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Riki surfaces from his well-earned hours of sleep with the feeling of lithe fingers running through his bleached hair.
The dancer blinks his eyes open slowly as his mind begins to reboot after a long, deep sleep. As the images in front of him sharpen, he finds himself staring up at two of his hyungs looking down at him softly. Sunoo's cheeks are round like his favorite melon bread with how widely he's smiling and Jay's famous honey sweet eyes twinkle at him with fondness.
“Riki, are you awake? Your Sunoo-hyung and I will be going now.”
The maknae rubs his eyes blearily as memories of everyone’s plans for the short break come rushing back to him.
Sunoo and Jay are going off to their childhood homes together for a few days before returning to Seoul for a high school reunion with their friends from Hanlim.
Jake is scheduled for a ski trip in Gangwon-do for the week with extended family coming over from Australia.
Sunghoon and his family, Gaeul included, are taking a beach vacation, having flown to Jeju earlier this morning for the first half of the week. His ice prince-like hyung already said his goodbyes before Riki went to bed the night before, not wanting to interrupt the younger’s precious sleep. He had no plans to travel, looking forward to becoming one with his bed after several months of sleeping on planes every other day.
The maknae whines softly, shutting his eyes to try and savor the rest he so desperately needed. He scrunches his nose, huffing indignantly at Sunoo’s light giggling.
“Aye, come on Jay-hyung. Looks like the baby doesn't want to see us off.”
Riki scoffs before turning away from his hyungs and into his pillow.
“You're the ones leaving me.”
He's aware he's being petulant right now, but he always feels a little disappointed when his hyungs go off on vacation while he's stuck in the dorms.
Jay chuckles. “We'll be back by Wednesday, okay? Besides, Heeseungie-hyung and Jungwonnie will still be around.”
Riki nods, trying his best not to sound like a spoiled brat when he replies, “I know. I just feel better when we're all together.”
Regret fills him immediately when he hears both of his hyungs coo in adoration, but he lets himself be turned onto his side by his deceptively meek Sunoo-hyung.
“Oh, our maknae! We'll be back together in no time! Make sure to use this short break to the fullest. Get lots of rest and do anything you want, alright?”
Riki finally winks one eye open and squirms at the looks he gets from his two favorite hyungs.
Well, his mind supplies, his favorites with the exception of one cute, strawberry loving hyung.
“I'll be happier if you'd let me steal from your face masks, Sunoo-hyung.”
Jay laughs while the younger singer scoffs.
“You'd steal them anyway.”
The guitarist waves his hands to stop them from bickering any further.
“We have to go, Sunoo-yah! Bye, Riki. Text us if you need anything!”
Riki groans in mock annoyance as both his hyungs quickly reach down to give him twin kisses on each cheek. He swipes at his face before turning away from them both, mumbling about nuisance members and cooties.
Still, just before the door to his bedroom shuts, he makes sure to get the last word in.
“Bye hyungs, love you!”
The maknae laughs when he hears Jay's squeal of delight through the walls of the apartment.
Riki spends a few hours alternating between drifting in and out of sleep and playing mobile games. He takes his cue to get up and out of bed when he hears bustling in the dorm. It sounds like Jake was getting ready to leave as well.
He shuffles out of his bedroom in a large t-shirt and sweats. The youngest turns the corner to the kitchen only to almost fall over when he's tackled from behind.
He’s just managed to shoot a hand out against the door frame to balance himself when Jake exclaims, “Riki-yah! I’m leaving now. Be good for your hyungs, okay?”
The maknae scoffs incredulously. “What are you talking about, Jake-hyung? I’m always good for you all.”
The taller dancer turns around to see his older member staring at him inquisitively with both hands on his hips, looking all for the world like his older sister whenever he annoys her.
“That’s very funny, maknae. Still, be good. Heeseung’s going to be busy working on his mixtape and Jungwon’s…you know how he’s been recently.”
Riki’s chest tightens at the mention of their leader. He’s thankful they get a short period of rest since all the members have been running on fumes for the past few weeks, but the cat-like man seems to have been on autopilot lately. They’ve all noticed how exhausted Jungwon’s gotten and both Heeseung and Jay have already tried to have a talk with him, but he hasn’t budged.
If the six of them hadn’t banded together to appeal for a short break in between the two legs of the current tour, the leader would’ve likely run himself into the ground.
The youngest nods weakly at his older member. He’d hate to be a nuisance to Jungwon with what little time they have to themselves.
Jake softens. “I know you’ll take care of your hyungs. I’ll see you when I get back, yeah?”
Riki nods seriously before engulfing the other in a hug. He indulges in ruffling the older one’s hair, laughing as the puppy-like guy whines in complaint, waving him off and out the door.
The silence that enshrouds the room as Jake leaves makes the younger man clamp up in anxiety for a moment before he hears another door in the apartment open.
Heeseung ambles out of his room groggily, wine red hair sticking up in all directions. Riki giggles quietly, turning into full blown laughter as the eldest’s head whips in his direction, doe eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“What’re you laughing for, Riki?”
The blonde shakes his head. “Nothing, Heeseung-hyung. Do you want breakfast?”
Riki watches in amusement as the other squints around the room as if the kitchen is his personal enemy. He stands by the entryway as Heeseung wanders over to the refrigerator, opening it up and scanning the shelves for the available food. Finally, he nods to himself and turns back to the maknae.
“I can make eggs at least. Would you go and get Jungwon for me? Let’s all have breakfast together.”
The young dancer nods and goes off to find the leader.
Riki knocks a short pattern on Jungwon’s door before calling out, “Jungwon-hyung? Are you up yet? Heeseungie-hyung’s making breakfast.”
The maknae frowns at the lack of response, nerves suddenly accumulating in his ribcage at the silence. Jungwon wasn’t really a morning person but he was never a late riser either. It was just half-past ten and usually his sixth hyung would be up by now. The taller one knocks and calls out for the leader again to no reply.
Technically, he could just leave Jungwon to his own devices. Riki knows how much he needed the sleep. But a nagging worry at the back of his head told him he needed to check just to be sure his favorite hyung is okay.
“Jungwon-hyung? I’m coming in okay, cover up if you’re indecent.”
Riki peers around the door and frowns when he sees an empty bed. He didn’t know Jungwon left the dorms. He’s about to message the group chat to ask if anyone else had seen the leader but his heart drops to his stomach when he hears a familiar ping of a notification alert.
Jungwon would never leave without his phone.
The dancer feels sick all of a sudden as he’s choked by anxiety. Something was wrong, he could feel it. The second youngest would never just up and leave without his phone but he was also nowhere to be found in his bedroom. Riki passed by the showers before coming over and had found it empty. Jungwon is not in the dorms, but if he isn’t, where is he?
He’s about to sprint back to Heeseung when he hears it.
A small, whimpered mewl.
The young performer stops, tries to pinch himself in case he was dreaming. Nope, he’s still in his member’s empty bedroom feeling like he was about to faint from stress. A beat of silence and then another mewl, louder this time, almost a proper meow.
Riki can only watch frozen as the blankets of Jungwon’s bed start to rustle.
He holds his breath as the smallest kitten pops its head out from between the covers. It’s a tiny thing, probably as big as one of his hands. Its orange and white coat is ruffled from being under the blankets for too long and its wide eyes look around dazed.
Riki cannot stop the coo that escapes him.
The kitten’s head snaps up and looks straight at him. It lets out what the maknae can only assume is a yowl of shock. With surprising strength, the animal wrestles its way out of the blanket and leaps to the edge of the bed.
He darts forward to stop it from jumping off the furniture.
“Hey! Oh my god, you’ll hurt yourself, sweet thing. What are you doing here, how did you even get in here? We’re not allowed to have pets in the building and there’s no way Jungwonnie-hyung…”
He trails off as the kitten begins to meow incessantly and loudly, shoving its tiny paws into the idol’s hand. Its practically nonexistent claws pinch at him but what really has him confused is the animal’s eyes.
Riki knows these eyes. He’s seen them brimming with pride when Jungwon nails a note in the recording booth. He’s looked into them when the leader was giving them a lecture on upcoming schedules and events. He’s caught these eyes before, on stage as he danced his dreams out with the people he loves the most in the world. He’s thought about gazing into them, his own eyes fluttering close as he leaned in…
This wasn’t possible. And yet Riki knows Jungwon’s eyes better than anyone else.
“Jungwon-hyung? Meow twice if it’s you.”
The small kitten in Riki’s palm meows once, and then again, and his whole world tilts.
Riki bites his lip in worry as Heeseung slumps back into his chair in surprise. He had gone back to the kitchen with Jungwon in his kitty form wiggling around in his hold as he rushed to explain the situation to his eldest hyung.
The vocalist runs his hand over his face in disbelief. The youngest member stands patiently as he cups the restless kitten in his palms.
“Okay, let me just get this straight. You went to get Jungwon out of bed only to find him gone and a kitten in his place?”
Riki nods as his thumb unconsciously pets the small animal’s head.
“And you think the kitten is Jungwon?”
Another nod.
“You’re obviously holding Jungwon’s phone and he would never go anywhere without it, so he couldn't have just upped and left the dorms with no word…”
The maknae nods again, more enthusiastically at how his member was understanding.
Heeseung sighs, “I believe you, Riki.”
“Really?”
“You would never lie about something like this, much less something as urgent as this involving Jungwon. You wouldn't lie about anything to do with Jungwon period.”
Riki flushes at the knowing look Heeseung gives him.
“But still, there has to be another way to confirm if this is really him. What if it isn't and Jungwon is missing…”
The dancer flinches when Heeseung snaps his head back to him.
“Give me Jungwon’s phone.”
Riki hands over the device to the eldest but stares in confusion as the other sits on the floor.
“Sit, sit. Jongseong would have our heads if he ever found out we put some cat on the dining table. And put the kitten down while you're at it.”
Said kitten, funnily enough, is eager to get out of the youngest’s hold. The maknae sits criss-cross apple sauce across from Heeseung, who sits similarly to him and puts the phone on the floor in front of him. Riki tries not to pout at how eagerly the small cat jumps into the eldest member’s lap.
“Okay, kitty, if you’re really Jungwon,” Heeseung starts as he swipes his finger on the cellphone screen. The phone display winks on and displays a number pad prompting a number pin.
“Unlock the phone.”
Both idols sit and watch in amazement as the kitten ambles out of the main vocalist’s lap and towards the cellphone. Riki’s eyes widen as the animal expertly taps out a code: 201809.
The date Enhypen was officially formed.
When the phone’s lockscreen does unlock, the youngest glances at the eldest who looks simultaneously impressed and troubled. Still, Heeseung looks unconvinced. The older one scrolls through the phone and opens the calculator app.
“Hyung, what are you—”
“How many siblings do the Enhypen members have?” The cat presses the 7.
“What floor is BeLift Lab on in the HYBE building?” The cat selects a 1 and then a 4.
“When was Jungwon announced as leader of the group?” 20201311.
“How many years have Jay and I known each other?”
Riki had no idea it was possible for a kitten to look exasperated, but there’s no other way to describe how the small animal is staring at Heeseung right now. Still, the cat indulges his eldest hyung’s question and presses 9 on the calculator.
The dancer leans back on his palms and looks at his older member.
“Believable enough yet?”
Heeseung scowls at him but lets out a sigh. He looks down at the cat in worry.
“You eat eggs, don’t you, Jungwon-ah?”
“Jungwonnie-hyung, anything in particular you want to do? I don’t really have plans today.”
The kitten sits on his bedside table amiably as his hyung stares at him with wide eyes. The animal meows twice.
“Nothing? Okay, would you be okay with keeping me company while I game?”
A single meow. Then his tiny hyung leaps from the table and onto his leather couch, padding over and onto his lap. Riki coos at the cat, chuckling at the feeble glare he receives in return.
After they had eaten breakfast, the maknae had asked if they should tell the managers about what had happened to their leader. Heeseung had shook his head vehemently, saying it would only cause bigger problems knowing how much the label liked to meddle. Instead their eldest member had texted the other members, requesting they have an opening this evening to get on a call for a group meeting with all members present.
Jungwon had rolled his eyes at the message when the dancer had shown it to him.
Predictably, Jay had sent a series of concerned messages after asking if something was wrong. Sunoo and Jake had sent their own theories (Maybe Riki got lost around the city again. At his big age? Please, Jake-hyung.) Sunghoon had sent a thumbs up and a selfie of him and Gaeul on the beach.
“You see, Jungwon-ah? This is why you’re our leader, these guys don’t take me seriously.”
The cat had mewled dryly back at him as if to say, “Really, hyung?”
Unfortunately, the eldest member had to go into the studio to finalize the tracklist for his upcoming project, which would leave the two youngest at home alone. Heeseung had promised to stop by for cat stuff on the way home and had made the main dancer swear in return to call if they needed anything.
So, here they were, Riki on his couch with his hyung-slash-crush nuzzling into his lap because said member had inexplicably turned into a cat. He tried not to think too hard about it and focus on his video game.
It wasn’t really working.
The maknae is on his fifth EA Sports FC round when the animal in his lap starts to get restless. Riki looks down at Jungwon, writhing as he lies on the dancer’s thighs and blinking wide, earnest eyes at him. His finger moves unbidden, booping the tiny hyung who is now a tiny cat on his nose. He cracks a smile at the meow the leader lets out.
“Ah, Jungwon-hyung, you’re so cute! You’re even cuter than the kittens we played with on the ParadoXXX Invasion MV set.”
Video game effectively discarded, the young idol picks up the feline in one hand and lets out a cackle at what was effectively the scowl on this little animal’s face. Jungwon meows again, taking a swipe at the maknae’s face as if to say, “I’m not cute!”
“Well hyung, you fit in the palm of just one of my hands, so that automatically makes you cute.”
“You’re cute.”
Unfortunately, Riki is not blessed with the ability to speak to animals so all he hears is disgruntled mewl which has him crooning at his member again. He yelps when Jungwon squirms out of his hold, almost falling onto the floor.
“Hyung! Don’t do that! What if you injure yourself, Heeseung-hyung will kill me, we don’t even know if there’s a vet nearby…”
Riki trails off, realizing that they don’t even know how the leader has adapted to his new body. Did his organs shrink? Is it just his brain in this tiny thing? What if the cat is already unwell? Holy shit, what if Jungwon won’t ever turn back to normal?
The maknae tunes back in at the incessant and high-pitched yowling from the kitten, who is looking at him worriedly. It meows and meows, little feet pawing at his hands.
“Hey? Riki, what’s wrong?”
The dancer doesn’t reply, of course he doesn’t; he simply picks up the feline and cups his hyung in his palms. God, his hyung was so small like this, so fragile.
“Whatever is going on, Jungwon-hyung, we’ll fix it, okay? Don’t worry, we’ll get you back.”
The kitten eases his fiddling and only tilts his head. He swears he sees his leader-hyung’s gentle eyes staring back at him. Jungwon meows again but softer.
“I trust you more than anything, Riki.”
Predictably the news does not go over well with the rest of the members.
“He what?!”
“Wait, wait! Let me finish! Stop yelling Jongseong, and get away from the camera Jaeyun, please.”
Riki winces as Heeseung tries to placate the understandably panicked members. Their eldest hyung had revealed the news to the members by simply lifting the small orange cat in his hands to the laptop camera and saying, “Jungwon turned into a cat.”
After much bickering, Heeseung finally recounts what happened this morning. Jay starts rambling again about researching cat care and Jake keeps swearing profusely into the mic. Riki grimaces as their voices begin to raise again in anxiety.
Eventually, Sunoo, who looks weirdly unbothered, finally jumps in to cut off Jay’s and Jake’s yelling.
“Is he okay? As in, is Jungwon in his cat form okay?”
The maknae takes this opportunity to answer, “He is. Heeseung-hyung and I took him to the vet and said we found a kitten in front of our company building and wanted to have it checked. Jungwon-hyung is a perfectly healthy kitten.”
“How are you not freaked out by this, Sunoo-yah,” Jake asks, “Our human band member is literally an animal right now, what the fuck?”
Sunoo shrugs, “I mean we've always said he was like a kitten. Albeit, a kind of strange one.”
Jungwon meows indignantly from Riki's hold.
“Yah! Sunoo-hyung, what do you mean by strange?”
All the members can hear are strong meows, which have all of them softening like butter.
“Oh Jungwonnie, you're so cute! I mean you're already cute but like this you're even cuter!”
Sunghoon croons from the screen, laughing as the leader gestures a scratch towards him. Riki's thankful that none of them are really doubting this insane situation but that does beg the question:
“You believe us? Just like that?”
“You found him right, Riki? You wouldn't lie about something if Jungwon was involved.”
The maknae curls up on himself as all his hyungs look at him pointedly. Was he that obvious? Still, he chooses to make light of the insinuation.
“I’ve never lied about anything in my life.”
Riki’s a little offended by how all of his currently-human hyungs scoff. Nobody here is any fun anymore. Except just as the thought enters his head, Jungwon’s little paws pat him almost consolingly, as if to say, “There, there, Riki. I believe you!”
“At least Jungwon-hyung supports me!” The maknae exclaims as he nuzzles his face into the kitten’s nose. He chuckles at the resulting purr from his hyung, completely missing the exchanged glances between the rest of the members.
“...Okay, anyway, does anyone here have an idea of how this could have happened and how we can change it back?”
“You didn’t ask the vet?”
“No Jake-hyung, we didn’t tell the vet that our boygroup’s leader turned into a cat, and ask if he knows any treatments to turn him back.”
As Jake mumbles about grumpy members and innocent curiosity, Sunghoon gasps from his smaller screen, snapping his fingers in realization.
“Wait, last night, we went on one of your late night walks, didn't we Jungwonnie?”
Said kitten tilts his head to the side inquisitively before nodding, meowing what Riki can only assume is agreement.
“Right, and we talked about a lot of stuff, but didn’t we see a stray cat last night? And I…”
The maknae and the other members all turn to Sunghoon with bated breath. Jungwon suddenly perks up from his lap, as the paler man suddenly flushes sheepishly. Riki has to hold the cat by its sides as the leader starts yowling angrily at the screen.
“What? Sunghoon, what did you do?”
The youngest’s chest fills with dread as his hyung starts to laugh nervously.
“I made a joke about how much easier Jungwon’s life would be if he was a cat instead.”
There’s a beat of silence before chaos descends in the seven’s living room.
Jay seems more outraged than anything as he exclaims, “You manifested Jungwon turning into a cat?!”
Jake butts in, “That doesn’t make any sense! Like it is scientifically impossible!?”
Heeseung and Sunoo begin pondering if Sunghoon has always been some magical creature and he’s just never told the rest of the group. The third youngest nods almost smugly as he starts talking about aliens. The former skater denies the claim, hands up in surrender, explaining that he had just made a throwaway comment.
“How was I supposed to know Jungwon would turn into a cat the next day?”
Riki would agree with that but he’s more interested in what’s going on with Jungwon. The cat has now laid his head down on his paws, ears flat on his head. He trembles a little in the dancer’s hold and he mewls quietly but incessantly. The feline tries to retreat into his clothes and burrow further into his lap.
“Hey! Everyone quiet, you’re overwhelming Jungwon-hyung with the noise!”
The noise dies down immediately; and Heeseung, ever the reliable hyung, coos out an apology at their second youngest member. The eldest scoops up the kitten in his hands to rub his fingers gently over his ears. Riki mourns the loss of the small, furry weight.
“Sorry, Jungwonnie. Hyungs are too loud, huh?”
The cat mewls quietly before letting out a big yawn out of nowhere. It has the whole group, maknae included, softening in fondness.
Jay chuckles, “That’s our Jungwon, alright.”
Everyone laughs as the kitten growls at Jay through the screen.
They were going to be fine.
By the third day of kitty Jungwon, Riki is starting to think things will not be fine.
The second day of his leader hyung as an actual cat was largely uneventful. Heeseung had left him to get to his mixtape schedules again after much fussing and reassurance. The eldest had finally conceded, leaving with an affectionate pet to Riki’s cheek and a boop on Jungwon’s kitten head. He had also reminded the youngest to at least try looking up anything about people turning into kittens? For me and your Jungwon-hyung?
The maknae had whined about being given homework but had leaned into his Heeseungie-hyung’s hand anyway. Some days Heeseung is his second favorite hyung.
However, scouring the 11th and 12th pages of Naver and Daum and even trying Google had led to no results. Nobody had ever mysteriously turned into a cat before. No one has ever turned into an animal before, period. Except for this one English story he came across about a prince turning into a frog? Riki had never read something so absurd in his life.
Then again, he was reading all of that with Jungwon wiggling around in his lap as a cat.
By the third day, Sunghoon, Jay, and Sunoo have all returned home from their vacations. Riki did his best not to sulk as his hyung had all but leapt to get away from him and straight into his favorite hyung’s arms. Sunoo’s just glad to coo and babble at their tiny leader snuggling into Jay’s hands, only to shriek in distress when the kitten bit him.
“What if you have rabies, Jungwon?!”
Heeseung calmly replies, “We got him shots for that already.”
Sunghoon got down on his knees to beg for forgiveness from his dongsaeng, which was completely unnecessary given that Jungwon had always had a soft spot for the former figure skater. The kitten had simply crawled onto the older’s shoulders and laid down in the crook of his hyung’s neck. If anyone were to have asked him, Sunghoon would deny having cried a little.
“Hyung’s sorry Jungwonnie, but it really isn’t my fault that you’re such a cat.”
“That’s an awful apology.” Jungwon replied. Unfortunately, no one understood him since all the members heard was a high-pitched meow. The cat frowned at their responding coos.
“Anyway,” Jay had gotten them all back on track. “Have either of you been able to figure out what to do yet?”
Both the eldest and youngest members sigh haplessly. Riki’s online research had been moot and Heeseung had been asking his more superstitious relatives if they had any idea either. Aside from a shaman recommendation from his mother's friend, no other solutions.
“What are we going to do? Jungwon’s the best in these types of situations and well…” Sunoo trails off as he gestures miserably at the kitten in Sunghoon’s arms.
Riki hates to admit it, but the other is right. There’s a reason the second youngest was chosen as the group’s leader. He is an exceptional problem-solver, often the most level-headed and determined of the entire group. He is a perfect balance of rational and empathetic.
But now he can't talk, and the maknae hadn’t wanted to say anything to Heeseung to not add to his stress, but he noticed that Jungwon is noticeably more tired as a cat. He thought it was just because cats like to sleep often but it’s a bit worrying that all Jungwon wanted to do with him was sleep.
“We’re thinking that if we don’t find a solution by Sunday, we'll have to tell the label.”
Heeseung holds his hand up at the chorus of protests from the other three members.
“We don’t have a choice here, Jungwon is…not well. They’ll look for him eventually, and while I’ve effectively gotten management off his back for now since we actually are on a break, it can’t stay this way forever.”
Jay sighs, “That’s fair. But what if they can’t find a solution either? Surely they can’t kick him out.”
Sunghoon cradles the small kitten closer to his chest as it whimpers in distress.
“Don’t say that, Jay-ah.” The taller chastises his friend for upsetting their leader.
“I don't want to leave the group. I'm sorry, this is all my fault.”
Jungwon mewls louder, breaking all of their hearts. Even though they can’t understand what he’s saying, they know without a doubt that their leader is blaming himself.
Sunoo picks up on it the easiest of course, scooping up the cat from Sunghoon and petting his soft fur.
“None of that, Jungwonnie. We’ll figure it out, alright? It’s us, somehow we’ve been through worse.”
Sunghoon smiles playfully, “We made it through I-LAND. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
They all groan at the reference to the survival show. No matter how thankful they are for the thing that brought them all together, it is a time none of them like to recall.
"Anyway," Jongseong steers the conversation back to the issue at hand. "What can Sunoo and I do? We won't just sit here and do nothing, there has to be something else we can do."
Heeseung rubs his chin in thought, "Don't you have lunch with high school friends tomorrow? Where is that happening?"
"There's a barbecue restaurant that just opened that one of our classmates have been interested in trying, it's by the Han River, isn't it, Jay-hyung?"
The older snaps his fingers, "Right! Weren't you and Jungwonnie by there the night before he turned into the cat, Sunghoon? We can check it out, see if there's anything weird going on."
Everyone nods their heads in agreement until Riki realizes which hyung will be left with him tomorrow.
“I’ll be stuck with Sunghoonie-hyung? Nothing productive will happen.”
Sunghoon gasped, offended, “What? Riki we’re the destiny duo, if anyone’s going to get anything done it’s you and me!”
The maknae huffs, “Fine. You can accompany me to the shaman Heeseung-hyung’s mom's friend knows.”
The older one cheers while the dancer sighs quietly at his own alone time with Jungwon being compromised. He supposes that as long as they work together to find a solution, the three of them will make it out just fine.
“Well…that was certainly…something.”
Riki grunts as he hands over Jungwon to Sunghoon. The youngest had internally conceded that he did need the former figure skater with him since he could barely follow along with what the shaman was saying.
“What’d she say again, hyung? I only caught something about Jungwon-hyungie being small?”
The older member shakes his head, “Not exactly. She said that Jungwon was feeling small. I’m not that familiar with the spirituality of it all but she did say that it looked like something was bearing down on him, which could only make him feel small in however way that manifested.” Sunghoon holds the cat up in his hands.
They had never explained the problem in full detail, just that they had a friend that was sick and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. The two boys explained the situation as vaguely as possible, so as to not give away too much of their identities and current predicament.
“However,” The other continues, “She never really said how we could…fix him. Said something about unloading whatever it was that was weighing him down.”
The maknae scrunches his eyebrows. How were they supposed to know how to turn Jungwon back now?
A chime from Riki’s phone interrupts his train of thought. A text from Sunoo, saying that he and Jay hadn’t found anything unusual by the Han River.
Just a lot of stray cats. Am I crazy or is that new? They all seem to like Jay-hyung though.
For a moment, he indulges in the thought that he’s been transmigrated into The Cat Returns. Maybe he and all his members can talk to cats. Perhaps Jay will turn into a feline next.
“Still sleepy, Jungwon-ah?”
The dancer turns back to his hyung cooing over the small kitten again. Their leader is curled up in Sunghoon’s bag, blinking drowsily as he perched his head over one side of the opening.
“He’s not been doing much, how can he be this tired?”
“He’s just a tiny thing, Riki-yah. I mean his body is so small, maybe he just has less energy in general. He’s pretty little for a grown cat, isn’t he?”
Jungwon mewls from his perch, snippy but exhausted. He burrows further into the bag and falls asleep there. The older of the three croons at him softly.
“You don’t seem that worried, Sunghoon-hyung.”
“Hm? Oh no, I’m worried, of course. But look at him, sleeping all the time, getting doted on. He’d never let us do this if he was in his leader mode. I’d obviously prefer if he was human when we took care of him. Yet, I can’t help but think he needed this.”
Riki stops in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Do you think that’s what that lady meant?”
Sunghoon frowns, tilting his head to prompt the maknae forward again.
“No, don’t stop, keep walking. Can’t have anybody spotting us out here. And do I think the lady meant what?”
The taller one shrugs, “Maybe he just needed to take a break.”
The former athlete’s frown deepens. “But we are on a break. He is on a break. We had just started an entire week off when he woke up as a cat.”
“Maybe…you don’t think he needs a break…from us, does he?”
The paler man jabs a sharp elbow into the younger’s side. “What are you talking about? Jungwon’s the backbone of this team, I would say he loves us the most in the world.”
The dancer sighs, “I don’t know. I didn’t mean to imply that he didn’t care for us, hyung. But maybe we’re just…a lot. It would explain why he withdrew towards the end of this last tour leg. What if he just needs a hiatus?”
The older’s eyebrows furrow together in thought. It’s not a pleasant idea to either of them. The whole group relied on the leader heavily. He is the foundation of the team, always on top of everything. He knew everyone’s schedules at all times, knew all their food preferences and allergies by heart, and had an extra of everyone’s meds just in case.
Not only that, but he truly is the most level-headed out of the seven of them. Jungwon is an excellent problem solver, a great balance of rational and compassionate. He rarely ever raised his voice at anyone, choosing to open and lead conversations so everyone could get their side out. He was Enhypen’s captain and even though it’s only been a few days, it was clear that they were floundering without his leadership.
Could it be that they had become too reliant, too complacent with him and had unknowingly pushed him too hard?
They are all well aware about the downsides of this industry, how it gnaws and tears at your spirit if you weren’t with people who kept your head on your shoulders. It’s why Riki has always been so grateful for his members, why he believes it was destiny to have these six other boys with him. They’re meant to be his.
He couldn’t picture himself anywhere else anymore. This team is his entire life, and though he’d be hesitant to admit it all aloud, his members are the most important people in the world to him.
Riki would feel awful if he had even accidentally caused hardship for any of them, but especially Jungwon.
“Riki? Maknae-yah, you okay?”
The dancer is spurred out of his depressing thoughts by an arm around his shoulder and a gentle voice. Sunghoon looks at him concernedly, having pulled him aside to the front of a convenience store. Even though the older was only slightly shorter than him, something about him always made the youngest feel safe and cared for.
“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a second there.”
“It’s okay, and hey, we really are all worried about Jungwonnie.” Sunghoon soothes. “But we’ll figure it out. We have to. Yeah?”
Riki nods, nuzzling his head into the older’s cheek fondly. His hyungs always knew what to say to make him feel better.
“Aigoo, our baby. Come on, see? Hanging out with me isn’t so bad. Hyung will buy you some bungeoppang on our way back to the dorms, let’s go.”
Riki is feeling more and more hopeless when Jake comes back Friday night with no game plan.
"I know you're all looking at me because I'm the nerd or whatever but what about any of this can be explained by science? Jungwon was a human the last time I saw him and now he's in my lap purring because he's a cat. What the fuck is even happening?"
The older sounds upset but even he can't help but smile as he runs his fingers against their leader's soft fur. The maknae tamps down any envy as the kitten rolls around playfully, mewing in what seems like joy. The Australian stares helplessly at the little cat, large palm coming down gently on the animal's small head.
"Have we tried meds? Sunoo, you have an entire pharmacy's worth of vitamins in your room."
The younger man huffs, "Okay, first of all, that is a gross exaggeration. Secondly, those don't even have any medicinal properties. They're for maintenance, not transforming living creatures. What am I, a witch?"
Riki smartly keeps his mouth shut to prevent himself from bringing up the older one's affinity for crystals and tarot cards.
Jay wraps a placating arm around the other as he sighs, "He didn't mean it like that, Sunoo-yah."
He looks around to the rest of the members,"Okay so, what other choice do we have? What did that shaman say again?"
"Jungwon needs to unload," Sunghoon replies. "She said that our friend was carrying a weight to heavy to bear alone."
The Australian makes a distressed noise, "Unload?"
Jake holds up the small cat delicately until he's eye-level with the creature.
"Are you stressed, Jungwonnie? How can hyungs and Riki help, hm?"
Heeseung, who had come home after a long day of photo shoots for his mixtape, grunts in his seat.
"Of course he's stressed, Jake, he's a fucking cat right now."
The third eldest member snaps his eyes to the vocalist, "What the hell, man? What is with that attitude, I'm trying to help here."
Riki shrinks back when the eldest stands and runs a hand through his styled hair almost hysterically.
"I know, I know. But what the fuck do you think talking to him is going to do? Look at him, Jaeyun-ah. It's been five days, do you seriously think we didn't try that first?"
Sunghoon places a hand on Jake's shoulder to placate him and Jay grips Heeseung's bicep firmly.
The second oldest's voice booms through the room, "Alright, let's not fight. Please, Heeseungie-hyung. You're exhausted, you've been busy. Take a breather, alright? And Jake, let's not get too worked up. You just came back from a trip, let's regroup tomorrow morning."
The vocalist sighs and rubs a hand over his face, "Fine. I'm going to shower."
The hyungs disperse, the two eldest members leaving the room together with their heads close, whispering frantically between themselves. Jake hands their kitten leader to the maknae as he stands, rolling his shoulders and exhaling to let his anger go. His same-aged friend follows him to his room to help calm him down.
Sunoo plops down next to Riki, smiling ruefully as he strokes his knuckle on the cat's head. The youngest hadn't noticed, frozen when the older members began to get heated, but Jungwon began to mewl agitatedly as the discussion escalated. Thankfully, the eldest of the trio's soothing caress calmed him ever so slightly.
"That was weird, huh, Riki?"
The dancer jerks his head, "Yeah. I get that Heeseung-hyung is tired but he kind of jumped on Jake-hyung out of nowhere. That was uncalled for."
The vocalist nods, "Well, yeah. They need to talk it out, but have you noticed?"
The taller one quirks his head. Noticed what?
He must have said his question out loud because Sunoo leans back further into the couch, sighing despondently.
"We've all been really testy recently. This morning I snapped at Jay-hyung when he jokingly tried to get some of my breakfast. I let him steal from my plate all the time! I have no idea why today of all days I blew up at him over it. Yesterday, you and Sunghoonie-hyung almost got into a full-blown argument when he nagged you about laundry after you came back from your little shaman outing."
"Well, yeah, I was tired and he was being pushy." The youngest mumbled with a pout.
The other shook his head, "He was! We're all so…irritable. It's not like us at all."
"That's probably because Jungwon-hyung is usually around to handle everything."
Sunoo frowns as they both watch the kitten meander over to him and curl up again in his arm, bumping his head to ask for more pets.
"Then maybe we're what he needs to unload after all."
Everything boils over on the sixth day.
Heeseung gets the weekend schedule-free and as de facto leader has called for a group meeting in their living room. Surprisingly, his first order of business is to apologize for his behavior the night before.
"I'm sorry, Jaeyun-ah. I've been working all week and don't get me wrong, I know that I wanted to work during our week off, but I was just so exhausted last night. It's not an excuse for my attitude, but..."
The eldest trails off, sighing tiredly. Jake frowns before speaking up next.
"Apology accepted, hyung. And I'm sorry too. It was kind of a stupid question, especially because it's you and Riki who have been holding down the fort since this all happened. Of course I know you've both been trying your best to solve whatever the hell is going on here."
He gestures to Jungwon, blinking lethargically up at them from Jay's lap, as he says the last part.
"Thank you, Jake. Apology accepted. Okay, now that's out of the way, let's try and retrace our steps. We must have missed something. Sunghoon, did you do anything else on that walk besides…joke about Jungwon turning into a cat?"
The former figure skater scratches his head as he tries to recall, "We were walking and talking, as Jungwon usually does when he has something on his mind. That night he had mentioned being nervous for the week off since all he could think about is the rest of the tour. You know how he gets. He likes to have everything about the team sorted before he even thinks about pulling the breaks on himself."
Jay lets out a low breath, "Okay, so very unfortunate but typical behavior for Jungwon. Anything stick out to you?"
"Nothing particularly unusual. I told him what we always tell him. That it's okay to feel like that but he needs to not be in his head so much. Needs to trust that everything will be okay. You'd think at this point in our careers he'd have a little more faith in the group."
Jake shakes his head in disbelief at the sentiment, "Jungwon does believe in us. It's not his fault we all elected him to lead a bunch of hormonal teenage boys when he was one himself, of course he overthinks everything, we made it his job."
The kitten in Jay's hold mewls, "I don't blame you at all!"
The guitarist seems to get the message through all the meowing. "Hey, he's right here, you know. That makes it sound like it's our fault and he'd hate to know we think that."
The maknae holds his breath as he feels another disagreement brewing.
"I'm not saying it actually is our fault, Jay-ah, but let's be a little realistic here—"
"No, but, Jay's right. You can't just imply that it's our fault, not in front of him at least."
"Are you telling me no one else here of the older members feels a little guilty for the kind of shit we've put Jungwon through? I know I do."
"Don't fucking start—"
"Alright, enough. All three of you. And Sunghoon's got a point, shouldn't he be able to trust us to handle a little bit of his burden by now?"
"Can he?"
Everyone turns to Sunoo at his answering question. The kitten has moved to his lap and he's mewling in uneasiness again. The older soothes him like he did last night, running his knuckles across the little thing's head.
"Look at us. We're falling into an argument again. Jungwon's been out of commission for barely a week, we're not even working right now, but we're fighting. That's all we've been doing."
The older smiles woefully at the high-pitched whine from the animal on his legs, picking him up to look at him with watery eyes.
"But we'll do better, okay, Jungwonnie? You have to come back now. Just come back to us and we promise, we'll be better members. Better friends."
Riki's face drops, feeling his own heart crack as he scoots closer to Sunoo and wraps him up in a side hug. It's not surprising in the slightest that this is the hyung that broke down first, not because he thinks the shorter man is sensitive or weak. He's just always thought that Sunoo's heart was too big for his body, that any of his feelings that overwhelmed him simply poured out of him, usually through tears.
He scoops his two youngest hyungs in a tight embrace as tears of his own spring to his eyes. He tries to blink them back as he inhales shakily when he feels another body wrap around them; Jay, he realizes belatedly. One by one, the rest of them join the hug, tugging on each other in a desperate attempt to keep their little unit together, for however long they may have left.
The youngest peeks down at the kitten cradled in Sunoo's arms, heart jumping to his throat when he sees familiar, wide eyes staring up at him. He swears he hears what the cat tries to say when it mewls.
"I'm sorry and I love you all."
Later that night, Riki sits quietly on his leader's bed and contemplates what life might be like without Jungwon.
It would be quiet. The older had always been loud in his own strange way, yelling and whooping when he'd be playing a game or dragging another member, usually Jay, around. The other was always yapping about some random topic, entertaining everyone in the waiting room and keeping them all awake when their schedules started way too early or ran way too late.
It would be boring, because the leader was always so fun. His hyung would always curl up next to him with a troublesome look when he wanted to pull a prank on another member. He loved whenever the other would lock eyes with him on stage and send him the prettiest smile, basking in the joy of living their dream, together.
It would be messy. Jungwon always had a way of keeping things structured when it came to the very many things they had to do for their job. He kept track of things for everyone and made sure as much as possible that everyone had a say. He had gotten better at standing up for both himself, and for the team, as their time as a group went on.
That's why he loves the other so much. Selflessness came naturally to the second youngest member. As much as he was playful or upbeat as a friend, he knew when to get serious. He was always fascinated by the way the older could shift, like a chameleon, from one persona to another.
Jungwon carried so much, as a public figure, as an idol, as a leader, as a maknae, and as Riki's youngest hyung. It's a wonder he's held out this long at all.
By now, the group has run out of ideas. Other than Sunghoon's one-off comment from his talk with the leader all those days ago, there was simply no other reason for the transformation to have happened. After a lot of difficult back-and-forth, some shouting and more tears than any of them expected, it was decided they would inform the label tomorrow. Heeseung had already drafted an email to send out to their closest managers in the morning. They all held onto each other as he typed it out on his laptop.
As if summoned, the eldest member knocks gently on the open door with a bundle of fur in one hand.
"Hey, Riki. Jay said Jungwonnie was being fussy and suggested he might like to sleep in his own bed tonight. Want to keep him company?"
The maknae shrugs, picking at the loose thread on the neatly folded blankets. Sunghoon insisted on tidying up so Jungwon wouldn't be bothered when he turned back.
If he ever does, the dancer thought.
A quiet meow pulls him out of his morbid thoughts. The kitten paws at him, trying with his little legs to crawl into his lap. He feels his mouth quirk up in fondness.
A hand runs through his hair gently and he tilts his head up to look at Heeseung, who he assumes sees the same watery eyes reflected in his own gaze.
"We'll be okay, maknae."
Riki feels his lungs tremble with the weight of his anxiety as the older uncharacteristically leaves a soft kiss on his hair and whispers for him to have a good night.
He falls backward onto the bed as the door shuts. He gazes up at the ceiling and blinks back his tears when a head pops up and blocks his view.
"Hi, hyung."
Jungwon mewls as he nuzzles into his nose. He lets out a watery giggle. Heartbroken but overcome with affection, he lifts the kitten up and nuzzles back into the small animal's face. The older member purrs in his grip.
The memory of the frog and the princess and their story of true love returns to him unbidden. It seemed so silly at the time, but what if he never got the chance to tell the leader how much he loved him again?
"Jungwon-hyung." Riki murmurs tenderly as his eyes fluttered closed. "I have a secret."
"Yes?" The kitten meows in reply.
"Hyung, I love you. Not like I love the other hyungs, though I love them very much. Maybe even more after this whole cat thing. But I really, really love you, hyung. I love the way you light up the stage. I love how much you adore our fans. I love how you make Jake-hyung and Sunoo-hyung laugh when you joke around. I love how you always make time to play games with Heeseungie-hyung. I love how much you care for Jay-hyung as much as you play around with him. I love how you always go along with Sunghoonie-hyung's cat jokes, even though it practically got us all into this mess.
"I really love how much you love this team, how you love it as much as I do. So I really, really hope you come back. Just once, I want to hold hands and kiss and take you out on dates. I want to hug you whenever I want again and I want to see your smile when I tell you I'm eating well."
Jungwon wiggles around and he places the cat back down on his chest, and his breath stutters as the animal crawls up and pats his tiny paws all over his face. Like he wants to dry the younger's tears.
"Jungwonnie-hyung, if you can hear me, I miss you." Riki's weeping, he realizes. It's been a while since he's cried like this.
"Come back," he cries as he curls up in his hyung's bed with the kitten nosing at him as he whimpers, "please come back to me."
Though his vision is blurred by his tears, he manages to cup his hands around the animal to bring him close. It's selfish and it's stupid. It's a last ditch attempt to bring back his favorite hyung.
He doesn't think, just recalls the magic of the fairytale he stumbled upon, and gives the tiny orange kitten a kiss. Jungwon whines in response and the sound is just so small and so cute, the maknae can't help the coo that escapes him.
He can still feel tears running down his face but crying has always tired him out. He leaves one last peck on Jungwon's tiny mouth, giggling at the quiet yelp the cat lets out in response again. He falls asleep with his hyung close to him and dreams of large brown eyes and a brilliant smile.
Riki is once again pulled from his slumber by nimble fingers running through his hair. His eyes are crusted over with sleep and dried tears so he can only groan as he tries to will them open.
He hears a laugh, deep and familiar.
The maknae shoots up from the bed. He's rubbing harshly at his eyes with both hands now, buying himself time because he knows that laugh and he doesn't know what to do with himself after he spilled all his icky, romantic guts the night before.
Slender hands tug at his from where they cover his face and he takes a deep, shaky breath. When he opens his eyes, he's face to face with a very human and very smiley Jungwon.
The older looks at him like he's just won the biggest prize in the claw machine in the arcades they like to frequent. The leader tilts his head, still very cat-like, and speaks with a voice like gravel due to it being unused for a week.
"I love you too, Riki."
He promptly begins to wail as he tackles the older off the bed.
The commotion summons the rest of the group over. They gather and stand there frozen by the entryway to the second youngest's bedroom as their sleep addled minds begin to process the scene in front of them.
Sunoo recovers first. And then he bursts into tears as he throws himself into the maknae pile shrieking, "Jungwon-ah! You're a human again!"
There's a lot of whining and yelping as the hyungs nudge their way to their leader next. Jake sends him a watery smile as he gives the younger one the tightest back hug anyone's ever received from him. Jay cups his face with teary eyes, hiccuping back his cries as he makes sure with certainty that it's really Jungwon in front of them, before tugging him into a bone-crushing hug. Heeseung beams but everyone can see the tear tracks on his soft cheeks as the leader wraps his arms around the taller one's shoulders.
Sunghoon really grovels this time, saying he's sorry for always joking about him being a cat, but Jungwon only shakes his head and embraces his hyung fiercely.
"Nothing to apologize for, hyungie. I don't know what happened either, but I think it's sort of a blessing that I was forced to sit and listen to all of you and how you felt."
The rest of the group winces.
"It's not a problem, really. You were all right. I carry too much but it's not because I don't trust you." He eyes the rest of the members warily, making them all sheepish.
"I just…I thought because you've elected me leader, no one else would want to shoulder the burden. But that's not true, is it? I've been so caught up in being the best leader I forgot how to be a good member. And that means letting you guys carry the weight too. I know you can now. You took care of me the entire week."
Jungwon shocks all of them by bowing deeply as he says, "Thank you for everything. I'll do better from now on."
Of course, it's Jay that hurriedly lifts the younger one up as they all voice out their complaints.
"Shush, Jungwon, there's no need to do all of this."
"We should've been better hyungs to you, Jungwonnie."
"We need to work on our communication."
Riki's voice stands out through the noise.
"We'll do better from now on too. So that no one here carries anything too heavy to bear on their own again."
The leader grins at him proudly as Jake gives him a playful nudge, "When did you get so mature, huh?"
It's comical how he replies, "I've always been mature," at the same time Jungwon says, "Probably when he confessed his feelings to me last night."
The room erupts into chaos again.
"Is that what brought Jungwon back?"
"No way, finally!"
"Jay-hyungie, you owe me 30,000 won."
"Now is seriously not the time, Sunoo-yah. I can take you out to dinner later instead. How about the Han River again?"
"Wait, so are you saying it was like true love's kiss that changed you back?! Like in the movies?!"
"I think so?" Jungwon shrugs in reply to Jake's question.
All the members turn to Riki, who can only flush in response.
"I just…it was one thing I saw when I first started looking things up on the Internet, Heeseung-hyung. There was nothing else to do but try it, so I did."
"Are you saying my babies kissed?!"
Sunoo whacks Jay on the head as he huffs, "And you try to come for me and my bad timing."
"Wait, wait." Sunghoon gets them all back on track, "It's great to have Jungwonnie back and all but does that mean you're dating now or what?"
The two youngest members make eye contact and have a silent conversation. Then they both shrug and high-five.
"I guess."
Heeseung snorts. "You guys are unbelievable, but I'm happy for you both. I'm so glad you're back, Jungwon-ah, moreso that you and our maknae can be together."
The other members echo the sentiments of their eldest.
Jake has a suspicious smile on his face as he adds, "But you can't hog all the maknae and leader hugs just because you two are together, so you know what? Group hug for our two babies and for human Jungwon!"
Riki releases a harsh whoosh of air as he and Jungwon are tackled onto the bed. There's loudness everywhere again as Jay bemoans his kids growing up, Sunoo tugging on his ear in annoyance. Sunghoon and Jake are bickering about how a kiss can turn a cat into a person while Heeseung just says a prayer of thanks that he doesn't have to email their managers about cats and leaders anymore.
The youngest really wouldn't have it any other way.
A hand finds his in the chaos and gives it a tight squeeze. He turns his head and sees wide, loving eyes staring back at him. His heart settles into something warm in his chest as they look over the group around them. The leader sidles up as close to him as he can underneath their older members and whispers a quiet profession of love into his cheek that has him laughing in pure delight.
God does he love his members.
But especially his favorite cat-like hyung.