Work Text:
“Shit..”
Jungkook mutters as he steps on a broken tree branch, causing it to crack loudly in the forest. The last thing he wants is to draw attention to himself at this time, 9 PM on a late October evening. Perhaps the time and location were not ideal, but Jungkook has a curfew. And a plan.
His plan is to get to his hideout in the heart of the forest. Now, though, he is running late and needs to get to it as soon as possible. People would stamp him off as weird if they knew that he regularly goes into the creepy forest, where no one dares to even step close to the warning sign. But no one knows and it’s always been his secret. An empty forest, aside from the animals that reside in there, with a perfect spot on an old tree, right between the branches at the crown of the tree. That is Jungkook’s hideout and no one could take it from him.
There’s only an hour left now until he needs to be at home and Jungkook is still at the beginning of the forest, squeezing himself through all the trees on his way with hopes to not step on another tree branch. Even if some wild animal were to attack him, Jungkook would be able to cast a spell on them (lest he ends up panicking).
Jungkook is a half-blood witch who had been raised by his two hyungs, Seokjin and Namjoon. Due to his mother being a mortal and his father being a witch, his mother was never able to see him because of a curse. And his father.. well, he put the responsibility on his friend Namjoon and rarely comes to see Jungkook. Long story short, their family relations are pretty complicated. But despite Jungkook being a half-blood witch and his hyungs being fullblood witches, he attends a high school in the human world. A long time ago, his hyungs had decided they wanted him to live an ordinary life (he was half-human after all) and live undercover with the mortals.
It doesn’t take long for Jungkook to arrive to his tree and he easily climbs up the branches to sit on the crown of the tree. His favorite spot on the tree is where less leaves are in his sight and he can look at the night sky. Staring at the sky calms him and makes him forget about his bad days. That’s the reason he finds himself right at this spot nearly every day.
His peace is disturbed when he feels more than hears something purr beside him. Jungkook turns his head and puts a hand on his chest when he spots a black cat with piercingly green eyes, letting out a relieved sigh. “Wow, you scared me,” he says.
“Why? What’s so scary about me?” the cat answers and Jungkook wants to laugh at that.
Wait.
The cat answered him.
Jungkook lets out a scream, almost losing his balance before he’s able to grip onto a branch, staring at the creature with wide eyes. Albeit being a half-blood witch, he has not been able to come into contact with many magical creatures. He should be used to it. But growing up in the human world has been a different story for him so he can’t help but stare at the black cat.
“Geez, there’s no need to scream here. You are gonna attract unwanted attention. Yes, I can talk. And no, I am actually not a real cat,” the creature adds, seeming indifferent about the whole situation.
Jungkook does not know what to say.
“I-if you’re not a real cat.. what are you?” he manages to ask. Perhaps now would be the time to go home and save himself before something strange happens. This is some sort of magical creature after all.
“A cursed human, you could say,” the cat answers, making Jungkook raise his eyebrows. Now this is an encounter that he never would have imagined he’d have. Any mortal would have run after meeting a talking cat. But Jungkook was not any mortal. He knew what the odds were of seeing magical things. And the fact that they are real.
“Cursed?” Jungkook questions with furrowed brows. “Is that what happened to you? You were cursed?”
“Let’s just say I broke a rule one too many times and they turned me into a cat.. Because apparently I resemble a cat. In my human form.”
He wants to laugh at that and for a split second he wonders what the cat looks like as a human. For some reason, a cute face pops into his mind. But of course, he would never say that out loud. It would be too embarrassing after all. “I understand.. What is your name?” Jungkook then decides to ask.
“Yoongi.. Min Yoongi.”
“I am Jungkook. Well.. Yoongi.. what brings you here?” Jungkook asks with a tilted head, eyeing the black cat intently. It’s not just a cat to him, though, now that he knows there is a human inside that tiny body.
“I am just looking for somewhere to hide.. a place to stay, I guess. They banned me from where I came from and.. I am not used to this mortal world. Everything seems a little plain here,” Yoongi explains, looking up at Jungkook with his big cat eyes. “I suppose you’ve got something to do with the magical world as well. Otherwise you would have reacted in a different way.”
Jungkook feels his face heat up at Yoongi’s words, feeling like an open book now that he’s guessed that Jungkook is involved with the magical world in some kind of way. “Y-yeah.. I mean.. I am a half-blood witch,” he responds, averting his gaze in a nervous manner.
“Half..blood? That is very uh... “ Yoongi pauses, narrowing his eyes. “Uncommon. I am a witch too.. well.. I was. And I know that relationships between humans and witches are looked down upon. Did you get banned too?”
“Wha.. No! I’m not banned from the magical world. We live here by our own will,” Jungkook quickly retorts, feeling a little offended at Yoongi’s words. Sure, the human world is boring but it’s still his home and he likes living here. “Anyways I could probably bring you home with me, I just have to ask if my hyungs are okay with it.”
“Don’t worry, you don’t hav– “
“My hyungs!” Jungkook shouts in realization and takes a quick look at the watch on his wrist. “I only have 15 minutes to go home,” he adds and begins to climb down the tree – but not before wrapping an arm around the black cat and holding its body against his. “Hold on tight, Yoongi.”
❊
That is how Yoongi found himself in an eighteen-year-old’s room. Not exactly how his plan was supposed to go. His idea to seek a hideout had been a good plan.. but his new hideout to turn into this room is certainly not a good plan.
Jungkook had him act like a normal cat in front of his hyungs to convince them he was a stray cat. Somehow it worked, albeit Seokjin being skeptical at first. But Namjoon apparently is a big animal lover and let Jungkook keep him. Which sounded weird to Yoongi because he is not a pet.
“I will buy cat food tomorrow for sure!” Jungkook mutters under his breath while pacing around his room while Yoongi sits on his bed, staring at the boy in utter confusion.
“I don’t really eat.. cat food. I will even eat your chips but please don’t feed me that nasty cat food,” Yoongi grumbles, watching as Jungkook sits down on the floor before him.
“Fine.. But not chips,” Jungkook agrees, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stares at the black cat in front of him, lost deep in thought. “You know what’s kind of weird? My hyungs usually notice when someone has a magical aura in the mortal world.. but somehow not with you.”
Yoongi feels himself freeze at the words before returning to his nonchalant attitude, letting out a sigh from his lips. “That’s because they took my magical powers from me, Jungkook.”
At first, Jungkook feels his face turned pale, unsure of what to say to the other. He felt like he had just touched a topic he should not have. “Ah.. I am very sorry. I- I didn’t know..” he manages to whisper, averting his gaze from Yoongi.
“You had no idea, so don’t worry,” Yoongi answers, jumping off the bed. “So.. where do I sleep?” he proceeds to ask, leaving Jungkook dumbfounded.
“Well.. I haven’t really thought about it. You can sleep in my bed though, if you want!” Jungkook responds, then clearing his throat as he sees Yoongi give him a weird look. “Or I guess I can make you a mini bed.. with a fluffy blanket.”
“That sounds more like it, thank you.”
Suddenly a knock is heard and both of them turn to stare at the door, noticing Seokjin peeking his head in. “Jungkook.. who are you talking to?” he asks, his brows furrowed in concern.
Jungkook can’t help but let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “No one.. Well, to the cat. I have decided to name him Yoongi,” the younger replies, watching Seokjin’s expression intently.
“That’s.. a weird name for a cat. But go to sleep now, you have class tomorrow.”
“Yup, good night, hyung,” Jungkook says and locks the door after Seokjin exits his room, standing up and walking over to his closet to take out a warm, fluffy blanket. “I hope this is fine, I can’t really offer you much,” he mumbled as he folds the blanket a few more times until it’s thick enough to pass as a mattress.
“Thank you, Jungkook. And.. thank you for letting me stay with you, really. I think I wouldn’t have survived the entire night out in that forest,” Yoongi admits, placing a paw on the blanket as if to test it before hopping on top of it and making himself comfortable.
Jungkook’s expression softens at that and he shakes his head, still in disbelief that Yoongi would say something like that. How could a witch that had broken several rules not be able to survive on their own? But Yoongi had also lost all of his powers, so it made sense. “It’s really no problem. Tomorrow I will figure out how to help you,” he replies as he turns off the lamp on his night stand and gets into bed as well.
Yoongi lets out a yawn, already half-asleep as he asks “... help me?”
“You will see. You will be able to be a human again soon.”
Maybe this phrase is one that should have registered in his mind. But it didn’t until it was too late.
❊
“Jungkook?”
“Hmm?”
“Jungkook!” Jimin yells, bringing the other out of his thoughts. Jungkook looks at him from across the table, seeing his friend wave his hands in front of his face. “You keep zoning out while I keep telling you about my plans for our partner project. Is something wrong?”
Jungkook just shakes his head, letting out a sigh and pushing his tray away from him. “No, sorry. I was just.. thinking about something. Text me about it later, I have to go now!” he quickly says as he stands up and grabs his backpack, storming out of the cafeteria.
“Wait, you’re just gonna skip the rest of the day?” Jimin shouts after him, his brows furrowed in confusion.
But Jungkook has a plan. He has to help Yoongi return to his normal self and right now that idea was more important than any classes he had left. So he started making his way back home and luckily both of his hyungs were working, so he would not get scolded by them.
“Yoongi! I am back,” Jungkook shouts, slipping out of his shoes and going up the stairs to his room, only to find that Yoongi is still sleeping on the blanket. It makes Jungkook smile fondly for a brief moment. Somehow it doesn’t make sense to him how a person like Yoongi could break the rules and get his power taken away from him. At the same time, he didn’t know Yoongi that well yet.
Jungkook pushes his second thoughts aside and closes the door of his room, tiptoeing over to what Namjoon calls his ‘office’ but in reality is his little magic lab. He shuts the door behind him as he enters the lab, immediately walking over to the large bookshelf. Fortunately, his hyung loves collecting books, hence the large amount of books in the lab.
He takes out the first potion ingredients book he can find, flipping through it in concentration and sighing in frustration when he doesn’t immediately find it. Magic books are usually thick, which makes Jungkook have to search for the page for a while. When he eventually finds the page for the regeneration potion - a potion which makes a creature return to its true form - he places the cauldron on the little stove, grabbing all the needed ingredients from the cupboard. Jungkook’s pretty sure Namjoon won’t mind. Perhaps.
It takes a little while for the potion to finish brewing and Jungkook fills the potion into a small potion bottle, putting a cork on top. Okay, maybe he is not the best at making potions but he thinks that he is fairly decent at it. And he thinks that this potion will definitely help Yoongi.
Now Jungkook has to actually convince Yoongi to drink the potion. And that will be difficult considering he doesn’t know Yoongi’s standpoint to returning to his human form. Although he can imagine pretty well that Yoongi wants to be human again instead of a cat.
He peeks his head out of the door. None of his hyungs would be back at this time, but he wants to make sure they are gone before he tiptoes his way back to his room, locking the door behind him. When he turns around, he spots Yoongi sitting on top of his bed, making him gasp in surprise.
“What? Forgot you have a cat now?” Yoongi asks in amusement.
“N-No.. it’s just.. you were asleep earlier,” Jungkook quickly retorts, hiding the potion bottle behind his back when he sees Yoongi’s narrowed eyes.
“Hey.. What is that? What are you hiding?” the cat proceeds to ask, jumping off the bed and approaching Jungkook, who steps back against the door.
“Don’t.. freak out or anything. I made a potion.. to… help you. I mean… it’s a regeneration potion,” he mutters, staring at his window to avoid looking at Yoongi. “I thought you might want to become human again so.. I wanted to help.”
For a moment there is only silence in his room and Jungkook dares to glance down at Yoongi, who looks confused (even for a cat). “I guess that is what I want but.. do you even know how to make potions? Are you good at it?”
“Are you doubting my skills because I am a half-blood witch?” Jungkook questions in return.
“It’s not that.. It’s just that you’re not at a.. you know, magic school or something. Maybe your hyungs taught you how to brew potions so it’s not.. about you being a half-blood,” Yoongi answers.
Jungkook lets a sigh slip past his lips, nodding his head. “I understand what you mean but.. I did learn how to brew potions. Maybe I am not perfect at it, I tried my best though!”
“Okay then. Let me try it,” Yoongi demands and Jungkook looks around his room for a way to let him drink the potion. He spots the bowl he had brought Yoongi yesterday with water in it and walks over to spill the rest of the water out of the window before pulling the cork out of the potion bottle, pouring a bit of the potion in it before placing the bowl on the floor. Yoongi approaches the bowl, sniffing at it cautiously before dipping his tongue in the liquid and making a weird face at the taste. Granted, potions did not have the best taste. But Yoongi drinks as much of it as he can and they wait.
Jungkook loses his patience. “Ah.. why the hell is this not working? I spent so much time on brewing it!” he speaks in irritation.
“Sometimes potions take a bit to make an impa–”
The sight that comes after that is terrifying. Yoongi gets his facial features back, but his body remains that of a cat. And Jungkook can’t help but gasp, accidentally dropping the potion bottle in the process.
“Y-Yoongi.. you look.. scary..” he whispers with wide eyes, watching as Yoongi struts over in front of the mirror and finally sees himself. Jungkook thinks that he must be angry but instead he hears him laugh. “This is not a laughing matter! The potion didn’t work. You may have your face back but.. but that’s it!”
“I mean.. seeing my face covered in fur and me having the body of a cat looks kind of hilarious. But we need to fix this. We need to make a reversal potion quick.. before one of your hyungs sees… whatever this is supposed to be,” Yoongi responds. And now that he has his human face back, Jungkook can clearly see his expression and how he still looks very amused.
After telling Yoongi to follow him they walk into the lab and Yoongi jumps up onto the desk, Jungkook still refusing to look at him because he frankly finds the outcome of the potion very weird. He follows Yoongi’s orders for the potion and as soon as it’s done, the latter drinks from it again and soon returns to the normal cat form. Jungkook quickly cleans the lab up before going back to his room, sitting down onto his bed.
“Jungkook, I appreciate your effort in trying to help me. But it was foolish of you not to talk to me before and it was also foolish of me to drink it while not thinking about the outcome,” Yoongi says after he’s hopped onto the bed as well and Jungkook makes a face at his last words. “I mean.. the outcome if it would have worked. You don’t live alone here and it would have been difficult with your.. hyungs. To suddenly have a man in here.”
“I guess you are right but I also think that your punishment was too harsh. They didn’t have to turn you into a cat,” Jungkook mumbles in response, fiddling with his fingers nervously.
“You don’t know what things I have done, Jungkook. You can’t really judge the severity of my punishment. I deserved this whether I like it or not. So stop worrying about me so much, you will see that I will be out of your life sooner than you think.”
The last thing Jungkook wants is to just let Yoongi go like this, so he has to come up with a new plan.
❊
“I am very disappointed in you, Jungkook. You never skip class,” Seokjin says to the younger while they are eating breakfast and Jungkook feels ashamed to say the least. The school had called Namjoon to tell him that he suddenly disappeared in the afternoon. It’s true that he doesn’t skip class and the fact that one single encounter in his life led him to do it embarrasses him. But he will never tell them the real reason for his action. Or the fact that he made potions without their permission.
It actually surprises Jungkook how many things he’s ready to do for a stranger just because he thinks what happened to him is injustice. “Sorry Seokjin-hyung.. I was not feeling very well yesterday. I don’t know why I just left like that,” Jungkook admits. Well, half-admits, half-lies.
Thankfully Seokjin lets him off easy and Jungkook doesn't skip his classes today. What his hyungs do not know, though, is that Jungkook stole one of the potion books from Namjoon’s lab. (This time it’s a different one with a different regeneration potion, he hopes it will work). His plan is to sprint home as fast as possible after his classes and make the potion without Yoongi noticing. Then he somehow has to get Yoongi to drink the potion.. without Yoongi noticing.
Perhaps his plan is not well thought out, but it’s the only way to finally succeed in turning Yoongi human. And Jungkook doesn’t mean the type of human that only has the face of a human and the body of a cat.
Jungkook can feel Jimin’s eyes staring daggers into the side of his head from where he’s sitting, giving the latter an apologetic smile. Their project is due in two days and all he has wasted his time on was trying to turn a cat into a human. But Jimin is mortal and he would never understand if Jungkook tried to explain the situation to him. Maybe telling him that they adopted a cat which he was spending time with these days is a reasonable excuse.
After promising Jimin to call him later that day, Jungkook spends the rest of his classes memorizing the recipe of the new regeneration potion so he can brew it as quick as possible when he gets home. His hyungs are not supposed to know about this after all.
None of his teachers catch him doing something else, which saves him even more scolding from Seokjin, and as soon as the last bell rings, Jungkook bolts out of the classroom and the school building, successfully knocking some other students over. He keeps reciting the ingredients inside his head as he makes his way back home in full speed, the back of his shirt practically drenched in sweat after running for about ten minutes. A sigh leaves his lips as he spots no cars in front of his house, meaning none of his hyungs are back home yet and he can brew the potion.
Jungkook unlocks the front door and toes off his shoes as he enters the house, walking up the stairs slowly to be as quiet as he possibly can. Surely, Yoongi must still be sleeping and he cannot get caught by Yoongi by any means.
Fortunately Jungkook makes it to Namjoon’s lab without any complications and locks the door behind him before he drops his backpack and starts collecting the ingredients. This time it has to work, or else Yoongi will actually have his head. But it’s a different recipe so this can only go two ways: completely wrong or completely right.
He finishes the potion in record time and leaves the lab as if no one had ever been in there, stuffing the potion inside his backpack to hide it from Yoongi. When he reaches his room, he finds that Yoongi had indeed been sleeping this entire time as he spots him opening his eyes.
“Good morning to you,” Jungkook says teasingly as he drops the backpack next to his desk and sits down at it, taking out his homework. “Did you sleep well? Do you want me to feed you?” He almost startles as Yoongi suddenly jumps on top of his desk, big, green eyes staring at him.
“I had a lot of time to think. And I think that it’s best if I just leave your house now. I didn’t really plan on becoming someone’s.. pet,” Yoongi announces, shocking Jungkook.
“W-what? I mean.. I understand but.. where do you want to stay the night? You should stay just one more night and then you can leave,” Jungkook responds quickly, suddenly feeling like there is a lump in his throat. When Yoongi said he would be out of Jungkook’s life sooner than he thinks, he certainly did not think that it would be this soon.
Yoongi just sighs at the suggestion but agrees anyway. “Fine. I am sleeping here one more night but I will be gone tomorrow morning. Don’t even try to look for me then. Also.. I would like some food now, I do feel a bit hungry.”
This is how the rest of the day goes: Jungkook feeds Yoongi, talks to Jimin on the phone about their project (lest he gets strangled by him the next day), has dinner with his dear hyungs and then pretends to go to sleep. So that he can make Yoongi drink a bit of the potion in his sleep. It’s the only way he can get him to drink it at all.. and the only way he can make him stay.
❊
Jungkook waits for Yoongi to be asleep until he slips out of his bed and crawls over to his desk, rummaging in his backpack to find the potion he made earlier. Thankfully, Yoongi is a deep sleeper and when Jungkook turns around to glance at him anxiously, he’s still asleep. He watches as his stomach moves up and down before he inches closer to Yoongi. He’s already made up his plan of what to do if he wakes Yoongi up: tell him that he was sleep talking. This just has to work out, Jungkook is pretty sure of that.
When he eventually reaches Yoongi, Jungkook takes his small head into his hand and slowly turns it upwards, watching the cat’s face intently for any signs of awakening. Then he pries the mouth open with two of his fingers, popping off the cork of the potion in his other hand with just his thumb and holding it over Yoongi’s mouth as he gently tips it over. Jungkook watches two little drops land in his mouth before he quickly puts the cork back on the bottle and hurries over to his bed.
Fortunately, the room is dark because, as Yoongi’s form materializes to that of a human, he is not wearing any clothes. All that can be heard in the room is a gasp and the sound of fabric being moved.
“Jungkook? Are you awake? What the hell is happening?” Yoongi blurts out loudly and Jungkook turns in his bed to turn on the night lamp, seeing that Yoongi is lying on the floor with the fluffy blanket, that served as his tiny bed, wrapped around his body.
But on top of all that he notices his appearance. He finally can see what Yoongi looks like as a human.. and finally understand why they had decided to turn Yoongi into a cat. He does have cat-like features in his eyes and lips. And also a very sharp jawline. Yoongi was definitely handsome.
“Are you done staring now? Can you explain to me what happened?!” Yoongi demands, his brows furrowed in irritation. And Jungkook totally understands his irritation. He probably is staring at him with his mouth open right now – nearly drooling.
Jungkook quickly shakes his head to abandon any thoughts of him finding Yoongi handsome and to get back to basics. “It’s my fault.. I just couldn’t help the urge to turn you back to your real self. And it worked!”
Yoongi lets out a huff, dragging his fingers (which are very long and calloused, Jungkook notices) down his face in frustration. “Do you realize.. that you have made everything more complicated now? It will be much harder for me to find a place to stay now because I’m human. I can’t just start living.. existing in the human world.”
“Yes, you can. I will tell my hyungs that the cat ran away.. And you can just stay here until we find you a new place. You just have to hide in my bathroom if one of my hyungs comes inside,” Jungkook suggests, and realizes that Yoongi is still practically naked, making him feel a little nervous.
Of course Yoongi notices his now red face and asks “What?”
Jungkook gets out of his bed and takes out some underwear, sweatpants and a sweater for Yoongi, placing them on the bed. “Here.. Wear this first and we will figure out a plan tomorrow,” he tells Yoongi and watches as the older just grumbles and waddles to the bathroom with the clothes in his hand while holding the blanket in place with his other.
Maybe this plan backfired. Jungkook did not think he would find Yoongi attractive like this, he just wanted to help him. He really needs to stop thinking about how good he looks and start thinking of ways for Yoongi to find a new place for himself.
When Yoongi comes out of the bathroom, Jungkook’s close a bit wide on him, he has a conflicted expression on his face. “Well.. I am going to sleep on the floor,” he says, waving the fluffy blanket in his hand.
“No!” Jungkook retorts, causing Yoongi to send him a puzzled look. “I mean, I won’t just let you sleep on the floor.” Jungkook moves to one side of his bed, grabbing a pillow and placing it behind him. “Here. That’s your side of the bed.”
“.. What if one of your hyungs comes in here in the morning?” Yoongi asks, still looking very conflicted.
“They won’t. My door is locked. Plus they only knock on the door to wake me up if I don’t hear my alarm, so don’t worry and just lie down. Everything will be fine,” Jungkook mumbles, already starting to close his eyes. When he feels the mattress dip next to him, he turns off the night lamp again.
“Good night, Yoongi.. Should I call you hyung?”
“If you want to.”
“Good night, Yoongi-hyung. I like how that sounds.”
“Good night, Jungkook.”
❊
Yoongi wonders what the use of the pillow was when he wakes up with a heavy weight on his torso. He peeked an eye open to see Jungkook draped over him, the pillow squished in between them. On top of all that, Yoongi is completely powerless against Jungkook, who is taller and heavier than him despite being the younger one.
With an exasperated sigh, Yoongi pokes Jungkook’s forehead and watches as he just scrunches up his face. He tries again, and again, until Jungkook lets out a grumble and moves his head off Yoongi’s chest to stare at him (as far as one can stare with squinted eyes). Yoongi takes that chance to lightly push him off himself, turning his head to look at him.
“So, what’s your plan, witch?” he asks.
“Y- hyuuung! I’ve barely been awake for a minute, cut me some slack here,” Jungkook responds and turns his back towards Yoongi, his voice thick with sleep.
“Okay but considering your plan to turn me human was so well thought out, your plan for the aftermath was not,” Yoongi remarks snarkily, causing Jungkook to toss a pillow at his face.
“I know, okay.. I didn’t think about the consequences as always and that was wrong of me. But aren’t you glad that this worked out?” Jungkook asks and shifts to lie on his back, side-eyeing the other.
“I honestly don’t know how to feel about this.”
Jungkook winces at those words, not wanting to discuss this any longer. “Alright.. Well, for now you are staying home. I will come up with something while I’m at school,” he concludes. “Oh and.. I don’t think I need to tell you this but do not leave the room while my hyungs are still here.”
“Noted. Guess another day lazing around won’t hurt me,” Yoongi says with a pinch of sarcasm, to which Jungkook can only roll his eyes.
“Right. As if that bothers you.”
Soon after that Jungkook gets ready, has breakfast with his hyungs as per usual (of course he brings some milk and cereals upstairs, he is not a terrible host) and then leaves for school. His project with Jimin needs to be presented today but all he can think about is how to fix Yoongi’s situation. He needs to think.
He, himself, does not have much money aside from his monthly pocket money provided by Seokjin and Namjoon. The only way to make more money is if Yoongi works. And then, maybe, he could rent an apartment and properly start his life as a mortal.
Making his way into the school building, Jungkook spots Jimin in the hallway right away and stops before him. That’s when he gets an idea. “Hey Jimin, does your grandpa still own that café?” he asks.
“That’s very random,” Jimin answers with a raise of his brows. “Yes, he does. Why are you asking? Do you need a job? I thought you get enough pocket money–”
“It’s - not for me. I have a friend who’s in need of money right now.. like seriously. He’s secretly living in my room for now. My hyungs don’t know about this but yeah, I want to help him.”
“I see.. I will call him during lunch and tell you what he says. Hopefully this works out and we can all help your friend somehow. That sounds really bad,” Jimin speaks, a rather sympathetic expression on his face.
“It is really bad. He was.. abandoned from his home. He can’t go back there and has to start a new life now. I want to help him get back on his feet,” Jungkook mutters with a bitter smile.
“Of course, I would do the same if my friend needed help. Is that why you kept spacing out these days? Because you wanted to find ways to help your friend?”
“Yes. If your grandpa agrees to this, we finally have a solution and he can move out in a few weeks,” Jungkook adds, clasping his hands together and looking hopeful. So far his plans have all worked out in the end, he just needs this one to work out now.
“Don’t worry. If my grandpa says no, I will help you find a job for him. That’s what friends are for after all,” Jimin reaches up, ruffling Jungkook’s hair and earning a grunt from him. “By the way.. we have to speak about our project. Now.”
❊
“Yoongi-hyung!” Jungkook shouts as he slams the front door shut, sprinting towards the stairs when he catches a glimpse of a figure in the living room and walks backwards instead. Yoongi is laying on the couch, looking sleepy as ever. Even in this form, Jungkook can see no difference between him and the black cat. “You know this could have been very dangerous if you hadn’t woken up..”
“Relax, there’s just you and me here right now,” Yoongi grumbles, rubbing at his eyes as he moves to a sitting position on the couch. “Why the hell were you screaming anyways?”
“Okay, look,” Jungkook says, barely being able to contain his excitement as he sits down on the couch as well. “My friend Jimin’s grandpa has a café. Aaand… he agreed to hire you! I got you a job!”
Yoongi’s face falls and all of a sudden Jungkook regrets his idea. “You.. got me a job? But why?” he questions, his eyes narrowed the slightest bit. The sight is quite scary.
“I just.. thought.. that if you made money, you could get your own apartment and start your life as a mortal. You don’t really have any other choice right now, you’re human,” Jungkook simply states, swallowing his saliva as he watches the older.
“Did you forget who made me human? I really can’t believe I have to work now.. like.. a mortal..” Yoongi is starting to look disgusted and it worries Jungkook. He thought that this was a good idea. That this could help Yoongi.
Jungkook shrugs his shoulders in defeat, sighing. “You don’t have to take the job if you don’t want to, hyung. But please consider it. This is your only way to start a normal life. How did you think you would spend the rest of your life here? Sleep in the wild, like a cat when you’re not even used to living in the wild? Steal people’s food to survive? Realistically seen.. this is the best option. I am sorry if I upset you or made your life miserable for you.” With a shake of his head, Jungkook stands up and walks to his room, hoping that Yoongi will come to his senses and perhaps stop blaming him for everything.
It takes a long while for Yoongi to come to his room. The older stands at the door with his arms behind his back, staring at something on the floor.
“I admit.. putting the blame on you was not right. I brought myself into this situation after all and I should make the best out of it. I am not meant to live as a cat, like you said. So I wanted to apologize,” Yoongi finally looks up at Jungkook, who’s sitting on his bed. “I am really sorry, Jungkook. I will take the job.”
“I accept your apology, hyung. Your first day is tomorrow by the way–” Jungkook says nonchalantly, like they hadn’t just had a very important discussion, leaning back against the headboard with his arms crossed against his chest. “He said there was no need for formalities, so this is a good opportunity.”
“.. I am not going to complain. But tomorrow? Damn.. that’s not much time to prepare myself mentally.”
“You need that job,” Jungkook shrugs. “Don’t worry about it too much. You know how to brew potions so you should be able to brew coffee too.”
After Jungkook had dinner, he walks back to his room and locks the door before jumping on his bed, almost making Yoongi fall off of it. “That’s really not cool, Jungkook,” Yoongi grumbles and shifts back to his old spot on the bed.
“Aw, come on, hyung. I was just having a little bit of fun,” Jungkook responds with a sheepish grin and reaches over to his bedside table, turning the night lamp off and snuggling against Yoongi’s side. He’s pretty sure he hears him cough when he adds, “You didn’t seem to mind it last night. Deal with it hyung.”
Yoongi hopes he doesn’t hear his heartbeat.
❊
The next few days pass faster than Jungkook could ever have imagined and soon enough, a week has passed since Yoongi has started his job as a barista slash waiter at the café. Jungkook smiles when he recalls Yoongi’s first day. How he came home wearing a white dress shirt and a black apron. He had told himself to stop thinking about Yoongi that way but sometimes he just looked more handsome than ever and Jungkook has to prevent himself from full-on drooling. And luckily ,Yoongi’s shifts always end before Seokjin and Namjoon come home, so they did not have to come up with a plan B on how to let Yoongi back into the house without anyone noticing. It was actually surprising how none of them had caught wind of Yoongi’s presence in the house. (Although, Jungkook did end up telling them the cat had run away).
It’s a Friday afternoon and Jungkook has decided to take Yoongi to the mall, just so he could have some enjoyment after all his hard work.
“Hmm.. where should we go first? Oh oh! We should definitely go for some ice cream right now,” Jungkook speaks with excitement, looking as if he had stars in his eyes while his hands are clasped together.
“Isn’t it a bit too cold outside for ice cream?”
“Are you eating it while you’re outside or inside?”
"...You got a point," Yoongi concludes, shrugging his shoulders. But it’s all worth it when Jungkook gives him the widest grin and suddenly grabs his hand, tugging him through the mall. He has no clue as to why he’s feeling flustered at the contact when Jungkook cuddles him every night and he doesn’t object to that. However, hand holding feels more intimate to him and that’s why he tries his hardest to make the redness on his face disappear (in a telepathic way, of course, because how does one just force that away).
He can’t help but think that after all he has done in the magical world he ended up being lucky in the end. As he discreetly watches Jungkook eat his mint chocolate ice cream while they walk around, he starts feeling dizzy and places his palm on his forehead. “I feel very.. unwell..” he mumbled, his vision turning blurry.
Jungkook’s eyes go wide at the older’s words and he reaches for his hand again, walking to the nearest restroom with Yoongi tagging along. It only takes less than a minute after he’s locked them both in a bathroom stall for Yoongi to be covered in materialization. Before he can even blink, there’s a black cat on the floor right before him.
“Right.. I.. almost forgot that it was only a temporary potion,” Jungkook says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“That means you knew it was only temporary?” Yoongi asks in disbelief, squinting his eyes up at Jungkook.
“I knew but.. not for how long,” Jungkook shrugs, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Yoongi realizes why when Jungkook unzips his backpack and takes out a potion bottle. “I always have it with me.. in case something like this happens. Maybe you should start bringing it with you now that we know.” He pulls off the cork and kneels down, tipping the bottle a little and watching as a drop falls on Yoongi’s tongue. “This might not be the best situation but I will keep making potions for you, hyung. It’s the only way.”
After Yoongi’s form has changed back to human, he shakes his head in frustration. “Now I’m bound to drinking potions for the rest of my life.. as if it’s some medicine,” he speaks quietly.
“Hyung..”
“No. This is just sad. They probably intended for me to die as a cat after a few weeks but that’s definitely not the case and I am breaking rules again–” Yoongi is shut up by a pair of lips on his own, causing his eyes to go wide and practically stare at Jungkook’s closed eyelids. He doesn’t understand how the rate of his heartbeat just quadrupled when this is definitely not his first kiss, but he figures it has something to do with his feelings towards the younger.
“Please stop saying that,” Jungkook responds after pulling back, his eyes averted from Yoongi, almost as if he’s being shy . “They banned you, so I can’t imagine them caring about what you do now. Just live your life now as you want to.. without being surveyed whatsoever. You deserve it, Yoongi-hyung.”
Yoongi feels taken aback by the words, considering they have just kissed in a damn bathroom stall and now he’s giving him life advice. “I– yeah. You are right. I will live my life as I want now,” he whispers with a small grin, leaving a peck on Jungkook’s lips and watching as he finally looks at him.
“Even if I get scolded for secretly using up all the ingredients, we can do this, hyung. I am pretty sure.”
Yoongi can’t help but chuckle at his words. For the first time in weeks he finally feels positive and ready to take risks.
“Yeah, we can.”