Work Text:
Jungkook looked up from where he was checking out a woman’s single purchase of a studded collar for her Maltese to let out an exasperated sigh when a familiar mop of brown hair entered his sight. The same boy that had been coming in everyday for the last week, was unsurprisingly, back again, this time with his nose pressed against the glass that separated the dog cages from the rest of the store.
When Jungkook took up the job at the pet shop, he didn’t think he would be this exhausted all the time. He simply didn’t have the energy after class to deal with the physical and mental labor that came with working at the shop, including dealing with fussy animals when it was time to clean cages, and sugar-high children who insisted on harassing the poor rabbits the store had on display. But hey, what other choice does a struggling college student like himself have?
When the woman left, Jungkook made sure that there were no more customers left to ring up before he stalked over to the boy. Too entranced in making cooing noises at the dogs, the boy didn’t notice him come up behind him until Jungkook tapped him on the shoulder and cleared his throat to get his attention.
Up until now, Jungkook had never bothered to come up to the boy, which meant he never got the chance to actually get a good look at his face. Jungkook started in surprise when the boy turned to look at him because, holy shit, he’s really cute. He could feel his cheeks heating up when the boy flashed him a bright smile before wildly gesturing at the dogs, whispering in an excited tone, “Aren’t they adorable?” and turning back to press his nose up against the window again.
Collecting himself, Jungkook remembered that he had actually came over here to talk to the boy and you know, do his job. Clearing his throat again, he asked, “Is there any particular one you would be interested in, sir?”, hoping that his voice wouldn’t betray the fact that he was finding it increasingly hard to breathe now that he realized how absolutely fucking attractive the stranger was.
The boy didn’t move from his position, just waved his hand in Jungkook’s general direction and said, “Taehyung”, continuing to stare at one of the new beagles that the shop received earlier that morning.
Jungkook blinked a few times because holy shit his voice is really nice too, and managed to squeak out a “Sorry?” as he tried to veer his thoughts back onto a more professional track. Last time he checked there wasn’t any dog named Taehyung that they were selling, so he had no idea what the boy was talking about.
“Call me Taehyung. Don’t call me sir, it makes me feel like I’m a balding 40 year old man.”
Jungkook shifted in his spot, mulled the name over in his head and tucked it somewhere for future reference. Pressing forward, he asked again, “Is there one you would be interested in taking home?”
This seemed to be enough to shake the boy, Taehyung, Jungkook corrected himself mentally, out of whatever trance he seemed to be in.
“No, I’m good!” he grinned, face stretching out in a boxy smile.
Shit shit shit shit, Jungkook thought to himself, because Taehyung’s smile was enough to blind anyone within a 5-mile radius. Taehyung glanced down at his watch and jolted, cussing rather loudly, which earned him a pointed glare from a woman who was now covering her child’s ears, and sprinted past Jungkook and out the door, where he almost tripped over a potted plant positioned near the store entrance. Confused, Jungkook stared at the door before shaking his head and returning to his position behind the counter, pushing the experience to the back of his mind.
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The next day came with another appearance by Taehyung, who was back at his spot in front of the dog cages. It had been an incredibly slow day at the shop, and Jungkook was bored out of his mind. He figured that maybe Taehyung had changed his mind about taking a dog home, although he slightly doubted his ability to properly care for one right now as he took in Taehyung’s disheveled appearance.
His hair was sticking up in several directions, and he was wearing baggy sweats paired with an even baggier shirt that had holes cut into the shoulder and sleeve, but somehow, Jungkook admitted to himself, he made the outfit look ridiculously good.
Walking over to Taehyung, he tapped him on the shoulder. “Is there anything I can help you with, Taehyung-ssi?” He immediately regretted his choice of words when Taehyung turned around to flash him the most brilliant smile he had ever seen in his life (which was saying a lot, considering Hoseok, his coworker, was the most cheerful person he knew and had a smile to match his exuberant personality. Jungkook felt like Hoseok could probably shoot sunshine out of his ass if he put his mind to it).
“You remembered my name!” he exclaimed, sounding like it was the best thing to ever happen to him.
Jungkook coughed awkwardly. “Uhh yeah. But um, again, you sure you aren’t looking for anything?”
Taehyung nodded solemnly before shooting another look at the cages behind him. “Yeah no, I’m fine.” Jungkook nodded, not wanting to push too much and started to turn to walk away when Taehyung spoke up again. “Oh! Sorry about yesterday by the way, I didn’t mean to run out on you like that, but I forgot I had to get to class”, he said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.
Jungkook blinked, having already forgotten about what happened. Realizing he was just standing there staring at Taehyung, he quickly returned to his senses and shook his head, reassuring the slightly distressed boy that everything was fine. Pausing slightly, Jungkook asked, “Do you go to Seoul University by any chance?”
Taehyung nodded. “Third year psych major. You?”
“Yeah, first year music comp.” Jungkook wasn't surprised that he had never seen Taehyung before, since the music and psych buildings were on opposite sides of the campus.
There were no other customers in the shop, and Jungkook wanted to do anything but return to his position behind the counter, staring blankly at the rabbit pens across the room.
Jungkook hesitated for a second, before asking, “Would you uh, maybe want to play with some puppies that came in today? I mean you seem like yo-“
“Holy shit yes, sign me the fuck up,” Taehyung yelled suddenly, his voice booming across the empty store. Jungkook flinched at the noise and nodded, motioning for Taehyung to follow him. At this point, Taehyung was bouncing as he walked and Jungkook was honestly scared that he would pass out from excitement. He could feel the waves of joy radiating off him as Jungkook pulled out his keys to open the door to the room, leading him to the back before stopping in front of the cages the puppies were in.
Jungkook reached in and scooped out a small golden retriever, cradling her with a towel. He carefully transferred her over to Taehyung, who had gone stock still. He stared at the tiny puppy in his arms with complete and utter adoration and Jungkook watched in alarm as his eyes started to glaze over with what looked like tears.
“Taehyung-ssi, are you okay?”
The boy let out a loud sniffle before smushing his face into the the puppy’s body. He gave Jungkook a small nod, face still buried in the soft golden fur. The puppy, didn’t seem to mind the sudden intrusion and started licking at Taehyung’s neck. The movement seemed to agitate Taehyung even more, whose thin frame started shaking with the sobs that he was (unsuccessfully) trying to hold in.
Panicking slightly, because what the fuck do you do when a really cute guy starts crying into a goddamn puppy, Jungkook tentatively reached out towards Taehyung. When the other made no sign of pulling away, Jungkook awkwardly started rubbing circles into his back in an attempt to placate the crying boy.
“Her name’s Luna,” he offered weakly, unable to think of anything else to say in this situation.
Taehyung looked up with red, watery eyes and mustered out, in what was possibly the most heartbroken voice Jungkook had ever heard in the 19 years he’s been alive, a “She’s so cute I’m going to die” before burying his face in Luna’s fur again.
While Jungkook would have been perfectly content to stay here with Taehyung, he noted with a sinking heart that his shift was coming to an end, and Hoseok was supposed to be coming in soon. He gently pried Taehyung away from Luna, placing her back into the cage and turning to face Taehyung, whose tears had subsided, save for the occasional sniffle as he stared longingly at the puppy. Gently, Jungkook asked again, “Are you sure you wouldn’t be interested in adopting?”
Taehyung shook his head dejectedly, staring at the floor.
“I still live in the dorms and there’s that no pets allowed policy,” he mumbled, lightly kicking at the linoleum. That explains everything, Jungkook thought.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t stay here with Luna any longer, my shift is ending and I’m not allowed to leave you back here alone,” he apologized, genuinely feeling bad about having to tear Taehyung away from the puppies. Taehyung nodded and let Jungkook lead him back out to the front of the store.
Jungkook thought Taehyung would be gone by the time he finished clocking out but was surprised to find the boy still standing by the door, hands shoved in his sweats. Slowly he approached him, clearing his throat to make his presence known. “Taehyung-ssi? Was there something else you needed?”
Taehyung turned at the sound of his voice, a hand automatically going up to scratch at the back of his head. “Oh, um, I was wondering if you would maybe want to grab a cup of coffee or something? My treat, I mean, as thanks for letting me cry into one of your puppies?”
Jungkook was taken aback by the offer, because it sounds like he’s asking me out holy shit is this really happening fuck fuck fuck Jeon get it together
Unaware of Jungkook’s inner monologue, Taehyung took his silence as a no, and rushed to add, “Sorry you’re probably busy I didn’t mean to trouble you because like wow you’re really cute and you probably have a boyfriend or girlfriend or something and I’m just this weird dude who cries into puppies and shit sorry I should probably just get going.” He was rambling at this point and Jungkook snapped out of his own thoughts to stop Taehyung in the middle of his speech. His cheeks were tinted an adorable shade of pink, and taking a step closer, Jungkook noticed a tiny little mole on the tip of his nose.
Jungkook took a breath and offered a hopefully sincere smile. “Coffee sounds great actually.”
The smile he got in return made him think, maybe this job isn’t so bad after all.