“Ssaem!”

The high-pitched voice snapped Jinyoung out from his thoughts. He turned around to find a pair of round eyes staring at him, small lips jutted out in irritated manner.

“Sorry, sorry,” he smiled guiltily, “have you finished already?”

The girl nodded, pushing the worksheet he gave her to him, fully answered. Jinyoung took it and checked the answer. When he finished, he returned it and patted the long braided hair.

“Well done, you’ve got it all right! Guess this is too easy for a smart girl like you, right?”

Yerim’s eyes sparked. “Really?”

“Yeah, you did it! You’re incredible!”

Jinyoung couldn’t help but mirrored the bright smile stretched across Yerim’s face. The girl was quiet and reserved, but compliments always made her happy. It kind of remind him of someone.

“Let’s end our lesson here. You must be hungry, right?”

He knew he was right even before a loud growl filled the room and Yerim grinned shyly through her eyelashes. They tidied up and came downstairs, where her mother was cooking in the kitchen. She turned around and smile softly at them.

“Oh, you’re finished already? Thanks for coming every week to teach her, Jinyoung. How is she?”

“She’s a good kid, and she’s brilliant, Ma’am, I believe she will ace her test tomorrow,” he said, patting the girl’s hair again.

“That’s great. Her teacher always complained about how she was so quiet for her age,” the lady said, continuing chopping the kimchi.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. She’s quite expressive in her own way, and she doesn’t make trouble for anyone.”

“It’s good then. I think it’s the influence of her brother. He dotes on her so much, and she sticks to him like glue. He’s always the one who do her hair every morning.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “How enviable. I have no sibling, so I’m always alone.”

Yerim run to her mother, tugging on her apron. “Mom, I’m hungry,” she whined.

“Be patient a little bit, okay dear? I’ll finish in a sec. And your brother will be home soon. Don’t you wanna eat with him?”

The girl looked down with troubled face, and Jinyoung had to hold back his laugh because her weighing between her hunger and her brother in her mind like it mattered the world was just too cute. She finally nodded after the heated debate reached a conclusion.

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

The mother smiled, filled with fondness. It reminded him of his own mother, who used to smile at him that way before. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in the same room with his parents. It was after his parents realized that what he had been saying wasn’t just a bluff. It was hard for a kid like he was to notice his parents was uncomfortable being around him and he could do nothing about the reason they avoided him, so he always stay in his room. The times he saw his parents could be counted with his hands after he entered dormitory from middle school to high school and finally moving out completely when he went for college. The hardest part was knowing their relief at him going away, that his existence was truly unwanted by his own family.

“Why don’t you eat dinner with us, Jinyoung?,” the kind lady said, pulling his mind back to the present, “you live alone, right? It must’ve been long since you ate home cooking.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I have to go back now. I have an essay due to tomorrow, and it’s still half finished,” Jinyoung refused politely. While it was true, he would still refuse if it wasn’t. If he stayed and watched the loving family for longer, it would only remind him of the things he had lost, and he hated it.

“Oh, sorry for taking your time.”

“No worries, Ma’am. Well then, I’ll take my leave,” Jinyoung said, bowing down slightly.

“Alright, be careful on your way!”

Jinyoung tightened his scarf and walked toward the door. However, before he managed to reach it, it was opened. Familiar song streamed down his mind which stopped when a face that had been bugging him for days appeared in front of him, stopping him in his track. They only stared at each other for a moment, the other asking the same question as him in his head before a yell broke the silence.

“Jaebum! Another cat?!”

Only then Jinyoung noticed a black, fluffy creature moved on the newcomer’s arms, almost indiscernible with the same colored jacket the man was wearing. Jaebum looked at his mother who was coming up to them, his gaze pleading. He lifted his hands, struggling to make movements and shapes thanks to the kitten, telling his mother that he found her abandoned in a box and he couldn’t possibly return her there.

“No, Jaebum, you know very well we can’t take in another cat. You’ve brought back seven already, cramped inside your room. And they can’t even let loose inside the house since your father is allergic. They’ll have no room to move if you add more,” Mrs. Im said with finality in her tone. Jaebum looked down hopelessly, meeting the cat’s blue eyes. The sadness bleeding from him flooded into Jinyoung and wrenched his heart painfully until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’ll take care of her.”

The pain stopped, and he noticed everyone’s attention was centered on him. He cursed internally as he realized what he just blurted out without thinking. His part time job barely gave him anything left after covering his living and study expenses, how could he take care of another living being? But he couldn’t take back what he said either, so he smiled nervously at Jaebum.

“Um, I mean, I can take care of the kitten if you allow me,” Jinyoung said, stumbling on his words, slightly wishing he would refuse him. Jaebum eyed him suspiciously, a stark difference with his mother, whose relief evident on her face.

“Isn’t it great, dear? We find a nice person to take care of her. It’s better than getting squeezed with other cats in your tiny room, right?”

Jaebum cradled the cat protectively, his mind spelling distrust toward Jinyoung which didn’t stop even after Mrs. Im slapped his shoulder and told him to hand over the cat, which he refused. It was a given, he knew. It never mattered for him if he was being hated or misunderstood, but somehow he couldn’t ignore it that once. He couldn’t forget how he had hurt the other, and it kept bugging him like a stubborn itch he couldn’t scratch yet refused to disappear. He truly wanted to make amend, and if taking care of the cat and giving him a peace of mind could do it, so be it.

“I promise I’ll take a good care of her. If you’re worried, you can come and see her whenever you want. It’s not far from here, just a ten minutes walk.”

He could hear the other contemplating hard before finally taking out his phone. He typed something on it and gave it to him.

Put in your number

He felt a little bit happy reading the words, since it meant Jaebum decided to trust him. He did as he was told, and returned the phone. A few seconds later, his own phone vibrated. He fished it out from his pocket, the display showing a new message from unknown number.

Let’s go

--

“We’re here.”

They finally stopped in front of Jinyoung’s place after the longest ten minutes in his life. Jaebum glanced at the building, giving it a once over.

“I live at the rooftop,” Jinyoung said, answering the other’s silent question, “do you want to come in and see?”

Jaebum contemplated for a minute before shaking his head. He reluctantly yielded the cat to Jinyoung, his hand lingered to the kitten fondly as she snuggled in his embrace. He could hear and see how much Jaebum cared for the cat, making him started to wonder how could it be possible when they just met.

“You don’t have to use your phone every time you want to talk to me. I can understand you just fine,” Jinyoung said as Jaebum was about to take out his phone. His eyes widened in surprise before his hands started moving.

“You understand sign language?”

Jinyoung nodded. It was not like he was lying, he really did understand. Only not the way Jaebum thought.

“Please take care of her well.”

Jinyoung smiled, hoping it would reassure him. “Leave it to me, don’t worry.”

“See you, then.”

Jaebum turned and walk away, leaving him with meowing kitten and apology he couldn’t say. All the way there, he couldn’t stop feeling nervous as he walked beside Jaebum, who completely ignored him. He knew he hated him, and he deserved it. Saying he liked the voice of someone who couldn’t even produce a whisper was a mockery no matter who heard it. And to make it worse, he even asked him to sing.

He wanted to apologize, of course. However, he didn’t know how to explain without letting him know about his abnormality. He could have lied, saying he mistook him for someone or something. But he didn’t want to be forgiven with a lie. It would be just another thing for him to feel guilty about. He just hoped that someday he could say it as he watched Jaebum’s back getting further and disappeared.

__________________________________________________

Thanks for waiting! The weeks has been hectic for me and I can't write. I think this story would have seven chapters at most but with what happened with my other stories I can't trust myself. And I'm so thrilled that JB sang an OST for Days Before Us! I really love that anime, although I haven't watched this Zero one because I'm waiting for it to finish before I start. Imagine how happy I am when I read my bias is singing the soundtrack to one of my favorite anime! I almost shrieked. His voice is smooth and melting me as always <3 Anywayyy thanks for reading and hope you like it!