“I’m sorry, Woohyun…” The dino-looking guy sobbed exaggeratingly and patted hard on his employee’s shoulder. Woohyun grimaced in pain but did not dare to utter a word. His dramatic employer had finally gathered enough sense to close down his pet store.

Woohyun had enjoyed his two years employment in the retail pet shop. However, he had always wondered how the shop managed all these years under the ‘extreme care’ of his boss, Dongwoo who was seriously lacking of expertise in caring and looking after animals.

During his tenure with the pet shop, Woohyun was the one handling all the pets, regardless of kittens, puppies, hamsters or rabbits. All the animals seemed to enjoy the concern provided by the eighteen years old boy. It seemed that the animals ‘sense of danger’ were extremely high as they avoided being fed by Dongwoo who had nearly poisoned one of the rabbits by feeding the wrong food.

Woohyun smiled at his memories flashback, earning a punch on his shoulder by his boss who was only three years older than him. “Hey, Woohyun, were you listening to me all these time…?” The red-haired guy whined.

Woohyun cleared his throat in an attempt to stifle his chuckle and turned serious-looking. He gave an assuring pat on the taller guy’s shoulder and emitted a sigh. “Dongwoo, I’m glad that you’ve finally decided to close down the pet shop despite I’m sad to leave… But for the sake of all the pets, I think this is the best decision…”

With that, Woohyun turned and walked towards the front door. He could almost hear all the despair whines from the pets in the store, who were depressed to see their caregiver left.

“Wait a moment, Woohyun..!” Dongwoo shouted suddenly which made the younger guy turned with a confused expression.

“Boss, I’ve taken my last salary… And I’ve returned the keys to you… Did I miss out anything…?” Woohyun scratched his head, trying to think hard.

“Oh… No, no, no… It’s not regarding that…” Dongwoo paused before bringing a cage to Woohyun. In it, it contained a brown and white chubby hamster which seemed to beg Woohyun with its small and teary eyes to bring him along.

“This shall be the last gift for you… Wish you all the best in searching for a new job…” Dongwoo sobbed again and pushed the cage towards Woohyun who hesitantly received.

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“Sigh… Gyu Gyu… Where should we go now…?” Woohyun sat down at the bus stop and talked to his new pet. “Do you like your new name, Gyu Gyu…?” Woohyun smiled and tickled the small animal chubby belly.

Without a job, Woohyun was without a house as Dongwoo, though being the insensitive pet store owner, was kind enough to supply his young employee with a rental flat. Woohyun had lost both his parents ten years ago and had to learn to survive on his own. Now, Woohyun was not only jobless but also homeless. Woohyun sighed again at his pathetic situation.

“Why are you sighing, young man…?” A feminine looking middle-aged man smiled and sat down beside Woohyun.

Woohyun squirmed with uneasiness despite the stranger emitted a kind aura. He felt uneasy to share his problem with someone he barely met seconds ago. However, before he knew it, words were already pouring out of his mouth.

“I’m currently declaring to be jobless and homeless…” Woohyun was shocked at his own truthfulness. He dared not looked at the kind man and was getting up to flee when the middle-aged guy held onto his left wrist.

“I’m Lee Sungjong who I think I’m pretty harmless…” The kind guy gave a gentle smile and continued. “Need not be so afraid of me… Come, tell me your problem and I shall see whether I can help you in any way…”

Looking into the sincere eyes of Sungjong, Woohyun sighed again before telling his story.

It only took fifteen minutes for Woohyun to confide his problem and Sungjong’s eyes sparkled brighter and brighter.

“Oh yes! So you have experience in taking care of hamster…?” Sungjong asked cheerfully. Woohyun gave a hesitant nod.

“Alright, this is great! I’ve found a saviour!” Sungjong stood up abruptly and cheered, earning quizzical looks from other passengers. He bowed apologetically to them and sat down.

“Woohyun, I’ve a chubby giant pet hamster which is tough to take care of… He’s lazy, fiery and hot-tempered… I’m currently trying to hire a helper… Do you think you can accept this job…?” Sungjong pleaded with watery eyes, leaving Woohyun with no choice but to give a small nod before he realised it.

“Hurray!” Sungjong hugged the young boy and practically dragged him hurriedly to his car, as if afraid that Woohyun would back off.

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The comments will determine whether I shall delete this whole story or give me the motivation to continue with the new chappie... I'm okay with harsh criticism...