I'M A BELIEVER.

Based on the song, I'm a believer by The Monkees. Yixing thinks a love-bug is off to get him XD

Genres: Author's own brand of garbage; doesn't even qualify as crack.

Word Count: 1559

Three things in my life have been constant through-out – my small collection of checkered shirts, that I have managed to wear since high-school to adulthood because my mother had been considerate enough to get me over-sized ones I could fit into when older and broader; my bothersome cat that I named after a legendary musician so I would seem cool to my other friends, who didn’t really approve of domesticating an animal as evil as they claimed my cat, Elvis was and the last one was my firm belief in love and its non-existence.

I firmly believed that love didn’t exist. It simply wasn’t meant to exist. Love is something which should be reserved for the fairy-tales that conned young girls into thinking that a true love’s kiss could solve anything. If Newton would have been waiting under the apple tree expecting a true love’s kiss, we would have still been living in an antiquated, outmoded world.

I would have carried on living my monotonous life with no qualms when my best-friend, Minseok came over. Elvis purred acknowledging the intruder for a minute before going back to his routine napping schedule, which probably occupied more than half of his day. The other half was meant for eating; Elvis ate almost anything, so I don’t have to bother with throwing away the left-over food.

Minseok didn’t wait for me to ask the purpose behind his visit, he had already started narrating his inconsequential, uninspiring story until my ears perked up to the word he had just uttered. Did I hear that right?

Minseok was looking at me expectantly; his lips stretched into a wide grin that made him resemble a quirky, animated cat. Or maybe that was just my with cats speaking; Elvis never bothered to smile though. If I had to draw a caricature of him, he would have a huge frown – like the one Garfield always had, well except for when he kicked Odie in the rear or ate food. There I go with my cat again.

Now that we are already on it, let me tell you that Elvis looked nothing like Garfield – mother couldn’t afford to buy us a ginger-furred, obese cat instead we had to settle for a malnourished stray one from the streets. His famished state hadn’t lasted long; weeks within adopting him, he had managed to clean out everything from the refrigerator. So, I suppose that did make a little like Garfield.

Coming back to Minseok, his smile hadn’t faltered. He still looked at me like someone had ‘paused’ him like the television screen when they had to attend to nature’s call. I realized how I had come to discuss about cats now - Minseok’s outlandish expression; which reminds me, I have to react. So, I reacted. I looked at him as if he had said the most preposterous thing ever.

Minseok, who thought I hadn’t heard the first time as I was busy, ironing my plaid blue shirt, repeated himself.

“I think I’m in love,” he uttered with the same quirky-animated-cat-expression.

“Are you certain, Minseok?” I asked in disbelief. Wait, did this mean I had to change my notion about love because Minseok usually wasn’t the one to fall prey to any fraudulent matter.

“Of course, I am. What kind of a question is that?” he scoffed. And I could sense his irritation.

Perhaps, I should change my theory. Love wasn’t reserved to fairy-tales, it could happen in real life but it just wasn’t meant for me.

*

Did I ever mention that we lived in a diminutive, insignificant town where everyone knew each other?

I had decided to casually stroll down the streets, hoping to grab some groceries on the way, when I ran into Jongin. Being the polite, courteous person I was raised to be, I exchanged pleasantries with the tall boy, who just nodded and grinned in return. What bothered me was the expression on his face; it was same dreamy, quirky-cat expression; which got me scared instinctively.

It meant only one thing. And Jongin confirmed it for me.

It had taken me every inch of self-restraint to not hyperventilate. This wasn’t a matter of no import; this was a grave, solemn predicament that was headed our way and it was taking over the town like an epidemic. This was probably worse the first outbreak of plague in France, during Louis XVI’s reign.

It was the love bug and it was going to get me.

This lov