Ever since she was little, (Y/N) had loved dogs. Every dog she saw she would point out and try to pet, and she soaked up all the information about dogs that she could find, sharing random facts she found with her friends and family. All she ever asked for was a doggy.

But young (Y/N)'s wishes never came true.

"Minnie might be allergic."

"You won't want to pick up the poop."

"We can't afford a puppy."

"Mommy might get mad."

"Mommy might hurt the puppy"

"I'm sorry."

Eventually, (Y/N) began to notice how sad her dad got when she asked if she could get a puppy. So she stopped asking altogether. She couldn't ask her mom either, she had learned not to ask her for anything a long time ago.

Luckily for her, her father would sneak her little doggy stuffed animals and coloring books, giving her a mischievous smile and telling her to 'shhh' when he slipped her the toys.

"You're just like me when I was little. I loved animals too." Her father would say with a sad smile. While she didn't like seeing her father upset, she beamed with pride when her father compared her to himself.

She loved being told she looked like her dad, smiling and giggling when she was called his mini-me. She followed him around wherever she could and tried to mirror his actions around the house, making her father chuckle and her mother scowl.

She didn't want to be like mommy.

She didn't understand why mommy was so mean to daddy. Just like she couldn't understand why these girls were being mean to a puppy!

She watched from a bit farther back as the older girls released a puppy into the alley.

"Seriously, who wants some mutt for a puppy." One girl scoffed.

"I really don't know what the hell my parents were thinking." The other sighed.

"Well, I guess we can just tell your parents we lost it. We were going to the park and oh no~ she got loose and she couldn't find her~"

"Haha! You're so bad!"

(Y/N) frowned, why were they treating the puppy like that? Those girls should be happy they even have a puppy! Do these girls realize how lucky they are? (Y/N) had to say something.

"H-Hey!" She called, clenching her fists and telling herself to be brave.

"Eh?" The girls turned around to see who was calling them and were met with the sight of a young girl with trembling fists held at her side.

"What's this snot nose want?" The taller girl asked, earning an elbow to the ribs from the other girl.

"Don't be like that!" She hissed before turning back to (Y/N) and crouching down with her hands on her knees. She gave (Y/N) a friendly smile.

"Hello~ are you lost?" She asked.

"N-No. I uhh..."

"Go on..." the nicer girl cooed.

"Ummm..."

"Would you get to the point? God, I hate kids." The taller snapped impatiently.

(Y/N) huffed, her initial anger returning.

"Why are you being so mean to that puppy!? Don't you know how happy you should be to have a cute puppy?!"

The nicer girl's smile dropped and the taller of the two barked a nasty laugh. "She can't be talking about that mutt, right? Do you see any other dogs here?"

The 'nice girl' looked at (Y/N) curiously before a sinister smirk grew across her lips. She silenced the other girl with a motion of her hand.

'This stupid kid is making it easy! I'll just give the dog to her, and if my parents find out, I'll say she stole it!'

"My puppy is cute, hm?~" she asked, earning a furious nod from (Y/N).

"You seem like a good mama for my puppy. Do you want to keep her? I think she likes you more anyway~"

(Y/N)'s innocent eyes widened and her eyes darted to the puppy sat in the alley and back to the smirking girl.

"Really?" She asked quietly, unsure of whether this was okay or not. Her eyebrows pulled together and she sheepishly locked her hands behind her back and looking up at the older girl through her long lashes.

"Are you sure...?"

"Totally!" The older girl chirped and began walking out of the alley, the others following closely. "Just take good care of her, yeah?" She asked over her shoulder, despite her not caring at all.

(Y/N) nodded excitedly and ran over to crouch in front of the puppy.

"Hello, I'm (Y/N)." She said softly, slowly reaching out to try and pat the small creature's head. (Y/N) frowned when it dodged her head and walked past her to look down the alley.

Her eyes widened when the puppy whimpered and began to sniff around, trying to find her owner.

As bad as (Y/N) felt for the puppy, it was getting dark out, and she had to get back home before mama got back from work.

"I'm sorry, but we've gotta go." She tried to explain as she picked up the puppy to carry it home, but to her surprise the puppy turned around and nipped her hand, drawing blood.

(Y/N) yelped and accidentally dropped the puppy, holding her hand to her chest.

"Why did you do that?!" She snapped, tears brimming in her eyes, but when the puppy whimpered again she softened.

"I understand..." she sighed. "You just miss your owner."

She stood up and grabbed an empty box and tore a hole into the cardboard.

"Here, you can stay here for the night and see if she changes her mind. I'll come back tomorrow." (Y/N) said to the puppy that probably didn't understand.

She walked back home, a bit sad that she couldn't bring her new friend home, but remembering that she would see the puppy again tomorrow.

Back in the alley, the puppy laid down in the box (Y/N) had set out for it.

When (Y/N) got home, she rambled to her father about the puppy as he patched up her hand.

"Wow!! That was really kind of you, would you like to give the puppy some snacks tomorrow?" He asked.

(Y/N) nodded excitedly, "What do puppies li-"

The front door slammed open and her father jumped. The two frowned for a moment before (Y/N)'s father gave her a sneaky smile.

"I'll give you extra meat in your lunch tomorrow." he whispered and with that, he exited the bathroom to welcome her mother home.

The next day, (Y/N) practically sprinted to the alley where she left the puppy, thrilled to find that it was still there.

"Hello! Look what I have!" She said excitedly, seating herself on the ground and pulling meat her father had promised her out of her lunchbox.

The puppy cautiously walked out of the box, sniffing the air.

"It's really good! This kind is Minseok's favorite." She explained, holding out a piece of meat to the puppy.

The little animal hesitantly took the piece of food and chewed for a moment before its tail started wagging and it barked excitedly.

(Y/N) giggled and put the rest of the meat on the ground and watched with a small smile as the puppy ate.

However, once (Y/N) tried to take the puppy home it once again retreated to the box, growling as lowly as it could manage.

The girl sighed but didn't try to force the puppy to come home.

This repeated every day, the puppy had been living in the alley so long that it was no longer a puppy and (Y/N) was no longer a tiny elementary schooler.

"I can understand why you don't want to come home with me." She sighed one day as she watched the dog eat.

It looked up at her curiously but continued to chew. (Y/N) chuckled. It was almost like she was listening.

"I bet you can hear the yelling with those ears. I heard that dogs could hear really well. Well... that and how all the neighbors say they can hear, so you can probably hear as well."

(Y/N) sighed and leaned her head back against the brick wall.

"So yeah, I feel you on that one. Sometimes I don't even wanna go home. Good thing I've got Zack, Mira, and Johan, huh?"

She had brought her friends to meet the dog a couple of times and had to hold back her smug grin when the dog wouldn't let anybody but her pet it.

Over the course of time that (Y/N) had taken care of the dog, the two had grown close. (Y/N) ranted to the dog as it rested its head in her lap, and the dog gradually growing more and more comfortable with (Y/N) (and a little fat).

But that was until one day (Y/N) stopped showing up. And the dog started to get dangerously skinny again.

Occasionally there would be a package of cheap lunch meat left at the end of the alley, left by a hooded figure.

The dog once chased after the figure, barking viciously and causing the figure to stumble over. Their hood fell off and revealed (Y/N)'s face, now nearly as gaunt as the dogs. A bruise caused her right eye to swell shut and her upper lip was bleeding.

"Hey, hey, hey! I know the meat's been shit recently, but damn." She chuckled bitterly.

The dog froze, confused. She recognized the scent and the voice, but not the scent. It sat down in front of (Y/N), cocking her head to the side as she observed her old friend.

"I have to get everything by myself now, so it's been a bit tough. But some good news is I'm making a little bit more now, so it'll get better." (Y/N) explained.

The dog huffed and walked over to the cheap meat that (Y/N) had dropped, sniffing at it.

"Yeah I know, it'll never top dad's." She sighed as she watched the dog scarf down the meat for a moment before getting up.

"Welp, I've gotta go. See you around." She said, brushing herself before walking out of the alley.

She pretended not to hear the dog's quiet whimper as it watched her leave.

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