Canines; Jeongchan

Sept

"Wait, seriously?"

Changbin nods.

"I have so many questions, but now is not the time, so how about you make hot chocolate, and then we can break the news to..."

Jisung bounces into the room.

"He's on the phone", he whispers, holding the device to his chest.

Changbin looks like he wants to commit a murder.

"Hi baby. No no, I wasn't nervous at all that you didn't talk to me. That's fine. Oh, you want me to meet someone? Sure, I'm at Chris's apartment."

I move a flat hand in front of my throat in the 'cut it out' sign, then point at Chan, whose joined us by the door.

Jisung doesn't notice.

"Of course, see you in two minutes"

He hangs up.

"Jisung, you idiot. Chan's a frickfracking wolf!"

"Oh, right"

Jisung looks apologetic, but the doorbell is already ringing.

He bounds over and presses the buzzer. Changbin excuses himself, and walks into the kitchen, presumably to calm down.

I try to coax Chan away from the hallway, but he won't budge, instead growling now too.

"Chrissy", I say in a sing song, trying to get him to move.

He doesn't standing in front of the door, hackles raised.

Jisung walks past him and opens it, trying to slip out without Minho seeing the wolf.

It doesn't work, mainly because they back into the door while kissing and fall through.

Minho looks up, and screams at the large wolf standing in front of him, snarling.

"Why is there a wolf in the apartment?", his voice trembles.

"That's- that's not a wolf."

"It looks like one"

"He's a dog."

"Dogs don't look like that."

"Actually, the tamaskan dog does. He's a mix of wolf and wolfhound. A fine specimen at that", Changbin comes out of the kitchen with a phone in hand. The screen shows the Google search: dog breeds that look like wolves. I suppress a laugh.

"Why is there a dog in the apartment though?"

"I'm petsitting", I start.

"Pet sitting?"

"Um, yeah, this is the dog of my friend, a very nice old lady. She's an absolute sweetheart. And, she's currently in the hospital. Heart attack, very serious. She's uhh dying, almost dead. So she asked whether I could take care of him. He's trained, but doesn't trust a lot of people", I nod towards the growling dog,"and I live in dorms, so  I'm not allowed to take him there. Chris was nice enough to let me take him here."

"That's weird", a new, deep voice says,"he never wanted to even go to a dog cafe with me."

"Everyone, meet my brother, Lee Felix."

"We've met", we all say.

[][][][][]

You could cut the tension with a knife.

I'm trying to keep Chan calm, cuddling with him on the floor. Jisung stares at Minho and Felix in disbelief. Felix stares around the apartment, and at me and the dog. Changbin glares at Minho, who is the only one unaware of the awkwardness.

"So, Minho", I say finally,"why did you and Felix part?"

"When our parents divorced, my mom took Lixie, but dad took me. I was 18 by then, and graduating, so I had to stay in Korea while Lix went to Australia. Then Lix dropped his phone in a creek, and we lost all contact after that until you mentioned him."

"That explains why Chan never liked Minho", Changbin whispers to me under his breath.

Chan growls softly, but I'm starting to understand Felix's view of things. I meet his eyes, and smile gently at him. He returns the smile hesitantly, and I pat the floor beside me. He and Chan need to make up, I've decided, no matter how much it'll hurt me.

He walks over and sits, and Chan snarls. I give him the stink eye, and he whines, but stops baring his teeth.

I run my hands soothingly down his back, petting the long, silky fur.

"What would you say if Chan were here?", I ask softly.

Felix's smile is a heart wrenching one.

"I'd apologize, again. And... I'd ask for him to take me back. Unless you're dating of course", he says, gesturing at me.

Something sinks in my gut at those words.

"Me and Chris? No."

I look down, remember this is good, they need to make amends so Chan is less stressed. But why does it hurt so damn much?

I look at Chan. His eyes have softened, they're just sad now.

"But you like him."

Internally, I beg Felix to stop talking.

"I-"

"Don't even try to deny it, I saw how jealous you were."

I gulp. Busted. Chan is still under my fingertips. I can't bring myself to look at him.

"I like you Jeongin, and I think you'd make a good couple. But... I still love him. So I'm sorry, but I'm going to try to win him back."

I nod.

"I get it. Chan's... He's one of a kind", I say, not daring to look at either Felix or Chan,"now if you'll excuse me"

I hate leaving Chan and Felix alone, but I need to finish my essay. Plus, they need to bond again.

Chan tries to follow me, but I shake my head, looking away from him.

"Changbin?", I ask instead.

"Yeah?"

"Could you help me with an assignment?"

I need to send it in in under an hour, and I only have half of it.

Changbin luckily took this course last year, and manages to pull up his old essay on his laptop.

I rewrite it a bit, since the topic is not exactly the same, and send it in, with barely a minute to spare.

"Jeongin", Changbin says, exhaustion in his voice.

"Yes?"

"If you don't tell Chan that you're failing your classes because you're helping him and you don't have time to learn for your exams, I will. He needs to know at the very least"

I nod.

"Are you giving me a deadline?"

"No."

Changbin sounds tired, unbelievably tired.

"I'll tell him when I feel the moment is right."

When we get back to the rest of the group, Felix is petting Chan's silky gray pelt.

Something convulses in my heart at the sight, but I push it away.

"Oh, there you are, I was just asking when Chan's coming back!", Felix says.

"Ummm, he's... probably only going to come back some time after you're gone", I say, forcing a tired smile,"if you'll excuse me now, I need to get home, Hyunjin is really worried, plus, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow"

Because Chan and I are finally meeting some other werewolves.