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Dubu is a smart dog. A little too smart for his own good, when he ends up finding new ways to escape the house every other week while Seokjin’s at work. First he managed to climb a ladder in between the shed and the fence, and when Seokjin took that away Dubu somehow managed to jump the fence entirely. But now that the fence has been replaced with a taller one, after a few weeks of no missing dog incidents, Seokjin once again comes home to an empty house.
It’s safe to say he panics when he doesn’t hear an excited bark when he unlocks the door, worse when there’s no claws scrambling on hardwood floors when he calls out into the house, and there’s no sign of a giant cotton-ball esque Dubu in the backyard.
The first thing Seokjin does is call Yoongi, as he runs into the backyard and starts peering over the fence to the best of his ability (it’s a very tall fence, so he has to hop slightly just to look over it) to look for any signs of Dubu in his neighbors yards, if he was still anywhere near home. He’s sure Yoongi can hear the panic in his voice, the fluctuations with every little hop, until Yoongi promises to be right over to help him start looking.
Seokjin is exhausted and stressed after a long day at work, and it’s sweltering hot out, but there’s no time to change out of his work clothes. Instead he just takes off his suit jacket and tosses it over the kitchen chair as he passes back through the house to leave through the front door, grabbing a leash on his way out. He’s gone through this before, had to knock on his neighbors doors to ask if they’ve seen Dubu running loose, but that only makes it worse. Because he had promised them he wouldn’t bother them like this again the last time, and because he feels like an irresponsible pet owner every time it happens.
Apparently, no matter how high the fence, Dubu the energetic samoyed is a little escape artist. It might be impressive if Seokjin wasn’t so worried about him, the gut-wrenching feeling that anything could happen to him if he's outside wandering on his own. The nightmarish possibilities involving speeding cars, or overheating. Dubu is such a smart dog, sure, but that doesn’t mean he knows to look both ways when he crosses the street.
About fifteen minutes after Seokjin’s started running from one yard to the next, Yoongi rolls up in his car and asks how he escaped this time.
“I don’t know!” Seokjin cries, he’s been trying to think about it as he searches but he’ll have to worry about it later. Right now, all of his focus is on finding his fluffy little bastard and taking him home. “I’ll keep looking in this direction, you go the other way?”
Yoongi sighs and nods. “I’ll give you a call if I find him,” he says before turning the car around and driving away.
Nearly an hour of running around and calling for his dog later, Seokjin’s phone starts ringing. He doesn’t even check the ID before answering, thinking it’s Yoongi. “Did you find him!?”
There’s a small pause on the other end of the line. “Ah, is this Kim Seokjin-ssi?”
Seokjin halts his steps on the sidewalk, skies fading orange above him, and checks his phone to see it’s an unknown number. “Yes, and who’s this?” He’s sure the caller can hear him panting from exhaustion.
“My name is Jung Hoseok, owner of Hopeful Paws Animal Shelter. We just picked up Dubu a couple blocks from the shelter.”
A heavy sigh of relief leaves Seokjin’s body, shoulders once tight with anxiety now loosening up. “Oh thank god. Is he okay?”
He can hear Hoseok cover up a small laugh before they reply. “Yes, he’s fine. He may need a bath, though.”
Seokjin groans, already knowing Dubu is going to be covered in dirt. Samoyeds already need a good amount of grooming, what with their thick coat of white fur, but Dubu is the dirtiest dog he’s ever met. Nothing can stop him from constantly rolling in dirt and mud, jumping in puddles and ponds. He takes every chance he can get, whether Seokjin likes it or not.
“Of course he does,” Seokjin sighs. “I’ll be there shortly, thank you so much for calling me.”
After he hangs up on Hoseok, Seokjin looks up the address of Hopeful Paws to realise he was heading in the direction of the shelter the whole time. It’s only a couple blocks away. So, while he continues walking in that direction, Seokjin calls Yoongi to tell him he found Dubu and to ask him to come around to pick them up.
When he does arrive at the small shelter, the first thing he notices is how colorful the sign out front is. A literal rainbow of colors, the O is a flower, and a paw print at the end. It’s very… gay, Seokjin thinks, before opening the door to a small entrance room. A bell on the door jingles, and he can hear barking from a separate room. There’s a bored-looking fluffy-haired kid sitting behind the counter, eyes focused on the computer in front of them.
This room, too, is decorated very colorfully. It’s cute, in a borderline-obnoxious way. Like if there were any more rainbow colored decorations on the clean white walls, he might get dizzy. But there are also lots of informational posters about adopting and taking care of various animals, and pamphlets with information on the different animals that the shelter must care for and adopt out. It’s very clean and tidy, too, like the neater it was the more things they could add to the decorations.
“Excuse me,” Seokjin says as he approaches. The kid looks up at him with wide, startled eyes. “I got a call about my dog being brought here?”
There’s no reply, the room quiet until one of the doors opens and the sound of barking increases, a new figure stepping into the room. Compared to the kid dressed in all black behind the counter, the newcomer is dressed in much different clothes, obviously no dress code.
Light-wash jean shorts expose lean legs, a baggy white shirt on with a rainbow flower that matches the one on the sign out front, and colorful sneakers with mismatched laces on their feet. There are all sorts of colorful bracelets wrapped around pretty wrists, a couple of small jewels studding their painted nails and what looks like a home-made necklace around their lean neck. Seokjin doesn’t even register that they’re leading his dog in by leash, instead staring at this person’s pretty, angular face and the way their smile looks like a heart.
Seokjin clears his throat before speaking, ears feeling warm. “Jung Hoseok-ssi?”
He tries to look Hoseok in the eyes, but when he does Seokjin realizes that Hoseok’s gaze is a little lower, and glances down. Seokjin nearly chokes on his own tongue when he notices how damp with sweat he is after running for so long. The white fabric clings to his skin, and while his torso is fortunately covered by his undershirt, his arms and the dark ink covering one of them is very exposed. Seokjin self consciously grabs his right arm in a useless attempt to cover his tattoos, despite it being much too late to hide anything.
The permanent art on his skin is something he takes pride in as a testament to his college years and his friendship with Yoongi, who put that ink there himself while he was still learning, but there are too many closed-minded people to show it off without some fear of judgement.
“Ah, sorry, I’ve been running around in the heat since I got home from work,” Seokjin says with an awkward cough, ears burning as Hoseok blinks up at him in surprise.
“Oh! Sorry, Seokjin-ssi, I didn’t mean to stare. Your tattoos are just… very beautiful. They caught me off guard.”
Hoseok is interrupted by an outbreak of giggles coming from the kid behind the counter. “He thinks you’re cute~” they tease quietly, and Seokjin watches Hoseok send them a look that, while still technically smiling, is mildly terrifying.
“Jungkook, why don’t you go scrub the kennels for me, hm? I think it’s your turn.”
Jungkook looks like it definitely wasn’t their turn when they get up and walk through the door that Hoseok just came out of begrudgingly, but that’s none of Seokjin’s business. He’s not sure he’d argue with Hoseok if he got that look from him either.
“My apologies for my employee, they’re usually much more well behaved.”
Seokjin just shakes his head, looking down at his dog to avoid Hoseok’s gaze, and really noticing for the first time just how… filthy Dubu is. With a long-suffering sigh, Seokjin resigns his fate to paying for their second visit to the groomer’s this week. Dubu, for his credit, is sitting very patiently and looking up at Hoseok and Seokjin in turn with a happily-wagging tail and signature samoyed smile. Bending down, Seokjin smiles at his filthy dog and gives him a scratch behind his ear, one of the few spots left relatively untouched by dirt.
“It’s fine, Hoseok-ssi. I appreciate you taking him in, I was worried when I came home to find he was missing. It’s a relief that he was found safe and sound, the little bastard is an escape artist.” Seokjin laughs to himself to try and alleviate some of the awkwardness he’s feeling, before clipping the leash he’d brought to Dubu’s collar and unclipping the one Hoseok had him tied to.
“Does he escape a lot?” Hoseok asks, and it makes him wince. He probably thinks Seokjin is an awful dog parent.
“A few times, now. Hopped over the fence a couple times while I was at work before I got it replaced with a taller one, and we were incident-free for a while before… well, this. I’m sure you’re really proud of yourself for this one, huh, Dubu? You’re really giving me a ruff time,” Seokjin says as he stands, and Dubu stands with him to step away from Hoseok. He didn’t even think about what he was saying to his dog, but he hears Hoseok laugh, and looks up at the owner of the shelter.
“Hopefully you can fur -give him. It sounds like he might be getting bored while you’re gone. Do you work long hours?”
Seokjin is caught in between Hoseok throwing out a casual dog pun and him asking about Seokjin’s personal life, even in relation to his dog. On one hand, he’s very attracted to people who can participate in his humor so gracefully. On the other, he was not prepared to be asked about himself at the animal shelter. And politely accused of leaving him dog home alone for long hours, even if it’s rightfully so.
“Most days, yes. I try to get home as early as I can, but.. Hm.. it’s difficult, when everyone is relying on me.”
“Sounds like you’re purr tty important,” Hoseoks says, almost teasingly.
It takes a second, and then Seokjin’s laughing, high and squeaky. “I’d say that’s a little far- fetched but I do own the company.”
Hoseok’s eyes widen before squinting again with his smile. “Ahh, I should’ve known. Not just any salary man can afford a purebred samoyed.”
If Seokjin’s ears go red again, he wouldn’t admit it, but having Hoseok casually analyze his wealth feels a little embarrassing. He worked hard to get where he is now, and Dubu was something he had wanted since he was a child. He doesn’t take it to heart, however. It seems like Hoseok means well. “Since you seem to be quite the expert, any tips to keep my dog in the yard?”
A soft humm comes from Hoseok as he glances down at a filthy Dubu. “Would you like me to wash our friend here and we can discuss what might help?”
“Oh, are you sure?” Seokjin asks, surprised at the offer. “You probably have better things to do than wash my unruly dog.”
With a shake of his head, Hoseok makes a vague gesture towards the front entrance. “We’re about ready for closing anyway, and we’ve finished most of our chores for the evening. You probably won’t be able to find a groomer still open at the moment, anyway, so I don’t mind.”
Seokjin can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. “I’d really appreciate it, then. Thanks fur your help, Hoseok-ssi.” Seeing Hoseok’s beautiful smile again before leading them farther into the building is certainly a good confidence booster.
He wasn’t sure what to expect, but while Hoseok was very skillfully washing Dubu’d unruly fur, he also gave Seokjin some really insightful tips. There were lots of options to consider, and he’d have to think about it before committing to anything, but what Hoseok said about Dubu being bored and lonely while he’s at work made a lot of sense. Seokjin doesn’t handle being bored and lonely well either.
By the time Dubu was clean and mostly dry, Seokjin had not only been offered valuable information, but also a business card with Hoseok’s information. “Let me know if you have any more questions. I’m here working most days, but I’m free to chat after hours,” Hoseok had said with a pink tint to his cheeks. He didn’t let Seokjin pay for the wash, but the donation button was easy to find on the Hopeful Paws website, and Seokjin got an earful for ‘donating too much’ (impossible, if you ask Seokjin) when he worked up the courage to text him the next day.
Getting to know Hoseok after their first meeting was nice, and in between figuring out the best solution to keep Dubu happy and staying sane at work, Seokjin chatted with him quite a bit. Talking about how to handle his energetic dog turned into talking about their jobs and how they got to where they are today, and texts in between work turned into coffee dates on their breaks and going to the dog park together on the weekends.
Hoseok told him about opening up the shelter with his friends Jungkook and Jimin, their combined passion for animals becoming something they could do for a living while helping the pets without homes. Seokjin talked about his calla lily tattoo and how he struggled through college to start his own business.
Coffee dates turned into dinner dates, a nice restaurant farther into the city with mood lighting and expensive wine. A collaborative homemade meal with slightly burnt cookies for dessert. A bouquet of flowers showing up at Seokjin’s office.
Donating became helping Hoseok out at the shelter on busy weekends, or Hoseok stopping by Seokjin’s house to play with Dubu while Seokjin is stuck at work late.
When Hoseok calls him one day about a white puppy at the shelter he’s fondly named “Tteok”, asking if he wants to adopt him together, Seokjin knows it’s about more than just the puppy. And he’d be a fool to say no.