Nichkhun was going to slam the door shut, a tiger was no joke. Even though it was just a cub, it was well capable of doing some serious damage. Nichkhun's reflexes weren't fast enough, he had time to look the cub right in its big baby eyes, begging him to let it in. The cub was drenched from head to toe, its fur all messed up by the dirt mixed with newly fallen rain. He couldn't just leave it out there. Oh, sometimes Nichkhun wished he wasn't such a softie. Actually he wasn't usually that soft, he could be a bit cold and harsh at times, although no one would believe him since he was always extremely polite, picture perfect. But once someone got under his skin, there was no turning back. His soft spot for that certain someone would just continue to grow until he was defenseless. It had been like that with his sister. He remembered that when she was born the last thing he had wanted was a sister. She got ten times the attention he got which he didn't appreciate one bit. All she did was eat and sleep. At the time he couldn't for the life of him understand why everyone kept gawking at her, thinking she was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. It was just a useless baby. He had tried to hold on to that feeling as long as he could, but his sister was too smart and too incredible a person. She had gotten a hold on him and there had been no turning back. She was his favorite person in the whole wide world. But now he thought about it, there wasn't really anyone else that had that kind of power over him. There was no one else to whom he had completely surrendered his heart, not even Hyorin. Or maybe least of all Hyorin. He cared for her a whole lot, but he realized now that he had never given her his heart, not even a tiny little peek at it.

The tiger whined with its cute little eyes widened as far as they would go. Nichkhun sighed as he opened the door. This was the worst idea ever, Nichkhun thought, as the tiger squeezed through the crack before he had even opened it wide enough. He kept one eye on the cub as he closed the door. Oh no! “No! Don't!” he yelled. But it did. The tiger started shaking the rain out of its fur, splashes of water flying everywhere, landing on the wall, the furniture, the floor, you name it. After what felt like forever, it stopped and just stood there, staring at Nichkhun, whining. He was now alone with a tiger in a closed room in a remote cabin in the woods. He could imagine the headlines: “Unknown man found dead by tiger attack two months after death.”.

“Aww, you must be hungry boy, should we get you something to eat, huh?” Nichkhun used the sweetest part of his voice to avoid upsetting the pup. The cub's head twitched a bit, it was almost as if it had nodded its head. Hmm, what could he give it to eat? He had no raw meat, did tigers eat anything else? He might as well try, it couldn't be worse than having a starving tiger stare at you. “Come on, boy.” he said, suddenly realizing that it wasn't a domesticated dog, so that probably wouldn't work. Even so, it followed Nichkhun happily to the kitchen, staying close to his feet. Nichkhun would have preferred a little more distance, but what could he do? He opened the fridge, there wasn't much there. He clearly had to go to the store tomorrow. He took out some cheese, bacon, boiled eggs and a can of tuna. He also had a loaf of bread, some crackers and five bananas.

He sat down at the dining room table with the food gathered in front of him. He was going to give it to the cub on the floor but the tiger jumped swiftly onto one of the chairs, staring at him in anticipation. Okay, a civilized tiger pup. “Your mom raised you well, little one.” Nichkhun said, chuckling. This was so surreal. Nichkhun wasn't completely sure whether it was real or if he was dreaming. What to start with? The bacon was probably his best bet, so he started wrestling the packaging open. Ah, finally it snapped in two and the smell of bacon filled the air. The baby tiger got so excited that it jumped up on the table and stuck its nose into the packaging before Nichkhun had the chance to yank the bacon out of it. The cub started the bacon, trying to get it out with its tongue, but to no avail. Nichkhun snorted, “Oh, you little sillybilly, you're never going to get it this way. Here, can I show you?” he said as he slowly started pulling the packaging away. He first pulled it towards him, but the tiger just followed it, not taking its nose out, even if its life depended on it. Then he tried raising his hands gradually, so the nose came out but the cub started to climb his arm to get to the bacon. Its tiny little claws stung a little so Nichkhun quickly removed the bacon from its packaging, dropping it on the table. The baby tiger didn't think twice and dug in with enthusiasm, almost swallowing it whole. “Oh, how hungry you must have been. Poor thing. You still need to chew your food, you hear?” Nichkhun mumbled, but the tiger just kept inhaling the bacon. Nichkhun was scared that the larger pieces would get stuck in its throat and it would suffocate. He didn't know tiger-CPR, so they had to be careful.

The cub finished the bacon in no time and there was no doubt that it was still hungry, sniffing the other things on the table. “I'm not sure you eat any of this.” Nichkhun said apologetically. It clawed at the tuna can, so Nichkhun pushed it gently away just long enough for him to open the can. The pup dug its nose in, getting it all oily and dirty, eating happily. Nichkhun used the time to open the cheese and make it a sandwich, which he found kind of silly, what kind of tiger ate sandwiches? While it ate the last of the tuna it was so excited that its behind started wagging slightly, Nichkhun was overwhelmed with cuteness. How could anyone resist this? If he was going to die like this, ripped to pieces by a tiny little furball, it was at least an awfully cute way to die. The cub the tuna can thoroughly until there wasn't a drop left and then started walking closer to Nichkhun. He waved the sandwich in front of him to prevent him coming any closer, but the pup wouldn't hear of it. A cub on a mission and nothing was going to deter it. Was it really going to eat him? It sniffed Nichkhun's face, Nichkhun was completely still, not daring to move a muscle. He could feel as its nose brushed against his cheek, smearing tuna oil all over. Then he felt as if someone was a nail file right over his cheek, a really wet one. Apparently, in all the commotion a tiny piece of tuna had flown up and stuck to his face. After it off, the tiger turned again to the remaining food.

Instead of going for the sandwich, it clawed at the packet of crackers. It fell over as soon as it touched it, making a tiny bang, giving the pup a start so it jumped up and ran into Nichkhun's arms, whining. “Oh, little fraidy cat..” Nichkhun said, he wanted to pet it but he thought better of it, there was no telling what the tiger's reaction would be. Refusing to leave the safety of Nichkhun's arms, it made it clear that Nichkhun was supposed to bring the mountain to Muhammed.

“How can you still be hungry?!”. The cub had almost finished everything, its tummy starting to stick out. It had even gobbled up four of the five bananas, faster and more efficient than any monkey Nichkhun had ever seen. Nichkhun didn't think it was a good idea to continue giving it food, it might end up bursting from stuffing too much into its little body. Nichkhun was a bit nervous though, telling a tiger no when there was still some food left was probably not the best idea he had ever had. He looked at it sternly, “All gone!”, and removed the food from the table. Oh, not the baby tiger eyes again! “Okay fine, you can have ONE more bite.. what do you want?” Nichkhun put the rest of the food on the table in front of it. It scratched the banana. Nichkhun snorted, there was something funny about a tiger that loved bananas. After swallowing a whole banana in one go, the cub had clearly gotten its fill. It turned over on its back, spreading itself over most of the table. Nichkhun put the rest of the food away, sat back down and without giving it much thought, he started rubbing its belly. The baby tiger started purring loudly. Nichkhun melted, this was the cutest thing.

Nichkhun felt better than he had in months. He had petted the tiger for almost an hour, getting no objections from the purring cub that ended up falling fast a sleep, resembling a tiger table cloth. He couldn't just leave it there, so he carefully took it in his arms and carried it to the bedroom. As they were entering the bedroom, Nichkhun forgot to include the tiger's head in his calculations so he accidentally bumped it on the side of the doorway. He froze. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..” he whispered, closing his eyes tight, waiting for a reaction. Luckily the cub didn't wake up, it only yawned and started snoring. Nichkhun giggled, he was growing fond of this little bundle of fur.

The plan was to have the pup sleep on the floor next to his bed, but in the end he didn't have the heart to leave it lying there, alone on the cold floor. The bed was more than big enough for the both of them, so he laid it down next to him and turned off the light. Nichkhun drifted off to sleep, relaxed and at peace.