Chapter Text
Choi Jiung was ready to go home.
Not “kind of tired,” not “a little exhausted.”
No, he had reached the rare and dreadful level known only to overworked veterinarians: I will fall asleep standing if one more thing happens today.
The clinic had been nonstop from the moment he clocked in. Three vaccinations, two checkups, one emergency kitten rescue, and a golden retriever who thought the exam table was lava and refused to stay put without bribery. Jiung loved animals with all his heart, but today had clawed away every last drop of energy he had left in his body.
“Hyung, you seriously look like a zombie,” Jongseob said, leaning on the counter, arms crossed, watching Jiung attempt to lock the door.
“You try calming a cat who thinks you’re Satan reincarnated,” Jiung muttered, jabbing the keyhole with mild desperation.
Behind him, Theo laughed the easy, laid-back older-brother laugh that always made Jongseob groan.
“Come on, Jiung,” Theo said. “We’ve all had days like that.”
“Yeah, but hyung takes the worst ones,” Jongseob added. “The animals love him too much.”
Jiung finally felt the click of the lock and exhaled slowly. Freedom.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes. If he went home now, he could still maybe shower, eat something instant, and pass out before he even touched his bed.
He turned to his friends. “I’ll see you both tomorrow, okay? I’m gonna—”
“Crash and die?” Theo offered.
“Exactly.”
Jongseob grinned. “Text us if you need anything, hyung. I mean it.”
Jiung waved them off as he stepped outside, letting the cool evening breeze slap him in the face in the gentlest, most comforting way. He closed his eyes for a second, taking a long breath.
He was so focused on imagining his soft bed that he didn’t notice someone sprinting around the corner at full speed.
Someone holding a tall cup.
Someone who was, unfortunately, not very coordinated on land.
°°°
“HYUNG, WAIT FOR ME!”
Hwang Intak shouted as he chased after his friends, waving his matcha latte in one hand like a green flag of impending doom.
Keeho turned around just in time to dodge him. “Bro, slow DOWN—”
“I told him not to run,” Soul mumbled under his breath.
But Intak did not, in fact, slow down. He was excited. He had landed a new skating routine that day, Keeho promised they’d buy him matcha, and Soul said he looked like a “happy frog.” It was a good day.
That was the problem.
Because good days made Intak’s clumsiness ten times worse.
He rounded the corner a little too fast, the world spinning just a little too much and then he crashed into something solid.
Or someone solid.
°°°
Jiung saw a blur of mint green.
Then he felt something cold soak into his shirt.
Then he heard the sound.
Splshhhhhh.
His eyes flew open.
A very horrified, very wide-eyed boy stared at him, holding the remains of a matcha latte.
“Oh. My. God.” the boy said, freezing in place. “I—I—no—oh no—OH NO.”
Jiung stared at his coat.
Then at the matcha dripping down it.
Then at the stranger.
He blinked slowly.
The boy panicked harder.
“I am so sorry I swear I wasn’t trying to baptize you in matchathis is entirely my fault please don’t hate me. I can fix this-- OH MY GOD YOUR COAT IS SOAKED—”
“Intak,” Keeho called, sounding both amused and exhausted as he walked up. “What did you do this time?”
Soul peeked from behind him. “He spilled his drink,” he said, monotone.
“Onto a person,” Keeho corrected, pointing at Jiung like a judge condemning a criminal.
Jiung sighed, staring at the green stain spreading across his uniform. He could feel his soul floating out of his body.
“It’s fine,” he said, trying to breathe calmly. “It’s… okay.”
“It’s NOT okay!” Intak yelped. “That looks expensive! And you look tired oh no wait that sounded rude—”
Keeho pinched the bridge of his nose. “Translation: he’s really sorry.”
Soul nodded. “He’s actually dying inside right now.”
“I AM,” Intak confirmed loudly.
Jiung rubbed his temple. “Really, it’s fine. Today was already rough. This is just… the universe adding color, I guess.”
Intak’s face fell at the joke. “I’ll pay for dry cleaning. I’ll pay for a new coat. I’ll pay for... for whatever you need. I swear I didn’t mean to—”
Jiung finally looked him properly in the face.
The boy was younger. Maybe a student.
Pretty eyes, cute features, and a genuinely ruined expression like he had committed a crime against humanity.
Jiung sighed again, but softer this time.
“It’s okay,” he repeated, tired but gentle. “Accidents happen.”
Intak looked like he might cry out of relief.
Keeho patted him on the back. “See? He’s not mad.”
Soul squinted at Jiung. “You actually seem too tired to be mad.”
Jiung huffed a tiny laugh. “You’re not wrong.”
“Let us at least make it up to you,” Intak said, voice pleading. “Please. Anything.”
Jiung hesitated.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to lie down and never move.
He also wanted to not walk around smelling like matcha sweets.
And above all… he didn’t have the energy to fight a boy who looked like he’d apologize until sunrise.
“Fine,” Jiung said. “How about you just… get me some napkins first?”
“YES...YES,OF COURSE...NAPKINS...GOOD- OKAY—RIGHT—”
Intak turned so fast he nearly tripped again.
Keeho caught him by the hood. “Walk. Don’t run. Please.”
Soul sighed. “This is going to be a long night.”
Jiung looked at the chaos unfolding in front of him and wondered if it was possible to feel even more tired than he already did.
Apparently, yes.
But as he watched Intak scramble around,
matcha-smeared and apologizing like his life depended on it…
…Jiung also felt something he didn’t expect.
A small spark of amusement.
A tiny flutter of something warm.
Maybe just maybe today wasn’t ending as badly as he thought.
Even if he did smell like matcha.