He ate my chick!

About how a ferret ate a chick (Pt 2)

Jisung came to pick me up just as I finished blow-drying Jiniret and changed my clothes. Of course, I didn't have time to get out, but that wasn't a priority right now. Han smiled brightly when he saw us, looked at Jiniret and said that he looked cheerful and everything should be fine with him. I smiled gratefully and showered him with a torrent of apologies for distracting him from his work.

Jisung had Leebit - a white rabbit, in a carrier in his car. Jiniret really loved to pester him, and when Leebit began to threateningly knock his paw on the floor, the ferret pretended that he was terrified of his menacing appearance. And then he started to climb towards him again. This is their love language.

While we were driving, Jiniret climbed into the hood of my hoodie and fell asleep there. He always did this when he was tired and didn't want to stomp his paws. I became nervous because inappropriate thoughts began to creep into my head with triple zeal.

Minho invited us to his office almost immediately. Jisung, with Leebit in his hands, also came with us. Minho pulled the sleeping Jiniret out of my hood. And I knew that he always slept soundly, that you couldn't wake him up even with a gun, but while Minho in his white veterinarian's coat examined him on his table, it seemed to me that my animal was lying unconscious, dying and somewhere out there my soulmate also feels unwell because I didn't follow up.

Jisung stroked my back soothingly, and even Leebit offered to cuddle himself as an anti-stress. Apparently, at that moment I looked so much like a drowned man that even the rabbit became worried.

Minho returned the still sleeping Jiniret back to my hood, looked at my pale face and shook his head. The quokka on his shoulder also seemed unhappy with my hysteria.

"Everything is fine with your weirdo." Minho smacked me on the shoulder so hard that I almost spat out all the air from my lungs. "He wasn't poisoned, his skin is clean, you washed his fur well, we don't even have to shave him."

"Shave?" I was still slow to think and didn't have time to delve into the meaning of the words Minho said, but the image of a shaved ferret that my imagination gave me was very colorful.

"Shave, shave." Minho bent down to look into my face with his beautiful, simply impossible eyes. "We won't have to." he added softly.

Then everything finally dawned on me, and I exhaled in relief, rubbing my freckled cheeks with my palms.

"I didn't know that you were drawing." Jisung said, still not stroking my back.

"I don't even draw." I answered, taking my hands away from my face. "My niece, whose birthday is coming soon, is drawing. She goes to an art school and really likes it there. I bought a set of paints for her. And now I don't know what to give her. I won't buy a second one."

"Don't worry, I'll buy it for you." Minho said casually, giving the quokka on his shoulder half a strawberry, which he took out of a small container.

"Well, no." I shook my head.

"It's not difficult for me." Minho answered quite sincerely and I honestly believed. But it was difficult for me. I don't like being in debt. Even if I owe Minho, who had such a big heart that he could give me a million for free if I asked.

"No, I'll look for something else." I answered firmly.

"I have a friend." Jisung remembered. "He is an artist. He knows all sorts of stores where you can buy paints that are cheaper but good quality. We can call him, he will suggest something."

"Really?" I was inspired. Even the desire to kiss Jisung on both cheeks awoke in me. But Minho next to me, stopped me.

"I'll call him now." Jisung took the phone out of his pocket.

From the conversation, I realized that Jisung's friend's name was Hyunjin and Han's call interrupted him from working on the painting. Hyunjin did not agree immediately. Jisung had to whine a little. This made Hyunjin laugh. I could hear his laughter even through the phone speaker. It was far from the chime of bells praised in all the books, but it was so loud and sincere that I myself began to smile. Such a good laugh, I liked it.

When Hyunjin agreed, he told Jisung the address where he needed to go and Han, smiling exactly like Quokka in Minho's arms, readily volunteered to take me there. My desire to kiss him on both cheeks increased doubly, but my heart was relieved because Minho did it for me and then they looked at each other. I didn't see any obvious changes, but at that moment something completely magical was definitely happening, beyond the explanation of any science. It seemed to me that I had caught something very personal, but I did not have the strength to turn away from them. Their eyes, full of warmth, adoration and affection, shone just like stars in the night sky. They smiled at each other with their eyes and carried on a silent dialogue. 

They did not need words, they seemed completely unnecessary, because the invisible, but almost tangible thread that connected the two souls was enough. And their animals clung to them as if they were their salvation. Little Quokka, the embodiment of Jisung, huddled close to Minho's chest where his heart was, and a tiny white cloud of Leebit trustingly curled up into a ball in Jisung's hand.

This is what harmony looked like in its highest sense and my heart ached because I had not yet had the opportunity to experience this. I twisted my arm, taking the still sleeping Jiniret out of my hood. He lazily opened one eye, examined me and not finding anything suspicious, closed it again, wrapping himself in one fluffy ball and burying himself in the folds of my hoodie to keep warmer. He didn't feel it yet either.

Minho stroked Jisung's hair as a goodbye and then they parted ways. Just like that. Without any banal words like "see you soon" or "see you again" or "grab a pack of rice home on the way back, otherwise we'll run out." It was strong.

Jisung took me by the sleeve of my hoodie, who was frozen, and dragged me to the exit of the office. When leaving, I said goodbye to Minho, because we didn't have such a magical connection with him. Minho laughed at my awkwardness and wished me luck, and then told his next patients to come in.

The place Hyunjin asked us to come to was a small craft store. Jisung and I got out of the car and stopped at the entrance to wait for Hyunjin. We didn't have to wait long. Within a couple of minutes, Jisung saw someone behind me, beamed with his trademark bright smile and waved to this someone. 

I turned around and felt like I had missed a step.