The voices draw to a brief halt when the dog begins walking. Having steered to the left, the boy smiles in evident delight. He whispers words of encouragement.

However, the dog stops a few steps away from him. The smile remains on his face.

“Well, that’s alright,” he murmurs. “It’s a new environment and we’re being noisy. Must be strange for you, huh?”

His left hand reaches out to pat the head.

“You’re a handsome sesame Shiba Inu, though a little on the thin side,” he adds with a worried scowl. “Oh, and is that a cut on your right ear?”

“Dowoon, Dowoon, our bright child,” says Sungjin with a shrug.

“I am not–“ interjects the youngest before the leader of the group indicated a ‘keep quiet’ sign.

“Anyway, thank you for the peacekeeping,” says Sungjin with a raised brow. “Here’s the case. I did mention that I’ll be home late after the extra meeting at the company. The boss wanted to meet the leaders for a– alright, no need to spill secrets now. On the way home, I found him lying on the sidewalk. This one is part of a litter. Most of them have been sold but this one’s a troublemaker, so no one keeps him for long. Returned twice, a little rascal at that. He made a mess one time too many so the dog breeder got angry and tossed him out.”

Dowoon’s frown deepens as his fingers gently rubs the injured ear.

“Aw Dowoon, don’t feel too bad,” says the cheerful boy seated next to him. “Let me give him a kiss and I’m sure he’ll be alright.”

“Wonpil, no,” muses another, catching the offender’s arms that attempted to hug the dog.

“Settle down Jae and Wonpil, I’m not done yet,” says Sungjin as he sits down across the team. “Basically I tried to help, had a slight argument with the dog breeder and I’m, erm, walking away with this dog before I lost my temper. So here we are.”

Sungjin sees three pair of eyes judging him silently for his impromptu action. The dog is rather charming but still, it is uncalled for.

Finally, the last pair of eyes roll and glance at the leader with a lazy smug face.

“All of that is lovely and brave, my dear leader, but,” says the boy on the sofa with deliberate slowness. “Perhaps it would be wise to inform the big boss of our new addition.”

Sungjin’s face turns pale at the thought of it, standing up abruptly.

“You’re a genius, Brian Kang,” he admits, walking away to a quieter part of the room to make the call.

“I know,” murmurs Brian dramatically to himself before averting his gaze to the ceiling. “Now, are we ever going to watch the movie? If we’re not, I hope we’re still having the instant noodles.”

[click here to continue]