ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ʙᴜɴɴʏ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ| Jikook

Prologue

"Stop those motherfucking dogs or I'm getting out my shotgun." Jisung's father bellowed through the house. Had he not been drunk and sitting in his recliner, Jisung would've been preparing himself for a smack or a punch...or on a really bad day, a kick. But since his father was more screaming than anything else, he felt less afraid for himself and more for the dogs.

Jisung ran into the livingroom to answer his father. For some reason, it was acceptable for his father to bark orders from all over the place, but Jisung needed to respond in close proximity or face a beating for being disrespectful. He'd learned a long time ago some things were not worth pushing back against. "I'll take care of Boxer and Stray."

"Those dogs need to learn to be quiet. A man can't think around here." At least his dad was calm, or calmer than Jisung was expecting given his earlier threat to put down the dogs.

It wasn't a threat as much as a promise. Jisung had lost more than one pet to his father's wrath. If it were up to him, they wouldn't have gotten Boxer and Stray at all. It wasn't fair to the dogs. They weren't allowed inside. Their only purpose was to be silent unless they were catching one of the many invisible, nonexistent enemies his father was sure would arrive any day.

But the dogs had shown up one day as pups. They were in a box on the porch, and his mother had begged to keep them. His father, as cruel as he was, had a soft spot for the boy's mother. Jisung missed her so much. Cancer stole her before his fifth birthday. And now it was just him and his father.

"I will work on that, Father." Never Dad or Daddy or even sir. Father was the only acceptable way to address the man.

The boy ran out to find the dogs, whose barks had carried farther in the distance. He ran toward them, his breath starting to become labored by the time he finally found them on the border of their property, both dogs standing side by side. The neighbor had an electric fence and they stood a foot from it. Smart dogs. But he'd known that. They had lasted twice as long as any that came before them. "Stop," he shouted at them. "Come."

They stopped barking briefly, looked him in the eye, and began to bark again. Jisung closed the distance between them, wishing he had their leashes. It would be a long way back holding on to their collars, but whatever had them so riled up wasn't going away fast enough for the boy's liking.

He was only a step from Boxer when a small branch rustled on the ground beside him and caught his eye. He knelt down to see a rabbit with red on his fur. He was still breathing, but the poor thing was very injured. Next to him, Jisung saw the evidence that had him putting the pieces together.

Fox print.

The kind thing would be to put the injured creature down, but Jisung's life had seen too much of that. His father loved that shotgun and took some sick pleasure in using it to kill innocent animals. No, Jisung needed to save this little one.

He took off his hoodie, glad the dogs had been too distracted by the fox to make the injuries on the rabbit any worse than they already were. Chances were the furry being wasn't going to see the morning, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying.

Jisung gently lifted the bunny, placing him on his warm sweatshirt, cooing that it would be alright. He held the bundled animal to his chest as he took him to the one person who might be able to help, Angeline Park.

an adoption ig