Work Text:
A man wearing glasses was telling his increasingly handsome son the family legend story:
"It's said that our ancestor, who was very good-looking but extremely arrogant, hurt many men and women, angering some gods and thus got cursed. The curse was that any handsome man would turn into a monster and be killed by humans."
"But a god who loved to see beautiful things thought it was a pity to have such good genes cut off, so the curse was modified so that only on their birthday would they turn into monsters."
His son, who was still in kindergarten and very good-looking, replied, "Dad, can you stop making up stories? If this were true, how come you never changed? Just admit that I'm a monster already..."
"That's because Dad became ugly, so I didn't change. If you don't believe me, you can ask your mom."
"Ugly?" The little son was full of doubt, feeling like his father was making things up again.
"Really, I became ugly after serving in the military. Maybe the gods think that people who have served in the military aren't handsome anymore." The father shed a tear that no one could quite understand.
##
On a summer afternoon, Hobin, who had been tortured half to death by Taehoon's training, finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Master, um... are you free on August 4th? How about we go somewhere alone?"
Taehoon raised an eyebrow in surprise, then answered somewhat regretfully, "…I'm not free."
No wonder Hobin had been looking at him for days, as if he had something to ask or say, but when asked, he would reply that it was nothing.
"So, you already have plans for that day, hahaha." Hobin scratched his head, trying to hide his disappointment. "Then I'll leave now! My mom wants to have dinner at home tonight!" With that, Hobin grabbed his backpack and ran off.
"Oh, hey wait—" Taehoon had no time to react. "That idiot."
Taehoon wasn't stupid. He had noticed Hobin acting strangely around him for days, as if he had something important to say. Today, he finally found out that Hobin wanted to ask him out. Taehoon definitely didn't want to refuse Hobin's invitation. He liked Hobin.
Moreover, it was his birthday. The ambiguity between them had been going on for a while, and Taehoon could guess Hobin's intentions.
There was no way Taehoon wanted to refuse, but he had a secret that forced him to. Even if he explained, no one would probably believe him.
So he had no choice but to send a message telling Hobin to move his ass and come back for training tomorrow.
In the following days, everything went on as usual, with training and streaming continuing as expected.
Hobin seemed to avoid spending time alone with Taehoon, bringing along Snapper or Baby Chick when coming to the dojo, and claiming that it was to stream and make some extra money.
"Master, are you free on August 3rd?" Hobin asked this time with a relaxed attitude, quite different from his previous hesitation.
"I'm free." Not wanting to miss the opportunity again, Taehoon quickly agreed.
"Snapper! Taehoon said he’s free!" Hobin explained to Ji-hyeok, who was in the corner checking the footage. Ji-hyeok responded with an 'OK' sign.
"Why? Aren’t we going out alone to have fun?" Taehoon asked, pulling Hobin by the collar and forcing him to lean back. Hobin's slender neck, dotted with sweat, was exposed, and Taehoon couldn't help but feel affectionate seeing his vulnerable side.
"We decided to celebrate your birthday at the company. I’ll also make your favorite egg rolls. Is that okay?" Hobin looked up at him, his expression pleading, which Taehoon found endearing.
"Sure," Taehoon replied, unable to resist that innocent face. "But remember to buy some alcohol." He secretly decided to find a chance to explain to Hobin during the birthday party why he couldn’t go out with him the next day.
"Can't do that. Some of our buddies are underage!" Hobin lightly tapped Taehoon’s chest with both hands, his touch gentle and almost like a pout. But the company’s fridge was already stocked with the beer Taehoon had brought, so there was no need to buy more.
From afar, Snapper watched the scene and seemed to click his tongue.
Seeing this, Taehoon immediately hugged Hobin and smiled at Snapper.
Hobin made a playful noise and said, "Help! I can’t move!" Snapper looked away, unable to stomach the sight.
Taehoon thought to himself that he would have to break through this layer of misunderstanding himself.
He had planned to find the right moment during the birthday party to explain to Hobin why he couldn’t go out with him on August 4th, as he wouldn’t have another chance to explain later today and tomorrow.
At the party, everyone happily celebrated Taehoon’s birthday. It was a rare occasion without live streaming, so they decided to drink all the beer that Taehoon had brought and stored in the company’s refrigerator. As the night went on, the scene became increasingly chaotic, and even Hobin, along with Snapper, drank until they were incoherent, babbling about how next time they’d surpass the viewership record of their first video by using kelp for a fight.
Seeing that the host had already passed out, the sober members cleaned up the mess and left one by one, confident that Taehoon would stay at the company. Taehoon carefully tucked Hobin, who was sleeping in the living room, into the bed in the bedroom, covering him lovingly with a blanket and giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.
As midnight approached, Taehoon hurriedly hid his shoes in an unused shoe cabinet and stashed his phone in the gap between the sofa cushions. He quickly took cover in the back of the closet, where there was a small box in the corner, but he had no time to look at it closely.
Taehoon has a secret, or rather, his family has a secret that seems like something out of a fairy tale. Every good-looking man in the family turns into a monster on his birthday. As for why this happens to handsome men and why they are cursed, his father had mentioned it a few times, but Taehoon didn’t pay much attention and has completely forgotten. If he didn’t transform into a non-human form on his birthday, he wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous story.
The clothes covering Taehoon, who was no longer human, were no longer suitable. He struggled to free himself and jumped out of the closet. The familiar environment now seemed enormous. Although this happened every year, Taehoon still found it quite disorienting. Places that once took a single step to reach now required two, and after much effort, he finally managed to jump into Hobin’s arms to sleep.
##
"So cute," a hand gently and softly stroked Taehoon's back. When Taehoon opened his eyes, he saw Hobin, who had also just woken up: "How did this little kitten get in here?"
"Meow." Taehoon, transformed into a cat, could only meow no matter how much he tried to call out.
"You must be hungry. Let's find something to eat," Hobin said, picking up Taehoon and heading to the living room.
Snapper was lying on the floor, still covered with a blanket, and everyone else had already left. Even Taehoon was gone.
Hobin happened to notice a reflective object on the sofa—it was Taehoon's phone. "What's the rush today? Even forgetting the phone," he said, noticing there were no shoes at the door.
Taehoon, feeling mischievous, used his hind legs to kick Snapper awake: "Ouch!" He didn't expect his phone to be found and used this chance to vent his frustration.
"Meow." After waking Snapper, Taehoon slowly walked over to Hobin, who was squatting in front of the fridge looking for something to make, and showed off his praiseworthy attitude.
"So well-behaved," Hobin said, petting Taehoon's chin, which made Taehoon raise his head and purr contentedly. "We don't have any milk, so we'll just have plain rice porridge. Is that okay?"
‘I want chips!’
Unfortunately, Taehoon couldn’t communicate this, so Hobin assumed he was agreeing and continued to prepare food in the kitchen.
To avoid disturbing Hobin, Taehoon, being very considerate, went to the living room and knocked Snapper's phone out of reach. "Why is this cat always targeting me? But it’s so beautiful," Snapper said as Taehoon kept dodging his approaching hand.
Once the rice porridge was ready, and as Hobin brought it out, Snapper immediately complained, "It’s unfair! The cat only pays attention to you."
Taehoon jumped onto Hobin’s lap as he sat on the floor, "It must be because you smell."
"Please, you also smell like alcohol. And why is no one caring that I'm lying on the floor!"
"Alright, alright, eat quickly," Hobin said. He suddenly remembered that his last memory from the previous night was dancing with Snapper and talking about using kelp for something. He was puzzled about how he had ended up in bed. "At least someone covered you with a blanket," he added.
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
"You're being so kind to it. Do you really need to feed it bite by bite?" Snapper asked, watching Hobin scoop up the rice porridge with a spoon, blowing on it to cool it down before feeding the picky cat in front of him.
"It’s so cute~" Hobin said, grabbing Taehoon’s front paws and mimicking a wave, then secretly sniffing the cat’s head. “Why does it smell like Taehoon?”
Noticing that Hobin kept sniffing, Taehoon, feeling embarrassed and scared, jumped down.
"I don't want to know," said Snapper, sitting across from them. He really wanted to throw a piece of kimchi from his chopsticks over. He had no interest in knowing what Taehoon’s smell was like, nor did he want to know why the person opposite seemed to be aware of it.
“Don’t you think this cat looks a lot like Taehoon?”
Snapper shot a look at Hobin, thinking: This guy must be infatuated with Taehoon; he can connect everything to Taehoon. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, “So, what are you planning to do today? I’m heading home soon.”
"First, I should return the phone to Taehoon’s place. Maybe his dad will know where Taehoon went, and then we can check around to see if anyone recognizes this cat."
“Meow meow!” Taehoon jumped up anxiously, pawing at Hobin’s leg, hoping to prevent this plan.
He hadn't let his dad know that Hobin was unaware of the situation.
No matter how much Taehoon clawed at Hobin's clothes, Hobin didn't change his mind. "We smell like alcohol; we can't go like this!"
If Taehoon's dad thought they were bad friends because of the smell, it would be terrible. They've already caused his precious son to get hurt several times, potentially ruining their reputation.
"Meow, meow, meow!" Taehoon resisted as he was put into the floating plastic wash basin in the bathtub, thinking, 'You’re the ones who need a bath! Why are you pulling me into the water?' But, of course, no one understood him.
He didn't dare scratch Hobin, though, because Hobin was already undressed, and he was afraid of hurting him.
In the end, he could only sit submissively in the floating plastic wash basin.
Then, Taehoon stared at Hobin, who was inexplicably kneeling in the bathtub, deciding between soap and body wash, exposing his round and smooth buttocks. He could even vaguely see the area between the two cheeks...
Couldn't he have picked them out before getting into the bathtub?
Taehoon's mind was suddenly like a runaway kite, full of chaos. He had, of course, seen Hobin naked before when changing clothes at the dojo, but he had never had the chance to observe such a private area up close. This was too shocking and stimulating for him!
"Mew mew…" Taehoon tried to protest, but his eyes were inevitably drawn to Hobin's butt. He let out a reluctant sigh, accepting the reality before him.
Hobin finally chose a body wash and began to seriously bathe both himself and Taehoon. This was both a torment and a blessing for Taehoon. The torment was that he couldn't reveal his true identity, but the blessing was feeling Hobin's meticulous care.
As a human, Hobin also let Taehoon have his way.
"Be good, this way you'll be clean." Hobin said gently, as he softly scrubbed Taehoon.
"Mew." Luckily, he wasn't an ordinary cat, as cats shouldn't use human body wash. He'd have to remind Hobin of this later.
"Oh, so you're a little boy." Taehoon was enjoying being pampered until Hobin washed between his legs. "You're so affectionate, I thought you were a house cat. People don't spay their cats anymore?"
"Mew!!" Taehoon quickly pushed away Hobin's foam-covered hand. He hadn't even touched Hobin there, so how could Hobin touch him first?
After the bath, Hobin carefully dried Taehoon's fur with a towel.
"You really treat this cat like a treasure." Snapper, who was cleaning up, commented, slightly helpless at Hobin's attentive care.
"He's really cute." Hobin chuckled softly, placing Taehoon on the sofa and making sure he was comfortable. "I want to go return the phone now."
Seeing that Hobin and Snapper were about to leave without him, Taehoon quickly jumped off the sofa and nestled by Hobin's feet, showing that he wanted to go with them.
"Just take him with you." Snapper suggested, finding it suspicious how affectionate the cat was towards Hobin, but also thinking it cruel to leave the cat alone in a stranger's home.
Hobin nodded, crouching down with open arms. "Come on." Taehoon naturally jumped into Hobin's arms.
After saying goodbye to Snapper, Taehoon remained well-behaved, only occasionally patting Hobin's cheek with his soft paws as they walked.
When Hobin rang Taehoon's doorbell and the door opened, Taehoon's dad, Seong Hansoo, saw Taehoon's frantic paw waving and immediately understood, despite his son not having said anything. "Hobin and Ta... looking for Taehoon?" he asked. "He's not home right now, but I can assure you he's safe."
"Not home? Where could he have gone without even taking his phone?" Hobin took Taehoon's phone out of his pocket. "In this day and age, who doesn't carry their phone everywhere? And how can you be so sure he's safe if you don't know where he is... Oh, right, because it's Taehoon."
"Hobin, you keep his phone for now. I think Taehoon will come to you for it tomorrow." Seong Hansoo patted the small head of the cat curled up in Hobin's arms. "Can this cat stay with you for a day? Just as a favor for the help last time." And he took out his wallet and handed Hobin some money for taking care of the cat.
'What help? Why don't I know about this?'
"Oh? Alright, no problem." Seeing the cat in his arms meowing but staying still as Taehoon's dad petted it, Hobin thought it must be Taehoon's family's cat. Naturally, he agreed.
"Thanks, Hobin."Seong Hansoo patted Hobin's shoulder, and with two phones and a cat, Hobin left Taehoon's house.
"So, what should we do now?" Since the cat was familiar with Taehoon, there was no need to ask the neighbors. They suddenly found themselves with some free time.
The more Hobin thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Where could Taehoon have gone? He had clearly declined his invitation earlier.
"Let's go find Taehoon." Taehoon, now on Hobin's shoulder, lazily meowed as if to say, 'whatever.'
First, they went to the arcade Taehoon often visited, but there was no sign of him. The owner also said he hadn't seen the tall, handsome boy today.
Then they went to the usual burger joint and convenience store, but still no sign of Taehoon.
"Why isn't Taehoon's father worried about his son disappearing?" Hobin, feeling hot, bought ice cream and instant noodles with the money given by Taehoon's father. Taehoon wanted to eat the noodles, shoving his head into the bowl. "Hey, you can't do that!"
"Don't you think it's suspicious? He didn't bring his phone, his dad doesn't know where he is, but today is his birthday!" Seeing it was almost evening, Hobin planned to buy some necessities and return to the company. He couldn't keep animals at home, so he would sleep at the company tonight.
"What could be important enough for him to refuse my date invitation? What does that even mean?" Hobin squatted in the pet food section, selecting cat food. Taehoon knocked each canned cat food and dry cat food stick out of Hobin's hand. "Why don't you like any of these? You were so happy eating the porridge at noon."
'Because you made it.'
Hobin scratched the cat's chin. "Do you think Taehoon is rejecting me? I thought he liked me." He began to get frustrated as he continued talking. "If he doesn't, then why does he do so many things that make me misunderstand?" He decided to buy one of each canned cat food on the shelf.
'I didn't reject you…' Taehoon's ears and tail drooped.
"I'm not scolding you. Did I scare you? Sorry." Hobin picked up Taehoon and patted his back.
'I really like you… you idiot.' Taehoon nuzzled Hobin's cheek with his nose, hoping to convey his feelings.
"Alright, let's go home."
Back at the company, Hobin placed the various cat foods and other items on the table, while Taehoon sat obediently, watching Hobin's every move.
"You must be hungry," Hobin said, opening a can of cat food and placing it in front of Taehoon. "Here, eat up."
Taehoon sniffed it and then pushed it away.
Even the most beloved meat sticks were pushed away. "You're really strange. Luckily, there's some porridge left from lunch. How about I add a bit of egg to it for you?"
'Okay.' Taehoon nodded and wagged his tail, hoping Hobin would understand.
Hobin prepared dinner and set it on the coffee table. He turned on the TV, found a light-hearted show, and sat on the sofa. "Let's watch some TV and relax," he said. Taehoon jumped up to join him.
Taehoon whined and patted Hobin's arm with his paw, wanting to be fed like at lunch.
"Alright, alright." After spending the day together, Hobin got a sense of this cat's temperament, which was quite similar to Taehoon's. Is it true that pets take after their owners?
After finishing dinner and taking a break, Hobin decided to take a shower. Even though he had already showered in the morning, he felt grimy after sweating all day. As he walked back to his room and opened the closet, he let out a scream, startling Taehoon, who had been lounging sleepily in the living room, causing him to rush to the room.
"Why are Taehoon's clothes here?" Hobin muttered, rifling through the garments. "Even his underwear is here." It was as if Taehoon had vanished, leaving behind the entire outfit he had been wearing.
"But his shoes… No way!" Hobin rushed to the door and opened the shoe cabinet, finding a pair of Taehoon's high-top canvas shoes.
Had Taehoon really vanished into thin air?
Hobin thought he should call Taehoon, but then remembered Taehoon's phone was with him.
"This is bad." He didn't know Taehoon's phone password.
Taehoon, following Hobin around, kept meowing, hoping Hobin would calm down.
Hobin quickly called Taehoon's father to check on Taehoon, but after several calls went to voicemail.
Seeing Hobin give up and sit on the bedroom floor, holding a small box Taehoon had glimpsed in the wardrobe before, and Taehoon's phone in the other hand, Taehoon nudged the box with his nose, signaling Hobin to explain.
Hobin pulled Taehoon into his lap before opening the box. "You want to see?" he asked. Inside was a Taekwondo association watch, but unlike the one Taehoon had, the face was unblemished. "I asked your dad to borrow this from you. I noticed your watch face was nearly cracked, so I wanted to get it fixed." Taehoon looked closely and saw that even the strap had been replaced with a new one.
No wonder Taehoon's dad was puzzled when he suddenly asked to borrow Taehoon's watch, saying his own watch was missing and he might need to borrow it until after his birthday.
"But I was really worried he'd be angry, so I kept the original strap and watch face. See?" Hobin took out the watch and lifted the velvet at the bottom of the box, revealing the scratched watch face and the worn-out strap.
'He won't be angry, thank you…' This was the best birthday gift ever. But why didn't he give it to him yesterday?
"But what's really going on with Taehoon? Is he some kind of superhero from a sci-fi universe?" Hobin put the gift away and held his head in frustration, unable to make sense of his jumbled thoughts.
'Calm down, you idiot.' Taehoon rhythmically patted Hobin's head with his front paws.
"Ugh, maybe I should try guessing Taehoon's phone password first." Since Hobin wasn't sure if he should call the police yet, he decided to check Taehoon's phone for any useful information.
"Taehoon's birthday... no, maybe his birth year... not that either." Hobin tried several passwords in succession, including the date of Taehoon's first live stream. "Oh no, one more wrong attempt and I'll be locked out for good."
"Idiot, it's your birthday!" Taehoon, trying to prevent his phone from getting locked again, frantically shook Hobin to make him stop. "You've already made so many wrong attempts that it locked for 60 minutes. Don't keep trying."
"Oh, it opened." While Taehoon wasn't paying attention, Hobin tried again, and it was his own birthday.
Hobin became even more confused, his mind a tangled mess. Taehoon disappeared on his birthday, but his phone's password was set to Hobin's birthday.
"What does this even mean?" Hobin didn't notice that the time on his phone had reached midnight. The cat that had been sitting on him transformed into a tall, naked man, the weight of which caused Hobin to fall backward onto the floor.
"What else could it mean? Of course, I like you." The person was none other than Taehoon, whom Hobin had been looking for all day.
"Cat turned into Taehoon?!" Whether it was due to the shock of the situation, Hobin fainted immediately.
"Hey, idiot!" Taehoon called out. Before passing out, it seemed Hobin had glanced at Taehoon's crotch...
##
After placing Hobin back on the bed and covering him with a blanket, Taehoon put on his own clothes.
Not long after, Hobin woke up and said, "So you turn into a cat every year on your birthday."
"Yes," Taehoon replied, sitting on the bed.
"You should have told me earlier! You made me misunderstand the whole situation." Hobin said. No wonder Taehoon's dad wasn't worried about him going missing—he was with me the entire time!
"How about you? Why didn't you give me my birthday present?" Taehoon asked, motioning for Hobin to help him put on the watch that had finally been returned to him.
"You can put it on yourself," Hobin muttered, but Taehoon's glare made him comply, muttering softly, "You were so cute when you were a cat."
"What did you say?" Taehoon asked, satisfied with his gift.
"No! Nothing at all!" Hobin genuinely thought this person was too intimidating. Why did he like someone like this? "So, do you really like me?"
Taehoon looked at Hobin, who seemed both shy and a bit anxious, and stubbornly avoided answering the question. "Don't you think I'm a monster?"
"Monster? That cute, affectionate cat doesn't look like a monster at all." Taehoon felt like Hobin might prefer him as an animal rather than a person.
"Do you like me or the cat?" Taehoon challenged.
"Do you like me or not?" Hobin retorted.
Due to neither of them willing to express their feelings to each other, it's no wonder their relationship remained ambiguous for so long.
Taehoon guessed Hobin would most likely say, "Aren't they both you?" Unable to bear it any longer, he gave the little fool he both loved and was frustrated with a light kiss on the lips.
"Hey, that kiss wasn't very romantic." Taehoon laughed a lot, thinking that saying that wasn't romantic either. He laughed at Hobin's lack of understanding. "What's so funny?" Hobin asked.
"I like you, I really like you. That's why I wanted to spend my birthday with you." Taehoon pinched Hobin's soft cheeks, causing him to yelp before letting go.
"I like you too," Hobin said, rubbing his pinched cheek, the other side turning rosy from embarrassment. "Even though today is the 5th, happy birthday, Taehoon!"
"I have a birthday wish," Taehoon whispered, their noses almost touching. "Only you can make it come true."
"What is it?" Hobin closed his eyes, blushing.
"Be my boyfriend," Taehoon said, this time giving Hobin a very romantic and tender kiss.
When the kiss ended, Hobin wrapped his arms around Taehoon's neck and nodded. "We have to celebrate every birthday together from now on."
"Of course," Taehoon replied, hugging Hobin tightly.
Hobin seemed to remember something and pushed Taehoon away slightly. "Your dad said he's sending you to the army after you graduate. What to do about your birthday then?"
"I heard that serving in the army makes you ugly, so I guess it doesn't matter," Taehoon said, recalling how his dad had told him this personally. But why would his dad tell Hobin about him going to the army?
"Huh???" Hobin was full of questions.
"Alright, let's sleep. I'm so tired," Taehoon said, ignoring his new boyfriend's confusion and turning off the light.“
"Oh? Goodnight, Taehoon."
Sweet dreams.