Chapter Text
“Fuck!” Jeongin screamed angrily as he pushed the on-the-making sculpture to the floor, the plaster shattering into pieces against the floor, the half face of the figure staring back at him before he stomped on it, destroying it even more.
“The hell is wrong with you?!” Hyunjin groaned sleepily. “It’s two in the damn morning and you’re screaming and throwing things!”
“I just can’t do this! The exposition is in two months and I have nothing!” Jeongin yelled, as if it were somehow Hyunjin’s fault.
“Stop screaming, you little shit!” Hyunjin snapped back, slamming the door shut behind him. “If you wake up Changbin I swear I’ll poke your eyes out with a needle and then paint with your blood!” He threatened, holding his finger towards Jeongin’s face.
“I just… I can’t, Hyun.” Jeongin mumbled, slumping into the leather imitation couch in his studio. “nothing looks pretty, nothing is worthy of all this effort, I’m so done.”
“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked, raising his eyebrow as he walked further into the room, flipping through Jeongin’s sketch book, noting the amount of drawings of the same face. “No more freckle boy?”
“Little shit refuses to come back! I’m barely able to remember his face, I need something new!”
Hyunjin rolled his eyes, sighing. “You might need to just… meet new people? I don’t know, bread, something besides freckle appears-in-your-dreams boy.”
“Where the hell will I meet people? We’re a pair of introverts, Hyunjin. The only new people I’ve met recently are Changbin and the chick from the cafeteria.”
“I’ve been with Changbin since I was 19.”
“So what?”
“I’m literally 25, you idiot. It’s been 6 years, he doesn’t count on people you just met.”
“He’s one of the most recent ones! Besides the cafeteria girl.”
“The redhead?” Jeongin nodded, burying his face into his hands. “Why don’t you try to paint her? She’s pretty, has heterophobia.”
“Heterochromia. And no, she doesn’t.”
“Yes she does! She has half an eye blue! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“I haven’t been paying attention to that.” Jeongin said, rolling his eyes. “I just buy Key’s treats and go on with my life.”
“Poor dog. You should’ve looked up names before you named it ‘Key’, what kind of name is that? Just tell the thing you hate it.” Hyunjin rambled as he stared at the big black Doberman sleeping under the window of Jeongin’s apartment.
Jeongin’s story with Key was a collection of messes that snowballed way too fast. He had seen the little puppy walking around his old apartment building a few times, always looking too skinny, too hungry, too sad. He would follow Jeongin around and, no matter how much he tried to shush him away, the damn dog wouldn’t leave him alone. He knew it was someone’s, because Doberman puppies are expensive as hell and no one would just get rid of theirs after paying so much, and he hadn’t seen an adult one around to think they were a family of strays, so Jeongin would just give it some ear rubs and a bit of food when he had the money to, but he wasn’t gonna get involved besides that.
Until it snowed. Jeongin liked snow, it helped him paint, but while he was painting, he saw a tiny black spot moving around in the snow and his heart broke. He called his mom, asking for help, who told him that if he let the dog die in the snow she’ll come all the way from Busan to kill him (as in Jeongin) herself. So, considering he was sadly fond of being alive, he put on his boots and coat and went down, seeing the pup weakly laying down outside the building. He grabbed the dog, cradling him against his chest and covering with his coat as he rushed inside, cursing that his building didn’t have an elevator and he had to walk seven whole floors with a rather big puppy in his arms.
He got to his apartment, resting the animal on the floor and his keys on the table, rambling about how he’ll make something for the dog to eat and not to move, only to be startled by pounding on his door.
Jingheo was the name of the dog’s legitimate owner, who was pretty angry at Jeongin taking his dog and saying how he had paid two thousand dollars for it and was gonna sue Jeongin, who had to explain what a piece of shit he was by neglecting his dog like that, only to get a “if you’re so worried, buy it from me! I won’t let you take it for free!”.
And that’s how Jeongin ran out of money for groceries. But, hey! He had gotten a dog! Which would’ve been good if he were a bit more of a pet person, but oh well, it couldn’t get worse, could it?
It could, because after paying the idiot and going back to the kitchen to get something for the dog to eat he heard gagging, and after he went to investigate, he found that the animal was starved enough to try and eat his keys, and was now choking on them.
That’s how Jeongin ended up borrowing money from Hyunjin and Changbin for groceries and rent, along with the stupid dog getting his stupid name because, when the Vet asked for a name, Jeongin was too stressed to think about anything besides the poor key he was now gonna have to replace. Even now, after 3 years with the dog, he still glared at him sometimes over how much money he made him spend on his first day with him.
“Stop referring to my dog as ‘thing’, idiot.” Jeongin groaned.
Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Let’s go out!! To Chan’s bar!”
“I don’t like Chan’s bar.” Jeongin whined.
Chan was a friend of Changbin who later became their friend, and was the owner of a few popular restaurants around Seoul, along with a bar downtown, which was Hyunjin’s favorite place on earth and the place Jeongin hated the most. Well… hate wasn’t necessarily the proper word, but he wasn’t a big fan of the vibe, which was more for a younger, louder crowd and Jeongin liked his space and liked being in quiet spaces, that was why he spent so much time in his apartment.
“Come on! It’ll be fun! We can invite Jisung and Minho!”
“Oh, Hyunjin, you know me so well, I love not third but fifth wheeling!” Jeongin said sarcastically, throwing his head back against the couch.
“See? This is why freckle boy doesn’t come close anywhere but in your dreams.” Hyunjin said, sitting on the floor next to Key’s bed and caressing its ears. “That was rude, sorry.”
“It’s okay, we don’t even know if he exists.”
“He has to, you must’ve seen his face somewhere and that’s why he’s haunting you.”
“When I meet the dude, I’m punching him in the face.”
“No, you’re not, you’re obsessed with his face, you might wanna punch him in the stomach.”
Against his better judgment, Jeongin chuckled, shaking his head.
“Fine, let’s go to Chan’s bar tomorrow.”
Hyunjin’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, immediately jumping to his feet. “I’ll tell Changbinnie!” He squealed before he left the apartment.