When Taemin stepped into the tree, there was a few seconds of pure darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut, wondering what was happening to him. After a few moments, he received a tap on his shoulder and opened his eyes. Taemin was completely dry, all of the rain and water off of his body. He was in a beautiful green field, and the sun was shining, the sky completely clear. There was a stone path in front of him, which led to what looked a castle. Behind him was a forest, with birds chirping and sunlight shining through the trees. "It's like I'm in a disney movie," Taemin thought. Suddenly, something twitched behind him, and he grabbed his . He felt something furry, and he pulled it toward him. When he saw what it was, he jumped back. "How do I have a tail now too?" Taemin thought. His tail was orange, like the tail of a tabby cat. Taemin moved his hand to the top of his head, and felt some more fur. "Ears, I guess," Taemin thought. He turned around a little bit, remembering that there was someone with him.

"Hi, I'm Jonghyun," the other boy said loudly, holding out his hand for Taemin to shake. Taemin shook Jonghyun's hand, noticing his white and brown spotted tail and ears.

"Where am I, why do I have a tail and ears, and what am I doing here?" Taemin asked. Jonghyun smiled.

"You're in Gatet Dote, and everything else will make sense soon," Jonghyun responded. Taemin sighed, more confused than ever.

"Come on, Taemin, let's go to the castle," Jonghyun said and led Taemin down the stone path. The two boys walked in silence, their steps falling out of line. Taemin looked around at the grassy field surrounding the path. It was beautiful, daisies and other flowers Taemin didn't recognize growing in the grass. The air was warm, but not too hot, with a nice and subtle breeze blowing. He could hear birds chirping and the sound of flowing water in the distance. "At least this place is nice," Taemin thought. Soon enough, the two boys arrived at the castle. It was humongous, pink, and covered with windows. It was bright and airy, and the soft sounds of voices drifted out through the open windows.

"Hey, it's me!" Jonghyun shouted, turning his head upward. One of the windows in the turrets opened, and a boy, maybe a few years older than Jonghyun, leaned his head out of the window. He looked down at the ground and smiled.

"Oh hey Jonghyun," he yelled down, the black fur on his ears blowing in the window.

"Can you let me in?" Jonghyun asked.

"Sure," the boy shouted down. He left the window, and after a moment the giant door opened.

"Thanks," Jonghyun shouted, and the two boys walked in.

The inside of the castle was like a miniature city. They walked down the road in the middle, small shops and houses lining the side of the road. Everyone smiled and waved at Jonghyun and Taemin, and Taemin soon found himself smiling and waving back. Finally, they reached a small building with no labels. Jonghyun walked in, and Taemin soon followed.

The room was dark, the only window inside covered with dust. There were books everywhere, on the floor, the shelves, the chairs, and the tables. Some looked new, but most seemed very old.

"Let's go," Jonghyun muttered, and held Taemin's arm, leading him up a flight up of stairs. Taemin followed him up the wooden stairs, dust flying everywhere. They quickly reached the top of the steps and reached a room. It was mostly dust free, although books were still scattered everywhere. There were two boys inside the room. One had pure white ears and  pure white tail, and he was bent over a desk, staring at a giant, old book. The other had a brown tail with a white stripe on the tip, and he was sitting on an old couch in the back of the room. The one with the white tail turned around to look at Jonghyun and Taemin.

"What's your name?" he asked Taemin.

"Um, Taemin?" he responded. The boy with the white tail rolled his eyes and stared incredulously at Jonghyun.

"Really, Jjong," he said.

"What did I do now?" Jonghyun whined.

"It's Minho, Jjong. Minho. Not Taemin," the white tail boy spoke, placing his head in his hands. Jonghyun sighed.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking at the ground. The white tail boy sighed again and shook his head.

"I guess it's okay, Jjong. You can go back again tomorrow," he said, gesturing for him to come over. Jonghyun walked toward him and sat on his lap.

"I'm Kibum," the white tail boy said, wrapping his arms around Jonghyun's waist. "That's Jinki," Kibum spoke, pointing to the boy on the couch. Jinki waved awkwardly.

"You're probably wondering what the hell is going on," Kibum said, and Taemin nodded vigorously.

"So, our land, Gatet Dote, is in danger. You see, we're under attack from Cadell Dote," Kibum said.

"They're the dog people," Jinki whispered to Taemin, and Taemin nodded. Kibum continued.

"They keep trying to take our territory and combine our countries, but that's just not okay," Kibum spoke.

"I mean, it's not that they're bad, they just don't understand we need our space. We're part cat, you know," Jonghyun interrupted. Kibum rolled his eyes and continued.

"As I was saying, the Cadellians are trying to take over our country, and we have to stop them," Kibum said.

"What do I have to do with this?" Taemin asked.

"I was just getting to that," Kibum spoke. "Well, I was looking through these old books, and they spoke of a place where cats and dogs got along. Although your people keep them as pets, which is weird, the two animals don't fight as much. The book also spoke of a boy named Minho, a teenager from your world who understood how to bring peace to the two races. I sent Jonghyun to go and find him, but he ed up and brought you two here instead," Kibum said, gesturing to Jinki and Taemin. Taemin nodded and spoke.

"Two questions: one, why am I part cat now; two, can I go home?" Taemin asked. Kibum sighed.

"First of all, you're part cat because everyone here has a part of the animal in them. It's this weird stuff in the air that changes your genetic code. Second, there are no portals for your people to go back to your lands for another month," Kibum spoke, looking at the ground.

"What?!" Taemin said loudly, anger and frustration in his voice. "So I'm just stuck here?"

"I'm afraid so," Jonghyun said. Jinki rested his hand on Taemin's shoulder. 

"It's okay, we're in this together," Jinki said softly. Taemin stuffed his face in his hands. What was he going to do?