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Park Jongseong is allergic to cats. It was the summer before he entered primary school when he found out. Little Jongseong, also known as Jay, wanted to spend his remaining days to the fullest. So that day, he went out of the house to play with his friend, Jake, at the park. He opened the door and grabbed his bike but he suddenly froze when he saw something interesting.
It was his neighbor, Heeseung, who was a year older than him, holding a kitten. He had never touched a cat. He tried to convince his parents to visit everytime they passed by a pet shop but they had always rejected him because his Mom was allergic to animals. Jay was just a kid full of curiosity so he immediately abandoned his bike and ran to the house in front of them.
He politely asked Heeseung if he could hold the kitten and the other kid agreed. Heeseung handed the cat slowly to him and when the cute creature was fully in his arms. After a few minutes, his nose started to get itchy and runny then he started to sneeze aggressively.
Heeseung immediately took the cat away from him and placed it back to his home then shouted to ask his mother for help. Heeseung's mom called his parents and after a while, his father arrived, then Jay was finally taken to the hospital.
When they were finally at home, he wished in his mind that the teachers in the kindergarten should've taught him genetics before he discovered that he also had the same allergy like his mom while taking the bitter medicine his Dad was currently feeding him.
He never dared to touch cats ever again--
Until Jay turned 21, a 3rd year college student, majoring in Business Management with a minor in Fashion Design at Seoul National University. He was about to go home at the dorm near the university but he suddenly heard something that made him stop. He may look tough and intimidating but he's afraid of bugs, especially ghosts.
His whole body got frozen so he couldn't move. Jay heard that strange sound again and he noticed that the noise came from the tree behind him. He slowly turned around his head and he was thankful that he wore his contact lens when he went outside because his eyes met a small fluffy creature, a cat.
He released a deep sigh of relief and was grateful that it was just a cat because he would've sprinted if it was a ghost. His relief turned into worry when he realized that the kitten was crying for help because the little one can't go back to the ground. Jay, the softhearted man he is, immediately tried to help.
Jay climbed the tree and when he was about to grab the cat, he remembered that he's allergic to them. He said to himself that maybe his allergy was not as bad as before when he was a kid and he can handle it just fine. But oh boy he was wrong.
When he already had the kitten secured in his arms his nose started to get itchy. He tried to go down swiftly but when he was about two steps away to safely land in the ground he let out an aggressive and loud sneeze that he tried so hard to suppress.
He got out of balance and his right arm hit the ground hard. Despite his arm aching, he checked if the cat was safe and thankfully they didn't get hurt. Jay tried to sit up and leaned on the tree for support. He used his right hand to dial the first number that he saw and hoped that they would answer it.
"Jay-hyung? It's almost 9pm already, why did you call?" answered by Jungwon.
Yang Jungwon, 19 years old, 1st year student of SNU, majoring in Engineering. How ironic that the first person who reminds Jay of cats a lot and the one Jay had been pining for since forever was the one who answered the call.
"Jungwonie, I need help."
"Jay-hyung, are you okay?! You sound like you are hurt!"
"No, I'm okay. I just fell from a tree and am currently experiencing an allergy attack."
"What?! How do you fall from a tree, experience an allergy attack, then be okay at the same time? Where are you?!"
"I'm near the convenience store around SNU that we always go to."
"Okay, just stay there and don't move. I'll be there immediately."
Jay was there sneezing every second and leaning on the tree with a broken arm while waiting for him. Jungwon arrived earlier than expected, he noticed that the cat-like boy was in his pajamas and was wearing his slippers incorrectly.
"How adorable."
"Are you serious, hyung? That's the first thing you could think of saying to me instead of explaining how you ended up like this?" Jungwon scolded him with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Sorry..."
"Save your explanation for later. Let's go to the nearest hospital. The cab I booked is waiting for us."
Jungwon went to his side and positioned his left arm to the younger's shoulder so that he could carry him. He had put his arms to his hyung's waist for support that made Jay blush a little. He hoped that his dongsaeng won't see that his ears are turning red like a tomato.
Even though Jungwon was shorter than Jay, the younger one had always been mentally and physically stronger than him, which were some of the long list of reasons that made the blonde admire him a lot. They managed to get inside the cab successfully and Jay finally told Jungwon the story on how he fell from the tree while laying his head on the younger's shoulder.
"Jay-hyung, you're so clumsy and careless of yourself. You already know that you've been allergic to cats since you were a kid right? What if you hit your head to the ground instead of your arms."
"Okay, I know that I'm allergic but the cat looked so helpless and scared you know. I can't help but to save them and I didn't know that I couldn't handle my allergic reactions because this is only the second time I touched a cat again. Wait a minute, how did you know how I discovered my allergy since I was a kid?"
"Heeseung-hyung told me! He said that you went to his house and touched their cat then Auntie called your Dad to bring you to the hospital."
"Oh my god. How many embarrassing stories did your cousin tell you about me? I will fight him once my arm is completely healed."
"Actually he told me a lot but I won't tell you what stories they are. I'm keeping my mouth shut." Jungwon laughed while teasing Jay.
'Heeseung that snitch, I will get back at him. How dare he tell my embarrassing stories to Jungwon'
When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor told Jay that he's lucky he only bruised his right arm and no bones were broken. They treated his arm and made him wear a cast that he should use for 3 days, bought the medications and paid for the bill. They immediately called a cab to go back to their dorm.
Jungwon carried him until they finally got inside Jay's place. Unlike most students, he has no roommates and has a better room than the others because well- his family is rich and his parents want the best for him while he's in the university. They dropped themselves on the sofa out of exhaustion.
"Thank you for today, Wonie. I'm glad it was you who accepted the call and helped me."
"No problem, hyungie. You're the one who always helps and takes care of me, I'm glad that I was able to help you too. Jay-hyung, can I ask a favor?"
"Of course, what do you want me to do?"
"Can I take a nap here before I go back to my dorm, even just for an hour. Hyung, I feel so tired."
"Sure, do you want to use my bed?"
"No, the couch is okay, it's already comfortable and soft."
"You can sleep on my lap while I'm watching TV. I'll wake you up after an hour."
"Thank you, hyungie."
Jay moved to the end of the couch and placed Jungwon's head on his lap. The younger must've been very tired because after a minute of him ruffling his dongsaeng's hair, he could already hear the soft snores coming from Jungwon.
Instead of watching TV, Jay focused on admiring the beauty sleeping in his lap. He moved the bangs of the younger to see his pretty face more clearly.
'His natural eyebrows look better than what beauty gurus do with their eyebrows on make-up tutorial videos on Youtube.'
'How can his nose be so pointed, it's so pretty.'
'Then his eyes, the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Those eyes that made me fall in just one glance.'
Jay remembers the first time he saw Jungwon. It was the summer before his last year as a high school student. His neighbor and childhood friend Heeseung invited him to play video games at his house like they always do. Jay was walking towards the gate of his friend's house when he noticed someone.
Even though he can only see the unknown person's back, he can tell that it's a guy shorter than him with a round head and wearing a black hoodie. While he was walking closer towards Heeseung's house the mystery guy turned around and Jay was stunned.
He thinks he just saw the prettiest guy he had ever seen in his life. The guy was smiling at him looking like he was holding the whole galaxy in his eyes while also showing the dimples on the side of his cheeks that are like a black hole which he can't help but fall into.
He's so cute and reminded Jay of a cat a lot. If a real cat could make him sneeze and make his nose itchy, this cat-like human could make his ears red and make his heart beat a little faster.
"Hi, are you Heeseung-hyung's friend? He is inside waiting for you. I'm his cousin, my name is Jungwon."
"My name is Jongseong but everyone calls me Jay, you can just call me Jay-hyung."
Jay already had crushes before on his guy and girl classmates before but this is different. When he discovered that Jungwon will be staying at Heeseung's place to study in their school, he wanted to get closer to the younger.
He started to visit Heeseung's house more often than before just to see Jungwon. Jay was content on seeing the younger, thinking that it's just a little crush which will disappear after a long time just like what happened with his crushes before but something shifted between the two of them.
School had already started and Jay met his teacher at the hallway on their lunch break and was asked to get the book she left at the music room before their class started. When Jay arrived at the music room he started to search for the book and when he found it, someone suddenly opened the door and went inside the room.
It was Jungwon. He was wearing his taekwondo uniform and he looked very anxious. He was sitting in front of the door while hugging his knees.
"S-Sorry, I thought no one was here. I'll get out immediately."
"No, stay here! Jungwon, are you okay? Look at me. What's the problem?" Jay said and kneeled in front of Jungwon then held his face. They were looking straight into each other's eyes.
"Let's calm down first. Breathe in, breathe out." Jungwon repeated what Jay was doing until he finally calmed down.
Jungwon finally decided to break the awkward silence and said with a low voice, "What if I mess up? What if they won't accept me in the club? What if I'm not good enough?"
"Jungwon, you are one of the most hardworking people I know. We're not that close but everytime I go to Heeseung's house, I always see you practicing and I'm impressed by what I've seen. Just do what you've practiced and trust yourself. If they don't accept you, it's their loss and not yours. I support you." Jay said and ruffled Jungwon's hair at the end.
"You were watching me?" the younger smiled which also showed his dimples that made the blonde blush, he felt the heat rushing in his ears making it get red.
"Uhm, sometimes hehe, only sometimes. Trust me, I don't look at you all the time. I'm not a creepy stalker. Promise." Jay raised his voice a little, acting like he's being accused of a crime.
"Okay, Jay-hyung, no need to get defensive. I get it. Thank you for making me calm down and motivating me. Don't worry, I won't let my hard work go to waste. I will make you proud." Jungwon told him with a sweet smile on his face.
"Let's go to the auditorium?" Jay stood up and reached his hand out for the younger.
"Let's go." Jungwon gladly accepted it. He held the blonde's hand and stood up.
They went together to the auditorium while holding each other's hands and Jay escorted Jungwon to the audition line. Sadly, the blonde had to go because the bell already rang. Before he exited the door he shouted-
"YANG JUNGWON, FIGHTING!"
Jungwon watched Jay waving his hands towards him before the blonde closed the door with a smile on his face. The words Jay said really helped him to calm down and it also gave him strength to face his fears. Thankfully, Jungwon aced the audition and also became a member of the taekwondo club.
After that incident, the two of them had gotten so much closer. When Jay came over to Heeseung's house, Jungwon started to join them playing video games. They started texting and calling each other to get to know themselves better. Jay started asking Jungwon to hangout with him on the weekends, going to different places like cafes, amusement parks and more usually with their friends then sometimes just the two of them.
Even when the blonde and Heeseung went to college, they still made time to hangout with Jungwon. Jay was thankful that his University was just near to their former highschool because he knew that he would lose his mind if he didn't see Jungwon for more than 2 weeks. School vacations were his favorite not just because he's away from school but it also meant visiting Heeseung's home every other day to spend more time with the younger.
They became an important person to each other's lives. Jungwon is Jay's safe place, the person he goes to when he's exhausted and his head is full of worries. Jungwon makes him feel soft and comfortable, like no one's gonna watch and judge him as long as he's leaning his head at the younger's (broad) shoulder. Yang Jungwon became his lifeline.
Jay isn't that dumb to not realize that he's in love with Jungwon because who doesn't? When the younger joined the taekwondo team and fought in different competitions inside and outside the school, he gained admirers. Which also meant different guys, especially girls confessing their feelings for Jungwon at the hallways but he politely turned down everyone.
Jay believed that the younger wasn't interested in anyone and just wanted to focus on his studies and taekwondo. He didn't want to be included in the long list of people who got rejected by Yang Jungwon. Like cats, Jungwon's trust is difficult to earn. The younger is the type of person who builds a wall for others and only chooses a few people who he can really trust to be close with him. It took Jay a long time to cross that wall and he would never want to ruin their friendship.
But sometimes it gets hard, especially in times like this when Jungwon's peacefully sleeping on his lap. He's so close yet so far. He gets to hug and hold the younger's hand but it's not enough, call him selfish but Jay wants more. He wanted to say to the world that Jungwon is his so that no one would dare to take him away from him. Jay wants to give everything to Jungwon, gifts, protection, love or anything the younger wants but he sadly can't by being just a friend.
Jay's phone started ringing, which means an hour had already passed by with just Jay admiring his dongsaeng. He tapped the younger's shoulder and tried to wake him up.
"Wonie, it's time to wake up." the blonde said with a hint of disappointment in his voice because he wants to spend more time with Jungwon.
"I wanna sleep more, hyungie." the younger mumbled in gibberish then grabbed Jay's left hand and held it like a pillow.
Jungwon must've been so tired at school and he felt bad because his dongsaeng wasted more energy by helping him instead of resting. It's the weekend tomorrow and Jay's sure Jungwon has no schedule for tomorrow so he decided to just let the younger to sleepover his apartment. Jay slowly moved Jungwon's head so he could stand up and get the pillows and blankets.
The blonde went back and forth to get the things he needed in his room using his available arm, especially the mattress that he will use to sleep near the sofa because he couldn't let Jungwon just sleep alone. There's still a possibility that a criminal may barge into his apartment to attack the younger (Jay just wanted to see his dongsaeng's face before he closed his eyes) and he wanted to be there to protect him. Jay finished setting up his mattress so he softly placed the blanket to the younger. He laid down and moved to glance at Jungwon for one last time then finally closed his eyes to sleep.
Jay woke up because of someone's loud voice. He was ready to fight someone when he realized it was his sweet little kitten Jungwon. Even if he is a really good person inside, the blonde is the type who looks intimidating at first, has a lot of pride and is someone who easily gets annoyed when people tease him, but not with Jungwon.
"JAAAY-HYUUUUNG" the culprit, Yang Jungwon shouted directly in his ear.
"What time is it?" the blonde said while yawning and stretching his arms.
"Hyungie, it's already 11:00 am. Get up and prepare to shower and eat."
Jay suddenly pulled Jungwon down so that he could hug the younger one while they're laying on the mattress. "Can we stay like this for a couple of minutes?"
"Okay."
"Your hair is kind of wet. Did you already shower?"
"I didn't want to interrupt your sleep so I made breakfast and showered before waking you up."
"You smell like me, did you use my shampoo?"
"Obviously, I would smell like you because I wasn't able to prepare my things before coming over. It wasn't my plan to take care of my clumsy hyung yesterday."
"You're so cute." Jay's thankful that he's been facing the younger's back because he's experiencing a cat allergic reaction again but make it Jungwon version. He could feel his ears heating up and his heart beating fast. The blonde wonders if the younger could hear his loud heartbeat despite the nonexistent distance between them.
They stayed hugging each other for a while on the mattress before Jay finally decided to let go and grabbed some clothes in his closet before entering the bathroom. He decided to wash his body first because he noticed that his shampoo bottle was on the very outer top of the shelf. So when he was finally done washing his body, he tried to get the shampoo bottle with his arm which he forgot that was just recently injured.
He only noticed when the pain started kicking in that made him lose his grip on the bottle which unluckily landed on his foot. Jay couldn't help but to mention every cuss word he knows because of the pain. The blonde suddenly heard someone knocking the door outside. "Jay-hyung! Are you okay? Did you hit your head on the floor?! What's happening?"
"Wonie, hyung is fine. The shampoo bottle just landed on my foot, nothing serious."
"No, I really can't leave you alone without you hurting yourself. Open the door, I'll wash your hair!"
"Jungwon, you don't have to. I can handle myself, don't worry."
"Let me in or I'll knock down this door!"
"Okay, okay, just wait a minute, calm down."
"Three, two-"
"OKAY, I'LL LET YOU WASH MY HAIR, JUST GIVE ME A FEW SECONDS TO PUT MY CLOTHES ON!"
"O-Oh. Haha okay, sure." The younger just realized that Jay had no clothes on which made him blush. There was a long awkward silence until Jay finally opened the door fully clothed.
"You can go inside now."
Jungwon went inside with his head down because of embarrassment while Jay grabbed a chair then placed it near the bathtub to make it easy for the younger to wash his hair. Jungwon immediately looked for the bottle of shampoo which was on the floor and grabbed it. He opened the bottle then squeezed it to get the right amount of shampoo he'll use to the blonde's hair.
"Hyung, close your eyes so the shampoo won't sting them. Always remember to be careful especially when you're so clumsy. I can't help but always worry about you."
"You're worried about me?" Jay said with a smile on his face while his eyes are still closed.
"Of course, I'm worried about you because I care for you a lot. You're very important to me."
Jungwon started by rinsing Jay's hair with water. He noticed that the blonde's hair is getting longer as he can already see its black roots. Jay was flustered by the younger's answer because he rarely says cheesy things to his hyungs.
He tried to divert Jungwon's attention from seeing his flustered face by asking him the first question that came to his mind. "Uhm. How's school? Did you gain any friends from school who's not Riki or Sunoo?"
The younger one started spreading the shampoo at Jay's hair. He massaged the blonde's head to even out the shampoo in his hair which also made the older relaxed.
"You're making it sound like I'm a loner at school. Of course I gained friends too, Sunghoon-hyung treated me to dinner last weekend!"
"Who the hell is this Sunghoon-hyung?" Jay accidentally opened his eyes because of what Jungwon told him. The shampoo went into his eyes so he started screaming because of the pain.
Jungwon grabbed the shower but because he's panicking, he didn't notice that the shower was facing him which led to him getting wet. He immediately turned the shower around but instead of rinsing Jay's eyes first, it went to the older's neck.
After a few seconds, he finally managed to rinse Jay's eyes and hair but he realized that their clothes were both soaked with water. "Hyung, why did you open your eyes?! I just warned you to not do it a few minutes ago."
"Sorry, I was just shocked you let a stranger treat you to dinner. It took me months to convince you to let me buy you food. And you never told me anything about this Sunghoon."
"He's not a stranger, Jay-hyung, he's my friend. Actually, he is my senior in the sports club, he asked me to help him with his project, then he bribed me that he'll treat me to some steak so I accepted it. While doing the project, Sunghoon-hyung and I realized that we have a lot of similarities so we decided to become friends."
"If you wanted steak, you could've told me, I will buy you steak everyday."
"Don't be silly, you and Heeseung-hyung always teased me about only being friends with Sunoo and Riki so I took the chance, you know? Hitting two birds with one stone."
"Hmm. How old is this sunbae? Did he have a bad record in school? Did he date a lot of people? Did he try hitting on you? I need to know if this guy has good intentions for you."
"Calm down, hyung. I'm not a kid anymore, I know what I'm doing. He was also born in 2002 like you and Jake-hyung. As far as I know, even though he has a lot of admirers, he only had one relationship and that was already years ago. He won't have a bad record because he's part of the student council. And yeah, he did try hitting on me but I turned him down and said that it's better if we'll just remain friends."
"Wow, good for him. It must be true that both of you are similar to each other, you're also smart, kind, an athlete and have a lot of admirers like him. It must be a match made in heaven. Why did you turn him down?"
"Because he's not you."
After Jungwon said that, there was a long moment of silence with just the two of them staring into each other's eyes. The younger one broke the eye-contact first by staring at the ground because of embarrassment.
"Forget that, Jay-hyung. I'm sorry for saying such nonsense things. Goodb--" Jungwon was about to leave the room and he was already a few steps away from Jay until the blonde grabbed his left arm with just the right amount of force for him to sit on his hyung's lap with his back against him.
Jay laid his chin on Jungwon's shoulder and encircled his arms on the younger's waist. Jungwon felt his heart skip for a second because of the shock. "Yang Jungwon, I'm sorry."
"You didn't have to say sorry, hyung. I understand. Just forget what I sa-"
"I'm sorry for making you confess first, I'm such a coward."
"Huh?" The confused Jungwon suddenly turned his body to the side so that he could see his Jay-hyung. Their faces were now closer than before but he had no time to feel shy because of what the blonde just said.
"I've already had a crush on you ever since the first day we met."
"Since the first day we met? Hyung, that's too fast. You're such a hopeless romantic."
"Have you seen yourself, Jungwon? So when did you like me?"
"The moment you comforted me before the taekwondo audition..."
"It's been 3 years. We're so dumb."
"Yes, we are and we lost a lot of time. So what do people officially in a relationship do, hyungie?"
"I don't know. Hold hands? Hug? Cuddle? Spend time together?"
"But we already did all of that."
" Oh ." Jay and Jungwon laughed together. They remembered the times when people asked if they were a couple because of how clingy they are to each other. It just started with a slight touch of their fingers which turned to holding hands then evolved to hugging until they became inseparable. They used to act clueless and avoid those questions because they were afraid of losing each other but not anymore.
"Wonie, we can now do those things officially tho."
"But you haven't asked me officially? I didn't know you were so slow, hyungie. Should I just ask Sunghoon-hyu--" Jay softly held Jungwon's chin with his left hand to make their faces closer and make the younger one only focus on him.
"Yang Jungwon, will you be my boyfriend?"
"Yes, Park Jongseong, I will be your boyfriend." Jungwon hugged his hyung and buried his face in his shoulders because of happiness. He never knew that this day would come when he could finally show his love for his hyung without hesitation.
After hugging, Jay moved Jungwon slightly to make him sit on his lap but now facing him directly with the younger's legs on his sides so that he could see him better. "But Jungwonie, even though we were already acting like a couple for more than 3 years as friends, there's something that official couples do but we haven't done yet..."
"W-What is it?"
"Kissing."
"Huh?"
"May I?"
Jungwon nodded to give his hyung the permission to kiss him. He thought that his heart was about to explode. It would be his first time to kiss someone and he's more nervous because it's his Jay-hyung. The younger closed his eyes and waited for the blonde to kiss him. After a moment of waiting he surprisingly felt his hyung's soft lips land on his forehead instead of his lips.
"Ehhh?"
"Let's take things slowly because I don't want to rush you. I also want to apologize for being jealous even though we were just friends. You're allowed to make friends and I shouldn't control your life even now as your boyfriend. I should've done better."
"I appreciate what you've said, hyungie. I should've also not provoked you to be jealous, earlier. Let's grow together for a very long time."
"Let's grow together, all throughout this lifetime."
"But hyung, I also want to apologize about something..."
"Apologize for what?"
"For doing this."
"Huh-" Jungwon suddenly stood up then held Jay's chin up and kissed him. It took Jay seconds to analyze what just happened but he finally closed his eyes and gently grabbed the younger's neck with his uninjured left hand to deepen the kiss. The so-called kiss was just a peck but it lasted for a while which made the two so happy and content.
The younger one broke the kiss first then ran quickly and closed the door from the outside while leaving the blonde dumbfounded with a smile on his face. "Sorry, hyung, but 3 years is so long that I became impatient now! Brace yourself for more~"
"Yang Jungwon!"
Jay thought that Jungwon was already done but he's wrong. The younger one suddenly opened the door slightly to show his cute face. "Hyungie, I forgot something."
"What is it, baby?"
"Park Jongseong, I love you..."
"I love you too, Yang Jungwon. Very much..."
Jay saw Jungwon smile at him brightly. He's definitely sure that he's looking at the prettiest guy he has ever seen in his life. Jungwon was smiling at him looking like he was holding the whole galaxy in his eyes while also showing the dimples on the side of his cheeks that are like a black hole which he can't help but fall into every time just like now.
He's so cute and reminded Jay of a cat a lot. If a real cat could make him sneeze and make his nose itchy, this cat-like human could make his ears red and make his heart beat a little faster.
Park Jongseong is allergic to cats that's why the universe gave him the cat-like human named Yang Jungwon.