Chapter 12: He Was Shelter Member Number One

Just like yesterday, Junho ran eight kilometers at dawn to get to the gym, then lifted with the trainer shouting, “Let’s go, let’s go! Our guy can do it!”

Junho was even fresher than he’d been the day before, not sore in the slightest, and the trainer kept marveling at him. The man’s gaze, already sticky enough, now clung to him like a hawk eyeing prey.

He could’ve handled heavier weight, but Junho found himself wondering how shocked the trainer would be if he realized Junho had been deliberately sticking to the assigned routine.

In any case, pretending not to notice the trainer’s look, Junho ran another eight kilometers back home.

Just like yesterday, he wasn’t especially tired. He wasn’t drained either.

A shiver ran through him at the realization that his body had reached the level of an elite athlete.

But getting carried away was dangerous.

For now, he had to focus only on continuing to train his body and getting used to the changes.

“Extending the gym sessions doesn’t seem right. Maybe I should try running with sandbags or something.”

In the apocalypse, he would almost never be moving around empty-handed.

Whether it was supplies or equipment, he would always be carrying or hauling something, which meant he needed to get used to weight too.

Junho immediately ordered weighted bands and a weighted vest with next-day delivery.

After that, the rest of the day wasn’t much different from yesterday.

They went to the drone training center, took the lesson, got in some flight practice, and around lunchtime the two brothers came back home.

After they ate, Junhyeok said he was going to practice with the drone some more in the vacant lot next to the house.

Leaving him to it, Junho got back into the SUV.

He was going to pick something up.

It was something you couldn’t buy online, something you had to see in person before deciding.

And it was also something he absolutely had to secure before moving into the shelter, because it would need about two years of special training.

Something that was helpful to people in ordinary life too, in big and small ways—

but in the apocalypse, depending on the situation, could be immensely valuable.

That something was—

***

Bark bark! Yip yip!

It was absolute chaos.

Dozens of small dogs barked from inside the kennel, panting and wagging their tails furiously at Junho.

“Because of COVID, volunteers haven’t really been able to come by for a while. It’s been a long time since the dogs saw a person, so they got a little excited. You’re okay with that, right?”

The shelter employee, whose clothes were covered all over in dog fur, smiled awkwardly as they asked.

“That’s fine.”

“Right, right! Ah, Purdy’s over there. We keep the medium and large dogs separately.”

The name Purdy had probably come from the German Shepherd breed somehow.

Following the small-framed employee, Junho soon arrived at the kennel area for the medium and large dogs.

There too, the moment the employee and Junho appeared, the dogs came crowding over all at once, barking in welcome.

Big or small, they all seemed happy to see people.

Animals that had been abandoned by humans, yet still loved humans so much they didn’t know what to do with themselves.

But a few years from now, even they would fear and hate anything shaped like a person.

“Purdy! Purdy!”

When the employee called out, a shepherd with a long muzzle and sharply pricked ears came padding over, lazily wagging its tail.

It wasn’t fully grown yet, but it was already pretty big.

More importantly, unlike the others, it showed no sign of excitement. It was calm and steady.

“You probably saw this on the shelter website, but first off, Purdy’s estimated to be about a year old. It’ll still be another two or three months before he’s fully grown. And as you can see, he’s super mature, right? His personality is really good too. And seriously, seriously—he’s really smart.”

“Yes, it looks that way.”

“Right, right, our Purdy’s really such a good-looking, wonderful dog. But large breeds are hard to get adopted, you know? Especially shepherds—they’ve got this image of being aggressive... and people tend to prefer dogs like retrievers or huskies.”

The employee, who had been bright and cheerful the whole time, looked a little dejected.

Junho spoke.

“I like shepherds. I’ve wanted to raise one for a long time, but I lived in an apartment, so the circumstances weren’t right. I recently moved into a house with a yard, so now I figured I finally could.”

“Yes, yes! If you’ve got a yard, it’s great for raising a large dog. But, uh... have you ever had experience with large breeds before? It’s just that medium and large dogs can be a little hard for first-timers.”

Even while being careful, the employee still said what needed to be said.

It was obvious this was someone who truly loved dogs and cared about them.

Junho felt a slight pang of guilt, but nodded.

“Yes. I handled military dogs when I was in the army.”

“Wow! No way!”

That part was a lie.

Junho had only been close with the unit’s military dog handler. He had never personally been one himself.

Still, he really did like dogs, and it was true that he’d picked up a fair amount about shepherd traits and handling from listening to the handler over time.

“You’ve got a yard, and you know shepherds too. That’s seriously perfect. Purdy likes it too, right? This big brother’s gonna be your dad from now on.”

Junho smiled faintly at the employee’s excitement, then lightly clenched his fist and slowly held it out to Purdy.

The dog approached carefully, sniffed it, and then started gently swishing its thick tail.

Even from the photo on the shelter website, Junho had thought, It’s this one.

Seeing him in person, he liked him even more.

“Then can I take him right away?”

“Yes, yes! You can!”

The adoption process moved quickly.

After filling out the paperwork and receiving the food and basic supplies the shelter had prepared, Junho carefully loaded Purdy into the back seat.

“Purdy, be happy.”

The employee, whose eyes had reddened before they knew it, couldn’t seem to look away from Purdy in the car.

After closing the door and starting the engine, Junho took out his phone for a moment and quickly tapped at something.

Then he walked back over to the employee and said,

“It’s not much, but I sent over a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) donation. Things must be hard in times like these, so I hope it helps a little.”

“Huh? Ah—yes. Thank you so much!”

The employee bowed over and over with a bewildered expression.

“It’s nothing. Thanks to you, I got to bring home such an incredible guy as family. Well then, take care.”

“Yes, yes! Drive safe!”

The employee stood there, watching as the SUV slowly left the shelter grounds.

At that moment, the shelter director came running over in a panic.

“Hey, hey! Did that adopter, Lee Junho, already leave?”

“Yeees. Why?”

“I mean, can you believe it? He donated a million won!”

“What?!”

The employee whipped around, but the SUV carrying the man and the dog was already long gone in the distance.

***

“Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!”

Junhyeok, who almost never cursed, blurted it out on reflex and hopped back in shock.

Which was only natural.

Before he’d left for his workout, there hadn’t been any dog in the yard. And now there was a big German Shepherd planted there like it owned the place, panting away.

Looking up at Junhyeok, Purdy lazily swished his thick tail.

“W-what is this guy, man?”

“His name’s Purdy. German Shepherd.”

“No, not that. I mean where the hell did a dog suddenly come from?”

Watching Junhyeok crab-walk awkwardly to the side to keep distance from the big dog, Junho snorted.

“I told you a few days ago. I said I was bringing home a dog.”

“Then say it right. You said puppy, not dog. Where exactly do you see a puppy here? This is just a dog. A big dog.”

“He’s only about a year old, so he’ll still get bigger. That makes him a puppy.”

“He gets bigger than this? Wow.”

When Purdy slowly approached, wagging his tail, Junhyeok cautiously crouched down and slowly held out a hand.

Purdy met his eyes, sniffed, then licked his hand and panted.

At that, the tension left Junhyeok’s brow. He broke into a grin and scratched Purdy’s head and jaw.

“Ohohoho, you little guy. You little guy. Looking closer, you’re kinda cute, huh?”

“Ohohoho? What even is that... Anyway, handsome, right?”

“Yeah. Very. What’d you say his name was again?”

“Purdy. That’s the name the shelter gave him.”

“Purdy, Purdy. That’s not bad. Don’t think he even needs a new one.”

As if he understood his own name, Purdy wagged his tail even faster.

“Whoa! He knows his name already? Purdy, sit!”

Plop.

“Ohhh! Now paw!”

Plop.

“Purdy, you little punk, you’re a genius dog, huh?”

“Right? I was surprised too, after bringing him home and trying a few things.”

So the shelter employee had been telling the truth, going on and on about what a smart dog he was.

The moment they got out of the car and entered the house, Purdy spent about ten minutes slowly exploring every corner of the yard, then found the farthest, most secluded spot and quietly relieved himself.

And when Junho tossed him a treat he’d picked up on the way home, Purdy didn’t eat it right away.

He picked it up and brought it back to Junho instead.

As if asking for permission to eat it.

And when it came time for a bath, he didn’t fight, fuss, or complain. He stood through it bravely without showing even the slightest resistance.

Nobody had taught him that.

He really was an admirable dog.

The shedding was a bit much, but Junho had known all about that since his army days, so it didn’t bother him.

“Hey, hey, that tickles. You little guy, you little guy.”

Junhyeok, who’d been cursing in shock at first, was now pressing his face against Purdy’s and laughing as he played with him.

Watching that, Junho said,

“For the time being, I’m just going to let him get used to us slowly through walks and play. I’ll handle the mornings, so you take him out whenever you’ve got time.”

“Okay. But you said you’re sending him to some training place?”

“Yeah. He needs to prepare for the apocalypse too.”

Junhyeok had been rubbing Purdy’s head so hard the whites of the dog’s eyes were showing.

He paused, then said with a somewhat sorry look,

“Kind of makes me feel bad. We really did bring him here to put him to work.”

That was true.

Junho hadn’t adopted Purdy as just a pet. He’d done it with a clear purpose in mind.

In the apocalypse, a dog was an incredibly useful asset.

Strong loyalty, an excellent nose, quick reflexes, and in an emergency, real offensive ability too.

With proper training, one could be more useful than most human teammates.

That was why Junho had been thinking from the beginning of military-dog types like shepherds or Dobermans, and the moment he found Purdy on the shelter website, he’d decided to adopt him without hesitation.

“If he’d stayed at the shelter, he probably would’ve been euthanized before the end of the year. And even if someone else had adopted him, once the apocalypse hit, he probably wouldn’t have lasted long.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true. Then bringing him here worked out for him too. Lucky bastard. You lucky little bastard. Heh-heh-heh!”

When Purdy licked his face, Junhyeok laughed idiotically and rubbed both hands all over the dog’s face.

“Anyway, we’ll let him play around for a few weeks so he can get used to the house and to us. After that, whether it’s boarding at a training center or commuting back and forth, we’re going to get him properly trained. And we need to train with him too.”

“Yeah. But did you feed him yet? If not, I will.”

At the word feed, Purdy’s ears perked straight up.

“Go ahead. I should take a look at the kennel.”

While Junhyeok got Purdy’s food and water ready, Junho assembled the wire fencing he’d bought on the way back and installed a large doghouse inside it.

Of course, he didn’t plan to keep Purdy out in the yard all the time.

But at the shelter, Purdy would have clear roles—guard duty, tracking, reconnaissance.

And for that, he needed to get used to kennel life.

After laying down a donated blanket he’d picked up through a used-goods app and putting up a windbreak, Junho placed a duck neck bone inside the doghouse.

As soon as he finished eating his food, Purdy caught the scent like a ghost, went into the doghouse, picked up the neck bone, and flopped down with it.

But he didn’t eat it right away.

He just rested the bone on top of his front paws and quietly looked at Junho.

—Master, may I eat this?

That was what it looked like he was asking.

For some reason, the sight made Junho’s chest tighten a little, and he nodded.

“Go ahead.”

Crunch, crunch!

Only then did Purdy enthusiastically start gnawing at the neck bone.

Junho silently stroked Purdy’s head.

He had adopted him with a purpose from the very beginning, yes.

But from this moment on, Purdy was no longer just an asset.

He was shelter member number one—the first companion who would face the apocalypse with them.