Brown, expressive eyes stared up at him in every direction. Kim Jongin just wanted to swoop each dog into a big giant hug, but that was impossible considering a number of dogs in the shelter. Looking at each cell, guilt crept into him. As much as he’d love to give them all a home, only one of the dogs caught his interests. His legs automatically brought him towards the back of the shelter, where a shortbread-colored puppy was. The worker that trailed behind retrieved the puppy and led them to the playroom.

“You’ll have around half an hour to spend time with the dog,” he informed Jongin, but the words fell on deaf ears. The worker shook his head slightly but left the playroom. Jongin had his full attention on the poodle puppy. The moment their eyes locked, he knew that he had to take her home one day. As an act of claiming the puppy, he came at least once a week to play with her. It broke his heart knowing someone left such an adorable creature behind, but soon he’ll be able to give the puppy a forever home with him.

His dark brown eyes curved upwards as a smile graced his eyes. The energetic puppy was releasing its energy by jumping around the room and on him. Judging from her size, she couldn’t be more than a year old. Seeing the puppy evoked a rush of innocent joy within him, one that reminded him of his childhood days. At his parent's house, his parents looked after two family pet poodles. But when he moved out of his house in Suncheon to Seoul, Jongin didn’t have a choice but to leave them behind. But now that he is finally settled into Seoul, getting a puppy is next on his to-do list.

30 minutes flew by without him knowing as the worker stepped back into the playroom. The puppy displayed a sad expression as it was being carried away from Jongin and he mirrored its reflection. It’s a shame that he still had to settle a few things before he could allow himself to adopt a dog.

Jongin walked out of the shelter and to his car. The sun still blazed in the middle of the sky and he surmised it was either one or two in the afternoon. His hand pulled out an iPhone from his back pocket. Unlocking his phone, alerts lit up instantly. Enjoying a peaceful day off was difficult when his rambunctious friends kept it too eventful at times.

Living alone is lonely. Son Yookyung learned it the tough way. Years of fostering the childhood belief that living alone gave a sense of joyous freedom didn’t warn her of the solitude it’d come with. Although her hometown laid nearby in Incheon, visiting still served as a luxury. Being a fashion photographer kept her tied down in Seoul, but at least her job made things enjoyable.

Switching the engine off with a swift turn of her key, Yookyung stepped out of her compact car. Glancing at the building in front of her, she found herself at the pet shelter again. Her parents never raised any family pets due to allergies so she never felt the joy or having the companionship of a pet. Ever since a few weeks ago, Yookyung found herself visiting pet shelters on impulse. Her mind never brought up any thoughts of having a pet before until recently.

The photographer stepped into the building and requested the front desk for time alone with a dog. “I’d like to visit and have some time with a dog,”

“Would you like to visit the kennels or do you already have a dog in mind?”

“I’d like to see this dog, if possible,” Yookyung brought out her phone and opened to the picture where she took a picture of the cream-colored poodle puppy’s information.

The lady tapped and clicked away on the computer, bringing up information on the dog. One of the reasons why she favored this shelter more than others was because of its strict regulations. Indeed it proved to be a pain sometimes but they stood firmly for safety reasons.

“I’m sorry, it seems that the dog was visited recently, you’ll have to come back another time.” With those words, Yookyung was reminded why she didn’t like this place sometimes.

She nodded, “Alright. Thank you.” Yookyung walked out to the parking lot and back into her car. Sometimes she felt the push to pop by to see the puppy, the shelter declined her for the reason that someone else already took the dog out. For some strange reason, the shelter had a policy that pets were only allowed a certain amount of visits in a certain amount of time. But the thing isn’t what irked Yookyung the most, rather it was the fact that another person held the same interests for the same dog. Granted adopting a dog were unlikely, but she liked thinking about the possibility of owning a pet.

The following week Yookyung returned to the shelter. Today there were no photo shoots keeping her busy so she drove to the shelter once more. The previous days kept her from visiting due to the back-to-back schedules that had running throughout the streets of Seoul. She hoped to score a brief play date with the poodle she’s eyeing. Luckily arriving early seemed to do the trick, as the workers finally allowed her some time with the dog.

Once in the same room with the puppy, a wave of glee rippled through Yookyung. The petite pale beige poodle always elicited this emotion in her. Teasing the puppy with a chew toy, she let out a little chuckle. The photographer could vision living with this puppy but she also felt slightly unready to care for another being. Although some would digress, taking a pet, especially a puppy, entails many unexpected responsibilities and Yookyung wasn’t certain if she could handle it yet. In the prime of her twenties, work started to boom for her and often kept her away from home. The last thing she would want is for the poor puppy to end up in a shelter for the second time.

A ding! from her phone snapped her attention away from the mini creature in front to her phone. Stretching to reach her purse, slim fingers plucked out her LG G5. Besides a few emails and text messages from friends and family, a message from a client popped up. As of the moment, it seems that she’s nee