The Name 'Hawon' Lives On - Episode 2

 Until I Could Call His Name Again


We finally agreed to adopt a dog.
After that decision, only one question remained.
Where would we adopt from?


The answer didn't take long.

Rather than adopting from a commercial breeder,
We chose to adopt a rescue dog.

No matter the reason,
these dogs had all lost their homes once.

Giving them another place to belong
felt meaningful in more ways than one.



Rescue dog sitting quietly inside a shelter cage, waiting for adoption


So we began browsing the websites of several animal shelters,
slowly scrolling through the dogs waiting there.

Then one day,
I felt an inexplicable pull toward a single dog.

“This is the one.”

That was the only thought in my mind.

It felt exactly like the stories people tell—
that unexplainable shiver,
the quiet electric shock of meeting a soul meant for yours.

Unfortunately,
I’ve never felt that way about a person.

But with this dog,
I did.

The shelter used a system where
you submit an adoption application through their website.

After a review process,
the adoption is either approved or declined.

Dogs must remain at the shelter for a required period
before becoming eligible for adoption.

This dog was just approaching that point.

I rushed to fill out the application
and submitted it.

Then I waited.

One day passed.
Then another.

There was no response.

I’m not usually the type to follow up first.

But for some reason,
this time was different.

I found myself calling the shelter.

That’s when I learned the situation.

My application had been received and reviewed,
but there were already two families ahead of me
who had applied to adopt the same dog.

Unless they gave up,
my turn would never come.

The shelter added that
if the first applicant failed to confirm their decision by the next day,
the opportunity would move to the second person in line.

I hung up the phone,
disappointed.

Realistically,
the odds were not in my favor.


Korean man sitting by a bus window, holding a phone and lost in thought


A few more days passed.

One afternoon,
while riding a bus somewhere,
I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about that dog.

So I called the shelter again.

This time,
I was told that the first applicant
had asked for a few more days to decide.

Their deadline was now
the day after tomorrow.

Only if they gave up
would I be able to adopt the dog.

I ended the call
holding onto the smallest bit of hope.



Phone lighting up with an incoming call from an animal shelter in a dark room


Then, the next day—

Ring.
Ring.
Ring.

My phone rang.

It was the shelter.

The applicant ahead of me
had decided not to adopt the dog.

The dog was now available.

It was, quite simply,
unbelievable.



Entrance of an animal shelter at dusk, quiet and still


As the saying goes,
you strike the iron while it’s hot.

I immediately promised
to visit the shelter
the very next day.

This Hawon was a girl.
The Hawon I met in Jeju, years ago, was a boy.
Only the name had crossed the years.

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