He was in a deep slumber, until he heard a soft voice calling his name.  He recognized the voice as his grandmothers and got up to go see what she wanted.  It was very rare that she was up before he was, however he was greatly tired from the previous night.  He opened the door of his bedroom to see his grandmother standing right in front of him. 

 

"Good morning grandma," Wonwoo said while attempting to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, "is everything alright?"

 

"Oh, yes; everything is fine it's just," his grandmother seemed to be slightly startled, "you have visitors."

 

"W-what do you mean?"

 

"There are some boys at our door, saying that they know you and that you're their friend."

 

"Who would-", Wonwoo finally understand what was happening, "oh."

 

He quickly walked past his grandmother and opened the door to the apartment; just as he had though, the 7 boys from the day before stood outside.  

 

"Good morning Cat," Mingyu said with a bright smile. 

 

"Ah, um g-good morning Mingyu," Wonwoo was completely shocked, "m-may I ask why you're here?"

 

"Well, we were bored, we thought of you, Jeonghan told us where you lived, and now we're here!  Aren't you happy to see us?"

 

"Um, I'm not quite sure 'happy' is the correct word to use right now...maybe, stunned?  Suprised, shocked, confused, yes those work, but not quite happy."  

 

"Well then, we must get you happy!"

 

Mingyu and the boys shoved right past Wonwoo and into his home.  They walked over to his grandmother, who was sitting in her chair, and immediately introduced themselves. 

 

"You're Wonwoo's grandmother, correct," Mingyu asked, after they had introduced themselves, "We're his friends."

 

"Oh, yes I'm his grandmother," she responded and quickly looked over to Wonwoo, "I thought you didn't have any friends."

 

"We just became friends yesterday," Mingyu said in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

"Oh really?"

 

"Yes!  And Wonwoo is quite good at games."

 

"What kind of games did you play?"

 

Mingyu and the boys went on to explain the game and all that happened in it.  They spoke over each and were all so eager to say what they had in mind that they were practically yelling.  Even with the noise, Wonwoo's grandma listened intently and with a large smile on her face.   

 

"So you guys put on a play," His grandmother questioned with sincere interest.

 

"Yes," Seokmin responded with excitement in his voice, "would you like to see?" 

 

"I'd love to!" 

 

Some of the boys like Mingyu, Seokmin, and Seungkwan were extremely excited; others like Junhui, Minghao, and Jeonghan weren't so enthusiastic, but they were willing to do it anyways.  

 

Wonwoo took a seat on the floor, next to his grandmothers chair, and waited  for the performance to start.  The boys started an improvisational dialogue and it carried on from there; there was a lot of jokes and even some body gags, Wonwoo and his grandmother enjoyed every second.   They soon ended the performance, but Wonwoo was a bit eager for more. 

 

"Can you sing," Wonwoo asked enthusiastically, "I'm sure my grandmother would love it; isn't that right grandma?" 

 

"Oh absolutely," his grandma exclaimed with great anticipation, "I'd love to hear you boys sing."

 

Without a moment of hesitation, Seungkwan burst into song and the other boys followed suit.  They all had lovely voices, but Wonwoo seemed to only hear Mingyu.  He didn't know why he enjoyed the voice so much, but he did; he felt as if he could listen to it forever and never grow weary of it.  It was gorgeous. 

 

All was going well until his grandmother began to cough.  She tried to hide it, but eventually she broke into a such a massive coughing fit that it was the only noise left in the room; all singing and smiling had ceased.  

 

"Grandma," Wonwoo said with a great amount of worry in his voice, "are you alright?  How can I help?" 

 

The coughing only continued. 

 

"Perhaps she needs to rest," Mungyu suggested, obviously concerned as well, "or maybe something to drink?" 

 

"I think you're right," Wonwoo said in agreement.  He helped his grandmother to her feet before Mingyu rushed over and took her arm for support.  

 

"The bedrooms are back there, correct," Mingyu asked Wonwoo while pointing down the small hallway; Wonwoo nodded in confirmation.  "I'll lead her to her bedroom so she can rest, how about you get her some water?" 

 

Wonwoo immediately went into the kitchen and fetched a glass of water. He had seen his grandmother go into fits of coughing, but never quite like that; it filled him with an immense amount of concern.  He quickly went to his grandmothers room, where Mingyu already had her in her bed propped up against some pillows.  Mingyu grabbed the glass of water from Wonwoo's hand and brought it to the grandmothers mouth. 

 

"Here, drink this," Mingyu told her while gently tipping the cup so that the liquids could enter .  

 

"Thank you very much," Wonwoo's grandmother said; her coughing seemed to have almost ceased completely.  "I think I'm going to rest for a bit, if that's okay with you boys." 

 

"Oh of course.; rest all you need to.  Is it okay if we take Wonwoo out for a little while, or maybe even keep him for the night?" 

 

"What," Wonwoo asked with a suprised tone, "I never agreed to going out, let alone staying out all night." 

 

"I think that's a lovely idea," the grandmother said in agreement to Mingyu's previous request, "Wonwoo dear, you could use some time out of the house."

 

"Then it's settled," Mingyu said in satisfaction, "we'll take Wonwoo and you can rest.  Feel better grandma."

 

Wonwoo said his farewells briefly before Mingyu grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the apartment; the other boys followed them.  There was silence while walking, other than asking Jeonghan for directions every once in a while, and they were reaching Wonwoo's school and the woods surrounding it. 

 

"Thank you guys for being so kind to my grandmother," Wonwoo said to the 7 other bodies that accompanied him. 

 

"It's no problem," Mingyu assured him, "it's nice having adults that are polite."

 

"What do you mean?" 

 

"At the orphanage, all the adults were rude; nobody ever got treated well there." 

 

"I got treated quite well," a voice was heard, it was soon to be figured out that the voice belonged to Sungcheol; he, Soonyoung, Hansol, Jinhoon and Jisoo had been hanging around the school.  "Perhaps they just didn't like you, Mingyu."

 

 

"We used to go to the orphanage together," Sungcheol said with an arrogant smile, "we loved it there didn't we Mingyu?" 

 

Mingyu gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist; it was obvious he didn't have the love for the orphanage that Sungcheol did. 

 

"Remember all the fun times we had," Sungcheol teased as he took a couple steps towards Mingyu. 

 

"I remember you turning my pain into fun," Mingyu spoke through a tightened jaw.

 

"Awww, I was just playing around.  It couldn't have hurt that bad." 

 

"You wouldn't know; you were the one inflicting pain, not receiving it."

 

Sungcheol walked forward and put his arm on Mingyu's should, "can't you forgive me? Huh?  I mean we were kids."

 

Mingyu was quick to shove Sungcheol's arm off of him. 

 

"You always did hold grudges, Mingyu.  Maybe that's why I got adopted and you didn't."  

 

"I think it's time we leave," Mingyu turned towards the woods and walked off in hopes that they could get to the cabin without any other conflict.  The other boys were following, until Mingyu felt something hit the back of his head.  He stopped dead in his tracks; the other boys turned around to see, not Sungcheol, but Jihoon with a rock in his hand.  

 

"Just keep walking," Mingyu ordered as he continued moving forward.  

 

"This isn't right," Junhui growled, "we've never backed down from a fight." 

 

"It's different now.  We have Cat with us and we need to protect him; we can't give him back to his grandma all beaten up." 

 

"Then you take care of Cat." 

 

Junhui turned around and charged Jihoon; tackling him upon contact.  Minghao immediately ran after Junhui to try and pry him off of Jihoon, but Hansol was quick to attack Minghao and distract him of his original target.  

 

"Seungkwan, take Cat and go to the cabin," Mingyu ordered as he ran off, but Seungkwan had already charged towards the fight as well.  

 

Wonwoo stood in horror at the sight of the fight; he hated violence.  His hands were shaking and his heart beating at a faster rate than normal.  He didn't know what to do, he couldn't fight, but he wanted to help so badly.  Ultimately Jisoo ran off and left the fight 7 to 4.  Minghao had managed to get Junhui and drug him towards where Wonwoo was.  Seeing that Junhui was taken out of the fight and Jihoon was in no condition to fight any further, the boys one by one returned to Wonwoo.  Mingyu was the last one to come back to the scared boy, but he didn't stop, he walked straight past the group of young men and on towards the cabin.

 

Wonwoo was in the back of the group slowly following the other boys.  He quickened his pace just enough to catch up to Jeonghan.

 

"Will Mingyu be mad at Junhui," Wonwoo questioned in a small voice; careful that the two boys mentioned wouldn't hear. 

 

"Not at all," Jeonghan assured him with a small smile, "I'm suprised Junhui went after them before Mingyu, usually he's the one to charge first.  Mingyu won't be mad at Junhui; Minghao however.....well he's a bit of a pacifist.  He won't be too happy with Junhui." 

 

Wonwoo looked to his side and saw Minghao giving Junhui one of the most threatening stares he had ever seen.  He looked back towards Jeonghan and now fully understood what he had meant.  They reached the cabin and the boys immediately walked inside to clean up the small wounds the had acquired during the fight.  The cabin was bigger than it seemed from the outside, but still not big.  There were three beds on the floor and a small loft up above which also contained a bed.  There was a little sink and a small table with chairs around it; Wonwoo presumed that was where they usually ate.  The entire place was a bit worn down and far from luxurious, but it felt comfortable.  It felt like a home.  

 

As soon as the boys were all cleaned up, they decided to play another game.  They played Bullets and Mingyu won; Wonwoo tripped and got hit with multiple acorns at the same time.  He looked up and saw 4 of the boys up in the trees around him; they decided that Wonwoo's tactic was effective and wanted to try it themselves.  They got back to the cabin and played other miscellaneous games, occasionally singing, and then Minghao and Jeonghan started to make supper.  

 

"Mingyu why don't you help," Jeonghan offered while getting the dishes from inside the cabin and bringing them to Minghao, "you're a good cook." 

 

"I am a good cook," Mingyu admitted, he was laying in an X position on the porch "but I also really don't want to help."

 

"You're so lazy." 

 

"Am not!  I'm just not helpful." 

 

"At least he admits his flaws," Chan joked while dancing around with Seokmin.  

 

As they ate as the sun went down and once they were done, they decided it was good time to go to sleep.  They walked inside and Wonwoo was immediately forced to ask the question he had been avoiding. 

 

"Umm guys," Wonwoo said in an attempt to get the other boys' attention, "where am I supposed to sleep?" 

 

It was obvious that the others hadn't thought of the answer either, judging by the widening of their eyes.  

 

"We've already got two people in each bed," Seungkwan pointed out. 

 

"Not in mine," Mingyu noted as he pointed towards the loft, "he can sleep in my bed with me." 

 

"When I asked to sleep up there you told me no!" 

 

"That's cause you just wanted to sleep up there; it wasn't necessary.  Now it's necessary.  We can't make Cat sleeping on the floor now can we?" 

 

"Well actually we could," Junhui said which earned a smack on the back of his head from Minghao. 

 

"But we're not going to," Minghao said while shooting daggers at Junhui. 

 

"Okay I think it's time we all get some rest," Jeonghan said, desperate to stop any tension from rising.  

 

The boys crawled into the three beds; Seokmin with Seungkwan, Junhui with Minghao, and Jeonghan, after he had blown out all candles, with Chan.  Mingyu climbed the latter which led to the loft and Wonwoo shyly followed suit.  Mingyu layed down and lifted the blankets for Wonwoo to get under them.  Once he did Mingyu muttered a small "goodnight", turned his back to Wonwoo and shut his eyes.  

 

Wonwoo tried to go to sleep, he really did, he just couldn't.  Too many things were on his mind; was his grandma okay all by herself?  Was Sungcheol really that awful to Mingyu in the orphanage?  Why was Mingyu so kind to Wonwoo and his grandmother?  Why was he sleeping, or trying to, in the same bed as a person he had just met the previous day?  Wonwoo layed awake for a couple hours doing nothing, but thinking; then he felt the body next to him began to shift.  Mingyu rolled over to face Wonwoo and slowly opened his eyes. 

 

"Are you still awake," Mingyu asked in a sleepy voice. 

 

"Yeah," Wonwoo answered, whispering, careful not to wake the others. 

 

"Why?" 

 

"Just thinking." 

 

"About what?" 

 

"Stuff." 

 

"What sort of stuff?" 

 

"Are you always so nosy?" 

 

"Most would call it caring and concerned, but I guess nosy works as well." 

 

Wonwoo sighed, he didn't want to tell Mingyu everything he was thinking, but he knew that the other would not stop asking until he got an answer.

 

"Can I ask you a question," Wonwoo asked in a still hushed tone.  

 

"You know, I would make a joke about how you already asked me a question, but we're both too tired for that, so yes," Mingyu said with a small smile on his face. 

 

"Why are you so nice to me?  And my grandma?"

 

"You're my Cat, and your grandma is my Cat's grandma; it just makes sense to be nice.  And being rude won't do any good." 

 

"You know, it feels weird when you refer to me as an animal....."

 

"I'm not saying you are a cat, I'm saying your name is Cat." 

 

"I still think it's a weird name." 

 

"It's not if you knew why I call you that." 

 

"I thought you called me Cat cause I was soft....."

 

"Do you honestly think that was the only reason?" 

 

Wonwoo stopped and thought a little before shifting to lay on his side and face Mingyu, "well what's the other reason?" 

 

"Do you remember when Sungcheol said we went to the orphanage together," Mingyu asked, just to clarify.  

 

"Yes." 

 

"Well, before Sungcheol got adopted, there was this cat that used to hang out around the orphanage.  Sungcheol was....not a good kid, to say the least, and he would always kick and hit the cat." 

 

"So I'm Cat because Sungcheol beats me up?"

 

"No.  You're Cat because I took the cat away from Sungcheol one day and took care of it.  I didn't have any friends at the orphanage, except for that cat.  You're Cat because I want to take care of you and make you my friend." 

 

"Thank you." 

 

"For what?" 

 

"For wanting to be my friend." 

 

Mingyu smiled before sliding  towards Wonwoo a bit; he put his arm around the others shoulder and pulled him closer.  

 

"Goodnight Cat," Mingyu whispered softly while closing his eyes.  

 

"Goodnight Mingyu," Wonwoo replied.   

 

Wonwoo fell asleep quickly after their conversation.