Of course, Hakyeon decided to leave it.

He figured Shinjoon was mad. Or that he was covering up his lies with more horrible lies. He had better things to deal with.

Like Taekwoon.

It began when Taekwoon woke up one day and had the second greatest shock of his life, following which a rollercoaster of emotions almost drove him crazy.

But he wouldn’t go crazy. Because if he could deal with becoming a cat, anything else was manageable.

He had opened his eyes and seen an actual ing ceiling. He had rolled around and discovered that he was back in an actual ing bed. And then he had caught himself in a mirror.

And realised he was still a ing cat.

He was in a room. Just like the one he’d seen through Hakyeon’s window. It wasn’t a vacant room - it was evident someone else lived here. He could have chosen to break out straight away, but the posters by the window caught his eye. And they stopped him.

He stared longingly at the posters. They were separate posters of the same person. He had the long limbs that Taekwoon used to have, the wide shoulders he used to carry; he had hair in the same shade of blonde, and eyes that delivered a sharp gaze like Taekwoon’s eyes once did.

It was a myriad of emotions all at once. How he missed the way he looked.

He scanned the posters. Each of them represented a different point in time, and a different piece of work.

“Jung Taekwoon, 1st Mini Album. Jung Taekwoon, 4th Single. Jung Taekwoo-”

Taekwoon realised that day that it was possible for cats to cry.

It wasn’t as if without such glaring reminders he would’ve forgotten that he was no longer the Jung Taekwoon the world knew. But these glaring reminders ignited a flame in his heart that’d gradually been suppressed with time.

He could not accept this.

Whoever put him here knew who he was and what he’d gone through. And they were mocking him.

“You sick bastards.” He leapt onto the desk and edged closer to the wall where the posters were. “First, turning me into a ing cat, then putting these here to refresh my memory of who I once was?? Like, you know, in case I’d ing forgotten?”

He extended his claws.

“If torturing me like that brings you joy, you need urgent psychological help.”

He leapt onto the first poster and pulled his claws across, scratching with all his might. After becoming a cat he’d pretty much accepted that he’d lost a fair bit of muscular strength, but the combination of anger, adrenaline and razor-like nail weaponry made up for it.

It didn’t last long, though.

“ this ,” he spat as he landed on the floor panting heavily, wincing at the soreness that had spread from his back. “Forgot that yesterday Jung Taekwoon almost lost his life to a piece of ing rock.”

Fighting to ignore the pain from his wound, he leapt onto the bed and plopped down, drowning himself in the softness of the mattress. The last time he had a bed, he was still living his days happily like an unsuspecting human. And it was not fair. It was not fair because of anyone in the world he had to become a ing cat and-

The door burst open.

“Goooooodd morninggggg!”

“What the .” Taekwoon sat up. “What the are you doing here.”

“What the ,” Hakyeon’s tone was laced with equal shock, “did you do to my posters!! Wtf!”

He dashed towards the wall. With his fingers he traced the claw marks, inspecting the damage. Then he spun around and glared at the cat.

“What has Taekwoon ever done to you for you to rip up his posters like that.”

“You could shout at me,” Taekwoon shrugged. “Or you could do something else more useful. Like explaining to me what the is going on. And what are you doing in my room. Or maybe what the am I doing in yours.”

“I didn’t bring you here to wreak havoc, Ash,” Hakyeon frowned. He slumped down onto the chair and rested his handful of plastic bags on the floor. “I bought breakfast for you.”

“Oh no you didn’t,” Taekwoon took a few steps back. “Why are you treating me like a house cat.”

Hakyeon launched towards the cat, attempting to grab him. “I know you wanna run right now, but I’m not letting you go outdoors because you’re injured and you need to recuperate. Here.”

“No ing way.” Taekwoon slipped away from Hakyeon’s hands. “The only time I’d accept being in a room is when I’m back as a ing human in my own ing room.”

“It’s too dangerous outside, Ash.” Hakyeon shook his head and held up his key. “I’m locking you in here. Because if you got into a fight outside you wouldn’t survive. Not in this state.”

“Well too bad because I don’t intend to live on as a ing cat either,” Taekwoon rolled his eyes. “I’d rather die than stay with some grown man in one room.” He gave it some thought, then cocked his head. “And I’m no genius but I’m pretty sure you aren’t ing allowed to lock a cat in your hostel like that.”

“You know,” Hakyeon shrugged. “I figured since I injured you I will take responsibility to nurse you back to health.” He bent down and reached into the bags for a can of cat food he’d bought. “And since I’ve never owned a cat in my life I think it’ll be quite fun.”

“I ing knew it,” Taekwoon seethed. “It’s for your own selfish reasons.” He wanted to snap there and then, but his stomach was growling and he needed to settle that first.

He hopped down the bed and crept towards the food bowl that Hakyeon had prepared. He gave the food a sniff, then snarled and retreated.

“Pizza or I’m leaving.”

Hakyeon hadn’t heard him. He was hunched over his desk, removing the shredded poster and rolling it up.

“You know, Ash,” Hakyeon started. “I don’t know what everyone has against him. Jaehwan and Wonshik and many other people don’t think that his music is all that great, but I really admire his work.”

Taekwoon wanted to raise his eyebrows but he was now a cat and cats don’t have eyebrows.

“See,” Hakyeon groaned. He reluctantly tucked the damaged poster into the drawer. “Even you have something against him.”

“That’s what you think,” Taekwoon spat inwardly. “I was waging a war with myself. Thought my perpetrators had me locked in here.”

“He may have a small fanbase but I don’t care because I think he’ll make it one day,” Hakyeon continued. “People have just yet to discover his talent.”

“Well, the first sentence was not needed, .”

Taekwoon knew he meant the opposite. Hakyeon’s words were very much needed. Especially the part about believing in him. Because he’d never expected that despite his lack of popularity he had such a dedicated fan – someone who admired and appreciated his works wholeheartedly. It was some heartwarming assurance he didn’t know he needed until today.

But it didn’t matter anymore. Because he was now a cat and he could no longer make music.

“I’m sorry dude but he won’t ever make it big,” he yawned. “Not even a single chance.”

Hakyeon stared emptily at the cat. “I think it’s useless telling you all this. You’re just like Jaehwan and Wonshik. Like the rest,” he shrugged and sighed. “But I know at least Hongbin isn’t.”

Taekwoon wanted to his raise his eyebrows again. Because there was now a stupid smile on Hakyeon’s face. Just like back when Taekwoon first met him behind the tree.

“So that dude you went into full retard mode for, he’s Hongbin.”

“Did you know? My favourite song…he told me it was a nice song,” Hakyeon smiled. “I’ll introduce him to more of Taekwoon’s music if I had a chance.”

“Well.” Taekwoon felt a surge of warmth in his heart. “Ten points for the effort.” He wanted to smile, but he’s now a cat and cats can’t smile. Maybe they could. He wasn’t sure. But he didn’t want to freak Hakyeon out. Just in case.

But it didn’t matter either. Hakyeon’s attention was no longer on the cat but on his keys. He grabbed his bag and walked towards the mirror, giving his hair a quick fix.

“Not today though,” he started. “Today I have other things to ask him about.”

***********

“Shinjoon?”

Hakyeon nodded his head. “If he’d done anything dishonest in the past,” he continued. “You need to be frank with me. Because I’m here to help you.”

“I…” Hongbin raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“If you’re afraid, you don’t have to be,” Hakyeon leant forward eagerly, causing Hongbin to back himself up against the tables and chairs behind him. “I don’t tolerate injustice, really. If he’d kicked you out of the club for unjustifiable reasons, I’ll be sure to expose his deeds.”

“Kicked me out??” Hongbin laughed with disbelief. “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

“He didn’t?”

“I left myself.”

“Why??”

Hongbin did not answer. He folded his arms and shifted his gaze into the distance, staring blankly at the interior of the classroom. It seemed as though Hakyeon would never fail to surprise him.

“Look,” Hakyeon began. “Maybe he did you wrong. Or maybe you did him wrong. Or both. But it’s okay. Rivalry does a lot to people. But you didn’t have to quit. It’s just a position. So what if you didn’t get it? We tend to immerse ourselves with materialistic desires, we often forget why we started out.”

“We all have a common goal and we should work toward it together,” he continued. “For the wellbeing of the every cat here with us.” He grabbed Hongbin eagerly by his shoulders, staring excitedly into his eyes. “And do you know what I see right now??”

Hongbin flinched at the Hakyeon’s firm grip. “What.”

“Well, I see the burning passion within you, and I know that deep down you still care. A lot.” Hakyeon’s eyes were b with hope. “I hope you won’t deny yourself a chance like this.”

Hongbin considered his words for a bit, and then shook his head. “Hakyeon I-”

“Don’t be so quick to turn me down. I know you don’t wanna hear it, but if you could forget the past and bury the hatchet, you can start anew. Forge new friendships.”

“Hak-”

“There’s a whole world out there that you’re missing out on because of some spite.” He offered Hongbin a thumbs-up. “And you can choose how you wanna face your demons.”

There was a long silence.

Hakyeon couldn’t believe that he’d just said all that to Hongbin. He bit his lip. “So did you hear me or…”

“Oh, you’re finally done?”

“Yeah.”

“Great,” Hongbin beamed widely, but he didn’t seem like he was genuinely pleased. His dark eyes sent a chill down Hakyeon’s spine. “Now let me speak.”

“O-okay.”

Hongbin took in a deep breath. “That was a remarkable speech, Hakyeon. But you should be channelling your eloquence somewhere else.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know where you got the idea that Shinjoon and I had a past like this, but you’ve deeply misunderstood.”

Hakyeon blinked.

“So Shinjoon didn’t-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hongbin cut in curtly. “If you’re just here to talk about the club you can go now.”

“No, wait. I-”

“Look, Hakyeon.” Hongbin’s voice was stern. “I’m sure I’d made it clear that day…that it would be the last time you’ll ever be approaching me to discuss about stuff like this.”

Hakyeon raised his eyebrows. He didn’t understand what Hongbin was trying to say.

“Shinjoon or not, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s got to do with the club, I don’t wish to have any association with it.”

“But why?”

“I think you still don’t get it, Hakyeon,” Hongbin said quietly. “The club and I…we no longer owe each other anything.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m sure I did say that.”

Hakyeon gulped. “You did.”

Hongbin nodded, peering straight into Hakyeon’s eyes. “And naturally, I believe I don’t owe anyone from the club an explanation. For anything.” He leant in slightly, his sharp gaze almost knocking Hakyeon off his feet. “And that includes you.”