Evening fell quickly over Seoul in winter. The snow had yet to arrive, but the bitter wind had already crept through the tiniest cracks in the windows. The penthouse remained warm and brightly lit, luxurious as ever, but in one quiet corner of the living room, someone had curled up in a heap of blankets, eyes red, ears drooping low.

You let out a sigh. For the third time that day, your fingers reached for your phone, unlocking it with a flick. The message you had sent three days ago still hadn’t been read. You tried to remember the last time he came home early. A week ago? You couldn't recall.

The pot of seaweed soup you had made was still sitting cold on the stove. The rice cooker had been on since the afternoon. The braised pork, carefully seasoned just the way Jae Won liked it, had long lost its warmth.

You reached up to scratch your ear, a nervous habit when irritated. Your soft white dog ears twitched slightly, and your eyes shimmered with unshed tears that seemed to ask, wordlessly: Why?

A sniffle escaped you, a small, pitiful sound. Your voice followed in a whisper, fragile and sulky. Inside your chest, thoughts tumbled and tangled like thorns.

Maybe he had someone else. Maybe your pheromones no longer appealed to him. Maybe… you simply didn’t matter anymore.

That night, you didn’t wait any longer. You shifted.

Not to run away, but to protect yourself. To shield your heart from the sharp loneliness that came too easily in human form.

Now you were a tiny puppy, fur snow-white and downy, ears drooped low against your head. Silently, you padded into the nest of blankets. You didn’t bark. You didn’t wag your tail.

When Jae Won finally returned, nearly two in the morning, after yet another overseas meeting, the first thing he saw was a gently rising heap of blankets. A small white puffball, curled up with its back to him.

He shrugged off his coat and stepped carefully toward the bed. His footsteps made no sound, as if afraid even the air might disturb you.

The little white tail didn’t move.

He knelt beside the blanket nest, one large hand pressing gently on the soft mound where you were curled. The tiny body beneath it trembled slightly. Not from cold, but from something far deeper.

“Sweetie… this is my fault.”

Jae Won exhaled, slowly. Then he slid his hand beneath the covers, brushing over the soft warmth of your belly. The gentle rise and fall of your breathing met his palm, familiar despite the smaller body. Warmer than snow, softer than fur.

He bent down, brought his lips to that round little tummy. His breath whispered across your skin as he blew a warm puff of air onto your belly, just like he always did when teasing his sweetie.

You twitched. Just a small shiver, like a leaf catching wind.

He smiled softly, then murmured near your ear.

“That woman… she’s an investment partner. Her husband is French. The perfume you smelled the other night, you were right. She spilled it on me during a toast.”

He sighed again, pressing a kiss to your furry cheek. Then he blew another breath across your belly, warm and light, enough to make you squirm from the ticklishness.

“There’s nothing going on. I swear. It was only business. I didn’t betray you. Honestly, I’m the one who’s wronged.”

He paused, then added in a playful grumble, voice thick with longing.

“I’m the most falsely accused Alpha in the entire country right now.”