Closer
I'm Not Alone AnymoreThe loud voice of an angry kitten echoed through the apartment, meows and hisses not letting up for even a second.
"We wouldn't be doing this right now if you had just stayed out of the trash." Sowon hissed back at the black kitten in her arms, trying to ignore the pain of SinB's claws piercing her skin. They were in Sowon's bathroom, the bathtub halfway full of lukewarm water and waiting. SinB had gotten into and knocked over the kitchen trash can while everyone was eating lunch. The kitten had succeeded in getting all sorts of discarded food stuck to her fur. And that meant a bath.
SinB growled, biting down on Sowon's hand to try and keep from being placed in the water. Sowon winced. The kitten's bites were really starting to hurt more and more. She figured that water wasn't something that SinB liked but she was no way prepared for this sort of reaction. Behind her, Yerin watched the events unfolding with a concerned look on her face.
"Sowon....You're bleeding." Yerin gasped.
Sowon looked down at her hands. Sure enough, red drops were starting to drip down from various kitten scratches and deep bites in her skin.
"Its fine." Sowon really didn't care much at the moment. SinB was only getting angrier in the blonde's grip, thrashing around to free herself. Sowon didn't let go. It had taken so long to catch the kitten in order to get her this far, even with Yerin, Eunha and Yuju's help. She would give this kitten a bath, even if her hands got destroyed in the process.
Sowon set SinB down in the water, making sure it wasn't too deep or too shallow. The black kitten hissed furiously. Once SinB had entered the water, the thrashing only continued, splashing water all over Sowon. SinB was stubborn, but so was Sowon.
"Yerin, can you get me the kitten shampoo?" Yerin was already on it the second that Sowon had finished her request, handing the bottle to the blonde. Yuju and Eunha had entered the doorway to to the bathroom like Yerin had, watching as Yerin knelt next to the edge of the tub with Sowon, trying to help in any way she could.
"I've never seen her so mad before." Eunha whispered to Yuju, gripping at the former gray kitten's arm.
"Me either. And we've seen her try to fight other cats." Yuju shook her head. She felt bad for Sowon, especially with those wounds caused by SinB. They looked painful.
Sowon continued on, taking some of the cat safe shampoo and rubbing it into the black kitten's fur, getting clumps of dry food off. SinB was still snarling and hissing but Sowon tuned it out. Yerin reached out and held down SinB for Sowon, the taller silently thanking her. With Yerin holding SinB in place, Sowon could make sure every inch of her was clean. She was firm but gentle, massaging the water and shampoo into dark fur. It felt like forever but it actually hadn't taken too long to finish the bath and get the kitten out of the bathwater. All that was left was to dry the kitten off. But SinB wouldn't let them.
Sowon and Yerin let go of SinB and the kitten ran out of the bathroom in a mad dash, ignoring both Yuju and Eunha in her escape. Sowon looked completely worn out, breathing heavily. Careful hands took Sowon's wounded ones while Yerin let the water out the drain. It was Eunha, the short haired girl taking a wet paper towel from Yuju and cleaning off the blood. Sowon let out a groan, the pain finally sinking in. SinB had really done a number on her.
"I can do it myself."
Eunha shook her head, throwing away the paper towel once she was done. Yuju knelt down to join them, holding the pack of band aids. Yerin had left to check on SinB, scolding the kitten for behaving badly. The black kitten only grumbled, her still wet paws to try and get them dry.
"You're hurt, Sowon. Let us help you." Yuju spoke up, sticking the first bandaid on a particularly deep looking cut on Sowon's hand. Sowon felt dizzy, both from the pain and the energy she had used to get SinB clean. Taking care of everyone was exhausting. Maybe she should take another week off. Going back to school in a few days sounded like actual hell on earth right now.
"....won......Sowon.......Sowon?"
Sowon opened her eyes, unaware that she had closed them in the first place. Yuju was still bandaging her up but Yerin had come back, standing over Sowon while Eunha shook the blonde's shoulder to bring her back to reality.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Eunha frowned.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest, that's all." Sowon sighed, looking up at the ceiling until Yerin and Yuju helped her up to her feet. Yeah she was definitely going to need another week off.
The next few days passed without much of an issue. SinB had still been upset about the whole bath situation but had forgotten about it when Sowon fed her dinner. Sowon had called her school to say that she still hadn't gotten over her 'sickness' and would need another few weeks off. She had never missed this many days of school in her life and her parents were less than pleased. Well, her father felt that way mostly. Her mother had texted her again to say that she could take off as many days as she needed until she was back to full health. At least her mom was on her side.
Yuju had taken over making dinner now, trying to give Sowon some time to relax. It wasn't easy but Sowon had eventually given in. Yuju's meals were just as good as hers. Even the brown striped kitten, Umji, seemed to be trying to help out. Occasionally she would come over to the blonde and allow the girl to pet her once before scampering off again, getting used to her afternoons being spent playing with SinB. The kittens wouldn't fight but they would play little games of hide and seek. Umji would always be able to spot SinB within seconds. The black kitten didn't like sitting still too much.
It was a cold Wednesday morning when Sowon had finally left the house by herself on a surprise errand, keeping Yerin in charge while she was gone. When she had come back, SinB and Umji were taking a nap against each other in the corner of the living room. Yerin had disappeared into Sowon's room to take a nap also, leaving Eunha and Yuju by themselves in the kitchen to make something to eat for lunch. When the door had opened, the duo in the kitchen had greeted her with a 'welcome back'. The smell of food woke Yerin back up and she was quick to get to Yuju's side, trying yet again to snatch up a dumpling before Yuju could find a plate.
"I have something for you, girls." Sowon called out. That caught all of the former kittens attention, even Yerin paused her food stealing mission to bound over to Sowon's side with the others.
Sowon reached into the bag she was holding, pulling out a smartphone and handing it to Eunha first. Eunha was captivated by it, turning it around in her hands while the blonde passed out the other two phones to Yuju and Yerin.
"What is it?"
"It's a phone. So you can contact me at any time no matter where I am. You can call and message each other too. And take pictures." Sowon explained, helping Eunha set it up and putting her name and number in the contacts section before activating the other phones as well. All of the phones were active now, with numbers assigned to each of them. Sowon had two more phones in the bag but those were for when SinB and Umji came around. She would keep them safe in her drawer until the time arrived.
Eunha was quick to get a handle on the new device, texting Sowon a cat emoji. The short haired girl giggled and turned to help Yerin and Yuju. It wasn't long until they all had figured out the basics. Sowon could breathe easier now.
Lunch and dinner had gone by fast, the conversations focusing mainly on the new phones. Sowon had explained all of the features in detail and Eunha had already downloaded several free to play games from the app store. Y
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