“Okay, one, two, three, and!” Seunghyun and Jiyong grabbed a thigh each, lifting Daesung into the cart. He was surprisingly heavy, probably because his body was 99% muscle. Those workout freaks needed to spend a week with Daesung in his natural habitat, that was one perfect body he had made for himself. The cart wasn't that big so the poor thing had to sit there all cramped, but still he looked back at him with joy in his eyes. Happy to be outside after being cooped up in that boring cabin with nothing to do.

Jiyong made sure his injured foot had enough space before they took off. Daesung's smile vanished in under an instant, hissing at the ground with a scared look in his eyes. “Oh! Oh! He doesn't like it, he really doesn't like it!” Seunghyun said, his voice ridden with panic. Jiyong chuckled to himself, it was such an unfamiliar sight to see Seunghyun so out of his element. He was usually the most composed guy in the room, except for when it was only the two of them. But even then, he wasn't one to panic. It was hilarious how scared he was of Daesung. Seunghyun Superman had found his kryptonite. He was powerless against that unpredictable little cutie.

As he pushed the cart slowly along the parking lot, Daesung grew more and more agitated, looking for a way to escape this dangerous metal monster that had swallowed him. Jiyong was getting worried he would suddenly jump out and hurt himself, but he had no idea how to calm him down. Seunghyun was no help, keeping his distance in case something went wrong. Jiyong stopped the cart to show him that it was him that was in control and not the cart itself. “See. Stop. Okay! And if I push it like this we go.” he tried to explain, not very successfully. He really at this. He stopped multiple times to try and get Daesung to understand the mechanism of cart pushing. “Stop. Go. Stop. Go.” he said each time, trying to get him to associate the words with the movement. Raising a wolf boy was hard.

Just when he was about to give up, Daesung reached for one of his hands, grabbing it tightly. After a moment he grinned. “Go!” he shouted, anticipation in his eyes. Jiyong couldn't stop the warm wave of mushy feelings that washed over him. He had gotten it, that smart little devil, he had really understood what he was saying. His chest bursting from pride, he made the cart go just like the wolfie had ordered. “Stab!” Daesung abruptly announced, Jiyong reacting immediately. Daesung let out a happy screech, having the time of his life. “Go!” he demanded, having taken over as the official conductor of the cart. Jiyong wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a quiet chuckle behind him.

After countless stops on the way, they finally reached the entrance of the supermarket. He could feel Daesung tense up a bit, squeezing his hand tighter. He realized that there was no way he was going to get his hand back anytime soon, but he didn't mind. He would never admit it, but each time Daesung squeezed it, he got a tiny little tingle of fondness, dancing around somewhere deep inside him. It felt nice. It wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to since he usually didn't allow it, reminding himself not to get attached. Attachment was the tool the world used to stomp on you, so on the rare occasion where the situation presented itself, he avoided it like a burn victim avoided fire.

Luckily there weren't a lot of people in the store. Thank heavens for small miracles, he thought as he pushed the cart further inside. “Okay! Where to start.” Jiyong said, half to himself and half to Seunghyun. Seunghyun looked at Daesung who had momentarily been distracted from his role as cart conductor to chew on his tennis ball a bit. “Maybe we should get him a softer chew toy, else he's going to wind up toothless with that slime ball of his.” Seunghyun said in a condescending tone, yet not managing to conceal his genuine worry for Daesung's wellbeing.

“Dude, he's not a dog! You've got to stop treating him like one!” he scolded him irritated. “How is he supposed to get used to his role as a human being if you keep treating him like he's not?” he added in a harsh tone. “And what? Start babying him like you do? How is it better if he thinks he's a 2 year old, instead of a wolf? At least I treat him like a grown up wolf.” Seunghyun retorted equally annoyed, not backing down.

“I don't know...” Jiyong could feel his shoulders crack under the pressure of the mountain of rocks that had accumulated on top of them. Iron rocks, each weighing about a ton. “I don't know what I'm doing.” he said in full honesty, his voice trailing away at the end. He wasn't cut out for this, fate had picked the wrong person and he didn't know how to cancel its choice. He felt so stuck that he could hardly breathe. Every time Daesung moved the tiniest bit, he worried his wound would open. He constantly had the feeling he was forgetting something, and most of the time he really was, like feeding him for one. He couldn't even keep a cactus alive, how the hell was he supposed to care for a human being, a totally helpless human being that counted on him for everything?

And what was worse, Daesung was beginning to trust him, to rely on him. He could feel it in his bones and in his fingertips. He didn't want to be a bad memory for him, he didn't want to be the one he could point at later on, knowing that was the moment his life fell apart, that he had been the reason. He really did want to help him, he just didn't know how and it was exhausting trying to play a role in which he had been so terribly wrongly cast. He was a good actor, but everyone had their limits and this was his. It felt like they were lost at sea with no life jackets, and no matter how hard he wrestled with the water, he was just barely keeping them afloat.

He felt Seunghyun's hand on his shoulder, giving it a short squeeze. “Oh, come on. You're doing fine.” Seunghyun said in a quiet, sincere voice, his whole demeanor softening. “Everything doesn't always have to be perfect, you know. There's no need to follow some rigid rules out of some one size fits all rule book, people come in all sizes. You just have to play it by ear, and you'll make mistakes, a lot of mistakes, but that's how you discover what works and what doesn't. That's what I did and you turned out alright, didn't you?” a smile in his voice.

Jiyong's hand found Seunghyun's, grasping it and squeezing it lightly, quietly thanking him for his valued support. He was right, he was absolutely right. While Daesung was happy and healthy, was there anything else that mattered? They would figure it all out as they went along, he thought, hoping Seunghyun would stick around. He wasn't sure he would be able to do this without him.

Jiyong's spirit had been lifted out of the gutter, now floating around somewhere in between the clouds. “Okay. Let's do this!” he announced with renewed determination. “Let's do this a bit systematically so we can be out sooner.” he added, starting to devise a route in his head, matching it with the grocery list. “Okay, supermom.” Seunghyun snorted, teasing him with a playful wink.

“Let's go!” Seunghyun exclaimed, his fist punching the air as his hand energetically shot up in the direction of the roof, getting up on his toes to reach even higher. His actions had a strong whiff of sarcasm, but Jiyong didn't care. He was filled with newfound self-confidence, impermeable to his snide remarks, ready to take on the world.

“Go!” Daesung copied in high spirits, his hand following Seunghyun's, a wide grin taking over his face. The cart conductor had spoken. His wish was Jiyong's command, and thus they departed at once, rolling towards their little supermarket adventure. Together.