DMWP V1C1 – Part 5

Part 5

…After being struck on the head, my memories became spotty and fragmented.

Heeseong, who had been attacked, struggled fiercely. He had promised his brother to work together until the end of this month, and he couldn’t afford to ruin everything now.

Despite the blinding pain from the blow to his head, Heeseong swung the helmet he held in his hand wildly at anyone who came close. There were about four or five assailants, likely trying to steal the drugs from him. Heeseong managed to fend them off with the helmet, attempting to find an opening to escape.

“Aaargh!”

But as he felt a tearing pain in his leg and his body collapsed, Heeseong realized a knife had been plunged into his thigh. The excruciating pain from the penetration made it impossible for him to stand, and he fell to the ground, curling up.

“You worthless piece of shit. And with such a foul temper.”

Someone kicked Heeseong hard in the stomach as he spewed insults. Without even being able to scream, Heeseong writhed on the ground, gasping for air. Then, the attackers rummaged through his bike and body, stealing the drugs given to him by the wolves.

‘No, this was the item brother told me to retrieve….’

Biting down on his teeth, Heeseong first pulled out the knife embedded in his thigh. In a last desperate attempt, he tried to crawl after them, but the mocking laughter of his assailants faded into the distance.

Abandoned in the alley, Heeseong instinctively felt that if he collapsed here, he would die.

‘I shouldn’t revert to my true form now….’

But he was already turning back into a small puppy, a natural phenomenon for a wounded beastman seeking recovery.

The puppy crawled into a corner, desperately trying to move its diminished body.

‘Brother said… it was the last time….’

His beaten body was in too much pain, and the injustice of it all was unbearable. He wanted to cry, but the pain made even that impossible.

The puppy managed to half-drag itself along the concrete wall, making a half-circle around the building. It thought collapsing where people were most likely to be would increase its chances of getting back to its brother.

But the building, infuriatingly large, seemed endless no matter how much it walked. Bleeding and trailing blood, Heeseong eventually collapsed, powerless.

As consciousness began to fade, a familiar voice accompanied by the scent of cigarettes came from above.

“What’s with this scruffy little puppy?”

‘Let go… you bastard!’

Heeseong inwardly cursed fiercely, fearing it might be the attackers who had ambushed him.

However, the only sounds that escaped outward were feeble whimpers. Attempting to flee again proved futile; the little white paws merely twitched, devoid of any strength.

“Ah…”

After a soft sigh, Heeseong felt someone gently lifting him into their arms.

“I spared you because you’re pretty.”

He couldn’t make out the following words clearly. Yet, Heeseong felt a wave of fear, thinking he heard Yoon Chi-young’s voice close by.

But succumbing to the warmth, Heeseong instinctively snuggled into the embrace and passed out.

* * *

Heeseong regained consciousness faintly a few times.

As soon as he came to, he was greeted by the faint smell of chemicals and disinfectant.

‘No…’

Thinking he was in a hospital, Heeseong tried to awaken fully. But his body was too weak, managing only feeble whines.

‘Vet bills are expensive…’

Beastmen often didn’t qualify for insurance, making both animal and beastman hospital bills expensive. Heeseong had no money, especially after being robbed of the goods he was transporting. He felt guilty even thinking about asking his brother to cover the hospital expenses.

As he groaned inwardly, Heeseong’s eyes fluttered open, revealing an unexpected scene.

‘Where am I…?’

It wasn’t the hospital scene he anticipated. Heeseong found himself in a bed as large as his room, with black bedding and the surrounding sleek modern interior all in black tones. The only white in sight was himself, the puppy.

In his blurry vision, he saw figures: a gaunt beastman in a white doctor’s coat and a tall man sitting on the bed. The beastman in the white coat looked so haggard, almost like a drug addict, making Heeseong wonder if he was truly a doctor.

“Why did you wake up? Sleep more.”

Indeed, it seemed his fate was to be a dog.

Struggling to look to the side, Heeseong saw Yoon Chi-young speaking sweetly, as if soothing a lover. Heeseong wanted to curse at him, wondering if he had lost his mind, but being in his puppy form, all he could manage was to bare his tiny, rice-grain-sized fangs slightly.

The doctor spoke cautiously.

“Given the patient’s small size, the surgery was quite risky, but fortunately, there was no damage to the organs, so recovery should be swift.”

As he spoke, Heeseong felt the doctor’s finger touching near his thigh, where he had been stabbed. The pain made Heeseong curl up tightly and tremble. He wanted to shake off the hand touching the wound, but the medication in his system made even small movements arduous.

“Also, this time too, we could hardly detect any pheromones from the patient… the puppy, making it difficult to accurately determine if it’s a beastman.”

Yoon Chi-young, seemingly unconcerned, simply nodded while looking at the puppy.

This was news to Heeseong. Having avoided hospitals due to financial reasons, he was unaware that his pheromones were almost undetectable.

‘Why don’t I have pheromones?’

Beastmen typically emit pheromones hundreds of times stronger than ordinary animals, often used to distinguish them from non-beastmen. However, Heeseong couldn’t tell if the lack of detectable pheromones was fortunate or unfortunate.

‘Is this a good thing right now?’

Regardless, he felt it might be better for Yoon Chi-young not to know he was Heeseong the beastman.

‘Because I…’

As Heeseong’s tiny brain pondered, he felt his strength draining away. Yoon Chi-young was gently stroking the puppy’s neck. Although he didn’t want to admit it, the caressing was incredibly soothing.

Eventually, relaxed by the gentle touch, Heeseong fell into a deep sleep once again.

***