"Ruff, Ruff!"
"Hey, Kkami! Did you miss me?" Hyunjin exclaimed as he bent down to rub the dog's head.
The little dog wiggled around in happiness from the affection, making Hyunjin laugh.
"I guess that's a yes. Want to go for a walk?"
Kkami's ears perked up at the word 'walk,' and he immediately ran to the door. Hyunjin smiled at the little fluff ball while he threw down his backpack and proceeded to grab the leash from the side table.
"Okay, calm down." He tried to control the hyperactive dog as he clipped on the leash, but it took several tries, since he was constantly moving out of his reach.
"There!" He waved his arms around in celebration as the leash was finally attached.
"Okay, let's go bud!" He slowly stood up before realizing he was still wearing his uniform.
Quickly, he took off his jacket, vest, and tie and threw them on top of his backpack. He then untucked his white dress shirt and unbuttoned a couple more of the top buttons. He finished the look with some fluorescent orange tennis shoes.
He nodded approvingly at his reflection in the myriad of mirrors his mother liked to put in the hallway.
Kkami impatiently watched his owner get ready; his tail wagging wildly and his feet getting tangled in the leash.
Hyunjin bent down one more time to pick Kkami up and loosen the leash from his feet. Then he set him down while letting the leash run through his fingers and grabbing it at the last second.
Kkami ran and jumped on the door, signalling that he was more than ready to leave the stuffy house. Hyunjin carefully opened the door, making the dog back up, and they both stepped outside and made their way down the front steps.
Kkami walked in front, pulling at the leash when anything caught his attention.
After a few minutes, they reached a small play area that Hyunjin had found on his first walk around the neighborhood about two weeks ago. They veered right and began to walk on the short trail that surrounded the playground.
Hyunjin stopped for a second to close his eyes and breath in the scent of mulch and flowers. He had been amazed when he first saw this place because from the road it just looks like a wall of trees in the middle of the city, but inside, the trees make a beautiful barrier between the noisy city and a blissful natural paradise.
Hyunjin opened his eyes and smiled at the children climbing up the bright blue slide only to fall back down and start all over again. He scanned the rest of the area to see a mother pushing a baby on the swings and two kids clambering up the wooden platforms while playing tag. Other parents sat down on benches nearby, and one lone jogger flashed past Hyunjin as he raced around the concrete path.
It felt so calm, and Hyunjin could feel his body relax for the first time that day.
He began to walk again with Kkami trotting alongside him in utter glee. However, Hyunjin's calm didn't last long because suddenly his right arm was whipped across his body as Kkami sprinted towards a random guy standing at the edge of the playground.
"Kkami! No!"
But it was too late, Kkami broke free from Hyunjin and barreled towards the stranger with his leash trailing behind him.
Soon, he was running through the guy's legs, making him let out a strange sound sorta like 'gaah!' He didn't stop as he ran around and around the dude's legs, causing his leash to get tangled and almost making the guy lose his balance.
"Oh my gosh! Kkami, stop!" Hyunjin panicked as he rushed up to try and untangle his dog from this stranger's feet.
"I'm so sorry, my dog-" Hyunjin stopped as the guy knelt down and started petting the wiggly puppy.
Hyunjin stared in awe at the smiling boy, that looked about his age, before it registered that they were wearing the same shirt. However, this boy wore his uniform completely different from anything Hyunjin had seen before.
The boy had on red sneakers, khaki shorts, and a blue beret that covered most of his wavy brown hair. Everything else was a part of their uniform. He had untucked his white shirt, like Hyunjin, but had left on his knitted navy vest, and then the most interesting part was how he had tied his tie into a large bow-tie that hung loosely around his neck.
Hyunjin didn't think he had seen anyone tie their tie like that since middle school when the girls would do it to try and draw attention to their nonexistent breasts.
Hyunjin shivered at the thought of those girls. Thankfully being home-schooled meant he only had to see them a few times a month for group lessons. Otherwise he might have gone crazy from all the attention.
Whatever, this guy was not them. He was cute with his huge tie and sweet smile. He almost looked like a puppy himself as he continued to pet Kkami.
"Is this your dog? She's cute!" Hyunjin jerked himself back into reality to see the boy looking up at him.
"It's a he, but yes."
"He, she, whatever." The boy waved a dismissive hand as he went back to rubbing Kkami's belly.
After a few seconds of staring at the dog, the boy spoke up again.
"You're Hyunjin, right? The new kid?" Hyunjin nervously giggled.
"Yeah, that's me." He hadn't expected to be recognized. "And you are?"
The boy raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin before scoffing.
"Do you really not remember from this morning? Short term memory much?" Hyunjin's eyes widened.
He had met this boy? When? Where?
The boy watched Hyunjin with anticipation but only got a confused expression back.
"Oh, gosh." He breathed out as he stood up with the end of Kkami's leash in his hand.
"Seungmin?" He paused to see if it would spark something in Hyunjin's brain but obviously that wasn't working.
"From chorus?" He continued, but he could tell this was getting nowhere.
Seungmin shoved his free hand in his pocket as he turned away from Hyunjin in disbelief before turning back around to face the confused boy.
"You know, you would think after staring at someone's mouth for thirty minutes, you would at least remember their face."
"You're in my section!?!" Hyunjin practically yelled in Seungmin's face.
"Do you have to be so loud?" Seungmin said as he backed up and Hyunjin uttered a small 'sorry.' Seungmin sighed.
"Well since you don't remember. Hi, I'm Kim Seungmin, tenor section leader and resident 'I don't give a crap.'" Hyunjin blinked awkwardly at the blunt introduction before noticing Seungmin's outstretched hand. He shook Seungmin's hand while mumbling out a quiet 'Hwang Hyunjin' in return. Seungmin laughed.
"I know who you are! But who is this?" He asked as he bent down to rub Kkami's back.
"That's Kkami..." Hyunjin trailed off as he watched Seungmin pet his dog while cooing at him.
The switch in personality was blowing Hyunjin's brain. He didn't think it was possible to be that rude and that sweet at the same time.
He knelt beside Seungmin and patted Kkami's head when it was obvious he wasn't getting his dog back any time soon.
"So... what brings you here, Seungmin from chorus?" Seungmin didn't bother to look up, but instead flicked his head towards the kids on the slide.
"Nephew." He replied shortly.
"Ah." Hyunjin knew he was bad a small talk, but he couldn't help at least trying to make conversation.
"Brother, sister?"
"Sister."
"Gotcha."
"How old is he?"
"Why do you care?"
"I...um." Seungmin rolled his eyes.
"Four, he's four."
Just then a little boy with chubby cheeks and brown hair sticking in all directions ran up the them.
"Uncle Minnie, can you - Owah! Puppy!" The child immediately forgot about what he wanted to ask and quickly fell to his knees so he could crawl closer to Kkami.
"Can I pet it?" The boy looked up at Seungmin with pleading eyes.
"Sure, just be careful, Jeongwoo." The boy grinned and placed a small hand on Kkami's head. His head jerked up.
"He's so soft!"
"And you're so cute!" Hyunjin squealed while trying to control his urge to hug the child. Seungmin gave him a disgusted look.
"Sorry." The little boy giggled, making Hyunjin smile again.
"Oh my gosh." He whispered as he laid down on the ground and put his chin in his hands, so he could be on the same level as the child and Kkami. Unfortunately that also came at the price of Kkami licking his face, but it was worth it to hear the boy laugh.
He unclipped Kkami and they started running around, playing fetch, and laughing way too much. It was only when they plopped down on the swings that Hyunjin asked where 'Uncle Minnie' went.
"He's over there. He doesn't like running." Jeongwoo pointed to a corner of the playground.
"Oh." Hyunjin followed the boy's finger until his eyes rested on Seungmin sitting on a bench reading a book that was way too thick for Hyunjin's liking.
Hyunjin looked back at the little boy, but was met with an empty swing. He glanced around frantically until his eyes settled on the boy and his dog running wildly around the playground. He smiled and decided to let them be.
He carefully stood up from the swing and made his way to the bench Seungmin was sitting on.
"Whatcha reading?" The words scared Seungmin out of his alternative universe, making him yelp. Hyunjin chuckled at him but soon stopped when Seungmin sent him a glare.
Seungmin dramatically put his bookmark in his book and closed the book with a smack. This whole time, it seemed as if he was purposefully ignoring Hyunjin's question.
Hyunjin tried to lean over to see the title, but Seungmin had strategically placed his arm over the top of the book as he leaned over to get something from his backpack that was resting on the ground beside his feet.
Hyunjin sighed. He just wanted a friend, but this guy was so difficult!
He snuck another peek at Seungmin who now had his phone out to check the time. He watched as Seungmin's eyes widened before he packed up his stuff at record speed.
"Jeongwoo! It's 4:45, we have to go!" Jeongwoo walked up to them while holding Kkami, a huge pout on his face.
"Five more minutes?"
"Sorry, hun. Not this time. Your mom will kill me if we're late. Now give Uncle Jinnie his dog back so we can go." Jeongwoo sadly shuffled over to Hyunjin and placed Kkami in his lap.
"Hey, don't look so sad! I'm sure we'll meet again!" The little boy perked up.
"Really!?!" Hyunjin laughed.
"Of course! Now go before Uncle Minnie gets mad!" Hyunjin lightly pushed the boy in Seungmin's direction and waved until they were out of sight.
When he thought it was safe, Hyunjin squealed loudly, flailing his arms and legs while also somehow hugging Kkami.
"Kkami! I love you sooooo much!" He let out a breath and finally calmed down.
"Okay, let's go home, bud." Hyunjin hugged him one more time before clipping the leash to his collar and leaving their oasis for the day.