JERS 07

Chapter 07

Ah. Only then did I realize I’d practically been scolding Lee Ji-woo like a kindergarten kid.

“Sorry. I suddenly raised my voice… It’s just, if a car comes, running out like that is dangerous….”

When I awkwardly apologized, the frozen-stiff Ji-woo startled and quickly shook his head.

“No, it’s fine! I should’ve looked properly before crossing….”

As the two of us stood there feeling embarrassed and at a loss for words, Kwon-hyung cut in.

“Uh, that’s nice and all, but is it okay to just leave the dog like that right now?”

“Ah.”

Only then did both of us come back to our senses. After checking that no cars were coming, we crossed the street.

I’d worried it might run away when people approached, but the dog perked its ears the instant it noticed us.

“Dust?”

Ji-woo stepped ahead of me and cautiously called to the dog. The shabby, ragged dog that looked like a bundle of rags began wagging its tail.

“W-want a snack?”

He pulled out the jerky he’d brought and held it out. As if it had been waiting for exactly that, the raggedy dog rushed toward Ji-woo.

Ji-woo was startled for a second and lifted his hand up, and the dog whimpered pitifully at his feet.

“Whine, whimper, whiiiine….”

Despite looking so scruffy, the way it didn’t even bark once and only begged with whining was actually pretty cute.

“It’s going to suffocate, just give it to him already.”

Ji-woo stared at it as if hypnotized, and only when Kwon-hyung pointed it out did he finally give the jerky to the dog.

The dog must have been really hungry; it immediately started tearing into the soft part of the jerky, gobbling it down.

“At this rate, I guess this wasn’t even necessary, huh?”

Kwon-hyung raised the big net he’d been holding. I shrugged to show I agreed.

“Lucky….”

I really didn’t want to be running all over the mountain chasing it if it bolted.

I quietly approached the dog and fastened the leash I’d bought at the animal hospital around its neck.

Click. As the buckle fastened, the dog perked its ears again and looked at me in surprise.

“It’s nothing scary.”

When I smiled and soothed it, it went right back to focusing on the jerky, devouring it with adorable seriousness.

All right. Cute is cute, but since we caught it, time to do what we need to do.

By the time I realized it, the dog had already finished one piece and was pawing at Ji-woo’s feet begging for more, so I picked it up. Suddenly lifted off the ground, the dog tilted its head and looked up at me.

“Whoa, the smell.”

As soon as he got close, Kwon-hyung clamped his nose shut and backed away.

It was bad enough to deserve that reaction. Just how long had it been living like this? The stench was awful.

“Let’s take it and get it groomed first.”

Whether we found its owner or had to rehome it, that reeking, ragged coat needed to be dealt with first.

Both Kwon-hyung and Ji-woo nodded at the same time. Only the dog tilted its head cutely, clueless about what we were saying.

“Wow, just seeing it makes me feel refreshed! Its whole body looks like it’s been cut in half, seriously.”

Just like Kwon-hyung said, once grooming and bathing were done, Dust looked almost half its original size.

‘It’s smaller than I thought.’

I’d guessed it might weigh around five to six kilos, but with the fur shaved, it was only 2.4kg.

It was really skinny right now, so once it ate properly, it’d probably put some weight back on… but even then, it didn’t seem like it would become a lot bigger.

“This little one’s got such a good temperament. The clippers must’ve been scary, but he handled it so well without barking.”

Just as the groomer said, the dog was very calm. It panted tiredly with its tongue out, then let out a little sighing whine and lay down at Ji-woo’s feet.

“So… what do we do now?”

Kwon-hyung looked at me and asked.

“We have to go to the animal hospital and check if it has a chip.”

We thoroughly scanned its whole body at a nearby clinic, but there was no identification chip. Once it was officially registered as an abandoned animal, all that was left to do was wait.

“So where does it go now?”

When I asked the staff member, he replied apathetically with an exhausted look.

“There’s a kennel over there. It’ll stay there for a week, and after the notice period ends, we’ll contact you.”

He jerked his chin toward an area that, even at a glance, didn’t look sanitary at all.

After we’d spent money to wash it clean, sending it into that filthy place felt ridiculous. I cautiously asked again,

“Would it be okay if we kept it during that period instead?”

The staff muttered something under his breath, then basically told us to do whatever we wanted and handed the dog back. Even then, the dog stayed quiet in our arms, gently twitching.

As soon as we left the facility, I turned to Ji-woo.

“Do you want to keep Dust for now? Your home doesn’t forbid pets, right?”

Ji-woo, who was holding the dog, startled and looked at me.

“M-my house? It’s really messy…”

“You can clean it.”

No matter how messy, you can clear one room in an hour or two. And if I could get inside his house and learn more about him in the process, even better.

“I could come with you today and help you clean if you want?”

I casually suggested, but Ji-woo squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head hard.

“No! If it’s okay… could you please look after Dust just a few days—no, even just one day!? I’ll clean up right away!”

He looked so horrified that I couldn’t force him.

It’s not like he was hiding some sacred treasure at home… And Dust seemed friendly and adaptable enough that I wasn’t too worried.

“Then we’ll take him to my place first. When you’re ready, he can stay with you. We should also post on the community market app that we found him, and maybe look for anyone willing to adopt.”

Since the residents had clearly loved him for a while, there might be someone willing to take him in. If we could return him to his owner, great… and if not, we’d find another solution.

With that decided, I gently tugged on the leash.

“…!”

Dozing off, Dust suddenly lifted his head, looked at me, and scurried over.

“Pretty smart.”

Not just friendly, but pretty perceptive, too. I adjusted my grip on the leash.

“Let’s go.”

Dust trotted after me. Ji-woo hurried behind us.

‘Feels like we’ve got two puppies now.’

After working its short legs hard to catch up, Dust hopped onto the car seat the second the door opened. That shameless yet sweet attitude suited its cute appearance perfectly.

“Man… judging by how loved it seems, why was it abandoned?”

I had the same question. It had a great temperament, didn’t look like it had surgery, and nobody was looking for it. As a companion dog, it was perfect.

People who abandon do so because they’re trash—there doesn’t always have to be a reason. But one thing was clear: this dog deserved to be loved.

‘At this rate, maybe we won’t have to worry about finding a new owner.’

And we finally learned the answer a few days later.

—Hello, are you the guardian who took Dust in last time?

“Yes, that’s right. Is something wrong?”

The sudden call from the facility startled us; then, when we heard the content, we were shocked.

—Someone sent in a tip saying they might know who used to own the dog.

What they sent next was unexpected: screenshots from an inactive social media account. A dog that looked exactly like Dust was sitting in a luxury foreign car.

—They also sent videos. It really does look similar, but we can’t say for sure it’s the same dog. There was no chip, after all.

The dog in the video behaved exactly like Dust. Didn’t bark, only whined a little, super friendly…

The owner clearly lived comfortably. So why abandon it?

As we scrolled further through the account, we found the clue in the last posts.

[- You XXXXX pick up your phone, give me back my money you XXX]

[- Anyone else pressing charges against this person, join the victim chat (Link)]

[- So many people got scammed trusting this XXX. If I catch you, you’re dead.]

‘Great….’

No wonder the feed looked so show-offish. He was a scammer. Dust was probably just a prop for showing off, and when he went on the run, he couldn’t handle it anymore and dumped the dog.

‘He even made the dog do modeling work when he’d just gotten it.’

Seeing the photos of Dust all groomed, dressed up, wearing hats in front of pet product displays, left a bitter taste.

When life was good, he flaunted it everywhere. When things went bad, he ditched it and ran.

The dog’s glammed-up past reminded me of someone else.

‘When Ji-woo was successful, his mother paraded him everywhere. His dad came to the set almost every day.’

Then, when things fell apart and the couple’s relationship soured, they left him alone like abandoned luggage.

Since the original owner was wanted by the police, reclaiming the dog was impossible. So now what…

With the notice period ending soon, I asked Ji-woo what he wanted to do.

“Once the notice ends, should we start posting adoption ads? If we’re going to rehome him, the sooner we find a good owner before we get too attached, the better.”

Ji-woo immediately looked like he was going to cry.

“Uh… actually… can’t I just… raise him?”

Ji-woo didn’t have the ability to take responsibility yet.

“You know raising a dog isn’t easy. It costs money, too. Dust might live a really long time. Can you handle it?”

His face darkened as reality sank in.

But that didn’t mean there was no solution at all.

If this pushed him to take responsibility and move forward, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

I didn’t miss the timing.

“It might not be completely impossible. Do you want to hear my idea?”

Ji-woo widened his eyes and looked at me again.

This time, a pair of soft brown puppy eyes looked up from his arms along with him.