[10085]

"Seungcheol! Take out the rubbish!"
"M'kay!"

The rain thuds heavily on the previously hot asphalt floor, and the dust softens and dampens, and the skies droop low into a dull grey. For those who luckily had somewhere to go, they hurriedly ran into their homes or under the bus stop, taking cover from the merciless rain. But as for those who were less fortunate, they only looked up at the sky and lets the wet droplets fall on their faces and trickle down their clothes.

The same sky looks down at a much smaller boy, who dragged out a large binbag.

The boy looked no more than about five, or even six. He wore a large tee that was too big on the sleeves and wore tiny football shorts. His black messy hair was soon to be flattened by the rain and he hops outside the houseyard without his sandals, dragging the bin bag, barely managing to tiptoe and open the bin just outside the suburban house.

The boy grunts, lifting up the binbag as best as he could, jumping up and down so he could see where he was aiming it. But then he heard a small, sad mewl, and he gasps and the bin bag tumbles down, spilling its contents everywhere.

"... Kitty?" the boy gasps.

He jumps up, trying to see over the bin. But it tips over itself and the boy falls along, letting out an 'oof!' as he thuds into the grass. The small mewls follow, and the boy cringes at the rubbish that now surrounded him, already thinking of the different scenarios that his mother was going to make.

But the thoughts flew out of the window as he saw the small cat lying amongst the litter. It was very small, a creamy orange colour with white socks and teeny whiskers, but so wet and damp that it looked so chilled and cold to the core. How it ended up in the bin, the boy had no idea, but the boy instinctively picks it up by the scruff and cradles it in his arms; in which, the cat strangely complied with.

"Kitty..." the boy whispers, brushing the pad of his thumb onto the kitten's nose. The little animal sneezes and feebly paws on the boy's finger. It looked so lonely and hungry. It might be even dying! Where was its mother?

The boy looked around. He gathered up all the rubbish in sight and tosses them in the bin. He then coos at the cat once more (which mewed rather weakly at him), before deftly tucking it under his shirt and running back home, past his mother whom did not notice of the abnormal bulge that showed through the boy's wet shirt.

The boy barges into his messy bedroom, filled with footie posters and drawings he made in kindergarten. He then worms his way into his blankets with his dripping clothes and takes out the small cat, weak and frail.

"Kitty hungwy?" the boy warbles again. The cat lays on its side, tiredly watching the boy with groggy, brown eyes, glassy and frail. The boy blinks twice at it before he grabbed his packed lunch that he had forgotten to eat at school, pulling out his favourite small milk carton. The pokes the part where he was supposed to put the straw in and drips some of the droplets of milk on his finger, before holding his now milky finger under the kitten's nose.

The kitten sniffs it weakly, before it decided to his finger. And at once, life seems to spark out of the kitten's eyes and it immediately set off to the boy's finger swiftly. It lost interest when it had all the milk off, but the boy proceeds to cup his hand and pour the milk onto his palm. Although it dripped to his sheets and his hand was sticky, the kitten started to purr as it lapped the milk from his hands. When the boy finished the milk from the carton, it now sat up straight animatedly, occasionally swishing its tail at the boy.

"... Kitty, kitty..." the boy giggles, scratching the fur under the cat's jaw. The kitten closes its eyes and the boy saw something that had the slightest trace of movement that formed closest to a smile in the kitten's mouth, and he sets off to giggle again as the kitten nuzzles into his hand, much unexpectedly as cats didn't like being touched by strangers. It was as if the boy had always owned him.

"My name is Cheol." the boy smiles, and pets the kitten's head. "And kitty can be called..."

He thought of it for a while.

"Ji." he chortles. "Ji! Jihoon!"

* * *

So it was. The two syllables that formed out of the boy's mouth was soon to be what I was cooed when I was petted, what I was screamed when I mistook the couch for a litter box, what I was pleaded when they forced me to take a bathe. We all have names in this world so we can identify each and other; and I suppose, that's what makes us special.

He came known to me as Cheol, but of course, as his mother frequently screamed up and down the house, he was Choi Seungcheol. Whilst he was known to others as the boy who excelled at science and sports at school, I personally knew him as the one that saved my life and took me out of a bin, sympathised and fed me and kept me under his shirt for warmth. Perhaps it was just children's attachment to furry things. Had he been any older, he probably would've hoisted me out of the bin and chucked me out elsewhere in the streets.

For the first few days, he kept me hidden under the bed, in a box with a lot of his clothes for comfort, because he was afraid that I would scratch him. But as he spent more time with me, and his childish giggles rang out, he would often take me to sleep on his bed. The quilt smelled musky of cleanliness and something human, but I took comfort in sleeping on the same pillow as he did. Several times I would be squished a little and I would give him a warning signal, but he grins and apologises, moving to make some room for me.

He often talked to me, but he hadn't yet developed the skills to even tell what I was trying to say. Nothing that came out of my jaw makes sense to humans. And whenever I tried to communicate with him, he'd give me a sad smile and scratch me under the chin, saying―sorry, Jihoon, I wish I can understand what you're saying.

I gave his mother a right old fright, by the way. During the day, he goes off into what he calls 'school'―as he explains to me, that it was a place for a collective of human beings to learn together. He keeps me under the bed and pleaded that I wouldn't come out, and as he was so often very kind to me, I obeyed. I sat there in the miserable cardboard box, waiting for him to come home. When I felt the box slide out and light came to view, I thought he had finally came home, and I leapt at him out of habit into his arms so he would hold me close to his chest―but his school jumper felt like cotton silk and whoever I jumped at had screamed the roof down, pushing me to the floor, shrieking―SEUNGCHEOL! SEUNGCHEOL!

It turned out she was trying to clean the boy's room, and had just accidentally stumbled upon me whilst she cleaned the bed. My companion walked up the stairs with a pan in his hand. Perhaps he thought that there had been an intruder in the house. But as he saw me hissing with my fur raised, and his mother shrieking a hullabaloo enough to wake the dead, he simply drops the pan and falls into chortles of laughter.

 Anyhow, as soon as she understood the situation, she rolled her eyes and told Seungcheol that he should let me back out to the wild to find my mother. And of course, instinctively at once, I leapt into his arms and burrowed my head under his shirt for safety.

"No, mom! He's only a widdle kitty!" he said indignantly, his face scrunched up. "The mommy abandoned the kitty! The kitty's mommy was a bad cat, so Cheol is gonna take care of it, unf!"

It took his mother some convincing. At last, she gave up and agreed to keep me. Seungcheol jumps up and down and twirls me until I was dizzy, but he holds me close to his chest and I automatically nuzzle into his neck, and Seungcheol grins triumphantly.

"See? He likes me." he smiles.

For one, I do not really like his mother at all. She was wary of me, afraid that I would break things, and kept me in a cage during the day so that I wouldn't wreck havoc into the house. As if I was any other cat! I find it useless to shatter things for the sheer fun, unless I'd been told to do so (like Seungcheol's makeshift scratch post he made for me, out of old cardboard).

She was quite an old woman. Perhaps Seungcheol had older brothers that had moved out; at least, I had the impression of so when three other persons identical to Seungcheol walked into the house; much burlier and taller that I refused to come out of my boy's bed. But other than her wariness, she treats her son well, although her obsession with cleanliness and her constant screams of Seungcheol downstairs made me a little rigid. But often times, when she has finished cooking and laundry and cleaning the house, she would gently pick me up from the cage and rest me against her lap, and her and pets were much gentler and softer than Seungcheol's.

She often told me stories. I think she was speaking to herself, technically, as she thought that I wouldn't understand. She told me of how she came to divorce Seungcheol's father, or how she sometimes felt lonely when Seungcheol went to school, or how she often thought of what Seungcheol was going to grow up into. I've always listened to her. She was much more sophisticated than Seungcheol, who often talked of footie and his friends and what he did on his day. Still; I always anticipated for the boy who saved me to come home from school and twirl me around until his mother scolded me for making me dizzy, and he'd nuzzle his nose to mine and grin, his eyes full of life.

Sometimes, Seungcheol took me out into the garden to play footie. The ball was twice the size of me then, and I was just a small little thing that fitted inside Seungcheol's shirt. He'd hoist me up under my front legs and make me stand, and he'd move a hind paw and make me kick the wall. I got the idea after a few tries, but I just chased and nuzzled the ball into the goal. Then Seungcheol would cheer and pick me up and danced about, with me rocking in his arms, nuzzling his nose onto my head―good widdle kitty, Ji!

There was one time Seungcheol brought me to school. He was told to bring his most favourite possession, and he couldn't think of anything to bring to school. Then he saw me on his desk, grooming myself on the paw, before I was suddenly yanked and he twirls me round.

"That’s it!" he says excitedly. "Ji! I'm going to bring Jihoon to school!"

Daft boy.

The next day, after he shoved spoonful of cereal into his mouth, he went upstairs and tucked me under his school jumper. His mother didn't suspect a thing and dropped him off, and it was getting very hot in Seungcheol's hold, but I stay still. As soon as he entered the classroom he has so often described to me, the smell of other scents surround me and I clung onto Seungcheol.

The other children came out to showcase their things. Then it was Seungcheol's turn, and he stood up proudly with an abnormal bulge in his stomach (that is me). Then, as if like a magic show, he pulls me out and gently puts me down on the table.

"My favourite thing in the world is Ji!" Seungcheol says.

And then, there's a flurry of colours and everybody was standing around me, petting me and groping me and yanking my tail. At this point, I was getting very fed up with the touching and I leapt on Seungcheol's arms, and he grins as he catches me.

"See? Ji's favourite thing is Cheol, too!" he warbles, and he giggles.

Of course, that was rather short-lived. The human that was dubbed 'teacher' by Seungcheol had called to his mother. Another pair of hands pick me up roughly and I was shoved into a cage, walked into a long set of corridors, and Seungcheol's mother was there, sighing.

She didn't say anything. She only pursed her lips and puts me in the car, on the front seat, still in the cage. She drove the piece of four-wheeled box around, the scenery blurring outside in the window, and she sighs before she laughs.

"Silly Cheol. I don't know how that boy ever managed to sneak you out right under my nose." she chuckles light-heartedly, unexpectedly pleasant as I've expected her to rant the car roof off, as she often screamed at Seungcheol.

She brings me back home again; and, in a rare event, she lets me out of the cage and let me roam wherever I liked. Of course, she watched me out of the corner of her eye in case I would destruct something in my sight. But I only hopped onto the couch and laid on my side, flicking my tail as I watched the funny thing moving in a black box, of which Seungcheol dubbed as 'television'. Then I groomed myself and I fell asleep, and when I woke up, it was in the middle of the night and Seungcheol had tucked me under his shirt, fast asleep, his little mouth parted to let out gentle snores, his face sinking into the pillow, his black hair a messy splay.

Considering how he was then, I didn't think he would grow up onto what he had grown up to be.

Humans are terribly amusing.

* * *

The bell rings. Of course, having living here for a few years, I know what it means: time for food.

I carefully padded down the stairs. Being a larger size now, I was able to stretch my paws down to the next step and hop into another. The black collar around my neck does a little jingle every time I took a step. Seungcheol looms into view in the hallway, and I've forgotten how tall he has grown over the years.

His voice was much deeper, like the dogs next door. He hadn't changed much, except that his jaw was shapely and he towered me like a building. Of course, he was much more sensible, too. He was eating something out of a bag that crinkled a lot, something that looked like thinly sliced potatoes. He pushes a tray to me with his foot.

Ha. Bagged cat food!

I sat there indignantly. Seungcheol gave me those things whenever he wasn't bothered with giving me anything else, like the other cat food from other stores. Those ones are nice. But this one stinks. I couldn't speak the same language he speaks, so I lay on my side and swished my tail so that it was obvious that I wasn't going to eat any of this junk anytime soon.

"Eat, Jihoon." Seungcheol raises an eyebrow. Of course, I didn't budge. Even when he very gently nudged me with his toes, I still didn't move an inch. He grumbles and sighs, and crouches down on the kitchen floor.

"Lay down on my tummy, Jihoon?" Seungcheol pats his stomach, as he slouches onto the cupboard doors. Of course I could never resist that. I hop onto his lap and poked my head underneath his shirt, and he laughed as my head wormed all the way to his collar, the rest of my body stuck in the fabric. I was much bigger now, but I was careful not to sheathe my claws and I could hear his chest rumble.

He picks up one of the pellets, and pinches it between his thumb and index finger, and offers it under my nose. Of course, I was disgusted, and inclined. But Seungcheol looks at me with pleading eyes and I yawn, having no choice but to take that thing into my mouth, morosely chewing it before I swallowed.

"Think you're prestige, eh?" Seungcheol chuckles lowly, and scratches the fur under my chin. "Deserve better food than this junk? Damn right, my Ji deserves all the regal cat food..."

He nuzzles his nose behind my ear.

Seungcheol went quieter and quieter as he grew up. Perhaps because he was getting serious and busy, or that a human's empathy fluctuates uncontrollably. He excelled in sciences and his body was stiff with muscle from constant sports training. He picks up another pellet and holds it up to me, but I shoved my head in his crinkly plastic and pulled out a potato chip, before I tentatively it and decided this was my dinner. Seungcheol lets out a laugh and fed me his food instead, whilst he scratched the back of my head.

"I have a boyfriend, now, you know..." he says absent-mindedly, addressing me. "His name's Jeonghan. He's really pretty. I don't know what momma would think, with me being gay and all that..."

I didn't know what boyfriend meant to Seungcheol, but it sounded like something very important and dear to him. He fumbles something in his pocket and pulls out a black rectangle in which he dubs a 'phone', and light emitted from it before his fingers blur to tap mini squares on the surface, and a picture of a pretty long-haired male popped up. Next to the male, I recognise, was Seungcheol, and his gangly limb was wrapped around the other male's. They look very happy.

"Don't you think he's pretty?" Seungcheol smiles fondly. He had the idea that I agreed. The man was very beautiful in human standards.

"I know we're still in highschool, and all that..." Seungcheol leans onto the cupboard door and sighs. "But I really love him, Ji. Might just be my hormones and I might change my mind later, but it feels like... well, you know?"

Well, no. I don't really know. I never mated with any other cat before. Seungcheol's talking about mates, isn't he? But with humans, they usually stay with their mate for a long long time, and not just a hit-and-run thing. But I knew what he felt, as his chest felt like it rumbled faster. He gazes longingly at the photo for a while before he laughs, messing up my ears.

"Don't worry, Ji. You're still my number one." he grins. I mimicked something that Seungcheol called a 'smile' and I nuzzle into his hand.

* * *

"I hope you're not allergic to cats," I heard Seungcheol's voice echo downstairs, and two pairs of heavy human footsteps coming up the stairs. I peeked and eye open and yawned, stretched my legs, tail in the air. When I open my eyes again, Seungcheol was standing in the doorway. A very pretty human was standing next to him.

He was tall, tall like Seungcheol. His hair was a funny colour. It was grey with purple at the ends, but I find it very oddly pleasing to watch his hair flow on his shoulders. His cardigan was loose on his shirt and he had a very gentle 'smile' on his face, which, if I am correct, signifies happiness (or at least contentedness). This, I imagine, must be the Jeonghan that Seungcheol often talked about.

"You have a cat?" Jeonghan coos, and he runs up to the bed where I sat. I was afraid he was going to roughly pat me down like those children did when Seungcheol brought me to school a few years back, but I was wrong. His hands were very gentle; almost like Seungcheol's mother, but considerately delicately. He brushes his hands on my ears and under my jaw and he did it very gently so that I purred instantly, pushing my face into his hands before I rolled so that he could tickle my tummy.

"Your cat's so cute!" Jeonghan says again, and scratches the fur on my stomach and I felt very giddy and happy. "What's its name?"

"Jihoon." Seungcheol grins, and sits next to me. Although I liked Jeonghan's treatment very much, I rolled back and hopped into Seungcheol's lap, burrowing myself under his shirt before my head peeks from the collar. Jeonghan tinkled softly with laughter and pats my head.

"C'mon, Ji. Jeonghan and I got homework to do." Seungcheol says, and I burrowed my head out and stalked off. They began talking to each other very fast and I, having no interest in human conversations, I stalked off downstairs for food. Seungcheol's mother was in the kitchen, chopping up something, and it smelled very nice in there. I wound my body around her legged and pawed at her skirt, purring, hoping for a tidbit. She notices me and laughs, and she skewered a bit of boiled meat before giving it to me. I took it up happily and she pats my fur.

"I really do hope they're doing their homework, and not just playing video games upstairs." she chuckles, and chucks me another meat piece. I remember Seungcheol's words about his boyfriend―mate―or however humans phrase it, and about how his mother wouldn't approve of his mate. My tail lowers.

"What's wrong, Ji? Upset stomach?" she notices my mood. I stare at her for a long time to give the hint that I was okay and I stalked off again to watch the funny people moving in the black box with antennas.

Then I got bored. Seungcheol usually took me out for footie after school or watch something with me. I pawed my way upstairs again, and squeezed through the door.

Seungcheol was sat on the bed, as well as Jeonghan. Their faces were very close together, and their lips were touching and their eyes were closed, arms around each other's necks. I've seen Seungcheol's mother done it to his son before, but it was a very small quick peck. It was as if they were intent to do the same thing for the next few minutes, as their eyes stayed closed and Seungcheol pushed his face further into Jeonghan. Then at last, they part and their eyes open, and Jeonghan looks at the doorway where I sat, and laughed.

"Cheol, your cat's watching us." Jeonghan chortles. Seungcheol grins and motions me to come over. I sat, my front legs resting on Seungcheol, my hind on Jeonghan's. Both of their hands me and I fell into giggly purrs, and they laugh at my reaction.

* * *

"So what!? You're gonna disown me!?"

There's lots of plates being thrown around. Everything was smashing and Seungcheol and his mother was screaming, like those cats a few streets back that argued who was gonna set the territory. Of course, I was safe as I watched the whole process happen behind the living room door, but the things smashing made me panic and jump, my fur raised on its ends. My tail flicks nervously and Seungcheol suddenly opens the door, stamping upstairs. I mewed at him before I followed after him, and he slumps onto the floor. His cheeks were wet.

He looked off, and his smell tells me that he was very upset, and he kept rubbing his eyes. I wound myself around his ankle to comfort him and mew again, before he glances up at me and lets out a hiccup, picking me up into his arms and cuddling me into his chest.

"Oh, Ji..." he sniffles.”... Everything's a mess now, isn't it? Everything..."

I mew at him again, and I deftly the salty water from his face. For a few moments, he was unamused, but a smile starts to form on his face and he chuckles sadly.

"Thanks, Ji." he said, but he sighs and plays with my tail, his eyes droopy.

"Momma didn't take it on so well... you know, me with being gay and stuff." he sniffles. "I told her that I liked guys and I loved Jeonghan... and just... you know, it's... she doesn't want me in the house anymore, probably."

He scrunches up his eyebrows, and he seemed angry with himself.

"... I don't even know why I tell you these things, Ji. You're just a damn cat I pulled out of the bin when I was five, you can't possibly understand." he swallows. If I had those things humans call eyebrows, I would raise them―but he needed comfort right now, and humans couldn't possibly understand that we sympathise with them. So I start to purr and I nuzzle my head onto his neck, as if saying―yes, I do understand, I do, I do...

"... Well, no point in moping." he laughs shakily, and stands. I hop off to the floor and look up at him, before he also looks down at me. "C'mon, Ji. Let's gather our stuff."

He begins to shove things into a very large thing with a funny appendage that moves and made a 'zzzzt!' sound (later I learned, was called a 'bag'). My ugly bag of food goes in, plus a few of Seungcheol's own food, and lots and lots of paper things with people's faces on them (I think, were called 'money'). Seungcheol told me to hop into his old bag that had holes inside. Sceptical, but I hopped in anyways, trusting him. Then he takes me out somewhere, and I heard creaking sounds, and the bag rocks as he strolls on his feet. I fell asleep.

* * *

The next time I woke up, the bag was open. I hopped out of it to find I was in a very large, empty white space. It wasn't back home, though. There was a tray of food next to me, the ugly bagged food. But I felt ravenous and I wolfed it down, trying to chew through the chunky pellets. Then something creaks and Seungcheol hovers in with a very very big thing that looked very fun to pounce in.

"Hullo, Ji." Seungcheol says, before dropping the thing and collapsing on it, and I realised that it was a bed. I plopped into it myself, pawing through the silky material. Seungcheol rolls me round and scratches my tummy.

"Got this one near the tip, gave it a good brush-down. We can sleep comfortably now!" he chuckles, but then his eyes cloud again. He sighs and lays back down.

"This place's a rundown. I'm just lucky that I managed to squat it before anyone else." he sighs, drawing circles on my fur. "Hey, at least! Momma's not gonna bother me with Jeonghan anymore."

It's a bit like a cat's mother chucking her kitten out before their age, like my own did because she couldn't keep up with the large litter with my own brothers. I felt sorry for him.

* * *

Actually, I changed my mind. I don't like Jeonghan very much.

It's not the fact that he visits Seungcheol frequently. It's the fact that he makes Seungcheol do a lot of bad things, like stay outside for hours and hours and never come back and smell very funny afterwards. Seungcheol calls it alcohol, and he said it makes him feel nice and warm. Well, nice and warm―my hind! Whenever he comes home, he feels so clammy and cold and he smells bad.

Jeonghan comes in every day, now. Well, no, actually. He moved in with Seungcheol.

Jeonghan said something about―hum, what was it―saving enough money to buy an apartment (another thing that humans live in, sort of like a house, but it's a house in a bigger house). We moved in again. The place was much lovelier and warmer, with lots of chairs and cushions and another big black box with moving people in it. There's big windows where I can see lots of boxes with four wheels―cars―below the floor. Jeonghan slept next to Seungcheol now, because they're mates. Sadly for me, it's back under the bed again in my cardboard box. Still, at least. I hopped along the ride.

Seungcheol says it's gonna be exciting. Like a whole new adventure. He said he got a job―what humans call when they work for another human in exchange for money paper thing whatever you call it. I see that it was a new leaf, a whole new life for him. He had his mate with him whom he loves very much, he had his own place and he was very happy. Why, that would be any cat's dream, of course.

Except that I hold a grudge against Jeonghan, for absolutely no reason at all. I get confused myself as to why, too. He treats me gently and never patted me down roughly and was gentle when he gave me a bathe and was even nicer than Seungcheol. He was even more so, to Seungcheol. I don't know what it was that made me hate him.

Perhaps it was that day when Jeonghan came home, and he brought a bag of plastic. He whispers something to Seungcheol's ear, who was sitting in front of the television, and they both giggle together. Then they cleared up the floor and Jeonghan pulls stuff out if the plastic bag. Stuff that were of plastic cylinder with a pointy metal attached to it―a syringe―and a bag of white powder. Seungcheol fetches a spoon and a jug of water from the kitchen and a few matches.

Then they set this powder on the spoon and it boiled with water and the syringe thing it, and the liquid went inside the syringe. Then Seungcheol puts the syringe onto Jeonghan's wrist and pushes it and the liquid disappears. And then Jeonghan was silent and he fell into loads of giggles.

They took turns in doing it. There were small little beads of red where they stuck the syringe in and they did loads of it, and they were laughing for ages.

"Give the cat some! I wanna see a high cat!" Jeonghan shrieks hysterically, laughing, approaching me with the syringe. Seungcheol slaps his hand away but giggles.

"Nah, not Ji! Can't waste it on some sober cat, give us some more..."

And then they were finished, and their lips were touching again and Jeonghan looked like he was his hands all over Seungcheol as if he was a cat and it looked all funny to me. Anyways, the pheromones started to stink all over the place so I stalked off to the bathroom, sitting on the sink, lullabied to boredom.

* * *

They did it often, that white powder stuff. Sometimes they put it in a foil and smoke it, too, like the people next door with stuff called cigarettes.

One time, Jeonghan got some spilt on the floor. Out of curiosity, I it. Not a full lap, though. Just a small tidbit. It tastes disgusting and I sneezed it out of my mouth.

They did it more and more. Seungcheol's body became skinny and hollow and his eyes would be red. Sometimes, they argue over the white stuff, snatching the syringe and all that. Actually, they argue more often, even when it's not about the white powder stuff. Sometimes, one would tick the other off and they start shouting at each other's throats the next minute. I would often lay under the bed until Jeonghan storms off for a walk and Seungcheol sluggishly drag himself to bed with wet cheeks and cries himself to sleep, and then I would always hop to and prod my head underneath his shirt, nuzzling into his chest.

* * *

I opened my eyes. At first, I wanted to stretch, but it seems that someone has covered me with the thick sheets, and Seungcheol was nowhere in sight. I wiggled my way out and stretched myself, hopping off from the bed before I slipped out from the bedroom. Seungcheol was watching television. I jumped onto the couch and faced the window, looking at Seungcheol for a while before I my paw, grooming out my fur.

I wanted to take another nap. I nuzzled my hand onto Seungcheol's, in hope for an invitation to lie down on his stomach, but his hand only flopped. More so, his hands were so cold and clammy that my fur stood on its end, and I jumped a few paces back. Did he forget to turn on the heating? That funny thing that buzzed when it turns on? Ah, it was , alright. But Seungcheol stays icily cold and he didn't move, even though he was watching the television.

Hunh! How dare he ignore me! I sheathed my claws and prodded him on the arm. Not a full scratch, but just to . No response. I dug it further and further, although I was against the very idea of hurting him, but he didn't move an inch.

At this, I got very impatient. I scrambled on his knees and scratches his collar for attention, mewing loudly, my tail high on air. Alas, he stayed still and motionless. Then I noticed his eyes.

They were very glassy, as if they were like the windows in the apartment. Were his eyes always like this? It had always been black, as I remembered it. Black, blackest of black, as black as his slick hair on a Sunday afternoon when he used to go to church, blacker than the road in the streets. But now they were bleak and my reflection in his eyes stared back to me. White foam had formed in his mouth and he had a syringe stuck in his arm.

I had the same image a few years ago. It was a dog, the next door neighbour's dog, when Seungcheol was still younger. I was taking a leisurely stroll around the street houses, and I smelled something very nice and sweet-smelling. Turns out as it is, tucked away hidden, was rat poison. Seungcheol warned me of those before. Bright-coloured and very tempting. Of course, I immediately turned my paws away. But the next door's dog suddenly bounded up and came to it, and sniffed it out.

Of course, dogs are rather low in intelligence capability, so I wasn't surprised. More so when I let out a warning mewl at him, and he barks at me back. As if to show that I'm missing out on some great meal, he scoffs them rat poison pellets into his mouth. So I ignored him, and stalked back inside for Seungcheol for my own real food. I came out again, this time for entertainment, since Seungcheol shooed me out because he had to tidy up his room.

The same dog was there, again. But he was just lying there. His eyes were terribly glassy and he was frothing at the mouth. His owners picked him up a few minutes later, terribly panicked. I never saw the dog again, though. The owners looked upset about it.

Was that white powder poison, too? I mean, Seungcheol really has been ingesting quite a lot of it. And...

I screeched. Seungcheol's eyes were glassy, and he was frothing in the mouth! Of course! But Jeonghan's out of sight, and I couldn't possibly make him be aware of it! But he did, leave the door ajar...

I stormed out, and my head looks around in panic. I saw a human standing, a few doors away from us. He was looking through pieces of paper. I ran up to him speedily, and he notices me.

"Ooh, a cat! Are you lost...?" he crouches down to pet me. No time for petting! I yowled as loudly as I can and scratched his arm, and he lets out a very distressed scream.

"Owh! What's wrong with you!?" he shouts. I scratched the back of his legs, and he yowls again. Of course, I felt so very bad for doing this, but it was for the sake of Seungcheol! A few scratches won't hurt! I scratched him down the doors, and forcibly scratched him in places that I knew he would lean the direction onto. I dug my claws deep into his calf and he yowls out, collapsing through Seungcheol's door.

"Jesus Christ―! Crazy cat! Hey, is that cat yours!? He scratched me up the flippin' legs, man! Do you have any idea on how dangerous that is!?" the man kept screaming, but I kept my patience on his stupidity. I looked at him for a very long while before I hopped onto Seungcheol's lap, rubbing my paw on his shoulder, motioning him to the man.

He wasn't as stupid as I thought he would be, although he was still hissing. Rubbing his legs, he frowns at Seungcheol's rigidness and approaches him, touching him on the neck.

"Hey man, are you oka―" he stops, and looks at Seungcheol's wrist, where the syringe was stuck. He immediately screams―not out of distress, I detected, but out of shock. He choked on his words for a while before he pulls out a black rectangle―a phone, perhaps―and he taps at the screen rapidly before he puts it into his ear.

"Hello? Hello? Yes, I need an ambulance here, right now―I just found a guy here, he's probably overdosed or something... I don't know what the stuff is... Yeah, he's breathing, but I don't thing he's conscious..."

After a few minutes, funny men in uniform came to take Seungcheol away. They took him in a much bigger box with four wheels. The man I scratched was forced to take me along the ride. They couldn't take pets in the building, however, so we sat on the benches outside so the funny men could give reports. I sat in a cage next to the man.

Later, a man in a long suit comes out and talks to the man I had scratched. They conversed rapidly.

"He'll live. He just overdosed on Heroin. We cannot thank you enough for your call. He must be grateful to you."
"Nah... if there's anyone to thank, thank the cat." the man says, and he pats my cage. "He scratched my leg until I went to his owner's apartment door and saw him overdosed. His owner would be very proud."
"Ah! Well, aren't you a clever kitty...?" the man in the long suit peeks at me. He reeks of cleanliness and the stuff Seungcheol uses to clean the bathroom, but I only sat in my cage. Then he talked to the man some more before he left.

A pair of hands opens the cage.

"Hey... you're not gonna scratch me again, are you?" the man next to me says, worried. But I saw no reason to scratch him again. When I didn't show any signs of aggression, he reluctantly shoves a hand through the cage door, and gently scratches the fur under my chin. I nuzzle to his hands to show my appreciation, and he chuckles at me.

"Wow, you're a really good cat, aren't you? Even though you scratched me..." he smiles, and he gently takes me out of my cage and props me on his lap. "Talented git, aren't you? Must've loved your owner so much. He must be really proud. You might even get to the papers!"

His smile was very gentle. He inspects the collar around my neck, and scrunches his eyes as he reads the name.

"... Ji... hoon. Is that your name? Jihoon?"

I nuzzle into his hand again to confirm.

"Well, Jihoon. I'm Vernon. Wow, you make me wish I have a cat now..." he sighs, and rubs my head gently. I was slightly amused, and I burrowed my head under his shirt.

"Oh―crap, cat! Only my girlfriend's allowed in there!" Vernon squeaks. My head burrows further until I peek out from his collar, and he stares at me for a few seconds before he laughs, slapping his thighs.

"What kind of cat are you, eh?" he grins, patting my head. I mewed appreciatively at him.

* * *

I was going to be brought to a pet home for a while, until Seungcheol recovers and picks me up. But Vernon really took a liking to me and told the funny men in uniform that he was going to take care of me. So I sat there in the cage, slightly dizzy from how much Vernon swings the cage from walking. He lives just a few doors from Seungcheol. He steps inside the apartment and suddenly the air smells wonderfully of human food.

"Vernon, where the hell have you been!?"
"Jesus Christ, chill out! I just saved a life here, jeez..."

Vernon sets me out, and I stepped down from the cage. Another man comes to view, a little identical to Vernon, and took a glance at me and screwed his eyes up.

"Oh man, you brought a cat...? My girlfriend's allergic to cats..."
"Well, she's gonna have to stop coming round here, hasn't she? Long story. Just give me a pack, I'll explain later..."

The other man―whom, later I learned, was Vernon's fraternal twin (whatever 'fraternal' means)―Joshua, was a little wary of me, even though I was a very well-behaved cat, even to my own standards. But Vernon allowed me to sit on his lap and let me watch the black box with the funny people moving inside. Vernon held something that looked like a rolled up paper, partially dipped in orange at one end, and he lit it up with fire and inhaled the paper before he blew out smoke.

Vernon tells Joshua about Seungcheol, how I scratched his legs in order for him to save Seungcheol. When Vernon has finished, Joshua raises an eyebrow, and was silent for a few minutes. He too, held that rolled-up paper and puffed smoke from it.

"Sure you haven't been drinking lately?" Joshua comments offhandedly. Vernon looks offended and scratches my fur.

"'Course not." he huffs. He shows Joshua the claw marks on his legs and Joshua winces.

"Oof." he lets out a whistle and looks at me. "Talented little git, aren't you?"

I mewed at him. They both laugh.

They didn't let me sleep in their bedroom, but they did let me eat human food. I ate some glorious stuff that Seungcheol usually doesn't give me. They even gave me grilled beef! Beef! I chewed it all up and wound myself around their leg for more, and eventually they gave in and fed me a few more tidbits. Then I was a happy kit, my tummy full, and Vernon was my fur as I lay on my side.

"He's one very well-behaved bastard, unlike some other cats." Joshua tries a hand in me. I let him so. "Might get one, one day, after I get rid of that ."
"I want three of this guy." Vernon quips. I mew at him, obviously pleased.
"He's surprisingly obedient, too."

I slept in the cage. I wanted to scavenge around for more food, of course, as Seungcheol hasn't fed me of late. But Seungcheol told me not to eat anything that's not given, so I stayed put. I close my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"... but really man, thank your cat. Even though he scratched me and all that, he saved your life."

I open my eyes. Through the cage, there's fuzzy figured of people. Vernon and Joshua stood at one side. There was someone else standing beside the door, someone...

I leapt out of the cage. Seungcheol! He has recovered! I zoomed past their ankles and ran into Seungcheol's unprepared arms. His skinny limbs almost dropped me for a moment, before he steadies himself and embraces me to his chest, laughing.

"Ji!" Seungcheol exclaims, smiling, and I traced happiness in his voice, for the first time in a few months. I his hand and mimicked a human's smile, although I look rather comical with my jaw open and my eyes wide. The three men laugh. Seungcheol's bones dug into me and he looked a little peaky, but at least I knew he was fine.

"Did you really do that, Ji...? You saved my life...?" Seungcheol murmurs against my head, and I pawed at his chin. Vernon shows Seungcheol the gashes on his legs, almost disappearing into tiny scabs. Seungcheol tells me off for assaulting another human, but he my fur all the same.

"Hey man, if you ever need hell with... that drug stuff, y'know." Vernon says sympathetically. "We're just a few doors down, yeah? And plus―I really love that cat of yours. He's so obedient."
"Thank you very much." Seungcheol smiles.

Seungcheol coos on how much he had missed me, rocking me back and forth. We go back to our apartment. Seungcheol looks at his surroundings first and scrunches up his nose. He sets me down, before putting all of that junk and needle into the bin.

"Well. The social carers and the police are up on my bum now. But at least I didn't get arrested." Seungcheol says as he sits next to me, turning the black box on. He shakes his head. "Never again, Ji. Never again..."

I missed my Seungcheol, very much. Vernon and Joshua's company was alright and dandy, but of course, Seungcheol was the one I was attached to. I stood up and rubbed my body against his arm and purred. Seungcheol laughs and lifts me up so that I lay on his tummy, burrowing myself under his shirt.

We watched loads of stuff in the black box, after Seungcheol takes a curious thing called 'medicine'. And then somewhere midnight, someone was hurriedly knocking on the door. To both of our surprise, it was Jeonghan! He leapt into Seungcheol's arms and apologised numerous times, repeating himself over and over again, and he was crying all over Seungcheol's shirt, asking if he was okay and all that stuff. He promised to be a better person and begged Seungcheol to accept him back. Teasingly, Seungcheol looks back at me and winks.

"Oh, I don't know, Ji... should we?"

Of course, Jeonghan was a little nasty to Seungcheol. If it weren't for him, this shouldn't have happened anyhow. But I understood that even humans could make mistakes, even if they deem themselves as the Earth's most superior race. I mew and padded through Seungcheol's legs, before rubbing up against Jeonghan's ankles and purring at him.

So Seungcheol forgave him and they hug and they laughed and cried and their lips touched. I was very happy too, of course. Seungcheol's had a certain shine in his eyes that he'd lost over the course of the months. Jeonghan picked me up and hugged me too and presses his lips against my jaw, but I sneezed. Jeonghan laughed. Seungcheol laughed.

I would've laughed if I could, too. But I'm just a cat rescued on a rainy day by a boy with a muddy tee and messy hair. So I mewed and mimicked Seungcheol's smile.

* * *

"Yeah, momma. We're adopting our first son today. We're bringing him home." Seungcheol was smiling as he speaks to the phone. I flicked my tail in interest. Seungcheol must've made up with his mother, because now they're talking very frequently on the phone.

"... What? Yes, of course you can visit!" Seungcheol exclaims. Jeonghan comes from the kitchen holding three mugs. He sets two on the table and one short one for me, filled with warm milk. I mewed at him as thanks and I lapped it up appreciatively. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jeonghan wrapping his arms around Seungcheol from the back and their lips touch briefly. I heard the silver rings on their fingers clink on contact.

What was it... aha, yes! If I'm correct, it was called a wedding! Seungcheol and Jeonghan got all dressed up. I even got to dress up, too! Jeonghan made me something out of black velvet and it fits me very snugly and I paraded around proudly. There were a few greetings and the two had to walk down the aisle to an old man holding a book and reciting things. And then after all that boring stuff, Seungcheol and Jeonghan touch lips and they were crying but they looked very happy. And then the cameraman came and took a picture of all of us, but they left me out―humpf, animal cruelty! Prejudice! I jumped in front of the cam. I must say, I look very pedigree.

A few months back, though, Seungcheol was sitting on the living room with two rings. I mewed at him in concern. So Seungcheol groaned and confessed to me.

"Man, I dunno, Ji―I really want to propose to Jeonghan, but I'm so anxious about it―"

And out comes Jeonghan out of nowhere, and he heard everything! Seungcheol, in jitters, proposed to him right then and there, getting on one knee and asking Jeonghan to marry him. Jeonghan screamed and cried and shouted―yes, yes, I do―and the house went in cahoots! Whew!

Anyhow. Today, Seungcheol and Jeonghan is adopting a son! So Seungcheol is going to be father! I don't know what Jeonghan would be. Initially, parents are made up of a female and a male. But they're both male and male, so Jeonghan decided he would be the 'dad' and Seungcheol is going to be 'father'. What a curious idea!

They left the house for a while. And then a few hours later, they came back! This time, Jeonghan's holding a very small human being in his arms―a little baby boy!

They went crazy with the whole adoption idea, by the way. They got all the papers sorted out. Oh yeah―did I tell you that we moved? Seungcheol's bought a bigger house, with a ve big garden―fancy that! I had loads of fun in frolicking in the grass. Anyways, as soon as they had it all sorted out, they decked out a whole bedroom for their child. Another one into the family!

Seungcheol and Jeonghan decided to call the baby boy 'Dokyeom'. They couldn't leave the small little boy from its cot for ages. I was a good cat! I guarded Dokyeom whilst he was asleep. He was so small, with black hair just like Seungcheol's, and he had a tiny nose and tiny starfish hand that could fit the whole of my paw and he was as big as me! He's a very good baby, too. He cries very softly, like a kitten's wail. Sometimes, Seungcheol stared at him for ages and ages even way past bedtime, and he would my fur, and say―

"He's just like you, Ji." he breathes out. “So small, so tiny, abandoned in this world... The centre found him abandoned in the bins, unloved and uncared for. So we decided we'll be his new parents and take him in. Just like I took you in when I found you in the rain."

He smiles at me and gazes fondly at his son. He pats me gently. "You'll be his personal bodyguard, eh?" He grins. I mew at him back.

I kept to his word. Did I tell you about the thing that happened?

I sleep in the cot, next to the baby. The baby had his starfish hand clasped around my paw. I was asleep. But then he started to make tiny little whimpers and woke me up. I his hand and it seemed to calm him down, but then I heard a few clangs.

It was coming from the kitchens. It was very late. I padded my way outside the baby's room and went to check the other bedroom. Seungcheol and Jeonghan was very soundly asleep. Who was it?

I made my way to the kitchen... and there was a figure trying to climb the window! He looked at me and I yowled as loudly as I can―leapt up and scratched his face! He screams and tumbles down, but I kept yowling and yowling and scratching his face, alerting Seungcheol and Jeonghan. And then the lights suddenly come on, and Seungcheol runs into the kitchen, his hair stuck out, still in his pyjamas. Jeonghan was following after him hurriedly, Dokyeom in his arms, making small whimpers.

"What the hell's going on here!?" Seungcheol demands, and he looks at the intruder. Jeonghan immediately runs to call someone, and a few minutes later the funny men in uniform came!

The man was a thief, and we found a few of Seungcheol's and Jeonghan's precious things in his hold. The funny men in uniform took him away and apologised us for all the trouble. We were kept awake all night. But they left and Seungcheol sighs and he picks me up, and he smiles at me and my fur.

"Good boy, Ji!" Seungcheol praises me and twirls me a little. I mew at him and purr. Jeonghan sighs in relief and thanked me, my fur, saying how he was so worried if I hadn't been with the baby and the man could've took the baby. Dokyeom was awake and he opens his teeny little eyes, and he makes lots of noises and whimpers. I pawed Jeonghan's legs and Jeonghan lowered him down. I nuzzle my nose into Dokyeom's chubby cheeks and Dokyeom seems to giggle.

"Ji-Ji." Dokyeom warbles. Jeonghan and Seungcheol stared at each other for a while before they cheered, laughing.

"Dokyeom just said his first word!" Seungcheol laughs. "He said his first word, Ji! It's your name!"

I mew excitedly. Dokyeom kept repeating it, and Jeonghan was laughing for ages. Boy―it felt good to be a cat.

* * *

"Happy birthday, Dokyeom!" Seungcheol says. "Make a wish and blow the candles!"

I'm a fairly old cat now, you see. But age doesn't have to do anything with your humour and teases. I sneezed onto the candles and blew them before Dokyeom did. Jeonghan fell into peals of laughter.

"Bad Ji! Bad Ji!" Dokyeom pouts, crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks. He held my head high and my nose. But Seungcheol lights the candles again, and I let Dokyeom blow it, and they all cheered. I mew in substitute for the human claps.

Dokyeom's just about the size of Seungcheol when he found me in that bin! His cheeks were so puffy that they even resembled my paw pads. He totters and teeters around, taking after his father, playing footie all over the house and making a mess. Jeonghan often shrieked and shouted at him for wreaking havoc around the house, like Seungcheol's mother used to.

Dokyeom invited me to play footie in the garden, with his brand-new ball he got for his birthday. Of course, I was old. I couldn't really run as I liked when I was a teeny kitten, so I sluggishly nudged the ball to the goalpost. Dokyeom cheers and picks me up and kisses my face all over. I purr in appreciation.

Jeonghan was out for a bit. He said he was out to buy another present for Dokyeom. The little boy was super excited! He ran around the house, squealing and giggling.

"Ooh, a present, eh? What do you think it might be, Dokyeom?" Seungcheol sits down next to the boy. The boy giggled and rocks on his seat before he lights up.

"Oh! Oh! Is it―is it..?" Dokyeom says excitedly, and he whispers on Seungcheol's ear. Seungcheol smiles.

"You'll see." Seungcheol says. I wonder what it could be!

We played some more footie in the garden. Seungcheol joins us, this time. Of course, with a man his height and size, he could easily beat Dokyeom in footie. But I could see that he purposefully missed his aims to make his son happy, and whenever Dokyeom scored a goal, they laughed into fits of laughter and rolled around in the grass.

"C'mon, Ji! Roll around the grass!" Dokyeom says excitedly. I didn't want to, but I lazily tumbled around for his sake. Dokyeom was chortling―"Look at him! Look at Ji! He's rolling on the grass!"

And then we all heard Jeonghan go through the front door. Seungcheol ushers us all in.

"Now―close your eyes now, Dokyeom."
"Is it my present? Is it my present!?"
"Yes, it is! Now close your eyes..."

Dokyeom complies obediently and closes his eyes. Jeonghan came in, with something wrapped in his arms. Ah, that's...!

"Well, Dokyeom, you've told us on how badly you wanted a baby brother, right?" Jeonghan says softly. "Open your eyes now, Dokyeom."

When Dokyeom opens his eyes, he lets out a huge gasp.

It was another baby boy! Jeonghan and Seungcheol adopted another one! It was even tinier and even smaller than Dokyeom when he was little! It was sleeping snugly in its blankets. Dokyeom gasps again and sits down so that he could hold the small, tiny baby, marvelling at him, his eyes big with wonder. Seungcheol smiles fondly, and he wraps his arm around Jeonghan and their lips touch.

"What're we gonna name him, Cheol?" Jeonghan says softly.
"Let's call it―Dino!" Dokyeom exclaims. Jeonghan and Seungcheol looked at each other and fell into laughter.

I looked at the small human, so small and frail. He was still asleep. I nuzzle my nose into him, and he opens his eyes.

"Get Ji away from him! I want his first word to be 'Cheol'!" Seungcheol exclaims, yanking me up. They laughed again, and I held my head high to scoff. Seungcheol ruffles my fur and grins, smiling at me.

Then it was like, out of a miracle... I heard something softly tinkle in the distance. It was like all sounds had reduced to silence. I just heard the tinkle in the background, and somehow, I knew what it meant.

It was time for me to go.

I got out of Seungcheol's grasp when he didn't notice. They were cooing over the baby, so it was the perfect time to go. I didn't spare them another glance, as I knew that one last look would tempt me back.

I quietly padded out to the living room, and slowly walked out. Jeonghan had left the door open. I squeezed my way through the gap and I walk through the gate. Then when I was only fractionally down the street, I heard Seungcheol's voice calling me.

"Ji, where are you going?" Seungcheol calls out.
I couldn't help it.
I looked back at him.

I knew that the time would come. Humans seem immortal when you only live a quarter of their lifespan. I paused in my tracks. I turned my head around.

Seungcheol still looked like the boy in a big tee and black shorts, wet in the rain, picking up the binbag his mother told him to do. To me, he still hasn't changed. He still hasn't aged a day.

I mew at him softly with my aged voice, and I stared at him for a very long while. This was the man I grew up with; the man and also the boy that tucked me under his shirt, the man and also the boy that confessed me his feelings, the man and also the boy who...

I blink at him.

I walked away, and continued to walk. I didn't know where I would go, but I know not to stop. I know that I should keep walking.

The collar on my neck loosens, and it falls with a soft tinkle. I kept walking and walking, away, away, from the human I owe my life to.

I didn't turn back.