Deen-The Big Black Dog

'Ah hello,' Mee greeted. 'You must be Choi Shin ahujmma. Mrs. Jung's friend.'

'Yes,' she said warmly. Choi ahjumma was almost as old and portly as Mrs. Jung sans the strange fashion sense. But she smelled of onions. Even Mee wrinkled her nose a bit. But she couldn't get another reliable baby sitter. And Mrs. Jung strongly recommended her.

'Ahjumma, I will be back by nine pm,' Mee said. 'He already had a bath in the morning. Just make sure he finishes his homework. After that he can watch some TV and eat dinner. The dinner is in the fridge. Just reheat it and give it to him.'

'Okay,' Choi ahjumma said. 'Don't worry, he is safe with me.'

Mee nodded.

'And Deen,' she said, turning to me. 'Don't give ahjumma a hard time. I don't want to hear her complain.'

'Okay,' I said. She gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and headed out. I sighed. In the end, I couldn't ask her.

'Are you done with homework?' Choi ahjumma asked. It was almost 6 pm. Ahjumma was sitting next to me on the dining table, peeling some apples.

'Yes ahjumma,' I replied. She smiled and fed me the apple slices.

'Good boy,' she patted my head. 'You can play now.' Her phone rang. 'Hello,' she answered and began to talk to someone.

I got up and turned on the laptop. We didn't have a TV because Mee had to spend a lot of money on other furniture. So we had to watch TV programs using the internet.

'Deen ah,' Choi ahjumma called. I looked up.

'Deen, I have to go out in an emergency,' she said apologetically. 'My husband is having some trouble at home. It won't take long. Maybe an hour and a half. Will you be alright here by yourself?'

Huh? She wanted to leave a little kid all by himself? So much for reliability.

'Just don't go anywhere,' she said, picking up her coat. 'I'll be back in an hour. Promise.'

And with that, she hurried out of the door, locking it from behind her. The day was getting stranger and stranger. I rolled my eyes and went back to watching cartoons on the laptop.

After a while, I shut the laptop and yawned. My stomach was growling. I searched the fridge for food. Mee cooked rice, vegetables and fish but they were all cold. I closed the fridge and picked up an apple from the counter. Suddenly, I felt as if I was being watched. I turned around to see the outline of a black shadow, outside the window. The curtains covered the window pane, but it felt like the shadow was watching me.

My mind gripped with fear. What if it was a ghost? Or a burglar? I was all alone. I had a mobile phone which I could use to contact Mee, but it would take her a while to reach home. I slowly made my way towards the window. The black shadow was standing there but it didn't look human. I moved the curtain out of the way and almost screamed in fright.

It was a large black dog, pawing at the window. Other than its gigantic size, it looked harmless. I opened the window and it happily barged in.

'Doggy!' I squealed. I patted it. Strangely, the dog wasn't barking. It was staring at the apple in my hand, its tongue salivating. I held it out on my hand and the dog gobbled it down.

'What's your name?' I wondered aloud. It had a tag around its neck. I checked it. It said Mona.

'Mona,' I read. 'Your name is Mona?'

The dog didn't respond, just wagged its tail. But it seemed to understand my Korean.