Chapter Text
Dear Ms. Shim Dasom,
Due to the events of the past few months, I feel compelled to have my will redrafted.
I hereby cordially invite you to the early reading of my will on July 17 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at my cat house “Lucky Cat.”
Please arrive on time.
Sincerely,
Hwang Jiah
Seungkwan stared at the invitation in his hand. Wow. If he weren’t over Wonwoo, this would hit him hard. Mingyu had gone to so much trouble. Good heavens, if it weren’t for the last few weeks with Dokyeom, this invitation alone would have thrown him into a deep depression.
Seungkwan had never gone to such lengths. He tried his best, and Dokyeom had been more than happy with the two letters and the little surprises. But this was something else.
Seungkwan took a deep breath. He shouldn’t compare himself to this. It was bad enough that he was bringing up Wonwoo again. Even before he’d said a word about Dokyeom. That didn’t mean anything! It was just that Mingyu had invited him to Wonwoo’s birthday party. Which was today. Which meant it had been a year since they’d last tried to make it work. For a few months.
Luckily, it wouldn’t come to that today.
A bright dog bark sounded. Dokyeom’s notification tone.
Have fun. Let me know if you want me to pick you up. I’m thinking of you tonight <3
This. This was so much better. Seungkwan wrote him a few lines back and then took the character card out of the envelope. Hopefully, he wasn’t the murderer.
Shim Dasom, 45 years old
Jiah’s Past Love Interest
He burst out laughing. Past love interest? Was he joking? He could only hope that Wonwoo wasn’t Jiah. But no matter how the evening went, Seungkwan no longer had time to procrastinate. He had to leave. He texted Dokyeom again that he was leaving and left the house.
Neither Jihoon nor Wonwoo were present when Seungkwan arrived. And Jeonghan seemed far too busy. Seungkwan felt a little out of place. Who even knew who he was? And more importantly…who was he? What should he introduce himself as?
Wonwoo’s ex was out of the question. He didn’t want that label. And it came across as if Seungkwan hadn’t gotten over it. No, that wasn’t it.
A friend from the cat cafe? Their vet?
“Hello Seungkwan,” Mingyu greeted him. Wonwoo’s new partner. The one who suited him so terribly well. Seungkwan had challenged him just a few months ago (and failed miserably). He certainly wasn’t going to let Mingyu win again!
“Hello Mingyu,” he greeted him politely. “I see you’ve gone to quite a lot of trouble for Wonwoo.”
Mingyu had initially given him a businesslike look. But as soon as Seungkwan mentioned Wonwoo, his expression softened. Gently. He smiled at Seungkwan.
“Oh, not really. He deserves so much more.”
Ugh. He could tell Mingyu wasn’t saying this to rub it in. It was still hard to hear, though.
“Hmm,” Seungkwan murmured.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others. Are you childhood friends, or did you meet as teenagers?” Mingyu asked. Since Seungkwan was reluctant to move, Mingyu put an arm around his shoulder and led him to the first group of strangers. And when Mingyu introduced him as a childhood friend of Wonwoo, Jeonghan, and Jihoon, and Seungkwan met the others and no one seemed hostile, he was finally able to relax.
As he learned shortly before their arrival, Jihoon and his partner were picking up Wonwoo. And when they entered the room with two of Mingyu’s friends, the play began. Mingyu stepped forward and greeted Wonwoo. And sure enough, Seungkwan felt nothing. Not a hint of jealousy. It didn’t bother him.
Mingyu then addressed the other guests. “Welcome to our Deadly Dinner. As you may have guessed, something truly terrible is going to happen tonight. The culprit is among us, and we must discover who that person is. Please remember, however, that this is the birthday of a very wonderful person, and give him plenty attention. You don’t have to stay in character all evening. Our lovely Jiah will explain the proceedings.”
A woman stepped forward and took his seat. She looked around disdainfully. “I’ve gathered you all here because simply too much has happened in the last few months. You’ve all received information about yourselves. Stick to it and think carefully about what, and especially to whom, you want to reveal anything. None of you is innocent! And worth my time.” She shook her head in disappointment. “Except for my little darling. Come to Mama.” She bent down. Byeol, a cat from the cat cafe, went to her, and she picked him up. “You’re all probably familiar with my cat house. The other rooms are off-limits. I’ve prepared a toast. Our dear Kang Minjun has his birthday today, and we should raise a glass to him.”
Seungkwan wanted to join Jihoon, but Jihoon was glued to Soonyoung. Jeonghan deliberately lagged behind, leaving Seungkwan no choice but to follow Jiah alone. If only he could have taken Dokyeom with him.
“Do you know something we don’t?” someone with the name tag Im Eunji asked him.
Only now did Seungkwan realize that he was probably smiling. Just at the thought of Dokyeom!
“Private thoughts,” he apologized.
To Seungkwan’s dismay, Jeonghan began a speech as they all had something to toast with. And everyone followed his example and said a few words to Wonwoo (and some to Mingyu, too). That was expected of him, too, wasn’t it? Oh no, what was Seungkwan supposed to say? Nothing seemed appropriate. Not coming from him. But maybe that was the thought he needed to get rid of? He needed to stop seeing himself as Wonwoo’s ex. Friends. They wanted to be friends. So that’s what he should see himself as. A friend of Wonwoo’s.
“I would love for you to work less and focus more on your personal life,” Seungkwan began, ignoring the looks from Jeonghan and Jihoon. They probably thought he was going in a different direction. “But Mingyu seems to be on the same wavelength as you. So, I wish you both continued success in your businesses, many happy and, even if it hurts my own business, healthy adopted cats, and a happy life together. Happy Birthday, Wonwoo.”
There. That wasn’t so difficult, was it? Seungkwan was learning. And he continued to heal.
The characters for the event were introduced, and then they were allowed to sit down at the table. Seungkwan glanced at his phone, but he had no message from Dokyeom. Afterward, he sat down next to Jihoon and Jeonghan.
Mingyu’s secretary, Vernon, struck up a conversation with him. He also seemed to be a cat lover. This when Seungkwan currently preferred dogs. Ah, he wanted to show off Dokyeom. He hadn’t seen any of his friends since their date and was eager to tell Jeonghan about him. But Jeonghan was the first to leave the table to find out more about his role.
Seungkwan was second. He went into the room described, and Jiah was waiting for him there. With a wound on her stomach.
“If I had known you were a veterinarian, I would have given you the right role,” she said regretfully as she handed him a notepad, a pen, and a new character card.
Shim Dasom
Former owner of Byeol. She wants him back.
Oh man. He was so glad Wonwoo wasn’t Jiah! He’d gotten the right role.
“So Mingyu didn’t assign the roles?” After this coincidence, Seungkwan would have been surprised if it had been otherwise.
“Oh no. He wanted to play along unknowingly,” Jiah replied.
Seungkwan thanked them and went back to the others. He signalled to Chan, who was sitting closest, that the room was free.
One by one, the guests left their seats to receive the information. When Seungcheol stood up and left the room, Wonwoo took his place. He chatted with Vernon and Minghao for a while, then turned to Seungkwan.
“Thank you for coming.”
“I couldn’t refuse the invitation.” Seungkwan shrugged. But inside, he was nervous. It felt so strange to go from a relationship back to friendship.
“I heard you’ve met someone? The guy from Jeonghan’s event?” Wonwoo asked.
Seungkwan hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t right to tell his ex about his new relationship. But he’d made all the wrong moves with Dokyeom at the beginning, too. Why should he take Wonwoo into consideration? So Seungkwan gave in to his feelings. He smiled at the thought of Dokyeom and nodded.
“Yes. We had our second date a few weeks ago, and it’s going really well. We both want to take things slowly. But I think this could become something serious.”
Wonwoo smiled a genuine smile. “If it’s serious, I want to get to know him. Why don’t you bring him to the cat café when the time comes?”
They really could make it work and be friends again.
“I don’t know. He’s more of a dog person.”
The event continued. Jiah died, and they had to find evidence.
The first room Seungkwan entered was a veterinary clinic. So he stayed there and started searching the cabinets.
Chan joined him shortly after, and Jeonghan followed a few minutes later.
“What a coincidence to find you here of all places.”
As if that mattered. Finally, they had time to talk about the really important things. The things that had been on Seungkwan’s mind all along.
Dokyeom.
“Help me search instead of making comments like that. Besides, I have something else to tell you. It’s about Dokyeom.”
“Your date, the one you have me to thank for?” Jeonghan teased, but Seungkwan ignored him.
“He’s so wonderful, Jeonghan!” he gushed. “We went on a new date a few weeks ago, and it was amazing. Oh, he’s amazing. We’ve been texting every day since. We see each other every few days. Thank you so much, Jeonghan.” Seungkwan was genuine. And in front of Jeonghan, he didn’t have to hold back. And he hadn’t yet established a relationship with Chan, so he could easily let on that Seungkwan was happily in a relationship.
“Yes? Tell me more. You don’t mind, Chan?”
Chan just glanced at them. “No. Just tell about your date.”
And Seungkwan did. Every single detail. No matter how embarrassing. From the fact that he hadn’t seen the rackets or that they had talked about their ex-boyfriends. But not just about this date. About the visits to his veterinary clinic. The little gestures they’d exchanged since then. The walks. The phone calls.
It was still too soon to talk about love.
Like they said, they wanted to take things slowly.
And yet, if you wanted to, you could describe Seungkwan’s feelings that way.
Love.
Seungkwan hadn’t planned on getting a ride. He didn’t want to inconvenience Dokyeom. But he wanted to see him. Today. No matter how late it was. So, shortly before the murderer’s identity was revealed, he texted Dokyeom to ask if he could come pick him up.
The murder mystery game had been fun, and he’d guessed the right murderer, but Seungkwan was even more pleased when Dokyeom texted to say he’d arrived.
He said a hasty goodbye to everyone and hurriedly left the building.
Dokyeom was waiting for him in his car.
“Should I drive you home? Or would you like to watch a movie at my place?” Dokyeom asked with a smile as Seungkwan got into the car.
It was late. Really late. And Seungkwan was tired. But he’d been missing him all day.
“Sure, show me your apartment,” he said.
“Gladly.”
Dokyeom drove them to his apartment while Seungkwan told him about the evening.
“Wow. That Mingyu guy went to a lot of trouble. Isn’t that a bit much?”
Dokyeom was perfect! Whether he was just saying that because Mingyu was Wonwoo’s new boyfriend and it was expected to talk bad about him (a little, okay?) or because he meant it.
“So we agree we’ll never do anything like that?” Seungkwan asked, a little too happily.
“Okay, deal.”
They arrived at Dokyeom’s. And as soon as they walked to his apartment, Seungkwan got nervous. This time it wouldn’t be a disaster! He wouldn’t put his foot in it! He wouldn’t even embarrass himself.
It was just a movie night. They’d probably cuddle. Kiss. Maybe make out a little?
And then he’d leave.
Without a single disaster!
“What kind of movie should we watch? Should I get us some snacks? What would you like to drink? Oh, feel free to look around.”
Seungkwan was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one feeling nervous.
“I’m stuffed, thank you. But I’d like something to drink. Anything will do.”
Dokyeom had already slipped away, and Seungkwan took advantage of the opportunity to look around his apartment. At least the entryway and the living room.
Dokyeom had mentioned on their first date that he enjoyed photography. It was obvious. Seungkwan counted three cameras. There were pictures on the walls. Of people, animals, and landscapes. As if he didn’t want to commit to any one subject and simply photographed whatever caught his eye. Ah, Seungkwan didn’t mean that negatively! He really didn’t. It was nice that Dokyeom saw beauty in everything.
“Ah, here you are.” Dokyeom joined him.
“You took these, right?” Seungkwan asked, pointing to the pictures.
“Yes. I change them up every now and then,” Dokyeom laughed shyly.
“That dog is Garam, right?” He had been one of the dogs Dokyeom had brought to his clinic.
“That’s right. He’s a really sweet dog. I was allowed to walk him a few times.” Whenever Dokyeom talked about something that interested him, he beamed. Seungkwan wasn’t just talking about his smile. Dokyeom’s eyes sparkled. It was so lovely to watch him.
“You have to show me your pictures sometime,” Seungkwan demanded.
“Which ones do you want to see? There are a lot. And I haven’t had them all developed.” Dokyeom hesitated.
“I’d love to see them all. But you can pick out a few and we can plan an evening when you show them to me?”
“Okay. We can do that.” It was nice to see that Dokyeom agreed. Seungkwan wanted to see the hidden treasures. Even if the photos hanging here were already wonderful.
“What should we watch?” Dokyeom asked. They sat down on his sofa, still keeping their distance, and looked at the selection.
“This one sounds funny.” Dokyeom stopped at one and they watched the trailer. It seemed to be about a father who woke up in the body of the family cat. It sounded funny, that was true. But the film wasn’t romantic. And after all the cat stuff today, he didn’t want to see anything more about cats.
“Hmm, what else is there?” he asked, and Dokyeom continued searching.
The next film Dokyeom stopped at already had a title that appealed to him. Puppy Love. A romantic comedy. About dogs! What could be better?
They exchanged a quick glance, and it was decided.
Dokyeom turned off the light, and when he sat down next to Seungkwan, the distance between them was almost nonexistent. Seungkwan glanced up at him briefly and then rested his head on Dokyeom’s shoulder.
Seungkwan would have liked to say they cuddled the entire movie. But it had been a long day, he was still stuffed, and the darkness and Dokyeom’s closeness made him feel so comfortable that he fell asleep.
He didn’t notice Dokyeom finish the movie and carry him to his bed.
Seungkwan didn’t wake up until the next morning. He looked around, startled, and realized he wasn’t in his bedroom.
“Oh no!” he groaned, falling back into the bed. He buried his face in his hands.
He had fallen asleep! Asleep!! How could that have happened? What must Dokyeom be thinking of him? And - oh no!
Seungkwan sat up and looked down at himself. He wasn’t wearing any pants. This wasn’t how he’d imagined it! If Dokyeom was going to undress him for the first time, it should be under different circumstances!!!
“Seungkwan? Are you awake?”
He almost missed Dokyeom’s voice. But there was a knock, and only then did the door open hesitantly.
“Good morning,” Seungkwan greeted him unhappily. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’m so sorry.”
Dokyeom stepped into the bedroom. Oh, he looked so incredibly handsome! He was wearing dark blue pyjamas. Dark blue! Was fate trying to tell him that Dokyeom was the one? Why did it always put Seungkwan in such embarrassing situations then?
“You were tired. I should have taken you home.” Dokyeom smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
Seungkwan noticed he was no longer covered and quickly pulled the covers up.
“I hope that was okay. I thought it might be uncomfortable to sleep like that. Do you want to go home right away? Otherwise, I can offer you a hot shower, some of my fresh, comfortable clothes, and breakfast?”
“Do you even have time today?” Seungkwan asked unhappily. He had deliberately taken the day off work. But Dokyeom must surely be working.
“Don’t worry. I asked a colleague for a favour.”
Wait a minute!
They both had the day off and time, since it was unplanned. They were in a relaxed setting, and the awkward moments were already behind them.
“If you want, we could cook together?” Seungkwan offered. He would do his best to save the date! “I’m not the best at it, but I can help.”
“Sure, I’d love to. I’ll pick something out for you.”
And yes, this time it was a truly perfect date without any awkward moments for Seungkwan.