Changkyun walks briskly down the sidewalk, keeping his head down to avoid drawing any unwelcome gazes as he nears the school gate. He just hopes today he’ll be able to make it through the entrance without running into trouble… unlike the day before.

“Yah! Changkyun-ah!”

The boy stops, his blood freezing in his veins in terror. He presses his lips together in a nervous fashion, knowing it’s too late to act as if he hadn’t heard it the call. Dark laughter echoes in his ear, and suddenly there’s rough, calloused hands spinning him around. He stares down at the ground, unable to meet his tormenter’s eyes.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, kid,” the eighth-grader demands, shaking him a bit. A yelp of pain slips through Changkyun’s lips at the tight hold, which seems to only encourage the older boy’s behavior. He smiles a oily smile, and shoves Changkyun away from him. The sixth-grader stumbles back, and consequently lands on his with a low ‘oomf’.

His tormentors creep towards him, smirks on their faces and a menacing light painting their eyes. Changkyun quakes in fear where he sits, his heart hammering in his tiny little body. He bites his lower lip and closes his eyes, readying himself for the assault. Maybe today will be the day they give him a black eye. Maybe then he could have proof and report them. Maybe then—

“Mrrrrrroooooowwwr!!!”

Changkyun slowly peeks open his eyes, surprised at the high-pitched meow. His eyebrows raise in question at seeing a small, fluffy, brown kitten standing between him and the bullies. The older boys seem a bit… scared by the feline. The leader actually backs up a few steps, his mouth dropping open in surprise.

“Dude, get that thing away,” he commands, snarling up his upper lip to show his displeasure. “I’m allergic.”

“I-It’s not mine,” Changkyun mumbles in reply, though he doesn’t move to shove it away. If something as simple as a kitten is enough to keep them away from him, he’s more than willing to adopt it immediately. The bullies’ leader rolls his eyes, scoffing at Changkyun’s stuttering, and turns to leave him be.

“Whatever. We’ll just catch you later, Kyunnie~” he says over his shoulder, sneering over at the younger still on the ground. Changkyun gulps, his gaze returning to the pavement. He looks over to the cat, which is now staring at him curiously with its head cocked to the side. Giant brown eyes watch him unblinkingly, and Changkyun can’t help but hold out a tentative hand to its head. It quickly rubs its head against the boy’s hand, earning a toothy grin from him.

“Thanks…” he mumbles, and the cat mewls in response. Changkyun chuckles under his breath, and reaches forward to pick him up. The kitten meows in protest, but the boy only holds it close to his chest in a grateful hug.

“Mooowwr,” it cries, and Changkyun can’t help but laugh again. Suddenly, the bell rings out in the air, signifying the beginning of morning classes. Changkyun in a breath at his own tardiness, and quickly sets the kitten down.

“I’ve gotta go,” he tells it, patting his new friend on the hand in a short goodbye. He gives it a small, genuine smile, and then runs off towards the school building.

He’s in such a rush to get into the building he doesn’t even look back. Which, in the kitten’s opinion, is for the better. The small feline trots off towards the bushes, and crouches down as much as he can to avoid drawing attention to himself. He watches for a few minutes, just waiting until the last of the students finally meander their ways into the school building, until finally he can morph into his true form again.

The cat chokes back a groan of protest as his limbs elongate and his claws shorten. His fur falls away, and his tail retracts into his body. His ears pop and he has to hold his breath as the process goes, careful to not strain his own organs as they grow into the size they should be.

Yoo Kihyun, eighth grader, now straightens up with a huff. He stretches his arms as high as they can go to stretch out his back, his bones cracking back into place. The boy leaves the bushes behind and walks off the campus, ignoring easily the pain that always follows a transformation.

He hadn’t planned to do such a thing, but he just couldn’t help himself. Now, he’ll be late returning home from his errands, and his mother is going to give him an earful… But, it’s worth it. He’s noticed throughout the past month how much crap those jerks give that poor boy when passing by the school on occasion, and he had to do something.

Granted, he hadn’t meant to turn into a kitten—he had more or less been aiming for a tiger—but it ended up working out.

 

Not too long after, Kihyun returns home with his arms weighted down by shopping bags.

“I’m home, Eomma!” he calls as he slips out of his shoes. He hears a faint hum from the kitchen in acknowledgment, and he makes his way there on socked feet.

“What took you so long?” his mother asks as he walks into the kitchen. Kihyun chews on his bottom lip, not looking forward to her reaction.

“Um, well, remember that boy I’ve seen around?”

His mother, who had been cutting up vegetables for the stew she’d planned to prepare, pauses and puts her knife down on the cutting board. She turns to glance at her son, her eyes shining with a warning light.

“I… uh,” Kihyun mutters, smiling sheepishly, “I kind of Shifted into a cat to help him with his bully problems… So, that kind of took up some time…”

“You what?!” his mother demands, her voice turning into a shrill cry of outrage. She closes the distance between them, her gaze growing frightful as she takes hold of his shoulders. “Do you know how risky that was? Did anyone see you? Did anyone notice?” Kihyun shakes his head quickly.

“No, Eomma,” he tells her softly. “I was careful, I swear.” She stares into his eyes for another second before releasing a relieved breath, and letting go to slump into a chair at the dining table.

“That was reckless,” she states simply, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t you remember your lessons on what’s happened to other Shifters who have been caught over the years? Honestly, Kihyunnie, you’d think I haven’t taught you anything all these years…”

“But, Eomma,” Kihyun interjects, going over to take hold of her hands as he stares at her pleadingly, “they were pushing him around, treating him like crap! He needed help!”

“It doesn’t matter if some cute boy needs your help or not,” she tells him simply, her voice strained. “You don’t risk exposure… ever.” She then stands, heaving a tired sigh. “Go on up to your room, I’ll call you when lunch is ready.” Kihyun purses his lips, as the woman is obviously still upset, but turns to comply, anyway. He knows better than to argue with her when she’s like this.

He throws himself onto his bed, turning on his side to stare at the clock. He thinks of the cute boy, a smile coming to him as he remembers the feeling of being held by him. He’d like to hold him back one day… or maybe something more. He seems so sweet, so caring, so genuine… Sure, he doesn’t exactly know the boy personally, or anything, but he’d like to.

He’s gonna get the crap beaten out of him after school, Kihyun thinks sullenly. Without me there, those guys are gonna kick him around to no end…

He sits up, knowing what he has to do, where he has to be by exactly 3:30 PM today.

 

Changkyun sneaks out of the classroom a couple minutes early and keeps his head down. He’s not banking on his furry little protector being there this afternoon, so he’s trying to get out of there as fast as humanly possible.

He luckily manages to beat his tormentors out the door, and he thanks his lucky stars as he sets off at a sprint towards the gate. But, as he’s picking up his pace, he almost trips over a small ball of fur curled up on the bottom step to the school. The young boy spins around in surprise, his eyes widening at finding the kitten from this morning there, seemingly waiting for him.

The kitten sits up a little, its tail wagging as its eyes glint with an almost amused light. Changkyun can’t help but smile at the expression, and he tilts his head to the side. The kitten mirrors the action, and then bounds on over to the boy. Changkyun giggles a little, and kneels down to pat his head. The kitten purrs at the attention. The warm noise of pleasure gives the boy absolutely no choice in picking the feline up, and holding him in his arms as he continues on his way home.

Kihyun tries not to get too comfortable in this new position, as he knows he’ll have to leave eventually to get home himself, but he still can’t help the contented purr emanating from his throat.

 

“I’m home, Eomma!” Changkyun calls upon entering his home. He slips off his shoes and hurries towards his room, knowing exactly how his mother will react to the feline in his arms.

“Do you want a snack, Kyunnie?” she asks sweetly from the living room. Changkyun makes a sound of denial, too much in a rush to do much else. She pokes her head out of the living room, frowning in confusion at how he isn’t coming to greet her as he always does. She can’t help but chuckle knowingly at seeing the hunched way he’s walking. She reaches out and grabs him by the shoulder, but doesn’t expect in the slightest to see her dear son cradling a cat close to his heart when she turns him around.

She raises a suspicious brow, and Changkyun shifts on his feet, his lips anxiously.

“He… um… He followed me home…”

His mother raises a skeptical brow, chuckling at the obvious lie. She glances down at the kitten in his arms, shaking her head at the innocent gaze.

“Go on,” she sighs, pretending to be exasperated but really too amused to be mad at her son for bringing home a pet. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Changkyun giggles delightedly, and pauses only to kiss her on the cheek before running off to his room. Kihyun bounces in his arms as he goes, knowing he should be heading home soon, but unwilling to leave Changkyun’s warm embrace quite yet.