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Ever since he was a little kid, Yoongi loved animals. During the long summer vacations he spent in the huge garden of his grandparent’s house in Daegu, he would adopt all kinds of animals; from a tiny bird he found on the sidewalk to the one-legged beetle he came across under the big peach tree.
While he loved all kinds of animals, his favorite has always been cats. As years went by, he’s been compared to a cat countless times. Whether that be his looks or attitude, he’s pretty sure all of his friends have a cat emoji for his contact name. No matter how much he's wanted to adopt a kitten, it’s never been possible growing up because his mother is incredibly allergic, so they ended up with their toy poodle Holy, whom Yoongi still loved to death.
When it was decided he would be moving to Seoul for college, the first thing that popped into his head was the idea of having his own apartment so that he can finally adopt a cat. But, per usual, things didn’t go as planned and Yoongi ended up with a cramped dorm with a random roommate for the first two whole years of college, and pets were most definitely not allowed. So he settled for petting and feeding the stray cats around campus and visiting the cat cafe when his budget allowed, and while he still loved each one he met to death, he knows it still wont compare to having his own to cuddle to sleep every night.
So, after working a part-time job for 2 years and selling some beats and lyrics to upcoming artists, he finally had the money to rent his own one bedroom apartment just outside of the campus. The first day he moved into his new place, Yoongi invited his friends Hoseok, Namjoon and Jin to celebrate.
Knowing Yoongi’s plans of adopting, as housewarming gifts, those three bought Yoongi every single thing a cat would need; a litter box, along with a huge bag of litter, a bright red collar with a silver bell attached to it, some cat food and cat toys and finally, a soft bed where Yoongi hoped the cat would never sleep on because he wanted to sleep cuddling the cat at all times.
Yoongi wastes no time, on the third day of living in his new apartment, not even fully unpacked, he makes his way to the shelter. After eating his cereal and coffee as fast as he could, he double checked he had everything he would need incase he adopted a cat immediately and went on his way. There was a shelter close by, where he would donate food whenever he had the chance. He called them just a week ago to ask if they had any cats up for adoption and they assured him that there is always a cat looking for a home.
After a 10 minute walk, he makes his way into the shelter. There’s a middle aged woman at the reception desk, to whom he voices his wishes of adopting a cat.
“Sure,” the lady says, her smile looking like it has been plastered on her face for the last 20 years, “Let me call our friend who is in charge of the cat adoptions and they can help you out.”
He nods and thanks the helpful lady. He keeps looking around and fidgeting because he is too excited. There's no animals out of course, all kept in their respective spaces, but he can faintly hear meows coming from somewhere in the back and his foot taps faster in excitement.
“Hello?” he hears a soft, warm voice and turns to the source of it and his foot stops moving when he sees him.
He has pink hair, pink hair. He’s maybe a hair shorter than him, but so much prettier than Yoongi can ever dream to be. He feels his breath getting knocked out of him for a second when the boy smiles brightly at him and Yoongi stares for just a second longer than normal while he gathers himself to speak.
“Hello,” he bows slightly to the guy, who bows back, somehow his smile is even bigger than before, like he found Yoongi’s bow endearing. And okay maybe he doesn't have to bow, but sue him for being respectful!
“Let me introduce you to our cats, this way.” he motions to his left and they start walking down a long corridor together.
“Ah, Excuse me,” the guy says again. “If you don’t mind, what's your name?” He pauses, then, “just so I can address you the right way,” he adds like a second thought.
Yoongi finds it kind of weird but still, he says “Yoongi, and yours?” for addressing purposes and absolutely nothing else.
“Nice to meet you, Yoongi-ssi, I’m Jimin. Do you have any idea if you want to adopt a kitten or an adult cat?”
They stop in front of a door and through the circle glass on the door, Yoongi can see a playpen full of kittens.
“I don’t have a preference. I just want to play with them and see how it goes for now.”
Jimin gives him another one of his blinding smiles and nods and then pushes open the door, letting Yoongi inside. In the middle of the room, there is the playpen he saw before, where maybe 10 of the kittens are just running around and playing with each other. There are also adult cats hanging around, some still in their boxes, some just laying around on the cat beds scattered around the room. Yoongi could scream from happiness, but instead he looks at Jimin and points at the kittens,
“Can I play with them?”
“Sure” Jimin nods, “Go ahead. Careful of the two calicos though, their mama is also here and she doesn't like it when you touch her babies.”
Yoongi immediately gets closer and drops to his knees, picking up a random kitten, making sure it’s not a calico one. The white and gray cat has bright blue eyes and a pink nose, even his toe-beans are baby pink and Yoongi can’t resist rubbing it against his face. He peppers its belly with kisses and puts it back down before he picks up another one and repeats the process, making sure to give as much attention to each one as possible.
He feels like he’s in heaven.
He loses track of how long he sits and plays with the kittens, giggling and cooing at the tiny kittens who try to climb up his arms. He turns around to find Jimin still there, sitting on a chair next to the door with an orange cat perched on his lap. He's watching Yoongi with a smile on his face but startles when Yoongi turns to look at him. He was so absorbed with the cats he completely forgot Jimin was sitting there and feels his face go hot, like he just got caught doing something embarrassing.
Jimin just smiles at him, “You sure love cats, huh?” he asks and Yoongi nods, attention back on the kitten in his lap.
“Yeah, they’re the best.” he replies as he lets another cat climb onto his lap, a pure white, long haired beauty with the brightest green eyes. “I’ve always wanted one, now that I have my own space, I can finally adopt one.”
“I’m glad you’re adopting and not buying from a breeder.”
“I would never,” he shakes his head. “I hate breeders.”
Jimin just smiles at that and Yoongi goes back to playing with the cats. Most of the adult ones are just watching him from afar, the white one is still on his lap, now kneading his paws against his knee. The kittens are too busy playing to even acknowledge Yoongi.
“The lady on your lap is called Seoltang. She has been with us for 2 months. We think she is just over a year old but you can never truly know with the strays.”
Yoongi smiles, “She's beautiful, and so friendly,” he sees as Seoltang starts rubbing her head on Yoongi’s arm affectionately. It starts to feel slightly awkward when Yoongi realizes he's sitting in a room full of cats and a stranger he just met, but he’s not complaining about said stranger being so pretty. He’s not sure what standard protocol is for cat window shopping, but it wouldn't hurt to make small talk with the worker, right?
“So, how long have you worked at the shelter?”
Jimin looks almost surprised that he’s been asked a question about himself and not about the cats. But he's all too pleased to answer, “Just over a year now actually,” he tells him proudly, “it’s my first job and the best job ever.”
Yoongi had to agree. “I wish I had the same job, honestly. Hanging out with cats all day? Sounds perfect.”
Jimin laughed at that, letting out a squeak Yoongi never heard from a human in his life.
“Yes, apart from cleaning their poop for the first two work hours every day. But honestly, it’s so worth it.”
They talk a little bit more about the cats, and Yoongi finds that he can sit here playing with kittens and listening to Jimin's voice all day if he could. After a bit the conversation dies down as Yoongi continues playing with the cats. He heard from several people, and read on many online blogs that you usually end up adopting the first cat you connect with. And Seoultang being an angel was making the decision easier for Yoongi. So this time, instead of chatting up the pretty worker, he turns around to ask him about the adoption process.
Jimin smiles warmly, telling him he knew Yoongi would choose Seoltang, and explains to him the whole adoption process calmly. Some papers to sign, her shots all done but check-ups needed every few months, a specific type of cat food because Seoltang apparently has a habit of getting mad and not eating if you give her anything with fish in it.
“She is a needy cat,” Jimin says as they go into another room to sign the necessary papers. Seoltang sits calmly in Yoongi’s arms, almost about to doze off like it is the most comfortable place in the world. “You will need to give her lots of cuddles.”
“Oh, that’s not a problem at all,” Yoongi coos, bringing Seoltang’s paw to his lips and kissing it, “I love cuddles. I will cuddle her so hard she’ll get sick of me.”
When he looks up, he sees Jimin smiling brightly at him and the word pretty just crosses through his mind again. Jimin just keeps smiling at him without saying anything.
“What?” Yoongi asks shyly, breaking eye contact and looking back down at the cat.
“Nothing,” Jimin says, tilting his head with a glint in his eyes, “Just realized you’re just as adorable as her.”
Yoongi almost chokes on his own spit but tries not to show it. He ducks his head to try and hide his smile but he feels Jimin grinning at him the whole time. He looks back at Jimin after a second and gives him a soft smile, who returns it before handing him a pen.
“After signing the papers, you can take her home.”
Yoongi gives Seoltang back to Jimin before he picks up the pen and quickly signs the papers, taking care to at least skim over it well before signing. Meanwhile, Jimin carefully puts the cat in the box Yoongi brought along. Once everything is done, Yoongi realizes it is time to say goodbye to the pretty stranger.
Well, Jimin. They were on a first name basis right now, weren’t they?
The issue was that Yoongi didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, it only felt like he’d been here for just a few minutes in Jimin’s presence, but he didn’t know how to continue a conversation if he was already set to leave with Seoltang.
“Thank you,” he says instead, giving him a small bow, “You’ve been so helpful Jimin-ssi.”
Jimin waves his hand like it is no big deal, “Oh of course, it’s always my pleasure to help the cats find loving homes.”
They make their way to the door slowly, as if they were both stalling. Yoongi has Seoltang’s box in his arms, and the adoption papers folded and shoved in the pocket of his jeans. Just when he is about to say his goodbye, Jimin pauses and puts a hand on his arm,
“Could you wait for a second? I forgot to give you something.”
Yoongi nods, thinking it’s maybe a toy Seoltang loves but instead, Jimin comes back with a piece of paper in his hands and holds it out to Yoongi, whose hands are too occupied to take it.
“What is that?” he asks, not being able to see what’s written on the paper.
“Well, you see,” Jimin smirks, “I dont like picking favorites, but Seoltang was definitely on my top 3 list for favorites and well- since you're taking her home,” he holds up the paper a little higher, “I’m giving you my number, I would love to know how she’s settling in, if you don't mind texting me updates, Yoongi-ssi.”
The smile on Jimin’s face is so obvious that it makes Yoongi blush again.
“Sure,” he mumbles, not being able to stop himself from returning the smile, “I’ll keep you updated from the moment we step into my apartment.”
Jimin giggles and tucks the piece of paper into Yoongi’s front pocket before he opens the door for the new duo.
“Send me lots of photos of both of you. Now, I need to get back inside. Mouths to feed, poops to clean, you know the drill.”
Yoongi nods and with another smile, Jimin goes back inside and after a few steps, he looks back at Yoongi and winks, before he goes into one of the rooms.
It takes Yoongi approximately two minutes of standing on the sidewalk to recover from the hurricane that is Jimin. Once he stops blushing, he holds Seoltang at eye level, the cat now just curled up inside the box looking as comfortable as she did before.
“Let’s go, pretty girl.” He murmurs, “Let’s go home and send Jimin pretty photos.”