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Chapter 07
When Jeon came to his senses and opened his eyes, yet another new space unfolded before him. Startled, he sat up and quickly realized that he was in a police station. It didn’t take him long to figure it out.
“Are you awake?”
What the hell did this bastard do to end up at the police station? Jeon straightened his disheveled clothes as best as he could and stood there as calmly as possible, pretending nothing had happened.
“Yes. Why am I at the police station?”
“Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?”
“Yesterday?”
What kind of accident did I cause? There was no trace of yesterday’s events in his mind, which only made him more uneasy. The police officer gave him a friendly smile.
“You did a really wonderful thing. If it weren’t for you, I don’t even want to imagine what could have happened to the people on that floor.”
“Me?”
Unable to understand, Jeon asked in return, and the officer patiently explained the situation.
“Yes. There was a fire on the lower floor. But you smelled a faint smoke, ran around the same floor and even downstairs, helping evacuate people.”
“……”
“The fire broke out at night. Most people would have been asleep, so if it weren’t for you, it could have been a real disaster. Thanks to you, we were able to contain it early. Your quick thinking and courage were extraordinary.”
The police officers all clapped enthusiastically for Jeon. Amid the unexpected praise, one question lingered in his mind.
“But why am I sleeping here instead of at home?”
“Oh, well… we thought it would be scary if you stayed alone where the fire happened…”
“……”
“You were scared.”
Damn it. This bastard. Scared my ass.
After wrapping things up, Jeon left the police station and hailed a taxi. Checking the time, he realized he’d be late if he didn’t hurry.
“Please step on it a bit more,” he politely told the driver.
Soon, he arrived in front of his home. After paying, he hesitated in front of the door lock.
“Not scared… I just didn’t know the password.”
Come to think of it, while possessed by the dog, he’d never properly opened this door. The first time, Secretary Oh must have opened it, and the second, he’d stayed overnight at Hong I-hyun’s place.
But why didn’t that bastard go to Hong I-hyun yesterday?
“Even if you share my body, does that mean I’m supposed to feel attached to you? Whether you went or not, what does it matter?”
Grumbling at the effort it took from the police station to his home that morning, Jeon quickly went inside and finished getting ready for work. He grabbed his personal phone and headed to the parking lot. As he was about to start the navigation, he noticed something strange.
“Why is this video playing?”
On the screen appeared a video from a camera he rarely used, and faintly, himself appeared in the corner. Instinctively, Jeon clicked on it.
He saw himself moving restlessly—more precisely, his body while possessed by Hong I.
-Is this right? This is how nuna (older sister) acted when taking a video with me.
The restless dog suddenly sat down and cleared its throat.
“-Hello, sir.”
It even raised its paw in greeting. Jeon started driving slowly while the video continued.
“-It’s nice to meet you like this. Oh… maybe only I’m happy? If you’re not, I’m sorry for what I just said! If I caused you trouble, I’m sorry too! I didn’t know you’d have such a hard time because I’m a puppy! Really sorry!”
In the video, Hong bowed to the driving Jeon and apologized.
“-But sir, this might be bad puppy behavior… could you lend me your body a little longer? I promise I won’t cause any more accidents! I’ll behave! I’ll eat only a little chicken and not play with the ball! I won’t make situations you hate. Really! Your eyes must hurt a lot too, right? Sorry.”
Hong clasped her hands together, pleading earnestly. In the background, a clock faintly indicated the late hour: 11:37 PM. Jeon was probably about to fall asleep.
“-I want to play with nuna a little longer. I have a lot I want to do with nuna. Actually, I really wanted to see nuna today too…”
Hong, covering her face as if about to cry, spoke in a trembling voice.
“-But… I’m scared she’ll tell me never to come again… I’m afraid of hearing that. And nuna would feel sad saying it too…”
It seemed Hong’s spirit had overheard their conversation in the car. Imagining the puppy sulking alone seemed a little pitiful. The voice spilling between her fingers sounded unbearably sad. It was strange to hear emotions so vividly expressed in her own voice.
The crying Hong clutched a ball in one hand, the same ball she had tossed aside carelessly.
“-Sir? I won’t cause any more accidents. Huh? What’s that smell?”
Hong suddenly sniffed around and wrinkled her nose.
“-This smell is very dangerous!”
She ran off, leaving a commotion in the distance. Jeon turned off the video.
‘The fire broke out at night. Most people would have been asleep, so if it weren’t for you, it could have been a real disaster.’
Among the people who could have been in danger, he was certainly included. If it weren’t for Hong, he might have been in severe pain at the hospital or, since he was directly above the fire, he could have faced the worst-case scenario.
“Hah… and I’m supposed to be weak-hearted?”
After all, she had saved his life.
‘I’d rather protect you.’
The fortune teller’s words came to mind. Jeon shook his head violently.
“I can’t exactly say I don’t believe in superstition… I’ve already become possessed by a dog ghost.”
It had indeed saved his life, and more importantly, it was a divine matter—something humans couldn’t interfere with. He could do nothing to stop or reject Hong’s possession. All he could do was wait until whatever plan the divine being had finished.
Still, he couldn’t stay defenseless like this. He worried about his night. And then, Jeon thought of a way to make the night less unsettling.
The elevator doors opened in the lobby, and Lee-hyun, about to step in, froze. Jeon was inside, wearing a perfectly tailored formal suit. Luckily, their colleague Woo-sung was also there.
“Assistant Manager Hong.”
Woo-sung greeted warmly.
“Assistant Manager Bang.”
They exchanged greetings. Jeon crossed his arms and gave a casual glance before withdrawing it. Lee-hyun moved closer to Woo-sung for comfort.
“How was your weekend?”
Woo-sung asked abruptly. Lee-hyun’s gaze briefly wandered to Jeon’s broad back before quickly looking away.
“Good. How about you, Assistant Manager Bang?”
“I moved this week. I thought I’d die. I’m planning a housewarming soon.”
“I’ll come. What should I bring?”
“Something I like.”
“Something you like… ah, got it. When’s the housewarming?”
“Tomorrow evening? Or the day after? I’ll contact you separately.”
Suddenly, Lee-hyun made eye contact with Jeon, who had turned around. His gaze, laced with discomfort, shifted to Woo-sung.
“Going down?”
Perhaps too engrossed in conversation, Woo-sung hadn’t realized they’d arrived at his floor. He smiled at Lee-hyun.
“I’m going to get coffee. Let’s go down together.”
“No. I have some business with Assistant Manager Hong.”
Lee-hyun’s parted lips were replaced by Jeon’s voice. Seeing Woo-sung tilt his head, Jeon nodded again.
“How long do you plan to keep me waiting?”
Startled by Jeon’s almost threatening tone, Woo-sung quickly exited. Jeon pressed the close button without hesitation. The elevator doors closed, leaving the two alone in the quiet space. Lee-hyun caught Jeon’s words like an afterimage.
“What business do you have with me, Assistant Manager?”
Jeon turned to face Lee-hyun, hands in his pockets. It seemed he wanted to talk about Hong, and Lee-hyun tensed, worried he might say something harsh. Since Hong hadn’t visited him yesterday as expected, Lee-hyun’s worry had only deepened.
“What if Hong possesses Assistant Manager Bang too?”
Lee-hyun shook his head.
“No. There’s no sign of that with Assistant Manager Bang. None at all.”
“Then don’t make plans for dinner with Assistant Manager Bang. Won’t Hong see you?”
“She will. There are things to discuss.”
“Hong really wants to see Assistant Manager Hong.”
He paused, lowered his gaze, then looked back up at Lee-hyun.
“At night, she’ll be with me. That’s what I mean.”
“……”
“Assistant Manager Hong will have to take responsibility for my night.”
