Catch The Stars

Chapter 15

Now, Jennie isn't comparing Kuma to a human baby.

But then again, he is, because when Ka hurts herself today, Jennie feels like the scared sixteen year old she was back with Haneul, and she panics.

They weren't even doing anything dangerous. Jennie just happened to get distracted by a car passing them to notice Kuma trying to crawl through the metal fence Jennie usually keeps him away from because it is barbed for some kind of reason.

She hears the dog whimper and she snaps her head around in concern, the blood drains from her face, because the fur on Kuma's back is starting to soak with blood.

Jennie kneels down next to the dog, hands shaking from where they're hovering above her back uncertainly, and Kuma's pained and scared whimpers almost shatter her heart.

"H- Hey buddy, it's okay," Jennie tries to calm the dog down, petting her head where she isn't injured. "Kuma, let me look." Jennie starts tearing up for some reason, feeling like this is Haneul which is so stupid but she never wanted to deal with something like this again.

She never wanted to deal with the feeling of someone getting hurt under her care again.

There's a cut running from the back of Kuma's neck down to her shoulders, maybe three inches long, but it must be deep from how much it's bleeding.

"Okay," She takes a calming breath, blinking away the tears in her eyes and trying to clear her mind. "Okay, buddy, come on."

Jennie ends up carrying Kuma in her arms because the dog can't walk, still whimpering softly against Jennie's chest.

She runs Into Nayeon when she's nearing their house, and the smile slips right off the girl's face when she sees the blood covering Kuma's fur.

"Oh, no. Jennie, what happened?" Nayeon asks, eyes wide with concern.

"He cut himself on a wire," Jennie explains, voice wavering a bit. "Do you- Is there a vet somewhere around here?"

Nayeon's eyes flicker around like she's thinking really hard and she hastily nods her head. "Yes! Yeah there's one in the village a little further up ahead. It's like, a five minute's drive! I mean, she isn't technically a vet but she can treat wounds, there was a horse with a broken leg once and she-"

"Nayeon!"

"Right, yeah, sorry," Nayeon sheepishly says, already tugging on Jennie's arm.

"Do you have a car?" Jennie asks, because she can drive but her grandmother doesn't own a car.

"No, but Y/n can drive you!" Nayeon is guiding Jennie towards the opposite direction of her grandma's house

"Is she home?"

"I saw her just a minute ago. Guess she left work early today."

Jennie is so worried over Kuma in her arms that she doesn't even think about the previous night, not until she's standing in front of Y/n's house and said girl steps out after Nayeon bangs on the door like a madman.

"What the hell's your problem?" Y/n grumbles, eyes moving from Nayeon to Jennie, which is when the irritation fades from her features, replaced by something that would have Jennie's heart lurching in her chest in any other situation. The gentle look in Y/n's eyes disappears as soon as she notices Kuma in Jennie's arms, stepping closer with a frown. "What happened?"

"He cut herself ," Jennie rushes out, cheeks flaring with heat when Y/n takes in the unshed tears in Jennie's eyes. "We gotta take her to the vet. Can you- Can you drive us? I know you're probably tired-"

"Yeah," Y/n interrupts. "Yeah, get in the car."

So Y/n drives them to the vet, and Jennie sits in the back of her pickup truck with Kuma in her lap, trying to calm the scared dog down by petting his head and pressing kisses into his fur.