Tiffany could barely sleep that night. The world had become such a noisy place that she kept jerking up every fifteen minutes or so.
She was afraid that every passing footstep or car she heard meant burglars so she stayed alert because the last thing she wanted was to have something bad happen to this nice woman who took her in.
Taeyeon woke up a few times too, during the night. She saw the dog with her head and ears up and would mumble comforting words while stroking her fur, telling her to go back to sleep.
When Taeyeon's alarm rang, Tiffany was already trying to wake Taeyeon up, pawing her arm then her face when the woman didn't move an inch.
"Yah! Wake up and turn off your noisy alarm! Then put me down! I need to pee!"
Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark.
Taeyeon groaned and finally opened her eyes. "Why are you so noisy?" she mumbled before frowning. "What are you doing?" she asked when she saw black covering most of her vision. She reached up, pulled the paw off her forehead and couldn't help but laugh when the dog tried to place her paw on her cheek next. "Okay okay. I'm up!"
She stretched then pushed herself up, turning to switch the noisy alarm off.
"Thank goodness! Now let me down! I need to pee!"
Bark. Bark.
Taeyeon saw the black dog perched on the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor. "Go ahead and jump down," she said.
"Are you crazy, woman?! Do you want me to break a leg or something?!"
Bark. Bark.
"Come on. Try. It's not that high."
"I'm not a cat! I can't always land on my feet, you know. I'm not used to having four legs instead of two," Tiffany barked again.
"Oh alright." Taeyeon finally lifted Tiffany and set her on the floor.
The dog ran out of the room towards the bathroom, followed by Taeyeon.
"Ah. You wanted to go to the toilet," said Taeyeon in understanding when she saw the dog disappear inside her bathroom. She also went inside and saw the dog squatting near the drain.
"Yah! Give me some privacy, will ya?!" Tiffany wanted to cover herself up but it was difficult considering her lack of hands. She almost lost her balance when she tried to lift her front paws so she just backed up further, hoping that the toilet bowl would obscure Taeyeon's vision.
"Why are you barking now?" asked Taeyeon as she took her toothbrush from the holder and began brushing her teeth. "It's too early, Ginger. Please be quiet or our neighbors will be furious."
Tiffany quieted down at the mention of her new name. It felt strange to be called 'Ginger' but she had no choice on the matter, unfortunately.
She let out a quiet sigh, finished her business then walked out of the bathroom to give Taeyeon a chance to shower.
She waited near her empty food bowl after drinking from her water.
When Taeyeon emerged with wet hair, wearing just an oversized shirt, Tiffany had to look away because she could see up that shirt from where she was sitting.
Dear lord, woman. Put on some pants, will ya?! You have company!
"Hungry?"
She heard Taeyeon say and noticed her squatting near her from the corner of her eye.
The sound of dry food pellets hitting the tin bowl made her look and she almost cringed when she saw the brown bits.
Do I have to eat that? What happened to the canned food like last night?
"Here. Eat up," Taeyeon said, standing up.
Tiffany averted her eyes and sniffed the bowl. It doesn't smell much different than last night's food, to be quite honest. Maybe I should just consider this breakfast cereal with meat flavor. Yeah. Let's just do that.
She hesitantly took a bite, chewed the crunchy pellets and washed it down with water.
Ugh. What I'd do for a burger right now.
"Good girl."
She heard Taeyeon say and felt her rub her head before walking away.
Tiffany was still eating when she felt something cold on her butt and yelped, jumping away.
"Sorry sorry. Did I startle you? I'm sorry."
Tiffany growled at Taeyeon who was holding a wet wipe in her hand. "Where the heck do you think you're touching, missy?!"
Bark. Bark.
"I said I'm sorry! I want to clean you up a bit after your toilet trip, that's all. It doesn't hurt. It's just a bit wet and cold."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Bark.
"Come on, Ginger. Just one quick wipe, okay?" Taeyeon reached out, trying to hold the dog that had backed away into the corner. She grabbed both sides of her body, pulled her then pinned her under one arm while her other hand quickly cleaned the dog's behind.
"Y-yah! Let me go! Hey! That's... YAH! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
Tiffany barked and squirmed throughout the entire five-second ordeal until Taeyeon let her go.
"Done!" Taeyeon said with a sigh. "Sheesh. You'd think I was torturing you from how you barked and squirmed like that. It's for your own good, Ginger." She threw away the wipe and washed her hands. "Hygiene is important."
"I feel so violated."
Tiffany let out a scoff.
"Now go finish your food," ordered Taeyeon as she hurriedly left the kitchen.
"I've lost my appetite thanks to you womanhandling me," mumbled Tiffany, walking to the living room instead. She plopped down on the carpet and sighed, thinking of the amount of work she should've been doing today. I hope Key can handle everything. Then again, he designed those cool sneakers on his own and he was the one who warned me about that witch so he actually knew better. Much better than I ever gave him credit for. He even entrusted me in Taeyeon's care and that's definitely a good thing. I should treat him better from now on.
Tiffany felt sleepy and was about to doze off when she heard Taeyeon's voice.
"Ginger!"
She didn't move let alone answer.
"Oh there you are." Taeyeon saw the dog on the carpet. "Why didn't you finish your food?"
Because you molested me in the middle of breakfast, genius.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Tiffany sensed Taeyeon next to her and felt her hand on her head. She wished she could stop the tail wagging when Taeyeon scratched her ears but it was like an automatic function she couldn't disable.
Stupid body. These creatures are so simple, I don't even... Sigh...
"I have a meeting so I'll leave you alone for a few hours. Please finish your food? I've left you some snacks too. They're near your water. Get some sleep. I know you barely slept last night. Must be weird sleeping in a stranger's bed, huh?"
Tiffany turned her head and raised her eyebrows when she saw Taeyeon smiling at her.
"Don't worry. We'll find your owner."
She couldn't help but feel touched by the kindness and care so when Taeyeon's palm brushed her face, she gave it a small and quick lick to show her appreciation since she couldn't exactly stand up and shake Taeyeon's hand or hug her.
"Aw... Does this mean that you like me?" asked Taeyeon as she grinned wider, ruffling the black fur some more before she got to her feet. "See ya. Don't trash my place, okay?"
—-
"Hello, Noona!" greeted Key cheerfully when he saw Taeyeon walking through the door.
"Hey. How are things going?"
"Pretty hectic. We have deadlines to meet and since Fany noona left, I'm the one who's temporarily in charge," he said, gesturing to the large table with drawings and fabric strewn all over it.
"I'm sure you can handle it. You've been in this business just as long as she has."
"True but she always has the last word so this is pretty new for me, being in charge and making decisions like this."
"You'll do fine. Any word on the dog's owner?"
Key shook his head. "I asked around and even sent an email to every client we have, asking whether they happened to have lost their dog but nothing so far. How's she doing?"
"She's adjusting. She's very smart but what a personality."
"She doesn't listen to you?"
"Not exactly. She's just kinda stubborn and noisy. Like a spoiled child," said Taeyeon with a chuckle. "But she's adorable."
"Well, I'm sure you have everything under control. You've been raising dogs ever since I first met you. I automatically thought of you when I saw that pup."
"I call her Ginger now. And thanks for the trust."
"Ginger? Cute name."
Taeyeon nodded. "Let me know if you find her owner, okay? Fast. I like her but I don't want to become too attached to her."
"The goodbyes suck, huh?"
"Yeah. Which is why I haven't raised another dog ever since Cherry died."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Taeyeon moved to leave. "I'll see ya Friday."
"See ya. And take Ginger with you. I wanna see her again."
"Will do."
—-
Tiffany was bored to death after taking a nap and finishing her food.
She wanted to watch TV but she couldn't reach the remote.
She thought about playing with Taeyeon's tablet but she couldn't find it anywhere.
In the end, she tried to keep herself occupied by learning to run and jump using her four legs.
Luckily, Taeyeon didn't leave her alone for too long.
Her ears caught sounds of light footsteps and some rustling so she ran to the door, sniffing. Baby powder, flowers and crayon! You're home!
"Thank goodness you're home!"
Bark. Bark.
Taeyeon opened the door and laughed when she saw the dog wagging her tail while barking at her.
"Why hello there, Ginger. Missed me?" she asked as she bent down to pet the dog.
"I was bored to death! Where the heck have you been? And is that... a burger?! You bought a burger?!"
Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark.
"Calm down, calm down. Hang on." Taeyeon closed the door and took off her shoes before entering the apartment with the dog running circles around her feet. "Yah! Be careful! I might step on you," she warned as she made her way to the kitchen and placed her bag and the food she bought on the counter. "You finished your food? And ate your snack too. Good girl," she said when she saw the empty bowl. She refilled Tiffany's water then squatted down to play with her.
"Dear lord I was so bored but I can run and jump now. You can't insult me anymore. I'll jump off your bed tomorrow morning!"
Taeyeon chuckled at the endless barking. "So happy to see me, huh? I'm happy to see you too," she said as she scratched Tiffany's ears. "And good news. They finally approved my designs. The book will start printing in a couple of weeks and on to a new project we go. I've never gotten back-to-back projects like this. It must be because of you. You're a lucky charm of a dog, aren't you, Ginger?" she cooed before giving the dog a kiss, surprising the black pup who instantly calmed down.
You molested me this morning and now you kiss me? I like you but you seem kinda lonely, Taeyeon.
Tiffany tilted her head when she made that observation, looking Taeyeon straight in the eyes.
"What is it?" asked the woman. "Man you're so cute!" Taeyeon nuzzled the dog again only to see her scampering away. "Yah! Where are you going? You don't like my kisses?"
Tiffany ran to the bedroom and curled up in her small bed, hiding her face. She had never kissed another girl before and although this technically didn't count, it still left her feeling very shy.
Good thing she smells nice and is a very kind person.
She stayed there for a few more minutes until she smelled food and heard the TV.
Although she was still depressed, the hours of being left alone with her thoughts trapped inside the canine body made her miss interacting with humans – she missed Taeyeon, to be exact.
So she climbed out of her bed and strolled towards the living room, in search of the woman who was sitting on the couch, munching on a burger while watching TV.
Taeyeon turned her head when she heard the dog approaching and smiled. "Come here," she patted the cushion next to her.
Tiffany lifted her front paws and leaned them against the couch since it was too high for her to jump onto. She was, after all, still a dog and not a cat no matter how hard she had practiced jumping that day.
Taeyeon put the burger down, dusted her hands then lifted the dog onto the couch.
"Share!"
Bark.
Taeyeon raised her eyebrows at the dog. "What? You want my burger?"
"Yes."
Bark.
"I'll let you have a bit, okay? I didn't have breakfast and it has past lunchtime so please cut me some slack. I'm starving," said Taeyeon, breaking a piece of the burger to feed to the dog.
Tiffany ate with gusto, shuddering with joy when she tasted human food on her tongue. She wanted to ask for more but she remembered what Taeyeon said about skipping breakfast so she changed her mind and just watched her eat.
Taeyeon turned her head and laughed when she saw the silent plea behind the stare. "Wow. Those eyes are gonna be the death of me," she said as she broke another chunk from her burger to give Tiffany.
She watched the dog munch down the burger and felt bad for her somehow. "Oh well. I still have my fries. Here, you can have all the meat," she said as she took the buns off the remaining piece of meat, broke it into smaller pieces and put them on the wrapper that she placed in front of Tiffany.
Tiffany looked up at the woman in disbelief.
"But you're hungry."
Bark.
"It's okay. You can have it all. I'll just make ramyun or something," Taeyeon said, patting the dog's head. "Go on. I bet they taste better than that dog food stuff, huh?"
You bet. Thank you, Taeyeon.
Tiffany licked Taeyeon's palm again.
"You're welcome," said the woman, acknowledging the gesture. "I'm kinda surprised that you didn't bark like crazy this time to ask for it though."
Because I know you were hungry.
"Maybe you're not that spoiled after all, Ginger."
Tiffany looked up when she heard that but Taeyeon had already gone back to watching TV while eating her fries.
You're quite selfless, aren't you, Taeyeon?
She let out a whimper, making Taeyeon turn her head.
"What is it, girl?"
I'm sorry I made you give up your burger. Tiffany looked at the remaining small piece of meat then at Taeyeon, and felt bad.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Finish the meat. And no, I'm not sharing my fries," Taeyeon joked.
Tiffany hesitantly ate the last piece and sat there watching the quiet Taeyeon. She wondered whether the witch had intentionally let her meet this woman to learn whatever lesson she was supposed to learn.
But her thoughts were cut short when Taeyeon suddenly stood up from her seat, picking up the wrappers to throw them away.
She heard water running in the kitchen and saw the woman return a short while later.
"Ah... now this is the life," Taeyeon said as she stretched, lifting her feet onto the coffee table. "We have a few days off before that new project starts so better make the most of it, Ginger." She picked Tiffany up and placed her on her lap.
Tiffany tensed, unsure of what to do, but Taeyeon never stopped stroking her fur and she found herself nodding off under the soft and comforting touch.
"Nap time, Ginger," she heard Taeyeon say before she relaxed and closed her eyes.
#taeny
#thedonkatsu