Warnings: minor language, minor crude humor

Chanyeol was too excited to get a dog. He’s wanted a perfect little pup ever since he was little. He remembered watching a commercial for dog treats and cried to his parents to let him get a puppy. The Park parents refused to get a dog, saying the maintenance was too high (they also didn’t want hair and slobber all over the place). Chanyeol, being the fussy toddler, cried for years about getting a dog. Every time he would walk by a pet store, he would stop in his tracks and his parents would have to drag him away from the street corner. Chanyeol didn’t realize the trouble he gave his parents, but that didn’t matter now. He was getting a dog.

Chanyeol was finally out of college as an undergraduate and was in his own apartment space. He found the perfect space. It was dog friendly, and there was a park just a couple of blocks down. Chanyeol was pretty satisfied when he found the place two years ago, and had furnished it to his liking.

The only thing Chanyeol was having trouble with was getting the job he really wanted. He was working at a department store in Seoul as a cashier, but what he really wanted to do was get enough experience to open his own. He first had to climb to the managers spot and then somehow find a place to rent space, get employees, and set up shop. For now, he was stuck with the lame department store where they sell knock off brands for way more than they were worth.

The next chapter in Chanyeol’s life was getting a dog, though. He walked past the old pet shop he saw many years ago and walked in with a smile on his face. He looked around, noticing all the little trinkets and toys around for dogs and cats, but he didn’t see any puppies around. In fact, there were no animals. Chanyeol pondered as he walked up to the counter where an employee lounged against the counter.

“Ah, excuse me. I remember there used to be dogs for sale here,” Chanyeol noticed that the employee wasn’t leveling with the amount of stress that was in Chanyeol’s voice. The employee looked bored, picking her nails and not making eye contact.

“Sorry customer, we don’t sell dogs anymore,” The employee dragged, her voice monotone. Chanyeol’s groaned. Didn’t she understand? This was not just about a dog! This was about Chanyeol finally breaking free from his parents reign (but also to get a perfect round ball of fur called a puppy).

“Where can I get a dog?” Chanyeol asked, trying to hide the desperation in his voice. The employee clearly rolled her eyes (Chanyeol noticed- he has sharp eyes to detail), and pointed down the street.

“There’s an animal shelter down this street,” The employee said with the snap of her bubble gum. Chanyeol thanked her, although she was very rude, and sprinted down the street to find the shelter. He was so desperate to find the perfect dog!

Chanyeol ran down the street and stopped abruptly after he found the place. He scrunched his nose in distaste as he looked around the outside. It wasn’t spectacularly white and polished on the outside, and there weren’t any windows to look into to see the place inside. Chanyeol sighed, this wasn’t how he planned it. He wanted that childhood experience. The one where he found the perfect puppy in the clean white shop and he would name the puppy Peaches like they did in the cartoons he watched. But this wasn’t a cartoon, this was reality.

With a discouraged breath, Chanyeol walked inside the dinky pet shelter with tacky colored wall paper. Chanyeol heard the little bell jangle behind him as he closed the door. He noticed that the room he stepped into was a waiting room with about five chairs and a solid lamented counter where an employee should stand at, but there was no employee. All Chanyeol could hear was the clear sound of barking from the back and a couple of cries from birds.

“Um, hello?” Chanyeol called out, leaning on the counter and trying to peer at the wooden door at the back. Chanyeol automatically heard a grunt and a call back.

“Be right with you!” Chanyeol heard a male voice call back. Chanyeol tapped his fingers across the lamented counter, drumming to the beat of a tune in his head. He wanted this experience to be perfect, but so far it wasn’t all that great. The pet store didn’t have any pets, the employee was rude to him, he has to settle for the dinky pet shelter that probably is covered in diseased and unwanted animals, and-

“Sorry about that, we just got some more rescue dogs coming in,” An employee walked through the door, a little out of breath. Chanyeol thoughts stopped dead in their tracks because, oh no, he did not expect his day to turn out great. The employee was tall, not as lanky as he was, and had a bit of a tan to his face. His hair was chocolate and swooped across his face and his eyes sparkled. Chanyeol almost died on the spot when the employee walked up to the counter, wiped his hands, and gave Chanyeol a grin. “How can I help you?”

Do you know CPR, because you just took my breath away.

“Uh, yeah. I was looking to buy a dog,” Chanyeol said, trying to avoid those shining brown eyes. It would be sad for Chanyeol to mess another thing up today, and right now he had a feeling that he’d be babbling like an idiot pretty soon.

“Oh. We are an adoption center for rescued animals, so you don’t buy,” The gorgeous (Chanyeol couldn’t lie, the guy was sent from the heavens) employee explained, and Chanyeol was a little surprised. Maybe he didn’t know so much about dogs as he thought he did. He thought he just could buy, but he didn’t know he could just get a free puppy.

“So it’s free?” Chanyeol asked, trying to suppress his inner child. Free puppy!!

The employee chuckled at Chanyeol’s almost hidden excitement, and Chanyeol found himself liking the guy even more. The employee explained, “Ah, not exactly. The adoption is free, but the extra services are not. Like heart worm, rabies, and the first veterinarian checkup are not covered.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol said with a little more sadness in his voice. He could feel his inner child whimper: No more free puppy. Why is adulthood so expensive?

“Would you like to see some dogs before you make your decision?” The employee perked up with a smile that could blind a person, and Chanyeol couldn’t refuse. If he had a tail, he’d be wagging it. Chanyeol followed the employee to the back room where everything smelled of animals. He looked around to see a lot of cages filled with dogs, cats, and birds. Chanyeol could hear a lot of dogs barking straight at him and he walked around the cages.

“If you like one of the dogs, I can help you to see if you guys are compatible,” The employee crouched down to the ground where there were a couple of boxes. Chanyeol was too engrossed in all the dogs that he didn’t even notice the employee anymore. He squatted down to a Doberman in the cage that looked fully grown. Chanyeol was confused, he thought that he could only buy puppies.

“Why are there fully grown dogs?” Chanyeol asked, not turning toward the employee because the Doberman pawed at the cage and Chanyeol lifted his hand to let the dog sniff him.

“Oh, we take in any animal that needs rescuing. Sometimes they are strays, or abused dogs. Some of them have injuries from the abuse. Like that one right there,” The employee pointed to the Doberman that was currently Chanyeol’s hand like it was a treat. “Krong was struck by a car and the owners decided not to keep him any longer. His hind legs are all messed up.”

“Wow,” Chanyeol mused, looking at the Doberman, Krong, in the eyes and smiled. He started petting the dog, whispering, “It’s okay, Krong.”

“Do you like him?” The employee asked, placing a puppy into a cage. Chanyeol looked at Krong with sad eyes, and shook his head. He couldn’t keep a dog that had really bad hind legs. Although he felt bad for the dog, he pet it one last time and turned toward the employee.

“I’m not sure if I could handle an injured dog. You see, I’m a first time owner. I’ve never had a dog in my life,” Chanyeol said sadly, and the employee turned around, with drawing himself from his work. He placed a gentle hand on Chanyeol’s should and smiled.

“That’s okay. I know it’s tough to see a dog with those kinds of injuries and feel sorry, but don’t feel obligated to take him. He actually came two weeks ago so I’m sure he’ll be adopted. He’s surprisingly very gentle,” The employee gave a smile to Krong and the Doberman began wagging its tail in happiness.

The employee returned down to the box and picked up a fluffy puppy that caught Chanyeol’s eye. The employee was putting the puppies into a cage when Chanyeol sprinted over and widened his eyes.

“Puppies?” Chanyeol cried like a child. He was in awe of their cuteness, but also sad. Why would puppies be at a shelter for rescue animals?

“Yup, Labrador puppies,” The employee held up a yelping blonde puppy to his face. He placed him gently in the cage and explained, “The police busted a puppy mill and brought all of the puppies to different animal shelters.”

“Can I see them?” Chanyeol asked carefully, as if it was a taboo question to ask. The employee smiled and let Chanyeol set toward the half-filled cardboard box of Labrador puppies with five puppies and three puppies in the cage. Chanyeol cooed at them, loving all the blonde puppies that yelped or squirmed or even fell asleep against another. Chanyeol knew that he had to take one home. “I’d like to have one.”

“Oh, okay,” The employee let Chanyeol sit comfortably on the tiled floor and the employee placed a puppy on the ground to test out with Chanyeol. This puppy was very yippy, but didn’t pay much to Chanyeol. Instead, it liked his shoelaces. The employee laughed as Chanyeol cried at his new shoes and picked up the puppy. Chanyeol scolded him lightly, but the puppy kept on trying to bite his nose. Chanyeol knew it wasn’t the one.

“This one is too yippy,” Chanyeol placed the puppy in the employee’s outstretched arms. “Could I have another one, um… Sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

Smooth Chanyeol. Play the innocent game.

The employee placed another puppy on the ground, and this one was very bouncy. He grinned at the Chanyeol and replied, “My name is Jongin. Yours?”

“Chanyeol,” He replied lowly, but then yelped as he felt a puppy tug on his ear lobe with its sharp teeth. “Ow! Your teeth are sharp!”

“You’ve got to be careful with puppies. They just got teeth, so they with start teething whatever they can get their mouths on. Shoes, chairs, wires, and in this case ears,” Jongin chuckled as Chanyeol gently tried to pry the puppy who was currently playing tug of war with his ear. Chanyeol wasn’t all that successful since he was being too gentle with the puppy and Jongin came in and scooped the puppy up with ease and pushed on the puppy’s nose to scold it.

“I’m thinking that Chewy over here isn’t a keeper,” Jongin quipped and Chanyeol agreed, rubbing the angry red ear lobe. Jongin placed the puppy in the cage and then scooped another very sleepy puppy from the box. Since the puppy was asleep, Jongin instructed Chanyeol to make a cradle with his arms to put the puppy in. Chanyeol did as instructed and Jongin gently placed the sleeping blonde Labrador in his arms. The puppy curled against Chanyeol’s chest and whined. Chanyeol had a concerned look on his face and looked up to Jongin.

“He’s whining,” Chanyeol said softly, concern edging his voice.

“He’s probably dreaming. Here, place him on the ground,” Jongin instructed. Chanyeol gently placed the puppy down on the ground and noticed its legs involuntarily kicking. Jongin and Chanyeol started to grin and coo at the puppy’s dream state, but Chanyeol pondered.

“Since he’s sleeping, I don’t know what he’s actually like. Maybe I should see when he’s a little more alert,” Chanyeol though, scooping up the droopy eyed puppy and giving it to Jongin. Jongin placed the puppy aside and let Chanyeol see the other puppies. Most of them were the same as the first two, energetic, yippy, and definitely chewers. At one point, for entertainment, Jongin released all the chewy puppies onto Chanyeol and they attacked him from all sides. Chanyeol tried his hardest to pry all of the nipping teeth away, but how could he say no to puppy wrestling?

Finally, after have a ton of laughs, Chanyeol scooped the puppies up and placed them in the cage. Chanyeol looked around to see any stray puppies, but found none. He felt himself grinning up at the tan boy and asking, “Anymore I can test out?”

“Just this last one,” Jongin picked up the puppy by the scruff and cradled its bottom half. The puppy looked alert, but wasn’t yipping or trying to bite Jongin. Jongin placed the puppy down on the ground and Chanyeol could see it visibly shaking on all of its legs. Chanyeol pouted.

“It’s okay puppy,” Chanyeol cooed as he reached out his arms in front of the puppy. The Labrador puppy’s eyes were wide and watery as the big hands approached, and started to whimper as he got closer. But Chanyeol was determined, and he beckoned the puppy to sniff him. Chanyeol whispered gently, “It’s okay, I’m your friend.”

The puppy found some sort of strength and reached out its neck to sniff Chanyeol’s fingers tips. Chanyeol didn’t grab the puppy, afraid of hurting it, but he gently curled his fingers and pet the puppy’s head smoothly. The puppy seemed to like it, and closed its eyes at the sensation as he allowed Chanyeol to pet him further. Chanyeol released his petting and sat back, letting the puppy open its eyes curiously.

“Come here,” Chanyeol gently called, and the puppy’s eyes lit up brightly. With hardly any practice of its legs, the puppy flopped around as it tried to pounce closer to Chanyeol in delight. The puppy wagged it’s tail in delight as he reached his destination and placed his tiny paws against Chanyeol’s clothed legs. Chanyeol grinned as he could see the puppy’s delight and responded with a higher voice, “Hi!”

The puppy yipped in delight only once to show response, and opened its mouth to stick its tongue out. The little blonde puppy was so excited that it started to wiggle its whole body in response to liking Chanyeol. Chanyeol liked this one.

“Looks like he really likes you,” Jongin commented quietly, a knowing smile proud of his face.

“I like him too,” Chanyeol picked the puppy up with his giant hands and brought the puppy up towards his face. He could see the puppy’s brown eyes blink in happiness and he started to Chanyeol’s face in delight. “What’s his name?”

“Oh, if he did have a name, he probably doesn’t remember it since he’s so young. So, whatever you want it to be,” Jongin explained as he put the rest of the puppies back and locked the cage. He helped Chanyeol get up since Chanyeol let the puppy climb in to his arms and nestle into his elbow. They walked back out to the main room and Jongin lifted out some paper work for Chanyeol to sign.

Jongin explained everything that Chanyeol had to do and sign, and Jongin stopped half way through to notice that Chanyeol wasn’t paying attention. Chanyeol was too busy playing with the puppy that cuddled into his arms, and Jongin sighed.

“Chanyeol, just sign here please,” Jongin handed Chanyeol a pen and Chanyeol gladly signed the paper work. He was so oblivious to the other responsibilities he had to do as a new dog owner that he forgot everything that Jongin had said. When Chanyeol went to question Jongin again, Jongin sighed and wrote on a piece of paper.

“Here’s my number if you have any questions or if you want me to help with anything like veterinarian options or the best kind of food for him,” Jongin gave the slip of paper to Chanyeol, and Chanyeol inspected it like he was expecting that there wasn’t a number on there. But there was and Chanyeol thought it was literally the best day ever.

-

And it turned out to be one of the worst days ever for Chanyeol’s bank account. He had to buy so many things like toys and food and a pad for the puppy to do its business. Chanyeol shook his head, he didn’t even want to think about cleaning up messes on the floor. He remembered that Jongin told him to call the veterinarian straight away so that the puppy could get an appointment. Jongin also told him to give the puppy a name when he went to go register the puppy.

Chanyeol groaned. He forgot about the puppy name.

He wasn’t in the mood to call the puppy his childhood dream name, which was Peaches, since the puppy was a boy and that would probably break his puppy’s self-esteem if he was named Peaches. Chanyeol started to look names up online to see what would be the best for his adorable little bundle of joy.

“Cooper?” Chanyeol piped up, raising his eye brows. He looked over to the blonde puppy who was disinterested and starting drinking from the water bowl. Chanyeol sighed, “Marshmallow?”

The puppy looked up from the water bowl and seemed to give a glare at Chanyeol in response. The puppy plopped down with his hind legs loose on the ground and whined for attention. Chanyeol turned back to his computer screen and peered at names, “I want to give you a real name, not something I can eat.”

The puppy yelped in delight at it and Chanyeol almost thought that the puppy could understand him, but he snorted. After searching online for hours, Chanyeol decided to give up since none of them suit his puppy’s name. Chanyeol spun around in his chair and noticed that the little puppy was gnawing against the new chew toy Chanyeol had given him. Chanyeol smiled, he was so glad he had gotten this puppy. Yes, it was a lot of work, but this little guy was so compatible with him.

“Do you want a treat?” Chanyeol called out with a higher than normal voice to surprise the puppy. The puppy looked up from the cloth like toy and blinked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol raised the treats in his hand and the puppy started to wag its tail in delight. The blonde puppy flopped around on the white tile to Chanyeol and yipped in delight at the sight of the treat.

“Okay, now sit,” Chanyeol commanded, but the puppy looked confused and whined. Chanyeol gently pushed the puppy’s down to the ground and held it there while giving the puppy the small treat and praising him with a pat on the head and a “good boy!”

Chanyeol did the training a little more, and sometimes the puppy would whine and yip for more treats. Chanyeol was a er and ended up giving the puppy five more treats because the puppy was being too cute. Chanyeol inspected the treats as the puppy ran circles around itself and caught eye of its own tail. As the puppy grabbed its own tail with its mouth and spun, Chanyeol peered at the puppy’s beloved treats. They were bacon flavored.

“Bacon?” Chanyeol said to himself, and the puppy immediately stopped and yipped up at Chanyeol. Chanyeol furrowed his brows and repeated it again, seemingly getting the same reaction from the pup. Chanyeol pondered about it, going over the Korean names in his head.

“Beikeon… beik …baek… Baekhyun… Baekhyun?” Chanyeol rolled the names off of his tongue, and the puppy jumped up on Chanyeol’s leg, standing on its own two hind legs and yipped. His tongue hung out of his very open mouth and Chanyeol could see the happiness in his puppy as the force of his wagging shook his body. Chanyeol lifted the puppy up with a smile and laughed, “Okay okay! You’re Baekhyun now!”

-

Chanyeol didn’t think taking care of a puppy would be this hard. Since the puppy was in the apartment all the time, Chanyeol thought it would be okay if he could pick a place to sleep or get a nice dog bed for him, but no. One night his roommate Kyungsoo, who was okay with having the puppy, woke up to the sound of their couch being torn apart. Needless to say, Baekhyun was going to have to sleep in a cage.

Chanyeol also didn’t know it was so hard for the puppy to be still while he was gone. His roommate was always gone to work before he was and always came back late from his shifts at the bakery, so there was no one to care for little Baekhyun between the hours of 8 and 5. Therefore, little Baekhyun became a troublesome puppy.

One morning, Kyungsoo walked into Baekhyun’s accident on the floor and went to go scold the terrified puppy with raging eyes. Kyungsoo didn’t yell, but he did flick the puppy’s nose and growled not to do it again. Baekhyun hid in the corner until Chanyeol came in to clean up the mess.

Baekhyun’s first check-up at the vet was a success in Chanyeol’s mind. He called Jongin and asked if he could come with him to the veterinarian just in case, and Jongin happily obliged. Baekhyun was shaking like a leaf when the vet checked him, but Jongin told Chanyeol that it was normal for dogs to be a little nervous. Baekhyun was given a full treatment to check for any disease, and he was given medication for heart worm. Chanyeol spaced out during the instructions, but Jongin made sure to write them down for Chanyeol to keep.

Things did get better. Chanyeol got a deal with his boss to have an hour lunch shift so that he could run home and take little Baekhyun out for a walk to the park and let him do his business outside in the park. Baekhyun loved that he could go outside and pounce on the grass and Chanyeol loved just having lunch with his tiny puppy and training him on a leash.

Baekhyun’s training got better. He occasionally went to the bathroom on the floor out of a sudden full bladder, but other than that he was trained to hold it until he could go outside when Chanyeol got home. Baekhyun also was getting better with the leash as he grew in size. He wasn’t so tea cup size anymore, and Chanyeol wasn’t sure how and when to change food differences or anything.

Chanyeol called Jongin up about a month later because Baekhyun was acting a little strange around the apartment. Jongin laughed, telling him it was his day off (a Saturday), but he would come over to the apartment. Chanyeol gave him the address and Jongin was there in less than 15 minutes.

“I don’t know. Every time we go outside and I train him, he gets really distracted by a scent or something. He’s also peeing lightly on chairs and benches outside,” Chanyeol showed Jongin the pup, who was growing up really fast. Jongin grinned at Baekhyun and Baekhyun started to roll on his back to get his stomach rubbed. Jongin instantly laughed.

“He’s not neutered, that’s why. He’s got a little puppy ,” Jongin laughed, pointing at the puppy’s little red member. Chanyeol blushed, and Jongin took notice. “Don’t worry, puppies usually pop a when they are excited. But if the peeing and marking territory does bother you, I highly suggest getting him neutered.”

“What happens when he gets neutered?”

“They remove his balls,” Jongin quipped with a smirk and Chanyeol felt like his own balls were taken out. Jongin laughed, “It doesn’t hurt too much for the puppy! And he’s about seven and half months old, so he’s okay to have them taken out. It’s okay, he won’t miss them.”

“But… his balls,” Chanyeol whimpered as he watched Jongin sit down on the floor and play with Baekhyun who was still upside down.

-

A couple weeks later, Kyungsoo came through the door of his and Chanyeol’s shared apartment and sighed. It was quiet for once, and he was glad. He kicked off his shoes at the door and placed them into a slot at the shoe rack and walked into the living room. There, he found the sulking dog Baekhyun laying on his stomach and resting his lower half on the dog pillow. Baekhyun picked up his heavy head and blinked at Kyungsoo before closing his back up and resting. Kyungsoo frowned, this wasn’t good.

Kyungsoo mused as he went searching for Chanyeol since it was 7pm and he texted Chanyeol to make dinner. Kyungsoo entered the kitchen and saw Chanyeol sulking at the table with his head planted on the table and a wine cooler in his hand. Kyungsoo sighed and looked over at the counter to see Chinese food delivery.

“Chanyeol? You okay buddy?” Kyungsoo rubbed his roommates back as Chanyeol sulked. Kyungsoo sighed as Chanyeol sobbed into Kyungsoo’s sweater.

“No, I’m a horrible person,” Chanyeol cried, gripping onto Kyungsoo’s narrow body for support. Kyungsoo patted Chanyeol’s head in sympathy.

“Not that I don’t agree with you, but what did you do this time?” Kyungsoo smirked, feeling himself take a little bit of pleasure in seeing Chanyeol cry. He was always the bastard best friend that played pranks on him during college, so why not take pleasure in seeing Chanyeol so low?

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol pointed to the sleepy dog in the corner, still resting on the pillow. Kyungsoo saw that Chanyeol wouldn’t even look at his own dog and snorted.

“What about him?”

“He’s not even one years old and I made him lose his manhood!” Chanyeol babbled drunkenly into Kyungsoo’s sweater and Kyungsoo almost smacked Chanyeol for ruining his designer sweater. What an .

“What are you talking about? Is he neutered?” Kyungsoo asked and Chanyeol cried some more as he nodded his head. Kyungsoo sighed and looked at Baekhyun. That poor dog was probably so tired from being drugged out of his mind. Then again, Kyungsoo thought that he would probably like to be drugged if someone hacked off his balls.

“I chopped off his balls! I’m such a horrible friend!”

-

Chanyeol was honestly loving his life right now. It was kind of the most perfect thing he’s ever experienced. He was free, away from his parents, owning an apartment with one of his best friends, having a dog (now 2 years old!), promoted to manager, and getting dates with the hot pet shelter worker named Jongin. Yeah, life was good.

He was now regularly taking Baekhyun for walks now since the manager position didn’t require for him to have as many hours. It was really nice to take a longer lunch break and play with Baekhyun at the park. Baekhyun had grown up to full size pretty quick. He was a beautiful blonde Labrador Retriever with a playful side to him. It was as if Baekhyun had his own snarky personality when he played fetch and teased Chanyeol until he was chased around the lake.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol loved spending time together, and nothing could separate them. They were the best of friends, and even Kyungsoo warmed up to Baekhyun. When Kyungsoo would get days off, Baekhyun would give Kyungsoo a look and just follow Kyungsoo around until Kyungsoo decided to get up and go for a jog with Baekhyun. Baekhyun was delighted to push Kyungsoo around.

Baekhyun also got very excited whenever Jongin came over because Jongin would always smell of other dogs and of treats as well. Baekhyun would sometimes just nudge at Jongin’s lap whenever he was over for dinner and Jongin would always slip him something to keep Baekhyun quiet. Baekhyun ate happily with Jongin around.

Jongin and Chanyeol were going steady, setting up dates whenever they could or had time. First, they usually talked about animals and how Baekhyun was doing, but then they got to more serious things like dating.

“So, uh, this is my apartment,” Chanyeol blushed, showing Jongin around while Baekhyun followed loyally. Jongin scratched behind Baekhyun’s ear and he panted in delight.

“Baekhyun certainly likes it,” Jongin grinned, biting his perfect bottom lip. Chanyeol felt another blush coming on as he watched the tan skinned boy play with his dog. Ugh, my dog is getting more action than me.

“Uh, did you want dinner? I could order something or… something,” Chanyeol nervously took Jongin by the hand and guided him to the kitchen. Baekhyun, again, followed.

“Yeah, dinner would be great,” Jongin smirked, feeling the nervous energy come off of Chanyeol like it was written on his forehead. Jongin chuckled and teased, “Are you nervous?”

“Yes—I mean, what? What are you talking about? Me? Nervous? Pssh,” Chanyeol waved his hand, looking through all the take out menus. Jongin grinned, turning Chanyeol around and shaking his head.

“Actually, I don’t want dinner. I want you instead,” Jongin grinned, and Chanyeol could hold his shocked face for only a moment.

And that’s when Jongin first kissed Chanyeol in Chanyeol’s apartment. Baekhyun, of course, started barking at them when Chanyeol groaned and deepened the unexpected but appreciated kiss. And all the rest was history.

Until today.

Chanyeol was getting ready for a run with Baekhyun on Saturday morning since he didn’t have a lot to do today. Kyungsoo was stuck working a Saturday shift at the bakery and texted Chanyeol many times saying that his life . Chanyeol chuckled, Kyungsoo was the one who wanted to work in the food industry, why would he complain about getting paid?

Chanyeol wrapped the red leash around Baekhyun’s collar and grabbed his phone and keys before walking outside. Chanyeol smelt the fresh, crisp air of spring and smiled down at Baekhyun. Baekhyun’s golden blonde coat shimmered in the sunlight as he swayed with Chanyeol. Chanyeol picked up the pace and started to jog with Baekhyun at his side, panting in the sun.

They were jogging for about 45 minutes before walking back home tired. That’s when Chanyeol felt his phone buzzing and recognized the number. Jongin.

“Hey, what’s up?” Chanyeol answered and he heard Jongin’s panicked voice on the other side surrounded by noisy animals.

“Chanyeol, oh my God. Can you come to the shelter? Please, I need help,” Jongin cried, and Chanyeol instantly agreed and ran back home with Baekhyun’s concerning bark by his side. Chanyeol decided to keep Baekhyun home even though his bark was distressing, but Chanyeol couldn’t risk Baekhyun. Chanyeol locked the doors and drove off to the shelter, leaving a whining Baekhyun at home.

Chanyeol arrived at the shelter at lightning speed and raced into the back. He saw Jongin there with an animal very limp but breathing in his arms. There were a lot of gashes on the animal and blood matted fur. He could see Jongin’s arms littered with scraps on his arms from the fight the animal probably put up. But most of all, he could Jongin crying.

“Jongin, what happened?” He touched Jongin’s shoulder lightly, bending down to the ground to get at his level. As he got closer, he could see the animal better up close. It was definitely a cat, and its claws were lodged into Jongin’s tan skin in pain. The cat had deep gashes in its side and was breathing at a steady pace, but was a low growl of pain. Jongin looked up at Chanyeol with tears in his eyes.

“I was just taking one of the new dogs outside and he lashed out and grabbed this cat from across the street. He hurt the cat pretty bad and the dog had to be sent away to the pound,” Jongin started to cry as he shifted and the cat deepened its claws into Jongin’s arms. Chanyeol tried to soothe his boyfriend with a gentle touch, but quickly found that it wasn’t enough.

“What do we do?”

“We have to go the vet, they’ll take care of the cat,” Jongin gritted his teeth as the cat sunk in farther. He looked up at Chanyeol with tears in his eyes. “Please Chanyeol.”

They got the cat into the veternarian’s office as quickly as they possibly could with the car holding onto Jongin for dear life and Jongin crying in the passenger seat. The hospital detached the claws from Jongin and wrestled the cat in the back room. Jongin was given some alcohol wipes and antibacterial cream from the wounds the cat created. Chanyeol and Jongin waited for hours in the waiting room, Jongin crying in Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“I just hope the cat is okay,” Jongin whispered in Chanyeol’s shoulder and Chanyeol gave him an incredulous look.

“Forget about the cat, I was worried about you,” Chanyeol hugged his boyfriend tightly until Jongin whined.

“I’m sorry, I just really liked the cat,” Jongin muttered.  

“Jongin, you like every animal,” Chanyeol sassed Jongin, even though he knew it was true. He started to rub Jongin’s arm when he became antsy.

The assistant finally came out and asked for the both of them to come into a room in back. That’s where Jongin almost broke down crying, seeing the cat displayed on the metal table on its side, breathing steadily and stitched up. Mostly of the hair had been cleaned, but there were patches of fur missing from its sides from the stitches. However, the cat was passed out from the anesthetic from surgery.

“We had to perform minor surgery and clean up the gashes that the cat received. We stitched him up very well and we’re expecting him to make a full recovery,” The veterinarian explained, the cat gently. Jongin began to gently touch the cat, rubbing the cats belly as the cats’ chest rose up and down. “Does the cat belong to you?”  

“No, he is a street cat. He didn’t have a collar or a microchip when I picked him up. I work for the animal shelter,” Jongin explained, and the veterinarian hummed. Jongin began to widen his eyes, and turned to Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol, I have a favor to ask you,” Jongin whispered. Chanyeol groaned. He had a feeling he’d be getting into more than he liked.

-

Chanyeol groaned as he carried the small crate with a handle bar up to his apartment. Jongin promised him that he would come back the next morning to help out with everything. But Chanyeol didn’t need help for tomorrow, he needed help with tonight.

At that moment, Chanyeol heard a small meow coming from the crate as he placed the crate down on the ground so he could fish for his keys in his pocket to unlock the apartment door.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol mumbled to the crate as the meow became a little louder. He finally found his keys, opened the door and heard the jangle of Baekhyun’s collar as he walked in with the crate. Chanyeol also heard the television running and winced as he knew Kyungsoo was home and was probably going to yell at him.

“Hey,” Chanyeol called out, signaling Kyungsoo and Baekhyun that he was here. Baekhyun raised his head from Kyungsoo’s lap and sniffed the air as he smelled a very unfamiliar smell. Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows as Chanyeol didn’t bounce right into the apartment as he usually did. He also was very suspicious because it was Saturday and Chanyeol never went out with Baekhyun on Saturday’s.

“Chanyeol? Is everything alright?” Kyungsoo called down from the dark hallway when Chanyeol didn’t automatically come down the hallway. But his giant roommate finally staggered in and Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at the gray crate in his hand. “What is that?”

“Uh, I can explain,” Chanyeol felt sweat bead down the side of his head as he felt Kyungsoo’s deadly stare, and conveniently, the crate started to meow. Kyungsoo’s stare immediately went from deadly to confused and surprised. Even Baekhyun turned his head toward the sound.

“Was that a …?” Kyungsoo trailed off.

“A cat,” Chanyeol sighed, sounding really defeated as he put the meowing crate down.

“Chanyeol, I hope we’re not keeping it,” Kyungsoo lowered his voice, petting Baekhyun as he whined in Kyungsoo’s lap. Chanyeol felt sorry for Baekhyun being pet by his evil roommate. Chanyeol winced.

“Well, it’s only until the cat is fully healed. Jongin told me it would probably be better than being at the shelter,” Chanyeol tried to explain, but Kyungsoo kept on narrowing his eyes. Chanyeol sighed and opened up the crate, releasing the cat.

The cat meowed lowly as it stumbled out of the crate and onto the rug on the living room floor. Baekhyun sat up straight on the couch as he watched with curious eyes the ball of fur that was on the floor. Baekhyun instinctively whined on the couch, ears perked up, and his nostrils flared. He was sensing danger and was trying to protect his owners. Kyungsoo, however, was a little shocked and stared up at Chanyeol with concern written on his features.

“What happened to it?” Kyungsoo whispered in fear of hurting the cat further with his words. He knelt down on the floor and the cat instantly hissed at the human next to it. Kyungsoo didn’t go and reach out to the cat instantly, but gasped at seeing the tufts of hair missing and stitches all up the sides of the cats torso.

“A dog got to him,” Chanyeol said with a solemn tone, and Kyungsoo’s eyes got wide as the cat tried to drop down on the ground and curl into itself. It only groaned at the pain it was in and Kyungsoo felt terrible. Kyungsoo got up and grabbed a bowl and a carton of milk. He poured the milk out for the cat and told Baekhyun to stay on the couch.

“Maybe some milk will make him feel better,” Kyungsoo said quietly, putting the bowl inches away from the cat. The cat slowly opened its green eyes and eyes the bowl in front of him. But the whiff of milk went to its nostrils and the cat began to slowly lap up the milk. Kyungsoo smiled softly.

“I’m willing to keep him until he’s okay. Then we’ll see,” Kyungsoo responded softly, but continued to sit on the floor and watch the cat drink the milk provided. Chanyeol stepped over Kyungsoo and landed onto the couch, scratching Baekhyun’s back as he landed. Baekhyun snuggled into Chanyeol’s neck for safety and started whining.

“It’s okay buddy, I’m here,” Chanyeol laughed as he scratched behind Baekhyun’s ear and Baekhyun wagged his tail happily. Chanyeol turned toward Kyungsoo and asked, “How was he?”

“He missed you,” Kyungsoo replied softly, still intently watching the cat drink its milk. Once the cat was done, it placed its head back its cocoon and breathed in and out steadily. Kyungsoo placed the bowl in the sink and sighed as he sat next to Baekhyun on his other side, idly petting through Baekhyun’s hair.

-

The cat was recovering not as fast as the veterinarians were saying he would, so the cat was staying for longer than expected. No one was complaining, even Kyungsoo.

Jongin came over more frequently to check up on the cat, and Kyungsoo would always tell Jongin that he was in good hands. Chanyeol was thinking that Kyungsoo was taking a liking to the cat himself, but Kyungsoo always gave him a glare while he pet the cat.

Chanyeol was thinking that the healing process would only take a couple of weeks, but a month passed by and the cat was still recovering. Kyungsoo told Chanyeol to finally give it a rest and keep the cat, so they decided to finally keep the cat under one condition. The cat had to get along with Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was the deciding factor. Baekhyun was a friendly enough dog that he would think the cat would get along with, but the only thing that worried Chanyeol was the fact that the cat probably did have a fear of dogs. The cat might even lash out at Baekhyun. Chanyeol was worried.

Kyungsoo finally gave the cat a name, and Chanyeol didn’t complain. Kyungsoo gave the cat the name Jongdae, and Chanyeol didn’t really know why, but Kyungsoo said he had his reasons. Chanyeol just shrugged as Kyungsoo held the purring Jongdae close and rubbed his belly.

Jongin came over one night to hang out with Kyungsoo and Chanyeol for a movie night, but also to cuddle with Baekhyun and Jongdae since they were “family pets”.

“Excuse me, we’re not a family. Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m friends with him,” Kyungsoo cried in the kitchen while he made popcorn. Jongin and Chanyeol sat on the couch, cuddling against each other while they had the movie paused for a refill of popcorn. Jongin and Chanyeol were content on the couch that they didn’t even notice Baekhyun and Jongdae approaching each other in the corner.

The next thing the couple new, they heard Baekhyun yelp in the corner with a red scratch on the nose and Jongdae hissing, growling at Baekhyun with his fur standing on end. Jongin picked up the cat and scolded Jongdae for hurting Baekhyun and Chanyeol went to go get an alcohol wipe to clean Baekhyun’s cuts. So far, they weren’t getting along too well.

However, things started to look better. Jongdae grew back most of his hair and it was beautifully striped against his coat. He was a tabby cat with a gray, brown, dull orange, and black stripes. Chanyeol had to admit that Jongdae was a beautiful cat with its green eyes staring back at him wondrously. Jongin also told Chanyeol that the cat was owned before but probably dumped somewhere because he was neutered. Chanyeol sighed, he couldn’t understand why people would give up on their pets.

Jongdae was a cat that wasn’t like most cats Chanyeol encountered. Chanyeol never thought he’d own a cat in his life because of all the mean cats he’s heard or seen. But Jongdae was different. Jongdae liked staying indoors despite being an outdoor cat when he was a stray. Jongdae also liked getting pet and scratched. He never scratched Chanyeol once, except when he was giving the cat medicine and it refused to cooperate.

Jongdae was slowly warming up to Baekhyun, and Chanyeol could see it by just watching the two interact. Jongdae would drink from the same water bowl as Baekhyun, and sometimes even do it at the same time as when Baekhyun would drink. Jongdae had even gone as far as to purr and rub up against Baekhyun’s legs while Baekhyun waited for a treat. Jongdae would also meow for a treat and get a dog food treat instead.

After Jongdae had healed, Chanyeol knew he had to get Jongdae a microchip to be safe. He had already registered the cat and was bringing him home form the vet trip. Once he walked into the door, Baekhyun rushed to the door with his tail wagging. Chanyeol put Jongdae down and watched as Baekhyun chased Jongdae all the way to the living room. It was then Chanyeol finally decided they could live together in harmony.

Jongdae was kneading Baekhyun’s dog pillow as Baekhyun sniffed around Jongdae’s whole feline body. Baekhyun, after finally inspecting Jongdae, plopped down on the pillow and curled against his body. Jongdae stepped inside the pillow and nested himself in the space at Baekhyun’s chest and curled around Baekhyun’s body. He napped with a purr and Baekhyun snored.

Chanyeol felt like a proud parent.

A/N: 

I had this idea for a while because I noticed that one of my dogs and my cat interact with each other in a different dynamic than cats and dogs normally do. 

(***Also, Chankai/kaiyeol, for reasons.)

****blatant reference to Krong from Pororo, also for reasons.

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Until next time~!