Seven
Animal PlanetSungyeol had ran out of the door approximately fifty-two minutes later, screaming things like “He’s early!” and “I’m not ready yet!” and “Why is he here now, I don’t even have my pants on!”. Dongwoo and Hoya had both found it extremely entertaining, watching the usually happy vet flap around in a state of utter panic. When he finally slammed the front door shut, screaming about tripping over the doorstep as he did so, Dongwoo collapsed into a fit of giggles.
“Kirin-chan is really excited, isn’t he?” He remarked to Hoya, who was also smirking. “I think he’s super-duper nervous as well, though.”
“Not that he needs to be. Myungsoo is completely infatuated with my overdramatic little brother, for some completely unfathomable reason. I’m sure Sungyeol could do just about anything during their date and Myungsoo would still spend the night staring at him with hearts in his eyes.” Hoya paused. “There’s really no way even he could mess this up.”
“That’s what I told him when we were travelling home.” Dongwoo agreed. “I told him that Neko-chan really liked him and that he really shouldn’t be afraid.”
They fell silent for a moment, until Hoya restarted the conversation. “I’m just relieved that someone finally made a move, I’m sick of the two of them trying to deny their feelings to me and the rest of the world.”
“And they are so cute together.” Dongwoo smiled, remembering how the two of them had looked earlier in the clinic. “I think that courting on Earth makes people much happier than it does on Mato.”
“Oh?” Hoya asked, “How does it work there?”
“If you’re attracted to somebody you just… tell them. If they don’t return your feelings, they won’t lead you on. If they do like you then you can just… be together.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Usually those people will court forever, because there are no misunderstandings since we’re always honest with each other. I used to think that human dating was silly when I watched it on TV shows, all of the tangled webs and drama, but now that I see it in real life I think it just makes everything much more meaningful. How special it can be when two people manage to work through their differences in order to be together. My opinion has been changed.” Dongwoo admitted. “I want to learn more about it…”
Dongwoo paused, thinking for a while before his face lit up with an idea. “Actually, Okami-san can teach me! You can tell me about it!” He smiled. “I haven’t seen Okami-san with any other human beings before, so I don’t think that you are courting anybody currently…”
“I… I have human interactions I’m just-”
“Kirin-chan says that Okami-san are married to his job, but I think that is a preposterous idea.” Dongwoo interrupted. “Surely there is somebody that Okami-san is attracted to.”
Hoya shook his head. “I don’t have time for dating!” He started, but Dongwoo just bugged him more.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t want to!” He insisted. “Surely there is one person Okami-san would like to confess to, or at least somebody you like a little bit?”
Hoya sputtered, turning away from Dongwoo with a blush on his face. “I’m not going to tell you-”
“Ha! So there is a person!” Dongwoo punched the air in mock victory, “Who is it, will you tell me? Please? Pretty pretty please?”
“It’s… it’s nobody!” Hoya stuttered, “It’s just somebody that I know, but I don’t think he knows. He makes me a nicer person, but I’m not sure if he has enough brain cells to notice that…”
Dongwoo tapped his finger to his lips in thought. “Hmmm… But Okami-san is always a nice person…”
Hoya sighed in frustration at Dongwoo, flicking him on the forehead. “You idiot. Why are we even talking about this? Let’s just watch the movie! It’s about an alien that wants to go home, I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“I don’t want to go home though, I want to go-”
“To Japan, I know.” Hoya finished, “You’ll be there soon enough, don’t worry. Now settle down and watch the movie. Have some popcorn.” He grabbed a handful of the popcorn that he had made earlier in the microwave and stuffed it into the alien’s mouth when he tried to talk back, exhaling in relief now that Dongwoo had been silenced. He loaded up the movie and pressed play, and soon enough Dongwoo was immersed in the story of E.T the extraterrestrial and Elliot, his human companion.
A few times during the movie, Hoya looked over to look at Dongwoo. The pink haired man was watching the screen with a look of enthrallment on his face, completely absorbed into the happenings of the movie. Hoya tried not to stare too much - he didn’t want Dongwoo to notice - but he couldn’t lie, it was difficult to pull his eyes away.
Dongwoo watched the younger man’s finger travel over his cell phone, the big grin letting him know exactly who the receiver was on the other end. Sungyeol sent his message, setting his phone down with a dream sigh. Dongwoo continued to observe him, waiting for his best friend to fill him in. But Sungyeol stayed silent, staring dreamily outside the window. He was broken out of his reverie when the alien kicked his chair.
Sungyeol bristled, turning to Dongwoo with a startled expression. “What?”
“Don’t be silly, Kirin-chan! Come on, tell me what he said!” Dongwoo was giving Sungyeol his best version of a puppy eyed stare, and the taller male melted.
“Oh, fine. As if I could ever resist you anyway.” He looked around - as if they were other people besides the two of them inside the clinic - and scooted his chair closer to Dongwoo. “If you must know, he’s taking me to the ballet tonight!”
“Woooooow.” Dongwoo said in amazement, his hands clasped together in delight. “That’s so cultured and refined… Neko-chan really does take you on the coolest dates! I didn’t even know you liked ballet.”
“I’ve never even seen one, but I’m not going to say no to Myungsoo taking me anywhere!” They both giggled together, and Dongwoo was happy that Sungyeol wasn’t as closed off about his relationship anymore. When the younger had started dating Hoya’s assistant a couple months back, he was shy and nervous about their budding romance. But ever since Myungsoo had asked Sungyeol to be his koibito, his best friend had gained an immense amount of confidence. Now he happily shared the details of his escapades with the black haired businessman to his best friend. He was all blushing smiles and sparkling eyes anytime the name Myungsoo was mentioned around him these days.
Dongwoo found it all to be rather cute.
“What about dinner plans?” He asked politely.
Sungyeol set his elbow on the table, leaning over to rest his cheek against his palm. “Myungsoo invited me over to his place. He’s going to cook for me before we go to the theater. He said he’s great in the kitchen, so I’m excited to taste his food! And it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Luna.”
“Yeah, now he doesn’t have to drag her in here and pretend she’s sick anymore.” The pink haired man laughed heartily.
“What?”
“Nothing! I’m sure Luna-chan will be excited to see you too. She actually really likes you, you know.”
“Really?” Sungyeol chuckled. “It’s good to know I have a cat’s approval.”
“Hey, Luna-chan is a hard kitty to please! If I remember correctly she said that ‘the Pretty Vet is good enough for Sparkly Eyes’, so you should really be thankful that you meet her standards.” Dongwoo said matter-of-factly.
“I still can’t believe that you knew Myungsoo liked me first, because a cat told you.” He shook his head in wonder. “Life has really been something ever since you showed up.”
“As long as I make things more exciting, I’m happy!”
“Take it from me, you should be very pleased then.” He cast a glance to his watch, a smile splitting his face again.
“Time to close up?” Dongwoo asked politely.
“Yes indeed! Let me just grab my keys so we can lock up, and then we’ll be on our way!”
Hoya walked into the break room, not surprised in the slightest to see his assistant already inside, pouring himself a cup a coffee. Myungsoo had developed quite the craving ever since he started dating his brother.
“Hey, you want a cup?” Myungsoo asked politely and Hoya nodded yes. His assistant grabbed another styrofoam cup from the cabinet, pouring a generous amount of the warm liquid into the cup for his boss. “Here you go.”
Hoya took the coffee, sitting down at the table to gather his desired cream and sugar from the variety of colored packets. “So I’ve heard that tonight is a big night.”
“Oh, it’s nothing too special. Well I mean, it is special. Our 100 days… which sounds lame to celebrate since we aren’t in high school. But uh- it’s definitely exciting for me. For the both of us actually. You know, because we kind of liked each other for awhile and now we’re officially a couple and that is something to be excited about, right?” He took a nervous sip of his coffee, standing awkwardly by the counter. Before Hoya could respond, Myungsoo started to ramble again. “Well you know your brother better than anyone! You know how he gets about these things. Sungyeol enjoys the big gestures and gifts and things of that nature.”
“Are you suggesting my brother is materialistic?” Hoya was joking, he knew that Myungsoo would never think anything of the sort, but watching Myungsoo sputter was rather amusing.
“N-no! Of course not! I just meant that he’s… I don’t know… romantic! Yes, romantic! And he deserves all the dates and candies and compliments because… well he just does!” He chuckled nervously, loosening his suddenly constrictive tie.
Hoya burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. Myungsoo looked really nervous now, unable to figure out if his boss was laughing with him or at him. “Myungsoo, I’m just kidding.”
Myungsoo let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “Oh. Oh. Well wasn’t that just the funniest joke ever?” He took another sip of his coffee, suddenly feeling very awkward.
Hoya rolled his eyes, getting up from the table to stand at his assistant’s side. “Myungsoo. You’re doing a wonderful job with my brother, I know how well you are taking care of him. There’s no need to be nervous around me.”
He patted Myungsoo on the shoulder, walking away with a smile. He stopped at the doorway, turning around dramatically. “That is, unless you hurt Sungyeol. Because then, me and you will be forced to have a very different conversation.” He narrowed his eyes, watching in amusement as Myungsoo visibly shivered. He smiled then, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light. “So have a nice date tonight Myungsoo!”
He walked off without another word, leaving his brother’s boyfriend in a slightly panicked state. A part of him wished that Sungyeol would have started dating sooner. This whole protective older brother thing was quite fun.
He walked back to his office with his coffee, getting comfortable behind his desk. He had finished a sufficient amount of work for the office today, but he still had some time to kill before heading home. He pulled open his drawer, grabbing his trusted little black book.
Hoya blankly stared at the open pages of his diary, reflecting on Myungsoo’s words. It almost seemed unbelievable that his assistant had been dating his brother for almost three months. It was even more unbelievable that Dongwoo had been living with him for nearly five months. It was a period of time that had flown by so quickly that Hoya didn’t even notice, and now he knew that his time with Dongwoo was coming to an end.
He had done the calculations and he knew that by the end of the next month Dongwoo would have saved enough money to make a good start in Japan. Hoya was aware of how happy this would make Dongwoo when he came to deliver the exciting news - the alien had been working so hard at Sungyeol’s surgery to earn the money for his trip, only resting on the weekends when the clinic was closed. And whilst Hoya was excited to tell Dongwoo the news, he couldn’t help but feel as though something was holding him back.
It was a feeling that he wasn’t all that willing to face - one that had come out of nowhere, or maybe it had been there for a while but he had simply pushed it to the back of his mind. Nonetheless, it was there now, this realisation that Hoya had been so unwilling to come to terms with.
The slightly startling, but undeniable truth was that Hoya didn’t actually want Dongwoo to leave.
Dongwoo strolled down the stairs once Sungyeol had left for his special date, heading immediately into the kitchen where Hoya was standing.
“Are you making dinner, Okami-san?” He asked, “Because I’m hungry and you still won’t let me use the oven…”
Hoya looked up, surprised to see Dongwoo. “Oh… I was going to cook, but I got distracted.”
“Okami-san? Are you okay?” Dongwoo asked, concerned.
Hoya nodded. “Oh, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” He shook himself out of his daze and began to rummage through the cupboards before sighing. “Actually, how about we go out to eat tonight? I’m not sure I could focus long enough to make us a decent meal.”
“But what about movie night? We were going to watch Independence Day! I know you said the aliens are mean in that one but I still really want to!” Dongwoo pouted.
“Let’s do something different tonight, okay? We can go out to eat first, and then later once we come back we can watch the movie.” Hoya suggested. “I just want to get out tonight…”
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong, Okami-san? You seem a bit distracted.”
“It’s nothing you should worry about Dongwoo. There’s just a couple things I realized at work that are weighing me down a bit. But if you come out with me tonight, you could help me forget it?” Hoya pleaded and Dongwoo nodded, the idea of going to eat in an actual restaurant exciting him more than another night in with a sci-fi movie.
Dongwoo turned to Hoya. “Just wait! I need to go get ready.”
Hoya took in the alien’s attire - jeans and a baggy tee that would be perfectly suitable for casual dining. “What are you talking about? You look fine.”
Dongwoo just bounced on his heels. “But I neeeed to change, okay! I just need to.” Before Hoya could say anything else, the alien was out of the room and on his way up the stairs.
Hoya just sighed, tapping his feet impatiently as he listened to the sounds of Dongwoo above him. it couldn’t have been more than five minutes later when Dongwoo came bounding back down. Hoya’s jaw dropped when the alien stepped into the room, Dongwoo had left on his jeans, but he had changed into a green button up shirt and he had swept his fringe to the side. Hoya never thought that green and pink would work together - and if anyone else were wearing it they probably would have looked like a watermelon - but on this particular occasion, Dongwoo had proven him wrong.
“You look.. good.” He choked, swallowing when a wide smile lit up Dongwoo’s face. Even his smile looked nicer than usual today, and Hoya thought that was impossible.
“Well, Kirin-chan always dresses nicely when he’s going out to a restuarant with Neko-chan, I thought that I should do the same now.” Dongwoo did a twirl. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, you look great.” Hoya admitted, tearing his gaze away from the grinning alien.
“Then we should go.” Dongwoo prompted, and Hoya unfroze himself and took the lead, heading into the garage and taking the keys to one of his nicest sports cars. They climbed in and headed into the city.
Dongwoo spent the whole car journey incessantly chatting about the cute animals that he had seen that day, including a rabbit with a poor foot and a snake that wouldn’t eat. It was something that usually Hoya wouldn’t care less about, but there was something about the enthusiasm in Dongwoo’s voice when he spoke about his adventures at Companion Care that made Hoya smile.
When they pulled up outside the Italian restaurant that Hoya had chosen to eat at, Dongwoo looked up in awe. “It looks so nice!” He exclaimed, and Hoya had to agree. Originally he had just planned to keep it somewhat casual, but when he had seen Dongwoo in his new outfit he had been overtaken by an urge to take him somewhere a little upmarket, and Cessario’s was just the place. It was a nice little restaurant tucked away in a corner of town. Hoya often held less formal business meetings there - the place was well furnished and the food was amazing - but Hoya had this urge to treat Dongwoo. He knew his time with the alien was more limited than ever, and he wanted to spend it the best way possible.
Dongwoo did his usual routine of things whenever introduced to a new place - point at the shiny objects, say hi to anyone who made eye contact with him, and gush about how amazing the surroundings were - as they were lead to their dining area. Hoya might have pulled a couple strings to get them a more private table.
Hoya ordered for the both of them, sparing the waiter an endless amount of questions from the alien had he been allowed to look at a menu himself. Dongwoo was still craning his neck, looking at all the little decorations on the walls when the waiter returned with their wine. Hoya thanked him, pushing the wine glass closer to Dongwoo who was fascinated by the bubbles rising to the top of the drink.
“Woooooow, this looks cool! It’s really bubbly and pink, does Kirin-chan like this a lot?” He picked the wine glass up by the stem, holding it at his eye level to get a closer look.
“Actually yes, Sungyeol does enjoy this, but he usually gets a less expensive brand.” Hoya answered politely. Dongwoo set the glass black on the table, looking at it with extreme curiosity.
“What is it?”
“It’s a type of sparkling wine, which means there is carbonation, or bubbles. It’s a blush rosato, that’s why the color is pink. It has more of a sweet aftertaste because of the fruits, so I thought you’d like that.”
“Oh, it sounds very nice! Thank you Okami-san!” He picked up the glass, bringing it to his lips with a serious look. He closed his eyes, taking a substantial sip of the wine. Hoya watched him patiently, waiting for his assessment. Dongwoo opened his eyes again, which were now bright with excitement.
“Okami-san, this is delicious!” Dongwoo happily picked up his glass again, tipping it back without abandon.
“Wait, Dongwoo, you might wanna slow-” He watched Dongwoo place the now empty glass down on the the table. “Down.”
“I like that a whole lot Okami-san, can I have yours too?” Dongwoo was eyeing his glass with such an outright desire that Hoya couldn’t bear to deny him.
“Well, I guess that would be alright but this time-” He didn’t bother to finish his sentence, watching as Dongwoo drained the second glass dry.
Their water appeared with their bread, and Dongwoo looked absolutely delighted to see him. “Oh, Sungjong-sshi! I’m glad you’re here! Can we have a whole lot of that pink stuff? Er- wine! The rosato!” He held up both of the empty glasses with both of his hands and a huge grin.
Their waiter looked at Hoya with questioning eyes, clearly deeming him the more logical one of the pair. Hoya pulled Dongwoo’s hands down, making him put the glasses back on the table. Dongwoo was pouting, staring at the glasses in bewilderment as to why they were still empty. Hoya looked to Sungjong with a polite smile.
“It might be best for you to just bring the bottle.”
A/N: Oh look things are happening, there is actually a plot to this story, would you believe it?!
Ahhh, how precious are Myungyeol? And Hoya is so mean to poor Myungsoo - blame Ray for that scene of Hoya bullying our dear visual!
But now is Yadong time~ Be ready!
As always, drop by with a comment because we love to know what y’all think so far <3 Mucho love
Jade & Ray
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