Her heartbeat quickens when she hears the thud, bracing for what's to come. But after a few minutes, she glances behind her—only to see him fast asleep.
She sighs in relief, curling up next to her dog.
"Madam, madam."
She wakes up to Hin-Hye's face and sunlight flooding the room.
"Yeah?"
She looks beneath and beside her.
"Where's Tini? At the vet?"
After showering, she rushes out of her room dressed in blue jeans and a big pink shirt.
"What is it you wanted to tell me?"
"The thing is…"
She walks into the parlor and sees her dog lying still on a small bed shaped like a basket.
"What's wrong?"
"Madam… Tini… your dog… he's… gone."
The look on Joon-He's face is as if she's been stabbed twenty times over.
She runs toward the dog, nearly tripping. Falling to her knees beside the bed, she grips it tightly.
"Tini!!!"
She shakes the basket again and again as though it would change something.
"TINI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Madam, please… I… I'm sorry but…"
"I've had this dog for… 13 years…"
"What happened?" Weol-So asks, appearing behind them.
"She's yelling because of the dog?"
Joon-He stops, her gaze shifting toward the speaker.
"Hin-Hye!" another maid calls.
"Coming. I'll be back, madam." Hin-Hye approaches Weol-So and whispers, "Comfort her."
Then she runs off.
Joon-He collapses over the dog, soaking his fur with tears.
"It's just a dog, you know."
She stops crying and slowly lifts her head.
"What?"
"I said it's just a dog," he says, hands shoved into his pockets. "Lots of animals die every year. Roadkill, pets, strays… So why cry over this one?"
TACH
The sound of the slap echoes. He never even saw it coming.
"Roadkill? So what? Animals die every year—SO WHAT?! I feel sorry for them, that they die alone, with no one to cry for them. But just because death is common doesn't mean this one deserved to go! Tini kept me alive during my worst times."
Her voice cracks. Her composure begins to fall apart.
"There were so many times I wanted to end everything. But then I thought…"
She recalls a moment in the rain—rope around her neck—only to see Tini staring at her with those sad, soulful eyes.
"I thought, what would happen to my dog?"
She drops to her knees again, Weol-So still frozen in place.
"I lived because of this dog. You hear me? I lived for this dog."
She stands, wiping away her tears.
"And now that he's dead… what am I even living for?"
She walks past Weol-So, but he grabs her wrist.
"Don't do anything rash."
"Why do you care?"
"Because…" He pulls her toward him. "I'm your husband, aren't I?"
She stares into his eyes, lost for a moment, then pulls away and walks off.
He looks down at the lifeless dog.
"No! Nooo!!"
His voice echoes in his head—a memory from long ago. He shakes it off, muttering, "Never again."
He walks into his room. Somewhere, a soft sobbing is heard, but he ignores it. Grabbing a coat from the wardrobe, he leaves.
As the door shuts, Joon-He crawls out from under the bed.
"Stupid jerk…"
She climbs onto the bed and eventually lies down, drifting off.
THUNDER
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
Footsteps splash through puddles. A little girl in a thick yellow jacket runs.
"Get her!"
"Where is SHE!?"
Voices from every direction.
She pushes forward, blinded and battered by rain. She finds a curved alley wall and hides in a corner.
"Where is she?" a man's voice says. They're close.
She pants loudly, swallowing rain.
"Ah-choo!" Her sneeze gives her away.
"There!"
They drag her out.
"Ahhh! Stop! I'm sorry!!"
"You should've thought of that before stealing!"
"It was just a piece of bread…"
A man grabs her throat. Her hood falls back, revealing long brown hair and abnormal yellow eyes.
"She's a witch! Get outta here! Keep your cursed bread!"
They run off, leaving her crying.
She returns to her leaky house and unzips her jacket.
"Bark." A small puppy greets her.
She pulls out the mashed, soaked bread from her pocket.
"I'm sorry, Tini… I'm useless…"
She throws the bread aside and runs through the rain, sobbing.
She stands on a chair, tying a thick rope to a hook and wrapping it around her neck.
"Father, brother, mother… you've left me. Now we'll meet again."
She lifts a foot, ready to step off.
Bark.
Tini looks up at her with big, wet, sad eyes.
She removes the rope and jumps off the chair.
Tini curls up in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Tini. I'll never leave you, okay? Never."
---
Joon-He lies asleep, tears running across her cheek.
KREEK
The door opens. She stirs awake and sees Weol-So in his coat.
"Oh. You're awake."
He drops a box on the bed.
"Open it."
"What is it?"
"Just open it."
She hesitantly opens the box.
Bark
A puppy—almost identical to Tini—jumps out.
"What is this?"
"Your Tini replacement."
"Replacement? You think it's that easy to replace something?!"
"Tini was a rare breed. I searched everywhere. This one's just like him."
"So I should call him Tini? Pretend he has the same memories?!"
She dumps the pup back in the box, kicks it away.
"I don't want it!"
She breaks down again.
Weol-So checks his watch and smirks.
"Good. My refund window's still open."
He picks up the box and turns toward the door.
"Don't you have any feelings at all?"
"Hm?"
"You compared my dog to roadkill. Then you tried to replace him. Is it that easy for you to forget? Haven't you ever lost something?"
BOOM
"NOOO!! Stop!!"
"Get out of here, sir!!"
"Nooooo!!"
He shuts his eyes tightly.
"It's not that I don't have feelings. I choose not to show them. Feelings are pointless. They're nothing but trouble. They slow you down. They make you feel helpless. Like… it should've been you instead. Like you're worthless. That's why I refuse to feel."
He runs his hand through his hair.
"Emotions are stupid. A waste of time."
He slams the door behind him.
Joon-He wipes her tears.
"What was that? I'm the one whose dog died, and he's acting like—" She stops. "Nevermind."
"It should've been you."
His words echo in her head.
"What did he mean by that…?"
She places her hand on the doorknob, but pauses. She hears voices.
"You need to be nicer if you want this to work."
"I don't know how. I've lost everything."
"I can help. And if I can't, I'll call someone who can. But first, listen—"
"What are they talking about?" she wonders, recognizing Hin-Hye and Weol-So's voices.
She walks into the parlor and spots the dog.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she sits beside the bed.
"I'm sorry… If I had known… paid more attention…" She covers her mouth, choking on tears. "I'm so sorry."
Bark!
She gasps and looks up—smiling through the tears.