I’m in love with a big puppy.

She’s really energetic. I could probably hear her tail wagging from miles away. I don’t actually know her, but I always meet her on my way to cram school. Everyday, at 5pm, I’ll see her by the tteokbeoki cart, practically begging the auntie for food. She gets her share, of course. The puppy’s got her aegyo down to a tee.

Hmm? Do I want to get to know her? Of course. I’d love to know that giant poofer — to pet her, love her, hog all of her for my own. But alas, she’s so close yet so far. For her to be so well-groomed - so blindingly beautiful, she must have an owner. And we can’t have that, can we? I couldn’t possibly bring myself to shatter this perfect depiction I’ve painted. So, things stay the way they are. I hum the song resounding in my ears and step into cram school. 

It’s the summer of my second year now. I’m still going to cram school at 5, but good grades aren’t exactly my incentive here. It’s her. To my dismay, however, I haven’t caught a glimpse of her since summer break started. Has the puppy taken this break as a chance to explore far and wide? Or is she cooped up in her house...with that owner of hers? The thought aggravated me, so I took a detour to clear my head. Ah, I can’t wait to know more about benzene and its derivatives. As I tried quizzing myself on organic chemistry and failing miserably, I heard someone arguing... with her dog? 

“For the last time, Choco, stop ting in the bush! God damn, now I have to pick it up. Do you realize how small and mushy your damn is?”

I giggled. I should be minding my own business, but curiosity has overtaken my rationality. So I look. 

And there she was. My puppy. I’ve never seen her up close, but she was as beautiful as I had imagined. Her silky, brown hair shone as bright as the neon signs in downtown Seoul, and she managed to capture my attention just as well. Her smile - god, her smile. It was so intoxicating I had to look away to calm myself down. 

“Waah. You’ve got a really cute dog!”

“T-thank you. Her name’s Choco.”

“Or so I’ve heard.”

“Mm?”

“I heard you talking to your dog.”

“Oh . That’s embarrassing.”

“No worries. If Choco was my dog, I’d talk to her all day too.”

“Ahahah, I see. People think she’s an adult now since she’s so big, but she’s actually only 8 months old.” The girl went mum as I continued to play with her dog.

“Uhm, I’ve never seen you around here before. Did you just move in?”

“Nope. I go to the cram school right around here, U-Success. Ever heard of it?”

“Yeah. My mom’s actually thinking of sending me there when the term starts too.”

“Oh yeah? Guess we’ll be seeing each other more often then.” I gave a few more scratches to the dog before standing up. 

“I always go to cram school at 5pm. If our schedules align, then I look forward to seeing you there. Bye, Choco.” 

“Bye. You too, Choco. Say bye.”

As we part ways, I couldn’t help but snicker. She talked to her dog again. Ah, my puppy is just the cutest, isn’t she?