Again not proofread~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONGHAE ♥

“Donghae, I’m home!”

Almost instantly, the young puppy bursts out of the kitchen, ears perked up and tail wagging excitedly as he immediately jumps into Hyukjae’s arms. “Hyukjae!”

“Oof!” Hyukjae grunts, falling back slightly against the wall and laughing when Donghae starts his cheek happily.

“Welcome home!” Donghae practically shrieks. “How was your day? Did you ace your exam? Did you miss me? I missed you! I cooked dinner! Because I know Hyukjae is tired so I did it on my own, so Hyukjae can just sit and wait and then I’ll feed you!”

Giggling at the adorable talkative bundle that is his puppy baby, Hyukjae presses his lips against the eager boy’s cheek before bringing a hand to ruffle the blond locks and scratch the area behind the perked up ears. “You cooked, hm? I see you’ve been listening to me then. Good boy,” he praises, his grin growing wider when Donghae’s tail wags faster in joy.

Suddenly, a strange smell infiltrates his senses, making his smile drop abruptly. “Are you done cooking though baby? Because I think I smell something burning.”

Donghae gasps, pulling away immediately, his eyes wide and horrified as he rushes back to the kitchen, wailing while he’s at it. “Oh no! I’m sorry Hyukjae! Please don’t get mad!”

Shaking his head, Hyukjae chuckles hopelessly to himself, thinking that even if Donghae burns the house down, he will never really have the heart to get mad at his puppy.

-

“Donghae, slow down,” Hyukjae warns as he watches is puppy practically wolf down his plate. “The meat is not gonna run away.”

“But Hyukchae!” Donghae wails, mouth full. “It’sh beef!”

“You and your obsession with beef,” the older rolls his eyes.

“What can I do, I’m a dog!”

Well. Touché.

-

“Hyukjae, what is love?”

He blinks, turning to look at the curious boy lying beside him on the bed and gulping at the innocence that practically radiates off his puppy. “Don’t you already know that, Hae?”

“Well,” Donghae pouts and hums to himself for a while. “Henry mentioned something earlier at school. He said he is in love with Amber, and told me it’s a big, big secret and that I shouldn’t tell anyone. Especially Amber herself. But I’m telling you because you’re Hyukjae and I trust you and I know I can’t hide anything from you,” the older smiles, wrapping an arm around his baby’s torso and pulling him close into a hug.

Donghae snuggles into him, wagging his tail as he Hyukjae’s chin affectionately before continuing. “Anyway, he was so serious about it so I got scared and just said I won’t tell, but I asked him why it should be a secret. It’s just love. I love Hyukjae, Hyukjae loves me, we tell each other that every day. Why can’t he tell it to Amber? He said it’s a different kind of love, one that I wouldn’t understand unless I experience it myself. Well… I’m not sure what he was talking about so I didn’t know if I already experienced it or not. What is his love anyway? Why is it different?”

Hyukjae hums thoughtfully, tucking Donghae’s head into the crook of his neck and nuzzling his nose into the blond hair as he thinks of his answer.

Ever since his puppy started attending hybrid school a few months ago, Donghae has gotten a lot more curious, always coming home with a bunch of questions for Hyukjae to answer. While some of them are things that are simple and easy, stuff that Hyukjae himself has learned in elementary up to high school, there are still a lot of questions that he needs to think about carefully before giving an answer.

Although sometimes the questions are a little difficult, Hyukjae is very pleased that Donghae comes to him to ask. He could’ve just asked the teachers at school, seeing as those people’s job is to educate the hybrids, and yet his puppy still chooses to ask him instead. It makes his heart warm, although he is also a little worried, because as much as he loves hearing Donghae’s curious little questions, he doesn’t really think a young adult in his early twenties like him would know all of the answers Donghae needs.

Sometimes he gets scared, that one day Donghae would ask him something he doesn’t have any answer to, and then his puppy would get disappointed.

And the last thing Hyukjae wants is for Donghae to ever feel any kind of disappointment towards him.

“Hyuk?”

He blinks, jolting out of his thoughts as he looks at the shiny puppy eyes staring up at him. He feels his heart melt.

“Well, Donghae,” he starts, caressing the blond hair and lightly scratching the ears, making Donghae close his eyes and smile contentedly. “There are different kinds of love. There’s the love for your family. And then there’s the love you have for your friends.”

“Those are different?” Donghae asks, opening his eyes and staring curiously at his owner’s pensive face. His brows furrow in confusion as Hyukjae nods. “But… you’re both my family and my friend. Do I feel different kinds of love for you?”

Hyukjae chuckles in amusement. “Maybe. A person can be more than one thing to another person. Like you said, I am your family. I raised you up and took care of you ever since this little baby here,” he gently pats Donghae’s , “was still wrapped up in diapers.”

Donghae giggles and wags his tail.

“But then we’re also friends,” Hyukjae nods. “Although I may be like a parent to you, you confide in me things that other kids wouldn’t to their own moms and dads. And you might be the baby I took care of months ago, but you’re also a friend that I can talk to comfortably. Hell, you don’t even call me hyung. Disrespectful brat,” he pulls away slightly only to pinch Donghae’s nose. The younger makes a squeaking noise before laughing and lightly slapping Hyukjae’s cheek.

“So to answer your other question, yes, you may feel different kinds of love for me… or in a general case, for any other person,” Hyukjae says, pulling the puppy close to him once again. “And then there’s another kind of love, the most complicated one in my opinion. This, I think, is what your friend Henry was talking about. It’s called romantic love. It’s different in a sense that you can only give this love to one person.”

“Like, it’s exclusive?” Donghae’s eyes widen. “Who should I give it to then?”

Hyukjae laughs, shaking his head. “You don’t usually get to choose who to give this kind of love, Hae. It just happens. When it does, you’ll know it. Like your friend Henry said, you would only understand it when you experience it on your own.”

As the words escape his own lips, Hyukjae suddenly feels a strange heavy feeling on his chest. He isn’t sure if it’s just his protectiveness towards Donghae, but the idea of his puppy falling in love…somehow doesn’t settle well with him.

“Have you…” Donghae utters softly, sounding unsure. “Have you ever given that kind of love to your one person?”

He thinks for a moment. Of course he has experience in this department. It’s just that after Donghae came into his life, everything else seemed insignificant and dull compared to his little bright bundle of joy. “Well… I used to have a girlfriend back in middle school, but it wasn’t really all that –”

Donghae gasps and pulls away, an accusatory glint in his wide eyes. “I knew it, Lee Hyukjae! It’s that girl in your book! Did you give your romantic love to her?”

“What? What girl? What book?” Hyukjae blinks in confusion.

“That girl! On your book! The girl!”

And suddenly he remembers a certain rated magazine and feels heat creep up on his neck and face. “T-That’s not – it’s not what you think, Donghae! How did you even find that, holy –”

“So it’s her huh? She’s your one person? How could you do this! And here I thought you would be my one person and then I’ll give you all my romantic love and then you – you – how dare you!” Donghae wails as he punches Hyukjae’s chest repeatedly.

“It’s not what you think! I don’t even know her!”

“But you’ve seen her ! Did you shower together too? And I thought you’d only share baths with your baby –”

“I am not sharing baths with anyone else aside from you! Yah, stop hitting me!”

-

“I have a problem.”

Siwon looks up from his book and stares at Hyukjae, waiting for him to continue.

“Donghae thinks he’s in love with me.”

His friend raises a thick brow. Hyukjae sits still.

“What, that’s it?” Siwon asks, mouth curling into a small confused frown.

“Does it not sound like a problem to you?” Hyukjae gapes at him. “Donghae thinks he’s in love with me.”

“Well… is he not?”

“Of course not!” Hyukjae exclaims, eyes wide in disbelief. “Well, at least not in that way.”

“What way?”

“That way. As in… romantic,” Hyukjae sighs, palming his face as he slouches over the table. “He has this friend at school who told him about it, so he went and asked me what the different kinds of love are. I explained them to him, and then the next day, he’s telling me about how he’s going to love me in all different ways. As his family, as his friend, and as his…” he gulps. “Well, he has another term for it, but I’m pretty sure he means lover.”

Siwon grins and starts chuckling. “Your puppy’s really cute.”

“Of course he is, but that isn’t the point here, Siwon,” Hyukjae runs a hand through his auburn hair in frustration. “Donghae is going to delude himself into thinking that he’s in love with me when clearly, he isn’t!”

“How can you tell that he isn’t?” Siwon asks. “What if he really does love you that way?”

“Is that even possible?” Hyukjae furrows his brows. “I practically raised him. I’m pretty much his dad, or his older brother, he can’t possibly have those kinds of feelings for a father or brother figure, he doesn’t even –”

“Nuh-uh,” Siwon wags his index finger disapprovingly in front of him. “You never researched so you don’t know but… a good forty percent of hybrids fall in love with thei