Tuesday

Joonmyun stretches his arms earning a groan and a loud exhale through his lungs. He scratches his head a little too long and decides whether he should take a bath or sleep a little longer. He walks like a zombie having his eyes half-open towards his kitchen. He opens his fridge and browses at the inside and thinks of what good breakfast he should eat. He decides on pancakes and he has cooked it after a few short minutes. Once he finishes, he feels the urge to shower first and then eat breakfast right after. He takes a quick 10-minute shower. He dresses himself with his uniform and made his foot towards the still-warm pancakes that he just made.

“What?!” Is all Joonmyun could say as he remembers cooking exactly 4 slim pancakes in his plate. He is puzzled to see only 3. He sighs and just shrugs and decides to eat. He was half-awake when he cooked so he blamed himself for being forgetful.

Joonmyun has nothing to think about as he goes to his school so he decides to focus his thoughts about the food mystery that he is having for the past few weeks. There was this one time that his loaf of bread seemed to be lacking 2-3 slices; there was also a time when the display of fruits in his table was suddenly vanishing. A few times when his left overs in the fridge was shorter in size and his juice was also drained a little than before. He always assumed that he was ‘forgetful’ but it just doesn't fit in his character well.

Along the sidewalk he walks along, he stops for a moment for a cat is blocking his way. Joonmyun has a few more minutes to burn before class actually starts so he decides to kneel down over the cat and pet its fur.

“Meow!!” The cat squeals and it made its way circling Joonmyun and gave its feline tenderness. Joonmyun could only smile and snuggle the cat into an embrace. Joonmyun likes anything snuggly and cute. He always has a huge bear whenever he sleeps and it was a little embarrassing to admit in the public but he never really cared about his weird obsession. He plays with the cat more and he is getting a little carried away.

“Aww Mittens, can I keep you??” Joonmyun made a voice with a pinch of cuteness when he rubs his nose to the cat’s. The cat only gave a in his nose in response. “Good! I’ll find you first thing when I get back from scho-“ He pauses as a shadow appears in front of him while he is still on the side walk.

“Tommy?” The boy in front of him squeaks making Joonmyun tilt his head upwards to meet the eyes of a foreign man. Joonmyun is a little bewildered when the latter is wearing a cap covering some of his features due from the shadow.

“Excuse me mister, that’s my cat.” Joonmyun widens his eyes completely, disappointed for the cat isn’t a stray at all. He stretches his legs straight and slowly gave the cat back to its rightful owner.

“Sorry, here you go.” He hands Tommy and scan the features of the other man. He is short. Other than that, he can’t clearly tell. The latter is always looking down and didn’t think of making any contact. “Don’t leave your cat unattended, okay? It’s a tough world out there if ever he got lost.”

“Don’t worry, we can manage.” The grumpy short kid take the cat away from his hands and immediately turns away and starts to leave. What the hell?

“Wow, you’re welcome kid!” Joonmyun shouts and he didn’t obtain any reply back. “Aish, kids these days…” He shrugs and starts thinking of forgetting everything. He proceeds to walk his way back like his daily routine, but this time he is running.

He’s late.

Wednesday

Another morning came and Joonmyun already flopped into his slippers and make his way to the bathroom to shower. Another quick 10-minute shower is all he needs and poof, he’s already set and ready to take off but breakfast still needs to be entertained. He opens the fridge again and browses whatever he feels like cooking.

“I’ll make pancakes again…” He rubs his chin and took out the ingredients in what he needs. “Exactly 4 pancakes!!” He makes a notice by saying it out loud and he cooks it with perfection in only a couple of minutes. Strawberry syrup adds the final touch and he make the platter set down on his table.

He isn’t going to eat it just yet.

Joonmyun makes his foot stomp towards his room and decides to go out after 3 minutes. He is experimenting and he knows it is very stupid. He wants to finally end the food mystery in his house so he plans on trying it.

What if I found someone is stealing it? What if there is a ghost all along? Joonmyun thought of these things as he was excited of the outcome of this experiment.

He sits down on his bed and waits for a few minutes. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Joonmyun looks at the ceiling and decide to wait for a couple more minutes; enough to resolve the food mystery and enough to make sure he will not be late. Joonmyun is lost in thoughts and he decides to think what is fresh in his memory.

Mister grumpy and cute fuzzy Tommy.

He is still disappointed why the cat already has an owner. “The cat doesn’t even have a leash…” Joonmyun bit his lip and his mind continues to wander with thoughts having no proof. “Maybe… maybe the cat wasn’t even his!!” Joonmyun sat up and fist pumps the defenseless air and was a little furious by his own said thoughts. “Aish that kid, he got me…” Apparently, Joonmyun is guessing that the grumpy one fooled him and took his should-have-been cat.

Joonmyun walks in circles and thinks of more things deeply. He is too distracted. Since he loves snuggly cats, he thought of buying his very own one. Joonmyun is calculating his budget if he can get and buy his own very cat. The cat plus the pet feed – he already is calculating everything in his thoughts. Everything in his mind got cut when he looks at his wall clock on his room.

“7:10 a.m.?!?!” Apparently, 20 minutes have passed and he only planned to waste 3. He opens his door and is dead curious what will he find in his plate that was set on the dining table. He approaches it and sits down obtaining a really deep, loud sigh.

It is 4 slim strawberry-glazed pancakes.

Devastated, Joonmyun eats everything in manner and chews then swallows his food slowly. His hunch of someone stealing it is all crap. Maybe it is just some mice who roam around the house; but then again, mice don’t really eat only 1 pancake if there are 4 present on the table.

“Well, that was stupid. Stupid at all!” Joonmyun hates himself and decides that he’ll scrap everything he thought about the grumpy kid too being a scammer, pretender and whatever Joonmyun could put any horrible adjective to his part.

Joonmyun sat up and prepares his pack and shoves it on his shoulders. He makes a decent on the stairs out from his apartment and continues his daily routine in going to his school. He best bet that karma gotten into him for cursing such an innocent kid because of one certain reason.

He is late. Again.

Friday

Another routine is done and everything repeats 2 days before. Joonmyun remembers again cooking 4 pancakes but his plate only offers 3. He just concludes he is becoming crazy and paranoid so he just shrugs everything off. He can’t possibly turn insane because of food.

He walks on the sidewalks as soon as he had finish business inside his house and just stares at the already-common surroundings which keeps repeating every single day. To his surprise, another cat is sitting down and blocking his way. More specifically, Tommy.

“Hey there little guy, it’s you again!” Joonmyun kneels down and snuggles the familiar feline. Tommy automatically remembers the touch and returns his snuggle into a cute meow. He pets its fur more and just got lost in his mind on how cute the cat is.

Joonmyun holds the cat in his embrace and snuggles him on his chest. He is expecting "the grumpy one" to make a rescue because his cat is, again, strayed and all alone in the open world. He receives nothing and he couldn’t possibly leave the cat just yet. What if some stranger saw him and takes him for good? He pities the cat and pouts as he continues on caressing its fur. He didn't want to leave him.

For what he knew it is, Joonmyun is starting to be late once again. Having a 3 consecutive lates? That’s just a no-no to Joonmyun. He sticks to the rule ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ rule so he needs to be on his way ASAP.

Sadly but what’s need to be done, Joonmyun first goes to the near alley and set tommy to the ground. A pout is visible on his face as he is doing so. Two things he knows for sure, he should leave and he is sad to see the critter all alone. Where is the grumpy one who says that he is the owner when you need him?! Joonmyun starts to walk off making a distance of a few feet to Tommy’s. Just as he is leaving, a once-heard voice starts to be heard again.

“Toooommy!!!” Joonmyun looks behind his back and saw the familiar petite man who hops, yes hop, towards his precious kitty and gave him warm hug as he picks him up. The clue-less little guy planted kisses on his beloved pet and he chuckles cutely which sounds more like squeaking.

“Did you miss me??” The guy removes his cap and makes it sit on the abandoned boxes which are just lying on the corners of the alley. The unknown man continues to cuddle his pet and even gives him a treat which looks like rough stale bread. Joonmyun, spying over the corner, seriously has his jaw drop.

His eyes are seeing the most cutest thing he had ever, ever seen in his entire life.

The grumpy one and his fuzzy Tommy is playing around and showing their love to each other while Joonmyun just stares at them dying from cuteness. I have to stop calling him the grumpy one… Joonmyun makes a change and renames him to cutest one instead. No lies about that.

Joonmyun likes everything cute; loves them to be precise. He couldn’t just take it. It is too much that he didn’t want to go stealth anymore so he just approaches those two and wants to adopt them for good. If only.

“Uhmm, hi.” Joonmyun starts with a rough yet weak voice. The latter literally squeals from the sudden appearance of someone in a deserted alley. “Uhh.. I saw your cat. I saw Tommy, uhm, wandering in the streets. You should not leave him unattended again because he might…” Joonmyun’s voice fades slowly until he got totally distracted and made a statue of himself.

In front of him is an innocent-looking adorable man who just stares at him with his shiny huge doe-eyed sparkling eyes. Joonmyun is literally speechless. He admires every bit of everything in what he is seeing. He was once called a guardian angel and in front of him is the cutest angel among all. How can someone as adorable as him even exist?

“Mister?” The boy again sounds like squeaking and Joonmyun comes back to his senses totally forgetting everything. “Because he might, what?”

Joonmyun is again distracted as he finishes observing the cutest orbs he have seen in his life. In front of him are lips so plump. Joonmyun makes a loud gulp and twitch his eyes. As he stares at the cutest one, he sees a stain which looks like cherry or strawberry syrup since it is pink that is on the corner of the innocent man’s lip.

“I-I’m sorry you have a little something…” Joonmyun motion his fingers and points it on his lip. “Here.”

“Oh, where?” The petite male wonders and make his doe eyes see the stain. Since the mess is not ranged in his sight, the boy needs to bulge his lip, which he did, and he tries looking at it. In front of him is a dying Joonmyun which just stares at everything. “Oh, saw it.” He raises his small hand and rub the stain off of his face. “Thanks.”

“Yeah no problem…” Joonmyun starts to laugh and makes an awkward chuckle right after and scratches his non-itchy head.

“Thank you too, mister, for looking out for my cat.” The cutest one bows his head and chuckles while still carrying his Tommy in his embrace.

“Oh please, call me Suho.” Joonmyun eye smiles at the latter while still snorting a chuckle. “And, you’re welcome!”

The petite guy who tilts his head a little upward and just stares at his angelic eyes. He blushes a little after hearing the other’s name for how heroic it sounds. Suho means guardian afterall.

“Neh, thank you so much Suho Hyung.” He bows slightly and lifts his cat a little on his face hoping it’ll cover the pink shade that is making him a little embarrassed about.

“No problem, and you are?”

“Uhhm, Kyu-” Just as he is about to say it, he eats his own words and coughs. “Uhhm, D.O...”

“D.O.” Joonmyun nods with a smile. “Nice to meet you D.O!”

As the taller one stretches his hand out, D.O looks at it like he doesn’t know what a hand shake is. He blink for a few seconds and decides to put his feline friend to the ground. Joonmyun is a little shy how he even makes the other one do effort.

“Nice to meet you!” D.O shakes his hand upwards then downwards as he gives Joonmyun a crooked smile. Still cute. “I got to get going now though.”

“It’s okay, I h-have to get going too.” Joonmyun scratches his head again and mentally slaps himself for stuttering.

“Well, see you mister! I mean, Suho Hyung!” D.O bows and motions his cat to come along. He walks deeper to the alley as Joonmyun goes the other way to the road. He knows he has 3 strikes regarding lateness but he never really cares.

He’s late again but he didn’t regret it.