The next day was a Sunday. Yongguk didn’t set any alarm like he usually did during his working days. He was only awakened when the sunshine invaded his room through the windows, the white, thin curtain failed to shelter him from the brightness. Maybe it’s time to do some changes, and that included the one anomaly that was happening in his life right now; a cat named Keke.

                His hand roamed over the white sheet, trying to find if his bundle of fur was still sleeping beside him. Keke had ended up sleeping in his room again last night and Yongguk found himself to be less persistent about it compared to the last time. But since he slept in longer during weekends, he was sure Keke was already awake much earlier in the morning. He was proven correct when he realized the spot next to him was empty. His bedroom door was wide open and there were faint sounds coming from the living room.

                After letting out a big yawn, Yongguk stretched his limbs to his heart’s content before sitting up on the bed. He moved to check on Keke first, just in case the boy decided that it was fun to surprise him with something irksome as soon as he woke up.

                Leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom, Yongguk could see the familiar mop of messy black hair. Since the back of the couch was facing him, only Keke’s head could be seen. The boy was watching a show; something about wild animals, on the telly. He had delivered a fast lesson on how to turn it on, how to change the channels and how to control the volume last night, just because he knew how bored Keke must have been to stay alone at home that sleeping had become the best choice for him to wait for Yongguk’s return.

                Yongguk was quite impressed by Keke’s skill as a fast learner. Judging by his unmoving little head right now, Keke seemed to be so absorbed with the show. So, Yongguk took the chance to have some private time in the bathroom.

                He thought that he would be better at handling a surprise after he had passed the grumpy state of waking up, but Yongguk found himself to be equally miffed when he realized that there was barely any toothpaste left. The tube was almost empty of its content which had been spilled everywhere from the sink to the floor. Some was even smudged on the mirror.

                Yongguk spent his time squeezing the tube to get the tiniest amount of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. What he got was just enough to brush his teeth. Staring at the toothbrush with the priceless bit of toothpaste on top of it, Yongguk dropped the useless emptied tube into the sink along with a heavy sigh. A slap on his forehead followed after as he tried to hold back the anger at the absentminded cat boy.

                After he finished taking a shower and changed into fresh new clothes, Yongguk went to the living room. He just stood behind the couch instead of having a seat next to the boy. Placing his hands on the back of the couch, he glanced at the TV show. “What are you watching?” he asked to make his presence known to the boy.

                Keke quickly looked up upon hearing his master’s voice. His eyes were large and gleaming, simply happy to know that Yongguk had finally woken up. “Keke don’t know.” He turned back to the TV. “But that cat is so handsome,” he said dreamily while hugging the small pillow tightly to his chest.

                Yongguk’s eyes narrowed at the screen. “That’s not a cat. That’s a lion,” he stated matter-of-factly.

                Keke turned to look up at Yongguk again, his jaw dropped this time. “That sounds even more handsome.” His smile was so big that it reached his ears and he continued to watch the lion playing around with his pack.

                A furrow appeared on Yongguk’s brows as he was hit with a sudden realization. “Wait. Lion? Handsome?” he muttered under his breath, diverting his gaze from the TV to Keke. He wanted to point out how weird Keke was being by saying something like that but, seeing the boy’s sparkling eyes towards the lion, he instantly remembered that Keke had been living in cat form all his life. Therefore, he just brushed it off and took note that cats care about visuals too.

                Then, the previous bathroom disaster crossed his mind. Yongguk directly asked the boy about it without even considering how Keke was busy admiring the same lion from before.

                “Actually, did you or did you not brush your teeth earlier?” he demanded, crossing his arms against his chest.

                “I did!” Keke admitted with a toothy grin, unaware of Yongguk’s solemn tone as he expected to receive a pat on the head again for managing to brush his teeth on his own.

                For a moment there, Yongguk really wanted to coddle the adorable boy, but he was fast to backtrack to his initial intention. “People brush their teeth with a pea sized toothpaste, not a mouthful of it,” he lectured.

                Keke’s smiling face contorted into a confused frown. “…Huh?”

                “What I’m saying is, you only need to use just a tiny bit of toothpaste to brush your teeth,” Yongguk explained, pinching the air with a slight gap in between his fingers to show how little the amount of toothpaste should be.

                “Really?!” Keke gawked at the man as if he was just being told about a brand new and huge discovery.

                “Really!” Yongguk bulged his eyes to mirror the boy’s expression. “And what the hell with the toothpaste spluttering everywhere? You’re wasting a lot of it.”

                “Keke wanted to make sure that Keke’s teeth are really clean,” came an innocent reply.

                Yongguk sighed, realizing that he couldn’t really get angry at the clueless boy. There was no point in scolding Keke if he didn’t teach him to understand the simplest things first. “Keeping your teeth clean depends on how you brush your teeth, not how much toothpaste you use. Also, people brush their teeth at least twice a day. Got it?”

                “Ah…” Keke, who had been attentively looking at Yongguk, bobbed his head up and down. “So, Keke has to brush teeth correctly with just a tiny bit of toothpaste for two times a day.” he summarized, mimicking Yongguk’s little pinch to emphasize the amount of toothpaste.

                “That’s right,” Yongguk nodded and reached over Keke’s head to give it a pat.

                Keke almost squealed at the awaiting gentle touch from his master. His eyes promptly fluttered close as he relished the moment.

                Yongguk was growing to like the feeling of Keke’s soft hair under his palm and thought of caressing it for as long as he could. “So, while we are at it, I have been keeping in mind to ask you if you’re interested in having a bath.”

                “It’s bath time?!” Keke gasped, eyes snapped wide open at the man.

                “Because it’s been days and you’ve never had one.” Yongguk shrugged, still fervently the boy’s head. “The last time you bathed was before you can change into a human.”

                “Keke like bath time!!” he exclaimed before scampering off the couch and ran to the bathroom, leaving Yongguk’s patting hand hanging in the air.

                When Yongguk stepped into the bathroom, Keke was already standing by the bathtub with both of his arms lifted up. The boy might have known how to put on the clothes on his own but, taking them off still need a little more practice. Since he was too eager to have a bath right now, there shouldn’t be any time wasted on struggling to get him off the clothes and it was better to have his master do it for him instead.

                “You should take off your shirt before going into the bathroom,” Yongguk chided. He stood in front of the shorter one to pull the shirt up and over his head.

                “Okay. Next time,” Keke kept that in mind. He was ready to lower his shorts to his feet, with his thumbs hooked under the waistband, when Yongguk told him to stop.

                “You can only remove your pants when I’m not looking, remember?” Yongguk raised his brows at the confused boy.

                “Ohh… Yeah…” Keke grinned sheepishly, fixing the shorts back on his waist.

                “Can you bath on your own?” Yongguk asked.

                Keke frowned. “Daddy won’t bath Keke?”

                “You’re not stuck in your cat form anymore,” Yongguk shrugged his shoulders, one of them was draped with Keke’s previously worn shirt.

                “Then, Keke will change into a cat and let daddy bath Keke,” the boy keenly suggested with a broad smile.

                “Why would I do that when you can be in your human body and wash yourself?” Yongguk firmly refused, hands resting on his hips. “Besides, you can do it on your own if I’m not around.”

                Keke’s plump lips formed a pout. “Okay…”

                “The tub needs to be filled first if you want to soak in there,” Yongguk spoke up when Keke turned to look at the bathtub. “Just use the shower instead,” he added, cocking his head towards it.

                “Keke know that…” the boy mumbled. He really liked to have a long bath in a tub filled with bubbles but, his master seemed like he preferred him to have a quick bath right now. So, he just complied.

                Yongguk sent the boy one last glance before making his way out of the bathroom. That’s when Keke reached the faucet and gave it a twist. The water dropped directly on his bare skin. “It’s cold!” he yelped, jumping away from the pouring drops of freezing water.

                Yongguk turned to have a look before making a U-turn. “You can control the temperature,” he said, tapping the thermostat valve beside the shower to show Keke an example. “Turn this to the right for a warmer temperature.”

        Keke’s mouth rounded in response. “Oh… Okay.”

                Yongguk sighed when it was settled. He finally got out of the bathroom and went to find a towel for the boy. However, he wasn’t even halfway to his bedroom when he heard Keke’s shout.

        “Daddy! Where is the soap?”

                Yongguk immediately turned his heels around, stepping into the bathroom again. Keke was already wet from head to toe and his shorts were already thrown aside. Seeing the man walking towards him, he quickly covered the private part; according to his master, with both of his hands.

                Yongguk’s eyes darted somewhere else when Keke’s manhood was accidently caught in his view. He proceeded to get two bottles from the shower caddy. “This is the shower cream, this is the shampoo,” he showed a bigger bottle, followed by a smaller one to the boy.

                Keke took the shower cream from him but, he just stared at the shampoo for a moment. Yongguk’s eyebrow quirked. Keke then averted his gaze to his other hand which was still shielding his groin, wondering how he should take the shampoo without exposing it.

                Yongguk could feel the warmth spreading over his face. He loudly cleared his throat to get Keke’s attention. “I’ll just leave it here.” He placed the shampoo back into the shower caddy before striding out of there, not even sparing another glance at Keke.

                Yongguk could finally throw Keke’s worn shirt into the hamper in his room. He then went to the rack where fresh clean towels were placed but, instead of taking one of them, he just stood there and stared. He was pondering whether he should go into the bathroom to the boy again to pass him the towel, or wait until the boy ask for a towel himself.

                Before he could consider which one was a better choice, the familiar shrill voice was calling him again.

                “Daddy! The shampoo got into Keke’s eyes!”

                Yongguk’s eyes rolled upwards with a sigh. He grabbed a towel and stomped towards the bathroom.

                Replacing Keke’s junk, his buttocks were now on display. Yongguk who was mentally prepared before opening the door had to take a second look. Keke didn’t care about exposing his nether regions anymore since he was busy rubbing the shampoo off his eyes. He was totally facing the wall, standing still under the falling water.

                Yongguk surprisingly found himself to be less irritated than before. The cheeks were fairly round and firm, at least that was what they looked like. He was sure they would feel soft and nice to be touched. Not to mention the water dripping down the tanned skin…

                “Daddy…” Keke whined, still unable to open his eyes.

                Yongguk’s unwitting thought was stopped from drifting any further. His eyes widened and the blush crept up from his neck to his ears. He literally slapped himself as if there was another person controlling his mind and he had to get the devil out of there.

                He strode towards the suffering boy after hanging the towel on the rail, avoiding his gaze from falling onto Keke’s rear again.

                “Don’t rub your eyes!” The sudden warning made Keke jumped in his spot.

                Yongguk pulled the boy’s hands away from the eyes before holding the back of Keke’s head to tilt it up, letting the water fall directly onto his face.

                “Open your eyes,” he ordered amiably.

                Keke whimpered, still shutting his eyes tightly. “It stings.”

                “We only have to wash them with water and it will go away,” Yongguk coaxed.

                Keke obeyed his master. He slowly cracked his eyes open, rapidly blinking when the stinging pain was unbearable. He could feel the water slipped into his eyes, making the pain to gradually subside.

                “Better now?” Yongguk asked when he noticed that the boy had become less tensed.

                “Yeah…” Keke dropped his head and rubbed his eyes once more. He could properly opened his eyes after that. With a big smile on his face, he turned to look at the man. “I’m done!”

        Yongguk huffed a sigh of relief, a hand still laying over Keke’s nape. “Did you wash your face?”

                A crease was formed in between Keke’s brows, etching a confused expression on his face. “Keke don’t remember that Keke have to wash the face when Keke was a little boy,” he wondered out loud.

                “You have to now since you’ve grown bigger,” Yongguk stated, taking the facial cleanser from the shower caddy and handed it out to the boy. “Here.”

                Keke opened the cap before squeezing the tube above his palm. He had forgotten about the ban on revealing his private area because the man who would always remind him about it seemed to have overlooked the matter too.

                “Not so much!” Yongguk grabbed Keke’s wrist when the cream was forced out more than it should be. He seized the cleanser and put it back at its original place. “Now rub it on your face thoroughly.”

                Keke did exactly as he was told, clenching his eyelids so hard while he quickly rub the skin of his face with that cream. When he got an okay from his master, he stepped into the shower again to get his face completely washed.

                “Now you’re done,” Yongguk announced and turned off the faucet.

                The excess water on Keke’s face was wiped off using his palms and shook off from his head. It made the water splash everywhere, including his master.

                Yongguk jerked away when his newly worn shirt was struck with the water droplets. When he turned to shot a glare, Keke was his hand, just like what cats would do to groom themselves. “Yah!”

                Keke flinched, startled by Yongguk’s loud voice. He had stopped his act, drawing his tongue back into his mouth, to look up at the man.

                “Don’t do that. You’re not a cat now,” Yongguk scolded, causing the boy to shrink in his spot. “Come here,” he said before walking off to pick up the towel where he had left earlier.

                “Dry yourself.” He shoved the towel to Keke’s chest and stepped out of the bathroom.

                Keke mindlessly carried out the command while trailing behind the taller man. He managed to wipe every part of his body until they stopped by the bedside. He wrapped the towel around his front lower part by holding it behind his back as he watched his master plopping down onto the bed.

                Yongguk saw the inconvenience and reached out to take the towel from the boy’s hold, helping him to make it hung securely around the small waist.

                “Sit down,” Yongguk told the boy while patting the spot beside him.

                Keke did without any words. But when a black thing which blows hot air was handed to him, he was utterly astounded by it.

                “Ohhh!!” he exclaimed, taking it into his hands. “It’s the thing that dries Keke’s fur!”

                Yongguk chuckled, amused by the boy’s comical reaction. “It’s simply a hair dryer,” he stated before pointing to the buttons on it. “You can turn it on and off here, and you can have the slowest wind here, stronger wind here, and the strongest wind here.”

                Keke was rigorously focused to everything he was shown, nodding his head repeatedly with rounded lips. When his owner told him to give it a try, he didn’t hesitate to turn that thing on. He let out amazed sounds as he felt the warm air with his palm, testing all the strength of the dryer before sticking to the middle one. Then, he began to dry himself.

                “Why the hell are you trying to dry your belly?” Yongguk laughed so hard that his stomach started to get cramps and his eyes formed happy tears.

                Keke couldn’t grasp the reason why the man was laughing at first, but he slowly realized that he was being laughed at. So, he huffed angrily.

                “It’s a hair dryer! It’s supposed to dry your hair!” Yongguk said after he had calmed down, his laugh gradually faded as he wiped the tears at the corner of his eyes.

                With a pout adorably contorting his face, Keke lifted the dryer higher to point it towards his head and swirl it around.

                Yongguk knew that the boy was sulking, but just by looking at the cute angry face made him feel like laughing again. “Why are you pouting? You did something funny, so of course I’d laugh.”

                Keke was even more annoyed. He glared at the man from the corner of his eyes before looking away from him.

                Yongguk stifled another laugh. “Alright,” he cleared his throat, deciding to stop teasing the boy. “Could you stop being sulky? I’ve got something to ask,” he said, but Keke was still facing away from him. His mind quickly came out with something. Shrugging his shoulders, he thought that it was worth giving a try.

                Yongguk brought a hand over Keke’s head and ruffled the soft hair, finding it was almost dry at the same time. His lips quirked up at the instant response from the boy.

                Keke slowly straightened up his back to nudge the large palm, asking for more pats. The hand that was holding the hair dryer eventually dropped onto his lap. As the quickened its pace, his eyes unconsciously closed and he mewled pleasantly.

                Yongguk’s hand stopped abruptly. That sound was so close to a purr and he should be okay with it since Keke had been purring all the time when he was a cat. Instead, it sent tingles down his spine.

                Keke opened his eyes and saw his master gaping at him. His head tilted to the side with his brows creasing in confusion.

                Yongguk blinked his eyes rapidly. How could the boy look remarkably cute just by tilting his head?

                They stared at each other for quite a moment until Yongguk spoke up. “Shouldn’t your hair grow longer since you couldn’t change into human for years?” The question came out of nowhere, but he didn’t keep it in his mind since he got very curious about it. His hand was still resting on top of the boy’s head and he started to caress it again, a lot slower than before.

                Keke pouted again, this time it was not because he was angry. He was thinking of an answer to the matter. “Keke’s fur doesn’t grow longer since then, so maybe Keke’s hair does the same thing,” he reckoned.

                Yongguk nodded while jutting out his bottom lip. “That makes sense.”

                He took the hair dryer from the boy and turned it off, missing the low whining sound when he stopped patting the dried hair. He stood up to put it back in the drawer adjacent to the bed before going to his wardrobe. As usual, he picked the smallest pair of clothes for Keke.

                Yongguk just observed the boy putting on the clothes on his own like a proud father as he sat on the bed again. Keke had gotten much better at it. However, the clothes were still too big for his shorter and slender figure. He could feel how uncomfortable it was just by looking at the neckline dropping from the narrow shoulders. He even noticed before that the boy would pull his pants up once in a while because it was slipping down his waist.

                He looked up at Keke who was still standing in front of him. The cat boy noticed and tilted his head quizzically, his eyes widened when Yongguk said, “Let’s go shopping.”

                Keke changed into Yongguk’s black skinny jeans which turned out to be pretty loose on him but, he wouldn’t have to grapple with the risk of his pants falling down since he was made to wear a belt too. His owner had folded the hem of his jeans too because they were too long for him. He was also told to put on something called turtleneck sweater instead of the prior plain shirt, saying that his skin wouldn’t show too much in it, even though his neck wasn’t covered by the sweater at all, whereas the sleeves fully covered his arms until the tip of his middle fingers.

                Currently, they were riding a train to the city. Yongguk had contemplated whether it was a good idea to take the monorail with Keke because he wouldn’t know if the boy would freak out or not. It’s not like there wasn’t any clothing store near his apartment, but he favored the one close to his company. It had a whole lot of choices and he was more familiar with that area compared to his apartment’s vicinity.

                However, he was starting to regret his decision. Keke had been wide-eyed ever since they stepped out of the building. The boy’s jaw dropped and almost touched the floor of monorail station as soon as they reached there. He was so overwhelmed by everything around him that he forgot to watch his steps. Luckily, Yongguk was fast enough to save him.

                Yongguk was so relieved that he had avoided the embarrassment of Keke tripping in the crowded station. But he had no idea that he would be even more embarrassed on the train. The boy had been continuously looking out the window right after they found two empty seats. There were quite a number of people in the same train since it was the weekend and all of them would flick their eyes to Keke every time he would make an amazed noise at the view outside.

                “Sit down,” Yongguk whispered through gritted teeth when he couldn’t take it anymore. It was ridiculous for a grown up teenager to be on his knees in the seat while gawking through the window. “You’re embarrassing me,” he added, fixing his eyes on his phone screen.

                Keke faithfully listened to his master. He slowly turned in his seat while sliding his feet down. His lips were unconsciously pouting again. He looked down to his lap, fiddling with the hem of the sleeves, but it didn’t bring any fun. He looked up at the people sitting across and around him. Everyone had a mobile phone in their hands. Even his master was staring intently at one.

                Keke realized that the man was paying no heed to him. So, he took the chance to subtly turn his head towards the window. He was getting bored and only by looking at the beautiful view outside could he be entertained. When Yongguk was about to notice, he would quickly brought his head down. Then, he would quietly turned around again.

                Yongguk exhaled a long sigh. He knew what the boy was trying to do and he felt bad for it. He should have known that Keke was easily amused at everything and this was probably his first time getting on a train.

                “Fine,” he muttered, causing Keke to look at him. “Come with me.” He stood up before walking to the door.

                Keke followed his master closely and stood right behind him when he stopped. He was pulled to the front by his arm after that. The man made him face the door which also had a window. His eyes immediately went wide again at the clear view.

                “You can look outside but keep quiet,” Yongguk said, holding to the nearest pole to keep his balance. He stood so close to Keke, just in case the boy would fall from the train’s sudden jerks.

                Keke briefly turned around to flash his wide grin at the man before going back to gaze out the window with both of his palms pressed against the transparent glass.

                Yongguk’s heart skipped a beat, but he told himself that it was because of the really nice view outside.

                After getting off the train, they began walking to their destination. Yongguk took the same route every day to go to work. It wasn’t long from the station until they passed by his company and he willingly told the boy about it.

                “This is where I’m working at.” He pointed to the five-story building at Keke’s right, his arm crossed the boy’s face in the process.

                Keke halted his steps and looked towards the direction, head tilting up to see the end of the building. He turned at Yongguk again after a moment. “What does daddy do in there?”

                “My job,” Yongguk answered nonchalantly. He resumed their walk and Keke followed suit.

                “What is daddy’s job?”

                “An editor.”

                “What does an editor do?”

                “Well,” Yongguk paused momentarily to choose his words so that Keke could understand easier. “I have to make books a better read.”

                “What books?”

                “Something like story books.” Yongguk shrugged his shoulders.

                “Ah…” Keke nodded his head. He didn’t quite understand the whole thing but, he didn’t know what else to ask. “That sounds fun,” he commented with a flattering smile.

                Yongguk mirrored the boy’s expression. How could Keke be amazed at everything like an innocent child? Other boys with the same age would have called everything related to books with a lot of words as boring. Keke reminded him of his own self in the past, when he would always find it fun to go to the library after the school ended instead of hanging out with friends.

                “It is, indeed,” he admitted, ruffling Keke’s hair.

                Yongguk began to search for clothes as soon as they arrived at the shop. He had told Keke to have a look around too but, the boy was too awkward to do anything. He just watched his master while keeping a close distance to him most of the time, if not indifferently checking out some of the items on display.

                Keke was not the only one who was keeping an eye on Yongguk. The salesgirl was also tailing him, following both of them right behind the boy.

                “May I know what your name is?” The girl spoke up when Keke stopped at the checkered shirts to have a look. “Mine is Kyung Mi,” she introduced herself with a friendly smile.

                Yongguk was busy picking out some clothes for Keke to try and couldn’t hear the girl from the spot where he was standing at. But Keke wasn’t afraid of people approaching him. He was a tame cat after all.

                “This is Keke,” he answered with a hand on his chest.

                The girl known as Kyung Mi frowned at first, somehow weirded out about the strange name, but then she just brushed it off, thinking that it was possibly a nickname for the boy.

                “Who did you come with? Is he your brother?” she asked again while glancing at Yongguk.

                “Keke came with daddy,” he smiled innocently.

                The boy’s reply left Kyung Mi open mouthed, totally dumbfounded at the odd revelation. The only plausible thought that crossed her mind was that the man called daddy might actually be older than he looked or else, the boy might be pulling a prank on her.

                Yongguk came to Keke’s side with a few pieces of shirts and pants in his hold. “Seen anything you like?”

                Keke immediately moved to another spot, pulling Yongguk’s hand along while the salesgirl diligently went after them after gathering herself together. The boy stopped next to a clothing and showed it to his master, causing the girl’s eyes to widen.

                Yongguk was not sure if Keke was making a joke or not. He just stared at the light pink baby doll dress for quite a moment with knitted brows. “That… is for girls…”

                “But it feels comfy.” Keke ran his hand up and down the soft fabric with a persuading smile.

                “But you’re not a girl,” Yongguk stated the obvious fact.

                Keke sighed in defeat. “Yeah… That’s too bad,” his narrow shoulders slumped in disappointment, but he was quick to get over it as he moved towards another piece nearby. “What about this one?”

                Yongguk was shown an oversized shirt. “I think it’s a little big on you. Too big. It’s even bigger than my own clothes. What’s the point of coming here?”

                “If daddy buy this shirt, daddy doesn’t have to buy pants,” Keke voiced out his logics.

                “You won’t wear any pants if you wear this shirt? The hell, why?”

                “Keke won’t wear anything if daddy didn’t say so. Keke is used to it,” the boy replied casually.

                Yongguk heaved a deep breath to calm his nerves. He turned around to look at the salesgirl before giving her a thin embarrassed smile with a nod. Kyung Mi returned an awkward smile to him.

                Yongguk then went closer to Keke and whispered. “You’re used to be when you’re a cat. You’re a human now and humans with common sense wear shirts as well as pants.”

                Keke’s bottom lip was slowly jutting out, forming the usual pout. “Okay,” he gave up on the pants. “But Keke still want this shirt,” he insisted while sending an obstinate gaze to the man.

                Yongguk was beaten. He let out a heavy sigh before turning to the salesgirl again. “Is there any smaller size for this?”

                “It is a free size. Oversized shirt is a trend now,” she said with an explanation.

                Yongguk turned to stare at Keke, but the boy didn’t falter. He had no choice than to give in. “Fine. Go try these and that giant shirt in the fitting room.” He gave all the pieces of clothing in his hold and Keke gladly accepted them. The boy had a huge grin as he took the oversized shirt before skipping to the fitting room.

                After Yongguk was satisfied with how Keke looked in most of the clothes he had picked for a number of times, he decided to buy five pairs of shirts and pants, including the underwears. Both of them went to the cashier to make the payment by using Yongguk’s card.

                “Thank you, sir, Keke-ssi,” the same salesgirl smiled as she handed out a couple of shopping bags to them. “Please come again.”

                Yongguk was slightly surprised when the girl called Keke by his name, but he didn’t forget to thank her back and take one of the bag. The other one was already in Keke’s hold.

                “You told her your name’s Keke?” Yongguk asked after they got out to the sidewalk.

                Keke nodded. “And I told her that daddy is daddy because she thinks daddy is Keke’s brother.”

                Yongguk closed his eyes and pressed his lips together to hold his irritation from building up. “You should just agree with her…” he muttered as he looked at the boy again.

                “But daddy is Keke’s daddy,” Keke retorted.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Yongguk sighed, pinching his nose bridge. “Don’t you have any real name?”

                Keke tilted his head to the side. “Real name?”

                “Yeah, like your mom called you when you’re a little kid.”

                Keke averted his gaze to the ground, watching his feet moved forwards alternatingly in a steady pace. The thought of his mother caused a slight pain in his heart. He loved both of his parents so much, but he could barely remember how they actually looked like.

                “She called Keke Daehyun…” he murmured without lifting his head.

                “Daehyun?” Yongguk asked to confirm and the boy nodded. “That’s a nice name. I’ll call you Daehyun from now on and for you, don’t ever call me daddy again.”

                Daehyun finally looked up at the man. “What do Keke… No…” He paused to shake his head and began again. “What should Daehyun call you?”

                “Hyung.”

                “Hyung?”

                There was the weird thump again. Yongguk didn’t know why, but the way Daehyun said it came out cuter than anyone else. This time, he admitted that the loud beating of his heart was because of the boy in front of him.

                “Yeah…” Yongguk looked away when he felt his face started to heat up.

                “So, daddy will be Daehyun’s brother?”

                “That’s better than being your daddy. So, you have to remember that I’m not your daddy, or your master, but your hyung. You just called me daddy again just now.”

                “Sorry… Hyung…” Daehyun apologized sheepishly.

                Yongguk smiled fondly at the boy before patting his head. He really wanted to squish those rosy cheeks, but before he could put an act onto it, Daehyun spoke up again.

                “Can Daehyun ask something?”

                Yongguk raised his brows at the boy. “About what?”

                “Will Daehyun live with hyung forever? Hyung won’t tell Daehyun to leave again?” Daehyun asked timidly, remembering the sad time when Yongguk was yelling at him to get out of the apartment.

                Yongguk hummed as he gave it a thought. “I won’t tell you to leave again,” he said reassuringly. “But you can’t stay with me forever. You should find a place for yourself and live your own life. I only let you stay at my place for the time being.”

                At Yongguk’s extended explanation, confusion made its way across Daehyun’s face again. He chuckled since the boy was always adorable when he was puzzled about something.

                “Don’t worry. You’ll get what I mean sooner or later.” He sent Daehyun a comforting smile, tousling the fluffy hair once more which would fall back naturally to its previous place later.

                “Okay,” Daehyun’s lips crinkled into an endearing little grin, melting Yongguk’s heart again. But Yongguk had nothing to complain about, other than wishing for Daehyun to always have that smile on his pretty face.

                Yongguk heaved a deep breath and drew his hand away. “Now, let’s go buy some toothpaste.”

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A/N:

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