My best friend's girlfriend

9

I didn't go to work. When I woke up from the alarm clock, I realized that I simply could not do anything at the workplace and decided to pretend to be sick. They believed me - the autumn cold did not surprise anyone. I found a few missed calls - from Minji and Handong, as well as a couple of messages from Minji where she asked what the hell I had left and if I was okay. I decided not to answer her, but just say that I am very busy if she continues to call me. I packed my essentials into a small bag and left the house. Stopping on the way to the store and buying a few sandwiches, water and semi-finished products there, I went to the place where I was hiding from all worries - to my dacha. My personal island of calmness and silence. Where there is practically no connection, there is no Internet and people. Exactly what I need now. Three days should be enough for me to more or less come to my senses and live as if nothing had happened.

I opened the sturdy wooden door and shivered. It is colder here at night than in the city, so the house is very cold. I immediately threw some logs into the oven, and also connected the radiators. In about ten minutes it will be warm here. Putting on the kettle, I took out the things from the bag and put the food in the refrigerator.

Half an hour later, I chewed a sandwich. Well, it's not all bad. Yes, I'm in love with my best friend's girlfriend. Yes, there is a possibility that she knows about it. Yes, I almost kissed her. But compared to all the troubles of the world such as hunger, tornadoes, terrible fires and floods, my problems are nothing. I will calm myself all these three days that I will be here.

The most reasonable decision after all the events that have taken place would be to abstract from everything, not think about Bora, to do something, just to free my mind from thoughts about her. But I realized long ago that when it comes to this girl, my brain refuses to work, and I always act like a complete idiot. So I spent two days in a melancholic delirium looking at pictures of her, which I sometimes took when the three of us were out. I enlarged the photo so that only her face was on the screen, and I stared into her eyes for almost hours.

By the end of Saturday, I realized that I needed someone to whom I could give my love, and who would accept it unconditionally. Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe the universe or someone from above heard me, but on Sunday morning when I went out of the barn to fetch wood, I met someone.

A short dog stood near the barn and looked at me with his head bowed. We hypnotized each other for about five minutes before I said:

- Well hello. How did you get here? - I looked behind the dog at the fence. The gate was closed. How she got there was a mystery. Maybe she climbed through the bushes through the neighbors?

- Whose are you, dog? - I asked calmly, carefully putting the wood on the ground so as not to scare her. After taking a couple of hesitant steps towards the dog, I closely watched her reaction. But as she stood in one place, she was not going to go anywhere.

I came closer. The dog looked at me with interest. I squatted down and carefully held out my hand.

- You're not going to bite me, are you? - the white head slightly moved her nose, touching my palm, sniffed and, again assuming the same position, continued to look at me.

I reached forward and touched the damp fur under my neck. She lightly stroked her, not taking her eyes off.

- You're nobody's, right? - I again tried to involve the dog in dialogue, looking at it more boldly. Dirty and all in mats wool, decorated with rare burdock, told me that, most likely, she did not have owners. - Well, you're lonely, I'm lonely. Will you come to live with me? - I asked her, scratching behind her ear. The dog has already sat on the fifth point and gladly accepted my affection.