Jongin hands over the patterned leash and pats the last patient, a friendly but tired Doberman, on the head, seeing the client out the front door of the clinic with a wave and a smile that falls with his heavy sigh as he returns to the air conditioning waiting room. It's dark out, sunset long past. The clinic is usually closed before dusk.

"That the dog who ate the sofa?" Baekhyun asks. The receptionist talks while he types, multi-tasking with practiced precision.

"Yep." When Baekhyun fielded a call from a frantic woman who had returned home from work to a lethargic, vomiting dog and partly-devored sofa, Jongin knew it was going to be a long night. "Full moon, like my mom would say. I thought that first surgery would be the weirdest thing in a while—because, honestly, that dog ate over forty socks, and none of them matched; that's a lot of socks—plus the doc's pants fell down."

Baekhyun stops typing, spinning his chair to face Jongin and the wall of alphabetized file folders. "What? No way! I didn't hear that!" Sometimes, he hates working the front desk. All the real action happens in the back rooms. He does get to greet all the pets, though, and that is a big reason behind the clinic needing to order so many treats.

"Her pants weren't tied properly or something, and she was all scrubbed in, so Sunyoung had to fix them. I feel bad for being there, but it's not like I knew it was going to happen."

"Could've been karma, then, with that hit-and-run Lab." Baekhyun checks the time over the doorway. "Your scrubs should be dry by now, right?" When the Labrador was brought in, Jongin took him, and they prepped for surgery right away. His scrubs, the only set he had on hand, got soaked with the dog's blood. The client went home and returned after a shower and change of clothes, but Jongin couldn't do that and rejected the suggestion that he wash his scrubs and just wear a towel. Thankfully, one of the doctors wears a size similar to his.

"Yeah. I'll take care of the laundry and then head out." Doctors are always the first to leave. Jongin's still a student, and he's tired, but he will take any overtime pay he can. He has three dogs at home and frequently looks after friends’ pets—affectionately known at the clinic as the Kim Pack—as well as a cat, adopted by one of his dogs while on a walk. He wants the best for them and works hard to provide it.

"How's the new guy adjusting?" Baekhyun shuts down the computer and makes his rounds through the offices, shutting off the other computers. "He's sweet, so I hope he's doing good with the rest of the pack."

"He is. Kind of shy, but it's only been a couple of days. I don't work or have class this weekend, so he and I will be bonding." He shakes out a towel and folds it against his chest. "Hopefully." The most recent pack addition is the largest of them all, and direct from the snowy streets, a black and white Border Collie with intelligent brown eyes. Possibly a mix, but he's already shown typical Border Collie behavior with his bounciness and quick bark and habit of keeping everyone in a group.

Still nameless, Jongin's surprised that the dog responds to “hey” and simple commands. The Border Collie understands what he's saying, which makes Jongin believe he'd been owned and trained. Without a collar, tattoo, or chip, though, there's just no way of knowing.

"Lemme know when he's ready for visitors. Mongryong could use friends." Baekhyun juggles his keys between his hands. "I'll lock up, okay? See you next week."

"Thanks. Good night." He hears Baekhyun singing to himself while checking the front door and heads to the side employee entrance. With a pile of freshly folded towels bumping against his chin, Jongin carries them to the storage room-slash-kennel holding for patients. He has to rearrange an entire shelf to make them all fit, and it looks about ready to burst when he's done, but he's too tired to care. They're the next person's problem.

He changes into his street clothes and tosses the borrowed scrubs into the laundry basket to be washed the next morning. Baekhyun’s already locked the side door; Jongin turns off the lights and yawns the moment the moonlight hits his face. His kids are probably going stir-crazy and chewing all of his shoes.

Two bus stops and a power nap later, Jongin unlocks his apartment door and is immediately unsettled by the silence. Living with nine dogs, he's well accustomed to the clatter of nails that need to be clipped, tags jingling as a neck is scratched, snuffing of curious snouts, and just general dog noise.

But now, there's nothing.

"Hello?" He whistles and finally hears a soft wuff, but no one comes to him. His own trio of dogs usually attacks him at the door, demanding food and attention and explanations for why he left them yet again.

Maybe something happened.

It's rare, but sometimes his kids get too rowdy with one another, resulting in hurt pride more often than injured body.

Heart beating his ear drums, he power-walks to the kitchen to find two of his dogs sitting nicely, all attention on the man rummaging through Jongin's cupboard. Jongin's pretty sure he doesn't know him, and this guy isn't wearing anything but a robe Jongin recognizes from the back of his bathroom door.

So a few things pass through Jongin's mind, and he goes through a series of emotions and thinks of a few responses, but he ultimately ends up with the simplest:

"Hey!"

The man jumps, whacking his hand on the cupboard door with a hissed curse, and disappears. Poof. All that's left is Jongin's robe and a group of howling, clamoring dogs.

"What the..." Jongin jumps when his robe starts moving, and his newest adoptee shakes his head free of the terrycloth with a huff. He looks at Jongin and immediately drops his gaze and ears and tail, looking thoroughly miserable and sorry, although he surges to his feet as Jongin falls to the