Kris stood in front of the bordeaux red door that led into the 'Hybrid Café' and squinted his eyes. He looked at the welcome sign, the 'o' in welcome much bigger than the other letters and looking like a yin and yang symbol with the white part normal and the black one with a ear. The white 'eye' was formed like a cateye, the outer side of the symbol looking like fur, blown by the wind. He questioned his true level of stupidity. He should have known better than to agree to go to a cafe with his friend Jongdae, especially when the other had just texted him the address on his phone and told him to meet him there. He wasn't too fond of these cute, pink cafés that only girls visited, like these cat or dog cafés where you could play with the animals while getting hair in your drinks and all over your clothes. And this one looked a bit like one of those, although he had to admit he couldn't imagine hybrids letting people pet themselves. He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his thin autumn coat and opened the message app.

To: Jongdumb
From: Kris

Where are u? U r late!

Kris sighed and stepped aside to let two women past so they could enter the cafe, probably college students, and leaned against the wall next to the door. Just as he decided he would leave and use his time for something meaningful, like returning home to finish organizing his bills, his phone vibrated.

From: Jongdumb
To: Kris

Sorry, running l8. Wait for me inside.

Kris frowned and thought about just leaving and abandoning Jongdae's sorry . He could just leave.

"Yeah right", he grumbled under his breath and opened the door, walking inside, "ain't no one risking his life by not being there when they promised to Jongdae..."

He was greeted by bright, yellow light flooding the enormous room and a nice warmth, creating a cosy atmosphere. His first impression was a feeling of comfort and home. There were huge windows at the right side and the back of the wide room, that Kris hadn't realised belonged to the cafe, when he had walked down the street outside. In front of every window was a wide windowsill, covered with blankets and cushions and even some people sitting on them while drinking coffee and observing the people outside. There were big tables and small tables everywhere in the room, some tucked away in corners or behind a pillar and others standing in the middle of the room, inviting people to sit down and enjoy a hot cup of coffee and read one of the magazines stacked in newspaper holders in different places, to escape the cold, rainy weather outside for a bit. He was surprised to say the least. It wasn't what he had imagined it to be like at all. The walls were painted in soft caramel and brown tones, letting the bordeaux colored windows stick out. 'Same colour as the door...' There weren't too many people around right now, probably because it was the early afternoon on a Wednesday and a few waiters and waitresses were tending to the customers. A long barista bar stood a few feet from the door at the left side and ran along almost the whole side of the café. Huge, was the only thing that came to Kris' mind to describe it. Two men stood behind the bar, one with his back turned to Kris and one leaning on the counter, chatting away with a customer. He noticed the one facing away from him seemed human while the other had a pair of adorable little antlers peeking out of the caramel coloured hair on his head. 'A deer hybrid?'

Kris moved towards the bar and stood in front of it, slightly amazed by the huge variety of cakes, cookies, tarts and what more behind the glass, each neatly placed on a beautiful but simple plate or Étager, some with icing on top or glazed with chocolate, others without. It looked delicious.

"What can I get you?"

Kris lifted his gaze to look in the eyes of a rather small, brown haired man with hamster like cheeks and shiny brown eyes. He noticed the man's perfectly styled hair and toned arms showing where he had rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up. 'Xiumin' stood on the nameplate pinned to the bordeaux colored apron. The man smiled and a set of beautiful white teeth showed.

"Uhhmm... Could I have a coffe please? To drink here..."

Kris wondered why he had voiced it, so that it seemed that he wouldn't get any coffee here, which he obviously would and smiled a little akwardly at the man, Xiumin, who was grinning at him over the counter before he looked around the café again and eyed the cakes. They sure looked yummy.

"Sure thing. What kind of coffee would you like?"

Kris blinked a few times before he understood and laughed.

"Ahh sorry, sorry. I'm a bit distracted by your cake selection. They seem to scream at me to buy them all."

Xiumin grinned and nodded his head.

"Tell me about it! It's terrible, working back here and trying not to steal some all the time."

Kris grinned back. "I can imagine."

They both laughed and Kris was a bit astonished at how friendly and warm the employees, the whole atmosphere, seemed. Or at least Xiumin. Not like in other cafés he had experienced...

"I think... I'll have a Cappuccino please."

Xiumin nodded and smiled again.

"No problem. You can go sit down if you like, one of the waiters will bring it to you in a minute."

Kris nodded and left for a table with a 'thanks'. He chose one close to one of the windows on the right side of the café and sat down on the soft cushion on the wooden chair, making sure he could see the door and with that Jongdae, if he ever decided to show up.

"Here's your Cappuccino, Sir", a soft voice said.

A dark brown cup on a cream coloured plate was set in front of him on the wooden table and Kris lifted his head to smile at the waiter. He did smile. But froze. 'Woaaahh... so handsome!' In front of him stood a tall, raven haired man. His eyes looked dark and mysterious, the dark bags underneath them not making him look tired but a bit dangerous. The pair of black, beautifully arched brows over his eyes made him look sharp and intelligent. The man's lips were a light red and full and Kris wondered if they felt as soft as they looked. He let his eyes wander down, noticing the other's incredibly sharp jawline and the big nose, just the right size to take some of the sharpness from his face and making him look a bit softer, as Kris thought. He seemed like he did sports. The bare arms looked like he worked out, but not too much. His whole figure made him look fit, fast, almost like a... cat. That's when he noticed the black tail with the white tip swinging back and forth gently as the man turned and walked away to another table. Kris' eyes widened slightly and he shot a glance back at the man's hair. A pair of black cat ears poked out of the carefully styled hair, twitching now and then.

"A cat hybrid..."