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Hyunjin knows he shouldn't be jealous, especially when he made the decision himself. Of course his decision was based off of someone else's, but that's besides the point. At least, he thinks it is. With nothing but a huff, Hyunjin stares at all his band mates cooing over a feline on the floor of their dorm.
Hyunjin wouldn't mind it if this event had taken place at the other dorm, but no, it and everyone had to be dragged to his dorm. He watched the feline roll, it's ginger and white tail flicking about as it did so. Hyunjin loved him, he really did, but all the attention he was getting was starting to piss Hyunjin off. Yet again, he couldn't help but blame himself for his decision.
Minho stopped rolling and made the brave decision to chirp at Hyunjin, his bandmates squealing at the sound. But Hyunjin had to hide his eye roll because honestly, even though he knew the truth, he felt like Minho was bragging. His hyung always chose to shift when everyone was around, and so Hyunjin was stuck with nothing to do but watch.
As he would watch his stomach would flip around and he'd play with his hands. He wanted to be in Minhos spot every time.
But he was scared.
Minho had so easily been accepted as a shifter, and even more so when he'd told them he was a Norwegian Forest Cat. Main word there, Cat, it was a perfect fit for Minho and even in his shifted form, Cat Minho seemed so normal.
But cat Hyunjin? That wasn't normal and whose to say his bandmates will accept such a change so easily again? What if they scream and shout, kick and punch, kick him out of the group and house! His mind couldn't help but build up the negativity. So he kept himself in his shell and only shifted when he knew he was alone. Sometimes he'd shift when it was just him and Minho, and the two would bounce around whoever's dorm they stayed at.
But never around anyone else. He was too scared. So even as the jealousy built in his stomach and the anger boiled in his head, he was to blame.
"Hyunjin come play!" Jisung called out towards him. It was a nice offer, and made Hyunjin want to shift right then and there and pounce on one of Minhos fake mice.
"Nah i'm good Sung. His fur makes my nose itch." Hyunjin had casually replied. The lie slid so easily off his tongue that he internally smirked.
"And you're sure you aren't allergic to cats?" Felix added after tuning into the conversation. A cat allergic to cats, wouldn't that be funny! Alas it was a lie anyway, so the lie just continued. "Nope, my nose is just sensitive."
Felix and Jisung hummed and sync, but turned their attention back to the cat that was currently on its back legs reaching for a toy Changbin waved in the air. It was such a tease and Hyunjin's instincts had to be held back.
Situations like this happened at least a couple days a week. And as their schedule winded down more and more, Hyunjin found himself alone less and less. He was losing his shifting time and was getting ornery because of it. It even got to the point in which things that would settle his nerves got difficult.
Like dancing.
It wasn't uncommon for Hyunjin to make a mistake, heck it wasn't uncommon for anyone to make one! But recently, Hyunjin's mistakes upset him more than they ever had. He was a man that tried to keep a calm mind and push things off as long as he tried harder, but now he'd mess up and let out an angry huff.
He'd mess up again and quietly curse to himself. Again and he'd curse a bit louder and roll his eyes. Again and it was an angry foot stomp. Again and again and he probably will do all of the above at once. It wasn't pretty. And as his mood soured up, his temper with everyone else would go haywire.
Minho was the first to say something. Of course he was.
"Dude what's up with you? I've never seen you so pissy."
Tell Hyunjin why in the world Minho calling him pissy just upset him more? It made Hyunjin sound like a brat just because he was having a bad day. "Just didn't sleep well, so i'm struggling to keep my emotions in check today, that's all." Another lie added to the books.
Minho hummed with a suspicious glare in his eyes, "Well then sleep better tonight okay? We need as much practice as we can to prepare for the tour." Hyunjin nodded in acknowledgment as his eyes trailed to the floor. Minho then smiled and whipped around to face the rest of the bandmates.
"I say we take a cat break!"
Practice ended up ending, which was funny seeing as Minho had said not seconds before that they needed the practice. So with annoyance on his mind, Hyunjin glared at all the bodies that followed Minho out of the room. He stayed put, and when asked as to if he was coming, he simply told them he wanted some extra work. As they all should've been doing.
But he could understand a cat break. It was a reliever for both sides. Which was why part of the reason he stayed back was to have his own cat break. He danced for a good hour to all the songs he wanted to improve his dance. Then, once the underside of his hair as well as the side strands next to his face were drenched in sweat, he plopped down on the floor and quickly shifted.
It was like instant relief, feeling like a cloud as he lay on the ground. As much as sharing his identity to others scared him, Hyunjin would never get tired of his cat form. After regulating his breathing, Hyunjin started to roll around himself. Once he'd gotten dizzy, he started running around the room, glancing at his now tiny reflection; a cute little Birman cat.
Truthfully, the only problem Hyunjin held against his form was the eyes, which had followed over from his human form. Almost all Birman cats had bright blue eyes that contrasted with the bright whites and minimal browns and grays. But Hyunjin had brown eyes. So as he stared at his reflection, he'd notice how easily his eyes blended in with the browns and grays around his eyes, nose and mouth.
He still thought of himself as cute because you know, it's import to have a bit of confidence even in cat form! His tail was bushy and ombré, the beginning of it a nice white that faded into a mellow tan and than a dark brown at the tip. Same went for his paws, which started a darker brown and faded to a white on his feet.
He wasn't very big, as the aging had to even out with human years. So even though he was in his twenties, he was only a little bit older than a year in cat form. Hyunjin didn't think badly upon this though, in fact he thought it was more comfortable to cuddle and sleep with a smaller body. As he chirped at his own reflection, before he could react fast enough, the practice room door was swung open.
"Hyunjin? I think i left my water bottle in here, have you see it?"
Seungmin.
Hyunjin tried to run and hide behind anything before Seungmin could spot him, but the younger easily saw him and gave him a weird look. "A cat? How the hell did you get in here?"
Seungmin started walking towards him, and as he neared, Hyunjin had ended up in a corner with his typical luck. He panicked and so to try and scare Seungmin off, made his ears go flat against his head as he let out what he hoped was a scary hiss. But he should've knowing Seungmin wouldn't get scared. In fact, the boy only softened and put his hands up slightly as if to surrender.
"Hey it's okay, i'm not going to hurt you. I just wanna get you somewhere safer."
Seungmin was now too close for comfort and Hyunjin didn't want the boy making decisions that would be fit for an actual cat. So with his mind screaming at him to not do what he was about to do, Hyunjin shifted on the spot. "Stop!"
Seungmin did in fact did stop. He stopped and stared in utter shock. It made Hyunjin feel like he'd murdered someone, slumping his shoulders and cowering into the corner. Seungmin's gaze and open mouth were too much and he instantly knew he'd made a mistake.
"H-Hyunjin? What the hell?"
Hyunjin kept his face down, his light brown bangs falling over his eyes so no emotion could be seen from both parties. "I wasn't seeing things right?"
Hyunjin shook his head. They way Seungmin was taking it so far didn't sound good, and so Hyunjin couldn't stop the tears that pooled in his eyes. Seungmin finally seemed to notice to fear in Hyunjin's quivering form when he watched a tear hit the floor. He gasped, "Wait Hyunjin i'm not mad!"
Hyunjin sniffled and slowly brought his head up, his shiny tear ridden eyes coming to view. "You're...You're not?"
Seungmin quickly shook his head, taking Hyunjin's face between his hands. "Not at all! Im just shocked really. Who knew we had another cute kitty in our group!" With his face being held, Hyunjin couldn't hide his bright red face.
"Im serious! So much so that, Don't tell Minho Hyung, I think your cat form is cuter than his." Seungmin gave him a soft smile and between that and Seungmin's kind words, Hyunjin felt his face redden even more to the point of actual heat.
"But why didn't you tell us? We would've treated you the same way we treat Minho Hyung." Seungmin informed him with a small frown as he let go of Hyunjin's face. Personally, he wouldn't mind another furry feline roaming the dorms. Plus, when everyone wanted to play with Minho, it got crowded. So maybe now it wouldn't be!
"I was scared, still am in fact, so I really don't want anyone else to know." Hyunjin fidgeted with his hands as he looked down at the ground again. Which meant he didn't have to see Seungmin's frown grow. "You don't think they'll accept you?"
Hyunjin shook his head, worried Seungmin would be ashamed of his negative thoughts against the members. "I'm sure it's just because i'm self conscious, but I still want to wait until i'm comfortable with the idea. I mean, I didn't plan to let you know either." He hoped he wasn't making Seungmin feel bad about walking in on him as a cat, but he felt he needed to let the boy know his feelings were mutual amongst the members that didn't know.
Seungmin gently patted his shoulder, making Hyunjin partially look up. Seungmin was giving him a reassuring smile as he spoke, "Well than if that's what you want, then I won't tell a soul. It's your secret and I have no right to share it."
Hyunjin smiled and wrapped the puppy in a hug, muttering many thank you's in the boys ear. Seungmin giggled at the excited boy in his hold, but he still had one thing to ask. "Can you shift again? Like just for a little bit?"
Hyunjin didn't see why not. In fact, he was really excited! So quickly letting go of Seungmin, he shifted, and once again he was a ball of fluff on the floor. Seungmin squealed and immediately picked up the kitten. "Aish your so cute!! Birman right?" Hyunjin meowed happily in response. He liked this attention. It was something that Minho in cat form could never provide.
Suddenly Seungmin was scratching under his chin, behind his ears, rolling him over and softly scratching his tummy. And Hyunjin? He was in heaven, his eyes barely open as he openly purred quite loudly. His tail flapped around in happiness as Seungmin started combing his fur with his fingers. "Do you have any cat stuff at home Jinnie?"
Hyunjin meowed again, not even opening his eyes. "So maybe tonight you shift again and I can groom you and play with you?" Hyunjin's eyes shot open with many happy chirps. This caught Seungmin laughing, "Okay, okay!"
Seungmin stopped petting him for a second to calm his own giggles, but this cause Hyunjin to roll over, get up and then walk between Seungmin's legs, wrapping his tail around one of them. Hyunjin was loving this! The only kind of attention he got like this was from his parents which he could only ever find so much time to spend with! Now he wondered if with Seungmin knowing, would he get attention like this daily?
Seungmin giggled at the fluffy tail that tickled his leg, and then decided to sit down so Hyunjin could do as he please. When Seungmin was on the ground, Hyunjin immediately found his way into the boys lap.
"I really wish you'd had shown me this earlier Jinnie. Do you know how many cat scratches from Minho I could've avoided??"
Hyunjin continued to purr in response. He was happy that Seungmin was enjoying this. And like Hyunjin, Seungmin was happy that Hyunjin was enjoying this. Suddenly the glares and eye rolls made sense. Seungmin wasn't blind to the boys reactions to all the attention Minho would get as a cat. He just thought it was because Hyunjin favored dogs so much more.
Who would've thought it was because he was jealous? Jealous because he too was a cat. Jealous because he too wanted the attention.
Another 30 minutes went by of Seungmin petting and talking to Hyunjin who meowed, chirped and purred in response. Seungmin knew Chan would soon wonder what took him so long, so as much as he hated to disrupt the ball of fluff in his lap, he had too.
"Hey Jin, we should probably head back before anyone starts to worry." Hyunjin picked his head up with a whiny sounding meow. "Yeah I know, but hey we can do this again tonight!" Hyunjin nodded, climbing out of Seungmin's lap only to shift a second later, bearing a embarrassed smile.
"I really enjoyed that, thank you Minnie."
Seungmin smiled, reaching for Hyunjin's hand to take. "No problem. I enjoyed it a lot myself! And finally! I was able to hang out with a cat and not have battle wounds!" The two giggled, walking out of the practice studio holding hands and swinging them like they were some clingy couple.
Safe to say the water bottle sat next to the couch was completely forgotten.
————
Hyunjin and Seungmin's shared secret continued on for a while, and somehow no one seemed to notice. Seungmin let Hyunjin shift anytime he could, which a lot of the time ended up being at the dance studio or at one of their dorms when it was empty. It happened much more at the studio though, so much so that Seungmin even started secretly bringing cat toys and brushes in his bag. And when asked why he was staying, he'd claim that Hyunjin was helping him better his dance moves.
Much like today, where after they were sure the members had gone home, Hyunjin shifted and Seungmin brought out the cat toys. It got to the point that Hyunjin's cat form definitely became Seungmin's favorite. He had so many cat videos on his phone of Hyunjin sleeping, pouncing on a toy, purring or even meowing loudly. He'd show them to Hyunjin and the poor boy would blush to an extent or extreme rosiness.
It was enjoyable for the two though regardless of how many times it happened.
"Hey Hyunjin i'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick, so don't go anywhere." Seungmin informed before leaving the furry feline in a race to the bathroom. Hyunjin's meow of a response was heard by no one but himself as Seungmin had disappeared so fast. He must've really had to go, and it made Hyunjin chirp out a laugh.
Not two minutes later, when Hyunjin had curled up on the couch after tiring himself out, the door swung open. Except, it wasn't Seungmin. It looked like a JYPE employee of sorts, and when he spotted Hyunjin, he frowned. "A cat? What the hell?"
He quickly walked towards Hyunjin who in no way was going to shift in front of this stranger. So in his attempt to seem scary, hissed at the man with an angry meow, changing to a position that made him look like he would attack.
Yet the man didn't seem fazed at all, and instead scoffed. "Filthy animals don't belong here, so let's get you to where you really belong." So regardless of Hyunjin's threats, The man walked up to him and aggressively picked Hyunjin up by the scruff of his neck, and Hyunjin mewled out, hoping someone, or Seungmin would hear him.
The man exited the practice room with Hyunjin still dangling in his hold. Which he wasn't holding his scruff properly to where it would t hurt, so instead it did start to hurt and Hyunjin whimpered in protest. The further from the practice room they got, the more dread Hyunjin felt. He had no phone on him and he wasn't going to shift in front of this stranger and possible ruin his career. He'd be alright if he was thrown outside, but for some reason that wasn't what he thought was going to happen.
He was taken down a flight of dirty looking stairs to an old, small custodian section on the floor that was technically the basement. It was below the shiny floors and welcoming music. Instead it was concrete flooring and many old, dirty and abandoned cleaning supplies and closets. "No one comes down here anymore, so enjoy your new home." The man threw Hyunjin into quite a small closet, slamming the door shut.
Click.
And locking it.
"God I fucking hate cats. Hopefully this one dies before it's found."
Hyunjin panicked. This was far worse than what he thought was going to happen. He was locked in a pitch black, tiny ass closet with no phone to call for help. And even if he were to yell for help, Custodians never came down to this part of the building anymore as JYPE had upgraded there space and moved them upstairs.
So long story short, he was stuck and absolutely terrified. All he wanted was Seungmin now, he wanted his hugs, his warmth, his reassurance. But instead all he could do was curl in a ball with a sad whimper, hoping that by the grace of hid someone would come down to this part of the building.
————
"Hyunnie i'm back!" Seungmin excitedly entered the practice room after his bathroom break. He'd really needed to go after chugging a bit too much water.
He didn't see Hyunjin at first, and figured the kitten was hiding. So he played along with the joke. "Come out, Come out wherever you are you little fluff ball."
But after five minutes of searching, Hyunjin was nowhere to be seen. His bag and phone were even still there and that only made Seungmin's gut feeling worse. He'd hoped maybe Hyunjin himself decided to use the bathroom, so he waited a bit. But soon 20 minutes had gone by and the boy was still a no show.
Seungmin hated feeling like he was jumping the gun, but he was sure Hyunjin would've done something to inform him of where he was, but he didn't. And that only gave Seungmin negative thoughts as to what could've happened. So, in his worried and panicked state, he called Chan. He had refused to explain anything over the phone, so 15 minutes later, the other six members were piling into the room with worry plastered onto their faces.
Seungmin knew he had to explain fast as if something bad had really happened, they were wasting time. So he quickly filled the group in, cringing as he revealed Hyunjin's secrets he'd sworn to keep to himself.
"So he was shifted before you left?" Chan asked. He was quite shocked by the sudden information, but he too knew they needed to find Hyunjin, and fast.
Seungmin eagerly nodded his head, "And all of his things are here, so he wouldn't have gone anywhere, at least on his own accord." The members nodded in agreement, some searching the room for any possible evidence.
"Chan Hyung there's cameras in the hallway right?" Felix asked, his tone quite worried as his words came out fast and rushed. Chan's eyes widened, "Yes, and I feel dumb for not thinking to use them sooner!" Chan did waste a second, walking out of the room with a fastened pace, the rest following behind him like ducklings.
Chan had quickly walked up to the front desk, demanding that they be able to see the footage as they were currently trying to find their missing member. The desk lady easily obliged, quickly pulling up the camera footage and letting them see. She then went back to her own work after Changbin had asked for some privacy in watching the footage.
"Okay, see there's me going to the bathroom." Seungmin pointed out, watching himself exit the room and quickly rush over the bathroom. A couple minutes later a man was entering the room. Chan had easily recognized him as one of the workers that checks the availability of practice rooms. But he was quick to frown as he watched the man exit barely a minute later with a cat in his hold.
Seungmin gasped and pointed at the screen, "That's Hyunjin! Follow where he goes!" Chan nodded and quickly changed cameras to follow where the man was going. Many camera changes later, they watched him go down the stairs to the basement where no cameras were.
Minho shivered, worried that they couldn't see exactly what had been done to Hyunjin in that basement. Thankfully a couple minutes later they were able to see the man walk back out of the basement empty handed. The only reason that was relieving was because he hadn't spent much time down there to do anything too bad.
But it was still terrifying. With that, Minho was desperate, so he was the first to race in the direction of the basement, flying down the stairs with ease. "Hyunjin!!" He shouted, walking down the darker halls of the basement. He'd heard the footsteps of his members behind him, and soon they were shouting too.
"Hyung!"
"Hyunjin!"
"Jinnie!"
"Hyunnie!"
Seungmin had caught up to Minho and followed him, opening each door they passed. Finally, coming up to a door that seemed just like the rest, they heard a frantic meow. The two turned towards each other at the noise. Then without a second thought Minho was unlocking the door and throwing it open.
Low and behold there was a small birman, cowered in the corner with its eyes closed as it meowed out helplessly. Though it did hear them come in, and opened its eyes, springing to its feet. Seungmin was the first to crouch down, his arms open and ready for the terrified feline.
"Hyunnie." He'd softly called out with a relieved sigh.
The said kitten raced forward, not wasting a moment to be in Seungmin's hold. Once he was, he burrowed, burying his head in the nook of Seungmin's neck. He was shaking and whimpering, and Seungmin felt horrible.
"Hey, your okay, your fine." He whispered, softly running his fingers through Hyunjin's fur.
Minho just sat in awe. Awe over the whole situation, and in awe of how trusting of Seungmin Hyunjin had become. Sometimes even around Minho, Hyunjin didn't want to shift, yet with Seungmin, Hyunjin found comfort in and seemed to trust completely.
Seungmin pulled Hyunjin from his neck, lifting him carefully so that they were eye level. "You're okay Hyune, Calm down baby." Minho could still see the poor cat trembling. Seeing how the man carried Hyunjin out, and seeing where he ended up, Minho couldn't imagine the fear Hyunjin was feeling.
"Did you find him?!" Changbin had come racing around the corner, the rest of the members right behind him. Changbin stopped at the sight of Hyunjin is Seungmin's hold. And with Changbin being Changbin, "That's Hyunjin?! HES SO CUTE!!!" He had crouched down next to Seungmin, looking the cat up and down with excitement, his previous worry gone.
It had seemed Hyunjin had figured out what was going on, how he was found, and the things that had to have been given up. He continued to quiver in Seungmin's hold only because now, he had the eyes of all his band mates staring at him. He wasn't ready, he hadn't been. The eyes drilled holes despite the fact that they carried nothing but love, relief, and adoration.
It was a bit overwhelming, and despite being in the form he didn't want them to see, he didn't have the ability to shift back. His emotions were to messy he didn't think he could concentrate enough to do so. So he whimpered and hid back in the crook of Seungmin's neck.
Seungmin sighed, "He probably hates me now." He felt that after Hyunjin's fear would fade, he'd be upset at Seungmin for sharing his secret. And part of Seungmin was ready to willing except the fact that he had done so. Yet at the same time he was worried about Hyunjin and didn't know what to do besides call for Chan's help.
And in bringing Chan in, he had to understand the situation. So if finding Hyunjin meant revealing his secret, he'd do it again.
"Why would he be mad at you? You helped find him!" Jeongin questioned, clearly unaware of the promise kept between the two.
"I promised to keep his secret." Seungmin explained with a frown. "And clearly, I failed to do that." Hyunjin's quivering was finally coming to a slow, but Seungmin didn't miss the small whimpers that still left the kitten.
"But within good reason Hyung." Jeongin argued, not wanting his Hyung to take the blame for something that in the end helped.
Hyunjin was listening, despite his cat tears. As shocked as he was that now everyone knew, he knew Seungmin only had good intentions. He wasn't mad, in fact really thankful for Seungmin's thinking. The others knowing would be something he could get over, but he was thankful to Seungmin first.
Calming himself down, Hyunjin started to purr, hoping Seungmin would realize he wasn't mad. Seungmin lightly chuckled when he heard the motor start going. "I'm still sorry." Seungmin told him as he started to stand. Hyunjin figured he would be, but sooner or later the boy would realize that there was no need to be.
"Hyung- Can I hold him?" Jeongin asked, after seeing Hyunjin and watching his burrow in Seungmin's hold, he wanted to give Hyunjin some affection. Hyunjin meowed and Seungmin took that as an okay, slowly handing Hyunjin over to Jeongin, who immediately brought Hyunjin to his neck.
The cat simply lied his head over Jeongin's shoulder, sighing in content. "Let's go get his stuff and we'll head back to our dorm yeah?" Chan suggested, everyone quickly agreed, quite eager to leave the basement. By the time they gathered Hyunjin's things, he had already been transferred to Felix's arms, who kept him close as he scratched his ears.
This sort of thing happened all the way home, going from hold to hold, from Changbin to Jisung, And lastly Chan. As much as Hyunjin loved everyone's comfort, comfort from his leader was top tier. Chan knew all the right things to say and do to comfort him in the best ways possible.
"Who knew our Hyunnie would also be a cute little kitty." Chan had cooed as he held him, and Hyunjin purred loudly, happy at his members reactions. Minho was oddly silent and Hyunjin worried that he was mad at the attention he was getting. But when they arrived to the shirtless and chicken legs dorm, Minho asked to hold Hyunjin.
"It's nice isn't it? All the affection?" Minho had whispered once Hyunjin's head was perched on his shoulder. Hyunjin chirped in response, and it must've been a cat thing because Minho heard Yeah, it is. He smiled and then proceed to bounce Hyunjin like he was some sort of baby. It wasn't an aggressive bounce, but rather felt more like a rocking and it made Hyunjin drowsy. He wondered if he'd fall asleep, and then realized how long it had been since he'd slept in cat form.
"Hyung, I think he's asleep." He heard Jisung say. His eyes were closed, and he was on his way there, so he figured he'd let them think he was asleep. "I wouldn't be surprised, this little kittens had a long day." Minho had replied, and Hyunjin could hear the fondness.
"Did you know about him? Aside from Seungmin of course." Chan had asked. Hyunjin felt Minho move in a way that felt like sitting down. But then the boy leaned back a bit to where his chest was at a slope, allowing Hyunjin to continue to sleep in the crook of his neck without being held.
"I did. It was an accident really when I first found out. I think around two years ago, I woke up and figured Hyunjin and Seungmin had already gotten up and moving seeing as their beds were empty. Then I noticed a little lump on Hyunjin's bed. Which I would've let it go as like a stuffed animal or something, but it moved. As curiosity kills the cat, I went up and pulled the blanket back. And that's when I saw him. He'd woken up to by the blanket moving, and like, shrieked out a meow. He shifted pretty quickly, worrying his butt off while I laughed at how ironic the situation was."
Hyunjin cringes at that day as he hears Minho retell it. It's only cringy because he was so worried, only for Minho to tell him he was a shifter too. "When i'd told him I was one too, god you should've seen how embarrassed he was. I've never seen his face go so red." Minho laughed at the picture in his head, while Hyunjin couldn't help himself and let out an ornery meow.
Minho laughed even harder, "Oh so you are awake, and come on, you can't tell me it's not funny." Hyunjin didn't respond so Minho smiled fondly and ran his fingers through the birmans hair a couple times calm his embarrassed nerves. "How did you find out Seungmin?" Minho suddenly asked, wondering what had made the Birman and the puppy so trusting.
Seungmin giggled, "I walked in on him rolling around as a cat in the dance studio a couple weeks ago." The rolling around part had many members giggling as well. Hyunjin had decided to tune them out at this point to save himself of embarrassment. And he was actually tired, so he did try to fully fall asleep.
"After i'd promised not to tell anyone, he shifted around me daily. We play around and i'd brush his fur. And goodness, i've never heard a cat purr so loud." Seungmin informed them, the loud purrs thumping in his memory. Minho rolled his eyes playfully, "He does have quite the motor, but it's only because he's so happy and comfortable." Minho paused to listen to the sleeping feline, "In fact he's doing it now."
Some of the members got up to come over and carefully listen, and like it had been said, was quite loud even from a small distance. "And that's because he's happy?" Changbin asked. In which Minho nodded, "Yeah, which is assuring seeing as he was terrified of letting you guys find out."
It hurt the members hearts to hear something like this, but Chan was the only one who voiced as to question "Why?"
Minho sighed, it was such a Hyunjin thing he was going to say. And it was such a Hyunjin reason that it made his heart ache as well. "He'd watched me get accepted by you guys, but in true Hyunjin fashion, didn't think you'd except him. I've heard him say that he didn't think y'all needed something else to take care of. Or another time when he said that Cat Hyunjin wasn't normal, but Cat Minho was just oh so fitting."
The members frowned at Minhos words, hating that Hyunjin felt that way. The Human mind could be an evil thing, and this had been just one of the many examples.
"I think Cat Jinnie is perfect too. He's flexible, likes to lounge, can be extremely clingy or extremely loud, and likes to play around. But regardless, why would that make us think any different of him?" Changbin vented, quite eager to hold Hyunjin again especially since he was sleeping.
Changbin was one of those kinds of people where seeing something cute just made him want to squeeze it to death. It's very violent and he would never actually do it, but the feeling is still there. "I don't know Bin, but when he wakes up we will just have to show him just how accepted he is, regardless of his form." Chan announced. Except he had no idea when Hyunjin would wake up and he figured the boy was pretty drained. So maybe it was a plan for tomorrow's schedule as it was already 8 pm.
Hyunjin did end up sleeping most of the night. Minho had eventually passed him over to the awaiting Changbin who held him with the utmost care. So when midnight came around and the members had to part ways, Minho had given Changbin a talking to containing many rules as to sleeping with the kitten. He was entrusting the muscle man with Hyunjin, but that came with cautious rules.
Changbin had taken everything to heart, which sadly meant placing the Birman on a pillow next to him instead of his chest. Minho had expressed the fear of Changbin rolling over and crushing the kitten, and so now the fear was engraved into his skull too.
However, in the middle of the night when Hyunjin finally chose to wake up, his emotions were more in check and he'd decided to shift back. Quietly, he'd left the room to grab a quick drink (and a snack since it had been a hot minute since he'd eaten something), then he returned to Changbins room. His Hyung hadn't even stirred at his movements, yet when Hyunjin laid back down next to him, curling into his side, Changbins arm lazily wrapped around Hyunjin, pulling him even closer.
Hyunjin had easily fallen back asleep, despite his hours long cat nap.
————
The next morning, Hyunjin was woken up by a weight on his chest. And upon opening his eyes, he was met with a cat, staring him down and meowing rather loudly. Hyunjin closed his eyes again and let out a huff, "Hyunggg, get offff."
Minho didn't budge. "Okay Hyung, I think he's awake." Chuckled Changbin from next to him. Minho meowed, but finally got off Hyunjin's chest, after using as his launch pad of course, which caused another groan from said launch pad. "He's just excited." Changbin told him after Hyunjin had fully sat up.
"Why?"
Changbin snorted, "Well todays a day off, and he wants to play with you." Hyunjin couldn't say he was surprised. For the few times he and Minho played together, it had to be in secret and when no one was around. Mind you there are eight of them, so finding time to yourself could be hard. But now they didn't have to wait, and clearly Minho had no more patience.
So Hyunjin shifted, and allowed Changbin to carry him out as he was still rather sleepy. "Good morning Hyunnie." Chan had greeted upon sight of the kitten. Changbin had set him up in the counter where Hyunjin could easily walk over to Chan and head butt his arm.
His time with Chan was short lived though as Jisung had scooped him off, dragging him to the living room where the other youngest three were. Why the hell were they all already at his dorm. Minho, who sat at the feet of Felix, chirped loudly at Hyunjin's arrival. But when Jisung set him down, he was still too sleepy, and found his favorite spot on Seungmin's lap.
"Blatant favoritism." Jeongin argued who had been sitting right next to Seungmin. Hyunjin chirped in playful agreement causing another huff from the Maknae. Seeing the angry Maknae, Minho hopped up on the couch, curling into the youngest lap, causing one of Jeongin's bright smiles.
"Damn we getting left out Lix." Jisung whined, and Felix hummed in agreement. "Aish, leave them be. You know Minhos indecisive and will switch laps any second now. As for Hyunjin—Seungmin is he back to sleep??" Chan laughed at the once again sleeping beauty in Seungmin's lap and all Seungmin could do was shrug.
Their off day was rather comfortable as they never really left the living room. Hyunjin eventually woke up and played with Minho—who decided it was a great idea to chase the poor thing around the house till Hyunjin had tripped and collided harshly with the floor. A loud yowl had interrupted the movie currently playing and Felix was quick to go and give Minhos head a light smack, plucking Hyunjin off the floor.
Minho then followed the two back to the living room like some lost puppy. Their game if chase had easily work him out, so jumping on the couch, he'd padded over to where Felix had set Hyunjin. The younger cat had been placed on a rather large pillow that could be used as a cat bed. So Minho joined him, curling his larger body around the younger.
Once Hyunjin realized what was happening, he cuddled further into Minhos fur. It was a sight that had all the members cooing, which then turned into a shushing battle as someone had yelled "Shut up you'll wake them!!"
Regardless, the two cats had fallen back to dream land, one that would never be threatened by unexcepting nightmares and overthought scenarios.