Almond Nugget | ForthBeam

Almond Nugget

"GAH! WHY DO DOGS HATE ME?!"

It was a jolly Christmas. The street was decorated with vivid fairy lights, garlands, and baubles of different shapes and sizes. It was packed with people, as usual night markets would be, but it was even more so on Christmas night.

Christmas festivals in Bangkok weren't like any others. The most festive area was the heart of the night market, where a heavily embellished tree and a wire sculpture of Santa's sleigh were located. Other than that, the day wasn't overly celebrated, simply consisting of decorated regular night market vendors with occasional new shops selling Christmas merchandise. The atmosphere, however, was incredible. People gathered together wearing red and green attire and laughing merrily; it was a fun scene to witness.

But Forth did not have such luck.

He should have guessed Lady Luck was going to fail him even on Christmas day. His friend group of five consisted of people with terrible luck, and Forth seemed to come up on top despite so.

There he was, standing next to the main Christmas tree with Park next to him, waiting for their three other friends. Another company was present in the form of Lance, Park's three-year-old German Shepherd.

Oh, and another one.

A small golden retriever puppy—no more than five months old, who was currently peeing on Forth's leg.

"Did he just... mistake you for a Christmas tree?"

Forth glared at him. "Not funny, Park."

Park held back his laughter.

Forth glared at him harder.

He cleared his throat and pathetically offered, "I think this means they love you. Have you heard of submissive urination?"

"I think we've gotten to the point where I'm aware that what you think don't mean shit."

"Excuse me?!"

Forth stared at him. "Your dog peed on me the first day we met. This pup pees on me on Christmas. I don't think it's a good sign, Park."

"We're telling you, it is! We swear!" He bent down to Lance and squished his face.

"You're just making excuses for what Ambulance did," Forth hissed, staring pointedly at Lance, who was wagging his tail like Forth just complimented him.

Like crackhead father like son, Forth thought.

"His name is Lance!" Park argued, rubbing the back of Lance's ear, making him bark.

Forth raised an eyebrow. "Short for..."

"Ambulance!" Park groaned, "Okay, fine!"

Forth let out a content huff. He looked down at the golden retriever puppy by his leg, who was already looking back at him expectantly. He bent down and lifted the puppy with no effort. Excluding the obvious wet patch on his jeans, the puppy was so... precious.

"Did you just pee on me, little dude?"

The puppy barked and licked his hand a couple of times.

Forth groaned. How was he supposed to get mad this way?

"Aw! He's so cute!"

"He peed on me."

"Even cuter!"

Forth carried the puppy like a sack of potato and took a threatening step towards Park, making Lance bark.

"Lance, come on! Your guardian is being a little bitch."