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Ever since Kihyun was young, he’s always known that he’s never wanted kids. And throughout his whole life, he’s had cats and dogs and that’s all he’s ever wanted. But when he first moved out into his own apartment in the city, the landlord stated that there were to be no pets in the apartment and Kihyun was devastated. He didn’t know what living without a pet would be like, but it was a lot worse than he thought it would be.
He was used to coming home from school or work only to be greeted with excited barking or yowling, but all he got was silence. When he was sad, they would come up to him and cuddle with him, making him feel better. All he had was his pillow and tears. He felt too lonely and work became more stressful than it ever was because he didn’t have a companion with him to talk to or to cuddle with when it got too stressful.
Kihyun couldn’t afford to move, so he decided to sign up to a dating app to try and find some friends or maybe a boyfriend. He didn’t know who he would find on there, only hoping to find some kind of companionship, either platonic or romantic, he didn’t mind.
And then he came across his high school classmate one night, Lee Minhyuk.
They reconnected over drinks and a meal, chattering away at their table for hours. Minhyuk talked about what he did when he graduated, getting into college and then going abroad for study. He had only recently come back to finish his last year at college before graduating.
“What are you studying again? I can’t remember if you told me or not.” Kihyun asked, taking a bite of his chocolate gelato.
“I don’t think I did! I’m studying to become a vet, with goals to work with marine animals and big cats. I remember you telling me that you work in a bookstore at the moment, are you studying as well?” Minhyuk replied, taking a bite of his own choc mint gelato.
“I am, only part time. I’m studying photography and I really want to be a wildlife photographer! Photos of animals are so in the moment, they’re unaware that they’ve got a camera focused on them. They only do what they want to do, and it’s amazing.” Kihyun grinned.
The pair continued talking for hours, Minhyuk eventually offering to drive Kihyun home. Kihyun refused, opting to catch the bus home. Minhyuk agreed and they exchanged numbers, promising to meet up again soon.
They kept in contact and met up once a week for a few months, and then one night, Minhyuk brought him to a club where his friend worked at as a DJ. It was the first time that he had been out to any of the clubs since moving into his apartment and it felt good. The pair danced for hours while Minhyuk’s friend did the first half of his shift, then meeting him at the bar when he texted Minhyuk.
Tall and gorgeous was definitely not what Kihyun was expecting when he thought of Minhyuk’s DJ-ing friend. He had silver-grey hair, black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt on and a pair of black doc martens. He was definitely Very Hot and Kihyun wanted to get to know him better. Tall and Gorgeous held out a hand for Kihyun to shake. He took it and shook as they introduced themselves.
“I’m Hyungwon.”
“Kihyun.”
Since then, Kihyun and Hyungwon have gone on many, many dates, gotten to know each other extremely well and are now moving into their own apartment, five years later. They had gotten along a lot better than Minhyuk expected, but he was glad that Hyungwon had found someone in Kihyun and likewise for Kihyun.
One night, three months later, Kihyun came home from his shift overly stressed and ready to break down. While he had graduated, he was still a freelance photographer and still had his job at his local grocery store to help pay bills and the rent.
The moment that the door shut behind Kihyun and Hyungwon walked towards him and greeted him, the dam broke and he fell into Hyungwon’s arms, crying into his chest. Hyungwon soothed him as he led them towards the living room, falling ungracefully onto the couch, Kihyun on his chest.
“What happened baby?” Hyungwon asked once Kihyun had calmed down. Kihyun sniffled and got comfortable on Hyungwon’s chest.
“It was just a long day. They put me on the front registers, which I hate , and then they had to extend my shift by an extra 3 hours, then they needed me to be a supervisor, which I also hate, and then it was just awful customer after awful customer today. Everything just went downhill, my staff were all new people and making so many mistakes that people got mad at me for. Simple things like accidental overcharge or the price was different to what was ticketed… it was just such an awful day.” Kihyun told Hyungwon, Hyungwon’s arms tightening around Kihyun’s waist.
“I’m so sorry baby, that sounds so awful. Is there anything you would like me to do?” Hyungwon asked.
“Just stay here and cuddle me.” was all Kihyun asked for. Hyungwon complied and they laid on the couch for hours until they both drifted off to sleep.
“Hyungwon, where are we going?” Kihyun asked, two months later. Hyungwon had told him that they were going somewhere and passed Kihyun a blindfold, telling him to put it on. Kihyun had put it on after getting into the car and putting on his seatbelt.
“You’ll find out soon,” Hyungwon sounded excited, which in turn made Kihyun feel nervous but excited as well. Not ten minutes later Hyungwon pulled into a carpark, turning off the car and telling Kihyun to take off his blindfold. When he did, he gasped, dropping the blindfold.
“Are… are you for real?” Kihyun breathed, eyes wide and excited. Hyungwon smiled so fondly watching Kihyun’s reaction.
“I am very serious. You’ve mentioned how much you miss them around you and I can tell that me being with you helps that, but there’s still something missing from this relationship. So here we are.”
Kihyun got out of the car, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for Hyungwon to get out of the car and join him. Once the car was locked, the couple walked through the doors of their local animal shelter and walked to the front desk.
“Hi there, we’re looking to adopt a… Kihyun, what would you like to adopt?” Hyungwon asked. Kihyun looked up at Hyungwon.
“I can pick? Really?’ he asked. Hyungwon nodded. Kihyun grinned and turned back to the receptionist.
“A dog! We’d like to adopt a dog, please.” Kihyun said. The receptionist smiled and stood up, asking them to follow her.
An hour later, they walked out with adoption papers in one hand and the happiness in their eyes. There was no dog with them yet, because they had to fill in the papers and prepare their home for a dog. They had to buy the things he needed and rearrange a few things in their apartment.
When they could finally bring Mickey home, they were beyond excited to have the 10 year old dog in their home. There were many other cute, younger dogs in the shelter, but when Kihyun had asked which dog had been here the longest, the lady had brought them over to the 10 year old blue merle Australian Shepherd.
“Why is such a cute dog like him still here?” Hyungwon had asked, kneeling down to pet the dog.
“Since he’s lying down, you can’t really see, but this poor fella’s only got three legs, and being 10 years old, people don’t want to adopt a dog like him. In a few days, he’ll be put down.” the receptionist sighed sadly, petting the old dog’s head.
“We’ll adopt him.” Kihyun said, resolve firm.
“Are you sure? It’ll take a bit of effort to look after an old dog with three legs.”
“We’re sure. If we won’t adopt him, nobody else will. He deserves to live the rest of his life happy and loved, like every other pet.” Hyungwon replied. The receptionist smiled brightly and stood up, asking them to follow her.
Mickey sniffed around the apartment slowly, hopping around on his three legs. Kihyun and Hyungwon watched him carefully, following him around the house as he explored. Once he was done exploring, he wandered off to the big bed that they had gotten him and laid down, falling asleep in seconds.
“I’m really glad you surprised me with the visit to the shelter, Wonnie.” Kihyun said as he leaned against Hyungwon’s shoulder, watching Mickey as he slept.
“I’m glad, I knew something was missing from your life and I knew exactly what it was. Happy anniversary, Kihyun,” Hyungwon replied, kissing the crown of Kihyun’s head. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Kihyun murmured, snuggling closer to Hyungwon. They watched Mickey for a while, eventually following him into the realm of sleep as the sun drew lower and their eyes grew heavy.