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The sound of a bell rang out in the entrance of the small cafe as Eui-jae pushed open the door. He turned around and held the entrance open for Lee Sa-young so the younger could follow him into the small establishment.
As he closed the door behind them, a wave of warm air hit Eui-jae, chasing away the chill that clung to his cheeks from walking outside. The pleasant smell of pastries and coffee accompanied by the subtle smell of cats hit his nose as they stepped inside.
He turned around to look at Sa-young as he took off the scarf the other had knitted for him a few months ago. Lee Sa-young looked at Eui-jae, his brown eyes filled with amusement and a little bewilderment. “I didn’t know you liked cats this much, hyung.”
Eui-jae’s ears warmed as he gazed at the other’s face. “Cats are cute,” he mumbled as he tugged off his jacket. He turned around and nodded towards the front desk. “Let’s go.”
~•~
Eui-jae had been planning this outing for a long time.
Sa-young was always so considerate of Eui-jae, even when he didn’t deserve it. He always cooked and helped around at their place and rarely complained, so Eui-jae felt that he needed to show his appreciation in some way.
When he noticed that Sa-young seemed fond of cats, he immediately got the urge to bring the other to a cat cafe. Sa-young had a habit of sending pictures of his day to Eui-jae while the other wasn’t home. It ranged from pictures of food he was cooking to landscape photos, really anything that Sa-young thought Eui-jae would appreciate.
The pictures were like a gentle reminder that someone was waiting for him at home, so when Sa-young started sending pictures with their neighbour’s cat in their backyard he wanted to see the other with a cat. Or more. It didn’t have to be only one.
The mental image of Sa-young sitting across from him surrounded by cats with a content expression on his face made a warm feeling spread in his chest, and he longed to experience it in real life.
The problem was whether or not he himself could find the time in his schedule. He needed to get some time off work, which was difficult with the importance of his job, and he would need to match that time with the cafe’s working hours.
It had been a struggle to plan all of this with all the work hunter J had to do every day, but Eui-jae was determined to do something nice for Sa-young, so he never gave up the idea.
Eui-jae would spend his time researching, looking for the right cafe to visit, scouring the reviews and looking at various pictures and videos to find the perfect one. It would need to be suitable for Sa-young, so he poured everything into finding the cafe.
If hunter J was seen browsing through different reviews for cat cafes no one said a word. If anything, seeing the soft side of the mysterious hunter J endeared him to them.
(And if he had gotten a few recommendations from Seo Mingi about good cafes he had visited with Jung Bin or a few text messages with links to several cafes from Ham Seok-jeong, that was neither here nor there.)
As Eui-jae spent his time searching for the perfect cafe, he also kept an eye out for a chance to get a break off of work, so when he finally saw the chance to go he immediately told Sa-young to get ready so they could go out.
Sa-young had looked at Eui-jae’s face for a second and after seeing the excited glint in his eyes he simply smiled and complied with the request. He hadn’t asked where they were going and Eui-jae hadn’t planned to tell him, wanting to surprise the other.
They had both simply gotten ready in a comforting silence, moving around in their home with a natural ease that only came from several years of living together. Eui-jae had made sure the other was dressed properly in his winter attire to combat the cold, carefully wrapping a scarf around the other's neck.
They had left their home hand in hand, Eui-jae tugging Sa-young towards their car. As Eui-jae drove them both to the cat cafe he had carefully chosen, he felt lighter than he had in a long time.
It had been a lot of work to plan all of this, but sitting peacefully in the cat cafe with Sa-young and seeing the soft look on his face made it all worth it.
The thought of seeing Lee Sa-young safe and surrounded by cats had made a warm feeling spread through Eui-jae’s chest and seeing it happen in real life filled him with a sense of peace that he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Gentle lighting fell on Sa-young’s features, making him look peaceful in the calm atmosphere of the cafe. His black hair fell over his forehead, looking soft to the touch. Eui-jae wanted to run his hands through the silky locks, but he refrained—they were still in public.
He looked away from the younger man, missing the flush that overtook his ears while he stared.
Suddenly a black cat jumped into Eui-jae’s lap, surprising the man. He froze as he looked at the cat settling down on top of his legs, his hands hovering in the air. He looked down at the cat and then up at Sa-young, his eyes wide.
“Sa-young,” he whispered urgently. “What do I do?”
His fingers twitched in the air.
Sa-young blinked back at his slightly panicked hyung before he broke into a laugh. “Hyung, you’re not scared of cats, are you?” Sa-young’s brown eyes twinkled with mirth, his lips curling into a teasing smile. “Just pet it.”
At the sight of Sa-young’s smiling face, Eui-jae felt himself settling down. The black cat had elegantly settled on his lap and was lazily cuddling into Eui-jae’s thigh.
It was… nice.
He slowly brought down his hands from the air, hovering them close to the cat but not touching it. It looked so small and vulnerable laying on his lap. He turned over his hands and looked at his calloused palms.
His chest started to feel tight.
Why did it seem so daunting to pet the cat?
He silently stared at his palms, until the sight of his rough hands were suddenly blocked by paler ones. “Hyung,” Sa-young gently squeezed Eui-jae’s hands in his own, “what’s wrong?” Eui-jae looked up at Sa-young’s concerned expression, a helpless one on his own.
Sa-young looked back, a contemplating look in his eyes before he slowly opened his mouth, “Have you never pet a cat before, hyung?” The corner of his plump lips turning up into a small smirk.
“What?”
Eui-jae furrowed his eyebrows. Of course he had! It had just been before he awakened.
He stared at Sa-young with incredulity painted on his face, but the younger one just dipped his head, looking up at Eui-jae from beneath his long lashes and blinking slowly. The picture-perfect image of an innocent person.
The brat was teasing him.
“Here, I’ll help you.” Sa-young gently pushed down their intertwined hands down until Eui-jae’s palms landed in the cat’s black fur. The radiating warmth from the cat seeped into Eui-jae’s fingers and settled in his chest.
He experimentally ran his hands across the fur, and let out a surprised hum when the cat pushed itself further against him.
Sa-young let go of Eui-jae’s hands and leaned back in his chair, a soft smile on his plump lips. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” Eui-jae glanced up at Sa-young for a moment and gave a noncommittal hum as an answer before turning all of his attention towards the black cat laying on his lap.
Now that Sa-young had helped him break his weird wariness, Eui-jae didn’t hold back anymore. The cat was so soft and pliant under his hands as he started running his fingers across the silky fur.
His gaze was locked on the cuddly cat as he started petting it with a new vigour, a small smile spreading on his lips. It reacted so well to all of his touches, snuggling closer to his thighs and rubbing its head against his hands. Eui-jae couldn’t help but keep giving it attention.
‘It kinda reminds me of Sa-young…’
The smile on his face widened as he stared lovingly at the cat, gently petting and scratching it with careful hands.
Eui-jae was so occupied with the cat that he failed to notice Sa-young’s slight frown at the amount of affection his hyung was showering the cat in. He had tried to be patient, but watching his hyung coo lovingly at the cat made him frown, the cat seemed too smug about getting his hyung’s attention.
“Hyung…” Sa-young dramatically fell onto the table between them, laying his head on his arms and staring up at Eui-jae through his bangs.
“Hm?”
Eui-jae kept petting the cat, not even looking up.
Sa-young’s pout deepened.
“Hyung.” He scooted his chair closer to Eui-jae and leaned into his space, pressing their sides flush against each other.
“Yeah?”
Eui-jae kept petting the cat, his eyes captured by the preening creature.
“Hyung, I’m still here.” He nuzzled his head into Eui-jae’s neck, pressing his cheek against the other’s shoulder.
Eui-jae finally looked up at Sa-young. “Yeah, of course you are.” He scratched behind the cat’s ear. “I brought you here with me.” He smiled at Sa-young, but the younger man just pouted at him, his plump lips pulling down into a dramatic frown.
Eui-jae furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Why is he frowning…?’ He looked intently at Sa-young’s face before a lightbulb went off in his head.
‘Oh!’
“Do you want the cat, Sa-young?” He tilted his head at the younger questioningly.
Sa-young’s frown soured.