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Heeseung have never been happier for his brother. But right now, he just wants to bang his head onto the steering wheel, not caring if the car starts honking. Maybe he should have said no, but that would make him a bad little brother, yes? And so, he decided to be a wingman for his bro— even though the relationship is already established. His brother owes him a lifetime worth of ramen for this one.
He looked up, peering outside of his windshield. Pet Adoption Centre. He's really going to do this.
He unbuckles his seatbelt and stepped out of his vehicle. He takes a deep breath. Okay, Heeseung, you got this. Get in, look for a cute kitten, fill in form, pay, get out. Easy, yeah? He had to mentally give himself those instructions. Heeseung isn't very... social, if he may say so himself. Always stumbling his words and making a fool out of himself. Something that made him self aware. He would much prefer it if he didn't have to talk to the employees inside, maybe a self check out would be nice, however that's not how it works. Therefore, he can only brace himself.
Heeseung could feel his heart rate picks up with each step towards the door. Let's pray that this gentleman doesn't go into a cardiac arrest as soon as he grabs the door handle. He doesn't know why, but, when he opened the door, he expected the building's inside to be dimly light with poor management— walls and floors entirely made of cement and maybe animals chained to the wall like in some movies he watched as a kid. Damn, what kind of movies did he watch? Good thing is, all of that thoughts were proven wrong as little clouds started swarming his legs as soon as he closes the door behind him. Oh, not just clouds. There's even slender ones. Which is undeniably. The. Cutest. Form. Of. GREETING!
He crouches down, petting the little ones in front of him. “You're so cute!” He cooed to them all. A few seconds later, a dog about half his size comes strutting towards him and, oh my god, its' fur was like a perfectly toasted marshmallow! It looked so fluffy, too!! Is it even real? He gasps in awe, “I want to take you home...” Spoiler, he can't. His mother would go nuts if she sees him come home with a dog in that size. The dog rubs itself on his legs, seemingly asking for pats which Heeseung gladly gave into. The dog wags its' tail as he glides his finger through its' thick fur. He's so amazed by this creature.
Just as he got comfortable, a voice called out, “Looks like Layla got to you before me,” his sentence were accompanied by a light cuckle.
Heeseung looks up, finding the source of the voice. It was a man. Wearing what seems to be a sweater and cap. What makes him stands out is the name tag that is hung around his neck with a neck strap. He must be an employee. Heeseung felt his tummy becoming twisted. Oh, he actually has to start using his almost non-existing social skill. Great!
Heeseung gulps, feeling a lump in his throat. Where should he even start?
The worker probably noticed his creeping anxiety, since the worker decided to speak up first. “Welcome, my name is Sim Jaeyun, an employee. And, no, you can't take Layla home with you. She's also sort of an employee here. Well, more like a pet. But I will gladly assist you with adopting the others!” he said with an ever so brightly smile.
Sweats start forming on his palms— which he quickly rubs off on his jeans. “Uh, hi, I'm Heeseung and I'm here to adopt a kitten.”
“Oh! What kind of kitten are you looking for?”
“Sorry?” He wasn't sure what kind of kittens there were. What did Jaeyun mean? Like, siberian, ragdoll, maine coon or...
“Ah, sorry. What I mean is, are you looking for a playful one, or just something to accompany you?”
Well... What would his brother's girlfriend want? He doesn't know her very well. He can't just text her, it's supposed to be a surprise.
“What kind do girls usually get...?” He wasn't sure how to word it, but he hopes it came out right.
“Hm... It's hard to say, like 50/50, maybe? The girls that adopts here usually take the cute ones.”
Oh. That's kinda sad. Does the less cute ones not get adopted? Now he feels bad, because he was thinking of doing the same just outside the door. He looks at the swarm of clouds, but there's only about 4 kittens. Which one should he choose? Is this all?
“Oh, we have more, don't worry. If you would come with me...” Jaeyun turns around and started to walk towards another room that was separated by a mere curtain. At that moment, Heeseung was sure that Jaeyun could read minds. Or maybe he didn't notice that his thoughts were written clearly on his face.
Afraid to lose sight of the man, he quickly got up to his feet and followed Jaeyun. Layla, of course, didn't leave Heeseung's side. Heeseung doesn't mind.
When they entered the room, Heeseung was in awe. There were cat towers everywhere and each were occupied by cats and kittens. “Do you see anything that you like?” Jaeyun asks, crouching down to pat a cat.
“How am I supposed to choose...” That was supposed to be a mental statement, but his tongue was quicker than he thought.
The employee laughs, “Yeah, that's what every customer says,” he turns and looks up to Heeseung. Heeseung, the idiot that he is, locked eyes with Jaeyun— which then made him froze in place. Layla didn't tell him she got a model for a dad. As if on cue, Layla barks up to him once, probably asking for more pats. He gives in a second time. Before he knows it, a few cats walks up to him, some were meowing, while some just stared at him. He can see some cats lazing around, and he can see some cats hiding from him. Relatable, to be honest.
Seeing that Heeseung is having a hard time, Jaeyun picks up a grey kitten and scooted closer to Heeseung. “This one doesn't speak much, and he loves to eat. Here, sit down.” he motions for Heeseung to sit beside him on the floor. After Heeseung obliged, Jaeyun put the grey kitten in Heeseung's lap. He then crawled a few metres away and grabbed a white kitten that was hiding behind a cat tower. “This little girl may not seems like it, but she's very talkative. She just needs time.” Again, Jaeyun put the kitten in Heeseung's lap. He then scans the room, squinting his eyes until he found the kitten sitting on the cat tower. “This guy—“ he was about to grab it when the kitten suddenly jumps down. Everytime Jaeyun tried to come closer, the kitten zooms across the room, and waited for the employee's next move. “This guy thinks every second is his playtime.” He said, already given up to catch the little zoomy kitty. “Plus he's orange,”
Heeseung was a bit confused. “Plus he's orange?” He tilted his head to the side. The grey kitten in his lap copied the action.
Jaeyun chuckles at the sight, “You two are cute. What I meant was, orange cats are usually hyper and are troublemakers, but they are fun to be around.” Jaeyun makes his way back to sit next to Heeseung.
Heeseung has a lot to think now. To think about which kitten is best for a gift, and to think about how he got called cute by the handsome employee. If he wasn't such a coward, he would've started flirting with him. But he is a coward. And he's afraid of what could come out of his mouth, so he didn't mention anything about the "You two are cute" part. He looked at the two kittens in his lap, and he looked at the orange kitten who is now playing with another cat.
Between his forms of thoughts, the sound of the front door opening caught both of their attention. “I'll be right back.” Jaeyun excuses himself.
After Jaeyun was out sight, Heeseung finally lets himself malfunction. He whisper-yelled to the toasted marshmallow beside him,“Layla! Is your dad like this to other people?!” Layla only wags her tail and barked once. Maybe it means "Yes"? Who knows. He hugged Layla and groaned into her fur, “Forget about your dad, which one should I choose...?”
As much as he loves Layla's (and Jaeyun's) company, he is running out of his battery and is in need of recharging. By recharging, it means to go home and play FIFA with his cousin until 2 A.M.
He was patting Layla until he felt tickling wet sensation on his finger. He looked up to see a calico kitten licking his finger. Oh. He remembered that he ate a tuna sandwich before going out. That's probably why. He stared at the kitten, and the kitten eventually realises it has been caught licking the man's finger. The moment it looked up, Heeseung lets out a tiny gasp. It has such a round face! The eyes look like they have drawn on eyeliner, and the tail is all fuzzed up. Yes, this is the one!
He scooped up the kitty in his palms, observing the kitten up close. At that moment, Jaeyun walks in. “Sorry, it was a delivery guy. Have you made up your mind?” He crouches down opposite of Heeseung.
Just when Heeseung was about to respond, the grey kitten in his lap meowed at him, looking all pitiful. Jaeyun audibly awed, “Awe, this one really likes you!” He patted the grey kitty on the head. Beside the grey kitty is the white kitten, soundly asleep.
What is Heeseung supposed to do now?! Suddenly the grey one is acting all cute... He feels bad. “Heeseung?” Jaeyun is looking at him, heart fluttering smile plastered on his face.
Heeseung doesn't know what to do. So he blurts out whatever was on his mind.
“Which one is the best for a girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend?” Jaeyun's smile faded a little, but appearing back up just a second later. Just that it wasn't the same heart fluttering smile. Of course, Heeseung didn't notice that. But Layla does and she stopped wagging her tail, ears drooped.
“Yeah... Which one?” He looks up to Jaeyun, who is now looking down at the kitties in Heeseung's lap in embarrassment.
“Well, I mean... Uh, are you also considering the calico one in your hand?” he asks, pointing to the little on in Heeseung's palm.
“Mm” was Heeseung's only respond.
“Then... You should get the calico one. Girlfriends usually likes these tricoloured kittens.”
“But, it's also good to adopt the one that likes you. What if the calico likes your girlfriend, but it doesn't likes you in the end?”
“I see...” Heeseung repeated the man's sentence in his head and went red. “No, no! It's not for my girlfriend!”
“Huh?” Jaeyun now visibly confused by what Heeseung means.
“I- I mean, uhm... Okay. By girlfriend, I meant my hyung's girlfriend. He asked me to get a kitten for their anniversary, since he's busy so he doesn't have time to come. I'm sorry if it gave you the wrong idea—“ No, wait. Heeseung. What "wrong idea" are you talking about? He went wide eyed and a darker shade of pink tinted his face. To cover his embarrassment, he faked a cough, “Ahem, I mean, it's for my hyung's girlfriend. That's all.” He brings the calico to his face in an attempt to hide his face.
Jaeyun laughs. LAUGHS AT HIM. Oh man Heeseung is going to dig his grave in his backyard when he returns home. He's so uncool in front of this man. “Please don't laugh at me...” he mutters under his breath.
The employee stifled his laugh, though it might be too late now. “Sorry, your attempt to hide behind the kitten was too cute. You are, like, 20 times her size.” he giggled.
“Hmm... If that's the case, then the calico is a great choice.” He says, before standing up and dusting off his hands. “I will get the paper form ready,” at that, he walks out of the room with Layla following him, leaving Heeseung all alone.
Heeseung watches as Jaeyun disappears with the toasted marshmallow. He gently scooped up the white kitten, careful not to wake it up and placing it in one of the cat tower. Now, he wasn't sure what to do with the grey kitten. At some point, it started to climb up his hoodie and settled in his hood. It's like the little guy is insisting Heeseung to bring him home with him. Heeseung glances between the grey and calico kitty and sighed, “Okay, I have made up my mind... Now stop giving me those eyes!”
Just as Jaeyun was done printing a few sets of the paper form, Heeseung walks through the curtain separating the two room. “So you are getting the calico one?” He asks for confirmation.
“Yes, the calico one is for the girlfriend and...“ he sets down the calico one on the counter, “...the grey one is for me.” he reached for the little ashball in his hood, setting it down beside the calico one. He just hopes that his mother wouldn't mind having another son in the house.
“Wonderful,“ the employee says as he hands over two forms and a pen to Heeseung,“Just fill in the name of the pet and your name, and your signature here.” he says, pointing to the downright side of the paper.
Name...
Shouldn't his brother's girlfriend name the kitten?
...
Whatever, she can always change it if she doesn't like it. Heeseung clicked the pen, filling in the calico's name as Butterscotch. As for his kitten... he named it Cinder. He takes a quick glance at Jaeyun as he was signing the paper, and the man wasn't wearing his cap anymore. Heeseung could see the gorgeous jet-black locks falling to his face as Jaeyun glides his fingers through his own hair, unaware of the stare he got.
He doesn't need to rush but he's too embarrassed about the blabbering he did in the room, so the paper form was finished before he got to truly bask in the view in front of him. He hates to admit, but he probably won't ever come here again because of his pride(and anxiety). “Done.” He pushes the two documents back to the employee.
“That was fast,” he says, tearing a little bit of an A4 paper and scribbling down something on it. “Before that, have you ever had a pet?”
“No.”
“Hm... Are you capable of taking care of a pet?”
Heeseung pauses to really think about it. It can't be that hard?
“Yeah.”
“Are you aware that the maintenance is high?”
“I have read about it on the internet before and my friend also blabbers about how expensive it is to take care of his pet, so... yes, I am aware.”
“Would you ever abandon your pet if you're in a dire situation?”
“Gosh, no! That's so irresponsible. Do people actually do that?”
“They do, unfortunately.” he says, checking the filled in documents. “The adoption fee is 140,000 won.”
Oh the internet wasn't lying about the price of adopting kittens. Heeseung mentally sighed, looking inside his wallet. “Do you accept credit card?”
“Yep!”
He motions to the card credit terminal residing besides the computer. Jaeyun punched the amount to be payed and slides the card credit terminal to Heeseung, to which Heeseung waves his card to pay.
“All done.” The man hums to himself.
Heeseung picks up the two kittens and settles them in one of his arm, holding them close to his chest. “Thank you, Jaeyun, and sorry for troubling you.”
“Not at all!” He squatted down, disappearing from Heeseung's view. “Layla has a little gift for you, but don't open it until you get home.” Just on cue, Layla came strutting towards him from behind the counter, a piece of paper is her mouth which was folded rather nicely. Heeseung chuckles, “Thanks, Layla,” Layla responded by wagging her tail. This is probably the happiest and most well-taken care dog Heeseung has seen. Heeseung patted Layla once more before taking his leave. “Goodbye Jaeyun. Goodbye Layla.”
Jaeyun springs up from behind the counter to bid goodbyes to Heeseung.“Goodbye, Heeseung.”
After Heeseung made his way out, Jaeyun slides down behind the counter. “God, he's so handsome.” he whispered only so that he himself could here it. “Woof!” Layla is now back to his side of the counter. “Layla... I thought I was becoming a homewrecker for a second!” he whines to the dog, hiding his face in his palms.
“Ugh... I hope he doesn't find the little gift to be creepy or cringe,” he pouts, hugging his knees to his chest.
After Heeseung got home, he definitely got an earful from his mother, but he didn't care. He will take care of Cinder, no matter what. After making his way into his room, he let the little creatures roam about in his room curiously. Good thing he already tidied up his room. He laid back on his bed, taking out the piece of folded paper from within his pocket, slowly unfolding it.
‘Let's grab coffee sometime ^-^
01X-XX4 7XX2
-Jaeyun (and Layla♡)’
Heeseung folded it once more and opened it again. No way. He's being asked out? He grabbed the pillow and muffled his scream, kicking his legs at the edge of his bed, feeling all giddy inside. He will have to thank his brother. Right now, he will have to go to a convenience store to buy some dry and wet cat foods and think of a 'cool' way to start a text convo.