Jinri woke the next morning with a start, surprised to find a warm, fuzzy figure curled up next to her. She could tell by its size and pointed ears that it was a dog, quite possibly a stray. It was a mottled black and dark brown color, and larger than the average mutt. She was curious as to why it chose to sleep next to her; she didn’t dislike dogs, but it was the first time she had seen one so close in a long time. The twins didn’t have any pets, and she was never around when people walked their dogs outside. As if sensing she was awake, the dog’s ears twitched and soon enough, it opened its eyes to stare right at her.

“H-hello,” Jinri hazarded, feeling only slightly odd at greeting the animal. It extended a paw to her, and surprised, she shook it. “What a smart dog. You must be someone’s then.”

She put her blanket and sweatshirt away and stood. The dog, following her movements with it’s eyes, stood when she did, and trotted to her side, where it proceeded to run it’s head under her hand.

“Should I help you find your owner?” She asked, and it blinked at her. She noticed a white collar around its neck with a little pendant hanging from it. Crouching down, she examined the pendant.

“Oh, it’s in Chinese. I can’t read it very well,” she told the dog, despite the fact that she knew it couldn’t understand. “But it says male and that you live not too far from here. Why’d you run away?” He cocked his head to the side, as if not understanding the question and she giggled.

“I suppose we’re in the same boat in that respect,” she mused. “Neither of us has a home right now. But you have a place to return to, so let’s see to it that you get back safely.” She shouldered her backpack and pulled her suitcase along behind her.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky today and find a place to stay,” she mumbled. The dog gave a short bark, which she took to be a bit of encouragement. “You said it; Hwaiting!” She gave a little fist pump and they made their way out of the park.

As they approached the park exit, Jinri noted the time: 7:22 AM. Luckily, her only academic engagement of the day was meeting with Luhan to start on their project, so she was grateful that she could spend the morning walking around with the dog. At some point, she would have to head to a public bath to wash up and change clothes, but for the time being she was okay. Not many people were out yet in the area where she was, so in the event that she did spot someone she knew, she would just have to duck for cover.

After about 15 minutes of walking towards the area listed on the dogs collar, he suddenly gave a loud bark and raced ahead of her. She could make out the animal jumping on a sandy haired individual, who looked relieved to see that it was their beloved pet. As the newly reunited pair headed in her direction, she realized that it was another of those goddamned Princes.

“What the hell is it with these guys?” She cursed as she ducked into the building closest to her. It was an apartment building that thankfully had no desk receptionist, and in her fight or flight reaction, she ducked behind a thick potted plant. There was a small window she could see out of, and once the dog and his owner passed, she let out a heavy sigh.

“I feel like a criminal,” she mumbled as she righted herself. While she recognized the guy who now had his dog back, she couldn’t remember his name, and that was embarrassing enough. She didn’t want to be caught in yesterday’s clothes with all of her possession, too.

Looking around the lobby of the building, she was grateful to find a restroom. While it probably wasn’t equipped with a shower, she could at least wash her face and change clothes. Though it probably wasn’t the most creative of her ideas, she changed into a pair of yoga pants and wore the sweatshirt she’d used as her pillow the previous night. She would head towards campus a bit earlier than she originally planned and used