Daniel waited for Seongwoo in the park the next day at the same time they had met. Seongwoo had said that he could take about an hour and a half for lunchbreak, then he needed to get back to his company. Daniel was curious what sort of work would suit Seongwoo. He was really pretty, funny, sweet, and smart. Maybe he was a teacher or a comedian or an entertainer. Then again, he had been wearing a suit, so he must have some sort of boring office job, which didn’t make much sense to him because he didn’t seem like the ‘corporate’ type to Daniel.

It felt weird for him to be in his human form outside of the house. He felt exposed, uncomfortable and in danger. Whenever he went out in his human form, he was attacked by sensory overload, he was much slower and clumsier on two feet, he ended up causing some sort of accident with moving objects, and people tended to stare. That’s how he had been convinced that he looked ugly, but now he believed after what Seongwoo had said that maybe people were staring because he was the opposite of ugly. He couldn’t understand clearly what sort of features on humans were attractive or not.

 One thing he did understand was that to him, Seongwoo was the most attractive human on the planet. There was this aura about him from the first moment he'd seen Seongwoo that screamed that the man was incredibly sweet and kind and could understand him like no other humans could. He had somehow known that Seongwoo would accept him when their eyes locked across the grass. It was probably their ‘moon’ bond.

How cool was it that Seongwoo could read his thoughts clearly in his dog shifter form? That meant if he was tired or didn’t feel like being in his human form, they could still hang out without any communication issues. It was the best arrangement he could ever hope for. Of course, he was going to try his best to be in his human form because that's what Seongwoo would obviously prefer. He would do anything for his...wait. 

What did Seongwoo want to be though? He had said that he liked Daniel but he hadn’t been specific about how. Daniel wouldn’t mind being friends, but honestly he wanted something more. Seongwoo made him feel intense things that he recognized but had hardly felt at this level. He wanted Seongwoo to be his official, long-term mate. He already liked him more than he’d ever liked anyone. Being just a friend wasn’t enough, at least not a platonic one. Having him just one time during mating season wasn't enough either.

 He wanted to nuzzle and Seongwoo all over. He wanted to bite his neck and mount him already. Would Seongwoo like that? Was he wanting that too? Had he felt the intense attraction?

Daniel paced up and down the lakeside in the shaded area to stay out of the hot sun, wiping his nervous sweat with the back of his hands. His body felt hot from the direction of his thoughts and he fanned his reddening face. He could admit it was cooler in this form but the heat on top of everything else he was feeling was still hardly bareable. Without thinking, he stuck out his tongue and panted. That’s just how dogs usually dealt with temperature rises in their body and it was a habit he didn’t think about.

“Daniel, humans really don’t do that…”

He turned around towards the stern voice, his wagging tail and perky ears nearly popping out of his body in his excitement. That sweet, soft voice could only be him. The human that made him want to take his first long-term mate, Ong Seongwoo.

“Seongwoo hyung! Good afternoon!”

He ran over and hugged the handsome, tall, dark-haired boy dressed in a gray suit. Seongwoo flew back almost getting knocked over. Sometimes Daniel forgot how strong and big he was, even more so in this form since he was nearly twice the size. He embraced the human he liked as if he hadn’t done it in years. Even one day apart had been hard.

 He’d barely been able to sleep last night. He had kept the others up by running around in his dog form and then deciding what to wear and talking about all the things he liked about Seongwoo and asking for advice. The other shifters at first found him really amusing and cute, then they were annoyed and yelling at him to let them sleep since they had to go to work the next day. Only Daehwi had went to work late so that he could give Daniel a pep talk and help him get ready. He had been assured that he had never looked ‘hotter’ than he had today.

“Woah there. That’s weird!” Seongwoo complained and scrunched up his face like a yuck sticker when he his cheek.

“Woops. I forget I shouldn’t do that in this form. I should show affection the way humans do.”

Daniel kissed lightly over the wet spots. By the fourth one, Seongwoo’s face was completely red and he was making the most musical giggle, causing their chests to shiver and tingle.

Daniel knew he should let him go but he really couldn’t help it. The human was so thin, small framed, and soft. Daniel loved the shape of him and the way that he fit so perfectly against him. He had always liked hugging in his human form, but it had never felt quite as pleasant as it did right now. Daniel squeezed him tighter, eager to feel their bodies pressed closer together, and kissed down his neck.

“Hmm…” Seongwoo moaned, seeming to like that and being drifted away from what he was going to say.

Daniel's ears perked, his heart thumped, his body tensed and heated as he got extremely excited by that sound. He knew enough about humans or human that he knew what that sound meant. Seongwoo was getting by what he was doing. Daniel made him feel good and he hadn’t even intended to start anything yet. Daniel smirked as he sniffed along the human's pale neck and nuzzled him. He smelled like papers, ink, lotion, and coconut. It was heavenly.

“That tickles!” Seongwoo complained and pushed at his chest, shying away from Daniel's sniffling nose.

Daniel reluctantly let him go to be obedient and took a few more whiffs before stepping back, just a couple of inches because he didn't want to go far away from his potential mate. Daniel took his hands instead. They were just as soft, elegant, and warm as he recalled.

“Sorry I got carried away. I was really excited to see you and you just appeared all of a sudden. I couldn’t control myself. I just like you too much. It’s great to see you again!” Daniel practically barked out, smiling wide and looking over his gorgeous face with affection.

Seongwoo seemed a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. He avoided the shifter's eyes and chewed on his lip as he grew a shade darker. He reminded Daniel of the color of the apples they had at home he liked to eat.

“I understand. You’re not used to being human. Daehwi told me you would do things like that. I was just a little bit surprised but I'm not angry. It’s great to see you too.”

“And...?”

Daniel's dog tail was tempted to pop out and he really wanted to his face again. He knew that humans didn’t do that though and he could get scolded two-fold if he did that out in public as they were, so he used all his strength to hold his impulses back.

Seongwoo looked into Daniel's eyes. Daniel knew somehow that he was silently reading his mind to see what he wanted him to say. He smiled softly and looked at Daniel's nose as if he couldn’t stand to look at the other's eyes directly for more than a few seconds. That was really cute. Daniel wanted to bite his ear because of that, hard.

“I like you too…” he mumbled bashfully.

“Yes, mind reading skill still works when I’m in this form!”

Daniel couldn’t help himself but jump forward and kiss his cheek. Then, he leaned in to explore his ear as if the morsel was calling to him. It was so small and pointy. Daniel couldn’t help himself again. The call to play with that cute ear was too strong. Daniel bit and tugged at it.

He felt a sharp sting on his chest as Seongwoo swatted him there, gasped, and then jumped away with his hands up like he was a rabid animal. Daniel hummed and cocked his head.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with concern.

“You bit my ear and you me!”

“Humans don’t do that to people they liked? It’s standard for dog shifters,” Daniel shrugged.

Seongwoo looked apalled that he would even ask that. “No! They don’t. Unless…” Seongwoo paused and gulped.

“Unless what?” Daniel asked curiously, hoping that he was going to mention doing something in the bedroom, because that’s exactly where his mind was now going.

He shifted and his gaze went to Daniel's mouth. He bit his lip and groaned, then turned away from him. He took a deep breath and let it out, seeming to be calming himself. He either had been thinking that or he had read Daniel's mind. Daniel smiled smugly, happy to know that he did sense their intense attraction and he had thought of mating with him too. Daniel was tempted to take him in his arms and chew some more on his ear.

After another deep breath or two, Seongwoo turned to Daniel with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry I scolded you. You surprised me again. I think we need to set some boundaries though. You can hold my hand and you can hug and kiss me. But no or biting. It's just not something humans do in public.”

Daniel rushed forward and took his hand. Seongwoo linked his fingers with him and smiled softly. The contact felt amazing. Daniel could read from his mind that he liked this too. Seongwoo liked touching him and he liked looking at him, but sometimes he came off too intense so it was difficult for him to deal with. Daniel tried to tone down his feelings but he had next to no experience with that because it wasn’t something dogs usually did. When he liked something, even if it was just a bone, he liked it hard and long.

“Just in public, or…?” he commented hopefully.

“Definitely just in public. If we are alone, that’s a different story.”

Seongwoo smirked in a mischievous way, his eyes sparkling with a hint of desire.

“Come to my place!”

Daniel wanted to get him alone really quick. When he liked something, he wanted to possess it completely. Seongwoo was ‘his’ in his mind but he had yet to be physically so. Since Daniel was in the middle of his heat cycle too, he was even more pressed to get him alone so they could mate. He hadn’t mated all year because all the dog shifters in this area he had been with last year had moved.

Seongwoo choked on air. Daniel patted his back in concern and nuzzled his cheek, a puppy whine coming out of his throat involuntarily.

“I think we should walk before we run.”

“Hmm?” Daniel didn’t get it.

Seongwoo squeezed his hand, smiled, and started walking him. Daniel let himself be led by the hand as if it was a leash. He didn't usually let anyone leade him but for Seongwoo he would make an exception and be a bit more obedient.

“It’s a human expression.  It means we need to take things one little step at a time, like baby steps. I just met you yesterday and I don’t just go to guy’s houses on the first date.”

“Oh, I see. Shifters usually just go right about it after a few hours of courting if they like each other. My bad. I don’t know much about human courting systems. I want to do things your way. How many dates does it usually take?”

“Usually at least three, but with you…probably two will be enough.”

Daniel beamed when Seongwoo looked over at him with a flirty expression and playful wink. His white, fluffy tail popped out. Seongwoo gasped as he noticed it and tucked it under his hooded shirt.

“Daniel, control yourself!”

“Sorry, got excited.” Daniel smiled sheepishly and wrapped his hand around Seongwoo's dainty waist, pulling him close. “You’re mine but I can’t wait to mark you officially.”

Seongwoo chewed on his lip, looking bashful again. His eyes dilated further with lust. Daniel chuckled. He loved how responsive the human was, and how sensitive and affected he was just by a little touch. Seongwoo was going to be an extremely fun mate he was going to have on a regular basis once they got to that point.

“You’re going to mark me? What does that mean?” Seongwoo whispered, just a hint of curious excitement in his tone.

Daniel leaned in and whispered what he meant, followed by biting and tugging the top of his yummy ear. Seongwoo inhaled and exhaled a groan, his body tensing and flushing. Daniel knew the idea of what was to come was driving him crazy. He felt the same. He knew their chemistry was going to be off the charts when they became one later.

“Okay, we really need to slow down, Daniel. I like you but at least we can get some lunch and properly get to know each other before we do any of that. As tempting as it sounds…What happened to you being shy anyway? I feel like I'm with a whole nother person. Yesterday you were so meek and cute.”

“Hmm? Shy? Oh, back then. That was a whole different day. A whole different me. Now that I don’t feel conscious about my human body and I know that you’ve accepted me, I can be myself. I’m not shy at all, I swear. I’m really noisy, talkative, and I say lots of things I shouldn’t say. Like…. your ears are really tasty hyung~”

“Maybe we need to get you some real food,” he giggled but didn’t shy away as Daniel chewed on his ear some more.

Daniel released his new favorite chew toy to speak, “What do you like to eat? I’m a fan of meat!”

“Go figure. You really are a dog.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I will eat anything. There’s some stalls over there. Let’s go check it out.”

As soon as Seongwoo pointed his finger in the direction of the colorful food stalls on the side street, Daniel let go of his hand and took off. He ran around and explored the area. He showed off by doing some flips, cartwheels, and hand stands he had learned over the years. The man in the suit followed slowly watching Daniel with both affection and surprise. His eyes went big and he his lips as Daniel's shirt flew down, revealing a chiseled eight pack. 

“Be careful!” he called when the shifter nearly cartwheeled into someone riding a bike.

“Don’t even think about taking their food!” he called when Daniel was looking at an abandoned picnic area.

"No, you cannot pee on any tree here! Zip your pants back up!" he freaked when Daniel stood close to a tree and ped his fly.

Wow, this mind reading thing worked well. Seongwoo seemed to know Daniel well already. Just like Daehwi and Jinyoung, he predicted what sort of trouble Daniel would get into and mothered him about it. Daniel didn’t really mind though. He was still learning about the human world and often his impulsive behavior got him into trouble, so he rather appreciated people setting boundaries and keeping him in line. He needed a person to keep him safe and teach him human rules.

“You’re so slow, hyung! Don’t you exercise? How can you look tired from just walking up this bunny hill?” Daniel teased.

Seongwoo rested on his knees and panted, waving his hand not to speak to him for a moment. Daniel took his jacket and fanned his face, feeling concerned yet also impatient to get food as Se