A/N: ;)  The plot is thickening...

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"[[Did you sleep well last night?]]" Kris sets Tao's breakfast tray on the desk, who raises his forehead from his forearms. He scoffs, one corner of his lips curling upwards. "[[Does it appear so?]]"

The elder of the two chuckles. "[[Not really. Your dark circles are darker. What is bothering you?]]"

"[[You know who.]]" Tao lazily stirs his tea, his dread radiating in each movement he makes. "[[I had a nightmare about him, Yifan ge. He was still in his dog form, but he could talk. And he followed us around all day, whispering about vengeance.]]" He visibly shutters, pressing the warm teacup to his lips. "[[Do you think he's still holding a grudge against me?]]" 

"[[No. Don't put all the blame on yourself, Zitao. It was the King's orders.]]"

"[[But... I could have convinced him otherwise. And I didn't. I was tired of his antics and completely forgot that he is--was our friend.]]" Kris appears from behind him to massage his shoulders, large hands releasing the little knots of tension. "[[We were all annoyed by Jongin. He'll forgive us. I think he already has.]]"

"[[I guess we'll have to find out today,]]" the shopkeeper sighs, patting one of Kris's hands. 

His assistant leaves after making sure his "boss" ("[[I'm older than you,]]" Kris argues. "[[Yeah, but you're my assitant. Which means I get to boss you around.]]") finishes his breakfast. He sets off to dust and reorganize shelves, awaiting the exciting jingle of the door bells, singing the entrance of a promising customer. He sits on his stool behind the counter, going over the information he received yesterday.

He was sweeping the floorboards when there was a gentle thud. 

He felt it vibrate throughout his limbs, starting from his toes and tingling up to the edge of his jaw. The blood in his veins ignited into flames and roared. There was a slick sound of glossy skin slithering near his feet, and Kris wasted no time calling his cousin forth. It hissed and curled itself around his calf, traveling further upwards until it was coiled around his forearm. "What have you got for me today?" Kris whispers.The burning sensations are gone due to the snake's glossy skin. 

The reptile sank its fangs into Kris' wrist, and a series of images flashed in front of his eyes. 

He saw events from Jongin's point of view. Waking up in Kyungsoo's arms, eating Kyungsoo's food, nestled in Kyungsoo's lap as they watch Chanyeol and Baekhyun bicker, walking along Kyungsoo's side as his owner searches for a job. Jongin's excitement for Kyungsoo forced a smile on Kris' lips, and his disappointment that he would not be seeing his owner during those long hours sparked tears in his eyes.

Kris struggled with the rush of emotions that Jongin has felt the past week, and his mind stung from the countless pictures of Kyungsoo. There was not one memory without the human. The exchange slowly disappeared, images of Kyungsoo sleeping and laughing and strangely just talking, until eventually Kris was left with Jongin's last memory: Kyungsoo kissing his forehead, whispering "good night". The voice rings in the deafening darkness and lingers just a bit longer, as if Jongin wanted to keep those words forever in his mind. 

When Kris opened his eyes, his cousin was long gone. It was silent all around, and his limbs were numb from the lack of physical activity. Just how long had he been standing there? He collapsed against a shelf to blink away the wooziness that washed over him. It was then that Kris realized just how much trouble they were going to be in.

Kris rubs his temples and tries to relax his knitted eyebrows. Just a little longer. We just need some more time. He watches the clock for Jongin's arrival. 

While Kris is waiting, Kyungsoo nimble fingers carefully tie the plain black bow tightly around his neck. Kai barks his approval, eyes gleaming at the appearance of his owner buttoned up in a collared shirt. The matching apron wraps tightly around his tiny waist (the dog chides himself for nibbling on poor Kyungsoo's plate all the time). "Today is my first day of work, Kai." 

The human bites his bottom lip, glancing over his reflection countless times. Baekhyun finally interrupts him to inform him of the time. "You're going to be late! Did you eat already? Chanyeol and I are eating lunch together so you can join us if you'd like." Kyungsoo shakes his head, secretly not wishing to impede on their limited time together. It is enough that he has Baekhyun taking him to work during his lunch break.

"Alright, but eat a little snack before we go, okay?" Baekhyun grabs his wallet from his bedroom and says he'll be waiting in the car. "Come on, Kai," he calls, clicking his tongue to catch the dog's attention. "I have to drop you off at the antique store so Tao and Kris can babysit you." Kai doesn't budge. "Kai! You can sit with Kyungsoo on the way there, but you need to get in the car first. Let's wait together while Kyungsoo finishes up, hm?" Baekhyun crouches and extends both hands forward, but Kai turns his nose the other way.

Baekhyun's left eye twitches. Y-you...!

"Kai, baby, go with Baekhyun for now, okay? I'll be right there." Kyungsoo picks him up and kisses his forehead. He passes him over to Baekhyun (I'm going to strangle, you darn mutt!), but Kai wriggles out of the older's constricting hold. He trots towards the front door, not bothering to wait for him.

"Yah, who's living in who's home?" Baekhyun grumbles under his breath as he follows the dog. 

Kyungsoo kisses Kai's forehead again as he hands him to Tao, oblivious to Tao's widening eyes. He ruffles his head when Kai whines, ears pulled down. "I'll be back soon, baby. Wait for me." He rubs their noses together, then leaves, but not before thanking the Chinese men.

When Baekhyun drives away with his owner, Kai immediately jumps down and turns to face the shopkeeper. He bares his teeth, and a mischievous glint sparkles in his eyes. Tao holds his breath as he backs away. "[[Y-Yifan ge!]]" 

"[[Hold on, Zitao, I have to get this...]]"

Kai barks, and to Tao it resembles Jongin's nasty, evil laughter. "H-hey, Kai! So you're spending this afternoon with us, huh?" His tail swishes back and forth. He barks again, and makes a lunge for a tea set perched on the counter. "No, Ka...!" The beautiful porcelain shatters, and a few shards land near his shoes. 

Tao narrows his eyes at the dog, who is now sitting politely on his hind legs, cocking his head "cutely" and pretending as if he hadn't just broken a tea set from two hundred years ago. "I apologize. Do you like how we redecorated the store, Jongin?" The dog responds with raising his bottom higher in the air. 

"Or should I say 'baby'?" Tao smirks, referring to the human's nickname for the animal. Jongin growls and springs forward. Kris appears just then from the back room and loses his footing when he sees the mess on the floor (and a certain dog snapping his teeth in his boss' face). "What's going on?"

A couple of hours later, after he is forced to clean up Jongin's mess, Tao observes Kris conversating with the him. Which is crazy because how in the world can Kris understand dog language? He says something along the lines of "I support you two", and if that doesn't have Tao's mind spiraling (because who are they talking about?), his assistant then pets the not-so-innocent dog. Tao blinks profusely when Jongin reacts playfully. But he tries to bite me whenever I so as look in his direction. Kris takes out a box of toys he found after rummaging in the attic. Jongin happily accepts and dives into the pile. 

The assistant smirks in the shopkeeper's direction. "[[Close your mouth. Do I look that dashing today?]]"

"[[How did you do that?]]" Tao slowly approaches his gege, peering at Jongin from behind his broad shoulders. Kris shrugs. "[[I told you he forgave us.]]"

"[[Uh,]]" the younger takes a step towards the dog, who in turn growls again. Tao returns to his earlier hiding position behind Kris. "[[I think he only forgave you]]" he says. "[[Is he playing favorites? Why you though? Are you two secretly dating?]]" Kris lightly raps his knuckles against his head. Tao laughs sheepishly. 

"[[As if!]]"

"[[So what's your secret?]]"

"[[Hm... Maybe... If you stopped treating him like he is some disease and tried seeing him as a decent person, he'll warm up to you.]]" 

Kris leaves to let his words sink in into Tao's head. The latter watches Jongin bite and scratch and play with the toys, rolling around in his makeshift bed. A decent person, huh? 

~*~*~*~

"Is he mean?" Kyungsoo cautiously ventures asking, stepping out of the dressing room and checking himself in the mirror twice. "The chef?" Doojoon hands him his name tag and he clips it on his left . He can't help running his finger over the engraved letters. 

Doojoon chuckles at the employee's fearful expression, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair. "No, he's isn't the type of chef who screams in your face and throws things around like you see on TV. He's a perfectionist, I should say. Mistakes are inevitable but highly not recommended." He leads Kyungsoo through a door. On the other side is another hallway with two doors: one for the restaurant and one for the kitchen. They ignore the latter.

"I trust you know how to wait on customers, but I'll leave you with our best worker, Hyunsik, to show you how we do things around here. See you later, Kyungsoo. Have fun!" Hyunsik beams an eye-smile in the new employee's direction and wipes his hands on his apron before shaking hands with him. 

"Kyungsoo, right?" Said male nods. Hyunsik's smile grows larger after giving him a once-over. "Ah, I can see why Doojoon hired you. You're perfect for the job! The ladies will love you! Who knows? Maybe you'll even attract high schoolers. You're a little on the skinny side, but with the amount of tips you get, 'cause I'm sure you'll get many with your face, you can fatten up." 

"Wait," Kyungsoo stops the kind waiter from dragging him to the other side of the counters. "What do you mean by 'the ladies will love you'? And what does my face have to do with any of this? Aren't I just a waiter?" 

An eyebrow shoots up. "Didn't Doojoon tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Hyunsik frowns, letting go of the smaller male's wrist. "This is 'Cube's Corner'. We serve 24/7 with fresh pastires for breakfasts, exquisite meals for lunch, and gourmet banquets for dinner. You know... to females. And well, males too if they really wanted to," he hastily adds. Kyungsoo just stares at him, and so he continues. "We're a butler cafe." 

"Oh." 

Oh.

It turns out, Kyungsoo's face is a big hit, and "Cube's Corner" has its busiest afternoon yet. Floods of women of all ages (and even curious males) flock towards this butler cafe, sighing and squealing and flailing when Kyungsoo merely passes them. One look from the adorable male sends them reeling back, light-headed and breath stolen. 

His voice as he asks for their orders melt their insides, and his genuine smile after their meal automatically calls for a large tip. When Kyungsoo says, "Please come again tomorrow," the ladies have no choice but to. 

Impressed, Hyunsik introduces him to the other waiters when Kyungsoo's shift is over. They welcome the newbie in with whistles and high fives. "He doesn't even do anything," someone--Kyungsoo believes his name is Ilhoon (because he's the one who is crossdressing)--comments, "but the women are practically kissing his feet. I told you we needed a new a waiter!" 

"Too bad you're only working part-time," the tall (almost as tall as Chanyeol) cashier says. Sungjae purses his lips. "Can't you work full time?" Kyungsoo flushes and politely declines. He explains how he has a dog to take care of and his roommates won't allow him to work too hard. 

"Yeah, I agree with them," Hyunsik says. "Look at how skinny he is!" He picks up one of Kyungsoo's bony arms. "We wouldn't want these falling off while serving those long lines of ladies, do we?" They all chuckle and tease Kyungsoo again, who hides his face due to embarrassment. "Besides, it's just more work for us. We'll be busy all day if Kyungsoo stays." 

Kyungsoo decides to walk to the antique shop instead of asking Baekhyun for a ride. The sassy male is probably napping at this time. He opens the door and calls for Kai. Moments later his arms are filled with the furball, and Kyungsoo showers his face with kisses. "Oh, I missed you so much! How was your day with Tao and Kris? You were good to them, right?" 

Kris steps out from behind the counter. "Hey, Kyungsoo. You're off work? How was your first day?" 

"Yes, I wanted to walk here and see Kai as soon as possible." Kyungsoo grins and growls playfully at the dog. "My co-workers are nice. Pretty young, so I don't think I'll have any problems talking with them. I can't wait to step in that kitchen, though." 

Kris smiles as Kyungsoo scratches behind Kai's ears, causing the dog's left hind leg to do some weird movement. "I'll take you home. [[Zitao! I'm giving Kyungsoo and Jongin a ride home! Do you want to come along?]]" He grabs his jacket and keys as Tao replies, "[[No! I don't want to be near that monster! Did you see what he did to my face?!]]" 

Kris bites his lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Let's go. Tao's tired from babysitting." 

Baekhyun welcomes Kris into the apartment and doesn't wait for Kyungsoo to shake his off shoes before he's raining questions at him. "How was your first day at work? Did you make friends? Were they nice? Are they old? Are they cute? They're not bullying you, right? Are you interested in anyone? Did you get to cook? What about the customers? Were any of them rude?"

"Calm down, hyung," Kyungsoo laughs. Baekhyun pauses, a slow grin making its way onto his face. "Did you just call me 'hyung'?" The former feigns innocence, round eyes bulging. "It's fine, I like it. Keep calling me that." 

The trio sit in the living room as Kyungsoo retells his first day of work. He talks about the various ages of his customers and the excessive tips they slapped on the tables. He talks about the delicious food he served, and how he wished one day his food will be on the plates. He complains about how tiring it is to remember everyone's orders, but the customers were nice about his little mistakes. He thinks his co-workers are funny and he hopes he can get along with all of them. 

"Is there anyone cute?" Baekhyun asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Chanyeol waltzes in then with narrowed eyes. "Why are you talking about cute boys behind my back?" Baekhyun opens his arms, and his boyfriend leans into them, closing the space between their lips. "We're talking about Kyungsoo's future boyfriend!" 

"N-no!" Kyungsoo shouts, hugging Kai closer. He shoots Kris a cry for help, but the latter only shrugs his shoulders, sitting back and watching things unfold. "I never said if anyone was cute...."

"But there has to be someone you find cute! Or maybe someone you like more than than the others?" Baekhyun urges hopefully. Kyungsoo shakes his head. "Don't lie to us, Kyungsoo~! It's okay if you think someone's cute. But make sure to bring him home and introduce him to us soon, alright?" Baekhyun sends him a wink, bursting into laughter as the human's ears flush bright pink. 

"Don't encourage him," Chanyeol playfully chides. "If Kyungsoo gets a boyfriend poor Jo--Kai will be left alone." 

"But we're not getting any younger," Baekhyun sings, wiggling his eyebrows again in Kyungsoo's direction. His roommate holds up Kai to hide his face. "This is the perfect age for dating!" 

"Alright, let's stop teasing Kyungsoo. He must be tired from his first day. I'll grab some dinner on the way back, so you guys can eat without me." Kris stands up and stretches, releasing a groan as his joints audibly pop. The couple send him off with hoots and long-drawn-out goodbyes and Kris shakes his head at their clamorous behavior. "I wonder how Jongin's holding up..." He smiles to himself. "He's probably raging with jealousy. 'Poor Kai'? More like 'Poor Chanyeol and Baekhyun'. Looks like they're in for some trouble." 

Kyungsoo nearly drops his toothbrush. In the middle of the living room Baekhyun is comforting a wailing Chanyeol who's hugging a pair of video game controllers with torn up wires. "WHY?" Chanyeol is sobbing. "WHY THE GAMES?! YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME INSTEAD, JONGIN. WHY?!" 

"Shh, Channie! I'll buy you new ones!" Baekhyun offers, pleading his boyfriend to "shut up because the neighbors already complained about them twice this week". 

Kai jumps from the couch and toddles over to his owner to his ankles. He disappears into their room, and Kyungsoo glances back at the couple before following. A typical day with his roommates, he chuckles. He couldn't wait for work tomorrow. 

~*~*~*~

Kyungsoo bends down in front of the couch to squeeze in one last hug before work. He notices that Kai has been grumpy the last five weeks and tries to make it up by waking up early and spending his mornings with him, but the dog can be pretty stubborn. "Aigo, why the long face, baby?" Kyungsoo presses their noses together. "I'll only be gone for a few hours. Not even that long. And besides, don't you like Kris? You'll hurt his feelings if you mope all day." 

Kai doesn't respond, so Kyungsoo uses his thumbs to bring the side of his lips upwards. "Hey, don't give me that look. It makes me feel bad. I miss you too, you know? You're not the only one." He kisses the tip of his nose, reluctantly standing up. "I'll be back soon. Be good to Kris and Tao--"

"And Baekhyun," said male hollers.

Kyungsoo grins, rolling Kai over to rub his belly. "And Baekhyun. I'll bring you a treat, okay?" The human steps away. 

"Be careful," Baekhyun reminds him, appearing from the hallway. 

"You don't have to tell me every day, hyung. The bus is perfectly safe." Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at Baekhyun's exasperated expression. 

"No, it's not! It's full of creepy, old erts and homeless muggers! You have the pepper spray I gave you?" 

"Nobody uses pepper spray anymore, hyung!"

"You're right. Let me go grab the shot gu--"

"On second thought, I'll go with pepper spray." Kyungsoo hugs his friend, squeezing extra tight to reassure him, and leaves with a bright smile. 

Baekhyun remains at the doorway, staring blankly at the door. Kai barks to grab his attention, and Baekhyun scans the sullen dog with his bleak eyes and dreary movements. "You look miserable, Jongin." Kai barks his agreement. "I am, too." The dog buries his nose in one of Kyungsoo's beanies (a present not from his co-workers). "You miss him, too?" Baekhyun sighs and joins him on the couch.

"My son's growing up. He's probably flirting with his co-worker and before I know it, he's actually bringing someone home to introduce to us... And then he'll get married and move out and... and... forget about us." Kai growls and changes couches. "What? It's true! Do you think he'll stay single and grow old with you until one of you dies first?" 

Kai barks. It could mean a millions things. "Yes!" "No, but I'd rather not think about it." "I don't want him to marry someone from there!" "I don't approve." "You're wrong!" "You're stupid." "Baekhyun is ugly." "Baekhyun and Chanyeol are stupid." "Baekhyun and Chanyeol are ugly." Baekhyun scrunches his nose and would rather not wonder what Kai actually said. 

"Oh, nevermind. Why should it matter to you who Kyungsoo marries? It's not like you genuinely like him. You're just using him to break the curse Zi put on you." Kai barks, but it's different from his usual, argumentative tone. It sounds sort of... pitiful. A low whine. "What? You mean to tell me that's not what you were planning? That you like Kyungsoo?"

Again, that heart wrenching whine that makes Baekhyun momentarily forget he's talking to the Jokester and maybe to someone with a heart. "Wait, Jongin, don't joke with me. You really aren't playing around with Kyungsoo?" Kai escapes to his room, leaving Baekhyun to swim in his thoughts. 

I can't think straight. This is totally freaking me out. Jongin liking my son? Weird. Jongin can't like somebody. I mean, I guess if it's a platonic type of like but... Oh my god, what if he really likes Kyungsoo? Like, like-likes him? Or... holy crap what if he l-l-loves him?! Baekhyun dives headfirst into the couch, but abruptly sits upright. No, that's impossible. The curse never said anything about a one-sided love countering it. And besides, the Jokester, a dog, can't love, and my son wouldn't feel that way towards a dog. So we're safe.

But to calm his fluttering heart, Baekhyun speed dials Tao. 

"Hello?" 

"Call the others, Zi."

"Is this Baekhyun?"

"Yes! And I said to call the others!" 

"Wait, Baekhyu--"

"Our friends, Zi! From the other world, yes! Call them! This is an emergency and we need an emergency meeting, so call them right now and tell them to get their asses here."

"What exactly is this about?"

"Kyungsoo and that ratchet Jokester."

"Did you just say 'ra--"

"NO TIME FOR DILLY-DALLYING. JUST CALL THEM. My house, okay? I'll be waiting." 

Tao mutters something about 'do you know how freaking long that will take' and 'jesus, baekhyun you could have told me yesterday or at least this morning what the heck'. "And what about Kyungsoo?" he replies. Books are being slammed onto his desk and he's already ordering Kris to grab a few potions. "[[Don't forget the mirror, ge!]]" 

"I'll just tell him we're having a sleepover. He won't find out. He hasn't even questioned me and Channie. This is urgent, Zi! We'll just talk and make some plans, that's all. I promise." 

That evening, Baekhyun thinks he might have to break his promise. 

Why, you ask?

Because as they're heatedly discussing the problem he so-called an "emergency", the door opens. Kyungsoo steps in, still in his uniform, rubbing his neck and toes off his shoes. Kai's collar jingles as he makes a run for his owner, and Kyungsoo welcomes him with a kiss. 

Which he pulls away from when a ensemble of gasps comes from the living room. Kyungsoo turns to see his roommates, Kris and Tao, and five other males he has never seen before. 

"H-hey, Kyungsoo!" Chanyeol and Baekhyun stutter, avoiding eye contact. 

"Long time no see!" Tao greets, his smile almost covering the bandages on his once-blemish-free face. Kris just gives him a nod. 

The five unfamiliar men wave, beaming. "Hi," they chorus.

Kyungsoo puts Kai down. "Uh... hi?"