Chapter Eight: Dracula

“Though sympathy alone can't alter facts, it can help to make them more bearable.”

                Gayun’s teeth chattered as she pushed her dripping wet bangs out of her face with her only free hand. She blinked away the droplets of rain hammering down on her and the kitten while walking as fast as she could down the street. She scanned the shops until she saw her own just one block away and that was the fastest block she had even walked.

                She threw the door open and Seunghyun looked up, surprised. Gayun only stood in the doorway for a few seconds but a puddle had already collected.

                “What happened to you?” he asked, sitting up and startling the cats draped over him. She turned and glanced out the window before giving him an incredulous look.

                “It’s raining,” she stated before carefully walking past the bookshelves. She didn’t want to get any water on the books but they happened to be absolutely everywhere. This was the only time that she ever regretted her strategic book stacking.  

                “Okay, stupid question,” he admitted, “but why didn’t you, I don’t know, buy an umbrella?”

                “Shut up,” she grunted before going up the stairs. Buying an umbrella would have been the intelligent thing to do but she had been too focused on the kitten to think about anything else. She could hear him chuckle from the top of the stairs but chose to ignore him.

                She immediately went to the bathroom where the towels were and gently set the kitten down on the rug. She pulled one of the towels down and started to gently rub the kitten’s fur in order to dry the poor thing.

                “What are you doing?” Gayun jumped when she heard Seunghyun’s voice from behind her. He was leaning against the doorframe still holding Minty while watching her take care of the new stray. It was then that she realized the still damp kitten was the fifth stray.

                “I’m drying Pumpkin,” she mumbled, ignoring the way her teeth chattered.

                “It’s nice you gave it a name, really sweet and all that, but I’m pretty sure it would dry faster if you weren’t dripping water all over it.” His tone was rude but his eyes looked down at her worriedly.

                “Fine,” she said before stripping off her shirt and tossing it in a corner.  Seunghyun’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard before turning away. Gayun was completely unaware of the reaction she had caused; it didn’t even register that she had done something mildly provocative.

                “I meant that you should take a hot shower and change clothes.” He blinked away the purple from his eyes and hoped that she was too focused on Pumpkin to pay him any attention. Luckily, he still placed second to all of the cats.

                “Then you should dry her,” she sighed before holding up the bundle of towels and kitten up to him. He rolled his eyes but let Minty go before taking the new addition to the household. He shut the door on the way out and Minty trailed behind him towards the living room.

                Gayun quickly turned the shower on and let the water heat up while she forced off the rest of her wet clothes. They were thrown in a pile with her shirt before she stepped in to the almost too hot water stream. She hadn’t realized how cold she really was until her skin had begun to finally warm up.

                She stayed under the water for longer than she probably should have before finally twisting the metallic knob in the off direction. She was now thankful that she always kept two towels in the bathroom despite having lived alone for quite a while. She quickly dried off before wrapping the towel around herself and walking out the door towards her bedroom.

                She put on her second favorite bra and some old undies before the usual sweatshirt and jeans were pulled on. She paused in front of her dresser before adding fuzzy, stripped socks to her wardrobe. She wrapped her hair up in the towel to help it dry faster before going to the bathroom to hang the wet clothes up to dry.

                For some strange reason, they were already hanging up. Gayun then trekked her way into the living room where her new, dry kitten greeted her with a loud meow. Her face immediately lit up before picking up the tiny creature.

                “That thing holds more water than a sponge,” Seunghyun remarked, having made himself home on the couch.

                “What are you doing up here?”

                “You told me to dry the cat,” he remarked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Gayun attempted to glare at him but that failed miserably. It was hard to glare at a person, even a demon, when a cat was attempting to groom his hair.

                “But who is going to watch the shop?” she asked now fearful for the little money that stayed in the cash register. If the potential thief stole some books, she wouldn’t be horribly upset; it was nice that they were attempting to broaden their horizons through literature even if they went about it in the wrong way.

                “I’m not an idiot,” he scoffed, “I’m a demon. I locked the door with magic; I highly doubt we’ll get any more customers today.” She nodded in agreement before realizing which pronoun he had used. The weird part was that the “we” didn’t disturb her too much.

                “Thanks for that.” He nodded and grabbed the remote from the coffee table to change the channel which caused Oreo’s face to scrunch up. Pudding followed her and Pumpkin into the kitchen. She grabbed a can of tuna for the kitten to snack on before setting out the other three’s usual meals. That finally got their attention.

                Gayun gently rubbed the kitten behind the ear, smiling softly while the little thing hungrily finished off the fish. Pudding wouldn’t be this spoiled for long but all of the cats got spoiled for the first few days they arrived.

                “I guess the thing is kind of cute,” Seunghyun said, startling Gayun again. She used to be able to tell he was coming from the scent he emitted but she had become so used to it that Gayun couldn’t smell it anymore. He leaned over the counter to join her in petting the small animal.

                “Don’t steal her too,” Gayun whined, “I need one cat that’s still mine.”

                “Whatever,” he chuckled softly, “Just come to grips with the fact that they will always love me more.”

                “Will not.”

                “Will too.”

                “Will not!” she huffed before their hands briefly touched. Gayun retracted her hand as if he had shocked her.

                “I’m hungry,” Seunghyun changed the subject before pulling the kitten towards him. Pudding didn’t object as he picked up the tiny ball of fluff.

                “Me too. What do you want?” Gayun asked even though there really wasn’t even much she could make given the limited ingredients in her fridge. She could potentially make some eggs and rice for the two of them to share.

                “Good, I ordered Chinese.”

                “Did you buy pot stickers too?” he nodded, “And are you actually paying or did you just order the food?”

                “I’m paying. Shut up,” he laughed. The last time he had ordered food for lunch, Gayun had gotten an unexpected bill. Luckily, nine books had been bought that day so she had been able to afford all of the food.

                “Okay but do you really need to eat half of the pot stickers? I mean, you are a demon after all so…” She trailed off and smirked at him, causing Seunghyun to stick his tongue out at her which the kitten attempted to swat at.

                “I like Chinese food too! Stupid human.”

                “Ugly demon.” And so the insults continued until food arrived where different dishes were offered as peace offerings before the bickering began again. This time, however, they argued in front of the TV instead of in the kitchen.