chapter.3  »  happily close together.

I woke up first.

Actually, I didn’t think I slept at all.

The way she (that reminded me, she hadn’t introduced herself yet) said ‘Prince Jinki’ woke up the human in me.  I wasn't obviously completely a dog since I was still thinking like a human being.  But when I heard those words... something within me stirred, a reminder that I was a human being.

I had wanted to sleep, but I just ended up tossing and turning in her bed.  My dignity as a man and as a prince was still there, and that made me even more nervous because I was in bed beside a girl.  I had tossed for the last time, and ended up watching her as she slept.

The window was big enough for the light of the full moon to enter, outlining the delicate features of her face.  She had probably the smoothest skin I’d ever set my eyes on, a perfect nose.  Her eyelashes were slightly curled; her lips were curved gently, the peaks of her top lip resembling a bow.

My dignity as a prince suddenly took over me, replacing that of the man’s, and I was reminded of the fact that she was not a princess.

But why should I worry?  It’s not like I like her... right?

The moon was replaced with the sun, unbeknownst to me, and everything was over with.  At least... hopefully.

The inside of my eyelids was colored with shades of red and orange, which forced me to wake up.  My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the sunlight.  I groaned and stretched my body out in my bed, hearing a few bones crack.  I rubbed my eyes and slowly sat up, and was welcomed by the sight of the puppy picking the poly-fil from a small hole on the bed.

I picked the dog up and sniffed it, scrunching my nose playfully.  “Good morning, Prince.  Did you have a good sleep?”

Knowing the dog wouldn’t reply, I got out of bed and went to the restroom.  The dog jumped from the mattress, following me outside.  After doing some errands in the restroom, I came outside and saw Prince Jinki staring up at me.

“Are you hungry?”  I cooed at it.  It replied with a small whimper, blinking once.  We walked to the kitchen where I found some leftover food.  I wasn’t sure if it was safe to feed dogs leftover food, but that was all I had.  “We’ll be going out today to buy you food and other things.”

Since I was living alone anyway, and I could have cared less about dining etiquette, I sat down the puppy on top of the dining table across from my chair.  I stuffed a bowl with rice and placed a little of the leftover food on top of it, taking it to the dining table.  After getting beverages for the dog prince and me, I sat down and ate.

The dog seemed to know what it was doing.  When it ate, it ate and didn’t make a mess.  When it drank water, it drank properly without leaving droplets all around the table.  While I, on the other hand, struggled.  My cheeks warmed.  A dog ate with more grace than a human.  That was a first.

I remembered something.  “Oh, I still haven’t introduced myself, huh?”

The dog didn’t reply, of course.  It just kept on eating.

I smiled and tickled it right under its jaw.  “I’m Soojin, Prince Jinki.  It's a pleasure to meet you.”

The dog stopped eating for a second and looked up at me.  Its eyes looked like... like they didn’t belong to a dog.  Nevertheless, I brushed it off and giggled at Prince my hand.  I patted his head again before taking my plate and glass to the sink.

How do dogs fall in love?  I was starting to wonder.  Did they also “feel butterflies in their stomach”?  Did they feel like floating?  Did they even feel anything at all other than hunger?  I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to know, because I was starting to confuse myself if I were a dog or a human.

On top of everything else.

Soojin, that was her name.  Nobody in the Kingdom of Preriloth had ever had that name.  Parents always thought naming their children, both boys and girls, with Western (On Earth Western) names was adorable.  Apart from my family, nobody else really followed the tradition of giving them Eastern (On Earth Eastern) names.

After her name had registered completely in my dog mind, I remembered a lesson my mentor had taught me before.  I wish I had paid full attention because all I could remember was that the queen of a neighboring kingdom, Nydiralle, hundreds of years ago, had a daughter named Soojin.  Something had happened, but I couldn’t remember what.

I wish I did.  I so wish I did.

The shower helped me clear my head.  I still wasn’t over being fired just the previous day, even though I really should be.  I had been there for four years, with a good record, and then out of the blue I was fired.  The worst thing was they didn’t tell me fully the reason why I was kicked out of my job.

It was the only thing that kept me alive.  I squeezed shampoo onto my palm and rubbed it on my head, producing bubbles.  I adjusted the warmth of the shower, low-key hoping that the hot water would burn away any thought of unemployment.

I'm unemployed.

It still didn’t make any sense to me.

After rinsing myself and my hair (conditioned and all), I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body and my head.

I found Prince running around in the living room, chasing a red ball he found somewhere.  I remembered that ball.  I had lost it a long time ago and had completely given up on finding it.

“Be careful, Prince,” I said with a smile on my face.  Prince stopped chasing the ball, letting it roll away.  It just stared up at me again, huffing and puffing.

Mamma Mia, I see the light.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

heeheeeeeeeeee.  i'm loving things right now, LOL.  xD  another update!  thank you guys for reading!

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