Word count: 2834
Pairing: Dowoon x Reader
Genre: fluff, uni au, special/supernatural abilities au

“Come on in,” you said as you opened the door to your one-room apartment, your dark-haired companion following just behind you. You cranked up the central heating as the other stood around awkwardly, taking in your little apartment for the first time.

He was a little nervous, being alone with you in the slightly confined, yet cosy space. Then again, if you were being honest with yourself, so were you. “I’ll make some hot cocoa, you can make yourself comfortable,” you stated as you headed over to the kitchenette and set a kettle to boil.

While you dug around the cabinets for the cocoa powder and sugar, Dowoon silently sat himself on the floor and pulled out his books, laying them out neatly on the coffee table. He was over for an assignment you had as pair work. In the class, he was the only other science major you knew that was taking the same minor – literature.

You got to know Dowoon through your high-school best friend, Wonpil. However, the two of you weren’t very well acquainted till recently. You were a Medical Biology major while he was studying Veterinary Science, like Wonpil. That’s how the two met and soon hit it off, becoming close as brothers in no time at all.

Once, when your free periods coincided, Wonpil brought Dowoon along with him for lunch with you. He introduced you to one another, and mentioned that the two of them were starting a band with a few upperclassmen. You wondered how they’d ever manage, what with the stress of being vet majors, but promised you would come see them practice.

Unfortunately, you hadn’t met them much afterwards, all of you being swallowed by your overflowing schedules. There was only once that you were free to hop over to Dowoon’s garage and watch the band live. They were still a little messy around the corners with their practices, but they took your breath away nonetheless.

Seeing your best friend thoroughly enjoy himself and sing his heart out put a huge smile on your face. Deny it as you may, though, there was one person whom your eyes just couldn’t seem to peel away from throughout their performance – and it wasn’t that lanky bassist that kept throwing winks in your direction.

Dowoon was a whole other person in front of the drums. Every time you met before this, he always came off as the shy, awkward and quiet type. But the look in his eyes… The steady bop of his head as his hands and feet danced in unfaltering rhythm, hitting the bass, toms, snare and cymbals in perfect succession.

They captivated you, and you sensed how amidst the chaos of the slightly out of practice band, he was the metronome reeling everyone into their positions. He may not have been a vocalist like all his bandmates, but he was just as imperative to their makeup as anyone else.

So, what with his various time-consuming responsibilities, the last place you expected to find him was in your literature class. But lo and behold, there he sat – or rather slept – in the back of your class on your first day. You claimed the seat next to him, tapping his shoulder to wake him up. He stuttered awake and pulled the headphones out of his ears.

You laughed. And that was how you ended up working with each other throughout the module. He was surprisingly insightful on the subject, and you both worked great as a pair, discussing your different viewpoints and interpretations.

You often had discussions at the open grass fields on the school compounds, but you found that he was too easily distracted – he kept staring, at times even glaring, at the birds that flew around the trees while chirping excitedly. As such, when you were given this assignment and paired up, you suggested that this time you do the work at your place instead.

Your apartment was fairly near the arts/literature building, and besides, Dowoon resided at the all-male dorm on the other side of campus. Bringing a girl over would be scandalous – you thought it best to spare him the teasing from his dormmates. And the warnings from the dorm caretakers to keep his room door open at all times.

A meow pulled you back to reality as your cat nuzzled herself against your legs. You bent down and picked her up, scratching under her chin and behind her ears, earning a deep purr in reply. “Hey there Splotches,” you smiled but set her down to finish making the hot cocoa. Splotches ran off to the hall, and noticed there was another being in her territory.

She hissed at the unwelcome stranger but you raised your voice from the kitchen. “Be nice.” You stated sternly. Dowoon watched as the cat’s ears folded slightly, as though reprimanded. A soft mewl escaped her before she sauntered to the couch just behind Dowoon and lied much like Cleopatra’s famous feline companion, except she was a tortoiseshell and not an Egyptian mau.

Dowoon tried to hide the smirk that crept up his lips at the exchange he found to be all too amusing. “I didn’t know you had a pet.”

“I didn’t know she had friends.”

Dowoon ignored the voice coming from behind him. “I found her in a box on the sidewalk on the way home from school a few months ago. Couldn’t have just left her there, right?”

He smiled and turned around on the floor so he faces the cat in mention, digging his fingers into Splotches’ thick fur. She closed her eyes contentedly, meowing once more. “Hmm I guess you aren’t so bad, hooman.”

Dowoon rolled his eyes, still scratching the oversized kitty as he turned to watch you pour two full cups of the hot cocoa. His eyes continued to follow you as you scourged the fridge and pulled out a can and a small air-tight container. A soft sigh escaped his lips.

Splotches eyes popped open when she realised the hand scratching her was less attentive. She meowed curtly. “Good Lord, he’s smitten.”

“I am not!” Dowoon quickly retorted as his head snapped back to face the feline before him. The cat’s pupils dilated and her eyes widened.

“Sorry, what did you say?” you asked as you shut off the faucet and dry your hands. You transferred everything to a tray and brought it to the coffee table, finding an empty space amidst the books.

“Ah, it was nothing,” he dismissed as you proceeded to look over some notes he had scribbled while waiting. A few moments pass.

“You can understand me, can’t you?” said Splotches.

“Whipped cream or mini-marshes?” you ask at the same time.

He shot Splotches a glare. “Oh my catnip you really do.”

“Yah Yoon Dowoon,” you waved a hand in front of your partner’s face when he didn’t reply to your question.

“Ah- sorry. What was it?”

“Whipped cream or mini-marshes?”

“Mini-marshes?” Dowoon repeated, already taking a sip of the hot cocoa and burning his tongue a little in the process. You simply snickered at his impatience. “Hah. .” Another side-eyed glare.

“Mini marshmallows, duh.”

“Oh. Can’t I have both?” he proclaimed, making you laugh as you hand over both the items you held. Dowoon helped you put toppings on your own hot cocoa too.

You started to draft up an outline for the assignment, splitting the work into parts to be divided between the two of you.

“I take it she doesn’t know?”

Dowoon listened to you, ignoring the question. He pointed out some parts that could be paired together for each of research.

“She doesn’t know you can talk to me – and presumably animals in general, or she doesn’t know how you’re completely and utterly smitten by her?”

“Shut up.” Dowoon growled in reply in the softest voice he can manage.

“Excuse me?” you raised your head to blink up at Dowoon. “Did you…” you furrowed your brows, “just tell me to shut up?”

“No, I-“

“Go on, tell her. How long are you planning to keep it a secret anyway?”

He conceded. Besides, he didn’t want to keep seeming like he zoned out all the time around her when really he was just being pestered by the animals in the vicinity. He dragged in a deep breath before looking at you straight in the eyes.

“This is gonna sound crazy. Like, if Joker and Harley Quinn end up having a baby crazy.”

You placed your pen on the table and waited for him to continue.

“I can understand animals.”

A pause. A longer pause as your gaze ricocheted between Splotches and Dowoon. Splotches meowed. You lifted up a finger and pointed at her. “What did she… I can’t believe I’m asking this. What did she just say?”

Dowoon and Splotches exchanged glances. “That was smooth, Mr. Smoothypants.” He repeated your pet’s words.

“That was sarcasm, by the way”

“I’m not dumb.” Dowoon hissed in reply.

You massaged your temples with your elbows rested on the table. “Wait… this is for real?”

Dowoon nodded, Splotches meowed. “I still don’t believe you…”

“Ask her a question, then. That’s the only way Wonpil ended up believing me. I had to talk to nearly half the animals in the clinic-“

“What’s her name? You don’t know her name.”

Mmeow. “Splotches.”

“Her favourite food?”

MeoowwW! “Fried chicke- YOU FEED HER FRIED CHICKEN?”

You stared flabbergasted with your mouth agape in disbelief. “I- wow this is weird- but yeah, I thought it was okay to so do.”

“Cats can’t have too much of anything oily, that rule doesn’t just apply to humans. And the bones in chicken can be choking hazards for them!”

You mumble something about him not having to worry since you always fed her small pieces of the meat instead of a whole wing or something, but you’re still too preoccupied trying to wrap your head around the fact that he was    actually telling the truth.

“Wait, wait. You mean to tell me that Wonpil has known about this all this time?”

“Well, he only found out a couple months back when he found me talking to one of the dogs in the clinic. Which normally isn’t odd – vets do it all the time – but I was having an actual conversation that time. He thought I was crazy and insisted I see a psychiatrist – he was highkey about to drag me there himself – so I had to tell him. And make him believe me.”

You continued massaging your temples with the tips of your fingers, looking down at the open books and scattered notes. “So… can you like, talk to insects too?”

“No. Hamsters and baby chicks are the smallest I’ve heard speak before. I mean- they’re the smallest kind of animals I can understand. Mice included.”

“So worms, butterflies, cockroaches… ants?”

“Nope. God, that would be depressing. Imagine walking on a sidewalk and hearing their little voices scream that you just killed their brother or great granduncle. I’d be traumatised!”

The horrified look on his face made you throw you head back as you erupted in a fit of giggles. Splotches hopped off the couch and made her way to you, sitting on your lap. You hand immediately went through her fur out of habit. She meowed, and Dowoon chuckled in reply.

You raised an eyebrow in question.

“She just told me to tell you to stop being stingy with the chicken and give her more next time instead of finishing the entire box of 12-piece wings by yourself.”

You blush and pick Splotches up by her arms, holding her mid-air like Simba. You frowned. “You can’t just go around telling people about my embarrassing eating habits!”

She meowed again, earning another deep sound of amusement from your companion. You squinted at Splotches, before looking at Dowoon expectedly, awaiting his ‘translation’.

“She said it’s not her fault you’re such a gluten-”

You blushed again and shook Splotches a little. “Yah! How dare you expose me like this!”

You set her back down on your lap and lied your forehead on the table, too abashed to look Dowoon in the eye. You stayed like that for a few moments before you spoke again. “I can’t believe I’m talking to my cat.”

Dowoon simply shakes his head and takes a sip of the hot cocoa while flipping through your book again. “This tastes really good,” he compliments, reaching out to ruffle your hair. Your cheeks turned a much darker shade than before and you tried to calm yourself down.

Splotches mewed. “I am not! You’re the pu-” Dowoon stopped himself when your head snapped up to look at him. He was flustered, avoiding your gaze as he cleared his throat. The tips of his ears were turning bright red. You mindlessly reached out and touched it, but his hand wrapped around your wrist just as your fingers made contact with his warm skin.

You jumped at the sudden realisation of what you were doing and how you were suddenly in such close proximity to him. You opened your mouth to speak, but no words came out because his eyes were looking right into yours so intently. Damn, he could cut diamonds with that look.

“I like you.”

You blinked. He didn’t. His grip never loosened either. Not tight, but firm. And warm. “I- wha-?”

“I like you. I have for a while now,” he reiterated, finally releasing a breath as he set your hand down, still holding on to your wrist, but loosening his grip. He sighed and looked off, eyes following the tortoiseshell that was treading off to the bedroom.

“I can’t believe it took a cat berating me to tell you that,” he finally spoke after a few seconds of silence while you both watched said cat disappear behind the slightly ajar bedroom door.

This time you laughed as you carefully pulled your hand out of his grasp and reached over to clasp his hand between both of yours instead. He seemed surprised with the sudden gesture but is relieved to find you smiling at him.

“I…” you began shyly, “I like you too. A lot.”

Dowoon smiled so wide before clamping his lips together to try and stop but it only made his grin wider as he repositioned your hands so he could lace his fingers through yours. God, was your heart going wild. You never dreamt of such a thing happening between you two since you both always kept it so platonic.

“So… I guess this makes you my girlfriend, now?”

Your cheeks burned at the new title and you simply looked down while groaning. Alarmed, Dowoon pulled his hands back. “Sorry, I-”

“No, no. It isn’t what you said,” you quickly explained, taking his hands back in yours. “I was just thinking… how the hell are we going to tell Wonpil?”

Dowoon waved your concern away. “Trust me, he won’t be surprised.”

“What? Why wouldn’t he be?”

“He already figured out I like you since I would never shut up about how it’s so amazing you’re taking pre-med and yet you still find time to participate in community outreach events and work part-time while taking a minor a literature which you are so good at, like, I’d die in class without you.”

The unending praise made you feel both flattered and sheepish. “Come on, that’s nothing compared to you. You’re a science major too and you guys have band practice for hours every other day, plus you’re on the student council and hey, you’re much better at deciphering poems than you give yourself credit for.”

It was his turn to feel embarrassed as he shook his head, bemused. “But wait,” you interjected. “Is this why you chose to be a vet?”

Dowoon nodded, squeezing your hands a little – it felt great to not have to keep it a secret from you anymore. “It helps a lot, and I get to help the other vets pinpoint the problem too. Though they’re often so bewildered at how I knew what was wrong – they think I’m some genius when in fact it’s just because the patient literally told me.”

“Still, you’ll make a great vet.”

“And you’ll make a great doctor.”

You both just smiled at each other, enjoying the moment.

“One more thing, though,” you spoke, holding up a finger. “What did Splotches say that made you confess?”

“She… called me a .”

The sound of your laughter filled the tiny apartment. You bent over when your stomach began to hurt from laughing so hard, so you didn’t notice when Dowoon stopped laughing along and stiffened as a chill ran down his spine. He felt a shift in the air just behind him as a tall figure in white lied down on the couch, barely sweeping into his peripheral vision.

“So. When are you going to tell her that you can see me, too?”

A/N: hey fellas this was written for a myth/supernatural competition thing on this day6writers directory i'm part of on tumblr (check us out @ day6writers.tumblr.com) hope y'all liked it! and halloween is over but hope this gave yall a bit of a spook heh xD