Taekwoon was pretty sure that he was nine when he met Hakyeon, but he wasn’t quite sure. But then of course, Hakyeon had also just estimated his own age at that point. Taekwoon hadn’t ever really been given a birthday, he just knew that he was about the same size as other nine year olds. And the elves didn’t really keep track of time very well, but Hakyeon knew he was in the same grade as nine year olds.

            Taekwoon lived with his two sisters and mother in a room above a restaurant. The owners of the restaurant liked them and gave them food occasionally, in exchange for controlling the mice population, of course. The entire family was the same way as Taekwoon, turning into cats at will. His mother was a lighter grey than he was, and his sisters were both black and white spotted. Even from a young age, Taekwoon was a little taller than his sisters, something that his mom told him he got from his dad. He’d never met his dad, but it didn’t really matter either way, the four of them were happy anyways.

            When Taekwoon met Hakyeon, when he was by himself, it was because his mother had decided to live with the family that owned the restaurant, and his sisters had both grown up and moved in with partners and friends, so Taekwoon was mostly left to his own devices. He still lived with his mom, but didn’t really fit in any more. So after he found the young elf, he decided that he should find somewhere else to live too. And when Hakyeon didn’t stop Taekwoon from following him home, Taekwoon made up his mind. He had already told his mom about his plans, and she had just wished him the best and gave her love.

            Hakyeon, at the time, lived in a different house in the elven neighborhood of the city, and so Taekwoon followed him as he weaved through the elves in the street, who often reached down and would gently pat Taekwoon, and he decided that they were good company. The building the house was in was simple looking, but the house inside was beautiful. Hakyeon had talked to Taekwoon the whole time he was walking, and so he knew that there were ten or so elves that lived in the same house with him. They all looked different, but most of them were still tall and lean, moving with easy grace. Hakyeon was the youngest, he had explained, so they still kind of spoiled him. As soon as Hakyeon walked in, a pair of elves that looked similar enough to be twins came over to the entryway and started talking to Hakyeon about his day in the same tongue that Taekwoon had heard Hakyeon talking to some of his friends with. He gestured down at Taekwoon, who tried to put on his best “treat me nicely” face, but there wasn’t really any need, because the two elves leaned down with big smiles, still talking to Hakyeon, who laughed.

            They all were very nice, all of them willing to let Taekwoon weave through their feet, and they fed him good foods, and he was content to stay where he was. But part of him knew that eventually he would have to let Hakyeon- and the other elves- know that he wasn’t completely a cat, and not exactly what he appeared to be. He decided to wait for a while though, and test out if they would really be okay with him staying. A lot of the families Taekwoon had ventured to try refused him as soon as they knew about his human side, so he was wary of letting anyone know. So he held back.

            After about a year had passed, Taekwoon made up his mind. After Hakyeon had left for school for the day, Taekwoon went and found clothes of Hakyeon’s that he was pretty sure would fit, and paced around the house a couple of times, accompanied by the laughter of some of the older elves who stayed home during the day. He finally settled on just waiting in Hakyeon’s room. It felt weird to be a human again after such a long time staying as a cat, and he wobbled around on his legs for a little while, shaking out his limbs. He was a lot taller than he remembered, and his shoulders were a lot wider. He spent some time looking in the mirror too, measuring the differences. The clock kept ticking, and Taekwoon knew Hakyeon was due to be home soon, so he just settled himself on the bed, waiting.

            He grew anxious, and started second guessing his decision. What if Hakyeon didn’t like him anymore? The elf didn’t seem like the type, but Taekwoon was never sure. And then what about the other elves? Would they be okay with him staying? His worries grew and grew until he debated just going back to being a cat, but as if on cue, he could hear Hakyeon calling for him down the hall, and Taekwoon steeled his nerves and folded his hands in front of him. The door opened, and he held his breath.

            “Leo?”

            “It’s Taekwoon, actually.”

            The first thing that registered was confusion on Hakyeon’s face.

            “What?”

            “My name, it’s not Leo, it’s Taekwoon.”

            “What?”

            “Hakyeon, I’m not a cat. Well, completely. I’m kind of a shapeshifter, but only into cats. I figured it’s been long enough that you weren’t going to kick me out once you found out. It’s not unusual to abandon one of us, especially if you don-“ He knew he was rambling at this point, so he wasn’t sure if he was grateful or not when Hakyeon interrupted him.

            “Wait wait wait back up a second. So, you, Leo, are actually a person, Taekwoon, and not a cat-“

            “Kind of.”

            “But you aren’t a cat right now, and you’re sitting on my bed.” Hakyeon finished. Taekwoon chewed on his lip.

            “Yes.”

            “And why’d you wait this long? What’s it been, like a year?” Hakyeon sat down on the bed next to him, looking at Taekwoon with wide eyes. Taekwoon shifted, nervous.

            “It’s just that a lot of people don’t like having a cat/human shifter with them, so I haven’t really been able to stay anywhere for a long period of time, so when I was pretty sure you weren’t going to get rid of at least the cat, I decided to try being human,” Taekwoon finished all in one breath.

            “You thought I would get rid of you? Why on earth would I do that? It’s not like you’re any less of a friend to me now. You are much cuter as a cat, though, even though you’re still cute.” Taekwoon let out a breath, and made a face at him.

            “I’m not cute.”

            “You so are, look, you’re even pouting.” The elf reached out a hand towards him, and Taekwoon pushed it away from his face.

            “Stop it, I’m not cute.”

ahhh sorry

spring break has been distracting me from my computer so i've been having a hard time settling down and writing :P But here we go! i might see if i can finish another one or two by tonight, but we will see :3

taekwoon backstory!

i hope everything makes sense :O

about their ages, i know i've decided that we don't know exactly how old hakyeon is, but that elves definitely age differently than humans but it probably wont be v important at all? just if i reference it

yes!! there u go

thanks for reading and subscribing!

~Win