“Seo-hyun…” Jun-ho calls out, stalking around the bushes at the park.

Seo-hyun was his adopted daughter of five years. He named her Seo-hyun, after his brother’s late wife

He took advantage of the warm spring day by bringing her to the park. He watched her roam the playground, constantly keeping watch and assuring her from his distance that, yes, he did see the cartwheel she just did or the four-foot jump from the playground that she clumsily executed.

Seo-hyun then scampered from the playground, initiating an impromptu game of hide and seek in the bushes.

“Seo-hyun!” Jun-ho calls out, feeling his heart rate pick up the longer time goes by without the little girl being seen. She’s usually terrible at hide and seek when they play in the apartment, Jun-ho has to intentionally walk past her hiding spot five times before she’ll jump out, claiming victory and boasting about how much of a “bad seeker” her father is.

So why is it now of all times she decides to become good at the game?

However, when the sharp sound of Seo-hyun squealing suddenly breaks out, he finds himself sprinting.

His search quickly ends when he skids to a stop behind a rogue bush on the edge of the park, finding Seo-hyun. She’s sat down in front of a dog, her squeals being that of delight which quickly dissolve into giggles as the hound tries to bury its nose into her hand to eat her snack.

“Jesus…” Jun-ho groans, feeling his shoulders slump and his heart drop with relief when he finds her unscathed. He’s quick to crouch down in front of Seo-hyun, checking for any sign of harm.

“Seo-hyun, I told you to not to go far! That wasn’t funny!” He scolds, though in the moment he’s more relieved than angry.

Seo-hyun looks up at him, her grin faltering slightly as she clasps her hands to her chest in an effort to keep the excited dog from eating her crackers.

“He was following me!” Patting the dogs head, she stands up and walks to her father’s side.

Jun-ho shakes his head, kneeling in front of the dog and looking around. No owner around…

The dog seemed harmless enough, if not a little… dumb? It was a dachshund, barely reaching Seo-hyun’s thighs as it sits patiently in front of the two of them, tongue lolling out of its mouth and its tail wagging.

“Can we keep him?” Seo-hyun asks.

“No.”

“Why not?!”

“Because this is someone else’s dog..”

“Let’s name him kisses.”

“Seo-hyun—” Jun-ho runs a hand over his face, taking a deep breath. “I just said this isn’t our dog. Look, he has a name tag and everything…” He explains, tugging the dog over by the collar. The dog, seemingly having the survival instincts of a wet napkin, obediently waddles over and plants himself next to Jun-ho.

“See?” He points to the metal bone-shaped name tag, looking at the sulking Seo-hyun. “he’s already got a name, it’s—”

“Bruno!”

A third voice exclaims in the distance, causing Jun-ho to stand up when he sees the dog’s owner, you, making a beeline right towards him and Seo-hyun.

“I’m so sorry! He’s mine!” You breathe out, opening your mouth to continue before it quickly clamps shut. You double over, putting your hands on your knees to catch your breath.

“I’m so sorry— he never runs off. It’s the crackers—” With a wave of your hand, you gesture to your dog, who is now being fed more crackers by Seo-hyun. Jun-ho’s jaw ticks as he watches you, his hands on his hips.

“He must have seen her with the bag and followed her… he loves those kinds of crackers…” You try to laugh, only to anxiously reel back and clear your throat when you see that this guy is not laughing with you…

“I mean— obviously it’s not an excuse or anything. I can’t apologize enough— is she okay?” You ask, quickly kneeling back down to hook the leash to your dog’s harness.

“She’s fine…” Jun-ho answers, smoothing down the hair on the back of his neck before he shakes his head, realizing that he’s coming off as angry at you. “I’m sorry… you’re fine. I just took my eye off of her for one minute and got worried…”