Work Text:
“This is homophobic!”
Jeongin rolls his eyes and turns a page in his textbook. “It’s not homophobic to learn math.”
Beomgyu groans loudly and falls off the bed dramatically. His long-suffering boyfriend, Taehyun, reaches over and catches the book before it falls on Beomgyu’s head, setting it back on the bed. “Why must I be cursed with such a big brain in this sexy, sexy body?” Beomgyu laments. “It is a heavy cross that I must bear.”
Taehyun snickers and pushes his boyfriend back down on the ground with his foot, prompting Beomgyu to whine loudly. “Jesus of Nazareth down there has a point, we should take a break,” he offers. “There’s a café that I wanna go to.”
“A café?” Jeongin echoes, turning around to tilt his head. “You don’t seem like the café type.”
Beomgyu grins as he rests his chin on the edge of the bed. “It’s a cat café,” he explains. “Tae wants to adopt a cat and this place has a whole bunch that are available. He’s a big wuss though and wants us to go with him – ow!”
Taehyun’s cheeks are bright red and his shoulders hunch up a bit as he pulls his knees to his chest. “I thought it would be a good idea to adopt from a reputable place,” he mumbles. “But it looks weird if I go alone.”
Jeongin shares a look with his best friend and smiles a little. “Sounds good,” he agrees, closing his study materials and pushing himself up. “I’m starting to taste colours with how long I’ve been looking at this stuff.” He stretches, letting out a happy sigh of relief when he hears the bones crack and release tension. “Let’s go.”
“Is it your treat?” Beomgyu asks, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“No.”
“That’s homophobic.”
“No it’s not.”
☕️🐈☕️
Haven is aggressively cute from the outside, Jeongin thinks, as he’s pulled along by Beomgyu and Taehyun. It’s squished in between two taller buildings and they’d almost walked right by it a few times because of how non-flashy the signage was. As they enter, Jeongin is taken aback by how cool it looks: the walls are decorated with stylish street-style art in addition to cute photographs of the cats - both adoptable and non - as well as a fun mural that seems to have space for patrons to write fond memories of on adorable paw-shaped post-it notes.
“Welcome!” comes a sunny voice, and Jeongin jumps: there, standing in front of them is a smiling man with dimples and dark blue hair and wow, this guy could be an idol with how cool he looks. “Is this your first time at Haven?”
Beomgyu nods, ever the extrovert. “Yeah! We’ve been meaning to check this place out but never got a chance to.” He beams and nudges Taehyun. “And one of us is looking to adopt.”
The man smiles and Jeongin blinks slowly; the man is the living embodiment of the sun. “That’s awesome, mate!” he enthuses. “My name is Chan and I can get you guys set up with a nice table. Minho will be with you shortly!” Chan bows and brings the trio over to a nice table by the window, placing three menus down on the table. “Thank you for coming! I hope you enjoy your time here. If any of you are allergic and your allergy medication has worn off, please let us know, we have a lot on hand.”
“That’s really thoughtful,” Jeongin comments, blinking.
Taehyun smiles a little, a bit shy. “Is there a catalogue of the adoptable cats?”
Chan nods. “Yeah, of course! I’ll ask Minho to bring one by.” He bows and heads off to take care of other matters, the most important of which seems to be ensuring that one of the cats, a bengal, doesn’t end up parkouring off the curtains and into the kitchen area.
“Whoa, that bengal nearly did a backwards flip onto that counter,” Beomgyu whistles, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “So, what do we have here?”
Jeongin picks up the menu himself and flips through it; it’s pretty standard fare, but with cute names and pictures of their mainstay cats and their favourite server. The prices are decent, and it’s clear they’re going after the college/younger demographic with the style, which is a relief to Jeongin’s famished wallet and malnourished savings account. As Jeongin tries to decide between two really cute desserts shaped like kitty cat heads, he feels something press against his foot. Curiously, he looks down and finds himself staring into the eyes of an orange striped cat with patches of white fur.
“Can I help you with something?” Jeongin asks jokingly, and he jumps a little bit when the cat meows at him. “Oh, okay. I wasn’t expecting you to talk to me.” He sets the menu down and leans over a bit more, holding his hand out, palm up, for the cat - now that he looks closer, Jeongin thinks it’s a kitten - to sniff. The kitten sniffs curiously at his hand and hesitates, sniffing a few more times before purring loudly and moving into his hand. Jeongin yelps when the cat tries to jump on him, gathering them up into his arms. “Gotcha! Wow, you’re tiny.”
Taehyun’s eyes are wide and practically shining. “Wow, you’re a natural, Innie. Gyu got bitten by one just now.”
Beomgyu sniffles as he nurses his finger. “No, it’s just that our enemies to friends arc has started.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” Taehyun snickers.
Jeongin tries to hold back a snicker himself, instead giving the little orange kitten in his arms a gentle pet, smiling proudly when the kitten purrs loudly. “You’re pretty friendly, aren’t you?”
“He’s actually been afraid of everyone since we rescued him,” comes a new voice and Jeongin blinks, looking over to where a handsome young man in a simple striped polo and jeans with the café apron tied close to his toned frame. “You must have a magical touch.”
Words fail Jeongin for a long moment, which is rather funny considering Beomgyu says he can’t get Jeongin to shut his dumb face when it comes to making pithy comments. “Aha… really?” is all he can manage. (Great work, dumbass,) he chastises himself.
The man nods and crouches down to gently touch the kitten, who squeaks at him. “Oh, now you’re saying hi to me? I see the customer is your new favourite,” he says, a soft smile on his lips. “I’m Minho; I’ll be your server today. Have we decided what we’re going to have? I can also give recommendations if you like.”
Jeongin hesitates, but maybe he’s getting courage from the cute kitten in his arms to talk to the handsome server. “Between the chocolate raspberry cake and the orange vanilla cake, which one would be better?”
Minho taps his bottom lip with a fingernail, tilting his head from side to side with a cute little hum. “I guess it depends, how sweet do you like your desserts? They’re both sweet and tart, but I’d say the orange vanilla is the sweeter out of the two while the chocolate raspberry is more tart than sweet.”
“Oh, in that case… surprise me,” Jeongin says with a laugh, smiling when the kitten burrows in deeper against him. “Or maybe something I can eat one-handed. I don’t think I’m going to be left alone for the rest of the time here.”
The older man laughs - a strange, off-pitch sound, but one that is oddly endearing - and nods. “Caramel is definitely not going anywhere.”
Beomgyu’s bottom lip wibbles. “Oh my god his name is Caramel.” He groans softly and claws at his face, leaning until he’s half in Taehyun’s arms. “We have to take him.”
“Gyu, you live in the dorms and you can’t have a cat,” Taehyun points out, but dutifully runs his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair.
“Yeah but you live at home and you could have Caramel,” Beomgyu points out, looking up at the blond with wide, shimmery puppy dog eyes. “We could have Caramel through you or Jeongin since Caramel has chosen Jeongin as his owner. Our cat.”
Jeongin rolls his eyes. “I hate to break it to you, Comrade, but it doesn’t work like that.”
Minho laughs, this time louder and he claps a hand over his mouth as he wheezes, hunching over as tears prick at the side of his eyes. “I’m going to put your order in before I lose it,” he giggles, bowing deeply and heading off towards the kitchen.
Carefully, Jeongin holds up Caramel and looks at the tiny kitten. “Are you some kind of lucky charm, Caramel?” The orange tabby meows at him, swinging his little tail back and forth as he vibrates happily in the student’s hands.
“A lucky charm?” Beomgyu asks, tilting his head.
Taehyun smirks. “Because you have a crush on our server?”
“Shut your face, Kang,” Jeongin mutters. “And no, I meant because that guy was super happy that Caramel was with us to begin with. Plus, he seemed amused by Beomgyu’s clown show.”
Beomgyu huffs and folds his arms. “Excuse me, I come from a long line of people who make their mark on the world by putting smiles on people’s faces.”
Jeongin rolls his eyes. “The one place you’ll get honours is at Clown College.”
“Clowns make people smile, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Whatever, Boo Boo the Fool.”
Taehyun’s attention is taken away by an adult ragdoll cat, with white fur and a splotch of brown across their face. “Ah, hello,” he greets sweetly, gently holding out his hand for the cat to sniff. The cat is curious and bats at Taehyun’s hand before nipping at it, circling around the blond a few times before taking it upon itself to climb up on Taehyun’s legs. “Oh, jeez! Hey. What’s your name? Oh - well, Sir Fluffington the Third, it’s nice to meet you.”
Beomgyu grins and leans forward, happily petting the ragdoll once he’s been given permission by the cat. “I didn’t know we were in the presence of nobility.” He looks up at Taehyun. “You think he’s adoptable?”
“Well, there’s a list over there,” Taehyun says, gesturing with his chin while he pets Fluffington, who seems to have been more than content to get comfortable on Taehyun’s lap. “I think there’s a colour code to their collars?”
“Let’s see here!” Beomgyu dramatically says, opening up the pamphlet. “List of Adoptable kitty cats, rules, forms to fill out… yep! Here’s Sir Fluffington the Third. Seems like he’s a pretty independent cat that doesn’t need to be cuddled all the time, but won’t say no if it happens.”
Taehyun smiles a little as he has a happily purring cat in his lap. “Maybe something worth pursuing… but I’m more interested in Jeongin’s crush on our server.”
Jeongin jumps a little bit, having been finding a spot to put Caramel that allows him to have his hands free as he can see Minho returning with several plates on a large tray. “There’s nothing to talk about because we’re not in middle school ,” he hisses. “So shut up!”
The blond looks at him for a moment before he realizes something, most likely that Minho is on his way behind him and a mischievous look crosses his handsome features. Fuck, Jeongin shouldn’t have said anything, now Taehyun’s going to try something. He and Beomgyu really were perfect for each other. He holds Jeongin’s gaze ransom before suddenly beaming when Minho sets the plates down, as well as their drink orders. Taehyun, because he has manners but with the blackest heart Jeongin has ever known, waits until Minho has placed everything down before getting the server’s attention.
“I just have a question for you,” Taehyun starts, carefully placing Fluffington on the floor only for the cat to jump back up on his lap. “Eh - anyway, it’s important.”
Minho looks amused. “Are we talking about the life and death of a nation?”
Taehyun nods seriously. “Our country may depend on it.”
“Proceed,” Minho confirms, nodding back.
Jeongin groans and stuffs the pastry - ah, it’s the raspberry one - into his mouth so he doesn’t have to focus on this. Caramel purrs loudly and settles onto his shoulder, nuzzling his neck. (I’m going to throw myself out the window - wait, shit, I gotta think about Caramel first. Damn you, Kang Taehyun, I didn’t sign up to take care of a child–)
“Is Fluffington here spoken for in terms of adoption?”
… huh?
Minho blinks and looks thoughtful, taking out his phone and scrolling through it. He mumbles something under his breath about someone not organizing the folder properly before he smiles and nods, slipping his phone into his back pocket. “No, Sir Fluffington the Third is still looking for his forever home. Are you interested?”
Jeongin watches with widening eyes as Taehyun nods; this bastard just wanted to see him squirm! He watches as Taehyun gets a bunch of forms and pamphlets from Minho, who helpfully shows him what parts he should pay more attention to, and that one of the members of the café would come to his home to make sure that it was safe. They set up a time and Taehyun gets the name of one of the adoption employees: Mingi.
“I hope this works out,” Minho says kindly, tucking the tray underneath his arm. He turns to Jeongin who swallows the last of his pastry rather abruptly; Minho’s eyes are gorgeous - they’re a pale green, and with the light streaming in from the café window, looks like he stepped out of a romantic drama. He’s definitely main lead material.
And Jeongin is not staring.
He’s not.
“Are you interested in adopting Caramel?” Minho asks, a smile on his lips.
Jeongin swallows air. “Um, I can’t,” he declines regretfully, “I live in the dorms. Tae lives at home.”
A slight look of disappointment comes to Minho’s handsome features, but he smiles, understanding. “Of course, we can’t have you breaking the rules of your dorm.”
“We could sneak him in!” Beomgyu offers.
“No way, there’s extra eyes on our floor after somebody went and got a snake for a pet in our dorm instead of getting a couch,” Jeongin answers, rolling his eyes.
Taehyun pouts at him. “A snake was way cooler than a couch, you have to admit.”
Jeongin sticks out his tongue. “You’re so lucky that I love Gyu, otherwise I wouldn't have saved your bony ass.”
“Hey, no bringing my ass into this.” Taehyun points a finger at him. He points to his eyes, then to Jeongin’s, then picks up his own pastry and bites into it, nodding seriously. Beomgyu coos and drapes himself over his boyfriend, who holds his head up high, but accepts the hugs and kisses he gets.
“I am so sorry about them,” Jeongin says to Minho, who has been watching this with an amused smile on his lips.
Minho giggles into his hand. “No, it’s fine. They’d fit in here; it’s a total madhouse here half the time and the cats are the most well-behaved out of all of us.”
Jeongin blinks. “I guess I can believe it. Caramel seems like an angel.”
“Caramel bit Jisung yesterday.”
“Oh. Did he deserve it?”
“Kinda.”
“I DID NOT.”
Jeongin jumps as a new voice joins the fray and Minho lets out the most inelegant laugh ever, loud and a bit wheezing, shielding himself from a flurry of fists from a younger man with split-dyed hair. “What the…” His heart thumps weirdly in his chest as Minho laughs and hugs the younger man, nuzzling him happily, much to Jisung’s dismay. They look… kinda close. As Jisung struggles to get out of Minho’s grasp, Jeongin catches sight of the watch on the older man’s wrist. “--Is that a Garmin Instinct Solar?” he blurts out.
Abruptly releasing Jisung from the headlock he’s got him in, Minho looks surprised. “Yeah, how did you know? Most people think it’s just a giant Casio. ”
Embarrassed at suddenly raising his voice like that, Jeongin’s shoulders hunch up to his ears. “I’ve, been, um, researching watches. I’m… we’re going hiking for my sister’s birthday because she’s an outdoorsy nut and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get lost so I thought I’d get a GPS watch…”
Beomgyu stares at him, raising an eyebrow as he shares a look with Taehyun. “Dude, you’re the one that wanted to go!”
“Shut up, Beomgyu!” Jeongin hisses.
Minho smiles. “Are you just getting started? It seems pretty overwhelming but a lot of it just centres around not being an idiot.”
Jeongin blushes a little and nods. “Y-Yeah. I thought it would be nice and there are a lot of trails around here, so…” He clears his throat and laughs awkwardly, grabbing his phone. “Oh, shit. Aha, looks like I’ve gotta get going - class! Um, here, I’ll just pay for my half…” Jeongin fumbles with his wallet, setting down the right amount of bills before gently setting Caramel into Minho’s arms. “Be good, Caramel. Get bent, Gyu.”
“I love you too!”
Jeongin groans as he gets out of the café, dragging his fingers down his face. “I’m going to launch myself into the sun.”
☕️🐈☕️
In what is solely an attempt to put some space between himself and Beomgyu and Taehyun who have smelled blood in the water, Jeongin has fallen into the habit of coming to Haven to study during his free periods. He gets a better idea of the staff and the cats the more he frequents the café, and to help his shoddy memory, Jeongin’s made a tiny legend in one of his word document tabs on his laptop.
There’s Chan, the one who Jeongin is pretty sure owns the cafe, and Minho, who practically runs it. There’s Hyunjin, a tall guy with soft pink hair and looks like he should be in an idol group who’s super friendly and has decided that he’s adopted Jeongin. There’s Seungmin, who is quiet but is probably one of the funniest people to half-hear their conversations, and he’s usually with Felix, who is a literal ball of sunshine. Changbin is loud but funny, and he mainly hangs out with Jisung and Chan. As for the cats, Jeongin used to have a little cast list for them but he gave up as Caramel was really possessive and scared away the other cats.
He manages to not make himself look like a complete asshole to Minho, who swings by even when Jeongin is not his assigned table and they talk about hiking at first, then a multitude of other things after Minho says Jeongin can call him hyung. Minho was intimidating at first, but he’s wickedly funny and sweet, explaining how Chan bought the café when it was just an abandoned building, and had no idea what to do with it. He thought about making it a café but Minho was the one who brought up a cat café as well as being a spot where abandoned cats could be kept safe and adopted out. They work with a local veterinary hospital, and Minho confesses that he wants to become one someday.
“Before I worked here, I used to hike all the time,” Minho says, and he looks out at the window, taking a break by sitting with Jeongin at his table. There’s a strange look that crosses his handsome features as he speaks, and Jeongin frowns slightly; why does he look like he doesn’t get to do this anymore?
Jeongin bites his bottom lip. “Used to?”
Minho smiles sadly, and he fiddles with the napkin on the table. “Yeah, work got to be too busy and it’s expensive as hell just to exist in Seoul. So I’m just … existing right now, trying to get things set up but it’s hard. I’m glad Chan and the others are such good guys; I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle it all otherwise.”
“I’m glad you’re not alone,” Jeongin nods. “I complain about them all the time, but I don’t know what I would do without Gyu and Tae.”
“Must be fun, third wheeling all the time,” Minho teases. “I know the feeling, though, I’m constantly having to play third wheel with Jisung and Hyunjin; the two of them are dancing around each other by fighting with one another and it’s become my personal hell. Like it wasn’t enough when Chan and Hongjoong were flirting with each other.”
Jeongin blinks. “You’re not Jisung’s boyfriend?”
Minho blinks back at him. “No, why?”
“No reason!” Jeongin stammers. “Just wanna make sure I’m not putting my foot in my mouth or something. Haha. Sorry.”
A quirk of a smile comes to Minho’s lips as he leans forward. “Single and ready to mingle,” he says, waggling his eyebrows.
“Oh my god,” Jeongin groans, laughing, though, as Minho is making the weirdest face in an attempt to get Jeongin to crack. “Nobody says that!”
“Chan said it,” Seungmin says as he walks by, a large Maine Coon riding on his shoulders, and he laughs when the Owner makes an offended sound. “Still don’t know how you pulled Kim Hongjoong.”
Chan huffs and pouts, hugging Felix, who just giggles and pats his arms. “Lix they’re being mean to me.”
Felix stifles a laugh and nods sympathetically. “A crying shame, that. – See, look, all you had to do was wait and your boyfriend would appear.”
Curiously, Jeongin turns over towards the front door where a man around Minho and Chan’s age enters, dressed entirely in stylish black clothes, with little pieces cut out to show off beautiful black-ink tattoos. He’s followed by a younger man that’s quite a bit taller, with sweet eyes and a mole under his right eye, and he’s similarly dressed in black. “Who’s that?” he can’t help but ask.
“That’s Hongjoong, Chan’s boyfriend,” Minho explains, sinking his chin into the palm of his hand. “Works at the Tarot shop next door. And that’s Mingi.”
(Mingi?) “Wait, but I thought Mingi worked here,” Jeongin says, blinking.
“They help out here when we’re strapped,” Minho explains, smiling. “Shockingly, there’s not a lot of people coming for tarot readings in the year of our lord, 2022.”
There’s a soft smack on his shoulder and Jeongin turns to see that Hongjoong and Mingi are standing right beside the table. “We don’t do just tarot readings,” he says, a smirk on his lips as he runs a hand through his black and white split-dyed hair. “If you ever came to visit, you’d know that. Seonghwa won’t stop complaining about how you never visit.”
“We’re next door, he can get his fine ass over here to visit,” Minho says, rolling his eyes. “What are you guys here for?”
Mingi smiles, and all intimidation in his handsome face is gone in a second. “We’re just here to talk to Chan. We’ve got a lead on what’s been going on with the cats and the weird shit happening around the neighbourhood.”
Concern flashes on Minho’s face and he nods. “Actually, I’ll come too. – Sorry to cut this short, Jeonginie.” He places a hand on Jeongin’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze with a sweet, apologetic smile. Jeongin’s traitorous heart beats wildly and he nods, swallowing thickly.
“Ah, no, it’s okay,” Jeongin promises, waving his hands. “This seems important.” He watches as everyone waves bye to him, the three men grabbing Chan and going into the back room. (What was that about?) Caramel meows from where he’s seated in a little bed on the table, and Jeongin smiles. “Maybe you could do some recon and let me know, Caramel.” At this, Caramel snorts and flops onto his back, turning away from him. “I can’t believe you’re turning down a chance to be a protagonist.” Jeongin grins and leans over, poking the kitten in the side, laughing as Caramel yowls, pretending to be hurt. “Drama Queen. You’re just like Gyu.”
Unable to help himself, Jeongin bites his bottom lip and looks over to where he can see Minho alongside Chan. They’re talking quite seriously about something, and Hongjoong holds out what looks to be an old book and is pointing to something in it. Before Jeongin can think about what that could possibly do with the neighbourhood cats, a bright smile and pink hair enters his field of vision. “Hello Innie!”
Jeongin gasps and jumps back, one arm holding Caramel's bed and the other one put right over his chest. “H-Hi Mr. Hwang.”
Hyunjin moans and wraps his arms around Jeongin, smooshing the younger man’s face to his chest. “I told you that you could call me hyung!” he insists, pulling back and cupping Jeongin’s cheeks. “You were looking around so lost like that I thought I would come and say hello!”
A small smile comes to Jeongin’s lips and he nods. “I’m okay, just a little worried. Those guys from the Tarot shop came in and they’re talking with Mr. Bang and Mr. Lee about the neighbourhood cat problem? Sounds serious.”
The older man’s expression changes then and he looks almost sad, just like Minho had moments earlier before he smiles pleasantly. “Ah, that,” he says. “That’s something that’s been going on since we opened the café: there’s someone going around and stealing the cats from around here - we’ve lost a couple of our adoptable ones that are outside cats that don’t listen to us - and we’re trying to figure out who’s doing it so we can take it to the police. Hongjoong and Mingi, as well as the other guys from the Tarot shop, they’ve got a pretty big network so they’ve been helping us figure out who’s doing this.”
Jeongin’s mouth is hanging open and he frowns, nodding in understanding; no wonder Minho looked so concerned. “I’ll keep an eye out; I live nearby,” he offers. “I don’t think I’ll be of much help, but…”
“Anything helps,” Hyunjin promises. “But don’t go out of your way; you’re a full time student, right? You should focus on your studies.”
(Yeah, but… I want to help Minho-hyung anyway I can. I don’t like it when he’s so upset,) Jeongin thinks, but he nods. “Okay.” (Maybe I could research a hike or something for us to go on? It might take his mind off things… I’ll ask when his next day off is.) “I’ve gotta head back to the dorm, but let me square away the bill before I go.”
Hyunjin grins. “No dine and dash?”
“It’s not as effective if I don’t have Beomgyu here causing a scene.”
☕️🐈☕️
It’s the night before his final exam for his major and Jeongin is out on the streets, doing a late night convenience store run because he’s too nervous and eating convenience store tteokbokki with a shit ton of cheese is the only way to calm his nerves. He also splurges on a cup of ice and a packet of americano coffee, pouring it into the cup and affixing the lid. Jeongin polishes off the tteokbokki in record time due to his nerves, which are not helped by the extra strong coffee he’s drinking as he exits the convenience store. Deciding to take the long way back so he can try some mind relaxation techniques so his last set of studying hail marys are able to be effective, Jeongin hangs a left and goes down an alley.
(Why do I even wanna go into pharmacology? Oh right, I don’t,) Jeongin thinks dourly, stomping through the alleyway, groaning loudly when he hears a clap of thunder and the heavy roar of rain. “Seriously?! This is bullsh–”
“Mrow!”
Jeongin yelps and jumps back, narrowly avoiding stepping on a calico cat. It has bright green eyes and its multicoloured fur is matted from the rain and muddy street. “Fuck! Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” he whispers, crouching down. “What are you doing out here so…” he trails off, realizing why the cat was sitting in the middle of the alley: there’s a nasty gash on one of its front paws, bleeding profusely and Jeongin grimaces as he can even see a little bone. “Shit, you’re hurt. None of the vet clinics are open now… – okay, executive decision… do you trust me?” He asks the cat, holding out his hand and keeping it steady, while maintaining an open posture; he remembers Minho mentioning the right way to approach a stray cat in one of their conversations.
The cat eyes him and shuffles a little bit closer. Their pretty green eyes kind of remind Jeongin of Minho’s, but he really has to stop thinking about the older man now; he’s got a cat to try and help. The cat meows softly and rubs into Jeongin’s hand, shifting a little bit and allowing Jeongin to wrap him up in his windbreaker. Jeongin does his best not to jostle the cat as he hurries back to his dorm room that he shares with Beomgyu, managing to avoid the upperclassman that’s in charge of their floor before sliding into his dorm room. Jeongin lets out a heavy sigh of relief as he leans against the door, groaning loudly as he toes off his shoes.
“Yo,” greets Beomgyu from where he’s playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 on a busted up old PS1. “Did you gain clarity on how badly you’re going to fail tomorrow!”
“Gyu!”
“Shit, sorry. Yeah, you’re going to rock it, my dude!”
“Shut up and get over here! We have an emergency!”
Beomgyu blinks and looks over, yelping and scrambling to his feet as he sees the calico’s head pop out from the mess of fabric that is Jeongin’s soaked windbreaker. Gently, he peels down the soaked fabric and gently pets the cat’s head. “Jeez, this little guy’s really hurt. I’m gonna check if there’s a vet open. I think I got some extra cash to grab an Uber. Put him on the table and we’ll figure this out – deep breaths, Innie.”
Jeongin suddenly releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding and he nods, carefully bringing the calico over to their shameful excuse of a kitchen table; Beomgyu had bartered/hoodwinked a mean old lady and got the table for practically nothing. Unable to cope with his nerves, Jeongin begins rambling, explaining the story to the cat. “We’re pretty sure she was crazy but hey! We have a table now.”
The cat makes a soft sound that almost sounds like a laugh, but winces and yowls, curling in on itself. It moves so its injured paw doesn’t have any pressure on it, wobbling a little bit before flopping over somewhat dramatically. Jeongin blinks and smiles, gently reaching down to comfort and dry off the cat with some of their discount hand towels that Taehyun’s mom - an absolute saint - gave them out of pity.
“Sorry about this,” Jeongin says apologetically, carefully drying off the cat and being mindful of his injury, cleaning what he can of the injury. “Ah, Gyu! Do you have the first-aid kit?”
“Yeah, and I brought my tablet,” Beomgyu confirms. “Found some ‘how to bandage a cat’s leg’ videos. Youtube’s fucking great, dude.”
Relief floods Jeongin’s frame and he nods. “Yeah, if we can just hold down the fort until tomorrow, I can take him to the vet, or maybe even to Haven. They’d know what to do.”
Beomgyu nods and queues up one of the videos on his tablet, setting up the cover’s stand so that it’s sitting at an angle. Jeongin opens up the first-aid kit, trying to find the bandages that match the one that the lady in the video is using. They’re both pretty awkward with this, but with Jeongin holding the cat and Beomgyu wrapping the bandage, they manage to clean up, disinfect and wrap up the injured leg of the cat without much issue or further injury to the cat.
“I think … I think we did it,” Jeongin whispers, relieved. “Gyu, thanks, man. I owe you one.”
His best friend smiles and shakes his head. “None needed, dude. You know I’m a man of the animals.”
Jeongin smiles weakly. “I did not know that, but I’m glad.” They make a make-shift bed out of a pile of clean laundry in between their two single beds, making sure that the little bed is not in the way of them getting out of bed. They don’t have any cat food, but Jeongin manages to get the cat to drink some water and leaves a little bowl by the bed so the cat can drink from it if he needs to during the night. “I’ll take you to Haven as soon as possible, I promise,” Jeongin whispers. “They’ll know what to do.”
The cat meows quietly and licks his hand before settling into his makeshift bed.
☕️🐈☕️
Jeongin tries to sleep, but his thoughts are consumed by making sure that the little guy is okay and he wakes himself up multiple times during the night to ensure that the calico cat is sleeping peacefully. To his relief, the cat makes it through the entire night without waking up, and is even the one waking Jeongin up in the morning, well before his alarm goes off for his exam at 1:00 p.m. Groaning softly, the young man looks over to his clock, blearily reading the time as 9:59 a.m.
“Oh, right before they open,” Jeongin mumbles, pushing himself up with a hand on the cat’s back. “Hey - how’d you get up here with a bad front wheel?”
The cat meows at him, looking smug as he flicks his tail back and forth. He purrs, though, and puts most of his weight on his healthy legs as he cranes his long body up to nuzzle Jeongin’s cheek.
The blue-haired student smiles and gently hugs the cat, making sure to carefully support the animal’s body as he gets up and makes his way to the kitchenette. “Okay, so I don’t have cat food, but I think I can grab some of the leftover chicken that Gyu was saving in the lounge’s fridge. Gyu won’t be mad.”
“Gyu will be mad, but the cat’s cute so he will overlook it,” Beomgyu declares, having come back from the communal showers, little shower caddy in hand. “Do we have a name for him?”
“No?” Jeongin answers, confused. “Do you?”
Beomgyu nods, because of course he does. “Jackson.”
Jeongin blinks. “Like Jackson Wang from GOT7?”
“Yeah. He's going to be a party cat!”
“You have got to stop reading Wattpad.”
"I read it for the comments!"
"Whatever you say, y/n."
Beomgyu leans down and gently pets the cat, smiling. “You like it, right, little guy?” The cat meows and licks Beomgyu’s hand, much to the boy’s delight. “See! Jackson loves it.”
“Alright, whatever. I’m going to grab the chicken from the fridge and we’re gonna get outta here to Haven,” Jeongin says, quickly getting changed - he can shower later - and shoving his wallet and phone into his pockets. “I found this little flower basket from when we got drunk and did a basket weaving class. We can transport Jackson in this. I put a little blanket in there. What do you think?”
Jackson peers at his new transportation, tilting his little head before gingerly getting into the basket, settling in and nodding.
“You know, I think Jackson can understand us,” Beomgyu says, blinking cutely.
“Whatever you say, cat whisperer,” Jeongin replies, waving a hand as he carefully picks up the basket, heading out of the dorms with his friend and their little furry charge in tow. It doesn’t take long to get to Haven, and Beomgyu opens the door, letting Jeongin in first. “Excuse me!” Jeongin calls urgently. “I found an injured cat in the alley last night and – ARGH!”
There’s a sudden explosion of glitter and smoke, and Jeongin finds himself flat on his back with a human man on top of him. Not just any human man, but –
“Minho-hyung?!” Felix exclaims, hurrying in alongside Chan and the others. “Where have you been?!”
Jeongin stares as Minho carefully gets off of Jeongin, his right hand bandaged. “I was just taking a walk and these ferals ganged up on me - I guess they thought I was on their turf.” He turns and smiles at Jeongin, who is slow to push himself up to a seated position. “Jeongin here saved me.”
The blue haired young man opens his mouth but words are slow to come out. “You were Jackson?!” he exclaims in disbelief.
Minho smiles and nods, helping Jeongin to his feet with his left hand. “I’ll explain,” he offers. “You deserve that much after everything you did for me last night. There’s … there was a curse on this place - we didn’t know about it until the six of us crossed the threshold. The guys from the tarot shop - they’re warlocks - they tried to warn us but it was too late. Whenever we leave the café, we turn into cats.”
Jeongin’s brain struggles to process what he’s hearing, and he turns to Beomgyu, whose eyes are the size of golf balls. “That fucking RULES,” Beomgyu exclaims. “Wait, no, it’s not cool, that sucks, but there’s literal actual magic?!”
“Shut up, Gyu,” Jeongin manages, his brain reeling. He steps forward, swallowing thickly. “Minho-hyung… that’s why you were so upset every time you looked out the window, wasn't it? That’s why you can’t become a vet, why you can’t go hiking?”
Slowly, Minho nods and Jeongin’s heart breaks. “Yeah,” Minho confirms, his voice soft. “Hongjoong and the others are close to reversing the curse, but this is outside of their league so they’re hitting some roadblocks.” Gently, he takes Jeongin’s hand in his, and gives it a sympathetic squeeze. “It really puts a damper on my plans to take you out to dinner.”
Jeongin wheezes in shock, and Beomgyu shrieks with excitement, reaching out and grabbing Felix, who is equally as excited by this development. “W-What? D-Dinner? Like a date – you were going to ask me out on a date?!”
“Well, yeah, I don’t flirt that aggressively with just anyone,” Minho points out, tapping Jeongin’s nose with a finger.
His brain is short-circuiting, but after a moment, everything becomes clear. Jeongin smiles and gives Minho’s uninjured hand a squeeze. “We could have it in here,” he offers. “It’s a lot nicer than my dorm at the – oh, shit! My Exam! I gotta go!”
“Innie, it’s 10:40, you’re fine!” Beogmyu laughs. “Get your date and some smooches in with your boyfriend. You can make your exam easy!”
“Oh my god,” Jeongin whines, putting his face in his hands. “I didn’t sleep at all last night; I was making sure you were able to rest…”
Minho’s expression softens and he carefully wraps his arms around the younger man. “Thank you,” he whispers. “One day, when the curse is gone, I’d like to go on a hike with you.”
Jeongin raises his head and smiles as a blush crosses his cheeks. “I’d like that too.”
“Then it’s a date,” Minho confirms, and a mischievous grin comes to his lips as he leans in and steals a quick kiss, laughing loudly and disengaging, heading to the back. “Chan-hyung! I need your help; where’s the first-aid kit?”
Jeongin stares after the older man, and a small smile comes to his lips as he reaches up to touch them with a finger. “It’s a date,” he whispers to himself.