---

Even though he was (sort of) joking, Sehun actually does end up chasing Jongin throughout the entire house the second they walk in the door (or, to be exact, after Jongin attempted and failed to escape through the kitchen window). To a neighbor, Sehun figures the entire ordeal would remind them a whole lot of your typical domestic dispute, with pots and pans crashing to the floor and furniture being thrown (Sehun has pretty much learned to idolizes his godlike reflexes at this point), along with Jongin's high-pitched wails of protest whenever Sehun attempts to grab him and drag him to the bathroom. Sehun is sort of really thankful that the blood and ink on Jongin's clothes are entirely dry (or at least so he hopes), because otherwise the inside of his house would look like a murder scene.

After half an hour of being scratched, nearly suffering a concussion after getting a chair thrown his way, kicked and hissed at, Sehun finally manages to grab ahold of Jongin's ankle after the latter scrambles up the stairs and into the bedroom, and Sehun only emits a sigh of exasperation as he easily drags Jongin out from underneath the bed. Jongin grabs onto the bed legs and Sehun hopes the bed doesn't collapse right on top of Jongin's head as he successfully drags his entire form out, the latter nearly slashing Sehun in the face as Sehun places a hand on top of his shoulder.

"I don't wanna, I don't wanna," Jongin hisses; the three words have practically become a mantra of his by now, and it's not until Sehun walks over and shuts the bedroom door that he growls and scrambles underneath the blanket. It must be around a hundred degrees in there, but he figures it's a hundred times better than possibly dying of a(nother) bath-panic-attack. Suddenly, the sudden memory of one of his foster fathers practically forcing his head underwater after he refused to get in the tub plays on loop in his head, which only makes his skin crawl. "No--"

Sehun puts his hands on his hips in exasperation. "It's almost midnight and I've got work tomorrow, don't be like this," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. He watches the human sized lump move around underneath the covers and fights the urge to poke it. "What's the matter? I'm taking a bath too, so if there's any monsters in there you're afraid of, then it'll take out both of us," he adds and mentally slaps himself when he realizes he probably should've said something along the lines of 'then I'll save you' instead. Nevertheless, Jongin refuses to budge and he sighs again. "Jongin, you know for a fact that you're getting cleaned up before the night's over, so you might as well get it over with. Or are you gonna keep arguing for another hour?"

"I don't wanna," Jongin whines, worrying he might die of heatstroke if he doesn't get to breathe fresh air soon. Eventually, the heat gets the best of him and he quickly removes the covers off his head, only to flatten his ears when Sehun sends him an unusually stern look. "I don't want a bath--" It's not until it becomes painfully clear that Sehun is dead set on sticking to his 'all night' rule that Jongin groans in defeat, and he sluggishly inches his way towards the door. As if on cue, the odor emitting from his shirt hits him and Jongin finds himself moving a little faster. The feeling of thrashing around in a panicked frenzy in the bathtub all those years ago weighs his brain down with each step he takes.

Sehun rubs Jongin's shoulder reassuringly, although he makes sure to keep a steady grasp on the latter's arm as he ushers him into the bathroom. Ten minutes into the whole chase, Sehun had retreived his box full of his old bath toys and put them in the tub. He also managed to fix the shower curtain, which is a plus, so he figures that if bathing Jongin ultimately fails, at least he's done one good deed for the day. "Everybody needs to bathe, regardless if they want to or not," he chuckles, and is awfully glad he chose to fill the bathtub earlier, as well. "Hold on--" He tightens his grip on Jongin's arm when the latter's eyes widen at the sight of the tub. 

When Sehun closes the door and watches as Jongin's eyes fill with sheer panic, he figures it's probably best (and safest) to take things slow, even though the thought of going to bed at two in the morning nearly makes him change his mind. "There's no need to worry," he says, voice surprisingly gentle, as he silently locks the door behind his back. "It's okay, see?" He walks over and kneels beside the tub, making sure to gesture at the colorful plastic toys floating on the surface. "This one's my favorite, my sister gave it to me when I was five." He holds up a pink rubber ducky and Jongin stares at it. "She obviously went after her own color preference." He chuckles.

Jongin stares at the toy. When Sehun puts it back in the water, it reminds him of the children feeding the ducks by the pond, and Jongin inches closer until he finds himself kneeling by the tub next to Sehun. Jongin tries his best to ignore the mental images of nearly being drowned as he inspects the water. The few times he agreed (or rather, was forced to) take a bath, his family would always add ill scented, colored substances that would tint the water, which nearly made Jongin vomit each time. Sehun doesn't seem to have done that, and Jongin inspects his reflection in the water.

Jongin's eyes soon land on the pink rubber ducky, and he hesitantly reaches across and grabs it. It's so pink it nearly hurts his eyes, and Jongin turns it over in his hands. As soon as he realizes that it's squishy, Jongin gives it a big squeeze, only to jump five feet in the air when it squirts water all over his face. He mutters a low 'Shut up' when Sehun immediately bursts into laughter, immediately tossing the ducky away from him before moving to get up. Except Sehun soon puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey now," Sehun chuckles, gesturing at the tub. "Remember what happened earlier? When you caught that fish? You got water all over you, didn't you?" He pats Jongin's head when the latter blinks. "That wasn't so bad, was it? There's not much of a difference here, is there?" Chuckling, he stands up and removes his suit jacket. "Get undressed and let me know if it's too hot or cold," he hums, exiting the bathroom and tossing the jacket in the laundry basket. As he's untying his tie, a loud crashing noise is heard, and Sehun jumps, a million different images filling his head as he rushes into the bathroom. "What--"

Jongin stands next to the tub, shirt in hand as he points to the shower curtain, which has managed to become dislodged and fall again. "It fell," he says sheepishly, kneading the material in his hands, only for the taller to walk over and take it from him with a grimace. He shivers once the cool air hits his bare, and surprisingly toned, torso. Even though he's freezing, he glances at the tub reluctantly. "I-"

"Don't forget about your pants," Sehun chuckles, untying his tie and chucking it out the door. He opens the shower cabinet and sets the temperature before proceeding to his blouse. It's pitch black outside and he doesn't even want to know what the time is as he turns around to check on Jongin. Now, he most certainly didn't expect to see Jongin willfully taking his bath, but he also didn't expect to be met with the sight of the latter, fully and eyeing the tub as he bites his lip nervously. Sehun has to tear his eyes away when he finds himself staring for a little longer than necessary. "I-Is there a problem...?"

Tail resting between his thighs, Jongin swallows. He doesn't think Sehun will walk over and dunk his head into the water, so with the thought reassuring him, he sighs before stepping across and dipping his foot. Unlike the icy cold he was expecting and has always been met with, Jongin blinks when he realizes the water is lukewarm, almost like the pond water earlier, and before he knows it, he's slowly, slowly submerging himself until he's sitting at an awkward angle as to not crush his tail. The pile of colorful toys floats before him and Jongin finds himself grabbing each one of them and attempting to pick them apart, until Sehun eventually scolds him.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it," Sehun laughs, running a hand through his hair when he sees the bloody fingerprints on his cheek. He briefly wonders if leaving Jongin alone in the tub whilst he showers a few feet away is a good idea. "I'll be in here, let me know if you need anything," he says as he watches Jongin dunk the rubber ducky underwater. "Make sure to get the ink out and wash your hair, if you want to."

Humming to himself, Jongin seems to find great humor in filling the ducky up with water, only to squirt it out subsequently. Sitting in Sehun's bathtub sure feels a lot better than getting pushed into the freezing cold pond earlier, and Jongin's shoulders relax as he shifts into a more comfortable position. "M hmm." He hears Sehun getting undressed inside the cubicle before the latter tosses his pants on the carpet outside. As Jongin listens to the sound of the stall door closing, it suddenly hits him that he probably should find a way to make up for scratching Sehun earlier. Jongin knows that if he was with anybody but Sehun, he would have been been kicked out head first onto the street after the first attack. As he continues to poke the rubber ducky, Jongin feels a pang of guilt and he finds himself unable to continue playing as he listens to the sound of the shower running. 

At least a third of the contents of the tub splashes onto the floor as Jongin turns over onto his stomach. He looks up at the shower stall, and can just barely make out the blurry silhouette belonging to Sehun as the latter showers. "Sehun?" Jongin's ears twitch as he tries listening, but he doesn't hear a thing over the rushing water. He slowly climbs out of the bathtub, his tail feeling like it's being weighed down by a boulder as it drags behind him across the floor. Jongin shivers and reaches for the door handle, quickly throwing it open. His ears twitch involuntarily when a blast of heat hits him in the face. "Sehun! Sehun!"

At first, Sehun doesn't turn around, seemingly not having noticed the younger, but it's not until he feels a cold breeze hit his back that he blinks. "What the," he mumbles under his breath, only to jump in surprise, nearly slipping as his eyes widen when he sees Jongin standing two inches from his face. "Whatthe--" He blinks the water out of his eyes and scrambles to turn off the water. "Close the door, you're letting cold air in--!"

"I'm sorry for scratching you," Jongin says, raising his voice in order for Sehun to hear him. Inevitably, he doesn't hear Sehun's request and he starts poking Sehun's arms. "Are you mad?" When Sehun scrambles to slam the door shut, he pokes him again. "Are you? Are you? Are y--"

"Why aren't you in the tub," Sehun exclaims, suddenly feeling a lot more sympathetic towards his sister when he accidentally walked in on her changing last summer.  He eyes a water droplet that falls from Jongin's hair and travels down until it makes its way down the latter's bare chest and abs. Sehun doesn't even dare to avert his gaze before sighing loudly, still trying to figure out what Jongin is doing next to him in the shower. "What are you doing here--"

"Are you mad?" Jongin asks again and gestures at the faint scratch marks on Sehun's biceps. The cubicle soon fogs up with steam and he hopes he doesn't suffocate. "Are you-?"

Turning off the water and running a hand through his soaked hair, Sehun blinks a few times before shaking his head. "No, I'm not mad at you," he sighs. "I'm almost done, so could you please get out of he--" A squawk leaves his lips when Jongin suddenly embraces him in a bearhug, which nearly causes Sehun to slip. He rubs Jongin's back whilst the latter nuzzles his face in his wet skin, his ears feeling much heavier against Sehun's cheek as they drip with water.

"I took my bath, so now I get my milk, right?" Jongin squees and he doesn't even give Sehun a chance to answer before he's scampering out of the bathroom, seemingly ignoring Sehun's shriek of 'Just one glass, remember!' and even louder shriek of 'You're , moron!'. 

Inevitably, Jongin ends up not having one glass, but an entire carton, and Sehun spends the next hour mumbling 'I told you so's as Jongin writhes around on the bed with the most severe stomach ache he's ever had in his life. 

---

For every time Sehun brings Jongin with him to work, the former is more reminded about why he shouldn't have. As much as Sehun enjoys having some company in his office for the first time since, well, ever, he won't deny that having Jongin in the office is seriously starting to take a toll on his workload. When Sehun isn't checking the window every five minutes to see if Jongin might have climbed out, he's either shushing Jongin every two minutes, attempting to shrug him off every time he grows restless and overly cuddly, or, even worse, chasing him through the hallway as he escapes to explore. 

For the past couple of days since last week, Sehun has found himself staying up until the ungodly hours of dawn working, and on good days, he manages to get somewhat a lot of it done whilst Jongin entertained himself on his bed. However, more often than not, Sehun's work hours at home are usually interrupted by Jongin as the latter either begs him to play or watch television.

The first few times, Sehun obliged, but it quickly became obvious that he'd find himself distracted by Jongin's antics to the point that he literally had no time to work whatsoever (unless he was willing to re-live his painful college days by pulling all nighters and chugging energy drinks until 5 AM). Infact, it wasn't until he failed to turn in a report on time that Sehun made an attempt at explaining the situation at dinnertime to Jongin, who probably didn't even understand. Not enough, anyway, because, surely enough, Sehun found himself having to give Jongin the talk a second time after the latter wouldn't stop playfully tugging on his leg whilst he worked at his desk after they ate.

As the days went on, Sehun would soon come to realize that Jongin isn't just hyperactive and cuddly, but awfully stubborn, as well. Aside from the bath incident, Sehun had to learn the hard way after Jongin straight up refused to take responsibility for completely trashing Sehun's living room two days ago. Despite Sehun's attempts at sounding as calm as possible, Jongin would insist that the bumble bee that flew into the room was to blame for his actions. Sehun still hasn't fixed the dent in the wall, courtesy of Jongin knocking over a lamp in the commotion. Conveniently enough, it was the same day that Sehun left Jongin at home by himself whilst he was at work, after convincing himself it was a much better idea. It was also the same day he turned up for work and found Jongdae's office empty and littered with cardboard boxes.

"Sehun." Jongin's voice s Sehun out of his dazed, sleep deprived state, and he pokes the latter's shoulder repeatedly. "What are you doing now?" he asks, a low purring noise escaping his throat as he rubs his head against Sehun's. "Can we watch a movie? Please? Pleasepleaseplease--"

"But I already watched a movie with you less than twenty minutes ago," Sehun huffs, hoping he doesn't sound too exhausted as he puts his pen down. After his sudden departure, his boss assigned him to finish Jongdae's report, on top of the hundreds of other things he's got on his to-do list. Sehun leans back in his chair before running a hand through his hair and checking his watch. He should be heading to bed in half an hour if he doesn't want to turn up at work tomorrow looking like a zombie, but he knows he won't be able to unless he's willing to drown in paperwork tomorrow. "Look, could you-- I really need to finish this, can't you keep yourself entertained for a little while longer?"

Jongin pouts, ears drooping slightly as he hops onto Sehun's bed and sits cross legged. "Why're you doing Jongdae's work?" he asks whilst playing with his tail. He's buzzing with bottled up energy, as opposed to Sehun, and after sitting still for thirty seconds, he flops onto his stomach. Dust flies everywhere and he sneezes loudly.

"Because you got him fired," Sehun snaps before he can stop himself, and he feels a pang of guilt in his chest when the younger's face falls slightly. He tries controlling his sleep deprived mind, exhaling slowly as he rubs his temples. He mouths a low apology before sighing. "He resigned after our boss scolded him for disruption and carelessness," he says after a minute before picking up his pen again. He tries getting back to reading the sentences in front of him, but Jongin's intense stare is making it impossible to do so. "Could you please--"

"What does that mean?" Jongin asks absentmindedly, picking at a loose thread on the pillow. He suddenly gets an idea and he beams. "Can I try on your costume? I promise I won't ruin it!" He looks at Sehun, who's wrapped up with whatever he's doing, before springing off the bed and draping his arms around Sehun's neck. The strong scent of coffee hits his nose and he grimaces. 

Sehun sighs before cracking his knuckles and nodding. "Yeah, sure, go ahead," he murmurs absentmindedly without looking up, before resuming checking over the report. He hears Jongin rustling about in the closet subsequently, and Sehun is awfully glad he chose to throw out the trash bag with the shards from his after shave earlier this morning, because the last thing he wants is to spend the night at the ER. He flinches when Jongin suddenly emits a triumphant noise, and Sehun spins around in his chair.

"Doesn't this look nice?" Jongin asks, beaming as he places the golden crown on his head. The hard plastic squishes his ears together almost painfully, but his tail wags behind him as he buttons the velvety red cape. It drags across the floor as he spins around, feeling like one of the royal people in the few Disney movies he's watched. He definitely figures that Sehun would look better in it, though, because Jongin doesn't really consider his looks to be on king level. As least not as much as Sehun's, anyway. "Isn't it nice?" he asks, only to blink when he sees the distant look in Sehun's eyes. "Sehun--"

Flinching, Sehun blinks and he stops moving his hand when he realizes he's been tapping his pen against the armrest restlessly. "Uh--" He blinks again. He thinks Jongin looks almost human now that his ears and tails are hidden by the crown and cape, and as strange as it sounds, Sehun barely even recognizes him. Nevertheless, the younger's bright smile compliments the glittering diamonds in the crown, and Sehun smiles in agreement. "It's really pretty," he says with a nod.

"You think?" Jongin grins, although he quickly removes the crown when his ears feel like they're about to snap off. He flops onto the bed, wrapping himself in the soft red cape before proceeding to knead it. It's cozy, but not nearly as cozy as Sehun, and he pouts a little. He doesn't know if Sehun and Jongdae were friends or not, but Jongin figures Sehun must simply be missing Jongdae, given the former's unusual unattentiveness. 

Sehun forgets to give Jongin his evening glass of milk for that day, and the former instead raises himself from his chair at ten past two in the morning, before crashing into bed and falling asleep before his head can hit the pillow.

---

As much as Sehun hopes today will be different for whatever reason, fate doesn't seem to be on his side, and Sehun finds himself unable to concentrate yet another day as he types at his computer. His head hurts from only getting four hours of sleep, courtesy of Jongin waking him up an hour before his alarm was set to go off and refusing to go to bed until he got his ear scratched. Sehun doesn't know how many times he almost fell asleep with his hand draped over Jongin's neck, only for the latter to whine until he kept going, and before any of them knew it, the alarm clock started blaring its godforsaken ringing. Honestly, Sehun has no idea if it's the lack of sleep or caffeine withdrawal that makes him misspell his name thrice in one email, but he figures it's a mixture of both as he gets up and pulls Jongin back into the room, before the latter has a chance to climb out of the window for the fourth time that day.

"How many times do I need to tell you," Sehun huffs, shutting and locking the window, before he turns to face Jongin. "That's dangerous--" He sighs when Jongin reaches out and begins kneading his tie. "Are you even listening?" He turns gently Jongin's head so they're locking eyes. "You're gonna get yourself killed one day. For God's sake, have some common sense." 

Jongin pouts. He doesn't even know why birds even choose to fly past this building if he's not allowed to open the window and look at (and possibly also murder) them. Nevertheless, he runs a hand through his hair, which is in desperate need of a trim, before nodding absentmindedly. "Fine." After Sehun returns to his desk, he paces around the room, and it's not until he proceeds to entertain himself by tossing an apple from the fruit bowl in the air repeatedly that Sehun gets up and walks over to him.

"Look, could you do that somewhere else," Sehun says, keeping his voice low as he walks over and opens the door. "We'll go to lunch in an hour, I'll let you know when, okay? In the meantime, you can keep yourself entertained in there, if you want to." He gestures at Jongdae's empty office, making Jongin blink. 

Jongin blinks again. He's pretty sure this is the first time Sehun has willingly invited him out in the hallway, and his brief moment of joy is soon crushed when a thought hits him. "You don't wanna be with me?" His ears flatten slightly as he looks at Sehun, who certainly doesn't feel a sharp pang of guilt in his chest. Not at all.

Sehun bites his lip. "Of course, but I've got a lot to do, and you're kind of-- Nevermind, I'll stop by in twenty, alright?" He sends Jongin a fond smile before patting the latter's back.

After a minute, Jongin finds himself nodding, and the feeling coiling in his gut when Sehun proceeds to close his door subsequently is quickly diminished when a sense of excitement buzzes in his veins, mainly at the thought of being able to wander the hallways unsupervised. Jongin bounces into Jongdae's old office, extremely relieved to find out that it doesn't smell like tea and mint this time. Instead, it smells heavily of cardboard and emptiness in general, and Jongin nearly trips over a box lying near the threshold as he makes his way inside.

At first, Jongin has no idea what to do; unlike most of his friends, he isn't, in fact, fascinated by cardboard boxes in the least, so he finds himself walking over to the window and peeking outside. He sees two pigeon tails stick out from on top of the roof, but Jongin can't bring himself to open the window and attempt to scare them off, so he walks over to Jongdae's (ex, he figures) desk before perching himself on the edge. Jongin's eyes roam around the room, a certain boredom filling him at the lack of, well, everything, and he's about to walk back to Sehun's office and lie down on the latter's couch when he figures peeking through a few boxes won't hurt.

Kneeling down, Jongin moves into a cross legged position as he cautiously unfolds the lid to one of the boxes. Dust flies everywhere when he opens it up, and he stifles a cough before peeking inside. His ears twitch in curiosity when he picks up a photo frame, seemingly of a family of four. Jongin immediately sees red when his eyes land on Jongdae's smiling face to the far right, and he practically tosses the frame back inside the box. As much as Jongin doesn't want to tell Sehun, in fear of hurting the latter's feelings, he sort of wishes he'd slashed Jongdae far more than he did. But Jongin tries to shove the thought away forever since he knows how hurt Sehun will be if he finds out.

As he continues to rummage through the box, tail swaying above his head, Jongin comes across the usual; staplers, pencils, business cards with Jongdae's name on them, the three ugly cacti, more photo frames and God knows what else. It disinterests Jongin to no end (he honestly thinks Sehun's fruit bowl is more enticing than all these boxes combined) and the latter huffs before standing up. He wishes he'd brought Sehun's king cape with him, because then he could probably take a nap on Jongdae's desk until Sehun comes and gets him. Jongin suddenly thinks of Sehun's stressed demeanor lately, and figures he'll take it upon himself to find Sehun a nice present to cheer the latter up.

"Looting through other people's stuff, huh?"

Jongin feels his tail puff up at the sudden voice, and his ears immediately flatten when he quickly realizes who it belongs to. Even if he didn't, the strong smell of lemon laundry detergent and Axe body wash that soon fills the room is enough for him, and Jongin swallows before biting his lip. He remains silent, listening to the sounds of the ventilation shaft running and the wind howling outside. The lack of typing noises and Sehun's usual humming is seriously making Jongin feel tingly with nervousness - a nervousness that spreads across his chest when the sound of the door locking makes him flinch. His right ear twitches when the floor behind him creaks. 

Making his way through the boxes with surprising agility, Chanyeol stops and leans against the closet that Jongdae used to keep his coat in. He sends Jongin an unreadable look, the latter feeling the hair on his back stand up. "I don't know what you guys call it, but in human land, we call it being nosy." He chuckles humorlessly before adjusting his tie. "Thanks, by the way." 

Jongin blinks. "For what?" He his head to the side, only to cower when Chanyeol sends him a scowl. The latter is even more indimidating in a full tuxedo than a puffy winter coat and Jongin hates it.

"For getting Jongdae fired, smartass," Chanyeol says with a scowl, whilst making full eye contact with the younger. "You're not as annoying as Luhan but you're up there," he adds, walking over to the window and opening it. "I'll come back and haunt your dumb if you fall out and die and get my fired, just saying." The smell of unlit tobacco hits Jongin's nose before Chanyeol pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket.

Jongin blinks again, watching as Chanyeol puts the white stick in his mouth. He suddenly feels his blood boil. "I didn't get Jongdae fired," he exclaims, realizing his feet are pretty much bolted to the floor after he attempts to head for the door. "And Luhan isn't annoying!" He hisses loudly, not even bothering holding back his rule, and sticks his tongue out in disgust when the scent of tobacco fills and burns his airways.

Chanyeol huffs, rolling his eyes in irritation before he takes a long drag. Even though he's staring out the window with his back turned, Jongin still can't bring himself to run away. They're silent for a minute. "You'd think somebody who got a man fired and forced his remaining workload on his colleagues would be a bit less...you know, annoying," he says, mainly to himself, whilst exhaling a gray cloud of smoke.

"It wasn't my fault!" Jongin exclaims childishly, seriously wondering why everybody's going around blaming him for somebody else losing their job. "L-Luhan was my best friend--" He clenches his jaw, ears flattening when Chanyeol looks at him.

Taking another drag, Chanyeol shoves a hand in his pocket before exhaling slowly. "You lot have always annoyed me to death," he says in a low tone and there's something about the look he sends Jongin afterwards that has the latter swallowing. "Despite that, I always found you quite...what's the word." His voice trails off and he wordlessly tosses his lit cigarette out the window. Brushing himself off, he adjusts his cuffs before smirking slightly. "Fascinating."

Jongin blinks, not even getting a chance to ask what he means when Chanyeol takes a step towards him. "Wait, what--" He moves until he's backed up against the desk. "What do you me--" When Chanyeol suddenly stops in front of him, he blinks. "Luhan isn't annoying, you dumb--"

"You lot, always destroying and narcisstic as a motherer," Chanyeol says, distaste lacing his words as he spits on one of the boxes at his feet. "Like, there're the feisty, airheaded little heads, and then there's the self centered innocent ones." He sends Jongin a look. "Like you."

"Luhan isn't annoying," Jongin mumbles, ears flat against his head as he keeps his gaze fixated on one of the unopened boxes. "Why are you even here, why aren't you in your own office," he adds, feeling his pulse quicken when Chanyeol snickers.

"Hybrid radar," Chanyeol responds with blatant sarcasm, gesturing dramatically in the air before he rolls his eyes. "Heard you and Sehun's little dispute on my way to the printer room." He runs a hand through his jet black hair, and Jongin gags at the strong, chemical aroma that radiates from the strands subsequently. "Must've been tough as ." 

"We weren't fighting," Jongin hisses and is about to head for the door and ask Sehun to accompany him to the break room, when Chanyeol sends him a glare. "We weren't! He's...he's just been stressed and acting a little weird lately, that's all." He bites his lip when Chanyeol scoffs.

"That's because you're wearing him out, ," Chanyeol says sharply, his tone causing Jongin to flinch. He his head until Jongin has no choice but to look at him. "Look, Sehun's one of the best workers we have around here, if he ends up getting the boot because of you, I swear to God--" He shakes his head, kicking one of the boxes aside with his foot. A noise that resembles glass shattering makes Jongin wince. 

Despite being nearly just as tall as Chanyeol (in fact, Jongin is pretty sure that with his ears included, he's at least an inch taller), Jongin feels like he's shrunk to at least half his size as the older male stares him down. Suddenly, he feels his chest swell with anger and he does his best to lash out when Chanyeol scowls. The smell of tobacco is even stronger now that Chanyeol is six feet away, but Jongin doesn't have the courage to cough in fear of what the former might do. "Go away," he says, so silently Chanyeol barely hears it. "Leave me alone--"

"Sehun never wanted to be a pet owner, unlike Jongdae," Chanyeol says casually, fiddling with his watch. "His patience--" He whistles a long, drawn out tune whilst raising a dramatic brow. When he sees Jongin's crestfallen expression, he shrugs. "Like I said, you lot are a to handle, I wouldn't blame him for whatever happens." Fiddling with his lighter, he flicks it, a small flame appearing for a brief moment. "Just saying. Just so you're prepared for...yeah, you seem smart, I think you get it." A small hum leaves his lips.

Jongin bites the inside of his cheek. The coiling in his stomach grows tighter, to the point that he can barely even hear his own thoughts, as he furrows his eyebrows. Gripping the edge of the desk, he practically feels the thoughts scurrying around in his head before he simply shakes his head. "That wont...he won't-- Shut up--" He clenches his jaw, ignoring the knot now forming in his chest as he avoids Chanyeol's blank gaze. "Y-You don't know anything--"

"Let me ask you," Chanyeol interrupts, flicking his lighter on and off. "How many have taken you in so far?" He raises an eyebrow when Jongin only remains silent. "I'm listening."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Jongin bites his lower lip. He opens and closes his mouth, not knowing what might happen if he chooses to simply avoid the question. He finally settles on slashing Chanyeol square in the eyes if the latter laughs in his face. ing . "...Ten," he says in a mumble, hanging his head and bracing to attack as he awaits Chanyeol's menacing laughter. Except it never comes, and Jongin blinks before looking up, only to tense up.

Chanyeol isn't laughing at him. In fact, he's got a surprisingly neutral expression on his face, and if the younger is going to be honest, he sort of wishes he'd laughed at him instead. He's silent for a minute before going back to looking at his lighter. "I'm beginning to sense a pattern here," he says, tone as casual as ever, as he continues to flick his lighter on and off. He averts his gaze and looks at Jongin, who tenses again. "Are you?"

Jongin clenches his jaw as he grips the edge of the desk tighter. His knuckles are beginning to ache, but he promptly ignores it as he exhales slowly. "You don't understand anything," he blurts out before he can stop himself. The taller doesn't even spare him a glance, which angers him even more. "It's a lot, yeah, but--" He clamps his mouth shut, feeling his heart tremble for reasons he can't explain. "Sehun's different--" His ears fold back when Chanyeol raises a brow. "He's-- He's different, he actually cares about my feelings and tries making me happy, and I make him happy." A foreign sensation settles in his his gut. "I-I talked to Jongdae about this, like, some of us are lucky and some of us are unlucky, and I've been lucky all this time!" He stares at Chanyeol, lowkey expecting the latter to walk up and punch him in the face before tossing him out the window.

Chanyeol doesn't even budge. Instead, he flicks his lighter on again, staring at the orange flame for a brief moment before he hums to himself. "Out of all your families, I'll bet you've said the same exact things about at least half of them," he says as a matter-of-factly before raising an eyebrow in Jongin's direction. "...Am I correct?"

Jongin swallows the lump in his throat. His face is probably a shade of beetroot at this point but he's all too focused on trying to make sense of the rushing in his brain. Except trying to collect his thoughts is like trying to herd sheep, and he soon gives up before inwardly growling. The next thing he knows, he's bombarded with the mental images of his first to his seventh foster family; from the day he told himself life couldn't get any better, to the day he found himself lying abandoned on the front step before heading for the streets. A metallic taste fills his lips and Jongin winces when he realizes he's been biting down on his lip to the point of drawing blood.

Jongin figures he must have been silent for a while, because he hears Chanyeol humming across from him subsequently. "...Yes." He swallows thickly, opening his mouth to speak, even though his tongue is starting to feel like sandpaper. "But-"

Chanyeol looks right at Jongin, making the latter swallow the rest of his words. "I'm sensing a pattern here," he simply says, and Jongin watches as he puts his lighter back in his pocket. "And I think you are, too," he adds after a moment's worth of silence before sending the younger, who looks like he's about to burst into tears, another unreadable look. He shrugs when Jongin looks like he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. "It's usually wise to confront the inevitable before it happens, but you're smart so you probably knew that already."

As silent as ever, Jongin reaches up and runs a hand across his right ear as he feels his pulse race in his neck. It's hard to believe he attacked Jongdae in the same room they're standing in just days ago, because it almost looks unfamiliar as Jongin swallows thickly. A ray of sunshine finds its way inside and illuminates the dust flying around, near the floor and Chanyeol's shoes. It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and Jongin has to sit himself on the edge of the desk when he fears his knees might give in. "God--" He buries his face in his hands, mind a blank slate and he barely notices Chanyeol walking towards him until he feels a hand on his shoulder subsequently.

"Now, changing the subject completely," Chanyeol hums, his voice softening as he speaks. He's standing mere inches from Jongin as he reaches out and tickles the tuft of fur on top of the latter's ear. "I'd like an answer to my question. Will you purr if I scratch you here?" He's about to place his hand behind Jongin's head when the latter automatically twitches his ear in protest.

Jongin's thoughts come to a brief halt as he slowly looks up. It takes him a minute to figure out what exactly Chanyeol is talking about, and he's about to open his mouth to reply when he inhales the tobacco all over Chanyeol's suit, a noise of disgust escaping his lips. "Uh--" His head feels like it's being weighed down by a ton of bricks and he has to take a deep breath to pull himself together. He doesn't even realize he's gradually leaning back and away until he feels the muscle in his tail protest underneath him. "What are you--" Eventually, he has to place a hand on Chanyeol's shoulder to prevent the latter from getting any closer, or else his tail at serious risk of getting fractured. A knock at the door a few minutes later nearly makes the younger jump out of his skin.

"Jongin? Why's the door locked? Are you in here?"

---

Packing up his stuff, Sehun turns his computer before stretching out his long legs underneath the desk. He managed to get quite a lot of work done in the past half hour, but it's nowhere near enough for him to be able to escape his usual work routine at home later tonight. Sighing, he hums to himself whilst getting out of his chair. He hopes Baekhyun hasn't stolen his lunch again. Now that Sehun thinks about it, he hopes Jongin hasn't stolen his lunch, and he finds himself jogging over to Jongdae's office a little faster. 

To his surprise, Sehun finds the door to Jongdae's room locked. At first, he assumes either Jongdae came back early to collect his stuff, or a janitor is in the midst of cleaning up the office. Either way, Sehun finds himself raising a closed fist and knocking on the wood a few times. He hears nothing on the other side, and he blinks, given that the locks are on the inside. "Jongin? Why's the door locked? Are you in here?" he calls and Sehun groans when nothing happens. His stomach is on the verge of combusting from hunger and he really doesn't want to spend the next hour searching for Jongin in this godforsaken building. Sehun sighs, about to knock again when the door suddenly unlocks.

Jongin peeks his head through the crack, staring at Sehun with an unreadable look on his face. He mutters a low greeting, eyes flickering down to the floor before he opens the door all the way. When he does, Sehun spots Chanyeol over by the wide open window, back turned as he smokes a cigarette. Sehun's stomach growls in hunger, making him forget all about asking himself what on Earth Chanyeol in doing inside Jongdae's office.

"Hey, sorry that took a little longer than I thought," Sehun chuckles, ruffling Jongin's hair. He definitely doesn't miss the way Jongin's bangs fall in the latter's face as he keeps his head hung low, but he brushes it off as nothing. "What have you been doing? Didn't die of boredom, I take it?"

Jongin shakes his head, his ears halfway flattened on his head as he scratches the back of his neck. "Looked at...stuff," he mumbles and Sehun fights the urge to pinch his cheeks. 

Sehun nods. "Just don't rummage through Jongdae's stuff too much, they are his personal belongings, after all," he chuckles without bite before gesturing down the hallway. "I hope you're hungry, because I'm starving." He drapes an arm around Jongin's shoulders before they both make their way down the hallway and to the break room.

---