The dog sneaks to the right, initially unnoticed by the members. The first to notice makes a soft, indistinct whistle.

“Come on, here boy,” he coaxes with a crafty grin.

The sesame dog decides to sit by his side, tail wagging rhythmically.

“Look at who loves me,” he declares triumphantly.

“Jae’s desperate for some attention,” says the boy on the sofa jokily. “Wonpil, you know what to do.”

Wonpil, seated on Jae’s right, smirks widely before changing it into a supposedly cute smile.

“Big brother Jae, play with me too,” pleads Wonpil with feigned sadness, linking his arm around Jae’s. “I’m lonely if you go.”

Jae shivers distinctly.

“Now, you all already know that I find this sort of thing disgusting,” groans Jae, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. “It’s not cute, Wonpil.”

Sungjin breaks into the conversation.

“Okay, while Jae and Wonpil are having a random hug-fest, I’ll explain the dog,” says the leader with a lopsided smile. “After the secret meeting with big boss and the others, I’m supposed to come home right away to you guys. I tried but on the way back, I saw the dog breeder tossing this dog out. Finding it horrible and unkind, I carried the dog and marched up to the man. Apparently this one’s a rascal, making a mess no matter where he goes. Sold and returned. He lost his temper and threw him.”

“So you’ve brought a rascal back to our place instead,” assumes the boy on the sofa. “How fantastic, leader. What is he anyway?”

“He’s a Shiba Inu, Brian,” interjects the boy seated on the left, with a mild glare. “By the looks of it, his right ear is hurt. He’s a little too thin in my opinion.”

“Shh, Dowoon, and thank you for the information,” says Sungjin soothingly, finally taking a seat. “Anyway, so I suppose we could say that I argued with the dog breeder badly and then. Um. Here we are with the dog.”

The members stare at him, save for Dowoon who is trying to coax the dog to leave Jae and walk over to his side. The Shiba Inu does walk over to the boy, causing Jae to look forlorn and Dowoon an undeniable delight.

“He’s cute and all, but,” voices out Dowoon thoughtfully as he the dog gently. “Are we allowed to keep him?”

Sungjin laughs nervously.

“Looks like I’ll need to make a phone call,” he says, his hand searching for the mobile phone in pockets.

“Tell me when something real happens, I’m going to sleep if there’s no movie or food,” declares Brian before rolling to the side on the sofa.

The last thing Sungjin hears before the line picks up is Brian’s yelling at the tickle attack Wonpil launched on him.

[click here to continue]