So I got frustrated with studying and decided to write this story for a bit to clear my head.  Well a bit turned into a few hours, and then suddenly there was a whole chapter sitting in front of me!  #noregrets So here's an update!  Thanks to all of you for subscribing and upvoting, you all are seriously the bee's knees!  Also the only pet I've ever owned is a goldfish, so all my cat-wisdom is coming from my friend's cat and wikipedia.  Hope you like it, back to studying for me now!  xoxo, phaedra

Ch. 2

            “Dude.  She has a tail.”

            Chanyeol’s been staring at the girl for the past few minutes, his jaw slack.  Jongdae has been placing bets with himself on whether or not his best friend will drool.  Catgirl has taken to the couch again, sitting with her knees tucked into her chest and watching the two of them like a hawk.  Every so often, she’ll peek slyly towards the kitchen window or the front door, and Jongdae imagines that she’s trying to calculate her chances of escaping.  Each time she looks, he shifts his body a little towards the potential escape route with a firm look. 

            “How the hell did she even get here?”  Chanyeol finally breaks his dazed stare and glances at Jongdae. 

            Jongdae doesn’t take his eyes off catgirl.  She’s wily, and he's not going to take chances.  “Your guess is literally as good as mine.  It’s like I told you, I opened my door and she was just lying there passed out.” 

            “And she still hasn’t said anything?”  Chanyeol turns back to catgirl.  “Yo, stranger!  I’m Chanyeol!”  He suddenly introduces himself brightly, gracing her with a toothy grin. 

            Jongdae swears on every priest and saint he knows that he sees one of her brows rise, just a tiny fraction.  So catgirl is capable of a little sass.  He wouldn’t blame her for judging Chanyeol.  He does it most days too. 

            “Maybe she’s mute, or deaf,” Chanyeol wonders aloud when she doesn’t answer.  He takes a step closer and points exaggeratedly towards his ears.  “Can you hear me?”  He asks, loudly and enunciating each word thoroughly.  Jongdae resists the urge to slap him upside the head.

            “Keep talking at that volume and you’ll probably make her deaf, idiot,” he says crossly.  Chanyeol is clearly not going to be of much help here.  And this situation is beginning to grate on his last nerve.  “Alright, you know what?  We need a plan.  First things first, we’re putting clothes on her.” 

            Chanyeol pouts, shaking his head vigorously.  “Dude, I think we can skip that step.  I don’t mind keeping her the way she is.  She doesn’t seem to really mind either,” he says with a lascivious grin, stealing a leer at their guest. 

            Jongdae glares at him.  He’s officially over catgirl and her pretty .  Now he kind of just wants her gone, so he can at least enjoy some of his Sunday.  “Stop ing on her, creep.  I’m going to grab some clothes.  Keep an eye on her, okay?”

            Jongdae eases out of his living room.  Catgirl twitches when he first starts moving, and then turns her head to watch him go.  Jongdae finds her staring habit really unnerving, and he’s glad to finally get a break from her, even if it’s only for a few moments.  He goes straight to his still-unmade bed and sits down, rubbing his hands over his face. 

            He feels drained.  Jongdae can appreciate little bursts of change and spontaneity, but at his core he’s a creature of habit and routine.  He likes the steady constancy of his life.  Sudden dramatic events like this stress him out immeasurably, and he’s got a sinking, sneaking suspicion that the situation with catgirl is only just starting to unfold. 

            Sighing deeply, Jongdae temporarily resigns himself to dealing with the issue.  He stands with a little groan, and walks over to his closet.  He figures he can put her in sweats and a t-shirt for now. 

            “Jongdae, she’s got this looking collar on, did you see this?”  Chanyeol yells from the living room. 

            Ohhh, I knew it, Jongdae thinks with a mix of vindication and irritation.  Catgirl is probably part of some college ist ring where they get fake highs off weird things like glue and rubber cement and then try to ‘experiment’ and 'touch the universe' with each other while under the ‘influence.’  Okay, maybe that’s a little far-fetched, he amends.  But then again, catgirl herself is a little far-fetched too.

            “No, I didn’t see it, what’s it look like?” He picks out an old pair of gray sweats.

            “Almost like dog tags or something, maybe they’ve got-whoa, !” 

            Jongdae drops the sweats, dread pooling in his belly.  He dashes out of the bedroom, only to see Chanyeol and the girl playing a frantic game of cat and mouse around the sofa.  Agitation and antagonism radiates off her as she tries to keep him at bay. 

            “Chanyeol!  What the hell did you do?”  Jongdae yells as he looks desperately between the two of them.  She turns around at the sound of his voice, and hisses.  She actually hisses.  Jongdae recoils back with wide eyes.

            “I just wanted to see if her tags had anything on them,” Chanyeol wails in frustration. 

            “Like what?  Owner information?  She’s not a ing pet, Chanyeol!”  Jongdae edges into the room, making his way towards the front door.  There’s tense energy gathering around her, and he’s willing to bet his left nut that she’s going to try to make a run for it again. 

            As if she realizes what he’s trying to do, she moves before he gets to the door, her form blurring as she jets for the door.  Jongdae runs a second later, and just like before, catches her and drags her back into the room.  She writhes like a wildcat in his arms.  Jongdae grunts with the effort to hold her.  “Calm down!”  He shouts. 

            And then Chanyeol decides to do one of the most idiotic things Jongdae’s ever seen.  He rushes forward while Jongdae has her restrained and grabs one of the fuzzy ears on her head.  He tugs on it – and it’s not gentle.

            The catgirl goes absolutely still.  But only for a second, because in the next, she’s screaming.  A completely inhuman, shrill screech.  Almost like she’s in pain.  She claws viciously at Jongdae’s arm with one hand, while the other strikes out and swipes at Chanyeol’s face.  Chanyeol tumbles backwards with a yell, clutching his cheek.  Catgirl then manages to twist around in Jongdae’s arms, and the stark fury on her delicate face has him releasing her immediately, stumbling back with his arms raised protectively in front of him.  He actually feels some fear, because she looks like the wrath of hell right now – like she’s imagining ripping him limb from limb with her bare hands. 

            “Hey, whoa, calm down –“ That’s as far as he gets.  Catgirl spins on her heel and runs towards his bedroom.  There’s a tiny tinkle from the tags around her neck.  She slides inside the room without actually opening the door further, and then there’s silence from the other side.  Jongdae stares incredulously at the entrance to his bedroom. 

            “Jongdae.”  Jongdae glances over at Chanyeol, who is panting on the floor and looking stunned. 

            “What?”  He grits out.  Jongdae really wants to punch him. 

            His friend sits up slowly.  “Those ears are real, man.  Like attached to her head.  And they move.  It totally twitched in my hand right before I pulled.”

            Jongdae gapes at him for a moment.  And then he wants to punch himself, because he just knew that things were going to get worse, and now they have.  “Well, ,” he breathes out. 

-----

            “Maybe she’s actually a cat.  Who like somehow became a human.”

            Jongdae sighs angrily.  “Seriously?”  They are sitting at his dining table, which offers the best opportunity to stake out and keep an eye on anything going on in his bedroom.  There hasn’t been a single peep out of the room for nearly twenty minutes, and Jongdae is starting to feel really antsy.  He’s really hoping she’s still in there, and that she hasn’t taken his wallet and climbed out the window. 

            Chanyeol had been the one to brave the journey to the bedroom and prop open the door some more.  He’d peered inside cautiously before whispering that he couldn’t see her anywhere.  Jongdae had come closer at that point, and peeked around his room.  Sure enough, it looked empty.  Suddenly, Chanyeol squatted down and bent his head to the floor, and then released a soft gasp. 

            “Jongdae, she’s under your bed,” he had whispered slowly. 

            Chills had exploded up and down Jongdae’s arms, and every horror movie he’d ever seen chose that moment to run through his mind.  “Get up, man, get back,” he had said urgently.  “We need to come up with a plan.”

            “A plan?”  Chanyeol looked up at him from his knees.  Which had led to them retreating to the kitchen, eating leftover ddeokbokki and chicken while keeping a vigilant watch over the bedroom.  Twenty minutes later, they still have no idea what to do. 

            “I’m pretty sure Kyungsoo was watching some anime where that happened.”  Chanyeol actually looks like he’s considering the possibility of cats becoming human.  Jongdae fights the urge to chuck a pillow at him.

            “None of that changes the fact that she’s still hiding under my bed right now.  And still .” 

            “Well, that second one isn’t really a problem,” Chanyeol smirks.  “But yeah, this is kind of an issue.  Should we call the police?”

            “And say what?  That I found a girl with cat parts on my doorstep?  Oh by the way, she’s petrified of me and doesn’t speak a word.  Yeah, that’s going to make me look really innocent,” Jongdae scoffs.  

            “Then should we call Kyungsoo?”  Chanyeol asks hesitantly.

            Jongdae sighs.  He probably should’ve called Kyungsoo before Chanyeol.  Though Chanyeol’s been his friend longer, Kyungsoo is definitely the more rational and practical out of the two roommates.  “Yeah, call him.”

            Chanyeol whips out his phone and presses a button, putting the phone on speaker.  It rings a few times before a low voice answers. 

            “Hey.”

            “Kyungsoo?  Hey, it’s me.  Are you busy?”

            Kyungsoo’s voice has a touch of static to it.  “No, just got off work and on my way home.  What’s up?”

            “Can you come over to Jongdae’s place? We’ve got a weird situation.”

            “Weird like how?”  Kyungsoo sounds suspicious.  He probably should be.  Jongdae and Chanyeol have gotten into some sketchy situations in the past, and Kyungsoo’s had to come bail them out.  He’s justified in being cautious.

            Chanyeol clears his throat nervously.  “Trust me, it’ll be much easier to explain once you see her.”

            “Her?  Did you say her?”

            Jongdae grabs Chanyeol’s hand and brings the phone closer.  “Kyungsoo, just please come here, right now,” he pleads.

            Kyungsoo groans.  “Alright, alright, I’m heading over now.”

-----

            “So what you’re trying to tell me is that there’s a girl hiding under your bed right now?”  Kyungsoo’s face is poker-stiff, but his voice is full of so much judgment and scorn that Jongdae irrationally feels guilty.  Which is dumb, because catgirl showed up on his doorstep, which clearly makes him the real victim here.

            “No, she’s a catgirl.  With ears and a tail and everything,” Chanyeol supplies helpfully, waving his hand near his to mimic a tail.

            “Right.”  Kyungsoo’s mocking drawl makes Jongdae want to shake him.

            “Soo, I swear, she’s half-cat,” Jongdae wails, trying to convince the shorter man, but it sounds ridiculous even to his own ears.

            Kyungsoo sighs heavily, shaking his head.  “I can’t believe you two.  This is really why you called me over?   I get that Chanyeol has no life and is probably a little mentally unstable-”

            “Hey!”  Chanyeol shouts, looking affronted.

            “-but I at least expected better from you, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo lectures wearily, ignoring Chanyeol’s outburst.

            Jongdae puts a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder.  “Soo, please, just go look under my bed.  And while you’re there, try to get her to come out.”

            “Why am I even friends with you?  I swear, the you both get into is ridiculous,” Kyungsoo growls, rubbing a hand through his hair.  But he strides out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom anyways.  Jongdae and Chanyeol follow anxiously, tiptoeing behind him. 

            Kyungsoo opens the bedroom door wide, and then glances back at them.  Chanyeol shoots him a wide, encouraging grin and a thumbs-up.  Jongdae can’t muster the same enthusiasm, since it’s his apartment that’s been invaded, but he manages to raise a fist and mouth ‘fighting.’  Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.  But Jongdae notices that Kyungsoo walks very quietly into the room, and that he almost hesitates before bending down to look under the bed. 

            “Holy .”  Kyungsoo’s hushed whisper manages to echo in the still air of the apartment.  Jongdae feels so vindicated right now that he nearly wants to jump in the air.  But at the same time, Kyungsoo’s acknowledgment makes the situation that much more real, and he’s not happy about that. 

            Kyungsoo straightens up slightly and looks at them with a panicked expression.  His mouth opens and closes a few times, and then he rubs his face hard with his hands.  The action seems to soothe him considerably, because when he pulls his hands away, he looks much more composed.  He puts a finger up to his lips and motions Jongdae and Chanyeol to be silent.  Then he slowly bends down again. 

            “Hi,” Kyungsoo says softly.  Ever so slowly, he reaches out his hand.  He lets it rest in the space between them, almost like he’s waiting for the catgirl to approach first.  Seconds tick by, and turn into minutes.  Chanyeol, who is notoriously bad at keeping still or quiet, begins to shuffle anxiously on his feet.  Jongdae is about to tell Kyungsoo to back off when the unthinkable happens. 

            A slim, delicate hand appears from under the bed.  The hand lengthens into an arm, and then another arm joins it.  Jongdae thinks that that the sight of her crawling out from under his bed should be creepy as hell. Her hair is mussed and it looks like there’s a candy wrapper caught in it, and there are faint smudges of grey on her elbows from the dust under his bed.   But for some reason, he feels an odd sort of relief at seeing her again. 

            Kyungsoo smiles welcomingly.  “Hi there,” he greets kindly.  Catgirl huddles at the side of the bed, staring at him.  Kyungsoo wiggles his fingers a little in the air, but doesn’t make a move.  Jongdae settles himself for another waiting game.   

            But the catgirl edges closer more quickly this time.  Her eyes are on Kyungsoo’s the whole time, but surely and steadily, she closes the distance to Kyungsoo’s outstretched hand, until the tips of his fingers brush against her cheek. 

            “Whoa,” Chanyeol whispers in awe. 

            Kyungsoo keeps his hand still, content with letting catgirl set the pace.  At first it’s a little tilt of her head against his fingers.  One tilt turns into two, and then three.  Then she tentatively pushes her cheek into Kyungsoo’s hand. 

            “Okay, good,” Kyungsoo murmurs warmly.  He slowly reaches behind her with his other hand and tugs the blanket from Jongdae’s bed down.  He tucks the catgirl into the blanket with gentle efficiency.  She lets him, and when he’s finished, she tentatively touches his hand.

            “Jongdae, make something to eat.  Keep it mild, she might not tolerate spiciness,” Kyungsoo orders quietly, not taking his gaze off the girl.

            Jongdae blinks slowly, still processing what he had just seen.  “Um, okay, sure,” Chanyeol replies, grabbing Jongdae’s arm and dragging him into the kitchen.

-----

            Twenty minutes later, the door to his bedroom opens wider and Kyungsoo steps out.  Jongdae looks up from the omelet he’s cooking on the stove.  His eyes widen at the sight before him.

            Catgirl is dressed in a pair of his sweats and an old hoodie from his swim days at university.  Jongdae’s not a big guy, but his clothes dwarf her small frame.  She looks distinctively uncomfortable, and keeps tugging at the neckline of his hoodie with her free hand.  But what startles Jongdae is how perfectly human she looks.  Kyungsoo has brushed her hair and washed her up a bit, and if it wasn’t for the tiny little triangles on her head, she would honestly look like any other pretty girl.

            Kyungsoo leads catgirl forward with a gentle hand at her back.  “Okay guys, this is Soojin.”

            Chanyeol snorts loudly.  “You named her?”

            Kyungsoo scoffs lightly.  “No, it’s on her tag, idiot.   Plus she responded when I called her that.  Right, Soojin?”  Kyungsoo glances over at the girl.  She perks up at the name and tilts her head curiously towards Kyungsoo.

            “Soojin, hmm?”  Jongdae says curiously.  Catgirl – no, Soojin – turns again and looks at him, only this time her expression is decidedly less friendly.  Jongdae tries to smile at her, but only gets a small narrowing of her eyes in return.  He can’t completely blame her, but he still feels a little sting at the gesture. 

            “Okay then, hi Soojin!”  Chanyeol bounds over with a wide grin, reaching out with his hands. 

            Predictably, catgirl/Soojin flips out.  The way she flails back would almost be cute, if she didn’t look utterly petrified of the giant manchild heading her way.  A thin wail escapes her, and she tries to run back to Jongdae’s bedroom.  Kyungsoo catches her quickly, wrapping his arms around her with soothing sounds.  She quiets down, but continues to watch Chanyeol with an unwavering stare from the circle of Kyungsoo’s arms. 

            “Chanyeol, seriously, do not do that again,” Kyungsoo orders sternly.  “If you’re going to come near her, then do it slowly, and make sure she can see every movement.”

            Chanyeol looks suitably chastened.  Jongdae chuckles a little.  “Soo, where are you getting all this from?”  His friend isn't the most social or outgoing guy, and Jongdae's a little surprised at how experienced Kyungsoo suddenly sounds.  

            “I had a cat growing up,” Kyungsoo explains simply.  “They don’t like being surprised.”

            Chanyeol perks up.  “So you believe me?  That she’s at least, like, half-cat?”

            “As ridiculous as it sounds, a little bit.  It’s not just the tail and the ears, she acts like one too.  Inside, when I was giving her your clothes, Jongdae, she sniffed them.  And when I tried to put them on her, she batted at my hands.  And she didn’t like the water when I washed her face.”

            “So she’s half cat,” Jongdae says on a resigned exhale.  “What do we do now?”

            Kyungsoo shrugs, leading Soojin over to the breakfast table and sitting her down in one of the chairs.  “No clue.  But for now, we should feed her.”

            “Does she even eat human food?”  Chanyeol asks dubiously.  “I mean if she’s a cat, do we need like cat food or something?  Speaking of which, I’ve been wondering about those ears.  Because she’s definitely got human ears too.  Do you think she hears with both?  How weird would that be?  Also I wonder why she doesn’t walk like a cat.  That’s kind of strange, like since she’s only half cat, does she only have certain cat stuff?”  He’s babbling in his own little world, and Jongdae and Kyungsoo simply stare at him until he notices.  “What?”  He says defensively.  “I just wanted to know.”

            “Because we clearly have all the answers,” Jongdae says sarcastically.  Kyungsoo takes over the omelet, and Jongdae leans against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.  “But, seriously, we need to figure out what to do with her, Soo.”

            “Soo?”

            It’s a quiet, tiny voice, but it silences everything in the kitchen.  As one, the three men turn to the girl.  Soojin is perched on the chair with her knees tucked into her chest, and her hands on the seat between her bare feet. She's looking at Kyungsoo expectantly.  

            “Did she just try to call you, Kyungsoo?”  Jongdae whispers, not quite believing his ears.  It’s the first time the catgirl has said anything remotely sounding like the Korean language.  His heart is pounding for some bizarre reason. 

            “I don’t know,” Kyungsoo whispers back in confusion.

            A tiny furrow appears between Soojin’s brows.  She leans forward on the chair, and Jongdae takes an unconscious step forward, thinking she might topple right out of the chair.  “Soo,” she says again, and this time, it’s clearer and more confident.

            “You think she’s trying to say her name?  I mean, she’s Soojin,” Chanyeol muses quietly.

            Soojin swivels her head to look at Chanyeol when he says her name.  “Soojin,” she parrots back, and tilts her chin up. 

           Silence reigns in the kitchen until Kyungsoo gives a startled laugh.  “Okay, so she can talk.  This is good.”  He hands Jongdae the spatula, walks over and takes the seat next to her.  “Hi Soojin.  I’m Kyungsoo.  Soo,” he shortens it to the name she called earlier.

            “Soo,” she answers, and she almost sounds happy.  It’s such a change from the paranoid personality she had before that Jongdae has to blink a few times to believe it.  She has a nice voice, he realizes.  Not too high, not too low, just a smooth, even tone. 

            “Chanyeol!”  Chanyeol slips in front of him and points to his own face eagerly.  “Chaaaaan-yeol.  Come on, kitty, you can do it.”

           Jongdae stiffens.   “Dude.  Do not call her kitty.  That’s all kinds of ed up,” he says with disgust.

            Chanyeol glances towards him with a little leer.  “What?  It’s pretty hot, if you ask me.”  He turns back to Soojin, but then frowns at the cold look she's giving him.  He attempts a smile, but she suddenly reaches out and grabs his ear, yanking it harshly.  Chanyeol yelps, falling back on his and scuttling away.  Kyungsoo rises out of his seat, alarmed, and Jongdae strides closer, brandishing his spatula.  

Soojin doesn't do anything else, though.  She just sits there with a strangely pleased look on her face, and Jongdae realizes that she's paying Chanyeol back for the stunt he pulled on her ear.  The laugh bubbles out of him before he even knows it, and Kyungsoo and Chanyeol stare at him, the former looking puzzled and the latter looking just a little betrayed. 

"Relax, Soo, she did it because Chanyeol did the same thing to her earlier, remember?"  Jongdae explains through his chuckles. He's kind of glad she got her little revenge.  It suddenly makes her much more human.

            Kyungsoo joins in on the laughter, taking his seat again.  “Ahh, got it."  He reaches out and grabs Chanyeol, dragging the taller man forward.  "It’s okay, Soojin.  He’s dumb, but he’s harmless”  Kyungsoo pulls Chanyeol closer.  “This is Chanyeol,” he says slowly, patting Chanyeol’s chest. 

            Soojin tightens .  It almost looks like a pout, and Jongdae chuckles absently at it.   The three of them suddenly turn their collective attention to him.  “Okay, not Chanyeol, then” Kyungsoo says.  “How about Jongdae?  Jongdae,” he repeats, pointing at him.

            Jongdae freezes, feeling oddly anticipatory.  Soojin stills, looking right at him.  Then she ducks her head a little and brushes her nose against her clothed knees.  She looks up at him through her lashes, her nose still buried in his sweats.  Then there’s a mumble of sound.  Jongdae almost trips over his feet as he strains closer to hear it. 

            “What?”  Kyungsoo says excitedly, leaning in.

            Soojin lifts her head just a bit, and she’s still looking at him.  Jongdae doesn’t dare to breathe as he waits for it. 

            “Jongdae,” she murmurs.