Chapter Text
It wasn’t every day that a cute customer happened to walk into Mark’s line of sight at the job he currently worked at. Not that he hated his job because he absolutely loved the fact that at least for two hours each day he was allowed to hug and cuddle any dog he deemed adorable and got paid for it. But having a random cute stranger walk into his work place proved that he was absolutely 100% correct at stating that this was the best job he has ever gotten hired to work at.
“Hello, how may I help you today?” Mark asked in his polite tone that he used for pretty much every customer, although this time he didn’t have to fake his bright smile that slowly lit up his face.
“Oh, I’m just looking around.” The stranger stated in a rather depressed tone. Mark could already tell that this boy was looking for some happiness in his life and already Mark wanted to be a part of it.
“May I ask what kind of animal you would be interested in?” Mark asked once more gesturing to the posters littered around the store to show the wide variety sold in this location. It ranged from small animals such as hamsters and mice to larger animals like cats and dogs. He personally had a very soft spot for the dogs.
“I don’t know.” The stranger answered once more and moved to get away from Mark. Mark would have been absolutely offended but he could tell that this cute stranger wanted a distraction from something that must have happened rather recently in his life. It was like Mark was drawn to the boy and wanted to learn more about him but for now he’ll focus on just learning a name.
“Can I ask your name?” Mark asked rather bluntly to say the least but it finally caused the stranger to look at him directly for the first time and just from the stranger’s eyes Mark could tell there was a lot going on inside his cute head.
“Choi Youngjae.” He answered and turned away to walk towards the small animals section. Mark whispered his name a few times just to remember the name. Choi Youngjae, even his name sounded just as cute as his face.
“I’m Mark Tuan.” Mark responded and followed Youngjae into the small pets section. With the store being practically empty and him being the only one on shift it pretty much meant he was alone with Youngjae.
And he didn’t mind that one bit.
“Well Mark can you please tell me more about owning a pet I’m rather clueless but I figured a nice change of pace would be good for me.” Youngjae stated rather rudely and turned to Mark once more. He had a pout on his lips and a look of anger but Mark could still see past that look and could see the pain in his eyes.
“Bad breakup?” Mark asked before he could stop himself and the shocked expression on Youngjae’s face showed it all.
“How did you know?” Youngjae asked and quickly looked around as if scared that someone else was around to hear this conversation.
“Being a pet store employee a lot of sad break ups end with getting a pet to help them become happy again. I’ve helped several heartbroken souls find happiness in a pet that I hope to this day enjoy.” Mark explained and patted Youngjae on the shoulder. “I don’t mean to pry but if you answer some questions maybe I can help you feel better and find the perfect pet?”
Youngjae nodded to this and finally showed how sad he really was. “I just don’t know what went wrong, he was so happy—“ Youngjae stopped and looked at Mark in shock. He forgot to not mention the gender but completely screwed up. But from the look of understanding on Mark’s face Youngjae realized it didn’t matter at that moment. “I tried really hard to make him happy and worked even harder to see a smile on his face. But this whole time he has been cheating on me with his best friend and I didn’t even know!” Youngjae explained and rested his head on Mark’s shoulder. He was so embarrassed with himself but he had no one to talk to. All of his friends were his boyfriend’s and he finally realized he had no one.
“Look Youngjae, it seems like this guy was an absolute douche and you shouldn’t have to deal with someone like that in your life. You deserve someone caring and sweet just like yourself and you know what you look like the perfect cat person.” Mark concluded and walked Youngjae towards the cat section of the store.
Just as they were arriving Youngjae finally stopped and shook his head, “Not only did my ex have a cat but I’m actually allergic.” He seemed kind of shy after just telling his entire break up story to a stranger and he felt even worse that Mark went through the trouble to help him and he was deathly allergic to cats.
“Oh.” Mark stopped and stood for a second in shock. “Well that won’t do.” He thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. “How about a dog!” He shouted in excitement and grabbed Youngjae’s hand and whisked them away towards the dog section.
“Well, actually I’m allergic to fur.” Youngjae stated once more and left Mark in shock for a second time.
“Well.” Mark stopped and stood there even longer as he tried to think. “Are you looking for a bird?”
“Not really.” Youngjae stated and realized just how difficult he was being.
“Small animal?”
“Being allergic to fur kind of makes my list a bit short.” Youngjae stated and shyly scratched his head. Maybe having a pet was just not the best idea for him, he just came as a spur of the moment thing since he always heard that animals are a man’s best friend but once coming in and cooling off after the breakup he realized that he had a hard time with animals.
“Oh.” Mark thought to himself once more for a good five minutes before he finally snapped his fingers. “Come back tomorrow and I will have the perfect animal for you.” He nodded and smiled which made Youngjae smile as well.
“Okay, I’ll be back at the same time.”
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It was a hard decision for Mark, he really did want to try his luck with Youngjae but he didn’t know if he caught the signs wrong and was going to make the worst decision of his life or if he read them all correctly and he was about to make the best decision of his life.
“Oh baby I hope you don’t mind a small change in ownership.” He cooed at his puppy as he held her in his arms. He had a fondness for Coco, but he also wanted to show this cute guy that a bad breakup doesn’t mean it’s the end. He wanted to show that animals really do make things better and that Coco would do just the trick.
Coco barked playfully and wagged her small tail. “I hope he’ll treat you well.”
His walk to work that morning was a long one as he allowed Coco to walk freely and sniff what she had wanted. He wanted to take longer so that he could think of ideas to allow him the happiest of endings for both Youngjae and Coco.
“I am an absolute idiot, he is someone I barely met and yet I want to give him my prized dog?” Mark asked himself and looked at Coco as she sniffed a random weed on the ground. Her tail wagged in an excited manner before moving on to the next object of her attention. Mark smiled warmly at her and continued to walk at her pace. “I know Jackson always told me to take a risk or a chance to find someone but I don’t know if this is what he meant.” He really couldn’t back down now since he practically told Youngjae to come back because of the good news. He knew Coco would be perfect because of her breed of dog as she has hair and not fur and does not shed. Youngjae with such high allergies should not be affected by Coco’s hair and as long as he maintains her everything should be fine. Mark hoped to win a chance with Youngjae through this risk and hoped that in the end he could easily have both Youngjae and Coco in his life.
Of course that is if Youngjae is a good enough guy for Mark to want to be with, and if that isn’t the case then Mark needed to think of a way to get Coco out of there as quickly and safely as possible.
He could see the pet store in sight and knew his time was limited with Coco, after going into the store he slowly got ready for his shift and put Coco with the rest of the dogs to play since he knew they were all friendly enough and he might or might not have brought Coco to work before just because he didn’t like leaving her alone.
The day passed by slowly as he waited for Youngjae to finally appear, some customers came in and out buying small things like food or treats with only Mark as a cashier to help them get their things and go. He was starting to wonder if Youngjae was even going to show up and he was getting a little scared that the boy bailed and that he really did read the signs wrong.
It wasn’t until an hour later when he finally heard the bell ring and Choi Youngjae walked through the door wearing a nervous expression and a really nice outfit. Mark took in a deep breath and smiled as he walked over to the boy.
“Was getting worried that you were going to stand me up.” Mark commented with a burst of confidence. Youngjae looked startled but gained his composure quickly.
“Sorry, I was a bit nervous but my co-worker convinced me to finally come.” Youngjae explained and shuffled his feet slightly. Mark thanked Youngjae’s co-worker to the heavens and back and his smile widened.
“Thank god for your co-worker then, well I want to show you the good news.” Mark exclaimed and took ahold of Youngjae’s hand and led him to the back where the dogs were. He was extremely nervous to be taking such a risk but he knew he had to win this boy’s heart somehow.
“What do you want to show me?”
“I want to show you the best dog in the world.”
It was then that Youngjae finally saw Coco just ahead and he already knew she was different than the other dogs. He stared in awe as Mark opened the cage and called the dog to him and she responded so easily.
“This is Coco; she is my pride and joy.” Mark stated as he pet Coco on the head. He locked the cage behind him and brought Coco over to Youngjae. He made sure as he walked closer to dust Coco off just in case she got some fur on her as she played with the other dogs. He set her down in front of Youngjae and just waited to see what Youngjae would do.
“She is absolutely beautiful.” Youngjae remarked and kneeled down to really look at her. She was small and white and had the cutest expression as she nuzzled into Youngjae’s hand the second he went to pet her. Mark was very prideful at the way he trained her and was proud to know that Coco was as friendly as a dog could be and very well mannered. Although she has an issue of peeing on his shoes, Mark still loved her.
“Her breed of dog is a Maltese which means she does not shed much at all and has hair rather than fur. Because you have an allergy to fur this won’t be an issue. She is still pretty young so you’ll have to take good care to train her and not get upset if she pees on a few of your belongings. She doesn’t eat as much as larger dogs so please don’t over feed her and she really only likes fresh cold water.” Mark explained as Youngjae continued to pet and fall more in love with Mark’s dog. It took a lot of courage for Mark to do this since he barely got Coco just a few months ago when he first saw her in this exact pet shop. He had been looking for a well behaved dog for a while and couldn’t help falling in love with that adorable small dog. Now it was time for him to pass her on to someone he hoped to love her just the same.
“How much will she cost? I know I don’t have a lot of money but I can pay in installments or something as long as I get to bring her home today.” Youngjae responded almost immediately after the explanation and gave Mark the cutest pout in the world.
“She is yours free of charge, but there is one condition.” Mark answered smoothly and had to stop himself from the bring smile that stretched across Youngjae’s face.
“Anything!” Youngjae nearly shouted but held himself back.
“You have to join me for lunch with her every week so I can check up on her.” Mark stated and waited for the answer. He hoped to God that it was a deal.
“Deal!” That was all it took for Mark to smile just as brightly back at Youngjae and he already knew by this point that even if things didn’t work out perfectly he still made the right choice.
“Then congratulations! This adorable dog, Coco, is all yours. I’ll work out the paperwork for you and if you can you can stop by my place to pick up her belongings. It might take her a few days to adjust but be patient with her. If she makes a fuss just call me.” Mark explained and ran behind the counter to start writing down some information as Youngjae continued to pet Coco. Youngjae listened very closely to everything Mark had to say and couldn’t help but feel very grateful for his random encounter with Mark. He hoped that this would blossom into a very nice friendship. He was glad that his co-worker, Jackson, told him to come back.
The two young boys could only hope that the best was soon to come from their newfound friendship.