Work Text:
Down a narrow street in a bustling Seoul neighbourhood, tucked between a convenience store and a hair salon, there is a door that nobody ever notices. Beside the door there is a wide shop-front window that nobody ever looks in as they walk past.
The window is clean and free of clutter, all the better to see out of.
The door is grey, and it has a cat-flap.
Just as nobody ever notices the door, nobody ever seems to catch sight of any of the nine people who regularly go in and out. Nor of the comings and goings of the much smaller visitors through the flap. Inside is a secret, known only to them.
*
Park Jiwon reaches the corner and shouts when she sees Hayoung walking ahead. "Hey! Wait!" She runs to catch up, hair flying behind her till she's almost there, just about to grab Hayoung's shoulders.
Hayoung turns around with a finger to her lips in warning. "Shhhh!"
Jiwon stumbles to a halt, arms flailing for a second as her momentum almost topples her over. "You found another one?"
Hayoung nods. In her arms is a small furry form, black and white underneath a layer of dirt. "She's scared."
"Ah, poor thing," Jiwon says.
She isn't surprised. Of all of them, Hayoung is the one most likely to turn up with a new guest for their café on any day of the week.
The two girls walk side by side the rest of the way down the narrow street till they reach the grey door.
*
Saerom announces when it's time to go.
Jiheon, responsible maknae, stays behind to look after their guests. So does Chaeyoung, not because she is responsible, but because she fell asleep the previous night before doing the dishes, when it was her turn.
So it's seven young women who head out onto the street on a mission. Cat-hunting is one of their most important jobs, after all.
Any cat may visit their café, and many do, slinking in of their own accord to stay for a while - a treat, a comfortable place to nap - before returning to their homes. But it's the ones who aren't so fortunate that are the real object of their search.
They go out looking to find those cats that really need a visit to the café. The ones that are homeless or lost, or lonely, or sick. They're not always easy to find, and when they do it isn't always easy to convince the cats to let them help. But the challenge doesn't bother them. It's part of the fun - or that's what Jiwon thinks, anyway.
"You should come to visit us soon." Crouched down on the footpath she speaks to a cat sunning herself on a low wall near the entrance to the markets. The cat doesn't seem too bothered. "We have nice food and toys, and you can scratch anything you want," she offers. The cat rolls over and bats a lazy paw at her, happy where she is, but not opposed to Jiwon petting her softly.
"Well, drop in if you feel like it. We always welcome new guests." She farewells the cat politely after several minutes of pats and scratches. The cat will come or not as she pleases, but now at least she knows where to go.
As Jiwon stands up she gets a message and pulls her phone from her pocket. It's from Nakyung.
Hayoung found mama and two babies, so cute!
Of course it was Hayoung. Jiwon smiles, but at the same time it's almost a grimace, tight and uncertain, not even really knowing what it is. What she's feeling.
This is how things are now, when it comes to Hayoung. Things feel weird and too complicated at times, made worse because she's positive Hayoung has no idea about any of it.
Jiwon is about to head back to the café. She wants to see the kittens, and help with whatever is needed. Her phone messages again. This time it's Hayoung.
The mother is sick. Do you know where Jisun is? Not answering her phone.
Don't worry I'm on it, Jiwon texts back quick as her fingers can type.
She runs three blocks until she discovers Jisun down an alley with Saerom, the two of them trying to coax a timid stray out from behind a dumpster. They had both turned off their phones so as not to scare the cat who probably needed to be brought in as much as Hayoung's sick mama and kittens did. But Hayoung needed Jisun, who was the best at preparing herbal medicines, so Jiwon quickly explained the situation and it was decided Jisun and Saerom would head straight back home.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" Saerom offered.
Jiwon waves her off. "No, go and look after things. I'll take over for you here, and be back soon."
Saerom nods and leaves with Jisun.
Jiwon turns to the dumpster. "Just you and me now. Want to come out? There's fish." There is indeed stinky fish that the other two had been using to entice the cat out into the open.
She uses all the tricks she knows but the cat is too wary to emerge and after a while Jiwon begins to feel useless.
She thinks about Hayoung, who has such a way with their four-legged friends. She even looks like a cat, with her adorable upwards-curling mouth. If Hayoung was here this would be easy. Then again, if Hayoung was here, she wouldn't need Jiwon to do this instead.
Jiwon is torn, wishing Hayoung was with her, but also knowing she would be superfluous in that case. And she likes the thought of Hayoung needing her.
"Don't be so weird," she tells herself. "It's probably why this cat doesn't like you."
She can see his big eyes staring at her from the narrow space between the dumpster and the concrete wall.
"Is that it? Is my stupid crush on my friend so off-putting you can't stand it? I can't stand myself sometimes. I can't stand her, she's so perfect. You'd probably like her."
"Jiwon?"
She spins around and finds Hayoung standing there at the mouth of the alley, watching her.
"What are you doing here? What about the mother and babies?"
"They're safe at the café. Saerom said there was a difficult cat, and you might need help."
"This stupid cat won't come out!"
"Really?" Hayoung is starting to smile. She points down to Jiwon's feet.
Jiwon feels something brush her ankle. Of course it's the cat, happily rubbing himself against her. She bends down and picks him up.
"I knew it," she whispers to him. "You like her too."
As they make their way back to the café, Jiwon is way too embarrassed to ask if Hayoung overheard what she said. And if she did, Hayoung says nothing about it, either.
*
Jiwon was right about that cat after all. He adores Hayoung, following her around the place, wanting to be wherever she is. If he settles in a lap, it's sure to be Hayoung's. That's where he is right now; as soon as Hayoung took a seat on one of the sofas today, the skinny stray from behind the dumpster - now clean and eating well - sprang up onto her lap. She hasn't been able to move for an hour now, not wanting to disturb him.
This is how it is when you run a place like this. They all do whatever is needed, and if that means being a comfy place for a cat to sleep - well, there's a reason they all love what they do.
The small family they had brought in has settled in well, the mother recovered and happy to sit in a patch of sunlight grooming herself while her two kittens receive all the attention from the staff that they could possibly want.
Right now it's Seoyeon, Chaeyoung, and Gyuri on the floor playing with the kittens. Jiwon has just finished watering the numerous pots of catnip and cat grass they keep around the place, and comes to sit on the sofa with Hayoung.
She takes out her phone and takes some pictures of the kittens as they scamper about. Then she turns, so Hayoung is framed just right on her screen. "Smile, please."
Her smile is a surprise, and quickly hidden when she buries her face in the cat's fur.
"Hey, the back of your head isn't that interesting."
Hayoung lifts her head and makes a face at her.
Jiwon takes the picture and laughs, showing it to Hayoung who pretends to be awed.
"Pretty!"
Jiwon saves the picture of Hayoung's silly face, wondering how weird it would be to make it her wallpaper.
Hayoung snuggles the cat to her, drops a kiss between his ears, and then another and another.
Jiwon stares, rolls her eyes, and then laughs. She's laughing at herself because is she really thinking about this? Hayoung and her lips, kissing and kissing and kissing? They all love these animals, that's why they're here, that's why the magic works. But Hayoung loves them most of all.
"I don't want to be a cat!" she announces, and the others look over at her only briefly, because Jiwon suddenly yelling something weird is actually not very weird at all.
"But if I was, you'd love me, right?" Jiwon twinkles her fingers under her chin and smiles enticingly at Hayoung. "Miaow?"
"You'd be the most annoying cat," Chaeyoung says with a laugh. "Yowling at midnight when everyone is trying to sleep."
The others immediately start agreeing with this terrible accusation, but Jiwon doesn't mind. Hayoung has reached over and is tickling Jiwon under the chin.
"Nice kitty," she coos.
"And so beautiful." Jiwon closes her eyes, almost purring at the attention. "The most charming of them all."
"Don't you think that's going too far?" Hayoung says, making everyone laugh.
*
So of course it's Hayoung who finds the Cat Spirit. Jiwon isn't even that surprised.
Well, it is quite surprising. This definitely doesn't happen all the time. But that it happened to Hayoung, and not to anyone else, just seems right to Jiwon.
They're all used to the kind of everyday magic they encounter at the café, like the healing magic in Jisun's medicines that always work, and how there's always enough food and treats and catnip to go around, and that the cat's always get along and don't mind each other's company. This kind of thing is perfectly normal.
A visitation by an enormous mystical animal spirit, however, is rather different. None of them see her but Hayoung, they only find out about what really happened after the fact.
It's all sort of hazy for Jiwon, she has a strange memory of a great grey paw, and trying to hold onto it. It's like a dream, but when she mentions it Chaeyoung says she thinks she remembers the same thing.
Hayoung tells them of meeting the spirit, the warm, happy feeling that filled her.
"I don't know what else happened," she says, "it's like Jiwon said, it was like a dream. I just felt so peaceful. I went to sleep and when I woke up..." She looks over at Jiwon. "You were there."
Hayoung's eyes are so big. She truly looks like someone who has been in the presence of a god.
Or maybe she just always looks like this to Jiwon. So amazing she can hardly stand it.
*
It's a lot to take in and none of them really know how to talk about it, although they are all wondering about it as they go about their usual tasks at the café.
Jiwon has a question that she can't get out of her mind. It's just there waiting to be asked and won't go away no matter how much Jiwon chatters and jokes about other things.
A few days pass and she can't hold it in any longer. She has to say it, and when she finds herself alone with Hayoung working in the kitchen at the back of the café in the late afternoon it just comes out.
"What did she say? You really don't remember?"
It comes out of the blue but Hayoung seems to know what she's asking about. "I don't remember much, but I really just don't think she said anything." She shrugs helplessly.
"Didn't she come to help us, though?"
Hayoung frowns thoughtfully. "But I didn't need help."
"Oh, right."
"Do you?"
"Me?" Jiwon tries to laugh, because anything can be funny if you try hard enough, right? Except no, not really. Not everything is humorous, even to her.
Hayoung leans a little closer. "So what is it?"
"I don't know. Maybe I just don't know what I'm doing all the time. Don't you wish you were more brave?"
Because Jiwon thinks she isn't so brave, really. The girl who will say anything doesn't always say what she wants to say.
"You're brave," Hayoung says.
"You're special," she blurts out in return.
"Am I?"
"Duh."
"Because I met a spirit?"
Jiwon shakes her head emphatically. "No. Not just because of that." She bounces on her toes, she's so nervous, she has to grab hold of Hayoung's hand because she might fly off into space otherwise.
Hayoung laughs suddenly, watching Jiwon bouncing, practically bursting. "Just say it!"
So Jiwon does.
*
It's their shift managing the café tonight. Somehow they've been matched together on the schedule again, that keeps happening. Saerom is such a good leader.
Hayoung bobs a cat toy on a stick up and down for an energetic little orange tabby. Fortunately she is able to do this while sitting on the sofa and not moving otherwise. Tonight it's Jiwon preventing her from getting up, she's stretched out along the sofa with her head resting on Hayoung's lap. Jiwon's eyes are closed and she's singing softly to the sleek black cat curled up asleep on her stomach.
Jiwon would be perfectly happy to spend the whole night this way. No one is hungry right now, all of the guests seem happy, so it's fine they're being a bit lazy.
"We're so lucky, aren't we?" she whispers.
"Yes." Hayoung smiles, still watching over the side of the couch where the cat is chasing the bouncing mouse.
"Especially you, having the most beautiful creature in the world on your lap."
Hayoung looks down at her, still smiling her cat-like smile. She doesn't answer but instead leans down and kisses Jiwon's forehead, then the tip of her nose, and finally her lips. Hayoung kisses her over and over again before sitting up, her cheeks pink and her mouth a little swollen.
Jiwon knows that she's really the lucky one here. Still she can't help but say, "You didn't disagree."
"Hm, no, I didn't," Hayoung says. She pulls out her phone and aims it down at Jiwon. "Smile, please."
Jiwon makes the most hideous face she can. Hayoung is in such awe as she takes the photo.
"Perfect."