Ren walked around the bar and looked at her image in the mirror, fixing her headband with cat ears that completed her work outfit as a maid cat girl.  She also had a short black dress with puffy short sleeves, a white apron, white high stockings and black high heels.

A song by Scorpions was playing in the background and the barman was singing it, ignoring her presence for a while.

“I saw a guy groping Kali, should I call security?”

He nodded grabbing the phone “I’ll do that. Get back to work!”

At the cat café Ren worked, there wasn’t any groping or touching if the maids didn’t want. Ren was one of those. She accepted to sit at the table with the clients, to visit them in the private rooms but she only talked with them, there was no type of touching involved. However she knew of some coworkers that acted a lot like es, giving s, flashing their or even having with the clients.

Some tried with her before, even though she was working there for only one week, offering her money but she always denied it. If they were pushier she would call security and things worked well for her until now. The owner rented her a small basement where she lived in the meantime. It was good enough for Ren who always struggled ever since she left her grandparents’s home, the ones who practically raised her.

“I like your hair!” a tall bald man said, making her look up at him. Being short wasn’t a blessing to her until she started working there. Men seemed to like the maids who appeared to be more innocent and defenseless. Sometimes she even suspected that they came there looking for the ones who resembled the Lolita image. That wasn’t her case. She was short but her body was too voluptuous to be the one of a teen. She didn’t have big s but they were bigger than most of the girls on the café, and her thighs were chubby which she hated as much as her rosy cute cheeks.

“Thanks!” Ren answered moving her fingers on her purple locks smiling seductively at the possible client. That wasn’t her hair, it was only a wig. In reality her hair was black.

“Are you free?” The man asked, his eyes moving to her cleavage. “Private room?”

Private room meant more money and she nodded.

“Can we go too?” a man with brown hair and a deadly eye smile approached them with a bottle of beer on his hand, followed by another one with dark hair.

It was Jinki and Kibum, her friends, and Ren sent them a warning look that Jinki seemed to ignore completely.

“It’s a private room. One girl and one man I believe.” The man said.

“Oh!” Jinki made a clueless expression that Ren knew that was fake “Ah, Please Don’t mind me, I just like making new friends! We can watch while you two talk, cos that’s what you are going to do inside that room, right?”

His eyes moved to the man and even Ren bit her lip in fear. Jinki could have a very scary expression when he wanted. The bald man didn’t answer and walked away making Ren look at her missed client in disappointment.

“Ya!” She hit Jinki shoulder and Kibum chuckled. “Do you want me to lose my job or my house?”

“A smelly basement is not a house!” Kibum commented since he was there the week before. He was probably the one who told Jinki about it.

“It’s what I can afford. Not everyone has the luck of earning the money you both do!”

Jinki had a successful job as an architect and Kibum worked as a model.

“I told you that you can help me at work! I need a secretary!” Jinki offered again but Ren sighed with frustration.

“I don’t want a job out of pity!”

They both walked after her “It’s not pity!” Jinki remarked but she ignored them searching for another client.

She got one that booked her up the whole night, which ended up to be Kibum and Jinki who wanted for her in a private room.

She fumed when she saw them and Kibum sent Jinki an I-told-you-so look.

“Can we talk a least?” Jinki asked when Ren sat in the middle of the two men.

She knew them for a while now. Kibum was her friend since high school and she met Jinki through him. They were very attractive and ladies often would go crazy over them but Ren knew them better. They were gay. Actually they were a gay couple and dated for a while. She often saw them holding hands, hugging and they even shared the same apartment.

That was a disappointment to her too, since there was a little of chemistry between her and Jinki. She told him that once, during a night out, where she got so drunk that she kissed him. She acted like a fool then. She kissed Jinki and then asked him to forgive her because she knew he was gay. Then she completely undressed, staying only in her underwear and fainted falling over him. It was her most embarrassing memory and they never talked about it. He was nice avoiding the subject and she pretended that she didn’t have any feelings for him. She was so good at pretending that she almost forgot her feelings.

Kibum was one of her best friend for years now and she wouldn’t do anything that could hurt him.

“Talk!” She said giving up since she knew they were doing that to protect her. They were against her working there and she had a few hours to burn until the end of her shift. They paid for her company so she was theirs for now.

~*~

Ren opened the door of the basement she called home and Jinki and Kibum entered it.

“See? I told you that we could barely stand inside it!” Key commented.

Ren grinned apologetically when Jinki had to bend his head so he wouldn’t hit the huge pipe crossing the ceiling of her room.

“I’m sorry.” She pleaded when he sent her an upset look “But I have a bed and ...” she quickly run to the corner, stepping over her two bags with her scarce possessions, that she didn’t open yet, and showed them the pretty collage she made with pictures. “I have a motivation board!”

Jinki stopped in front of it, his eyes observing it carefully while Kibum sat on her bed instead.

“I’m so tired!”

Ren pampered him, bringing him a beer while Jinki still observed the board.

“Why is he so interested in it?” Ren asked opening her can of beer and Kibum chuckled.

“It’s not the board that interests him!”

She curiously tilted her head “Then what is it?”

“You are so clueless sometimes!”

Jinki turned around and joined them in the bed grabbing his beer too. “I didn’t know you wanted to visit Australia.” He saw how she stuck some pictures of kangaroos to it.

“I do someday…” Ren played with her beer and Jinki leaned forward so he could see her in the other side of Kibum.

“Let’s go there next year. I’ll pay your ticket!”

“No way! I can’t accept that!”

Kibum watched them bicker for a while about money, ignoring his presence completely like happened very often once they were too focused on each other, and he stood up from the bed.

“Where are you going?” Ren asked.

Kibum exchanged a glance with Jinki as if he was sending him a secret message “I’m tired of this drama. Can’t you for god’s sake just talk?”

“What?” Ren glanced at Jinki that was expressionless looking at his boyfriend.

“Well! I’m going!” Kibum announced stepping to the door. “I’ll let Jinki clear things up!”

“No….wait!” Ren called, but Kibum closed the door after him leaving her alone with Jinki. “You should follow after him!”

Her words made him look at her.

“I mean, he clearly is upset with something and you are his boyfriend and you live together!”

“We don’t anymore!” Jinki said making her knell on the bed in full alert.

“What? But why?”

“I moved out last week. I thought you knew!”

“OH NO!” She was now worried with Kibum. “You were so in love, what happened?”

Jinki lips moved upwards slightly and he covered his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh surprising her.

Ren hit him “It’s not funny! You love each other!”

“We don’t!” Jinki said grabbing her wrists so she would stop hitting him, his fingers caressing her skin making her blush. He still had that effect on her.

“But I believed…”

“I know you did. Me and Kibum we are not dating, we never were. We are just friends!”

“Oh but he is…”

“Biual? Yeah he is, but he doesn’t seem to want to me apparently. We are friends only.”

Ren bit her lip feeling pathetic “I saw you hold hands and being so close and loving to each other that…”

“I know. We are great friends!” He moved closer to her and Ren sat back perplexed with his proximity. “Also I’m not gay!”

She watched him confused “You are biual too?”

“No. I’m straight!” She didn’t move and he smiled sweetly releasing her wrists and moving his fingers to her cheek touching her softly.

“Straight?” She asked as if she didn’t know the word.

“I like women. I like to kiss them and have with them. That’s what straight means.”

Ren looked down, avoiding his eyes remembering that embarrassing night years ago and how she undressed in front of him. God she was so stupid!

“I thought you were gay and I…”She moved away from the bed almost falling and he watched her helpless “OH MY GOD!” She covered her face “I undressed in front of you before so many times.”

Shame took place to anger and she grabbed her pillow hitting him with it “YOU ING SAW ME ALMOST AND YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING!”

Jinki groaned knowing that he probably deserved that and he managed to grab the pillow pulling it away from her, his action making her fall down on the bed over him.

She immediately tried to move from over his chest but Jinki grabbed Ren down.

Their eyes met and she realized that he knew about her feelings. Now everything made sense. How he was always worried with her, how Kibum was tired of all those lies, how he didn’t want her to work at the café, how he scared guys away from her, how he wanted her to work for him, how he wanted to go on a trip with her. He was in love with her.

She widened her eyes at the truth and he raised his head kissing her.

She hummed against his lips, trying to stand up but he pulled her into the hug more firmly, until she gave up on fighting with him, not that she was fighting much either.

They broke the kiss and Jinki let his head fall backwards into the bed watching her, his fingers brushing her hair away from her face so he could see her red cheeks and rosy lips. He dreamed with that moment so many times before. Every time she talked about other men, he wanted desperately to grab her and kiss her, every time she changed clothes in front of him he wanted to make love with her, every time she said that she felt lonely he wanted to tell her how much he loved her.

“I’m sorry I lied to you. Actually I didn’t. You always assumed things and since I saw you so vulnerable and that night I was afraid you would freak out if I told you…actually you even took off your bra but you don’t remember.”

“OH MY GOD!” she screamed embarrassed hiding her face on his chest. She had her bra on the next morning so he probably dress her up. She couldn’t ever get drunk again!

“That’s why I don’t want you to get drunk in front of other guys. I feel honored being the only one who saw your drunk habits often.”

She moved against him ashamed and he caressed her back.

“I love you. I do for a while now, even before that night and I’m terrible with feelings to the point that even Kibum is tired of it.” She didn’t move and he sat up pushing her with him “Ren are you listening? I don’t like guys, I don’t like Kibum. I like you and I want you.”

She rose her eyes to him “I…like you too!”

“I know!” He caressed her cheek “You told me years ago but I never had the guts to tell you the truth. Then you started working at that awful place and living here and I can’t stand other guys around you and knowing that you are here alone.”

“That’s why you asked me to work for you.”

“Yes. And I want you to take it since I actually need a secretary! Also since I’m living alone now I want you to come live with me.”

“Wow!” That was a big thing and he grabbed her hand sensing her uneasiness.

“We can be only roommates in love until you decide what to do with your life. But please leave that place and come work for me, live under my roof so I can protect you.”

“You love me that much?” She asked smiling cockily and he kissed her softly.

“More!”

She circled his neck with her arms and they kissed more heatedly.

“Excuse me!” Kibum was at the door and they broke the kiss “I’m sorry that I’m interrupting but…I can’t find the way out!”

Ren chuckled and moved to stand up “Don’t worry. I’m packing up quickly and I’ll go with you!”

Jinki smiled happily knowing that that meant she accepted his offer.

“I don’t have many things to pack!” Ren announced when Kibum sighed realizing that he was going to spend more time inside that awful place. He wished there weren’t any rats running around.

“It’s ok Bummie!” Jinki said sweetly noticing how his friend looked at his feet afraid to find the small furry animals. He walked to Kibum and offered his hand for him to grab that he did gladly.

Ren grabbed her bags. The only thing she possessed beside her motivation board, that she picked up also and pulled her bags to the entrance. Kibum grabbed one of them and she grabbed the other one, placing her board under her arm.

“I’m ready to go!”

Jinki grabbed her hand too and the trio holding hands walked outside with Ren laughing at how weird they probably looked.