Zoya looked at Bamson and smiled, then turned toward the four girls, curious to know what they were thinking about their next step.
"Isn't it better if we take Bamson to the police station? They will hand him over to Jeon.J themselves," Sofia suggested.
"No, we don't have enough time for that. The police station is far from here; we can't go there now. Even if we call them for help, it will take a while for them to arrive. We can't stay here any longer. If we ask them to bring Bamson to the hostel, this news will spread, and no one knows how long Bamson has been missing. The blame could fall on us," Hana replied.
"Not on you three, because you just arrived. But the two of us have been here for a month. We will definitely get into trouble if this comes out," she added firmly.
"Then what should we do next for Bamson?" Minji asked anxiously.
At that moment, Zoya noticed tiny flakes falling again. The snow had returned, dusting Bamson's fur as he shifted behind the tree.
"We can't keep him out here in this weather," Zoya said quickly.
Minji nodded. "And leaving him behind the tree is impossible now. He'll freeze."
"That means only two choices remain," Sofia whispered. "Either the police station… or we take him to the hostel."
Hana bit her lip, her eyes troubled. "Both are risky. But we have no other way."
"But if he barks," Zoya warned, "everyone will find out." She glanced back at the tree where Bamson was still hiding. "Or… we stay outside with him till morning."
Sofia frowned. "That's dangerous for us. What if someone sees?"
"Or…" Minji's eyes moved nervously toward the tree, "what if we just leave him here for now? No one has noticed him yet. Jeon.J hasn't even announced that Bamson is missing. If people hear a bark, they won't think to check behind the tree."
Silence hung between them, the weight of their choices pressing harder than the night around them.
Suddenly, soft snowflakes began to fall again, small round balls dropping gently from the dark sky. They all looked at each other and, almost in unison, said,
"Two options are gone."
Then they laughed—not because it was funny, but because the pressure was too much, and laughter was the only way to release it.
"No, we can't stay outside, and we can't leave Bamson here either. That leaves only two choices—either the police station or the hostel," Ruhi said.
Zoya added softly, "I think… if it were any other pet, it wouldn't be so hard for them to decide. But because this is Bamson, it's different. They're too attached to him. They can't abandon him because to them, he's like the son of their idol. Isn't that right?"
Hana nodded quietly. "She's right… that's exactly why it feels impossible to decide."
"Why do you ask us four? Don't you like Jeon.J?" Minji asked suddenly.
"No, I like him. In fact, I like everyone," Zoya replied honestly. "But I don't have any idol, because I never felt the need. I admire people's humble nature—especially when they touch the sky of destiny but never forget their hard times, and keep following their values."
"Guys, we can talk about this later. First, do what we have to do," Sofia added quickly. "It's freezing cold out here. We at least packed ourselves, but think about him."
Sofia pointed toward Bamson, shivering behind the tree. "Exactly. He doesn't even have that much."
"We can leave Bamson in the greenhouse near our hostel. The owners are an old couple, and I already talk to them sometimes. I can convince them," Hana suggested with hope.
"No," Minji shook her head quickly. "Bamson already looks sick. First, we can't reveal his identity. Second, that couple won't be able to take proper care of him. And we can't stay in the greenhouse either."
"So, there's only one way left—to take Bamson into the hostel," Ruhi said firmly.
"But how? That's too difficult," Sofia's voice trembled with doubt.
"Our dorm faces the back street. The window is just glass, no steel frame, and it opens fully. We can bring Bamson in from there," Ruhi explained quickly.
"What? No! How can we do that?" Zoya exclaimed nervously.
Minji looked straight at her, her tone sharp. "Look at you, acting strange… as if we're not talking about saving Bamson."
The others smiled faintly and exchanged glances, ignoring Zoya.
"Our dorm is on the second floor. How are we supposed to do this?" Hana frowned.
"Let's go to the police station. Isn't that safer?" Zoya suggested hesitantly.
"Seriously?" Sofia raised her brows.
"You're scared of Bamson, that's why you're suggesting this," Minji said, narrowing her eyes.
"How could I be scared… of your beloved idol's son?" Zoya tried to defend herself with a weak smile. Then, under her breath, she muttered almost whispering, "Allah, Allah… better to stay single forever than to become Bamson's mom."
Before she could finish, Minji cut her off. "Ok, leave it. Let's start working on saving Bamson."
"Hana and Minji will stay with Bamson on the backstreet near the window," Ruhi spoke with quick confidence. "Since we're Korean, if any local sees us, we can handle it. You three are new and don't know the language well, so you go back to the hostel, get into our dorm, and collect some bedsheets. Tie them together like a rope, long enough to reach us. We'll fasten Bamson with it and you can pull him up. Once he's inside the dorm, we'll enter the hostel normally."
They finally reached near the hostel, and Zoya tried one last time. "Guys, I was saying that—"
But before she could finish, everyone spoke at once.
"Don't say anything, just stay quiet and do what has been told!"
Zoya sighed. No one ever listens to her. Who would have thought the day would come when she would be forced to share a small dorm room not with another student, but with a dog—oh, sorry, not just any dog, Bamson.
As they climbed the stairs toward the dorm, Ruhi on one side and Sofia on the other, Zoya muttered softly, "Dorms are meant for students to sleep, but tonight, even a dog will have a bed in ours." Both Ruhi and Sofia looked at her sharply, as if warning her to stay quiet.
Inside the room, Ruhi and Sofia immediately started gathering bedsheets. When they reached for Zoya's, she protested, "Hey, are you taking mine too? Please, not this one!"
But they ignored her and instead tied together Hana and Minji's sheets, making a rope.
Ruhi checked if it could reach down to Hana and Minji. Almost, but not quite. So she went to the next dorm, made up a story, and borrowed another sheet. Now the rope was long enough.
From above, they saw Hana standing close to Bamson, almost shielding him so no passerby could recognize him. Minji looked up and signaled them to throw down the rope.
Just then, a local man appeared on the street.
"여자들, 괜찮아요? 뭔가 걱정스러운 것 같네요. 도움이 필요해요?"
(Girls, are you okay? You look worried. Do you need any help?)
Minji quickly stepped forward and replied in Korean, her tone calm yet dramatic:
"우리는 강아지 밥을 방에 두고 왔어요. (We left our dog's food in the room.)
우리의 룸메이트가 안에 있어요. (Our roommate is inside.)
다행히도 우리 창문은 이쪽에 있어서, (Luckily, our window is on this side,)
우리는 그녀에게 전화했어요. (We called her.)
그래서 우리는 기다리고 있어요, 그녀가 음식을 창밖으로 던질 거예요. (So we are waiting for her to throw it down.)"
The man frowned slightly.
"하지만 기숙사 안에는 반려동물 허용되지 않잖아요. (But pets aren't allowed in the hostel.)"
Minji didn't flinch. She placed a hand on Hana's shoulder and softly said,
"이 사람은 제 언니예요. (She is my sister.)
오늘 저를 만나러 왔어요, 그리고 아기를 데려왔어요. (She came to meet me today, and she brought my baby with her.)"
Hana added quickly, almost acting,
"저는 이 아이 없이 살 수 없어요. (I can't live without him.)
그래서 제가 잠시 안아 보고 헤어지려고 해요. (So I just wanted to hold him for a while before she leaves for the train station.)"
The man hesitated, then gave a faint smile.
"아… 알겠어요. 도움이 필요하면 말씀하세요. (Ah… I see. If you need help, let me know.)"
He finally walked away, disappearing around the corner. Hana and Minji only relaxed once he was gone.
Ruhi, watching from above, whispered, "Now!" and threw down the rope. Hana tied it around Bamson gently while keeping him close.
"Come on, Sofia, Zoya—help me pull him up!" Ruhi called.
Sofia rushed to help, while Zoya just stood frozen, staring. Seriously? That's a dog, not a human.
But eventually, with their effort, Bamson began to climb up. The window was a bit small for his size, but Bamson was clever and tired of the cold. He pushed forward, squeezing through the frame.
At last, he entered the room. Zoya noticed a small wound on him, but what struck her more was his silence. His eyes looked drained, almost hopeless, as if he had already given up on ever meeting Jeon.J again. That quiet surrender hurt them more than any wound on his body.
To be continued…
Regards
ZK💌