Dog Days of Summer

It’s just the start of summer and Seulgi can’t be more excited about the arrival of the warm weather. Not that she hates the cold or anything – don’t get her wrong, she really loves autumn because wearing brown vintage jackets isn’t a faux pas then – but summer injects so much more life into the world around her. And the beginning of the return of warmth is always lovely.

And so, Seulgi finds herself sprawled across a garden swing as she waits for Seungwan to arrive at this café that they’ve been meaning to visit for the longest time. Seulgi’s fingers are curled around Oreo’s leash. The Border Collie lies at her feet, its amber eyes eagerly scanning their surroundings, its tail swishing in a leisurely rhythm. Seulgi’s other hand is draped over her keyboard and she’s really meant to be drafting that proposal for the event that falls on the first week of school, but right now, with the sun shining down on her eyes, it’s a terribly uphill battle to keep her eyes open.

Swish. Swish. Oreo’s tail flicks lightly against her ankles. Oreo’s tail is very soft.

Seulgi counts the orange specks of phosphene against the darkness of her closed eyelids. She thinks that it’s great that her mom decided that Oreo’s better off with Seulgi instead of being trapped in her own home halfway across the city.

Or, what should I get when Seungwan gets here?

A coffee?

Nah.

Some chicken?

Hmm. They don’t sell fried chicken here. That’s a terrible business decision, in Seulgi’s humble opinion.

Maybe she’ll order a club sandwich? They have those at cafés and what not right? And they usually come with chips!

But club sandwiches have vegetables in them.

Yuck.

Seungwan’s going to scold her if she spends the first few moments following the receipt of her sandwich picking out the lettuce and tomato slices. God, why would anyone want to ruin a perfectly good sandwich with veggies? Okay, at least it’s not celery, but really?

And oomph. Celery. Double yuck.

The last time she ate celery was when someone slipped it into an omurice, and Seulgi’s not one to have trust issues but she makes sure to check every single dish of fried rice after that. Who knows what kind of vegetable adults can manage to sneak into otherwise awesome food…

It doesn’t register that her brain’s shut off most of the external world until a series of shrieks and Oreo’s incessant barking snap her out of her internal reverie.

“Oh my god, Oreo!” Seulgi exclaims, scrambling out of her seat. “Oreo, what are you doing!”

She trips over the straps of her messenger bag, nearly face-planting on the floor before catching herself at the last second. Oreo ignores her and continues to prance around a lady who’s obviously terrified of this black and white creature that’s actively trying to prevent her from fleeing the scene.

“Oreo! Down boy, down I say!” Seulgi finally manages to run up to them, waving her arms at her dog. “What’s gotten into you? Oreo!”

She swipes at her dog, intending on pushing it against the ground, but it nimbly dodges her pathetic attempt at capturing it and instead, bounds away. Seulgi’s left staring at the floor, stunned at Oreo’s behaviour, before she remembers that Oreo was well, harassing someone just seconds ago, and it really wouldn’t do to not apologise to this lady. She’s going to have to scold Oreo later for what he was doing, but he’s never behaved like this before!

And—

Oh.

It’s too lovely a day for Seulgi to mess up so much in less than five minutes, but here she is, forgetting how to use . Or, really, she remembers how to use , for she’s opening and shutting repeatedly, but her brain’s refusing to work in cohesion with it and the only sound that comes out is a slight squeak. Which is honestly worse than saying nothing at all.

“Was that your dog?” The pretty lady finally asks, her face still flushed pink.

Seulgi, get a grip! You’ve seen pretty people before!

Oreo, do come back and chase this cat that’s caught my tongue away, please?

Seulgi’s eyes lower and her shoes become a very interesting object of study. Much better. Scratching the back of her head, she replies, “Yeah. I’m so, so sorry about that. Oreo’s not usually this badly behaved! I swear!” At this, she looks up again to stare beseechingly into the lady’s eyes, and again, she almost loses her ability to speak again. The lady in front of her really is the prettiest person she’s ever met, and Seulgi’s part of her university’s dance team so she’s met her fair share of people with fantastic luck with the genetic lottery. “I… Well… Oreo… Where’s he, anyway?”

As if on cue, Oreo comes bounding back to them, its tail wagging too enthusiastically for the lady’s comfort. Seulgi notices the panic that spreads over the pretty lady’s face and she quickly moves to place herself between them.

“Oreo! There you are! You know better to not terrorise strangers like that! They could be scared of you, you big mutt.”

Oreo simply paws Seulgi’s hand in response, even if it is annoyed at Seulgi’s chiding. “What’s this? You’ve got something for me?”

Oreo’s mouth opens to gently release something into Seulgi’s open palm.

“An earring? Where did you get this—”

Seulgi barely finishes her sentence when the lady gasps, her hand groping at her left ear, an ear that’s now missing an earring.

“That’s mine!” She cries. “It must’ve fallen off earlier somehow and…”

Oreo zips off again, and this time, the two of them follow it. It manages to pick the tiny end up before it bounds back towards the duo. Seulgi takes the end from her dog, wipes it, before she returns it to its owner.

The lady looks up at them, smiling, and Seulgi’s breath catches in . “Thank you—”

“Seulgi. I’m Seulgi.”

“Thank you Seulgi. I’d like to thank you properly, but I’ve got to rush off…” Her words trail off uncertainly.

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m uh, glad we could help?”

The smile broadens a little, and Seulgi swears that she needs to be warned whenever the lady smiles. She’d rather not risk death by asphyxiation, please!

“Well, I’ll be off then, thanks again, Seulgi.”

With that, Seulgi’s left staring at the lady’s hurriedly retreating figure. She stares for a few seconds too long after her, but who can blame Seulgi, really? The lady’s black blazer wraps around her figure with just the right amount of snugness, and her heels accentuate her slim legs nicely. And wow, her hair! Seulgi self-consciously touches her own hair, dyed brown just recently. Will her own hair ever look as good?

It’s only until Oreo nudges her impatiently with its nose does she realise that okay, she’s been staring after the lady.

“Oreo! Did you see her drop the earring?” Seulgi turns to her dog and pats its head. “I’m sure the pretty lady’s very happy that she got her stuff back. Good boy.” Then she remembers Oreo’s less than well-mannered behaviour earlier, and however well-intentioned Oreo’s actions were, she can’t just let it slide like that. “But don’t go harassing strangers like that again, okay?”

Oreo lets out an unimpressed huff, as if to say, hey, let me see you do it better!

“Oh, you get the point, Oreo.”

*****

Weeks flit by and the sun has slowly climbed its way to scorching levels of heat. The temperature at midday’s begun to grow oppressive as waves of heat envelope her relentlessly. Sweat begins to coat her skin even if she’s indoors with the fan to the highest speed. Did I ever declare that I liked summer? I take that back.

Seulgi’s spent weeks brushing Oreo’s fur, what with the double coated dog shedding like there’s no tomorrow throughout the season. As much as she loves her dog, waking up with white and black fur balls floating around her apartment makes her groan. At least Sooyoung loves dogs too so she doesn’t kill Seulgi for the mess that Oreo inadvertently leaves around their shared apartment.

God, it’s horribly hot. It doesn’t help matters that the holidays are surely drawing its way to its end, and the imminent deadlines for the different things on her holiday agenda are beginning to pile up. She’s not sure if her head’s throbbing because of the heat or because of all those different voices ringing in her head.

Seulgi-ssi, the admin’s being annoying about booking the hall again. Yeah, I tried reminding them that they’ve given us a verbal okay before last sem ended, but you know how they are.

Kkangseul! I’ve injured my leg. Yeah, it’ll be okay. It’s just a sprain. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to recover though.

Seulgi-ah, are you eating well? Make sure to eat your vegetables! Love you.

Hey, Bear! Are you going to go for the meet-up? What do you mean “you’re busy?”

Miss Kang, please revert to us with more details about your event.  

Seulgi-unnie, can you do your laundry? It’s going to look like you raised Mt Everest inside the apartment soon.

Seulgom, do you need help with anything? I’ve cleared most of what’s on my plate. Amber mentioned that admin’s giving you ?

Seulgi, Seulgi, Seulgi!  

She rubs her temples. She really hates the word “revert” when adults use it in emails. It spells out the image of an office goon punching soullessly away at the keyboard as they stare blankly at the computer screen. It also doesn’t help that it rubs her nerves the wrong way since they’re using the word “revert” wrongly each time it appears in an email anyway.

And here she is, looking just like one of the goons she despises. She’s in the midst of typing an email when by her feet, Oreo whines.

Oh. Aww. She’s neglected the poor pup for too long, hasn’t she?

Screw the heat. She needs a walk.

“Come on boy! You wanna go for walk? Yeah? You wanna? Let’s go!”

***

Another day, another day for Seulgi to note that she makes terrible decisions. It’s nearly five in the afternoon but the sun’s still blazing its trail across the sky, and Seulgi’s forgotten to put any sunscreen on. Sooyoung’s going to laugh at her for forgetting to slap on any SPF 50 cream when she gets home with a sunburn or two.

At least Oreo’s having fun! The dog has long streaked its way ahead of her, a monochrome blur against the brown backdrop. And hey, she remembered to tie her hair in a high ponytail so her hair’s not sticking to her neck, that counts for something! Then there’s that bottle of water in her bag. Looks like you’re all set, Kang Seulgi.

All things considered, things could be worse.

Then the barking starts.

Oreo’s barks come in short sporadic bursts in one of its highest pitches, and Seulgi groans as she wonders what her dog’s gotten this excited about; he’s somewhere too far up the hill for her to see what’s gotten him so riled up. Guess it’s time to jog up the hill. The last time Oreo was this happy off-leash was when he found a poor cat to chase up a tree. A particularly problematic instance was when Oreo found a dead bird and decided that Seulgi was a fan of shrivelled up avian corpses.

Then she sees her.

Déjà vu: the incident from weeks ago comes rushing back to her.

With all the work and dance practices that she’s been swamped with, Seulgi’s honestly forgotten about the incident. Put the pretty lady to the back of her mind. It’s just her luck that they’ve stumbled across the lady again, out here in the hills. She’s not exactly sure if it’s good luck or bad luck that the lady’s here.

Seulgi’s flushed by the time she reaches them. She’s positive that 99% of the blush tinging her cheeks can be blamed on the swelteringly hot weather. And concedes that 1% of it can be attributed to the fact that the very pretty lady in front of her is wearing a black tank top and a pair of yoga pants. Both of which well, aren’t really what you’d call loose-fitting get-ups.

“Oreo?” The lady says, hesitantly, “Seulgi?”

Oh. She remembers my name!

Self-consciously, Seulgi brushes a sweaty strand of hair away from her face. Oh my god, calm down Kkangseul.

“Oreo, heel!”

Oreo gives a final pitched bark before trotting over to Seulgi with a pleased expression on its face. Smarmy little thing. Seulgi squeezes her eyes shut for a second as she musters enough courage to speak to the lady, willing herself not to stutter.

“Hello! Sorry about that again… Oh, I didn’t catch your name the last time.” One point to Kang Seulgi!

“Hi, Seulgi!” The lady says more confidently this time when Seulgi doesn’t correct her. “I’m Joohyun.” She offers a smile that is half-smirk, half-sheepishness, and Seulgi doesn’t know how Joohyun (a pretty name!) manages it. How does one look cocky and apologetic simultaneously? Joohyun’s face should be the eighth wonder of the world, really. “I’m sorry for rushing off the last time. How’ve you been?”

“Me? I’ve been pretty busy this holiday so…”

“Oh, you’re still in college?”

Seulgi shrugs. “Yeah. And you’re a proper working adult?”

Joohyun laughs lightly. “Yes, I’m a ‘proper’ working adult.”

Seulgi can feel the quotation marks that are made around the word “proper” and just smiles. Unlike Joohyun, she doesn’t manage to accomplish the half-smirk, half-sheepish look, and her smile just straight up bears the latter expression.

“Do I look that old for you to not even bother asking if I’m still from college?”  

“God, no.” At this, Joohyun giggles. So hey, blurting out answers isn’t too bad! “Well, no, I mean, the last time I saw you, you were all dressed up in business wear and all… with heels… and were thus…” she bites her tongue to stop herself from adding ‘thus you were taller than me then’ because she doubts that Joohyun would appreciate that comment. Scratch that, her tongue running amok probably won’t be very helpful.

Wait, helpful – in what sense? What does Seulgi want accomplished here?

“Well, um. I mean to say that you don’t look the slightest bit old, not at all, no!”

“So, what’re you majoring in to be this busy all summer?”

“Um, I’m an archi major, but that’s not what’s been occupying me recently.”

“Oh?”

Seulgi kicks at the dust at her feet. “I’ve been planning the arts festival that’s at the start of the sem. I’m mostly doing the stuff for the dance comm, since well, I dance and all.”

“You dance?” Joohyun’s brows shoot up. Seulgi colours further because well, Joohyun looks impressed. “You do kind of look the type.” And is that… a compliment? Oh, Seulgi, don’t think too much into a statement!

“Yeah. Mostly urban and hip-hop, I guess?”

“Ooh. Are you performing?”

“Yup.”

“When’s it?”

“Hmm? On the first Friday after the sem resumes.”

“Ahh.” There’s a pause. Joohyun seems to be waiting for Seulgi to say something, but Seulgi can’t, for the life of her, figure out what it is. She turns to Oreo and lowers a hand that’s just barely trembling to scratch Oreo’s ears. “Hey boy? Thanks for finding my earrings – got them from my dad for my graduation. You’re a good boy. Take care of your master, you hear?” She then turns back to look at Seulgi. “Well. I better get going then.”

“Right, see you!” Seulgi chirps back. There’s a something in Joohyun’s eyes that Seulgi can’t name. But that look makes the air in Seulgi’s chest contract, a tight squeeze that makes her feel like something’s being both unfettered and constricted inside of her.

Just as Joohyun begins to walk away, Oreo bumps its nose against Seulgi’s knees. Seulgi finds herself staring into a pair of uncannily intelligent amber eyes. What’re you trying to tell me?

Oreo bumps its nose against Seulgi’s knees once more before it grows impatient, tugging on Seulgi’s joggers before dashing after Joohyun.

Oh.

Well. Oreo-ah, you know my heart, right? And a dog’s instinct is never wrong, right…?

“Wait! Joohyun-ssi!” Seulgi calls out as she sprints after them. “Wait up!”

Joohyun stops in her tracks.

“Yes?” There’s a polite smile on her otherwise impassive face.

Seulgi gulps. It’s now or never. “Could I uh, get your number, please? Um, um, like, can you come to watch me dance? Like, I know that you’re probably really, really, busy and all, but it’s in the evening… Oh my god it’s a Friday evening so you might have plans with your friends to do whatever grown-up things adults do…”

“Give me your phone.”

Seulgi shuts up. Oh dear lord, she stuttered so much. Oh dear lord.

Wait.

Hand her your phone, doofus!

Seulgi’s hands don’t shake as she hands Joohyun her phone. They really don’t. Joohyun looks at Seulgi for a moment, assessing, before she punches in the digits onto the touchpad. When she looks up again, she wears a stoic mask once more.

“You’ll impress me, right?”

Seulgi swallows again.

“Right.”

Oh, she’s in such a daze.    

“You will impress me.” Joohyun’s lips then curve into a smile, a mixture between an actual smile and her usual smirk, as Seulgi will eventually come to recognise as her trademark grin. Seulgi doesn’t know what else to say as she takes her phone back for the air inside her thoracic cavity’s just full to bursting, and it feels like her ribs will crack from this internal pressure, and oh, how is she not floating just yet?

With that, Joohyun leaves Seulgi standing in a daze. Well, she’s barely standing. If her palm’s not pressed against a tree, she’d probably have fallen over by now. Oh my god. Joohyun just gave her her number!

***

A cushion hits the back of Seulgi’s head and Seulgi jumps, nearly dropping her phone in the process. Joohyun’s just messaged her back with a confirmation that she’s going to come for Seulgi’s performance. And hey, she doesn’t eat chicken, so wherever they go eat afterwards better not be a chicken-only place.  

“Well, someone looks happy. What’s up, unnie? Did you finally get laid?”

Seulgi scrunches up her nose. “That’s kind of crude, don’t you think?”

Sooyoung snorts. “We both know you aren’t that much of a prude. So, what’s it? Did you finally get laid?”

“You’re terrible!”

“You love me and you know it, unnie.” Sooyoung laughs as Seulgi pouts. “Oh, come on unnie. Is it a date?”

Seulgi immediately perks up. “Yeah, probably. With a very pretty unnie. Or at least, I hope it’s a date.”

Sooyoung laughs again. “You’re actually the heart eye emoji.”

“Mmm… Hey, I’m not an emoji!”

“Oh, who are you kidding. You totally are. Right, Oreo?”

Oreo barks. “Woof!”

“Attaboy!” Sooyoung grins triumphantly. “Oreo agrees!”

“I guess if Oreo says so, Oreo’s right!” She motions for Oreo to join her on the couch. “Right boy? You’re the best buddy ever!”

“Seungwan’s gonna be offended by that.”

Seulgi just shrugs and hugs Oreo. “Oreo’s the one who helped me find a date, not Seungwan.” 

Sooyoung laughs. “He’s smarter than you, so of course he did.” Before Seulgi can protest any further, Sooyoung grabs her handbag from the table. “Anyway, I’m going out with Yerim-ie tonight. Will probably sleep over at her place. See you!”

Sooyoung leaves with a slam of the front door. Seulgi doesn’t bother to wave goodbye as she picks up her phone to draft a new message to Joohyun. Should she ask for her favourite colour? Her hobbies? Oh god, what should she say? Will she come off as childish if she does ask for her favourite colour?

Oreo whines, and Seulgi looks at her dog again. Oreo snuggles closer to Seulgi before it paws at her phone. Just write anything already, you absurd human! Your pretty human is going to wag her non-existent tail as long as you say anything!

Seulgi chuckles. “Right, okay.”

(20:51) Hey, are you free sometime this weekend actually?

*****

Outtake:

you: Why didn’t you name your dog Pringles, Seulgi? Don’t you really like Pringles?

(Seulgi’s face scrunches up in disgust.)

seulgi: I eat Pringles. I can’t name my best friend that!

seungwan: Hey, I thought I was your best friend!

(Seulgi grins sheepishly and shrugs.)

oreo: Woof, woof! Woof!

(Oreo’s tail thumps against the ground rigorously.)

(Seungwan sighs.)

(Seungwan turns to look at you.)

Seungwan: I can’t stay mad because how can I when Oreo looks so happy? Damn it. Kang Seulgi isn’t playing fair.

**********

A/N:

Okay so I had this as a 200+ words idea in my drafts for a while now but Seulgi’s Instagram video of her + meongoonie kind of spurred me to finish this short piece. For those who haven’t seen it, https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPoprFnou1/ here’s a link to the Instagram post! I’ve rewatched the video a million times on Twitter ok it’s getting embarrassing but uwu I’m so soft for Seulgi :”) Happy Lunar New Year!!  

(also yes I do know that the dog days of summer refer to the hottest days in summer but for the sake of having ‘dog’ in the title – because it’s the year of the dog + MEONGOONIEEEE – just uh accept it tqvm <3 In case you can’t tell I love Seulgi, I love dogs, and I definitely love Seulgi + Dogs.)

It's... also 7am so I'll... proofread eventually... Thank you for reading this mess!