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Seungmin was bouncing on his heels, waiting at the front door for Hyunjin and Jisung to finally be ready to go. Both of them had a day off that day and he'd been itching to get out of the house and go do something so they'd offered to go to the shopping center with him.
Well, he was pretty sure Hyunjin only agreed because Seungmin told him he would try on some clothes if he picked them out, so he'd have to suffer through that but afterwards Jisung had promised to buy him something from the hybrid store and he was already fantasizing about what to get. He was running dangerously low on hybrid treats so he'd have to restock on those and then he'd have to see which toy caught his eye.
"Are you ready?" He whined when Jisung came into view and his boyfriend laughed.
"Calm down, puppy, we'll be there soon. Are you that excited to try on clothes?"
He crossed his arms. "I'm excited to get a new toy, not try on clothes. But I guess I can humor Hyunjin."
"Aren't you the sweetest,"Hyunjin said, emerging as well and looking ready to go. "Don't worry, I'll pick out some clothes that you'll actually like. Don't you trust me?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said, grabbing Hyunjin's hand and tugging him out the door. "Come on, or the place will close before we even get there."
Well, the shopping center didn't close for another five hours but at the speed it sometimes took his boyfriends to get out the door he didn't want to risk it.
Neither of them answered him but he was sure they were both rolling their eyes behind his back as he climbed in the car and waited impatiently for them to get in as well.
His window was rolled down almost immediately so he could stick his head out of it as they sped down the road, the wind flapping against his ears pleasantly as he watched the world go by, eyes wide and tracking each bird he saw in the sky until he couldn't see them anymore. Jisung kept a hand curled into the back of his shirt as if scared he was going to jump out the window to chase something which was mildly offensive but he allowed it.
He ducked his head back inside as Hyunjin pulled the car into the parking lot and managed to find a spot near the entrance, and he smiled broadly as they all climbed out.
It was a nice day to be outside and he almost mourned going inside where the sun couldn't shine on his back. It didn't take long for him to get over it, though, because there was so much to do and see in the shopping center that his attention was quickly pulled in multiple different directions.
He could smell the food court from here and maybe he could convince Hyunjin and Jisung to buy him a snack later. There was a little kid walking by him with ice cream that looked particularly yummy and with Jisung's sweet tooth it wouldn't be hard to talk him into getting some.
But that would have to come later because Hyunjin laced their fingers together and pulled him in the opposite direction of the food towards where all the clothing stores were.
"I dunno why you wanna buy me clothes all the time," he said as he was pulled into the first store, Jisung right behind him. "I just sit around the house all day and if I go outside I usually get dirty anyways. Isn't it a waste of money buying me clothes all the time?"
"No money spent on you is money wasted," Hyunjin argued. "And I have too much money, I don't know what to do with it all and the best thing I can think of is spoiling my baby. Plus I love it when you wear clothes that I've bought for you."
Seungmin rolled his eyes halfheartedly because he admittedly also liked wearing clothes that Hyunjin had bought him. It felt similar to wearing his collar, like a constant reminder that he belonged to someone now. Multiple someones, really, and he never wanted to forget it.
"Just humor me," Hyunjin continued, dragging him over to a rack of clothes. "And then we can go to the pet store just like you want and I'm sure Jisungie will buy you a toy. Right?"
"Right," Jisung smiled. "And maybe even some treats if you're good and try on the clothes Hyunjin wants you to."
Seungmin huffed, but he would do almost anything if it meant he got a treat for it so he was good and patient and oh so obedient as Hyunjin pulled clothes off the rack and out of drawers and even called an employee over at one point to grab something off a top shelf none of them could reach.
Jeans, t-shirts, some sweaters, even a pair of shoes that Hyunjin said would look good on him even though they weren't sporty enough for his taste. Why would he wear a pair of shoes that didn't look like he could run well in them? What if he saw a squirrel or a bird that he just had to chase off? It would be a shame if he couldn't just because his shoes were too nice.
But like he'd promised, he tried everything on. Hyunjin and Jisung sat on a bench outside the dressing room (they'd tried to squish in with him but he'd refused, blushing furiously, and made them wait outside) and he showed off the clothes one by one.
He had to admit, a number of the sweaters Hyunjin had picked out were actually really nice and he could see himself wearing them around the house, and there were a couple jeans he'd be open to getting as well. Of course, they would have to cut holes in them for his tail.
Technically there were a couple brands that sold or even focused on hybrid friendly clothes with holes already cut out but Hyunjin said the quality was never as good so they opted to just modify regular clothing.
Some of the clothes were definitely more Hyunjin's taste than his, though, and he scoffed as he tried on yet another tight fitting shirt with the leather pants that he hadn't even seen being shoved into his arms.
He put them on dutifully, trying to ignore the way his ears burned with embarrassment as he pulled the curtain to the side and stood with his arms crossed, letting his boyfriends look at him.
"Very pretty, puppy," Hyunjin praised while Jisung smirked at him and not so stealthily took a picture that would no doubt end up in their group chat. "Do you like that one?"
"No," he grumbled. "They're both too tight. How are people comfortable in clothes this tight?"
"They're not exactly made for comfort, they're made to make you look good. And they're doing a great job."
"You knew I wasn't going to buy these, you just wanted to see me in leather pants," he accused, and Hyunjin just shrugged innocently.
"You never know what you're going to like before you try it on. Do a spin for us, baby? How do they look from behind?"
Seungmin just scowled and pulled the curtain closed again, and it took him an embarrassingly long amount of time to shimmy the tight pants down and they were thrown in a crumpled pile on the floor once he'd done it.
Luckily that was the last thing he needed to try on and he quickly sorted the clothes into a keep and put back pile, and he was surprised to find that he was keeping most of the stuff. Maybe Hyunjin had been better than he'd thought about picking out clothes he would like.
"You're sure you don't want the leather pants?" Jisung teased when he handed him the discard pile.
"Very sure. Can we go to the fun store now? We've almost run out of treats at home."
Jisung ruffled his hair but he handed the pile of clothes to an employee and soon they were back out in the main part of the shopping center. Seungmin knew his way to the hybrid store like the back of his hand and his boyfriends laughed from behind him as they tried to keep up with his speed walking.
"Slow down," Hyunjin laughed but Seungmin could see the store just ahead and he sped up, nearly skipping through the entrance before making a beeline for the treat aisle so he didn't forget to grab them.
He grabbed as many flavors and variations as he could before his boyfriends caught up, holding them tight to his chest so they wouldn't try taking them from him.
And they didn't, but Hyunjin frowned.
"You don't need all of those. Pick out two or three different kinds."
Seungmin pouted, his bottom lip jutting out. "But they all look so good. How am I supposed to choose?"
"I can choose for you," Jisung offered. "You love the bacon flavored ones to get those, and you love the chicken flavored ones as well so then maybe pick out one new flavor to try?"
"They have a blueberry flavor," Hyunjin noted. "That could be yummy. Or peanut butter?"
"Hmm, peanut butter," he decided, snatching that one off the shelf and returning some of the others. "But next time I'm getting the lamb one."
He handed his top three picks to Jisung and made him carry them while he made a beeline for the toy aisle. This had to be his favorite part of the store and he always spent a long time wandering the aisles and trying out all the toys before making a decision on what to get.
And today was no different. He strolled up and down, biting his lip in concentration as he studied his options. He could get another ball, but he already had so many of those. Bigger ones, smaller ones, ones that squeaked, ones with little spikes on them.
So he moved on, considering all the different chew toys. His favorites were the ones that were hollow in the middle because sometimes his boyfriends would hide treats in there for him to dig out and it was a great way to pass time.
But he wasn't seeing anything too interesting today so he moved on again to his favorite section. The stuffed animal toys.
Now, nothing could ever compare to his giraffe stuffie that had been with him since before he'd even come to live with the others, but he'd amassed quite a collection of other stuffies since then. They sat in his bed, in his dog bed, in his kennel, there was even usually one or two on the couch.
Sometimes his boyfriends–Jeongin especially–pretended to be jealous of them, especially when Seungmin would cuddle up with one to fall asleep instead of using them as a pillow.
There was a good selection to choose from today but something caught his eye right away and he reached for it without thinking twice.
It was a huge yellow ducky hanging innocently off a hook squished between a stuffed squirrel and bear. And it was soft. He made an appreciative sound as he tugged it off the hook and felt it between his hands. It was cute, too. Little black beady eyes almost lost in its yellow fur. It would look perfect on his bed right next to his giraffe.
"Seungminnie," he heard Jisung sigh from behind him. "Another stuffed animal? Really? You've got like two dozen already."
"There's always room for more," he said petulantly. "And look how cute it is!" He held the ducky up for them to see, and from Hyunjin's little smile he knew they thought it was cute, too.
"You said he could get whatever he wanted," Hyunjin reminded Jisung and the latter sighed.
"Yeah, I guess I did. But really, you want another stuffed animal?"
Seungmin planted his feet, pouting and crossing his arms tightly so that the plushie was hugged against his chest. "I want this one. Please?"
"Fine, fine," Jisung said. "But soon you're gonna run out of room for all those stuffed animals."
"I'll just start putting them on your bed," Seungmin said easily. "Problem solved."
He slipped away before Jisung could answer him, wandering through the other aisles to take a look at what was out. There were a couple collars that caught his eye, though so far he'd never bought a second one. He loved the one that his boyfriends had bought him just after he'd been adopted and while the store sold some really pretty ones he didn't feel the need for them. He was happy just having one (unlike stuffed animals) and he knew that even if he did ever buy another one in the future he would still gravitate towards his original collar that he wore every day.
Soon he grew a little restless, and when he looked over his shoulder he saw that both Hyunjin and Jisung were on the other end of the store, looking at something together. So he wandered a little, going up and down the aisles before he found himself at the store entrance again and another look back showed that his boyfriends were still busy with something else. Come to think of it, his birthday was coming up soon, so maybe they were trying to pick out a present?
Either way, from here he could smell the food court again and it piqued his interest. Maybe he'd wander over there and the others could come find him later? It was always amusing to sneak off and see how long it took whoever he was with to notice he was gone and come running for him.
So he left the store (after placing his big duckie down on top of a shelf so he could come back for it) and followed his nose. He didn't have any money on him so he couldn't buy any food yet but maybe he could scope out his options and decide on what to get so that by the time Hyunjin and Jisung found him he'd know what he wanted.
It was busy out here, busier than when they'd first arrived, lots of families and couples and groups of friends using the food court as a hang out spot. He weaved in between them all, heading towards his favorite fried chicken place because he was pretty sure he wanted something from there.
He sniffed his way over and confirmed what he already knew, which was that the fried chicken being served out of that particular restaurant both smelled and looked delicious and he couldn't wait for his two walking wallets to make their way over and buy him some. He would text them, but he had a bad habit of forgetting his phone at home and that's exactly where it was right now.
So he huffed and turned around, craning his neck to see if he could spot them anywhere but they were probably still in the store. Had they even noticed he'd left yet?
He huffed again, his stomach grumbling in response to the sweet sweet smell of chicken wafting through the air and he started making his way back through the food court intending to go grab them.
But he only made it halfway across the court when he stopped dead, his feet lurching to a halt.
Over in the corner, at a small table with just two chairs sat a man who was mostly facing away from him. He'd only gotten a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye but it had been enough to stop him in his tracks because the back of that head looked…familiar?
He couldn't place it immediately, especially since he couldn't see his face. Was it someone from the shelter? An employee he was recognizing? There weren't too many other people he would recognize except for his boyfriend's friends and he knew it wasn't any of them.
He started forward, curious. Who could this be?
Maybe the man had felt eyes on the back of his or sensed Seungmin making his way over because he glanced behind him and Seungmin felt his heart stutter.
Oh.
He wasn't an employee from the shelter, nor was he anyone his boyfriends knew. He was Dongho. Im Dongho who had adopted him from the shelter several years ago before taking him on a late night car ride and abandoning him at the shelter front doors before speeding off.
And now somehow he was here. Which made sense, he guessed, because in the back of his mind he knew that the three different times he'd been adopted he'd never left the city so all of those people must be somewhere around here, but…he'd never considered the fact that he might run into them.
He saw Dongho furrow his brows as they made eye contact and then his eyes widened slightly in recognition and Seungmin panicked, his chest tightening.
He stumbled backwards before turning and scrambling away, almost bumping into some poor lady in his rush to get away.
It was so jarring to see Dongho after so many years, after the man had caused him so much pain and distress. He would never forget the way he'd felt that night, sitting on the steps of the shelter in his too small dog bed waiting hopefully for Dongho to come back. To say he was just pulling a prank on him and that they were going home.
Instead he'd shivered out there the whole night until the sun rose and he'd been found by the first employee to show up that morning. The worst part had been that she hadn't seemed too shocked to see him there, like him getting abandoned wasn't unexpected.
He still carried that night with him. Still got freaked out sometimes when he got in a car at night, even though he'd been with his boyfriends close to a year now there was always that nagging voice in the back of his head that reminded him that he'd been given up three times before and it might happen again.
Of course, those thoughts had become nearly nonexistent as time went on and he grew to realize that he was loved now and his boyfriends weren't the type of people to just dump him on a doorstep, but the sight of Dongho had brought back all those ugly feelings and thoughts and suddenly he felt panicked.
So he ran. Not back towards the hybrid store where Hyunjin and Jisung must be looking for him now but in the opposite direction. He didn't have a destination in mind, and really he hadn't even been purposely running away from Hyunjin and Jisung but by the time he realized he was going away from them it was too late because he didn't dare run back and risk seeing Dongho again.
So he kept going the other way, definitely earning some looks from the people he ran past and distantly he wondered if they thought he was lost, running teary-eyed through the mall in a panic.
Eventually he spotted a bathroom and rushed into it, slamming the door behind him and locking it. It was a single stall luckily so he could have some privacy as he sunk down the wall, too out of it to consider how dirty the floor probably was.
He was shaking, he realized. His breath was coming out weak and stuttering as he twisted his fingers together nervously. There were a couple tears that were making their way down his cheeks and neck as he squished his head between his knees and tried to calm down.
He didn't even know why he was reacting like this. Maybe he was in shock, so startled at seeing Dongho that he panicked but deep down he thought he was embarrassed.
He'd wondered for a long time what he must have done to make the man abandon him. Because he must have done something. Unlike his other previous owners, Dongho had kept him around for about three months before deciding to get rid of him, so he must have been doing okay in the beginning. Before Dongho apparently decided he couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't stand him anymore. So what had pushed him over the edge to dump him in the middle of the night?
He was convinced there must have been something he'd done wrong and he'd gotten good at not thinking about it too much over the years but he couldn't help it now.
Had he been bad? Had Dongho thought he was boring, or uninteresting, or just not good enough? Did he think badly of him, even after all these years?
The thought made his heart clench even though he wished he could say he didn't care what Dongho thought about him. Clearly he wasn't a very good person because what decent person dumps a hybrid at night for them to sit out in the cold until someone finds them?
He shouldn't care what Dongho thought of him, or why he abandoned him, but he did. Because if there was something wrong with him that Dongho had picked up on in three months then what if his boyfriends eventually picked up on it? He knew they would be much nicer about it, but they could still get rid of him whenever they wanted.
He was trembling, heart racing in his chest as he tried to control his breathing. He wanted to see Jisung and Hyunjin, needed them to tell him he was being stupid. Needed to hear that they loved him and would never get rid of him like Dongho did.
But he was scared to go back out there, both because he didn't want to go through the food court again and because he'd visibly been crying and he didn't want everyone to see his face.
But they must be worried about him by now. Maybe they thought he was trying to tease them by making them run around looking for him but he wished he'd brought his phone so he could call one of them and tell them where he was.
He was gnawing on his lip, trying to decide what to do. Part of him wanted to sit here and cry for as long as it took for his tears to run dry but he knew the longer he was in here the more Hyunjin and Jisung would worry about where he was, especially since he couldn't contact them.
He sniffled, wiping at his nose. Should he go out and try to find them? Risk going back through the food court past Dongho to get to them?
He cried a little more, and he was starting to develop a headache. He wanted the ducky that he'd left in the store, maybe he would feel a little better if he had it with him. His tail was beginning to hurt from being pressed against the wall and from the way it had crammed between his legs in the food court.
There were little whimpers coming out of his mouth as he tried to wipe the tears from off his cheeks.
He really wanted Jisung and Hyunjin. He wanted to see them enough that he stood up on wobbly legs, wiped his face on his shirt the best he could and unlocked the bathroom door.
It was a little daunting looking out in the shopping center. He was half expecting Dongho to be right there, having followed him, but he didn't see him anywhere. Maybe the sight of Seungmin had spooked him as well and he'd gone home. He really hoped so.
It took him several long moments to brave stepping fully out of the bathroom. His tail was tucked back between his legs and his ears were pinned down in fear, his heart rabbiting in his chest like he was expecting a jump scare.
Anxiously he sniffed the air, hoping to get a whiff of one of his boyfriends but he couldn't find anything so they probably hadn't been past here. How much time had actually passed? Maybe they hadn't even noticed he was gone yet or just assumed he'd wandered off to find a bathroom?
There were people looking at him again and he shied away from their stares, keeping his head down as he moved quickly towards the hybrid store. His heart raced as passed through the food court and he couldn't help himself from glancing up, a whimper catching in his throat at the sight of Dongho still sitting there. Unaffected, unbothered. Like seeing Seungmin hadn't phased him at all, hadn't made him feel the slightest amount of guilt. He'd probably just shrugged it off and gone back to eating.
He speed walked in the opposite direction and only let out a breath once he was out of the food court and could see the front of the hybrid store.
Jisung was standing outside of it, thank fuck. He whimpered again and sped up, and Jisung turned his head just before he crashed into him, smushing his head into Jisung's neck with a pathetic sniffle.
"Baby!" Jisung exclaimed, his arms coming up around him. "We were wondering where you were. Where did you wander off to? You really shouldn't do that when you don't have your phone, you know."
But Seungmin just sniffled again and he could feel tears dripping off his cheeks onto Jisung's skin.
"Hey," his boyfriend said, quieter. "What's wrong, pup? Why're you crying?"
But Seungmin shook his head. He wanted out of the shopping center, to be back in the car and ideally back home.
"Wanna go home," he croaked, face still buried in Jisung's neck. He was too shy to come out. "Please?"
"Yeah, we can go home," Jisung said, rubbing his back. "Did you get lost, puppy? Could you not find your way back?"
"'S not that," he said weakly, though it was so muffled he wasn't sure Jisung could understand him. "I wanna go home," he repeated, lifting his face just enough that he could be heard clearly.
"Okay, come on, puppy. I'm just gonna text Hyunjin to meet us at the car, he went looking for you. We bought your ducky for you and all those treats, may you can try some on the way home?"
He nodded, clutching at Jisung's arm as they started moving towards the front of the shopping center and the parking lot. He kept looking around, eyes scanning for Dongho in case he popped out from around a corner and scared him.
"Come on, puppy," Jisung said soothingly, his arm still wrapped around him comfortingly. "We're almost there."
He took him out the front doors of the center and through the parking lot, and Seungmin had never been so happy to see their car. He was pulling on the handle before Jisung had even unlocked it and he clambered inside right away, his boyfriend following him into the backseat.
"Hey," Jisung said again, reaching for him as Seungmin dissolved into more tears, relief sweeping through him at being out of there. "Baby, what happened? Talk to me, please."
"It was Dongho," he cried, but Jisung just looked confused.
"Who?"
"Dongho. My old owner—the one that left me at the front of the shelter. He's in there."
He sniffled pathetically, fingers curling into Jisung's shirt as if scared he was going to pull away.
"What?" Jisung said incredulously. "He was in the mall?"
"In the food court," Seungmin mumbled, his voice thick. "He saw me, Jisungie, and I didn't think I'd ever see him again."
"Oh, baby," Jisung cooed, trying to wipe some of his tears away. "I bet that really spooked you. Did he say anything to you?"
"No," he warbled. "I ran away, hid in the bathroom and cried."
"Seungminnie," Jisung pouted, leaning in to hug him tightly. "I'm so sorry, puppy."
In the past, he might have tried avoiding the thoughts that seeing Dongho had stirred up in his brain. He might have pushed them to the back of his mind and until they eventually bubbled to the surface in an even nastier manner.
But Chan especially had been drilling into his head the past year how he could talk to them about anything. That he should talk about his feelings, especially the bad ones so they could help him through them. And he was trying to be better about that.
"Seeing him made me wonder what I'd done wrong," he sniffled, clinging to Jisung to avoid looking at his face.
Jisung made a confused noise. "What you'd done wrong?"
"To make him abandon me," he said quietly. "I must've done something wrong. And if I did something to make him not like me anymore then…maybe the same thing could happen again."
Saying the words out loud made them sound a little ridiculous. He knew his boyfriends loved him. Knew he was a part of their family and they would never kick him out. But seeing the appalled look on Jisung's face made him believe it just a little bit more.
"Look at me, Seungminnie," he said firmly, forcing him to meet his eye with a tight grip on his chin. "Are you listening closely?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"We would never do what he did. Ever. We love you. More than you even know, okay?"
"Yes," he whispered, lip wobbling. "I love you too, Sungie. And I know you're not like him, it's just…"
"I get it, seeing him brought back all those nasty thoughts, hm? But look, here's Hyunjinnie and he's gonna tell you how much he loves you and then we're gonna go home and everyone else is gonna tell you too. Hyunjin," he said as their other boyfriend opened the door to the backseat, looking understandably concerned at the sight of his tear streaked face. "Tell the puppy you love him very much."
Hyunjin, to his credit, didn't miss a beat. "I love you very much, Seungminnie. What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"You remember the asshole that adopted him for three months and then left him at the shelter in the middle of the night? He was sitting in the food court and Seungmin saw him."
Hyunjin's mouth parted. "What?"
"Minnie got freaked out seeing him," Jisung continued, rubbing his back again. "He was crying in the bathroom, Hyune."
"Thinking about how that guy abandoned him," Hyunjin guessed. "Right, Seungminnie?"
"Mhm," he sniffled, peeking out of Jisung's shoulder to look at Hyunjin. "And when I ran back to you guys he was still there, like he didn't even care that he'd seen me—"
He cut himself off with a gasp and ducked down, hiding in Jisung's lap instead of his shoulder.
"What?" Hyunjin asked. "What's wrong, baby?"
"He's right there," Seungmin whispered. Over Hyunjin's shoulder he'd seen Dongho strolling through the parking lot, a bag of food in his hand like he'd decided to take home some leftovers.
Both Hyunjin and Jisung whipped their heads around, staring. Jisung's hands tightened around him and Hyunjin's eyes hardened.
"Gimme two minutes, pup," he said, tossing the bag of clothes and dog treats he'd been carrying into the back seat. "Then we'll go home, okay?"
"Wait, Hyunjinnie—don't—"
But Hyunjin had already slammed the car door closed and he sighed, ducking into Jisung's lap for only a few seconds before his curiosity got the better of him and he raised his head just high enough to peek his eyes out the window.
Hyunjin was laying into Dongho, up in his face with his finger jabbed into his chest and he whimpered as Jisung scratched behind his ears.
"He deserves that," Jisung said, approval in his voice. "Do you really think Jeongin would let us back in the house if we didn't tell that piece of shit how awful he is for what he did?"
"I just don't want him to hurt Hyunjinnie," he said nervously, eyes wide as Dongho took a step back, raising his hands.
"He can take care of himself," Jisung said knowingly. "And if he lays a hand on him I'll jump out there and put him in the ground."
"Your muscles are just for show, you can't actually use them," Seungmin grumbled, but his eyes never left Hyunjin as his boyfriend continued to yell angrily. He kinda wished he could hear what was being said but he also thought he might die of embarrassment if he could.
It only lasted a minute or so before Dongho was backing up fully, clearly having been scared off by Hyunjin. He scurried away, probably not even in the direction of his car and he could see Hyunjin yelling after him before he turned and marched back to the car and slipped into the driver's seat.
“Can you fucking believe we can’t even report him to the police,” he growled, and Seungmin wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard him sound so angry.
“Because I was over eighteen?” He asked weakly. He was pretty sure they’d had this conversation before.
Hyunjin hummed. “Apparently it’s illegal to abandon animals but not the hybrid you bought and agreed to take care of as long as they’re not a child. Fucking ridiculous, that guy should’ve faced consequences. Someone needs to change that law.”
Hyunjin took a deep breath, reigning himself in.
"Anyways. Let's go home," he said pleasantly, turning to give Seungmin a smile.
"You wanna try some of those treats we got you?" Jisung suggested as Hyunjin started the car.
He nodded silently, fumbling with his seatbelt for a moment before getting it buckled and then Jisung was ripping open the packaging of the peanut butter flavored treats and offering him the bag.
They were yummy, he couldn't deny it and he hummed in approval.
"How many can I have?"
"Not too many," Jisung frowned. "But maybe a few more than usual. Seven?"
Seungmin took it, because the most he'd been allowed in one sitting so far had been five and he managed to make seven treats last until they got home, savoring the taste of each one before moving onto the next.
He still had a slight headache and he could tell his eyes were puffy from crying, something the others were sure to pick up on immediately, though he wouldn't be surprised if either Jisung or Hyunjin had already texted them about the situation.
Hyunjin opened his door for him and held his hand as he got out.
"Give me a hug," he ordered, pulling him in tightly and scratching behind his ears. His tail wagged weakly, still too upset to get it properly wagging.
"I love you," Hyunjin told him again. "We all do. Don't let that asshole get in your head too much, okay?"
"I won't," he promised, and he found that he believed himself. "And I love you too."
"I was gonna do some painting this evening," Hyunjin told him. "You can join me if you want? Or you can hang out with the others if you want a more noisy environment."
"No, I'll go with you," he said. Laying in Hyunjin's room while he painted had become a little habit of his, especially when he wanted some peace and quiet. It was a lot of fun living with seven other men but it could also be a lot, and watching Hyunjin paint or draw had to be one of the most relaxing things in the world.
They had to get through several concerned boyfriends on their way to Hyunjin's room, and Felix especially looked alarmed at his red eyes but Jisung quickly dove into the story of Hyunjin getting in Dongho's face and yelling at him and Hyunjin took Seungmin's hand and led him away. Maybe later he'd start craving the presence of all his boyfriends but he still felt like he was coming down from the shock of seeing Dongho and all the negative thoughts that had come with that and he knew he really needed some quiet to organize his mind.
He sat quietly while Hyunjin gathered up his supplies before he settled down on the floor, laying down with his head on Hyunjin's lap. It risked the slight chance of getting paint dripped on him but that had only happened once and he didn't feel like being on the bed. He wanted to be close to Hyunjin.
And Hyunjin mostly needed only one hand to work so his other hand could tangle in his hair. His tail thumped against the floor, properly wagging now that he'd calmed down a little
"Good boy," Hyunjin mumbled, scratching at the back of his neck. "Feel a little better, Seungminnie?"
He hummed, nuzzling into his thigh. He was calmer now, less freaked out and his headache was fading away.
"You love me?" He asked, just to be cheeky, but he also felt like hearing it again.
Hyunjin rolled his eyes at him and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "What do you even know, hm? I love you so much."
Hyunjin was quiet for a few minutes and Seungmin was close to zoning out before the hand returned to his hair. “Can I tell you a little secret, puppy?”
“Hm?”
He tilted his head up to look at his boyfriend and saw a sly smirk sliding onto his face. “It’s not illegal to abandon a hybrid, right? So that asshole can’t face any legal reparations. But…”
He pinched his cheek lightly. “Most people still think it’s a pretty disgusting thing to dump a hybrid, especially in the middle of the night when it’s cold out and you could’ve gotten hurt. And I might’ve sent his picture to Lixie along with his full name and asked him to figure out where he worked. So if you'd like, we can see that he faces some sort of consequence even though it won’t be from the law.”
Seungmin stared up at him with parted lips. “You want him to lose his job?”
Hyunjin shrugged. “Well, I think he deserves it. I definitely don’t think he deserves to have zero consequence for his actions, but we won’t do anything without your permission. If you want us to leave it alone, we will. I promise.”
Seungmin was quiet for a moment. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course, baby. Think about it for as long as you like and then just tell me what you decide, yeah?”
Then there was a firm kiss pressed to his head. “And one more thing. You’re stuck with us forever,” Hyunjin said softly. “Even when we’re all old and grey, you hear me? There’s nothing in this world that could stop us from loving you.”
“Yeah,” he whispered, almost fighting back tears again but for an entirely different reason than before. “Me too, Jinnie.”
Being back home in the comfort of Hyunjin's room, his head on his lap, he felt a lot better. A lot safer, more secure. He knew he didn't have anything to worry about with them. He'd found his place in the world with them and he knew—unlike with Dongho—he didn't have to worry about their love being anything other than eternal.