If you read Three Beagles and a Kitty, you might remember a small tidbit I mentioned about D.O and his money struggles. So this chapter is going to be focusing on that. And I just want to mention so that that there's no confusion, that this chapter takes place between the 3rd and 5th chapters of the original story.

And as you can see, it's going to be a two parter. Hope everyone enjoys :)

D.O. stepped off of the bus into the chilling parking lot. It was nearly eight o’ clock and the man was exhausted, starving, and just plain miserable. It had been another long shift today and the short male just wanted nothing other than to go home and have a nice relaxing meal with his hybrid.

It was early December and the cold weather had already blown in. People were busily readying themselves for the Christmas holiday and thus the number of bus travelers was multiplying by the day. D.O. loved driving his hybrid bus around, helping the creatures get to their desired location safe and sound, but with the large amount of people out and about, there were less hybrids traveling and a greater need for human transport. As such, D.O.’s boss had been having him drive human excusive buses in the past few weeks in addition to his hybrid bus. The young man was tired as hell with all of the extra work, but appreciated the extra money. After all, he certainly needed it.

Times were rough for the young fellow. Living on his own with a low paying job meant that the man barely had time to enjoy life normally. Add in a young puppy hybrid and D.O. was often scrapping for cash. He hated how he wasn’t able to provide Kai with the life he thought the toy poodle deserved. He couldn’t even afford a place for the boy to sleep. The hybrid claimed that he didn’t mind sleeping at the foot of D.O.’s bed, but the man still didn’t like that he didn’t have enough funds to provide the basic necessities for the boy. And now at Christmas time with funds being low and workers getting laid off, D.O. was becoming ever more nervous with his situation. If he got to the point where he lost his job and couldn’t care for Kai, he didn’t know what he’d do.

Now, D.O. was blessed to have a set of great friends. Kris and Suho both worked under the latter’s family company and were very well off financially. Unfortunately, though D.O. was a kind and humble man, he was also very prideful and the last thing he wanted was for his ‘rich’ friends to give him handouts. Kris, and to a larger extent Suho, was having none of that though. The instant he detected that their friend seemed to be having issues, he and the others agreed to help the man as much as they could.

Knowing that D.O. couldn’t afford many toys for the pup, Kris would let Kai stay over at his house to play with his beagles and hang out. Xiumin would invite both boys to his house for meals, allowing D.O. to save more of his food. And Suho, well he did everything. He’d bring over well cooked meals for the duo, drive D.O. to work, let Kai play at his large house with Lay and Sehun all day, allow the men to stay the night, whatever they needed Suho would do it.

But D.O. just couldn’t stand it. He was already the youngest of the hybrid owner quartet; having to be treated like their child just annoyed him even further. And thus, he started avoiding speaking of his issues with his friends. If they ever asked him if he needed any help, he’d just say he was fine and that he didn’t need anything. Not that any of it mattered, since none of them believed him. They knew that he just didn’t want to seem helpless or needy, not that they’d ever think of him that way anyway. Regardless, they let the boy do what he wanted and were always ready and waiting to help him.

D.O. sighed as he pulled unto his driveway. He could already see the silhouette of a hybrid standing in the window. At least his seeing his puppy would make everything better. As soon as the young man opened the door, he was met with a face full of toy poodle.

“Hyung, you’re home!” the boy barked, his owner vigorously.

“Yes, I’m home.” D.O. said as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “What did you eat for diner?” At that question, the dog looked at the ground and let out a soft whine.

“I wanted to wait for you.” The pup said shyly. And D.O. frowned.

“I told you that you didn’t’ need to do that.”

“I know hyung, but I wanted to eat together. We haven’t eaten together in a while.” The dog continued to avoid his owner’s eyes. He didn’t want to see his hyung upset at him. D.O. sighed. He knew the boy meant well, but he didn’t want Kai starving himself just for him.

“I know, Kai. I know.” D.O. locked the door and made his way into the kitchen. Kai sat down at the table and waited for his owner to prepare their plates. Their dinner that night was of some Lo Mein that Suho had brought over a few days ago.

You know Lay, he always makes too much. And he knows how much Kai loves his cooking, so we just had to bring some over.

That’s what the man had said when he delivered the dish two days prior, but D.O. knew that he wasn’t being 100% truthful. Whether the rabbit hybrid intentionally cooked the food for the duo or his owner asked him to, it was obvious that he’d planned to bring that food to them.

“Alright, come and get it puppy.” D.O. cooed as he set the plates on the countertop. The boys had been eating their dinners at the counter rather than the table the past few weeks. They weren’t sure how it happened, it just became a habit. They enjoyed it though. D.O. stoking Kai’s fluffy black hair as he ate, and Kai feeding his hyung in between feeding himself. It was a nice calming moment that eased D.O.’s spirt after a long hard day at work. After their meal, the duo headed to the bathroom for a long, relaxing shower together and immediately headed to bed afterwards. The dog hybrid cuddled up in his typical spot at the foot of D.O.’s bed. His owner leaned down and placed a kiss on his puppy’s head before laying down himself.

“Night Nini. Love you.”

“I love you too hyung.” Kai whispered, his owner’s hand. D.O. smiled as he climbed under the covers. He noticed Kai shivering a bit and heck; he too was feeling a chill. It was getting colder out which meant it was colder in. Sure D.O. had a heater, but it was old and barely produced any decent heat to keep the boys warm. The man knew tomorrow would be another rough day, but he needed to keep working. He needed to save up money to buy a new heating system so Kai wouldn’t be freezing while he was at home alone during the day nor sleeping at night. D.O. sighed one last time before going to sleep.

Just gotta make sure Kai is okay. As long as he’s taken care of, that’s all that matters.

“I hope things get better for you at work Soo.” Xiumin said as he stirred a pot of soup.

“Me too, hyung.” D.O. sighed sadly. He took up a spoonful of food and chewed slowly.

“At least you’re getting off early tonight.”

“Mmmm.” Was the only response D.O. gave.

“Just remember that you can always come over and talk if you need anything.” The older man said.

“Thanks, but I’m fine, hyung. It’s Kai I worry about.” The short man glanced in the next room where his puppy was eating with Luhan. The toy poodle was lying belly up on the deer’s lap as the herbivore fed him noodles. Xiumin nodded. He could only imagine the fear that must have went through D.O.’s mind daily. The possibilities of not having enough food or money to care for his puppy were ever approaching and had to be causing the young man plenty of stress. Xiumin put his hand over his dongsaeng’s.

“Soo, I know how you feel. I was there once. Heck, sometimes I still have struggles with money. But if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll all help anyway we can.” Xiumin whispered.

“I know, hyung. Thank you.” D.O. smiled, but inside he was angry. He’d already received 3 handouts from friends that week and to top it off, Suho would be dropping him off to work that day. All the man wanted was to be able to take care of himself, and more importantly, take care of Kai. “We should probably be going now.”

“Already? You have a few more hours until work.” Surprise was evident in the blond man’s tone.

“Yeah, but…I just wanna get everything settled at home before work.” D.O. said quietly.

“Okay. I’ll see you later, then.” Xiumin gave his friend a quick hug before handing him a wrapped bag. The younger male knew there was food in it.

“We’ll be fine, hyung.” D.O. smiled.

“Take it…for Kai.” Xiumin said, knowing the boy was more concerned about his hybrid than himself. He’d put plenty of food in there for both of them, but still knew that D.O. would state that he was fine.

“Thank you.”

The car ride home was a typical one. Kai talked about the movie he watched on TV with Luhan and spoke of how wonderful the food was.

“And then there was this part where the guy and the girl were standing under an umbrella in the rain.” The pup’s tail was thumping enthusiastically as he spoke.

“Yeah.”

“And then they kissed. The guy looked so handsome.”

“Mmm Hmm.”

“I think it was called Pure Love. You have to watch it hyung.”

“Maybe I’ll check it out sometime.” D.O. said, though his mind was unfortunately on other things. How could he think about a movie when he’d be leaving his puppy alone for over six hours, again.

On D.O.’s original shift where he only drove the hybrid bus, he worked about 4 hours every day. Now that he was driving 2 buses, he worked fewer days, but much longer hours. This meant that Kai was seeing the man less and less at night, since usually after work he’d be too tired to stay up and hang with him like usual. D.O. hated leaving such a young pup at home by himself in that small, freezing house. Sure Kai was a pretty independent puppy, but all dog hybrids get bored of being by themselves and get that longing for companionship. In fact, in the cases where D.O. would actually accept assistance from his friends, it would only be to ask for a playmate for Kai. The others were happy to allow their hybrids to visit D.O.’s house in the day to play with Kai, or even let the puppy stay with them during D.O.’s shift. On the days where D.O. only drove his hybrid bus, he was happy to bring Kai along with him unless the boy felt like relaxing at home, but recently, those opportunities were far and few between.

The boys arrived home about an hour and a half before he had to leave for work. D.O. immediately went to kitchen to put away the food Xiumin had given them.

“If you get hungry, please eat dinner Jongie.” D.O. said.

“I will hyung, but I don’t mind waiting. I’m usually not hungry.” The hybrid insisted. D.O. could see right through his puppy though. He knew that Kai wasn’t just skipping dinner because he wanted them to eat together. He was worried about eating too much and them running out of food. After all, extra food around the house was also becoming a bit scarce. It was only last week that D.O. woke up on morning to see that they had literally no breakfast foods left in the fridge. He was so shocked that he ran down to the store to buy some eggs, bread, and rice before Kai woke up, just so he wouldn’t freak out. A few days ago, he noticed that the snack pantry was totally empty. If it wasn’t for his friends bringing over so many meals as gifts, D.O. honestly wasn’t sure how much food, if any, he’d have in his house right now.

“Okay, but if you do get hungry, please, please eat something.”

“Yes, Soo hyung.” Kai responded quietly. He was staring at the ground, obviously upset. D.O. moved in and wrapped his arms around the pup’s body. Kai gently nuzzled his head on top of his shorter owner’s head. They remained in that position for about 5 minutes, just taking comfort in each other’s embrace. Eventually they moved to the couch where they quietly sat and watched some TV. As Kai was enjoying the show and talking all about what was going on in the show, D.O. was just glad that he had a TV for Kai to watch. Having little food, heat, and time with his owner was already taxing on the pup. If he had no way to entertain himself, D.O. would have thought himself the worst owner on the planet.

Time flew by quickly, and before the duo knew it, it was time for D.O. to head off to work. The sound of Suho’s distinctive minivan honking alerted the both of them, and Kai pouted once his owner stood up to leave, but gave him a happy goodbye kiss before sending him off.

“Have fun Kai. I’ll be home early tonight, don’t forget.” D.O. said with a smile.

“Yes hyung. I’ll be waiting.” The hybrid barked, his tail wagging happily.

“Love you.”

“Love you too hyung.” Kai smiled.

“Thank you riding with us, ma’am.” D.O. said to a young woman stepping off of the bus.

“Thank you for the amazing service.” The lady replied. D.O. smiled happily as the door closed. He grabbed a note pad and marker off of his dashboard and began making several marks.

“And with that, I’ve only got one more round before I can head back home.” The man said to himself. He was just about to pull off before he felt vibrations in his pocket. His work phone was ringing and D.O. gulped when he saw that it was his boss.

Oh my gosh..please don’t let it be something bad.

Trying to push the trepidation out of his mind, D.O. answered the phone.

“Hello, sir.” Nervousness coursed throughout the boy’s voice.

“Kyungsoo, where are you?” a gruff voice asked.

“I’m about to start my second to last round, sir.”

“Listen, hate to do this to you, but I’m gonna need you to work overtime today.” the man said. D.O. gasped out loud upon hearing his boss’s words.

“What?! But sir, I…”

“I’m sorry Kyungsoo, but the employee who usually drives after you literally just had an accident and there’s no way we can get someone else to finish for today.”

“Finish? You mean, for the rest of the night?”

“I’m afraid so.”

But, sir…I have to…”

“I don’t have time to keep talking, Kyungsoo. You’re gonna get paid your overtime. I have to go now.” The quiet beeps signaling that the call had ended seemed to put D.O. in a trance. It was almost as if time had stopped. Just five minutes ago, he was thinking about how he’d be able to see Kai in about an hour. Now he was going to be stuck driving for the entire rest of the night. He could barely even formulate thoughts at that moment, but he knew one thing. He had to call Kai. He had to alert the puppy that he’d be late so he wouldn’t be confused or worried. Quickly, the man began dialing his house phone.

“C’mon, Jongie. Pick up. Pick up.” The man quietly whispered to himself. The phone rang about 6 times, but there was no answer. “Why won’t he pick up? He has to be able to hear it.” D.O. attempted a few more calls before he realized what was going on.

“Crap! I’m such an idiot.” The short man smacked the top of his head a way to scold himself. With money being tight and at the risk of not wanting to unnecessarily run up any more bills, D.O. had instructed his puppy to not answer the house phone when he was home alone. Usually any calls to his house phone were random tax collectors or surveys, and thus, the man tended to ignore them. He never would have anticipated a moment where he’d had to call his puppy during work.

Now D.O. was stuck. He had no way to contact his puppy to tell him what was going on, and he had to get back on the road, now. He couldn’t bear the thought of Kai sitting at home by himself for hours thinking something happened to him. D.O. was on the edge of tearing up. He had no one he could currently turn to. He could try one of his friends, but chances are that they were all working too. Plus, D.O. really wasn’t in the mood to be ‘saved’ by one of his friends once again. He didn’t want to keep relying on them like this.

This isn’t about you, it’s about Kai.

D.O. shivered at the voice in his head. It was right. Kai’s wellbeing was more important than his own pride.

“I’ve gotta do it.” And with that, the man made one last phone call.

Kai’s tail thumped happily against the sofa as Lay fed him another lettuce wrap of meat. Sehun rolled his eyes and pouted as he shoved his own wrap in his mouth.

“Kai is such a good puppy.” Lay cooed, patting the toy poodle on the head. Kai responded by nuzzling into the rabbit hybrid’s face. Sehun pretended to gag.

“Stop being so gross.” The cat hissed.

“He’s just jealous.” Kai huffed, rubbing himself on Lay’s body. He was sitting on the older boy’s lap, thoroughly enjoying the attention he was getting. Sehun rolled his eyes again.

“As if. I’ve been wanting some space to myself forever.” The cat retorted.

“Which is why you’re still glued onto Lay, right?” The pup chuckled. Sehun was currently curled on Lay’s right side despite the fact that there was plenty of free space further down the couch.

“Sehunnie likes cuddling.” Lay said, brushing his hand across the Ragdoll’s hair.

“No I don’t.” the kitten pouted, still not making any attempt to move. But the others only responded with giggles.

At that moment, Suho walked into the kitchen.

“Are you guys okay in here?” The eldest man asked.

“Yes, hyung.” All hybrids answered in unison.

“D.O. just called, Kai. He said he’s on the way home.”

“Oh boy, finally!” the puppy yipped, his tail wagging even faster. The pup was surprised when Suho and his gang had arrived at his house a few hours ago. They explained to him that it was his owner who had tried to call him to inform him that he’d be late due to issues at his job. At first the puppy was disappointed, but soon got over it after being able to spend time with his hybrid friends. Lay had taken on his typical role of babying the young pup as soon as he’d arrived and spent the past few hours feeding the boy, grooming him, and peppering kisses on his face as they cuddled. Sehun, ever the tsundere, had no desires let his housemate give a dog more attention than him, and followed the duo around, constantly whining to Lay to give him the same treatment. Suho remained in the kitchen the entire time, cooking for the boys, mainly wanting to ensure that Kai was well taken care of.

After about 20 minutes, the sound of keys jingling in the door caught everyone’s attention.

“It’s Soo! He’s home!” Kai barked. The hybrid jumped out of Lay’s lap, just in time to collide with his owner and give him a big bear hug.

“Hey there, bud. Did you have fun?” D.O. asked, a small grin on his face.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun with Lay hyung.” The puppy barked happily.

“That’s nice.” Lay also walked over to give D.O. a friendly hug.

“Welcome home, Soo~”

“Thanks, Xing.”

“Glad to see you made it home safe.” Suho said as he entered the living room.

“Thanks so much for coming over, hyung. I owe you big time.” D.O. said, giving his friend a hug in thanks.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Soo. You know I’m always happy to help out.” The older man said.

“Well, I’d still like to repay you with something.” D.O. insisted. If he was going to receive handouts from his friends, he at least wanted to be able to give back something to them.

“The knowledge that the both of you are taken care of is all that I need.” Suho said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “C’mon, guys. We best be heading home.” The man said to his duo, grabbing his keys.

“Okay, hyung.” Lay said, slugging Sehun on his hip.

“Aish, I know how to walk, hyung.” The cat hissed, yet wrapped his arms around the bunny’s neck all the same.

“Bye bye guys.” Kai gave his friends one last goodbye as they walked out the door.

“Thanks again, hyung.” D.O. whispered as Suho exited.

“Just make sure you get some dinner and a good night’s rest.” The older man winked before walking away. The boys waved as they saw Suho and the others off. It was when Suho’s minivan went out of sight that D.O.’s stomach growled.

“Are you hungry, hyung? Because Suho made a lot of food.” Kai barked. Before D.O. could even answer, the puppy had already dragged his owner in the kitchen. He noticed that there were a lot of washed dishes that definitely hadn’t been there before he left. When Kai opened the fridge, he understood why.

“Woah, did Suho cook you guys a full course meal?” The short man exclaimed. Inside his refrigerator, which just earlier that day only had about 3 or so containers of leftovers from friends, was now stuffed with about 6 more dishes. He saw chicken, noodles, rice, sandwiches, and more things that looked like they took quite a while to make.

“He was cooking in here the entire time.” Kai explained. “He said he always gets carried away.” The puppy chuckled as he took out one of the chicken platters, Suho had left. D.O. slowly closed the fridge and followed behind his pup, fully aware of what their hyung had done. He intentionally made all of that food, knowing that they didn’t have that much. And a lot of it, if not all of it, was made with things he didn’t have at the house, meaning Suho brought along a bunch of food with him from his own fridge and cooked it.

D.O. was almost too hungry to even feel upset. Honestly, he should have been used to it by now. But he just couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help feeling like he was inferior to the other pet owners. Everyone else had a good job, made plenty of money to support themselves and their hybrids, and didn’t have to rely on anyone, but themselves. And here he was, with a semi-decent job that only payed enough to handle some of the basic human needs, and was constantly relying on assistance from his friends. At this point, he was just glad that they hadn’t given him any money. He could never accept that.

“How was work, hyung?” Kai asked, offering his owner some food. D.O. was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed the chopsticks being held in front of him.

“It would have been better if I actually got off when I was supposed to.” The man muttered, chewing slowly.

“It’s alright hyung.” Kai insisted cheerily. “At least you’re off tomorrow.” The puppy offered his owner some more chicken. D.O. was so upset about what had happened earlier than he completely forgot about his day off the next day. His grimace slowly morphed into a smile.

“You’re right, Kai.” D.O. said ruffling his puppy’s fur. “Here, you eat some too.” D.O. took the chopsticks and fed the hybrid some chicken. Even though he’d already eaten and probably wasn’t hungry, Kai would never deny chicken. It was the boy’s favorite food and D.O. loved looking at the happy expression on the young boy’s face and rapidly wagging tail whenever he ate it.

“What should we do tomorrow?” Kai asked.

“Whatever you want, Jongie.”

“Really?”

“Sure. We’ll do whatever you want. If you want to go somewhere, just name it.” D.O. said happily, holding up some more food for the puppy.

“Can we just stay home?” the hybrid shyly asked.

“You just wanna stay here? Really?”

“I just want to spend time with you. You work so much and we haven’t hung out just the 2 of us in forever. We don’t need to go anywhere.” Kai began nuzzling his head into his shorter owner. D.O. smiled and patted his puppy’s back. Kai was right. They hadn’t had much time to each other since the month started. And as long as Kai was happy, D.O. didn’t really care what they did.

“If that’s what you want, we can just stay here.” D.O. said, scratching his hybrid behind the ears.

“Thank you, hyung.”
 

The next morning, D.O. woke up and prepared a nice breakfast for Kai. Some fresh, homemade French toast and some scrambled eggs. Nothing too fancy, but it was better than the rushed toast and slice of bacon that he’d been having to resort to due to having to leave for work so early. Kai never minded. He adored his hyung’s cooking and would eat anything the man prepared him. But he certainly loved the meals he took time to prepare more than anything.

“This is great, hyung.” The toy poodle said, chewing the French toast. Syrup trickled down his chin and neck as the boy shoved piece after piece in his mouth. D.O. chuckled as he grabbed a towel to wipe the boy’s face.

“I’m just glad I could make you a decent meal.”

“I love anything you make for me, hyung.” Kai said.

“I know, but I like being able to actually cook for you.” D.O. replied. “Like a good owner.” The man muttered the last part. He was still feeling pretty depressed. He still hadn’t made enough money to buy a new heater. It was only getting colder by the day and he needed to put some warmth in the house.

“I’m finished, hyung.” Kai sang, holding up his plate. He hadn’t noticed that his owner’s attention had faltered slightly. “Hyung?”

“Hm? Oh, good boy.” D.O. said, taking the plate and dropping it into the sink. “Wanna watch TV now?” Kai was slightly confused as to why D.O. seemed so lost in thought a moment ago, but he was more concerned about spending time with the man. He nodded his head affirmatively.

The duo relaxed and simply watched TV for a while, Kai using D.O.’s lap as a pillow. It was mostly random dramas that Kai tended to watch during the day. D.O. wasn’t really paying attention to them. He just listened to his puppy endlessly talk about the shows while he patted the dog’s fluffy black fur. The young man wasn’t really a TV person, but if it entertained Kai, he was glad to just listen to the hybrid’s stories of his favorite shows.

Everything was going well until D.O.’s work phone began to ring. Kai’s ears instantly perked up to the ringtone.

“That can’t be good.” The man thought instantly.

D.O. hesitantly answered his phone.

“Hello?”

“Kyungsoo? Where are you now?” came his boss’s gruff voice.

“I’m…at my house, sir.”

“Well, I hate to bother you on your day off, but could you come into work today? And also every other day this week?” The man asked nonchalantly. D.O. on the other hand was flabbergasted. He nearly dropped the phone, but he didn’t want Kai to think anything was wrong.

“What?! Why?!” D.O. exclaimed.

“Listen Soo, you know there’ve been a lot of issues lately. Well, I just had to lay off another worker and I need someone to fill in their spot.” The man explained. “And I know you could use some extra money…”

“But sir, I…” D.O. could hardly think properly. Sure he needed the extra cash, but today was his day to spend with Kai. Just the two of them. And not to mention the other free days he’d been given for that week.

“And I’m sure you know that I could have easily chosen someone else to let go.” The man said in a quite eerie tone.

D.O. was astonished. Was his boss suggesting that he was a contender for losing his job? And he was supposedly supposed to be grateful for not being laid off by just stopping everything and going to work? Is that what was happening?

“Sir, I appreciate what you’re saying but…my hybrid...”

“Hm?” the man’s tone had become less creepy, as if he was actually interested in what his employee was going to say. D.O. actually remained quiet for a minute. If he worked more days, he’d have more money to properly take care of Kai. But at the same time, they’d be spending less and less time together. He looked to the puppy that still laying in his lap. His head was tilted sideways; obviously confused as to why this phone call was making his owner upset.

I don’t want to keep leaving him like this, but…what I kind of owner would I be if I sacrificed getting more money which I can use to better take care of him? Just so we can hang out at home? I already lost one hybrid because I couldn’t take care of him…

D.O. thought back to Tao. D.O. had first met Tao standing outside of a jewelry shop with a broom in hand, being harshly reprimanded by a man, most likely the owner, for something. D.O. didn’t know or care, but he was furious with how the kitten was being treated. The short man approached the duo and asked why the kitten was being yelled at. After a stream of harsh insults and pathetic complaints that made D.O. really want to punch that man in the face, he asked if he could take Tao since the other guy clearly didn’t care about him. The shop owner charged him about 30,000 won, since of course he wasn’t going to just give up his worker for free, but D.O. cared not about the money at that moment. All he wanted was to get the teary eyed kitten home for a home cooked meal and a warm place to sleep.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ll take care of you.” D.O. said.

But he didn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t have enough money to care for two hybrids at the time. And because of that he was forced to send Tao away. He couldn’t be more grateful to Kris for taking him in when he already had 3 beagle hybrids to care for. But that moment just made him feel like the worst hybrid owner on the planet. He failed to care for Tao after he’d taken him in and he couldn’t let that happen again with Kai. He simply wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

“I…I’ll be right over sir.”

“Hyung?” The puppy finally spoke up with his head tilted at his owner.

“Um, I have to go Kai.” The human sighed sadly.

“What? But why? It was…we were supposed to…it was our day…” Kai started whining. The toy poodle rarely ever whined like most other dogs. He was considered quite mature for a puppy hybrid. It was only when he was really upset that he’d do such a thing.

“I…I know Jongie, but my boss.” D.O. found it hard to continue. He knew how much he was breaking the boy’s heart right now. And heck, even he was quite upset himself. Both he and his hybrid had been looking forward to this day. Of course this was saddening for both. “Kai, my boss is offering me something so that we’ll have a lot more money. I’ll be able to buy that new heater!” he smiled, trying to brighten his pup’s spirit.

“I don’t care about money and a heater! We were supposed to be together today, hyung!” the pup countered angrily.

“I know, and I want to spend time with you too. But I need to take care of you first and foremost. That’s what’s most important.” D.O. said. His voice was soft, but his tone was very firm. “I’m coming right over sir.” He said into the phone right before hanging it up.

The short man looked at his hybrid’s face and saw nothing except misery. He literally looked like his heart had been shattered.

“Hyung…” the hybrid nearly whimpered.

“I’m so sorry Kai.”

I'm sorry that after the sad Chen chapter, I follow up with a sad D.O. chapter, but don't worry becuase I have some fluffy stuff prepared for later. Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until after Part 2 of this, but I hope to update soon.

I hope everyone enjoyed this one and thanks for reading.