* FOREST/PARK

@Taesun [ SH ] "Okay. Maybe we can stop there on the way back and get some hot cocoa or something," he suggested, still holding his phone in hand, hoping his boss would reply soon. He wanted to go visit Blackie and bring him good news after the harsh day at the clinic. "And I was the one suggested we go for a walk, so it would be my own fault, regardless of what issues you may or may not have," he said, jumping a little when his phone vibrated. He immediately checked the message and almost sagged in relief. "He says he's kept Blackie reserved for me sincecthe first day I was there! Oh my god, I really get to take him home!" he exclaimed, doing a weird little victory jump followed by a twirl.

@Youngmin "We don't have to go to the cafe at all if you don't want to, It was just a suggestion," Taesun explained, shrugging one shoulder and heading into the direction closer to the center of town. "We can just head to the clinic instead, you need your jacket anyway. It's only going to get chillier as it gets later." He pointed out, tucking his hands into his pockets and glancing over at Youngmin. "I don't want you catching a cold just because of my issues."

@Taesun [ SH ] "Then I can pick up my proper jacket as well," Youngmin said with a little smile, grabbing his keys and locking the door behind him. "Should we go to the café first?" He looked up at the sky at Taesun's mention of the stars. "I know. I love the stars. I grew up in the outskirts of a big city, so we didn't see many stars, so I am kind of glad I got an internship here instead of in a big city."

@Youngmin "Sure, I guess? Why not..." Taesun shrugged and zipped up his jacket, stepping out of the apartment and sighing in relief at the cool fresh air. He didn't like feeling so confined. His thoughts took up too much space as it was, he hated being inside, he hated being alone, and he hated quiet. He ran his fingers through his hair and tipped his head back. "At least this town is small enough you can still see the stars. I don't know what i'd do if I couldn't. I don't think I'd much like a big city."

@Taesun [ SH ] "That sounds nice," Youngmin agreed, following Taesun out to put on his spare jacket, his normal one still at the clinic. That thought brought an idea to mind. "Hey... if we are going to take a long walk, we can stop by the clinic and take the pups for a walk in the park nearby. Only if you want, of course. They are not used to talking walks in the evening, but I know they would love it anyway," he suggested. Maybe a little puppy love would lift Taesun's mood.

@Youngmin "Yeah... that... sounds like a better idea," Taesun admitted, sighing but managing a grateful smile. "I know a cafe that's open late if you like coffee?" He offered, going out to get his jacket again. He would rather be walking around outside than staying inside and watching a movie or something. He wasn't in the mood, he just couldn't settle down. His emotions were everywhere and so were his thoughts. He just wanted them to stop, and the only way to do that was to distract them.

@Taesun [ SH ] "I hope so," Youngmin said with a smile as he pressed send on the message and turned his attention back to Taesun. He looked tired and yet restless. "Do you want to go for a walk? If we go the other direction of the one we came, we will be in the nice neighbourhoods. Plus, we are two people, so..."

@Youngmin "Somehow, I'm sure you're fine. You'll have your yappy marshmallow by the time you're moved in," Taesun assured him, leaning back against the counter and sighing softly. "What time is it?" He asked, both out loud and to himself as he pulled out his phone to check the time. It wasn't nearly as late as he wished it was. He wanted to just pass out again for a couple of hours. He closed his eyes and groaned softly, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He was too restless to sit down, and even a few seconds of quiet was too much. He needed to be doing something, he just didn't know what there was he could do.

@Taesun [ SH ] "Thank you, Taesun. It's... it means a lot to me, even if you aren't doing it purely out of the goodness of your heart. So thank you," Youngmin said, his face splitting in a wide smile and his eyes getting a little misty. "I should text the doc immediately and tell him I want to adopt Blackie! Gosh, I hope no one has tried to adopt him yet. I will fight them," he said, pouting as he got his phone out of his pocket to shoot a text at his boss.

@Youngmin "Nothing that extravagant, it's an old estate I got from the owner when he died. I've been working on his garden for... reasons... and he willed the estate to me. I guess his grandkids were either nonexistent, or just abandoned him or something. I don't know, I never really got much a chance to ask," Taesun explained with a small shrug as he dried his hands and stepped away from the counter. "It's a nice place, I'm sure you'll like it."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin's eyes widened a little at that. "A... a fountain? And it's big enough to get lost in? Is it a mansion or something? Is this like a Beauty and the Beast thing?" he asked, half joking, half serious. It sounded like it was a huge place from how Taesun described it. He felt a little overwhelmed, and he was halfway expecting a camera team to jump out and scream 'surprise, we got you, you !' or something, cause this... this sounded like he had won the lottery, and he was never really lucky.

@Youngmin "I wouldn't really call it kindness," Taesun assured him, taking his plate and washing that one too since he'd already started the process. "Consider it a favor I guess. At least with you living there I have a reason not to sell the place..." he pointed out, his expression vacant as he finished washing the plates and set them aside. "I can take you by the place any time you want. I'm sure you'll like it. There's plenty of room for you, and for a dog. The yard isn't necessarily fenced in, but it wouldn't be hard to fence off a section for the dog. There's a pool, and a fountain in the garden. The back patio leads into the garden. I'll show you around, you might get lost the first time so I wouldn't wander around the garden at night until you're used to it."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin nodded, his eyes following the other man as he stood up and left. He knew he had to distract him in some way but he really wasn't sure how. He kind of wished Taesun would talk about what had made him attempt to shoot himself earlier, but Youngmin knew better than he press him for answers. He figured he could just keep talking, but that would give Taesun very little time to think about whether he wanted to talk or not. On the other hand, thinking seemed to be the last thing he wanted to do. Youngmin quickly ate the rest of the food on his plate before following Taesun into the kitchen. "We should probably have a contract drawn up. And it would be okay for me to pay a little more than I do here, because this was honestly rather cheap and I don't want to take advantage of your kindness like that. But... thank you. Really."

@Youngmin "Honestly, I don't care if you move the whole clinic there..." Taesun admitted, blinking slowly before standing to take care of his plate. He hadn't touched any of it, but he'd pushed it around and poked at it enough that the chicken was in shreds and the salad looked less than edible so he opted to just toss out the food. He rinsed his plate off, going through the motions of cleaning it because routine was the closest comfort he had.

@Taesun [ SH ] "Of course. Just tell me where to stay out and I'll respect it. And if you ever change your mind and want the house back I'll be out as quickly as I can," he promised. There was something a little wrong about moving into Taesun's house and he really hoped the other was truly okay with his offer. "And... it would be okay if I had Blackie there? I promise to raise him well so he isn't naughty or super dirty or anything."

@Youngmin "I don't care, you can move in tonight if you wanted. There's plenty of open bedrooms. There's only a couple I'd rather you didn't mess with too much," Taesun said, staring at the table top as he spoke. It was hard, talking about it like this. The reality that things were over was hard to swallow and even harder to keep down. He couldn't stand to stay in the house, but he couldn't stand the idea of anyone else having it either. He was miserable and selfish when it came down to it.

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin blinked a little and considered it for a little while. It would mean he could move soon and get Blackie almost as soon as he was old enough. And also... a /house/. Even if it was a small house (and it had to be at least a decent size if it had housed four people), it was a lot more than he had thought he would get in the next ten years. And for a ridiculously cheap prize. "Okay... If you are sure? When can I move in?" he asked with a bright smile.

@Youngmin "I don't care, I'm not paying on the house. I got when the old man who owned the place died," Taesun explained, shaking his head and pushing the plate away. "Just... I don't care, keep it clean or something?" He said, he didn't really want to have to talk Youngmin into this. He just didn't want to sell it, but he had no actual reason not to now. At least renting the out meant he could keep it.

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin frowned a little at that. "Are you sure? Cause I am pretty sure the rent for an apartment is a lot lower than the rent for a house and I don't want you to lose a lot of money like that. I mean, the offer is really nice and I appreciate it a lot, but I just... that wouldn't be completely fair, would it?" he asked tentatively. He wasn't all that well versed in house buying or even apartment buying, but he was pretty sure it was a great deal for him and a not so great deal for Taesun.

@Youngmin "I'm selling a house if you wanted to move there," Taesun offered, poking at the chicken but unable to convince himself to take a bite. "I'll match whatever rent you're paying here." He glanced around the apartment before looking back at his full plate. He had no reason not to offer, it was better to have someone living in the house anyway. It would give Taesun an excuse not to sell it.

@Taesun [ SH ] "Well then, I will have to look up the rules and practice a great poker face," Youngmin said with a smile, getting some salad on his plate before going for the meat. "I always liked playing games. Kwangmin and I played a lot of chess and we thought we were super great at it, but we do bad," he laughed, taking a bite of food. "Maybe I can just ask the landlord very nicely if he could make an exception and let me have Blackie... I doubt it. There're still two weeks till he's old enough to leave the clinic, but it seems stupidly optimistic to hope for a new place in two weeks."

@Youngmin "No, it's not your fault. I'm just testy..." Taesun shook his head and picked idly at the salad. "Kyungsoo never would have let me get away with making food that didn't look as great as it tasted. I learned a lot from him, and from Sungmin..." he set his fork down and sighed, his appetite plummeting already. "As long as you aren't losing, you can use any method you want with poker. The idea is just to make sure your facial expression doesn't give away your hand."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin pursed his lips, realising it had come out all wrong. "I didn't mean to patronise you, I'm sorry. It's just.. I'm great at making food taste good, less so making it look great. I mean, a salad should be a simple thing to not up, but I still manage to make it look more like a pile of garden waste. It's a special talent of mine, I guess," he said, bringing a jug of water before sitting down again. "Ah, you got me. But maybe if I just smile my way through the entire thing, I can win. Or do poker faces have to be stony and-or angry?" he asked curiosly. He had never seen anyone smile during poker, but then again, he had never seen many people play poker.

@Youngmin Taesun winced at the compliments and forced a smile. "Please stop, I know you mean well but I'm not a child." He said, moving over to the table to sit down. He wasn't entirely sure he was hungry, but he would try to force himself to eat a fee bites at least. He knew his body needed it, even if his mind was refusing the idea. "You've never played poker? I don't think you'd be very good at it, you don't seem like the type who could lie well."

@Taesun [ SH ] "You're right. Some of them a brilliant but some... yeah, no," Youngmin said with a little chuckle, turning the meat for the final time. "Okay, the meat is done," he said, grabbing a coaster to put the pan on when he got to the table. "We can also just sit and stare at each other. Or play a game. I never learned how to play poker, I bet wr can find instructions online. Or I can talk and you can sit and look pretty," he said with a grin as he went back and forth between the kitchen and the table to get everything they needed. "Oh, the salad looks great! Why does it look so much more colourful than when I do it? I think you have a special talent."

@Youngmin "Idol actors are pretty hit or miss," Taesun said, shrugging one shoulder and almost smiling as he mixed up the dressing. "I've heard of a couple who turned out really good, but too many of them should probably just stay on the stage." He set the little bowl of dressing on the counter. "Ah, I guess? I don't know, I'm not sure I want to watch a movie. I wouldn't really be able to pay attention honestly. I'm sorry, but you're welcome to put one in if you want to watch one."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin hummed. "Yeah, probably. There are a couple of idol actors in it too and people are merciless when talking about their actions. I haven't really watched the drama, but the doc watches it with his wife and discusses it with the secretary after each episode. Apparently there are a lot of numbers going on and everyone likes number four, whoever or whatever that is," he said, pursing his lips. "I prefer movies too. I can't remember what happened from episode to episode in dramas. My brain just doesn't work that way. I have a bunch of movies, if you want we can watch one after eating? I don't like dog movies either, cause they feally almost always kill the dog. The only one I like is 101 Dalmatians."

@Youngmin "They probably spent too much money on set pieces and not enough on storyline and actors," Taesun commented, walking into the kitchen and shuffling through the cupboards. He found some strawberries in the refrigerator too and he grabbed those as well. He remembered Youngmin saying he he had a sweet tooth. He would like a sweeter kind of dressing. It wasn't going to be fancy, but it would be better than nothing. He found a small bowl to mix things together. "I've never been one for dramas, though I do like a to watch a few on occasion. Usually before bed...." He trailed off and refused to finish that thought. "I've always been more of a movie person than dramas. I never like movies with dogs though, I hate that the dog always dies in the end."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin /was/ kind of freezing, but he would happily have stayed like they were, humming softly for Taesun for an hour more if it would help the other man. He accepted the jacket with a soft thank you and got to his feet, checking that Taesun was following him inside. He slipped the other's jacket off and gave a little nod. "Yeah, that would be great," he said. He was starting to learn that pushing Taesun got hi absolutely nowhere, so he would give him the time and space he needed. "Did you hear about that new historical TV series they are currently airing? Apparently it's the most expensive one ever made, but the first couple of episodes didn't get great reviews," he said as he went back to the kitchen and turned the stove back on.

@Youngmin Taesun really wasn't sure how long he sat there listening to Youngmin hum. It really wasn't until he noticed it was getting chilly that he realized Youngmin must be freezing. He sat up again finally and shrugged out of his jacket, draping it around Youngmin's shoulders. "I'm sorry, we should get you inside..." He whispered, his voice was rough and his throat was sore from crying so much but he ignored it. He forced himself to stand up, helping Youngmin to his feet and gently pushing him towards the house. He bent down to pick up the gun, hesitating for a moment before he slipped it into his pocket. He walked into the house after Youngmin, closing the door behind them and leaning against it, closing his eyes briefly. "Should I make dressing for the salad?" He asked then he finally opened his eyes again, choosing to pretend that moment hadn't happened because he wasn't ready to face it yet. He wasn't ready to face himself.