Jongin POV

“Shh, not a single noise, okay?” I told him as we navigated our way through the dark apartment. The bell around his neck rung softly as I tip-toed into the kitchen. His feet padded softly on the kitchen floor as I reached for the fridge handle. I pull out the box of fresh, ripe strawberries, opening the container as quietly as possible.

“Alright buddy, here ya go, eat u-“ I stop midsentence as the kitchen lights turn on. Standing in front of me with her arms crossed is my oh so wonderful, sweet, intelligent yet spazzy girlfriend, [Y/N].

Monggu, our milky brown Poodle runs up to me as Jjangu, our squishy little brown Toy Poodle makes his way to join us, curious about all the commotion. Gamja, the hyperactive Corgi puppy, comes bounding in, barking his arse off as Jjangah, our creamy white toy poodle, gallops in, wanting to join in on the fun.

“It’s almost midnight, where have you bee- OKAY SERIOUSLY WHAT IS HE DOING HERE? JONGIN I THOUGHT I TOLD Y-“

“Jagi, I can explain-”
“ALRIGHT, START EXPLAINING.”

           See, this all started this morning during our drive home from the grocery store when we came across an adoption centre. I begged [Y/N] to stop there so we could see the dogs.

“Honey, we already have like four dogs, we don’t need a fifth.”
“I know, I know, I just wanna look at them! Please please please please plea-“
“Okay OKAY, we’ll go in. But no adopting! I love them, but no more dogs, promise?”
“Promise.”

 I may have crossed my fingers behind my back as I said that.

      After greeting the receptionist, we head into the dog area. Over here, the dogs are free to roam around their open-concept sanctuary. Literally, it’s dog heaven. They all have their individual dog beds, workers and volunteers are there often to play with them and take care of them, and there’s a little doggy door that leads them to the large fenced dog park they roam around in. In the middle of the room is a huge tree, surrounded by dog bowls filled with food and water. If I were a dog, I would never want to leave.

      As we enter the room, about 20 dogs come bounding up to us, all vying for our attention. [Y/N] and I do not hesitate to pet as many as we can. Beagles, German Shepherds, Shih Tzu’s, you name ‘em. As I finish petting the herd of dogs in front of me, my eyes fall upon a snow white fluffy little Coton de Tulear near the back of the room, running in circles with his Havanese friend.

      I make my way towards him, eager to spend time with the little floofle. The moment he spots me, the little fluffball comes galloping up to me and jumps into my arms. It was as if we were reuniting even though we’ve never met each other before. I nuzzle his soft and fuzzy head as he my chin. [Y/N] hears me squeal as she makes his way over to us. The little floofle runs circles around him and jumps into his lap as he settles himself on the ground.

“Jagi, he is the cutest, fluffiest thing, and he’s super cuddly and friendly and I love him and he smells like lemon and I love lemon and can we please? We’ll name him Fluffy and he will be our fluffy little Fluffy forever, and ever, and ever and e-“

“Jongin, I really like “Fluffy”, he’s really cute, but you promised me no more dogs, remember?”
“Well yeah, but-“
“No buts, now we should probably go home now to put the groceries away, the ice cream is probably halfway melted by now.”

      Sighing in defeat, I pout as I get up to follow [Y/N] to the car. With every step, I could hear Fluffy whimper. I could feel Fluffy’s sadness increasing. Unable to bear it anymore, I stop in my tracks as a brilliant idea pops into my head.

“Hey, jagi? I’m just gonna use the washroom first, you can head to the car first.”
“Are you sure you wanna use it here? We’re only ten minutes from home.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure.”

She chuckles. “Alrighty, I’ll start the car first.”

The moment the door closes behind her, I beeline towards the receptionist.

      “-and then I signed the papers, paid the lady, then I hopped in the car. A couple hours later, I went to visit my mom for a bit, then I picked him up and yeah, here we are.” I grin as I finish my story.

      [Y/N] sighs. “I literally told you, I said no more dogs, and what did you do?! GOT ANOTHER FREAKING DOG.”

      “But he’s not just any dog, he’s FLUFFY! I mean, the rest of them aren’t just any dogs, right?” We look over at Monggu in some dog yoga pose, Jjangu bumping his nose into the wall, Gamja chasing his teeny-weeny tail, and Jjangah trying to use my leg as a back scratcher.

      I pick out another strawberry from the box to feed Fluffy as I pop one into my mouth as well. “And I promise, Fluffy won’t be a hassle. I mean, you like him! He’s Fluffy! He won’t be any more work than these four already are, or aren’t, depends on how you view it. And plus they need another friend, Gamja and Pepper have played the exact same game with each other for the past two months. And he’s not messy! If he is, I’ll clean it up, you don’t have to! But I’m sure you’re not messy, right Fluffy?” Fluffy looks up to smile at me as strawberry juice drips from his mouth to the white kitchen floor. [Y/N] raises his eyebrow in amusement as she makes his way towards me.

“…I spoke too soon.” I let go of Fluffy, who’s super eager to go interact with our four other dogs.

“But like I said, I’ll take care of everything, you don’t have to. Just please don’t be mad at me, I know you said no more dogs, but Fluffy is irresistible and fluffy and cute and he’s a smol child and I love him and-“[Y/N] gently pulls me towards her as our lips meet.

The scent of her minty breath blends perfectly with my strawberry-kissed lips. All I feel is joy, sweetness, and gentleness.

She breaks away and smiles softly. “I’m not mad. I’ll admit, I panicked for a while because how are we supposed to take care of five dogs in one apartment? But I trust you, I always have, always will. I mean, yeah you lied to me about having to go to the washroom, but that doesn’t really bother me. I know you did it for Fluffy, it’s in your caring and loving nature. I know we’ll continue to be one big happy, fur-shedding family, no matter what troubles arise. So don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Tears of joy fill my eyes as my smile widens.

“And as a great bonus,” [Y/N] crouches down to pick up Fluffy. “HE’S SO FLUFFY!!!!” she says excitedly as she hugs Fluffy tightly. I giggle as I reach over to join two of the creatures I love. “He really is.”

“Arf!” Fluffy lets out a bark of delight as the rest of our furry family runs over to join our group hug.

I guess you could say we live a paw-sitively exciting life.