Chapter Text
Why is he out here? Kim Rok Soo isn’t sure, lips turned into a frown as he observes the skyline, the blisteringly cold wind whipping around him.
It was a miserable fuck day and Kim Rok Soo did not know why he was out here. In his hands, he holds a set of flowers, fingers toying nervously with the stems.
He’d only planned to go to one of the temples, say a prayer and thank God (or perhaps curse him) for allowing him to live. Nothing special. But he’d been caught up in memories, had bought some flowers at the temple to drop off at the memorial plaque that held his friends’ names - the only reminders they existed, in this day and age.
His abilities had been pathetic. How could he have survived when they hadn’t? With a sigh, he draws up to the plaque, carefully wipes it clean, before setting the flowers down.
The incense has gone out. It doesn’t look like anyone had been taking care of this place after so long. There’s an abandoned broom nearby too, so he picks it up and begins to sweep.
Call him superstitious, but he wouldn’t be so callous as to disregard the resting place of those who had died protecting people.
Setting the broom down, Rok Soo gently gets the incense lit in the burners, claps his hands and bows, and pays the dead their due respect.
That’s when he hears it.
A distinctly non-human sneeze. His hand flashes to a gun he carried on his person at all times, tensely listening for another sound.
And then it happens again. And again, followed by a familiar sound.
A whine. Rok Soo straightens, frowning. He hadn’t expected a dog to be here - no, a puppy. It didn’t sound mature enough for a full-grown adult. Slowly, he inches around the stone, peeks around the corner. Upon seeing the bundle of dark fur, he relaxes some, tucks his gun away. The puppy hears him, and with a little bark, immediately hops to his feet.
And equally immediately, tumbles head over puppy teakettle.
Rok Soo snorts. Oh god, it’s cute. The puppy whines miserably from where he’d landed, splayed out and utterly uncoordinated. With a chuckle, he kneels down, offers a hand. The puppy looks at him, before looking at his hand, sniffing at it tentatively. The tail begins to wag, and it manages to trot over, trembling on unsteady legs and the wind blowing hard against the poor thing. He scratches behind an ear, feels how chilly the dog is, and frowns.
“Where’s your mother?” He asks it, and the puppy stares at him. “C’mere, puppy,” he murmurs, gently reaching out to lift the dog up a little.
Yep. Definitely a boy. The puppy whines at him, and he closes his fingers around the little thing’s middle, hefting it up against his chest. Freezing paws scrabble for purchase, and the puppy whimpers against his chest.
“You poor thing,” he murmurs, soft sympathy. “C’mon. Let’s get you to a vet.”
If Rok Soo had to be frank, he wasn’t sure why he’d gone and taken the puppy to a vet rather than to a dog shelter, but he supposed it would be fine, bouncing the pup against his chest as it shivers in his hold. On the way, he’d bought some wet puppy food at the store, the little thing sniffing at it when he lets it down to eat. After a long moment, the puppy gives a happy bark, tail wagging as he takes his meal with gusto.
“You’re pretty dirty,” he remarks to the puppy. “I’ve never washed an animal before, so I’ll apologize in advance for the groomer’s.”
He had plenty of money, and he’d rather someone who knew what they were doing handle the puppy until he could get the hang of it.
Rok Soo blinks.
Wait. Why was he planning to keep this thing? He didn’t want to get attached, not now, and definitely not to something -
A tiny tongue swipes at his cheek, and blinking, he looks down. The dog has cute gray eyes, which were blinking up at him in puppy-like hope. Another little swipe, and the dog trots to his bowl and drags it over, flopping over his own feet when the bowl hits a leg.
He can’t help the snort that leaves him.
Alright, fine, he was keeping the puppy. Fuck it. He pours a little more into the bowl, the puppy dancing around in excitement and flopping over his feet with a squeaky bark that makes him laugh.
“Slow down, puppy,” he chides softly, and the pup hears him, obediently slows his chewing down to swallow mouthfuls of food at a more natural and safe pace. “Good boy.”
“Kim Rok Soo-ssi?” The woman asks, and he looks up from his puppy, gives her a nod and smile.
“Yes, that’s me.” The vet smiles at him, offers him a clipboard, and he takes it, the puppy prancing around his feet, sniffing at the woman suspiciously.
“Well, he’s quite healthy, if a bit dirty. You said you found him at a temple?” She asks, and he nods. “Hmm… there have been no reports of any missing puppies, and someone would have reported a missing Jindo-kae if it was theirs.” The puppy barks, and both of them look down at him. “He’ll need to get his shots, but if you’re busy, he doesn’t have to get them today.” Rok Soo looks at the cost, raises a brow.
“I don’t have pet insurance.” The woman flushes, scratches at her cheek.
“Ah… members of the Corporation we don’t charge - it’s small, but many of them often find companions after the war, and it’s the least we can do.” He’s not too happy, but he knows better than to argue official policy with the messenger.
“Thank you.” He says, and she smiles sheepishly at him.
The process of the puppy getting his shots was surprisingly easy. Most dogs would shake and tremble and at least break a needle, but under Rok Soo’s gentle hands, the puppy had held perfectly still.
“He’s a model pup. If all dogs were like this cutie, I’d be out of a job,” the woman jokes, Rok Soo smiling down at his puppy as it barks at him, rubbing his small head under Rok Soo’s large palm as if demanding a head rub for the pain he’d endured.
With a smile, he does exactly that, scratching behind the ears for good measure. At the vet’s polite direction, he finds a good dog groomer who isn’t opposed to allowing him to have the puppy groomed that day.
“They’re usually a little wary their first time being groomed, so do you mind staying?” She had asked, and he’d shrugged, leaning against the wall to watch.
The puppy barks at her nervously at first, before cautiously allowing her touch. The cleaning was surprisingly quick as well, the puppy obediently lifting himself as directed, only barking occasionally when a new item was brought close to sensitive paws and the clipper was brought out. The poor thing was whining a little at the clipper, but after the first clip, quickly quieted.
“Is this normal?” he asks, and the woman, drying off the puppy in a towel, shrugs.
“Not really. They must have been quite the shy thing, really,” she says, finishing her cleaning of the puppy. Rok Soo can see how the puppy looks at him, whining for his attention, and chuckles.
“You’re loud, puppy.” He says in amusement, picks up the happily barking puppy to let it enthusiastically lick his neck. He can't help the chuckle that leaves him, scratches him on the head. “C’mon, let’s head home.”
The puppy wiggles in pure delight.
As far as dreams go, Choi Han’s gotta say, this one’s pretty nice.
If a bit strange. For one, his range of vision is huge. How he’s able to see all of this in a dream is kind of neat.
Second, he could feel things - like the sting of the needles earlier, and the gentle head scratches.
(Head scratches were great. 10/10, would totally get more when he can in this dream.)
Third, the food was actually better than burnt.
Downsides?
He couldn’t walk straight. How did dogs walk again? His few attempts had left him snout-first in the dirt, and his introduction to pollen had put him in a sneezing fit that had made the weird guy that picked him up laugh.
Kim Rok Soo. He barks up at his new - owner? Was that really what he was when this was basically a dream? - friend eagerly, and Rok Soo kneels down, ruffles his fur and scratches behind an ear.
Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.
Wait, no, he was a person, not a dog, and this dream was weird, okay! After a moment, he calms down, looks up at Rok Soo expectantly.
“I should give you a name,” he tells Choi Han, and Choi Han barks at him, sits down and growls a little. Rok Soo only looks amused at his attempt to argue, finger tapping against his snout fondly. “You don’t want a name, puppy? I can’t call you the puppy forever, puppy.” Choi Han carefully takes the finger in his mouth, tugs him towards the keyboard, and barks expectantly, planting himself firmly down in front of Rok Soo. Rok Soo looks at him. And then eyes the keyboard.
“Alright puppy, I’m not following.” He says. Taking Rok Soo’s finger in his mouth, he presses the right keys and barks. Rok Soo stares at him. Picks him up, much to his dismay. “Are you sure you’re a puppy?” He asks, and Choi Han barks angrily. “Alright, alright, fine puppy. Show me that again.”
He does, so busy concentrating that he almost misses the amused half-smirk on his - owner - friend’s face. Whirling around, he gives a threatening growl that comes out as an almost criminally cute squeak.
“Oh my god, you’re cute,” Rok Soo says, and he whines, ears drooping.
He was not cute! He was an adult! He could kill monsters! He. Was. Not. Cute! His whines go ignored, and Rok Soo is laughing at him, his warm reddish-brown eyes sparkling with joy. Regardless, Rok Soo humors him, taps the keys and the name appears. A quick click to correct the spelling, and Rok Soo raises an eyebrow.
“Han?” He says, surprised, and Choi Han nods eagerly, before giving a happy bark. “Ah, what the hell, it’s better than my attempt at naming things.” Choi Han barks happily again, and he trots along behind Rok Soo as the man puts him down on the ground, the man going to the sink to wash his hands and cook dinner.
He’s… he’s starting to get really sleepy, actually, and with a little whine, he nudges Rok Soo before sleepily wandering to the couch. It takes his brain a minute to coordinate enough to jump that distance, before curling up and giving a sleepy, content whine.
He falls asleep to Rok Soo, smiling at him from over the kitchen counter.
Opening his eyes, the rough surroundings of his home in the forest are unchanged, the place empty and the sun peeking through the makeshift window. With a soft sigh, Choi Han sits up, prepares to put on his boots.
That had been a nice dream. Weird, but nice. Shaking his head, Choi Han stretches himself out, yawning. Mornings like that were nice, no nightmares, no danger. Just a weird, kind stranger who took care of him.
Rubbing at his eyes, he heads to his kitchen to make a meal for himself.
Remembering the deftness of Rok Soo when he’d been cooking, Choi Han looks mournfully at his food.
He wished he was really in that world.
Rok Soo takes a seat next to his sleeping puppy, gently patting it on the head and laughing when all he does is flick an ear at him in annoyance. “You’re really rather cute,” he tells the puppy, who merely rolls onto his side, foot twitching as he chases squirrels - or whatever else - in his dream.
Tonight’s dinner is just noodles with butter - he’s not really up for something fancy, and humming, he twists his chopsticks, takes a hearty bite out of his noodles. Glancing at the puppy, he wonders if he can find a book on Jindo-kae on the next library visit. It’ll be nice to have that basis of what he can train Han in. Han doesn’t stir when he cleans up, and warily, Rok Soo takes care to heft his new pet up into his arms, bouncing the puppy gently. Aside from a whine, the puppy seems otherwise fine, so he leaves it be, carries him to bed and sets him gently down on the very end.
“Sleep well, Kim Han.” He says with a smile, patting the top of his new pet’s head, before getting ready for bed.
It was nice to have this little slice of peace.