/coos at that cute little grumpy bird up there/

Xiuho (Minseok/Joonmyun ) : Wild Thing

Being the head of the only animal sanctuary in Seoul means Minseok’s kept pretty busy on a daily basis. His usual calls are about squirrels and baby robins, and every now and then he gets someone calling about a cat and has to gently direct the caller to an animal shelter. Every now and then he gets some really unusual calls, and today is one of those days.

“Sir, I really need you to calm down right now.” Minseok’s been on the phone with this man since he called in, he didn’t feel right hanging up on someone who was crying so hard. The call has lasted 27 minutes so far.

The man on the other end wails, “I TRIED TO STOP BUT IT WAS SO FAST, OH GOD I SWEAR I DIDN’T MEAN IT!”

“I know you didn’t,” Minseok says, “I’m almost there. Has the owl moved at all?”

“N-no,” The caller whimpers. “But it’s breathing, I can tell.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Minseok says. “I’m going to hang up now, I’ll be there in a minute.”

While calls about injured owls are rare, it’s not the first time Minseok’s gotten one. It is, however, the first time he’s ever had a caller so distressed. The man said that the owl almost flew into his windshield, which is a big red flag for the bird’s health. It may have been in another accident previously and suffered brain damage, in which case it’s likely the animal will be put down. But Minseok will refrain from telling his caller that information.

The accident happened on a quiet little side street, and as Minseok turns the corner he sees a white car and a man in a brown jacket crouched a little to the side of it. Minseok puts on his car’s emergency lights and grabs his gloves, a towel, and a cat carrier from the passenger seat. As Minseok gets closer he can see red tracks on the man’s face from his tears, and his heart absolutely breaks for the poor guy.

The man in question looks up and relief floods his face. “You’re here! It opened its eyes just a second ago, but it’s still not moving.”

Minseok nods and creeps around the car. The owl is splayed out on its back, and its eyes are open. Thank goodness the other man turned off his headlights or the poor creature would be extra stressed. Minseok quickly puts on his gloves, tosses a towel over the owl’s body, and then feels around over the towel to fold its wings against its body.

Minseok turns to the other man. “Can you open the cage for me?”

The man nods and with his help, Minseok gets the owl in the cage in only a few seconds.

“What now?” the tearful man asks.

“I’ll take him to a vet first thing in the morning,” Minseok says. “I’ve already called a friend of mine who knows a lot about raptors, he’ll make sure this little guy is taken care of.”

“Okay,” The man says. “Thanks for getting here so quickly. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Minseok shakes his head. “You’ve already helped so much by calling me. Don’t worry, I’m sure this little one is going to be fine. Get home safely!”

And he drives away, thinking only of the injured owl in his car.

The Sanctuary doesn’t often get visitors, so Minseok is shocked when the little bell over his door chimes and a kind-faced man in a tailored suit walks inside.

“Oh, hello,” The man says, and Minseok’s heart flip-flops at his smile, “Good to see you again.”

Minseok knows he must look blank.

The man’s face falls slightly. “I’m Kim Joonmyun, I called about the…the owl that flew into my car?”

“Oh yes!” Minseok almost shouts, “Yes I’m sorry, I remember you.”

The smile is back. “I’m sure you must be very busy, but I was wondering how the owl is doing?”

“Fine,” Minseok says, “Well, sort of. He’s alive,” Minseok adds quickly as Joonmyun’s face falls again, “We’re just not sure if he’s going to be released or not.”

Joonmyun looks so upset. “Is it because of me?”

Minseok shakes his head. “I think not. The fact that he flew into your car says a lot, the vet took some scans and it looks like he’s got some brain damage.”

“Oh no!” Joonmyun gasps, “That poor little thing! Is he going to be okay?”

Minseok nods. “I mean, it’s likely he’ll never be released, but he’ll probably go to an educational facility or a zoo. He’ll be taken care of.”

Joonmyun finally looks relieved. “Oh, good. I was wondering if…if I could see him?”

Minseok nods again. “Yes, absolutely!”

The animal sanctuary is just on the outskirts of Seoul, in a less populated part of the city. There’s a large shed on the property that has been converted to a space for bigger birds. So far, the owl is the only resident. He hasn’t flown since arriving, and sits in a corner of his pen.

Joonmyun kneels down and smiles at the bird. “He’s beautiful. Do you know what kind of owl he is?”

“A Collared Scops owl,” Minseok says. “They’re actually pretty common in Asia, but you rarely see them in big cities.”

“He looks like he would blend in well in a forest,” Joonmyun says.

The owl finally seems to realize that he has company and he fluffs out his feathers, giving both men an indignant stare.

Joonmyun laughs. “Aw, what a grumpy little guy!” He tries to imitate the hooting of an owl, and blushes when he doesn’t get a response. “Have you named him?” Joonmyun asks.

“I haven’t had the chance,” Minseok confesses. “Do you have any ideas?”

“He kind of looks like my friend Kyungsoo when he’s mad,” Joonmyun says. “How about Kyungsoo?”

“I like it.”

They decide to leave Kyungsoo alone, and head back to the main building.

“Do you work alone?” Joonmyun asks. “It’s so quiet.”

“No, I have help. The veterinary students at the universities all come by and give me a hand, and they take turns on night duty. You just missed lunch, which is why everyone is so quiet. But I am the one with the rescue license, which means I go on the calls.”

“How many animals are here now?” Joonmyun asks.

Minseok has to think about it. “With Kyungsoo, we currently have 32 patients.”

Joonmyun looks shocked. “That many?”

“Yeah, it’s mating season, so they’re all out an about. We have three foxes, four raccoons, ten various small birds, eight possums, six bunnies, and now an owl. And that’s just the less injured ones. The universities usually take the more serious ones off my hands. I’m lucky we’re in the city, the sanctuaries further out don’t get a lot of help from the vet programs.”

“How on earth do you pay for all of it?” Joonmyun wonders.

“The government gives us money, and we get donations.”

Right away, Joonmyun pulls out his wallet.

“You don’t have to,” Minseok says, blushing.

“I planned to anyway,” Joonmyun tells him. “I feel so bad for that poor little bird. And for you,” he says, blushing even more than Minseok. “I’m quite embarrassed by my behavior…anyway, I was having a bad day, and hitting an owl with my car was just the final straw. I’m not usually like that.”

Minseok doesn’t know what to say to that. “I understand, it’s really not a big deal.”

Joonmyun presses some bills into Minseok’s hand. “I wish I could do more. Do you accept volunteers? I can come some weeknights, and weekends.”

That’s music to Minseok’s ears. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

Only after Joonmyun leaves does Minseok look down and realize he’s holding FIVE HUNDRED dollars in his hands.

Joonmyun comes back the very next day, dressed more appropriately in jeans and a t-shirt. A few university students are over for evening feedings, and Minseok pulls Joonmyun aside to whisper, “About yesterday, I don’t think you meant to give me that much money.”

Joonmyun grins brightly. “No, I did.”

Minseok’s jaw drops. “B-but…I don’t…I mean…”

Joonmyun laughs. “Please, take it. I have quite a bit of money and not much use for it. Wow that sounded incredibly snobby. Seriously, just take it. I’ll probably be giving you more soon, it was just all I had and I hate running to the bank, but once my new check book gets here…anyway, how can I help today?”

Minseok starts by giving Joonmyun a tour of the place and showing him all of their animals. They keep the herbivores and carnivores as separated as possible, since the smells would just cause stress. Since Joonmyun doesn’t have experience with wild animals, he’s not allowed to handle them. To start him off, and test his willingness to do hard work, Minseok hands him a broom.

“Nobody has time to clean around here and as I’m sure you can see, it’s filthy.”

Joonmyun salutes him. “I’m on it, captain.”

Minseok steadfastly ignores the blush on his own face. “If you need more than this, you can use a mop. We don’t use chemical cleaners, the strongest thing we use is vinegar, since it’s natural and safe for the animals. Yell if you need something.”

He dashes off to help the university students with their three pregnant bunnies and gets side tracked with some book keeping. Joonmyun finds Minseok two hours later.

“I did a little more than sweep, I hope you don’t mind.”

Minseok apologizes for leaving Joonmyun alone for so long, but Joonmyun waves it off. “I actually really like cleaning, I find it very therapeutic, and I so rarely get a chance to do it myself.”

“Well, you can go, if you want,” Minseok says, still feeling a little bad.

“Can I visit Kyungsoo first?”

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

The owl hasn’t flown yet, but he is eating the dead mice that are being left for him, which is good because they’ve been stuffed with important medicine. He still gets very puffed up when seeing people, which Minseok assures is normal.

“He’ll probably be better suited for a zoo, where he’ll be looked at but not touched.” Minseok says.

“That really sounds like my friend Kyungsoo. Look but don’t touch.”

Joonmyun leaves soon after, and Minseok goes back to book keeping until Sehun, one of the university students, interrupts him.

“Have you seen what that volunteer did?”

Minseok runs off, sure he’s about to walk into a disaster, but instead he finds the animal rooms positively gleaming.

“He did it all with water and vinegar,” Sehun says, shaking his head. “You should have seen how focused the guy was. Can we keep him?”

Minseok certainly hopes they can.

Joonmyun comes at least twice a week for three months, and each week he leaves some kind of donation, a large one. Usually in the area of hundreds of dollars. It’s done a world of good for the sanctuary, sometimes Minseok even sends money to other sanctuaries that he knows are in need of a hand. They don’t have to, but usually the different branches share large donations, especially as the weather gets warmer and more animals come out. There’s now nearly sixty animals in Minseok’s little place, including another owl. But unlike Kyungsoo, this one is only mildly injured and will get to be released.

“I can’t believe I never knew that all of this was happening in my own backyard,” Joonmyun marvels as he watches Minseok bottle feed a baby fox. The little girl was the sole survivor of her litter, by the time a passerby smelled the dead mother, most of the kits had already starved to death. Minseok and Joonmyun are determined that this baby won’t suffer the same fate.

“Not a lot of people know we’re here. We get some middle school class trips, and the parents usually send donations with the kids. But there are even more who think that the animals we rescue are vermin and not worth our time in the first place.”

Joonmyun gasps. “Oh, people like that make me so mad! Have they no heart? How can anyone look at the precious little babies and not think they deserve a second chance?”

Minseok grins. “I wish more people were like you.”

The baby fox finishes her bottle and Minseok puts her back in her cage. She curls up on her heating pad and falls asleep right away.

“I should really go look over the books,” Minseok sighs.

“I’ll help, if you want.” Joonmyun offers.

“It’s boring, and I’m sure you want to go home…”

“Well actually, I’m an accountant, so this is second nature to me.”

“Oh!” Minseok gasps, “Really?”

Joonmyun nods. “Come on, let’s get this over with. With my help it’ll be done in half the time.”

Actually with Joonmyun’s help, it’s done in less than that. Minseok is stunned. He’s never had so much free time on his hands before!

“Are you hungry?” Joonmyun asks. “We could go get dinner…I mean, if you want to.”

Minseok is delighted. “I would love to! It’s been ages since I’ve been anywhere that wasn’t a rescue! I left my spare clothes in the back, hang on, let me change…”

He’s half worried that Joonmyun wants to go somewhere fancy—he’s not sure how rich Joonmyun is but he leaves a lot of money at the sanctuary and drives a nice car, and even his hard-labor clothes are clearly not from the off-brand stores. He’s even more worried when Joonmyun insists on driving. But he needn’t have feared, Joonmyun takes them to a ramyun place—not cheap but not astronomical. It’s kind of busy, but they don’t mind because they can finally talk.

“Did you always want to be a wildlife rehabilitator?”

Minseok shakes his head. “I did want to be a vet. Like a zoo vet, not just for cats and dogs. But it was expensive and…well I like being with my wild little guys.”

“I can’t imagine it pays very high.”

“No, but it’s just me, and I have roommates, so I split rent with them. I’m saving up, and I think in a year or two I’ll go back to school. What about you? You said you do accounting, right?”

“Yeah,” Joonmyun says sheepishly. “I’m actually in law school, accounting is a side job. I work in a law firm. My…my dad’s law firm.”

“Have I heard of it?”

“Probably. Kim and Kim Inc.”

Minseok almost chokes on his own spit. “Oh wow, really? You’re like a…a chaebol!”

Joonmyun giggles. “I guess I am. Which is why I really don’t mind making donations to the clinic.”

“Still, the money you give us is no small thing. You can stop, you know. Kyungsoo will be going to the zoo pretty soon.”

“I know, but what you do is no small thing either. I’m pretty jealous, actually. I would love to be a wildlife rehabilitator but…my family would never support me. And I wouldn’t want them to, I want to make a name for myself, but if I were to turn my back on the firm I’d never be able to help charities the way I do now.”

“Well, volunteers are always welcome. And you know, you can be certified to care for wildlife, you don’t have to be on call 24/7 in order to help.”

Joonmyun’s face lights up. “Really? I can really do that?”

“Sure, we could always use more hands.”

Joonmyun leans across the table. “Could you help me?”

Minseok smiles. “Of course! I would love to.”

They spend the evening talking about the certification process and what Joonmyun can do, and then they talk about their college memories, and what they want to do in the future. Eventually they make their way out of the restaurant (after Joonmyun forcefully picks up the tab) and into a café. They order coffee, and Minseok swipes his card before Joonmyun can even open his wallet.

“I don’t mind. I meant it when I said I haven’t been out in ages, and I’m having such a good time.”

They take a seat in the café, at a table far in the corner. It’s still a few hours until closing, but there aren’t many people drinking coffee at this hour.

“Same here,” Joonmyun says. “I never get out.”

“So, you don’t have a girlfriend?” Minseok asks.

Joonmyun shakes his head.

“Or…a boyfriend?”

“In the past,” Joonmyun says quietly. “But it’s over now.” He gulps. “Um…what about you?”

“I’ve had a few girlfriends, and boyfriends too. I haven’t had…I haven’t dated since college.”

There’s a moment of silence.

Quietly, Joonmyun asks, “Would you be interested in dating again?”

Minseok keeps his eyes on his coffee cup, suddenly shy. “Maybe. It depends on the person.” Minseok’s heart is hammering in his chest. ‘Ask me out,’ he thinks desperately. ‘Make it official, this was practically a date anyway. Oh please, ask me out!’

But then, why can’t he ask Joonmyun out?

“Will you go out with me?”

“Do you want to go out with me?”

They exchange shocked glances, and then burst into laughter. Minseok reaches across the table, and Joonmyun offers his hand for Minseok to take.

“I’d really like if we could do this more,” Joonmyun says.

“Same here.”

Joonmyun drives Minseok home, and they hold hands the entire way. Before Minseok gets out of the car, Joonmyun squeezes his hand and asks for a kiss. It’s a request Minseok is only too happy to grant.

A week later, Minseok and Joonmyun are fumbling to take their jackets off in Joonmyun’s front hall, neither one willing to break their kiss. Minseok kicks off his shoes and crouches down, on Joonmyun’s neck. Joonmyun gasps, then squeaks as Minseok’s hands find the back of his thighs and lift him up. Joonmyun throws his arms around Minseok’s neck, and Minseok chuckles into Joonmyun’s shoulder.

“I’ve got you,” he breathes. Joonmyun whimpers.

Minseok makes it to the sofa and sets Joonmyun down, then lays on top of him. Joonmyun runs his fingers through Minseok’s hair and pulls him in for another kiss, and another, and another, and Minseok has his hands under Joonmyun’s shirt before he even knows what he’s doing, and he pulls back.

“Is this okay?” He asks, brushing his fingers just under Joonmyun’s navel.

Joonmyun shivers and nods. “Is it okay with you? I guess this is pretty fast, but we’ve known each other for a while, and I just feel like this is right for us. What do you think?”

Minseok grins and kisses Joonmyun’s cheek. “This is nice, it feels right to me, too.”

Joonmyun sits up and pulls off his shirt. His face is flushed, his eyes are bright, and he smiles brilliantly. Minseok thinks he’s beautiful, and tells him so.

“You’re so beautiful, Joonmyun.”

“Look who’s talking,” Joonmyun purrs, undoing the buttons on Minseok’s shirt. “I thought you were an angel when I first saw you.”

Minseok shrugs off his shirt and Joonmyun gasps, running a hand over Minseok’s abdomen. “God,” he moans. He pushes Minseok down and crawls over him, kissing Minseok’s stomach. Minseok tangles his fingers in Joonmyun’s hair—

And his phone rings.

“Oh no, not now,” Minseok groans.

Joonmyun sits up and pulls Minseok’s phone from his pocket, taking time to brush his hand over Minseok’s crotch as he does so. Minseok answers the phone somewhat grumpily, but his expression quickly changes.

“What kind of news?...Wait, seriously? Oh my…wow, that is…yeah, I’ll let him know. Thanks for calling. Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Joonmyun looks at Minseok curiously. “Who was that?”

“Sehun, he had an update on Kyungsoo.”

Joonmyun gasps. “Is he okay?”

Minseok grins. “Um, actually…Kyungsoo laid an egg.”

Joonmyun freezes. Then his eyes widen.

“Kyungsoo is a girl?!”

When representatives from the zoo come to pick up Kyungsoo a few days later, they laugh over her name and say they’ll just shorten it to Kyung-ie.

“Come on Kyung-ie,” one of the girls coos to a very disgruntled little owl, “We have a fine male specimen at our zoo, I think the two of you will be having little hatchlings in no time at all!”

Sometimes I'm amazed by my own brain. I can't believe I wrote this, it's so cool!