuing me out there, I wouldn’t have been able to take down the other players had you not acted as a spotter~” She cooed to me in a sleepy voice. I was exhausted from the adventures of the day as I laid down against her and started drifting off.

Thtough half-closed lids I made out Hayoung holding out two fingers and pointing at me.

“Bbang-ya! Bbang-ya! Bbang-ya!”

My eyes flicked wide open for a moment and I summoned what remaining strength I had in me for a strained bark and a wag of my tiny tail.

“That’s your name from now on~ Bbang. Do you like it?” I answered with another bark and wag.

“Bbang…” Her eyes are closed now. I gave her chin one last before joining her in dreamland

I have a name at last. That name is Bbang.