A TENNIS ball was thrown over Minjoo’s head. The girl’s eyes automatically followed the said green ball that bounced and landed by the door. Her sensitive ears picked up the sound the ball made but she didn’t go and pick the ball instantly. She went to look back at Yujin who tossed it.

A warm smile was pasted on the other girl’s face who is currently seated by her study table. That smile was enough to make Minjoo stand up from her seat.

“Minjoo, go and fetch the ball.”

The girl then got her heart racing fast after hearing the precious voice of the said girl. She immediately ran to get the green ball and then looked back at Yujin. The girl is still smiling.

“Give me the ball, Minjoo.” Yujin stretched her arms towards Minjoo as if inviting her for an embrace. Minjoo smiled. She could feel her tail wagging in excitement to get near Yujin. She found the idea of having a tail absurd but she just ignored it and ran as fast as she could towards the seated lady.

Minjoo placed the ball by Yujin’s feet and looked up at the girl with a huge smile on her face. Minjoo felt something warm sprung from her heart when she felt Yujin’s hand on her head, rubbing her hair while continuously praising her.

“Good girl, Minjoo. You’re a good girl.”

Minjoo then leaned to Yujin’s lap and got her head closer to the girl. “Say it more, Yujin… Praise me more! Tell me that how good of a girl I am~”

Yujin, as if understanding what Minjoo is trying to say, wrapped the girl in her arms while she gave her generous rubs to her head, sometimes going under her chin and sometimes cupping her cheeks.

Minjoo couldn’t help it anymore and started showering Yujin with kisses on the cheeks, sometimes getting lost in the girl’s neck whenever she tried to dodge. She could hear Yujin’s laugh as she kissed her, not caring about the pile of books on her study table at all. All her attention is just on Minjoo and the latter couldn’t ask for more.

Yujin cupped her cheeks to stop her with her rampage of kisses and then made her look at those beautiful round eyes. That pool is just so clear, she could clearly see her own furry reflection.

“You’re really a good girl, my Minjoo. With that, Master Yujin will reward you with a kiss~”

A wide smile flashed on Minjoo’s face and her cheeks started to hurt. She saw how Yujin elegantly closed her eyes and tightened the gap there was between them. Minjoo could feel her heart in deep rage, getting crazy with what her owner is about to do to her.

Minjoo happily closed her eyes, waiting for Yujin’s lips to touch hers but then she felt Yujin suddenly stopped. Getting worried, Minjoo opened her eyes only to see the unpleasant look on her owner’s face.

“Kim Minjoo, are you seriously sleeping?”

Minjoo jerked up with a loud “I AM NOT!” She turned to her side and saw an unamused Yujin who was looking at her with judging eyes.

Minjoo remembered. She and Yujin are doing advanced studies for the next semester that is going to start in three days. The latter went out for a while to check her newest sculpture that she made through self-hardening clay. They have been studying for the whole day without taking any rest at all and this led to Minjoo dozing off.

“You must be really happy about passing the subject you retook to give yourself leisure like this.” Yujin pulled out a piece of tissue paper from the dispenser and then wiped Minjoo’s face with it. Embarrassed about Yujin seeing her drool, Minjoo snatched the tissue away and wiped her face herself, hiding her face from the other girl.

Vacation is almost finished. Minjoo’s life as Yujin’s puppy has been on-going for almost two months but over-all, nothing really special happened between them. It is as if they aren’t what Yujin had asked them to be. It is more of being a study partner than being a pet.

Yujin made her a schedule to follow. She has set time for each of her subjects and she only has ten-minute breaks at the end of each subject. Minjoo is thankful that her lunch time is thirty minutes more than the usual one hour. In the afternoon, she is allowed to eat snacks while studying but she has to make sure that eating won’t take a lot of her time.

No one is there to teach her, it’s all just self-study. There are no quizzes as well; all she has to do is answer the chapter tests her books have. Her schedule is up to 6 in the evening and then it would be dinner time. After dinner would be English language studies together with Yujin.

Everyday was like that. She only gets out during Tuesdays and Thursdays for her retake class. Yujin would personally take her to school and she would be there right after her class finishes. Just the sight of the Grand Retribution in school during vacation is enough to make a fuss among the other students who are also retaking classes. But the sight of Kim Minjoo riding that exclusive car is enough to drive the whole school in shock.

The results of Minjoo’s summer class came out today and she couldn’t be any happier after seeing that she got a 4.0 on that dreaded subject. For once she thought that she deserved a break but when Yujin picked her up, she was reminded of her self-studies for the rest of the day and didn’t hear a single word of compliment from her master.

Why is she even feeling hurt anyway? Yujin is like a boss that doesn’t run out of orders. Well, she never ordered her to do the laundry, clean or cook. An ajumma comes to do the chores. Yujin’s orders are all about studies. It is just too tight. She has to be ready to study at exactly 8 in the morning. That means she should come to the study room prepared, finished showering and done with breakfast.

And Yujin constantly checks on her. She could feel her peek through the slightly opened door. Leaving the door open is also part of the rule. Sometimes Minjoo feels like she doesn’t have any privacy at all.

“I just want to take some rest.” Minjoo pouted and turned to her English book. She almost shrieked when she saw drools in her book. She immediately tried to wipe it away. What an embarrassment!

She then heard Yujin exhale a breath of disappointment. “Just because you succeed in one thing you are thinking that you are already entitled to rest? Here I was thinking that you would strive for more after seeing results.”

Minjoo’s jaw dropped. “I-It’s not that I am going to rest forever… I-I just want t-to get some timeout since school would st—“

“Minjoo-ssi, what is rule number 1?”

The Psychology student was then taken aback. She wanted to protest but with the rules she signed, the word protest should be erased from her vocabulary.

“Please state what rule number 1 is.” Yujin insisted with a blank expression. Minjoo then bowed her head and obeyed the order.

“Ahn Yujin’s words are absolute. Kim Minjoo has nothing to do but to obey.” Minjoo stated with her voice trailing off. She was holding the special collar that Yujin made her wear–the very symbol of their master-pet relationship. What was even on her mind when she signed that contract? Rule number 1 must have already dismayed her but yes, she didn’t have any other choice.

The master and her pet.

But there was never an instance that they could call each other like that for the past two months. Yujin is like a crazy parent that drives her daughter to study. Minjoo’s parents never treated her like this.

“I set your schedule for today and nothing can change that other than me. Your schedule is up to 8PM so you should study until 8PM.”

Minjoo took a deep breath and pulled her book near her. “Okay.”

That response was so weak and passionless. Yujin just couldn’t look at that improper studying posture. She stood up and took her book.

“Study by yourself. I don’t want to be dragged by your laziness.” After that, the girl marched towards the door and shut it loudly. For the first time, Yujin closed the door but it left an impression on Minjoo.

After living with Ahn Yujin for the past two months, Minjoo discovered a lot of things about her. And one of the biggest discoveries that she found still gets her shocked whenever she thinks about it.

Ahn Yujin was not born genius. She is made genius.

People wonder what she does in order to pass her subjects with high marks and a lot of them conclude that she’s a prodigy. But Yujin isn’t like what everyone is thinking. She prepares so well for the semester. She studies so hard to the point that she forgets to eat. She improves her craft with great concentration and nothing can bother her when she’s inside of her workshop.

Her schedule is much tighter than Minjoo since she’s advanced studying for two majors and she’s also practising her craft. She starts at the same time as Minjoo but he finishes at 1AM. Talk about perseverance.

Minjoo will never be surprised if Yujin aces the next semester again. She already has everything imprinted on her mind. Her studying habit is a lifestyle.

She was then bothered by guilt. How come she acted like that in front of someone who has a tighter schedule than her? She’s free to do anything after 8PM but the lad has no freedom at all. She did show something she shouldn’t have shown to the person who paid her tuition fee. It is a given that he would expect so much from her. Yujin indeed invested a lot of money on her.

She also noticed that Yujin is easily irritated these days for a reason she doesn’t know. She should’ve been more sensitive about her.

“Still studying?”

Minjoo turned to the door only to see the kind ajumma that does the chores. She has a tray on her hand with an ice cream cake and lime soda on it.

“Eunyoung-imo.” Minjoo stood up from her seat. “Why are you still here? I thought you'd already gone home…” (이모, imo: aunt)

“I had to fold the laundry after doing the dishes. It is fine since I don’t have anything to do back at home.”The kind lady pushed her back to her seat and placed the food on her table. “Here, have some dessert. The Young Mistress asked me to give it to you.”

Minjoo’s eyes squinted a little. Everytime she hears Eunyoung call Yujin ‘Young Mistress’ she just couldn’t help but to cringe a little. ‘Does she really like to be called Master that much?’

“Mas–I mean, Yujin did?” That question was answered with an enthusiastic nod paired with a warm smile. Minjoo looked at the clock and found out that it was already five past eight. She was thinking so much of Yujin that time passed by just like that. The older lady then sat on the chair where Yujin was sitting earlier.

“I can say with great assurance that your Master and Pet Contract is not going well.”

“ACK—“ Minjoo almost choked with the lime soda that she was drinking. She hurriedly wiped her lips and turned to Eunyoung. “H-How did you kn—“

“If the both of you didn’t post the contract on the refrigerator then I would be kept from knowing it, Minjoo-ssi.” The lady exp