“Hyuuunnggg,” Hyuk started singing as soon as he got to the pet shop.

Wonshik walked inside right behind him with his fingers intertwined just nicely with Hyuk’s. Taekwoon followed them not a minute later with Bean in tow. The boy was wide-eyed, trying his best not to yelp and jump around like he used to when he was a puppy. He just held it in and grinned at everything amusing that he could set his eyes on.

Occasionally, Taekwoon found it adorable; looking at the boy’s awed expression. Eyes bulging, lips stretched into a gummy smile and dimples carved as deep as it can go. No one from his family has ever made that kind of expression before.

“Oh! A new puppy!” Wonshik yelped from a side of the shop.

“Where?” Bean piped up, eyes sparkling.

“Wait-“ Taekwoon worried.

“Let them be. They’ll be fine. Wonshik knows his way around this shop and so will Bean if he starts exploring. Besides, they’ll get along just fine. They always do,” Hyuk said.

“They always do? What do you mean?”

“The wishes. They always get along just fine,” Hyuk grinned.

“You’ve met other ones? And are they officially called ‘the wishes’ or is it just you?”

“It’s an official name but we just came up with it around last year.”

We? What, there were others? They’ve been around for longer than he knew? Where is Hyuk taking him anyway? Taekwoon helplessly wondered.

So many questions were swirling in his head that he had to blink a few times and literally shake his head to make it all go away. He tried to keep up with Hyuk, soon finding himself entering the staff lounge at the back of the store.

He thought they were going to discuss something in the lounge but he was wrong; they were yet to reach the place to do so. He kept on following Hyuk, who was going straight for the…cupboard? It was a cupboard meant to be filled with all the extra things needed in the shop but was then only half-filled. Hyuk turned around and giggled at the expression Taekwoon was wearing. Clearly, he was confused.

“We’re going in there,” Hyuk said.

Puzzled, Taekwoon only nodded absentmindedly. With a smile, Hyuk guided the elder to a nearby couch set to sit on; to calm down on. Meanwhile, Wonshik and Bean were having the time of their lives outside in the shop. Wonshik was showing him all the pets yet to be adopted in the shop and all the new toys that have just arrived the week before. Bean was yet able to speak fluently like Wonshik but he was learning; every once in a while, Wonshik would laugh at little one’s efforts. Having toured the whole shop already, Wonshik led Bean to where their owners were.

Right after they came in, Taekwoon’s eyes lit up a great deal at the sight of Bean. Quietly, Hyuk giggled at the elder’s response as he called for Wonshik to come to his side. Bean eagerly walked over to the other, quickly finding a spot on his owner’s lap to sit on. It was a little shocking to Taekwoon but he managed. He eyed Hyuk who couldn’t supress his laughter much longer. Both the wishes didn’t say a word, though Wonshik did smile.

“Do you want something to eat?” Hyuk asked Wonshik who was leaning on him by his side.

“Can I?” He asked back, smiling up.

“Only if you bring Bean with you, safely both to and back.”

“Leave it to me,” Wonshik sat up, grinning.

Hyuk gave Wonshik some money and Bean looked at the two in confusion. He only heard his name but he didn’t quite get the idea yet since he’s only been a human for…what, a few weeks?

“How bout we let these two go get some ice cream from across the street while we have a little talk. Hyung?” Hyuk looked up at the elder.

It was written on his face that he had some doubts in letting Bean go wandering off on his own, even if it doesn’t require him being by himself since Wonshik was to be with him. His hands automatically went around the other’s waist as he laid his head on Bean’s side, looking over to Hyuk.

“Hyung…it’s just across the street. Plus, Wonshik knows his way around since it's his favourite. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Right, Wonshik?” Hyuk tried to assure the elder.

“Yeah, okay. Just…be careful, okay?” Taekwoon looked up at Bean.

Nodding, Bean smiled. Leaving the warmth of his owner’s lap, Bean followed Wonshik out of the room. Taekwoon’s eyes seemed to follow them without him being aware of it. Hyuk smiled.

“They’ll be fine,” he chuckled at the elder.

Taekwoon looked at him and sighed. He was just a little conscious since he’s still a beginner in the matter, unlike Hyuk who already has some experience.

“Now, shall we go in?”

“In…where?” Taekwoon’s eyes were focused on Hyuk then.

“The factory.”

"...and how do we do that?" Taekwoon asked.

"Through this door," Hyuk beamed as he pushed the cupboard a little to its side.

Oh, there's a secret door. Perfect. This is my life now, Taekwoon thought, absentmindedly following Hyuk.

X

“Hyuuunggg,” Hyuk sang as soon as the cupboard closed behind him.

There was a counter. A counter that was as white as those in the clinics where people go to pick up their medications. This counter, however, had nothing but a file and bell on top of it. Taekwoon peered at the neatly arranged cupboard behind the counter and almost forgot to blink as he was in utter awe. It was enormous and it was filled with brown coloured files arranged alphabetically from A to Z.

“That’s the management’s cupboard. Amazing, isn’t it?” Hyuk asked the elder, smiling.

Taekwoon nodded.

“Every file present is a file issuing each wish that’s ever existed and is now existing. The alphabets follow their names. It has everything that both we and the wishes need; a copy of the manual, an issued letter, documents and the official contract. This one…is yours. Technically, it’s Bean’s,” he explained, handing over the file on the counter to Taekwoon.

Quietly, Taekwoon took the file and opened it. Indeed there were all the things that Hyuk had mentioned but something was not right. The documents were all blank and the contract was sealed with a navy blue stamp on it. It seemed familiar to Taekwoon but nothing came to his mind at the moment.

“Hyuuunggg,” Hyuk called out again.

He rang the bell a few dozen times but no one answered. Taekwoon was nearing his tolerance limit by the time Hyuk stopped trying. Instead, he walked over to the elder and looked through the file with him.

“You need to fill these documents before handing the file over…but that’s totally up to you though, if you don’t want to sign the contract; it’s a voluntary action so don’t worry so much,” said Hyuk.

“What contract are we talking about?” Taekwoon asked, somehow bothered by the word.

“This one,” he pointed at the folded paper with the navy blue stamp.

“…what’s it for?”

“Well, like a lot of things in the world, you need to sign this contract before having total guardianship over what it promises; in this case, it's Bean. It’s going to list down everything Bean needs and wants in it so you’ll have to be prepared for whatever’s coming before making the decision.”

“Decision?”

“Yeah…you know, this whole wish-owner relationship thing? Once you get a wish granted, the factory issues you a contract in which is like a written vow to promise to take care of the wish to your best of ability and all that stuff…”

He was about to open the contract when Hyuk stopped him midway. He looked at the younger and crunched his eyebrows unknowingly.

“You can’t open it.”

“Why not?”

“See this stamp? It’s the wish’s stamp. Unless they’re ready to go through with this whole thing, you can’t open it. It has some kind of…seal; like you really cannot open it.”

Confused with Hyuk’s unclear warning, Taekwoon still tried to open the contract. Unfortunately, Hyuk was right. The elder tried his best to rip the stamp off but it wasn’t working. It was as if the paper was resisting on its own. He looked at the younger and his furrow grew deeper. Sighing, Hyuk stopped him again.

“I told you, you can’t. This is a matter that involves a life; the wish’s life. Once they’re given to you, you’re fully responsible over their whole being but only if you want to. If you don’t, it will be taken back and given to someone else who might need it.”

The furrowed eyebrows ran even deeper. Hyuk could see the worry in Taekwoon’s eyes.

“Though, it won’t be taken away if both parties feel strongly for each other. Let’s say you treat Bean wrong and Bean hates it, then Bean gets taken away. If you don’t want to take care of him and feel like he’s a burden, he’ll be taken away. That’s it. The factory doesn’t believe in forcing people to care for something.”

Somehow, the furrowed eyebrows started to disappear. Oh, he realized. He put the contract back in the file and closed it. He wanted to pay attention to what Hyuk was saying since he felt like it was important.

“There has been a lot of commotion since the first wish turned up in this country years ago. So to avoid any fuss bothering his life, the owner of this first wish built this shop in order to cover his actions up from the world. It's like an alibi. He acted as if he adopted his wish from somewhere far because of the passion he had for such things and eventually, people believed him. Thanks to the people’s trust, he managed to go out and about secretly throughout the years, building an underground space to shelter his wish as well as learn more about it without having anyone to question his actions.”

“…so this is all his work?”

“The fruition of his work, to be precise,” said a familiar voice a few steps away.

Hyuk turned around and a grin was plastered across his face. It was the shop owner, Hakyeon. Of course, Taekwoon thought to himself.

"Well hello there," Hakyeon waved over to Taekwoon.

"Hyung! We've been waiting for ages! I almost grew a beard-"

"Oh stop exaggerating, I was only gone for about 10 minutes. Now, how can I help you?"

"You know how-"

"Not you, this customer here," Hakyeon cut Hyuk off with a smile.

"...um, I'm here for...this contract? Or, something of the sort? I'm not sure..." Taekwoon stood, still a little confused.

"Ah. Can I see that?"

Taekwoon handed the file over and started to go through the papers. He nodded a few times, taking out the envelope with the stamp on it and closed the file. He looked up at the two waiting and smiled. He laid the envelope on the counter and stared at it.

"If this file isn't lying, your name would be Jung Taekwoon, right? And you're 24?"

Taekwoon nodded. Suddenly, he's nervous.

"So your wish came from a drawing and this strong desire to care for something...which is good because lately, I've been receiving callbacks from irresponsible owners saying they were only wishing for the sake of wishing, not really wanting to be responsible for what they wished for...so I know you'll do a much better job at this than them...but it says here, that your personality...will either be Bean's salvation, or his peril."

"What does that mean?" Hyuk asked.

"Well, Mr. Taekwoon here seems...unfit for the job- says the file, that is but I believe otherwise."

"Why unfit?"

After mulling over the drafted explanation in his mind, Hakyeon sighed. 

"I don't think I can explain this to you in literal words but I can show you. Come on, we're going down," he said, leaving the counter.

"...down where?"

"The factory!" Said Hyuk, excited.

Hakyeon joined them, then walked over to a door that seemed like it wasn't there before; coloured as white as the walls and pressed his palms on it. It slid open, revealing what seemed to resemble an elevator. They got in and waited for the door to close. As soon as it did, Hakyeon pressed on a spot by the right wall and a small compartment opened. In it was a small monitor accompanied by a small speaker.

"Jung Taekwoon," Hakyeon spoke into the speaker.

Almost immediately, the monitor responded. 'CASE 1011' was typed out on the screen. Before it disappeared, the elevator started to move downwards.

"Oh, we hit the 1k mark already? Nice, nice," said Hyuk.

"The numbers there resemble the number of wishes that has been produced by the factory ever since it first did many years ago. So you're case number 1011. Mine was 306 and Hyuk's was 507," said Hakyeon, as if sensing Taekwoon's confusion.

"Woah, then that means there's been a twofold increase in wishes for the past what...a year and a half? That's a lot," said Hyuk in awe.

"Yeah...but like I said, there were a lot of cases where the owners refuse to keep their wishes. I think I've written about 250 reports for the wish-returning process. It hurts me everytime I submit one; those poor, little ones."

Both Hakyeon and Hyuk sighed. Taekwoon remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

"...is returning...that bad?" He suddenly asked.

"Well, it kind of is but it can't really be helped. Not everyone is made to care; we're all made to love but to care needs effort. Not everyone knows how to do that properly so in the end, they give up and...move on, as if nothing ever happened. These wishes, they're not to be messed with. They are no different from us; they are alive, they want to be loved and to be cared for. What sets them apart is that they exist to simply fulfill their purpose of being 'a wish come true' to their owners. I guess that's why it hurts me when I have to return them. It makes me feel like they were mistakes, something the owners were ashamed of and not what they would consider 'a wish come true.'"

"I...never thought that way before," said Hyuk, his voice somewhat heavy with sadness.

"You rarely think of these things, which is why Wonshik was given to you. He thinks FOR you," Hakyeon laughed.

"Hey! Just because his list of vocabularies is longer than mine, doesn't mean he thinks more than me. It's just his nature!" Hyuk pinched Hakyeon's .

"If you say so," said the elder, laughing as he rubbed his sore cheeks.

"Um...what do you mean by that?" Taekwoon asked, turning to the Hyuk.

"Well, as each wish comes from something random, like a page from a book or a drawing or a plush toy; each of them comes into existence with their original features. Sometimes, even their nature. Wonshik, for example, came from a poem so the way he speaks...is like he's reciting one. Although, I have heard him imitate how...normal people talk and sometimes even sings pop songs. It's very funny," he laughed, "as for Bean, I've noticed how he's always a little jumpy and cheerful, like when he was a puppy. I guess that's just his nature or something. Although, I wouldn't know about his features because I haven't seen the drawing you did before he appeared."

"Oh yeah, you drew him, didn't you? Wow, you must be really talented then!" Said Hakyeon, turning to Taekwoon.

Before Taekwoon could even start to get nervous, the elevator stopped. The monitor read, 'level 24.' The door opened and they all got out. Everyone looked around in awe and started walking towards who knows where. One thing's for sure though, was that they were greeted with a garden. Everything was coloured in a pastel tone, the trees nearby, the grass under their soles, the sky above them, even the lake that laid calm a few feet away from them. 

"...how is this...possible?" Taekwoon breathed.

"It just is," said Hakyeon.

They walked a little more, just until they reached the lake and stopped. They looked around and waited for something to happen. Hakyeon, who was supposed to be in charge of the place, seemed just as confused. He said 'hello' to nobody in particular but no one replied. He clapped his hands but only echoes responded to him. He tried stomping his feet, dipping his hand in the lake, touching the bark of the trees nearby but nothing came out of it.

"Wait, hyung. When you went to your level, what did you do?" Hyuk asked.

"Hm, I didn't really do anything specific since it was pretty loud there. It was a nursery-like place; I was immediately greeted with plush toys and little kids. What about your level?"

"Hyung, mine was a library, remember? The only thing that greeted us then was jazz music and a floating quill."

"Ah. That was a weird level. Hm...then, should we whistle? Bean came as a puppy so it's only common sense, right?"

Both Taekwoon and Hyuk nodded, not knowing what else to do. Hakyeon whistled and waited. Moments later, a big Husky came frolicking into view, followed by a pack of various animals. They were mostly four-legged; dogs, cats, an otter or two, there was even a hawk flying over them. The three grown men hung their jaws, wondering whether they should be amazed or frightened. 

Once the pack slowed to a jog, Hakyeon went to meet them halfway. The two followed in silence. The Husky seemed to be the one in charge so out of courtesy, Hakyeon gave it a little bow and waited for a response. It bowed back and started to sniff the three as if searching for something. Deciding on something, it bit Taekwoon's shirt hem and gently pulled him towards the edge of the lake. It its paws on the surface and what was then their reflections soon turned into the image of Bean. Slowly, it changed from what Bean is to what Bean was; before he ever existed. 

It was a piece of paper. 'Something I can call mine,' it wrote. Suddenly, Taekwoon's voice echoed from the distance,

"I wish I could have something to care for...something that can be my company. I know that's selfish, considering all the people I have around me to care for. But I just...I don't know how to do that since I've always been the one to receive all their love, their attention. I need something that can teach me how to do it from scratch, how to stop being so scared...so scared of caring too much- I- I just...I'm sorry, I-"

And it was cut off. The image blurred and gradually faded. Everything was quiet. A little taken by surprise, Taekwoon sat on the grass and exhaled what seemed to be the breath he didn't know he was holding in. The Husky sat beside him and nuzzled his neck.

"Are you troubled, my friend?" Said a voice.

Everyone turned to look but there was no one new in sight. The animals all gathered around the three men and they all sat down. Unconsciously, Hyuk and Hakyeon followed. 

"What is on your mind?" Said the voice again.

"...I'm not sure," Taekwoon whispered.

"If you are worried about whether you should keep your companion by your side or not, please stop. This is not for you to worry about. It is a privilege for us companions to be by your side, to accompany you through your thick and thins."

"...it is?"

"Yes."

"...but I have to worry. I don't want to burden you- to burden him...if I choose to not keep him."

"Then keep him."

"...I'm afraid."

"Of what, my friend?"

"I- Am I fit to- I mean, would it be okay? I don't really know how..."

"You said before that you wanted to be taught. To learn how to care and love. This is an opportunity; YOUR opportunity to do so."

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"You correct it. If you do not know how to, come see us again and we'll find a solution together."

"...'us'? Who...who are you?"

"Specifically, I am the guardian here. For every group of companions that come to existence, there is a guardian. For animal companions, I am their guide; as I am the guide for their owners. Whenever you need help or guidance regarding your companion, I will be here to lend a hand. Or in this case, a paw," the voice chuckled.

Everyone turned to the Husky, surprised. It was him who was speaking all this time? 

"...thank you. I'll be in your care," said Taekwoon, carefully giving the Husky a little bow.

"So then, have you decided?"

"...not really. Um...before we came here, the file said that I am either Bean's salvation or his peril; what exactly does that mean?"

"In truth, Bean...is a special case. He first existed to be the companion of an old man, very late in his years. They went along beautifully but like all humans do, the old man passed away. Bean was returned with a broken heart. In most cases, companions come into existence due to the calling of innocent wishes; usually from children. But there are cases where young adults like you and your friends deal with complex conflicts that revert your natures to what of a child's. That's when such innocence returns to your heart and compels you to seek for help- for any form of help that can heal you. For every wish of an innocent heart, a specific companion is attracted to respond to it. Bean...responded to you."

"...responded? Specifically to me?"

"Yes, my friend. A broken heart speaks to another broken heart. I assume you've...lost someone to death?" The Husky asked ever so gently.

Looking down at the grass, Taekwoon nodded. He felt his heart ached.

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

"I'm afraid I must go. I am needed elsewhere. Will you decide soon?" 

Somehow feeling a little sad that they had to part, Taekwoon eventually nodded.

"Thank you for telling me all this."

"No, thank you for calling out to Bean. He will be worth your worries so do not fret so much."

With that, the Husky bowed to them and left with the pack in tow.

Taekwoon looked at his hands and let out a sigh. He turned to the other two and gave them a little smile.

"That...was awesome. I feel...enlightened for some reason, like I had a spiritual confrontation of some sort," said Hyuk.

"...yeah, I've never felt so...calm," Hakyeon nodded in agreement.

"So hyung...have you decided?"

"I think so."

"Okay good, because I miss Wonshik already."

x

Aaaaaaannnnddddd there you have it folks. A long update after 2 years of leaving this in the dust.

I apologize, from the very depths of my heart, I truly apologize for leaving yall hanging. I lost the password to my account back then and I totally forgot about it. But while I was cleaning my writing files, I found everything I had left and tried my best to reset my password (there were so many problems with it, I almost gave up again) and here we are.

I want to promise that I'll update again soon, especially for the other stories but I can't since I have a job now and I'm really bad at being consistent. Although, I will try with all my might. Do spam me with comments to remind me to update - it helps me to be more consistent.

Well, have a great weekend and...I hope you enjoyed this (very spiritual, very odd) chapter.