Chapter Three: Warm Milk and Chai Tea  

On his way back from the gym Jaebum got caught off guard by a heavy down pour of rain. Rushing from where he was walking down the street he ended up under a small awning. Jaebum was panting heavily and his entire body ached from his work out. He was going to just sit under there until he heard a pant mewing sound. At first he thought it was nothing until he heard it again louder. Looking around Jaebum was shocked to see a small kitten holding on for dear life at the corner of a storm drain. Ignoring the passing cars Jaebum ran across the street just in time before the small kitten fell down into the dark hole.

It was crying loudly and was covered in dirt, its fur a matted mess of inky black hair. Jaebum typically wasn’t an animal type of guy but he wasn’t just going to leave the small kitten to defend for itself. Pulling the little baby closer to his chest Jaebum made a bee-line for the next awning. He was shivering hard and so was the small kitten. They needed to get warm and dry fast but Jaebum’s house was still a couple of blocks away. Bouncing the small kitten up and down Jaebum got spooked when the store door opened up and someone shouted, “Jaebum! Oh my, Jaebum and friend, why don’t you two come inside to get warm? The news says the storm isn’t going to pass by for at least another fifteen minutes.” Jinyoung said. Moving to give Jaebum room to walk inside. Jaebum felt bad for tracking in rain into the spotless shop but Jinyoung did invite him inside and this was mostly about getting the small kitten warm, who was still shaking slightly in his arms.

“Let’s go upstairs to get you two cleaned up!” Jinyoung said before locking the front door of the shop and flipping to welcome sign to a sign that read, “Sorry we’re closed,” With a sad kitten face on it.

“Upstairs?” Jaebum asked confused until Jinyoung just nodded and walked him down a hallway in the back of the shop. Jaebum normally would feel about a thousand red flags at a situation such as this but for some reason he felt calm, his mind saying softly, “it’s only Jinyoung.”  

After going down the hall and up some steps Jinyoung put a key into the door and turned the knob, letting them inside a studio apartment. Jaebum knew that stores sometimes had extra space like this but he never expected that it would be used for anything other than storage in an area such as this. The apartment walls were a soft pale blue, with the main living area wall was exposed brick. It looked very urban for someone who ran a shop so well…pink?

Jinyoung went behind a curtain that shielded his bedroom area from the rest of the open space. Jaebum heard drawers open and close before Jinyoung surfaced again with clothes in his arms.

“Pass me the kitten and you can go get changed over there in the bathroom,” Jinyoung said pointing towards a hall area. “Hand me the kitten and I’ll get them cleaned right up.” Jinyoung said reaching his hands out. Jaebum quickly passed over the kitten and took the clothes that Jinyoung offered. He said a quick thanks before heading to the bathroom.

Once inside Jaebum was welcomed by a calming lavender scent. He quickly undressed himself and pulled on the sweat pants and tee-shirt that Jinyoung had given him. The sweat pants fit fine, only the smallest fraction of being too short but the tee-shirt however clung to Jaebum’s chest. It was a size too small. Thankful to be dry and warm Jaebum, hung the clothes up in the bathroom to air dry and walked out and towards the kitchen area. Jinyoung was currently pouring some milk for the small kitten.

Upon closer inspection Jaebum noticed that the kitten wasn’t black after all but a light grey color with spots of white. He must have been very dirty then from when he picked him up because there was hardly any black on the kitten now.

“Your new cat is so cute!” Jinyoung said placing a small bowl filled with warm milk in front of the kitten that was laying on a white towel that was placed in the middle of the kitchen table.

“Actually I’m not sure if I’m going to keep it, I’ve never had a cat before so I don’t know how to take care of it.” Jaebum said, taking a seat at the table as well as he stared at the small animal. The kitten walked wobbly towards Jaebum before blinking up at the man and making another small mewing sound.

“Oh I don’t know I think it likes you.” Jinyoung said placing a cup in front of Jaebum. The warm steam coming up from the cup was inviting so Jaebum just reached for it and took a sip. The drink was spicy but pleasantly sweet as well.  Jaebum sighed into the cup as he drank some more, suddenly very tired. After all his working out and then the hectic running around the rain Jaebum could use a nap.

“Yea maybe…” Jaebum said placing the cup down and resting his head on the table. The last thing Jaebum felt was the soft brush of fur from the kitten before he drifted off to sleep