48 hours, a short story | chan & seungmin

chan ⚘ about you- the 1975

- Chapter 11 , lovable

he starts to speak to me, so i move my gaze from the dogs to look at him. he is smiling at me, so i just nod. "i'll take an introduction.."

he nods his head. "okay, we'll everything is pretty obvious in this room." he says, and points to the empty hall in the far left corner. "that hall leads to the cages, where they need to be in a couple hours. over there, is the food bowls. right here, obviously, is the play room. puppies play in the pen, and the elders lay over there."

he pauses, so i turn my head to him again. he has a sad look on his face, i don't know why. i follow his gaze, and i meet the elder dogs. why is he looking at them so sadly?

they don't need to be looked at sadly or anything. i mean, they look fine. maybe a little tired, but they look fine. my eyes are stuck on the old black dog, however. he has his head laying on his paws, as he watches all the dogs play.

i look away. "where do we start?" i ask, trying to get somewhere.

"oh um-" he shakes his head. "i guess we could.." he stops, and turns to me. "well.. what do you want to do? it's not time to feed them yet.. so..."

"let's go see the dogs." i say, and begin to walk.

he follows behind me, and i know exactly where i'm heading. i start to approach the elder dogs, but he holds the bag of my shirt lightly. i turn around to look at him, and he has a look of worry on his face.

"the elder dogs can be a little.. i don't know. they don't get a lot of attention so usually people don't approach them." he says, and looks to the dogs. "they might be a little mean to humans due to all the rejection."

"dogs are only mean cause they are taught to be that way." i say. "maybe you should warn people of the humans, not the animals."

i pull away from him, and continue walking to the dogs. the five of them look up at me, and i start to slow my steps. one of them starts to growl, but a few of their tails start to wag.

"hey." i say softly, and stick out my hand to let them sniff me.

the one who is growling, the black one i had my eye on, doesn't move. however, two of the older pit bulls come forward with wagging tails. one of them sniffs my hand, and then nudges their head into it. i slowly start to pet his head, while his tail is wagging like crazy. the other pit looks at me, with what looks like a smile.

i raise my other hand to pet him, and he leans into it. an old yellow lab stands up and walks over to me, his tail between his legs. i reach out my hand to let him sniff, and when he does his tail starts to wag- so i pet him softly.

the three of them all look so happy, but the black one and the muggy white one just look at me. i reach my hand out, and make a clicking noise to bring them in. the white one, who looks feminine, starts to walk over slowly with her tail between her legs.

i pat her head, and she inches closer bit by bit- til eventually she is sitting in my lap. i'm surrounded by a bunch of old happy dogs, and it makes me happy.

the one that was growling earlier isn't growling anymore, instead just watching me. i lift the white dog out of my lap, and stand up. they all watch me, and a few follow me as i make my way towards the black one.

he is sitting, and he watches me carefully as well as i move. i don't make any sudden movements, and i don't try to grab him. i stand in front of him, and look at him as he watches me. i crouch down right in front of him, and i bring my hand up to him so he can sniff it.

he looks to the hand slowly, like he is still a bit wary. he sniffs my hand, before he pulls away and looks back to me. "hi big guy." i say. "can i pet you?"

i know i'm asking a dog to touch him like i would ask a human, but it seems to be working. i feel like he can understand me. i start to move my hand to pet him, and he doesn't growl or bite or anything.

i rub the top of his head. his fur is a bit rough, but i don't care. i move my hand to scratch his ear, and his eyes close as he leans into the touch. the sight makes my heart feel warm. i kind of see myself in him. he might just want warmth, and that might bring out the best in him.

i begin to move my hand down his body, and i feel the white dog crawl back into my lap. i scratch the black dogs side, and that's when he looks back at me and starts to lick my face.

it's disgusting, but it warms my heart. i move my hands to pet the rest of the dogs, and before i know it and getting loved by all of them. they aren't just old, useless dogs. they are just as useful and lovable as the puppies- they just have lived a longer life.

it takes me a while to realize seungmin isn't even behind me anymore. i don't even know when he left, but when i look around i find him feeding the other dogs. i was half convinced he had been watching me the entire time, but i'm kind of glad he didn't.

the old black dog lays down, but this time he is closer to me. his body is touching my leg, and it warms me up. i rub his fur, and i have to fight back a smile.

"i have to do work," i say, and turn back to all the dogs. "i didn't come here to play."

i can't believe i'm talking to dogs. i try to fight the embarrassment, by slowly starting to get up. i place the old lady dog down gently, and begin to walk away.

"seungmin." i call, and he turns around.

he smiles widely. "oh hey chan," he looks down to the floor. "and fifi, and jack, and ellie-"

i look down to see who this kid is talking too, and realize that all of the dogs followed me over here. i chuckle, and turn back to him.

"i guess they like you." he says, and looks back up to me. "thank you, for showing them love."

"it's not that hard." i say, and look down to the dogs. "nothing is unlovable."

"you're right." he says, and turns back to the dog food. "except this smell. dog food actually stinks worse than anything."

"yeah but guess what," i say, and pick up the bag of elder dog food. "these dogs love it."

he just smiles. "i guess you're right then. everything is lovable."