Chapter 1: Picking Up a Puppy

Part 1

A heartless brat.

That was what Gyeon Heeseong thought the first time he saw Yoon Chi-young.

‘How can he walk around smiling like that after hearing his father has died?’

Heeseong glanced at Chi-young with a disgusted look.

He had heard that just last night, the father of Chi-young, the leader of the wolf clan, had passed away. Yet there was Chi-young, dressed in a sharp suit, laughing and chatting happily with those around him. And all of this was happening in a gambling den of the canine clan.

In the industry Heeseong worked in, affection was scarce. It was a place where beastmen fought and committed crimes over money every other day. But Heeseong had heard that the wolf clan, to which Chi-young belonged, valued family due to their monogamous nature. However, seeing Chi-young now, he seemed more like a lion that would kill its own cubs rather than a wolf.

However, Heeseong couldn’t afford to show his disdain outwardly. He was neither a lion nor a wolf but a small dog in the gambling den.

“Good day.”

As Chi-young passed by, Heeseong bowed his head in greeting.

Chi-young, who was a head taller, either didn’t hear the greeting or was too engrossed in his conversation with a friend.

Chi-young’s face was as handsome as a purebred wolf’s, and his smile was gentle when he laughed, but the words that came out of his mouth were the complete opposite. Chi-young seemed to take pleasure in the fact that he had seen the ears of a member of the bovine clan get cut off, even though he had lost a bet.

‘I must never get involved with this guy.’

Heeseong shuddered and looked at Chi-young’s back with displeasure.

Chi-young, with his handsome features, seemed oddly out of place in the dingy gambling den, much like his behavior of laughing and chatting despite his family’s recent tragedy.

A few steps away, Chi-young lazily muttered.

“Doesn’t it smell like a little puppy around here?”

“……”

Heeseong’s fist clenched reflexively.

It seemed like the comment was meant for him to hear. Heeseong, being a small dog breed, was complex about his size. He usually maintained his human form meticulously to avoid revealing his true scent or appearance. It was strange. Unless someone had an exceptionally keen sense of smell, they shouldn’t be able to detect a ‘puppy scent,’ something not even he could identify.

‘Damn wolf brat.’

It must have been a derogatory remark aimed at the canine clan. The man standing next to Chi-young also burst out laughing, asking what kind of nonsense that was.

Heeseong glared murderously at Chi-young’s broad back, unaware that Chi-young had turned around and was faintly smiling at him.

***

…Contrary to Heeseong’s hopes, he ended up encountering Yoon Chi-young again.

The second time Heeseong saw Chi-young was when he was being scolded by his brother.

As the youngest member of the canine clan organization, Heeseong had to work in the gambling den without any days off, often getting involved in incidents and accidents. In truth, most of these incidents were due to Heeseong’s intractable nature.

“Heeseong… You need to tone down your personality if you want to work here, okay?”

His brother, Park Geon-tae, who was sitting with him at a corner table, said this with a hint of frustration. Heeseong was looking down, dispirited, but still couldn’t hide his rebellious spirit, glaring at something on the table.

Geon-tae wasn’t his blood brother, but he was the one who had taken Heeseong in when he was on the brink of starving to death. For that reason, Heeseong considered him the only family he had left and comfortably shared his troubles and stories that no one else would listen to.

“…That bastard kept asking me to suck it while playing poker.”

“That’s because you’re pretty, and they get carried away. Why did you have to throw chips in the customer’s face right away?”

“He said he wanted to tuck it into my chest…”

“Ah, geez… There was a wolf at that table too. Aren’t you going to be careful?”

Geon-tae gently chided him, pouring him a glass of alcohol.

Comforted by his brother, Heeseong found it easier to express his emotions. Perhaps due to the accumulated sadness and fatigue, soft black hair with half-folded white puppy ears started to show.

After gulping down half of his drink, Heeseong put the glass down defiantly and said, “Brother, I don’t want to work here anymore.”

“……”

Geon-tae averted his gaze with a bitter expression. Bound by debts to the organization, Geon-tae was in no position to easily leave the gambling den. Despite knowing this, Heeseong wanted to escape, even if it meant running away. If it weren’t for his brother, he would have fled long ago.

It was then that an unexpected question came from the side.

“Why are you drinking alcohol? Trying to kill yourself?”

It was Yoon Chi-young.

Even though they were strangers, he easily struck up a conversation with Heeseong. Heeseong had greeted him as a gambling den employee before, but they were essentially meeting for the first time.

Yet, there was Chi-young, sitting naturally at the table next to the round one, fixing his gaze on Heeseong. Heeseong, feeling uneasy and pressured, leaned back and retorted with a defensive tone.

“Do you know me?”

“No, Not yet.”

“Then mind your own busi… Ouch!”

Suddenly, the brother sitting in front of Heeseong stepped on his foot. His face was drenched in cold sweat, clearly flustered.

It was a silent warning to be careful with his words around a VIP.

“Ca-canines can drink alcohol just fine.”

“Are you being forced to drink?”

Is this bastard even listening to what I’m saying?

“No. I, I want to.”

“Ah, wanting to…”

Chi-young smiled and tilted his head at such a trivial response. That simple gesture seemed almost sculptural. His features were flawless and beautiful, with a gentle smile that drew people in, yet his gray eyes emitted a cold aura, giving him a somewhat lifeless appearance. However, even that dangerous atmosphere felt strangely attractive, continuously capturing Heeseong’s attention.

“Drink in moderation. You’ll harm your body otherwise.”

Chi-young belatedly stroked Heeseong’s head gently as he passed by, a gesture as tender and affectionate as one might show a lover.

Moreover, he flipped only one of Heeseong’s half-folded puppy ears before leaving.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

Heeseong couldn’t hide his displeasure and neatly folded his white ears back while baring his fangs. He wanted to outright curse, but Chi-young had already disappeared with his own group members.

“Do you know Yoon Chi-young…?”

His brother asked hesitantly after a moment. With a face as if he was about to kill someone, Heeseong shook his head.

“I don’t know, damn it.”

“But why did he act like he knows you?”

That was something Heeseong wanted to know as well.

Seeing Heeseong’s annoyance, his brother earnestly warned him, “Be especially careful around Yoon Chi-young from the wolf clan. There are rumors he even preys on his own kind.”

“……”

…Gyeon Heeseong disliked Yoon Chi-young.

If the information came from his brother, the manager of the gambling den, it was likely true. Chi-young was rumored to be heartless, even regarding his family’s death, and now there were rumors of him preying on his own kind. Heeseong couldn’t understand how someone with such a handsome face could engage in such actions.

And then, during their third encounter, an incident with Chi-young occurred.

Heeseong faced harassment from that bastard—Heeseong didn’t want to use the term “bastard” given he himself was a dog, but ironically, the guy was also a dog.

<Hey, man. How is that harassment? I just said you were cute.>

<You put my body in your mouth!>

Even his brother just laughed it off, but Heeseong persistently claimed it was harassment.

Here’s what happened: The night before, Heeseong had cleaned up a room that a customer had trashed and had fallen soundly asleep on the sofa, reverted to his original small form due to extreme fatigue.

Being a small white dog, Heeseong could curl up inside a suit jacket and be mistaken for a pile of laundry, often going unnoticed for a long time. It was the one advantage of being a small dog.

But Yoon Chi-young was different.

Heeseong had no idea how long Chi-young had been by his side, but when he woke up, there he was, staring down at him with dark eyes, from atop Heeseong’s sleeping form.

And that crazy bastard was biting Heeseong’s white front paw!

It might seem trivial, but the terror is real when experienced firsthand. beastmen gradually reveal their true forms when they can’t control their emotions. Imagine waking up to find a vampire-like creature with black wolf ears and fangs gnawing on your front paw.

Argh!

Startled, Heeseong flailed about. Then, Chi-young’s delighted laughter pierced his ears. He even went as far as to grab the scampering puppy’s body with one hand and rub his lips against its fluffy back.

Heeseong screamed for him to get lost and bit down hard on Chi-young’s fingers holding him, drawing blood.

Yet, Chi-young, seemingly unfazed by his bleeding fingers, flipped the white bundle over and buried his lips into its pink belly.

<Ah, this looks really delicious.>

All while making such a dog-like remark.

Embarrassingly, Heeseong eventually foamed at the mouth and fainted. It was inevitable. Just as in the wild, where an animal might faint when bitten by a predator many times its size, it was an automatic reflex.

From that day on, Heeseong’s hatred for Yoon Chi-young solidified.

He was actually scared by the rumors of Chi-young preying on his own kind, though he wouldn’t admit it. Just like he wouldn’t admit the tough exterior he projected was in stark contrast to his true form as a small dog.

***