The day Byun Baekhyun's life finally starts falling into place is the day Park Chanyeol makes an entrance, although at the moment everything is in tatters.

 

Baekhyun is not a cat person. Nor an animal person. Or a people person for that matter. So of course, he's slightly incredulous when his best friend Jongdae decides to adopt a pair of kittens. 

 

Jongdae is not normal, Baekhyun decides. Jongdae's house in the suburbs is bustling with life and color, fish tanks lining walls and purple hamster wheels rolling on wood floors and the most exquisite, expensive bear and tiger skin rugs (all artificial of course. Unlike Baekhyun, Jongade is all for animals and things that move.

 

Baekhyun likes things that move too, he'd like to point out. Like TV screens. Anyway, he's perfectly satisfied with his two bedroom flat that he gets to share with his dreamy new roomate.) 

 

Baekhyun wouldn't know how to care for a cat if a pet-keepers' manual hit him in the face. So when Jongdae asks him to watch his new kitty Chanyeol for him, his answer is-- obviously-- a no. 

 

"Just for a few days and I'll be so grateful! "

 

"No. There's no way in hell I'm going to watch your bloody cat while you're on vacation. There's no way!"

 

"But Chanyeol likes you!"

 

"He's a ing cat, Jongdae. He can't have preferances. But I have to admit he has great taste. If I were a cat, I'd like me too. What about your other pets? Who's taking care of them?"

 

"Remember that guy I told you about? Junmyeon? We play tennis together on Thursdays."

 

"I remember, I remember."

 

"Well, apparently he loves animals so he offered to watch the house while I'm gone."

 

"Then why can't he watch your cats?"

 

"He's allergic. That's why you need to watch Chanyeol. My neighbor Jongin offered to watch them but Chanyeol hates him and I figured he might take a liking to you. You're kind of my last resort. And anyway be thankful Jongin said he would watch Kyungsoo. He insisted. At least, Kyungsoo hasn't tried to scratch him yet."

 

"Animal lovers sicken me. So your neighbor is babysitting angel kitten Kyungsoo and I have to take care of the devil cat Chanyeol?"

 

"Not devil! He's just not good with people. So will you watch him for a few days please?"

 

"I don't really have a choice do I?" And his tone of voice is definitely not pleased. 

 

* * *

The next morning finds a disgruntled Baekhyun dragging himself out of bed to answer the rapid knocks pattering his front door. He pulls it open, not even attempting to fix his mussed hair, and finds an irritatingly happy Jongdae with a large bag, and in his arms, an orange tabby with the widest eyes and biggest ears Baekhyun has ever seen. He grimaces. "Why are you here so early? I thought you said ten-thirty?" 

 

Jongdae winks. "It is ten-thirty. The bag's full of everything Channie needs to survive three days at your place! There's a list of things you should do with him in the front zipper too. And another thing. If you have any issues, please don't call." Saying so, he gently pushes the tabby into Baekhyun's arms. "Well then. Have fun!" And hops back down the corridor and into the elevator with a spring in his step. "Don't kill my cat!" 

 

An overwhelmed Baekhyun can only watch as the elevator's doors close shut. He suddenly feels awkward holding a real animal in his arms. "Your fur is clinging to my shirt," he grumbles at the cat, who only blinks up at him in response. He's just thankful it hasn't tried to scratch out his eye or pee on him. Yet. 

 

Baekhyun steps back into his apartment and sets Chanyeol down on the coffee table while he takes a seat on the floor beside it. Chanyeol's abnormally large eyes peer at him, as if expecting him to do something. Baekhyun purses his lips and opens up the large bag Jongdae had given him, pulling out a four-page list out of the front pocket. His mouth drops open as he scans it over. There's no way he's going to do all of this! 

 

He glances back up at the cat, currently toying with the empty soda can by his front paw, and looks back down at the list. 

 

1. Feed Chanyeol. Cat food and bowl in second pocket of bag. Make sure he eats it all. DO NOT feed him people food. 

 

Seems simple enough.

 

"All right Yeollie, time to eat!" Just as Baekhyun reaches over the coffee table to pick up Chanyeol, the kitten nudges the soda can which then tips over. The can which Baekhyun had assumed was empty-- well, it wasn't. The sticky liquid spills, dripping onto Baekhyun's shirt and onto the floor as the can clatters to the ground. Chanyeol's face morphs into something else. If he didn't know any better, Baekhyun would have thought the cat was laughing at him. 

 

He gives a shout of surprise, runs into the kitchen for paper towels to clean up the mess, and it was as if his worst fears had come true. He hears the sound of a bedroom door opening and footsteps advancing towards the living room. 

 

He can't know about Chanyeol! Baekhyun thinks, completely forgets the paper towels and instead rushes back into the room where Chanyeol was happily his paw. He grabs him around the belly, his grip a bit harsh, and sits him down behind the couch. He points a finger at the wide-eyed cat. "Stay here!" He hisses, stands up and attempts to brush off the cat hair from his clothes just as Kris walks through the door, still not completely awake but Baekhyun's heart pounds at how perfect he looks with bedroom hair and swollen lips. 

 

"Baekhyun?" He asks in a sleepy voice, eyes squinting. "I heard noises." His eyes drift from the spilled soda on the floor to Baekhyun's shirt and red face. 

 

"I, um... I had the TV on. And... the soda spilled." 

 

"Okay. I'll just get started on breakfast then." Baekhyun freezes when he hears Chanyeol's quiet meow. "Is that a cat?" As he strides towards the couch. 

 

Baekhyun jumps and grabs Kris' arm before he can proceed farther. "Ah no! Nonono! Not a cat, that's my new ring tone." He steers him towards the kitchen and away from Chanyeol. "Better make breakfast then, eh? I'm starving." Baekhyun picks up pan from the sink and holds it out to Kris. "Pancakes sound great right now. Take your time! I'll just clean up." And scurries out of the room before the other can get a word in. 

 

But the first thing Baekhyun does is completely disgard the mess and instead grabs a Chanyeol before he can escape and lugs him into his bedroom and shuts the door. He drops the cat on the bed, takes a seat beside him and rubs his temples. 

 

"How do I say this, Chanyeol? You are a cat. I am human. Kris is a human. I like Kris. Kris does not like cats. Understood? If he finds out I have a cat, even for three days, he will assume that I am an animal lover and we can't have that." He places his chin in his hands and stares at Chanyeol, eye to eye. (Did Chanyeol always have such pretty eyes? Like melted chocolate-- Stop it! Baekhyun screams internally. Focus here!)

 

"Do you know why Kris can't think I like pets? 'Course not. You're a cat. But I'll explain this in the easiest way possible-- Chanyeol look at me!" when his attention shifts to the window. "I've never felt this way about someone before. It's probably love, Chanyeol! Love! I have to make sure he doesn't think I'm like some kind of stupid cat lady. He already thinks I'm a dork now, thanks to you, so you owe me at least this much. Stay inconspicious, understand me? No, look look, look at me Chanyeol, you understand right? Right. Good then. We should have no problems for the remaining 71 hours you're here." 

 

He pats Chanyeol's head. "Wonderful. I'll just feed you here where Kris can't see you. He should be going to work soon anyway. Stay! I'll be right back." 

 

* * *

It takes Baekhyun fifteen minutes of rummaging through Channie's bag to find the cat food and another fifteen minutes to figure out which was for breakfast and which was for dinner. (Chanyeol sure had a big appetite.) Humming to himself, he returns to his room, the bowl of food hidden under his shirt as a precaution as to prevent Kris' increasing suspicions from rising further. He also drags the bag into a corner of the closet where he knows his roomate won't look. 

 

He quietly slips into the room and shuts the door to find a very bored looking Chanyeol twisting positions on his back. "Are you supposed to be dancing?" Baekhyun chuckles, and sets the food down on the floor beside his bed. The hungry kitten immediately hops down and begins to eat. The human boy watches in humor as the cat chews in the most awkward, messiet way, spilling bits all over the floor. His little smile fades into a scowl as he realizes he's the one who has to clean it up. "Yah, manners. Decency please." 

 

Chanyeol pauses his eating to look up at his temporary owner, blinks, and goes back to his food, this time chomping down even more vigorously and creating a bigger mess to clean. It's almost like he understands what I'm saying. And then tries to do the opposite. 

 

But fortunately, the cat finishes all of his food and Baekhyun manages to wipe the floor-- and Chanyeol's face-- with minimal difficulty. Baekhyun hears the front door close, and knows that Kris left for work, meaning it's safe to let the kitten roam their apartment. When he opens his bedroom door, Chanyeol scrambles off his bed and scurries out. Baekhyun follows after him and finds him burrowing himself into the couch in attempts to make himself comfortable. 

 

Baekhyun takes a seat beside him, and flips on the TV. As he's watching his drama, he unconsciously reaches out and pulls Chanyeol into his lap. One hand runs though the soft orange fur, tickles his ears. Chanyeol purrs at the abstracted affection. 

 

Before he realizes it, Baekhyun's eyes start to droop and he falls asleep. (Looking back at the experience, Baekhyun would argue that he was awoken extremely early in the morning by Jongdae's thunderous knocks and needed his sleep.)

 

* * *

He wakes to the pleasant scent of something rotting and at first in his still dreamy state, thinks that Kris is making him an early evening coffee. He smiles in his sleep, now well rested with his long nap, but as the wind blows through the open window and carries into his nostrils, he is up in a flash. Chanyeol is no longer splayed across his lap, and Baekhyun stands up. He sniffs hard, trying to locate the stench.

 

"Chanyeol?" He calls out. There is no meow as response.

 

Something tells him the cat is behind this.

 

Baekhyun reaches into the cabinet and equips himself with two full bottles of lavender- scented air freshner, one firmly held and ready in each hand. As he walks through every room and hallway he squirts it both in front and behind him. But as he reaches the final two rooms of the flat, his sense of dread grows. He chooses to enter the bathroom first.

 

One part of him is relieved that there is nothing there, but the other half of him is mentally planning out his will. To my wonderful roomate of two weeks, Kris Wu, I leave you my car as an apology. I hope you remember me everytime you use it and I beg for your forgiveness. To Luhan hyung I leave my brand new leather jacket. I only used it once. Take care of my baby. Finally to my dearest friend Kim Jongdae I leave ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, YOU . I HOPE YOU DIE AND GO TO HELL. AND TAKE YOUR STUPID CAT WITH YOU.

 

That leaves one last room. 

 

Kris's room.

 

He swears he can hear horror movie- themed music playing in the background. Heart in his mouth, Baekhyun pushes open the last door of the house. The strong scent of defecation immediately slams his face. His eyes begin to water, and he's not sure if it's because of the smell or because his love life or chances of going out with Kris are definately, positively over. 

 

Chanyeol leaps off of Kris' desk and comes bounding to Baekhyun, running between his legs excitedly. His temper flares. 

 

Who does he think he is? To poo in Kris' closet? As if Baekhyun wasn't generous enough by opening up his home to the stupid cat. 

 

And things were going so well, too. But no more. He would have to put down some ground rules first. 

 

Baekhyun nudges the enthusiastic kitten away from him with his foot. Chanyeol looks confused, and takes a step towards him again. "No! Get away. Look what happened. What in hell made you think the house is your toilet?" 

 

The kitten no longer looks so estatic. He flinches away upon hearing Baekhyun's harsh tone. His abnormally large eyes widen. "Don't even try it, Chanyeol. The puppy face won't work on me. I don't care what you have to say, I don't want to hear it! Why didn't you wake me? Out of all the rooms in the house did you have to choose Kris' room to take a dump? Look how the place smells Chanyeol!" 

 

"Oh God. Kris gets home in less than three hours. You stupid, stupid cat, do you have any idea how to fix this? Your feces is all over his shoes! Your fur is everywhere. He already suspects I'm hiding something!" He slouches down on the wall and buries his face in his hands. "He's going to hate me. Thanks to you." 

 

Baekhyun is so frustrated. How could he let this happen? How would he fix this mess? How would he get rid of this horrid smell? But most of all, he's pissed off at Chanyeol. 

 

When the kitten first arrived, Baekhyun had been surprised. He hadn't been as big of a pain in the as he'd expected. But now he understands why everyone says Chanyeol is a devil cat. Appearances can be decieving, and Baekhyun is so pissed off. Although right now, he's mostly just dying inside at the thought of facing Kris. 

 

He sighs, and stands up. Chanyeol is still curled into a ball meters away from him, probably too afraid to look at him. 

 

Well then. It wouldn't help just sitting and worrying would it? Baekhyun gets out all the cleaning supplies he possesses, pulls on two pairs of dishwashing gloves and gets cleaning. He doesn't forget nose plugs. He uses plastic bags to pick the poop off the floor of Kris' closet, and scrubs the area just to be sure there are no particles left. 

 

He sticks Kris' sheets and curtains into the wash to get rid of cat hairs, and mops from roof to ground. In all honesty, he feels like Cinderella. But he wouldn't be getting a prince sooner or later.

 

As he's scrubbing he completely forgets about the little ball of fur silently watching him with huge eyes. 

 

He has more important things to focus on anyway. 

 

He steps back, admires his work. The room is spotless, everything is in place. The bed is neatly done, curtains are up. No smell whatsoever remaining. Except for one last thing. 

 

... the poop- covered pair of black leather shoes. 

 

Baekhyun sighs one more time. He knows he can't fix them. He could try, but the stains would remain. He can only hope that Kris won't miss them as he tosses them into the trash. Only shoes right? Maybe Kris won't even notice. 

 

Baekhyun feels satisfied as he checks the time. He still has twenty minutes 'till the older man arrives home from work. Maybe enough time to make some coffee. 

 

* * *

It's past midnight. 

 

Chanyeol is fed and is currently asleep in Baekhyun's room. Kris doesn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary and is sleeping in his own room. But there is one person lounging on the couch at this hour, still in the middle of a movie. He gives a noise of exasperation as the power goes out, and the TV screen fades to black. 

 

He's still not sleepy, and he thinks he should finish going over the list Jongdae had given him. He simply flops back on the couch with a flash light in hand, and begins with the first page. And at item #23 on the list, he automatically feels something. 

 

Something like regret. 

 

He thinks that maybe he should have read over the list the moment he'd recieved Chanyeol. Because number twenty-three on the list states: 

 

Set up litterbox where Chanyeol can get to easily. Change litter once or twice a day. (Don't forget! If there's no litter box he'll do his business in something else that looks like one.) 

 

He feels bad. It's his fault for not setting up the litterbox as soon as possible. It's his fault Chanyeol went in Kris' shoes. Maybe if Baekhyun had been more responsible, this wouldn't have happened. 

 

He shouldn't have been so stern with Chanyeol. Afterall, there's a limit on how long someone-- even a cat-- can hold it in. 

 

Baekhyun makes sure to finish reading the rest of the list before heading to bed. Chanyeol is snuggled up on his pillow, But Baekhyun doesn't have the heart to shove him off. He lays down beside him, and pulls him closer to his chest. He hopes Chanyeol understands he's sorry. 

 

He falls alseep with his own new furry pillow under his palm and his chin buried in fuzzy orange fur. 

 

* * *

"So this is him, huh?" 

 

Luhan gazes down at the sleeping figure of a small animal on Baekhyun's bed. He suddenly squeals, "Baekhyun, he's adorable! Oh my gosh!" 

 

"Shh! He'll wake up." 

 

"Right, right." Luhan gingerly runs a finger through Chanyeol's fur. "You said you had a problem." 

 

"He is the problem. It's getting harder to hide him from Kris. He keeps shedding everywhere and I can't clean 24/7! Kris asked about the shoes I threw away yesterday." 

 

"What did you tell him?" 

 

"What do you think? I told him I had no idea where they were." 

 

Luhan snorts. "This would be a whole lot easier if you could just tell him about Chanyeol." 

 

"I can't! Does sleek, sophisticated Kris look anything like someone who likes cats? I can't tell him Luhan! He already thinks I'm a blabbering idiot." 

 

"You are." 

 

"I am what?" Baekhyun snaps. 

 

"A blabbering idiot." 

 

"Luhan!" Baekhyun screeches, smacking his arm. "You're supposed to be my hyung! I'm in a crisis; help me please!" He's nearly in tears when Luhan sits him down on his bed, patting his back as he manages to calm down. 

 

"We'll take care of it. Today is the last day right? Jongdae picks up Chanyeol tonight. You just have to hold out for half a day and the cat will be out of your life forever." Baekhyun hiccups as he listens to Luhan's words. "Hey! Here's an idea: make Kris a romantic dinner." 

 

"I can't just lock Chanyeol in a room by himself while we have dinner." 

 

"So I'll stay in your room with him! It's perfect, see? I'll take care of him while you two make sparks." 

 

"You're so cheesy. Take him to your place instead." 

 

"No can do. Sehun doesn't take well to cats. He gets aggressive." 

 

Baekhyun sighs. "I'll never understand why you adopted a bulldog, of all things. But okay. Hic! What do I make for Kris?" 

 

A grin spreads across Luhan's face. "I've got a few ideas." 

 

"...those ideas don't involve -shaped vegetable rolls like last time, do they?" 

 

 

 

A/N: Just for small clarification, Baekhyun has to watch Chanyeol for three days. Here I skipped over day 2, so all you're reading about takes place on days 1 and 3. 

Part 2/2 will be up within a few weeks! Thank you for reading and please leave feedback ^^