Wednesday

It’s been less than a day since Jaejoong moved into the new neighborhood. He’s happy and proud because finally after years of hard work and suffering he’s able to afford the house of his dreams.

It’s not any old house, though, it’s better. It’s a house filled with great memories, fun incidents and heartfelt laughter. It’s also a house next to the gigantic villa belonging to the most talented singer, dancer and an overall amazing entertainer Jaejoong’s been a fan of since forever.

It’s not easy to get a house like this, of course, but he worked and took care of the old lady living here for years. In the end she loved him more than her own children and he loved her more than anything in the world. When her time to switch houses to Heavens had arrived, they both agreed that if anyone deserved the rights to purchase this place, it was noone else but Jaejoong.

Now, three years after slaving himself in every possible job out there, he was able to afford it.

‘It’s amazing!’ Jaejoong throws open a window and exclaims dramatically, just like he always imagined he would. The sun shines brightly down upon his raven-colored hair and he looks up, smiling in utter satisfaction at how great his life has turned out to be. He looks at heaven and waves to his old friend, sure that she’s watching him from one of those soft-looking clouds.

He misses the old lady but enjoys the romantic thought of her being reunited with her husband up there. He’s heard every single adventure the pair experienced, admitting to himself that maybe because of that he’s become a hopeless romantic.

‘Meow’

Jaejoong notices a cat standing in his garden. The animal is looking up at him with its glossy green eyes shining like emeralds. Jaejoong blinks in surprise and wonders where did the animal come from.

‘Meow meow meow’ the cat sings and Jaejoong decides it’s for the best if he goes outside and inspects the situation.

The moment he opens the door the cat runs inside and jumps on a chair, looking at him with its observant eyes. Jaejoong stares back, an eerie feeling washing over him. He shakes it off and smiles, coming closer to the animal. It doesn’t even flinch as he its fur softly.

‘Aren’t you an exceptional beauty, little darling’ he coos and leans over to scratch its chin. The animal purrs in delight and approval.

‘I wonder what’s your name’ he says to himself ‘or who your owner is’ because such a beautiful cat must belong to someone. There’s a collar around its neck and he checks for a capsule with an address but there’s none. The collar looks expensive, though, which isn't a surprise considering the people in this neighborhood are filthy rich.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asks and the cat purrs as if trying to say that he wouldn’t mind something delicious to nibble on and Jaejoong laugh. This is a really smart cat.

He goes over to his fridge and looks through things he has on hand. After going through everything twice, he settles for a fish he’s planned to make for dinner. Cutting off a little piece he boils it before coating it in sour cream for the finishing touch. After putting it on a porcelain plate, he decorates the food with some green herbs and presents the cat with its exquisite meal. The animal appreciates the extra effort and eats it hungrily, rubbing its head against Jaejoong’s legs and purring in satisfaction afterwards.

‘If nobody’s looking for you, I guess I will keep you’ he decided as the gracious being jumps on his lap. He’s always loved cats but he’s never gotten the chance to keep one in his apartment so this sudden meeting almost feels like a sign of destiny. It's as if he's fated to keep this animal.

He’s not left with this thoughts for too long because the door-bell rings and he hurries to open it. He wonders who could it be because he doesn’t know anyone around here and he’s not expecting any of his friends to visit him anytime soon.

His breath catches in his throat when he realizes that his celebrity neighbor he's had a not-so-secret crush on for years is standing right in front of him.

‘Yunho-ssi’ he gasps despite trying to sound like a normal person. He doesn’t want to come off as a crazy fan or, even worse, as an obsessive stalker although the sight of his idol standing within his reach is almost too much. He’s just a human and he’s been wanting to meet Yunho for ages. Maybe he can ask him for an autograph without sounding too fanboyish.

‘Oh hi, I was wondering-’ the tall handsome man looks around, his face ridden of any interest whatsoever, ‘if you have seen my cat. She usually comes home when I call her but-’

The cat runs out of the kitchen and sits down right in front of her owner's legs, looking up at him with wide eyes.

‘Meow meow meow’ the animal’s trying to tell him something and Yunho looks at Jaejoong suspiciously.

‘You kidnapped my cat?’

Jaejoong feels his mouth hang open. Whatever he had expected, he didn't expect to be insulted like that.

‘Kidnapped?' he repeats in disbelief 'No! Of course I didn’t! I just opened my door and-’

But Yunho’s not listening to him. He bends down and picks the animal up and, when he’s taken it in his arms, observes it carefully.

‘I hope you didn’t give her anything to eat. She’s very sensitive when it comes to food and she only accepts the expensive, vet approved brand that I give her. She’s a Siamese and they should not be given some low quality grub’ Yunho looks at him with that haughty I'm-more-than-you-will-ever-be attitude and Jaejoong's left speechless.

‘I- I didn’t mean to- I didn’t know-’ he tries to stutter out an excuse but with a scowl on his face Yunho turns to leave.

‘If she’s sick in the morning you're paying for the expenses. I will sue if necessary’ he says before heading back to his own house.

‘Meow meow meow’ Jaejoong hears the cat singing from afar before he slams the door shut, all read in the face.

'What a ' he spits, trembling all over. He cannot believe he’s been a fan of a good-for-nothing snob for years. He positively hates him now.

Thursday

When Jaejoong comes back home after a long day of work, he's met with the same cat in his garden. She’s sitting there and looking at him with bright green eyes and he cannot resist bending down to that soft fur and scratch behind those pointy ears.

‘At least you seem to be doing well. I’m glad’ he says more to himself than anyone else before he looks around cautiously. He's almost expecting Yunho to pop out of somewhere to insult him of touching his cat again.

Nothing like that happens and Jaejoong thinks he must stop stressing over yesterday. Maybe Yunho was in a bad mood, maybe he was nervous and, actually, he was right. Jaejoong doesn't have any rights to feed someone's cat, he shouldn't have let it inside in the first place.

He crosses the front lawn and stops at the door, the cat’s following him and looking up at him expectantly when he takes out his key.

‘I’m sorry but- I cannot let you in. Your owner doesn't like me’ he apologizes, wondering how crazy he is for feeling sorry for rejecting a cat. Then he closes the door in the animal’s face.

He sighs and puts his paper bag with groceries on the table. He takes out the noodles and the leek he needs for dinner and goes to put on some water for his herbal tea when a deep, husky yell interrupts the silence. He stands still for a moment, shocked at the weird sound, before another yell indicates that it’s the cat singing outside of his door. He stands there in the middle of his kitchen with a leek and noodles in his hands, wondering what would be the right thing to do.

He decides to ignore the cat and proceed with the dinner making just to admit his defeat after five minutes. He's severely underestimated the cat and its one hell of a singing throat.

‘Fine, you win. I will just have to go to your owner and try to explain the whole situation later or at least before he barges in my house with a police squad yelling that I have kidnapped his cat again’ he says as he opens the door and looks at the animal warningly ‘I’m not giving you any food because you’re a Siamese and your kind is very sensitive to my low-quality home-made grub’

And with that Jaejoong lets the animal in, calmly resuming his cooking.

Half an hour in the process he gives up and feeds it some noodles and beef. He’s been listening to meowing non-stop and the knife in his hands is trembling while his ears are bleeding.

‘Doesn’t he feed you or something!?’ he yells as he watches the cat happily devouring the food. He shuts up when the animal looks at him and purrs affectionately, a strange feeling washing over him once again.

'I’m going crazy, that’s what I am’ he decides and goes to get himself a beer.

***

‘Um, hello? I’m here to return your cat?’ he says insecurely in the ridiculously expensive video phone, hoping that he’s making the right decision. There’s no answer but after a while he sees Yunho emerging from the house and coming closer in an all but a friendly manner.

‘How did you get into my house?' he looks at him unkindly 'I locked her inside, she had no way of getting out. Explain yourself or I’m calling the police’

It's his second meeting with the man of his (once) dreams and he opens his mouth to defend himself but absolutely no sound comes out.

‘Meow meow meow’ the cat starts singing in his arms but that doesn’t help because she sounds like he's been torturing her all day long.

'You’re one of those creepy stalkers, aren’t you?’ Yunho says as he grabs the animal from Jaejoong’s hands, pulling her close to his chest ‘the one who breaks in other people’s homes and takes creepy photos of them. I may not look like it-’ he narrows his eyes ‘but I'm warning you. If this ever happens again I'm calling the police’

And with that he’s gone and Jaejoong's left gaping after him.

He has, most definitely, left a terrible impression on the man.

Friday

Jaejoong decides to go home late. He usually doesn’t go out drinking but this time he agrees when his barely legal colleague from work makes him the offer.

‘You’re so tense, you should relax more!’ the younger man yells over the deafening music blasting in his ears and Jaejoong's trying hard to hear what he's saying. Somebody pushes past him and ‘accidentally’ grabs his . He yelps, blushing deep red.

His colleague is laughing uncontrollably at his distraught while Jaejoong doesn't understand what's so funny here.

‘You’re hot so you should expect that’ the younger comments before disappearing in the crowd, leaving Jaejoong absolutely defenseless. With a resolved sigh he grits his teeth and slaps away another hand ‘accidentally’ trying to his behind. He swears never to go clubbing again.

***

He arrives home at three o’clock in the morning, dead tired but happy. It feels like he’s accomplished something because he’s flirted with half of the club and successfully forgot the impending crush on his neighbor. He also avoided meeting the cat today.

He peels his sweaty shirt and jeans off of his tired body and neatly stuffs them in the laundry basket. As he falls into his bed, the only thought that sweeps his mind is heavenly sleep.

That is, until he feels something soft tickling his cheek and his eyes shoot open in horror. He turns his head sharply just to be met with Yunho’s cat sitting on his pillow, looking at him intensively.

He lets out a loud shriek and rolls off the bed with a thud.

‘Oh my god what to do what to do what are YOU doing here!? How did you get inside?’ the words pour out of his mouth like peas as he’s hiding behind his bed, peering at the animal over the edge.

‘Meow’ the cat says and stands on all fours, stretching elegantly and swaying over to the raven-haired head. She pawns at his cheek and purrs loudly, rubbing her fluff head against the other's slightly hooked nose.

‘I’m a dead man’ Jaejoong mutters but cannot refuse the gracious animal. Right then the doorbell rings and Jaejoong instinctively knows he’s screwed.

‘Who-who's there?’ he mumbles once he’s at the door, the cat hot on his tracks.

‘Officer Changmin here, may I ask if there’s a Siamese cat in this house?’

This. This must be a bad joke. Jaejoong shakes his head in disbelief. He almost wants to say no but the moment the thought crosses his mind the animal starts yelling in full volume.

‘Could you please open the door and return the animal to its owner? I do not wish to use force but if you refuse to cooperate I won't have any other opinions as to break down the door’ the officer informs him, making Jaejoong cringe inwardly. He's standing there white as a ghost, feeling that he’s about to cry, because he really doesn’t want to look like a crazy stalker or go to jail.

'I’m sorry- I'm really really-’ he begins as he opens the door but stops when he sees the tall intimidating police officer and his neighbor standing on his doorstep. He closes his mouth, deciding that there's no sense to even try an explanation.

He’s got a cat for a stalker who enjoys his food and likes watching him sleep- which doesn’t even start making sense- so Jaejoong’s positive that no matter what he says, nobody's going to believing him anyway.

‘Mister Kim-’ the officer starts as he observes the cat happily reuniting with its owner before he looks back at him ‘I’m afraid that I will have to give you a warning’

Saturday

It’s the weekend. The hills are alive with music and the world is blooming with colors and Jaejoong's afraid to leave his house. The cat is sitting and yelling in his garden but he’s locked himself inside, closed every window and the music to ear-shattering volume to drawn out the sound.

He’s not going to give into the cat’s demands even if it costs him his hearing. He’s going to drive himself nuts it that’s what’s necessary but he will not let the cat win this time. Oh, no, not this time.

He paces around his living room, trying to think of ways how to escape without the cat noticing but finds no way out of his misery. The ringing of his doorbell interrupts his descend into insanity and Jaejoong turns the music down. He listens in and notices that the yelling of the cat has ceased and wonders if Yunho has noticed the absurd situation and come to apologize.

'Yes?' he goes to open the door but, the moment he does, the cat rushes in and runs off to the second floor to hide. There's a round, handsome face looking at him with a bright smile, making Jaejoong feel even worse than before. 

'Oh, hello, I’m Junsu’ the young man greets him ‘I saw you had your cat locked out so I decided to help the cutie and say hi to my new neighbor! I must say’ he looks Jaejoong up and down in a shameless fashion ‘the cat is as handsome as its owner’

‘Thanks’ Jaejoong answers meekly, not feeling like explaining and adds ‘I’m sorry that we cannot chat for longer but I’m very busy right now and I hope to see you again before I die’ and with that he closes the door.

Without thinking much he rushes to the second floor, starting to search frantically. He needs to find the cat. He needs to find the cat and get her out of the house before he ends up in jail. He really doesn’t want to end up in jail because jails are scary. On the other hand, maybe going to jail isn't all that bad if the cat isn’t there.

With a frustrated sigh he gives up after he’s chased the animal all over the place for hours and decides to do the only logical thing to save his life. He rushes out of the house and straight to his neighbor's gate. He has no ideas if he’s at home but he starts yelling in the monitor that his cat is stalking him and he wants Yunho to get it out of his house, like, right now.

‘I didn't steal it, don’t sue me! Please’ he adds, sounding weak and miserable.

Sunday

Yunho hasn’t shown his face since Friday evening and the cat’s living in Jaejoong’s house. He tried throwing the animal out but it looked at him with eyes holding such authority he shrank back and apologized right afterward.

‘I really don’t know if I'm right but-’ Jaejoong tells the cat when they both are sitting at the table ‘you're probably really lonely with your owner out of the house so often. Is that why you're always looking for my company? It's weird, really, but it feels like I know you- I cannot quite understand this but how comes it feels like we have met before?’

The cat glances up at him and purrs, jumping on the table. It walks over to Jaejoong and starts eating from his plate. The raven-haired man looks at the scene unfoldig helplessly, not having the heart to push the animal aside. He loves the cat despite all the trouble she's caused him and starts considering kidnapping her for real. It’s what Yunho believes anyway so why not do it for real?

The doorbell rings and Jaejoong goes to open it, expecting his angry neighbor with a whole army of men pointing guns at him; he's almost disappointed when the man's alone.

‘I know my cat is here’ Yunho hisses at him angrily the moment he opens the door.

‘Yeah, yeah, your cat is here’ Jaejoong nods and steps aside to let him in ‘she’s been here all day, eating my low quality food and enjoying the hell out of my creepy company’ he adds when the tall man strolls past him.

He’s so tired of this absurdity that if Yunho wants to sue him he's fine with that. So be it. He may as well be the first person in history to go to jail for kidnapping a cat.

A loud crash comes from his kitchen and Jaejoong's eyes go wide. He rushes over only to witness his porcelain plate shattering on the floor in tiny shreds,Yunho standing over it with a protesting cat in his hands.

‘She didn’t want to come to me’ the man explains while looking at Jaejoong.

‘Ah, yeah. She does that a lot’ he replies, trying to maintain his cool ‘but you got her now so... good for you' he goes over and takes a broom. There are tears in his eyes because that plate-

'Are you ok?' Yunho asks in a controlled voice for the first time since they've met so Jaejoong smiles, the tears threatening to fall at any moment.

‘Ah, yes, it’s nothing- you know. Accidents happen. It’s my fault anyways’ he replies, sweeping the shreds together and discarding them in the trash bin. It’s really silly to get upset over a plate but it’s his plate, his special plate, the one the old lady always served his food on. He learned so much from her, all the delicious recipes he's been making for himself and his friends, all the wonderful secrets of spices and... actually, it’s not the plate. It feels like the memories which he treasured so much have been shattered.

'I will pay for it' Yunho starts but Jaejoong turns his back to him.

‘No need. You can't buy memories. Just... do you mind leaving?’ he asks, wishing for nothing more than his neighbor to disappear.

Yunho looks a lot less sure about the whole cat-napping thing now but manages to find his voice to utter a half-hearted apology. When he's finally gone Jaejoong sighs and sits down. He wonders if these are all signs that he shouldn’t be living here. Maybe the old lady didn’t like him as much as he’d imagined.

Monday

He has to get up early on Monday mornings and he always thinks he looks terrible the moment he gets out of the bed.

He barely can pry his eyes open so he makes himself a cup of coffee and wanders outside to drink it on his terrace. The moment he steps outside, a chipped white cup in his hands, he’s greeted with the sight of Yunho chasing after the cat... in his garden.

‘Oh, hello-’ Jaejoong says and tips his head in a greeting ‘I guess I kidnapped your cat again. Sorry’ he adds, sarcastically, as he goes to sit down and drink his coffee. He's acting as if nothing extraordinary is happening in his garden.

‘I don’t understand the damn animal. It’s never acted like this before!’ Yunho lets out a frustrated groan before he stops chasing the cat. He's panting heavily which is more than just a little attractive but Jaejoong (tries to) ignores it.

‘Well, I also haven't been stalked by cats before’ he admits, amused when the creature makes its way to him with an elegant jump and lands on the table purring happily. He pats the animal's head and feels better about life.

Yunho observes the whole scene before he comes to him and bows, casting the cat a disapproving glance ‘I guess I owe you an apology’

All of sudden Jaejoong's awake and painfully aware that his celebrity crush of several years is bowing to him and apologizing while he's sitting there in his pajamas and hello-kitty slipper. Ashamed of his own existence, he jumps up now red-faced and rushes back to his house.

Yunho looks after him in confusion, wondering what did he do wrong. Then he catches his cat's expression and he can swear the animal is smirking.

‘What have you been plotting all this time?’ he asks with suspicion as he takes her off the table. There’s a  small smile on his face that he can't wipe off. His neighbor is actually really cute, especially during the mornings, so maybe chasing after his cat was not such a bad idea.

‘Aish, you’re going to be the death of me’ he says before he takes the cat under his arm and goes back into his house.

Tuesday

Jaejoong hasn’t even made it to the front lawn when he’s stopped by his neighbor with the cat in his hands.

‘You- you- youn -ho’ he stutters, wide-eyed and bewildered. He’s not sure what’s happening but it doesn’t feel real.

‘She’s refusing to eat anything and I think it’s because of you’

Jaejoong’s face falls and he averts his eyes. He's angry for getting his hopes up that maybe his neighbor is not a complete jerk. Apparently he will never catch a break from the other because here he is once again insulting him for kidnapping or poisoning or doing something to his cat.

‘I’m sorry’ he lets out through gritted teeth but he really isn’t. He’s so so tired of being constantly insulted and yelled at, especially for thing he hasn’t done.

‘Oh, no, it’s not like that’ Yunho’s tone is cheerful and Jaejoong looks at him in confusion. So he’s not angry?

‘I figured out that my cat likes your food so much that she’s refusing to eat anything I give her, so I was wondering-’ he scratches the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed ‘maybe you could cook for her sometimes? She’s got a terrible temper and once she’s put her mind to something she’s going to go through with it no matter what’

Jaejoong looks at him with his large, soft eyes and pink lips and only now Yunho realizes that the man in front of him is absolutely gorgeous. Not just simply cute but absolutely breathtaking.

‘I will- I will- try to suit her taste’ he mumbles before he looks away from Yunho’s observant gaze.

He goes to open his door with his neighbor following him as if that’s the most natural thing in the world, and lets both Yunho and the cat inside.

'You don’t have to wait here, I will bring your cat back when she has finished eating’ Jaejoong says as he busies himself in the kitchen, Yunho and cat sitting at the table and watching him.

‘No, I’m quite content here. It’s really nice just to look at you’ the celebrity comments and smiles when his cat purrs in agreement.

Jaejoong blushes but cannot help smiling. Maybe their first meeting wasn’t great but Yunho’s a charmer. Thanks God he’s been a fan of him for years.

Wednesday

‘Happy one week celebration in the new neighborhood?’ Yunho tells him as he presents him with a large bouquet of roses and Jaejoong is left speechless. He’s standing at his door with his mouth hanging open but this time for a completely different reason than a week before.

He’s fallen head-over-heels for Yunho in a matter of seconds. Once again.

‘But I-’ he tries protesting as the other makes his way in his house without an invitation.

‘You know what? I really like your place. No wonders she tried to escape here all the time’ Yunho turns to him with confidence oozing out of him 'this place gives off great warmth. It suits you well’

Jaejoong's blushing like mad now, hiding behind his flowers because he's not sure if this isn't some kind of a dream his mind has mustered up. When the clock keeps ticking and Yunho's still standing he mumbles a simple thanks and hurries off to find a vase.

The celebrity doesn't feel bothered as he explores the house and looks at all the things lying around. It's a really clean and neatly decorated place and he wonders if it’s possible to fall in love with someone this fast. Everything about Jaejoong and his way of living seems great and now he really wants to spend every moment in his presence. He thinks he finally understands his cat's unreasonable obsession with the other man because he also wants to stalk Jaejoong and eat his home-made food every day.

‘Who’s the lady in the photo? Your mother?’ he emerges from the living room with a frame in his hands, startling the other.

'Uh' Jaejoong looks at the picture Yunho's holding and smiles brightly ‘no, that’s Hee Jung. She's the former owner of this house and she was-‘ he stops at the lack of words because there's none. How can he describe someone that gave him all the love and adoration that he never got to experience and changed him into a better person?

‘She was more than a mother to me. She was everything to me’ he finally says and Yunho is amazed by Jaejoong's soft expression.

‘Funny thing though’ he says when he goes to the living room to put the picture back ‘Hee Jung is also the name of my cat’

FIN

a/n: Woah. This was a fic I wrote in 2011. I wrote such cute things then. Their personalities are actually nice :'D