don't need your love ° jeno

twenty three

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"oppa, i'll be going now!" she yelled out, calling to her older brother, who just replied with a rough groan. she chuckled, leaving the house and skipped down to approach the car and the boy next to it.

jisu, or lia, as she liked to be called, grinned at him widely. "hey!" she greeted, running up to hug him.

he chuckled, closing his arms around her and enjoying the warmth calmly. "hey, babe."

she let go of him, looking at him with a scrunched face, making him laugh in amusement. "i still can't get used to that," she admitted, slightly cringing at the nickname.

he chuckled, kissing her head. "well you better get used to it, cause i'll be using that alot." he said, making her groan jokingly.

the two got onto the car, then they drove off to their destination.

"so where are we going today?" she asked, turning to him with an excited grin.

he looked at her, sporting the same expression. "to the cat shelter! i'm so excited, it's been something on my list in decades!"

she tried to not let the grin on her face slide off, forcing the smile on her face still. "alright." she answered.

for lia, finding out your boyfriend loves doing charity work was a whole jackpot. she herself never passes a chance to help other people, and now that she's gotten a partner in crime, it's even better. the idea of their dates being constant volunteer work was exciting to her, but this time, it's different, because apparently jaemin doesn't know that she's allergic to cats.

the drive to the shelter wasn't long, and when they arrived up front, they were greeted by some of the staff. the staff consisted of an woman and a man, along with who seemed like their daughter. the daughter looked younger than her by a few years, maybe in her teens.

"good afternoon, are you guys jaemin and jisu?" the man greeted, a welcoming smile on his face.

"yes we are." jaemin answered, flashing his charming smile.

jisu wasn't oblivious to the stares the younger girl was giving him, but she was more amused than jealous. besides, she's got her hands in his, and she trusts him.

"follow us in," the man asked, then walked inside. the room was filled with cats, but thankfully, they weren't close enough for her allergies to be triggered.

"first off, we need someone to brush their fur and someone else to clean the litterboxes." the woman next to the man smiled, telling them instructions on doing their work. "who wants to clean the litters?"

"i-"

"i'll do it," jisu interrupted him, making him glance at her in surprise. she smiled at him. "you wanted to play with the cats, right?"

"..is it fine?" he asked, biting his lip.

she chuckled, slapping his shoulder jokingly. "i don't mind. go ahead."

so the woman and the girl led jaemin to approach the cats, bringing one to show an example on how to do it properly. the man led jisu to another room, where the stench was enough to send her gagging.

he chuckled at her. "you get used to it," he told, making her smile nervously. he gave her a net shovel and a plastic bag, and he explained what to do and what not to do.

soon she was left alone in the room, as cleaning the litter was simpler than brushing the cats, so the man went to help the others.

it was true what the man said, she got used to the smell not long after she first entered. she was shoveling poop into plastic bags when she noticed a small furball walking in from the other room.

it was orange, maybe a tabby kitten, and its green eyes was what seemed to enchant lia. "hi there," jisu greeted lightly, a bit nervous to touch the cat. she was in a sitting position, so her hand could reach long enough to pet it.

the kitten didn't seem to mind the girl's nervous behavior, instead approaching and rubbing its head against her waist. lia's eyes softened, cooing lightly at the small creature making it's way to her lap.

then she felt the feeling in her throat began to rise up, and she sneezed. "ah-choo!"

then she sneezed again.

and once again. three in a row.

"why didn't you tell me you're allergic?"

she turned around to see her boyfriend, a worried look on his face. she smiled at him, chuckling.

"i didn't want to bother, you were so excited." she admitted, grinning at him assuringly. "and i'm fine, i just get sneezes and sniffles, it's not severe."

he approached her, pouting childishly. "you're such an idiot." he said as he sat down next to her.

she laughed, sniffling as she pet the cat on her lap. "i'm your idiot."

this time, jaemin was the one who scrunched his face. "cheesy."

she laughed again, slapping his shoulder gently.

"you guys are so cute, it's sickening." another voice joined, and the pair turned around to see the daughter of the two staffs. as the two of them blushed, she only smirked amusedly at them.

"come on, it's time to feed the cats."