As mid-March arrived, the air began to fill with the distinct scent of spring.

However, Yeon Se Eun’s fluffy fur coat attire remained unchanged.

Perhaps it had merely reduced from three layers to two, slightly decreasing in volume.

Nevertheless, spring is spring.

The season when all things come to life. A big event arrived for Se Eun, Sun Woo, and Cho Bbang as well.

“Is this a snowman rather than a puppy, young lady Yeon Se Eun?”

“No, it’s not. It’s his first walk, so I can’t let him shiver. I actually wanted to put on a hat and scarf too, but I held back because it might hide his pretty face.”

Sun Woo chuckled as he looked at Se Eun, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

They had gone shopping for Cho Bbang’s clothes together last time, but who would have thought she’d buy only fur coats like this?

It seemed Se Eun’s sense of seasons was quite peculiar.

Peculiar, and also incredibly lovable.

“Alright. Make sure the harness is secure.”

“Of course!”

Se Eun nodded vigorously.

It had been a month since Cho Bbang came to this home, and he was eating well, eliminating well, and had grown into quite the Shih Tzu.

Se Eun gazed lovingly at this baby Shih Tzu, now grown enough for walks.

With the fur padding she personally chose and the cute apple-shaped pin attached, he looked so adorable she wanted to bite him.

“Woof woof!”

Cho Bbang also wagged his tail, his black button-like eyes sparkling with excitement for his first walk.

Eager to show him the outside world, Se Eun quickly grabbed the harness.

“Let’s go, hurry!”

“Alright. You seem more excited than him.”

“Ah, no. Cho Bbang is excited. Look. He’s wagging his tail.”

Se Eun, her true feelings exposed, pretended not to hear and quickly stepped outside.

She felt Sun Woo’s light laughter carried on the wind from behind.

And so, Cho Bbang’s first outing into the world began.

“Wow~ When did so many flowers bloom?”

On the way to the park, Se Eun marveled at the changed seasonal colors, looking around.

Beautiful spring flowers were elegantly opening their buds.

Seemingly captivated by the flowers and their scent he’d never experienced before, Cho Bbang pulled hard on the harness, charging towards the flowers.

The sight made Se Eun burst into laughter.

“Don’t pull so hard. Our Yeon Cho Bbang, you’re so strong.”

“Hm? Yeon Cho Bbang?”

“What?”

Hearing Sun Woo’s provocative voice from behind, Se Eun turned her head.

Sun Woo strode up and suddenly placed his hand on top of Se Eun’s hand holding the harness.

“…?”

Se Eun looked up at Sun Woo with a puzzled gaze.

And Sun Woo looked down at her with a skeptical gaze.

“Did I hear wrong? I thought I just heard you call Cho Bbang ‘Yeon Cho Bbang’.”

“Ah… That’s right. Yeon Cho Bbang. Why?”

“Oh my, you can’t pass such an unfair name with those innocent eyes, young lady Yeon Se Eun.”

“Huh? Unfair…?”

Wondering what he meant, Se Eun tightened her grip on the harness.

She had a feeling that something troublesome was about to come out of Sun Woo’s mouth.

That feeling proved correct.

“Cho Bbang is Ki Cho Bbang.”

“Ki Cho Bbang…”

“Yes. From now on, we’ll call him…”

“Pfft!”

Laughter bubbled up from Se Eun’s lips like soap bubbles.

The sudden burst of laughter, like being tickled by foxtails, wouldn’t stop.

“Hmm. I’m glad you’re laughing so happily, but if it’s out of resistance to Ki Cho Bbang, that’s problematic.”

“No, Ki Sun Woo sir. What’s Ki Cho Bbang? Ki Cho Bbang. It sounds weird, doesn’t it?”

“What’s wrong with it? You just used your surname to call him Yeon Cho Bbang too.”

“Yeon Cho Bbang suits him well. Um… It gives a feeling like condensed milk chocolate bread, you know?”

“Ki Cho Bbang suits him well too. Like basic math, basic science… There are things like that, right?”

“What nonsense. No way. Cho Bbang is Yeon Cho Bbang.”

At this sudden claim of ownership, Cho Bbang stopped sniffing the flowers and looked up at the two of them.

Seeing his adorable face made Se Eun even more unwilling to give up.

So she proposed what she thought was a fair method to Sun Woo.

Out of resistance to the ‘unfairness’ he had just pointed out.

“Then… let’s decide by calling his name and seeing who he comes to. I’ll call ‘Yeon Cho Bbang’, you call ‘Ki Cho Bbang’, and whoever he comes to wins. Fair, right?”

“That’s not bad.”

“Okay. Then let’s start!”

As Se Eun suddenly sat down, Sun Woo quickly knelt beside her.

Very secretly and subtly, Se Eun tried to guide the harness towards her side as she called out to Cho Bbang.

“Yeon Cho Bbang~. Come here. Yeon Cho Bbang~.”

As she called softly, Cho Bbang flapped his fluffy ears.

Then, as if unwilling to lose, Sun Woo started calling.

“Ki Cho Bbang. Over here, here.”

“Woof woof!”

“…!”

An unbelievable thing happened.

Cho Bbang, who had only perked up his ears when Se Eun called, immediately ran over with his ears flapping when Sun Woo called.

He even snuggled right into Sun Woo’s arms.

“How about that, I won, right?”

“…”

Overcome with rising disappointment, Se Eun glared at Cho Bbang without replying.

Even though she couldn’t be with him often due to work, she was the one who brought Cho Bbang from this park…

That’s when it happened.

Amidst her exploding disappointment, something suspicious caught her eye.

“…Ki Sun Woo sir. What’s that in your hand?”

“Hm? This?”

There was no need to hear the answer.

The sight of Cho Bbang deliciously munching on whatever was in Sun Woo’s hand revealed that it was a treat.

“Using treats to lure him is cheating!”

“Hm? We never said that wasn’t allowed. I just did my best in my own way. You should blame young lady Yeon Se Eun for not preparing treats in advance.”

“That’s… that’s… Cho Bbang is Yeon Cho Bbang… I had thought of him as condensed milk chocolate bread…”

Se Eun clenched both fists and shook her shoulders in frustration.

To be so easily deceived, it was her fault for underestimating Ki Sun Woo.

“Woof woof!”

Having finished his treat, Cho Bbang wagged his tail, unable to hide his happy expression.

Then Sun Woo slowly stood up and extended his hand to the crouching Se Eun.

“Come on, you get up too. We need to walk.”

“…I’m not a dog.”

“I know. Young lady Yeon Se Eun is a rabbit. Yeon Cho Bbang’s guardian.”

“…What? Yeon… Cho Bbang?”

“Yes. You won. Condensed milk chocolate bread, let’s go with that.”

“Really?”

Se Eun’s face brightened as beautifully as the flowers blooming along the road.

She quickly grabbed Sun Woo’s hand and stood up energetically.

“Whoa…”

Perhaps she stood up too forcefully.

Before she knew it, she found herself embraced in Sun Woo’s chest.

Thump thump, her heart danced wildly in time with the spring breeze.

She should have pulled away, but strangely, she couldn’t.

Sun Woo held her tightly, not letting go.

Soon, a voice like a gentle breeze settled on her forehead.

“Yeon Se Eun, Yeon Cho Bbang. I like it.”

Like it… At those words, Se Eun grasped Sun Woo’s hand even tighter.

The warmth transmitted from hand to hand was so cozy that she thought it might be time to slowly take off her fur coat.

*

As soon as they returned home, Cho Bbang immediately fell fast asleep.

It seemed he had spent all his energy on his first walk of his dog life.

“It’s not just Cho Bbang who’s tired.”

Looking at Se Eun, who had already fallen soundly asleep leaning against the sofa, Sun Woo smiled.

Because she strongly insisted on her ownership of Yeon Cho Bbang and wouldn’t let go of the harness at all, she had exercised much more than usual.

Fortunately, Cho Bbang seemed to recognize Se Eun’s pace and speed, admirably matching her stride.

It made one wonder who was walking whom, but even that was just adorable.

Last night, Sun Woo couldn’t fall asleep at all.

The honest rabbit had charged into the center of his heart and dropped a bomb-like confession, and he hadn’t given a proper answer.

Of course, he had expressed his feelings with a kiss more powerful than words, but it might not have been enough to convey them.

When he met her moist eyes after ending the kiss, Sun Woo made a decision.

To honestly confess all the truth, ask for forgiveness, and then answer.

However, he wanted to fully enjoy this happiness just a little bit longer, even if just for a moment.

Yeon Se Eun and Yeon Cho Bbang.

He wanted to extend this sweet daily life with these lovable beings, even if just for a short while.

“Our rabbit, you should sleep comfortably.”

After embracing Se Eun by putting his hand behind her neck, Sun Woo gently laid her down on the sofa.

So she could have sweet dreams while he prepared dinner.

“Mmm… condensed milk chocolate bread…”

Looking at Se Eun mumbling in her sleep, Sun Woo smiled faintly.

At the same time, an unfamiliar anxiety washed over him.

All the actions he had taken in the past, being called a prodigal or trash.

He had never cared about how those actions affected others.

After all, they were a kind of ‘punishment’.

But at this moment, Sun Woo felt anxious, and anxious again.

What expression would this adorable rabbit, sleeping peacefully before his eyes, make when she found out that the first man she liked was no different from a spy who had come to deceive and betray her?

If she learned that he had entered her life merely to fulfill Ko San’s desires, who had hurt her all her life, to obtain the secrets he sought.

Even if he said he had truly come to love her, would she believe him?

Yeon Se Eun, wearing her fluffy fur coat, with her cloud-like hair fluttering, smiling like the spring breeze.

Yeon Se Eun, who could be full of wounds one moment and then become as bright as sunshine the next.

If he could never see her again because of this truth, it truly felt unbearable.

He didn’t mind being called selfish and cowardly.

Sun Woo wanted to fully savor the current Yeon Se Eun, this overwhelming loveliness.

So he rationalized himself.

The lie, just a little longer. To continue like this for just a little while longer.