hasty offers and vague timeframes
of loneliness and angelsSeungcheol stared up at his ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of his ceiling fan and the busy sounds of a Monday afternoon coming from the street outside. Busy for everyone but him, apparently. He was in college, but summer break had just begun a week ago, leaving his schedule almost completely empty. He had a part time job, but he seemed to be getting less and less hours lately.
Normally, that wouldn't be so bad. In fact, last summer, he'd had a great time. However, that was when he was living in the college dorms and Mingyu was his roommate. Having a roommate was difficult at times, but it was always more fun than being alone. Now, the two of them had gone their separate ways and moved into small apartments. Mingyu was still across the street, and he was still Seungcheol's best friend, but differences in schedules caused the two of them to see each other much less frequently than they used to.
Recently, there was something besides school and work occupying Mingyu's time. He'd acquired a pet. Kind of. He purchased a catboy named Wonwoo, and he seemed to consider it one of the best things he'd ever done. He would go on for ages about the endless endearing traits that Wonwoo possessed. Whenever Seungcheol was around, the boy seemed to just be rather quiet, but he could see how his feline eyes looked at Mingyu like he was the sun in the metaphorical sky of his life. Seungcheol tried not to think about the intricacies of their relationship too much. He didn't really want to know.
Mingyu had suggested countless times that Seungcheol also make the life-altering decision to buy a catboy. Seungcheol had never been good with pets that were actual animals, so he was pretty sure that taking care of someone who was nearly a human would be even more of a disaster. Besides, they were expensive. The hybrid humans had only been genetically engineered a while before he was born, so they were still considered relatively new. The only reason Mingyu had been able to afford Wonwoo was because the older hybrids were generally a lot cheaper. They weren't 'perfected' like the younger ones. It generally seemed like a rather seedy industry, to him. As much as he'd like to help get someone away from such an industry, he was equally unwilling to involve himself in it.
He eventually decided to stop laying there and feeling sorry for himself. He got up and got dressed, talking himself into brushing his hair before leaving the house, which was a miracle in and of itself.
He was headed to the doughnut shop down the street, still pondering the subject of catboys when he happened to spot one crouched down in an alley. That was perhaps the worst part of the whole situation- recently, as some of the hybrids got near his own age, pet shops had begun putting them out in the street to make room for younger ones. If Mingyu hadn't happened upon Wonwoo, that probably would've been his fate soon enough.
It was a rather difficult situation for everyone. Some groups were attempting to get some kind of rights for the nearly human species that would allow them to work. Others argued that they weren't mentally capable and were technically animals. Seungcheol just knew that it was all rather sad.
Because of this, it wasn't uncommon to see them in alleys, typically in various states of dereliction. However, today, Seungcheol found it hard to take his eyes off of the boy in the alley. He had unusually long hair that was tangled and seemed to be in the way of his eyes, with how he was leaned forward. That was really all he could make out, until the boy looked up and made direct eye contact with him. Seungcheol felt a surge of uncomfortable guilt and quickly kept walking. He quickly arrived at the doughnut shop and bought a box of 6 chocolate doughnuts to hopefully drown his loneliness.
He was resolved to not look at the alley as he walked by on the way home, but his resolve crumbled when he felt eyes on him. He froze, turning to look. Sure enough, the hybrid boy was still there. He'd moved closer, but he was still staying a cautious few feet away.
"Hello." Seungcheol greeted after a moment of hesitation, attempting a small smile when he realized the boy actually seemed to be frightened by his greeting.
"Hi." was the quiet reply that he received.
"Um, I'm Seungcheol."
"Are you one of those political activist guys? Because I dunno what to tell you, I don't have any inspiring quotes for your news article, if you aren't going to help me then-"
"Woah, woah. No, I'm just passing by. I live near here." he said quickly, a little surprised by how quickly the boy had become defensive.
"Oh. I'm sorry, then. My name is Junghan." he said, his entire demeanor softening as he moved about a foot closer.
"Do you... want a doughnut?" It seemed kind of like a stupid question. He wasn't even sure if hybrids ate doughnuts. However, this one was probably starving, so perhaps he would.
"Really? Oh, yes, please." Junghan said so eagerly that it caused a painful pang in Seungcheol's chest. He opened the box and handed a doughnut to the boy, who seemed to be using a great deal of resolve to not devour the thing whole.
By the time he'd finished eating, Junghan was practically glowing with happiness. It was the perfect combination of sad and beautiful and Seungcheol was completely ready to make a questionable decision.
"You, um. You could come to my place and eat something else, if you want. And maybe stay for a day or two. If you want." he said, the words coming out of his mouth without him even having to think about it. Junghan was looking up at him with surprise showing evidently on his face, but he seemed happy.
"That would be great actually, thank you so much." Junghan said hurriedly, pushing his hair back and standing. That gave Seungcheol the opportunity to really take notice of the chocolate brown tail swaying behind him, though his ears were still partially hidden in his messy hair.
"No problem." he said, because it really wasn't and he didn't want Junghan to feel like he had to keep thanking him for everything. He tried not to think about the fact that as they started walking Junghan didn't grab any belongings because, well, he didn't have any. That brought back that uncomfortable pang in his chest that caused him to become more and more emotionally invested by the second.
"Um, could I take a bath when I get there?" Junghan asked hesitantly.
"Sure. Uh, not to stereotype you or anything, but do you not have any issues with water?"
"I don't exactly like it, but I'm kind of gross. Besides, they bathed us regularly at the pet shop so I'm.. used to it." he mumbled, his voice faltering as soon as he mentioned the pet shop.
"How long has it been since you left the pet shop?" Seungcheol asked, hoping it wasn't too personal.
"Two months, I think." Junghan said, looking down at his feet as he walked.
"I'm sorry." Seungcheol said, not knowing what else he could say.
"It's alright. At least I'll be able to stay inside for a few days. This is really nice of you, I didn't think anyone would offer, I promise I'll stay out of your way and I won't eat much and-"
"Junghan, it's fine." Seungcheol said quietly, turning his head to look at him. Junghan looked up with a gentle smile on his face, and despite the dirt smudging his cheek and the unfortunate state of his clothing, Seungcheol felt like he might have stumbled upon an angel.
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