Author notes at the end

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Taehyung was feeling a little stiff and sore as he walked. In addition to his palm and knees there were other bruises beginning to make themselves known around his back and sides.

He placed a hand against his hip, rubbing his way around to his stomach to ease some of the discomfort when he realised his jacket was feeling a bit on the light side. His hand dove into his pocket and he let out a groan when he found it empty.

"Crap..." he said, stopping in his tracks.

He sucked in a sharp breath then skimmed his fingers urgently over the skin of his collar, exhaling only when he located the chain of his teardrop necklace.

At least he didn't lose that.

His wallet though...

It must have fallen out when he'd tripped over his new sidekick. The dog, who was now looking at him... with judgement in his eyes. Probably wondering why he'd stopped.

Were dogs usually that expressive?

He twisted a little to look behind him. "Should we go back?" Taehyung contemplated aloud and for some reason this made the dog balk unhappily as if he'd understood him.

Taehyung quickly pushed the crazy idea out of his mind.

He's a dog, Taehyung. Of course he doesn't understand you!

The wind suddenly picked up, making the fallen leaves around them pirouette into the air and the dog grew even more agitated at this. His nostrils flaring and back arching in alarm, which put Taehyung on edge.

He glanced back at the dark recesses of the park once more, biting his lip. "Leave it, Taehyung," he uttered to himself. "Just leave it."

Turning back around, he started speed walking, while the dog threw suspicious looks over its shoulder and skirted around every bush they passed like it were going to eat him.

After about five minutes they reached the footpath across the road to his work, located just opposite the park. The dog seemed a bit shell-shocked to see all the traffic and buildings. Sticking closely to Taehyung as they crossed the street and headed to the restaurant via the back alley staff entrance.

Taehyung went in, leaving the alley door open and the dog outside then headed for his locker. He'd just pulled it open when, Solar, one of the waitresses, cornered him.

"Tae! Where have you been? I've been covering for you and-" she began, but then gasped and grasped has wrist. "-your hand! You're bleeding."

She tried to touch it but Taehyung pulled away so she couldn't irritate the wound.

"It's not a big deal." He turned around and shrugged out of his jacket. "What's it like out there?"

The blonde let out a discontented sound and leaned against the lockers beside his. "A complete bitch. All the business men and couples are out in full force, and Chefs on the rampage about every little thing," she sulked.

Taehyung closed his locker and opened another, pulling out a first aid kit. "Sounds about right," he grumbled as he placed it on a nearby counter.

Solar looked around discreetly then leaned toward him. "I've broken two wine glasses so far and Chefs already said he's gonna dock them out of my pay. Did the same thing to Hani for dropping a full plate of sushi. Pretty soon we're gonna be paying him to work here," she complained lowly and Taehyung grimaced.

On busy nights like this, breaking things wasn't a possibility. It was an inevitability.

His boss was such a prick.

Not bothering to wait for a response, Solar quickly changed the subject, "What happened to you anyway?" she asked, watching Taehyung with narrowed eyes as he slapped on a plaster.

"I lost my wallet and found myself a new boyfriend," he replied.

Solar's face lit up- always a sucker for gossip. "No way, you got a man!? Shame about the wallet- though who cares about that right now! Sis, you got a mans! Who is he!?"

Taehyung snickered and nodded at the doorway, where the dog was waiting with his head peeked into the room and his tail between his legs; looking a bit overwhelmed.

Solar squealed, hurrying over. "Omo a dog!? Aren't you just the cutest!" She crouched by him and started petting him. "What a cutie, yes you are! Aren't you! Yes. You. Are!"

Taehyung walked up behind them. "I collided with him in the park but I think he's okay," he told her. "He's not bleeding or anything."

"He seems fine to me!" Solar agreed, squishing his cheeks and the dog looked both baffled and tortured, "Just don't let Chef see him in here."

After a moment she let go of him and turned to Taehyung, expectant. "What's the cuties name?"

"Um I don't know. Dog? He hasn't got a collar."

"Well you cant just keep calling him dog," she berated, then stared at the pooch for a long moment. "He looks like a Prince."

Taehyung's head quirked at that, looking at the dog with interest.

Prince?

He took note of his healthy physique, shiny golden coat and handsome canine features. Solar was right. It suited him.

"I like it," Taehyung quipped then pat him on the head. "Hello, Prince. Do you mind if we call you that?"

The dog preened and Taehyung smiled at him as Solar got up and grabbed a half eaten hamburger off one of the plates a staff member had left inside the room. She offered it to Prince who turned his nose up at it in disgust.

Solar glanced at Taehyung in surprise but he only shrugged and circled around the dog, pushing him gently inside and past the kitchen.

He didn't pretend to understand the dogs strange behaviour. He wasn't sure he really wanted to.

When they arrived at the store room, Taehyung switched on the light, revealing a small space of cluttered shelves containing large restaurant quality cans of everything from beef stock to lima beans.

Prince stopped at the door, reluctant to go in, so Taehyung had to push him through. His furry butt sliding along the shiny tiled floor until he was sat in the middle.

"Now don't make a sound," Taehyung warned, crouching in front of him as the dog looked on beseechingly. "I'll come back when I can and check on you."

Prince barked so Taehyung bopped him on the nose. "Shhh! or I'll put you outside," he threatened, but softened when Prince quietened and looked at him with sad, droopy eyes.

What was it about this dog that got to him so much?

Taehyung pat him on the head then stood up. "I'll be back soon," he said, then left the room without looking back so he wouldn't feel so bad.

He plucked the keys off the wall and locked the door behind him, making sure Prince- with that sharp brain of his, wouldn't get out. Then he grabbed a notepad and pen from the kitchen and headed out into the crowd.

Hani was running around like a headless chicken, clearing plates and wiping down tables so waiting customers could sit down, and Solar was chatting to a group of girls, sprouting off the dishes from the specials board. Taehyung spotted an unattended table; a male sitting there peering around impatiently as his female companion scrolled through her phone.

Taehyung made his way over and when he arrived the male huffed.

"Yo, dude. Bout time. We've been waiting for ages," he snarked and Taehyung plastered on a polite smile, flipping open his note pad.

"Can I have a name for the check?"

"Lim Jaebum," he answered curtly, then just as he started to tell him their order Taehyung heard a muffled crash from one of the back rooms.

Taehyung's head snapped around. Cursing under his breath, he tucked his notebook into his belt and sped off. Leaving his customer red faced and shouting after him.

Taehyung paid him no mind- too worried about damages the dog may have caused that he would have to pay for, as he hurriedly took the keys out of his pocket and jogged back to the storage, unlocking the door.

He swung it open and inside- a broken jar had sent glass everywhere, and beside it a container of flour had been upended and its contents spread all over the floor. Covering the surface like crystal snow.

Taehyung looked around, peeved, as the dog stood beside the mess. His tail waving hesitantly.

"That's it, if you're going to be a brat I'm putting you outside and-"

Taehyung froze when he spied a word crudely scraped into the spilled flour.

Danger

Taehyung stared at it for a minute then rolled his eyes. "Har Har, very funny, Solar, you can come out now!" he called out.

He looked around, preparing himself but froze again when he realised that he was holding the only set of storage room keys in his hand.

Feeling a little silly he said to the dog, "I don't suppose you wrote that, did you?"

Prince barked and Taehyung backed up a little.

His eyes darted to Prince's feet, frowning when he saw his right paw was covered in flour. He and Prince looked at each other, holding each others gazes for a very long time. Finally, he decided to give in to the freakiness of it all.

"Bark once," he ordered.

Prince barked once, and Taehyung scoffed at the lucky co-incidence.

He put his hands on his hips. "Okay, then smartass. Bark twice," he challenged but then jumped backwards when Prince did as was asked; wagged his tail then glanced pointedly at the flour patch that had been scribbled on.

Taehyung started laughing hysterically. Hands cradling his temples as he paced the room. "Alright, so you fell over and probably cracked your head without realising, and now you're in hospital- on sedatives or morphine. That's clearly the only reasonable explanation for this-"

Prince barked again and Taehyung paused, nervously licked his lips then lowered down. Staring into those eyes that looked far too bright, far too intelligent to belong to any ordinary dog.

"Can... can you understand everything I'm saying?" he asked quietly, and when Prince barked again Taehyung scuttled back until his back met a wall. His heart palpitating so hard he thought it might cave a hole in his chest.

Okay, Taehyung. Chill. The dog says there's danger so you've got to hear him out, no matter how insane it seems.

Taehyung used the wall to steady himself as he rose to his feet. "Who's in danger?" he asked. "Both of us?"

This time, instead of barking, Prince carefully grabbed the hem of his shirt between his teeth and pulled him toward the door.

And try as he might there was no mistaking the dogs message.

Prince wanted him to leave. With him. Which meant that they were both in danger.

From what, he couldn't be sure. But then Taehyung had a funny feeling that after tonight he'd never be completely sure of anything again.

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Quiz - Did you catch the song reference? (hint, it's not danger)

Solar (Mamamoo) - The dog fetish waitress
Hani (EXID) - The sushi dropper
Lim Jaebum (Got7) - The impatient customer

I got feedback that some of my chapter titles won't make sense if you don't read the summaries, so I changed some of them 😊
They're still fairytales but will just be better suited to what's actually in the chapter.

Any questions? Feel free!

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Summary for the title fairytale...

Mischievous Dog ~ Aesop

There lived a young dog that was very mischievous. He used to run up quietly and bite everyone without notice. Due to his biting habit, his master suspended a bell around his neck so that it could tell about his presence. Sometimes he also fastened a chain around his neck which was attached to a heavy clog. This enabled him not to be so quick at biting people's heels. The dog thought that the bell and the clog were part of his beauty. So, he grew proud of his bell and clog. One day, an old dog said to him, "Why are you so proud of yourself? That belland clog that you carry are on the contrary, marks of disgrace, a public notice to all men to avoid you as an ill- mannered dog."

|Named for Seokjin's interactions with Taehyung|