Sometime in the afternoon, he received a phone call.

 

 

“Hi Sehun, this is Mr. Zhou from the other day.”

 

That was even stranger. What business did the trainer have with him? 

 

“Oh Mr. Zhou, how are you, is there anything wrong?"

 

“No not at all,” The gentle voice came from the receiver, “I just have an offer I’d like to discuss with you, if you can take some time out of your day."

 

Now this completely confused Sehun. What sort of offer would Mr. Zhou want to make him?

 

This was a strange request, but Mr. Zhou didn’t seem to have any bad intentions, and Sehun was sure he’d be able to defend himself if anything were to happen. “Of course. See you then."

 

...

 

“Sehun, I know I said that this was an offer for you, but to be honest, it’s more of a favor for me.” Mr. Zhou said, motioning for Sehun to take a seat across from him on the couch.

 

 

The older man chuckled, “Nothing of that sort. But I need your word that nothing said in this room will ever leave this room, alright?"

 

“Of course sir. What is the issue?"

 

Pulling out a sheet of paper from the desk and placing it in front of Sehun, Mr. Zhou finally broke the tension and asked, “Would you be willing to take Lu Han?"

 

After the words left the trainer’s mouth, Sehun was completely stunned. Never in a million years would he have imagined that such a request would be made. He’d never wanted a pet, much less a pet of this caliber. He was about to open his mouth and adamantly refuse before Mr. Zhou interrupted his thoughts.

 

 

“That is exactly the reason I wanted to give him to you. Because of your morals, you wouldn’t treat him like he’s lower and force him to do things I know others might. He wouldn’t be bothersome, I assure you. Just think of him like a roommate or a companion."

 

"Mr. Zhou, why wouldn’t you keep him here? He seems to be fine living with you."

 

“No.” Sehun outright refused, “I don’t think I’ll be able to meet Lu Han’s needs. I don’t even know if he even wants to live with me—"

 

“Oh that can be easily confirmed.” He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a few numbers, “Jia, would you mind bringing Lu Han over to my office?"

 

The investigator began panicking, not wanting Mr. Zhou to continue with his plan, “With all due respect sir, please stop! I cannot do this—"

 

“Look.” Mr. Zhou stared him straight in the eye, “Even if you don’t want to, just see Lu. He’s been a little melancholy recently and I’m pretty sure it’s because of you."

 

“Me? What would I have to—“ He stopped yelling once he saw a familiar head of brown hair walk into the room.

 

Lu Han looked very much the same as he did when Sehun first met him, although more filled around the edges from proper meals and less dark around the eyes from nights of peaceful sleep. The boy was wearing an oversized sweater which completely swallowed him and a pair of knee high socks. A ribbon was tied around his neck; the kind reserved for pets who hadn’t found proper owners yet. Sehun’s heart completely stopped. How was it possible to be that cute?

 

When he saw Sehun, Lu Han quickly looked over to the trainer, and when he saw he had approval, quietly asked Sehun, “Um… Mr. Oh, would you mind letting me sit on your lap?” His ears turned completely red as he looked down at his socked feet.

 

Sehun couldn’t deny something so adorable even if he wanted to. “Come here." He waved Lu Han over and patted his own lap.

 

A smile lit up the pet’s face as he hurriedly made his way over and carefully slid into Sehun’s warm embrace, back leaning on his shoulder.

 

“Lu,” Mr. Zhou called out quietly, “How would you feel if Mr. Oh became your master? Answer honestly now."

 

If Sehun brought Lu Han home, and that was a big if, it would be a huge commitment. In terms of basic necessities, he was sure he’d be able to fulfill those—he had the room in his house for one more, and money wasn’t an issue. The problem would be making sure Lu Han was emotionally taken care of. He wasn’t exactly sure of the needs of a pet, and even though Mr. Zhou assured him that Lu Han was low maintenance, he largely doubted that. As adorable as his boy was, he simply wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility… 

 

Just then, Lu Han swung his legs over Sehun's lap and nuzzled his neck as if he were making himself a home there. Sehun, not quite sure how to respond, wrapped his arms around the boy and patted his back.

 

Being with Lu Han gave Sehun an extremely calming effect. The boy had made most of his coherent thoughts disappear, and he felt almost drunk off the warm and fuzzy feelings. He acted without thinking, and right now, he really felt like cuddling Lu Han. He gave the boy a few soft kisses on his head, the smell of Lu Han’s sweet shampoo wafting in his nose. 

 

“He really likes it if you nip his ears.” Mr. Zhou’s voice entered Sehun’s hazy mind.

 

Without a second thought, Sehun turned his head and made a series of gentle bites from the boy’s earlobe to the outer rim, leaving a trail of small imprints which faded within a few seconds. 

 

The pet responded immediately with what could only be described as a purr. His hands moved to the bottom of his sweater and clenched around the fabric.

 

And it was then that Sehun thought logic, he needed this pet in his life.

 

Breaking himself out of the haze, Sehun relented, “I’ll take care of Lu Han."

 

The pet untangled himself from Sehun’s arms and nodded. He stood up and bowed a little to Sehun, wishing Mr. Oh a good night.

 

But before he could leave, Mr. Zhou chastised, “Now, Lu, is that how you properly address Sehun?"

 

Mr. Zhou moved the sheet of paper closer to Sehun so he could see the terms, “Thanks again for agreeing to take on Lu. There are a few conditions, but I’m confident that you’ll be able to meet them. I will collar him tomorrow for you.”

 

When Mr. Zhou finished, Sehun suddenly asked, “Is Lu Han always like that?"

 

Furrowing his eyebrows at the off-topic question, Mr. Zhou replied, “Like what?"

 

“So… Cuddly, responsive, I dunno, like that.” Sehun’s eloquence had completely flown out the window.

 

“Oh not really. Only with people he really likes.” Mr. Zhou chuckled, “Actually, I've never heard him purr that loudly, especially from just an ear nip."

 

The investigator picked up the pen Mr. Zhou had set down next to the contract and signed his name. Once he’d experienced that sort of feeling, there really wasn’t any other decision he could’ve made.

 

...

 

Finally, he was done!

 

The night the agreement was made, Mr. Zhou wanted to bring Lu Han over as soon as possible. They decided on two days from then since Sehun assumed that he would be done with work by then, but he was sorely mistaken. So now he had to figure out Lu Han’s housing situation and fix it up to Mr. Zhou's standards in a matter of hours.

 

Sehun didn’t live in an incredibly large house, though he could have. He just wasn’t into having to maintain so many rooms all the time, and he didn’t really want to hire staff just to upkeep them. That’s why he lived in a modest two-story house. There were three bedrooms in total, but only one was being used at the time.

 

Opening the door to the bedroom closest to his room, he was greeted with the smell of hardwood. All the furniture was there—bed, nightstand, dresser—but a fine layer of dust had settled on everything, so he set to dusting and vacuuming. Right as he’d finished with cleaning, Sehun heard the doorbell ring.

 

He bolted downstairs, making sure to check his appearance in the mirror before opening the door. He was greeted with a smiling Mr. Zhou, holding quite a few boxes.

 

“I’ll get that for you, Mr. Zhou.” Sehun grabbed the boxes form Mr. Zhou’s arms, “Where’s Lu Han?"

 

“Oh he’ll be right out.” Mr. Zhou reassured Sehun, “He’s fussing with himself in the car. Mind moving the boxes into his room? There’s a few more in the car as well."

 

“No problem.” Sehun walked upstairs with the boxes.

 

But even after everything was moved in, Sehun still hadn’t seen Lu Han’s face. He was actually getting a little worried.

 

“Mr. Zhou, if Lu Han doesn’t want to come over…"

 

“Nonsense.” Mr. Zhou interrupted, “Lu Han is just being shy, he was very eager before we drove here. Why don’t you go try to encourage him to get out?"

 

He saw a slight movement in the heavily tinted windows of the car and the door opened slightly. The pet poked his head out and looked at Sehun, then blushed a bright pink and shut the door again.

 

Confused, Sehun turned to the trainer, who sighed, “Lu, we would love it if you would come out. Sehun will definitely think that you look fine. I promise you, he will love it."

 

After a few seconds of silence, Mr. Zhou shook his head, “Lu spent all morning primping for you, but now he’s a little afraid that you won’t like what he’s wearing. He gets a little self-conscious when he feels the need to impress."

 

Sehun’s expression turned soft. That was the cutest thing he’d ever heard. “Lu Han,” he cooed, “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you’re wearing. You’re always adorable."

 

A few moments later, a little brown head of hair poked itself out of the car, followed by soft leather collar and a mint-colored sweater. The little thing really loved pastels, Sehun noted. Not that he was complaining. It made him look absolutely ethereal.

 

“Lu Han you’re so cute in your outfit! There’s no way I couldn’t have liked this.” Sehun grabbed on to the pet’s hand and helped him out of the car.

 

Lu Han gingerly stepped out and walked a few steps, looking down the entire time. He still wasn’t completely comfortable in front of Sehun.

 

“Do a little twirl for me?” Sehun asked, and Lu Han looked like he was about to die as Sehun spun him around.

 

“See Lu? Sehun loves your little outfit. Now follow us into the house, okay? He let you have a very nice room."

 

Lu Han nodded and let go of Sehun’s hand, sticking close to the trainer as they went upstairs.

 

Sehun smiled, “I’m glad you like it, Lu Han."

 

After unpacking everything, Lu Han was so worn out that he fell fast asleep on the bed. Mr. Zhou had waved Sehun outside to give him some final words of advice.

 

“I have no doubt that Lu will be perfectly fine here.” Mr. Zhou said, glint in his eye, “Just a final word of advice, Lu’s very sensitive around his neck and on his ears."

 

“Yes sir,” Sehun said, ignoring the undertone of the piece of information Mr. Zhou had given him, “I’ve been meaning to ask you how pet-like Lu Han has been trained?"

 

The trainer replied, “In terms of technique, none, at least formally. He’s free to spend time with the other pets, so I’m sure he’s learned something from them, I’m just not sure how much and what exactly. He is trained so he has to have permission to initiate…”

 

Sehun blushed a little, “Mr. Zhou, that isn’t what I meant.”

 

Sehun awkwardly shifted in his seat. This conversation was not headed in the right direction. He didn’t really want to talk to his pet’s trainer about said pet’s ual habits.

 

“With all due respect Mr. Zhou, I don’t plan to pursue that type of relationship with Lu Han.”

 

“Your choice, Sehun. Anyway, I might visit you two on occasion just to check up on how Lu is doing, if you don’t mind."

 

Sehun was relieved that the topic had shifted to something more normal, “Not a problem, you are always welcome to visit."

 

Mr. Zhou politely smiled and took a small key from his pocket and pressed it into Sehun’s hand. The key to Lu Han’s collar. This finalized everything.

 

“Likewise, you’re welcome to visit me anytime if Lu is feeling a little lonely.” Mr. Zhou maintained the friendly look on his face, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to say goodbye to Lu before I leave."

 

Sehun nodded and they both walked into to Lu Han’s room. Mr. Zhou shook the boy gently awake and Lu Han slightly opened his eyes.

 

They finally broke apart, and it wasn’t until after Mr. Zhou left that Sehun finally realized the gravity of his responsibility.