Five
Animal PlanetHoya shifted back in his chair, setting aside a file of completed documents, only to begin another. Sometimes he wished that he had gone into a profession that required less paperwork, but he liked being his own boss too much to give up his current position. Even if he was motivated to keep reading through contracts and sales projections, he couldn’t stop the sigh of relief from escaping his mouth when his assistant came through the door.
“Myungsoo, good to see you.”
The black haired man bowed slightly in acknowledgement, pulling up a chair to get comfortable as he grabbed the file on top of the stack in front of Hoya. “Sorry lunch ran a little late, I had to run a quick errand.” He flipped open the document in front of him, grabbing a pen from the center of the table to start making his notes.
His pen had barely touched the paper when Hoya spoke up again. “Anything exciting?” Myungsoo looked at his boss curiously, he definitely wasn’t the type to like to sit around and gossip. Hoya noticed his expression, laughing kindly. “I ended up eating lunch in my office so I could finish going over the files from the Busan branch, so I could use a small break.”
Myungsoo nodded in understanding, setting down the file in his lap to regard the older man. “Actually, I went to see your brother.”
“Oh?” He asked, interested that his co-worker would need to see his younger brother. “I wasn’t aware that you two were close?”
His assistant colored at that, shaking his head at the insinuation. “No, we aren’t close. We just, um, we met actually awhile back, it’s nothing like-”
“Myungsoo.” Hoya’s strong voice stopped his rambling, and Myungsoo smiled sheepishly.
“What I was trying to say was that I met your brother at last year’s Christmas party. That’s how I found out he was a veterinarian, and I have a cat, so yeah…”
“A cat?”
“Yes, a cat.” Myungsoo repeated, suddenly seeming fidgety in his seat. “Her name is Luna. She’s pretty great.”
“Uh huh. So you went to see my brother because?” Hoya prompted him.
Myungsoo let out a sigh, shaking his head at himself for being so absentminded. “Right. Well, you see I went by my place to check in on Luna, and I noticed she hadn’t ate anything, so I thought I’d drop by Sungyeol-sshi’s clinic just to make sure everything was in order.”
“Sungyeol-sshi?” Hearing his brother’s name that way was foreign to him.
“Yes, Sungyeol-sshi is actually very nice. He worked me in without an appointment and everything. Your brother is really a great person.”
Hoya quirked an eyebrow at the way his assistant talked about his younger brother. “My brother is many things, but even I can’t deny that kindness is one of his strong suits. He loves his work, so I’m sure it wasn’t too much of a bother.”
“He was actually very understanding, he probably just looked at Luna since he knows I work for you. But either way, I’m very thankful. And Luna got a clean bill of health, so everything worked out.”
Hoya smiled politely, he wasn’t too much of a pet person but he understand how much people cared about their animals. “Well I’m happy to hear that.”
“There was actually someone else with him today though.” Myungsoo said thoughtfully and Hoya tensed up, realizing that Sungyeol had taken a certain alien with him to the clinic.
“Is that so?” He asked a bit nervously, pulling a little on his tie to loosen it up.
“Yeah, he was definitely an interesting guy, he even had pink hair! But the weirdest part was that it actually seemed to suit him.”
“Pink hair? Sounds strange.” Hoya coughed, his fingers tapping the desk anxiously.
“The weird thing was that he knew who I was. He said that he saw me delivering paperwork to your house last week.” Myungsoo trailed off, and Hoya let out a nervous sigh.
“Oh, of course! You must be talking about Dongwoo. He is, erm, my brother’s new… apprentice. Yes! Apprentice. That’s why he is working at the clinic with Sungyeol. You see he isn’t from around here, I mean he is from here, you know. Because where else could he be from!” He laughed nervously, before continuing on. “It’s just that my brother told him that he could stay at my house, but last week he was feeling under the weather, so he wasn’t able to start his new job. So that must be how he saw you last week when you brought me my paperwork! In fact, that’s why I wasn’t at work! Because Dongwoo got me sick! That makes perfect sense.”
At this point Hoya wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or Myungsoo, who seemed to be staring at him rather weirdly since his explanation had begun. But Hoya couldn’t exactly say that Dongwoo had seen him because he was sitting next to him, because then he would have to explain that the reason Myungsoo couldn’t see Dongwoo was because he was an alien who could also turn invisible at will. And that was simply a conversation he was not going to have with his assistant. “So… yes. That is why he’s at Sungyeol’s clinic now.” He finished rather lamely.
“He actually did the oddest thing with my cat while I was waiting on Sungyeol-”
“Actually, I really need to look over these files Myungsoo. Maybe we could reconvene later once I’m done looking over this contract?” Hoya cut him off with a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation. “You can take that marketing plan with you, and report back to me when you’ve finished looking over its contents?”
Myungsoo stood up, taking the hint. “Of course.” He grabbed the file, heading over to the door to exit the office. He stopped in the doorway, turning back to his boss. “For what it’s worth, Dongwoo seemed really great too. Even if he was a little different.” He gave Hoya a closed lip smile, before disappearing out the office.
Hoya watched the door close after Myungsoo, his thoughts swirling around the pink haired alien. “You have no idea.” A curious smile spread across his face as he picked his file back off the desk, the paperwork suddenly seeming a little more bearable.
Sungyeol closed up the clinic with a relieved sigh, switching the sign to closed before locking the door and turning to Dongwoo. “So your first day at the clinic with me is officially over…”
“It was so fun!” Dongwoo said jubilantly, “I want to do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that as well! All of the animals were so cute! I really liked the rabbit that came in because of his poor leg! I’m sure that cast will help a lot and I hope he gets better soon, he was just so friendly! And that rottweiler with the bad tooth! He seemed scary to start with but once he got talking to me he was really nice, and clever too-”
Dongwoo continued talking about all of the animals that had been admitted to the clinic that day as they climbed into the car, and he only paused his rambling on the way home to ask why Sungyeol was driving so fast. Whilst he was no expert on road laws here on Earth he was pretty sure that a read light meant ‘stop’, not ‘accelerate even faster and drive at eighty miles an hour, narrowly avoiding a collision with a family car that is coming the other way’.
“Oh, I’m just excited to get home and eat!” He told a rightfully terrified Dongwoo, but that didn’t explain the relieved sigh he let out when he parked the car up in the garage and realised that Hoya wasn’t back yet. Nor did it explain the way he rubbed his hand lightly over the sleek paintwork of the car, a melancholy expression on his face as he lightly kissed the driver door (Dongwoo was sure that was not hygienic). “It was nice whilst it lasted…” He stated wistfully, causing Dongwoo to turn to him with a curious look. Sungyeol didn’t explain though, he just hooked the keys back up and headed out of the garage, prompting Dongwoo to follow him.
They headed into the house, Dongwoo trailing behind Sungyeol. At first the vet didn’t notice the alien’s downhearted expression, but when he turned to say something completely stupid that he knew his extraterrestrial best friend would find hilarious he noticed that Dongwoo didn’t look as elated as he usually did.
“Is something the matter?” He asked. “You look sad.”
“Not sad… Just…” Dongwoo searched for the word. “Disappointed.”
Sungyeol frowned at Dongwoo’s pouty voice. “Why?”
“It’s just that I had so much fun today at the clinic with you… All of the animals were so cute and I got to play with them and talk to them and hang out with Kirin-chan! It was so fun….”
“And you were a great help. When that rottweiler came in and I couldn’t find out what was wrong with him you were able to ask him. I never would have found that little abscess on his gum and made him better… It was so useful to have you there today.” Sungyeol sighed. “Awww, now I’m sad too…”
“Do you think that Okami-san will ever let me come with you again?” Dongwoo asked.
Sungyeol thought about that for a moment, his brain playing through Hoya’s inevitable reaction to that request. He knew that his brother would be torn - he would want Dongwoo out of the way so that he could catch up on his own work, but his worry for Dongwoo would counter that. He knew that they would need to really sell the point to get his brother to agree.
Sungyeol nodded in determination. “I’ve got an idea.” He said, and Dongwoo cocked his head in curiosity.
“Ideas are fun!” He professed, and Sungyeol just smiled.
There was no way his brother could turn down this request. Not if he had anything to do with it.
Ten minutes later found the two of them in the kitchen, looking into the fridge with matching blank looks on their faces.
“So you think that if we cook some nice food for Okami-san, he’ll be happy and let me come in with you tomorrow?” Dongwoo affirmed the plan and Sungyeol mumbled in agreement.
“It’s not often that I do anything like this for him, he’ll simply have to say yes.” He stated. “Though there is one slight flaw to this plan…” Dongwoo waited for his Earthling best friend to continue. “Well… I’m not a great cook, and we don’t exactly have much in the way of groceries here…”
Dongwoo looked back into the fridge. Whilst he wasn’t exactly well-learned in the way of Earth food (he knew about sushi and dumplings and noodles, but not about the things in the Lee brother’s fridge), even he could tell that the selection wasn’t great. “How about chocolate stuffed peppers?” He tried. “Or maybe a wrap of spinach and that spicy salsa stuff that we had last week. Or perhaps you could chop up some banana and onion and serve it with chocolate ice cream and flour…”
Sungyeol shook his head at Dongwoo’s suggestions, none of which he thought Hoya would appreciate (though he did make a mental note to try that onion and flour ice cream combination one day). “No… We need something really special…” He wracked his brains for Hoya’s favorite foods, but they were all difficult dishes; smoked salmon on alfredo fettuccini, green thai chicken curry, medium rare grilled steak and salad (no dressing). Not exactly anything Sungyeol and Dongwoo could whip up in the next hour or so.
He looked at the ingredients which looked semi-usable. Chicken , peppers, onions, mushrooms, some wraps… How could he use those to make an amazing meal that would convince Hoya to let Dongwoo stick with Sungyeol?
And then it came to him, it was so obvious that he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought about it sooner. Whilst Hoya had always preferred the finer cuisine, he had always had a penchant for messy, family food. One his secret favorites had always been fajitas, so fajitas it was. And if things went well, they could even celebrate with a chocolate banana split for dessert.
A wide grin split onto Sungyeol’s face, his plan now intact. He turned to his pink haired friend, who was waiting anxiously for instructions. “Slide on your oven mitts Dongwoo. I’ve got a plan.”
Hoya slid off his shoes in the foyer, locking the door behind him. The house was almost eerily quiet - which was never normal - as he made his way further in. He reached up to loosen his tie, his legs carrying him to the kitchen as if he were on autopilot. He hadn’t exactly meant to stay late at the office, but he had spent a good amount of the afternoon thinking of a certain someone instead of focusing on his work, which meant that he had to put some extra time in to make up for that fact.
Now, he was just very hungry. He was going to make himself some food - something quick, because he didn’t have the energy to actually cook for himself. The first thing he noticed in the kitchen was the mess and the second was a proud looking Sungyeol in the doorway.
“We made you dinner!” He announced, gesturing to the room behind him where an equally chuffed looking Dongwoo was seated behind a table of food. Hoya stepped curiously into the dining room, not believing what was in front of his eyes; the table was laid with seasoned chicken and vegetables, cheese and sauces. He was about to open his mouth to ask what dinner was when Sungyeol waltzed past him with a plate of warm wraps.
“You made fajitas?!” He exclaimed, and Sungyeol’s face lit up.
“Yes! It was always your favorite when Umma made them, so I thought I’d try. I don’t think they will be as good as hers though… I did call her up for help though.” Sungyeol shrugged.
Hoya just stared at the feast on the table. “It doesn’t matter… I’m just so amazed that you pulled this off without burning the kitchen down. I guess I can let the mess slide.” He slid into the seat opposite Dongwoo and Sungyeol slid down beside the alien. “Can I start?”
“Tuck in!” Sungyeol told him, grabbing a wrap himself. Hoya did the same, piling his wrap with chicken and vegetables, before adding sour cream, cheese and salsa. He folded his wrap, biting into the tasty fajita as he watched Dongwoo struggle to fold his own. He watched as the alien ‘s face switched to a pout when his filling dropped out.
Hoya watched this repeat for a while until even he grew frustrated. He sighed, leaning over the table to grab Dongwoo’s tortilla and gently showed him how to wrap it. The alien grinned widely as Hoya pulled his hands away and sat back into his own chair.
“Thank you, Okami-san!” He cheered, tucking into the lovely food in front of him. Hoya scarfed his own food down, surprised at just how hungry he really was. When he finished his first, he immediately grabbed a second tortilla and looked around the table for the fillings.
“Yeol, could you pass me the cheese, please?” He asked, reaching for the ceramic bowl that was just out of his arms length.
Dongwoo sat up at Hoya’s words, grinning widely. “It’s okay, Kirin-chan. I’ll do that!” He dropped his almost-finished fajita wrap and raised his hands. At once, the bowl of cheese raised straight into the air and floated slowly over to Hoya. Hoya couldn’t even hide his own awe as he reached out robotically and grabbed the bowl from the air.
“Thank you…” He said, barely paying attention to the amount of cheese he was sprinkling onto his plate.
Dongwoo just beamed even brighter. “It’s no problem Okami-san. Anything to help.”
“Speaking of Dongwoo helping-” Sungyeol interjected. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how great he was today. He really has an affinity with animals!”
“Really?” Hoya asked, remembering Myungsoo’s words from earlier that afternoon.
Sungyeol nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! He really helped me out a lot. It makes me sad to think that he can’t come in to help me again…” Sungyeol tried to approach the subject tactfully, but Dongwoo had different ideas.
“Please can I go in to work with Kirin-chan again tomorrow? And the day after that? And the day after that one too? Pretty please? I want to see all the different cute animals and help Kirin-chan make them not sick anymore. Pleeeease?” He begged.
Sungyeol laughed warmly. “Dongwoo, you can’t come with me every single day!’
“But why? I thought Kirin-chan liked working with me!”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to come to work with me silly, I just thought that you would want to start figuring out how you were going to get to Japan!” He turned to look at his older brother, who suddenly looked downcast. “Hyung?”
“What?” Hoya said distractedly, his thoughts centered on the idea of the alien leaving.
“You just look upset hyung. I promise that I took care of everything at work today, Dongwoo didn’t get into any accidents or cause any trouble…” Sungyeol tried to explain.
“Really, Okami-san! I helped lots of adorable animals and I made their owners really happy!” Dongwoo said smugly.
“I’m sure you did Dongwoo, but what Sungyeol said is true. I did promise you that I’d help you get to Japan. So I need to honor that.” Hoya wasn’t quite sure why the words felt wrong coming out of his mouth.
“Well, you’re my best friend Dongwoo, so I can pay for your plane ticket! I know you don’t have any Earth money, and it can actually be really confusing because Korean money is different than Japanese money but I’ll give you whatever extra I have!”
“Oh, thanks Kirin-chan! You’re so kind-”
“No, don’t be ridiculous.” Hoya interrupted them, cleaning off his hands and dropping his napkin. “It only makes sense that I cover any of the expenses. I don’t want you using any of your savings Sungyeol, especially when it’s no problem for me to afford it.”
“Actually, what I was going to say before Okami-san interrupted, was that I couldn’t accept your offer for money. Or Okami-san’s for that matter. I know that it is very nice of both of you to offer to help me reach Japan, but I can’t accept such a big of a gift, without giving anything in return.”
“Seriously Dongwoo, don’t worry about it! Hyung’s rich, paying for a little trip to Japan is nothing! His bank account won’t even notice the difference!” When Hoya glared at him Sungyeol suddenly stopped talking, looking down at his suddenly interesting plate.
Hoya rolled his eyes at his younger brother, before looking at Dongwoo sincerely. “He’s telling the truth Dongwoo, it’s no problem for me to pay for your trip. I’m your ambassador, right? Then that makes it my job to help you get to the place on Earth that you want to go. Once you’re more… acclimated to your surroundings, I can get you to Japan.”
Dongwoo stood up from his seat, walking over to sit next to Hoya on the other side of the table. “Okami-san, your generosity is more than I could ever ask for. But even if I wanted to accept, I’m not allowed to. As my ambassador you are supposed to help me get accustomed to the planet, but you aren’t supposed to do everything for me. If I don’t learn how to take care of myself, then how will I survive in Japan? I have to figure out how this planet works, and the only way I can do that is to stay here with you and Kirin-chan.”
“What if… Dongwoo keeps coming to work with me?” Hoya and Dongwoo turned to the younger man, who shifted under their stares. “Well, Dongwoo can’t just accept our money. But if he works with me at the clinic, it can almost be like he has a real job. He’s extremely useful when helping me with my patients, so it’s not like he isn’t qualified or I’m giving him a hand out. He can learn to be on a schedule, it’s a safe place to interact with other Earthlings, come on, it’s kind of perfect!”
Hoya leaned back in his seat, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You could teach him how to keep a timecard and I’ll pay his salary every week. I can just set up an additional bank account for him since he doesn’t have any documents or personal identification.”
“But I did have my intergalatic passport! It wasn’t fireproof though, so it perished in my spaceship.” Dongwoo looked sad at the mention of his doomed spacecraft, looking upwards in a gesture of remembrance.
“Anyway, I can look up an apartment in Japan, figure out how much a security deposit and rent will be. I can calculate how much the trip will cost with airfare and come up with a target number.”
“Yeah, and then each week we can see how much closer you are to saving up enough money to travel! Come on Dongwoo, what do you say? This way we get to hang out with each other as much as possible before you have to leave, and you aren’t breaking any rules!”
The pink haired man bit his lip, his head nodding slowly. “Actually, when I really think about it…” His face split into a blinding grin. “I think this will be so much fun! I will work with Kirin-chan during the day, and at night learn all about Earth from Okami-san! I’m so happy!”
He suddenly enveloped Hoya in a hug, who has too shocked by the sudden embrace to respond. It only lasted for a second before the alien moved on to his younger brother, jumping up and down with Sungyeol in pure elation.
“Alright, alright. That’s enough. Sit down and eat before your food gets cold.” Hoya ordered, and with one last squeeze the two boys let go of each other. The rest of dinner was filled with lighthearted chatter between his brother and his unexpected guest, excited predictions of all the fun they could have with the animals who could potentially arrive at the clinic. And even though it was slightly ridiculous and getting more farfetched by the minute - he seriously doubted that Sungyeol would ever treat an elephant or a tiger - he couldn’t help but laugh along with them.
“I really don’t know why you insist that we wash and dry by hand when we have a dishwasher..” Sungyeol commented as he grabbed a dishcloth. Hoya just glared at him.
“There’s only the two of us, it’s not like we make that many dirty dishes.” He passed a clean plate to Sungyeol, who grabbed the plate and began to dry it.
“Well there is three of us now…” Sungyeol commented. “With Dongwoo here. Though I guess I shouldn’t get too used to him being around, he’ll be going off to Japan in no time…”
Hoya sighed. “Don’t.” He placed the sponge down and turned to glare at Sungyeol. “Dongwoo wants to go to Japan, so we need to let him live his dream.”
“We?” Sungyeol interrupted. “Lee Howon, one might begin to think that you like having that alien around. You almost sound reluctant to let him go.”
“No!” Hoya interjected. “No! I’m just… getting slightly more used to him being around, making a mess of things and being loud and hyper. It will just be weird when he leaves, that’s all. I’ve just become accustomed to him - despite his annoying ways, he’s actually pretty likeable when you overlook the ridiculousness of his existence.” Hoya smiled faintly, remembering his bizarre first meeting with Dongwoo. “I guess he’s just that type of person… Even Myungsoo seemed to take a liking to Dongwoo.”
“Myungsoo?” Sungyeol asked, completely forgetting to act cool at the name of his crush. “Myungsoo likes Dongwoo?”
“Not like that you dolt. Why are you suddenly so interested anyway?” Hoya asked, his eyes taking in Sungyeol’s suddenly very alert expression. He noted the way that his brother relaxed and turned away nonchalantly before replying.
“No reason… Just that he came into the clinic earlier and met Dongwoo so I was wondering what he said…” He trailed off and turned back to the growing pile of suddy plates in front of him.
Hoya just watched his brother bemusedly. “Yeah right. You’re not fooling me at all…”
“W… What? I don’t know what you mean!” Sungyeol stuttered, looking away from his jeering brother and those eagle eyes.
Hoya simply raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I won’t utter a single word to my dear assistant.”
Sungyeol’s face colored and he couldn’t help himself from whipping the dishcloth at his brother. “Sh… Shut up!”
Hoya laughed and jumped away from the makeshift weapon, his face cracking into a rare smile. He allowed himself this moment to have fun with his little brother, knowing that when he came down he would have to deal with the fact that Dongwoo would be leaving soon. That was a thought that sent a shiver of sadness through his whole being, and Hoya didn’t even know why.
A/N: Jade wishes there was a gif of Hoya helping Dongwoo wrap a tortilla for moments like this, but it is weirdly specific, so unfortunately there is not. Isn’t it an adorable image to have though?!
Look at the little inklings of feelings shining through! How adorable is that? EVERYTHING IS ADORABLE GAH THIS FIC! (Jade is having a mental breakdown).
Seriously though, we really hope that you are enjoying this crack/fluff/i-don’t-even-know! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
Jade & Ray
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