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it’s a quarter till seven in the evening, and jungkook is dying to go home.
it’s been a right awful day for him. mrs. choi rescheduled for the fifth time, mr. kim’s chihuahua bit his hand when he tried to pet it, mr. lee yelled at him for feeding his hamster a treat while he was in the bathroom, and mrs. park would just not stop flirting with him while he was trying to administer a rabies shot to her poodle.
it’s not that jungkook hates his job. on the contrary, he finds new reasons to love animals each day he comes into his brother’s veterinary practice. he loves solving each puzzle, loves when animals show him love and respect when he does the same, loves when they reward him with a smile or nuzzle when they’re all healed up.
what he doesn’t like are the stuck-up owners of said animals, the ones who think they can treat their pets like shit and expect him to solve their mess.
jungkook isn’t weak-stomached; he can hold in his tears when he sees an animal in pain. but when a pet comes in after suffering abuse by the human hand, something in jungkook breaks and his heart drowns in a black ocean.
it’s a quarter till seven in the evening, and jungkook is dying to go home, but when jimin asks him if he can take a walk-in, a stray abused cat found by a kind stranger, he puts his white doctor’s coat back on and gets his tools ready.
it isn’t a cat, but a kitten.
thirteen weeks old, white fur matted with dirt and grime and fleas, with tiny cuts all over her back and a torn, bleeding ear.
jungkook gets to work.
jungkook might hate abuse, but he’s proud to say that he does a fucking fantastic job at making things right.
and he’ll do right by this little one.
and he does.
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when her royal sweetness is finally fast asleep after a small spoonful of kitten food, jungkook finally takes off his coat for the last time that night. he enters the vet’s waiting room, meets the gaze of—
oh, he’s cute.
jungkook clears his throat. “min yoongi-ssi?”
the man stands up, wringing his hands together, a sure sign of anxiety. “yes, that’s me, doctor...”
“jeon jungkook,” jungkook introduces, bowing slightly. “concerning the thirteen week old kitten you brought to our care, i have taken care of light amounts of bleeding on her body, and her ear has been stitched. we mixed in some pain relievers into her food, so she’s okay. we also gave her a flea bath, so she has nothing to worry about.”
yoongi’s shoulders visibly sag, a show of how tense they were. “thank goodness she’s okay. i was so worried. thank you, jungkook-ssi. i owe you a lot.”
jungkook wants to smile, but he isn’t done talking. “for now, we will keep her overnight, to monitor her and make sure all is well. after that, well, are you thinking about taking her to the shelter?”
even as the words come out, jungkook can’t help but think they taste so bitter.
yoongi seems to notice too. “is there something wrong with the shelter, jungkook-ssi? i have some friends who have adopted dogs from there.”
jungkook tries to keep emotion off his face. he’s most likely unsuccessful. “the shelter is a great place for pet lovers to find their new family member, but unfortunately, the pet shelters in seoul are not no-kill shelters. right now, the trend is for dogs to be adopted more often than cats, especially kittens like ours here who needs more care and attention.”
yoongi furrows his brows, mulling over his thoughts. “well... can i adopt her?”
jungkook blinks. “what?”
“what?” yoongi tilts his head, and oof, it looks adorable on him. “if the shelter isn’t no-kill, then i’ll just adopt sugar for myself.”
at this, jungkook finally cracks a smile. “sugar?”
yoongi grins. “smooth like butter, white as sugar.”
jungkook can’t help himself. he giggles uncontrollably, which entices yoongi to chuckle alongside him.
when they’re done, they catch each other’s eyes. there’s a zing of a zip between their glances, but the two ignore it.
allergies, they think.
(oh, how wrong they are.)
jungkook looks down at the clipboard in his hands, finally remembering he’s holding it. “i’ll have the receptionist, park jimin, take you through the necessary forms to register sugar as your pet. by the time you pick her up tomorrow, we’ll have a microchip installed with your information in it.”
“oh, thank you.” yoongi fumbles at his back pockets, pulling out a worn leather wallet. “how much do i owe you for the care and treatment?”
“zilch.”
yoongi looks up from pulling out his credit card. “huh?”
jungkook laughs, completely missing the awestruck look in yoongi’s eyes as he does. “i’ll take care of the expenses. you’re doing more than enough by taking in sugar when she otherwise wouldn’t have a home. consider it incentive to give sugar a happy home,” he says with a wink. “if you have any questions, here’s my business card. my personal cell is also on there, just in case you need to text me any questions.”
yoongi takes the card, smiles so bright and beautiful and gummy that jungkook almost clutches his heart. “thank you, jungkook-ssi. i’m honored that sugar was taken care of such a kind doctor.”
“the honor is mine, yoongi-ssi,” jungkook says warmly, “i’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“it’s a d—yes. i’ll be here.”
jungkook ignores the furious blush racing across yoongi’s nose bridge.
yoongi ignore the blooming flowers blossoming on jungkook’s cheeks.
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when min yoongi comes the next day to pick up a more-healthy sugar, jungkook is unfortunately dealing with an angry mrs. choi who doesn’t seem to understand that there are no coupons used at vet practices. however, when he checks his phone during his lunch break, he’s surprised and pleased to find a message on there.
min yoongi
good afternoon jungkook-ssi
i didn’t get to see you today
but i wanted to let you know i’ve picked up sugar
she seemed to recognize me when i got her
dr. jeon jungkook
hello yoongi-ssi
please, call me jungkook
and of course she recognized you
animals are very receptive to kindness
and you are a very kind individual
min yoongi
i’m flattered
and call me hyung
you look younger than me
dr. jeon jungkook
yoongi-hyung it is
thank you for the update on sugar
i’m glad i got to meet you both
min yoongi
the same goes for me
dr. jeon jungkook
:)
min yoongi
:]
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a few days pass, and jungkook almost forgets about sugar and her adorable owner. he says almost, because jungkook wakes up to a picture of sugar each day. no message, just the picture. when she’s eating, when she’s sleeping, when she’s hiding in an amazon box. it never fails to bring a smile to his face, and he never fails to send a series of purple hearts in response. other than that, jungkook is satisfied with a job well done concerning sugar and min yoongi.
one day, that changes.
jungkook wakes up at six, reaches for his round glasses, and instead of seeing a picture imessage from yoongi, he sees words.
yoongi-hyung <3
jungkook hi
i was wondering if you could help me?
jungkook o///o
how can i help yoongi-hyung?
yoongi-hyung <3
which one do you think is better?
jungkook adjusts his glasses and peers closely at the following two pictures that were sent to him.
jungkook o///o
hyung this is just kitten food
yoongi-hyung <3
well actually
it’s two different flavors of kitten food
jungkook o///o
yes but they’re the same brand
yoongi-hyung <3
duh
korean pets weekly says this is the best choice for kitten food
can you pick one for me?
it’s not exactly the type of help jungkook is used to giving, but he’ll do it. he’s a vet. he’s a helper of all animals and kind humans with animals.
jungkook o///o
the second one is grain-free
cats can’t really digest grain
so there’s no point in giving it to them
plus the second one is organic
yoongi-hyung <3
oh my gosh thank you jungkook-ah
i can’t believe i didn’t notice
thank you for teaching me
i’ll be sure to give you sugar review of the food you selected for her
jungkook o///o
i’m looking forward to it hyung
yoongi-hyung <3
:]
jungkook o///o
:)
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sometimes yoongi proves himself to be a funny guy.
yoongi-hyung <3
and that’s when i said
but where did the toothpaste go?
jungkook o///o
hyungggg i’m on lunch break
i’m gonna choke on my sandwich
yoongi-hyung <3
you could choke on something else...
jungkook o///o
huh???
yoongi-hyung <3
you could choke on the love sugar has for you
because she loves you so much
hehe
jungkook o///o
oh my god
hey what about you?
yoongi-hyung <3
what about me?
jungkook o///o
do i not get anything from you?
yoongi-hyung <3
i can get you anything you want
name it
it’s yours
jungkook o///o
:O
yoongi-hyung <3
gucci handbag it is
suede
jungkook o///o
help???
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sometimes jungkook wonders what really goes on inside yoongi’s mind.
jungkook o///o
i’m on my way
stay calm
make sure to apply pressure to stop the bleeding
yoongi-hyung <3
okay
hurry
yoongi quickly unlocks the door of his apartment to jungkook, and the vet is all business.
“where is she?” he asks, voice stern. jungkook starts to take off his jacket, places his bag on the coffee table and starts rummaging through it. “is she in the bathroom? your bedroom? how badly is sugar bleeding?”
yoongi is wringing his hands, just like the day they met. “she’s in the bedroom. hurry, come with me.”
“wait, hyung, i haven’t gotten my stu—hyung, hyung, hey!”
by the time yoongi is done wrenching jungkook’s arm out of its socket, they’re standing in yoongi’s bedroom.
yoongi crouches next to his bedside table, peering under the bed. “she’s under there. she won’t come out.”
“damn it, hyung, i told you to apply pressure.”
“sorry.”
jungkook curses under his breath, starts to crouch as well. “hey, sugar. sugar, baby, c’mere. i won’t hurt you. angel, are you there?”
jungkook is expecting a pained meow, expecting a paw to swipe at his hand when he tried to reach. he did not expect sugar to just come waltzing out from under the bed and run up to yoongi, who had those infernal temptations treats bag in his hand.
yoongi feeds sugar three treats, all the while ignoring the incredulous look from jungkook.
“hyung?” jungkook raises a brow, puzzled beyond belief. “is sugar not hurt?”
yoongi looks at him, the perfect picture of innocence with his wide eyes. “oh no, she is. look, on her back. there’s red liquid.”
jungkook bends next to sugar, narrows his eyes before scooping the liquid with his index finger and giving it a good sniff test.
“hyung-nim.”
“yes, jungkook-ah?”
“this is ketchup.”
“oh, really?”
“you said sugar was bleeding heavily.”
“oh. my mistake.”
yoongi’s tone is nonchalant, but his eyes are on the bed. jungkook looks at the bedspread, hangs his head in exasperation.
there’s a wooden tray on the bed. it holds two burger king whoppers, two cartons of fries, two fanta oranges, and an open ketchup packet. oh, and the entire bed was covered in rose petals.
“you’re joking. i ran a stop light for you.”
“oops.”
“...”
“...”
“you’re giving me your fries, hyungah.”
“i told you i would get you anything you want.”
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sometimes, though, jungkook has yoongi all figured out.
“okay. on the count of three. one... two... three!”
jungkook opens his eyes. he doesn’t see anything out of the norm. then he turns around.
there’s min yoongi, bent on one knee, holding sugar in his hands up to jungkook like she’s simba.
yoongi clears his throat. “jeon jungkook. for the past two years, you have told me i’m your favorite idiot. but you also tell me i’m a kind idiot, and that you fell for me because of the person i am inside. well, the person inside of me tells me this is really scary and like, responsible, so here i am doing it. i just want you to say that no matter how you answer, i will always keep you in my heart.”
yoongi pauses, taking a deep breath.
jungkook stares blankly.
yoongi stares back for a beat too long. “willyoucoparentsugarwithme?”
jungkook raises a brow, smile teasing. “what was that, hyung? i didn’t catch that. say it again very very slowly.”
maybe jungkook shouldn’t tease, because yoongi is turning a very interesting shade of rouge, but nonetheless, yoongi tries again.
“will you, jeon jungkook, coparent sugar with me, as my unlawfully wedded husband, because it’s not legal in korea, but my company will pay for half the honeymoon, so we can spend half the time in hawaii and half the time in las vegas and do a drive-thru wedding like in the movies, and—!”
jungkook holds up his left hand.
there’s silence.
then there’s a yelp from sugar as she’s dropped without warning.
“when did you find the ring?! jeon jungkook?!”
jungkook clicks his tongue, bends down and picks up his baby. “come on, sugar. your appa needs some time to calm down. he’s kind of dumb.”
“in my own house?? the slander??”
jungkook giggles, rubs his nose with sugar’s pink one. in exchange, sugar meows, uses her toe beans to angle the ring on jungkook’s finger so the light refracts just right and makes a rainbow appear upon the gem.
by the time yoongi is done yelling, jungkook and sugar are cuddled on the couch.
sugar is no doubt thinking about alaskan salmon.
jungkook, on the other hand, is thinking about the real gem in his life.
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