Work Text:
They’re attached at the lip the first time they enter San’s flat.
Actually, they’re still stuck in the hallway; San barely has the ability to fit his key in his lock, too preoccupied with the act of kissing Mingi silly.
“One second,” San mumbles against his mouth, pulling away. He successfully unlocks the door and doesn’t even get the chance to take his shoes off before he’s being pressed to the nearest wall.
Mingi’s assertiveness startles him, his heart beating fast at the pair of hands on the wall, framing his head. He closes his eyes when Mingi leans down and captures his mouth with a surprising gentleness and wraps his arms around Mingi’s neck to draw him closer.
He refuses to let Mingi go, taking his shoes off without even using his hands. He’s toeing his sneakers off with a considerable amount of trouble because his laces are too tight.
The foolish person he once was just hours ago probably wasn’t expecting this.
“God, why did I do that,” San groans.
Mingi just watches him struggling and huffs out a laugh at his frustration.
Then San gets even more frustrated at Mingi’s ease from simply stepping out of his dress shoes, because he dresses nicely.
Eventually San does end up getting his sneakers off his feet, haphazardly kicking them to his floor mat. He breathes out, relieved. Now they’re in their socks and ready to advance to his room.
Then Mingi closes the door behind them and the entryway becomes dark.
“Sannie,” he begins, “Where’s the light switch?”
San pats the area of the wall next to him until he smacks the light on, revealing a clear image of Mingi’s disheveled appearance which is awfully close to his.
“Oh,” and San almost laughs even though he shouldn’t. He’s the one who caused the sight in front of him in the first place, after all.
Mingi also seems struck by whatever San looks like as well. He initiates another kiss, making San yelp as his body is tugged at.
They almost topple over until Mingi hurries to steady his body by his waist, pulling him closer until he’s flushed to Mingi’s front.
“Careful!” Mingi warns. “Are you okay?”
“Sorry! I’m fine.” San laughs. He stands upright without Mingi’s support. “Are you alright?”
“I’m great,” he grins, and they share a good moment until a small mewl directly behind them startles them both, sounding high-pitched and almost whiny.
San tenses up, realizing what it is without having to look back. He’s tightening his jaw with apprehension as Mingi lifts his chin to peer over his shoulder, meeting eyes with a Siamese cat perched on top of the coffee table they were about to fall onto.
The cat begins to stand up, her raised tail swaying back and forth. She peers at Mingi with her big doll eyes, ones that San’s way too used to seeing when she wants to play or eat. Instead, she’s studying Mingi with those eyes, not uttering a peep.
It’s surprising how quiet she is right now. Usually she would be meowing up a storm. Maybe it’s because Mingi’s unfamiliar to her.
“How pretty,” Mingi admires. “What’s her name?”
“Her name is Byeol.” San tells him and twists around, holding a small staring contest with his cat. Through telepathy he sends some signals that he sincerely wishes that she won’t have a strong reaction to Mingi unlike everyone he brought over before.
Historically, Byeol exhibited tolerance to everyone unless they were dating her owner. Wooyoung got hissed at for simply sitting down on the couch and Yunho even received the wrath of her claws once, which was very alarming.
Sometimes San thinks she has a sixth sense for relationships but isn’t sure about it at the same time. Even after they’ve broken up, he still thinks Wooyoung and Yunho are wonderful people.
Mingi is different, or so he hopes. For starters, they’re not dating; they just like to hang out and make out.
In the end, it’s Byeol’s call. She pads across the table and jumps off of it, sauntering towards the two. Time stops and several questions manifest in San’s head.
Will she run away? Will she claw Mingi’s leg? Will she claw San’s leg instead, demanding food even though he filled her dish not too long ago?
Instead, Byeol does the unimaginable. She meows and bumps her nose against Mingi’s ankle, sniffing him for a moment.
Then, unfazed, she slithers through the space between their legs and disappears to the hall. Her voice can still be heard but she doesn’t sound upset at all.
San lets out the breath he’s been holding, relieved while shocked by what just happened.
“So...” Mingi’s voice snaps his focus back to the matter at hand.
With his spirit restored, San grabs the front of Mingi’s shirt with a newfound purpose, which is to make him feel good. He kisses Mingi, letting his hands wander, his fingers travelling past his waistband. His fingers dip down teasingly before moving up the bare skin of his stomach.
Mingi sighs pleasurably in his mouth, exciting San by being able to get such a reaction.
San’s not sure which one, but he’s determined to set some new world record with just how fast he’ll undress Mingi when they get to his room.
There will obviously be a time when Mingi pulls out but San isn’t ready to face it yet. He takes a deep breath, bracing himself. Mingi steadily inches back, stroking San’s legs in a quiet apology for his soreness and to get him to relax.
Mingi’s attempt works as San’s body deflates beneath his hands. The bed shifts when Mingi gets up to toss the condom in the trash.
He’s still lying when Mingi approaches the bed. Mingi stops halfway to throw himself on top of San’s body, punching all the air out of him with his weight.
“Mingi!” San wheezes.
Mingi kind of resembles a body pillow at this moment, tall and heavy and completely barren of clothing. Good thing San loves body pillows. Feeling devious, he traps Mingi with all of his limbs, locking him in place as he clings to him like a koala.
He doesn’t let up even as Mingi tries escaping, wriggling in his arms. Eventually he gives up, his body shaking with laughter, making San grant him mercy.
Mingi breathes out in relief, rolling onto his side.
“D’you want to sleep over? I don’t mind. The bus is most likely closed this late,” San offers with the concern of a friend and definitely not out of a small part of him which wants to be with him longer. “You can even shower first because I still can’t move.”
Mingi chuckles. “That would be nice.”
“I have a couple of new toothbrushes lying around. They should be in the mirror cabinet.”
“Mm, okay. Thank you, Sannie,” and it takes a while for Mingi to get up because San wanted to hold him longer.
The door clicks shut when Mingi leaves and he musters all the strength in him to get up to crack the door open again. Sometimes Byeol will come in at night if she needs something. He immediately goes back to the bed then, grabbing his pants along the way.
He’s lying back down again, clumsily fitting his legs through his pant holes.
With some restless rolling and movement, he ends up partially clothed with his upper half hanging off the bed. He scrolls through his phone for a bit until he hears Byeol making her presence known with a “mrrow” at the door.
“Hello there.” San blinks once and Byeol’s face is already so close to his that he can count her whiskers.
He gives her some scritches on the top of her head. Hearing her purr makes him smile, his fingers moving behind her ears.
Byeol basks in the attention until she suddenly freezes up. San halts his petting then, wondering what’s wrong when Byeol skitters out the room.
Mingi returns then, pressing himself to the doorframe to let Byeol zoom past him.
He appears upside-down with one of San’s towels wrapped around his waist, one that is very low and very loose. It leaves very little to the imagination, but it’s not like San needs his imagination at this point.
“It’s your turn,” Mingi says. His hand brushes against the towel and it all falls to the ground.
San just stares at him. Pleased with what he sees, he hums, “Mm.”
“Go shower, Sannie.” Mingi bends over to collect the towel and his discarded clothes about the room.
San continues getting his eyeful. “Mhm.”
“Are you even listening to me?” Mingi’s body snaps up straight. He glares at San without any weight, his lip twitching as he fights back a smile.
San watches him fitting his legs through his slacks and that’s what spurs him to get up. Sitting up, he interjects, “Mingi, you don’t have to wear your old clothes. I have some that might be your size.”
He goes to his dresser to find some new clothes, handing them to Mingi.
Mingi takes the clothes. “Thank you.” He surges forward and presses a kiss to San’s cheek in gratitude. “But really, go shower.”
San practically floats out of the room after that. He showers as fast as humanly possible while still achieving cleanliness. He hurries so he can join Mingi in bed and sleep.
Mingi appears to be a lifeless lump underneath the blankets but when San crawls into bed beside him, there’s a pair of arms circling around his waist. He can’t help the smile which spreads across his face, feeling safe and warm in Mingi’s arms.
In the morning, sunlight peeks through the curtains and fills up the room. San never bothered to get blackout curtains before because he likes waking up to the natural light.
Their positions are different when he awakens. He’s hugging Mingi from behind with a leg hooked over his waist. His arms are trapped beneath Mingi’s where they’re crossed over his torso. They’re more entangled than ever and San is unable to get up.
He spares a glance behind himself to the door. It’s open wide enough for Byeol to come in, which she does eventually. San waits in anticipation to hear her meows to get him to feed her.
Byeol jumps on the bed, trekking across the terrain of the blanket covering their intertwined limbs until she meets San’s back. He bites his lip, resisting a laugh from coming out as Byeol bumps her nose to his spine. She meows.
“Mhhrm...” San mumbles.
“Mrrow. Mrrow!” Hey, what are you doing? Feed me! he imagines Byeol saying.
Byeol then starts kneading her paws on the blanket, right on top of San’s back. It’s sort of pleasant until she increases her aggravation and for a moment San understands what her scratching post goes through everyday.
He twists around to pet her behind the ears. She stops pawing at him until he turns back around. Clearly, that’s not what she wanted, and the nudging becomes more insistent afterwards.
Then San doesn’t feel anything at all as Byeol has stopped. She’s probably trying to find another way to get his attention.
Revving herself up with a meow, she climbs on top of her owner’s body. Once successfully perched on top of him, she paces up and down his blanket-wrapped side, making him whine.
“Byeol-ah...”
Byeol steps on San’s shoulder then and the next place her paws land is his cheek. He’s way too used to this, accepting the fact that he won’t be able to go back to sleep unless he gets up. He lets Byeol walk across his face.
When San still doesn’t budge, Byeol reaches out to touch whatever’s lying beside him. The whatever in question is Mingi’s sleeping body.
That’s when the nightmare really begins, or so San thinks as he hastily sits up.
But Byeol surprises him again. She doesn’t reveal her claws and instead touches Mingi’s face as if he’s a bowl of water, gently putting her paw to him and quickly retracting her arm when she thinks he’s alive.
San speechlessly watches the scene in front of him.
Byeol presses harder, squishing Mingi’s cheek under the pressure of her paw. San’s fully ready to scold her until Mingi opens his eyes, awakening to Byeol only pressing her paw to his nose then.
Once Byeol has had enough or realizes that all two humans in the flat are finally awake, she leaps off the bed and rushes out the room.
Mingi blinks, trying to process what just happened. He notices San stir behind him.
“Oh. Good morning.”
San adverts his attention from the door to Mingi grinning up at him and feels something strong and almost painful manifest in his chest.
Now that it’s morning, Mingi has to leave soon.
“Good morning,” San smiles.
A small part of him wants Mingi to stay, but voicing that out loud is the last thing he wants to do. He doesn’t want to send him out so soon either, so he also avoids asking about the ride home and says instead, “Sorry you had to wake up to Byeol thinking you’re playdough.”
“It’s alright!” Mingi chuckles, touching the spots on his face Byeol touched. “I’m honored, really. You must be used to it.”
“If I don’t get up then she will do anything to make me. That’s my princess,” San sighs, getting up. “I have to feed her now.”
“Alright.”
And as San gets up, he has the sudden urge to steal a quick kiss from Mingi, morning breath and everything. But he doesn’t want to complicate things or scare him away now that it’s the morning after. So he doesn’t.
He enters the kitchen where Byeol waits for him, swinging her tail around. He’s opening Byeol’s canned food while the cat in question repeatedly meows and circles around his feet.
“Breakfast is coming soon, your Highness,” he responds. He takes the bowl he filled with her food and places it on her designated stand, Byeol trotting behind him the entire way.
San gives her a few light scratches behind her ear before letting her tend to her meal, going back to the kitchen to fill her other bowl with water.
Eventually, Mingi emerges, changed into his clothes from last night. San presses his lips together to hide his disappointment, wishing the only thing that could leave is his selfishness.
“You’re going?”
“Yeah, I’ll miss the bus if I went out later. Thank you for having me over, Sannie,” Mingi thanks him sweetly.
“It’s no problem. Stay safe, okay?” San follows Mingi to the door to send him out.
Noticing the shuffle of sound against the doormat, Byeol perks her head up from her dish and also joins them at the front door. San has to move aside to let her plop herself down at the doorway.
San imagines she’s gazing up at Mingi with those irresistible eyes that could hold a galaxy in them. Mingi’s touch is on the doorknob but gives in when he sees Byeol, crouching down to pet her gently.
Byeol purrs contentedly and babbles in her typical fashion while Mingi smiles softly at her reaction. “Ah, I really have to go! You're so cute, though... sorry, friend,” Mingi sounds remorseful as he stands up.
“Bye, Sannie,” Mingi gives San one last smile which is reciprocated. His hand is still on the doorknob. Is he stalling? San kind of wishes so but he doesn’t want to make Mingi late.
“See you!”
Once Mingi leaves, San just watches the door close, feeling regretful.
Byeol meows, drawing her owner’s attention.
San shakes his head to clear his thoughts and goes back to the kitchen to get her water. He places the water dish on her usual stand, separate from her food.
San sits beside her and absentmindedly strokes the fur on her back as she drinks.
Now it’s quiet again, not that he minds, but a small part of him misses having company already.
“I can’t wait to beat you,” Yeosang tells him, rubbing his hands together.
He’s only over to play games against San and see Byeol. Yeosang is one of the few people who she’s especially fond of and he makes sure to take advantage of that, hogging all of her attention whenever he comes over.
Byeol slips into Yeosang’s lap and makes a nest in the space of his folded legs, purring when Yeosang pets her.
“I think you meant you can’t wait to lose,” San replies, booting up the game.
“Absolutely not,” Yeosang says, shifting his position around. His nose scrunches up like he’s uncomfortable, but not because of Byeol. He reaches behind himself and pulls out a jacket draped across the back of the couch.
“This isn’t yours,” Yeosang says, because he just knows. “And it’s not mine, either.”
“No, it’s not either of ours,” San agrees. “It’s Mingi’s.”
“Mingi’s here?” Yeosang raises his brows.
“No, he just forgot it here. I gave him a key so he’ll probably come by later to get it,” San explains nonchalantly.
“I didn’t know you’re dating.”
“I’m not dating anyone.”
There’s no need to hide the nature of their relationship, San knows, yet he finds himself holding back from mentioning any more. He wants to tell Yeosang everything, how he feels, what he thinks, because he has a lot to say and Yeosang has always made it clear that he’s always there for him when needed.
But there’s Yeosang who’s unconditionally caring because he loves his friends, and there’s Yeosang the skeptic because of his friend’s questionable decisions or perceptions.
He’s baffled when he says, “Really?”
“Yes. What?” San asks when Yeosang’s still giving him a strange look.
“You’re just fucking but you gave him a key to your house?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“For starters, he’ll rob you,” Yeosang tells him.
The thought of Mingi running away with his belongings is so ridiculous that San laughs. “Rob me? What will he take, my emergency choco pie stash? I have nothing!”
“Byeol is worth a house,” Yeosang says. “And then he’ll break up with you and maybe sue you because he got mauled by your cat.”
“He’ll probably return her because she loves him so much!” San giggles again, imagining Byeol even trying to follow Mingi home after he loots her owner’s snacks. Yeosang stares at him with his mouth open. “What?”
“Um. Did you just say that Byeol loves him?” Yeosang gasps.
“Yeah?”
“And you’re not dating? Are you sure?”
“We’re not!” Noticing they’re still on the title screen, San picks up his controller. He mumbles, “Gosh, I didn’t know you were so invested in my life.”
Yeosang leans off the couch to take his controller, holding Byeol so she won’t get frightened and jump off of his lap. “I’m not that obsessed with you. I just think it’s funny that she seems to like some guy you exclusively hook up with more than all your long term relationships. Anyway, I have a cat in my lap so I’m gonna win.”
“What!” San gives him an offended squawk. “No way!”
It’s hard to focus on the game when San’s head keeps travelling, mulling over what exactly Yeosang said.
Yeosang doesn’t even need to see the behavior with his own eyes because he’s right. Byeol likes Mingi more than she ever liked Wooyoung or Yunho.
Because Byeol has never gone from playing or napping or doing anything to sprinting to the entryway, plopping herself in front of the door waiting for Wooyoung to come in because she could smell him.
She never climbed into Yunho’s lap, revealing her belly as she rolled over and wrestled with his dangling hoodie strings. She never sought his hand to groom him as if he was her own kind.
She never followed either of them as they made their way to the door, getting ready to leave. She didn’t fix herself besides San’s feet and cried, begging for them to not go.
With Mingi, it’s like Byeol knows how to read minds, taking the unsaid words right out of San’s mouth and translating them to her meows every time: Stay, stay!
San isn’t sure what makes Mingi different in her eyes but he’s so glad she’s taken a liking to him. But the last point hurts his heart especially, knowing just how attached she’s gotten to Mingi that she even protests when he leaves.
Byeol always gets mopey after the door shuts. Her sitting posture deflates and her cries fade out once she figures out there’s no one else around to respond besides San.
San scoops her up, cradling her body in his arms. She seems calmer already, blinking slowly as she gazes up at her owner’s face.
San presses his lips to the top of her head and pulls back to ask, “You like him, don’t you?”
“Mrrow!” Of course I do! San’s smile has a sad edge to it, tight-lipped followed by a heavy sigh. He lowers his voice to a whisper, releasing a secret only known between the two of them.
“Well, guess what? I do, too.”
San just knows it’s one of those days when he’s startled awake by a rumble of thunder and the pelting of rain against the streets outside. His room isn’t as illuminated as it should be compared to a sunshine-filled morning; the little bit of sky he’s able to see out the window is dark and gray with rolling clouds.
As expected, Byeol is nowhere to be immediately seen. She hates thunderstorms.
San struggles to get up, still groggy, but manages to get on his feet to check Byeol’s usual hiding places.
His apartment is rather small so there aren’t that many spots for Byeol to hide. He starts with the bathroom but knows she’s not here since sound bounces off of each other in the room. He takes the opportunity to wash his face before heading out.
His other option to check is this box which stored one of the parts from the cat tower San ordered for her. She actually squeezes herself into the box more than she even climbs on the cat tower.
As expected, she’s curled up in the box. She makes a sound when San’s shadow covers her.
“Good morning, princess,” he says fondly.
Byeol meows and tucks herself further inward at the clap of thunder.
San won’t force her out of her safe box by picking her up so he goes to the kitchen instead to prepare her meal.
Byeol doesn’t leave her box but the scent of food stimulates enough curiosity to make her peek out of it.
“Byeol-ah, let’s eat,” he says.
Byeol contemplates the offer, swinging the bit of her tail around that’s hanging out of the box. She scurries to follow San where he’s placing her dishes on her stands.
San waits for her to finish before taking her bowls to clean them. “Good job.” He strokes her back before she makes her way back to the box.
San then does his bare-bones morning routine, which includes taking a shower, slipping into some shorts and his favorite hoodie, and going back out to the kitchen to poke his head in the fridge in search of any leftover takeout he can eat.
If he doesn’t have leftovers then he’ll make a bowl of cereal. Having fruit is one of his very last resorts, but if there’s absolutely nothing left then he’ll have an apple.
He really needs to learn how to cook one day.
By midday the storm has subsided and Byeol has significantly calmed down, yet she doesn’t want to play at all.
“Byeol-ah,” San calls out. He waves around the wand of her favorite feather toy.
It usually entices her but Byeol, lying down, only watches him and rolls over, facing away from him.
It’s unlike her to be so lifeless during the day. Concern nags at him and he goes to kneel beside her to see her face, making sure she’s alright.
Byeol seems to be fine but her mood is clearly dampered by something, maybe the weather. San’s worry barely subsides but his heart just breaks seeing her so out of character.
He goes back to the living room and pulls up Netflix, hoping he’ll find something good enough to make the day pass by.
He can’t stick with a single series, watching a couple of minutes of the pilot before tabbing out. The storylines are too plain, the characters are too archetypal, and San is being too nitpicky as he does when he gets sad and lonely.
Byeol jumps on the couch and lies down beside him. San strokes her back and pulls out his phone, unable to help himself anymore.
i miss you
San cringes from reading what he typed and quickly erases it. Sending that would be way too forward of him and he’d probably make Mingi steer clear away from even thinking about seeing him ever again.
He pulls up his camera app and snaps a photo of him petting Byeol.
this cutie misses you, he sends instead with the picture.
Mingi responds quickly, as he always does. It makes San wonder if he’s fast to reply with everyone. The delusional part of him hopes that Mingi is in fact a slow replier and San is just his exception.
which one’s the cutie here? lol but i miss her (and you) too!
San makes a choked up noise from the back of his throat, making Byeol flinch and leap off the couch to get away from the being who just made that sound.
He has a hard time getting himself together after Mingi’s text, having to stand up himself and silently pace around the room. Then he realizes he didn’t even write a reply, basically leaving Mingi hanging.
the cutie can be whoever you want San types with his thumb hovering over the send button. He thinks about adding something else, something controversial yet brave. His heart lurches in his chest when he actually sends it with the additional: do you want to come over?
His phone chimes instantly. sure!
He knows when Mingi arrives without even hearing knocking on the door. Byeol skitters across the flat, her tail wagging in the air as she waits for the door to open.
San’s holed up in his room contemplating a new outfit. In the end he only changes into a pair of skinny jeans and keeps his hoodie on.
He hurries to answer the door, only realizing Mingi has a spare key when the doorknob twists and Mingi is really there in front of him, stepping inside.
“Hi, Sannie!” Mingi greets, chuckling at Byeol excitedly coming up to him. “Hey, friend!”
And San would be a little embarrassed by Byeol’s behavior as she practically smothers Mingi with affection, nuzzling her head against his leg. But Mingi’s not a stranger, reciprocating her love so much that maybe she just thinks he’s her second dad-butler at this point.
As cheesy as it sounds, San’s night is made with Mingi just being there. Mingi offers to make ramyun, too, and while the broth is boiling they curl up on the couch, holding each other.
Suddenly the Netflix programs San tried watching earlier aren’t so bad when he’s snug against Mingi’s side, beneath Mingi’s arm pulled over his shoulders, and they’re quietly poking fun at some of the acting and spoken lines together.
Byeol joins them eventually, burrowing herself in San’s lap before rolling around in Mingi’s lap, making them chuckle. She purrs when Mingi pets her back, rolling over to bat at the dangling zipper from his jacket.
Mingi grins down at her while San quietly watches the two, completely enamored. He wishes he could be able to see this all the time.
Mingi notices San’s gaze, turning to him with an upturned eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing,” San shakes his head and hugs Mingi’s side, shifting his focus back to the TV and the love story unfolding in front of them.
A different morning comes. San feels as if he lived yesterday through a dream when he wakes up.
Not only did he just spend the night with Mingi, he basically spent the entire day with him, and loved every second of it.
He leans off the bed to grab his phone, remembering all the photos he took.
Most of the places they went to were Mingi’s idea. He seemed to have the entire day planned out and all he asked of San was if he wanted to come with. They mostly took the subway and walked if the next place was nearby.
He starts with the first location, an art museum. The first few photos are ones of the art and its descriptions on the informational stands.
The next set of photos surprises him. The focal point was Mingi himself, namely his side view as he examined one of the exhibitions. As the photographer, San didn’t even bother to include the art in question.
As he flips through the pictures, he’s flustered by just how many sets follow this pattern. Aquarium. Coral in a tank. Blue light reflecting through the tank, off of Mingi’s face and eyes as he gazes in wonder at the colorful fish.
Ice cream shop. A few photos capturing the front entrance because of its appealing retro design. They’re in a booth with a sundae in the middle of the table and Mingi’s covering his mouth with his hand to hide his smile but not his nose which has vanilla ice cream on it.
A park. The sun starts setting. It’s beautiful. He remembers Mingi wanted them to take a picture together.
They didn’t have a stand so they placed the phone against some tree. Once the countdown began, they hurried to the place in the park where all they looked like were silhouettes against the sun.
With an arm around his waist, Mingi drew San’s body closer towards him. Even though the camera probably couldn’t even pick it up, San grinned until his face hurt.
There was no shutter noise when the countdown ended. “Oh, it’s a video!” San called out.
“What!” Mingi laughed, running over to get the phone. The camera angle rose with Mingi’s arm.
San hears his own shout in the background, probably rushing over to retrieve his phone. Mingi looked into the camera and his tongue peeked out past his teeth as he winked.
Then the video ends.
San taps the heart to mark it as ‘favorite’.
Well, those were the memories of their nice... outing.
It wasn’t a date, San tells himself. They didn’t call it anything. It was just a sporadic moment of Mingi wanting to hang out with someone and San just happening to be that someone.
The most they ever did during the day was hold hands. San didn’t kiss him until they got to his room and Mingi’s hands were already wandering, slotting his thigh between San’s while they were still flushed together and standing.
Now, Mingi’s asleep beside him, or he was. San stops chewing his lip to acknowledge that there’s no longer snores filling up the room and Mingi’s smiling at him first thing in the morning.
“Good mo—”
San doesn’t care how desperate or clingy he sounds anymore. He has to say it before he bursts. “Please don’t leave.”
Mingi blinks. “Why would I?”
His reaction makes San question everything he’s ever thought. He reels back, “I... I don’t know.”
“Only assholes would go on big dates and then ditch. And I’m not an asshole. Or I hope I’m not,” Mingi says as he sits up. He looks at San and tilts his head. “Wow, someone’s really happy all of a sudden?”
Mingi matches his smile despite how unnerved he may be. San must look like a fool grinning without reason but he doesn’t care.
Now he will finally do something he’s never got to do with his partners before.
San springs out of bed, grabbing Mingi’s hands. “I’m going to teach you how to feed Byeol!”
“Wh—” Mingi squawks at being pulled out of bed. “Okay!”
San shows Mingi the kitchen cabinet specifically reserved for Byeol’s food. He knows Mingi likes cats (obviously) but he’s still pretty unfamiliar with how to take care of one.
He picks out a small tin, handing it to Mingi and telling him, “I’m going to go wash my face. If Byeol ever comes around, give her this.”
“Okay,” Mingi nods.
San is only somewhat worried when he returns, mainly on Mingi’s behalf. Byeol can get picky when someone else tries to feed her, even though it’s the same food that’s being offered.
He hears Byeol and her usual noisy voice in the kitchen and relaxes, knowing things are fine.
She’s perched on top of the counter. Mingi’s feeding her with a spoon. San stifles a laugh; next time, he’ll teach Mingi that she can eat out of a dish just fine. For now he watches them, leaning against the fridge.
Mingi scoops out the can with the spoon and brings it to Byeol’s mouth for her to lick it off. She isn’t making a fuss at all, only making a sound when Mingi isn’t feeding her.
He ruins the moment when he moves, or makes it better, because Mingi notices him and smiles at him, shyly, like he wasn’t expecting to be seen. “How am I doing?”
“You’re great,” San smiles. Once he gets closer, he strokes Byeol’s spine and coos at her. “Good morning. Did you give Mingi a hard time?”
“She’s an angel,” Mingi says.
Only to you, San wants to say, but stops himself. He wouldn’t hear the end of it if Mingi found out that he’s her favorite person.
Instead he chuckles, draws Mingi in by the strings from his shorts and kisses him. They’re only interrupted by Byeol who mewls and puts her paw on Mingi’s arm, begging him to feed her again.