Drool

Woof!

            “All right, already, I’m up!” Hye Jin threw off her covers, glaring at Marty with a pout. “Thanks for the wakeup call, bud, but now that means you get to go to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house early,” she said with a victorious grin.

            Marty collapsed onto his stomach, resting his head on his paws with a whine. Hye Jin clicked her tongue and jumped out of bed, stooping down to ruffle his ears as she walked by. “You know that won’t work on me, Mister.” He trotted after her, her hand with another whine. She stopped and kneeled down, taking his head in her hands and looking into his sad eyes. Massaging behind his ears, she leaned in for a hug.

            “As much as I want to bring you with me to school, I can’t. Where am I supposed to leave you? In the library? The faculty won’t let me.” Pulling back, she kissed his wet nose and entered the bathroom. Marty huffed and sat in his spot dejectedly. Hye Jin poked her head out the door and smiled at him.

            “Hey, how about I bring you to the groomers today? You look like you need a day of pampering,” she suggested. A giggle escaped her lips as Marty jumped up at the word ‘groomers’ and barked in excitement. “I’ll take that as a yes. Okay then, I’ll drop you off there and will have Gramps pick you up later?” Marty stopped barking and sat down, head hanging.

            “Fine, I’ll pick you up since I have a break at two. You’re such a brat, you know that?” Marty barked twice in reply. Hye Jin swore she heard him say ‘I know’.

            It’s only seven in the morning and I’m delusional already, she thought with a sigh, closing the door of her bathroom to freshen up and start her day.

--

            “Hello? Halmoni? I just got out of class. Neh, I’m going to go pick him up right now,” Hye Jin spoke into the receiver, struggling to balance her books, bag, and phone. Her books were taken from her arms as was her backpack from her shoulders.

            ‘Hey,’ Luhan mouthed to her, shouldering her backpack and holding her books with a grin. Hye Jin smiled back and pointed at her phone in apology. He nodded his head and motioned for her to continue the conversation.

            “Neh, neh, I’ll feed him, don’t worry. Neh, I’ll tell him you said hi. Neh, bye Halmoni,” Hye Jin bid farewell, dragging out the ‘I’ with aegyo. Luhan turned away, cheeks tinted pink in shock and joy. He cleared his throat and looked up and around, effectively avoiding Hye Jin’s questioning gaze.

            “So, that was your Grandma?” he asked, following her as she headed out to the parking lot. He looked around in confusion. Why is she going to her car? Doesn’t she have class later?

            “Yeah, that was my Grandma. She was just calling to check up on me. Well, not me, exactly, but Marty. I sometimes wonder if she loves the kid more than me,” Hye Jin sighed dramatically, but giggled at the thought nonetheless. “Here, let me take that.” She grabbed her books and backpack, thanking him with a bow.

            “That’s nice. Who’s Marty and why are you going to your car? Don’t you have class soon?” Luhan asked, getting straight to the point. He didn’t know why, but hearing a male’s name other than his own coming from Hye Jin unnerved him. He continued following her until they reached her parked car.

            Hye Jin unlocked the doors and threw her things into the back seat. “Marty’s my dog. Usually, my grandparents take care of him when I’m at school, but today I dropped him off at the groomers. Yes, I have class later, but I need to go pick him up now and find a place to drop him off.” She opened the driver door and slid in, turning on her engine and opening the passenger window so that Luhan could talk through. “Anyway, I’ll be back later for our usual coffee; it’s just going to be a bit later than usual or something.” She fastened her seatbelt and adjusted her mirrors, jumping in surprise when Luhan opened her passenger door and slipped in. She raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled right back.

            Without even asking, Luhan answered her question. “I’m coming with you.”

            “Uh, okay. I can see that. Don’t you also have class later?” She shifted into drive and pulled out of her stall. Scanning both directions, she drove out of the parking lot and onto the road to the groomers. Once she was comfortable, she asked him again, “So, yeah, don’t you have class as well?”

            Luhan shook his head and replied, “Not today. Professor Yu sent out an announcement this morning. His wife went into labor, so he had to cancel his afternoon class. I’m basically free until rehearsals.” Hye Jin changed lanes, exiting onto the highway towards the next district over. “His groomer is out here?”

            “Yeah, they were the only location willing to take in the little bear. Central stores were too afraid of his fur and weren’t willing to spend time bathing and drying him.”

            “Little bear? Is he a big dog?” Luhan asked, slightly nervous. Nobody can deny the fact that big dogs could be intimidating at first glance.

            “Eh, not too big. He’s a Samoyed.” Luhan nodded his head, pretending to understand what the breed was. Hye Jin to a smaller street and drove a couple more blocks before pulling up to a small pet grooming store. “Here we are. I’ll just be a few minutes. You can sit here and wait if you want.” She grabbed her wallet and got out of the car. Luhan got out of the car as well, leaving his bag under the seat and joining her on the sidewalk. Hye Jin just smiled at him and locked her car before entering the small abode.

            “Hye Jin! Hi! He’ll be ready in just a few moments. He had quite a few tangles this time around, so it took a little bit longer than usual,” the receptionist smiled at Hye Jin who nodded her head.

            “No problem. Was he good today?” Hye Jin asked with her brows furrowed in worry.

            “Quiet and obedient, like always,” the receptionist replied with two thumbs up.

            “Okay then, looks like I owe the little guy some treats. Thanks again for handling him.” Hye Jin bowed respectfully and wandered to the treats aisle of the store. Luhan followed silently and watched her grab five bags of one brand.

            “Hye Jin, he’s ready for you.” A flurry of toenails echoed off the walls as Hye Jin crouched down to greet her big white fur ball.

            “Hey, my baby bear, did you miss me?” Hye Jin chuckled as Marty whined in joy and her all over. He spotted Luhan standing next to them and stopped with his greeting. He turned his head up at Luhan and looked him in the eye.

            “Uh, Hye Jin, I think your dog is judging me…” Luhan mumbled, tugging on her sweater’s hood. She stood up beside him with a laugh and stepped away. Marty circled Luhan, looking him up and down, sniffing his legs here and there before he sat down on Luhan’s left. Luhan felt Marty’s wet nose nudge his hand onto his head and he instinctively scratched the dog behind his ears.

            “Wow, you passed his test on the first try. Now I have to tell Professor Nam. It took him at least three tries before Marty stopped peeing on him,” Hye Jin snorted and pulled out her phone. She sent her professor a taunting text and grinned at Luhan who was now kneeling down next to Marty, petting his new groomed hair. They both were looking at each other intently. “Hey, break it up you two. Marty’s my baby bear,” Hye Jin pouted and hip bumped Luhan away. She kneeled in front of Marty and he rested his head on her shoulder as if he was telling her to not worry and that she was his mommy for life.

--

            “Okay, Marty, up you go.” Hye Jin held open the back door and Marty easily jumped in. He settled himself down on the seat, resting his head on his paws and immediately dozed off. Hye Jin snickered and closed the door. He sure knew how to make himself comfortable. Stifling a yawn, Hye Jin walked around the front of the car towards the driver side only to find Luhan standing there with his arm outstretched, palm upturned.

            “I’ll drive. Your class is in a little over an hour and you need a nap to get through it.” Hye Jin opened to protest, but he cut her off. “Just let me drive. Fifteen minutes of shut eye is better than sleeping in class, isn’t it?”

            “But I still have to decide where to drop him off. My grandparents’ house is too far away and I know of a couple pet day cares I could drop him off at. And you, what about rehearsals and costumes and–“

            “I’ll look after him during your class and rehearsals. Also, I don’t have my costume fitting until Wednesday,” Luhan interjected. He snatched her keys away and got into the driver seat. Hye Jin had no choice but to go to the passenger side. She slid into the car and fastened her seatbelt, glancing over at Luhan with a frown. “It’s fine, really.”

            “Are you sure?” she asked with uncertainty.

            “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry, Hye Jin. I want to do this. Now, get some sleep. It might take a while because of traffic.” He pushed her head against the headrest and covered her eyes with his hand. “Are your eyes closed?” he asked. She mumbled a ‘yup’ and he pulled his hand away. Starting the engine, he pulled into traffic and began driving back to the university.

--

            “Oi, Hye Jin. Wake up. You have class in twenty minutes.” Luhan shook Hye Jin lightly until she slowly opened her eyes. “There’s the sleepy head. Hey, you might want to run or else you’ll be late,” he teased, grabbing her backpack from behind his seat and handing it to her. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and groggily got out of the car.

            “Thanks for looking after him. I’ll be back in two hours. Take him for a walk if he’s up for it. Oh, and his treats are back there and –” Luhan covered and pushed her head out the window.

            “I’ve got it covered. Don’t worry about it. Now go to class, or you’ll really be late.” She bowed to him with a smile and ran off, heading towards the Arts building. She looked back to wave at him and Marty one last time, predictably stumbling over her own feet and running on like nothing happened.

            A warm feeling enveloped his body and Luhan couldn’t help but grin after her. Seeing her worry over her dog as if he was her own child made her even more admirable. The love and care that she had for Marty was indescribable. It was pure, innocent, one that could never be tampered with. Their bond was more than just a human to pet relationship. Marty was Hye Jin’s companion, her lifeboat, her source of survival. Without him, she probably wouldn’t even be there. Funny how Luhan was actually able to see all of that from just their interaction at the groomers.

            Distracted by his thoughts of Hye Jin, Luhan jumped in his seat at the moisture against his cheek, unfortunately hitting his head against the car’s roof. “Aish…Marty! What was that for?” He turned to the dog, scratching its ears as it stood in the back seat. Marty whined and paced around, pawing at the door. He wanted out. “Oh, all right, bud. Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”

--

            Hye Jin stretched her arms with a yawn, slowly getting up from her seat with the rest of her classmates. She packed up her belongings and trudged out the door, dragging her feet along the hallway. Although she had taken a nap earlier, she was still tired and had nodded of a couple of times during class. She couldn’t help but feel guilty about it, somehow. Why, though? What made her feel guilty?

            Luhan. Every single time she closed her eyes, his face popped into her head and she woke up with a start. His words echoed in her head, “Fifteen minutes of shut eye is better than sleeping in class, isn’t it?” Boy did that ever make her feel bad.

            Shaking off the feeling, Hye Jin shuffled out the front doors, heading out to her car to meet up with Luhan and Marty. She didn’t have to go far to see the both of them. It caught her by surprise, but an amused snort soon followed after. With quick, silent footsteps, she tiptoed across the courtyard to the benches along the school field, sneaking up on the sitting ducks.

            Luhan sat on the bench with Marty sitting on the seat next to him. Blankly looking up at the darkening skies, he lost track of time while waiting for Hye Jin to come out. Marty, with his head resting on Luhan’s shoulder, was dozing off after their game of catch on the field. The duo was completely unaware of their surroundings, of Hye Jin slyly approaching them. Even Marty, with his hyper sensitive ears that could pick up Hye Jin’s footsteps out of hundreds of others, was too tired to hear her coming to them. Until it was too late.

            “Boo,” Hye Jin whispered next to Luhan’s ear. He jumped up with a yelp, clutching at his chest to try and calm down his racing heart. Marty, who had moved his head in time, was bounding around the bench to greet Hye Jin. “Hey, little bear. Missed me?” Hye Jin laughed as he stood up on his hind legs, resting his front legs on her shoulders in a hug. He whined and placed wet kisses on her cheeks, answering her question. “Aw, I missed you too. Come; let’s go help Luhan out, shall we?”

            Luhan stood up with a glare and brushed off his shirt. “I’m fine. Way to scare to the crap out of me…” Hye Jin rubbed her hands together with an apologetic pout. He huffed at her, but a small smile tugged at his lips. “Whatever. Anyway, what should we do now?” he asked, following her to the parking lot.

            “Well, usually we go get some coffee. But, if you’re busy or something, we can always skip a day.” Hye Jin shrugged, following Marty as he tugged at the leash.

            “Skip it? You kidding me?” Luhan scoffed, nudging her. She chuckled in reply and nodded. “Pass me the keys; I’ll take you to a new shop today.” He opened his hand and she dug in her bag for them. Seeing her struggling, he picked up her bag and reached in, easily taking out the keys and holding the bag after. She smiled in thanks and let Marty drag her along the rest of the way.

--

            “So you actually ate it?” Hye Jin asked incredulously, jaw hanging in shock and disgust.

            Luhan laughed and nodded his head, an involuntary shiver traveling down his spine at the memory. “Yup. Ate the whole darn thing. It was disgustingly satisfying.” Hye Jin feigned vomiting, shaking her head in disbelief.

            “You’re something, Luhan.”

            “Hey, I got a hundred bucks and free ice cream for the entire year,” he replied, defending his pride. He paused in thought, wondering if he should really be proud of eating the mystery sundae concoction back in high school. Yeah, I should be. That was the best year of my life…well, second to this year.

            “Ugh, I don’t even…” Hye Jin muttered. She looked down at Marty with a frown. He looked up at her at just that moment and they shared a moment. “Marty, I’m warning you now. You’re forbidden to be alone with Luhan ever again. I can’t trust him to feed you…” She reached down and poked his nose and he her finger in return before laying his head back down.

            “What?!” Luhan exclaimed, “What are you implying?”

            “That you seem reckless enough to eat a mixture of gross things and would probably feed my baby something just as disgusting.” Luhan gripped the front of his shirt in mock distress, pouting at her. Hye Jin looked away like she couldn’t care less.

            “Rude…” he mumbled.

            She scoffed at him. “Truth.” Several minutes passed by in silence before they both burst into laughter and clutched at their aching stomachs.

            “Now that I think about it, that was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” Luhan gasped out between his laughs. His eyes teared up as another round of laughter shook his frame. He doubled over in his chair, resting his head against the cool, glass table. Hye Jin sighed and sat back in her chair. She giggled lightly at the thought, thoroughly amused at his misfortune. Or benefit in his terms.

            “Stupid or not, sounds like you and your friends had lots of fun back then,” she sighed, “probably more fun than what I had…” Luhan’s ears perked up at her words, but he noticed her distant gaze and knew that she was lost in her memories yet again. Reaching over, he poked her cheek and brought out of the trance before she fell too deep. “Oh, whoops, sorry.”

            “No problem.”

*Ring ring*

            “Sorry, it’s the Director,” Hye Jin apologized, looking at her caller ID with a frown. Luhan shook his head and motioned for her to answer the call. “Hello? Oh, sure! No, it’s no problem at all. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so. Yup, see you then! Bye!” She hung up and her shoulders deflated. It hadn’t dawned on her until that phone call, but she was about to meet her doom.

            “You got called in early?” Luhan guessed, judging by her defeated expression.

            “Yeah. I have two sessions today and one of them needs to start early since they have an exam tomorrow,” she grumbled, picking up her bag and Marty’s leash. She was obviously not pleased about the early session, but Luhan knew there was more to it than just that.

            “Is that so? Who is it?” he asked. Her expression darkened at his question. Bingo. She led Marty away and Luhan followed after her. She ushered Marty into the car and slid in herself, waiting for Luhan to join her. She started the car and drove off, speeding the entire way to the university. Pulling into the parking lot, she found a stall and parked her car. Only after she was at full stop did she tell Luhan who it was.

            “It’s Kris. Kris Wu.”

--

            “Again. Do it again. I told you already, rounder vowels. You sound too Western,” she scolded him, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Kris smirked and repeated the line, continuing his phonetic mistake just to anger her even more.

            “Was that right this time, babe?” Kris asked, his voice oozing with arrogance. Hye Jin scoffed, unimpressed. Clearly, he was picking at her nerves and was winning the game. She let out a deep breath, chanting in her head to tone down her anger.

            “No. Again.”

            Why is he doing this? Why is he picking on me? She turned around and grabbed her water bottle, chugging down the rest of the warm liquid before tossing it back into her bag. She wanted so badly to leave, to walk out on him like he had done to her. All her pent up frustrations from the past were fighting to lash out at him. They knocked against the walls she locked them into, vying to escape and throw insults and curses at him.

            But, she knew better than to lose her self control. She needed to stay calm and act professional. She couldn’t show let him know that she was still the weak, dependant girl from back then. I’m stronger now. I’m independent. I’m in control…am I? She leered at him, watching as he ran his lines, purposely screwing up his words. She scribbled a bunch of notes on his profile the Director provided, reporting his progress and setbacks based on their two hour session so far. Even with his obvious mess ups, she still had to give an honest statement of what had happened so far.

            “We’re done for today. You can leave now,” Hye Jin cut Kris off mid scene, closing up his folder and opening the next one. Kris grinned mischievously, walking up to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She tensed under his touch. He leaned down next to her ear, his breath grazing her lobe all too familiarly.

            “I can leave, but I don’t want to,” he breathed, placing a kiss against her jaw like he used to.

            A sudden blaze of anger rushed through her veins and she shoved him away. “Stop it. Whatever you’re doing or whatever you’re thinking of doing, stop it now.” Her voice shook with rage and fear as she glared daggers at him. He just smirked in reply and shrugged.

            “I don’t want to. I’m going to do whatever I want to get whatever I want. And I want you.” He stepped towards her and she instinctively stepped back. Her guard was up and she was shutting him out.

            “Well, you can’t always have what you want. Now, do you part as an actor and be professional. Stop with your games. The past isn’t a recurring dream.” She glared at him, holding his gaze. They stared each other down, waiting for the other to say something or make another move. Neither stepped down from the silent battle. Neither wanted to lose.

            “Uh, hello?” A knock on the door broke their stare and they looked to the door. It opened slowly and the next actor peeked into the room. “Um, I’m here for the session with Park Hye Jin-sshi. Is this the right room?”

            Hye Jin relaxed and nodded his way. “Come on in, you’re right on time.” She waved him in and gestured towards the center of the room. “You’re done for today, Kris-sshi. You can see yourself out.” She turned away, giving him a cold glare before joining the young fellow without a second glance.

            Kris picked up his back, throwing a glare at his cast mate before slamming the door shut. He stalked out of the building, fuming as he approached his car. He glanced quickly over at Hye Jin’s car out of habit and looked away only to do a double take. His anger level rose when he noticed a figure sitting in the back seat, petting Marty with a wide grin.

            I don’t believe it…He turned away, angrily pulling open his car door and sliding in. He’s in her car. Why is he in her car? He shouldn’t be there. I should be there. I should be the one taking care of Marty, not him. Anybody but him. He pulled out of the school grounds and sped home, shaking in anger. Just you wait, Hye Jin. I’ll win you back, one way or another. We’ll be together again. Babe, this is only just the beginning.