Sunggyu had a dog, which was quite unbelievable in itself. He never thought himself the type to own a dog, or any pet for that matter. But he did think himself to be a lazy, self-centered being that could barely take care of himself, let alone another living thing. Once, he hurt his back because he laid down for too long. Now if that didn’t sound like the opposite of a pet owner, Sunggyu didn’t know what would.

But if he were to own a pet, he’d always imagined that it would be some sort of fish. Temporary. Detached. Easy. Never a dog though. Dogs required effort. They required care and grooming. They required love. Sunggyu didn’t know if he had enough of any of that to give. Also when he was younger, a fierce and huge dachshund bit him and he never quite got over that.

Yet here he was, walking his new dog on a brisk Sunday morning in the park. The small, fluffy dog was pulling him along the path with what little strength it had. It was just so excited, so small, and so cute. Sunggyu’s heart squeezed whenever it would turn around to look at him, mouth opened panting, with its little pink tongue poking out. The dog was practically smiling. And Sunggyu grinned from ear to ear. Maybe he was a dog person all along.

How he ended up with the dog was strange to say the least. A coworker of his broke up with her boyfriend of 3 years. The whole office expected wedding invitations from her, but she surprised them with flyers instead, asking if anyone would take in her dog.

“Sunggyu-ssi, your apartment allows dogs, right?” she asked as she handed him the flyer.

Sunggyu had walked into the break room to refill his coffee mug when she had accosted him with the bright yellow flyer. “Uh, yes,” he stammered out an answer, accepting the paper. “Are you getting rid of your dog?”

The woman sighed and leaned against the cabinets. “Not getting rid of, per say. I want her to go to a good home. I’m giving her away,” she clarified. “I’ll even give you all of her things. She’s a really good girl. And you live alone, right? She’ll be great company. She’s more like a cat than anything. It’s just that…” His coworker sniffed loudly. The more she had talked, the more worked up she had gotten. Now she was fighting back tears. “Every time I see her, I think of him and…”

“Okay, okay,” the words just slipped out of Sunggyu’s mouth.

The woman perked up. “Okay?” she repeated. “Okay, you’ll take care of her?”

“I, uh…” No, what he should’ve responded was ‘no.’ A dog would mean an increase in rent and a decrease in Sunggyu’s treasured couch potato time. But as he looked at his coworker, drying her tears with the back of her hand, trying hard to pull herself together, the ‘no’ turned into a ‘yes.’ Because yes, he didn’t want her to relive this pain every time she looked at the mangy mutt.

“When can I pick the mutt up?” he asked as affectionately as his apathy would allow him.

And he ended up leaving the break room with no coffee in his mug but with new dog.

That weekend, Sunggyu went over to the woman’s apartment and picked up the dog. It took almost half the day because she went over every single detail of dog care with him, and kept finding dog toy after toy that littered her apartment. Sunggyu was amazed that such a tiny dog would need so many toys. His mind also began to spin and his feelings were spiraling from mild excitement to regret. The pooch was spoiled, without a doubt. But wouldn’t that mean that the owners loved it? Why would they be so willing to give it up, if they did? Why did he feel like he was taking away their child?

And all he had to give his coworker in exchange for the pure-bred dog and hundreds of dollars worth of pet supplies was a bottle of wine that he had originally bought for himself. It did nothing to alleviate his conscience.

Then to make matters worse, the dog cried the whole week through at Sunggyu’s apartment. He took her (he eventually figured out that the dog was a she) to the vet, and they said it was typically for dogs to go through depressions after such a big transition. She wouldn’t eat. She wouldn’t sleep. She would just sit on her bed, looking pathetic with her large black eyes.

Sunggyu would lay next to her and her small head. “Girl, don’t cry,” he pleaded. He called her ‘Girl’ because he thought that her original name was stupid, and that was the only other thing the dog responded to. But the more he called her that, the more fond of the name he became. Because she was his Girl, his one and only baby Girl. Even though she didn’t quite like him much now, she had already won his heart on the first night when she cried herself to sleep on his chest.

Yes, he was a dog person now.

Especially today, today was the first day Girl found her energy again. Sunggyu had taken her outside to ‘relieve’ herself, but then she started sniffing. She started sniffing everywhere and exploring and pulling on the leash. So although it was just barely after dawn, Sunggyu took Girl to the park this Sunday for a walk. They were going to walk for as long as she wanted to. Sunggyu was whipped (and it was easy to see now why his coworker had spoiled her so).

And now he was showing off his Girl to the other early risers. The elderly couple he passed her small ears. A miniature poodle made friends with Girl (and Sunggyu awkwardly talked to the poodle’s owner about their pets). Even a jogger that went by couldn’t take his eyes off of Girl. All of this made Sunggyu a proud owner (dad).

But then walking early in the morning turned out to be a regular thing. That was when Girl was the most awake and eager, and when Sunggyu was the most tired and irritated. But as annoyed as he was by it all, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. He was more energetic throughout the day, requiring less coffee breaks. He also made friends with the people he would walk with in the morning and greeted them all by name (all except for the jogger who’d just stare at Girl. Maybe he was afraid of dogs too and it didn’t help that Girl would jump and bark at him either). The thing about pets is that they are a huge responsibility and at times a hassle, but they force you to put your life in order, to live on a schedule, to live for something else besides yourself. And so Sunggyu hadn’t felt this fulfilled in the longest time.

Then one day, someone threatened to take it all away.

Sunggyu was walking Girl on a Monday morning. He had just talked to Old Man Choi about his newly diagnosed arthritis (he was taking medication now and was feeling better). Now Sunggyu was talking to Girl, “Hey, Girl! It looks like your poodle friend is still gone. Soyul did say that they’d be gone for two weeks. And…oh! It’s Jogger-ssi,” Sunggyu lowered his voice to a whisper. Girl began pulling on the leash. “Yah! Slow down, Girl!” he commanded. “Why do you always go crazy? Does he smell good? Ha, he must smell like a dog.” Sunggyu laughed at his own joke as he tightened his grip on the leash, wrapping it around his hand. Maybe if he held Girl closer to his side, she wouldn’t jump so much. He stuffed his other hand into his pocket as he bowed his head and wished the Jogger, “Good morning.”

Girl still jumped at him, barking and whimpering. The Jogger bent down. Then all of the sudden, Sunggyu was yanked back by the leash, by a force much stronger than a 15 pound dog. He was spun around and saw the Jogger with Girl in his arms, trying to run away. The only problem was that Girl was still on her leash, the leash still tightly wound around Sunggyu’s hand. And so Sunggyu was being dragged off at a sprint, only a few steps behind the Dog Thief.

“Yah!” Sunggyu yelled right as he regained awareness. “That’s my Girl!”

The Jogger craned his neck back to look behind him and saw the situation. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Sunggyu to almost crash into him.

“Yah! Give her back! The dog is mine! Don’t make me call the police,” Sunggyu threatened, holding out his arms, ready to accept his Girl back.

The Jogger looked Sunggyu straight in the eye. His hand slowly went down to Girl’s collar.

“No! No! Don’t even think about it!” Sunggyu yelled as he realized what was going on.

But the Jogger didn’t listen. He unclipped the leash from the collar and sped off, his feet almost like a blur. And Sunggyu tried to chase after them. He really did. He chased them for a good mile. But all of the yelling that he was doing was causing him to lose his breath quickly. He had no air left. He collapsed to the ground, deflated in both lung and spirit. He felt like crying because someone stole his precious Girl away. And he would probably never see her again.

To add salt to his fresh wound, Myungeun, his coworker, decided to ask today of all days about how her former dog was doing. “Someone took her,” he admitted. He couldn’t look her in the eye as he spoke. “He just picked her up, while we were walking and ran away. I went to the police and reported it, but they said that there was little they could do. It’s a big city, and there are a lot of dogs.” Sunggyu puffed out his cheeks and sighed. “I’m sorry, Myungeun-ssi. I didn’t mean to lose her.”

“What did he look like?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu lifted his head, surprised by the question.

“How tall was he? This tall?” she asked as she raised her hand above her head.

Sunggyu shook his head. “No.”

“Ah, he was running and not wearing his insoles,” she said and lowered her hand. “Then he was about this tall.”

“Yes,” Sunggyu slowly agreed.

“Shaggy, black hair? Big lips? And a nose that’s so sharp it should be classified as a weapon?” Myungeun shot off a rapid fire round of questions and Sunggyu nodded along to each and every one. “Yep, it was my ex,” she concluded. “I should’ve known that he’d do something like this.”

“Your ex?” Sunggyu repeated. “He took my Girl?”

“Yep,” his coworker answered. “He loved that dog. He loved that dog even more than me sometimes.”

“Myungeun-ssi, you did both agree to give away the dog, right?” Sunggyu wanted to make sure because the situation now seemed anything but.

Myungeun sighed, placing her face in her hand. “We did, but Woohyun…he changes his mind a lot,” she explained. “To be honest, it was more his dog than mine. I didn’t even want a pet in the first place. It wasn’t a good time. But…” she stopped and averted her gaze from Sunggyu.

“But?” he goaded her to continue.

“We both agreed to give the dog to someone else. It would only be fair, right?” Myungeun looked at Sunggyu for his approval. “Yes, he mostly took care of her, but I paid for her. I paid for everything! It’s basically my dog! But…it was also our dog. Whenever we talked about what to do with her, we fought, like parents over custody. It was silly really. This was the right decision, right?” she asked her coworker.

“It makes sense,” Sunggyu answered. It did. But Sunggyu couldn’t tell what was right or wrong in the matter. Break-ups were complicated like that. Nothing is fair. No one wins. Everyone loses. Even Sunggyu who had been forcibly dragged into this ‘divorce’ because he was now the guardian of their ‘child.’

“The truth is,” Myungeun leaned in closer, whispering lowly. “I might’ve also done it out of spite. I was done with him and everything about him. Including her. But I didn’t want him to have her either. He loved her more.”

“And now he has her,” Sunggyu spoke under his breath.

But his coworker still caught it. “And now he has her,” she repeated. “Hey, do you want me to talk to him or—“

“No,” Sunggyu cut her off. If he could understand anything about this twisted break-up, it was that Myungeun and Woohyun should never be together again. “Just give me his phone number. I’ll call him.”

The phone call quickly morphed into an invitation. As luck would have it, Woohyun lived two floors below Sunggyu. The thief sounded guilty over the phone and offered to talk things through with Sunggyu. “We can work things out,” Woohyun had insisted. And Sunggyu hoped that they’d do a better job than he and his ex had.

But as soon as Woohyun answered the door, he appeared to have changed his mind again. He pulled the dog closer to his chest and growled, “Kongddeok is mine!” He then tried to slam the door shut, but Sunggyu with all his brilliance decided that it was a good idea to slide his foot to stop it. He did stop the door. He also successfully got his foot smashed into smithereens.

But at least now, he was inside of Woohyun’s apartment with his injured foot propped up on the coffee table and his Girl in his lap. The things Sunggyu did for her. Today was possibly the worst Monday Sunggyu had ever had.

“Here you go,” Woohyun came up from behind and offered the injured man a bag of ice. He then sat on the other side of the couch. “I’m sorry about all of this. It’s just that. I don’t want to let Kongddeok go.” After that, Woohyun reached over to take the dog from Sunggyu’s lap but Sunggyu swatted it away.

“She’s my Girl now,” he reminded the other.

“Girl? My Girl? That’s seriously what you call her? Her name is Kongddeok!” Woohyun yelled. “It’s written on her tags!”

“I’ll get new ones,” Sunggyu retorted.

“But…she’s mine,” Woohyun stuttered. His lips trembled slightly. , he’s going to cry, Sunggyu thought. No, no. He’s trying to take away your baby Girl. Don’t let him.

Sunggyu cleared his throat and spoke in a stern tone, “And you gave her away to me.”

Woohyun pet the dog on the head and slowly looked up at Sunggyu with round, glistening eyes. “But I change my mind,” he replied.

“Are you always this flighty? Changing your mind all the time?” Sunggyu argued as he placed the ice bag on his foot.

“No,” Woohyun shook his head. Then he looked down as Kongddeok crawled over from Sunggyu’s lap to his. He her small head as he mumbled, “Myungeun caused me to be like this.”

Sunggyu should’ve really tried to extricate himself from this break-up. He was already in too deep, in risk of drowning in this couple’s problems. Instead, he dove right into the depths. His curiosity got the best of him. “How so?” he asked.

Woohyun sighed and he spoke more loudly, “She decided everything on her own. Sometimes without telling me. I forgot how to even make decisions.” He chuckled slightly in embarrassment, his eye crinkling as he smiled. Suddenly he went stone-faced, his emotions shifting as quickly as his ever-changing mind. “Everything was decided by her, even the break-up.”

Sunggyu knew what was going to happen next. Whether he wanted to hear it or not, Woohyun was going to tell him how it all went down. His lips were loose and he was feeling chatty. He had Sunggyu disabled and stuck on the couch. He was holding the dog hostage. Woohyun finally had a listener to tell his side of the story.

The break-up happened over dinner. Woohyun at first said it was ‘sudden’ but then took it back. “It was a long time coming,” he corrected. It was quiet. Most of their dinners were. They used to have plenty of things to talk about, but they had exhausted all of those topics over the years. Besides the five minutes they had to talk about their days, the rest of their meals were always passed in silence.

“Myungeun was really good at compartmentalizing. She really liked to keep her work life separate from her private life. So she hardly ever talked about it.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu gasped, suddenly realizing. “Is that why I never met you at work gatherings before? I always wondered before if she lied about having a boyfriend because you were practically invisible.”

Woohyun looked up with wide eyes. “There were gatherings?” he asked. He honestly didn’t have a clue, and Sunggyu felt bad for nodding because Woohyun’s whole body melted. “I should’ve know,” he mumbled. “She even liked to keep our friends separate. I hardly ever met with hers.” He sighed again and gave Kongddeok a hug as he whispered. “She just stuffed me in a box and hid me away too.”

Getting Kongddeok was a last ditch effort to save the relationship. Woohyun wasn’t feeling like he was getting enough affection or attention, and so he thought if he received those things from another source, he’d be happier in his relationship with Myungeun. Getting a dog was better than cheating. Myungeun had agreed, reluctantly, but agreed nonetheless. Kongddeok gave them 10 minutes more of conversation that night.

“A month after getting Kongddeok, I realized something,” Woohyun went off on a tangent. “I was going to be a stay-at-home dad. I was going to be the main caregiver for our child, if we ever had one,” he revealed. “She was working longer hours, making more money. And I was fine with that. I like to cook,” he said with a chuckle. “However during the second month,” his tone became grave. “I realized I was going to be more like a single parent.”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun smiled sadly. “That’s when she told me that she might be transferred to America. Your company has connections over there, right?” Sunggyu nodded, shifting in his spot and taking the bag off of his foot. The ice had completely melted at this time. Woohyun liked to go on a lot of tangents. “I should’ve known it was over then.”

“What happened that night?” Sunggyu tried to get him back on track.

“Oh, right. The night we broke-up.”

Once they had finished their conversation, Woohyun noticed that Myungeun had a pad of paper next to her plate. Every so often, she would write something down on paper, frequently after scrutinizing Woohyun. He was about to ask her what it was, but then he remembered that it could be work. Myungeun didn’t like to talk about her work. So he didn’t ask. But he wondered. He wondered about a lot of things. However, most of those wonders circled around one thing: “Is this worth it?” Was the silence worth it? Was their relationship worth it? He didn’t know.

It was as they were drinking tea, when she wordlessly slipped the pad across the table. “Read it,” she commanded softly before sipping her tea. Her tone was too casual. The paper was heavy, covered with her grievances against their relationship, against Woohyun, against the world. Woohyun read each one slowly, trying to soak it all in.

Myungeun had thought Woohyun had lost his ambition. He stayed home too often. She didn’t like how he slept with an arm or leg on her (which he did just to make sure that she was still there). She didn’t like how this relationship was hindering her career. She didn’t like how she had to consider Woohyun when contemplating about the potential transfer.

“I want to break-up,” she finally said it. “Those are my reasons why.”

And so they broke up, and Woohyun got out of the apartment.

“Isn’t that ironic?” Woohyun asked Sunggyu after his incredibly long story. Sunggyu was barely awake at this point. It was slowly shifting from the worst Monday he ever had to the worst Tuesday that he ever had. But Woohyun didn’t care. He was going to talk until he was done. “I was sitting there wondering if it was all worth it, but then she handed me the paper.”

“Why didn’t you break-up earlier?” Sunggyu asked. A yawn interrupted him midway. “You obviously weren’t happy.”

Woohyun smiled sadly and got up to place Kongddeok in her bed. “Like I said, I forgot how to make a decision.”

Sunggyu felt like he was learning more from this break-up than any of the other ones that he had personally been through. It was probably because he was an impartial observer, gathering information from both sides. All he truly cared about was his Girl’s well-being. But what he learned was that when you are with someone for so long, it’s hard not to change. You adapt to them naturally, form a symbiotic relationship. But after you break-up, you have to learn how to live without them.

Slowly, Woohyun was learning how to make decisions again. He decided to keep Kongddeok…partially. Because they lived so close (and because Kongddeok had obviously become attached to Sunggyu), Woohyun suggested that they share her. They could alternate every week. This week would be his, and he’d hand over the dog to Sunggyu on Friday. And Sunggyu readily agreed (mostly because he just wanted to go to bed). So with a kiss on his Girl’s fluffy head, he left her with Woohyun.

Things went…okay that week. Sunggyu caught up on his sleep and tv shows. He was able to stay out later, which he did because his apartment now just felt empty and eerily quiet. There was no padding of little paws following him around. No playful yips goading him to play. Only silence remained. He had to learn how to live without his Girl again. It was a break-up all of his own.

But on Friday, they got back together and it was glorious and fun. Sunggyu spoiled her with chicken and kisses. He was so happy to have his baby Girl back in his arms.

But then Saturday rolled around. Sunggyu had gotten up extra early before their walk, even before his Girl did. He fixed himself a thermos of coffee to bring with him. He was already thinking of stories to tell his ‘walking buddies’ explaining his long absence. Sunggyu never got to share them because a particular Jogger interrupted their walk.

“Yah! It’s my week,” Sunggyu yelled as he saw Woohyun approach them.

“Yea, and I’m letting you hold the leash,” Woohyun argued as he bent down and scooped the dog into his arms. “You never said that I couldn’t join you on walks,” he pointed out as he rubbed his cheek against her small head. He was acting like they had been separated for longer than a single night.

“Fine then,” Sunggyu grumbled as he took Kongddeok from the other’s arms and placed her back down onto the ground. “I’m going to crash your walks too.”

“Fine by me,” Woohyun retorted as the two of them began walking. “As long as I’m with my girl.”

“MY GIRL!”

Sadly, it wasn’t Sunggyu’s Girl anymore. The dog had become their Kongddeok. It only became more evident when Woohyun followed him back to his apartment. “Can I come over?” Woohyun asked. Sunggyu was slightly surprised that the other hadn’t just bulldozed into his apartment like he had their morning walk. Ah, so he does know boundaries. As a reward, Sunggyu let him. Sunggyu also didn’t have anything else better to do that day (and also Woohyun just looked really really sad).

The two of them ended up playing video games for most of the day and ended up ordering take out for dinner. Sunggyu chose the menu, as Woohyun was still being his indecisive self. And of course, he ended up paying for the meal too. But Kongddeok seemed happy to be with the both of them. And Woohyun finally looked happy or at least content, so it was worth it.

It quickly became routine. They walked together in the early morning and played video games on the weekend. They also quickly became friends. Turns out that Woohyun was a decent guy and was funny at times when he wasn’t being embarrassing (and absolutely hilarious when Sunggyu didn’t care what others were thinking about them). And they didn’t order take-out all the time. Woohyun liked to cook. He even specially made Kongddeok dinners. He said that he had more of a drive to cook after the break-up because Myungeun, even with her limited time, preferred that she cook. She was very particular about what she ate.

Well, Sunggyu thought that his coworker was really missing out. Woohyun cooked almost as good as his own mother (and some dishes he did better). She had missed out on a lot in his opinion.

One morning, Sunggyu had the urge to probe deeper into their torn relationship. The more time he spent with Woohyun, the more curious he became. Were there still feelings? Did they miss each other? That was only natural after a break-up, for longing to set in. Woohyun had missed Kongddeok so much that he had stolen her. What about Myungeun?

All of these thoughts were spinning through his mind as he was watching Woohyun give Kongddeok the 10^th kiss that day. “Why did you ever give her away?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun sighed (like he always did when he reflected back on their relationship). “At that time, I just wanted to do anything to stop fighting,” he admitted. He put the dog down and she frolicked up to the front of their makeshift pack. “And it did seem fair.”

“But doesn’t Girl remind you of all of that? Of Myungeun?” Sunggyu asked. He didn’t know why he asked the question in a low whisper.

“I thought I might be but,” Woohyun paused, taking a deep breath and stretching in the morning sun. “Myungeun is Myungeun. Kongddeok is Kongddeok,” he answered with a groan. “They are two entirely different beings. This,” he pointed to Kongddeok with a great smile on his face “…is the real love of my life. She’ll always love me. She’ll never hurt me, on purpose at least. And she always listens to me. She’s the ideal woman.”

“Really?” Sunggyu challenged. Woohyun nodded emphatetically. Sunggyu shook his head and clicked his tongue. “I’d hate to tell you, but your ideal is a real ,” he joked.

Woohyun laughed and played along. “The best in town.”

Sunggyu didn’t know if it was the joking, what he had just learned, or something in the air, but his heart felt lighter and he could feel his broad smile tearing at the corners of his mouth. He was happy.

He was even happier later that afternoon when Woohyun came by to drop off some extra kimbap he made and to pick up the keys to Sunggyu’s apartment. Sunggyu was going to have to work late that day, so he was gracious for the food and for Woohyun to take care of his Girl in his absence.

He was about to bite into a roll when a head peered around the corner of his cubicle. “Was that Woohyun?” Myungeun whispered loudly. Sunggyu nodded as he stuffed the roll into his mouth and took a large bite. Anything was better than talking to her about this. However, she was not quite so done with him “Hul!” she exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping inside of Sunggyu’s cubicle. “He used to dress better when we were dating. What happened?” she looked up at the ceiling as she pondered that question, her eyebrows practically meeting at the center of her face with concern.

To be honest, Woohyun was dressed like Sunggyu’s uncle going on vacation to a fancy beach resort (but in a cute way), but Sunggyu wasn’t about to just sitting and chew on kimbap as she insulted his friend and co-dog-parent. “Don’t tell me,” he sneered. “Did you use to dress him? Lay out his clothes to wear like his mother?” Myungeun averted her gaze, obviously embarrassed and thereby confirming Sunggyu’s statement. “Wah, that’s a bit much,” he declared, pointing the roll at her.

“Did you see him? Would you let him dress himself?” she challenged, waving in the general direction of where Woohyun had just been.

Sunggyu shrugged. “It’s cute.”

“Be careful, Sunggyu-ssi,” his coworker warned as she stepped closer to him. “You’re just his type,” she stated lowly, with a smirk on her lips.

Sunggyu cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m a guy,” he reminded her. And given Woohyun’s history, well, he was pretty much straight in his ways.

The smirk grew into a full-blown grin. “And so is he,” she pointed out.

“Okay,” Sunggyu spoke slowly. He didn’t have the time or the mental capacity to work out whatever encrypted Myungeun was giving him. “So, yea work,” he muttered, turning back to his computer, giving her the cue that she should do the same.

But she stood firm in his cubicle. She sighed sadly, like he had heard Woohyun do hundreds of times before. Oh no, Sunggyu thought. He knew full well what came after those heavy sighs. “Sunggyu-ssi, you don’t like me anymore, do you?” Well that question wasn’t quite what Sunggyu expected. He tore his gaze away from the computer and narrowed them on the woman. “As a person,” she clarified. “You look at me differently. You act different. You avoid me.”

“Well…” Sunggyu left it at that. He refused to confirm or deny anything.

Myungeun let out a short laugh. “I was right,” she said under her breath. “Look, I’m not a bad person, but being with Woohyun made me bad.”

“You mean you aren’t an obsessive control freak?” Sunggyu challenged her. He had been holding that judgment in for too long. He never even told Woohyun about what he really thought of his ex, but there it was now, out in the open. Sunggyu didn’t like her, not anymore. He had lost his impartiality weeks ago.

“Yes, I am controlling. I’ll admit that,” Myungeun spoke, smiling in spite of Sunggyu’s blatant feelings. “I’m a perfectionist, and I believe that things are done best when I do them myself.”

“Then why even be in a relationship?” Sunggyu argued. “You seem pretty independent.” Sunggyu knew that that was the other reason why Woohyun wanted a dog. He wanted to dote on something. He wanted something to need him. He couldn’t get any of that with Myungeun.

The smile cracked. Her lips began quaking and her eyes were shining. But she wouldn’t cry. Sunggyu knew that now. After all, they were in a work environment and she liked to keep her public and private live separate (with the exception of dragging Sunggyu into both worlds). “I am, but I don’t want to be,” Myungeun confessed in a small voice. “I want to be with someone who brings out the best in me, not the worse. Woohyun just let me control too much of his life. I dressed him for two and a half years! I chose what he ate. When he slept…It was like he was my friggin doll.” She paused and took a deep breath in, composing herself once again before she lost control. “I just want someone to tell me to just,” she shook her hands in the air, grasping for what she wanted. “…stop! And to relax! I want someone who I can trust to get things done right.”

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow and challenged, “Didn’t Woohyun?”

Myungeun nodded. “He did. But I still didn’t trust him.”

“Why?”

She shook her head and threw her head back. “I don’t know. I just didn’t,” she rambled. “I really wish I knew why. Then maybe…”

“Myungeun-ssi,” Sunggyu cut her off. “You can stop now.”

The composed smile returned to her face. “Thank you. Thank you, Sunggyu-ssi.” Myungeun then promptly stopped and let the office, leaving Sunggyu to chew on his kimbap and work.

He returned home later that night almost surprised to see his Girl waiting there for him. Woohyun must’ve known that this was what he needed after a long day. He scooped up the dog and carried her into his bed with him. He was a dog person.

Oh yes, he was a dog person. But there were also people who were like dogs in character. People who were excited to see you even if they had just seen you earlier that very day. People who liked to play, but also wouldn’t hold it against you if you were too busy. People who understood and didn’t hold grudges. People so loyal that they would stay in a floundering relationship. People like Woohyun.

And he wasn’t quite sure about how Woohyun felt about him, but for Sunggyu, Woohyun had whittled his way into Sunggyu’s heart the first night they met and he looked up at Sunggyu with those round black eyes, lamenting about his relationship. And each time they met, Woohyun just dug in deeper until he was stuck, stuck deep in Sunggyu’s heart.

Sunggyu didn’t only have a Girl but now he had a Boy too (in his head, at least).

He wasn’t planning on Woohyun ever finding out, but came out anyways, not in the way he had expected though.

It was supposed to be a typical Saturday night, making bets as they played video games. Tonight, they were at Woohyun’s and playing his beloved soccer game. Sunggyu didn’t stand a chance. Woohyun was basically a pro, so he decided to set their stakes low.

“So what do you want to bet this time? It’s warm out so bingsoo?” he suggested. That way his wallet wouldn’t take too big of a hit tonight (and it didn’t really matter. Woohyun used Sunggyu’s money like it was his own anyways). “Can dogs eat bingsoo? My Girl, you wanna eat bingsoo?” The dog spun around and yipped. Sunggyu cooed and petted her head. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“We always do food,” Woohyun whined as he was setting up the video game system. And it was true. There was only one time when they didn’t bet on food, and it was ‘who was going to clean up the mess Kongddeok made in the kitchen.’ Sunggyu had lost that one, so he was wary of new bets. “How about this time we make it interesting? Whoever wins has to grant the other person a wish.”

“A wish? Like what?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun plopped down onto the ground next to his friend and pup. “Like anything,” he answered.

“Eh, I don’t trust you,” Sunggyu spat back.

“Fine. Let’s be the boring couple who lost the spark in their relationship,” he grumbled. He then pointed at the remote in Sunggyu’s hands and in the most apathetic voice that he could muster, Woohyun said, “Give me the controller.”

“What couple?” Sunggyu blubbered. Of course there were times that they could be utterly domestic, like when they gave Kongddeok baths together or when they went grocery shopping or referred to Kongddeok as their ‘baby.’ There were several instances like that, but it didn’t mean that they were together. No, if Sunggyu thought like that, he was sure that it would only lead to dashed hopes and a broken heart. Woohyun was surely joking. And also sad. He was hunched over the controller with a prominent pout on his face. “Okay let’s play your way,” Sunggyu gave in.

Maybe it was because he had a lot at stake or because he had played this game so often that he'd actually gotten decent at it, but this was the most embroiling a match had ever been between them. When one would score a goal, the other would as well. Heated words were exchanged. Pillows were thrown at each other's heads. And every so often, they'd cover Kongddeok's ears as they cursed each other out. Sunggyu had never been so agitated while playing a game. He had never felt his heart race this fast or palms sweat so much from playing a video game. But he had also never had so much fun. Although he was shouting at Woohyun on the top of his lungs, Sunggyu wore a huge grin on his face. This was the most fun that he'd had in a long time.

And it seemed to be that way for Woohyun as well. But his face grew more somber at the end. He just took Sunggyu's insults without throwing any in return. He was serious. And Sunggyu supposed it was only fitting. The whole bet laid on this one penalty kick. They were even still, but if Sunggyu could make this one goal, he'd win the match. Both men were silent, clutching their controllers tightly. Sunggyu swallowed hard as he watched Woohyun's cursor follow his on the screen. Woohyun was all too good at this. There were some points in time when Sunggyu swore that the other was reading his mind. He hoped that now wasn't one of those times. The time was up. He clicked, shot…and scored!

"Holy…YES!" Sunggyu exclaimed leaping up from his spot. "I won! I actually won! In your face, Nam Woohyun," he jeered as he danced around.

Woohyun had a small smile on his face as he congratulated the other the best that he could: "Yea, hyung. You won."

"Sh!" Sunggyu hushed him. "Let's watch the replay! Let's watch it over and over again, so you can remember that today was the day you got your kicked by Kim Sunggyu," Sunggyu suggested as he sat back down and pressed the button the replay the kick. "See! Look! Wah!" he cheered and clapped for himself. "That was a great kick. Look, your goalie just stood their like an idiot, watching the ball shoot right pass," he boasted with a rambunctious laugh. Wait. The laughter died on his lips. He replayed the shot again. Woohyun's goalie did not move an inch. Sunggyu replayed it again. It was like the keeper didn't even try to block the shot. He didn't even try. 

Then the tv went black. Sunggyu whipped his head around to see Woohyun with the tv remote in his hands. "Seriously? How many times were you going to make me watch it?" Woohyun grumbled as he tossed the remote onto the couch. Woohyun sighed and raised his gaze to meet Sunggyu's. "What's your wish? Bingsoo? Okay, but I don't think Kongddeok should have any."

"You let me win," Sunggyu stated lowly.

Woohyun scoffed and looked away. "Why would I?"

"Yea, exactly. Why would you?" Sunggyu asked, sliding closer to the other.

"I didn’t," Woohyun denied, casting a quick glance up at the other.

Sunggyu moved closer and lowered his head, trying to catch the other's gaze. He had an urge to grab at the other's chin and force Woohyun to look back at him. But although Woohyun acted like a dog at times, Sunggyu knew that he shouldn't treat him like one. So he just clenched his fists, biting down the urge. "You did," he said more firmly. "Your goalie didn’t move on that kick."

Now Woohyun finally raised his head. "It was a glitch," he asserted.

"Yea, in your brain," Sunggyu joked, nudging the other's head softly with his knuckles. Woohyun laughed, probably thinking that Sunggyu was going to drop it then, or he begged Sunggyu with his pained smile to drop it. However, Sunggyu only sighed like he had heard Woohyun do a thousand times before. "I wish…that you would tell me the truth." Sunggyu didn't want bingsoo, or to put Woohyun through some unnamed humiliation. He only wanted the truth, like what he normally got from Woohyun. Sunggyu didn't like how he was hiding things now.

"Seriously?" Woohyun questioned, cocking an eyebrow. Sunggyu nodded. "Okay, I let you win. Now let’s—"

As Woohyun got up to leave, Sunggyu grabbed at the hem of his shirt, stopping him. "Why? I wish to know the entire truth," he emphasized.

"You can’t just…" Woohyun began and then shook his head, groaning. Whatever he was about to say, he didn't want to. But because of the bet, he sat back down with his face turned to the black tv screen and answered, "...because I changed my mind."

"From what?"

"My wish," Woohyun confessed, still looking straight ahead. "I didn’t want it anymore."

"What was it? Your wish?" Sunggyu prodded him to continue. Woohyun slowly turned his head to look at the other. So Sunggyu dropped his tone and ordered gently, non-threateningly, "Tell me. You have to."

Woohyun didn't say anything. But he did lean forward to press his lips quickly onto Sunggyu's. The kiss was so fast and rushed that Woohyun misjudged and missed, catching mostly Sunggyu's cheek with his lips. His sharp (stupid) nose rammed into Sunggyu's, leaving them both watery eyed. Woohyun pulled away sniffing and wiping his nose. "To let me do that. Aish, you’re so annoying," he cursed and rolled away, getting up as quick as he could. "Can we eat now?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen where all the take-out menus were.

It wasn't until Woohyun had turned the corner and was out of sight did Sunggyu snap out of his daze. He tried to get up as quickly as he could, his socks slipping against the hardwood floors causing him to almost fall over. Luckily he didn't. Grabbing onto the doorframe for support and to stop him from sliding into the kitchen, Sunggyu wheezed, "Woohyun…"

Woohyun had his back turned to the other and had a phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he looked through menus. "What do you want to eat, hyung? You know what? Forget it. I’ll decide," he offered.

Sunggyu took a step inside the kitchen and closer to the other. "Woohyun…" he repeated, a bit more loudly.

Woohyun barely turned his neck this time. Looking at the other out of the corner of his eye, Woohyun flashed a smile and bragged in a sing-song voice, "Look at me making decisions." He looked at the menus again. "Let’s have pizza…no jjajjangmyun! Or maybe a light…"

"Nam Woohyun!" Sunggyu shouted, ripping the phone away from its snug place.

"Kim Sunggyu!" Woohyun shouted back. His eyes round and wide as the moon. "Nam Kongddeok!" he then yelled, pointing at the dog at his feet. He then looked back up at Sunggyu."Are we done shouting names yet?"

"The entire truth," Sunggyu reiterated. "Do  you like me?"

"The entire truth? What?" Woohyun sputtered into a laugh, as if it were ridiculous. "Am I supposed to tell you the truth all the time? Until I die?" Sunggyu nodded 'yes' to every question. Woohyun scoffed and took his phone back forcibly. "You’re really abusing your wish,' he grumbled as he began punching numbers into the phone.

"Yes," Sunggyu answered in all seriousness. He didn't normally talk to the other like this, so gravely. But Sunggyu had had it with Woohyun tip-toeing around the issue. "Tell me the truth. Be honest with me. I want us to have an honest relationship."

"Relationship?" Woohyun repeated, lifting his gaze. There was a faint smile on his face, which immediately dissipated in the following second. "Like a friendship or…"

"That’s what I’m trying to figure out, for f***k’s sake!" Sunggyu yelled. He gripped his head in his hands, on the verge of pulling out his hair strand by strand. At this rate, Nam Woohyun was going to make him bald.

"Ah! Kongddeok, cover your ears! Daddy said a bad word," Woohyun gasped as he bent down and folded the dog's ears over. He looked up at Sunggyu, utterly appalled and disgusted. "She is a baby."

Sunggyu dropped his hands to his side. Risking getting prematurely bald wasn't worth it. Dealing with Woohyun's indecisiveness wasn't worth it. All of this confusion, Sunggyu was done with it. "Why do I even bother?" he grumbled, turning his back to the other. He was going home.

"I really thought that kiss would be answer enough."

Sunggyu turned around to see Woohyun, cradling Kongddeok in his arms, holding her like a security blanket. His face as solemn as a grave, staring straight at Sunggyu. "I like you," Woohyun admitted. His stone-face then cracked, allowing for a smug smile to peek through. "And I know you like me. And we’re basically already a couple. We even have a baby," he ended, snuggling the dog with his cheek.

Sunggyu walked back into the kitchen, right in front of Woohyun. He reached out and petted his Girl in his Boy's arms. "Is that so?" he retorted softly.

"Yea. She even looks like us. She has my eyes and has your excessive body hair," Woohyun joked.

Sunggyu groaned, "You know, for a guy who proclaims to be a romantic, some of your lines need work."

"Why?" Woohyun argued. "They got me you." He then leaned in a stifled all of Sunggyu's burgeoning groans and insults with another kiss. And this time, Sunggyu wouldn't allow this one to be so short. He pulled the other in closer (but careful not to suffocate the dog) and kissed him back. If it was possible, this one was even sloppier than the first, mostly because all of Sunggyu's repressed feelings and desires were coming out all at once. Okay so maybe not all desires, but he released a good few in that kiss, leaving the both of them breathless. 

Woohyun smiled smugly when they both pulled away. "See. They worked," he bragged.

And they had worked, for that night. Sunggyu honestly believed that Woohyun was his. But that belief was immediately cast into doubt as soon as Woohyun's apartment door was shut and Sunggyu was left in the hallway alone. Of course his departure was preceded by several goodbye kisses from both man and dog, but those kisses did nothing to soothe his worried mind. Woohyun's mind was ever-changing. Slowly he had been learning how to stick with a decision, but was this one that would stick? Sunggyu shook his head and sighed heavily as he walked back up to his own apartment. He had gotten too involved in this break-up. He became guardian to their 'child.' He was their listening ear to all of their worries. And now was he Woohyun's rebound?

Maybe it was time for Sunggyu to take a step back from all of this. He didn't think his heart could take it if Woohyun came to him the next day claiming that he missed Myungeun and last night he had redirected his lingering feelings for her onto him. If that were the case, Sunggyu hoped that Woohyun would pity him enough to let him keep Girl. Then he would get her new tags and move to a new district. Yes, that would solve all of his problems.

The next morning, Sunggyu was woken up by a pounding at his door. He stumbled out of bed and into the hallway, eyes barely opened. "Come on. Hurry up," a voice called from behind the door. Sunggyu froze as he was about to reach for the doorknob. His eyes were wide open now. It was Woohyun. "Kongddeok is going to pee in the hallway and I’m going to make you clean it up if she does."

Sunggyu opened up the door just a cracked and peeked through, seeing the man in his jogging suit with leash in hand. "You’re here," Sunggyu mumbled in disbelief.

"Yea, why wouldn’t I be?" Woohyun tilted his head in confusion. "Our baby needs to go, and so does my baby."

Sunggyu opened up the door wider and pointed at himself incredulously. "Me?"

"Yea, this is like the only time you move all day. Don’t think that I haven’t noticed," Woohyun teased, reaching over to pat Sunggyu's belly.

Sunggyu slapped his hand away and argued, "I move!"

"From the couch to the kitchen," Woohyun threw back with a roll of his eyes. "The only time you do any stretching is when the tv remote is barely out of reach." He then mimicked Sunggyu stretching and groaning for a remote. After he realized that he had successfully ticked off the other, Woohyun stopped and smiled brightly.

"Goodbye," Sunggyu said, closing the door on that smug face.

"I’ll shut up. I’ll shut up," Woohyun insisted, gripping the door with his hand and pulling it back open. He was looking up at the other with those sad eyes again. "I'll be quiet, if we can just go."

Sunggyu smiled softly. Those eyes gripped at his heart every time. "I’m just getting my shoes," he stated, as if he wasn't just trying to shut the other out. Woohyun then let go of the door with a grin and an 'okay.' As he was slipping on his shoes, Sunggyu began to wonder if he was the indecisive one this time: the one who couldn't decide to give this love a shot or to back away with his tail between his legs like he normally did. His last break-up had left him scarred and scared. His ex had told Sunggyu that he thought Sunggyu was incapable of love, that he was selfish and a narcissist. And Sunggyu had believed all of that. He went about the next few years thinking that he could love himself better than any one else can. But then he met a little puppy that proved him wrong. His hardened heart was softened. And it was ready.

Sunggyu had a feeling that if he gave this love a shot, he would score and win.

"Ready?" Woohyun asked as Sunggyu stepped out into the hall with a coat and shoes on.

"One more thing," Sunggyu said, before pulling Woohyun in for a kiss. And from the way Woohyun was responding to the sudden affection, this decision had stuck. When Sunggyu pulled away, he smiled to himself. Woohyun had unknowingly assuaged the tempest of doubt swirling inside of him. Sunggyu was confident now. "Yea now I’m ready."

Sunggyu had learned a lot from Woohyun and Myungeun's break-up. The most important things that he had learned were what Woohyun wanted from a relationship. Of course the man wanted some more love and affection than Myungeun could afford, but he also wanted an equal partnership. He wanted someone who respected and valued his opinion, someone that he could work with and not work for. He wanted to build a future, build a family. He wanted the both of them to be their own person, but not so separated that they were just two individuals cohabiting. He wanted the both of them to not be able to live without the other. 

And that so happened to be precisely what Sunggyu was looking for too.

Their relationship progressed smoothly. They eventually moved in together, and Kongddeok was happier to have just one home and both daddies at once. And they were happier altogether. But Sunggyu began to wonder how Myungeun ever forced Woohyun to do anything because with him Woohyun was stubborn and stuck by his decisions. That might go back to what he had learned earlier: people adapt to each other. But Sunggyu learned this new addendum to that lesson: people adapt to each other, but the best relationship requires little adapting and allows you to be yourself. And apparently the real Nam Woohyun was stubborn.

Yes, their relationship progressed smoothly, but Sunggyu thought it was time for them to take a turn. That night at dinner, he brought a pad of paper with him to the dinner table. While he watched Woohyun cook, he jotted down a few things. As they ate and talked, he wrote down a few more. He could see the worry increasing on Woohyun's face as he did so (which might've brought him some erse joy). After all, Sunggyu was purposefully drudging up painful memories for the other. But he continued to write on the paper, until dinner was over and Woohyun couldn't hold in his curiosity any longer.

"Hyung, what do you have there?" he asked, stretching his neck and attempting to read the paper.

Sunggyu alleviated him of the effort and slid the pad across the table. "Read," he commanded sternly and took a sip of his tea.

And so Woohyun read and read, and as he did so, all of the worry melted away, leaving just confusion. Woohyun's lips mouthed out every word on the paper, but his eyes didn't seem to understand what it was seeing.

"These are all the reasons why…I love you," Sunggyu said it quickly and nonchalantly. He sipped from his cup again, to distract himself. All of this drudged up a memory for him too, when Woohyun hastily kissed him for the first time and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. And just like that, Sunggyu said 'I love you' for the first time and acted as if he'd said it before. Woohyun had always said it and Sunggyu was able to get away with just saying 'me too.' But lately, he noticed that Woohyun was becoming disgruntled with that. And so, to make up for being a general coward in love, Sunggyu knew he had to give Woohyun a big gesture to show that when Sunggyu said he loved him, he meant it.

Woohyun looked up from the paper with his eyes shining and a smile overwhelming his face.

"Me too."