Chapter Text
***
Cats aren't allowed in Minho's apartment.
This was a very sad fact, as Minho always wanted a cat, but as he couldn't find anywhere else to live at a price he could afford, at the time there was no choice other than to suffer a cat-less life.
He settled for feeding the stray cats around the building and on his walk to work at a little dance studio down the road. Hyunjin, his co-worker, was allergic to cats, and therefore complained every time Minho fed the stray cats in the back alley of the studio.
"I can't be sneezing every time I go outside, Minho. No matter how cute they are, please feed them a little farther off," he would say.
"Then don't breathe," Minho would reply. He didn't have a lot of sympathy for someone whose body rejected cats. He always thought there was something wrong with Hyunjin, and his allergy only proved his point.
So although Minho couldn't live his dream of being a cat owner, he made do with the situation and found himself content despite it all.
Until Jisung came along.
***
One day, one of his students in a younger class came up to him after a lesson and pulled slightly on his sleeve. Minho crouched with a soft smile and patted the young girl's head to lessen her look of apprehension.
"Mr. Minho sir," she said quietly.
"Yes Miss Anna?" He replied.
She looked down for a moment, as if thinking up what to say, and then shyly met his eyes. "Can you help Jiji?"
His brow furrowed, unsure what to make of her question.
"Who's Jiji?"
She twiddled her thumbs a bit. "You said you like kitties, right?"
Ah, Minho thought. So Jiji is a cat.
Minho nodded with a smile. "I do! Kitties are my favorite animal. Is your Jiji a kitty?"
She shook her head. "He's not mine. I mean, he is a kitty, but he's not mine. Can you help him?"
This only served to make Minho more confused. Kids really had the most roundabout way of saying things sometimes. But she couldn't have been more than six years old, in his youngest class for ages 5-7, so he mustered up as much patience as he could and continued the conversation.
"Maybe." Her eyes shone so bright with hope at his reply. "Whose kitty is it?"
She held now fear now, only hope, as she looked him directly in the eyes. "I found him outside! And mama said that she is amergic or something so we can't keep her. But you're not amergic, right, since you love kitties? Can you help him please please please!"
Oh. So a stray cat, then. Minho sighed, unsure. His first thought was that no, of course he couldn't help her. If he brought the cat to a shelter, it would most likely get put down, and he couldn't bring the cat home either. But then he made the mistake of looking into her eyes again and of course he couldn't say anything but, "Of course, Miss Anna."
She squealed, throwing her arms around his leg and squeezing as tight as she could. "Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you Mr. Minho! Jiji will be so happy!"
Minho couldn't help but smile at the young girl, despite the fact that he had just put himself in a difficult position. Alas, there was a cat on the line and a little girl's happiness. Who was he to say no?
When the little girl pulled away she smiled a smile as bright as a thousand suns, and Minho hoped he had done the right thing.
***
Anna's mother, who had scolded Anna for roping Minho into the situation, had kindly told Minho about the stray cat that had come up to their house the day before. She said it had looked quite starving and dirty, but otherwise okay. She was worried having a wild cat around with Anna, but ensured Minho that the cat had been incredibly sweet so far. Although she unfortunately couldn't get anywhere near it, or her allergies would start acting up and she would sneeze like crazy. She had the same thought as Minho, to call a shelter, but was worried for the cat's life if she were to do so. She didn't want to leave food out for long periods of team either or other wild animals were sure to follow. They had just gotten rid of the racoons and possums around and didn't want to risk them coming back again. She also asked all the neighbors but all of them said that either they didn't want a cat or they couldn't take care of one, especially a stray. She was at a standstill until Anna told Minho.
"She named the poor thing Jiji, despite me telling her not to name it lest she get attached. But she's a kid, you know. Hard to tell them not to love something, especially when it's so cute and helpless," she told him while walking out to the parking lot. "You good to follow me? It's not far from here, and he usually comes around the house about this time of day."
Minho nodded and climbed in his car, ignoring the little feeling in the back of his head that told him this was a bad idea. He had nowhere to bring a cat, nothing he could do. He started the ignition and followed anyway.
They pulled up a few minutes later to a small neighborhood with quaint little houses rounded around a loop. It was eerily silent, and as the sun began to come down the pristine streetlights that flicked on one by one made it all the more unsettling. The lawns were cut immaculately straight and short and the driveways were swept clean, even the ones under the large maple trees in the middle of autumn. He understood then why none of the neighbors were likely to take in a stray cat. He doubted any of them had pets without pureblood certificates and pedigrees.
Minho stepped out of the car into the evening, ignoring the chill down his spine (possibly due to the cool breeze as the sun went down...possibly) and followed Anna's mother and Anna herself who had sprinted through the white picket gate (no, really) and past the house to the backyard.
"Anna, don't run off like that!" Her mother yelled after her, but the little girl had no qualms about disregarding her mother's wishes. Of course, there was a cute cuddly cat on the line, so Anna just sighed to herself and gestured Minho through the gate.
He took each step carefully, feeling like he was being watched through front windows and peepholes, and waited until Anna's mother was through to traipse after her.
The backyard was quite cozy, with a large yard covered in more perfectly manicured grass and a smattering of trees. Here though, the leaves were left to fall where they pleased, scattered across the lawn in their autumnal colors. There was a wooden swing in one corner of the lawn, and a handcrafted playhouse in the other. It felt safe. A perfect haven for that of a stray cat.
Anna looked back at Minho with that sunny smile of hers and wasted no time in taking his hand and practically dragging him to the playhouse. She threw open the door and there, curled up in what looked like a bundle of discarded towels and blankets, was a small caramel-colored cat. The cat was peacefully sleeping, eyes closed and breath even. It must've really been tired to sleep even with a stranger nearby.
Minho could see each ridge of its spine and every individual rib of its torso. Its tail was extraordinarily long for such a small kitten, which made Minho wonder if it was a kitten at all, or just a severely malnutritioned runt of the litter. Whatever it was, whatever it had been through, it obviously needed help right now, and Minho would be damned if he didn't help it.
"Jiji is sleeping," Anna said in that whisper-yell that little kids do when they're trying to be quiet but ultimately don't know how.
This served to finally wake up said Jiji, who lifted its head and blinked its eyes open sluggishly in their direction. Minho's breath nearly caught at the beautiful color of his eyes, like fall had come alive within them. He concluded that he had never seen such beautiful eyes on a cat before. In fact, he had never seen such a beautiful cat before. Even in such a disastrous state, the cat was absolutely the most adorable and beautiful creature he had ever set his eyes upon. Minho knew then and there that this cat was going to cause him a lot of issues in the future, and he didn't care one bit.
"Hello, Jiji," he said softly. The cat's ears perked as if in answer. Minho reached his hand out cautiously and let the cat sniff it to his heart's content in greeting. When the sniffing had concluded, Minho softly pet the top of his head.
"I'm going to take care of you. I swear," he whispered.
Jiji let out a small meow, and Minho took that as an agreement of sorts. It seemed that Minho now had a cat.
Anna's mom stayed far away, up on the back porch, to mitigate her allergy as Minho scooped the cat up in his arms. He looked up at her and held the cat up a little to gesture.
"I'll be off, then," he said with a nod to Anna's mom and Anna herself.
"Thank you," Anna's mom said.
"No problem," Minho replied.
Anna ran over and gave the cat big sad eyes. "Bye Jiji!" Then she looked up to Minho. "Bye Mr. Minho! Take care of Jiji!"
Minho gave her a soft smile. "I will, don't you worry."
She nodded seriously, and then ran to join her mom on the porch, both of them waving towards Minho. Minho just nodded, hands occupied with a sleepy cat, and made his way back out the gate and to his car.
It took a little bit of time to get through the gate and open his car one-handed, but accomplished the task all the same. He wasn't sure where to put the cat, but ultimately decided on the passenger seat so he could see him best and not frighten him.
Once the cat was settled, he climbed into the driver's side and started the car once more. With one last look at a sleeping Jiji, they ventured forward
***
As mentioned before, cat's weren't allowed in Minho's apartment. However, it was after sunset and an overnight vet would cost Minho an exorbitant amount of money he did not have, so he was going to have to break that rule. Just for tonight, until he could find someone else to take in the cat.
It occurred to him after he shifted the car into park that he had a few problems staring him in the face.
1. He needed to get the cat through the lobby and into his apartment without anyone seeing him.
2. He had nowhere to keep the cat for the night (he couldn't be let into his room until he was checked for fleas and the like.
3. He had no cat food or litter box or any supplies for the cat.
4. He knew no one who could take in a cat for after he got everything sorted.
and finally,
5. He really was not in any way mentally or physically prepared for a cat.
So, okay, maybe he had gotten a bit ahead of himself in this whole cat endeavour. But there was really nothing else he could do now but continue what he started. And, looking at the adorable sleeping cat, ears twitching and tail swishing, he really did not think he had a choice. He would have to do this step by step.
Step one, hide cat. He searched through his car, looking for anything that could help him cover the cat even slightly. Luckily, he had his dance bag with him, filled with clothes (albeit sweaty) and the perfect size to hide the small feline. It didn't take much for Minho to scoop him up and place him in the bag. It was quite roomy, even with the cat, so hopefully he wouldn't have to close it to prevent anyone seeing. He was afraid that if he closed it, the cat would yowl and alert others to his presence.
Now he just had to act normal. Well, as normal as someone carrying a gym bag much more tenderly than the average. Hopefully no one would look too hard.
He passed the lobby with not a soul in sight, luckily, and made it to the stairway (the elevator was too risky) with no trouble at all. It all went incredibly easily, actually. That is, until I got to his floor and had to pass by a couple of residents congregating in the hallway.
"Oh, hey Minho!" One such resident called out, and Minho briefly turned to nod at them.
"Good evening, Felix," he said in passing to his neighbor and coincidental coworker.
This time, apparently, luck was not on his side, as Felix didn't let him pass unscathed, instead pulling him back by a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey wait, I wanted to introduce you. These are our new neighbors, Changbin and Chan. They finally got someone to fill that double room at the end of the hall. Guys, this is Minho, he lives across from me," Felix said with a large smile and an overjoyed tone, pointing at the door Minho was so desperately trying to get to before looking back to the boys.
The way he looked at them though...Minho likened his gaze to a Tiger looking at a group of gazelles. Poor new neighbors, most people didn't survive the Felix affect. His combination of small pretty features and a deep voice was enough to trap any man, straight or not. Minho was one of the lucky few who didn't fall prey to his deadly combo, he even caught Hyunjin looking sometimes when he thought he was being subtle. But Hyunjin doesn't know the meaning of subtle, and both he and Felix mentioned that they were much too alike to ever work like that.
"Ah, great to meet you guys," Minho said politely, getting friendly grins in return. "I actually have something I have to go do though." He instinctively pulled the bag tighter to his chest. "Maybe we can catch up later, though?"
The slightly taller one (though neither of them were very tall, Minho noted, but neither was Minho--he didn't need any more friends taller than him, Hyunjin and Seungmin were enough) spoke up. "Yeah, we were actually thinking about having a little house-warming party, maybe later this week once we're more settled in."
They all nodded in agreement.
"That sounds fun, Chan!" Felix piped up.
"Yeah, sounds good man," Minho replied. There was a movement in the bag. "I've really gotta go now. Nice meeting you though!"
He practically darted off, opening his apartment (thank God it had a digital lock) quickly and slamming it behind him. Now that wasn't suspicious at all.
He peeped down into the bag, and found two big hazel eyes looking back up at him.
"Why hello there," Minho said, and the cat blinked in reply. "I'm going to have to sort some things out before I can get you settled in." Another blink.
Minho looked around his apartment. "Okay. I can do this. I just need to find somewhere to put a cat. That's..." he looked around again "...fine. Completely fine. I can do this. I'm not freaking out at all." He looked down at the cat again, who meowed. "Talking to myself isn't a midlife crisis, I'm fine. And only twenty five." He looked up again, mind going blank. "Maybe just a crisis, then."
Okay, step two, find somewhere to put the cat. His bedroom was out for obvious reasons having to do with a stray cat, and the living room/kitchen wouldn't work for similar reasons, so that just left the bathroom. That would work. It would have to work, for now.
Step three, supplies. He set his gym bag down on the bathroom floor and gave the cat a quick glance, saying, "I'll be right back," as if the cat would understand him, before quickly going to the kitchen and finding two small tupperware containers. One he filled with water and the other with a whole can of tuna he found in the back of his pantry. It may not have been the best, but it would have to do for now.
He opened the door while perilously balancing the tupperwares, only to find the cat in the same exact place. He hadn't moved even an inch, and for a normal cat Minho wouldn't have had a second thought about that, but for half a second he worried if the poor cat had died already. It wasn't until the cat's nose twitched as he set down the tuna next to the bag that he let out a sigh of relief. He thought to help the cat, picking it up briefly to then set it down in front of the food. It took less than a second before the cat was chowing down like the food might disappear in front of their eyes. It polished off the tuna so fast Minho couldn't quite believe his eyes, and then it licked up water until the bowl was dry.
Minho's heart clenched in sympathy, and his eyes clouded with tears. He couldn't believe no one would help such a beautiful creature, and he suddenly filled with pride at the thought of Anna. Without her, this cat surely would have died. It was such a sad thought that a tear came loose and flicked off his lash, down his cheek, and dripped onto the floor. The cat looked up at the sound, at him, and if Minho were not of sound mind, he would've said that the cat gave him an expression like he was also sad. But then the cat walked over to him and brushed against his leg with a purr, even going so far as to give the leg a couple of good licks. Minho giggled at the feeling.
"You're so sweet," Minho said, crouching down to pet the cat. It purred more, and Minho smiled.
After refilling the cat's water, Minho gave him a sigh and said, "I can't give you any more food or you'll get sick pretty kitty, but just wait until the vet tomorrow and I'll get you whatever you want, okay?"
Again, the cat gave a human-like gesture, nodding, and then licked some more water and pranced back to the bag, hopping in and curling up once more.
"Guess I'm not getting that bag back for a while," he muttered, and then left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Now, he could potentially go out to the store and get some more makeshift supplies in the meantime, but there was the matter of leaving the cat alone, and spending money on supplies that may be unnecessary come tomorrow. Heck, tomorrow he could find out the cat picked up some disease and would be dead within 24 hours. The thought hurt his heart, but he had to be logical here. He would do what was absolutely necessary and no more.
He looked up what he could do to set up a temporary litter box, and found a discarded cardboard box, put a garbage bag around it, shredded up some old newspapers he'd been meaning to throw out, and finished it off with some dirt he gathered outside. He did get some weird looks for that one, but oh well. It wasn't a lot, but at the moment it was the best he could do. He set up the litter box in the tub (just in case) and showed the cat where it was. He also removed the shower curtain and stuffed it in a cabinet.
After everything was set up, he gave the cat some behind the ear scratches and sat down in the floor with him. He sighed as the cat curled up in his lap and purred. Despite sitting on the cold bathroom floor, he was so comfortable with this warmth in his lap and calm feeling in his heart. He leaned his head back onto the wall and closed his eyes.
Step four and five could wait until tomorrow.
***