PHUW 36

He fell backward with a thud.

The massive shape stomped on him where he lay. A heavy, club-like foot hit hard into his thigh, stomach, and chest. When it hit his solar plexus, his breath caught. He squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around his head.

“Woof! Woof!”

The boar barked.

His will to live rose to the top of his head. Haeri twisted his body with every ounce of strength he had left. The boar that had been trampling him like a conqueror stepped aside.

“Shit! Get lost!”

He swung what he had in his hand. The thin paper bag from the burger chain tore apart with a pop. Burgers, fries, and Jeong Mok’s coke scattered in all directions. While the startled boar flinched, Haeri’s eyes blazed as he stood up.

“You bastard! You son of a bitch! Come on!”

He flailed his limbs to threaten it.

“Woof! Woof!”

It’s white teeth flashed.

Do boars even have teeth like that? They have tusks, but not those small, sharp points. And why were its nose and toes white? What was with the shaggy fur? More than anything, do boars bark? Even if they made a sound, wouldn’t it be a squeal, not a bark?

Honk!

He heard a car horn that was much louder than the barking behind him. A passing car noticed the situation , and moved toward the animal. The startled guy flinched, then ran into the bushes. Only when he saw the swaying, bushy tail did he realize it wasn’t a boar at all.

“Hey, student! Are you alright?”

A middle-aged woman in the driver’s seat called out. But he couldn’t answer. Because of the lack of strength, Haeri fell on his backside.

“Oh no, dear.”

The woman got out of the car and helped steady him. His legs had gone weak, making it nearly impossible to stand.

“That dog’s been reported ages ago, and it’s still roaming around! God, I can’t even take my own dog for a walk because it’s so scary, and now it’s hurting people too.”

“Student, can you walk?”

“Yes.”

“I’m on my way to the store, so I’m not in a hurry. I’ll take you home. Get in.”

She kindly let him into her car. Normally, he would have said it was fine, but he couldn’t refuse because he was afraid that the dog would appear again.  When she asked where he lived, he told her the house on the innermost retaining wall.

“You mean Bachelor Jeong Mok’s place? Are you a relative?”

“I know hyung. I’m staying with him for a while. But how do you know hyung?”

“We live in the same neighborhood. I’d see him sometimes when I was walking.”

It turned out she was the retriever’s owner, the one Haeri had greeted before. She also knew Jeong Mok. On foot, the trip would have taken over ten minutes, but by car, it was less than a minute. She dropped Haeri off in front of the parking lot.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s not even a stranger’s house. I wonder how Bachelor Jeong Mok’s been. I’ve seen his car a few times, but I haven’t seen his face since that.”

He could guess what that was without her saying it. The lady didn’t seem to want to mention it specifically. Seeing her faintly regretful look, Haeri gave the usual polite answer that he’d been doing well.

“That’s good to hear. Let’s make sure to greet each other from now on.”

“Thank you again. Take care.”

After dropping him off, the woman drove off to run her errands.

As soon as her car disappeared from the edge of the neighborhood, a booming bark rang out in the distance again. His heart dropped. He rushed into the house with trembling legs.

“Oh, fuck. What kind of dog is the size of a boar?”

He wiped away the cold sweat. He still couldn’t calm down. He stopped by the kitchen, gulped down a glass of cold water, then stepped out to the terrace.

He went to the edge. Sitting at the highest point in the neighborhood, Jeong Mok’s house overlooked the alley where he had fallen earlier.

The boar-sized dog was still wandering near the entrance to the neighborhood. It wandered around while being alert to its surroundings and smelled the hamburger that Haeri had thrown. It hit the burger with its massive pawn, then expertly unpacked the paper packaging with its fist-sized nose. One burger vanished quickly, then the other right after. It even picked up the scattered fries, leaving nothing behind. It couldn’t have taken even a minute. It was like a vacuum cleaner.

Even after finishing, it kept its nose to the ground, sniffing. Then, suddenly, it jerked its head up, looked off into the distance, and ran away. Moments later, a familiar car turned into the neighborhood.

“It’s hyung.”

The car coming up stopped abruptly at the entrance. With the hazard lights on, Jeong Mok got out, saw the scattered burger set trash, and began picking it up piece by piece before getting back into the car. Right after, Haeri’s phone rang.

“Hyung-nim, that’s ours. Just now, it was insane… I thought I was going to die.”

As soon as he answered, Haeri lifted his free arm and waved at Jeong Mok.

–Why? What happened?

“There’s a crazy dog running around the neighborhood. A dog the size of a boar. I was lucky an aunt on her way to the store helped me. If not, I would’ve been in serious trouble.”

–A dog? Tell me exactly what happened.

By the time Jeong Mok parked in the driveway and came up to the house, Haeri had told him everything in detail.

“A dog that big, wandering around with no owner?”

Jeong Mok stepped out onto the terrace. Only after seeing Haeri’s face did he hang up. The moment Haeri turned around, he grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, his gaze scanning Haeri from head to toe.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m not hurt. I just got stepped on and I fell down.”

“Stepped on?”

Jeong Mok’s eyes narrowed. Without warning, his large hand pulled up Haeri’s shirt.

“Ah!”

They were outside, and before Haeri could react, the hem of his shirt was lifted all the way up to his armpits. Cool air brushed against his bare skin. His nipples stiffened instantly. One of those large, knobby-jointed hands brushed over it in passing. He flinched.

“I told you, I’m fine!”

He slapped away the roaming hand and hastily pulled his half-removed shirt back down. The moment the cold air was shut out, heat rushed to his face. His flushed cheeks burned under his own cool knuckles as he rubbed them.

“I’ll tell you if it hurts later. But right now… it doesn’t.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

If anywhere hurt, it was his nipples. They were so hard that even the familiar feel of his shirt was uncomfortable. He hadn’t realized they could be so sensitive, he had never been touched there by anyone before. One hand rubbed the heat from his face while the other subtly lifted the front of his shirt, hunching forward so the fabric wouldn’t brush against them. Jeong Mok stood with his arms crossed, glaring at him.

“Your hand.”

“Sorry I hit you hard. I was startled.”

Jeong Mok sighed when he apologized.

“That’s not it. Your palm’s scraped.”

He took the hand that had been against Haeri’s face and turned it over. His thick thumb pressed into the plump flesh of the palm of Haeri’s hand.

“Oh?”

There was a small scratch. Haeri hadn’t noticed in the moment, but now that it was touched, it stung.

“Were you bitten?”

“No, I think it scraped on the ground.”

“Let’s disinfect it and put ointment on. You should take antibiotics. If we’re not careful, you could get rabies.”

Jeong Mok took his wrist and headed for the living room.

‘Whew. That really surprised me.’

Staring at the broad expanse of Jeong Mok’s back, Haeri tried to steady himself. His nipples were still tingling.

‘Even if we’re both men, who just touches someone like that? I’m ticklish too.’

He grumbled inwardly. The heat of those roaming hands was still vivid, making his knees feel weak and sending a strange shiver up his back. If the person had been a woman, it might have been dangerous. The thought made his ears burn. The heat didn’t seem like it would fade anytime soon.

‘Am I more sensitive to touch than I thought?’

Jeong Mok returned with the first aid kit, cleaned the scrape, and stuck on a bandage.

“Your face is red.”

“It’s just from being startled.”

He was startled, yes, but not because of the dog, as Jeong Mok probably thought. What was heating him up now wasn’t the dog, it was Jeong Mok. That much he couldn’t deny.

“Then forget the antibiotics for now. Take your emergency meds first.”

“Yes.”

He obediently swallowed the pills he was given. If he refused, he’d have to give a detailed explanation of why, and that could easily backfire.

‘How am I supposed to say I was startled because his hand brushed my nipples?’

Besides, he really had been shocked enough for his heart to pound, so it was easier to just take them. The sedative for panic attacks quickly loosened the tension in his nerves. And the stiffness in his nipples also subsided. Truly, modern medicine could handle anything.

“The lady with the retriever across the street said she already reported it.”

After taking the pills with the water Jeong Mok gave him, Haeri spoke up.

“The retriever? That must be Janggun’s owner. She rescues and rehomes almost any dog she can, so if she reported one, it must be serious. I’ll have to call her myself.”

Jeong Mok knew both the retriever and the woman. He naturally took Haeri’s empty glass, walked toward the kitchen, and dialing his phone.

“Hello, long time no speak. It’s Song-i’s oppa. Have you been well?”

His tone, introducing himself as Song-i’s oppa, was just as gentle as it was with Haeri.

‘So even the neighbors know about his late girlfriend.’

If they knew him as Song-i’s oppa, that meant the late Song-i had lived here too. No wonder the place didn’t feel like somewhere a man would live alone.