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Kongi's being weird.
As Jaehyun gets busier with the end of the year approaching, Kongi gets sick and whiny. The first time it happened, Jaehyun took him to the vet, and they told him it was separation anxiety, so Jaehyun thought that with some time and discipline, Kongi would get over it. But it's been months since, and the puppy has shown very little improvement. He sticks morosely to Jaehyun the minute he notices any suspicious indication that Jaehyun might leave the house, and stays curled in front of the door until he's back. It's come to a point that the moment Jaehyun receives his schedule, the first thing to come to mind is Kongi's lethargic and sad little puppy face.
He's starting to consider getting into a brief hiatus to get the puppy properly settled when, out of nowhere, Kongi gets all better.
After an award show where VTIC sweeps most of the big awards of the night, he gets home late, already dreading the sight of Kongi slumped miserably in the corner of the entrance, but to his surprise, what he sees when he opens the door is his dog excitedly waiting for him, his tail wagging. He even barks at Jaehyun before rubbing his nose against his pants.
It's obviously a good thing, and part of him is relieved, but—well, isn't this a little too sudden? Until just the other day, Kongi was acting like the world was ending because Jaehyun spent half of the day away, and from one moment to another, he had gotten over it.
Something about this situation was strange.
And if there was one thing Jaehyun couldn't stand was being the only one left out.
…
There's a simple way to get to the bottom of it. The CCTVs.
Jaehyun calls the security office during breakfast and requests his apartment's footage on the dates he was out until late. He mechanically tells them his email while Kongi sits at his feet, staring longingly at his grilled panini.
Jaehyun is not the type to be easily swayed, but Kongi is proficient at being cute, and also a new fixture in Jaehyun's life, two things he's not very used to. So he gives in from time to time, to make sure Kongi is the happiest he can be for as long as Jaehyun can keep him. Much like a certain member of a certain group who pretends to hate him but now, even when only slightly pressured, gives in to him.
He never thought he'd be the type to wait for attention, but look at him. Kongi paws at his leg and barks at him. Jaehyun gives him another strip of cheese.
He gets the footage from the security office by lunch. He wonders what he should do when he catches the culprit. He's not above solving things physically, but having to be careful not to get caught, not having an easy way out anymore, it makes things more complicated for him.
He navigates the folder they send him. The first video he clicks open doesn't give him much to work with. The person is completely covered, and they seem to be aware of the cameras around them because they keep their head low. It's probably someone Jaehyun knows, though, considering the practiced ease they punch in his front door's password. Jaehyun rushes the video forward, but the person has a brown bag on their head on their way out.
He goes through two more videos, and as the days go by, the trespasser seems to acquire a taste for it, wearing more and more elaborate disguises. More brown bags, a Power Rangers mask, and even a paper mask with Jaehyun's face. It's ridiculous, but for some reason, despite the obvious intent to mock him, Jaehyun's not as annoyed as he should be.
And it's only the last video, when he's given up hope and is pondering over whether he should just get over it and ask the doorman who it was, that he unexpectedly gets an answer.
The trespasser came wearing a puppy costume head, but when he kneels to properly greet Kongi, the head tilts forward and falls. Jaehyun laughs at the rookie mistake, ridiculously excited at catching the intruder.
He leans in, not even blinking, and through the blurry image of the security camera, he finds a very familiar face, his darling hoobae and fellow time traveler, Park Moondae.
...
"I just didn't want to tell you," the cute trespasser says, shrugging. He then squints at Jaehyun and humphs with an air of superiority. "It's my revenge."
"Your revenge was taking care of my dog while I was out, so he wouldn't get anxious?"
Moondae tilts his head, frowning a little. "Mm, I guess."
Jaehyun wants to laugh. And if this were any other person, he would. He would've also told them to mind their own business and stop messing around unless they wanted to skip this life straight into the cycle of reincarnation.
But Moondae is Moondae. He's sitting in the external area of a private cafe, with a black beanie barely hiding his blonde strands, and he's telling Jaehyun that instead of enjoying his long-overdue break, he has been breaking into Jaehyun's apartment to stay with his dog.
Jaehyun feels a little dizzy.
"Do you like me that much?"
Moondae snorts. "In your dreams."
"In my dreams," Jaehyun repeats, half-aware that he sounds like an idiot. "So you like me in my dreams. Should I just go to sleep right now?"
Moondae's eyes widen a little. He looks around, probably looking for anyone who might be interested in their conversation, but despite that, his ears have gained a tint of red, and he's buried himself a little deeper in his coat, glaring at Jaehyun with the fiercest eyes anyone has ever looked at him with.
"I'm not doing it anymore, you bastard," he mumbles. "Next time, I'm going to kidnap Kongi, and you're never seeing him or me again."
Jaehyun laughs, pure and loud, his heart soaring in his chest.
"That'd leave me heartbroken."
It's another good day. Jaehyun has been having quite a few of those lately.