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And it was foretold, that the one who could acquire the key, would also acquire he who lived within. For he was the Desired, and only the one who was worthy would have him.
There was a cat sitting in front of Soobin’s new apartment door. It was a pretty cat, with a silvery-black striped coat, and sparkling yellow eyes. It sat prettily, tail curled around its legs, and it looked at Soobin so intensely Soobin swore it knew all of his secrets. He swallowed, suddenly nervous, bag slung over his shoulder and key in his hand. He stopped a few feet away, peering at the cat, puffing his cheeks out. He didn’t want to just shoo it away, it had been here first, and it clearly felt very comfortable. Soobin was the intruder, the new renter, the new addition to this small town three hours outside of Seoul.
And so he gave the cat a small bow. Respect your elders, and all. “Um, hello…cat-ssi…?” he said, feeling ridiculous. The cat seemed to respond though, tilting its head a bit. Soobin bit his lip, swaying on his feet a bit. “Do you live here too? I just moved from Seoul, and it’s kind of a long story, but…,” he trailed off again, looking around himself to make sure nobody saw him talking to a cat. When the coast was clear, he trained his eyes back on the feline. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear my sob story, so I’ll spare you, but I’m here now and I’m rather tired, so is it okay if I go inside?” he asked, looking at the cat expectantly. It was completely absurd, there was no way the cat could understand any of the words coming out of his mouth. Be as that may, Soobin’s eyes widened as the cat blinked, and then stood on its four legs and moved to go sit in front of the other door.
Soobin’s mouth parted a bit in disbelief, but he bowed again, and went up to his door. “Thank you,” he said. He stared at the cat for a second longer, before turning away and go into his apartment. He closed the door behind him, and took a deep breath. His emotions started weighing down on his shoulders as he just stood and looked at the small pile of boxes that had been delivered and the empty walls. He was all alone. He decided to start unpacking immediately. He could cry later, when it was darker and hopefully his neighbours wouldn’t be able to hear him.
When he walked out of his front door the next morning, he nearly stepped on the same cat. He cried out, yanking his long leg back and almost tripping. He grabbed ahold of his door before he could fall, and he looked down at the cat, who seemed unperturbed. It blinked lazily up at him, gaze still piercing. Soobin, breathing fast, rubbed his chest, before he stood up straight and brushed his hair back. “Good morning, cat-ssi,” he said. “I wish I knew your name, but I guess I’ll work with what I have,” He side-stepped the cat, minding its pretty tail, closing his door and locking it. “I’m heading off to work, it’s at the local hospital where I’m a nurse, I hope it goes okay,” he babbled. For some reason, it felt good to just talk to the cat, who couldn’t reply or judge him, though it did have a rather expressive face. He was just glad it didn’t run off.
He looked at the cat, before sighing, shaking his head a little and rubbing his eyes. “I’m going insane,” he muttered into his hands. He removed his hands, and the cat was still looking at him. He swallowed, before bowing a little, feeling like he was supposed to. “Wish me luck,” he said, and then made to leave. However, before he could, the cat moved, and came to rub up against his calf. Its body twisted around, its small head nuzzling the fabric of his scrubs. Soobin softened a bit, smiling slightly. “Maybe you really can understand me,” he replied, waiting until the cat went back to its spot before walking off.
All in all, he had had worst first days. He was tired, his feet ached, and all he wanted was to curl up and cry about how much he missed his old life, but he had felt worse before. And that was something. He pulled out his key as he climbed the stairs, yawning, body screaming at him. He smelled like the hospital, and he was looking forward to a hot shower. He remembered the cat, and felt a little bit of excitement at seeing it again, and he started to look for it as he walked to his apartment. His excitement decreased as he didn’t see it, though, brow furrowing a bit. He twisted around, making sure he hadn’t passed it by mistake, and that’s when the voice interrupted him. “Looking for something?” it said, a bit raspy, and an unusual pitch.
Soobin jumped, bag slipping down his arm as he turned around, ears burning a bit. When he did, he saw one of the prettiest people he had ever seen in his life. The man, who appeared close to his age, was leaning against the door next to Soobin’s unit, arms crossed. He had gentle features, plump lips, and sharp eyes. His hair was a surprisingly bright shade of yellow that somehow worked, and his body was tall and lithe. He wasn’t as tall as Soobin, but he was far prettier in every other aspect. The sight of him kind of made Soobin’s mouth water, but he swallowed that down. He blinked a few times, not wanting to stare for too long, and quickly shook his head to answer the man’s question.
“There’s this cat…,” he started to say, before cutting himself off. “Never mind,” He glanced at the boy, who was looking back at him, slightly unimpressed. It was awkward for a few seconds, before the blonde pushed off the doorframe and stood up straight, bowing a bit. “My name is Choi Yeonjun, I’m your neighbour,” he introduced. Soobin’s eyes widened, and he rushed to return the bow, grabbing his bag before it fell off of his arm entirely. “Choi Soobin, it’s really nice to meet you,” he replied. When he looked back, the man—Yeonjun—had a gentle smile on his face, features softening immensely. He really was beautiful. It made Soobin’s heart race. “You work at the local hospital?” he asked.
Soobin nodded, eyes flickering down. It was hard to stare at someone that pretty without gawking, after all. He busied himself by going and unlocking his door. “Yeah, just started, but I’ve been a nurse for a few years,” he said, then scrunched his brow. He doubted Yeonjun cared about his life story, even in snippets. But when he looked back, the shorter didn’t seem annoyed. He had moved a bit closer, arms hanging at his sides. “Well, if you need anything, let me know,” he declared. Soobin felt himself blush a bit, and could only nod. He opened his door, and before he could disappear inside, Yeonjun took a step closer, expression darkening considerably. “People here very rarely care about anyone other than themselves,” he said, voice lower. “So protect your heart,”
And then he spun on his heel and disappeared inside his own apartment. Soobin could only blink in confusion, staring at the space he left, before closing his door and going straight to the shower. He pondered Yeonjun’s mysterious words, but forgot about them almost immediately as soon as his head hit his pillow.
He had worked three 12-hour night shifts in a row and the last thing he wanted was to go see who was yelling outside of his door, but the noise wouldn’t cease. He groaned, throwing on his hoodie and some slippers, hair hanging in his eyes as he went to his front door to tell whoever it was to at least lower their voice. When he opened his door, he was surprised to see a young woman crouched down, holding onto Soobin’s feline friend tightly. The poor cat was hissing, trying to bite at her wrists to get her to let go, but the woman was adamant. She seemed to have no care for how the cat was feeling, and Soobin’s eyes widened as he quickly intervened. “Hey! Let go! You’re hurting him!” he cried out, moving forward. At his cry, the woman’s head snapped up, and she flushed bright pink, before releasing the cat and scrambling away.
Soobin watched in deep confusion as she disappeared, wondering what exactly had just expired. Why was she grabbing the cat like that? And why did she seem so desperate? But Soobin pushed those thoughts away, and focused on the poor cat. It had pressed itself up against Yeonjun’s door, and Soobin frowned sadly. He hesitated, before very slowly moving towards it, holding his hands up. “I won’t hurt you, cat-ssi, I promise,” he said softly. The cat looked up at him, its hair spiked, but it didn’t retreat as Soobin carefully knelt in front of it. He glanced at Yeonjun’s door, hoping the boy didn’t randomly open his door and see him talking to the cat in such a way. He trained his eyes back on the cat, and lowered his hands. “I’m sorry that that woman wouldn’t let go of you,” he said quietly. “Did she hurt you at all?”
He wasn’t expecting an answer obviously, but the cat did seem to relax, its hair going back to normal. Soobin bit his lip, before very slowly reaching his hand out. He left it hovering above the cat’s head, and after a few seconds, the cat lifted itself up to rub against Soobin’s hand. Soobin smiled a bit to himself, and pet the cat. Its hair was very soft, and silky smooth, and when the cat purred under his ministrations, Soobin giggled. “You really are very sweet, and an excellent listener,” he complimented. If he felt foolish for talking to the cat, he didn’t care. It calmed him down, helped him forget where he had come from. And to Soobin, that was everything.
“I hope none of that woke up Yeonjun-ssi,” Soobin commented, still petting the cat, who seemed to really enjoy it. After a few more minutes, Soobin gave the cat a gentle pat on the head and then stood up. “I’m going to go back to sleep, and you should go back to your home, too, okay? I will see you later,” he instructed, raising a brow. The cat sat, peering up at him, and Soobin smiled a bit. When he went back inside, he fell right back to sleep.
There was a knock on his door. Soobin had just gotten back from his shift at the hospital, and he walked to the door dressed in sweats and an oversized t-shirt. He had his glasses on, and when he opened the door and saw Yeonjun, he nearly tore them off. The only thing that stopped him was his neighbour shoving a bag of what smelled like takeout into his hands. “Hello, Soobin-ssi, I am here to welcome you to the neighbourhood,” he announced, before walking in without invitation. Soobin blinked, caught off-guard, but not entirely wanting to complain. He closed the door, and watched as Yeonjun went straight to his living room. He spent a few seconds looking at Soobin’s small collection of vinyls, rifling through them, and then fell onto the couch, looking up at Soobin.
The taller hesitated, before moving forward, deciding to just go with it. He sat the bag on the table, and sat next to Yeonjun, who reached forward and started pulling out the boxes. Soobin watched him, at a loss for words, slightly awestruck by being so close to the attractive man. His heart was racing, and he really wished he wasn’t dressed in his pajamas. At least he had showered and didn’t smell like the hospital. “You can stop staring, Soobin-ssi, I’m not going to murder you,” Yeonjun said, breaking into Soobin’s thoughts. The taller blushed, instantly looking away and fidgeting with his hands. “Sorry,” he apologised. He heard Yeonjun chuckle, before pressing a pair of chopsticks into his hand. Their fingers brushed, and Soobin tried not to think too much about how he felt sparks. It was too cliché.
“You’ve seemed lonely, and I wanted to get to know you better, figure out what exactly it was that sent you to here of all places,” Yeonjun explained, starting to eat. Soobin picked up a box of bibimbap, and tried not to look too awkward as he took a few bites. “There’s really not much to know,” he muttered. Yeonjun leaned forward, and Soobin could feel his eyes on him, piercing like daggers. “I’m trying to be your friend, Soobin-ssi, I would love to know even the smallest things, if you’re willing to share,” he encouraged, voice surprisingly gentle. Soobin changed a glance at him, and his gaze was so sincere, he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.
And so he told him, this virtual stranger, about how he had fled Seoul when the witch councils had started to gain influence. It wasn’t that he was a criminal, or even against what they stood for, but he didn’t want to be dragged into politics. He preferred a quiet life, and when his family gave him the ultimatum to participate in the family empire or leave, he chose to leave. He didn’t need the money, or the power, and he definitely didn’t need a family who didn’t support him. Yeonjun was an amazing listener, appearing to hang on to every single one of Soobin’s words. “Are you magical?” he interrupted at one point. Soobin nodded, pushing around his rice. “I’m a healer, it’s why I went into nursing, to help everyone, not just fellow witches,” he explained.
When he looked at Yeonjun, he was smiling. It made Soobin blush. “That’s really admirable, Soobin-ssi,” he said. Soobin hesitated, before lifting his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. “That’s it,” he murmured. “I mean, that’s my entire story,” He balanced his glasses back, and when he looked at Yeonjun, the boy looked empathetic. He leaned back against the couch cushions, fiddling with his fingers. “I grew up here, but I want to leave one day,” he said. Soobin sat his empty rice box down and settled against the couch more, listening intently. Yeonjun had give him all of his attention, it was only fair. “It’s difficult, because I’m kind of, er, tied down at the moment,” he said, closing off a bit. He almost glared at the ground, before the look disappeared and he was back to talking about what he did for a living. He worked with computers, data entry mostly, something that kept him at home a lot, and unable to socialise much. When Soobin asked if he was magical, he gave a vague answer, and Soobin couldn’t press for more information, because Yeonjun then asked if he could play some of his vinyls, and they spent the rest of the evening singing along to Queen and Cindy Lauper.
And that was the start of their friendship. Over the course of the next several weeks, Yeonjun and Soobin grew closer, visiting each other’s apartments and going on little trips to the only Starbucks in town for too sugary coffee. They had begun asking if the other needed something at the grocery store when they went, and it didn’t take long for both of them to spend nearly every evening together. It made Soobin so happy to have a friend, especially one as considerate as Yeonjun, who always let him complain about his shifts at work or his issues with the world. And in turn, Soobin helped Yeonjun escape as much as he could. Whether that was him finding new movies to watch on the weekends, or dragging the older to small little sights in the town, it always put Yeonjun in such a good mood, and that made Soobin happy as well.
They got along well, they just clicked, and Soobin wondered if maybe they had been pre-destined to meet. And he couldn’t deny that he had a crush on the boy. How could he not? With him being that gorgeous, and that understanding, it was almost inevitable. But Soobin ignored the fluttering of his heart, and the urge to just pull Yeonjun into his lap and kiss him silly. He would never act on his feelings, he didn’t want to risk ruining such a perfect friendship. Yeonjun was just so sweet, and always cuddling him, kissing his cheek, ruffling his hair, and sure, that made it difficult. But Soobin would survive. Because Yeonjun was worth it.
He hadn’t forgotten his neighbour’s comment from the first day they met. To protect his heart. He still didn’t know what it meant, but if protecting his heart meant also protecting Yeonjun’s heart, he would do everything he could. And he didn’t want the older to feel pressured into reciprocating Soobin’s feelings. And so Soobin brushed it under the rug, and just enjoyed being Yeonjun’s friend. And he still had his trusty friend the cat, who he had started seeing less and less, but would still run into at every few days, and he would pet it, and give it updates on his life, particularly his friendship with Yeonjun.
On one such occasion, Soobin was perched out on his fire escape, the wind a cool breeze through his hair. Yeonjun had left an hour ago, after they had spent hours playing monopoly and nearly clawing at each other’s throats on suspicions of cheating. It had ended with lots of laughter and Soobin being tackled by Yeonjun, and when he left, Soobin stared at the door, and sighed just a little. It was only going to get harder to keep his feelings to himself as time went on.
As he sat, staring out at the black abyss that was the night sky, he felt a soft brushing over his arm. He flinched, before seeing it was the cat. He exhaled a shaky giggle, before immediately petting its hair, smiling. “Hello, cat-ssi, how are you?” he asked. The cat purred, nuzzling back into Soobin’s hand. Soobin sighed, continuing to pet. He liked the contact, but he craved a human’s touch. “I think I might be in love with Yeonjun-hyung,” he confessed. It felt so weird but also so relieving to say. He spoke it to the universe and to the cat, who had stopped nuzzling his hand. He turned to look at it, blushing despite himself. The cat’s eyes were bright in the darkness, yellow against black, and Soobin could feel that the animal had tensed beneath his hand.
“I know, it’s completely pathetic, and I don’t expect him to feel the same way, so I’m trying to ignore my feelings,” he said, quieter. It felt good to get it off of his chest, even if it was just to a cat. Said cat moved then, stealthily stepping onto Soobin’s thighs, and settling in his lap. It was the first time it had done that, but it made Soobin smile a bit, and it comforted him. So he pet the cat, and continued to speak. “He’s just so thoughtful, and kind, and he makes me feel so much, and I just…all I want to do is scoop him up and kiss his stupidly pretty face,” he laughed to himself at that comment, before sighing again. “I just want to take him on adventures, you know? He feels so trapped here, and all I want to do is fix that,” he breathed, voice a little pained.
He fell silent then, the only sound the cat’s soft purring. As Soobin stroked its back and neck, he felt something brush over his fingers that was decidedly not cat hair. He furrowed his brow, returning to the spot at the cat’s neck, and looking down as he traced what felt like a thin string. The cat didn’t seem to mind, even lifted its head a bit, and Soobin’s fingers wrapped around what felt like a key. “What? What is that, cat-ssi?” he asked, not pulling it off, feeling it. The cat only stared up at him, but it kept its neck lifted, almost as if giving Soobin permission to remove the key. He hesitated, before carefully lifting it off of the cat’s neck. He swore he had never noticed it before. He brought the key up to his face, and examined it. It didn’t have any sort of label or inscription. It was just a copper key, but Soobin had a weird feeling about it.
He looked at the cat, before carefully tying the string around his wrist, so he wouldn’t lose it. “I’ll take good care of it, cat-ssi, I promise,” he assured, going back to petting its back. A strange sense of finality had settled over him, and his brain was a bit cloudy, but he blamed it on the late hour.
The next evening, when Yeonjun sat down on the couch, Soobin could tell something was off. When he had opened the door, the older had hugged him, nuzzling his neck, and pressing some sloppy kisses on his cheek in greeting. It had stunned Soobin only slightly, and as he looked at his hyung, and saw the look of sheer hope on his face, he knew something was up. “Did you get some good news?” he asked, as he sat down. Yeonjun hesitated, before turning sideways to face Soobin full-on. “Did you know anything about this place before you moved here? Like any old prophecies?” he asked. Soobin scrunched his brows, shaking his head as he turned too.
Yeonjun smiled a bit, scooting closer, resting his hands on Soobin’s knees. “So you don’t know about the Desired and the key, then?” he prompted. Immediately, Soobin thought of the key currently resting on his wrist underneath his jumper sleeve. But he shook his head, because he literally had no idea what Yeonjun was going on about. The older hesitated, before reaching a hand up to his neckline, fingers dipping below and then pulling out a key, attached to a string. Soobin’s eyes widened as he saw it was an exact copy of the key that was wrapped around his wrist. “Hyung? What is going on?” he asked, starting to get very confused, as well as very nervous. His heart was racing, almost as if his body knew something he didn’t.
“There’s a prophecy, that whoever can acquire the key, can acquire the Desired,” Yeonjun started to explain. He still wasn’t making sense, but he had taken Soobin’s hand in his own, and that was enough to shut Soobin up. “Most people, they just tried to take the key by force, they didn’t take their time, and so they never were able to get it. They would hear the prophecy, and they would see what they would be getting, and they did everything they could to get it, including hurting the one they were trying to acquire,” he paused then, taking a deep breath. His eyes were shining, almost as if he were holding back tears, and Soobin’s heart ached. He leaned forward a bit, squeezing the older’s hand back.
“But you, you showed up, and you treated the Desired with kindness, and compassion, and you didn’t even know,” Yeonjun continued, voice starting to get a little shaky. “You had no idea, and because of that, I knew that you were the one, you were who the prophecy was talking about, it’s y-you,” he finished, voice breaking on the last word. Soobin looked down as Yeonjun slowly pushed his sleeve up, and unwrapped the key from around his wrist. He held it in his hand, and took off the key hanging around his neck. He held them in one hand, and Soobin stared at them. His heart felt like it was going to fly away, and his brain was just scrambling to make sense of it all. The prophecy, his role in it, and how Yeonjun looked on the verge of bursting into happy tears.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Yeonjun only smiled, closing his hand around the keys, moving even closer to Soobin, their knees knocking together. He lifted a hand to cup Soobin’s cheek, and his voice was so soft when he spoke. “You asked once if I was magical, and I didn’t give you a straight answer,” he whispered. Soobin swallowed, skin hot where he felt Yeonjun’s hand, and he couldn’t look away if he tried. Time had slowed, and it was suddenly just the two of them, suspended in animation. “I am magical,” Yeonjun admitted. “I’m a shapeshifter,”
And suddenly, as if the truth was an actual wave that came crashing over Soobin, it all made sense. The cat, how well he got along with it and how well he got along with Yeonjun. Yeonjun’s bright yellow hair and the cat’s bright yellow eyes, how good of a listener they both were, how they shared so many traits. How Soobin always thought the cat was actually understanding him. Why he felt so drawn to Yeonjun. Why he chose this middle-of-nowhere town to restart his life in. And why Yeonjun had warned him to protect his heart. Why he himself felt trapped. The aggressive woman that one morning who had tried grabbing the cat. Yeonjun. Who had tried grabbing Yeonjun.
The prophecy was about Yeonjun. He was the Desired, and Soobin was the one worthy enough to have him.
“Holy fucking shit,” he finally said, his emotions high. Yeonjun let out a watery laugh, before moving fully into Soobin’s space, climbing up and settling in his lap. Soobin’s hands automatically found their spots on Yeonjun’s waist, and he tilted his head to look up at him. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you,” he whispered, a few tears leaking out. “When we first met, when I was shifted, I didn’t think it was real, I didn’t want to believe that it was you. And then, when you confessed to me on the fire escape, I knew it had to be you,” Soobin swallowed back his own tears, his grip tightening, and his heart threatening to fly away. It was all so overwhelming, but in the best way possible, and he didn’t know what to think.
But he would have time to process it all later. Yeonjun would help him, and he would get all of his questions answered. For now, he pulled his hyung closer, and took a deep breath. “Does…does this mean you love me too?” he breathed, eyes slipping closed. He heard Yeonjun laugh, hands cupping his face and thumbs stroking his cheekbones. “It means we’re soulmates, lovely,” he replied, voice sickeningly sweet like honey. Soobin exhaled, pulling Yeonjun even closer. “I really fucking like the sound of that,” he replied, eyes still closed.
“Yeah, me too,” Yeonjun said, before Soobin felt a pair of gentle lips pressing against his.