“Arf, arf!”

The sound of footsteps down the sidewalk slowed down as the sound of a little puppy barking was heard in the deserted empty street.

“Arf, arf, arf!”

The owner of the footsteps halted, spotting the small dog loitering around the bushes. He had just finished a tiring day of work at the radio station, but his expression glistened up immediately when he saw the adorable dog barking at him. He had a soft spot for dogs—especially small ones because this one seemed to be a Maltese. Its fur was a little unkempt and dirty, but the man paid no mind as the little creature walked eagerly towards him, or what was rather in the man’s hand.

“Arf, arf!” The puppy treaded towards the bag of groceries, nudging its head and paws on his built legs.

“So you’re hungry, aren’t you?” The man knelt down to pet the dog on the head. “Do you want to eat?”

As if the dog understood him, it went “Arf!”

“Alright, alright.” He reached into the plastic bag. “Hm, let’s see, do I have anything edible for you?” He shuffled the items in the bag until he saw a pack of snack sausages meant for his roommate. Forgetting about the roommate part, the man took one out of its pack and ripped it open. Wagging its tail, the puppy jumped in the air once it was fully open, and the man chuckled, holding the limp sausage in front of the hungry animal. “Here you go.”

The dog wolfed the sausage down within five seconds, then looked up at the man with anticipating eyes.

“You want more?” Smiling like a child, the man handed out three more sausages for the puppy, and again, it ate everything within the span of thirty seconds. The man was a nurturer by heart and it made him gleam with joy to see a cute dog eating what he had given it. He continued petting the puppy for a while, until he noticed the dog didn’t have a collar.

“Do you not have an owner?” The man asked in a sympathetic yet cute way. “Did you escape?” He then proceeded to check the rest of the dog’s body carefully by lifting its front legs up. The dog whimpered as its stomach was exposed. Red scratches were strewn across the puppy’s abdomen as well as some bruises. “I see. You were hurt.”  The man took the dog by the head and stared into its eyes.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to take you in, little buddy. The name’s Choi Seungcheol. I’m going to call you Bong-bong-ie [봉봉이].”

The dog him on the nose in approval.

Seungcheol had to be careful about bringing the dog home. One, he didn’t live alone, and two, his roommate, Jisoo, had allergies. Obviously, he couldn’t resist the puppy enough that he just had to bring it home. He opened the door to his apartment as quietly as he could (he really couldn’t though, because the lock was an automatic lock that went “bee-do-bo-dee!” whenever it opened or closed) and poked his head inside to see if Jisoo was in the kitchen/living room area (or the “main” room). Luckily, the lights were still off, which meant he wasn’t home yet. Or maybe he was. Just in case Jisoo was in the apartment, Seungcheol tiptoed down to his room with the dog hiding in the grocery bag in his arms. 

But he and his plan was interrupted when a light switched on.

“Hey, Cheol.” A yawn escaped from the familiar voice. “Why didn’t you turn on the lights when you came in?”

Although it wasn’t Jisoo, Seungcheol was frozen in his position. “Ah, hey, Jeonghan.” Seungcheol nodded at his other roommate. He had forgot about Jeonghan, while thinking of how to avoid Jisoo for the past hour. Great, now how was he going to handle this?

He quickly tried to regain his posture. “Because I thought you and Jisoo might be already home and resting..?” The bag shuffled in his arms, causing Seungcheol to tense up more.

Please don’t move too much, Bong-bong-ie, Seungcheol’s mind begged as he gulped to face his Jeonghan. Don’t bark either.

“Oh, you bought groceries?” Jeonghan noticed the bag resting in Seungcheol’s arms. He inched towards the latter. “Why are you carrying like that? Let me see—”

“No!” Seungcheol yelped, hugging the flimsy plastic bag close to his chest. He felt the puppy squirming in his arms. “Not yet!” He proceeded to dash to his room, which failed as Jeonghan quickly intercepted by pulling his upper arm.

“What are you doing? Isn’t just food?” Jeonghan tried to tighten his grip on Seungcheol. “Did you buy or something? Is it something illegal? What are you hiding?”

“Nothing!” The older tried to pull away.

“Liar!”

Unfortunately, Seungcheol’s greatest nightmare came true.

“Rarf!” A bark, or rather, a growl sounded from the bag.

Great, Seungcheol thought. I’m exposed.

On the other hand, Jeonghan stared at Seungcheol incredulously. “You’re acting like this because of a dog..?” He ran his finger through his cropped blonde hair, laughter rising in him. “Pft, Choi Seungcheol, I never knew that you’re the type to hide a dog from me! I thought you had something inappropriate...and you know what?” He paused between breaths. “You’re one of the worst liars on this planet.”