‘Aish, it’s so late!’ CNU thought while running in the rain, back to his place. ‘What a day to start raining! Stupid weather channel didn’t predict this!’

He ran and ran, while those thoughts filled his mind. Suddenly, the rain started to pour harder, so he took helter under some building’s stairs. Sitting down, he tried to comb, his now wet, new side braids.

Looking to the nearly-blinding pouring rain, he distinguished a carton box, which was moving.

Crossing the road, he got closer to the box, in which he found a cute, little and all wet cat.

“What are you doing here, kitty?”

Clearly, the only answer he got from the cat in the box was a “meow”.

“Uh… what should I do?” the rain kept on pouring and the carton box was about to tear apart.

“Well, the rain doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop soon…” stretching his arms, Dongwoo held the cat and hid him under his jacket, to protect him from the water droplets.

Determined not to be beaten by the pouring rain, the brown-haired ran as fast as he could back to his place.

Once there, CNU hurried to put the brown cat down on the couch, while grabbing some pillows and throwing them to the floor.

“Wait here” he ordered the cat, leaving him meowing and his little left fore feet. Back with a blanket, the brown-haired built, with the pillows, an improvised bed, covering it with the warm blanket.

“There!” Dongwoo smiled. Looking back to the cat, he was still his paw. He approached him and noticed what was wrong. The cat’s paw was injured.

“Oh my!” Dongwoo ran straight to his bathroom, quickly fetching the first-aid kit from a cabinet. As he turned to exit the bathroom, he nearly jumped from the scare: the kitty had followed him.

“Gee, don’t scare me like that!” he said, putting a hand above his heart, theatrically.

Chuckling of himself, he held the cat and set him down on the toilet’s top. With careful hand movements, CNU disinfected the cat’s wound and then bandaged the small brown paw.

When he was done, the cat was looking at him through his gorgeous feline eyes and started to purr as soon as Dongwoo’s hand caressed his soft fur.

Suddenly, the brown-haired sneezed. He realized it was better to take a shower before he caught a serious cold. As soon as the boy started to undress, the cat quickly turned around.

He soon finished showering and, after putting on some comfy clothes, CNU hurried to prepare something for the cat. Would milk on a plate do? Well, at least it did… in cartoons. Shaking his head, he poured the milk into a plate and set it in front of the brown feline, who started drinking it with his pink tongue, with fast sips.

Dongwoo simply smiled; the cat was so little, so defenseless, so innocent…

As if the feline was a mind reader, he lifted his head and looked at the brown-haired, tilting his furry head, as if asking why the boy wasn’t eating as well.

“Oh, I’ve eaten already” CNU said.

‘I must be going crazy… I’m reassuring a cat!’

When the cat finished, Dongwoo quickly cleaned the plate and carried the animal to his improvised bed. After laying him on the pillows, the boy felt bad about leaving the poor injured one alone in the living room, so he pulled the blanket and went to his room.

Once there, he spread the blanket on his blue quilt and placed the feline on it, going to bed right after removing his square glasses.

He patted the animal softly, feeling him purr again. The brown-haired ended up falling asleep to the cat’s soft sounds.

Outside, the rain kept on pouring.

The next morning, CNU rose to the alarm clock ring. He yawned, stretching his arms. He picked his glasses from his bed stand and looked to the side: the cat wasn’t there anymore.

“Where the hell did he go to?” jumping from his bed, he searched the house, but no sign of the furry fellow anywhere.

‘Weird’he thought. ‘Can’t really worry about that now! School’s waiting’.

He got ready and, before leaving the house, he left the kitchen window slightly open and a plate with milk next to it. The cat could come back, right?

In an instant he arrived at school. When he entered the classroom there was a huge group of boys surrounding a table in the front row. Walking to his own desk, in the back of the room, he greeted his best friend Baro.

“Mornin’!”

“Hey man!”

“So, what’s with the ruckus there?” he pointed to the boys while sliding in his desk seat.

“It’s the new boy, Jinyoung, apparently he hurt himself”.

“Who’s hurt?” Gongchan, Baro’s boyfriend asked entering the classroom.

“Your new friend, Jinyoung” Baro said bitterly, pouting right after.

“Oh, my baby’s jealous?” Gongchan chuckled. “Don’t worry, I only want you baby” he leaned down and lightly kissed Baro.

CNU rolled his eyes and looked outside.

‘Lovebirds’.

“Well then” Gongchan stretched himself. “I should go check on Jiny” he walked away happily, making his way through the boys’ gathering.

“Jiny?” Dongwoo lifted his eyebrows.

Baro ruffled his pitch black hair.

“He’s been into nicknaming lately” he sighed. “I’m Bachan and you’re--”

“Dongie!” Gongchan appeared out of nowhere, hugging CNU by his neck, from behind.

“G-Gongchan, choking!”

“Oops, sorry!” the tall young boy released the brown-haired. “Bachan, weren’t you gonna dye your hair blonde?”

“Blonde?” honestly, that day was being as strange as ever. First, the cat and now his friends were acting all weird.

“I lost a bet. Dying my hair blonde is the punishment”.

“I don’t even wanna know”

“It’s better if you don’t!” Gongchan laughed.

Suddenly, CNU’s eyes were covered by two soft hands.

“Sandeul” he got his sight back.

“Good morning to you too, handsome” the so-called Sandeul winked.

“Yeah, yeah, good morning” Dongwoo laughed.

While Gongchan started his chattering with Sandeul and Baro, the four-eyed brown-haired diverted his attention to the new boy. He didn’t even notice when he joined their class. But it couldn’t have been that long ago, since all the boys were still fussing over him. All he could hear was:

“At least it’s the left hand!”

“Yes, if it had been your right hand you wouldn’t be able to write!”

“But if it had been your right hand, I could copy the notes for you!”

“No, I could do it!”

And there they were, pestering the poor boy, whose only reaction was to look straight at his book, trying to abstract himself from the crescent tumult around him. Taking a close look at the boy, he was actually quite beautiful… gorgeous, to say the least. His hair was light brown and it looked as smooth as his milky skin. It somewhat reminded him of the cat’s fur.

Oh, the cat! CNU didn’t know why he was so worried about a cat. Maybe it was because of his injured paw? Maybe it was because he suddenly disappeared? Maybe it was both? He didn’t know. But it was driving him crazy.

Unexpectedly, Jinyoung turned his head, his eyes meeting Dongwoo’s dreamy ones. As soon as he realized that the new boy was looking back at him, the brown-haired looked away, embarrassed.

‘Curious. His expression was just like the cat’s…’

“Good morning, back to your seats everyone. It’s Math time!”

A disappointed ‘oh’ was heard and the class began.

After spending the whole day day-dreaming about Jinyoung and his look-a-like cat (or should he say cat and his look-a-like boy?), CNU was finally on his way home.

After reaching his empty apartment, he decided to study an extra hour to make up for his distraction.

Later that evening, the cat showed up, probably attracted by the smell of the brown-haired’s cooking.

“Hey buddy, you’re back!” Dongwoo hurried to hold the cat, so that the animal wouldn’t strain his left paw. The feline purred happily and slid to the counter, waiting, as the boy kept on making dinner.

After finishing his cooking, CNU served his own plate and then immediately served some more into a small plate he then lay on the floor, next to his chair.

Holding the cat once more, he placed him next to the food, gesturing him to eat. The animal didn’t wait for another second, as he quickly started devouring the food.

‘The poor little one must be starving!’

Dongwoo proceeded to eat his own food as well, spying on his furry friend every once in a while. Unexplainably, during the meal and while doing the dishes, the brown-haired experienced several cold shivers.

Sitting on the couch next to his light-brown friend, CNU felt very exhausted all of a sudden. Then he sneezed, scaring the poor cat.

“God, I think I may have caught a cold” he said, taking his hand to his forehead.

Hearing a soft meow, the boy looked to the side and saw the feline looking at his bedroom door.

“You’re right, I should go to bed” he gave the animal a tired smile. He made a quick stop in the bathroom to take some medicine and went straight to bed, cuddling the cat, whose soft purr drove him to sleep once again.

The next morning, as he had expected, the cat was nowhere to be found.

Several weeks went on just like the previous one, the cat appearing at night and vanishing the next morning and CNU wandering about the cat’s whereabouts and (sometimes) daydreaming about Jinyoung.

He had tried to talk to the light-brown-haired boy, but it was hard for him get more than a “good morning” or a “see you tomorrow” from him. Oh well, at least he had talked to him. Although their first conversation was a bit weird…

“Hey there! I’m Dongwoo, nice to meet you!”

“Hi… I’m Jinyoung… how’s your cold?” the young boy seemed hesitant.

“Huh? How do you know I’m ill?”

“I-I, huh, heard you sneeze on the hall?” he asked, almost as if he wasn’t sure of what he was saying.

“Oh, right!” CNU laughed. “I’m better, I should be fine by tomorrow morning.”

In fact, the brown-haired didn’t recall having sneezed that day on the hallway, but there was no other way Jinyoung could have known of his cold, so he assumed that the shy boy was right.

But what was truly troubling him was that his cat friend was indeed a strange animal. He would let Dongwoo hold him and pet him, he would even lay down next to him or in his lap, but every time the brown-haired tried to kiss him, he’d run away as fast as he could. He didn’t understand the animal since, apart from the kissing thing, he wouldn’t avoid any kind of contact with the boy.

He had thought of something that could possibly change that behavior, but he wasn’t sure whether the cat was or not that susceptible to luring like most humans were. Nevertheless, he was determined to try.

That night, almost two months after their first meeting, the nameless cat came and the animal had dinner with his human friend, who had something prepared for his furry friend after the meal.

“Come here, buddy” CNU called the feline, who hurried to jump to the couch.

“Here!” he pulled a necklace from his pocket, a necklace that resembled a collar. It was a piece of black leather to which several intertwined chains with little medallions were attached to. The brown-haired got closer and put the collar-look-a-like-necklace around the cat’s slim neck.

“Perfect. Now, I’m going to call you… Jinyoung.”

Dongwoo could have sworn he saw the feline’s eyes widen.

“You somewhat remind me of this boy I know, that’s why I’m naming you after him. You know, he seems very friendly and all, but he’s very reserved” Dongwoo slid on the couch and supported his head on his hands.

“Just like you. You let me hold you and pet you, yet you won’t let me kiss you” he chuckled. “I must be crazy, talking to a cat everyday and complaining he won’t let me kiss him” he closed his eyes and rested for a while.

The clock marked almost midnight when CNU opened his eyes once again. For how long had he been there? Feeling a slight weight on his stomach, he realized Jinyoung was already asleep. Too sleepy to think about anything else, he put his hands above the cat and also fell asleep.

That night the cat didn’t go away.

Awoken by a heavy weight on top of him, CNU blinked his eyes to, right after, widen them.

What the hell was Jinyoung (the HUMAN) doing, sleeping on top of him?! And what the hell was himself doing, with his arms wrapped around Jinyoung’s waist?!

Something was wrong, VERY wrong! What was he supposed to do? Shake him, wake him up and demand some explanations?

‘Hell, yeah!’

He shook the male lightly, truly anxious and nervous as to which was going to be Jinyoung’s reaction.

The light-brown-haired boy stirred in his sleep and blinked his eyes, adjusting to the light. When he realized he was sitting on CNU’s lap, his head leaned on the crook of his neck, his nose inhaling Dongwoo’s sweet scent and the brown-haired’s hands on his slim waist, he panicked. Instantly.

He supported his weight with his hands on the brown-haired’s wide chest and pushed himself back, their eyes meeting in utter shock. Jinyoung tried to rise and leave, but Dongwoo pulled the boy back into his lap, holding him tighter. Their eyes met again, but none dared to say a word.

Breaking the ice, Jinyoung started:

“Dongwoo…”

“What… the… hell… are you doing in my house?” each word caused both to grow even more nerve wrecked, as if what was to come out of that situation was going to imply a complete change in their lives.

“I-I…” Jinyoung sighed. He decided it was best for him to stop beating around the bush. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you”.

“Try me!” the brown-haired defied.

Gathering up all of his courage, Jinyoung firmly stated:

“I’m your cat”.

Of course Dongwoo couldn’t hold in his laughter. It was impossible not to! Was he a cat? Yeah, right, and he was the Pope. Still, after realizing his friend’s serious expression, his laughter died out until the room became quietly silent once again.

“Y-you’re joking, right?”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes.

“Does it look like I’m joking?”

“Sorry, but that’s kind of impossible.”

“Oh, yeah? Then how would I know that you have a cat? How could I, when you hadn’t told anyone about it?”

The four-eyed boy was definitely taken aback by that question. Jinyoung was right, he kept the cat a secret to everyone.

“And how” Jinyoung started ing his jacket “would I have THIS?” he opened his jacket fiercely, revealing…

“The collar! How did you get it?”

“How else if I wasn’t your cat?” Jinyoung was, to say the least, truly exasperated.

“B-but that’s impossible! Humans are humans, and cats are cats!”

“A few years ago I thought the exact same thing…” the young boy’s shoulders were so low that CNU even pitied him unconsciously.

“So… what happened?” concern was spread all over the brown-haired’s eyes.

Jinyoung drifted to Dongwoo’s side, his eyes starring into his hands on his lap. Taking a deep breath, he started remembering those long days and that particular night, some years ago.

“It all started when I was 12…”

‘I lived in an orphanage for as long as I can remember. I had a poor figure and didn’t really got along with the other kids, so you can easily say I kept being picked on by everyone.

I hated it. I truly did. So much that I was always trying to figure out a way to get out of there. That was until a cat came and changed it all.

We were all sleeping, boys and boys in their respective dormitories, when we awoke to some strange noises. We all headed to the window and saw a small cat fighting a big dog. And against all odds, the cat won. To a dog that was three times her size. That was the night that would produce the biggest change in my whole life.

We ended up taking in the cat, whom we later learnt to be protecting her cubs. Still, even though the animal was hurt, he was more worried about the baby cats than her own wounds. We managed to take care of the cat and were lucky enough to keep all the kitties. All the boys and boys were fighting over the small felines but I, I couldn't care less about them. To me, only the mother mattered. Her bravery was outstanding and a cat became my role model.

In order to become cat-like, I tried to talk to the other kids, but I wasn’t very successful. It was as if I was meant to fail. I ended up giving up and just stuck with the cat as kind of a companion soul.

One night, I was lying on my bed, the cat next to me, and I simply wished I could be like her. Without a warning, I saw a light coming out of my heart and, next thing I know, I was meowing. And I saw differently, as if from other perspective, like I was smaller. Suddenly, all became clear for me: I wasa cat. How did I know it? Well, apart from the meowing, I just felt it.

Of course the next morning I was back as a human again. But deep inside of me, I knew that it wasn’t just my usual mein that body. I then shared it with the cat-me. And, up until today, I have developed some animal instincts, like having an acute hearing and being scared over things humans aren’t usually scared of.’

“And that’s it… That’s what happened and the only thing that can undo this is a real true kiss. That’s why I ran from you. You like the cat-me and I don’t want to remain a cat for the rest of my life”.

CNU was simply speechless. That kind of thing was simply impossible and had no logic! But how Jinyoung got there was also unexplainable and illogical! And so, what could he do but to believe his?

“Prove it…” the words came out of his mouth before he even had the time to think about them.

“What?” Jinyoung raised his eyes to CNU’s.

“Prove it!” the brown-haired said, that time meaning it. “It’s not like I don’t believe you, but I need proof. I know you woke up on my lap but—”

“I-I understand!” Jinyoung stuttered. He couldn’t believe someone actually believed his! Back at the orphanage, no one believed his when they found a cat, instead of his, in his bed. He would never forget the word ‘liar’ nor the shiver on his back whenever he heard or read it.

The brown-haired sighed and then gasped as he looked at the clock.

“Damn it, we’re late!”

And running like crazy around the house, they (eventually) made it to school on time.

Later, back at home, CNU and Jinyoung were hanging out with Gongchan, Baro and Sandeul, the latter playfully trying to flirt with both Dongwoo and Jinyoung.

As the twilight was dangerously creeping out in the sky, Jiny, as Gongchan tenderly called him, was looking agitatedly impatient and couldn’t stay still in his own seat.

“Wah! Look at the time! We should get going, you guys!” Baro exclaimed.

“You coming with us, beautiful?” Sandeul winked at the restless boy.

“I-I’m not feeling that well, I’ll just stay here for a little while more”.

Gongchan rushed to his side, worry splashed all over his face.

“Do you have a fever? Are you cold? Feeling dizzy? With nausea?”

Jinyoung silenced the tall young boy with a finger on his lips.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine in no time. Besides…” and a slight pink blush covered his cheeks, when Dongwoo’s handsome features appeared in his sight. “CNU will take care of me should I need anything…”.

Suppressing an understanding gasp, Gongchan quickly got up and ushered the boys out of the house.

Dongwoo huffed in relief, falling on the couch next to the shorter brunette.

“How long?” he turned his face to Jinyoung.

“Only a few minutes. The sun is almost completely hidden.”

They sat in an awkward silence for a while, before the four-eyed boy broke the ice:

“So… are you really feeling nauseous, or…?”

“I feel a little bit, yes, but nothing I can’t bear. It’s probably just the nervousness” he assured.

“Don’t worry” CNU said, wrapping an arm around the soon-to-be-cat shoulders. “I’m here with you”.

‘And that’s probably the point’Dongwoo sighed mentally.

Without warning, Jinyoung got up, holding onto his belly and before CNU could say anything at all, a bright light shone, blinding him for a while. Next thing he knew, the human Jinyoung was gone, replaced by his cat-self.

“Oh my god… it’s really true”.

There was no mistake. The boy had really told the truth. He looked down at his and couldn’t help but to find his I-told-you-so cat expression completely amusing and insanely adorable.

He picked Jinyoung and rubbed their noses together.

“No kisses. I promise” he reassured his, showing his his pinky, in a sign of promise.

Things would work out, right? Yes, they would.

Several months went by and Jinyoung and Dongwoo’s relationship couldn’t grow any closer.

They were madly in love with each other, even though they didn’t dare confess it to each other, in fear of ruining their great friendship.

Their friends had tried everything to make them confess, but it was no use. Gongchan was extremely displeased with the situation. Why couldn’t they just overcome their fears and confess their love already? The happiness that filled his since he swallowed his pride and threw his insecurity out was too good to be true, yet, it was. There was no one that could complete his like Baro did. The boy truly felt like pulling his hair out whenever his two friends became the conversation topic.

But as sure as Gongchan’s name was Gongchan Shik, change is the only constant thing people will know in their life.

And in what concerned CNU and Jinyoung, things were definitely meant to change.

One afternoon, Jinyoung was waiting for CNU to come back from his basketball practice, sitting in front of his apartment door.

He was extremely nervous. Not only was there barely half an hour left until the sun set down completely, but he had also made up his mind to confess his love to the brown-haired that day. It wasn’t only due to Gongchan’s constant nagging, but also because he started looking more attentively at Dongwoo, not as the boy who loved him but as an outsider of the relationship.

And his tall friend was right. CNU’s looks couldn’t deceive. His actions always showed how much love he wanted to give to the cat-boy.

A few minutes later, Jinyoung could hear faint noises of feet dragging and a broken breathing. It was probably Dongwoo, tired from practice. What was strange was that he couldn’t hear the boy’s loud music banging out his headphones.

Jinyoung was right, it was his beloved one arriving. But the reason of the panting, the feet dragging and the absence of music was that the brown-haired had, all over him, signs of having been beaten up.

“E-Dongwoo?!” the feline boy ran to him, completely freaked out. “What happened? Talk to me!”

The four-eyed brown-haired rested his head on Jinyoung’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

“I…” he coughed. “I was robbed and those guys beat me up for trying to defend myself and run away before they could rob me.” He coughed harder after the effort he put on trying to finish the sentence without a stop.

Jinyoung held him tight, trying hard not to let him fall, for his own body was trembling.

“G-give me your keys, let us take care of those wounds.”

“Jacket… f-front pocket” CNU’s voice was barely a whisper.

Jinyoung got what he wanted and carried the tall boy back home, sitting him on the living room couch and dashed to fetch some water for him.

After helping him drink up the whole glass, he rushed to the bathroom and searched the cabinets for that small box he had once seen Dongwoo take. Although when he saw him it wasn’t exactly within his sight, he had a slight idea as to where the first-aid kit was.

He immediately found it and ran back to the boy, who lied there looking exhausted.

Sitting on the coffee table facing the couch, Jinyoung hurried to take care of CNU’s wounds, gently wiping off the blood with a wet cloth, disinfecting the worst injuries and band-aiding and bandaging wherever necessary.

He’d dare say he did a pretty good job, considering Dongwoo barely had any band-aids or bandages covering his face and arms despite the huge amount of slashes and gashes he apparently had.

What Jinyoung missed, though, was the blush that covered the boy’s face whenever his fingers caressed his torn face, the gentle touch contrasting with the roughness of his skin.

While Jinyoung was starting to range the things back to the white box, CNU got a hold of his hands, startling the cat-boy.

“E-Dongwoo?”

“H-how… how did you learn to take such a good care of injuries?”

The brown-haired male’s eyes nearly jumped out of its orbits, before he shyly confessed:

“I learned from the best…”

Needless to say that both faces were completely red, similar to a boiled lobster or a freshly harvested pepper.

As to abstract himself from his sudden shameless confession, Jinyoung was about to resume his previous actions. But before he could do it, Dongwoo got a hold of his hands, looking at his in the eyes, all of his feelings pouring out from his deep brown eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I have to thank you like this.”

Without giving Jinyoung time to reply, CNU gently brushed their lips together, planting a soft kiss on them.

A tiny, sparkling light appeared in between them, but they didn’t even notice it, for they were too busy taking love matters into their own hands, tasting and feeling each other for the first time.

When they were released from their hypnotic kiss, they joined their foreheads and smiled like two love-struck idiots.

Twilight was already high up in the sky.

Hi everyone, Inesu here!

Finally, something new! Wow, I've missed writing so much!

I'm currently working on We're Not The First Ones To Be Divided, Neither The Last To Be Reunited's 5th chapter, so please look forward to it :D

Also, CandI's first anniversary is coming up (23rd March) so Carol and I are also working on a small project regarding that day!

I hope you enjoyed this small one-shot! It's my entry to the English writing contest being held at our school! I only changed this story to a straight one, with English names! (Jinyoung and Gongchan are the girls in the story :b)

Comment please! Critics are welcome! <3