#yippee!!!

Your pet store was your pride and joy. It was small, but it was staying afloat, and that's what mattered.

You'd been passionate about reptiles and amphibians since you were a little kid. You learned everything you knew from your uncle, who also raised snakes and lizards. Anything you didn't know, you read books or watched videos about.

So after finishing university, with a zoology major (focused on herpetology) and a business minor, your goal had always been to own your own shop. You’d been working at a local pet store during school and for a few months after graduation, too. 

That was, until a perfect little part of a building came open for rent. 

It was small, cozy even, but it’s exactly what you had in mind when you thought about your future store.

Your uncle ended up giving you a late “graduation gift” to help you with the downpayment for the location and the stuff you’d need within it.

It had taken months to build it up to what you wanted it to be, and honestly it still didn’t feel fully finished, but you finally felt secure enough to open it.

You’d named it “Tales of Scales” and it was your pride and joy. 

Well, next to Croissant of course.

You blinked, pulling yourself out of your reminiscing. You couldn’t believe it’d been a full year since you’d fully opened and you were still here.

It had been a bit of a slow day so far, but it usually was in the middle of the week. Some part of you still debated if you should even be open as often as you were, but considering you only had one other employee and half the power had to stay on anyway when you weren’t here to keep all the tanks warm and running, it really didn’t make much of a difference.

Plus, you’d have to come in anyway to clean the tanks and feed the animals who needed it, so why not just be open while you were at it?

Croissant, your bearded dragon, was currently resting on your shoulder. He had a perch on the main check out counter with a pathway that led back to his main enclosure, located just behind the desk. He loved the attention he got when customers came in. If he could spend all day sun bathing or being petted, he would.

You hummed softly to yourself as you looked back at your computer screen, double checking your inventory for the upcoming month. There were some new snake treats you’d seen advertised on Instagram recently, and you were debating if you should add them to your shelves or not.

The soft sound of the door opening pulled you away from the computer screen. You glanced up and saw two men, about your age if you had to guess, enter.

You gave them a small smile and bow. “Hello, welcome in. Let me know if you need help with anything.”

They both gave you a quiet greeting in return before talking to each other as they browsed through the shelves near the entrance.

You glanced back at your computer, glancing up at them periodically to make sure they were still doing well. Croissant was still vibing on your shoulder, completely content snuggled into your body heat.

The two eventually made their way to some of the enclosures near you. You were very particular about the selection of live animals you had available at your store. You made sure they were always healthy and had plenty of room to be happy. Most of them you acquired from breeders who you had connections with, normally when they had excess that weren’t already claimed for. You also weren’t afraid to help connect customers to the right person if they were looking for a critter that you didn’t currently have in person.

“Oh!” You heard one of them exclaim softly. You glanced over and saw they were standing in front of one of the gecko’s cases. 

The one who’d spoken was the excited one who gave you the urge to pinch his cheeks. He was smiling at the other boy as he pointed at the enclosure. “This one is like the one I’m getting!”

“Is that how big they get?” The other asked, bending over just slightly so he could peer through the glass easier.

“That one’s full grown,” you piped up, causing both men to look at you. “She’s pretty average size, so that’s about what you can expect.”

The excited one nodded eagerly, glancing at the other man. “Perfect size, right?”

“So you’re getting a crested gecko?” You asked curiously.

He looked back at you and you swore you saw a slight blush dusting his cheeks. “Uh, yeah! I’ve always liked lizards and stuff and so I decided to finally get one.”

You nodded. “I get it, I also like lizards and stuff,” you teased lightly.

The other boy snorted and the excited one’s blush grew exponentially. You decided to take it easy on him, though. You didn’t want to scare off a potential long-term customer.

“What all have you bought for them so far?” You prompted gently.

He brightened up at that. “Oh! I have the tank at home and a heating lamp for it already. I wanted to buy some of the decor in person though, so I looked up stores near me and I found this one!” He smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t even know this place existed or I would’ve come here sooner, I think.”

The other boy raised an eyebrow. “This is practically your cat cafe Sung-ah.”

The excited one (Sung?) looked like he was about to protest when he looked at you and his eyes widened.

Oh he finally spotted Croissant.

“Oh my gosh,” he breathed, eyes full of wonder. “On your shoulder- is that a bearded dragon?”

You gave a small shrug to gesture to him. “Yes it is. This is Croissant, the unofficial, official store mascot.” You glanced back at the boys. “You can come hold him if you want.”

You didn’t offer Croissant to everyone. There was a sign under his perch, actually, that gave strict instructions to not lift him up without an employee’s permission followed by an explanation of how to pet him safely (with one to two fingers, down his back, and to not poke his face).

“Seriously?” He asked near reverently. 

You nodded. “He’s a chill guy. He won’t mind.”

The guy scurried over and stopped in front of you. If he was a dog, though he gave off squirrel vibes honestly, he’d be vibrating with excitement.

“What’s his name?” He asked.

You slowly moved your hands up to scoop up Croissant and hold him out to the boy, who gently held his hands out. “This is Croissant. He’s 8 years old.”

Croissant huffed as he was moved off of his warm perch. He looked up at the man holding him and blinked before shifting to start crawling up his arm, deciding he wanted to be on someone’s shoulder, even if it wasn’t yours.

The guy yelped, but thankfully didn’t flail. You laughed. “Sorry about him. He’s very stubborn. He just wants to sit on your shoulder like he was on mine.”

The guy watched him with wide eye wonder, not even looking at you as he replied breathlessly. “Yeah, no, that’s fine. He can do whatever he wants.”

“Are all… lizards this friendly?” The other guy asked, clearly trying to remember what you’d called Croissant but giving up.

You shrugged. “Yes and no, depends on their parents’ personalities a little bit, and species does matter some, too. Bearded dragons are generally a very friendly option for people. I recommend them for those who have kids because they’re also a bit bigger, too, which makes them a little sturdier.

“Just like other pets, though, socialization is important if you’re getting a young reptile. The more often they have positive interactions with people, the less stressed they’ll be and many will even enjoy being around people,” you explained.

“I’m gonna have everyone come and hold her when I get her,” the excited one said, looking at the other guy.

The other guy laughed. “Maybe she could come to the studio with you.”

The excited one gasped. “Oh my god, do you think she could? I bet she could fit in my pocket!”

“You could maybe harness train her,” you suggested.

The excited, future-reptile owner looked at you. “What’s that?”

You leaned down behind the counter to grab Croissant’s harness. You placed it on the counter to show him. “We don’t carry a ton of these in stock, because not a lot of average reptile owners want them, but I do have a source if you’re interested.” You gestured toward the door where a sign was hanging by the entrance. “All friendly reptiles are welcome in our store as long as they’re safely contained in some way, and that includes being attached to a harness. This one is Croissant’s.”

“And he wears it?” The other boy asked.

You nodded. “I mean, he was unsure at first, but what pet isn't?” You shrugged. “Now he puts it on no fuss. He likes going on walks.”

“Should I get one now then?” The excited one asked. His eyes reminded you of boba with how wide and innocent they looked. “Or should I wait until she's full grown? Is it ever too late to train them for it?”

“When are you getting her?” You asked, tilting your head.

“In a little over a week,” he replied.

“Just bring her in then and I can help you out if you want,” you suggested. “Not right away, if you want to give her time to settle in first. I promise she doesn't need to be in a harness day one, or even month one, in order to eventually get used to one.”

He nodded along, still looking at you with his wide, excited eyes.

“So,” you said, stepping out from behind the counter, “want to get some stuff for her enclosure?”

“Yeah!” He replied eagerly. 

“Great, how big is the tank?” You asked as you started walking towards one of the shelves.

“Oh- um, will Croissant be okay like this?” He asked, still rooted in place.

You nodded. “Yeah I walk around with him on my shoulder all the time,” you turned to keep walking, “but if at any point he makes you uncomfortable, or you just want to be relieved of your perch duties, let me know.”

“I don't mind,” he replied softly before scurrying to catch up with you.

So as it turned out, the future gecko owner's name was Jisung and the friend he had with him was Minho. He ended up purchasing two nice branches for her to climb on, a dome shelter, a water dish, and a starter plant for his tank. You walked him through basic setup and even gave him one of the pamphlets you had printed out for all new reptile owners.

“I'm sure you know some of this already, but I always find having a reference to double check myself makes me feel better when I'm doing something new,” you explained as you slipped it into his bag.

“No, yeah, I appreciate it,” Jisung said, his adorable blush coming back.

“I want to see her once you get her,” you told him as you put his receipt into the bag. “Even if it's just you coming in and showing me a picture.”

“I'll be back, I promise,” he said as he scooped up the bag. “Thanks for all your help today.”

You smiled. “It's my pleasure. I'm always happy to help a new reptile owner. Sounds like you're gonna give her a good home.”

God his cheeks looked so cute when he blushed. “That's the goal. She deserves to be spoiled like any other pet would be.”

You grinned, glancing down at where Croissant was now happily laying on his perch. “I agree.”

When the two of them said their goodbyes, with Jisung thanking you once again for all your help, you were pretty sure he'd be back.

There was a chance he wouldn’t. He could just order his food online or go to a big name store, but the fact that he came in in the first place gave you some hope. 

You expected it wouldn't be immediately, though, and while you weren't in the habit of memorizing the faces of first time customers, something about him was sticking in your mind.

So you were a little surprised when, exactly a week later, he came back through the door.

You'd been stocking one of the shelves when you heard the familiar sound. “Welcome in,” you called out, finishing what you were doing before turning around. “If you need any help just let me know- oh, Jisung! Hi!”

Jisung blinked. “You remember my name?”

You shrugged. “Of course, why wouldn't I? Did you get your gecko early?”

He blinked, a blush immediately rising to his cheeks. “I didn't think you'd remember that either- um, I mean, I'm picking her up today and I realized I wasn't sure if she'd have a good carrying container? Then I wasn't sure what even was a safe way to transport a gecko, so I figured I'd stop by here since you probably would know.”

You smiled. “I mean, whoever you’re getting her from probably has her in a safe travel container already. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you getting her from?”

Jisung quickly explained and you nodded along as he did. “Yeah, they’re a good one. They’ll definitely have you hooked up, but-” You turned towards the shelves, “if you want to be extra sure, I can definitely help you out.”

Jisung nodded, smiling bashfully. “Yes please. I just want to make sure I do this right.”

You led him around your small store, hooking him up with Croissant’s favorite treats, a small travel container, and a misting bottle.

“I mean, she probably won’t need it for the short trip,” you reassured him as you helped him check out, “but, they do like humid environments. I bet she’ll already have a damp towel at the bottom of the container she’s in when you get her, though.”

Jisung continued to nod along to everything you said. Keeping his gaze on you as he tapped his card against the terminal. “Thank you for all of your help.”

“You clearly did a lot of research too, I’m sure you would’ve figured it out without me,” you told him seriously, “but I’m still happy I could help even a little bit.”

“No, no, you helped a lot,” he reassured. “I mean, I did research a lot but,” that lovely blush comes back onto his face, “I second guess myself a lot, so having someone who clearly knows what they’re talking about tell me I’m doing it right means a lot.”

You beamed. “Well then I’m doubly happy I could help.” You reached out, playfully nudging his shoulder. “You got this. You’re gonna give her a great home.”

“Thanks,” he breathed softly. He looked at you for a moment longer, before blinking, breaking the moment.

He leaned back away from the check out counter, laughing slightly. “But, um, yeah, hah, thanks for your help. I should probably get going.”

You nodded, fingers twitching on the counter. “Yeah, of course. Next time I see you, you’ll hopefully have a name for her, yeah?”

He laughed more genuinely this time. “For sure.”

The rest of your day went by normally. The flow of customers was fairly slow, so you managed to get some cleaning done, including deep cleaning Croissant’s tank.

As you were closing up your store that evening, Jisung kept popping up in your head. You knew why. He was cute, charming, and also had a soft spot for reptiles, which was always a huge plus in your book.

Plus, he seemed so dedicated to making sure he was about to give his new gecko a good home. Considering it was his first reptile pet, you were super impressed by his dedication.

You assumed it’d be a few more days until you saw him again. He probably had work, and he really didn’t have a reason to come in immediately. He’d bought plenty of supplies from your store already, and more from online retailers as well.

So imagine your surprise as you started to walk home after locking up the shop, when you spotted his face on a large sign on a building.

Well, it wasn’t just his face, Minho was there, too, as well as six other men.

Holy shit. He was a k-pop idol??

You knew of Stray Kids. You listened to music of all kinds, you just rarely looked up the artists to memorize their faces. Plenty of your friends and customers had mentioned their love for random k-pop groups, including naming some of their pets after them. Stray Kids was one that had come up more than once.

And you’d had two of them in your store. One of them twice now.

There was a part of you that felt you needed to do something with this information. What if Han expected that you knew who he was? Should you look him up? 

You ended up throwing on some of their music as you made dinner that evening, thoughts still racing around your head. Out of curiosity, you did look up the group, to see if there was something glaring you needed to know.

You read a basic bio of the members, mainly their names and the roles they played. Jisung was apparently one of the main rappers and was also part of their production group known as 3Racha.

And then… you just closed the tabs. It felt wrong to read more, even if the information was right there and thousands, if not millions of people knew more about Jisung and his likes and dislikes than you did.

But did you really need to know?

By the next morning, your mind had settled. Sure the guy in your shop was probably fairly rich, travelled the world, and had millions of fans. So what?

He was also clearly passionate about reptiles, got a bit nervous talking to strangers, and looked adorable when he blushed.

And you kinda wanted to squish his face.

And his eyes looked so pretty when he got excited.

… And you really hoped he'd come back to your store sometime.

As much as you tried to distract yourself, Jisung kept lingering in your mind over the next couple of days.

Your store was open on Saturdays, but you gave yourself Sunday and Monday off instead. At least working at the store helped keep you mostly distracted, but over the weekend, not so much.

Croissant was surely tired of your attempts at keeping busy by Monday, so you made yourself leave the house and take Croissant to the park for a bit. You also drafted up a few posts for your store's socials and updated the website with promotions for your new inventory you were getting in next week.

Come Tuesday, you were itching to get into the store, anything to give you less time to fight the urge to check Jisung's socials.

Had pick gone well with his lizard? How did she do on the ride back to his place? Had he shared her with the world? If so, what did they think? What had he decided to name her? How did her enclosure look now that she was in it?

Croissant shifted on her perch, causing you to snap out of your thoughts. You glanced over and saw her staring at you, unimpressed.

“What?” You asked her. 

Croissant blinked at you.

“You don't even know what I'm thinking,” you pointed out.

Her tail flicked. 

You groaned. “I know, it's stupid to be crushing on a guy I barely know, but you saw his big eyes right? And how excited he was about everything in here? That's like my biggest weakness.”

Despite remaining silent, Croissant was clearly judging you. 

You'd had a steady flow of customers that day, maybe above average for a Tuesday but nothing wildly busy. 

It was about 30 minutes before closing and the store was peacefully quiet. You were finishing cleaning one of the cages when you heard the door open. 

“Welcome in,” you called out. “If you need any help, I’ll be with you in a moment.”

You finished refilling the water dishes and setting everything back into place before getting the snake who had been residing in there out of his temporary box and back into his home.

He settled back in easily and you smiled, closing up the top and finally stepping away to look for the customer that had come in.

He was easy to spot, a familiar silhouette hanging out by the register. He was gently petting Croissant, who was leaning into his touch, eyes closed in contentment. 

You felt your steps stutter for half a second before you composed yourself, taking a soft, but deep breath.

“Hey Jisung,” you greeted, walking over to the counter.

Jisung jumped slightly and you had to resist the urge to giggle. 

“Hey!” He greeted, standing up straighter, though his hand didn’t leave Croissant. “I, um, I was worried I was going to make it before you closed.” A blush crept slowly up his cheeks as he spoke. “I tried to come yesterday, but I didn’t realize you guys were closed on Mondays, which was totally my fault for not checking. I know being open every day of the week is unreasonable anyway so like, it’s not a big deal you were closed or anything I just uh-” 

You smiled at him, leaning against the counter. “You’re all good. We’re open on Saturdays, and since supposedly a ‘work life balance’ is healthy or something," you made air quotes teasingly as you said it, “I decided I should probably still have two days off a week.”

Jisung licked his lips, cheeks still a dusty pink. “I honestly hadn’t thought about the fact that I’ve only ever seen you here before. Does anyone else work here?”

You shrugged. “It’s mostly me. I have one part-time employee who comes in a couple evenings a week, mainly Fridays and Saturdays because they’re our busiest days, but also stock day, too.”

Jisung nodded along as you spoke, his tongue peeking out for a moment, distracting you momentarily.

“So, um,” you said, regaining your train of thought. “Did you need something on Monday?”

He perked up. “Oh, um, not necessarily,” he admitted sheepishly. “I know you wanted to see picture of Richard once I got her, and I know it’s too soon to bring her, but I wanted to show you pictures. I was freer yesterday than today, so I almost didn’t make it. I know it could’ve waited but-”

“No, I’m glad you came,” you replied softly. “Come on then, show me. I want to see her.”

Jisung beamed, immediately whipping his phone out. Croissant grumbled as he lost access to his chin scratcher.

He would live.

“She did great on the car ride home, and she started being curious about her tank super quickly,” he started saying excitedly as he turned his phone for you to see. “A few of the memb- my friends have already come over to meet her. She’s so cute, too.”

You nodded, cooing at the photos. “She’s super cute. I’m excited to meet her.” You glanced over at him. “So, Richard?”

He laughed. “Um, yeah. It’s sort of an English joke but also, because Richard and lizard sound similar, you know?”

You snorted, which evolved into a laugh. “Oh my gosh, that’s hilarious. Perfect name for her. How did you think of that?”

“I can’t take all of the credit,” he shrugged, still smiling. “Honestly my friend Changbin is the one who suggested it.”

“Well I’m excited when you finally bring her by,” you said. 

Jisung nodded, suddenly looking more nervous. He glanced over at Croissant, fiddling with one of the sleeves on his jacket. “So, um, uh, have you heard about the dinosaur cafe downtown?”

You nodded, eyes lighting up. “Yeah, I think I saw that on Instagram. It just opened recently, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah it did,” he replied. “Would you- uh… maybe want to go? Together?”

Your heart fluttered but you tried not to get your hopes up. “As friends..?”

“No- I mean, unless that’s what you’d prefer!” He quickly said. “But, um, I’d like it to be a date if you would also like that. For it to be a date, that is.”

You felt a blush crawl up your own cheeks now. “I mean, I would like that, too.”

Jisung beamed, his shoulders relaxing. “Okay, cool, great.”

“I do have to admit something, though,” you said in a bit of a rush. Jisung blinked at you, waiting, so you continued. “I do know that you're, like, a big k-pop idol. I saw your face on my way home the other night on a big screen. I didn't know before then, but I felt like you should know that.”

He looked hesitant when you first started but then he relaxed again and nodded. “I mean, I was pretty sure you didn't know me, at first at least. I can't always read people, but usually I can tell.” He shrugs. “You would've found out eventually, but… are you okay with that?”

You shrugged too. “A job is a job. I've heard some of your guys' music before. It's really good.”

He blushed. “Well, thanks. I'm really proud of what we do. What we have done.”

“Then I'd really like to hear more about it,” you told him honestly. “Do I need to sign like, an NDA or something to go on a date with you then?”

Jisung spluttered and you laughed playfully. “Uh, Skigji would probably prefer that. Not that I don't trust you, but-”

You waved a hand. “No, you're fine. It'd be like a whole liability probably.” You tilted your head to the side. “How much could someone reasonably sell your phone number for?”

Jisung laughed. “Oh gosh, tens of thousands at least. Some Stay are pretty determined when it comes to stuff like that.” He licked his lips, looking mildly more confident now. “You'd need to have my number first in order to sell it though, so.” He put out a hand and winked at you.

You laughed but couldn't stop the blush from spreading as you placed your phone in his hand. “Smooth.”

He shrugged nonchalantly as he typed into your phone. “I try, sometimes.” He handed the phone back to you. 

“So,” you shot him a text, signing it with your name, “now that I have your number, and you have mine… when do you want to go on this date?”

He blinked rapidly, his cool act quickly diminishing. “Oh! Um, are you available maybe tomorrow evening?”

You giggled. “Yeah, I think my calendar’s clear then.”

“Great!” He beamed. “I can pick you up here at 5?”

You nodded. “That works.”

“Cool, cool,” he nodded. “Um… I guess I’ll get out of your hair then, let you close up the shop and all.”

You shrugged. “I don’t mind, you’re certainly not a bother.”

He beamed. “Well, I could help if you want?”

You laughed. “I mean, sure. How do you feel about sweeping?”

You switched the sign to closed as Jisung began sweeping the floor. Even though you’d closed with your employee a few times, doing it with Jisung felt different. It was still so easy to talk to him, and even though he needed some guidance with your closing tasks, it was honestly fun.

As you locked up the store, Croissant safely tucked away for the journey home, Jisung lingered nearby, shifting from foot to foot.

“Um, I could walk you home if you’d like?” He offered. 

“I’m sure it’s out of your way,” you countered.

He shrugged. “I don’t mind… I like spending time with you.”

“And you're not worried about being spotted or something?”

He slipped a face mask on and put his hood up. “People don’t usually notice me when I’m by myself.”

“Then sure,” you smiled, “I wouldn’t mind the company. Especially when they’re cute.”

He spluttered, and even with the mask on you could see the blush on his face. “Not as cute as you.”

You blushed in return. "Up for debate."

“Well we can debate then, on our date tomorrow,” Jisung offered.

You laughed. “I’m looking forward to it.”