Byul yawned deeply. The sun was feeling especially nice on her face. She put down her half of the chicken katsu sandwich and rested her cheek on the wood of the picnic table, toasted warm by the sun.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Veggie leave the butterfly and run over towards something else.

It was difficult to spot him in the poppy fields as his golden hair blended into the yellow, oranges, and reds of the flower petals. But she clocked movement. The swoosh of the poppies and blades of grass. Whatever got his attention, Veggie ran over to it faster than she could turn her head.

When she did, she saw it.

She saw him.

* * *

“Veggie?”

When Byul turned around, Veggie and another dog were running in circles after each other. It was another Golden Retriever just like Veggie, but fully grown at nearly twice Veggie’s size. The bigger Goldie’s luscious hair shined like silk under the sun.

The two puppers went on sniffing each other’s butts and wagging their tails, soon jumping on top of each other to play. There was a fuzzy ball next to them that she didn’t recognize, which the bigger dog presumably chased all the way here.

A human figure, likely his owner, was running towards him from a distance.

‘Thank god this dog is friendly.’

Byul thought. Not every dog responded well to Veggie’s hyperactive puppy energy. Some even took it as a sign of menace or harm. But not this one.

“Arf arf!”

Veggie began play-biting, snapping happily near the bigger Golden Retriever’s mouth. The bigger dog returned the play-bites. A healthy and normal dog behavior, but Byul could never be too careful.

“Veggie, no-”

Byul sprung up from her seat, turning to the dogs.

“Aww, that’s cute.”

Crystal said leisurely, still sitting on the picnic table. It was, well, cute indeed. This bigger dog seemed quite similar in personality in Veggie, in addition to his looks. They almost looked like father and son.

“Veggie, come here!”

Engrossed in frolicking with his new friend, Veggie wasn’t listening. Byul gauged the situation, checking that the bigger dog’s owner, who had ran up to his dog and was catching his breath, hunched over with his hands on his knees. He straightened his back and shook sweat off his hair. Blonde just like his dog’s.

‘Okay, he doesn’t seem mad. But better end it before Veggie gets any rowdier.’

She tucked her hair behind her ear and displayed a full-lipped smile, the one that always got her free drinks at any bar she went to. Veggie being the attention-loving ball of energy that he was, he often got into other dogs’ spaces and she was used to handling the situation by using her - and his - pretty privilege. She approached the owner.

“I’m sorry. My dog is just so-”

Before she could get even halfway into her spiel, she stopped dead in her tracks. Now that she was closer to the two dogs, she could see the older Golden Retriever clearly.

She was sure she had seen this dog before.

Sure, most people wouldn’t be able to tell one Golden Retriever from the next. But Byul had the observational eye and analytical brain of someone who made book reviews and video essays her bread and butter. Her memory was nearly photographic and so was her ability to recall exactly what she needed at any necessary situation. Her memory only became more crisp when it had to do with things she loved, dogs being at the reigning champion of that list. Especially Goldies. Ergo, she only needed one look at a dog to remember them as an individual for life.

‘No way. Is that-?’

She thought, her pupils shaking.

‘It can’t be.’

She stared at the dog again. It couldn’t be, but it had to be. She whipped her face away from the bigger dog’s owner. She stretched out her hand and put them over her eyes, covering her face while feigning to hide from the sun.

‘It can’t. Be.’

“Goldfish!”

The owner called to his dog. The bigger Golden Retriever looked up at his owner’s direction at the mention of his name.

‘It is! I knew it!’

That was the final and irrevocable confirmation Byul needed.

The owner had now grabbed onto his dog’s leash, separating the two Golden Retrievers. He exhaled deeply. At any other time, Byul would have laughed in relatability at cat-and-mouse chase he and his dog just did that was all too familiar to her. But not this time.

“I’m so sorry about that. He slipped away from me as I was unloading him from my car.”

The man said, knitting his brows apologetically.

“He gets excited way too quickly at other dogs but h means well, though I know that’s no excuse.”

He went on. Even his spiel was all too familiar to her. He was quiet for a bit, scratching his cheek.

‘Damn, he definitely thinks I’m weird.”

Byul thought, still desperately trying to prevent him from seeing her face. And more importantly, hearing her voice. She hadn’t said anything to him in response and could tell he was starting to wonder if something was wrong.

“Your dog is really cute.”

He pointed at Veggie, who had come back to her side and was rubbing his cheek fur against her shin, with a big grin.

“Thanks. -you. Thank you.”

Byul said in half-whisper and half-spoken-word. Her voice was shaking.

Crystal looked over at her, kale chip still in her mouth, head tilted in confusion at this rare sighting. Byul was usually so put together and had a professional answer and demeanor for every situation.

“You okay?”

Crystal shouted at her back, getting up. Byul turned around and showed her an awkward thumbs-up, signing for her to sit back down.

“Uhm, I’m really sorry if my dog inconvenienced you in any way. If you find anything wrong with your dog even later on, please feel free to give me a call. I’d be happy to pay for vet fees or anything like that.”

The man said again, holding out his phone. Byul didn’t say anything still, fidgeting in her spot.

“Ah, right. You don’t want to give your number to a stranger. How inconsiderate of me. Here, let me just-”

He scratched his head and started digging his pocket for something. His Golden Retriever wagged his tail and poked at the same pocket with his nose, thinking his owner was pulling out a treat. The man didn’t look like he was leaving without approval from her that her and Veggie were fine.

Byul was desperate. Her eyes darted all around her surrounding as she searched for a way out, eventually landing back on Veggie.

‘Veggie! What do I do!'

She shouted in her head. She pulled out her hair with both hands, also in her head. Veggie was jumping up at her shins without a worry in the world, getting frustrated he wasn’t getting any attention. Then, a lightbulb came on in her head.

‘That’s right!’

Byul’s eyes widened at her bright idea. She hoisted up Veggie from the field of flowers, then spoke in a baby voice an octave higher than hers:

“Thank yew, nice guy! I’m okay!”

The man flinched and stopped shoveling his pockets. He raised his head and looked at Byul.

‘Sh*t. Did he notice?’

Byul thought, cold sweat running down her spine. But she couldn’t back down now. She had committed to the bit.

“I woved playing with your furry fwend!”

She heaved up Veggie higher so that his torso would cover her face. Her skinny noodle arms were trembling. She couldn’t see his face anymore, and had no idea if he had noticed.

“Bye bye!”

She took one of his little paws and waved it gently from left to right.

She squeezed her eyes tight, nervously waiting for his response. A few seconds passed.

Silence. Nothing. No response.

‘Huh?’

Still nothing.

‘Did he just think I was crazy and leave? I mean, that’d be fine too-’

She slowly peeked out from behind Veggie’s fuzzy, yellow mass. Then she heard it. A few chuckles first, then a robust laughter.

“Bahaha!”

She opened her eyes wide in surprise. The man had burst out laughing. She let her arms heaving up Veggie slide down, hugging him at her waist. He wheezed and raised his arm up. She guessed he was wiping a tear from his eye. She was still being careful to angle her face away from his sight.

“I see. Glad to hear you’re okay, little guy.”

He said, his eye level low as he was looking into Veggie’s eyes instead of her’s. He kneeled down by his older Golden Retriever and said in the best baby voice she assumed he could muster:

“I loved playing with you too.”

He patted his Goldie’s head. The older dog barked in agreement, his tail gently wagging.

The man’s knees were still on the dirt and half-buried by the poppy flowers. She was still looking down at the ground and couldn’t see his face, but could tell he said that with a big, gentle smile.

For some reason then, she became curious what he looked like. She flicked her eyes up at his face for a second, despite her better judgment.

Just then, gust of wind blew past them, sending petals flying in the air.

Her sight blurred in that whirlwind of golden orange.

To be continued…