NFS 3.18

“What is it?”

As Seo Ahn-jae asked while scrolling through his smartphone screen, Secretary Choi hesitated before approaching.

“Will you be alright? About what you said during the broadcast.”

“Which part?”

“After the quiz, at the end…”

Ah, that. Seo Ahn-jae stopped scrolling and checked the report from the person tailing Joo Seung-ha.

“16:42, exited N Company’s logistics center building at xxx-dong 24. Due to security, couldn’t enter inside so unable to confirm information about who he met.”

Logistics center. Who did he meet here? N Company was where that employee Joo Seung-ha met at the bar worked. Though he didn’t know why she’d called Joo Seung-ha out while drunk, the problem was the man who appeared later. How fucking awful he’d felt seeing the photo of him looking at Joo Seung-ha with that disgusting look in his eyes.

Logistics center, logistics center. Was it just for work? Usually, he would have pursued such suspicions deeply, but being in a good mood continuously since his night with Joo Seung-ha a few days ago, he brushed it off lightly. Then he turned to Secretary Choi who was still waiting for an answer.

“Nothing I said on the broadcast would cause problems for the company, right?”

“But will you personally be alright?”

Seo Ahn-jae twisted his lips. It was a habitual smirk, but even then it still looked like he was in a good mood to Secretary Choi.

“I’m absolutely fine.”

Seo Ahn-jae replied and turned away. Following him, Secretary Choi internally worried about something similar yet different. Would the other person be alright too?

***

‘If the previous shopping broadcast was entertainment, this time I’d like to go with a lifestyle documentary concept. Showing pets playing comfortably in their homes or territories, helping viewers feel healed. Since Team Leader Joo is from a pet food company, we could frame it as him visiting different customers.’

‘The camera will follow you constantly.’ Though Hong Chanwoo looked worried, Joo Seung-ha didn’t think it would be a big problem. Unlike the previous shopping broadcast, he wouldn’t have to play games or act in silly situations—he just needed to work as usual. Besides, the pets would be the stars, so he wouldn’t be too much in the spotlight. Though Joo Seung-ha easily agreed that such a concept would be fine, Hong Chanwoo instead advised him to think it over once more.

‘Though it’s not a regular broadcast, our shows tend to generate a lot of buzz. If Team Leader Joo appears…you might face many hassles afterward. So please think about it more.’

Hong Chanwoo, worried about Joo Seung-ha, seemed uncommonly uncorrupted by commercialism in this industry. That actually made Joo Seung-ha want to say “It’s fine” even more. But Hong Chanwoo insisted on giving him time to decide before sending him off. That was why the journey back from meeting Hong Chanwoo felt peaceful.

It had been a while since he’d felt refreshed from meeting a good person. Sometimes in sales, you meet pleasant people like him. Joo Seung-ha privately nicknamed them “human ginseng”—they all had high empathy, considered others, and spread positive thinking that washed away all anxiety.

‘But if you do it, I’m confident we can make it amazing. It’ll generate enough sales to build a pillar for your company. And it’ll be fun.’

His eyes shone like a child’s as he confidently said it would be fun. Though Joo Seung-ha said he’d take a few days to think about it, by the time he got in his car after visiting his last client, he’d made a firm decision. Yeah, let’s do it. Once decided, excitement about trying something new spread throughout his body.

Though his reason warned him not to get ahead of himself, it had been so long since he’d felt this way, so the feeling wouldn’t easily subside. Since nothing was finalized, he couldn’t tell anyone, but he wanted to share this exciting feeling with someone.

Yet sitting in his car thinking about it, he couldn’t think of any friends to call out for drinks and idle chat in the evening. He hadn’t had time to make friends while working, and most of his relationships were with people from the shelter.

The shelter people were all good, but meeting them would lead them to list worries about the shelter first. He needed someone he could share meaningless conversation with, or comfortably share silence while doing their own things. Scrolling through his phone contacts, Joo Seung-ha’s hand stopped at one name.

 Seo Ahn-jae.

Amusingly, seeing that name made him think that with Seo Ahn-jae, he might actually be able to have meaningless conversations. Despite their constant verbal sparring whenever they met. This was all because of the other man’s daily useless texts. Joo Seung-ha blamed him while about to put his phone away. But as if hearing his thoughts, the screen lit up with a message from Seo Ahn-jae.

[Finished filming. It was nothing special.]

“Haha, seriously.”

Another useless message. But he couldn’t stop laughing. Alone in his car, Joo Seung-ha kept letting out incredulous laughs. Thinking about how he must have maintained that nonchalant “This is nothing” face while filming with the country’s most famous MC made him laugh even harder.

“Of course, you would.”

Joo Seung-ha muttered and decided to drink alone today as he started his car. Should he buy beer and snacks at the convenience store? Or get snacks somewhere else…However, a ringing tone interrupted his plans. He hesitated after seeing Seo Ahn-jae’s name before coming up with an answer.

“Yes.”

—Are you done with work?

“Why?”

—Because I need you.

Joo Seung-ha glanced at the time and said coldly, “The condition was that we’d only meet whenever I wanted to.”

—I know. That’s why I’m saying this is something you need. Ah, I’m going crazy. Please help.

It definitely wasn’t about sleeping together. Since it was rare for Seo Ahn-jae to sigh like that, Joo Seung-ha couldn’t ignore it and asked, “What is it?”

—Just come first.

“No, you need to tell me what it’s about…”

—This one’s too scared of me. No, hates me.

Joo Seung-ha rushed to a place where there was someone who both feared and disliked Seo Ahn-jae. This someone was hiding behind a small wooden doghouse, in a standoff with him.

“Come out, please.”

When Joo Seung-ha arrived at the animal hospital, he heard Seo Ahn-jae’s voice scolding Cookie. This animal hospital occupied all three floors of the building and included both a pet hotel and a pet kindergarten. Joo Seung-ha had entered the floor with the pet hotel. Seo Ahn-jae was speaking like that at the entrance of a small room there. No, talking to a dog like that wouldn’t make it listen. Though exasperated at first, seeing Seo Ahn-jae crouching at a distance from Cookie made him want to laugh instead.

“Hey, we have to go.”

Despite his gruff voice, Seo Ahn-jae was waving his hand in a coaxing manner. Joo Seung-ha had to turn away to hide his smile and only approached after composing his expression.

“Step back.”

Seo Ahn-jae looked up from his crouching position. Seeing him from this angle was fresh, as Joo Seung-ha had rarely looked down at him before. His hair was styled with his bangs swept up, probably for today’s broadcast recording. His forehead is pretty. Seo Ahn-jae, everything about you is pretty. Joo Seung-ha thought fleetingly as he met the other’s disgruntled dark eyes.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes. Cookie is scared.”

“Hurry and step back.” 

When Joo Seung-ha waved his hand, Seo Ahn-jae slowly stood up and stepped back, not hiding his displeasure.

“More. Go all the way over there.”

“Do I really have to?”

Joo Seung-ha had to tense his mouth to hold back a laugh.

“Stop being stubborn and hurry.”

As Seo Ahn-jae moved slowly, he muttered lowly to Joo Seung-ha.

“That dog is weird.”

Joo Seung-ha turned his head to hide his smile, thinking, How weird can a dog be?

“What happened?”

“As you can see.”

Explain more, Joo Seung-ha looked back as Seo Ahn-jae spoke gruffly while looking at Cookie.

“Seo Jihae asked me to watch him. They said someone needs to keep an eye on him since his treatment isn’t finished yet, right?”

Right? The last part rose slightly as if asking for confirmation. Joo Seung-ha nodded his head.

“That’s right. During heartworm treatment, he can’t get excited.”

So step back further, he added, and though Seo Ahn-jae’s eyes twisted in displeasure, he retreated without argument. Joo Seung-ha lowered himself to the same spot where Seo Ahn-jae had been crouching and sat down completely. Cookie seemed tense, panting slightly with his tongue out, unable to make eye contact.

“Cookie.”

Joo Seung-ha called his name once while observing his reaction, but there was no change. 

“Cookie,” he called again gently while taking out a treat bag from his pocket. As he deliberately made loud crinkling noises while opening it, a voice interrupted from behind.

“That won’t work.”

Seo Ahn-jae was holding a piece of hard jerky in his hand. Thinking about how he must have waved that to coax the dog made Joo Seung-ha want to laugh again, but he quickly tensed up, realizing he might soon be the object of mockery himself. While most dogs did like jerky, they might have other preferred treats.

In other words, each dog had different tastes and preferences. As Joo Seung-ha remembered, Cookie preferred sausage-textured treats. He cut a fingernail-sized piece of the dog sausage from the packet and tossed it as close to Cookie as possible.

“Cookie.”

Calling in a low, comfortable voice, he tossed a few more treats. Cookie noticed the treats and lowered his head to sniff.

“Eat it. It’s delicious.”

After encouraging the dog who couldn’t understand anyway and waiting for a while, Cookie stuck out his tongue and ate the treats. Only then did he properly look at Joo Seung-ha. Well, not making eye contact, but looking at the treats in Joo Seung-ha’s hand. Even that was half a success, so Joo Seung-ha threw more treats while speaking softly and steadily.

“I heard your mom takes good care of you? Lots of delicious food and lots of love. Lucky you, right?”

Cookie stretched out his front paws from his hiding place and approached slightly, tempted by the treats. Cookie had originally been friendly toward people at the shelter, so Joo Seung-ha hadn’t expected him to hide for long. But seeing how scared he was of Seo Ahn-jae made him angry, wondering if the previous male owner had abused Cookie. He hadn’t been this wary of strangers before.

“Your new family will stay by your side until you’re old enough to ride in a puppy stroller. Really, they’ll stay by your side and love only you until the end. Oh, yes, Cookie, want more?”

Joo Seung-ha broke off a larger piece and held it out in his palm to Cookie, who was slowly approaching while eating the treats on the floor. Though Cookie hesitated, he stretched his neck out to quickly eat the treat from Joo Seung-ha’s palm.

Joo Seung-ha put another treat on his palm and this time carefully stroked Cookie’s head with his other hand. He continued petting even after the treat was gone, and Cookie waited quietly with his tongue slightly out, as if asking for more. Joo Seung-ha applied a bit more pressure and expanded his petting range to include Cookie’s back while asking, “Shall we go home now?”

“It’s not home.”

Another objection came from behind. What do you mean? Joo Seung-ha turned around to see Seo Ahn-jae looking at him with an odd expression before speaking.

“He can’t go to his home. He needs to come to my place. You explain it to him.”

“…”

“What?”

“No, I just didn’t expect you to ask me to explain something to a dog.”

“You seem good at talking to him.”

It sounded more like a compliment than sarcasm, making Joo Seung-ha slightly furrow his brows.

“Yes, I’m good with dogs.”

“That’s good. I get called a dog sometimes too.”

A “pfft” of laughter made Joo Seung-ha realize that an employee was standing nearby. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly put the harness on Cookie and carefully picked him up. Fortunately, there was no resistance or fearful tail-tucking.

“Cookie’s mother was very worried, but fortunately Cookie is doing well.”

“Is he doing well here?”

“Since Cookie is under treatment, he can’t go to kindergarten and is being cared for in a private room here. He’s being so good despite probably feeling cooped up. Of course, I check on him frequently to make sure he’s okay.”

Even without checking, they seemed to be taking good care. The facility was clearly well-equipped. The private room for the dog was quite spacious, and there were many staff members. Plus, there was a veterinarian in the house ready to respond to any problems.

“Cookie ate all his food well today, and since he’s in the rest period before injection treatment, the vet said a little fresh air would be fine. We took a short walk in the rooftop garden.”

The employee quickly reported Cookie’s activities for the day while handing over a bag containing Cookie’s items. It looked like a pet kindergarten bag. Joo Seung-ha had to suppress another laugh watching Seo Ahn-jae receive the small yellow kindergarten bag. It doesn’t suit him. Really doesn’t suit him at all. He followed Seo Ahn-jae to the parking lot but hesitated before getting into his car. I guess I should go with them? As if reading Joo Seung-ha’s thoughts, Seo Ahn-jae spoke firmly.

“I can’t handle him.”

“I think Cookie feels the same way about you.”

At those words, Seo Ahn-jae furrowed his brow while looking at the cute spotted pattern. Seeing his expression that seemed to say ‘You’re the only one who dislikes me,’ Joo Seung-ha added, “You should have been nicer from the start.”

“I was never given the chance to be nice.”

“By Cookie?”

“No, by his guardian.”

 As he circled around the topic, Joo Seung-ha could hear the quiet grumbling in his words. He couldn’t help but curve his lips. On the other hand, if he suddenly had to ask his sister to take care of Cookie despite all this circling around, Joo Seung-ha wondered if something urgent had come up with noona and felt slightly worried.

“So, you won’t help?”

Ah, that would mean going to Seo Ahn-jae’s house together. When Joo Seung-ha hesitated briefly, Seo Ahn-jae opened the back seat door and urged, “Get in. I’ll take care of moving your car.”

“I didn’t bring a car.”

He’d naturally parked the company car at work before leaving. He only borrowed a car on weekends when needed at the shelter.

“Ah, really?”

As he got into the car, Seo Ahn-jae seemed to be smiling pleasantly for some reason. Joo Seung-ha, thinking he must have seen wrong, instead, focused all of his attention on Cookie. He carefully placed Cookie on the seat beside him and picked up the kindergarten bag Seo Ahn-jae had put down to move it aside. That’s when he paused, noticing the name tag on the bag.

‘Seo Cookie’

Like other shelters, the ultimate goal of the shelter where Joo Seung-ha volunteered was to get all dogs adopted into homes. Though not many, some dogs had been adopted, and most shared their post-adoption life on SNS.