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Jisung loved animals. Cats or dogs, it didn't matter, he just loved every little or big creature.
And while he did love animals, he was a sad university student who pulled all-nighters more than he should, drank iced coffee more than he drank water - that is if he drank any water at all - and lived off of cold ramyeon that he didn't have time to complete in the morning.
In conclusion, Jisung was an animal lover who could not take care of one.
He did have a hamster when he was 13, but the poor guy died from a heart attack when Jisung tried cosplaying for the first time. Needless to say, Jisung has not cosplayed ever since. He couldn't resist the addicting series of anime though.
While he didn't own a pet, he did go to animal shelters on weekends when he felt like he needed to distress from school work (really it was every weekend, but Jisung very much enjoyed distressing by watching anime in his bed all day so the animal shelters were for when he was not feeling lazy).
This weekend Jisung decided to distress by going to the animal shelter.
He, however, chose a very wrong day to distress.
Upon arriving there he saw Hwang Hyunjin playing with his favorite puppy.
"What a betrayer, I was supposed to be Rocco's best friend!" Jisung thought to himself after seeing how excited the puppy seemed to be.
Hwang Hyunjin was Jisung's roommate's boyfriend's best friend. They met when Jisung dropped Changbin, Jisung's roommate, off on his first date with Seungmin, Changbin's now boyfriend, and Hyunjin seemed to do the same. When Seungmin and Changbin left the two alone, Hyunjin looked him up and down, scoffed, and then left.
That's when Jisung decided he didn’t like Hyunjin and started acting cold towards him so there was always tension between them.
"Hey, Jisung!" A voice called out. It was a boy in an animal shelter uniform, he had freckles, and blond hair and looked the same age as Jisung.
"Hey, Felix!" Jisung said cheerfully, forgetting about Hyunjin. Felix was Jisung's best friend and also a worker there, as well as the reason Jisung went to that exact shelter.
"I see Rocco is preoccupied," Felix said as he looked at the small puppy Hyunjin was playing with.
"Don't mention his name anymore, he's a betrayer, I can't believe he's wiggling his tail like that to other men," Jisung said very offendedly, making Felix laugh brightly at that.
"Laughing at my suffering, huh? Let's see how you'll feel when you get cheated on!" Felix wanted to respond but seemed to notice someone behind Jisung.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to adopt."
Jisung turned to look at Hyunjin standing with Rocco in his hands. "No way you're taking Rocco! He's my best friend!" Jisung said immediately without thinking.
Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow at him, Jisung won't admit it, but that was incredibly attractive.
"I am in fact adopting Rocco, yes," Hyunjin said, looking Jisung straight into his eyes.
"And what about my emotional support dog?" Jisung argued just for the sake of arguing.
"Find a new one! This is mine now! He chose me! He was the one who came up to me and played with me!"
"No! I'll just go to yours now to play with him!" Jisung insisted.
"Yeah right," Hyunjin rolled his eyes at the absurd idea.
"Just you wait and see!"
Felix decided to step in. "Alright, Hyunjin come with me," he said while looking at Jisung with a "Calm down will you!?" look.
Next weekend Jisung stood at Hyunjin's door contemplating his life choices.
He had been there once when Changbin, Seungmin, and Hyunjin were hanging out. Changbin and Seungmin wanted the two to become more friendly, but it didn’t really work out. To be fair, Seungmin and Changbin ruined it all by suggesting playing monopoly.
You see, Jisung is very competitive and manipulative at times. Let’s just say he didn’t like the idea of paying money to Hyunjin who had hotels on his properties and both of them got a bit heated about it.
But back to Jisung standing in front of Hyunjin’s door.
He did not want to be there but the chance of annoying Hyunjin seemed worth it, and he had to keep his promise and of course, he had to meet his emotional support puppy!
After 5 minutes of debating, he finally rang the bell to Hyunjin's apartment and waited for the door to open.
After 2 minutes the door sprung open, startling Jisung.
There stood Hyunjin, his hair messy, with an oversized shirt and baggy pants, looking ridiculously attractive.
"Please pretend to be my boyfriend and you caught me cheating!" He said in a whisper desperately.
Jisung stood there dumbfounded, registering the words that just came from the taller. "What?"
"Please, I need to get rid of this one-night stand! I'll buy you food!"
This was all he needed to hear. For food, Jisung was ready to do almost anything. So he immediately started the act.
"Hey, babe! You said you didn't feel too good yesterday so I bought you soup my mom made! I promise she makes the best soups! I'll go put it in the kitchen!" Jisung said in a very loud and cheery voice making sure he could be heard in the whole apartment.
He then went to the kitchen with the metaphorical soup. After he entered the kitchen he soon heard small footsteps approaching, when he turned to look at the entrance he saw the small puppy, Rocco.
He kneeled to greet him with as much love as Rocco did.
When he heard footsteps arriving in the living room he immediately stood up and went to the living room to continue the act.
When he entered the living room he saw a guy with no shirt and just jeans and put on the most hurt and confused expression he could.
"Hyunjin? Who is this?" He asked, trying to make fake tears, but it looked more like he wanted to sneeze.
"U-uh babe, this is not what it looks like," Hyunjin said and Jisung almost scoffed at him. Hyunjin was a really bad actor.
"Again? You're cheating on me again? After I forgave you? How could you? You're an asshole!" Jisung shouted and slapped Hyunjin across the face. Rocco who followed Jisung to the living room started barking. Hyunjin looked at Jisung in shock, clearly not expecting it, Jisung almost lost his character and smirked at him, damn was it pleasant.
The other guy looked at him in fear.
"I had no idea, I swear!" The guy said his hands up in surrender.
"You! You get out! I don't want to see you!" Jisung screamed at the guy and he immediately left the apartment.
As soon as the guy was out Jisung smiled brightly.
"I am such a great actor!" He exclaimed looking at Hyunjin rubbing his cheek while Rocco tried to jump on him to help him somehow.
"Yeah maybe a bit too good," he murmured and kneeled, allowing the small ball of fluff to lick his face.
"Lies! You can never be too good at art!" Jisung said with a smirk and Hyunjin rolled his eyes.
"Why are you here anyways?" He asked, confused.
"I'm, obviously, here for my emotional support dog!" Jisung said proudly and Hyunjin groaned.
"What? Want me to bring that guy back?" Jisung asked as he cocked an eyebrow.
"Ugh calm down, have you eaten breakfast?" Hyunjin said not batting an eye on Jisung and playing with the puppy instead.
"No, I actually didn't," Jisung said remembering how he didn't have an appetite because of his nerves getting the better of him.
"It's like noon and you haven't eaten anything?" Hyunjin asked, looking at him confused.
"It's only noon," Jisung corrected him.
"Whatever, what do you want to eat? I'm ordering."
After a long debate, they settled on McDonald's even though their breakfast menu was no longer available. They were, after all, just two broke university students.
After Hyunjin ordered Jisung finally got the opportunity to play with Rocco.
"You really like him, huh?" Hyunjin asked after kneeling beside them and watching them play.
"I told you already he is my emotional support dog," Jisung said, not looking at Hyunjin even though a part of him really wanted to.
"Why didn't you adopt him then?" Hyunjin asked and cocked his head like a puppy.
"Like owner like dog." Jisung thought, finding the similarity adorable, but only because Rocco is adorable, of course.
"There is no way I could take care of a pet, I had a cactus named Bob and he died after a week," Jisung sighed sadly at the memory.
"Rest in peace Bob, you will not be forgotten," Jisung said, looking at the ceiling.
Hyunjin looked at him weirdly. "You killed a cactus?" He asked not quite believing you could do that.
"Well now you make me sound like a murderer, what will Rocco think of me now, huh?" Jisung jokingly said making Hyunjin laugh and my oh my was Jisung not ready for that.
The sound traveled through Jisung's body like electricity, making him highly aware of every note in his voice and just how beautiful it sounded.
"Weird."
Jisung didn’t dwell on it, not that he could, because the sound of Hyunjin’s doorbell filled the apartment.
Hyunjin stood up to open the door and soon was back with two bags of McDonald’s.
They ate in silence for a while before Hyunjin spoke up.
“So how often are you planning to barge into my apartment?”
“Hey! I did warn you about it!”
“I didn’t think you were serious about it!” Hyunjin said, throwing his hands up in exasperation .
“Well, you need to stop underestimating me!” Jisung mirrored Hyunjin.
“Can you blame me? You’re a living corpse most of the time.”
“You know what? Fuck you! I am smarter than you!” Jisung said, starting to get angry.
“Oh yeah?”
“At least I don’t sleep with everyone I meet!” That seemed to have struck a nerve because Hyunjin’s whole presence darkened.
“You have no right judging my sex life when you know nothing about it, virgin.”
“I’m not a virgin.”
“Then stop acting like one,” Jisung glared at Hyunjin and stood up, scaring the little puppy that was sleeping close to him.
“I’m leaving.”
“I’m glad!”
After their fight at Hyunjin’s, they hadn’t talked to each other. Not that they usually would, but now Jisung was wondering if he had been too harsh, but even so, why should he be the one to apologize? Hyunjin was the one who started their fight and he said some hurtful things too.
“You’re an idiot, did you know that? Wait, no, you both are!” Felix said on a fine afternoon when they were hanging out at Jisung and Changbin’s apartment. Apparently, Hyunjin ranted to Seungmin about what happened and Seungmin told Changbin, so Jisung had to tell his part of the story.
“I’m not an idiot!”
“Then why would you say something like that? Someone’s sex life is none of your business!” Changbin scolded.
“But he wasn’t any better!” Jisung argued.
“No he wasn’t, you both were wrong and said stupid things to each other and both of you should apologize,” Felix reasoned.
“He should do it first!”
“And why’s that?” Changbin asked, arms crossed.
“He started it!” Jisung kept arguing.
“Be the bigger person!” Changbin said annoyance lingering in his voice.
“But I can’t! He is at least 10 cm taller than me,” Jisung said to lighten up the mood, but was met with two blank faces.
“You will apologize to him as soon as you meet him,” Changbin said and Felix nodded.
And Jisung didn’t have any other options than to nod in defeat.
Jisung and Hyunjin didn’t go to the same university and they didn’t meet, so Jisung decided to go to Hyunjin’s apartment on a Sunday morning with McDonald’s bags in his hands.
It took him even longer to press the doorbell than the previous time, but with a few “You can do it!” “You rock!” “You’re so cool!” he finally got enough courage to ring the bell.
It didn’t take long for the door to open and Jisung to meet with Hyunjin.
“What are you doing here?” He asked coldly, trying to not let Rocco out with his legs blocking the small opening.
“Uhh, I came to apologize,” Jisung said awkwardly and Hyunjin seemed genuinely surprised. It took a second of Hyunjin contemplating before he took Rocco in his hands and opened his door fully so Jisung could enter.
After he closed the door Jisung started reciting his well-thought apology.
“I am very sorry for the words I said, it was very uncalled for and your sex life is none of my business and I promise to never bring that up again, and as proof that those are not just words I bought McDonald’s,” Jisung said stretched out his hands that were holding McDonald’s bags. Hyunjin laughed and took the bags.
“I am sorry too, I said some hurtful words that I shouldn’t have, I hope we can put this past us and try to become friends?” Hyunjin asked and looked unsure at Jisung who smiled brightly at him.
“I agree!”
“Shall we eat then?” Hyunjin asked, trying to keep the bags away from Rocco.
“Yep!”
There was an awkward silence while the two ate, but it was definitely better than them fighting.
“So how was your week?” Hyunjin asked, trying to get rid of the silence.
“Nothing much happened, mostly just some uni work. When I didn’t have uni, I had work and binge-watched all of the Shrek movies with Changbin yesterday,” Jisung said, looking at the ceiling to remember his week.
“Shrek?” Hyunjin asked with a giggle.
“Yes, Shrek, the best work of cinematography to exist,” Jisung said seriously, looking at Hyunjin.
“I believe you,” Hyunjin said smiling at Jisung’s silliness.
“So how about you?”
“Well nothing eventful happened either, pretty much the same- uni and work, except I didn’t binge watch Shrek.”
“Don’t worry, someday I’ll make you watch Shrek too,” Jisung said and patted Hyunjin’s shoulder.
“Yeah, I doubt that.”
They talked a bit more. After they finished their meals, Jisung helped him to clean the kitchen table and played with Rocco before saying goodbye and leaving.
Their relationship did not become great immediately, but they were definitely making progress. For example, Jisung didn’t visit Hyunjin uninvited anymore and texted, asking if he could come over before barging into his apartment.
Jisung Wasnt sure if Hyunjin liked him being at his apartment, or if he allowed it just because Rocco liked him, but there were only a few instances when he said that Jisung couldn’t visit and all of them had reasons. For example, he had other friends over or he had a date. Which made Jisung annoyed but wasn’t sure why, because obviously Hyunjin can have dates. He guesses he’s a bit jealous because he doesn’t have anyone asking him on dates.
But one day Hyunjin was the one texting him, asking if Jisung could take care of Rocco while he’s away for a week to go to his parent's house. Obviously, Jisung said yes, he could never say no to Rocco.
Two days later, Hyunjin was at Jisung’s door holding a big bag with dog things and a little travel carrier with Rocco in it.
“Hi,” Hyunjin said after Jisung opened the door.
“Hey-”
“So here is Rocco,” He gave Jisung the carrier, “And in this bag, you’ll find everything he needs. All his bowls, food, treats, leash, his favorite toys, and well... everything. Oh, also a list of things you need to know, in case you didn’t.”
“O-okay,” Jisung said, trying to comprehend all of the information he just heard. “I can take care of him, don’t worry,” He said after seeing how jumpy Hyunjin looked.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Hyunjin said with a sigh, “It’s just, he’s like a literal child to me.”
“I understand but don’t worry I’ll take care of him, we'll have a great time together, right?” He said and pulled up the carrier higher and looked in it, addressing the last part to Rocco.
“Thank you, Jisung,” Hyunjin said with a smile and Jisung returned.
“Always.”
And while Jisung reassured Hyunjin that Rocco was in great hands, he still demanded to video call every day, but only 5 minutes of the calls ended up being about Rocco.
“The beach here is so nice!” Hyunjin said in one of their video calls.
“You went to the beach?” Jisung asked with a gasp.
“Yep! I mean, it’s too cold to swim, but I’ll definitely come here during summer!”
“You should take me with you! I love the beach!”
“Maybe I will.”
“You should! You’d be bored without me!”
“Why are you so sure about that?”
“Because I obviously am the light of your life, the one who makes you laugh constantly!” Jisung said and Hyunjin laughed loudly.
“You’re right,” Hyunjin said and that took Jisung aback for a moment. He didn’t expect Hyunjin to agree.
“Yeah!” Jisung says after regaining his consciousness, making Hyunjin laugh again.
After Hyunjin got back from visiting his parents, Rocco was not that keen to leave Jisung. Rocco got quite attached to Jisung and so did Jisung. He was feeling a bit sad that he won’t be able to see Rocco every day. But due to Rocco missing Jisung, Hyunjin asked Jisung to visit them more often and Jisung was happy to do so.
While Hyunjin was away, not only did Jisung and Rocco bond, but Jisung and Hyunjin also bonded. After all, they talked every day during Hyunjin’s trip, and not doing the same after the trip felt weird. So Jisung started visiting Hyunjin more often and they also didn’t go a day without texting or calling each other.
It didn’t take them long to spend time together without Rocco being the reason for their meetups.
One day Jisung went to Hyunjin’s apartment as usual, but he was not ready for a shirtless Hyunjin to open the door.
“Please act as my boyfriend!” Hyunjin said and it gave Jisung a feeling of deja vu.
“What?” He asked, confused.
“Please, please there is this guy I slept with, but he doesn’t seem to want to leave my apartment,” Hyunjin said and Jisung felt hurt and used, but decided to go with the act anyway.
“Hi, honey!” He said in a high cheerful voice and entered Hyunjin’s apartment.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls yesterday?” Jisung asked, it wasn’t a lie, Hyunjin did not answer his call the day before, but Jisung knew why now.
“Uh- well,” was everything Hyunjin could say as he scratched the back of his neck.
“I bought some candles for you! I know you love them, so I’ll put them in your bedroom!” Jisung said and made his way to the bedroom.
“No, don’t go to the bedroom!” Hyunjin says loudly.
“Sorry, what did you say, love?” Jisung asked as he opened the door to the bedroom and saw a young man putting his shirt on.
“And who are you and what are you doing here?” Jisung asked hurt, but this time he wasn’t acting as much as letting his actual feelings out.
“Uh- um, well,” The man stuttered.
“Hyunjin!” Jisung called and he quickly arrived.
“Who is he?” Jisung asked angrily.
“It’s not what it looks like! He’s just a friend who was already leaving!”
“Yes, I am leaving!” The guy said and immediately left.
Jisung turned to Hyunjin.
“I am so sorry! I just got drunk yesterday and one thing led to another… I am so sorry you got involved in this,” Hyunjin said apologetically and Jisung put on a fake smile.
“It’s alright you don’t have to explain, I am happy to help you, that’s what friends are for right?”
“Yeah right…”
“Uh I just remembered that I need to go help Changbin, so I have to go,” Jisung lied, he just wanted to leave.
“Now?” Hyunjin asked, confused.
“Yeah sorry, see you soon,” Jisung said, already making his way to exit.
“Oh, okay bye.”
Jisung couldn’t understand why he was feeling so upset and it took him quite a while to conclude till he did. So after three months of Jisung coming to Hyunjin's apartment uninvited and them growing closer, Jisung was ready to admit that he was very much into Hyunjin, and boy was he not happy with the realization.
"And what the fuck do I do now?" He said throwing his hands in the air a few days after faking being Hyunjin’s boyfriend.
Felix looked at him from the other side of a table with a knowing look. They were currently at the shelter sitting in the break room.
"Ask him out?" He asked as if it was an obvious answer.
"No?" Jisung replied in the same tone.
"No way am I asking out Hwang Hyunjin, who most probably dislikes me and allows me in his apartment only because his dog likes me," He said it as a matter of fact.
"That's ridiculous! If he disliked you, you wouldn’t be spending so much time together! And you two are inseparable, he literally video called you everyday when he was away. He clearly is also into you!" Felix said trying to get through Jisung's thick skull, but sadly Jisung was way too stubborn.
"That was only so he could check on Rocco!” Jisung argued.
“Yeah, I know how he checked on Rocco, Changbin told me everything about your video calls, and only 10% of it included Rocco!” Felix disagreed.
“Not true! And even if it was, we are friends, that’s what friends do. Do I have to remind you that he just slept with a dude? He clearly is not looking for a relationship.”
“You can sleep with people and still like someone, maybe he just doesn’t have the guts to confess!”
“As if, anyways I got to go, I promised Hyunjin to come and watch the anime we started together," Jisung said as he stood up.
"See ya!" He waved and Felix returned the gesture.
When Jisung was out of sight he banged his head against the table, tired of his best friend’s lack of intellect.
Due to the fact that Jisung spent so much time with Hyunjin, Changbin almost started to miss his roommate.
"Man, when are we going to have our bro nights again?" He whined when Jisung was about to go to Hyunjin's apartment yet again.
By bro nights Changbin meant the two of them buying cheap beer and ordering pizza and having deep roomie talks.
"How about this Friday?" Jisung asked, making sure in his mind that he didn't make any plans with Hyunjin.
"Sounds good to me," Changbin said and so they did have their bro night.
And perhaps they drank a bit too much beer.
"I just don't know what to do! He is so pretty, his hair is so nice and his lips are so plump and he is so good. You know, at first I thought that he was a dick, but then I realized that he is very sensitive and soft, he has such a great mindset and I love listening to him," Jisung slurred the words that came to his mind, he had no filter left in him whatsoever.
"Then tell him that!" Changbin replied encouraging his friend to do the damn thing and confess, god knows Changbin has been suffering for a long time now.
"Do you think I should?" He asked, unsure.
"Yes totally! Go and confess, right now!" Changbin kept encouraging him and something drilled through that thick skull of his and Jisung stood up.
"You're right! I will!" He said as he stumbled through their door.
After 15 minutes and a fall, Jisung finally reached Hyunjin's apartment. He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently tapping his foot from the adrenalin.
"What the hell Jisung, it's 2 am," Hyunjin said when he opened the door, he was rubbing his eyes from sleep but still looked so good that Jisung could scream.
"You are so pretty," instead of screaming Jisung whispered the words just enough for Hyunjin to hear him.
A blush appeared on Hyunjin's cheeks as he muttered thanks and let Jisung in with Rocco jumping on him in greeting.
There was a small silence before Jisung continued.
"I want to be Rocco's dad!" He announced and Hyunjin looked at him puzzled.
"I mean aren't you already? You are here more often than you are at your own place," Hyunjin said, confused.
"No, I mean, I want to kiss you and hold your hands and take care of Rocco together and wake up together in the mornings," Jisung said, whining a bit.
Hyunjin stood there with eyes wide and with what seemed like hope in them.
"Are you drunk?" He asked, disappointment filling his voice.
"Yes, but what I'm saying is true Hyunjin. I like you, like a lot and I wouldn't be here at..." he looked at his arm that didn't have a watch on it, "Like 2 am, drunk, if it wasn't true."
He looked into Hyunjin's eyes hoping that Hyunjin would believe him and it seemed like he did as a smile spread on his face.
"I like you too," he said with such a sickeningly sweet smile Jisung could throw up from all the sweetness, or maybe it was the beer.
"Really?" He exclaimed and Hyunjin nodded enthusiastically.
“But I thought you didn’t, I mean, and I’m not judging you, you were sleeping with other guys and going on dates.”
“Ah about that, the last time I had sex was because I was trying to get over you, I got drunk and that was the only solution to my drunk mind also I haven’t been going on dates for some time now, not since I realized that I liked you, I actually tried to send you hints, but you are very fucking oblivious,” Hyunjin explained with a laugh and suddenly Jisung remembered all of the small hints, like Hyunjin sending love song lyrics, painting Jisung and the most important one of them all: sending him hearts.
“Oh,” was all that left Jisung.
“Yeah,” Hyunjin giggled. “Now, let’s get you to bed.”
The Next morning, Jisung woke up with a massive headache and a lot of warmth around him.
After trying to open his eyes for 5 minutes he finally realized why he was so warm.
As he opened his eyes he saw Hyunjin's peaceful and extremely handsome face in front of him as Hyunjin's arms were tightly pressed around Jisung, and near their legs was Rocco sleeping peacefully, making memories appear in Jisung's mind.
He couldn't help the big smile that grew on his face.
After ten minutes of Jisung admiring Hyunjin, the other started to shift and soon opened his eyes.
"Good morning," Jisung whispered.
"Good morning, co-parent," Hyunjin giggled as Jisung made a scandalous face.
"That's all I am to you? A co-parent?" Jisung asked, whining.
"Why would you be anything more?" Hyunjin said, teasing the boy in his arms.
Jisung pinched him and Hyunjin shuddered at the feeling, waking Rocco up. The dog came up to them trying to lick their faces.
The boys laughed at that and patted the dog in front of them.
"Of course, you're not just a co-parent," Hyunjin said looking at Jisung's lips seemingly contemplating.
Jisung decided to erase any worries Hyunjin might have and gave a quick peck on his lips, not wanting Hyunjin to taste the cheap beer. "Good to know."