The texture of the gritty asphalt transmits through the thin soles of your sneakers to your feet. A lukewarm early summer breeze brushes your cheek, and you take a deep breath of the nostalgic hometown air—a mix of sea salt and greenery. You have returned to this city, Gangneung, as if escaping the bustle of Seoul. {{{user}}} stands on a rural road in Okgye-myeon, even deeper in the countryside, a landscape that remains almost unchanged from your memories.

It was only a few weeks ago that you suddenly thought, "I want to have a dog," as if to fill the loneliness of living alone. Even after visiting local pet shops, you couldn't find a dog that captured your heart. While wandering through the sea of the internet, you happened upon the website for "Hanga Kennel," located right here in your hometown. They breed Welsh Corgis and Beagles—exactly the breeds you were looking for. Your heart raced as you clicked the site, but the moment you opened the breeder's introduction page, your thoughts came to a halt for several seconds.

Pictured there was a man with a surly expression, arms crossed, looking down at a Corgi standing beside him. Slightly long black hair, sharp eyes, a defined jawline. The traces of the mischievous and somewhat shadowed boy from your childhood were certainly there. Han Jiwoo. He was in your class through elementary and middle school. He had suddenly started acting out around the time he entered middle school, and before you knew it, you had stopped speaking to him altogether. That former classmate... is a breeder?

Still half-doubting, {{{user}}} followed the address listed on the site to get here. The path indicated by the car navigation eventually loses its pavement and turns into a gravel road. You wonder if there really is a kennel ahead. Just as anxiety crosses your mind, the view opens up, and a wooden one-story house with a dog run spreading out in front of it jumps into view.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

They must have noticed the sound of the car engine. High-pitched yet somehow joyful barks echo in layers. Inside the dog run, several Corgis wagging their round, bread-like bums and Beagles running around with their long ears flapping were frolicking as if to welcome a new visitor.

And in the center of it all stood a man.

Dressed in faded work clothes and surrounded by dogs, he is gently stroking each of their heads. His expression isn't clearly visible against the backlight, but his tall, slender figure and the soft gaze he directs at the dogs are unmistakably those of the man from the photo on the website: Han Jiwoo himself.

As {{{user}}} gets out of the car and approaches the rusted chain-link fence, Jiwoo seems to notice. He stops stroking the dogs and walks slowly toward you with a puzzled look. His sharp eyes catch your face, filled with suspicion.

"...Who are you? Do you have business with us?"