Hyunjoong never left my mind even as school started and my homework started piling up. I always kept his collar in my pocket as a keepsake. I would wear it but the teachers probably would force me to take it off and throw it away.

At lunch, Hyungjun came to my homeroom to pick me up.

"Youngsaeng hyung! Let's go!" he called quickly.

I beamed and took my lunchbag, hurrying over to the boy. "Kaja."

"Excuse me," a male voice suddenly came from behind the two of us.

We turned and I immediately froze in place. "H...J..." I whispered in shock.

I couldn't believe it. I knew that Hyunjoong was already gone but this boy looked exactly like him. The same shoulder length black hair. The same twinkling eyes and they were about the same height. How could that be? Was this guy also a dog? No, he wouldn't be at school then.

"About him," the boy started, overhearing my whisper. "Well, my dog died about two weeks and before he died, he would always go out in the morning and come back in the evening. I would always have dreams of playing with you at the river bank and stuff."

"Are you crazy?" another boy from behind him exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Jungmin, you're too loud," a shorter black-haired boy remarked.

My eyes widened and then I felt tears come up. I pulled out the collar from my pocket and held it out to him. "You must be HJ's owner, Hyunjoong."

I watched as he took the collar from my hands. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. He took it and put it in his pocket. The last of Hyunjoong, I couldn't keep. It was rightfully his since Hyunjoong was his dog.

"Then that means you're Youngsaeng, right?" Hyunjoong assured. "Nice to meet you."

Nodding, I bowed.

"Do you know him?" Hyungjun murmured from behind me.

I looked away from Hyunjoong. "He's... a friend of mine's owner. A dog, HJ, died during summer break and he became friends with me before he passed away."

"Nice to meet you, too," Hyungjun greeted politely.

"These are my friends," Hyunjoong introduced, motioning the other two to come forward. "Park Jungmin and Kim Kyujong."

"Neh..." I muttered. "Annyeonghaseyo. This is my friend Kim Hyungjun."

Jungmin grinned. "You seem to have forgotten to introduce someone."

I was puzzled and looked around. "Nugu?" (Who?)

Kyujong smiled. "Yourself, of course. What's your name?"

I involuntarily pointed to myself. "Nado...? (Me too?) Uh... My name is Heo Youngsaeng."

"Youngsaeng?" Kyujong echoed, as if remembering something. "Aren't you the one that quit track last year?"

I looked away as I nodded. "I can't run anymore..."

"What? Why? You were one of the fastest and you could run long distance, too!" he persisted.

"I hurt my leg," I murmured. "But I have a different goal now. I'm not going to give up."

Hyunjoong grinned widely and patted my head. "I've searched for you for a long time. I'm glad I finally found you."

I smiled at him. It was the same as what his dog, Hyunjoong, had said that second time I had met him.

That's right. You found me. You finally found me.