Subduing the Man-Dog

Lin An trembled.

“You… traitor… stop cheering for him…”

The man-dog barked.

He bounced off the counter and landed on the pastry case.

The glass cracked.

The customers gasped.

Someone yelled, “Save the bread!”

Lin An jumped up, panic wiping out his despair.

“Don’t you dare touch the croissants! Those are the only normal ones left!”

The man-dog barked at the display, tail wagging like an excited puppy.

Then, with terrifying speed, he shoved his head into the case.

He came back out with an entire cake dangling from his mouth.

Lin An screamed.

The customers cheered.

The espresso machine hissed louder.

Lin An clutched his head and wailed.

“I quit! I quit! I don’t want this job anymore!”

He squatted in the corner, dragging his finger across the tiles.

Crooked circles formed under his hand.

His head drooped, his back hunched, his whole body radiating despair.

His lips moved silently.

Why am I alive? Why am I still here?

The café door opened.

The bell chimed sweetly.

Everyone turned.

Lin An lifted his head.

His eyes were lifeless, heavy with the weight of a man who had lost all hope.

He looked like a prisoner staring at the judge’s final verdict.

And then he saw his friend.

The one he trusted most.

The one who had always been there for him.

Lin An’s eyes filled with a pitiful light.

His mouth quivered.

With a strangled wail, he lunged forward.

He clung to his friend’s body like a limp cabbage hanging from a tree branch.

“Why me!” he cried.

“Why is my life cursed! Am I not a good man? Do I not brew coffee with love? Tell me, why is fate picking on me?”

He buried his face in his friend’s shoulder, shaking as he sobbed.

His cries came out in loops, like a broken record stuck on repeat.

“My life is over, my hands are cursed, my soul is doomed, my future is finished, my café is dead…”

His friend’s expression did not change.

Cold.

Calm.

Stone-faced.

The café lights seemed to dim.

Time slowed.

Even the man-dog’s barking paused for half a beat as his friend stepped forward.

His coat swayed dramatically though there was no wind.

Customers held their breath, staring at him as if a hero had descended to restore order to this circus.

He swept his gaze across the café.

Overturned chairs.

Screaming customers.

The man-dog smashing into the pastry case.

His eyes locked on the target.

Lin An lifted his head slightly, still clinging.

His face was wet with snot and despair.

“You understand me, don’t you? You feel my pain, right? Say something comforting, just one word!”

Instead, his friend gripped him by the collar.

He peeled him off like a stubborn sticker.

And tossed him to the floor.

Lin An rolled twice across the tiles.

He flopped flat like a dead fish.

Arms spread wide, staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

“Betrayal!” he wailed.

“My own brother in life, my closest friend… and not even a single word of comfort! No pat on the back, no hug, not even a sympathetic sigh! Cruel, cruel world!”

He rolled onto his side and clutched his chest with both hands.

“My heart… my poor heart… shattered into pieces and fed to pigeons…”

He kicked the floor twice for emphasis.

Then lay still, muttering nonsense and cursing the heavens.

Meanwhile, his friend walked past without a glance.

He strode toward the man-dog like a soldier heading to war.

The beast barked.

It leapt and tried to bite again.

Chairs toppled.

A table went flying.

One poor customer dived under his seat, clutching his sandwich like it was his only child.

But his friend moved with quick precision.

Blocking.

Dodging.

Grappling like he had done this a hundred times.

From the corner, Lin An lifted himself off the floor.

His eyes shone with sudden hope.

“Yes! Yes, that’s it! Show him who’s boss!”

He pumped his fists like a sports fan at a stadium.

His voice cracked from excitement.

“Flip him over! Bite him back! No—wait, don’t bite him, that’s my job!”

He yelled nonsense so loudly that even the customers turned from the fight just to stare at him.

His friend’s face darkened.

For a brief moment, his cold aura cracked.

What am I supposed to do with this idiot?

But Lin An only grew louder.

“Left hook! Right jab! Use the pastry tray! Aim for the tail—no wait, he doesn’t have one!”

He jumped up and down, nearly knocking over a chair.

“Kick him where it hurts! Trip him with a baguette! No mercy!”

A child in the front row burst into laughter.

Two teenagers joined in, barking encouragements at random.

Lin An stomped his foot, waving his arms like a wild referee.

“Yes! Grab his legs! No, not like that! The other way! No, no—you’re doing it wrong! Why are you more stupid than a dog?”

His friend’s hands nearly slipped from sheer disbelief.

He was subduing a grown man who thought he was a dog…

While Lin An shouted useless instructions that made absolutely no sense.

The man-dog thrashed like a wild beast.

His friend finally forced him down after a long, messy struggle.

Chairs scraped.

A tray clattered.

Customers gasped every time the man barked in his face.

Sweat dotted his forehead.

His jaw tight with effort.

With one sharp movement, he slapped handcuffs onto the man-dog’s wrists.

The metal clicked shut.

The crowd erupted.

Some gasped.

Some clapped.

Two teenagers shouted, “Encore!”

One man stood and yelled, “Best café show of my life!”

Another muttered, “I came for a latte and got front-row tickets instead.”

At last, medics rushed in.

Two pinned the barking man to the floor.

A third pressed a syringe against his arm.

The man-dog barked once.

Twice.

Then the sedative hit.

The barking weakened.

Slowed.

Until, finally, silence spread through the café like a miracle.

Lin An flopped onto his side with a dramatic sigh of relief.

“My hero! My savior! My brother in arms! Without you, I’d be dog food by now!”

He crawled closer, clutching at his chest as if overwhelmed.

“I saw you wrestle that beast with my own eyes! You’re incredible! A true legend! I’ll buy you coffee forever—no, I’ll put your picture on every coffee cup!”

His friend stood frozen.

Hand still on the cuffs.

Expression blank.

His chest rose and fell from effort.

But his eyes… his eyes were completely dead inside.

For the first time in his life, he truly didn’t know which was harder to handle.

The man-dog.

Or Lin An.