Hyunjin had been pretty bummed about not being able to take his usual route for his morning run. However, there was some construction work going on which is why he was kind of forced to alternate his route a little bit. He jogged along the sidewalk in the quiet neighborhood, past an abandoned playground and even a short way along the river.

At least, the scenery was pretty.

Unfortunately, today didn’t seem to be his day, though, because his earplugs decided to give out halfway through. With a frustrated sigh, Hyunjin pocketed the now useless plugs and decided to turn around and head home early. He’d barely gone five steps when he heard a whimper not far from him. He stopped in his tracks and looked around for a person walking their dog, or something like that, but he was alone.

Blaming the sound on his imagination, he was about to take off, when he heard the whimper again. It was a few meters to his left. Aside from a tall tree close to the river, he couldn’t see anything or anyone, though. His instincts, however, told him to go and check so that was exactly what he did.

He approached the tree slowly, careful in case it was something more dangerous than it seemed. A blanket bundle lay at the foot of the tree in the snow and it seemed to be moving. The whimper had no doubt come from here. Hyunjin crouched down and carefully lifted the blanket. His eyes widened at the sight.

A small puppy looked back at him, shivering and whimpering. It couldn’t be older than two or three months. From the looks of it, the puppy seemed to be a golden retriever. Hyunjin furrowed his brows, looking around once more. There was still nobody in sight, which could only mean one thing – somebody had abandoned that poor little thing.

Hyunjin carefully reached out to pet the puppy. It was really cold, and he knew that it most likely wouldn’t survive the night if he left it out here. Who knew how long it had already been here in the first place. There was only one reasonable thing he could do. He wrapped the blanket around the puppy and picked it up, cooing at the way the little dog immediately snugged up to him.

Hyunjin knew only one person to go to right now.

~

“Good morning, how-...Hyunjin?” Changbin, the secretary of the vet’s office exclaimed in surprise when Hyunjin came through the door with the blanket bundle in his arms. “Hi, Changbin. Is Felix busy?” the younger questioned. Changbin took a look at the little puppy’s head that poked out of the bundle. “No, he doesn’t have any patients right now”, he replied.

“Alright, thanks”, Hyunjin said, already making his way to the examination room. He didn’t bother knocking and just stepped inside, effectively startling his boyfriend, who was in the middle of looking through some documents. “Hyunjin?” he asked, worry etched in his voice. Usually, Hyunjin never showed up without calling beforehand, but he had been too busy keeping the dog warm to think about getting his phone out.

“I found a puppy on my morning run...he was really cold, so I figured I’d bring him to you”, Hyunjin explained, carefully setting the dog down on the exam table, before unwrapping him from the blankets. “You did the right thing, I can already tell that he has mild hypothermia...where did you find him?” Felix questioned while thoroughly washing his hands, before stepping closer and taking a closer look.

“At the foot of a tree near the river. Nobody was there, so I figured that someone abandoned him...”, the older answered. He couldn’t help but admire how professional Felix looked in his field of work. He’d never had any reason to be here while his boyfriend was working, so he’d never really got to see him in action.

“Okay, aside from his low body temperature he seems to be fine. We just need to get him warmed up again...”, Felix said a little while later, petting the dog comfortingly. “Well, I could take him home...? And, you know, we could...keep him?” Hyunjin suggested carefully. Felix looked up at him. “You want to keep him?”

Hyunjin shrugged. “I mean...yeah...just, view it as some sort of early Christmas present for both of us and once he’s healthy again, I can take him with me on my morning runs and-” Felix bright laughter interrupted him. “Seems like you have it all figured out already”, he stated. Hyunjin gave him a sheepish look.

Felix crouched down to get on eye level with the puppy. “Do you want to stay with us?” he asked. The puppy gently his face a few times, which seemed to be enough of an answer. “It’s settled, then”, Felix said with a chuckle. “When you get home, you should immediately wrap him up in blankets and put a hot water bottle on his stomach. I’ll check on him again when I get home”, he now addressed Hyunjin who made a delighted noise.

“You’re the best! I love you!” he exclaimed happily, before carefully wrapping the little puppy in his blanket again and picking him up. Felix rolled his eyes playfully, but still let Hyunjin peck him on the lips as a goodbye. “I love you, too, you big softie. I’ll see you at home later.”

Hyunjin nodded eagerly and left with a small wave. Changbin watched in amusement as a delighted Hyunjin came out of the exam room.

~

By the time Christmas rolled around, the little puppy was already back on his paws and seemingly happy with his new owners. He enjoyed the morning runs with Hyunjin and loved to cuddle with Felix. Hyunjin loved to refer to him as their own little Christmas miracle.

This was kinda more Hyunjin x the puppy but oh well