“The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats…” — Albert Schweitzer

You turned the key in the lock and yanked the door open, sliding your heels off.

“U-Kwon, I’m home!” you called out into the gloom, shuffling into the kitchen. As you slung your purse on the table, you heard muffled thuds travelling down the hallway. Turning, you caught sight of a fluffy grey cat, its tail held high.

“There you are, my beautiful boy!” you cooed, crouching down and scooping him up in your arms. The people at the shelter had said he wasn’t especially affectionate, but from the way he always purred and snuggled against you, it obviously wasn’t true. Scratching his head, you took him with you into your bedroom, where you changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Carrying U-Kwon back out with you, you flopped down on the couch and pressed him to your chest as you turned the TV on.

“Did you know, U-Kwon? I’m pretty sure you’re my only real friend,” you murmured, running your hand through his soft fur,. U-Kwon meowed in response, starting to knead your stomach with his paws. He hooked his claws in your shirt and you chuckled, gently untangling them.

“Thanks for being here for me,” you grinned, kissing him on the head before setting him on the ground.

——-

After a nice warm dinner of ramyun and soju, you were seated at your desk, staring blankly at the report you were supposed to write up. It was already bad enough that your boss was a huge bully at work, but now he gave you another employee’s work to do at home.

“Jackass,” you muttered bitterly, slowly getting to work. Even if you wanted to skimp on the work, you knew you couldn’t take the hit you your paycheck. With a sigh and a quick glance at the clock (12.59 A.M), you got set to finish your work. As you typed, U-Kwon slipped in the doorway and wound around your ankles, finally deciding to claw his way up your leg and settle in your lap, his head tucked between his paws. Content with the warmth, you allowed yourself a slight smiled before focusing back on the task at hand.

——-

The sound of a bird chirping woke you up, seeming to come from right next to your ear. As you turned your head, sunlight hit your closed eyelids and you groaned, sinking back into the warmth of your bed. As you moved to stretch, you stopped, your eyes suddenly flying open. Something was restraining you, and the feeling was completely alien. As your gaze focused, you found yourself staring into a pair of bright yellow eyes. The corners of them crinkled, and suddenly a mouth was being pressed against your nose.

“Aack! Who the hell are you?!” you shrieked, ripping yourself from the stranger’s embrace. Pulling the blankets up to your chest, you scooted to the edge of your bed and leaned against the wall, shivering. The fact that you awoke to some strange man was absolutely horrifying. “How did you get in here, anyways?!” you growled, looking around for some sort of weapon. Seeing none, you reached under your pillow and gripped your phone. You could throw that if worst came to worst, you supposed.

The mystery man smirked, propping himself up on one arm. “I live here, darling.”

You stared at him, shock all over your features. “Well, I never—you do not—when did I—” you sputtered, thoroughly perplexed. “There was no such—mmph!”

Before you could react, the mysterious guy had launched himself at you, and was now rubbing his face against yours and…purring? it was then, like a jolt of lightning had hit you, that you noticed the furry grey ears affixed to his head. As you watched, stupefied, a matching fluffy tail rose and waved in the air.

“What—what—what are you?!” you managed, using your hand to feel one of his ears. From the way it twitched under your touch and the way the cat-person groaned and rubbed against you, they seemed to be real.

“You don’t recognize me? “ the stranger murmured, a stripe up your face. “It’s me, U-Kwon!”

Slack-jawed, you didn’t have the strength to retaliate as he pulled you back under the covers for some more “snuggling time”. And as you ran a tired hand over his head and around his ears, you found you didn’t quite mind missing work to spend time with your cute kitty boy.