Jongin’s walk to the cat cafe is slow and measured. All along the way, he kicks a glittery pebble from the subway exit, carefully keeping it from rolling off the sidewalk into the street. It’s still quiet at this hour, just the sounds of his dress shoes hitting pavement and the little rock bouncing along to keep him company. When he reaches Chateau des Chats, he picks up the pebble, inspecting it for a moment, and pockets it.

“Good morning, Luhan,” he calls to his friend. Who is oddly missing from his usual perch behind the coffee counter.

"Hey, Jongin," comes a muffled reply from the back hallway. The owner is leaning all the way inside a closet, trying to fish something out. Only Luhan’s legs are visible, one up in the air as he struggles.

After setting down his bag at his usual table at the front, Jongin traverses the cafe to the far back end where the storage closet is. He bows slightly to greet the other regular patrons as he passes by, coming to a stop and leaning against the doorframe as he pokes Luhan in the ribs. "Need some help?"

The owner straightens up and blows his bangs up off his forehead. "Yeah, actually. New shipments came in, and they're blocking all of the beans I need to get to." Luhan starts handing him nondescript cardboard boxes, one right after another. Jongin isn't sure what to do with them, so he starts a pile to his right, stacking three high before creating a new column.

"These are kinda heavy. It's all coffee?"

"Mostly," Luhan says dismissively. He shuffles several bags of coffee to the side and then motions for Jongin to start reloading the closet box by box, shoving them each onto shelves that go surprisingly deep into the wall. When he's got them all situated back on the shelves, Luhan moves the bags of coffee beans in front, setting them back in neat little rows. It's almost impossible to see the boxes once he's finished.

Jongin raises a questioning eyebrow at his friend. Luhan ignores it.

"So I took the liberty of putting a splash of raspberry in your latte this morning. Hope it might sweeten your day," he says with a distractingly cheery smile, bouncing back behind the bar. "And it's on the house. Fair trade for the hard labor you just provided."

He's not sure exactly what labor he just provided. "No, it's fine. And let me get a pastry today, too," Jongin requests, pointing at the food display. While Luhan’s back is turned to get his egg tart onto a plate, Jongin pulls out cash and quickly stuffs it into the cash register so the owner won’t get a chance to object. "Thanks, Lu." He grabs his food and heads to his seat.

Mimi is sitting atop the table already, staring at him with a somewhat impatient swish of her tail. She mews at his approach, as if to say, "what took you so long."

"Hello my pretty kitty," he coos while setting his plate and mug down. Jongin pets the soft fur between her ears and boops noses with her. She purrs loudly, stepping into his lap the moment he bends into his chair.

"How was your morning, princess?" he asks as she winds back and forth on his thighs. He eats his egg tart with one hand while giving her scratches under the thin pink collar around her neck. In lieu of answering him, Mimi grooms his bare forearms with occasional .

"I brought you something today, girl." He lifts the cat off his lap and places her on the ground. Mimi voices her displeasure at losing her cat bed, whining a long, somber meow. Jongin reaches into his pocket and pulls out the pebble. He waves it in front of her face, letting the sunlight pouring through the window glint off the silvery flecks in the stone. Mimi's pupils dilate until her green irises all but disappear. Jongin tosses the pebble onto the floor and watches as she darts after it, batting it about the smooth linoleum. He kicks it away with the toe of his dress shoe when she flings it his direction, and chuckles as he watches her give chase.

"You know, I have about three dozen cat toys in here. You don't need to bring detritus off the streets," Luhan mock complains, inviting himself to sit down at Jongin's table.

"Yes, but your toys are too familiar." He waves a hand in the general direction of some wind-up toys and rubber bouncy balls that have been staples in the cafe since he started coming. "She's needs a little variety now and then. She deserves some sparkle in her life, no?" Amused, he watches her scoop the pebble up in a paw and nip at it a few times before it slips out of her grasp, sliding across the floor until it reaches him. He covers the stone with his foot and laughs as she tries to swat it out from several different angles. Once she’s whining in frustration, he lifts his foot to reveal the pebble and nudges it across the floor again.

"Things went better with the crush, huh?" Luhan smirks at him and steals the last of his egg tart. "You were a little distant yesterday."

"It's... been up and down. But mostly up." Like his boners.

"Good, that's good to hear. Does he know? That you're interested?"

Interested, what does that even mean in their situation. "Uh, yeah, I guess. We have a rapport."

Luhan makes a spitting noise. "A rapport. Are you trying to sign business deals or get laid, my friend? I swear, only you would describe trying to get into someone's pants as 'building rapport.'"

Jongin could argue but he doesn't see the point: he can't explain the details of why he'll never get in Dyo's pants to Luhan. He gives a self-deprecating shrug and continues to amuse himself and his cat.

“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you alone after one more question.” Luhan leans across the table with a mischievous smile. “Favorite thing about this guy?”

Jongin purses his lips and blushes, averting his eyes. He’s about to say Dyo’s voice, but when he opens his mouth to speak, it comes out as-

“Everything.”

“Oh, you’ve got it bad.” Lu beams at him and pinches Jongin’s cheek as he rises from the table, leaving him to tumble his thoughts and his pebble with Mimi.

---

Days off of work are always confusing for his body. Jongin keeps his schedule of waking at the usual time, working out, running errands, all like clockwork. It’s too difficult to flip back to a daytime schedule for just one day, but maintaining a complete nocturnal pattern when he doesn’t have the distraction of work is challenging, too. Nothing tends to be open in the middle of the night except clubs, bars, and noreabang, all of which are decidedly not his scene.

At least he has some work from his side hustle to distract him in the early evening. He dresses in his usual white button-down and black slacks, looking every bit the part of a respectable architect. He has that appointment with his mother’s knitting circle friend to go over the renovation he’s going to draft for her condo. Naturally, the meeting is scheduled in said condo.

Unnaturally, there’s a knitting circle meet-up at the same time.

He gives his mother a dead-eyed how could you do this to me stare as he endures the not-so-subtle inquiries into his personal life from the room full of nosy ahjummas.

“You’re so handsome, Jongin-ah. I bet you have many girls chasing after you at work.”

“Ah, thank you. But no, there’s nothing like that happening at my workplace. My colleagues are very professional,” he lies through his teeth, pretending as though Baekhyun doesn’t exist.

“Jongin-ah, your mother says you’ve been extra busy with work lately. Are you coming up for a promotion?”

“No, but I’m doing well. My boss has been pleased with my performance.”

“Tsk, then he shouldn’t be keeping you in the office past dinner time.” Damn, his mom shares more about his life with these women than he does with Lu. “You shouldn’t skip meals, dear. You’re still a growing boy.”

“I’m 25,” he reminds them, perplexed.

“Yet you grow broader each time I see you!” One lady handing him a teacup and saucer takes the liberty of his deltoids. It’s one of those weirdly invasive things that menopausal women do and polite society has come to accept for reasons beyond Jongin’s comprehension. “Ooo, so strong. Halfway to 50? You should be thinking about marriage then, Jongin-ah.”

This sparks a chorus of simultaneous chattering around the room. “Mom, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?” he implores. Luckily, she’s quick to play rescuer and takes his arm, allowing him to her out of the room and away from the women excitedly discussing potential matches for him.

“My price for this remodel just doubled,” he deadpans, sulking against the kitchen countertops.

“Good! I told you that you should give them a fair price for your quality work, rather than discounting it so much.” She pats his cheek approvingly.

“You led me into the lion’s den without even a fair warning,” he pouts with a nod in the direction of the living room.

“That wasn’t my idea, actually. You can blame Miryo for deciding to schedule your appointment to overlap with the end of our weekly circle meeting.”

“This is Mrs. Cho’s fault?!” Jongin feels betrayed. He’s always favored her over his mom’s other friends.

His mom pulls him into a tight hug. Her head barely reaches his lower rib cage, so he has to bend down to properly hug her back, but the warmth and strength of her love makes him feel small and cared for. “I’ll get rid of the others so you can discuss the renovation in peace. Set up in here,” she gestures to the long kitchen table, “and I’ll tell everyone you need quiet to concentrate and work your magic.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“You’re welcome. And it was good to see you, son.”

“You, too, mom.”

With a peck on the cheek, she turns to go round up the other women and shoo them away.

When he finishes discusses Mrs. Cho’s wish list and budget, it’s 10pm. Late for most people, but early for him. He stops by his apartment to drop off his bag filled with drafting materials. No sense in lugging around rulers and rolls of plotter paper. With a lightened load, Jongin heads for the subway station. From his neighborhood in Insadong, it takes him about an hour and a half to go all the way to Soyosan, the end of the line. He walks a few blocks until civilization thins out and it’s mostly grassy space. At the northern outskirts of Seoul, it really is quieter, darker.

The stars look alive out here.