The first thing Chaewon notices when getting into Yunjin's Ford F-150 is Shiro sitting patiently in the space between the driver's and passenger's seat.
His tail is suspended in mid-air, stationary even when Chaewon pets him at his favorite spot, behind the ears.
"He loves it when I do that. What's wrong?" Chaewon asks Yunjin, concerned.
"Shiro and I had a little chat," Yunjin asserts, "Told him not to get too excited today. Can't have him barking up a storm while you're trying to get through your first ever hangover. He needs to be on his best behavior and he's doing well... so far."
Yunjin picks a dog biscuit out of her pocket and holds it in front of Shiro.
Shiro's tail begins to wag.
"Ah bup bup!" Yunjin retracts the treat. "Was that a tail wag I saw?"
Shiro regains control of his tail and looks down at his paws shamefully.
"You'll get this back later, when you've proven yourself," Yunjin threatens her toy poodle.
Chaewon stifles her laughter at their interaction.
"Here," Yunjin hands Chaewon a bottle of water, "Hydrate. You know what they say: feed a cold, starve a fever, and drown a hangover."
"Is that true?"
Yunjin shrugs. "Beats me. But when is drinking water considered bad medical advice? Go chug that. I have a full case of Aquafina in the trunk, no worries."
Yunjin is caring and thoughtful. Seeds #2 and #3, Chaewon notes.
"So where are we going?"
"Pledis."
"Where's that?"
"A suburb about three hours west of here. It's my old hometown. The name alone sounds pretty bougie, huh?"
"But isn't that place, y'know, full of bad memories?" Chaewon treads carefully.
"Sure. But good ones too. I want to share them with you. Don't you want to see where I came from?"
Emotionally open, with absolutely nothing to hide. That's Yunjin's fourth seed.
(During their first date, the idea that Yunjin could be a creep/stalker/axe murderer never once slipped Chaewon's mind like it did with her other Tinder meetups. Yunjin was one step away from giving Chaewon her social security number.)
"I do," Chaewon replies, picking up Shiro and sitting him down on her lap.
"Let's hit the road, then. Just don't enablehim. No belly rubs!"
YOU ARE READING
from which a garden grows / purinz
Fanfic#1 purinz Sakura says every long-lasting relationship is like a garden: you first start out with a few seeds of potential. Chaewon doesn't see any potential in her latest love interest... ok maybe she's fine as fuck and her toy poodle is kinda cute...
