ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ʙᴜɴɴʏ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ| Jikook

7

Chim' s pov

"Becca, you need to eat,"I scolded her the way Grams had always done when the horse got good and stubborn. Unlike Grams, I'd cave and bring her some apples eventually.

I refreshed her water and took her out to her enclosure so I could muck out her stall. For a tiny creature, she sure shit a lot.

It had been two days since Jisung  had been by, and I couldn't stop thinking about his dad. He'd been checked on, of course, and I'd seen him so I knew he hadn't been shot. It just felt like the poor kid was on borrowed time before he was beaten. Or worse, found himself on the wrong side of his father's gun.

And then there was the dog. I wanted so badly to offer to keep the dog he had left. But between the cat and bunny and the goose, I had a feeling it might not work out any better having him here. I knew there had to be an answer to make things better, I just needed to find it.

"Hey, Bunny." I had taken to telling the little ball of fluff my every move. It probably wasn't the best choice, but I decided to keep him and buy him a proper cage. If he wasn't already capable of getting out of his box, he soon would be. "How would you like a real bed?"

His little head perked up. I swore the little fur ball understood me when I rambled on.

"You're getting better, and it's about time you had a better crib. Are people still calling homes cribs? I don't even know, but I'm going to go to town and get you a nice one." I reached in the box and rubbed behind his left ear, which appeared to be his favorite place. "I hope it's okay that I keep you." I scooped him up. "I'd feel bad if you had a little family waiting for you, but honestly, you're mine now...which is creepy and weird and don't tell Jisung . He'll be sad. We can just pretend you're his, okay?"

He scrunched his little nose and I could've sworn he nodded. Silly bunny.

No. Silly me. I needed to get out more. Or not. I kinda liked things the way they were.

I put him gently in the box, kissing his little head before I set him down. There were probably fifty reasons why I shouldn't allow myself to even pet, much less kiss, a wild animal, but the more I got to know the little guy, the more I thought he might be a pet that got away. Or worse, one that was dumped after Easter cuteness turned into a commitment.

I read an article on that somewhere last year, and even then, it had my blood curdling. Now that my best friend was a rabbit, it was even worse.

"I'll be back soon. And I'll get you more of those leeks you seem to like so much," I promised before I drove to the feed store. They were as close as a place came to a pet store, and they would probably have something to tide me over until I figured out how Bunny would fit into the household after he was given free rein.

My initial concern had been Lux, but the day he snuck into the kitchen to sit in Grams's seat, he looked at the rabbit and then walked away as if he couldn't be bothered. And for a cat that still managed to bring me mice and birds and even a squirrel once, that had surprised me. I didn't risk it by inviting Lux into the kitchen or anything, but I had a feeling he figured out that the rabbit was one of us, a member of the motley crew that was Grams's farm.

The feed store was oddly crowded, so instead of asking for help as I planned, I meandered the aisles, filling my cart with things I hadn't intended on buying, wasting time until I could get help. Lux had a bunch of new toys and treats headed his way, as did Daisy. I also picked up some pigs ears for Jisung's dog which felt awkward given they were next to Daisy's new ball.

"Cats and dogs?" a man older than me asked.

"And a pig." I smiled proudly.

He squinted as he looked over my bounty.

"Ahhh, you must be Angeline's grandbaby." He looked at me, probably expecting an answer. "Daisy loves balls," he added, most likely sensing my confusion.

"Yeah, she does. I'm Jimin." I held out my hand.

"Namjoon. Although most people call me Doc, on account of me being the only doctor in town." He gave my hand a firm shake. "I was friends with your grandmother. We played Euchre together." I'd learned quickly after I got to town that was the predominant social activity. I'd never played the card game myself, and that got me more than a few peculiar looks.

"Nice to meet you. This place is hopping today." My mind immediately rushed back to why I was there. "I nursed a hurt rabbit back to health and was looking to upgrade his habitat from the cardboard box I fished out of my recycling bin."

"How injured is he? I know something about raising rabbits. I had them as a kid. Now I just have a dog who loves these things." He held up a hoof. "They reek, though, so best not to start the addiction."

"Duly noted." Grams had said the same thing about them. "Bunny looks almost good as new." Thank goodness.

"And he's staying in a box?"

"Yeah, I think maybe he was a pet or something." I'd thought it weird too but the way Doc said it made me think it was beyond weird. Maybe he was more hurt than I thought. Fuck. That wouldn't be good. Not only for Jisung, but I loved the little fluff ball.

"Or something more likely." He waved his hand for me to follow him. "The hutches are over here, but they're designed for outdoor use. You may want to just go to some online pet place." He pointed out the hutches which were lined up from tiny to the ones that had to be custom ordered.

We chatted back and forth, and I agreed these weren't going to be the best choice for Bunny, especially if he had been a pet.

"Thanks for all your help."

"Thanks for distracting me. I don't know if you've heard, but a man has gone missing." He spoke in hushed tones, the entire conversation feeling a bit strange. But then again, this was a man I just randomly met at a feed store, so maybe he just liked to gossip.

"I did hear that. Did you know him?"

"Naw, but if you run into him, call me and I'll come see him. For free, of course. He'll probably be too scared to go to the hospital or a clinic in the city because there may be drugs, you see." His stilted explanation made sense to him, so I went with it. For all I knew, he was speaking from experience.

How wrong I was.