In an instant, one of the woman’s eyebrows shot up high.

“What? Bori? Your name is Bori? The same as our Bori here?”

At the woman’s incredulous voice, even pointing at the Border Collie Bori, Hae-wan’s face, which had already started turning red, became completely crimson all the way to the nape of his neck.

Seeing Hae-wan like this, Kang-hyun quickly jumped in:

“What, is there some law against being named Bori?”

Even at Kang-hyun’s reproachful tone, the woman frowned and muttered:

“No, it’s not that, but… it’s still kind of weird.”

“Stop it. Why are you embarrassing him?”

Though the conversation was about him, Hae-wan had no room to interject and could only bite his lips with his reddened face. Just when the woman was about to open her mouth again while looking at Hae-wan, Kang-hyun stepped forward and quickly blocked her words:

“It’s late, shouldn’t you be going now?”

“Are you kicking me out right now?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m kicking you out.”

Kang-hyun wrapped his arm around her shoulders and half-forcibly led her out of the reception room. Left alone in the situation that ended like a whirlwind, Hae-wan felt bewildered.

However, he soon realized he wasn’t left ‘alone’ when his gaze turned downward. The Border Collie, no, Bori, was lying very quietly in that spot.

Hae-wan liked animals. During his innocent childhood when he believed in Santa Claus, he wished every day that he could have a dog starting from this Christmas.

But Santa never gave him that particular gift. He had even gotten teary-eyed with resentment about it, but as he grew older, he naturally came to understand how difficult that wish had been. 

In a space where over twenty children who had lost their parents were crowded together, struggling for attention and affection, raising an animal was nearly impossible.

Hae-wan crouched down to meet Bori’s eyes. Fortunately, she seemed to like him, and her tail wagged enthusiastically the moment their eyes met, filled with curiosity and sparkle.

His hands itched to pet her glossy neck. However, something he had seen on animal programs he enjoyed watching made him hesitate.

Instead of touching Bori right away, Hae-wan carefully extended his hand so she could smell it. Bori didn’t move from her spot but actively sniffed Hae-wan’s hand, wiggling her nose.

Every time her moist nose brushed against the back of his hand, he wondered whether the scent Bori was smelling was his own or Hae-eon’s.

When ten-year-old Hae-wan had cried about not getting a puppy, eight-year-old Hae-eon had declared loudly that Santa wasn’t necessary, and when he became an adult, he would buy Hae-wan a dog so they could raise it together.

Looking back now, it seemed Hae-eon had known there was no Santa from that time.

To swallow the tears that kept welling up, Hae-wan blinked rapidly.

Even when he gathered courage and brought his hand under her chin, Bori just panted happily without showing any particular rejection.

I wish you could smell both Hae-eon’s and my scent.

Then it would feel like raising a dog together with Hae-eon, just like we wished when we were young.

With that thought, Hae-wan smiled gently and carefully tickled under Bori’s chin.

“Seeing how she shows no hostility toward strangers, all that training was worthless.”

At Kang-hyun’s unexpected voice, Hae-wan startled and pulled his hand back. Bori also seemed surprised by Hae-wan’s sudden movement and jumped up, but when Kang-hyun approached and calmed her by petting her head, she quickly sat obediently by his side.

Hae-wan wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and said hurriedly:

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched her without permission.”

Kang-hyun knelt on one knee and began petting Bori’s slender face.

“When she was young, I thought she just didn’t know strangers, but even as she got older, she likes people too much. I thought it wasn’t good for a dog to be so unguarded, so I had her specially trained, but I guess you can’t change an inborn personality.”

Then Kang-hyun held Bori’s muzzle with both hands, met her eyes, and whispered affectionately:

“Or did you like Mr. Yoon Bori at first sight? Right, Bori?”

Hearing those words, Hae-wan’s face heated up again.

“…You said you’d call me that because my hair looks like a wheat field.”

Kang-hyun blinked innocently and looked up at him:

“That’s right, that’s why I call you Yoon Bori.”

“You’re not calling me that after this Bori’s name?”

“Why would you think I’m calling you after Bori’s name? Because you resemble Bori?”

Hae-wan was completely speechless. Kang-hyun seriously alternated between looking at Bori’s face in his hands and Hae-wan’s face, then triumphantly turned Bori’s head toward Hae-wan.

“You don’t look alike. Look at this. Our Bori looks much sturdier than you, Mr. Yoon Bori.”

While Hae-wan could only gape at the utterly shameless tone, Kang-hyun suddenly slapped his knee like he had made a great discovery.

“Ah, sorry. You do look alike. But not with Bori now, with Bori from the old days. When I first brought her home at 83 days old.”

“…You call that talking?”

When Hae-wan finally managed to speak with his face flushed red and blue, Kang-hyun said with mischievous eyes:

“Are you angry because I said you look like a dog? Everyone who sees Bori says she’s pretty and cute, so is it really that offensive?”

“It’s not that, it’s because you keep teasing me, Mr. Yeo Kang-hyun.”

“I wasn’t teasing. It’s true that seeing you made me think of a wheat field, and it’s also true that you made me think of Bori. Look, Bori’s fur color is wheat field color too. Of course, I did omit the second reason, but not mentioning something isn’t a crime.”

His words flowed like water anyway. Hae-wan couldn’t find any more words to scold him and pressed his lips together in a straight line. Kang-hyun stood up and asked in an amused tone:

“You seem to like dogs. Have you ever raised one?”

“I do like them, but… I’ve never raised one.”

“Then you can get along well with our Bori.”

Kang-hyun encouraged Bori to approach by leading her closer to Hae-wan. With her owner’s permission, Bori wagged her tail more actively while smelling Hae-wan’s hands and feet, and Hae-wan smiled softly as he lowered himself to pet Bori freely with both hands.

“Bori seems to like you too, Mr. Yoon Bori. I guess it’s because you feel a kinship.”

“Stop teasing me now.”

At Hae-wan’s grumpy voice, Kang-hyun burst into laughter and leaned against the wall.

“I’m not joking. It might be good if you could take care of her sometimes instead of my sister Seo-yeon.”

“Are you talking about that person from earlier?”

“Ah, yes. She’s my cousin. She takes care of Bori sometimes when I’m busy. Her house has a big garden, so Bori likes it there too.”

“…Our house doesn’t have a garden, so Bori probably wouldn’t like it.”

As Hae-wan muttered while frantically tickling Bori’s chin and forehead, which made her whine slightly, Kang-hyun said matter-of-factly:

“That’s not a problem. You can come to my house to watch her.”

Hae-wan’s hand, which had been continuously petting Bori, suddenly stiffened. Swallowing hard, Hae-wan tried to speak in a casual tone:

“What makes you think I won’t do something terrible at your house?”

Perhaps taking Hae-wan’s words as a joke, Kang-hyun answered lightly:

“What, are you going to steal from my house?”

“I might. You don’t know anything about what kind of person I really am, Mr. Yeo Kang-hyun.”

Kang-hyun didn’t answer for a moment. In the settling silence, the back of his neck felt infinitely heavy. Hae-wan tried to swallow his discomfort while forcing himself to keep his eyes fixed on Bori’s round forehead.

“That’s true, but I know you’re not the kind of person who would do bad things. Someone like that wouldn’t be here forcing themselves to take responsibility for money they didn’t even borrow.”

At the calm voice, Hae-wan unconsciously raised his gaze.

“I know. From your perspective, Mr. Yoon Bori, you think our meeting will end in a month, and you don’t want to have personal time with me. Just think of it as work too. I often pay people to take care of her anyway.”

Though Kang-hyun’s face showed no particular expression as he said this, Hae-wan’s heart became uncomfortable in an instant, thinking he was acting like an unwarranted victim.

While it was true he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the money Yu-jun had borrowed, in reality, Kang-hyun had done nothing wrong to Hae-wan. There were clearly circumstances that made him mistake Hae-wan for Hae-eon, and it was Hae-wan himself who hadn’t fully explained this for selfish reasons.

Nevertheless, Kang-hyun had forgiven Yu-jun and not only tried to consider Hae-wan’s position but also attempted to compensate him for the time they spent together, whether financially or otherwise.

Yet the guilt of making Kang-hyun feel like a bad person pressed down on his heart.

Hae-wan gathered courage to lift his head and look at Kang-hyun. Eyes black like ink turned toward Hae-wan.

“I’m not doing work I hate. Yu-jun passing the job to me, giving me a job that’s too good for me, treating me kindly, I’m truly grateful for all of it.”

“…”

“So… so I just don’t want to make you misunderstand more, Mr. Yeo Kang-hyun.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“…”

“That you’re not Yoon Hae-eon?”

Kang-hyun’s face looking down at Hae-wan with a slanted gaze was expressionless like wearing a smooth mask, making Hae-wan feel like his throat was suddenly blocked.

Then, Kang-hyun’s lips, which had been pressed in a straight line, curved into a gentle arc. At the cold atmosphere that disappeared like a lie, Hae-wan could only blink blankly.

Kang-hyun spoke to Hae-wan in an affectionate voice:

“If you truly think that way, let’s go see a movie together this weekend.”