never knew what i was missing till i found you

Junhoe, generally speaking, makes it a point not to get involved in other people's business. While it certainly is fun to know about everything that’s going on, in his experience it ends up becoming far too exhausting in the long-run once you get wrapped up in the situation.

On the upside, this means Junhoe is free to live his life on his own terms, as he so pleases. On the downside, this makes his life pretty routine: he wakes up, takes the train to work, spends eight hours a day cooped up in his office cubicle, then catches the train back home again. Some people might say his life is dull, but Junhoe’s got a small but comfortable apartment, a few good friends, and a decent-paying job, and he’s always been a simple kind of guy, anyway. So he's content, more or less.

It’s a cold Friday night when things change.

Junhoe’s taking the fifteen-minute trek from the train station to his apartment complex - cursing when the chilly night air bites into his skin and tugging his coat tighter around himself - when he hears loud, boisterous voices coming from the alley beside a bibimbap place he likes to frequent. Junhoe just rolls his eyes at first, writing it off as a bunch of rowdy, troublemaking teenagers with too much time to spare, but then he hears it: a harsh, mocking voice that spits out fucking cat, followed by a soft, pathetic-sounding whimper that's too human to be an actual cat - a catboy.

Catpeople used to be rare when Junhoe was still a child, and he had only ever heard of them in passing for a long time. But as time passed, catpeople became somewhat of a commonality, slowly weaving their way into society and living alongside humans. They’re more human than they are cat if Junhoe’s experiences are the norm, and now Junhoe not only encounters catpeople in his daily life but he works with some, too; even his neighbour-slash-best friend Donghyuk has Bobby, a catboy of his own. (Junhoe is not particularly fond of Bobby, but that definitely has everything to do with his overbearing personality and nothing to do with the fact that he’s part-cat.)

Leave it to the inevitable ego posturing of human nature, though, because even though catpeople are recognized as a human’s equal under the law, some people still view them as inferior beings, tossing them derogatory remarks along the streets or regarding them as nothing more than objects to help relieve a person’s sexual frustration. While Seoul, being a big city, is generally somewhat accepting, it’s still very easy to find those who’re only interested in objectifying them.

Such as these idiots, Junhoe sighs, as he sees one of them reach out to presumably touch the catboy, who yelps.

Right now Junhoe has two choices: he can either pretend he heard nothing and continue on his way home, or step in and chase off the dumb teenagers, somehow. He probably spends too long standing outside that alley deliberating, until he hears a nasty you think he’ll purr if I fuck him followed by raucous laughter and Junhoe will have you know, he is not as emotionally stunted as many think he is.

“What’s going on here?” Junhoe asks, voice too-calm and slightly threatening - just the way he likes it - as he steps into the alley.

There are three teenage boys standing before him who look like they could be no more than high school seniors. They’re not even big and burly, just three scrawny-looking delinquents.

Predictably, the kids take one look at all 182 centimeters of Junhoe, decide that it’s no longer worth it and scatter, although one does make a rude gesture before leaving. Junhoe rolls his eyes after them, then turns his gaze back into the alley and—oh.

There’s a small catboy huddled against the wall of the alley, ears pressed flat against his head, knees drawn up to his chest and tail wrapped tight around himself. He’s shaking a little, with fear, Junhoe thinks. He’s scared.

Junhoe stares for a moment, clearing his throat. “Um. Are you okay?”

The catboy peers up at him, eyes blinking open wide to take him in as he slowly uncurls his body and moves into more of a sitting position.

“Do you need help, or something?”

The catboy still doesn’t reply as he pushes himself up into a standing position, putting one hand against the dirty cement wall for support. He staggers a little, tail wrapped around his left thigh, and Junhoe doesn’t miss how that ankle falters as he leans on his right leg instead.

The next words out of his mouth come out before he’s even conscious of what he’s saying. “Do you want to come back to my apartment?”

The catboy’s eyes widen, and Junhoe wants to kick himself, because wow, he sounded just like one of those sleazy little boys.

“Not for anything weird!” Junhoe stammers. “You just look like you need ice or something.”

There’s silence for a long moment, and Junhoe is just beginning to regret all his life choices when—

“... Okay.”

The catboy’s voice is soft, a little high-pitched. In the dim lighting, Junhoe can make out the catboy’s soft features framed by bronze hair, a face that looks far too young to be out at night like this.

“My apartment isn’t too far from here. Can you walk?”

“I’ll be okay.”

Junhoe raises an eyebrow, because it doesn’t really look like he’ll be able to make it, but decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. He turns to exit the alley and walks out, making sure to keep his stride shorter and slower than usual so the catboy can keep pace.

“It’s this way,” Junhoe says, turning around to check if the catboy is actually following him. The catboy nods in assent, and Junhoe starts walking.

They only make it about a minute, though, before Junhoe hears a pained whimper. Junhoe walks back a few steps to where the catboy is bent over, massaging his ankle.

Junhoe sighs. This is turning into more of an ordeal than he expected. He squats down in front of the catboy, craning his neck to look over at him. “Get on.”

“What?”

“Get on. You obviously can’t walk.”

The catboy stares at him for a few moments again, and Junhoe’s thighs are really starting to burn when the catboy climbs on, locking his legs around Junhoe’s hips. Junhoe’s arms come up to hook under the catboy’s knees as he straightens up, shifting the catboy on his shoulders so it’s more comfortable to walk.

“I’ve never been this tall before,” the catboy murmurs softly, and the voice is so unexpectedly close to his ear that Junhoe almost drops him.

Junhoe feels something poking the back of his neck, and as he awkwardly tries to turn his head and look out of the corner of his eye, he sees that the catboy has basically buried his face in the collar of Junhoe’s shirt.

Junhoe’s definitely having a bit of a mental breakdown, now. He’s never been one for physical expressions of affection or prolonged human contact - growing up, Junhoe was that kid who always got thoroughly embarrassed when his mother tried to hug him in public, and all of his (few) friends know better than to try to pull Junhoe into hugs or touch him unnecessarily. It had actually become a point of contention in a number of his past relationships - they’d say he was too cold, not willing to open up. So to have a small, vulnerable catboy pressed warmly against his back with his nose poking at the collar of his shirt - it’s safe to say that Junhoe has absolutely no idea what to do.

A gust of cold wind blows by at that moment, and Junhoe feels the catboy shiver against his back, letting out a soft little whimper before unconsciously burrowing further into the warmth in the space between Junhoe’s neck and shoulder blade. Junhoe doesn’t know what exactly makes him do it, but he tightens his grip around the catboy’s legs, hefts him higher up his back and whispers, “Almost there.”

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrive at Junhoe’s apartment complex. Junhoe sets the catboy down outside his apartment so he can punch in the passcode to unlock the door. He could swear he hears the catboy let out a sad noise at the loss of contact, but pays it no mind as he opens the front door.

“Um, you can take your shoes off here, and there’s a sofa over there that you can sit down on.”

“Thank you,” the catboy says, bending down to unlace his sneakers. Junhoe removes his own shoes and heads inside, retrieving an ice pack from the freezer and a dishtowel. He walks over to his sofa where the catboy is settling down, extending his injured leg out along the length of the sofa.

“If you could, uh, roll up your pant leg a bit,” Junhoe says, and the catboy complies, revealing mottled bruises around his ankle and what appears to be some swelling. Junhoe winces in pity, draping the towel over the catboy’s ankle and the ice on top.

“Just leave that on for a while, I guess. Then take it off, because you’re not supposed to keep ice on all the time. Or something like that.”

“I know how to ice myself,” the catboy replies, a hint of a smile forming around the corners of his mouth. “Thank you…?” The catboy trails off, and Junhoe realizes that he hasn’t even introduced himself to the catboy, and he doesn’t know the catboy’s name, either. He doesn’t know anything about him, actually. What if he just invited a murderous cat to his apartment? He hopes Donghyuk will notice if he doesn’t leave his apartment tomorrow and will call the police.

“Junhoe. Koo Junhoe.”

“Thank you, Junhoe,” the catboy says. Junhoe decides that his name sounds very nice in the catboy’s soft, sweet voice. “I’m Kim Jinhwan.”

“Um. Nice to meet you, Jinhwan-ssi.”

“Likewise.”

Junhoe stands in front of the sofa for a good minute, trying to figure out what to do next as the entirety of the situation hits him. There is a small, cute, injured catboy on his sofa, who presumably has nowhere else to go, since he hadn’t suggested going anywhere else. Junhoe, as much as he tries not to unnecessarily involve himself in things, now feels very much responsible for the well-being of Kim Jinhwan. He can’t just send him back out, especially now that it’s getting even later at night. He wouldn’t bet against a repeat of the night’s earlier events, or worse.

“If you don’t have anywhere else to go,” Junhoe says, “you could stay here for the night. Just for tonight, y’know, so then you can go wherever it is you need to in the morning.”

Jinhwan mulls this over. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”

“... Okay.”

“I can wash your clothes, if you want,” Junhoe offers, “my stuff is probably kind of big, but it’s better than nothing.”

Jinhwan gestures to a backpack next to the sofa that Junhoe hadn’t noticed before. “I have some things,” he says, “but I wouldn’t object to washing these.” Jinhwan pulls a bit at the fabric of his hoodie, which looks to be relatively dirty, probably from his stint on the alley floor.

Junhoe nods. “Shower’s over there,” he says as he gestures to a closed door off to the side. “You can just leave your clothes out or whatever when you go in. There’s shampoo and towels and stuff in there.”

“Okay.”

There’s silence again. Junhoe is not good with silence, especially with someone he’s just met.

“I’m just gonna go to my room,” Junhoe says, “just call me if you need anything?”

“‘kay.”

Junhoe turns to go to his room, telling himself to keep it together, at least, until he’s out of sight of the catboy.

“Junhoe-ssi?”

Junhoe turns around, quirking an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” Jinhwan smiles, and Junhoe feels a little weird, because he’s really not used to people smiling at him (this is probably because he doesn’t often do things for people that mandate him getting a smile in response). But Jinhwan’s smile is small yet sincere, lips curling upwards to reveal the briefest hints of teeth.

“You're welcome,” Junhoe replies. His smile may be small, but he means it.

Junhoe ducks into his room and shuts the door, then proceeds to promptly thunk his head against the back of it and stare up at his ceiling unblinkingly. He has a catboy on his living room couch. A cute catboy, but a catboy.

Junhoe groans. He is in way over his head.

Junhoe shrugs off his coat and hangs it up behind his door before settling down in his computer chair and firing up his laptop. He's got a few leftover emails to take care of, and he presumes that should give the catboy enough time to ice his ankle and take his shower.

Sure enough, once he’s finished the first email and started on the second, he hears a door close and the shower start running.

Junhoe tries to compose the second email, but he finds that his thoughts are wandering everywhere else except what he’s supposed to be writing. He closes his email with a loud sigh, shutting off his laptop and leaning back in his chair.

He exits his room and finds the catboy back on the sofa in clean clothes, his hair slightly damp. He’s typing away on his phone, and while Junhoe can’t make out any details, he knows KakaoTalk when he sees it. Junhoe mentally breathes a great sigh of relief, because thank god he’s not a stray and he evidently has someone to talk to.

“Was everything okay?” Junhoe asks.

Jinhwan nods, tucking his phone away. “Thank you so much, really.”

“It’s nothing,” Junhoe says, but that’s a lie. It is a lot. Junhoe doesn’t stop for just anyone.

“I’ll try to be out of your hair in the morning,” Jinhwan remarks, “I was looking into motels to stay in.”

Junhoe furrows his eyebrows - now that he's listening to Jinhwan speak in full sentences, he notices a bit of an accent. “You’re not from Seoul.” It’s a statement, not a question - Junhoe isn’t stupid and it’s obvious that Jinhwan doesn’t know the area well if he’s getting lost in alleys.

“No,” Jinhwan replies, “I’m from Jeju, originally.”

Oh. That’s certainly not what Junhoe expected. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you come here?”

“Money,” Jinhwan says simply, “there aren’t a whole lot of jobs in Jeju, and I wanted to… get out, see more of the country.”

“Ah.”

An awkward silence settles over them again. Suddenly, Junhoe’s stomach makes an embarrassingly loud noise. Junhoe looks down and glares at his stomach, then looks at the clock on his wall - it’s nearing eight, and he hasn’t eaten anything for several hours.

“Are you hungry?” Junhoe asks, “I’m gonna order something for dinner.”

“Anything’s fine,” Jinhwan replies.

“Is there, uh, anything you can’t eat?” Junhoe turns to his fridge, which has assorted takeout menus stuck all over it. “Sorry, I don’t know a lot of catboys.”

“No, I’m just occasionally partial to warm milk and fish. Not necessarily at the same time.”

Junhoe squints, trying to figure out if the catboy’s joking or not. Eventually, he just gives up, pulling his phone out from his pocket and deciding on Chinese takeout. He orders two servings of fried rice while looking at Jinhwan, only hanging up once he gets the affirmative nod from Jinhwan that what he ordered was okay.

Silence falls upon them again once Junhoe cuts the call, and when it becomes clear that Jinhwan has no intention to break it, Junhoe just makes a couple of awkward hand motions and returns to his room. He throws himself facedown on the bed, groaning into his pillow.

He lies there until he hears the doorbell ring - the food has arrived. He digs his wallet out of his briefcase and goes back out to retrieve the food and pay (definitely ignoring the way Jinhwan’s face is tilted up slightly, nose twitching as he smells the food).

“Here,” Junhoe says, handing Jinhwan a bowl and a spoon, which Jinhwan accepts with a soft thank you. Junhoe looks between the table in the kitchen and the sofa, wondering where he should sit, eventually deciding just to sit in the kitchen and bemoan the state of his life.

It’s awkward. He and Jinhwan can still see each other from where they're sitting, but it's far enough that starting a conversation would be a bit difficult.

Junhoe shovels the rice into his mouth quickly, barely tasting the food. He just wants to go hole up in his room and sleep, or something. He's so caught up in his own thoughts that he jumps slightly when there's a light tap to his shoulder: Junhoe turns and sees Jinhwan standing before him, takeout box already empty.

"Um," Jinhwan starts hesitantly. "Where should I throw this?"

Junhoe swallows the rice in his mouth and holds out his hand. "Just pass it to me. I'll throw both our boxes out together."

Jinhwan does just that, then hovers a little uncertainly as Junhoe takes his last spoonful of rice before putting the two empty boxes into the recycling bin.

"Thank you for dinner," Jinhwan says once Junhoe turns back around to face him.

"No problem," Junhoe replies, then frowns when he sees Jinhwan wince ever-so-slightly as he tries to shift his weight onto his injured ankle. "Go sit back down on the couch. Your ankle won't be able to heal unless you rest it properly. I'm going to take a shower now - just call me if you need anything instead of getting up."

Jinhwan flushes a little but nods, limping back to the couch and settling down at the far corner. Junhoe heads back to his room to grab a plain white shirt and a pair of black shorts before ducking into the bathroom for a shower. He takes no more than ten minutes to bathe, not wanting to leave Jinhwan alone and most probably bored on his couch for too long. He picks up both his and Jinhwan's dirty clothes to toss them into the wash and sees the catboy staring out the living room window on his way to the kitchen.

From Jeju to Seoul. The catboy may not have flown halfway across the world, but he was still leaving behind all he had ever known for that small glimmer of hope that he might find something better.

Junhoe thinks Jinhwan is braver than he could ever be.

Junhoe fetches a new dish towel, wraps a few ice cubes in it, then pads back into the living room. Jinhwan turns to face him before he has even made it to the couch.

"It's time to change the ice pack," Junhoe says, handing the ice pack in his hand to Jinhwan before removing the one that's currently on his ankle. Junhoe is relieved to see that the swelling has gone down a little. As Jinhwan gingerly presses the new ice pack to his ankle, Junhoe clears his throat.

"So, uh," Junhoe begins, cringing at how terribly awkward he sounds. Jinhwan looks up at him, so he continues. "You can sleep in my bed tonight. I'll take the couch."

Jinhwan's eyes widen. "I can't possibly take your bed."

Junhoe frowns. Being hospitable is proving to be tougher than he thought. "You're the one with the injured ankle. I'm pretty sure you should sleep on a proper bed."

Jinhwan bites his lip, looks Junhoe up and down, then looks down the length of the couch. "I—um—I think I'll fit more comfortably on the couch?" Jinhwan says this like a question and okay, fine, maybe Junhoe forgot to take his size into consideration, but hospitality, dammit.

"I insist," Junhoe says finally, and before Jinhwan can so much as say anything in return, Junhoe goes to his room to fetch his pillow and blanket and bring them out to the living room instead. Jinhwan's expression is slightly pained as Junhoe digs around for a spare pillow and fleece blanket for Jinhwan to use for the night. By the time he returns to the living room again, Jinhwan is reaching for his bag on the floor and slowly swinging his legs down from the couch. The catboy mumbles a quiet thank you when Junhoe takes the ice pack from him, trailing behind him as he hobbles down the hall.

Junhoe hovers a little awkwardly by the foot of the bed as Jinhwan places his bag on the floor and lowers himself slowly onto the bed, waiting for the catboy to get comfortable before he replaces the ice pack on his injured ankle. Junhoe watches as Jinhwan lifts that leg a little, then uses his tail to tug the fleece blanket over his other.

"Convenient," Junhoe mumbles, and he gets rewarded with a small smile from Jinhwan in return.

And it's a nice smile. It makes Jinhwan's face brighten up considerably.

"Thank you for everything, really," Jinhwan says again, lightly gripping onto the end of his tail.

Junhoe just waves his hand a little, not used to being on the receiving end of someone's sincere gratitude for so long. "Like I said, just call if you need anything," Jinhwan nods, and with nothing left to say, Junhoe bids the catboy good night before walking out of his room and shutting the door behind him.

Junhoe takes the few strides back to the living room, throws himself down onto the couch, and groans into his pillow.

There's a catboy sleeping in his room, on his bed, and Junhoe cusses when he tries to stretch his legs out but nope - the couch is not going to let him have it.

Junhoe screws his eyes shut and wonders - for the umpteenth time that night - what the fuck he's doing.

*

Junhoe wakes up to the smell of food cooking and weird aches in his back and legs.

“Donghyuk!” He half-mumbles, half-yells. “Did you break into my apartment again?”

“Um… no?” A voice that sounds somewhat familiar yet not calls back. “This is Jinhwan?”

Ah, yes. Jinhwan.

… who exactly is Jinhwan, again?

Junhoe wraps his blanket around himself and sits up, squinting so he can see into the kitchen.

Ah, yes. That Jinhwan.

The catboy he ran into last night, who, for some inexplicable reason, is cooking something in Junhoe’s kitchen.

“What are you doing?” He asks, walking over to the kitchen. “It smells like food.” Junhoe didn’t even know he had food that could be cooked, besides instant noodles, eggs to put in said instant noodles, and rice.

“I’m making breakfast,” Jinhwan says, deftly moving eggs around in a frying pan.

“Why?”

Junhoe’s manners have never been the best in the morning, but to his credit, Jinhwan does not appear terribly fazed.

“I just thought that since I kind of… intruded into your apartment, I’d make breakfast for you at least,” Jinhwan remarks as he slides the rolled egg onto a plate. “I hope you don’t mind?”

“No kidding,” Junhoe says, “I don’t mind at all.”

It does, at the very least, look edible. More than edible, if Junhoe’s going to be honest - it looks pretty damn good.

“Is your ankle alright?” Junhoe asks, noticing how Jinhwan’s still favoring one leg more than the other. “Shouldn’t you be sitting down?”

“It’s not so bad today,” Jinhwan replies. “I heal quickly.”

Junhoe shrugs. “Do you need any help, or anything…?”

“Um… not particularly.”

Junhoe sits down at his kitchen table. He’s not used to feeling unneeded, and in his own apartment, at that. Jinhwan puts the plate of rolled egg on the table, then scoops out two bowls of rice.

“Sorry it’s not much,” Jinhwan apologizes as Junhoe thanks him for the food. “You kind of… don’t have a lot of food around.”

“Hazards of the young single man’s lifestyle.” Junhoe shrugs. To be honest, the only times he has home-cooked meals are when he visits his parents or when Donghyuk feels like berating Junhoe for his “disgusting eating habits”, which happens once every week or two, depending on how bored his friend happens to be.

He takes a bite of egg - it’s actually really good, and he tells Jinhwan as such. The catboy’s cheeks turn a bit pink and he starts to downplay things, but Junhoe raises an eyebrow and the conversation dies.

“So,” Jinhwan begins a little awkwardly. “I found a few decent places to stay, so I suppose I’ll be out of your way in an hour or so.”

“Ah,” Junhoe doesn’t know what else to say, other than that. “That’s nice.”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan replies, looking at Junhoe’s face before darting his gaze away. “Thanks, I guess,” Jinhwan laughs a little.

The rest of breakfast is silent, and Jinhwan insists on bringing all the dishes to the sink and washing them before he leaves. Junhoe hovers around uncertainly, and all too soon he finds himself holding open the apartment door as Jinhwan shoulders his backpack and slips on his shoes.

“Thank you again, really,” Jinhwan says, looking up at Junhoe. “I don’t know what might’ve happened to me if you hadn’t stepped into that alley when you did.”

Junhoe almost wants to tell Jinhwan that the people bothering him were just a bunch of stupid teenagers without the guts to actually cause him any physical harm, but Jinhwan sounds so sincere, so grateful - Junhoe bites his tongue.

“You’re welcome, again,” Junhoe replies instead, making sure he sounds courteous. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Silence falls upon them once more, only broken by Jinhwan smiling up at him a little and taking a small step back. “Well, I guess this is goodbye, then.”

“Yeah,” Junhoe answers. “Goodbye, Jinhwan-ssi. And—uh—good luck with the house-hunting.”

Jinhwan chuckles, lifting his hand in a wave, then he turns around and he’s gone.

Junhoe shuts the door, then sits down at his now-empty kitchen table with a sigh. He never really has weekend plans - usually, they consist of sleeping in until well past noon and either watching television, getting ahead on some work, or playing third wheel to Donghyuk and Bobby.

As of now, though, it’s barely ten in the morning, and even though Junhoe has lived alone for quite some time now, his apartment feels somehow empty.

He decides to occupy himself by sitting on the windowsill and looking down at the streets, and he feels his lips quirk upwards unconsciously when he sees Jinhwan walk out of the apartment complex, pausing at the junction as he figures out which way to turn.

A few minutes later, however, Junhoe hears the sound of falling rain - slow and sparse at first, but quickly picking up in speed, hitting the sides of the building and the surrounding area.

This in itself is nothing unusual - it is winter, after all, and sometimes it rains.

But then he remembers three things:

1. Jinhwan has just left his apartment.
2. Jinhwan is a catboy, and in Junhoe’s experience, they are not terribly fond of water.
3. Does Jinhwan even have an umbrella?

Without even thinking about it, Junhoe gets up and grabs one of his umbrellas from a bin near his entryway, shoves his feet into a pair of sneakers, and runs to the lift. Once he’s down on the ground floor, Junhoe sprints out of the apartment lobby and opens the umbrella, turning right like Jinhwan had and searching for the catboy. He doesn’t have to go further than one block when he sees him, small frame shivering and cat ears wet and droopy as he hides in the bus stop for shelter.

“Jinhwan-ssi!” Junhoe shouts. “Kim Jinhwan!”

Jinhwan startles at Junhoe’s loud voice, looking completely shocked as Junhoe rushes up to him. “Junhoe—”

“You—uh, do you have an umbrella? You shouldn’t be going out in the rain, you’ll get sick,” Junhoe blurts out.

Jinhwan flushes. “I don’t.”

Junhoe holds out the umbrella in front of him, towards the catboy. “You can take this, if you want. Or, uh, if you want to get dry… you could, come back…?”

What the fuck, Koo Junhoe, you haven’t even known him for twenty-four hours.

Jinhwan stands slowly, smile sheepish. “If you don’t mind, I really would like to get out of this rain.”

“O—okay,” Junhoe replies, holding the umbrella over Jinhwan as they walk back to the apartment. The shoulder further away from Jinhwan is getting quite wet, but he finds he doesn’t really care that much, for some reason.

The walk is quick and silent, giving Junhoe just enough time to marvel at how short the catboy is next to him - the top of his head barely reaches under Junhoe’s nose. It’s almost cute. Almost.

“You can use the shower,” Junhoe says once they get inside and he shuts the front door. “I’ll get you a clean towel. Do you have any more clothes to wear, or…?”

Jinhwan removes his backpack, holding it close to his chest as he unzips it, then sighs. “I had clothes,” Jinhwan replies, voice soft. “But they’re wet now.”

Jinhwan’s ears may have been droopy at the bus stop, but it’s probably only now that he actually looks dejected, posture small and defeated.

“It’s fine,” Junhoe answers quickly. “I’ll lend you some clothes.”

Junhoe hurries into his bedroom, fetching a clean towel, an old sweater and a pair of sweats. These are the smallest clothes Junhoe owns, but he knows that Jinhwan will still drown in them, considering how he’s a good twenty centimetres taller than the catboy.

Jinhwan mumbles a soft yet sincere thank you as he accepts the items from Junhoe and ducks into the shower. And for the nth time since Junhoe has met Jinhwan, Junhoe falls onto his couch - face-first - and wonders what the actual fuck he’s doing.

About half an hour later, after both of them have showered and all their drenched clothes are in the wash (Junhoe doesn’t think it’s cute at all, how the sleeves of his sweater are a bit long and cover Jinhwan’s hands), Junhoe hands Jinhwan a hot cup of green tea before joining him on the couch.

“Looks like the rain won’t be letting up anytime soon,” Junhoe says, and immediately regrets it. Why is he talking about the weather?

Jinhwan looks out the window, then turns the cup around in his hands. “I owe you too much,” Jinhwan replies instead, voice quiet. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I will pay you back.”

Junhoe takes a sip of his tea and waves the comment off. “I’m telling you, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Jinhwan opens his mouth, no doubt ready to insist, but Junhoe really doesn’t want to talk about this any longer, so he changes the subject quickly.

“So, um,” Junhoe says, “should we, like, get to know each other or something? I don’t know, I’m shit with people.”

This pulls an amused laugh from Jinhwan, and Junhoe’s relieved he’s got the catboy to stop thinking about his debt towards him.

“Well, you know I’m from Jeju. Um, I have an older sister? My birthday's on the seventh of February, and I’m twenty-five—”

Junhoe almost spits out his tea. “You’re twenty-five?”

“Yes.”

“Like twenty… plus five?”

“I have my ID, if you’d like to check.”

Junhoe just stares at the catboy. He barely looks a day over eighteen, if that. What the fuck?

“This is ridiculous.”

“How old are you, Junhoe-ssi?”

The respectful suffix coming out of Jinhwan’s twenty-five-year-old mouth sounds so wrong now that Junhoe knows the truth.

“... My birthday's on the thirty-first of March. I'm twenty-two.”

Jinhwan’s eyes widen. “Oh,” the catboy ekes out as he ponders this new information. “Should I call you Junhoe-yah instead?”

“I gue—” This is literally all that Junhoe can say before his front door opens loudly.

“Koo Junhoe!”

It’s almost scary how the glare comes to Junhoe so naturally. “This is trespassing.”

“It’s not trespassing if I have your passcode,” Donghyuk replies, the banter sliding off his tongue easily. “Anyway, we’re here because Bobby-hyung said he smelled a—”

“Catboy!”

Jinhwan looks simultaneously happy, terrified, and confused all at once. Junhoe can relate - Bobby tends to evoke those feelings in people (in his opinion, anyway).

“Hi!” Bobby exclaims, barreling towards the couch and - Junhoe chokes - leaping onto Jinhwan. Jinhwan squeaks in shock. “What’s your name? I’m Bobby. Are you from around here? Are you Junhoe’s cat? When did you get here—”

Before Junhoe can do something drastic like throw his cup at Bobby, Donghyuk walks over, hooks one finger under Bobby’s collar, and pulls.

“Behave, Bobby-hyung,” Donghyuk’s voice is stern, but Junhoe can tell he’s a little amused at his catboy’s antics.

Jinhwan lets out a nervous laugh as Bobby clambers off his lap, looking rightfully chastised. But then Donghyuk’s finger slips from beneath Bobby’s collar before he lightly rubs one of Bobby’s ears, and Junhoe watches as an almost-wistful expression passes over Jinhwan’s face.

“Um, my name is Kim Jinhwan, I’m not from around here, and I got here yesterday.”

“That’s cool!” Bobby gives a toothy grin. “I’m Bobby, and this is Donghyuk. We’re Junhoe’s—”

“Complete pains in the ass,” Junhoe grumbles.

“Be nice, Junhoe,” Donghyuk says. “This is why you don’t have any friends.”

“Who needs friends when I have you around?”

Donghyuk doesn’t even bother dignifying Junhoe with a response, instead choosing to offer Jinhwan a friendly smile. “You’re really cute,” Donghyuk says, laughing a little at the blush that spreads across Jinhwan’s cheeks as he says that. “Do you mind?” He asks, his hand hovering just above Jinhwan’s head. At the catboy’s nod, he slides his hand into Jinhwan’s hair carefully, rubbing gently at the base of his right ear, and Junhoe gawks when he sees Jinhwan’s head tilt to the right, eyes sliding shut as he lets out a soft purr.

This is weird. Junhoe feels oddly left out.

“Your ears are really pretty,” Bobby gushes, reaching out a hand to brush his thumb down one of Jinhwan’s bronze-colored ears. He sits on the couch next to Jinhwan, grinning. “I’ve never met a cat with bronze fur. Where are you from?”

“Jeju,” Jinhwan replies, offering Bobby a small, amicable smile in return.

“So,” Junhoe cuts in loudly, “why are you guys here?”

“To make sure you weren’t doing anything illegal, since Bobby smelled another cat from your apartment,” Donghyuk replies. “And also to make sure you’re not dead. Why else?”

“Illegal?” Junhoe rolls his eyes. “What kind of guy do you take me for?”

“You never know. Who knows what you’re doing on all the days you refuse to see the outside world?”

Junhoe glares. “I’m changing my passcode tonight.”

Donghyuk sighs. “You’ve been saying that for the past year.”

“Well, I mean it this time!”

“Sure you do. Tell me how living on ramyun works out for you.”

“Hey, there are plenty of varieties out there,” Junhoe defends. “So it’ll be at least a month before I get bored. Also, I have a fast metabolism, and we all die anyways.”

Donghyuk glances at Jinhwan. “Hopeless, right?”

“What the fuck, Dong, you can’t just go off turning my own visitors against me!”

Jinhwan just laughs, and Junhoe frowns when he sees that in the past minute that he and Donghyuk have spent squabbling, Bobby has managed to hook an arm around Jinhwan’s shoulders, grinning at the smaller catboy as they talk about something or another.

Junhoe stares as Donghyuk watches them, a fond smile on his face. “Would you like to come over for dinner?” He asks, directing his question mostly at Jinhwan. Rude, Junhoe thinks. “We mostly came to bother Junhoe, but since you’re here and Bobby-hyung hasn’t met another catboy in a long time, it would be nice if you joined us. That is, if you have no other plans.”

“That’s so nice of you,” Jinhwan beams. “Sure, thank you so much.”

“Great. See you around six? We live next door, but Junhoe knows that already.”

Junhoe just grunts in response. “Since we’re seeing you guys later, can you guys leave now?” He glares at Bobby and Donghyuk.

Bobby frowns, clearly wanting to stay and play with Jinhwan, but Donghyuk just laughs knowingly and gives his catboy’s messy brown hair a playful ruffle. “Come on, Bobby-hyung. You can play with Jinhwan-ssi later. We need to head out and pick up some things, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Bobby recognizes the gentle suggestion to leave when he hears it, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie as he gets to his feet, grinning widely. “See ya, Jinhwan-ssi!”

Jinhwan waves as the two of them leave, and Junhoe sighs loudly after the door shuts behind them.

“You know, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Junhoe says. “You don’t know them like I do.”

“They seem friendly,” Jinhwan replies. “And it’s always nice to meet another catboy.”

Junhoe’s expression clearly says otherwise.

“Bobby-hyung’s more like a dog,” Junhoe grumbles, but decides not to say anything else to defame the two. Jinhwan does laugh at Junhoe’s comment, though, his first loud, uninhibited and genuinely happy-sounding laugh, and Junhoe allows himself to feel a little proud at being able to pull that reaction from him.

*

Six p.m. rolls around much too soon for Junhoe’s liking.

“Jinhwan-ssi, are you sure you actually want to go?” Junhoe asks, for probably the twentieth time.

Jinhwan laughs, pushing up the sleeves of Junhoe’s sweater that he's wearing. Junhoe follows the action with his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Just saying, it’s never too late to back out and save yourself from a world of hell.”

Jinhwan gives Junhoe an amused look. “Should I say I don't want to go so you don't have to go?”

Junhoe almost whines and stomps his foot, but he's a Mature Adult, so he settles for a petulant frown instead. Jinhwan smiles at Junhoe’s reluctant expression as he holds open the front door. “Let's go then, Jinhwan-ssi.”

Jinhwan winces. “Can we just… drop the honorifics? It's starting to sound a little weird.”

Junhoe blinks, then wets his lips with his tongue. “Jinhwan… hyung? Jinhwan-hyung.”

Jinhwan smiles. Junhoe quite likes the way the words roll off his own tongue.

“After you,” he says to the catboy, who steps out and waits for Junhoe to follow. He shuts the door, then moves one over to the left and punches in the code to Donghyuk’s place.

“Dong!” He calls as they enter. “Sorry, I couldn’t convince Jinhwan-hyung not to come.”

“Oh!” Donghyuk pokes his head out from his kitchen, completely ignoring Junhoe in favour of sending Jinhwan a welcoming smile. “Hi, Jinhwan-ssi. Sorry, I’m still preparing dinner. Bobby-hyung’s taking a shower, so in the meantime please make yourself comfortable.”

Junhoe’s barely listening, already heading straight for the living room and falling onto the couch like he has a thousand times before. On the other hand, Jinhwan smiles back at Donghyuk and steps into the kitchen.

“Do you need any help?” Jinhwan asks. “I did quite a fair bit of cooking back home in Jeju, so I could help you a little, if you need?”

Donghyuk looks pleasantly surprised by this revelation. “Really? That’s great, actually, considering Junhoe can’t cook worth a damn, and Bobby-hyung’s not a whole lot better,” Donghyuk laughs, looking around. “I’m just making kimchi fried rice, so there’s not that much to do, honestly. But if you’d like, you could help me prepare the rest of the ingredients?”

Jinhwan nods and gets to work, taking the knife from Donghyuk while the latter moves to the stove. They exchange small talk as they cook, working out their age difference and agreeing to speak to each other more comfortably. Bobby emerges from his shower as Donghyuk’s finishing up the cooking and Jinhwan is setting the table, immediately bounding over to the older catboy and striking up an easy conversation. Jinhwan waves Junhoe over to the table just as Donghyuk begins to bring the food out, and Bobby lifts his spoon quickly, ready to dig in.

“Thank you for the food, Donggu-yah!” Bobby calls.

Donghyuk’s answering laugh is fond as he returns to the table with two glasses of water. “Thank Jinhwan-hyung, too. It’s the first time in a long time someone’s helped me in the kitchen.”

Junhoe really almost whines this time, because it took him two days and so much agony to finally get around to calling Jinhwan hyung, whereas Donghyuk managed to achieve this in only a matter of hours.

Bobby grins toothily at Jinhwan before scooping up his first spoonful of rice. Donghyuk comes back again with another two glasses, laughing at the way Bobby is basically shovelling the food into his mouth.

“Slow down, hyung,” Donghyuk says, setting down the glasses and sliding into his seat next to Bobby. He chuckles as the catboy turns to face him with his mouth full of food, brushing a thumb over the top of his collar before ruffling his mop of shaggy hair.

Junhoe catches the wistful, almost envious smile that pulls at the edges of Jinhwan’s lips as he looks at Donghyuk’s fingers on Bobby’s collar, and he furrows his brows in question.

“So,” Donghyuk starts, taking his first bite of food and looking from Jinhwan to Junhoe. “How did you end up staying with Junhoe, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Junhoe and Jinhwan exchange a look, and Jinhwan swallows his rice before answering. “I got lost on my first day here and ran into some trouble. Junhoe found me by chance, really, then he helped me and offered to let me stay at his place since I didn't—well, don't—have anywhere else to go. I'm honestly very thankful.”

“Wow,” Donghyuk says, giving Junhoe a look. “It's not often that ‘Junhoe’ and ‘helped’ appear in the same sentence, unless it’s to say he didn’t.”

Junhoe glares. “I'll have you know I'm an extremely helpful person—”

Bobby snorts, then promptly chokes on his rice.

“So are you planning on staying?” Donghyuk continues to ask, jabbing his spoon in Junhoe’s direction. “Because honestly, some company would do Junhoe some good—”

Junhoe flushes - from anger or embarrassment, he's not entirely sure. Probably both. “Kim Donghyuk,” Junhoe hisses.

Clearly this question has taken Jinhwan off guard, too, because the tips of the catboy’s ears are tinged red as he glances at Junhoe uncertainly.

“Um,” Jinhwan says evenly, “it hasn’t really been discussed.”

“Yeah,” Junhoe adds quickly. “Hasn’t come up.”

“Ah.” Donghyuk, mercifully, lets the subject drop, the conversation moving towards more mundane topics, like how Donghyuk and Junhoe know each other (“god, it's been way too long, Donghyuk”), and how Donghyuk and Bobby met - things that Junhoe already knows, so he’s free to eat and let his mind wander.

What is Jinhwan going to do after today?

Dinner passes relatively peacefully as Junhoe gets lost in his own thoughts, and before long, Donghyuk is shoving him towards the kitchen to help him do the dishes while Bobby tugs Jinhwan down the hall to give him the grand tour. Which is totally unnecessary, in Junhoe’s opinion, because Donghyuk’s apartment layout is exactly the same as his own, but he’s given no chance to protest otherwise.

“Jinhwan-hyung’s pretty cute, isn’t he?” Donghyuk asks conversationally as he picks up a sponge and starts scrubbing the rim of a cup. Junhoe drops the plate he’s holding and glares at his friend.

“What the fuck,” Junhoe grumbles, “you already have a boyfriend, Donghyuk.”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes. “Jesus christ, Junhoe, I’m just saying he is, objectively speaking.”

Donghyuk is right, as usual—wait, what? No he isn’t. “What does that have to do with anything, though?”

Donghyuk ignores him, grabbing another plate and asking another question. “So are you planning on letting him stay?” He asks in all seriousness, glancing over at Junhoe.

“I don’t know,” Junhoe mumbles, which is what he always does when he isn’t sure about something and doesn’t want to be asked about it.

“Well then, do you want him to stay?”

Junhoe chokes this time, giving Donghyuk an incredulous look. “You’re unbelievable!” He hisses.

Donghyuk rolls his eyes again. Junhoe should really start keeping track of how many times his friend does that in his presence. “I’m not. It’s actually just a really simple question.”

Junhoe sighs, drying the plate in his hands. “What’s the point, though? Whether I want him to stay or not won’t make a difference to this situation.”

Donghyuk blinks at Junhoe. “Wow,” he utters, for the second time that night. “You really are an idiot.”

Junhoe still doesn’t get what Donghyuk’s point is, but he doesn’t think he’ll be further illuminated by anything else his friend has to say. So he finishes up with his half of the dishes and retreats to the living room, where Jinhwan and Bobby are sitting on the sofa together. Bobby is clearly recounting some story to Jinhwan, complete with exaggerated facial expressions and big hand gestures. Jinhwan seems to be enjoying himself, though, his tinkling laughter resounding in the living room and his eyes curved into crescents.

Junhoe sighs and falls back onto the loveseat. He doesn’t have the heart to ask Jinhwan to leave just yet.

Donghyuk joins them in the living room a few minutes later, carrying a plate of fruits that he places on the coffee table. Bobby slides onto the floor to have easier access to the food, so Donghyuk takes his place on the couch.

“I haven’t seen Bobby-hyung this excited in a while,” Donghyuk comments, smiling down at his catboy as he slides both hands into his hair. Bobby grins, leaning back against the couch in between Donghyuk’s legs. He tilts his head up to look at Donghyuk, who arches a brow at him before scratching lightly at the base of one of his cat ears.

Jinhwan smiles at them, but Junhoe watches as the wistfulness and envy flit across his expression once again.

“Human-cat couples are considered a rarity in Jeju,” Jinhwan says softly. “Some old superstition of sorts that human-cat couples tend to be more… unhappy. I’ve never really believed it, though, and you guys clearly disprove that theory.”

Junhoe rolls his eyes, reaching for a fork to stab a slice of watermelon. “Unhappy? They’re the grossest couple I know. Believe me, I’ve tried to stop them, but it doesn’t work. And I’ve been trying for over a year now.”

Bobby is beaming even as he begins to purr, and Jinhwan chuckles when Junhoe shoots him a pointed look before reclining in his seat again. They chat for another hour or so, but then Jinhwan starts to yawn and Bobby looks as though he’s getting closer and closer to sleep due to Donghyuk gently patting his head. Junhoe steps out of the apartment first, watching as Jinhwan accepts Bobby’s hug with a laugh and waves at Donghyuk. Donghyuk mouths a very pointed let him stay to Junhoe before shutting the front door in his face.

Unfortunately, Junhoe steps out of his shower later only to be greeted by the sight of Jinhwan trying to leave his apartment. Again.

It’s nearing eleven at night - too late for Jinhwan to try going out, now, especially since he’s probably going to end up lost. Junhoe tells the catboy this, who jumps and immediately covers his mouth in shock.

“Ohmygod, I’m sorry!” He exclaims. “I can’t believe this happened again.”

Junhoe looks at the elder, remembering Donghyuk’s comments from earlier that night, how Donghyuk was so insistent on telling him to let the catboy stay. He swallows - usually, following Donghyuk’s advice ends up working out (this is just because Donghyuk said so, he tells himself, and because it would suck if Jinhwan-hyung got into another bad situation, since I’d probably have to go bail him out again. Right.)

“If you want, hyung, you could just… stay for a while. Until you find a more permanent place. There’s no point in wasting money on motels or whatever, y’know? I’m gone during the weekdays anyway, so…”

Jinhwan opens his mouth and sounds like he’s going to start protesting, so Junhoe does what he does best and shoves his hand against the catboy’s mouth.

“Seriously, before you start going on about all that “owing me” shit, consider this more like a favor to myself. It gets boring living alone. I mean I’m not gonna force you to stay, but don’t feel like you have to go because you think you’re inconveniencing me. Also, you can cook, and you seem really tidy, both of which are huge pluses for me, really.”

Jinhwan does not look entirely convinced, but at the very least, he slowly puts his backpack down on the floor. “I can’t just stay and not pay you anything,” Jinhwan whispers, voice small.

It’s in this moment that Junhoe remembers that Jinhwan may be older than him, but all he’s known in his twenty-five years of living is the small island of Jeju - it’s friendly people and slow-paced lifestyle. Junhoe knows Jinhwan isn’t stupid - definitely not - but he is more unassuming than his city friends, trusting too easily and much too good-natured to survive all alone in a harsh city like Seoul.

“You can cook for me, I guess?” Junhoe suggests. “Maybe take care of the apartment in general when I’m not in? Be my wakeup service when I sleep through all my alarms?”

Jinhwan bites his lip and looks down, thinking over his options. Junhoe’s honestly not sure if the older will take the offer - is he coming off too strong, or is he hurting Jinhwan’s pride too much?

“I mean all this will just be temporary, of course, until you adjust a little more to city life and get a job, I guess? Then we can split the rent…?”

“Are you sure?” Jinhwan asks, sounding so uncertain as he looks up at Junhoe. He’s got his tail gripped tight in his hands as he speaks. “You’ll be giving me a place to stay when I can only give you so little in return—”

“I told you before,” Junhoe interrupts. “I don’t make offers I don’t mean.”

Junhoe doesn’t know how much time passes, exactly, but then Jinhwan looks up at him again and nods, mumbling out a meek okay.

Junhoe actually sighs in relief. “Okay? Great. Now can you come inside please, hyung? The door’s open and there’s a cold draft coming in, and I’m freezing.”

Jinhwan laughs, and Junhoe grins.

They’re going to be okay.

Jinhwan fits more easily into Junhoe’s life than the younger had realized.

It’s only been a few days, but the transition has been practically seamless - sure, Junhoe’s slipped up a couple of times and forgotten that the older was there, but it’s easy for them to settle into a routine.

Jinhwan picks up on Junhoe’s schedule quickly: the catboy is up and has breakfast ready for Junhoe every morning, which is so, so much better than the crappy bread varieties Junhoe has been picking up from the convenience store by the subway station for the past few years. Junhoe can now look forward to having home-cooked meals for dinner instead of the takeout and ramyun he’s been having for far too long. Junhoe also has someone to eat dinner with now, someone he can talk to about his day at work no matter how pleasant or dull or agonising, and someone who he can get to - and wants to, frankly - know. Junhoe doesn’t have to worry about doing the dishes or washing the clothes or which day he can spare to do cleaning, because Jinhwan never lets him get near the dirty dishes, always snatches Junhoe’s work clothes from his hands and cleans the apartment every day before Junhoe gets home. Now there’s someone who’ll gently coax Junhoe awake on the mornings when he sleeps through all his alarms, who starts preparing doshiraks for Junhoe to pack to work, who makes hot tea for Junhoe on the nights when he works late and who pokes his head out from the kitchen to greet Junhoe with a warm smile and a welcome home! whenever he gets back from work.

Junhoe’s once-lonely and quiet apartment soon becomes a place he really, truly enjoys returning to.

One day, after Junhoe comes back from work, he notices a stack of boxes in the corner of his living room that hadn’t been there earlier.

“Hyung, what’re all those?”

“Oh!” Jinhwan hurries out into the living room, smile embarrassed and ears a little red. “Sorry, Junhoe-yah, I might have mentioned it earlier but forgot to remind you. I asked my family to send over some of my things, but I had to give them your address just so it could be mailed. I’ll keep it in a coin locker or something.”

Now that Junhoe thinks about it, he vaguely remembers something about a delivery. “Seriously, don’t bother. It’d be a waste of time to go get stuff whenever you need it, and a waste of money.”

“Are you su—”

Junhoe just looks at Jinhwan, who sighs. “I’ll pay you back someday, seriously.”

“Sure, hyung.”

And piece by piece, day by day, Jinhwan fits himself into the empty spaces of the apartment, of Junhoe’s life, and it’s almost as though he was always there to start with. Junhoe’s surprised at how unaffected he is to find an errant sock on the floor that’s too small for him, or half his sweater collection in the wash without him wearing them more than a couple of times, or even just the presence of someone else in the same room as him.

It’s weird, because Junhoe has never been much of a people person, especially with strangers.

But there’s something about Jinhwan that just makes things so easy.

*

Jinhwan wakes up late one day.

Junhoe is long gone, of course, his job at the tech company requiring him to leave the apartment at eight in the morning every weekday. Jinhwan brushes his teeth and washes up, but when he pads into the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal, he pulls open the fridge door and blinks at their lack of milk.

Actually, now that Jinhwan takes a closer look into the fridge, he realizes that Junhoe really doesn’t have much in there: besides eggs, butter, jam, kimchi, frozen mandu and bottles of soju, the fridge is startlingly empty. Jinhwan wrinkles his nose when he reaches for a questionable looking takeout box, practically recoiling when he peers inside and sees the food that has gone bad. Late breakfast forgotten, Jinhwan tosses all the takeout boxes into the trash, including the jar of strawberry jam that he realizes is almost three months past its expiry date.

Jinhwan frowns when he’s finished and stares at what’s left in the fridge. Butter and soju can’t possibly be good for a staple diet.

So Jinhwan grabs a pen and a small piece of paper from the coffee table, sitting down by the kitchen island and making a list of things to buy from the supermarket. He remembers Junhoe telling him about the supermarket nearby, and after looking up its exact location and grabbing the emergency money from the counter (Jinhwan doesn’t know what, exactly, Junhoe considers an emergency, but he thinks the pathetic state of their fridge must count for something), he heads out.

It’s Jinhwan’s first time leaving the apartment and wandering around the neighborhood since he arrived in Seoul and Junhoe took him in, but he figures this is the least he can do for all the hospitality Junhoe has been showing him.

Jinhwan wants to do something for Junhoe, too.

*

The supermarket is big.

Even the biggest supermarket in Jeju City couldn’t come close to this, Jinhwan thinks as he grabs a basket from the entrance. It starts off easily enough: Jinhwan is immediately greeted by the sight of fruits and vegetables, so he picks up some apples, bananas, cabbage and onions. Grocery shopping in Seoul takes a significantly longer time than grocery shopping in Jeju, partially because Jinhwan is unfamiliar with the layout here, and also because the selection here is so wide; Jinhwan doesn’t really know what to pick.

Jinhwan is holding two practically-identical cartons of milk and trying to make out the difference between them when he first hears it.  

“What’s a catboy doing shopping for groceries?”

“Do you think he’s from around here? I bet he doesn’t even know what to buy.”

Jinhwan feels his face flame, lifting his head slightly to look at the two housewives standing further down the aisle. The worst thing is that they don’t even look embarrassed at having been caught by Jinhwan: they continue to watch him, whispering.

Hastily, Jinhwan just dumps one of the milk cartons into his basket before picking it up and hurrying into another aisle. In his haste, though, Jinhwan’s tail accidentally hits a display shelf of chips, and he squeaks in surprise when a few packets tumble off the shelf and onto the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Jinhwan says hurriedly when a worker nearby turns to look at him. Jinhwan drops his basket onto the floor and kneels quickly, gathering the packets of chips into his arms and placing them back onto the shelf. The staff makes no move to help, just watches him with a half-displeased, half-annoyed expression, and Jinhwan suddenly aches for the friendly staff back in Jeju, who usually laughed fondly and came over to help if catpeople ever caused little mishaps in the supermarket due to their tails.

He already regrets leaving the apartment.

But Jinhwan forces himself to think of Junhoe and finish what he set out to do. He makes it quick, not bothering to deliberate between different brands of the same item any longer as he just grabs what he needs and moves on. Unfortunately, though, when he gets to the last item on his list, he just can’t seem to locate it no matter how hard he tries to search for it.

“Um, excuse me,” Jinhwan says, voice small as he approaches a staff at the start of the aisle. “I’m sorry, but could you tell me where the jam is, please?”

The staff takes in Jinhwan’s cat ears and tail, and Jinhwan feels so small. “Aisle five,” he says flatly.

“Okay, great. Thank you,” Jinhwan replies.

There’s no response.

Jinhwan’s basket suddenly feels extremely heavy as he hurries towards aisle five, grabbing the strawberry jam he knows Junhoe likes before finally making his way to the cashier to pay. Everything is going fine, until Jinhwan notices that the cashier is sliding his paid groceries to him as they are, without packing them into plastic bags.

“I’m sorry,” Jinhwan says, feeling a little desperate as the groceries continue to pile up in front of him. “But I—I need some plastic bags, please.”

The cashier gives him a once-over, then hands him a bunch of plastic bags. “You’re going to have to pay for those.”

Jinhwan doesn’t even have time to respond before the cashier is announcing his total, and Jinhwan fumbles with the money in his pocket as he counts the correct number of bills to hand to the cashier. He packs his groceries as fast as he can, not wanting to get in the way of the next customer, then picks up the bags and hurries out of the supermarket.

The walk back to the apartment is cold, and Jinhwan wraps his tail around himself, head down. He’s so caught up in his own thoughts - the events at the supermarket keep replaying themselves over and over again in his head. It takes him a while to realize it, but after he finds himself spending too long walking without the apartment complex appearing in his line of sight, he knows he’s gotten himself lost.

Jinhwan takes a shuddering breath and sets the groceries down, pulling out his phone to look for Junhoe’s number—

—only to realize that the younger never gave it to him.

A gust of wind blows by, and Jinhwan’s cat ears twitch at the cold. He exhales, telling himself to keep a level head as he picks up the grocery bags again and tries to find his way back to the apartment. It’s so very cold, but after almost an hour of wandering the streets, the apartment complex finally appears before him.

Jinhwan is shivering and his fingers have gone numb by the time he steps into the apartment, toeing off his shoes and hanging his coat up on the hook beside the door. He sniffs, nose runny, and as he heads into the kitchen to put away the groceries, he feels an overwhelming yearning in his chest for his family and friends back home in Jeju instead of this dark, empty apartment.

Jinhwan manages to put all the perishables in the fridge until he feels an intense need to take a hot shower. He leaves the rest of the groceries on the kitchen island, telling himself he’ll get back to it later after he gets clean and curls into bed for a while.

He pauses in front of Junhoe’s open closet after he showers - he can smell the younger’s scent on his clothes. Unconsciously, he finds himself reaching for a sweater that he’d noticed Junhoe wearing a few times over the past few days, picking it up and lifting it to his nose. It smells like comfort and home, and he pulls it over his head, hoping the younger won’t mind too much. After all, he’s been wearing Junhoe’s sweaters on more than one occasion, now, and the younger has never brought it up. So he wraps himself up in bed, and sighs.

So far since he’s gotten to Seoul, this has been his shittiest day.

*

“I’m back,” Junhoe calls as he opens the door and takes off his shoes. The apartment is eerily silent, and Junhoe frowns. Jinhwan’s shoes are still in the entryway, though, so he must be inside.

“Hyung?” Junhoe calls, but there’s no response. Junhoe walks into the kitchen and is surprised to see the groceries on the island. He pulls open the fridge, and a soft smile graces his features when he sees that Jinhwan has not only cleared out the fridge, but has gone out to restock it with some of the foods Junhoe likes the most.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks again, walking down the hall and knocking on the closed bedroom door. “You in there?”

He hears a small affirmative noise, and Junhoe almost goes to sit down on the couch and watch television, but something feels off. He can’t explain it, but it’s enough to make him decide to open the bedroom door.

Jinhwan is curled up in the sheets, blanket pulled high up his body such that only the tips of his cat ears and a tuft of bronze hair are visible. Junhoe frowns, walking towards the bed and sitting on the edge.

“I saw the groceries,” Junhoe begins. “Thanks for doing the shopping.”

Silence.

Junhoe’s brows furrow, because this is not like Jinhwan at all.

“Did something happen?” Junhoe asks this time. “You don’t… look so great.”

There’s nothing but silence from Jinhwan. Just as Junhoe thinks he might have been too rude, the bundle of blankets shifts, Jinhwan’s head poking out more obviously from the top.

“Hyung, you can tell me. If you want.”

At this, Jinhwan lets the blanket fall a little, exposing his eyes and the top half of his cheeks as he looks up at Junhoe. Junhoe swallows at the amount of cute being sent in his direction, but forces himself to stay focused on the task at hand: Jinhwan is clearly upset.

“Did someone say something to you at the store?”

Jinhwan stiffens, and Junhoe knows he’s right.

Here’s the problem, though: Junhoe may now know what had happened, but he has absolutely no idea how to go about talking to Jinhwan about it. Comforting people, being a listening ear - these aren’t things that are alien to Junhoe, they’re just not things he’s particularly fond of - or often finds himself - doing.

But this is Jinhwan. And Jinhwan is different.

Junhoe reaches out a tentative hand towards the lump and places it where he thinks Jinhwan’s shoulder is, patting it twice.

“Um. It’ll be okay. If you want to talk about it…?”

Junhoe’s delivery falls spectacularly flat, and he cringes internally.

Jinhwan raises an eyebrow at him, and Junhoe gulps. It’s in situations like these that Junhoe falls back on the acronym that’s gotten him through much of his life so far - WWDD: What Would Donghyuk Do?

He remembers that Donghyuk often pats Bobby on the head, especially around the ears - he recalls Donghyuk doing it to Jinhwan the first time they met, too. So hesitantly, he reaches up, cupping his hand around near the back of Jinhwan’s ears and rubbing gently. Jinhwan’s body visibly relaxes. As Junhoe gets a little more comfortable doing this, his fingers brush closer to Jinhwan’s ears, and the catboy purrs.

Junhoe did not expect this.

Emboldened by Jinhwan’s response, he does it again: he threads his fingers carefully through Jinhwan’s hair, then brushes his thumb gently down one of Jinhwan’s bronze-colored, triangular-shaped ears, before scratching lightly at the base. Jinhwan purrs, louder this time, eyelids slipping shut as he leans into Junhoe’s touch. The response is so natural, so submissive - it makes Junhoe’s throat tighten.

Junhoe watches Jinhwan’s peaceful face as he keeps scratching his ears, and it’s sudden, but he feels a wave of possessiveness wash over him as he takes in the way Jinhwan appears so calm and content under his touch.

He wants to be the only one who can make Jinhwan go lax like this.

Eventually Jinhwan shifts, trying to burrow closer to the warmth emanating from Junhoe from where he sits on the edge of the bed. The movement causes the blanket to slip down Jinhwan’s chest, and Junhoe stops scratching when he finally notices what Jinhwan is wearing.

It’s his sweater.

Jinhwan blinks his eyes open sleepily when Junhoe drops his hand from his head and lightly picks up his wrist instead, and Junhoe notices the catboy’s face go red after a prolonged moment of him staring.

“I’m sorry,” Jinhwan says quickly, “I’ll just—take it off—”

Junhoe swallows. “No. It’s fine.”

This is fine, he tells himself, as the foreign feeling of him actually liking the older wearing his sweater comes creeping back. It was probably just the first thing Jinhwan saw when he came home or something. Totally normal.

So Junhoe resumes the scratching again, alternating between running his fingers through the soft strands of Jinhwan’s hair and trailing his fingers down his cat ears. Jinhwan’s purrs cause a feeling of peace to settle over Junhoe, and Junhoe thinks he finally understands why Donghyuk likes to pat Bobby on the head so often.

He doesn’t know how much time passes, but eventually he takes note of the even rise and fall of Jinhwan’s chest and assumes the catboy has fallen asleep. He removes his hand slowly and stands, tugging the blanket back over Jinhwan as he prepares to step out of the room.

But then Junhoe feels a tail curl gently around his wrist, and he freezes.

“Stay?” The catboy whispers, voice almost impossibly small.

Junhoe looks down at Jinhwan, at the hesitant way he’s looking up at Junhoe, almost as if he’s afraid of Junhoe’s imminent rejection. But Junhoe can’t find it in himself to deny the older, so he whispers back, voice equally soft —

“Okay.”

Junhoe lies back down beside the catboy, trying to ignore the million and one thoughts running through his mind. Unsure of what the general protocol for platonically lying on the same bed with someone else is, Junhoe puts his arm loosely over Jinhwan, still maintaining what he hopes is an appropriate amount of distance between them.

But the catboy obliterates it, scooting up against Junhoe so there’s nothing separating them except their clothes and the blanket.

Junhoe tenses - unexpected physical contact has always startled him. He feels Jinhwan go the same way in response.

“Is this… not okay?”

Oddly, though, Junhoe is quickly finding that he doesn’t dislike the feeling of Jinhwan tucked next to him, so he tightens his hold a bit, praying that Jinhwan can’t tell that his heartbeat has just picked up about a hundred times too fast.

“No, it’s—” Junhoe exhales. “It’s okay.”

Jinhwan relaxes instantly, burrowing his head into Junhoe’s chest, and the possessiveness is back again, in full force.

Junhoe may still be in his work clothes, but it’s the best sleep he’s had in months.

*

The next day, Junhoe wakes up to the familiar sound of his alarm from his phone. He groans, reaching out blindly to shut it off, only to realize that the phone isn’t where he’d normally place it if he were sleeping on the couch.

He is, in fact, not on the couch at all.

As he slowly regains his mental processes, he realizes that he’s in bed, and still in his clothes from work - his phone is in his pocket, and he digs it out, turning off the alarm.

He sits up, rubbing his eyes, and the motion causes something next to him to shift and yawn.

It’s Jinhwan.

He slept in the same bed as Jinhwan.

Junhoe can feel the mental breakdown setting in, but then Jinhwan rolls over and stretches a little, and the combined image of the catboy in his sweater, with his bleary eyes and messy hair, makes Junhoe’s gut churn with a feeling he can’t yet name.

“Good morning,” Jinhwan greets quietly, once he realizes that Junhoe is sitting up and looking down at him.

“Morning,” Junhoe whispers back, afraid that if he speaks any louder, it’ll disturb the quiet peace that has settled upon the room. “Did you sleep okay?”

The catboy flushes a little but nods, ducking his face into the covers and god, Junhoe thinks, he’s adorable.

“I’m just… gonna…” Junhoe stutters. “Bathroom. I mean—shower. Shower.”

Junhoe grabs a new set of clean work clothes from his closet and trips out of the room, cranking the water up as warm as it will go in hopes that it’ll help to shut his brain off. By the time he’s done bathing and feeling marginally more relaxed, he steps out of the bathroom and heads for the kitchen where he can already smell Jinhwan preparing breakfast.

Jinhwan’s got the sleeves of Junhoe’s sweater rolled up as he flips the omelette over in the pan, and the catboy’s tail is flicking in content as he reaches for ingredients and utensils without having to think twice.

Junhoe doesn’t know what, exactly, the feeling that washes over him is when he sees how naturally Jinhwan flits about in his kitchen.

“So, I was thinking,” Junhoe hedges after Jinhwan has set the food in front of him and he’s thanked him for the meal. “Since it’s probably pretty boring for you to stay here all day, do you… maybe—uh—want to come to work with me today? My supervisor doesn’t really care, and some catpeople work there too, so… yeah.”

Junhoe suspects that his face is quite red while Jinhwan ponders the offer. This is just too out of nowhere, isn’t it? It’s not like Jinhwan actually wants to see him work, anyways, what is there even to do, he doesn’t even do anything exciting—

“Sure!” Jinhwan replies, smiling. “It’d be interesting to see what you’re up to for all the hours of the day you’re out.”

Junhoe almost spits out his water. He hadn’t actually thought this through - he hadn’t expected Jinhwan to take him up on his offer.

“Um. Well, do you have a T-Money card?”

“I got one when I came to Seoul,” Jinhwan says, “but I haven’t used it since.”

“Oh. That’s good. We can… go after breakfast.”

The conversation dies then, but it’s not terribly uncomfortable. Even though eating in silence is nothing new for Junhoe, eating with Jinhwan is something that he finds strangely nice.

Junhoe waits for Jinhwan to get ready and then they’re off, taking the fifteen-minute walk from the apartment to the subway station. Junhoe usually makes this commute alone, but today Jinhwan is right next to him, arm brushing against his occasionally, and Junhoe actually feels good going to work, for once.

“We don’t have subways in Jeju,” Jinhwan says when the station comes into view.

“Oh,” Junhoe says. “So this is your first time, then?”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan replies, sticking close to Junhoe as they walk down the stairs leading into the station. “I took the bus after I arrived in Seoul and I’ve lived in Jeju my whole life, so this is my first experience on a subway.”

“Well, then, I’m happy to be the first person you take the subway with.”

Junhoe freezes right after he says it because fuck, that was fucking cheesy, but Jinhwan just chuckles, smile causing his eyes to crinkle into crescents, so Junhoe thinks it must’ve been an okay thing to say.

Naturally, the morning rush hour means that the train station is flooded with people: they tap in without much difficulty, but once they’re past the gantry and heading down the flight of stairs to the platform, they’re greeted by businessmen rushing by as they talk loudly into their phones and businesswomen scurrying past in their smart attire and three-inch heels. Junhoe is tall and used to the crowd, so he doesn’t falter much even when people knock into him or hit him a little in the side with their briefcases.

It’s clearly a different story for Jinhwan, though. The catboy looks overwhelmed by the massive crush of people, and Junhoe almost loses him to the crowd more than once. Jinhwan is also practically pocket-sized, so when a smartly-dressed businessman hurries by and accidentally bumps into Jinhwan’s side, the catboy loses his balance and stumbles, nearly falling down the stairs. Instinctively, Jinhwan’s hands shoot out to grab onto the back of Junhoe’s coat, which almost causes Junhoe to trip over the last step.

“Sorry!” Jinhwan squeaks, letting go of Junhoe’s coat and stepping away. “Someone bumped into me - I lost my balance.”

“It's okay,” Junhoe replies, laughing a little because it's his first time seeing the catboy so flustered - it's endearing. “These things always happen.”

“Always?” Jinhwan repeats, voice a mixture of shocked and slightly horrified as people begin to swarm around them as they wait for the subway to arrive.

“Rush hour,” Junhoe affirms, frowning a little when he notices the slightly frazzled expression on Jinhwan’s face.

“Hey,” Junhoe says, peering down at the catboy. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan replies, but then Junhoe sees him reach for his tail and grip it in his hands, and Junhoe’s been staying with him long enough now to recognize that as something Jinhwan always does whenever he feels nervous. Junhoe watches as Jinhwan’s gaze flickers around apprehensively, nose wrinkling slightly as people press in closer. “It's just—too many people. Too many scents.”

Junhoe is about to say something in return, but then the subway arrives and a swarm of people disembark, and Jinhwan’s eyes widen when he gets pushed backwards by the force of it and almost gets sent to the opposite platform. Junhoe will never admit it, but a burst of panic shoots through his body as he reaches for Jinhwan, catching the catboy by the arm.

“Here,” he says, bringing Jinhwan back towards him. “Keep close.”

His hand fits easily around the small of Jinhwan’s back, and he breathes in deeply when Jinhwan’s hands grasp onto his coat again. Junhoe guides them both onto the train, taking hold of one of the handles along the top of the car. Jinhwan, though, can't reach over everyone, and they're not close enough to any of the side support bars. As the subway leaves the station, Jinhwan stumbles at the sudden movement, and would have almost taken out a few people were it not for Junhoe pulling him back close.

“Hold onto me,” Junhoe says without a second thought, maneuvering the older in front of him. Junhoe rests a hand on Jinhwan’s lower back as Jinhwan’s arms circle around him, his tail coming up to wrap around Junhoe’s waist.

Be calm, Junhoe, he tells himself, you are just helping out a small being that would otherwise die on this subway, and you do not want to be held responsible in the event of his untimely demise.

They remain like this for the entire twenty-minute ride. Even when the number of people in the car starts to decrease and Jinhwan would no longer be in any imminent danger, he doesn’t let go, and Junhoe doesn’t tell him to, either.

A stop away, Junhoe nudges Jinhwan who’d had his face buried in Junhoe’s sweater, nose digging into the soft material as he breathed in his scent. Junhoe’s throat feels dry when he takes note of the even, peaceful rise and fall of Jinhwan’s chest as the catboy draws a long inhale.

“We’re here,” Junhoe says, voice soft.

Junhoe feels the loss of warmth immediately when Jinhwan steps away, but he forces himself not to think about it as they step out of the subway and make their way out of the station.

“I work at a tech company,” Junhoe tells Jinhwan as they walk to the company building. “Been working there since I graduated. I’m not gonna lie, I mostly sit in my cubicle all day staring at my desktop or drowned in paperwork, so I won’t blame you if you get bored out of your mind. And, well, this is it.”

They arrive in front of a tall building with gleaming glass windows. Jinhwan tilts his head up, only to find out that the building is called -

“iKONpany?”

“I know, right?” Junhoe rolls his eyes, pushing open the door. “We’re supposed to be a new icon of Korean technology or something, I don’t even know. If this place didn’t pay me so well I definitely wouldn’t be working here.”

Jinhwan chuckles, stepping into the building as Junhoe holds the door open for him.

“Morning, Hayi-noona,” Junhoe greets the receptionist as they enter the lobby. He is ignored, which is a little unusual - even though she can come off as a bit standoffish, she usually returns his greeting with a good morning and some sort of mildly snarky comment. It helps keep him sane, their little routine.

“Who’s this?” Hayi asks as they walk closer, cat ears perking up. “Hey, what’s your name?”

This is directed at Jinhwan, whose eyes widen. “I—I’m Kim Jinhwan.”

“Why’re you coming in with this guy?” Hayi jerks her head in Junhoe’s direction. “Did he kidnap you?”

“Hey,” Junhoe grumbles, “I’ll have you know I’m an upstanding citizen.”

“Sure you are. I’ll get you a visitor’s pass, Jinhwan-ssi, if you’ll wait one moment.”

“Ah, thank you,” Jinhwan replies as Hayi types away at her computer, scanning a piece of plastic and retrieving a printed form.

“If you could sign here, please. Nothing dangerous, just so we can keep a log of visitors.”

Jinhwan signs the form after a brief read, and Hayi gives him a white card attached to a lanyard.

“This will let you use the elevators and stuff if you need to. Just make sure to bring it back when you leave.”

Jinhwan nods, looping the cord over his neck while Hayi sizes him up.

Junhoe coughs. “If you’re just about done…”

Hayi waves him off. “Go to your floor, Junhoe. Jinhwan-ssi’s cute, hm? I’m taking him out to lunch.”

Junhoe can feel the heat rise to his face as he strides off to the lift. This was a mistake.

He has barely pushed open the glass door to his office area when he almost walks straight into one of his colleagues.

“You’re late,” Hanbin deadpans, flipping through some papers in his hand. “We have that big meeting for the new project later—you got a cat?!”

Jinhwan jumps in surprise at Hanbin’s sudden shriek, and this, of course, attracts the attention of their other co-workers, one of whom jumps up from behind his cubicle, eyes widening when he sees Jinhwan standing beside Junhoe.

“Junhoe got a cat!”

Yunhyeong yells this as he hurries over to them, wide eyes taking in Jinhwan’s bronze-colored cat ears and tail. Hanbin is still gawking, which Junhoe thinks is absolutely unwarranted considering they work with catpeople on a daily basis.

“I did not get a cat,” Junhoe sighs, pinching his nose bridge. “He is just living with me for the time being due to—uh—circumstances.”

Hanbin gives him an entirely disbelieving look. “Just make sure you’ve got your presentation and notes together - I left you a list of revisions you might want to make.”

“Got it,” Junhoe replies. “I’m just gonna go snag a chair from the break room.”

Hanbin rolls his eyes. “Isn’t that what the intern’s for? Yah, Jung Chanwoo!”

The intern pokes his head out from around the corner. “Yes, Hanbin-hyung?”

“Can you get us an extra chair?”

Chanwoo rolls his eyes but complies, making sure to remind them that I have a business degree! even as he skulks into the break room.

“You haven’t graduated yet!” Yunhyeong calls after him. “Don’t get a big head!”

Chanwoo returns with the chair, and is about to leave again when he does a double-take.

“Who’s this?” He asks, looking at Jinhwan with wide eyes. “Junhoe-hyung, did you get a cat?”

“Chanwoo-yah, you’re so late,” Hanbin sighs. “We went over this like, five minutes ago. This is… uh…”

“I’m Jinhwan.”

“Yeah!” Hanbin says, as though he knew this all along. “This is Jinhwan-ssi, and he’s…”

“Visiting because Junhoe brought me along.”

“Yeah. That.”

“Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Jinhwan-ssi. Are you from around here?”

“I’m from Jeju, actually.”

“Nice,” Yunhyeong gives an approving nod. “Jeju is a nice place. I went there a few years ago, wish I could go back. Have you been here long?”

“No, not really, just a couple of weeks.”

Hanbin raises an eyebrow. “So why are you living with Junhoe, anywa—”

Junhoe clears his throat loudly. “Sorry to break this little,” he motions with his hands, “thing up, but I do have a presentation to work on, so if you’ll excuse us.”

He’s not irritated that other people are suddenly interested in talking to Jinhwan. He’s not. He takes the chair from Chanwoo and stalks off to his desk, looking over his shoulder to see if the catboy is coming. Jinhwan waves at Junhoe’s co-workers, then follows after him.

“Sorry about them,” Junhoe says as he places the chair behind his own and sits down. “I think it’s the novelty of having a visitor.”

“It’s all right,” Jinhwan replies, as he settles in. “It’s nice to meet the people you spend so much time with every day.”

“It’s not like I want to see them so much,” Junhoe grumbles as he turns on his computer, but it’s not mean-spirited. He doesn’t have anything against his colleagues per se, it’s just that sometimes…

He looks up to see Hanbin and Yunhyeong making suggestive eyebrow-raising expressions at him, and he glares before ducking his head back down.

… he wishes that he were spending more time anywhere but here.

(Preferably at home, with Jinhwan, on the couch or cuddled together in his bed, but… why is he suddenly thinking that?)

He opens up the presentation file, looking at everything that Hanbin’s noted on a post-it slapped onto the side of his computer and double-checking everything to make sure he hasn’t made any spelling or factual errors. It’s a mundane process, but one that requires his full attention if he wants to snag that promotion.

About halfway through, Junhoe gets up to go use the bathroom, muttering as such to Jinhwan as he does. When he comes back, though, there is one more person in his cubicle than there should be.

“—hurt if someone tugs on your tail?”

Jinhwan’s laughter. “Not really. Just imagine me pulling your arm, or something.”

“Oh. How about your ears?”

“It differs from cat to cat, but I personally don’t like my ears getting wet. You can—uh—touch them? I mean, if you want—”

Junhoe almost feels himself go into cardiac arrest, but he does not barrel into his cubicle and he is not glaring at Hanbin. “What’re you two doing?” He asks, just as Hanbin’s placed his hand in between Jinhwan’s ears and started rubbing gently. Junhoe glares so hard at Hanbin’s hand he’s surprised there isn’t a hole right through the middle of his palm.

Hanbin blinks, brows arching in surprise when he feels Jinhwan lean into his touch. He rubs a ear gently again, and smiles at the soft purr Jinhwan gives in return. Junhoe feels an artery in his brain burst.

“Just asking some questions, y’know. I haven’t really talked to a lot of catpeople on a personal level, just business. It’s interesting.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, I’ll be off now,” Hanbin says, removing his hand (Junhoe feels very relieved, oddly) and waving. “See you around, Jinhwan-ssi. And see you at the meeting, Junhoe, make sure you finish everything up.”

There’s a weird smile on Hanbin’s face as he looks at Junhoe before he turns around and leaves.

“He wasn’t bothering you, right?” Junhoe asks as he sits back down.

“No,” Jinhwan replies. “Just a few anatomical questions, pretty much. Nothing unusual.”

Junhoe shudders when Jinhwan’s voice saying you can touch them plays itself in his head, but he forces himself to make a noncommittal sound in response, then returns to his work.

It’s about another hour later, after Junhoe has just finished editing the slides for the last time and the presentation is drawing near, when he finally manages to spin around in his office chair and check up on Jinhwan. He chuckles almost immediately, because the catboy is curled up on the chair, head resting on his arms and tail curled around himself: he’s fallen asleep.

“Junhoe,” Hanbin calls, knocking on his cubicle as he walks by. “We need to go now.”

“Yeah, just gimme a sec,” Junhoe says, closing the lid of his laptop and sorting out his notes. He stares at Jinhwan for a moment, then picks up his coat and gently drapes it over the sleeping catboy.

“Interesting.”

Junhoe almost knocks his shin against the drawer when Yunhyeong’s all-knowing voice sounds from the entrance of his cubicle. He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face and is just about to open his mouth again, but Junhoe fixes him with as icy a glare as he can possibly manage, and Yunhyeong shuts up. Junhoe barely takes two steps away from the chair before he feels a tail curling around his wrist, and his mind instantly brings him back to the events of the night before.

“June-yah?” Jinhwan mumbles sleepily.

Yunhyeong’s grin is so wide now it could almost split his face in half, and Junhoe makes throat-slicing motions at his colleague as he squats in front of Jinhwan.

“Yeah, hyung?” Junhoe says, looking up at the catboy.

Jinhwan shifts a little as he tries to lift his head, which causes Junhoe’s coat to slip. Junhoe moves to catch it but Jinhwan is faster, tail immediately wrapping around the coat and tugging it back up over his body.

I am not feeling possessive, Junhoe chants to himself. I am not feeling possessive. I am not.

“Where—where are you going?” Jinhwan asks, sleep-laden eyes confused.

“Presentation,” Junhoe replies. “It’s pretty big. For this new project that’s coming up soon. Could potentially affect my promotion, too,” Junhoe adds, laughing a little.

“Oh,” Jinhwan responds lamely. His cat ears droop a little, and Junhoe tries very hard to convince himself that it’s not reluctance he hears in Jinhwan’s voice. “All the best then, June-yah. Do well, okay?”

Junhoe’s expression softens as he gets to his feet. “Thanks, hyung. And I won’t be long, promise.”

The catboy says nothing in return, and Junhoe thinks Yunhyeong is probably having a field day, isn’t he, but that doesn’t stop him from sliding a hand into Jinhwan’s hair and scratching lightly at the base of his right ear. Jinhwan purrs, eyes closing as he leans into Junhoe’s touch, and Yunhyeong chokes on air.

“Not. A. Word,” Junhoe hisses, gathering his things into his arms and walking out of his cubicle. He can feel Yunhyeong grinning smugly into the back of his neck, and Hanbin shoots both of them a mildly concerned look when he joins them by the door.

Junhoe sighs, thinking of the sleeping catboy in his cubicle and hoping the presentation won’t take too long.

*

“Hey. Jinhwan-ssi.”

Jinhwan stirs, his eyesight a little fuzzy. “Ju—June-yah?”

“Nope, just me.”

He lifts his head up and sees Hayi, her dark brown tail waving absently as she leans down next to him. Junhoe is nowhere in sight.

“It doesn’t look like they’ll be out for a while,” Hayi sighs. “Meeting and all.”

“Oh, right,” Jinhwan says softly, gripping Junhoe’s coat tighter to his body with his tail. Hayi arches a brow, but says nothing.

“Anyway, I came up here because it’s time for lunch now, and I figured you might be hungry. Would you like to join me? There’s this salad place we like to frequent just down the block,” Hayi says.

Jinhwan is feeling a little hungry, so he nods, stretching a little as he gets to his feet and drapes Junhoe’s coat back over his chair, leaving a note for the younger in case Junhoe gets back first. They leave the building and head down the street, where Jinhwan lets Hayi order for him once they reach the salad place. It’s crowded, but they manage to find a table for two near one of the windows looking out into the street.

“So,” Hayi says, after they’ve been eating in silence for a while. “You’re not from Seoul, right?”

Jinhwan nods. “It’s my accent, isn’t it,” he replies, laughing a little. “I’m from Jeju.”

Hayi looks marginally surprised, and also interested. “That’s cool. How long have you been in Seoul for?”

“Almost three weeks?” Jinhwan answers, taking another bite of his lunch. “I had a little… trouble, on my first day, but Junhoe helped me out and I’ve just been staying with him since.”

Hayi raises a brow in question, but doesn’t press further. “How is it, living with Junhoe?” She asks instead. “He’s treating you okay, right?”

“He is,” Jinhwan replies without missing a beat. “I’ve been very lucky. I owe Junhoe too much, honestly.”

There’s a slightly knowing smile on Hayi’s face now, but she regards Jinhwan kindly. “That’s good, then.”

A comfortable silence falls upon them as they finish their meal, and they’re just about to head back to the office when Jinhwan lightly scratches the back of his neck and smiles a little sheepishly.

“Sorry,” Jinhwan says. “I just—I’d like to get something for Junhoe, if that’s okay. I’ll be quick.”

Hayi grins now, in full. “Go ahead.”

And that’s how they end up re-entering the floor where Junhoe works, paper bag of takeout gripped between Jinhwan’s fingers as they walk towards Junhoe’s cubicle.

“Hi,” Jinhwan greets when he sees that Junhoe has returned. Junhoe turns, and Jinhwan holds out the bag. “I got you lunch. I hope you’re okay with salad.”

Junhoe can’t stop the smile that stretches across his face. “Thanks, hyung,” Junhoe says, touched.

“And no one thought to buy us lunch?” Hanbin asks incredulously from where he’s leaning against Junhoe’s desk. Yunhyeong and Chanwoo look on in envy as Junhoe pulls out the container of food.

Hayi rolls her eyes. “That’s what your break room is for,” she says. She sends Junhoe a knowing look, which Junhoe returns with a blank stare, then smiles at Jinhwan. “I’ll be heading back down, then. Come visit more often, Jinhwan-ssi!”

“She’s never that friendly with us,” Hanbin grumbles once Hayi has walked off.

“Just you, actually,” Chanwoo supplies, then scurries out of the cubicle before Hanbin can throw the stapler at him.

Jinhwan peers over Junhoe’s shoulder as the younger takes his first bite of the food. “Is it okay? I wasn’t exactly sure what dressing you liked—”

Junhoe laughs, looking over his shoulder to smile at the catboy. “Seriously, hyung, this is great. I was starving, so thank you.”

At that, Jinhwan’s tail begins to flick happily, and Junhoe shoots his two co-workers thoroughly unimpressed looks when they grin simultaneously, expressions far too pleased for Junhoe’s liking.

*

That evening, after another dinner consisting of Chinese takeout, Junhoe is lying on the couch after his shower when Jinhwan pads back into the living room, hair slightly damp from his own shower and - Junhoe flushes when he notices - wearing another of Junhoe’s sweaters.

Junhoe shifts his legs off the couch to make space for the catboy, who settles down before cocking his head at Junhoe, a silent way of asking what are we doing?

“Do you wanna, like, watch a movie or something?” Junhoe asks after five minutes of aimless channel-surfing. “What do you like?”

Junhoe is fully prepared to make up some kind of fake interest in his taste in movies, because what other guy likes romance movies, really?

That is, until Jinhwan says, “Well, usually some kind of romance? They can be cheesy sometimes, but I like the plots more than action movies and stuff.”

Junhoe was not expecting that.

“I have some, if you want? The DVDs are over…”

Junhoe gets up and squats down near his shelf, and starts naming titles. At the mention of the title One Day, Jinhwan makes a sound of affirmation, and Junhoe puts the DVD into the player, returning to the sofa once it starts to play.

They’re barely fifteen minutes into the movie when Junhoe’s mind begins to wander, and of course, being the mental masochist that he is, the first thing he thinks of is Hanbin’s hand in Jinhwan’s hair back in the office, and the way Jinhwan had purred a little when his co-worker had scratched lightly at the back of his ears.

It’s a really childish thought, but somehow, Junhoe wants to be the only one who can make Jinhwan purr like that.

So Junhoe takes a deep breath and swallows down the lump in his throat. “Hey,” he says softly, patting the space next to himself and hoping his ears aren't as red as they feel. “Come here.”

Junhoe feels oddly nervous when Jinhwan obeys, moving closer to him on the couch. Junhoe stretches one leg out along the inner length of the couch while he crooks the other up at the edge, and the catboy watches Junhoe’s expression closely even as he slides down on the couch to rest his head lightly on Junhoe’s chest.

Jinhwan fits so perfectly in his embrace; Junhoe wonders why he wasn’t brave enough to do this sooner.

It’s awkward for the first few moments, Junhoe practically holding his breath and the catboy barely moving, but then Junhoe slides a hand into Jinhwan’s hair, and the elder relaxes against him instantaneously. Junhoe has stopped paying attention to the movie, now, gaze fixed on the catboy lying against his chest as he drags his thumb down one ear, smiling when it twitches slightly in response to his touch. Then Junhoe starts scraping his nails lightly against the base of Jinhwan’s ear and the catboy purrs so contentedly, so peacefully - Junhoe’s heart is thudding so loudly in his chest, he really hopes Jinhwan can’t hear it.

“It feels good?” Junhoe asks a few minutes later, moving his fingers away from Jinhwan’s ear for a moment to card them through the bronze strands of the catboy’s hair instead.

“Yeah,” Jinhwan breathes out quietly, turning his face into Junhoe’s chest and inhaling. Junhoe’s heart flips in his chest.

“You—” Junhoe’s voice cracks, so he stops and tries again. “You like wearing my sweaters, and you like to sniff me. Why?”

Jinhwan moves one hand up to rest beside his face, curling his fingers into the soft material of the sweater Junhoe is wearing and the image is so endearing - Junhoe has to fight the urge to wrap both arms around Jinhwan’s frame and tug the catboy closer.

“Your scent,” Jinhwan whispers back. “It’s very comforting to me. It’s warm—it reminds me of home.”

Junhoe immediately thinks of this morning. “So today, in the subway—”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan cuts in quietly.

Junhoe doesn’t know what to say. Jinhwan’s eyes have slid shut, now, and Junhoe can’t stop himself from brushing a few stray locks of Jinhwan’s hair away from his face, before resuming his gentle scratching of Jinhwan’s cat ears. The catboy burrows even closer, and Junhoe drapes his free arm loosely around his back.

By the time the movie ends, Jinhwan is asleep on Junhoe’s chest. Junhoe shuts off the DVD player and television with the remote, then leans back down, wondering what he should do.

He tries adjusting his body position, but that ends up jostling Jinhwan, who makes a soft mumbling noise in protest before turning his face deeper into the sweater Junhoe’s wearing.

Well, that rules moving out of the picture.

Junhoe looks down at Jinhwan snuggled up against him, and his breath catches in his throat. He wonders if it’s weird that he likes this so much, that he just wants to capture this moment and keep it in his heart forever.

He furrows his eyebrows unconsciously - this is a feeling so unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Sure, he’s been in relationships, but they were generally lacking in emotional depth or remained mostly sexual in nature. He’s never wanted to just lie down next to someone in silence for hours, or come back home to them every night, or share little moments that may seem like nothing to others but mean the world to them.

He’s never been in love.

As the gravity of the word hits him, he looks down at Jinhwan, who’s breathing softly against his chest, body fitting so perfectly against his.

Is he in love?

Junhoe isn’t sure he can put a name to the feeling quite yet, but at the very least, he’s way past plausible deniability now.

Unfortunately, Junhoe’s back is beginning to ache from where it’s pressed against the arm of the couch, so he winces slightly as he slides his body down, holding the sleeping catboy against him to avoid moving him as much as possible. When Junhoe tries to shift Jinhwan such that he’s lying properly on the inside of the couch, however, the catboy whines and curls his fingers tighter into the soft cotton of Junhoe’s sweater, tail coming up to wrap around Junhoe’s waist as he stirs, brows furrowing.

“Go back to sleep, kitty,” Junhoe murmurs softly, brushing Jinhwan’s fringe out of his eyes. “Sorry, I just don’t want you to ache tomorrow.”

Kitty. What the fuck is he thinking?

“Don’t go,” Jinhwan mumbles, tugging lightly at Junhoe’s sweater.

“I won’t.”

And that’s how Junhoe ends up back on the couch for another night, pulling a fleece blanket over the two of them and wondering just how his life got to this state.

Every night, they get a little braver.

Junhoe’s lying on the couch the next night in his pajamas, scrolling through his messages and getting ready to sleep (if Jinhwan’s staying here much longer, he’s going to need to buy a new couch), when Jinhwan walks into the living room after his shower and perches on the other arm of the couch, face tinged a little red.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks, putting his phone down and looking at the flustered-looking catboy.

Jinhwan goes a little redder. “You can—um—sleep in the bedroom, if you want. With me, I mean.”

Now they're both red, Junhoe sitting up but not yet making any move to get to his feet. “I'm fine on the couch, hyung.”

And now Jinhwan looks frustrated on top of embarrassed, and Junhoe watches as the catboy grips onto his tail, speaking in a shy voice. “It’s just—I sleep better with you.”

Junhoe feels his heartbeat trip over itself, nodding once since he doesn't trust his voice before shutting off the television and following Jinhwan into the bedroom. The catboy slides in first, tugging the blanket up till it covers his lap, but once Junhoe gets in beside him, he scoots closer to the younger until he can rest his head on his chest, draping his right arm over Junhoe’s waist and promptly closing his eyes. Junhoe forces himself to relax, wrapping his arm around the lump of Jinhwan and sheets and holding him close, occasionally threading his fingers through the catboy’s hair since he knows it'll lull him to sleep faster.

Junhoe doesn't even make it to the couch the following night, Jinhwan catching him by the arm and tugging him into the bedroom right after he emerges from his shower. Jinhwan burrows his head into his chest and curls his fingers into Junhoe’s sweater almost instinctively by now, and Junhoe doesn't even bother stopping himself from rubbing the catboy’s ears and wrapping an arm around his waist.

And so it goes, and goes: an arm looped around the waist becomes a calf hooked over a leg; a hand in the hair becomes a finger trailing down a cheek. One night Junhoe’s sitting on the bed, one leg folded and the other stretched out as he furiously fires off KakaoTalk messages to his co-workers when Jinhwan hooks his chin over his shoulder sleepily, blinking down blearily at Junhoe’s bright phone screen. Junhoe had put his phone down almost immediately, tucking the catboy up against his chest and patting him till he fell asleep. On another night, when sleep doesn’t come to Junhoe no matter how hard he tries because his mind is too pre-occupied with worries about his uncertain promotion, Jinhwan scoots upwards, resting his head on his pillow instead of Junhoe’s chest and softly hums the lullaby he knows by heart, the one his mother used to sing to him back when he was a child in their small home in Jeju.

They get braver and braver, such that Junhoe doesn’t even bother going to the couch anymore, the blanket Junhoe had been using as a substitute slowly finds its way back into the cupboard where it once was, and Jinhwan only curls up on one side of the bed, always leaving space for Junhoe on the other.

And Junhoe is hit with the startling realization that somewhere, somehow, in the course of the past two and a half weeks of knowing each other, Jinhwan has managed to fit himself into the empty spaces of Junhoe’s heart.

Junhoe doesn’t want to live without him anymore.

But then one day, when Junhoe gets home from work and pushes open the front door, there’s no catboy poking his head out from the kitchen to welcome him back, no catboy lounging on the couch, and no catboy singing in the shower.

Jinhwan is gone.

Junhoe looks around the apartment - Jinhwan’s belongings are still accounted for, for the most part. As he circles back around, he notices that there’s a note left on the kitchen counter:

Junhoe,

I’ll be gone for the next few days, just in another part of the city job-hunting. Don’t worry, I’ll be back. Sorry I didn’t call or anything first, my phone died and I had to run out quickly.

There’s some food in the fridge if you want it - please don’t just eat ramyun and take-out! >.<

- Jinhwan

Junhoe takes out his phone and dials Jinhwan’s number - it rings, but no one picks up. Puzzled, he sends Jinhwan a text, telling the older to contact him as soon as he gets the chance.

Not that Junhoe misses the catboy already, of course.

He sighs, sitting down on the couch and turning on the television, letting whatever’s on play while he stares off into space.

This is going to be a long few days.

*

Junhoe makes it through the first night alone and the entirety of the next working day, but returning to his apartment without the bronze-furred catboy waiting for him makes Junhoe feel empty in a way he hasn't felt before.

So he takes a quick shower, changes into comfortable home clothes, grabs his phone (where Jinhwan still hasn't replied to any of his KakaoTalk messages - Junhoe’s honestly starting to get a bit worried) and heads out of his apartment.

“Kim Donghyuk!” Junhoe yells a minute later as he opens his best friend’s front door. “You got any food?”

“What the fuck, Junhoe!” Donghyuk shouts back from his position underneath Bobby on his living room sofa. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”

“No.”

“Can’t you come back later?” Bobby whines, dropping down on top of the younger in a futile attempt to try and cover up his shirtless state (although it’s not like Junhoe hasn’t seen it all before).

“No.”

Bobby looks down forlornly at Donghyuk pinned beneath him, hair messed-up and lips a little swollen. Junhoe looks at them, then blinks.

“I can wait, you know. You guys can continue. Just try to make it quick? I'm starving,” Junhoe says, completely desensitized.

Donghyuk and Bobby exchange a long look; Bobby sighs, sliding off the younger and leaning back against the sofa.

“I hate you, Junhoe,” he grumbles.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Junhoe retorts as he opens the fridge, taking out a container of fried rice and sticking it in the microwave. Donghyuk shakes his head at the two of them, reaching for a stray shirt on the coffee table.

“So why are you here?” Donghyuk asks, once he’s slipped it on. “Where’s Jinhwan-hyung?”

“I dunno,” Junhoe shrugs as he shovels rice into his mouth. “I was lonely. And hungry.”

“So you do like him,” Donghyuk smiles knowingly, while Junhoe turns bright red.

“I never said that.”

“You said you were lonely.”

“I said no such thing. I said I was hungry.”

“Clearly,” Bobby chortles, eyes wicked, and Junhoe knows he's not talking about the food.

“Well do you know where he went?” Donghyuk tries again, taking out some soup and rice for himself and Bobby, since Junhoe doesn’t appear to be leaving anytime soon.

“No,” Junhoe moans forlornly into his rice. “He left me a note. Said he just had to run out quickly, and he'd be back in a few days—”

Suddenly Junhoe sits upright, almost choking on his rice. The sudden movement causes the table to jerk, and Bobby to spill his spoonful of seaweed soup onto the table. Donghyuk sighs at the mess. “Oh god. He hasn't been answering any of my calls, or KakaoTalk messages. What if Jinhwan-hyung got kidnapped? Is there such a thing as catboy trafficking? He's so small and cute, how could he fight back—”

Bobby starts cackling in earnest, holding onto Donghyuk for support. Junhoe narrows his eyes. “I don't see what part of Jinhwan-hyung getting trafficked or sold on the black market is funny.”

“God,” Bobby finally manages to choke out. “I never thought I'd see you so stupidly in love, Koo Junhoe.”

“I am not in love!” Junhoe protests, “I’m just concerned for Jinhwan-hyung’s safety and well-being. Something that you should be interested in too, by the way.”

“It's barely been a day and you miss him already. I'm surprised you haven't gone banging down the door to the police station yet.”

Junhoe glares at the amused tone of Donghyuk’s voice. “Shut up, Dong. I do not miss him.”

Bobby scoffs, swallowing down some rice before jabbing his spoon in Junhoe’s direction. “You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will,” Junhoe hisses back, and it's a lame comeback, but he finds he has nothing else to say, glaring down at the table.

If Junhoe’s being honest, he can’t wait for Jinhwan to come back.

*

The next few days pass in a similar fashion. While Junhoe’s relatively occupied by work during the day, he finds himself feeling inexplicably lonely when he gets home in the evening.

He's grown so used to living with Jinhwan, now: hearing his voice around the apartment, the soft sound of his footsteps as he pads around on the wooden floor, the warmth he emits when he cuddles up next to Junhoe on the couch or on the bed. It's come to the point where Junhoe doesn't even spread out on his bed like he used to, habit alone making him keep one side of the bed unoccupied for Jinhwan.

Jinhwan finally replies to his KakaoTalk messages on the second night, Junhoe nearly dropping his phone when it lights up with the notification. All he gets is a curt i’m okay, though, and Jinhwan still doesn't pick up when Junhoe tries to call him.

By the time the fourth evening rolls around, Junhoe’s pretty sure he's become an unwanted, semi-permanent visitor in Bobby and Donghyuk’s apartment.

“You know, if you’re gonna keep sticking around like this, I’m gonna have to start charging you rent,” Donghyuk jokes to Junhoe, who’s sprawled across the sofa trying to find something interesting to watch on television. “You do have a perfectly functional TV in your own apartment.”

“I'm guessing Jinani-hyung’s still not back yet?” Bobby chimes in, emerging from the bathroom and falling onto Donghyuk’s lap. Donghyuk lets out an oof, and Junhoe still doesn't understand how Donghyuk seems to be able to support Bobby’s weight so well since the catboy is practically all muscle.

“No,” Junhoe whines, and so what if he's being childish? He doesn't care. “And he's still not returning my calls. I don't understand.”

Junhoe punctuates his statement by jabbing the remote control a few times, and Donghyuk rolls his eyes, wrapping an arm around his catboy’s waist. “Trust in Jinhwan-hyung’s judgment. I'm sure he's fine and he’ll be back to making your life bearable soon.”

“In fact,” Bobby says, breaking out into a knowing smile. “He might be back sooner than you think.”

Just as the words leave Bobby’s mouth, the doorbell rings.

Donghyuk shifts Bobby off his lap with a questioning look on his face, getting up to answer the door. Junhoe has just shifted himself upwards into a sitting position when the door is pulled open to reveal none other than Jinhwan himself.

“Hi,” Jinhwan greets, voice sheepish. “Is Junhoe here? I checked our apartment, but he isn't—”

“Hyung,” Junhoe breathes, getting to his feet and tripping towards the front door.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan says, voice small.

Instinctively, Junhoe stretches out his arms, reaching towards Jinhwan with every intention of hugging the living daylights out of him. But he loses confidence halfway, heart in his throat and face going red as he lets his arms fall to his sides uselessly, brushing one hand through his hair and glancing off to the side to try to play off what he was just about to do. This is too weird, isn’t it? How is one supposed to properly express “we’ve become something more than platonic roommates, but I don’t want to scare you and I’m really bad with touching people, but I’m just very happy that you’re back”?

But Jinhwan just smiles, and it's a small, fond smile, stepping across the threshold and into Junhoe’s embrace anyway. Donghyuk’s got a knowing grin on his face as he shuts the door and shoots a very pointed look at Jinhwan, failing to hide his smile even as Junhoe glares at him as he sidesteps the two of them and heads back to the couch.

Junhoe hesitates for a few moments, but eventually he gives in to what he wants to do, bringing both arms up to wrap around Jinhwan. Jinhwan’s arms around him tighten and Junhoe finally, fully relaxes, carding a hand through the catboy’s hair.

“Don't—” Junhoe struggles to find the words. “Don't leave like that again, okay?”

“I—I won’t,” Jinhwan whispers, leaning into Junhoe’s touch. Jinhwan buries his face into the material of Junhoe’s shirt and takes a deep, long inhale, and Junhoe’s heart leaps into his throat.

He's missed the catboy more than he’d like to admit.

Bobby’s brow furrows as he takes a careful sniff of the air, then his eyes settle on Jinhwan, and the confusion clears. “Ah,” Bobby says mysteriously.

Jinhwan flushes, stepping away from Junhoe.

“So that's what you've been up to,” Bobby says to Jinhwan.

“What?” Donghyuk asks, looking between the two catboys.

Bobby smiles, cupping a hand over his mouth and leaning in to whisper into Donghyuk’s ear. By the time he moves away, Donghyuk’s got a knowing, understanding look in his eye as he regards Jinhwan.

“Well,” he says, patting Bobby on the thigh. “Aren't you glad we talked about it back then?”

“Is someone going to let me in on this?” Junhoe complains loudly. “Because I can’t have all of you having these weird inside jokes and stuff.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Donghyuk says. “Just go home, Junhoe.”

“I will,” Junhoe huffs, stomping to the door and throwing it open, glancing over his shoulder to see if Jinhwan will follow him. The older catboy exchanges glances with Donghyuk and Bobby before walking towards Junhoe.

“Thanks for feeding him,” Jinhwan calls out jokingly just as they're about to leave. Junhoe makes a noise of protest, but the door has already shut.

Jinhwan ducks into the bathroom for a shower once their apartment door has closed behind them, so Junhoe settles onto the couch to wait. The catboy emerges about fifteen minutes later, wearing one of Junhoe’s sweaters that's too big on him, the sleeves completely covering his hands.

God, Junhoe has missed Jinhwan so much.

It's quiet at first: Jinhwan sits cross-legged on one side of the couch, tail in his hands as he watches what's going on onscreen. It doesn't take long before Junhoe starts frowning, though, because he hasn't seen Jinhwan in a good four days, and this is not how he expected their reunion to go.

“Come here, kitty,” Junhoe says softly.

It's like Jinhwan’s entire body sags in relief at Junhoe’s words, immediately moving towards Junhoe’s outstretched arms and curling up against the younger’s chest. It’s like something has clicked back into place as Junhoe wraps his arms around the catboy, holding him close, Jinhwan’s scent comforting and his weight resting against Junhoe real and familiar.

“I, um, missed you,” Junhoe says after a few beats, then immediately cringes. He sounds like an idiot.

“I missed you too.” Junhoe can hear the smile in Jinhwan’s voice as he snuggles closer, his back against Junhoe’s chest.

Junhoe feels a rush of affection course through his veins, and in the next moment, he's dropping a kiss onto the top of Jinhwan’s head.

Junhoe freezes, face red as Jinhwan tenses at the suddenness of it all.

“Oh, god,” Junhoe stammers, backing away slightly and dropping his arms from around Jinhwan. “I’m sorry, I wasn't—”

“No, it's—” Jinhwan exhales breathlessly, body relaxing again as he turns onto his side, resting his cheek against Junhoe’s chest, right above his rapidly-beating heart. Jinhwan curls his fingers into the soft cotton of Junhoe’s shirt briefly, then rests his palm flat over Junhoe’s heart. The catboy smiles softly, and Junhoe’s heartbeat goes into overdrive. “It's okay.”

And god, Donghyuk’s right.

Junhoe really is in love.

*

About a week after what Junhoe has since dubbed the ‘horrific runaway incident’, Jinhwan is taking a nap on Junhoe’s lap one late Saturday afternoon when Junhoe hears his passcode being punched into the lock.

“Jinani-hyung let’s get bubble tea!”

“Shut the fuck up,” Junhoe hisses, sliding a hand over Jinhwan’s exposed ear. It's too late, though, Jinhwan’s brows furrowing as he stirs at Bobby’s shout. Junhoe shoots Bobby an irritated look, and Bobby smiles embarrassedly.

“Bubble tea?” Jinhwan repeats as he sits up, voice slightly scratchy from sleep. Junhoe smooths a hand down Jinhwan’s hair, and the catboy turns to face him with a smile. “Hey.”

Junhoe smiles back softly. “Hey. We can sleep in the bedroom if you're still tired.”

Jinhwan shakes his head, glancing over at Bobby and Donghyuk then back at Junhoe again, smile sheepish. “Bubble tea sounds rather tempting, actually.”

Bobby grins excitedly, barreling towards Jinhwan and knocking him back onto the couch. Jinhwan squeaks in surprise, and Junhoe snarls.

“What the fuck, get off my catboy!”

Immediately, the room goes silent.

Donghyuk’s brows are raised in interest and Bobby slides off Jinhwan slowly, giving the older catboy a long look. Jinhwan’s face is bright red, very pointedly avoiding both Bobby’s and Junhoe’s gazes. Junhoe's just about to roll his eyes and ask whether this is yet another inside joke that he's been blatantly left out of, but then his eyes widen in realization.

My catboy.

He just referred to Jinhwan as his.

Junhoe opens his mouth to say something—anything—to remedy the situation, but Jinhwan is quick to get to his feet and grab Bobby by the arm. “Bubble tea. You wanted bubble tea, right? Let's go get it.”

“Hyung—”

Jinhwan just shoots Junhoe an awkward smile, grabs his jacket, then walks out of the apartment with Bobby right behind him.

The door slams shut, and there's silence again.

Eventually Donghyuk moves to sit next to Junhoe on the couch, giving his best friend of god-knows-how-long a meaningful look.

“Junhoe, are you serious about Jinhwan-hyung?”

“Huh?”

“Are you serious about being Jinhwan-hyung’s mate?” Donghyuk repeats, staring at Junhoe as if there’s something he’s supposed to know by now but isn’t quite getting.

Junhoe swallows. “Um—”

“Because if you’re not, then you need to make that very clear once Jinhwan-hyung gets back.”

“Hold up,” Junhoe motions for Donghyuk to stop. “This is escalating pretty fast, isn’t it? I mean we’ve only known each other for what, a month? So being his mate? Isn’t that something that requires, I dunno, a little more time? A little more thought?”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes. “Now’s not the time to act all blasé about it, Junhoe.”

“Who the fuck even says blasé?”

“I do—that’s not the point!” Donghyuk huffs. “Stop changing the subject. The point is, you changed the name of the game here, and I don’t know what kind of relationship the two of you have exactly, but now you need to actively define it.”

Junhoe exhales. It’s far too early for this. “Okay, say, hypothetically, I wanted to be his mate. Then what?”

“Well, the logical next step would be to get him a collar.”

“A what?”

“God, Junhoe, you are so stupid,” Donghyuk runs a hand through his hair, sighing. “I guess I need to educate your dumb ass, so shut up and listen. Intelligent questions only.”

Junhoe would protest more, but he has a feeling that this is actually going to be very important, so he says nothing and waits for Donghyuk to continue.

“You’ve noticed that Bobby-hyung wears a collar, yes?” Donghyuk asks.

Junhoe nods - the brown leather band has been a permanent fixture around Bobby’s neck for almost as long as he’s known the other catboy.

“I got it for him when we decided that we were going to take the next step in our relationship together. It’s kind of like couple rings, or a promise ring, but it’s really a lot more than that. You’re really promising to stay together for the long haul - none of that ‘whoops just kidding, we’re breaking up after a month and a half.’ You have to truly, truly mean it.

“When you called Jinhwan-hyung yours,” Donghyuk continues, “that’s usually a sign that you want to initiate that kind of relationship. It’s complicated to explain, but I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the principles of exclusivity in relationships, right?”

“Yeah,” Junhoe replies, resisting the urge to tell Donghyuk to stop using big words, just for fun. “Mine and yours, and all that.”

“It’s a little different with humans and catpeople. A lot of it does have to do with the cat in them - there’s a sense of ownership that isn’t the same as it is with you and me. It’s not a power trip, though, because the thing is, you really can’t just control them. You know how people say you don’t pick your cat, but your cat picks you? Same thing here. It’s a symbol and a promise of trust and love. So if you’re not absolutely certain that you want this, that you don’t truly want to be with Jinhwan-hyung, you need to back away and tell him exactly where you intend to go with this.”

They lapse into silence after that, Donghyuk pulling out his phone after a few minutes to check what they should order for takeout that evening, while Junhoe remains completely occupied with his own thoughts.

A collar. A mate. Sure, Junhoe has been with people before, has even been in one serious relationship. He knows what commitment is - has experienced it first-hand though it didn't end well, and sees it almost everyday by being around Bobby and Donghyuk so much. He'd be lying if he said he hasn't thought about being with Jinhwan into the long-term, about finally being brave enough to cross the line between friendship and something more instead of constantly hiding behind the little pecks and hesitant touches they always exchange.

But what Donghyuk is speaking about seems so much more than just any ordinary kind of commitment. Junhoe knows enough catpeople to know that a collar around the neck is a Big Deal: ownership, commitment, love - a collar is a representation of all of these things and more.

If Junhoe’s being honest with himself, these are the exact kinds of things that always scare him away, that he always works to avoid. Junhoe has never been one to get emotionally invested in things or people, because he's always believed that the inevitable pain he'd feel at the end would render all his time and effort worthless.

But Jinhwan, well - Jinhwan is different.

Jinhwan makes Junhoe feel alive in a way he hasn't felt in a long time - if ever, really. Jinhwan gives Junhoe purpose, because with Jinhwan in his life, Junhoe has someone he wants to see happy, wants to protect, wants to care for and wants to love. Jinhwan makes Junhoe want to fall head-first into love, because even if it ends in heartbreak, well - Jinhwan still makes Junhoe want to try, anyway.

Junhoe wants Jinhwan. He wants to be able to call Jinhwan his own, and he wants everyone else to know it, too.

Now he just needs to work up the courage to do it.

*

It's awkward, the next few days.

Junhoe calling Jinhwan his catboy has become the very obvious elephant in the room, and every time Jinhwan absentmindedly touches his bare neck or stares wistfully at Donghyuk brushing his fingers over Bobby’s dark brown collar, Junhoe grows more and more nervous. They still cuddle on the couch, Jinhwan still wears his sweaters and Junhoe still pulls the catboy close in bed, but the air between them is punctuated with things and feelings unsaid.

All too soon, before Junhoe even realizes it, it’s two days before Jinhwan’s birthday and he has no idea what to do.

“Why are you asking me for advice for gifts for Jinhwan?” Donghyuk says when Junhoe brings up the subject with him on the phone as he gets ready to leave work. “You’re the one that spends all the time around him. Shouldn’t you know what he wants?”

And then it hits Junhoe - that’s exactly it.

Junhoe does know what Jinhwan wants.

And he really, truly, wants it too.

“Thanks, Dong,” he says. “I’m going shopping.”

“Good luck. Don’t get anything stupid.”

“I won’t,” Junhoe grumbles, already looking up store locations on his phone. “Trust me, this will be nothing like your nineteenth birthday.”

“I still have nightmares about that!” Donghyuk hangs up, and Junhoe heads for the station, figuring out the ideal route he needs to take. Luckily, it’s not terribly far away from his own apartment, but it does require taking a different subway.

This is how Junhoe finds himself in front of a leather goods store, one hand clenched tightly in a fist as he steels himself to go inside.

“Welcome,” the shopkeeper greets as he enters, “are you looking for anything in particular today?”

“I, uh,” Junhoe stutters, startled by the question (even though he shouldn’t be, since practically every other store he would go to would ask the same question). “I’m… I’m looking for a collar.”

“Ah,” the man says, stepping out from behind the counter. “For...?" The shopkeeper trails off.

Junhoe swallows. “For my catboy.”

To his credit, the shopkeeper doesn’t appear ruffled in the slightest. “We have a modest selection here,” he says, directing Junhoe to a glass case, “or if you’d like, you could also have a custom piece made.”

“Um,” Junhoe replies intelligently, because would Jinhwan-hyung want something special? What would Jinhwan-hyung even like? God, Junhoe is not ready for this.

“If you’d like, I could help you make a selection?” The shopkeeper suggests.

“That—that would probably be helpful.” Junhoe tries to surreptitiously wipe his clammy palms against his pants. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Describe him to me,” the shopkeeper encourages.

“He’s… small. Very cute. He has bronze hair, and when he smiles it’s like the sun, or something.”

Junhoe can feel his face heating up, but the shopkeeper simply smiles, motioning for him to continue.

“I guess he’s more of a simple guy. He likes wearing my sweaters and cuddling, and even though he might look weak he’s a fighter when he wants to be. I love him,” Junhoe says, and it’s the first time he’s ever admitted it out loud, even to himself. “And I really want to get him something he’ll like.”

The shopkeeper takes out a key and unlocks the case, pulling out a tray.

“These, I think would work well. Feel free to look at them; I’ll be behind the counter whenever you’re finished.”

Junhoe thanks the man, then turns his attention to the selection of collars. They’re all relatively simple, with just one or two embellishments, if any. Still, though, the process seems daunting to Junhoe - he really, really, does not want to mess this up.

He goes through them one by one, feeling the material in his hands and testing the clasps, trying to figure out what would fit Jinhwan best. Some of them he vetoes immediately for being too large or flashy, then others that he just can’t picture on the catboy.

After what seems like an eternity of deliberation, Junhoe finally makes his selection - a plain black adjustable band in soft leather, with a silver buckle.

“Nice choice,” the shopkeeper says as he packs away the other collars and rings Junhoe up at the register. Junhoe pays, stashes the small package in his briefcase, then thanks the man as he leaves.

Once he’s outside, he lets out a long sigh of relief, because at least he’s got one thing done, but he’s still nervous as he boards the subway to go home.

What if Jinhwan doesn’t like it? What if he’s been presuming too much?

Junhoe shakes his head, trying to think positive thoughts (although the pessimist in him keeps threatening to rear up and take over his entire brain) during the ride home.

“I’m back,” he says once he arrives home. “Sorry I’m late, I wanted to pick something up before coming home and it took me a while.”

Jinhwan gets up from the couch, tail waving behind him as Junhoe hangs up his jacket. “What did you get?”

“It’s a surprise,” Junhoe replies, hoping that his voice isn’t revealing his nerves. “Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon.”

Jinhwan raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t push the matter further. “Let’s have dinner,” he says, heading to the kitchen.

“You didn’t eat yet?”

“I was waiting for you,” Jinhwan admits, taking some containers out of the fridge and heating up a pan on the stove.

Junhoe furrows his eyebrows, getting out some dishes for the banchan. “If you’re hungry you don’t have to wait up; I can just eat when I get back.”

“I… I don’t really like eating alone,” Jinhwan murmurs as he pours a bit of oil into the pan, then adds marinated chicken and vegetables, stir-frying them together. “Feels weird.”

Junhoe makes a soft noise of understanding as he takes out kimchi and vegetables, then scoops out two bowls of rice as Jinhwan transfers the stir-fry onto a plate. Junhoe’s spent the better part of the past few years eating alone, but he always felt less lonely when he was with Donghyuk (and later, Bobby).

“Thanks, hyung,” Junhoe says before he starts eating. Jinhwan smiles at him fondly before digging in as well, and warmth fills Junhoe’s heart.

He thinks back to the collar in his briefcase, of the message it carries, and he knows he’s made the right choice.

*

On the morning of Jinhwan’s birthday, Junhoe’s nerves wake him up.

He shuts off his alarm before it has the chance to ring, carefully turning onto his side so he can watch Jinhwan sleep. A feeling of peace washes over Junhoe as he watches every soft inhale and exhale by Jinhwan, every even rise and fall of the catboy’s chest. Junhoe gently cups a hand over Jinhwan’s cheek when the sunlight begins to filter in too strongly through the window, shielding the catboy’s eyes when a slight wrinkle appears between his brows. Junhoe tucks a few stray locks of Jinhwan’s hair behind his ear, then lightly trails a finger down Jinhwan’s cheek.

As much as Junhoe would like to stay in bed with Jinhwan all day, he eventually has to get up for work. Sighing softly, Junhoe drapes his arm back around Jinhwan’s body, closing his eyes as he presses a tender kiss to Jinhwan’s forehead.

Jinhwan comes to slowly, and Junhoe watches the entire process of his brows furrowing and eyes blinking open as he tries to jerk himself out of slumber. Junhoe smiles affectionately, pecking Jinhwan on the tip of his nose, and the catboy finally looks up at him.

“Mornin’,” Jinhwan mumbles sleepily, bronze hair a mess on his pillow and eyes slightly crusty with sleep.

And Junhoe wants this so badly. He wants to be with Jinhwan, for Jinhwan to be the last thing he sees before he sleeps and the first thing he sees when he wakes up every morning, for a long, long time.

“Morning, kitty,” Junhoe whispers back. Jinhwan smiles sleepily, eyes sliding shut again, and he purrs softly when Junhoe gently pushes a hand into his hair and rubs lightly at the base of his right cat ear. “Hey, happy birthday.”

Jinhwan grins, eyes still closed, shifting closer to Junhoe so he can burrow his head into Junhoe’s chest. Junhoe’s arm around the catboy’s back tightens instinctively. “Thank you,” Jinhwan replies.

Junhoe’s still got a bit of time left, so he pats Jinhwan methodically on the head, trying to lull the catboy back to sleep. It works, and Junhoe presses one last kiss to Jinhwan’s temple before sliding his hand out of Jinhwan’s hair and slipping out of bed, tugging the covers carefully over the sleeping catboy before leaving to get ready for work.

The time at the office flies by as Hanbin dumps a stack of reports on Junhoe’s desk the minute he gets in, and Junhoe throws himself into work to avoid thinking about his sleeping catboy back home, and about the black leather collar he has stashed into the back of his cupboard. He sends a reminder to Donghyuk to bring back a small cake from his cafe as the working day draws to a close, and before he knows it, he's shutting down his computer and shrugging his coat back on as he gets ready to leave the office.

“Hot date tonight?” Hanbin asks as he stops by to pick up the completed reports from Junhoe. “Every time I checked up on you, you were glancing at the clock.”

Junhoe laughs, but it's more a nervous sound than anything else. “It’s Jinhwan-hyung’s birthday today.”

Hanbin’s eyes widen a little. “Oh. Well, help me wish him happy birthday.”

“Me too!” Yunhyeong chimes in. “And ask him to visit us again soon.”

Junhoe rolls his eyes but doesn't object, bidding his co-workers goodbye as he heads for the lift.

As planned, Junhoe returns to an empty apartment. They had agreed for Bobby to take Jinhwan out during the day, and to only return once Junhoe and Donghyuk got the apartment ready. Junhoe has just stepped out of the shower when Donghyuk arrives, takeout boxes and cake in hand. They set the table quickly, hiding the cake in the fridge, then proceed to tape the simple “Happy Birthday, Jinani!” letters Bobby had cut out to the living room wall, right above the couch. Donghyuk has just slid off the couch when they hear the sounds of the passcode being punched into the lock, and Junhoe allows himself to have one last mental breakdown because, well, this is it.

Either way, by the end of this evening, Junhoe’s relationship with Jinhwan will be very different: they'll either take a step forward together, or Jinhwan may walk out the front door and never come back.

The door opens to reveal Bobby and Jinhwan, Jinhwan standing in front of Bobby, his eyes covered by the younger catboy’s hands.

“Bobby, wha—”

“Happy birthday, Jinhwan-hyung!”

Bobby lets his hands drop at that, and Jinhwan’s eyes crinkle into crescents as he takes in the sight of Junhoe, Bobby and Donghyuk standing before him, the letters on the wall, and the food on the table. He beams at Junhoe, lips pulled high such that they reveal his teeth, and Junhoe has never been happier.

Bobby drags Jinhwan over to the table, and Jinhwan’s smile widens when Junhoe smoothly slides into the seat next to his. Dinner isn't anything special, just a simple meal consisting of jajangmyeon, mandu and seaweed soup, but Jinhwan looks perfectly content as he absentmindedly pats Junhoe’s thigh with one hand while he eats with the other, enjoying the conversation that flows so naturally among the four of them.

Junhoe brings the cake out once they've thrown the empty food containers away, and Jinhwan laughs as Donghyuk playfully fits a party hat onto his head and they sing a terrible rendition of the birthday song. Jinhwan’s eyes crinkle at the edges with his smile when Bobby smears cream onto his cheek, and Junhoe rests a hand on Jinhwan’s shoulder when the bronze-furred catboy closes his eyes, makes a wish and blows out the candles.

They migrate to the living room as they dig into the cake and a small plate of fruit, and Jinhwan laughs loudly when Bobby and Donghyuk present him with their gift: a set of cow-printed pajamas. Junhoe rolls his eyes, but Jinhwan looks genuinely happy, so he doesn't comment.

They chat for a while more, but eventually Junhoe gives Donghyuk a look as things start to wind down, motioning towards the front door with his head.

Donghyuk clears his throat. “It’s getting late,” he says, pulling out his phone to check the time. “We should probably be going, now.”

Bobby takes one look at Donghyuk’s expression and understands, getting to his feet quickly.

“Thanks for having us,” he says, pulling Jinhwan into a hug. “And happy birthday again, Jinani-hyung.”

“Thanks for everything!” Jinhwan waves them off as they leave, and Junhoe swallows thickly as the door closes.

This is the moment of truth.

“Wait here a moment, hyung,” Junhoe says, darting into the bedroom and pulling out the wrapped collar from his closet.

When he comes back out, Jinhwan is sitting on the couch, waiting for him expectantly. Junhoe’s hands are shaking, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself, kneeling in front of Jinhwan so they're at eye-level with each other.

“These past few days…” Junhoe starts, “I've been thinking a lot. About us, and the future. I feel like you worried a lot, and I'm really sorry for that.

“I realized that I really want you in my life, Jinhwan-hyung. Today, tomorrow, and every day after. You make me happier than I've ever known, and I…” Junhoe trails off, uncertain of what else to say.

“So I got you this.” He presents Jinhwan with the package; the catboy takes it, turning it over in his hands. “I hope it's—I hope it's what you want. Because if it is, then I want it with you. And if it isn't… well, I guess we'll have to deal with that.”

Jinhwan is silent as he gingerly removes the tape holding the wrapping paper together, unfolding the paper to reveal the opaque box inside. Junhoe’s heart is in his throat as Jinhwan slowly lifts the lid of the box, the catboy’s eyes going wide when he finally sees the black leather collar inside.

“Do you—” Junhoe stammers, throat dry. “Do you like it?”

Jinhwan is quiet, staring at the collar in the box like he can't believe what he's seeing.

The panic is setting in, now, Junhoe’s heart thudding almost painfully in his chest as he steels himself for Jinhwan’s imminent rejection.

“Junhoe,” Jinhwan whispers finally, voice soft yet reverent, almost. “I love it.”

Junhoe finally feels like he can breathe again, watching as Jinhwan lifts the collar out of the box carefully.

“Put it on me,” Jinhwan says, and Junhoe takes it from him, his fingers fumbling over the buckle as he tries to get the end through to open it. Junhoe’s hands shake as he places it around Jinhwan’s neck, sliding the leather through the fastening at the appropriate size point. Once it's on, Junhoe can’t help but brush a hand over it, and Jinhwan shivers, reaching up to touch it as well.

“I love you,” Junhoe blurts out, the emotion overcoming him suddenly. Immediately, he wants to die, because wow, Junhoe, way to go and ruin the moment, but Jinhwan just laughs, his eyes teary.

“I love you too, Junhoe,” Jinhwan replies softly, reaching up to brush the younger’s hair back, keeping his hand around the back of Junhoe’s head.

When Jinhwan kisses Junhoe, the younger barely realizes what's going on - only that suddenly, he feels soft lips against his own, he’s very, very warm, and he has no idea what to do with his hands.

“Come on, June-yah,” Jinhwan teases him after breaking off the kiss. “You can do better than that, can't you?”

Junhoe pushes himself off the floor to sit on the couch, looping both arms around Jinhwan’s lower back as the catboy crawls onto him and pushes him back down against the armrest. Junhoe’s hands move to hold Jinhwan by the waist when the catboy settles his weight onto his lap, and Junhoe’s heart is thudding so embarrassingly loud when the catboy’s - his catboy’s - eyes flutter close as he leans in to kiss him again.

Jinhwan seems to be tailor-made for Junhoe - everything about him fits next to Junhoe perfectly, from his hands around the older’s waist to the catboy’s lips against his, small and sweet as they move against his own. Jinhwan’s weight on his stomach feels just right, warm and solid and real as the catboy presses closer to him.

When they pull apart, Junhoe gently cups Jinhwan’s cheek with his hand, smiling lovingly when the catboy closes his eyes and leans into his touch. Junhoe’s eyelids slide shut as he leans up a little to press a kiss to Jinhwan’s lips, his heartbeat finally relaxing when he feels Jinhwan’s soft, quiet exhale.

Junhoe pecks Jinhwan on the cheek, thumb brushing over his collar and eliciting a sharp intake of breath from the catboy in response. “Take a shower and come to bed?” Junhoe murmurs to the catboy on his lap.

Jinhwan smiles, small hands resting on Junhoe’s chest as he leans down to kiss Junhoe on the lips once. “M’kay,” he agrees.

Later that night, as they're lying in bed together, Junhoe can’t help but trail his fingers along Jinhwan’s collar, still almost in disbelief that Jinhwan had accepted. Jinhwan catches his hand abruptly, tangling their fingers together as he turns on his side to bury his head into Junhoe’s chest, tail coming up to wrap around Junhoe’s waist. Clingy even in sleep, Junhoe thinks fondly, looking down at his catboy snuggled into his embrace.

“This is my happiest birthday,” Jinhwan whispers into Junhoe’s shirt.

Junhoe drags his thumb across Jinhwan’s knuckles, dropping a kiss into Jinhwan’s hair and in between his cat ears. “I'm glad,” he murmurs back. “I'm glad you’re mine now, hyung.”

And as Jinhwan falls asleep in his arms, Junhoe carefully untangling their fingers so he can wrap his arm around his catboy, Junhoe’s so, so glad he finally took the leap.

*

Being in a relationship with Jinhwan is easy.

Honestly, it doesn't feel like much has changed: their progression from being friends to something more is smooth, comfortable - like slipping on a worn sweater. Apart from the fact that Jinhwan now stretches up on his tiptoes to kiss Junhoe on the lips and Junhoe sometimes finds himself hovering over a flushed and panting catboy as he trails his lips down his neck and over his shoulders, their relationship still remains largely the same. Jinhwan still teases Junhoe, Junhoe still likes to drape an arm around the catboy’s shoulders, and the two of them still find themselves watching sappy romance movies together, or giggling at their own inside jokes.

Junhoe wakes up a few days later to the sound of his alarm, reaching out a hand to grope around blindly for his phone on the bedside table to shut it off. He rolls back onto his side after that, and is immediately greeted by a messy tuft of bronze hair under his chin.

The smile that tugs at the edges of his lips is immediate and most definitely smitten as he stares down at his sleeping catboy tucked up against his chest, then he's sighing in content as he buries his face into the soft strands of Jinhwan’s hair.

He allows himself to lie in bed next to the one he loves even more than himself for a few more minutes, but eventually resigns himself to his inescapable fate of having to reach the office by nine. Junhoe slips out of bed quietly, making sure he doesn't accidentally wake up Jinhwan, then pads out of the bedroom for a shower.

Unfortunately, the moment Junhoe pushes open the bathroom door, he's greeted by the sight of water all over the floor - the bathroom is fucking flooded.

“What the fuck!” Junhoe shouts, recoiling.

It's instinct alone that drives Junhoe to do the first thing his head tells him to: he snatches the two bath towels hanging on the rack and throws them on the floor, wanting to soak up the water. Of course, this proves to be absolutely useless, the towels getting drenched in a matter of seconds and the level of water on the floor in no way decreasing.

“Fucking hell,” Junhoe hisses, staring at the mess.

“June-yah? What's going on?”

Junhoe whirls around just in time to see Jinhwan trip out of the bedroom, eyes bleary with sleep and hair a rightful mess on top of his head. The endearing sight causes Junhoe’s frustration to ease slightly, and he sighs heavily even as he wraps an arm Jinhwan’s back as the catboy leans up against his side, peering into the bathroom.

“Oh,” Jinhwan notes, his nose wrinkled up in distaste.

“Oh indeed,” Junhoe sighs, staring at the flooded bathroom.

“How did this happen?” Jinhwan asks. “And did you just throw those towels onto the floor?”

“... No.”

Jinhwan arches a brow at him before bending to pick up the wet towels and floor cloth, then he scampers off quickly to toss them into the wash. Junhoe grabs his phone from the bedroom and calls the building manager, who is miraculously able to procure a plumber, who agrees to come over around noon. He then proceeds to gather some clothes and shoves them in a bag, then stomps off next door, Jinhwan close behind.

“Dong!” Junhoe yells as he opens the door, “I’m using your shower because my bathroom’s flooded!”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes but says nothing.

That is, until he steps out of the kitchen and sees Jinhwan, with his brand new collar fastened around his neck.

Donghyuk’s eyes widen. “Oh,” he says intelligently, gaze moving from the collar to Jinhwan’s face, which is rapidly turning red. “Well then. Congratulations, Jinhwan-hyung. I’m truly happy for you.”

“If you’re done with this whole staring thing,” Junhoe grumbles, glaring at Donghyuk before stalking off to the bathroom.

He runs into Bobby as the elder is exiting the bathroom, the other catboy giving him a confused look as Junhoe pushes past him to go in. Then Bobby’s eyes land on Jinhwan, and it’s almost comical, really, how his brows shoot up to his hairline and his eyes widen in surprise.

“You got a collar!” Bobby shouts, barrelling towards Jinhwan and grabbing him by the shoulders. Jinhwan’s face is red as Bobby leans in close to examine the collar, but the bronze-furred catboy’s tail is flicking behind him happily, which causes Donghyuk to smile. Neither Bobby nor Donghyuk try touching the collar, though, knowing that it’s just something that’s meant for Junhoe alone.

Eventually Bobby pulls back, but he still holds onto Jinhwan’s shoulders as he grins at the elder. “So this means you’re going to be sticking around, right? For real?”

Jinhwan flushes but smiles back, fingers flying up to his collar. “Yeah, I am.”

An excited grin stretches across Bobby’s face as he pulls Jinhwan into a hug, and a fond smile tugs at the edges of Donghyuk’s lips in response.

Junhoe emerges a little while later with slightly damp hair and dressed in his clothes for work, his eyebrows furrowed in disgruntlement.

“You,” he sighs, directing his words at Bobby, “hands off.”

He then turns his attention to Jinhwan, his expression immediately softening. “Hyung, wanna stick around here for a while? ‘Cause I don’t know how much the water’s gonna… spread around.”

Jinhwan looks towards Donghyuk, because it is his apartment, after all. Junhoe only seems to belatedly realize that fact.

“The plumber’s coming around noon,” Junhoe informs Donghyuk. “Can you do without Bobby-hyung for the first half of the day? I’d feel better if someone stuck around with Jinan-hyung while the plumber’s over.”

“Sure,” Donghyuk shrugs, sending Jinhwan a smile. Then he moves to grab his things to follow Junhoe out and head off to the cafe. “Behave,” he directs this at Bobby, “so Junhoe won’t suffer from a premature heart attack.”

Bobby whines. “The amount of trust you guys place in me is absolutely depressing.”

Junhoe scoffs but refrains from saying anything else, curling a hand around the back of Jinhwan’s nape before leaning down to give the catboy a quick kiss. “Call me if you need anything.”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes at Junhoe, ruffles Bobby’s hair, and then they’re off.

“I’m glad you finally got your shit together,” Donghyuk says after Junhoe re-emerges from his apartment with his briefcase.

“I always have my shit together,” Junhoe grumbles. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t fuck it up,” is all Donghyuk says in response, pressing the button for the ground floor. “You don’t get any do-overs, here. I hope you know that.”

Junhoe swallows thickly. “I know,” he replies. “I won’t.”

And Donghyuk finally smiles, giving his best friend a satisfied look.

*

Later that day, just after Junhoe’s pressed ‘save’ on the report he had spent a better half of the day working, there’s a knock on his cubicle.

“Hey.” It’s Yunhyeong, offering Junhoe a smile as he hefts his messenger bag higher up his shoulder. “You leaving now?”

“Yeah,” Junhoe replies, shutting off his computer and packing up his things. Chanwoo has come to join them by the time Junhoe pushes in his computer chair, and they meet Hanbin by the glass door to their floor.

They take the lift down together, and the first thing Junhoe sees is a familiar figure standing in the lobby of the building, chatting with Hayi.

“Hyung!” Junhoe calls, hurrying across the lobby.

Jinhwan and Hayi look up simultaneously, and Jinhwan beams when his gaze lands on Junhoe.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan greets, walking over.

“What are you doing here?” Junhoe asks.

“Just some job-hunting around the area after the plumber left,” Jinhwan replies. “It wasn’t anything too serious, by the way, just a busted pipe. I left with Bobby.”

Junhoe curls his fingers around Jinhwan’s collar, and the catboy sighs, leaning into his touch.

Junhoe’s co-workers just stare at them, shocked.

“So you are dating!” Chanwoo blurts out first, wide eyes flicking between the two of them.

“Why Junhoe before me?” Hanbin moans dramatically, turning away to look at nothing in a far corner of the room.

Yunhyeong rolls his eyes at the other two. “Well, can’t say I didn’t see it coming, but congrats, guys.”

“Thank you,” Jinhwan replies a little uncertainly, but his smile is sincere and the tips of his ears are tinged a little red.

Hanbin refocuses his vision back onto them, squinting a little as he leans towards Jinhwan, hand unconsciously outstretched towards the catboy’s neck. “Is that a collar?”

Jinhwan’s eyes narrow, a hiss escaping his throat as he presses himself close to Junhoe, pushing the younger in front of him a bit.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks, running a worried hand through the back of Jinhwan’s hair.

The catboy blinks, biting his lip sheepishly as he returns back to his former position. “Sorry, I just… please, don’t touch it.”

“No problem,” Hanbin replies, but he appears more than a little confused by the whole encounter.

They exit the building then, heading for the train station. The four co-workers fall into easy conversation, Jinhwan content to just listen and chime in occasionally if someone directs a question at him, fingers intertwined with Junhoe’s.

“Oh!” Jinhwan says suddenly, holding up a plastic bag he had been holding onto. “I almost forgot. I bought some bread before I arrived at the building, so…”

Jinhwan hands Hanbin, Yunhyeong and Chanwoo a bun each, and Junhoe’s grip around his catboy’s waist tightens instinctively.

He’s never met a more precious being.

“Thank you,” Hanbin says sincerely, and Jinhwan smiles, slightly embarrassed.

“This is from that really popular bakery a few blocks down, right?” Yunhyeong asks Jinhwan, who cocks his head to the side in question.

“I think so?” The catboy replies, and it sounds more like a question than an answer. “There was a line…”

“I once asked Junhoe-hyung to buy me some bread,” Chanwoo interjects. “He got me the cheapest option from the convenience store. Till this day I’m convinced it was expired.”

Everyone laughs except for Junhoe, who shoots the intern a glare. “You have perfectly functioning hands and legs. Use them to buy your own bread.”

Jinhwan hides his smile by leaning into Junhoe’s side and turning his face into the younger’s coat. Junhoe shifts his arm up to wrap around Jinhwan’s shoulders, keeping the catboy close even as he continues bickering with his co-workers.

They reach the train station after a few more minutes, standing in front of the gantry before parting ways.

“It was nice to see you again, Jinhwan-ssi,” Yunhyeong says first, smiling amicably at the catboy. “Thanks again for the bread, and congratulations,” the brown-haired male finishes, looking pointedly at Jinhwan’s brand new collar. “If you ever need someone to nag at Junhoe, just let me know, okay?”

“I will,” Jinhwan says with an amused smile, at the same time as Junhoe grumbles, “Shut up, Yunhyeong-hyung.”

“Come visit us again soon,” Hanbin says next, and Chanwoo smiles in agreement. Then Hanbin offers Jinhwan a sheepish grin. “And sorry about… just now.”

Jinhwan goes red, remembering how he had reacted earlier. “Please don’t apologize,” he replies quickly. “It’s just… a catboy thing, I guess. Knee-jerk reaction. Sorry about that.”

An endearing, embarrassed smile pulls at Hanbin’s lips, but he nods once, and that’s that.

“C’mon, hyung,” Junhoe says, as they all part ways, “let’s go home.”

Jinhwan hums in assent, slipping his hand into Junhoe’s before playfully tugging him down the stairs to their train platform.

Junhoe laughs as he trips after his catboy, his heart bursting with love.

“... And don’t forget, we have that trip to Busan coming up two Mondays from now, and as such, we have some last-minute paperwork that needs to be filed before then…”

Junhoe’s barely paying attention as his supervisor drones on, idly doodling on a pad of sticky notes as he waits for the man to finish. He really just wants to go home to Jinhwan and cuddle on the couch or something. God, he’s getting so domestic.

“... That’s all. Have a nice evening, everyone.”

The relief in the air is palpable as the other people in the office start to dissipate, some discussing the trip, others bringing up plans for after work. Junhoe just makes sure he has a note on his phone to remind Jinhwan about the trip and packs up his things, ready to get the hell out of here.

“So!”

Unfortunately, it seems like the universe wants to keep him at this godforsaken office just a little bit longer.

Junhoe lets out a curse when Yunhyeong throws an arm around his shoulders, leaning in close and wiggling his brows suggestively. If it were anyone else - say, Hanbin or Chanwoo - Junhoe would’ve probably swung his fist, but he still marginally likes Yunhyeong, so he settles for glaring and shoving the elder’s face away instead. “Can I help you?” Junhoe asks.

“Got plans for a hot date tonight?” Yunhyeong asks, unaffected by Junhoe’s lack of enthusiasm.

“If your idea of a ‘hot date’ includes going home, taking a shower and holding Jinhwan-hyung for hours, then yes, I’ve got plans for a hot date,” Junhoe deadpans.

“You sad, sad fool,” Yunhyeong sighs. “Don’t you know what day it is today?”

Junhoe blinks. “Friday?”

Yunhyeong stares at him. Junhoe stares back. Junhoe checks his phone, slowly bringing it up to show Yunhyeong.

“Friday…?” Junhoe says slowly, looking pointedly at his phone, then back at Yunhyeong’s face.

“How,” Yunhyeong finally manages to reply. “How are you dating?”

“See what I mean now?” Hanbin asks as he walks past, plucking a folder from Yunhyeong’s hands and a binder from Junhoe’s desk. “It’s Valentine’s Day, by the way.”

Junhoe blinks at him. “So…”

“Don’t you have something romantic on the agenda for tonight?” Hanbin raises an eyebrow.

Junhoe blinks again. “Takeout and cuddling?”

“You know what I think?” Chanwoo interjects, leaning over Junhoe’s cubicle. “If anything, you’re going to be the cause of your own break-up.”

Yunhyeong and Hanbin mumble their assent as Junhoe sinks down onto his computer chair, suddenly feeling royally screwed over.

*

“Hey,” Junhoe calls out as he pushes open the apartment door. “I’m home.”

“Hi!” Jinhwan greets, poking his head out from the kitchen, then he smiles. “Welcome home.”

Warmth floods Junhoe’s chest, but the worry still throbs in his heart.

Dinner smells amazing when Junhoe emerges from his shower later, and his breath catches in his throat when he sees that Jinhwan has set the table differently tonight: a hot plate of kimchi spaghetti occupies the center of the table, set in between two small white candles and on top of a simple red tablecloth. Junhoe’s pretty sure he doesn’t own anything of the sort, which means Jinhwan actually went out to get things to prepare all this. The catboy rubs the back of his neck sheepishly when Junhoe slides into his seat, disbelief written across his face, and the younger’s eyes widen further when Jinhwan offers a single rose to him from behind his back, cheeks dusted pink.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, June-yah,” Jinhwan says a little shyly.

Junhoe’s throat feels dry. He accepts the rose, then covers Jinhwan’s small hand with his own larger one on top of the table. “Thank you, hyung,” Junhoe whispers back. “I don’t—I don’t know what to say, but this… it’s perfect.”

Jinhwan beams, and Junhoe feels his heart flip.

Dinner is a relatively quiet, romantic affair: they cross their ankles together under the table as Junhoe talks about his day at work, and Jinhwan tells Junhoe about his funny experience at the florist today with all the frantic boyfriends trying to pick out flowers for their girlfriends. Junhoe laughs along, but he feels like shit inside.

“I got you something,” Jinhwan says after they’re done with dinner, picking up a small paper bag from off the floor by the couch. “It’s not much, but…”

Junhoe accepts it, feeling worse as the seconds go by. “I’m really sorry, Jinhwan-hyung, I… I didn’t get you anything.”

“It’s all right,” the catboy replies, and he truly does seem to mean it. He motions for Junhoe to open his gift, and Junhoe takes out the tissue paper on top, revealing the contents within.

“It’s a scarf,” Jinhwan says as Junhoe pulls it out, stretching out the black and grey marled fabric. “I noticed you never use one, and since it’s still kind of chilly out…”

“It’s really nice.” Jinhwan’s either very observant or Junhoe’s just very predictable, because it’s exactly his style. He places it around his neck, and Jinhwan reaches out to loop the ends around, wrapping the younger’s face in the soft material. Jinhwan smiles after he’s done, then he tugs lightly on the ends of the scarf, his tail coming around to wrap around Junhoe’s waist and pull the younger down for a kiss.

Jinhwan giggles softly into Junhoe’s mouth when the latter hoists him up in his arms, carrying him into the bedroom and carefully depositing him onto the bed. Jinhwan sighs against Junhoe’s lips when the younger crawls on top of him, cupping his cheek and leaning down to press his lips against his. The kiss is soft, slow and sweet, Junhoe losing himself to the feeling of Jinhwan’s lips moving against his and the way the catboy’s left leg is trailing up against his calf.

“I love you,” Jinhwan murmurs, sliding a hand into the back of Junhoe’s hair, and the words fall so easily from his lips, sincere and full of promise.

I love you, too, Junhoe’s mind says, but as he opens his mouth the words get caught in his throat, and he somehow can’t even make a single sound. He closes his mouth, pressing a kiss to Jinhwan’s temple instead, but he can feel the way the catboy’s body stiffens against his.

Jinhwan doesn’t push him away immediately, but Junhoe can tell that the elder is starting to pull away, withdraw into himself, the touches lingering less and the kisses growing shorter before stopping altogether.

“Hyung,” Junhoe manages to choke out, but Jinhwan just looks away.

“I think… I feel kind of tired,” Jinhwan says, lifting his legs off of Junhoe and folding them beneath himself, settling himself more distinctly on his side of the bed.

Jinhwan rolls onto his side and pulls the blankets over himself, and Junhoe feels utterly helpless as he settles in next to the catboy, hesitantly draping his left arm around over the elder’s waist.

“I—” Junhoe whispers suddenly, the arm he’s got around Jinhwan tightening a little. “I’m sorry, hyung.”

Jinhwan doesn’t say a word, just tugs the covers tighter around himself before stilling entirely.

“... Good night, Junhoe,” Jinhwan whispers back, and the use of Junhoe’s name instead of the affectionate June-yah stings more than Junhoe thought it would.

It’s the first night since they’ve started sharing a bed together that Jinhwan sleeps with a distance between them and with his back to Junhoe instead.

*

Neither of them bring up the awkward way their Valentine’s Day had ended again - Junhoe had woken up the next morning to Jinhwan’s head on his chest, the catboy already awake as he traced shapeless patterns onto Junhoe’s torso. Junhoe had buried his head into his catboy’s hair, Jinhwan had snuggled closer, and that was that.

Then one night, Junhoe finds himself waking up several hours before his alarm is set to go off, feeling uncomfortably warm, with Jinhwan curled up next to him.

This is normal.

What is most decidedly not normal, though, is the fact that Jinhwan appears to be the source of the heat.

Junhoe shifts so that he’s sitting up and presses a hand gently against the catboy’s forehead - it’s way too hot, and Jinhwan’s skin is sticky with perspiration. Jinhwan’s eyebrows twitch at the contact and he lets out a pathetic-sounding whimper, but he doesn’t wake up.

Do not panic, Junhoe tells himself, failing completely as he stumbles into the kitchen to search for medicine, but comes up empty: he only has half a bottle of painkillers that are several months expired. This will not do.

He heads for Donghyuk’s apartment next, rifling through his friend’s cabinets. Donghyuk’s usually prepared for everything, so he should probably have something.

Suddenly, a loud yell rips through the air, but it quickly dies off as Junhoe jumps and whirls around to face the source of the noise.

“What the fuck,” Donghyuk hisses, breathing heavily from where he stands behind Bobby, who’s lowering the baseball bat he has in his hands, “are you doing here?”

“Why do you have a baseball bat?” Junhoe shoots back.

Donghyuk shoots him a seriously? look, and Junhoe shrugs.

“Can we move out?” Bobby mumbles sleepily, squeezing Donghyuk’s arm once before turning around and heading back to the bedroom.

“You can,” Junhoe calls after him, “but Donghyuk stays!”

“Junhoe, what do you want?” Donghyuk sighs exasperatedly, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Jinhwan-hyung’s sick and I have no medicine. What kind of medicine does one even give a catboy?”

Donghyuk is more alert now, pushing Junhoe aside and opening up a cabinet. “The same kind as humans, dumbass. Give him two of these every six hours or so, and make sure he eats something with it.”

“Thanks,” Junhoe says, accepting the bottle that Donghyuk hands him. “He should eat juk, right? Can you make me some?”

Donghyuk gives Junhoe the finger, tossing a “look it up online, ask me again when it’s a normal human hour to be alive” over his shoulder as he goes back to bed.

Junhoe shrugs, figuring he'll just pester Donghyuk again after the sun has risen. He then returns to his own apartment and looks around his kitchen, hoping to find something quick that he can give Jinhwan to eat with the medicine.

“June-yah?” A soft voice calls, a little raspy around the edges. Jinhwan’s standing by the entryway to the kitchen, his hair mussed and eyes squinty with sleep. His tail hangs down, not held high like it usually is, and his cat ears are droopy as he hugs himself tightly, shivering.

(He looks adorable. But now is not the time for this, Junhoe tells himself.)

“Hyung, go back to bed,” Junhoe says, finding a pack of crackers and filling up a cup with warm water. “You’re sick. I got some medicine from Donghyuk.”

Jinhwan blinks at him, but allows himself to be pushed back to bed with little protest, accepting the cup of water from Junhoe and drinking from it.

“Hyung, eat some of these,” Junhoe says, opening the pack of crackers and handing one to Jinhwan. The catboy wrinkles his nose in distaste, the sickness building up inside of him affecting his appetite and making him shy away from the food.

“Just a few bites, hyung,” Junhoe urges, gently brushing Jinhwan’s hair back from his sweaty forehead. “Please? Just so you can take your medicine.”

Jinhwan doesn't reply, but he does take the cracker from Junhoe, so Junhoe considers it a win. The catboy finishes it, then accepts the pills from Junhoe, downing them quickly. Junhoe lightly rubs at the base of one of his cat ears before moving to get off the bed.

Immediately, though, Jinhwan’s tail comes up to curl around his wrist, the catboy’s eyes glazed over with fever as he tugs confusedly at Junhoe, wanting him to come back to bed. Junhoe rests one knee on the bed, pushing a gentle hand into his catboy’s hair.

“I'm just gonna put these back in the kitchen and fetch you a cold towel okay, hyung?” Junhoe says, carding his fingers through Jinhwan’s bronze hair.

Jinhwan whines when Junhoe moves away, but the catboy does release Junhoe’s wrist so the younger can go. Junhoe makes it quick, heart churning with discomfort at the thought of his sick and needy catboy waiting for him in bed. When Junhoe pushes the bedroom door open again, Jinhwan is half-wrapped up in the sheets, small frame trembling slightly.

Junhoe’s mind fills with worry as he gently rolls his catboy onto his back so he can place the cold towel on his forehead and sponge him down. Jinhwan flinches at the cold temperature, but Junhoe soothes him by trailing his thumb down his left cat ear as he moves the towel down to his neck. Jinhwan whimpers, curling into himself, and it's a soft, pathetic sound that causes Junhoe’s heart to throb in pain.

He can't stand the sight of Jinhwan suffering.

Once the wet towel loses its coolness, Junhoe hurries out into the kitchen to rinse it with cold water, wrap some ice cubes in it, then make his way back into the bedroom again. Jinhwan rolls onto his side, immediately seeking out Junhoe’s scent and warmth once the younger finally slides into bed next to him.

Jinhwan hisses when Junhoe carefully places the cold towel on his forehead, but Junhoe is quick to wrap his arm around the catboy’s waist and pull him close, pressing a soft kiss to his temple in hopes of soothing him.

“I'm sorry, kitty,” Junhoe sighs, holding Jinhwan tight and pulling the blanket over him, praying that he'll stop shivering.

“Don't go anymore,” Jinhwan mumbles, voice slurred. His tail wrapped tight around Junhoe’s waist reflects his sentiment.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Junhoe whispers back softly, threading his fingers through Jinhwan’s hair before scratching lightly at the base of his ears, wanting to lull his catboy to sleep. Jinhwan doesn’t even purr like he normally does, his face instead twisted up in discomfort as he curls the fingers of his right hand into Junhoe’s shirt, breathing heavily.

“Go to sleep, kitty,” Junhoe whispers, voice bordering on desperate. “I’m sorry.”

It takes a long time, but eventually Jinhwan succumbs to his sickness and exhaustion, falling into a fitful sleep. Junhoe carefully removes his hand from Jinhwan’s hair and presses the back of it against his catboy’s cheek, sighing when he discovers that Jinhwan’s skin is still much too hot to the touch.

Junhoe has work in a few hours and the business trip coming up over the next couple of days, but if Jinhwan doesn’t get better then, well - he’s definitely not going to either.

*

Junhoe does end up calling in to work, badly faking a cough and practically hearing Hanbin rolling his eyes on the other side of the line.

“Just try and finish some stuff from home,” Hanbin grumbles, “and you better not be out because you’re not in a state to be seen by other people.”

“No—what the fuck, that’s disgusting. Jinhwan-hyung’s sick, okay?” Junhoe hisses, dropping the fake raspiness from his voice and trying to keep his voice down while the older is sleeping.

“Oh. In that case, I hope he gets better soon. And remember, you already paid for the KTX ticket and it’s nonrefundable.”

“I know,” Junhoe sighs, “hopefully he’s better by then.”

“You’re lucky it’s Friday and we leave next Monday, because otherwise I’d have your ass in here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks, Hanbin-hyung.”

“If it weren’t because of Jinhwan-ssi!” Hanbin reiterates, hanging up. Junhoe slides his phone back into his pocket, lying back against the couch. Jinhwan’s still asleep, and Junhoe hopes he stays asleep for as long as possible, because he’s pretty sure sleep is the best cure for these sorts of things (and this gives him time to figure out what the hell he’s supposed to do).

Junhoe decides to attempt to make juk, which he thinks he can probably do without burning the apartment down. After finding out that his rice cooker actually has a setting for making the porridge, he fills the pot with rice and water according to the directions (throwing in some slices of ginger from the fridge because he thinks he heard somewhere before that ginger has healing properties), and prays for the best.

While waiting for the juk to finish cooking, Junhoe alternates between pacing in front of the television nervously, sitting on the sofa aimlessly checking things on his phone and hovering around the doorway to the bedroom, non-creepily watching Jinhwan sleep.

Because Junhoe has to make sure Jinhwan doesn’t die in his sleep. From a cold.

About an hour later, Junhoe finds himself heaving a huge sigh of relief when he pops open the rice cooker and sees that his juk turned out okay. He pulls out a bowl and scoops some out, then he pads into the bedroom quietly, setting the bowl on the table as he gently shakes Jinhwan awake.

“Hyung?”

Jinhwan coughs, curling up tighter in the sheets when a shiver wracks through his body. Junhoe feels like absolute shit when he can’t do anything besides card a worried hand through his catboy’s hair and rub lightly at the base of his ears.

“I made you some juk. You need to eat a little so you can take your medicine again,” Junhoe says quietly.

It takes a bit more coaxing, but eventually Jinhwan manages to shift himself into a sitting position, and Junhoe feels his heart constrict when the first thing the catboy does is to tug the blankets around himself, then bury his head into Junhoe’s shoulder.

“It’s cold,” Jinhwan whispers weakly into the thin material of Junhoe’s shirt. Junhoe can still feel the heat emanating from his catboy’s forehead, and he’s seriously contemplating taking Jinhwan to the hospital.

After a couple of minutes of silence (save for Jinhwan’s relatively heavy breathing), the catboy slowly slides off the bed, padding into the bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up a little. He leans against Junhoe’s side when he gets back and lets the younger feed him the juk, but he’s definitely not eating anywhere close to enough for Junhoe’s liking. Jinhwan downs the pills right after, and Junhoe pulls his catboy close when he settles down for another long nap, pressing a tender kiss to the elder’s forehead.

The cycle repeats itself several times throughout the course of the day and into the evening - Junhoe fretting, Jinhwan napping, and Donghyuk eventually bringing over some proper juk (“You’re lucky that Jinhwan-hyung likes you; this stuff you made tastes like shit.” “Dammit Dong, I tried.”). Jinhwan remains quite insistent on having Junhoe near him while he’s sleeping, and Junhoe hopes that the catboy recovers quickly - seeing Jinhwan in any sort of suffering makes him wish that he could take everything onto himself, instead.

Jinhwan’s fever seems to have broken by the next morning: he’s no longer quite so burning hot when Junhoe places a hand against the catboy’s face, and he’s much more coherent than the day before. Junhoe is not convinced, however, that Jinhwan is in any state to be left alone for an extended period of time - the elder is still relatively fatigued and mildly congested, and there’s always the possibility of sudden death.

Junhoe’s travel bag is open on the bedroom floor, half-packed, because he still can’t figure out whether or not he should go to Busan, and Jinhwan watches him with faint amusement as Junhoe strides back and forth across the bedroom, glowering at the bag every time he sees it.

“Do you need me to call Hanbin-ssi to nag you into going?” Jinhwan teases playfully from his spot on the bed.

Junhoe groans, kicking his bag once before falling face-first onto the bed. Jinhwan slides a hand into the younger’s hair, which causes Junhoe to turn his face up a little.

“I don’t want to go,” Junhoe mumbles. “Not when you’re still sick.”

Jinhwan’s hand drops to rest lightly against Junhoe’s cheek. “I’m not sick anymore, June-yah. You know that.”

Junhoe blinks up at Jinhwan, and Jinhwan’s smile turns fond as he brushes his thumb under Junhoe’s eye. “But you’re still not fully well. I’ll be worrying every second if I go, which actually makes me a hindrance instead of a help. So technically, it makes more sense for me to not go.”

Jinhwan laughs softly. “You’re cute,” he says, then he pats Junhoe’s cheek twice. “Pack.”

Junhoe sighs, pushing himself up to steal a kiss from Jinhwan before sliding off the bed to resume his packing. He finishes quickly, zipping up his bag before kicking it into a corner. Maybe if he hides it from sight, it’ll conveniently disappear, or something.

Jinhwan watches Junhoe with fond amusement in his eyes. “Come here,” Jinhwan says softly, putting his phone on the nightstand.

Junhoe ends up with his head on Jinhwan’s stomach, the catboy’s hand carding through his hair as Junhoe ghosts his fingers across a sliver of Jinhwan’s exposed skin. The room is cool, the air is peaceful, and Jinhwan is warm and soft beneath him - Junhoe is content to stay this way forever.

“Do you have everything?” Jinhwan asks.

“If I forget something, can I say screw the trip and come back?” Junhoe’s voice is more eager than it should be, but is it so terrible that he doesn’t want to leave?

“No, June-yah. I’ll even check your bag before you go.”

“Damn.”

Jinhwan just laughs.

*

Despite his best efforts (Jinhwan did, in fact, check his bag, found out that Junhoe tried to go without bringing underwear, and proceeded to shove them in, smiling cheerily the whole time), two days later, Junhoe finds himself staring down grumpily at his phone in the crowded train platform of Seoul Station.

Jinhwan had all but shoved him out the door barely an hour ago, assuring Junhoe that no, he wasn’t going to die, and that he’d better get his ass on that train before Hanbin came after Jinhwan to chase Junhoe for him.

It's when Junhoe checks his phone and sighs for the eighth time in the past three minutes that Hanbin finally rolls his eyes.

“Junhoe, what are you doing?” He asks. “Are you waiting for some kind of emergency?”

“I don’t know,” Junhoe retorts. “Maybe I am. Who knows what could happen?”

Hanbin shoots him a look. “Don't be ridiculous.”

“Give him a break,” Yunhyeong laughs, then he flashes Junhoe a shit-eating grin. “He's in love.”

Normally Junhoe would go red before flipping Yunhyeong off, but the elder is right - as it stands right now, he's about to leave on a business trip to Busan while his catboy stays behind in their apartment, alone.

“It's barely even going to be five days,” Hanbin insists. “And don't forget that Jinhwan-hyung is probably more mature than all of us put together. He's not going to die.”

Junhoe shoots Hanbin a sharp glare, and Hanbin sighs when Junhoe pushes past him onto the train, gaze trained resolutely downwards on his phone screen. Junhoe sheds his coat quickly, hangs it up, then shoves his black duffel bag into the overhead compartment before plopping down onto his seat and firing off a KakaoTalk message to Jinhwan.

Koo Junhoe: hyung u’re ok right???

Kim Jinhwan: yeah june iaASDLFKDHG;LKDFJGLER

Junhoe’s eyes widen at the sudden incoherent mess, and he immediately presses the call button on Jinhwan’s ID, fearing for the worst.

“Hyung,” he breathes a sigh of relief when the phone is answered. “Thank god you’re—”

“Jinani-hyung is busy right now!” A horrifically familiar voice calls out, and Junhoe grips his phone so tightly he’s amazed it isn’t breaking.

(Around him, Hanbin, Yunhyeong, and Chanwoo are placing bets.)

“What the fuck, unhand him right now Kim Jiwon or I swear to god—”

(“He went for the full name and cursing, that’s five thousand for me,” Hanbin says.)

“J-June-yah, hi! I’m fine!”

“Jinhwan-hyung, you’re not being forced against your will or anything, right?”

“No, not particularly.”

“What’s the code word?”

(“A thousand, because I said he would say something really stupid.”

“No, Chanwoo, we threw that out because everything Junhoe says is stupid.”

“Dammit, Yunhyeong-hyung.”)

“June-yah, we don’t have a code word.”

Junhoe’s eyes widen. “We don’t? I thought—”

Junhoe’s sentence is cut off by Jinhwan letting out a surprised squeak, followed by the muffled sounds of some high-pitched giggles and someone’s deeper, lower laughter.

“Bobby-yah—ah—hang on, I'm trying to talk to June—”

Jinhwan’s voice dissolves into a mix of giggles and shrieks, and Junhoe feels his blood pressure rise exponentially when there's a thud, followed by his catboy letting out an oofover the phone.

“Kim. Ji. Won,” Junhoe hisses dangerously. “I don't know what you're doing to my catboy, but if I come back and there's so much as a scratch on his cheek, I am going to castrate you with that stainless steel knife Donghyuk loves so much.”

(“Ooh, a threat involving bodily harm. Five thousand won,” Chanwoo grins, opening up his palm.)

“Sorry, Junhoe-yah. Jinan-hyung’s kind of… Under me right now."

“What?!”

Junhoe stands so fast he almost falls over, but then the mental images of Jinhwan - small, cute, vulnerable-looking Jinhwan with his bronze ears and flushed cheeks (his Jinhwan) - pinned helplessly beneath Bobby (Bobby) flood his mind, and he has to grip onto the top of his seat just in case he faints.

“June-yah, it's really not what you think—” Jinhwan wheezes, unable to finish his statement as he lets out another squeak. Bobby’s laughter sounds over the receiver next, followed by his amused voice, and Junhoe has never found it more annoying than he does in this moment.

“Wow, Jinani-hyung. I never knew you were so ticklish. And your skin here’s so soft—”

Junhoe is really going to pass out, now. Either that or he's really going to break his phone, because if what Bobby is saying is true, then that means he's somehow managed to get his hands under Jinhwan’s clothes.

“Kim Jiwon, I'm going to say this one last time,” Junhoe hisses, glaring at Chanwoo who’s sitting opposite him. Chanwoo cowers into his seat a little, slightly intimidated. “You will get off Jinhwan-hyung now, then you will give him back his phone, and then you will stay at least five meters away from him until I get back. And Kim Donghyuk!” Junhoe barks the last part, because he can hear Donghyuk’s stupid laughter in the background. “Control your fucking catboy.”

“Um, sir? Could you sit down, and possibly hold your conversation a bit softer, please? The train is going to leave soon.”

Junhoe stares at the attendant, then down at himself, then at everyone else in the traincar, who all appear to be staring at them.

“Um. Sorry about that. Excuse me.” He sinks down into his seat, the tips of his ears starting to heat up. “Jinhwan-hyung, I’ll call you later, okay?” Junhoe says, only hanging up once he gets Jinhwan’s affirmative response.

“And that’s twenty thousand for me,” Yunhyeong smirks, taking bills out of Hanbin and Chanwoo’s hands, cueing a round of protests, “because I said he was gonna get told off.”

Junhoe kind of hates his life.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yunhyeong says, patting him on the shoulder. “I’m sure your boyfriend will be perfectly all right. I’ll even buy you a drink,” he offers, holding up his winnings.

“I don’t want your pity.”

“So… you don’t want anything, then?”

“No, what the fuck, if you’re treating then get me one of those fancy coffees.”

Yunhyeong sighs, but has long ago learned when to let things go when it comes to Junhoe, so when the food and beverage cart comes around, he orders Junhoe his coffee, a few bottles of tea, and a juice.

“Thank you, Hanbin and Chanwoo, for the drinks,” Yunhyeong toasts, a trace of mockery in his voice as he lifts his bottle of corn tea before bringing it to his lips.

Junhoe takes a sip of his hot coffee just as his phone vibrates with a new KakaoTalk message. He puts the paper cup on the table, unlocking his phone.

Kim Jinhwan: sorry june-yah ;; I went over to their place to hang out, then bobby started exaggerating ㅠㅠ don't worry so much and enjoy your trip! love you

Junhoe brushes his thumb over Jinhwan’s last two words, sighing heavily and letting his head hit the seat behind him.

It's going to be a long few days.

*

When Junhoe returns home at the end of the week, thoroughly intent on spending the entire night cuddling Jinhwan to make up for all the days he was away, something seems… off.

While it’s still early enough in the evening that it’s not terribly dark, it’s late enough that Junhoe would expect there to be a light or two on if Jinhwan was there.

“Hyung?” He calls.

There’s no response.

Junhoe looks on the fridge and the living room table, wondering if Jinhwan had left another note, but he comes up empty. He checks his phone to see if there are any notifications he’d missed, but that, too, has nothing.

And that’s when he hears it.

It’s faint, but he can clearly hear Jinhwan letting out a strained whine from his bedroom. Junhoe’s mind immediately shoots to all the worst-case scenarios, and he runs for the door, throwing it open.

It’s the scent that hits him first - musky and a little woodsy and something he just can’t put his finger on. He looks towards the bed, where Jinhwan’s tangled in the sheets, sweat covering his entire body in a slight sheen. One of his hands is attached very firmly to his dick, frantically palming it, while his mouth is occupied by a good amount of the sheets.

“Jinhwan-hyung?” Junhoe asks, unsure if he should approach. He’s generally familiar with catboy behaviors, so he’s pretty sure that Jinhwan’s in heat, but what he doesn’t know is what he’s supposed to do .

“Junhoe,” Jinhwan gasps, voice muffled by the fabric as he spits it out and immediately reaches for the sheets to cover himself. “Don’t—don’t come closer.”

“Are you in heat?” Junhoe approaches the bed slowly, while Jinhwan scoots away. His ears keep twitching, his body shaking.

“Just—just go,” Jinhwan says. Junhoe didn’t think Jinhwan’s face could get any redder, but it does, as he tries to wrap the sheets around him more tightly.

Junhoe stands at the foot of the bed. He wants to help Jinhwan, but he’s not entirely sure what to do. He and Jinhwan have never really discussed being intimate with each other - while they have had some intense make-out sessions and very rarely some under-the-clothes touching, they’ve never done anything past that. Junhoe had figured that they’d just get there when they got there, but this…

This changes things.

“I’ll, um, get you some water,” Junhoe says, “and I’ll change the sheets. Okay?”

Jinhwan shudders, eyes dark with arousal as he nods.

Junhoe leaves the room quickly, taking in deep breaths of the air not flooded with pheromones.

Jinhwan is in heat.

Junhoe repeats this fact to himself as he gets Jinhwan a cup of cool water, with a straw for good measure since he’s not sure how good the catboy’s fine motor skills are at this point. He sets it on the table as he goes to retrieve fresh sheets, wondering about what he should do.

Clearly, the most practical choice of action would be to fuck Jinhwan.

As he thinks this, Junhoe hits his head on the cabinet door, timed perfectly with a particularly loud (while still muffled) scream from Jinhwan. Weren’t catboys supposed to go into heat once a month? He mentally counts back the weeks, and a month ago, Jinhwan was…

Oh.

Junhoe knew that job-hunting excuse sounded fishy. He’s going to have to talk to Jinhwan about that later.

With the sheets tucked under one arm and the glass of water in hand, Junhoe returns to the bedroom.

“Hyung, I’m coming in.”

Junhoe opens the door with his free hand and enters, setting the sheets down on the bed and crouching down next to Jinhwan - the catboy looks marginally more relaxed, which Junhoe chalks up to the rather fresh-looking trail of cum smeared on the sheet next to him.

“Jinhwan-hyung, drink this,” Junhoe offers, holding out the cup. Jinhwan bends over, lips closing around the straw, and drinks thirstily, sucking down half the glass in just a few seconds.

“Not so fast, hyung, you’ll give yourself a stomachache.” Junhoe sets the glass on his nightstand, reaching up to brush Jinhwan’s damp hair out of his eyes. Jinhwan purrs very loudly at this, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch. Junhoe leaves his hand there for a bit, absently running his fingers through the strands. When one of his fingers rubs against one of Jinhwan’s ears, the elder’s eyes snap open, his expression almost predatory.

“Junhoe,” Jinhwan says, voice shaking, “I need you to leave, don’t come any closer, or I’m gonna—”

Junhoe shakes his head, his hand slipping out from Jinhwan’s hair (the older lets out a low whine at this), standing up.

“Hyung, I am going to change the sheets, and you need to shower.”

Junhoe and Jinhwan stare each other down, neither willing to back down. Eventually, Junhoe sighs, bending down and scooping up the entire lump of Jinhwan and sheets. Jinhwan yelps, but immediately presses himself as closely as he can to Junhoe, nose tucked firmly into the dip of Junhoe’s clavicle, and - did Jinhwan just lick him?

“Hyung!” Junhoe admonishes, but Jinhwan just groans, tail coming out to wrap around Junhoe’s waist as he shifts in Junhoe’s arms. Junhoe makes the executive decision to put Jinhwan on the sofa while he changes the sheets, because he is clearly not going to get anything done with the catboy still in the room.

It takes a bit of tugging since Jinhwan’s tail is wrapped tight around him, but once Jinhwan is safely situated on the sofa, Junhoe returns to his room, stripping the fitted sheet off as quickly as he can, trying not to think about why it feels so wet in some places and replacing it with the clean one, leaving the flat sheet folded on his nightstand. When he returns to the living room to put the soiled sheet in the washing machine, Jinhwan is still tangled up in the sheets, although he looks significantly more frazzled than he had before.

“Do you want to shower, hyung?” Junhoe asks. Jinhwan makes a noise that Junhoe can’t tell if it’s affirmative or negative, so he makes another executive decision to untangle Jinhwan from the sheets (ignoring the fact that Jinhwan’s tail is now very firmly tugging on his wrist), trying his best not to look at the catboy’s naked body.

“Shower, hyung, please. Cold water might do you some good.”

Jinhwan apparently sees some merit in this, because after a series of quick footsteps and a slammed door, the water turns on and Jinhwan is nowhere to be seen.

Junhoe tosses the other sheets in the washer as well, wondering how he still has the sense of mind to pour in the proper amount of soap and start it up. He collapses on the sofa, but the scent of musk-woods-Jinhwan is thicker in the air, now.

Junhoe would be completely and utterly lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to have sex with Jinhwan. There’s something, though, that feels wrong to him about having their first time be while Jinhwan is completely and utterly out of his mind. The last thing he wants is for either or both of them to regret this later.

The shower turns off a few minutes later and Jinhwan emerges, one towel wrapped around his body and another over his head. He does look better, Junhoe thinks, but once Jinhwan’s eyes meet Junhoe’s, he can see a bulge appear under the towel, and Jinhwan’s face goes very pale and then very red.

“Come here,” Junhoe says, and Jinhwan all but sprints over, parking himself in Junhoe’s lap as Junhoe mumbles “I didn’t mean that, you could have just sat on the couch,” his hands coming up to take the towel off Jinhwan’s head and work on drying the catboy’s hair.

This becomes an ordeal, as Jinhwan has apparently lost the ability to sit still, his hips rocking up against Junhoe’s and his tail curling around one of Junhoe’s biceps.

“Jinhwan-hyung, you’re going to catch a cold if I don’t dry your hair,” Junhoe says, fighting to keep his voice even. As calm as he’s trying to seem, he is not immune to the friction of Jinhwan’s pelvis rubbing him through his jeans.

“It—it doesn’t take that long to dry,” Jinhwan mutters, throwing his arms around Junhoe and pressing his torso up against the younger’s. The top of Jinhwan’s head is right under Junhoe’s nose, Jinhwan’s ears tickling his cheeks.

“Jinhwan,” Junhoe says, “seriously, you need to stop this.”

At this, Jinhwan recoils, pushing himself away, although his tail still remains attached to Junhoe’s arm. “Do you—do you not want me?”

Jinhwan’s voice is so weak, so pitiful, that Junhoe has to fight a very strong and sudden choked feeling in his throat.

“No—hyung—how could you ever think that?”

“Then why do you keep pushing me away?” Jinhwan asks, voice quiet and ears drooping. Junhoe feels like someone just punched him in the gut.

Junhoe swallows. “Jinhwan-hyung, I, just, I… I don’t want to do something you might regret. You’re not thinking clearly right now, I don’t want it to be like this—”

One of Jinhwan’s hands come up to touch Junhoe delicately on the cheek - his fingers feel like fire against Junhoe’s skin. His tail slips down around Junhoe’s wrist, pulling his hand up so it’s pressing against Jinhwan’s heart, beating fast and strong.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time,” Jinhwan says, “even before today. Think of this as just… speeding things along.”

“Hyung?”

“I love you, you emotionally stilted idiot, remember?” Jinhwan scoots closer, looking up at Junhoe, eyes sincere. “I love you, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I really, really want you to stick your cock in me right now.”

Junhoe chokes.

Jinhwan sighs, bringing both his hands up behind Junhoe’s head and pulling him down, kissing him feverishly. Junhoe’s mind goes blank as Jinhwan’s hands shift from his head to his chest, grabbing at the fabric of his work shirt and undoing the buttons, touch light and deliberate. Junhoe’s shirt slides off his shoulders, leaving him in just the tank top he wears under his clothes. Jinhwan starts reaching for that, too, but Junhoe grabs his hands and breaks the kiss.

“Isn’t this—kind of—fast?” Junhoe stammers. Jinhwan just looks at him, and Junhoe can hear the “I can’t believe you just said that” in the air.

“Clothes. Off. Now.”

Jinhwan scoots himself back so he can reach for Junhoe’s pants, yanking off his belt and unfastening his pants with far more precision than Junhoe would have expected, given the elder’s state of mind just minutes ago.

“Hey, hey,” Junhoe says, and the look Jinhwan gives him this time is nothing short of murderous. “I’m just saying, the bed is a lot bigger than the sofa!”

Jinhwan yanks the towel off of himself at this, legs hooking around Junhoe’s waist - a silent demand for Junhoe to carry him to the bedroom. Junhoe sighs - half-exasperated and half-fond - as he stands up, Jinhwan’s tail hooking into a couple of his belt loops and yanking his pants down.

“God,” Junhoe laughs, trying his best not to get his long legs tangled in his pants, because wow, wouldn’t that be great. Luckily, he manages to extricate himself without any damage, and he tries to ignore how Jinhwan’s dick is pressing into his stomach.

(He fails, but what else is new?)

Once Junhoe gets close to the bed, Jinhwan jerks his weight backwards, effectively pulling Junhoe down on top of him. Junhoe panics for a second, because oh god, did he just crush Jinhwan, but the catboy remains determined, his hands sliding down Junhoe’s waist to the elastic of his boxer briefs and tugging.

“Hey,” Junhoe says, trying very hard to sound authoritative, “don’t just do that!”

Jinhwan appears to have not heard, because his hands fly up to Junhoe’s tank top next, pulling it so high up that Junhoe’s forced to just remove it himself, or else he won’t be able to see.

“Hey,” Junhoe repeats, one hand reaching out towards Jinhwan’s neck, fingers hooking under the collar. “I said stop.”

Jinhwan immediately goes rigid, chest heaving as his eyes roam Junhoe’s body. Immediately, the younger feels self-conscious - while he’s always thought he had a pretty decent figure under clothes, he’s not entirely fond of his naked self, his stomach that refuses to form visible abs no matter how many crunches he does, his limbs a little too thin and gangly without the extra layer of fabric over them.

Jinhwan, though, appears to not care in the least, the dark hunger in his eyes returning. “I want to touch you,” he says, and that’s the first time Jinhwan’s actually even remotely asked for anything rather than just doing it during this… incident.

“You—you can,” Junhoe stutters, not used to this sudden deference from Jinhwan. He’d never consider the older submissive , but that’s really the only thing that comes to mind as Jinhwan’s tail slides over his back, Jinhwan’s hands on his waist, thumbs rubbing small circles into the skin as he rubs their cocks together.

It really has been too long since someone else has touched him, Junhoe realizes, as the pleasure that suddenly shoots through him sends his mind momentarily blank. He steadies himself on his forearms on either side of Jinhwan’s torso as he leans down to kiss the elder again, rolling himself down every time he deepens the kiss. Jinhwan’s body grows pliant under his, only his hips moving in time with Junhoe’s as his hands grasp around their dicks, his tail curling around and brushing Junhoe’s chest, the tip of it flicking against his nipples. Junhoe can very safely say he’s never felt anything like it before.

Junhoe moves his lips to the side, trailing down Jinhwan’s cheek, jawline, neck, until he reaches a spot that feels particularly soft, taking the skin between his teeth. Jinhwan lets out a high, breathy keen as Junhoe bites, sucks it, leaving a patch of rapidly darkening skin behind. Junhoe pushes himself backwards, breaking contact with Jinhwan’s lower body as he moves his lips to Jinhwan’s shoulder, biting down more firmly. At this, Jinhwan utters one of the most sinful noises Junhoe’s ever heard, his hips twitching up, begging for friction. He grabs one of Junhoe’s hands and guides it between his legs, urging Junhoe’s fingers to push inside him.

In theory, Junhoe knows all about this - that catboys self-lubricate, and all that jazz - but nothing could have prepared him for the sensation of feeling it for himself. Jinhwan is ridiculously slick, two of Junhoe’s fingers slipping so easily inside. Jinhwan’s breathing picks up in speed as Junhoe starts to move his fingers inside him. Junhoe’s other hand curls at the nape of Jinhwan’s neck, grasping the back of Jinhwan’s collar as he crooks his fingers inside Jinhwan, fingertips pressed up against the round nub of nerves inside him. Jinhwan cums suddenly, almost growling as Junhoe continues to pull down on the leather band around his neck and rub against Jinhwan’s prostate.

“Look at you,” Junhoe murmurs, “I barely even touched you, and you’re already like this?”

Jinhwan’s head lolls to the side, chest heaving as he pants, tongue hanging a bit out of his mouth. His eyes are clenched shut, one hand clawing at the sheets underneath him while the other jerks himself through his orgasm.

“You like it when I touch you like this?” Junhoe asks, fingers rubbing against Jinhwan’s neck underneath the collar. “You like being my little kitty?”

Jinhwan’s eyes open, his gaze burning through Junhoe’s, fire-bright. Junhoe tilts his head a little to the side, brushing his fingers experimentally over the top of Jinhwan’s collar before trailing them lightly over the catboy’s skin, and at the way Jinhwan’s tail suddenly wraps so tight around Junhoe’s bicep as his body arches off the bed, Junhoe just knows.

“Huh,” Junhoe says, watching in fascination as Jinhwan’s eyes screw shut and he lets out this desperate, broken-sounding keen when Junhoe tugs lightly at the black collar fastened around his neck.

So apparently, Jinhwan has a collar kink. Junhoe files this piece of information away for future reference.

“Get… in… me…” Jinhwan pants, ass grinding against the mattress in a futile attempt to find the fulfillment he seeks. And who is Junhoe to deny him?

Junhoe moves off of Jinhwan to reach into a drawer of his nightstand for condoms while Jinhwan ruts shamelessly against his leg.

“Calm down, kitty,” Junhoe says, almost absently, but Jinhwan immediately stills nonetheless. Junhoe opens the square packet and rolls the condom on - no sooner has he done this than Jinhwan’s hands grasp around his hips, trying to pull Junhoe back on top of him.

“Are you sure you’re—” Junhoe starts, but Jinhwan is very, very forceful when he wants to be, angling his hips up and tucking his ankles around the small of Junhoe’s back, using his legs to push Junhoe inside of him.

Jinhwan is hot, so hot around him, and Junhoe groans, adjusting himself so he’s better balanced. The catboy whines for Junhoe to move, to do something, anything. Junhoe keeps himself still, tugging on Jinhwan’s collar to remind him who’s in charge.

“JuneJune please!” Jinhwan gasps, clenching around Junhoe and sending a white-hot burst of sensation through the younger. Junhoe pulls back and slams into the catboy as hard as he can, thanking himself-from-three-months-ago for deciding to start attempting to work out again, because if Jinhwan plans on being this needy for a while, Junhoe’s got a lot more of this ahead of him.

Jinhwan’s hands tangle in Junhoe’s hair, bringing him into a fevered kiss as Junhoe thrusts inside of the catboy. Junhoe grabs Jinhwan’s hips, the skin soft under his fingers, and he knows that by the time the night’s over, Jinhwan’s skin will be marked everywhere with bruises in the shape of his hands.

(He kind of likes that - knowing that even though the collar is a visible symbol of his bond with Jinhwan, there will be things that other people can’t see, places for his eyes, his touch only.)

Jinhwan’s breathing hitches as his cock rubs between his and Junhoe’s abdomens, Junhoe relentlessly hitting his prostate, and he bites down on the area between Junhoe’s neck and shoulder, sending another wave of pleasure through him. His teeth are sharper than a normal human’s, and Junhoe knows there’s going to be a lasting mark.

“June, June, June,” the catboy mumbles, almost like a mantra as the motion of his hips starts to falter. Junhoe responds by pinning Jinhwan’s hips down, keeping him immobile as he pushes hard and deep inside him. Jinhwan writhes against the mattress, his mewls like music to Junhoe’s ears as Junhoe takes a hold of Jinhwan’s tail and cock in the same hand, rubbing them against each other.

The stimulation of it all proves to be too much for Jinhwan - his body tenses up and he cums again, spurting through Junhoe’s fingers and onto the fur of his tail while his fingernails dig into Junhoe’s back. Junhoe works him through it, his thrusts getting shallower as he reaches his peak, too, the pleasure rolling over him in waves. It’s been too long.

“Look at you,” Junhoe says, as he pulls out (Jinhwan whimpers at this), tying off the condom and wiping his hand off against the sheet, “you’re so gorgeous.”

“June-yah,” Jinhwan pants, hands gripping at Junhoe’s arms, “it’s not fair.”

“Huh?”

“You only came once,” Jinhwan says, “that’s not fair.”

Junhoe hadn’t been keeping score, but he helps Jinhwan push himself up into a sitting position, head leaning back against the wall, eyes closed. Jinhwan looks like a sinned angel like this - thoroughly debauched, yet still the most perfect thing Junhoe’s ever seen.

“Switch with me,” Jinhwan says, after several deep breaths.

Junhoe’s not entirely sure what Jinhwan’s up to, but he lets himself be pulled down so their positions are reversed - Junhoe’s now sitting against the wall, while Jinhwan positions himself between Junhoe’s legs, and - oh.

He’s barely had time to register what’s going on before Jinhwan starts licking along Junhoe’s inner thighs. The catboy’s tongue, like his teeth, bears a resemblance to his animal side, rough against his skin, and the sensation sends shivers up Junhoe’s spine as Jinhwan licks a place particularly close to his balls, but not quite. Jinhwan gives the sensitive skin a light nip, and Junhoe’s head hits the wall behind him.

“Jinhwan,” Junhoe breathes, and Jinhwan just smiles up at him, the most adorable, sunny smile, with those lips that seconds later are stretched around his dick and he can’t think too straight anymore.

Junhoe likes looking at Jinhwan in every way, because he thinks the older is just so perfect, but he thinks that this view, with Jinhwan’s ass raised up in the air, tail twitching, and dark eyes looking up at him, this view that only he gets to see, is his favorite.

Although Junhoe wouldn’t consider himself particularly large, Jinhwan’s just so small that he can’t fit the entirety of Junhoe’s cock in his mouth. He makes do by taking as much as he can in, tongue flat on the underside and sucking more on the tip, but once Jinhwan’s tail reaches over and wraps around the base, stroking the rest that he can’t get to, Junhoe thinks he might have a heart attack.

His hands slide easily onto the back of Jinhwan’s head, thumbing the older’s ears with one hand and alternately rubbing Jinhwan’s nape and tugging on his collar with the other. Jinhwan whines around Junhoe’s cock, and Junhoe can see Jinhwan’s hips start to dip down and rub against the mattress, probably hard again.

Junhoe tries his best not to pull on Jinhwan too hard, not to force the catboy into anything, but the mental image of Jinhwan gagging on his dick combined with an ever-so-slight graze of teeth against his tip makes him see white, and he shoots into Jinhwan’s mouth without warning.

And before Junhoe can even apologize or protest otherwise, Jinhwan swallows down, tongue lapping around Junhoe’s softening manhood to get it all. Jinhwan peers up at Junhoe, tongue sticking out a bit where Junhoe can see white streaks of cum on it, and grins, making a show out of him scraping his tongue back with his teeth and swallowing.

“Do you want to kill me?” Is all Junhoe can think to say, panting.

“Never.”

By the time Junhoe comes down from his high, they’re both sweaty and sticky, and the sheets have multiple random wet patches on them. Junhoe takes a few deep breaths to calm his racing heartbeat, then reaches down to curl two fingers under Jinhwan’s collar and haul the catboy up towards him as he slides down to lie on one of his pillows.

“C’mere,” Junhoe mumbles, and he must sound more affectionate than he thinks, because Jinhwan falls onto his lap with a sleepy yet satisfied smile. Junhoe brushes both thumbs along Jinhwan’s cheekbones, and the catboy looks absolutely adorable as his head tilts to the side a little in question when Junhoe’s hands move to rest lightly at his hips instead.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Junhoe asks, Jinhwan’s well-being at the front of his mind now that the heat seems to have cleared from his eyes.

“Better,” Jinhwan replies, blushing a little at the nickname. He reaches up a hand to brush Junhoe’s bangs back from his forehead before resting his palm against Junhoe’s cheek. There's so much fondness and affection in Jinhwan’s eyes - Junhoe thinks he could drown in it. “Thank you.”

Junhoe smiles back softly, but it quickly morphs into a frown when he wipes at Jinhwan’s chin and his thumb comes away sticky. “Gross,” he sighs. Jinhwan pokes his tongue up at Junhoe’s fingers, grinning dazedly when the younger shoots him a questioning look.

“Jus’ want all of you,” Jinhwan slurs, snuggling closer to Junhoe and closing his eyes. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Junhoe murmurs, the words somehow coming more easily to him in his relaxed state of mind, stroking Jinhwan’s hair as the older drifts off, his muscles relaxing as he finally falls to the fatigue.

Junhoe lies there for a few minutes, just watching Jinhwan sleep - he feels a little creepy, but also a completely overwhelming sense of happiness and belonging.

Eventually, though, Junhoe feels an intense need to get clean, so he gently lowers Jinhwan’s head from off of him onto a pillow, watching to make sure Jinhwan doesn’t wake up. He presses a soft kiss to Jinhwan’s forehead, then ducks out of the room as quietly as he can to take a shower.

The hot water against his skin is relaxing as he massages out the slight cramps he’s gotten and rubs the sweat and other fluids off his body. At the very least, he figures, he doesn’t have to go to work tomorrow since it’ll be Saturday, so he and Jinhwan can just sleep in.

Once he’s finished washing up, he takes a good look at himself in his bathroom mirror, trying to catalogue the marks Jinhwan’s left on him. There’s a very prominent crescent bite on Junhoe’s shoulder - thankfully very easily covered, but even as he tries shrugging, he knows it’ll sting for a while. His waist and hips are littered in red marks from when Jinhwan got too eager, and there’s a serpentine line around one of his arms from Jinhwan’s tail.

Junhoe exhales, the gravity of what’s done sinking in as he looks at the aftermath. There’s no mistaking it - he and Jinhwan had sex. And it’s not that Junhoe’s regretting it (he doesn’t think he’ll ever regret much when it comes to Jinhwan), but just the fact that they did makes Junhoe feel a little strange.

He dries his hair and returns to his room, pulling on a clean pair of boxers and a t-shirt to wear to sleep before picking up one of his blankets from off the floor, where he presumes Jinhwan flung them while he was out.

Junhoe loves Jinhwan - this he knows for sure, as he drapes the blanket over the sleeping catboy and slides in next to him without a second thought. And while Junhoe figures they’ll probably have to talk about this tomorrow, for now, he’s perfectly content to sleep with Jinhwan in his arms.

When Junhoe awakens the following morning, it’s to an empty bed.

His initial instinct is panic - Jinhwan didn’t run away in the night, did he?

Junhoe rubs his eyes, forcing himself out of bed. As expected, he’s somewhat sore, but he does feel rather well rested for a person who always has trouble waking up.

“Jinhwan-hyung?” Junhoe calls, making a face when he finds that his morning voice sounds oddly scratchy.

“In the kitchen!” Jinhwan replies, and Junhoe exhales a long sigh of relief. He gets up, footsteps heavy as he walks to the kitchen, where Jinhwan’s already set out food.

“What are you doing up?” Junhoe asks, as he sits down, blinking as he takes Jinhwan in - he’s wearing one of Junhoe’s sweaters again, and what appears to be no pants. It’s way too early to be processing this. “Aren’t you sore or anything?”

Jinhwan ignores Junhoe’s second question entirely, simply setting down a plate of fried rolled egg on the table. “I was hungry, so.”

Junhoe is very grateful for the food, but he frowns. “Hyung.”

“Hm?”

Junhoe leans forward over the table, raising his eyebrows. “We had quite a night, didn’t we, kitty?”

Junhoe drawls out the pet name, and Jinhwan stiffens, cheeks turning red.

Gotcha.

“I don’t want you straining yourself,” Junhoe sighs, reaching across the table to touch Jinhwan’s face, fingertips trailing down the side of his neck where Junhoe very vividly remembers sucking a hickey, pressing down a bit. Jinhwan winces involuntarily, but brushes it off quickly.

“I’m not that fragile, June-yah,” Jinhwan says. “Believe it or not, I’m not a virgin or anything like that. I know how to take care of myself.”

“I know.” Junhoe tries very hard not to pout or whine childishly at this. “Is it so bad that I like the idea of me protecting you, though? For you to be mine?”

Jinhwan chuckles, fingers reaching up to touch the black collar around his neck. “I’m already yours, remember?”

Junhoe swallows, because yes, he definitely remembers, especially with the things he knows he can do with that collar now.

“Don’t worry about me so much, Junhoe.” Jinhwan reaches out to pat Junhoe on the head, his fingers carding through his mussed hair. “Go brush your teeth while I get the rice.”

“Yes, hyung,” Junhoe mock-salutes before going to the bathroom. He really does look like a mess, he muses as he absently tries to flatten his hair out with one hand and brush his teeth with the other. It doesn’t work out too well, but he has zero intention of going out today, so… whatever.

Jinhwan’s just finished setting out the chopsticks and spoons when Junhoe re-emerges. Junhoe sits back down opposite Jinhwan, who somehow looks as fresh and perfect as always, despite having gotten the worse end of the stick the night prior.

“Thanks for the food, hyung,” Junhoe says, waiting for Jinhwan to start eating before he does. To his surprise, though, Jinhwan picks up his spoon, scoops up some rice and kimchi, then holds it out toward Junhoe.

“Say ah,” Jinhwan sing-songs, and Junhoe opens his mouth, leaning forward so he can eat it. He can feel his face starting to burn up, and it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the spice of the kimchi - he’s pretty sure the last time he was fed by someone else was his mother, around the age of one or two.

“So cute,” Jinhwan says, and Junhoe almost chokes.

“I am not!” Junhoe protests, but lets Jinhwan feed him anyway. He tries to do the same, but the older just laughs at him.

Junhoe ends up on the couch after breakfast, watching a variety show when Jinhwan emerges from the bathroom, freshly-showered. Junhoe opens up his arms and the catboy goes naturally, lying in between Junhoe’s legs with his back against the younger’s chest. Junhoe drapes an arm around Jinhwan, the older patting his thigh absentmindedly as they watch what’s going on onscreen.

When the program ends, Junhoe watches Jinhwan wipe the back of his hand across his forehead and realizes that the catboy has started sweating a bit. Junhoe looks at him with concern. “Hyung, are you okay?”

Jinhwan sits up, and Junhoe drops his arm from around him in slight confusion. When the catboy moves away from Junhoe, turning around so he’s facing him properly, Junhoe watches a little worriedly as Jinhwan reaches to hold his tail between his hands.

“June-yah, how much do you know about heats?” Jinhwan asks, looking Junhoe in the eye.

The redness that spreads across Junhoe’s cheeks is almost immediate. “I—well—probably as much as what most people know? And whatever Donghyuk tells me. I try not to stick around for that, though, since it’s about Bobby-hyung and all.”

Jinhwan looks down at his tail. “Do you know how long heats last for?”

Junhoe blinks, remembering the time he had stumbled over to Donghyuk’s apartment to borrow something, and Donghyuk had opened the door looking like a trainwreck and had told him not to come over for the next few days, at least. “Uh—a few days? And it’s monthly, right?”

Jinhwan nods. “Yeah. Heats tend to last a few days if we’re on suppressants…” Jinhwan trails off at the blank look Junhoe gives him. “... And I’m guessing you don’t know what those are?”

Junhoe shakes his head slowly, and Jinhwan shudders at the surge of heat that shoots through him suddenly. “Catboys usually take suppressants up till the point where we’re mated. It’s to reduce the duration of our heats and to take the brunt off of them as much as possible. Heats are monthly and last a few days, yeah, but once a catboy is off suppressants, the timing of the next heat can be unpredictable, and heats can last for up till a week, even.”

“Oh,” Junhoe says, then pauses. “Wait, is this why you ran away last month?”

Jinhwan’s face turns a bit red. “Yeah,” the catboy mumbles. “I couldn’t go into heat with you around. I didn’t—I didn’t want to scare you,” Jinhwan’s voice is quiet, now. “Or force you into something you’d regret.”

Junhoe opens his mouth to reply, but Jinhwan screws his eyes shut suddenly, curling in on himself and wrapping his tail around his legs. He’s definitely sweating, now, and he’s also shaking a little. Junhoe stares at him for a moment, and is surprised at how easily he makes up his mind.

He shifts closer to Jinhwan then slides off the couch, tugging gently at the catboy’s tail before reaching up to pull Jinhwan’s shorts off to free his quickly-hardening cock.

“June-yah, what’re you—”

Junhoe takes a deep breath and licks at the catboy’s tip. Jinhwan keens and arches his back immediately.

“Hyung,” Junhoe says, “spread your legs out for me.”

Jinhwan complies, and Junhoe tucks one of the catboy’s legs over his shoulder, giving him better access to Jinhwan’s dripping hole. He slides two fingers in and sucks Jinhwan back into his mouth, thanking the powers above that his mouth is pretty damn big, so it’s not too difficult for him.

The catboy gasps, and he tangles his fingers into Junhoe’s hair as he bucks into the younger’s mouth. Junhoe takes it as best he can, focusing instead on crooking his fingers inside Jinhwan until the older’s breath hitches, then adds a third finger, continuing to move them inside the catboy until his hands tug hard on the back of Junhoe’s head.

“J-June-yah, I’m close,” he pants out, and Junhoe breathes in through his nose, tonguing at the underside of Jinhwan’s dick as he picks up the pace with his fingers.

Jinhwan releases into the younger’s mouth with a high-pitched keen - while Junhoe has never been the biggest fan of swallowing, he finds that somehow, he doesn’t mind doing it for Jinhwan.

He grabs some tissues from the box on his coffee table to wipe Jinhwan off, then darts to the bathroom to rinse his mouth out.

“Better?” He asks, coming out of the bathroom as Jinhwan’s pulling his shorts back on.

Jinhwan just nods, reaching out for Junhoe, who sits back down on the couch and easily fits the catboy back into his arms. Jinhwan sighs in content as he turns his face into Junhoe’s chest, burrowing into the younger’s warmth and wrapping an arm around his waist. Junhoe smiles down at the catboy, curling one arm loosely around Jinhwan’s back as he ducks his head to press a kiss to the crown of Jinhwan’s head. Jinhwan makes a purring sound in return, and Junhoe’s smile softens.

Junhoe doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of lazy Saturdays like this.

*

Jinhwan is home alone one late Thursday morning, sitting cross-legged on the living room floor as he folds some of his and Junhoe’s clothes when he hears the passcode being keyed into the lock.

Bobby pokes his head in. “Jinani-hyung?”

The younger catboy grins when he sees Jinhwan on the floor, letting himself in and shutting the door behind him. “What’re you up to?” Bobby asks, joining Jinhwan on the floor.

“Not much,” Jinhwan shrugs. “Just tidying up the house, I guess?”

Bobby’s grin widens. “Well if you’re free, how about coming along with me to Donggu’s cafe?”

And that’s how Jinhwan finds himself leaving the apartment complex with Bobby no more than fifteen minutes later, taking the short walk to Donghyuk’s cafe. Jinhwan knows a bit about the establishment from his occasional chats with Bobby, but he’s never actually stepped foot inside the place before.

“I’m not supposed to clock in for work today, actually,” Bobby explains as they cross the road. “Dong’s got a couple of new baristas to train so there are technically enough staff, but knowing him, he’ll probably end up doing everything himself while the newbies just stand there and watch.”

Bobby rolls his eyes as he says this, turning the corner and walking down the street to the cafe. He stops in front of a gleaming glass door, smiling at Jinhwan over his shoulder before pushing it open and stepping inside, Jinhwan following suit.

A bell above the door chimes once as they enter, and Jinhwan takes in the warm, cozy-looking cafe with its light wooden floor and white and black chairs, the soft music playing over the speakers, the display case of sandwiches and cakes as well as the warm scent of coffee brewing in the air.

Jinhwan smiles. This place definitely suits Donghyuk.

“Donggu-yah!” Bobby calls, breaking out into a grin when Donghyuk gets up from where he had been restocking the display case. The two new baristas hovering next to Donghyuk give Jinhwan and Bobby curious looks, probably wondering why there are suddenly two catboys standing in the middle of the cafe, particularly the excited-looking, brown-furred one who doesn’t seem to know what an inside voice is.

Donghyuk sighs, but his eyes are fond as he steps around the counter and walks over to them, wiping his hands down on his apron before pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“I told you you could stay at home today,” is the first thing Donghyuk says when he approaches them, keeping his voice low.

Bobby shrugs. “Wanted to check up on you,” the catboy replies simply, tugging lightly on Donghyuk’s wrist before leaning down to peck him on the cheek. Bobby tries going for Donghyuk’s lips, but the younger simply arches a brow, covers his catboy’s mouth with his palm, then pushes his face away.

“We’re in public,” Donghyuk says smoothly, flicking Bobby lightly on the nose. Bobby whines, but then his gaze flickers over Donghyuk’s shoulder to where the two new baristas stand, looking from Bobby to Donghyuk before whispering to each other. Bobby frowns when he catches the young female barista staring rather pointedly at Donghyuk, and his frown deepens when he returns his gaze to Donghyuk and gives the younger a once-over.

“Do you really have to undo so many buttons?” Bobby grumbles, reaching out to button up Donghyuk’s white-collared shirt. Donghyuk lets his catboy be, but rolls his eyes and catches Bobby’s wrists when the older tries going for the topmost button. Jinhwan hides a smile behind his hand.

“I won’t be able to breathe, Bobby-hyung,” Donghyuk says calmly, but he still slides a hand into Bobby’s hair and scratches him lightly at the base of his right ear. A low purr rumbles from Bobby’s throat, and Jinhwan sees that the female barista has averted her gaze, face tinged red.

“What would you like to drink, Jinhwan-hyung? And are you hungry?” Donghyuk asks, offering Jinhwan a warm smile when he removes his hand from Bobby’s hair. Bobby heads behind the counter first, slipping on an apron, and the two new baristas make sure to stay out of his way.

“An americano?” Jinhwan says it like a question, following Donghyuk to the counter. “And I won’t mind trying something you recommend.”

Jinhwan reaches for his wallet in his back pocket, which causes Donghyuk to roll his eyes. “It’s on the house, hyung,” the younger says, instructing one of the newbies to warm up a sandwich for Jinhwan while he pushes up his sleeves and makes Jinhwan his drink.

“Thank you,” Jinhwan says when Donghyuk hands him his cup. Donghyuk grins, tells him he can stay as long as he’d like and sit anywhere he wants, then goes back to training the two new baristas.

A few minutes later, Jinhwan looks up when Bobby slides into the seat opposite his, placing his sandwich onto the table. Jinhwan locks his phone, puts it down, and has to fight to swallow down his laugh when he takes note of Bobby’s disgruntled expression.

“Not needed today?” Jinhwan teases, picking up the sandwich.

“Dong always lets himself get bullied by the newbies,” Bobby gripes. “He tells them to do something, they manage to fuck it up, then he ends up doing everything by himself, anyway.”

“He’s too nice,” Jinhwan notes, then he playfully tosses his balled-up napkin at Bobby. “And maybe you should stop trying to intimidate them.”

“I do not!”

“You stare them down when they get within two feet of Donghyuk.”

“That girl keeps staring at his chest.”

“Well it’s not like there’s anything she can see, considering how you buttoned Donghyuk up to his neck.”

Bobby groans, burying his face in his hands. Jinhwan laughs, taking a bite out of his sandwich, but then he squints when the sunlight that’s shining through the cafe door catches onto something silver on Bobby’s finger, causing it to glisten.

It’s a ring.

Jinhwan’s ears perk in curiosity. Now that he thinks about it, not only does he realize that Bobby always has this ring on, but with the light bouncing off of it, Jinhwan can see that there’s something engraved onto the silver surface of the ring.

“Is he whining again?”

Jinhwan barely manages to open his mouth and ask Bobby about the ring when Donghyuk approaches the table, resting both hands on Bobby’s shoulders and peering down playfully at his catboy. Bobby is quick to retort, but Jinhwan’s attention is immediately drawn to the matching silver ring resting on Donghyuk’s ring finger.

“Are those couple rings?”

Donghyuk blinks, and Bobby lifts the younger’s hand. “This?” He asks Jinhwan, who nods.

“Oh. Yeah,” Bobby answers, then a grin stretches across his face as he shows Jinhwan his own ring. “I prefer to call them promise rings, though. Donggu bought them a while after we got my collar. Mine says Donghyuk,” Bobby pauses for a moment, and Jinhwan stares at Donghyuk’s name engraved onto the surface of Bobby’s ring. “And Donggu’s has my name on it.”

Donghyuk ruffles his catboy’s hair affectionately, smiling at Bobby’s proud grin. Jinhwan blinks as the sunlight catches on their matching silver rings again, causing them to glint.

And Jinhwan isn’t envious or anything - the rings just make him think.

*

That night, Jinhwan is standing in front of the stove, gaze fixed on a webpage he had pulled up on his phone when two arms suddenly wrap around his waist from behind.

Jinhwan squeaks, phone clattering to the floor as he startles.

“Whoa,” Junhoe says, turning Jinhwan around to face him before cupping the catboy’s right cheek. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan manages, trying to get his heartbeat to return back to normal. Junhoe leans down to peck him on the lips before letting him bend to pick up his phone.

“Did you just get back?” Jinhwan asks, placing his phone on the kitchen island before turning on the stove.

“Yep,” Junhoe replies, popping the ‘p’. “You were so caught up in what you were doing that you didn’t even hear me come in.”

Jinhwan thinks about the webpage he’s got pulled up on his phone for the nearby leather goods store and hopes Junhoe doesn’t notice how his ears have gone a little red.

Junhoe does most of the talking over dinner that night, Jinhwan half-paying attention and half-thinking about the matching rings on Bobby’s and Donghyuk’s fingers. When they’re curled up in bed later on, Jinhwan’s got his head on Junhoe’s chest and the younger’s fingers are rubbing at his ears when all of a sudden, Junhoe starts laughing into Jinhwan’s hair.

“What?” Jinhwan asks, lifting his head slightly to look up at Junhoe.

“Not that I mind, but you’ve been playing with my ring finger and staring really hard at it for a while now, hyung,” Junhoe notes, but he’s smiling.

Jinhwan drops Junhoe’s hand like he’s been burned, and Junhoe is quick to burst into another round of laughter, wrapping his right arm around Jinhwan’s waist and pulling the catboy close. “I told you I didn’t mind, hyung. You know that,” Junhoe chuckles.

Jinhwan means to reply, but he ends up letting out a soft, embarrassed groan instead, burying his face into Junhoe’s chest and screwing his eyes shut. Junhoe stops chuckling after a while, returning to threading his fingers through Jinhwan’s hair and occasionally pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

Jinhwan falls asleep to the feeling of Junhoe’s thumb rubbing gently at the base of his cat ears, his lips soft and sweet against his temple, and his heart beating sure and strong underneath his ear.

A soft smile tugs at the edges of Jinhwan’s lips - he’s made up his mind.

*

Jinhwan’s not sure what to make of the fact that the guy working in the leather goods shop seems to somehow already know him - takes one look at him, the collar around his neck, and smiles in a way that comes off as oddly mysterious.

“Can I help you?” He asks, peering at Jinhwan from over the counter.

“I’m interested in buying a bracelet,” Jinhwan states, hoping that his voice isn’t shaking. He’s definitely sure of himself, but he’s nervous nonetheless. “Leather cuff style, maybe?”

“Matching?” The shopkeeper asks, his eyes shifting down obviously to look at Jinhwan’s neck.

The catboy blushes. “Ah, yes.”

“He was in here before, around a month ago. I remember him. Tall, dark hair, perfectly nice guy but quite awkward,” the shopkeeper muses, walking around the counter and showing Jinhwan to a glass display case. “He was looking for a leather collar for his catboy.”

Jinhwan’s face flames at the pointed look the shopkeeper sends him. It’s not rude or mocking, though. Just faintly amused.

“These are the black ones we have,” the shopkeeper says. “If you wanted one that also has a silver buckle, there are these.” He gestures over part of the display. “Mostly they differ in the width of the band.”

He takes out the tray of bracelets, setting it on top of the case. “I’d recommend a medium width, about two to three centimeters,” he says, pointing to the bracelets matching that description, “but of course, you know him better than I.”

Jinhwan thanks him, looking over the different options. He lays them over his own wrist, trying to picture them on Junhoe. He wants to make sure it’s perfect - even though he thinks Junhoe would say he’d like anything from the elder, he knows just how picky the younger can be, even down to the most minute detail.

Eventually, Jinhwan makes his selection, bringing it up to the counter. As he does, though, something catches his eye.

“You can put designs on it?” He asks, reading the notice.

The shopkeeper nods. “Would you like to get something stamped onto the cuff?”

Jinhwan brushes his thumb over the silver buckle of the cuff, thinking. A few moments later, Jinhwan’s staring down at the black leather when suddenly, he breaks out into a wide smile.

“Yes,” Jinhwan breathes, heart warming as he tightens his grip around the cuff. He smiles at the shopkeeper. “I would.”

“It’ll take an hour or so, depending on what you choose,” the shopkeeper says. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Letters - initials,” Jinhwan replies. “Do you have a book of fonts or anything like that?”

The shopkeeper pulls out a book from behind the counter, opening it to a page of lettering. “Here are examples of lettering that we have stamps made for already, but you would probably have to wait longer for a customized one.”

“These are fine.” Jinhwan looks through them, eventually picking a simple block letter style, and points to it. “I want it to say KJH,” he says, and the shopkeeper makes a note of it.

“Did you want to put anything on your collar, too, perhaps?”

The question catches Jinhwan off-guard, his hand coming up reflexively to run over the leather band around his neck.

He hasn’t parted with it for any length of time since Junhoe had given it to him, other than to shower - as weird as it may seem, it almost feels like part of him, now.

At the same time, though, he kind of likes the idea. Even though Junhoe had gotten it for him, the addition of something else would make it seem more personal, more private.

“The same thing,” Jinhwan says, blushing a little as he reaches up to undo the buckle. “We—we have the same initials.”

He finds that his hands are shaking a little as he takes off the collar, and his neck feeds oddly naked without it. It’s a strange feeling, to see it in someone else’s hands, even though Jinhwan supposes that the man had made it to start with.

“Don’t worry,” the shopkeeper says, “I’ll take good care of it. Come back in an hour.”

Jinhwan hovers awkwardly, not wanting to leave, but is finally sent away by a pointed look from the shopkeeper. He sets an alarm on his phone for one hour as he leaves (but, he figures as he walks down the street, zipping up his jacket to cover his neck that now feels so oddly exposed, he probably won’t need it to remember).

He does end up getting some shopping done, picking up a few groceries and other things they need at the apartment, but his mind is elsewhere the entire time.

He’s already on the way back to the leather goods store when his phone alarm goes off, and he picks up the pace, not wanting to spend any more time away than he has to.

The shopkeeper doesn’t look at all surprised to see Jinhwan when he comes through the door of the shop, simply gesturing to the two items he has out on the counter. As Jinhwan approaches, he can see there’s a closed navy blue box, and resting on top of it is his collar.

Jinhwan reaches for his collar first, picking it up and running his fingers over the material to make sure nothing happened to it. He breathes a sigh of relief when he finds no faults - the only change to it is the letters now embossed near the buckle. He fastens the collar back around his neck, and the slight weight of it somehow manages to relax him.

He reaches for the box next, opening up the lid and taking the bracelet out, inspecting that as well before fastening it experimentally around his wrist, to see what it might look like on Junhoe. The silver buckle glints where the light hits it, and Jinhwan can see the initials imprinted on the leather if he twists his wrist a certain way.

“It’s perfect,” Jinhwan says, undoing the buckle and placing the bracelet back in the box. “Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble,” the shopkeeper says, placing the box into a small bag as Jinhwan pays. “I hope he likes it.”

Jinhwan smiles softly, accepting the bag. “I hope so, too.”

*

That night, Jinhwan is staring at the black leather cuff in the navy blue box in his hands when he hears the front door open, then shut.

“I’m back!” Junhoe calls from outside.

Jinhwan jumps, shutting the box before looking around the bedroom and wondering where he could possibly hide it. He eventually decides to just shove it under the bed, then he slides off of it and pulls open the bedroom door.

“Hyung—”

Junhoe’s words get cut off when Jinhwan slams right into him, the bronze-furred catboy whimpering at the impact sustained by his nose.

“Shit,” Junhoe hisses, bringing a hand up to ghost his fingers lightly over Jinhwan’s nose. “Sorry, baby. You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jinhwan groans, wrinkling his nose a little. “Welcome home. Dinner?” He asks, looking up at Junhoe.

Junhoe makes a sound of assent, so Jinhwan deftly sidesteps the younger as he makes his way to the kitchen. He's just pulled out the ingredients from the fridge when he hears the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Jinhwan sighs a little, the thought of the black leather cuff stashed under the bed making his throat tighten.

Dinner starts off the same as it always does: Junhoe thanks Jinhwan for the food, Jinhwan smiles, then they talk about their day. A comfortable silence lapses over the table, and Jinhwan has just placed a piece of pajeon on Junhoe’s plate when Junhoe abruptly clears his throat, catching Jinhwan’s hand.

“Hyung,” Junhoe begins, and his voice is soft, gentle. “I need to tell you something.”

Jinhwan lowers his hand slowly, and Junhoe immediately covers it with his own atop their small dining table. Junhoe drags his thumb across Jinhwan’s knuckles, and while the gentle action normally makes Jinhwan’s heart flutter, today it makes Jinhwan’s gut churn a little in worry.

“June—”

“I got the promotion, hyung,” Junhoe blurts in one breath, tentatively looking up at Jinhwan.

Jinhwan blinks once, then a wide smile breaks out across his face. He slides his hand out from under Junhoe’s, reaching up to rest his palm fondly against the younger’s cheek.

“Congratulations, June-yah,” Jinhwan says, voice sincere and affectionate. “I’m so proud of you.”

A weak smile tugs at the edges of Junhoe’s lips, and Jinhwan’s grin begins to falter. Junhoe takes the catboy’s small hand in his own larger one, tangling their fingers together on the tabletop again.

“Hyung,” Junhoe tries, and he’s soft, careful. “This promotion—if I take it, I’m going to have to work longer hours. I’ll be in the office till seven, eight in the evening. There’ll be days where I can’t even make it home in time for dinner, and it means more trips, longer trips…”

Junhoe trails off, looking down at their joined hands. “I don’t know,” he sighs. “Maybe I just… shouldn’t take the promotion? I may end up hating—”

“Are you an idiot, Koo Junhoe?”

Junhoe balks - Jinhwan is thoroughly unimpressed. “I just—”

“You’re accepting that promotion,” Jinhwan says with finality. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten how much you wanted it, and how hard you worked for it.”

Junhoe looks at Jinhwan for a long moment, but eventually drops his gaze as he brushes his thumb over Jinhwan’s knuckles again. Jinhwan is momentarily confused, because he swears Junhoe really wanted this, but then he sees the faintest tinge of red coloring the younger’s cheeks, the way he keeps opening then closing his mouth in frustration, and - oh.

Oh.

A soft smile curls at the edges of Jinhwan’s lips as he reaches up his other hand to brush Junhoe’s fringe away from his eyes, then slides it down to let it rest at the back of Junhoe’s nape.

“I want to spend as much time as possible with you, too,” Jinhwan says, and judging by the way Junhoe’s face goes a little red, Jinhwan knows he’s hit the nail on the head. He grins a little, because Junhoe is just so easy to read. “And I’ll miss you, if you start coming home late, or if I have to eat dinner alone. But this promotion, your career - it isn’t something you can just compromise on. We’ll find a way; we’ll be okay.”

Junhoe looks at Jinhwan as he says this, and they have a mini staredown until Junhoe eventually sighs, bringing up their joined hands to press a tender kiss to the back of Jinhwan’s hand. Jinhwan’s smile softens, lightly rubbing the back of Junhoe’s neck before pulling his hands away to flick the younger playfully on the forehead.

“Eat,” Jinhwan scolds, hiding a grin at the yelp Junhoe lets out. “I didn’t make this food just for it to go cold.”

Junhoe picks up his spoon and chopsticks again, continuing his dinner. He’s got a spoonful of rice in his mouth when he looks straight at Jinhwan, swallowing slowly.

“Thanks, hyung.”

Jinhwan rolls his eyes, but his smile betrays his fond exasperation.

Junhoe heads into the bedroom first later on in the night, Jinhwan taking his time with the dishes and the cleaning as he thinks about the most appropriate time and way to give Junhoe the black leather cuff. When he finally pushes open the door to the bedroom, Junhoe looks up at him, setting his phone aside before opening his arms.

Jinhwan goes naturally, falling onto Junhoe’s lap as the younger wraps both arms around his waist. Junhoe leans forward for a kiss and Jinhwan’s eyelids flutter shut, gripping the younger’s shoulders lightly to kiss him back.

“Hey,” Jinhwan whispers when they pull apart. “June-yah, I—I got you something.”

Junhoe raises his brows in curiosity, letting his arms slip from around Jinhwan as the catboy crawls to the edge of the bed, reaching a hand under it and pulling out the box.

“Please don't feel obligated,” Jinhwan hedges uncertainly, grip on the box tightening. “It's just—you gave me this collar to symbolize ownership, for me and everyone else to know that I'm—I'm yours.

“I wanted to return the favor,” he continues softly. “To let you know that I'm going to be just as committed to this relationship as you are, and that I want you to be mine, too, as much as I am yours.”

Jinhwan hands the box to Junhoe at that, breath held with anticipation as the younger accepts it carefully, then opens it.

“It—um—it matches with mine.”

Junhoe looks up as Jinhwan says this, and Jinhwan can feel a blush rising on his cheeks as he tilts his head up, baring his neck to Junhoe so the younger can see how his cuff matches the black color of Jinhwan’s collar, as well as their identical silver clasps. Junhoe lifts his free hand slowly, fingers tracing over Jinhwan’s collar, and Jinhwan’s breath hitches when Junhoe makes contact with the skin of his neck - the touch somehow always feels so intimate, so sensitive.

“Put it on for me, hyung?” Junhoe murmurs.

Jinhwan swallows thickly, taking the bracelet from Junhoe before carefully slipping it onto the younger’s left wrist, his touch soft but sure as he fastens it at the appropriate size point. Junhoe looks down at the cuff on his wrist - the black a stark contrast against his pale skin - once Jinhwan drops his hands. He looks at it for a while, Jinhwan anticipating his response when he finally looks up into the catboy’s eyes.

“I—” Junhoe stammers, voice faltering. “I love it, hyung. Thank you.”

The most breathtaking and beatific of smiles stretches across Jinhwan’s face at that, and a soft purr rumbles from low within the catboy’s throat when Junhoe curls his fingers around his neck tenderly, the younger’s cuff lightly knocking against Jinhwan’s collar as he pulls the catboy down for a long and probing kiss.

“What’s this?” Junhoe asks softly, pulling back just a little. Jinhwan is confused at first, but then he realizes that Junhoe’s thumb is running over his collar, his fingers brushing over the three new letters punched into the leather.

Instead of answering the younger, Jinhwan simply reaches for Junhoe’s wrist, twisting the cuff around before lifting it to the younger’s face. Junhoe stares at the bracelet as Jinhwan swallows nervously.

“I—I wanted to personalize it,” Jinhwan says, “so I thought, since our initials are the same…”

Junhoe says nothing, just cups Jinhwan’s cheek with his other hand and searches the catboy’s eyes. The younger’s gaze looks so loving and sincere - Jinhwan could stare at it for eons and never have seen enough.

“You—” Junhoe whispers, dragging his thumb over Jinhwan’s cheekbone. “You’re perfect, you know that?”

Jinhwan feels his heart swell - he’s so, so in love.

Jinhwan gently grips Junhoe’s shoulders as he leans down to kiss the younger again, soft and sweet. “I love you, June-yah,” Jinhwan mumbles against the younger’s lips.

When Junhoe beams, Jinhwan can feel the curve of his smile against his own lips, and he has never, ever been happier.

*

One evening a few days later, Jinhwan is sprawled out on Junhoe’s and his bed, browsing through random sites on his phone when suddenly, he gets a KakaoTalk notification.

Song Minho: jinhwan-ah, are you busy? wanna facetime?

Jinhwan smiles, typing back sure! in response. It’s been a while since he’s spoken to his friends back in Jeju - the time seems to have passed by so quickly.

A moment later, the call notification pops up. Jinhwan accepts, and Minho’s grinning face pops up on the screen.

“Jinhwan-ah!” He yells, waving with his free hand. “Wassup?”

“Not much,” Jinhwan chuckles. “You?”

“Nah, just got back from hanging with the guys. It’s lonely without you sometimes, y’know? No one keeps Taehyunnie in check anymore.”

“Sorry, Minho-yah. I’ll definitely come back and visit sometime, though.”

“How’s Seoul treating you? I don’t have to chase off any loan sharks, right?”

Jinhwan laughs as he sits up on the bed, and he sees Minho’s eyes widen when the new angle allows his black leather collar to come into view.

“Fuck,” Minho hisses. “Jinhwan, you got a collar? You have a human mate?”

Jinhwan freezes. He knows Minho has bitter, painful memories of life in the city, remembers how Minho had returned to Jeju and locked himself at home for months, angry and hurting and distraught. He remembers the harsh warnings Minho had given the rest of them when he'd finally managed to piece himself back together, telling them about the city scumbag and how they're only in it for the free fucks.

“I know what you think about the city men, Minho, but this—Junhoe—he's different, I swear. He'd never—”

“Hurt you? Leave you? God, Jinhwan, I told you about them, didn't I? Once they've had their fun, they’ll—”

Jinhwan hears Junhoe come in through the front door and his subsequent footsteps through the hall, stopping outside the bedroom door.

“Hyung, what’cha doing?” Junhoe asks, and Jinhwan turns his head to see the younger trying to peer at his phone screen. “Are you webcamming someone?”

“Who’s that?” Minho’s voice comes muffled from Jinhwan’s frantic hand covering the speaker.

“I’ll call you back!” Jinhwan squeaks, fumbling with his phone to end the call.

“Who were you talking to?” Junhoe asks, sitting down next to the catboy on the bed and wrapping an arm around him. “Do you have a secret boyfriend or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jinhwan sighs, poking Junhoe in the side. “He’s just a friend back in Jeju.”

“Mm,” Junhoe hums, pressing a kiss to the top of Jinhwan’s head between his ears. “Maybe I can meet your friends sometime?”

Jinhwan has absolutely no idea how the rest of his all-catboy friends would react to Junhoe, but he shrugs, grinning at the younger anyway. “Maybe. Come on, I’ll get dinner ready. There’s still some leftovers from yesterday.”

“Sounds good, hyung. I’ll go shower.”

Jinhwan’s phone lights up with a new KakaoTalk notification, and he checks his messages, keeping the screen away from Junhoe.

Song Minho: yah, jinani ㅠㅠ send me a picture of him, at least?

Once Junhoe leaves the room, Jinhwan picks his phone back up and scrolls through his camera roll, selecting a selca he and Junhoe had taken a few days ago: Junhoe has the phone in his right hand as they both lie in bed, Jinhwan’s head resting on Junhoe’s chest as he grins up at the camera, black collar visible. The younger has his left arm wrapped around Jinhwan’s shoulders, matching leather bracelet glinting in the moonlight, his lips pulled up into his trademark half-smirk. He sends it to Minho, then swings his legs off the bed and heads out to prepare dinner.

When Junhoe returns to the bedroom after his shower, he's in the midst of toweling his hair dry when Jinhwan’s phone lights up with a notification. Curious, Junhoe peers down at the phone screen to read the message.

Song Minho: he looks like trouble. you better be careful, jinani. i don't want you getting hurt. i trust you, but not him.

Junhoe furrows his eyebrows, wondering who this “Minho” guy is, and if Jinhwan’s in some sort of trouble, but is soon distracted by a string of messages from his own phone. He opens up his co-workers’ group chat, where Hanbin has listed a bunch of things they need to check for their next presentation and he sighs, raking one hand through his hair as he replies with the other.

“June-yah!” Jinhwan calls, “Dinner’s ready!”

“Coming!” Junhoe tosses his phone onto the bed and heads to the kitchen, all thoughts other than food wiped from his mind.

He never does get around to asking Jinhwan about the message.

*

“I’m home!” Junhoe calls a few days later as he takes off his shoes after coming home from work. It’s a little after seven, and usually Jinhwan would be waiting for him on the couch or in the kitchen, but both rooms are devoid of the catboy.

“Hyung?” Junhoe calls again, placing his briefcase down on the couch as he ventures down the hall in search of his catboy. When he comes up empty after checking the bathroom and the bedroom, Junhoe feels the first instances of worry begin to set in as he pulls out his phone and composes a new message.

hyung, where are u? Junhoe texts, biting his lip as he sends the message and waits for a response.

To his relief, it comes within a few minutes: sorry june!! i’ll be back around 10. i’ll tell u about it when i get back, not much time to talk rn.

Junhoe shoots back k, see u then hyung, then drops his phone onto the kitchen island with a sigh. At the very least, they’re not going to have a repeat of last month, but nonetheless, he can’t help but wonder what’s going on.

Junhoe pulls out yesterday’s leftovers from the fridge after taking a shower, heating them up in the microwave before settling himself down for a lonely dinner tonight. He takes his time to eat and do the dishes, fighting the urge to grab his phone and call Jinhwan and ask his catboy to just come home.

When Junhoe hears the front door open at around ten-thirty, followed by a soft “I’m back,” he relaxes immediately, rising from the couch to greet Jinhwan at the door.

“Hey, hyung,” Junhoe says, cupping Jinhwan’s cheek gently before leaning down to peck him on the lips.

“I got a job,” is the first thing Jinhwan says, the words coming out in a bit of a rush.

Junhoe stares at his catboy blankly for a few moments, trying to process this. He knows that Jinhwan had been searching for a job for a while, but since the elder hadn’t brought it up recently, he’d forgotten about the whole thing entirely.

“Oh,” Junhoe replies intelligently, then he slips his hand into Jinhwan’s and lightly tugs his catboy towards the couch, sitting down and pulling the elder onto his lap. Jinhwan rests both hands on Junhoe’s shoulders as he straddles the younger, Junhoe’s arms coming up to circle around Jinhwan’s waist. “Well, that’s great news, hyung. Where are you working?”

Jinhwan smiles, brushing a stray lock of Junhoe’s hair away from his eyes. “There’s this new Korean-Italian fusion place that’s one subway stop away from here - that’s where I’m working.

“The only opening they had was for the dinner shift, though,” Jinhwan says apologetically, “so I won’t be back on some nights until late like this. Not every night, but two or three nights a week.”

“Oh,” Junhoe says again. He’s not going to lie to himself - not having Jinhwan around every night is a bit of a bummer for him, and he’s still a little wary about Jinhwan going out later at night, especially when he remembers what happened the first time they met. But he also respects that Jinhwan is, frankly, a grown man - older than him, even - and is fully capable of making his own life choices. Also, Junhoe knows it’s unfair of him to want to keep Jinhwan at home all the time - Jinhwan isn’t a criminal, and this apartment isn’t a prison.

“You’ll keep me updated, right hyung? Like just… drop me a message when you leave home for work and when you reach the restaurant? And also when you’re on your way back home?” Junhoe hedges, searching Jinhwan’s eyes.

Jinhwan laughs gently, his eyes curving into crescents and his tail flicking contentedly behind him. Junhoe blinks when the catboy brushes his thumb across his bottom lip, then leans down to press a soft kiss to Junhoe’s mouth.

“I will, June-yah. Don’t worry about me so much. I’ll be fine,” Jinhwan reassures, lightly pinching Junhoe’s cheek.

“Hyung,” Junhoe whines, feeling his face heat up. But all that does is elicit another bout of laughter from Jinhwan, who lets out a surprised squeak when Junhoe suddenly lifts him up and places him on the couch, crawling over him and digging his fingers into his sides.

And yeah, Junhoe’s definitely going to miss returning home every night to Jinhwan’s warm voice calling welcome home! and the catboy stretching up on his tiptoes to kiss Junhoe sweetly on the lips, but as long as they’re still able to spend some nights fooling around like this, Junhoe thinks he’ll be able to live with that.

*

A week later, Junhoe’s squinting at his desktop screen in his office cubicle as he finishes up a report when two hands cover his eyes.

Naturally, Junhoe’s first response is to reach for the plastic folder on his table and smack his hand backwards, because that's the least amount of pain either Hanbin, Yunhyeong, or Chanwoo deserve.

“Jesus christ,” Junhoe gripes, swatting out blindly behind him. He feels a brief moment of satisfaction when the folder hits home, but then he hears a soft yelp that is distinctly not Hanbin, Yunhyeong, or Chanwoo.

What is the sound of his co-workers, though, is the completely unwarranted laughter that suddenly erupts from behind him.

“Who—” The question dies on Junhoe’s lips as he spins around in his office chair to see one slightly sheepish catboy standing in his cubicle and three very rude colleagues blatantly exchanging money.

“Dammit, Chanwoo,” Hanbin grumbles as he hands the intern a ten thousand won note. “I thought I’d actually win, for once.”

“I told you, hyung,” Chanwoo remarks as he accepts another couple of bills from Yunhyeong, “Junhoe-hyung’s habits don’t change much.”

“Fuck off, Chanumon,” Junhoe grumbles as he reaches for Jinhwan, pulling the catboy onto his lap.

“It was one time!” Chanwoo throws his hands up in the air and returns to his own desk.

“One time catching you playing Pokemon in the break room was enough!” Yunhyeong calls after him, getting a shut up! in response. Yunhyeong just laughs, himself and Hanbin leaning over Junhoe’s cubicle walls with interested faces.

“So what brings you here again, Jinhwan-ssi?” Yunhyeong asks. “It’s not every day we get a visitor. It’s even less frequently that it’s someone for Junhoe, actually.”

Jinhwan opens his mouth to reply, but then Junhoe gently tugs Jinhwan’s hand down from where he’s lightly rubbing at his eye and replaces it with his own, brushing his thumb over the corner of his catboy’s eye and leaning in slightly to blow at the reddening area. The action causes Jinhwan to blush, and Hanbin and Yunhyeong to choke.

“I came here to surprise Junhoe, actually,” Jinhwan begins sheepishly, and Junhoe gives the catboy on his lap a curious look. “I got my first paycheck - I came to take him out to dinner.”

“That’s cute,” Hanbin remarks. “I wish someone would take me out to dinner sometime.”

“Maybe if you stopped reeking of desperation, someone would.”

“Ouch, Yunhyeong-hyung, I expected that from Junhoe, but from you? That’s cold.”

Junhoe has long-stopped listening to his two co-workers bicker, attention instead focused on the catboy perched on his lap, his small hands resting lightly on Junhoe’s thighs as he tilts his head at him a little in question, smiling fondly. And Junhoe can't help but to lean in and peck Jinhwan once quickly on the cheek, which of course, causes Yunhyeong to make gross gagging sounds and Hanbin to stub his toe on the wall of Junhoe’s cubicle.

“You know what,” Hanbin says, “Junhoe, just go. I don’t want to have to look at you two anymore. This—this couple-y stuff is just too much.”

“Weak,” Junhoe replies, but he’s not going to take an excuse to leave early for granted. Jinhwan slides off his lap as Junhoe shuts off his laptop, puts it in his bag and gathers the rest of his things together. Then he slips his hand into Jinhwan’s and lightly tugs the catboy out of the cubicle after him.

“Bye, Jinhwan-ssi!” Yunhyeong calls out after them. Hanbin rolls his eyes but smiles a little anyway, and even Chanwoo pokes his head out of his cubicle to wave them off.

“We can drop the formalities—”

“No,” Junhoe shuts the idea down before it can so much as take flight. Knowing his co-workers, it’ll go from calling Jinhwan hyung to giving him a bunch of nicknames in a matter of days. Junhoe grumbles, tucking one arm around Jinhwan’s back as he strides off quickly to the lift, nodding to Hayi as they leave.

As they walk away from the company building and to the subway station, Junhoe’s hand slips down from Jinhwan’s back to take hold of the catboy’s hand again. He grins at Jinhwan, who smiles back and leans onto his shoulder.

God. He is so in love.

They enter the station - Jinhwan shows less of a marked reaction to the mass of people, but his nose is still wrinkled up a bit in distaste. Junhoe pulls him closer, hoping that the proximity might make at least a slight difference.

“So. Where are we going?” Junhoe asks as they board the train to go back to their apartment.

“I was thinking samgyeopsal, maybe?” Jinhwan suggests. “I looked around a bit and there’s a place near the apartment that seems good.”

Junhoe shrugs. He eats almost anything, really, and he honestly wouldn’t be complaining even if Jinhwan suggested to just grab some cheap takeout and head back to their apartment. It’s almost sappy, but Junhoe finds he doesn’t really mind much as long as he’s got Jinhwan by his side.

Junhoe wraps a protective arm around Jinhwan’s back when they arrive at the next stop and a throng of office workers flood into the subway car, pulling the catboy in close and crowding him in against the handrail. Jinhwan rests his head on Junhoe’s chest, circling his arms around the younger’s waist and closing his eyes.

Junhoe brushes a hand down the back of Jinhwan’s head when they reach their stop, the catboy blinking his eyes open blearily and allowing Junhoe to hold him close against his side as they make their way out of the station. The barbeque place is only a five-minute walk from the station, so they’re seated inside and placing their order in no time.

“So,” Junhoe says when their first two bottles of soju are placed on the table, “how is work going for you? They’re treating you okay, right? It’s a decent place? Do I have to go down there and check it out myself?”

Junhoe realizes belatedly that maybe he’s asking too many questions at once, but Jinhwan doesn’t seem to mind, chuckling with eyes full of affection as he lifts a hand to pat Junhoe’s cheek lightly. “I’m fine, June-yah. There’s another catboy working there, too, and he’s been there for almost half a year now.”

Junhoe opens his mouth to ask another question, but is interrupted by the arrival of a waiter with a plate of pork. They thank him, and Junhoe takes the tongs, putting about half of the meat on the grill in front of them.

“Hyung, I’ll pour you a glass,” Junhoe says, shaking and opening one of the bottles of soju. Jinhwan laughs, holding out his cup.

“I’m supposed to be the one treating you, though,” Jinhwan sighs as he reaches for the bottle to pour Junhoe’s.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll definitely be the one treating when the bill comes later,” Junhoe replies, lips pulled into a smirk and eyes sparkling. Jinhwan laughs, and Junhoe feels so happy - happiness in its simplest, most genuine form.

“Geonbae!” Junhoe yells, holding out his shot glass. Jinhwan follows suit, clinking his own against the younger’s as they both down their shots, and Junhoe quickly picks up the bottle to refill them.

Dinner is a merry affair: the barbeque joint is small but crowded, loud and lively in the way Junhoe likes most. The air is filled with the thick, smoky smell of meat on the grill, punctuated by the occasional boisterous sounds of laughter from the businessmen sitting at surrounding tables. Jinhwan’s eyes are shining with happiness as he listens to Junhoe talk about his work and complain about his annoying co-workers, his laughter bright and uninhibited every time Junhoe cracks a joke or does a poor impression of Hanbin. He never stops grilling meat for Junhoe, always making sure his plate is full and giving him all the bigger slices. Jinhwan’s cheeks are flushed a little from the heat and his lips are shiny from the oil of the meat, and Junhoe has never been so captivated by one person.

Soon enough, both of them are tipsy - Junhoe probably more so, since he'd drank most of the soju and even went for a third bottle. He’s grinning madly, the effects of the alcohol making him feel much looser than he usually is. Jinhwan keeps giggling at everything, even if it's not particularly funny, and wow, he is so cute,Junhoe thinks.

By the time they finish up the last of the meat and Junhoe downs the rest of the third bottle of soju, the sky has become considerably darker and the winter chill now bites significantly harder. They’re both giggling lightly as they trip out of the barbeque joint, Jinhwan immediately attaching himself to Junhoe’s side as the younger hooks his arm around the catboy’s shoulders and holds him close.

Junhoe tries to tug Jinhwan to bed the minute they cross the threshold of their apartment, but Jinhwan just laughs, at least still having the sense to toss some clothes at Junhoe and shove him into the bathroom for a shower. Jinhwan lets out a tinkling laugh and sidesteps Junhoe skilfully when the younger trips out of the shower about ten minutes later, avoiding grabby hands as he shuts the bathroom door in Junhoe’s face.

The shower seems to sober Jinhwan up more than it does Junhoe, because Jinhwan has barely managed to connect his phone to the bedside charger when a pair of arms wrap around his waist and tug him down onto the bed. Jinhwan yelps as his back collides with Junhoe’s front, quickly rolling off the younger and onto his own side of the bed instead.

“Hyung,” Junhoe sing-songs, propping himself up on one elbow as he hovers over Jinhwan, cupping the catboy’s right cheek with his left hand. “You know I love you a lot, right? You’re my favorite person in the world.”

Jinhwan sighs, flicking Junhoe lightly on the forehead. “You’re drunk, Junhoe-yah. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“What’re you talking about?” Junhoe blinks at him, eyes wide. “Of course I mean it.”

Jinhwan looks at him for a long moment, and if Junhoe were more sober he’d see the tinge of wistfulness in the elder’s eyes. But he isn’t, and eventually Jinhwan just drops his gaze, turning his face into Junhoe’s palm and pressing a soft kiss there.

“You don’t believe me,” Junhoe whispers, even as he drags his thumb gently across Jinhwan’s cheekbone.

Jinhwan says nothing, just stares up at Junhoe, eyelids fluttering shut when the younger dips his head down to give him a soft, fleeting kiss. “I love you,” Junhoe mumbles against Jinhwan’s lips. “I love you, Jinhwan.”

Jinhwan says nothing, just lifts a hand to brush Junhoe’s still-damp bangs out of his eyes. “Go to sleep, June-yah,” Jinhwan murmurs, pressing a light kiss to the younger’s forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Junhoe replies, falling onto the bed and closing his eyes.

Just a minute later, Junhoe’s out like a light, his muscles going slack, but somehow (Jinhwan almost laughs) his eyebrows still look vaguely angry.

Jinhwan lies there for a long time, just watching Junhoe sleep. He’ll probably forget this by tomorrow morning, he tells himself, sighing softly even as he tucks the blanket more securely around Junhoe and brushes some stray locks of hair away from the younger’s face.

He moves closer to Junhoe, closing his eyes as he shifts his body, trying to find a comfortable position.

When sleep does come, it’s uneasy.

*

The next morning when Jinhwan wakes up, Junhoe is, as expected, still fast asleep, chest rising and falling evenly and breath coming out in quiet puffs of air against his pillow. The image of Junhoe sleeping so peacefully and vulnerably like this is one of the most endearing things to Jinhwan, who smiles a little and presses a kiss to Junhoe’s forehead. Junhoe makes a soft sound, the arm he's got wrapped around Jinhwan tightening unconsciously, but Jinhwan carefully slides out of the younger’s embrace and heads out of the bedroom for the kitchen.

It's already pushing noon, so Jinhwan immediately gets to work preparing lunch for the both of them. He decides juk would do them some good, not forgetting to brew some hot black coffee for Junhoe just in case he's nursing a slight hangover. He's just set the table when Junhoe comes stumbling out of the bedroom, eyes hazy and hair a mess.

“Somethin’ smells good,” Junhoe mumbles, trying to focus his gaze on the food on the table. Jinhwan laughs fondly, smacking Junhoe’s hand away playfully when the younger tries to reach for a spoon.

“Brush your teeth, you big baby,” Jinhwan instructs, grinning despite himself when Junhoe makes a sound of assent and pads down the hall for the bathroom, but not before leaning down to peck Jinhwan swiftly on the cheek. Junhoe returns a few minutes later, looking considerably fresher and much more awake. Jinhwan pushes the hot cup of coffee towards him, along with a couple of Aspirin pills.

Junhoe groans, downing the pills quickly. “Thanks, hyung. And I hope you didn't have to wake up too early to make all this.”

Jinhwan shakes his head. “This didn't take me long.”

Junhoe thanks him for the food before digging in hungrily, and as Jinhwan watches Junhoe eat, he can't help but think about what the younger had said the previous night.

Eventually, Junhoe seems to notice the way Jinhwan is watching him, slowing down and clearing his throat slightly. “Hyung.”

Jinhwan startles a little at being caught. “Hm?”

Junhoe pauses for a moment. “Last night… I didn't say anything weird, right? Hanbin-hyung always tells me I have a tendency to say weird shit when I'm tipsy, so.”

“Nothing weird at all,” Jinhwan whispers, voice small. He tries for a smile, hoping it doesn't crack at the edges. “Don't worry.”

Junhoe exhales, chuckling a little, before picking up his spoon and taking another mouthful of juk. Jinhwan, on the other hand, puts his spoon down. He doesn't feel hungry anymore.

(Actually, he feels a little sick.)

Jinhwan squints when the sunlight filters in through the window and hits his eyes. He lets out a soft little whine and flips over in bed, burrowing his head into Junhoe's pillow and breathing in the younger's scent. Immediately, a feeling of peace washes over Jinhwan's body.

The catboy tries to fall back asleep, but that soon proves to be an impossible task with the sunlight shining bright against his closed eyelids. He needs to remember to ask Junhoe whether they can get some curtains for their bedroom.

(Their bedroom. Even though it's been a month since they officially got together, Jinhwan still can't help but smile every time he remembers that this bedroom - this apartment - is not just Junhoe's anymore, but theirs.)

Jinhwan yawns as he sits up, blanket pooling in his lap as he stretches with all the grace of the feline that he is. A glance at the digital clock on the nightstand tells Jinhwan that it's past ten in the morning, meaning Junhoe left the apartment about two hours ago. Swinging his legs off the bed, Jinhwan pads into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face before moving to the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He looks around the apartment as he eats, tail flicking against the wooden floor idly as he wonders what there is for him to do today.

Eventually, Jinhwan picks up his phone and sends a text to Bobby.

are you home?

Jinhwan has barely taken another bite of his cereal when the reply comes in.

yes!!! donggu didn't need me in at work today. come over, jinani-hyung~

Jinhwan smiles at Bobby's reply.

A quick shower later and Jinhwan finds himself outside Bobby and Donghyuk's apartment door. Before he can so much as ring the doorbell, though, the door opens to reveal Bobby's grinning face.

Right, heightened sense of smell.

"Hyung!" Bobby greets brightly, smiling so wide his canines show. He tugs Jinhwan into the apartment and shuts the door with his tail.

"Have you eaten?" Bobby asks, already turning to walk into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Jinhwan replies, watching in amusement as Bobby opens a cabinet to retrieve a packet of pretzels before yanking open the fridge door and grabbing two small bottles of banana milk. Satisfied, Bobby then wraps the end of his tail around Jinhwan's wrist to tug him down the hall and into the master bedroom. As per usual, they settle onto the bed and lean against the wall, Jinhwan holding onto the snacks as Bobby fetches the laptop from the computer table. Jinhwan laughs indulgently when Bobby all but leaps into the bed beside him, toffee brown ears tickling his skin as he rests his head on Jinhwan's shoulder and powers up the laptop.

Bobby hums as he clicks around a little. "Running Man?" Bobby asks finally. "I haven't watched a few of the more recent episodes yet."

"Sure," Jinhwan responds. Bobby purrs happily when Jinhwan lightly scratches the back of his ears, and Jinhwan smiles at the sound.

A comfortable silence falls upon them as they begin watching the show, occasionally broken by the sound of Bobby's laughter or Jinhwan's chuckles. By the time they're more than halfway through the second episode, both bottles of banana milk are empty, and only half the packet of pretzels are left.

Jinhwan frowns, however, when he brushes the back of his hand across his forehead and it comes away slightly damp. He's sweating.

"Hey," Jinhwan finally says, after his fingertips come away wet as well when he trails them down his nose. "Is it just me, or is it hot in here?"

Bobby blinks in confusion, pausing the show and sitting upright. The door is open and so is the window, and the ceiling fan is at full speed. "I'm okay, but if you're hot, hyung, I can turn on the air-con."

Jinhwan nods, rolling up the sleeves of his (Junhoe's) sweater. "Please? Thanks, Bobby-yah."

Bobby gets up to close the window and the door and turn on the air-conditioner. He sees Jinhwan dab at his forehead again and his brows furrow in confusion, because it really isn't that hot at all.

"I'll get you some ice water, hyung," Bobby says, picking up the empty banana milk bottles before leaving the room for the kitchen. He returns no more than a minute later, handing Jinhwan the cool glass of water as he climbs back onto the bed next to the elder. Jinhwan gulps down the water in a matter of seconds then gestures for Bobby to continue the show. Bobby takes the now-empty glass from Jinhwan and places it on the nightstand before hitting the spacebar again.

The cool air coming from the air-conditioner stops Jinhwan from sweating, but a new problem arises when Jinhwan begins to shiver every few minutes. He feels increasingly restless, like he can't sit still; his ears keep twitching and he has to physically grip onto his tail to stop it from flicking insistently against the bedspread. He finally begins to worry a little when Bobby stops the show and moves the laptop aside, but when he shifts such that he's sitting directly in front of Jinhwan, Jinhwan's vision clouds over, and Bobby's face blurs before him.

“Hyung, what's going on?” Bobby asks, voice concerned. He reaches up to press the back of his hand against Jinhwan’s forehead, but hisses and drops it almost as soon as it makes contact with Jinhwan’s skin.

“Fuck, hyung, you're burning up,” Bobby says, gripping Jinhwan lightly by the arms. The contact sends a sharp tingle down Jinhwan’s spine and the elder keens at the sensation, gasping as he shifts a little on the bed - and that's when he feels it.

His inner thighs are wet.

Bobby’s eyes widen at that exact moment, realisation dawning upon him when he takes a careful sniff of the air. “Hyung—”

The panic is setting in, now. “It can't be—” Jinhwan says, gasping again when another wave of heat rolls over his body and more liquid pools between his legs. “It hasn't been a month—”

Then it hits him.

“Suppressants,” Bobby says at almost the exact same time, looking at Jinhwan. His grip on Jinhwan’s tender arms tightens almost imperceptibly. “Hyung, is this your first time off your suppressants?”

Jinhwan’s skin is burning hot under Bobby’s fingers, and the older catboy doesn't seem to be in full control of his own body when his tail comes up to wrap around Bobby’s bicep. “Ye—yeah,” Jinhwan chokes out, and his tail is so tight around Bobby’s arm now, the more animalistic side of him wanting to pull Bobby closer, but the more rational, human side of him fighting to resist because Junhoe. Bobby is not Junhoe. “Didn’t take them - thought Junhoe would be around to help—”

Bobby is clearly losing Jinhwan to the heat: he can see the older catboy’s eyes begin to glaze over, and his usually pale cheeks are now flushed red. Jinhwan’s hands are curled tight in the material of the sheets, probably to stop himself from reaching down to touch his dick that’s slowly beginning to harden beneath the material of his shorts.

“Hyung, stay right here,” Bobby says, as if Jinhwan would actually be able to leave. “I’m gonna go call Junhoe, see if he can come.”

At the mention of Junhoe’s name, Jinhwan groans, hips twitching upward in reflex.

Bobby jumps up from the bed to get his phone, almost tripping and going down when he realizes that Jinhwan’s tail is still wrapped tight around his bicep. He tugs at Jinhwan’s bronze-colored tail as gently as possible, only managing to grab his phone from the computer table when another wave of heat shoots down Jinhwan’s spine and his tail lashes out in the air, freeing Bobby’s arm. Bobby hurriedly searches for Junhoe’s number in his contacts and starts dialing.

“You’ve reached Koo Junhoe. My phone either has no reception, is dead, lost, or off. Please leave a message after the tone and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

Fuck. “Junhoe, man, you need to get here right away. Jinhwan’s—well, you kind of need to see him to get it. Turn your phone back on!”

Bobby calls Donghyuk next, talking over his mate when he answers.

“Donghyuk, Jinhwan’s in heat and he’s off his suppressants and Junhoe isn’t answering his phone—”

He hears Donghyuk curse over the line, and then him calling to someone else in the cafe to take over.

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Keep trying to call Junhoe.”

So Bobby does, getting just the same voicemail prompt each time. It’s getting difficult for him to think properly - even though he’s mated and no longer has the same kind of reaction towards other catboys in heat that he used to, the scent of Jinhwan’s heat is just so overwhelming that even though Bobby has no interest in doing anything with him or to him, it’s calling to his animal side. Jinhwan lets out a high-pitched whine and Bobby screws his eyes shut, gripping onto his collar and breathing heavily. He needs to get out of this room.

Minutes later, Donghyuk throws open the door to the apartment, hair wind-tossed and panting slightly. Bobby motions wordlessly to their bedroom.

“I’m gonna step outside,” Bobby says, hand covering his nose. Donghyuk nods, entering the bedroom and taking in the situation.

“Jinhwan-hyung?” Donghyuk calls softly. Jinhwan looks up at the entrance of a new person, but quickly turns away - it’s not who he wants.

“Jinhwan-hyung, are you alright?” Donghyuk walks closer, one hand reaching out to touch Jinhwan’s exposed arm. It’s covered in sweat and burning up, and Jinhwan growls at the touch, even as the end of his tail sneaks upwards to curl around Donghyuk’s wrist.

“Need… Junhoe…” He pants out, shivering as a surge of need floors through him. “Now.”

“We’re trying,” Donghyuk says, trying to calm Jinhwan down with the soft tone of his voice. “But he’s not answering his phone.”

Jinhwan can’t respond, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he takes shallow, quick breaths, trying to keep his body from jumping onto the nearest person. This is not what he wants - not who he wants, and he will not let the wild animal inside him take over.

Then Donghyuk reaches up a hand to brush Jinhwan’s bangs away from his eyes - so, so similar to what Junhoe always does to him - and something in Jinhwan snaps.

Jinhwan clambers onto Donghyuk’s lap in one swift motion, hands shaking even as they fist into the soft cotton of Donghyuk’s shirt. His chest is heaving with arousal and Donghyuk can feel Jinhwan’s hardness pressing against his stomach. Donghyuk presses his mouth into a hard line, ready to calmly yet firmly tell the catboy off, but then he takes one look into Jinhwan’s eyes and feels his entire expression soften.

Jinhwan’s eyes may be glazed over with the effects of his heat, but the dominant emotion Donghyuk sees in them is nothing but confusion. It’s like the catboy doesn’t know why he’s in Donghyuk’s lap, and doesn’t know why Junhoe isn’t here to help him.

“Please—” Jinhwan whimpers, the combination of his heat and his desperation apparently becoming too much for him as a tear slips down his cheek. “Help me—Junhoe—I need—”

“I know, hyung,” Donghyuk soothes, reaching down to untangle Jinhwan’s fingers from his shirt before shifting the catboy off his lap. He stands quickly before Jinhwan can get his tail around him again. “Sit tight, okay? I’ll get you some cold water - Bobby’s trying to get Junhoe now. It’ll be okay, hyung, just try to calm down.”

Donghyuk steps out of the bedroom just as Jinhwan lets out this pathetic, broken-sounding whimper, and Donghyuk feels his heart ache, remembering how Bobby had cried out for him just like this during his first heat.

Donghyuk fetches a clean glass and fills it up with cold water, then deliberates in front of another cabinet for a minute before wrenching it open to retrieve the bottle of cold medicine. He grabs the medicine spoon from the drawer below before heading back into the bedroom.

Jinhwan’s eyes are shut tight and his head is lolled to the side from where he leans against the wall, one hand clawing desperately at the sheets beneath him while the other is already down his pants, palming at his dick. His eyes snap open when Donghyuk draws near and he almost launches himself into the younger’s arms, but he takes a careful sniff of the air and whimpers again.

“June, June, June,” the catboy pants frantically. “June, please—”

“Hyung, I need you to drink this, please,” Donghyuk says, handing Jinhwan the glass of water. Jinhwan’s fingers tremble as he accepts the glass, downing it in three gulps before he almost drops it, if not for Donghyuk’s quick reflexes as he catches the glass and places it on the nightstand.

Jinhwan’s head hits the wall with a loud thunk when he squeezes his dick, and Donghyuk knows that if he doesn’t knock the catboy out now, he’s going to end up hurting himself. Donghyuk takes in Jinhwan’s small size and measures out what he hopes is just enough cold medicine to put him to sleep, and it takes a bit of coaxing, but eventually Jinhwan stills for long enough to swallow it down.

“June—” Jinhwan mumbles after Donghyuk screws the cap back onto the bottle. His bronze hair is a mess, and his right hand is gripping onto his black collar. “Where—why—”

“He’ll be here soon, hyung, I promise,” Donghyuk responds. It’s probably due to the heat making all the fluids in Jinhwan’s body circulate faster, but Donghyuk sighs in relief when the catboy’s eyes begin to show the first hints of drowsiness, Junhoe’s name still on his lips.

Donghyuk doesn’t know what Junhoe’s doing, but he needs to get home - and fast.

*

When Junhoe finally arrives home later that afternoon, early from work due to a meeting he'd had earlier, he’s surprised to see Bobby and Donghyuk standing outside his apartment, hair and clothes in a mess.

“What,” he teases, “did you two go at it too hard? Needed a breather?”

“No, Junhoe,” Donghyuk says, voice surprisingly even. “It’s Jinhwan.”

Junhoe’s heart sinks. “Oh, god.”

“He’s gone into heat,” Bobby shudders, one hand clamped firmly around his nose, the end of his tail curled tight around Donghyuk’s wrist. “It’s bad.”

Junhoe looks at them, puzzled. “Not that you guys need to know this, but his last heat wasn’t even a month ago. This can’t be—”

Bobby shakes his head. “He’s off his suppressants. One of us can explain all that to you later, but all you need to know now is that Jinhwan’s in heat and he needs you, right now. Expect it to be worse than last time.”

At that moment, the door to Bobby and Donghyuk’s apartment bursts open - Jinhwan’s eyes are dark and unfocused, skin shining with perspiration. When his eyes land on Junhoe, he lunges, knocking Junhoe over as he flattens himself onto the younger, his face burying into Junhoe’s chest.

Junhoe’s eyes widen. This is indeed bad.

“Hyung,” Junhoe says, voice shaking slightly, “I need you to get off me so I can stand up.”

Jinhwan makes no move to change his position whatsoever, instead squirming even closer to Junhoe, and there’s a tearing sound, followed by wetness against Junhoe’s chest.

“Oh, hell, hyung!” Junhoe groans. “Did you just bite my shirt open?”

He glares at Bobby when the older catboy lets out a laugh, motioning for one of them to open his apartment door. Junhoe manages to maneuver his legs under himself and push himself to a squatting position, one arm keeping Jinhwan supported next to him while he stands.

“If one of you could take my bag,” Junhoe says, “I’ll, um, get it later.”

Donghyuk picks it up off the floor with a nod as Bobby goes back inside their apartment.

“Hopefully it won’t be too bad,” Donghyuk says, “but I really have no idea.”

Junhoe’s not sure what that’s supposed to mean, but then Donghyuk’s gone inside, too, and Jinhwan’s yanking him into the apartment with more strength than Junhoe thought the catboy had. Jinhwan’s hands divest Junhoe of his jacket quickly, tearing apart his shirt and undershirt and moving quickly onto his pants.

Junhoe lightly touches the back of his hand to Jinhwan’s forehead, worry entering his heart when he finally realizes how absolutely hot Jinhwan’s skin is to the touch. He feels guilty - so, so guilty - for not being there when Jinhwan needed him most.

Jinhwan gets Junhoe’s pants and boxer briefs off at the same time, then he’s freeing himself of Junhoe’s sweater and his own shorts and underwear before launching himself into Junhoe’s arms and sinking his teeth into Junhoe’s shoulder blade in one go. Junhoe stumbles backwards from the force of Jinhwan’s jump, back hitting the wall beside the door as Jinhwan begins to rut against him shamelessly.

“June, please, I need—” Jinhwan pants against his neck, dislodging one arm from around Junhoe’s neck as he tries to grasp blindly for Junhoe’s dick between their bodies.

Junhoe’s arms are beginning to ache from having to carry the squirming catboy, so he curls one hand around the back of Jinhwan’s head as he flips them around, slamming Jinhwan into the wall. Jinhwan whimpers, and Junhoe immediately stills.

“Shit, baby, I’m sorry—” Junhoe says, the endearing pet name slipping out without him even realizing he’s said it.

But Jinhwan doesn’t seem to care in the slightest, fingers scratching down Junhoe’s chest and tail wrapping around the younger’s waist as he lets out a whine to remind the younger that he really, really needs to be fucked.

There’s so much liquid trailing down Jinhwan’s inner thighs that Junhoe is met with almost no resistance as he pushes two fingers in, letting the catboy shift around against the wall for a second before he pushes in another finger.

“Not enough—” Jinhwan chokes, even as he pushes down on Junhoe’s fingers. “Need you, June. June please—”

“Fuck,” Junhoe curses. “I need to get a condom—”

Jinhwan’s tail slips from Junhoe’s waist before the end of it curls around a small, foil package on the floor, and Junhoe does a double-take when Jinhwan brings it up to him.

“How—”

Junhoe is cut off when Jinhwan hooks both arms around his neck and lifts himself off the ground, wrapping both legs around Junhoe’s waist and pressing his mouth against the younger’s. Junhoe lets out a groan into Jinhwan’s mouth and the catboy keens in response when their hard members rub against each other.

Jinhwan breaks the kiss to lick his way down Junhoe’s neck, Junhoe struggling to keep his focus and rip open the package and roll on the condom. Then Junhoe slips a finger under Jinhwan’s collar just as he pushes into the elder, and Jinhwan’s eyes roll to the back of his head in pleasure.

Junhoe wastes no time thrusting hard and fast into Jinhwan, knowing now’s not the time for teasing or taking things slow if he wants to relieve Jinhwan from the brunt of his heat. Jinhwan’s back rubs against the wall repeatedly in time with Junhoe’s thrusts, and Junhoe makes a mental note to himself to check on the catboy’s skin later.

Junhoe ghosts his finger over the skin of Jinhwan’s neck - right beneath his collar - and the catboy keens, back arching off the wall as he bites down into Junhoe’s shoulder, hard enough to leave a mark.

“You really like it when I touch you here, don’t you kitty?” Junhoe murmurs, punctuating his statement with a brush of his thumb over Jinhwan’s adam’s apple. Jinhwan’s eyes are dark - so, so dark - even as his frame trembles in Junhoe’s arms, and Junhoe feels his chest tighten when he sees how Jinhwan is gazing up at him, expression almost reverent.

A few more thrusts and Jinhwan is tightening around him, the catboy letting out a guttural groan as he gets pushed over the edge, cum landing on both his and Junhoe’s stomachs. Junhoe isn’t far behind, the combined sensation of Jinhwan clenching tight and hot around his dick and the catboy sucking a mark into his neck proving too much for him as he moans and shoots his load into the condom.

Junhoe pulls out carefully, slowly lowering Jinhwan back onto the ground and allowing the catboy to lean up against him as he ties the condom and tosses it onto the floor. Junhoe takes the opportunity to brush Jinhwan’s bangs out of his eyes and press the back of his hand to the elder’s forehead again.

“Is it a little better, baby?” Junhoe asks, searching Jinhwan’s eyes. He doesn’t look as crazed and frazzled as he did before, but the heat is definitely still there.

“Some,” Jinhwan mumbles, eyes a little unfocused as he looks up at Junhoe. Junhoe’s heartbeat falters as he takes in Jinhwan’s wet lips, flushed cheeks and messy bronze hair - one of his favorite looks on Jinhwan, for sure.

Junhoe is beginning to understand what Bobby meant when he said expect it to be worse than last time, because it only takes Junhoe carding his fingers through Jinhwan’s hair and rubbing lightly at one of his ears for him to get hard again, rutting so frenetically against Junhoe’s thigh that Junhoe almost loses his balance.

“Jinhwan-hyung, stop,” Junhoe says, remembering what he did the last time and punctuating this with a firm pull on Jinhwan’s collar. The catboy stills immediately.

“Let’s move to our bedroom, okay? I can help you there.”

Junhoe slips both arms around Jinhwan and hoists him into his arms, the catboy purring loudly at the warmth and their close proximity. Junhoe sets Jinhwan down on the bed gingerly, and Junhoe feels himself getting hard again when he notices that the catboy is still dripping wet in preparation for Junhoe to take him. Junhoe climbs onto the bed on top of Jinhwan and Jinhwan immediately tilts his face up for a kiss, licking inside Junhoe’s mouth as he grinds against the younger.

“June, June, please,” Jinhwan mumbles, legs spreading apart underneath Junhoe. Junhoe breaks the kiss, reaching down and running his fingers against Jinhwan’s entrance.

Jinhwan throws his head back against the pillows, chest arching up. “Stop—touching—Junhoe—get in me now!”

Junhoe reaches for the condoms in the drawer of the nightstand, rolling one on as quickly as he can while Jinhwan claws at him. The catboy is definitely not helping matters when he grabs onto Junhoe’s shoulders and practically tries to impale himself onto Junhoe’s cock, his tail squeezing like a vice around one of Junhoe’s arms.

Junhoe yanks on Jinhwan’s collar, bringing the catboy’s face up to meet his. “Stop that. Now.”

Jinhwan shudders again, only barely listening to Junhoe as he continues shamelessly humping the younger’s thigh. Junhoe pulls on his collar again - harder - and stares into Jinhwan’s eyes as he looms over him. The catboy’s eyes are teary, and Junhoe chokes up - he’s hurting Jinhwan again, isn’t he?

“I’m sorry,” Jinhwan whispers, “Junhoe, I just—I need you.”

Junhoe swallows. His chest feels too tight.

“Turn over,” he commands, trying to keep his voice from shaking, and Jinhwan complies, pert ass facing up as his tail lies flat against his back. Junhoe straddles Jinhwan’s legs and plunges in without warning, his hands practically crushing the catboy’s hips as he slams down, over and over. Jinhwan’s back arches, his tail twitching around blindly, almost hitting Junhoe in the face.

Junhoe leans down, his chest flush against Jinhwan’s back, and grabs onto his collar. “Control your tail,” Junhoe whispers into his ear, “or you’re not getting any more.”

Jinhwan shivers, his tail falling to the side, and Junhoe sees him take hold of it in one of his hands.

“Good kitty,” Junhoe starts to move again, this time keeping his head tucked in close to Jinhwan’s.

“Such a good kitty,” Junhoe murmurs, “all wet and open for me. How much do you want me to fuck you? Till you can’t move anymore? Till the only thing you remember is my name?”

Jinhwan gasps as Junhoe takes the very tip of one of Jinhwan’s ears in his mouth, biting down softly, as he thrusts into him. Junhoe moves down lower, next, one hand on Jinhwan’s collar as his lips trail down the side of the catboy’s neck. He picks up speed again, keeping Jinhwan pinned into the mattress, tugging on the collar every time he pushes in, and Jinhwan’s breathy moans get higher and shallower as Junhoe can tell he’s reaching his brink. Junhoe lifts up the collar at Jinhwan’s nape and bites - hard.

Jinhwan’s entire frame seizes up, his body clenching around Junhoe as he cums, screaming Junhoe’s name - Junhoe doesn’t think he’s ever liked the sound of it so much before.

Junhoe pulls out and rolls Jinhwan over - the catboy is no longer trembling, and he appears lax as he blinks his eyes open blearily and looks up at Junhoe. Junhoe’s breath catches in his throat when he sees a tear roll down Jinhwan’s cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Jinhwan whispers again, and he’s still got his tail gripped tight in his hands even as he fights his fatigue. Jinhwan’s eyes trail over Junhoe’s body, and he looks so immeasurably guilty when he takes in the red line left by his tail on Junhoe’s arm, bringing his hands up and clutching his tail to his chest.

“I didn’t mean to—” Jinhwan chokes, reaching out a hand to touch Junhoe’s arm, but then flinching back as though he isn’t sure if Junhoe will welcome his touch anymore. “I’ll be better,” Jinhwan says quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Junhoe murmurs, “there's nothing for you to be sorry for.”

It doesn’t take much longer for Jinhwan to fall asleep first again, entirely spent. Junhoe doesn’t blame him - heat seems exhausting. Junhoe runs a hand through Jinhwan’s hair, smiling softly. Then his fingers trail down to Jinhwan’s neck and over the collar, pushing it down a little.

He gasps - the skin underneath is rubbed red, and Junhoe’s chest tightens as he undoes the buckle so he can get a better look at it. It’s especially bad around Jinhwan’s throat, and Junhoe sets the collar on the nightstand before tugging on a pair of shorts from his cupboard and running to the bathroom to get his first-aid kit.

He dampens a towel with warm water and gently wipes the sweat off the area - luckily, Jinhwan’s all but dead to the world, and doesn’t notice. He applies some ointment to the area, and wonders whether or not he needs to put a bandage on it, eventually remembering something about wounds needing air to heal and deciding to just leave it be.

Junhoe wipes off the collar, too, and puts it in his nightstand drawer, then slumps back down on the bed, tucking Jinhwan up against his chest.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Junhoe whispers, even though Jinhwan can’t hear him. “I love you more than anything, you know?”

*

Jinhwan always likes waking up next to Junhoe.

The younger feels like home to him - warmth and protection, especially when Junhoe has his arms around him. He never wants to leave.

But then Jinhwan shifts, trying to burrow further into Junhoe’s chest, and that’s when he feels it.

His neck is bare.

Jinhwan’s hands fly up to his neck, disbelieving, but when his fingers come into contact with his own skin instead of smooth leather, his eyes widen in horror.

He looks down at Junhoe, sleeping peacefully with his black hair falling across his forehead, and immediately feels his eyes begin to water. Junhoe took off my collar - he doesn’t want me anymore.

Jinhwan staggers out of bed, almost tripping in his haste to wrench open the bedroom door and search the apartment for his collar. His tears are starting to blur his vision and his breath begins to come out in pants as the terror seizes his heart. He’s heard stories of catboys being disowned, thrown out of their houses or abandoned by the side of the road by their owners. He’s heard of the fear, the panic, the terror, but he never realized how all-encompassing it would be until he experiences it for himself, now.

Jinhwan starts with the bathroom, but it’s a small space and after opening the small cabinet, he knows it’s not in there. He checks the living room next, flipping over cushions and searching in between their collection of CDs and DVDs, but he comes up empty. He really begins to panic by the time he reaches the kitchen, stretching up on his tiptoes to check above the fridge, pulling open cabinet doors and yanking open drawers, but his collar is still nowhere to be found. Jinhwan clamps a hand over his mouth and lets out a whimper, jumping when his tail accidentally knocks a ceramic cup from off the counter and it goes crashing to the floor.

Junhoe stumbles out of their bedroom at the noise, blanket wrapped around his body. “Hyung? What’re you doing up?”

“Are you mad?” Jinhwan asks, trying to keep his voice from becoming too hysterical as he limps over to Junhoe, wincing a little at the pain that shoots up his lower back. “Did I do something wrong? I won’t do it again! I’ll be good—I’m sorry—and the cup, I’ll clean it up—”

“Whoa, what?” Junhoe’s eyebrows furrow together. “What’re you talking about? Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why,” Jinhwan pleads, tilting his head up so Junhoe can clearly see his throat, “did you take it off?”

“Oh. That.”

The way Junhoe says it is so blunt and anticlimactic that Jinhwan almost wants to punch him.

“I took it off you because it hurt you,” Junhoe says. “I pulled on it too hard and it left marks, so I took it off to put ointment on your neck. It’s in the drawer of my nightstand.”

Jinhwan starts tearing up in relief - leave it to Junhoe to do something nice for him but not realize the implications.

Junhoe just opens up the blanket, beckoning for Jinhwan to come to him. “It’s early. Sleep.”

Jinhwan stumbles into Junhoe’s embrace and Junhoe wraps the blanket around him, gently guiding him back into the bedroom. Junhoe feels a little more awake when he realizes that Jinhwan is shaking slightly even as he lies back down on the bed.

“Jinhwan-hyung,” Junhoe whispers, carding his fingers through the catboy’s hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I—” Jinhwan’s voice trembles, so he stops and tries again. “Can I have my collar back, please?”

Junhoe’s eyes soften as he reaches for the collar in his drawer, gently lifting Jinhwan’s head with one hand as he slips the collar around his neck with the other. He fastens the buckle, leaving it looser than normal so it doesn’t rub too tightly against the catboy’s neck, and slides his thumb over the collar to feel the three letters engraved into the leather.

“Mine.”

It slips out unconsciously, but Jinhwan’s pupils dilate at that one word, reaching up a hand to catch Junhoe’s wrist - the wrist with the matching black leather cuff.

“Yeah,” Jinhwan whispers back, running his thumb over the leather. “Yours.”

And Junhoe’s heartbeat finally slows, relaxing into a comfortable, serene tempo.

*

There’s something wet on Junhoe’s neck.

He blinks his eyes open, trying to process what exactly is going on.

“Hyung, wha—”

Junhoe’s words die in his throat when Jinhwan jerks his hips against his leg, and—oh.

Jinhwan is hard, rutting against Junhoe frenetically as he licks at Junhoe’s neck and pants heavily. Junhoe is awake instantly, brushing his catboy’s bangs away from his sweaty forehead before he slips a finger under his leather collar and pulls, hauling Jinhwan up so that he can press his lips against his. Jinhwan clambers onto Junhoe’s lap as the younger bites gently on his bottom lip, the catboy letting out a breathy little moan as he grinds down against Junhoe’s quickly-hardening dick.

“Are you—are you being a naughty kitty?”

The words slip out of Junhoe’s mouth before he’s really even aware of what he’s saying. He’s never been one for dirty talk, but Jinhwan certainly seems to bring out sides of him he never knew existed.

“Am I?” Jinhwan grins, pressing himself against Junhoe.

Junhoe groans, his hips bucking upwards involuntarily as Jinhwan moves his head down and bites into his shoulder blade.

“You definitely are,” Junhoe murmurs back as he flips them over, pinning the older underneath himself as he makes quick work of removing Jinhwan’s shirt, moving down to suck hickeys along Jinhwan’s collarbones. Jinhwan pants loudly as Junhoe bites, his body twitching, aching for some sort of friction or release.

“Kitty,” Junhoe sighs. “You’re gonna have to wait your turn.”

He yanks Jinhwan’s boxers off, rubbing his thumb across the precum gathering at the slit of Jinhwan’s dick and pumping the catboy firmly and quickly. Jinhwan doesn’t even have to say anything for Junhoe to tell that he’s close, and just when Junhoe knows he’s almost at his peak, he circles two fingers tight around the base of Jinhwan’s cock and removes his other hand.

Jinhwan lets out a broken cry as his body shakes, his hands and tail gripping at Junhoe’s arms.

“June—June-yah, please, let me—”

“Nope,” Junhoe replies as he lets go and spreads Jinhwan’s legs apart, stretching the older’s ass open briefly before rolling on a condom and pushing in. Jinhwan tries to pull Junhoe close, but Junhoe keeps him firmly pushed down, using both his hands and his weight to press Jinhwan’s hips against the mattress. Jinhwan reaches for him, but his small hands only make it to Junhoe’s chest, his back arching off the bed and fingers scratching down Junhoe’s torso when the younger gives a particularly hard thrust.

“June-yah, June-yah,” Jinhwan pants, his tail coming up to wrap around Junhoe’s waist in a desperate attempt to tug the younger closer. But Junhoe resists, his fingers pressing bruising marks into the soft skin around Jinhwan’s waist as he keeps the elder pinned onto the mattress, thrusting hard and fast into him. Jinhwan lets out a choked, broken-sounding sob when Junhoe moves his hand up to ghost his fingers over his collar, teasing the skin just below the leather before he slips his thumb under the leather and rubs Jinhwan’s neck. Jinhwan clenches around him as his head thrashes to the side, and Junhoe takes the chance to circle the thumb and forefinger of his other hand around the base of Jinhwan’s cock again.

Jinhwan really cries out this time, looking up confusedly at Junhoe who’s still thrusting into him. “Please,” Jinhwan chokes out, the first tear rolling down his cheek when Junhoe thrusts in in time with a brush of his thumb over Jinhwan’s adam’s apple. Jinhwan bucks his hips upwards in search of the release he’s so desperately chasing, but to no avail. “Please, June-yah, I need to—”

“Go on, hyung,” Junhoe murmurs, voice low as he continues rocking into Jinhwan at a comfortable pace, tightening the ring he’s made around Jinhwan’s cock. “Tell me what you want.”

Jinhwan sobs, another tear sliding down his cheek as he gazes up at Junhoe. Junhoe feels a sudden surge of power - dominance - as he stares down at Jinhwan: the catboy looks wrecked - eyes glassy, tears staining his flushed cheeks, sweat shining on his skin and Junhoe’s teeth marks littered all over his shoulders and collarbones.

“I want to—” Jinhwan’s breath hitches and his words morph into a pathetic-sounding whimper when Junhoe angles his hips just right and hits the bundle of nerves inside of him. “I want to come—I need to come, June, June please—”

“Tell me how much you want it,” Junhoe says, then he leans down and places his mouth right next to Jinhwan’s ear. “Beg me for it,” Junhoe breathes, biting down on Jinhwan’s ear.

Jinhwan is full-on sobbing now, tears streaking down his cheeks at being so close to his release but having it denied from him for too long. “Please,” Jinhwan’s voice cracks, his frame shaking. “Please, June-yah. Please, please, let me—I can’t—please—”

Junhoe drops the ring he’s made around Jinhwan’s cock and wraps his fingers around it instead, pumping the catboy quickly with deft flicks of his wrist as he picks up the speed of his hips and thrusts roughly into Jinhwan. When Junhoe slips two fingers under Jinhwan’s collar and tugs the catboy upwards to press a feverish kiss against his lips, Jinhwan cries out into his mouth as he comes, the intensity of his orgasm making his entire body tremble and clench tight around Junhoe. Junhoe comes right after, biting down into the juncture between Jinhwan’s neck and shoulder blade as he releases into the condom with a long, guttural groan.

Jinhwan’s body is still shaking slightly from the after-effects of his orgasm, and Junhoe immediately tugs the blanket back up around the catboy after he ties up the condom and tosses it into the bin by his bed. Junhoe hovers above the elder, wrapping his left arm around Jinhwan’s body as he dips his head down to kiss away the stray tears on Jinhwan’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Junhoe murmurs softly, gently tucking a stray lock of Jinhwan’s hair away from his face as the catboy finally stops shaking and blinks up at him instead. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Jinhwan mumbles back, voice hoarse from all the screaming and crying. He tilts his face upwards, and Junhoe presses a tender kiss against his lips.

“Shower?” Junhoe suggests, trailing a finger down Jinhwan’s cheek before gently thumbing away a tear. Junhoe’s heart is beginning to feel heavy with guilt. Jinhwan must have suffered a lot, just now.

Jinhwan nods, so Junhoe pushes himself up and moves away to give Jinhwan room to get to his feet. Unfortunately, the catboy takes one step and hisses, pain shooting up his spine as he stumbles.

Junhoe wraps his arms around his catboy immediately, hoisting him up in one swift motion. “I was too rough, huh,” Junhoe whispers, carrying Jinhwan to the bathroom as the catboy hooks his arms around Junhoe’s neck and his legs around his waist.

Jinhwan shakes his head from where it’s resting on Junhoe’s shoulder. “No. Just haven’t done that before.”

Junhoe sets Jinhwan down on the counter beside the sink, turning on the shower and adjusting the water to a warm, comfortable temperature while Jinhwan takes off his collar. Then he lifts the catboy off the counter and places him in the shower, smiling at the tinkling laugh he gets in return before stepping in after him.

Showering together definitely takes much longer and wastes more hot water than showering alone would, but Junhoe can’t find it in himself to care when Jinhwan purrs so contentedly when Junhoe rubs shampoo into his hair, and when the catboy stretches up on his tiptoes to peck Junhoe on the lips after they’re done washing and Junhoe is towelling him dry.

“Love you,” Jinhwan mumbles against his lips.

Junhoe’s heart skips a beat. He opens his mouth to say it back but it’s like the words get stuck in his throat, so he settles instead for pressing a soft kiss to the catboy’s forehead and setting him back down on the counter so he can run to the bedroom and get them some clothes.

“You hungry?” Junhoe asks after Jinhwan has finished slipping on his sweater. At Jinhwan’s nod, Junhoe gathers the catboy into his arms again, affection bubbling in his veins at the way Jinhwan fits so perfectly in his arms. Junhoe puts Jinhwan down on the kitchen island, then spends a few moments wondering what to cook.

“Ramyun?” Jinhwan asks when Junhoe eventually pulls out two packages from one of his cabinets.

“Yeah, unless you want me to burn something or risk us getting food poisoning.” Junhoe takes out a pot from another cabinet and fills it with water, then sets it on the stove to boil. He then moves to the fridge, taking out two eggs and half a napa cabbage that Jinhwan had used earlier that week - he figures he might at least try to be healthy, he tells himself as he cuts the cabbage into small pieces.

Once the water boils, he dumps in the noodles, seasonings and cabbage, stirring it around with a pair of chopsticks.

“Look at you,” Jinhwan teases, “pretending you can cook and all.”

“I’ll have you know I’m pretty good at this,” Junhoe huffs, cracking in the eggs and putting the lid back on the pot so they can cook. “This got me through many late nights in college. And after college.”

Junhoe stumbles a little when two legs hook around his waist and tug him backwards, then there are two small hands turning him around and curling around his nape, pulling him downwards for a kiss. Junhoe drops the chopsticks onto the kitchen island and places his hands on the surface, caging Jinhwan between his arms as he deepens the kiss and sucks the elder’s bottom lip into his mouth.

“June-yah?”

“Hm?”

“Your pot’s overboiling.”

Junhoe curses, grabbing the chopsticks and shutting off the heat. “Hyung, do you wanna just eat it out of the pot or should I get bowls?”

“Let’s just eat out of the pot. Less washing.”

Junhoe brings the pot to the kitchen island before going to fetch two pairs of chopsticks, and Jinhwan lightly hops off the counter to sit on a stool. Junhoe slides into the seat next to him and they dig in, arms touching and thighs pressed against each other’s.

The rest of the day passes by relatively uneventfully (except for the one brief moment when Bobby and Donghyuk come over to return Junhoe his briefcase; Bobby informs Junhoe that “Jinan-hyung knocked over our entire box of condoms before you came back yesterday, so I expect condom repayment because I’m going into heat soon,” to which Junhoe responds with a frustrated “I did not fucking need to know that.”). They watch television till the sun begins to set in the horizon, casting a dark orange hue across the living room. Junhoe watches as the light bounces off the bronze strands of Jinhwan’s hair and shines against the skin at the back of his neck, and before he knows it, he’s got his mouth attached to the soft skin of Jinhwan’s shoulder, trailing his lips upwards till he’s sucking a mark against the side of the catboy’s neck. Jinhwan tenses when Junhoe’s lips ghost over his collar, but Junhoe soothes him with a soft peck to the cheek before he sighs, wrapping both arms around the catboy and pulling him back closer against his chest.

They wake up late the next morning and spend the first few hours rolling around in bed, trailing careful hands up warm skin, pressing kisses to open mouths and giggling softly against each other’s lips. Junhoe pins Jinhwan beneath him at one point, the catboy’s chest heaving slightly as he looks up at him with the softest, most trustworthy expression Junhoe has ever seen.

And Junhoe’s had plenty of past crushes and lovers to know what infatuation and lust feel like. He knows the feelings of attraction and arousal, and he knows what it’s like to act on them - and also what it feels like to have those feelings fizzle out and fade away. But this, with Jinhwan warm and real and lying beneath him, this is different, set apart from Junhoe’s past lovers by a clear margin. Junhoe’s heart has never felt so full, so content by just staring at someone; he’s never wanted to just stay in all day with someone curled up in his arms and breathing softly against his chest. In relationships or in sex it’s always been Junhoe thinking of himself first, satisfying his own needs and chasing his own release, but being with Jinhwan always makes him want to stop and ensure that the catboy is doing okay, or even better than he is. Junhoe has never wanted to leave a mark on someone so that everyone else would know he was Junhoe’s, has never wanted to trail fleeting kisses down someone’s neck till they laughed softly under his touch, has never wanted to whisper mumbled confessions of love against someone’s lips.

I love you, Junhoe thinks, loud and clear and sure in his head as he stares down at Jinhwan. I love you so much it hurts.

(One day, he hopes he’ll have the courage to say it out loud.)

Considering how drastically Junhoe’s life has been altered these past couple of months, he feels like he should probably be more used to change by now.

After Jinhwan starts working more steadily at the restaurant, he’s out of the house two or three times a week when Junhoe gets back, usually not getting back until after ten, and sometimes even later still. Jinhwan remains faithful to his promise of letting Junhoe know when he’s left the apartment and when he’s leaving work, which at least does something to allay his fears that something might happen to the catboy while he’s out.

What Junhoe can’t help, though, is the loneliness he starts to feel - sure, the rational part of him knows that Jinhwan will be back in a few hours, but those few hours seem so long, especially when his most recent routine had included coming back after work and immediately having someone there. Sometimes, he wonders how he managed to get along living by himself all those months after moving out from living with Donghyuk.

(Now he thinks he realizes how Jinhwan must have felt waiting at home alone while he was at work.)

It’s not a routine that Junhoe really enjoys per se, but he understands that changes are necessary and that they happen regardless of what he wants.

And so he adapts; the feeling of coming home to an empty apartment is no longer as alien after a couple of weeks, and he’s not going to lie: sometimes he does enjoy having a little bit of time to himself. But he’s definitely much, much happier with Jinhwan there, even if they’re not necessarily doing anything together - just the elder’s presence seems to relax him, somehow.

Junhoe’s just boarded the subway home one evening when he gets a text from Jinhwan that he’s just left for work. With a sigh, Junhoe pockets his phone, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he lifts his head back up. He’d expected this, having memorized Jinhwan’s general work schedule, but having the confirmation just puts a bit of a damper on his mood.

He eats dinner by himself after returning home, ordering delivery when he realizes there isn’t much left in the fridge. Even though Jinhwan’s still home on some days, Junhoe figures the elder is probably too tired sometimes to cook, so he orders an extra portion for Jinhwan to eat later if he’s hungry. The deliveryman comes about fifteen minutes later; Junhoe’s oddly grateful for the brief interaction breaking up the monotony of sitting alone and staring at the wall.

Sometime after Junhoe finishes eating his dinner, he’s lounging alone on the couch and aimlessly flicking through the television channels when he sees a flash of lightning outside the living room window, followed by the sound of thunder.

hyung, Junhoe messages Jinhwan almost immediately. i think it’s gonna rain. did u bring an umbrella?

Junhoe stares at his phone after he’s sent the message, but as the minutes tick by with no response from Jinhwan, Junhoe can’t help but to send another message again.

i can come get u if u need, hyung. i know u hate it when ur ears get wet

Junhoe chews on his bottom lip worriedly as he waits for a reply from Jinhwan, and he feels immensely relieved when his phone buzzes a few moments later.

i brought an umbrella, june-yah. don’t worry about me, i’ll be home soon. love you.

Junhoe sighs heavily, thumbing back a quick ok hyung before tossing his phone onto the coffee table and closing his eyes.

(He misses how they used to be able to cuddle together on the couch every evening or roll around in bed every night, trailing gentle hands up warm skin and pressing soft kisses to each other’s lips.)

Junhoe must have ended up falling asleep, because the next time he opens his eyes, there are careful fingers carding through his hair and a soft set of lips pressing tenderly against his forehead. Junhoe blinks a few times to adjust his eyes to the light and is greeted with a chaste kiss to the cheek.

“Hi,” Jinhwan says softly, and Junhoe sees his catboy smiling affectionately at him.

“What time is it?” Junhoe mumbles, voice scratchy with sleep.

“A little past eleven,” Jinhwan replies, brushing Junhoe’s bangs away from his forehead. “You fell asleep. You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

“‘S’ok; I wanted to,” Junhoe murmurs back sleepily, allowing Jinhwan to shift him around so that he’s sitting up instead. Junhoe slips both arms around Jinhwan and pulls him in for a hug, the catboy letting out a soft laugh as he falls onto Junhoe’s lap and the younger buries his face in his neck.

Junhoe makes a soft noise of dissent just as Jinhwan starts carding his fingers through his hair, so the catboy stills. “June-yah?” Jinhwan questions, pulling back a little. “What’s wrong?”

“Jacket smells like smoke,” Junhoe mumbles, and Jinhwan instantly goes rigid in his arms.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks after a beat of silence. “You okay?”

Jinhwan forces himself to relax, nodding once as he ducks his head to press his lips to the corner of Junhoe’s mouth. “Yeah. Sorry about the jacket - I was working in the smoking area today so the cigarette smell must’ve stuck onto my clothes.”

Junhoe hums softly, pressing a lingering kiss to Jinhwan’s neck, right below his collar. “You don’t have to apologize, hyung - I was just pointing it out.”

Then Junhoe lifts his head, leaning back a little as he searches Jinhwan’s eyes. “I know how sensitive you are to smell, hyung. If you don’t like working in the smoking area, you should let your supervisor know, okay?”

Jinhwan chuckles fondly, lightly cupping Junhoe’s cheek with his small palm. “You’re sweet, June-yah,” the catboy says softly, then he playfully flicks Junhoe’s nose, sliding off the younger’s lap and getting to his feet.

“It’s late,” Jinhwan says. “I’ll go shower, then we can go to bed, okay?”

Junhoe nods as Jinhwan presses a kiss to his forehead, then heads to the bedroom to get his sleeping clothes before going to the bathroom for his shower.

The sound of the running water almost lulls Junhoe back to sleep right then and there, but soon enough he feels arms around him again, gently urging him up and leading him towards the bedroom.

“Night, June-yah,” he hears, as gentle hands push him down onto the mattress and pull the blankets over him. The sheets rustle, and Junhoe feels the bed dip under the pressure of someone getting in.

“Night, hyung,” Junhoe mumbles, reaching out to tuck his catboy closer against him, sighing in content when he can feel the tips of the elder’s ears brushing against his jaw.

Even sleeping somehow manages to feel better with Jinhwan beside him.

*

Junhoe and Jinhwan are lounging on the couch one night, Jinhwan lying between Junhoe’s legs and against the younger’s chest like he always does when the familiar sound of the passcode being keyed into the front door resounds throughout the living room. Junhoe sighs, and the door is pushed open.

“Good evening,” Donghyuk greets, smiling brightly at Junhoe who just glares back. Bobby is about to echo the greeting, but he takes a sniff of the air and pauses.

“Jinani-hyung, why does your jacket—”

Jinhwan freezes, shooting the younger catboy a sharp glare. Bobby’s brow furrows, but he doesn’t say more.

“His jacket what?” Junhoe asks.

“Looks dirty,” Bobby says, shrugging. “Maybe he should wash it.”

“I’ll get you guys something to drink,” Jinhwan says, getting to his feet and walking to the kitchen, but not without sending a look in Bobby’s direction. Donghyuk moves to fall onto the couch, but Bobby heads into the kitchen after Jinhwan.

“Hyung, it smells like smoke and alcohol. What on earth have you been doing?” Bobby asks, voice low.

Jinhwan glances around, then whispers, “My job. It’s—it’s actually at a bar.”

“Hyung,” Bobby’s eyes widen. “You know Junhoe won’t be okay with this.”

“And that is precisely why I didn’t tell him.”

Bobby’s eyes widen further. “You know he’ll find out sooner or later, right?”

Jinhwan sighs, pushing a hand through his hair. “You don't know that,” he says, keeping his voice soft. “And anyway, I'm working towards getting a different job in the future. This was just the first place I found that was actively hiring catboys and actually paid decently. I need to start repaying Junhoe the debt I owe him.”

Bobby gives Jinhwan a long look. “Hyung, you know Junhoe doesn't actually care if you pay him back or you don't, right?

“Well,” Jinhwan replies, filling up two glasses with water. “I don't like accepting charity freely. So don't tell Junhoe. And that means you can't tell Donghyuk, either.”

Bobby opens his mouth to protest, but sighs and says nothing when Jinhwan sends him a mildly irritated look.

“I hope you know what you're doing, hyung,” Bobby says finally.

Jinhwan just pats him on the cheek in gratitude before walking out of the kitchen, and for all their sakes, Bobby really does hope that Junhoe doesn't find out the truth about Jinhwan’s new job.

*

A few days later, Junhoe’s just stepped out of a meeting with some of his supervisors when his phone vibrates with a new KakaoTalk message.

Kim Donghyuk: you free for dinner tonight?

Koo Junhoe: just u and me?

Kim Donghyuk: yeah

Koo Junhoe: time and place

Donghyuk replies about half an hour later with the name of a hot pot restaurant near Junhoe’s workplace, and they agree to meet for dinner around seven-thirty.

By the time Junhoe pushes open the door of the restaurant and tells the hostess he’s looking for a friend, he spots Donghyuk already sitting alone at a small table in the corner of the restaurant, flicking through the menu.

“Hey,” Junhoe greets as he approaches the table, shrugging off his blazer and draping it over the back of the chair before sliding into his seat. Donghyuk looks up at his arrival and offers him a smile before passing him the menu.

“Are you treating?” Junhoe asks, flipping through the pages.

Donghyuk rolls his eyes, leaning back in his seat. “You would think being in a relationship would make you a more generous person,” he counters, but doesn’t deny Junhoe’s question as he signals for a waiter.

“So why the sudden dinner invitation?” Junhoe asks after they’ve placed their orders, pouring more hot tea into both his and Donghyuk’s cups.

“What, you mean you’ve already forgotten all the times you used to pester me to head out for meals with you?”

Junhoe glares at Donghyuk when he sees the playful sparkle in his best friend’s eyes. “Just thought you’d be at home boning your ever-annoying catboy.”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes. “Bobby-hyung’s at the gym; he’ll head home later,” he replies smoothly, thanking the waiter when he places their food on the table. “Speaking of catboys, where’s yours? Thought you and Jinhwan-hyung were surgically attached at the hip.”

Junhoe scowls, picking up a few slices of beef with his chopsticks and dumping it into the broth. “Work,” he mumbles unhappily, like the word alone has managed to personally offend him. “He won’t be home till late.”

“Oh, right,” Donghyuk says, adding in the vegetables. “Bobby-hyung mentioned that Jinhwan-hyung got a job. How’s he liking it?”

“We don’t talk about his work much,” Junhoe answers truthfully, moving his chopsticks around.

“You’re not interested to know?” Donghyuk asks, looking up at Junhoe.

“I am,” Junhoe insists, then sighs. “I’ve tried asking - quite a few times, actually. But I dunno, it’s like Jinhwan-hyung doesn’t wanna talk about it, or something. Keeps avoiding the topic.”

Donghyuk clears his throat lightly. “And you don’t think that’s a cause for concern?”

Junhoe shrugs a little helplessly, popping his beef into his mouth. “I dunno. Maybe, like, there isn’t anything particularly interesting that goes on at work? Nothing that Jinhwan-hyung finds worthy of sharing? And I don’t want to be pushy.”

Donghyuk regards him carefully for a moment, and when he speaks again, his voice is gentle. “June, communication is very important in a relationship. I know it’s not something you’re particularly fond of doing—” Donghyuk rolls his eyes when Junhoe opens his mouth to protest, continuing with what he wants to say. “But take it from me, as someone whose relationship once suffered because of the exact same problem. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with your relationship with Jinhwan-hyung, but I know you, June, and you’re worried as fuck about him. So just talk to him about it - properly. And I’m sure that Jinhwan-hyung will be more than willing to indulge you.”

Junhoe doesn’t say anything for a while, mulling this over. “I’ll think about it,” he finally says, and Donghyuk fixes him with a look, but doesn’t say anything else.

It’s not like Donghyuk’s words are making Jinhwan seem suddenly suspicious, but as Donghyuk scoops some soup into Junhoe’s bowl and shifts the conversation to more mundane topics, Junhoe can’t help but wonder if Jinhwan is actually hiding something from him, and if maybe they actually do have a problem.

*

i’m heading to work now, will be back around 10! love you, june-yah.

Junhoe sighs as he reads the message on his phone while on the train back from work. Jinhwan’s messages are nothing new to him anymore, but it always manages to make Junhoe feel just a bit duller, especially when there’s no overlap between him returning home from work and Jinhwan leaving.

see u then

He puts his phone in his pocket, contemplating what to do for the next few hours. It’s a Friday night, which means most people will probably be out, enjoying the starts of their weekends. Junhoe hasn’t been out by himself in a while - since he first met Jinhwan, now that he thinks about it. He remembers that there was a bar he used to frequent every week or so, buying a drink or two to unwind after a long day, but he hasn’t had much of a reason to go as of late.

Junhoe decides he might as well go out instead of skulking around waiting for Jinhwan to come back, so he walks back to his apartment quickly after leaving the station, shedding his work clothes in favor of well-worn black skinny jeans and a hoodie. He frowns at himself in the mirror, pushing his hair around until he just gives up, letting the strands fall messily over his eyes and shoving his phone and wallet into his pocket before heading to the bar.

He pushes the door to Victory open, heading for his preferred seat in a booth in the back corner.

“Haven’t seen you around here in a while, Junhoe-ssi,” a familiar figure says, approaching Junhoe’s table.

Junhoe rolls his eyes at the manager. “I’ve been busy, Seunghyun-ssi.”

“We’ve missed you!” Seunghyun pouts. “The usual? Two shots of vodka in orange juice?”

“You’ve missed my money,” Junhoe laughs (Seunghyun doesn’t deny it), “and yeah, the usual.”

“Coming right up.” The manager punches in Junhoe’s order - the service is quick, especially since it doesn’t seem like a terribly busy night. Junhoe immediately downs about half of his drink, enjoying the familiar taste of orange, cut through with the alcohol.

His eyes wander around as he sips on the rest, eventually landing on the bar itself. The vast collection of alcohol that bars usually keep has always somehow amazed him, and he wonders, not for the first time, where Seunghyun gets it all.

This, naturally, leads him to the people working at the bar. Some are familiar, people that Junhoe’s seen working many times before. One, however, is familiar in a different way - small, with light brown hair, and cat ears. Junhoe had never seen him there before, and wonders when Seunghyun had hired him.

The figure turns, his face entering Junhoe’s line of sight, and as their eyes meet, he stifles an involuntary gasp.

It’s Jinhwan.

For a moment, Junhoe is confused - Jinhwan’s supposed to be working at a restaurant, isn’t he? Why is he here? Did he pick up a second job?

Junhoe’s gaze flickers from the shelves of alcohol behind the bar to the ashtrays on the polished wood and then it hits him: Jinhwan has been working here all along.

Jinhwan lied to him.

Junhoe wants to go up to him immediately and ask him why, but he holds his tongue as he finishes the rest of his drink. There must be a reason Jinhwan didn’t tell him, right?

From his seat at the booth, Junhoe’s lips suddenly pull into a frown when he notices a guy at the bar leaning up just a little too close to Jinhwan, who doesn’t appear to be enjoying it. Junhoe gets up, approaching slowly, to try and hear what’s going on.

“—’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” He hears the man asks, his voice low enough that it’s not easily overheard by any of the others. “Mm? What’s this?” His fingers reach out towards Jinhwan’s neck, and Jinhwan jerks back, one hand clenching around the front of his collar.

The man stands up unsteadily, and his chair makes a loud scraping noise against the floor, finally attracting the attention of the people around him. He leans over the bar closer to Jinhwan, leering.

“You’re into that kinda shit? Kinky little kitty, aren’t ya—”

Before Junhoe even realizes it, his long legs bring him over to the bar, and he slams one hand onto the countertop, dark eyes boring into the disgusting, despicable son of a bitch who’s just—

“He. Is. Mine,” Junhoe growls out through gritted teeth, leaning forward to punctuate his words. “Don’t you fucking touch him.”

“You gonna stop me?” The idiot just reaches out further, intent on touching Jinhwan’s face . Junhoe reaches up and yanks his hand away, his heart racing a million times faster than normal.

“I said, don’t fucking touch him!”

The man just laughs, grinning at Junhoe, drunk and crazed. “Bet you get a lotta good fucks outta this one, don’tcha? Lucky bastard, what I wouldn’t give to have one of these under me—”

Junhoe sees red, his free hand balling into a fist, ready to swing straight into the bastard’s face. But before he can, he feels a touch on his arm - Jinhwan, eyes wet with tears unshed, and he’s dimly aware of some of the other workers already dealing with the other guy.

There’s only one thing on Junhoe’s mind now, though. He grabs Jinhwan by the wrist and pulls him around the entrance of the counter, walking far too quickly out the door.

“Junhoe!” Jinhwan cries, pulling at his arm, but Junhoe can barely hear anything besides the blood rushing in his ears and anger, anger, anger as he stomps back to their apartment .

“Junhoe, you’re hurting me,” Jinhwan says, giving a more forceful tug. Junhoe lets go, turning around to face the catboy.

“What the fuck?” Junhoe breathes, his voice high from breathless adrenaline. “What the fuck are you doing, working in a bar?”

“It’s not like it’s terrible,” Jinhwan replies. “These things don’t happen often; they’re usually stopped before anything gets out of hand—”

“Happen often? You mean it’s happened before? Fuck, do you want these things to happen?”

Jinhwan flinches away. Junhoe steps in closer.

“You want someone else to touch you?” He asks, hand moving up to Jinhwan’s collar, just like the man in the bar’s had. “Want someone else to call you kitty?”

“Junhoe, stop,” Jinhwan whispers, but the anger’s gotten to Junhoe’s head now, and words tumble out before he can stop them.

“You weren’t even doing anything,” Junhoe hisses, “when he was doing this to you. I bet if you were in heat, you’d let anyone touch you, huh? Just like this?” Junhoe’s hand slides behind Jinhwan’s neck to touch the sensitive spot just underneath his hairline, and he pulls at the back of his collar. Jinhwan’s eyes widen, his body shaking.

“You’re mine, goddammit!” Junhoe yells, moving even closer to Jinhwan, his other hand crushing around one of Jinhwan’s slim arms. “You’re mine.”

Jinhwan stiffens, and he bares his teeth at Junhoe. “You don’t fucking own me, Koo Junhoe.”

And there’s something about the cold way Jinhwan says his full name that pushes Junhoe over the edge. His fingers move to the buckle of the collar, leather strap moving beneath the metal easily as he slips the end through. “Does this mean anything to you? Huh? Is it just some pretty piece of jewelry for you?”

Junhoe’s voice has grown unconsciously louder, Jinhwan’s eyes closing as he turns away from Junhoe, his small frame trembling. He hears footsteps from behind him, and someone calling his name, but that’s not important - just this, only this—

“Junhoe, enough!” A force suddenly wrenches him away from behind, his grip on Jinhwan faltering. The sudden impact causes the end of the collar to completely slip through the buckle, sending it flying off and out of Junhoe’s hand, the metal fastening clattering on the sidewalk.

Jinhwan lets out a shocked cry, his legs giving out under him. Donghyuk rushes over to catch him and the catboy turns his face into Donghyuk’s shirt, body shaking.

“Let go of me!” Junhoe yells, but the arm around him is firm as he struggles. Donghyuk pulls Jinhwan to his feet - his eyes are wide and one of his hands covers his throat, fingers grasping blindly at where his collar used to be. The look Jinhwan sends him is so hurt and so broken that it shakes Junhoe to the core, the urge to fight leaving his body in an instant.

“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Donghyuk says, glaring at Junhoe with a ferocity that Junhoe’s never seen before, “but he is coming with me.”

Junhoe watches Donghyuk lead Jinhwan inside, and he wants so badly to run after Jinhwan, to hold him close and never let him go, but he can’t break free of the hold keeping him immobilized. His breath is ragged as he tries to breathe normally again, the adrenaline slowly leaving his system.

“I’m going to let go of you now, so don’t do anything stupid.” Junhoe recognizes Bobby’s voice, and it makes sense - the catboy had always been kind of a workout nut, and the times Junhoe’d seen him in a sleeveless shirt (or without one entirely - which was often), he’d had rather impressive musculature.

Bobby keeps one hand on Junhoe’s arm as he lets go of his crushing hold on Junhoe’s torso, but Junhoe makes no move to leave.

“Mind telling me what happened?” Bobby asks. Junhoe stares at the collar on the pavement, the silver buckle glinting in the streetlights. It’s not supposed to be there. It’s supposed to be on Jinhwan’s neck.

“Bar fight,” Junhoe says tersely, “some fucker was touching Jinhwan, saying things, and I—” Junhoe screams, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh, god,” Bobby whispers, “I should’ve known.”

“You what?” Junhoe asks, but it’s not angry - he doesn’t think he could feel anything else right now besides hurt.

“He told me he started working there a couple of weeks ago; I smelled the alcohol on his clothes. He told me not to tell you, I should have. I’m sorry.”

Junhoe just laughs humorlessly. “Not like that would have changed anything. We probably still would’ve fought.”

He bends down robotically and picks up the collar, thumb smoothing over the letters stamped into the leather like he’s done so many times before. This time, though, Jinhwan’s warm skin isn’t lying just under it, no quick, shocked inhale that almost always comes whenever Junhoe touches the collar unexpectedly. Just cold, smooth leather, and silence.

Bobby takes Junhoe back to his apartment - the younger can’t even bring himself to punch in the passcode for his door, so Bobby has to do it for him.

“Look,” Bobby sighs, “I know you and I aren’t the biggest fans of each other. But I know you, Junhoe. You’re not a bad person.”

“Sure I’m not.”

“You like to act like you are, but you’re really not. You realize, Junhoe, that I see you almost every day. And I’ve seen you change since Jinhwan-hyung’s come into your life, y’know? You’re not the same cranky ol’ Junhoe you used to be - you’re a lot happier, less selfish. You’re so disgustingly in love with Jinhwan-hyung. And I get it, man, if someone touched Donghyuk, I’d probably beat the crap out of them. But those things you said to Jinhwan? They couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Junhoe says nothing, leaning against the wall. Those words he said keep swimming to the forefront of his mind, stabbing him in the heart as he remembers the way Jinhwan looked when he’d accused the catboy of things he’d never even think of doing.

“Jinhwan-hyung and I, we talk a lot about you,” Bobby continues, “He loves you; so, so much, y’know? Always talking about Junhoe this and Junhoe that, and how much he feels guilty for taking so much from you but wants to indulge in the happiness you give him.”

“Guilty?”

“If you haven’t noticed it, you’re an even denser idiot than I took you for, but Jinhwan doesn’t like accepting charity freely.”

Junhoe groans. He knows this all too well, how Jinhwan always tries to make things up to Junhoe, how he’d protested so much when they were first getting to know each other about all the things Junhoe did that he thought were completely normal and, quite frankly, wanted to do for Jinhwan.

“Jinhwan-hyung likes his independence. He wanted a job so he wouldn’t be freeloading off of you anymore, and he wouldn’t take a job with Donghyuk, either, ‘cause he thought then he’d just be taking Donghyuk’s money instead of yours.”

Bobby looks at Junhoe, long and hard, and sighs. “I know you already know this. I know you only want the best for Jinhwan. And I know you two can work this out - but you have to really decide what you want, and make absolutely sure of your choice. Catboys, we mate for life. So don’t fuck it up.”

Bobby opens Junhoe’s door and nudges the younger inside. Junhoe complies, eyes glassy as he just stares at the older.

“One more thing,” Bobby says, once he’s sure Junhoe’s gotten in, “you know that last heat Jinhwan had? He was over at our place when it started, and you know what happened? He was a fucking mess - Donghyuk had to feed him cold medicine so he’d fall asleep and not wreck himself. But you know what he was doing the entire time?”

Bobby looks directly into Junhoe’s eyes, and his face, usually mirthful, is nothing but serious.

“He was pleading for you. Yeah, he climbed on us at first, but the moment he realized it wasn’t you he freaked; he kept crying out your name. So don’t think for one goddamn second that Jinhwan would even dream of letting anyone touch him, especially during his heat.”

At that, Bobby shuts the door, and Junhoe mechanically removes his shoes, heading straight for his room. He collapses onto his bed, Jinhwan’s collar still clenched in his hand.

He looks at the other side of the bed - the side where Jinhwan’s supposed to be, the side where Jinhwan would always lie while Junhoe finished up some last minute work, tugging at Junhoe’s wrist with his tail and looking at him with those eyes , pleading for him to come to bed. And he always obliged, sliding into bed next to Jinhwan who’d curl up next to him, warm and soft and fitting perfectly by his side. He always slept so much better, knowing that there was someone beside him who he loved even more than himself.

Tonight the bed is cold, empty, the blankets devoid of the catboy who always loved to wrap himself up in them and cuddle up to Junhoe. He looks at his wrist, where his cuff bracelet seems to be mocking him - he remembers how Jinhwan had been so happy to get it for him, and how it marked Junhoe as Jinhwan’s, too.

For the first time in years, Junhoe breaks down, crying into his pillow as everything just hits him, how much he loves Jinhwan and how badly he’s just fucked everything up.

He falls asleep, hating himself.

*

One apartment over, Jinhwan’s shivering, one hand still on his bare neck as Donghyuk wraps a blanket around him and sets a cup of tea down on the table. Bobby enters the apartment, exchanging a long look with Donghyuk as he sits down next to Jinhwan on the couch.

“I should—I need to go to him,” Jinhwan moves to stand, but Donghyuk puts a hand on his shoulder, keeping him down.

“Now is not a good time, hyung,” Donghyuk says firmly. “The two of you are not in a good state of mind right now. Wait until the morning.”

Jinhwan frowns, but Donghyuk is right - the emotions are too raw right now, and no matter how badly he wants to see Junhoe, to curl into his side and breathe him in, he doesn’t think it would end well.

Bobby presses a soft kiss to Jinhwan’s forehead, wrapping the catboy in a one-armed hug.

“It’ll be okay, hyung. Trust me.”

Jinhwan wants to trust Bobby, wants to believe everything will be fine.

But as his hand rubs over his neck again, where his collar used to be, he remembers what Junhoe said to him, and thinks back on the past two and a half months they’ve known each other, looking for signs to see where things started going wrong.

He remembers when Junhoe first told him he loved him: it was after Junhoe had gotten back from his business trip, when Jinhwan had been in heat and they had sex for the first time—

Jinhwan chokes.

Bet you get a lotta good fucks outta this one, don’tcha?

You want someone else to touch you? Want someone else to call you kitty?

I bet if you were in heat, you’d let anyone touch you, huh?

Jinhwan feels tears prick his eyes, suddenly finding it very, very hard to breathe.

“Don’t cry, hyung,” Bobby says gently; Jinhwan hadn’t even realised that he had been in the first place.

Donghyuk returns to the living room with a plain white shirt, an old pair of sweats and a clean bath towel tucked under his arm. He kneels in front of Jinhwan, hands the elder the cup of tea on the coffee table that is slowly beginning to cool, and waits for him to finish it. Then he hands Jinhwan the fresh set of clothes and bath towel, smile encouraging.

“It’s been a long day, hyung,” Donghyuk says. “Go take a shower then head to bed, okay?”

Jinhwan blinks furiously to prevent anymore tears from spilling over, accepting the things from Donghyuk with a quiet thank you before disappearing down the hall.

The bathroom layout and shower may look almost identical to the one back at his and Junhoe’s apartment, but when Jinhwan towels himself dry with the bath towel and slips on the white shirt, Junhoe’s scent is not there.

Jinhwan stares at his empty neck in the bathroom mirror and really, really wants to cry.

Slipping into bed is an ever tougher ordeal, Bobby’s and Donghyuk’s respective scents not unpleasant but just not what Jinhwan wants. Jinhwan lies alone in the bed, blinking up at the ceiling blankly until the door opens and Bobby steps in, freshly-showered. Bobby slides into the bed beside Jinhwan just as Donghyuk walks in, and Jinhwan is quick to sit up, preparing to head outside to sleep on the couch. But Bobby holds him down with a hand to his wrist, and all Donghyuk does is retrieve his pillow from the bed before replacing it with a spare and grabbing a blanket from a cupboard.

“Bobby-hyung will stay with you tonight,” Donghyuk explains to Jinhwan, smiling warmly. He reaches out a hand to gently rub one of Jinhwan’s bronze-colored ears, and the gesture sends a small wave of warmth through Jinhwan’s body. Jinhwan watches as Bobby’s tail flicks upwards to curl around Donghyuk’s wrist, stopping the younger before he can walk away and pushing himself up slightly on the bed so that he can press a kiss to Donghyuk’s lips.

Jinhwan watches Donghyuk smooth a hand down Bobby’s messy brown hair and send his catboy an affectionate smile, and he feels his heart constrict in longing.

Bobby sleeps close to Jinhwan that night, ears tickling Jinhwan’s cheek and brown tail wrapped loosely around Jinhwan’s waist. Bobby is warm and his scent is comforting, but Jinhwan still falls into the most fitful sleep he’s had in ages.

The last thing Jinhwan sees before he finally succumbs to his exhaustion is the glistening silver buckle of Bobby’s collar in the moonlight.

*

For a moment when Jinhwan first blinks his eyes open to the sun, he forgets where he is.

There’s someone warm next to him, and he’s about to scoot closer when the scent hits him - it’s not Junhoe.

He’s not at home.

Jinhwan pushes himself up to a sitting position, taking in the situation - Bobby is sprawled out on the mattress next to him, snoring softly. He’s wearing unfamiliar clothes, and as he unconsciously lifts a hand up to his neck, he remembers that the band of leather that once adorned it is gone.

So last night did happen after all - Jinhwan’s worst nightmare come to life.

Jinhwan shifts till he reaches the edge of the bed, setting his feet on the floor and clutching his tail to his chest as he ventures out of the bedroom and down the hall. He turns the corner into the living room and is immediately greeted by the sight of Donghyuk lying on the couch. The younger is awake but appears to be lost in his thoughts - he’s got one leg crooked upwards as he stares at the living room ceiling.

Jinhwan hovers uncertainly for a few seconds before Donghyuk seems to notice his presence, sitting up on the couch and flashing Jinhwan a warm smile. He pats the empty space next to him.

“Morning, hyung. I’ll get you something to drink.”

Jinhwan sits down, tail still gripped tight in his hands as Donghyuk goes to bring him a glass of milk from the kitchen.

“Bobby-hyung likes drinking milk in the morning,” Donghyuk says by way of explanation, handing Jinhwan the glass before sitting down next to him. Silence falls upon them, and Jinhwan finally realizes that for all the time the four of them spend together, he’s never actually had a long, proper conversation with Donghyuk. Sure they text sometimes, and they chat and laugh if they ever prepare dinner together, but Donghyuk spends most of his time talking to Junhoe, and being catboys, Jinhwan had hit it off more easily with Bobby.

“How are you feeling, Jinhwan-hyung?” Donghyuk asks. “Any better?”

“No,” Jinhwan replies, and to admit it is oddly freeing, although it doesn’t erase the sick feeling in his stomach.

“Thought so,” Donghyuk takes a long drink of his own glass of milk and sighs, an expression that Jinhwan can only describe as vaguely wistful settling across his face. “Fights are never fun.”

Jinhwan is puzzled. “You and Bobby?”

“Hard to believe?” Donghyuk chuckles. “I couldn’t believe it too, at first, when it happened.”

Jinhwan watches silently as Donghyuk twists the glass around in his hand. “It was around a year ago. Bobby and I had been together for a few months, and I’m not joking in the slightest when I say that those few months were some of the happiest times of my life. But we—we were hiding things from each other, and we weren’t treating each other like equals in the relationship.”

Donghyuk reaches for the ring on his left ring finger, an exact replica of the one Jinhwan knows sits on the ring finger of Bobby’s right hand. “You know I have my own cafe now, and it’s doing pretty well these days. In the beginning, though, it was really difficult getting it off the ground, what with the competition and all the costs, not to mention I still had to deal with the apartment expenses. Everything kept piling up, and I—Junhoe had to lend me money, you know?”

At Jinhwan’s surprised expression, Donghyuk chuckles. “Trust Junhoe to never mention it. Junhoe’s job at the tech company paid well, even as a fresh grad. He knew I needed the money, and he just lent it to me without question. I took months to pay him back, but he never rushed me.”

“That sounds like him,” Jinhwan voices softly, and Donghyuk smiles at him - properly, this time.

“Anyway, I didn’t tell Bobby-hyung about any of this,” Donghyuk continues. “It’s a long story, but I misjudged him, and never bothered to tell him about the problems I was facing. Then one day it all just felt like too much, and we fought. I told him that he couldn’t possibly understand, and he said that if I was going to continue to think like that then there was no way we could be equals.”

Donghyuk looks down at his ring. “I think we assumed too much about each other. It’s funny, because you’d think you know everything about the person you choose to be with, but it’s often the people that we’re closest to that we take for granted the most.

“I realized I never really asked Bobby-hyung about his life before I met him. I’m not sure how much he’s told you and it’s not my story to tell, but Bobby-hyung has known his own brand of hardship, and I was wrong to assume that he didn’t.”

Donghyuk downs the rest of his milk before turning to face Jinhwan. “Relationships are tough. I don’t know about your past relationships, but I’ve known Junhoe long enough to see him try and fail at starting a decent one for far too long, now. Junhoe sucks at communication and he’s terrible at expressing his emotions. He likes to hide everything behind this indignant impenetrable facade, especially when he cares about someone. Let me guess - even if you say it first, he rarely tells you he loves you?”

Jinhwan’s eyes widen, and Donghyuk sighs.

“I’ve known Junhoe for a long time, now, and I’ve never seen him like this before. He loves you, Jinhwan-hyung,” Donghyuk says quietly. “He is very much in love with you. He’s not good at saying how he feels, so he turns to action instead. Sometimes, though - and I know this well - it comes out wrong.”

Jinhwan’s throat feels too tight. He doesn’t know what to say.

“I’m not saying that you should just forgive Junhoe for whatever he did,” Donghyuk says, “nor that his behavior was correct. But I can definitely say without a doubt that he would never, ever lie about loving you.”

Jinhwan’s eyes have gone misty again and god, he really is an easy crier, but there’s just something about hearing something so personal from Donghyuk - and about Junhoe, no less - that makes Jinhwan’s heart constrict.

Donghyuk gets to his feet, picking up his glass from the coffee table before resting a palm gently against Jinhwan’s cheek. He drops his hand after a couple of seconds, then speaks. “You don’t know how much you’ve changed Junhoe’s life - I’ve never seen him so happy. The choice is ultimately yours to make, but as a friend, I hope you give him another chance.”

Bobby chooses that moment to stumble out of the bedroom, his hair a wild mess around his ears. “Mornin’ Donggu, Jinani-hyung.”

Donghyuk laughs. “Go wash your face and do something about your hair.”

“M’kay.”

Jinhwan looks at the expression on Donghyuk’s face as he watches his catboy lope off to the bathroom. Something about it is oddly familiar, and it sends another pang of longing through his chest.

Jinhwan sits back on the couch, letting out a sigh.

All there’s left to do is wait.

*

When Junhoe wakes up the next morning, he feels like complete shit.

He’s still in his clothes from the night before, and his eyelids feel heavy. Junhoe remembers that he’d cried last night as he lifts one hand to his cheek and feels the tackiness of the dried tears on his face.

His other hand is cramped up, he looks at it - Jinhwan’s collar is still clenched tightly in his fist, and his heart sinks.

Jinhwan.

He fucked up so badly.

Everything he’d said comes flooding back to him, each word stabbing him in the heart as he imagines how it must have felt to Jinhwan - he wouldn’t be surprised if the elder never wanted to see him again.

Immediately, he gets out of bed and goes next door, not even bothering to put shoes on as he knocks on Donghyuk’s door.

“Can I—can I talk to him?” Junhoe asks the second Donghyuk opens the door. He looks over Donghyuk’s shoulder, where he sees Jinhwan on the couch, wrapped in Bobby’s embrace. Junhoe can’t even bring himself to tell Bobby to get off him like he usually would.

Donghyuk narrows his eyes at Junhoe but lets him in, keeping close as Junhoe approaches Jinhwan, who squirms against Bobby’s hold, but is kept down.

“Jinhwan-hyung, I’m so sorry,” he says, and his voice sticks in his throat when he tries to say the catboy’s name. “I’m so sorry. I—I fucked up. I wouldn’t blame you if you choose not to be with me anymore.”

Junhoe swallows and extends his hand - palm upwards - towards Jinhwan, so he can see the buckle of Junhoe’s bracelet. “You—you can just take it off of me. I’m sorry.”

Jinhwan stares at him, expression quickly morphing into one of displeasure. He makes no move to touch Junhoe.

“Are you an idiot, Koo Junhoe?”

Junhoe certainly thinks he is, but he’s not comprehending this at all. Why isn’t Jinhwan doing anything?

“You don’t get to singlehandedly decide whether or not we break up. What if I don’t want to?”

“Why wouldn’t you? I hurt you, hyung, and even if I apologize I can’t take what I said back.”

Jinhwan sighs. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Donghyuk roll his eyes and Bobby give him an unimpressed look. Junhoe’s not sure how to feel about this - it feels like he’s in the middle of some joke where he’s the punchline, but he’s not sure what it’s about.

“Let’s just—” Jinhwan looks at Junhoe, at his collar in his hands, then down at the floor. “Let’s just go back.”

Junhoe steps back quickly as Jinhwan gets to his feet, the catboy expressing his gratitude to Bobby and Donghyuk one last time before he pushes open the apartment door and steps out into the hallway. Junhoe hovers behind a little, watching as Bobby gets up to stand next to Donghyuk and snake his tail around the younger’s waist.

“Fix this,” Donghyuk says sternly, then shuts the door behind Junhoe without another word.

There’s silence for a moment.

“You think they’ll be okay?” Bobby asks, looking at Donghyuk.

And Donghyuk smiles his first real smile since last night, pushing Bobby’s bangs out of his eyes before leaning in to kiss his catboy on the lips.

“Trust me, they’ll be okay,” Donghyuk says.

“Junhoe will always find his way back to the people he knows he can’t live without.”

*

Back in their own apartment, Junhoe can’t look Jinhwan in the eyes.

“I’m just gonna—go buy food, I think we’re out.” Junhoe places Jinhwan’s collar delicately on the kitchen counter, then practically sprints out the door.

One of Jinhwan’s arms is raised slightly - he didn’t even have a chance to protest otherwise. He looks forlornly at the closed door, letting out a heavy sigh.

Jinhwan reaches out slowly for his collar, almost as if he thinks it might disappear if he touches it. Once his grasp closes around it, though, he knows it’s real, and he holds it carefully, flattening it out in his hands. There’s a bit of a crease in it at one point - probably from where Junhoe was gripping it. Jinhwan runs his fingers along its length, feeling the indentations where KJH was pressed in, the familiar bend of the leather where it starts to feed into the closure to fit perfectly around his neck, and the metal buckle that’s already been undone two too many times.

Jinhwan sits at the kitchen table, just staring at it while he thinks about everything that’s happened - everything that’s been said and done, to try and make sense of it all.

He’s not going to lie to himself and pretend that everything’s magically okay now - Junhoe’s words still smart when he thinks about them. But it would be a lie to tell himself that Junhoe doesn’t love him, and that everything the younger did was just for the purpose of hurting him.

Jinhwan does not belong to Junhoe, in the sense that Junhoe owns him.

But in terms of who he wants to belong with—

Well, there’s only one person he can think of that fits that criteria.

So Jinhwan wraps the collar around his neck, securing it back in place, and finally, something feels right.

*

Junhoe stares into his coffee with a sigh.

After he’d run out of his apartment without a concrete plan, he realized that he needed to figure out how to kill a few hours - he doesn’t think he can really face Jinhwan, not yet.

So he’d decided to camp out at a cafe - not Donghyuk’s, of course (although he must say his friend’s coffee is far superior) and think.

Mentally, he runs over potential scenarios: he returns home and Jinhwan’s not there, Jinhwan refuses to speak to him, or Jinhwan attacks him with one of the knives in the kitchen - all of which are perfectly plausible and reasonable reactions for what Junhoe had done.

What he wouldn’t give to redo the day over and take it all back.

“You don’t get to singlehandedly decide whether or not we break up. What if I don’t want to?”

Junhoe thinks this is supposed to be simple, but it’s not - it doesn’t make sense to him.

Why wouldn’t Jinhwan want to?

Junhoe sighs, raking a hand through his hair (unwashed, he notes, and it’s a little gross). Right now, he just feels like a mess. Not only does he have to figure out how he feels (he can name some of them - anger, hurt, sadness - but none of those really seem to do it justice), but he has to try and figure out how Jinhwan feels.

If I were Jinhwan… I would probably really hate me.

This makes logical sense. And usually, if someone hates Junhoe, he doesn’t really care. In general, he really doesn’t care how anyone feels about him, as long as it’s not someone he truly cares about, or someone who has the power to fuck his entire life over.

The thing is, though, he really doesn’t want Jinhwan to hate him. And he has no idea how to change that.

“Fuck my life,” he groans, dropping his head on the table.

“Are you alright, sir?”

One of the cafe workers approaches his table, a worried expression on her face. She’s pretty, objectively-speaking. If Junhoe were any other guy, he’d probably try and use this opportunity to channel her pity into a date.

But Junhoe’s not any other guy, and all he wants…

… is Jinhwan.

“No,” he says simply. She looks at him awkwardly before moving onto another table.

Junhoe finishes his coffee quickly and takes the cup back to the counter, sighing as he leaves the shop. He doesn’t want to go back to the apartment yet, trying to put off the inevitable. He knows it’s cowardly, but he’s stupid and thinks that maybe the longer he waits the easier it might be.

He walks to a nearby Korean-Chinese restaurant and orders two bowls of jajangmyeon, figuring that at least he’ll have something to eat tomorrow if Jinhwan leaves.

(He doesn’t want to be planning for worst-case scenarios, but if nothing else, Junhoe thinks he should try to be practical.)

When he gets back after spending what he hopes is an appropriate amount of time stalling, he spends another inordinate amount of time just standing in front of his own apartment door, wondering if he should go in or not.

Which is stupid, because he lives there, but he’s afraid.

Afraid of what’s behind that door, and what it might mean for him. For them .

Junhoe swallows, gripping the plastic bag of jajangmyeon tighter in one fist. “You’re an idiot, Koo Junhoe,” he tells himself as he enters the passcode for the lock.

“I’m back,” he says dully, fully expecting no response as he kicks off his shoes. Jinhwan’s already standing in the entryway, though, ears perked and tail waving, his collar—

His collar.

Junhoe’s eyes immediately land on the band of leather around the catboy’s neck. He doesn’t even know what to say.

“Are you done gawking?” Jinhwan asks, raising an eyebrow. “I smell food.”

“I—um—” Junhoe stammers as he stumbles into the kitchen, setting the bag onto the table and pulling out the containers of noodles and pickled vegetables.

“Thanks,” Jinhwan says, picking up his chopsticks and digging in.

“You’re, uh, welcome.” Junhoe ekes out quietly, before proceeding to eat as fast as he possibly can. He hopes that if he does this, he’ll be able to avoid any possible awkward conversation.

Jinhwan appears to be merciful today - the catboy is usually rather talkative as they eat, but he remains quiet as he slurps his noodles. Junhoe can’t stop staring at the black collar around Jinhwan’s neck, and he has to grip onto his chopsticks tighter to prevent himself from reaching out and brushing his fingers over the leather like he wants to.

Dinner is a quiet affair: Jinhwan finishes his noodles first, then heads off to take a shower; Junhoe grabs his own clothes from the bedroom while he waits. Junhoe can’t help the pang of disappointment he feels in his chest when Jinhwan emerges from the bathroom later dressed in his own clothes instead of Junhoe’s.

Junhoe waits until Jinhwan has disappeared inside their bedroom for a good few minutes before he gets up to take his own shower, ducking into the bathroom with a sigh.

He wonders when things got so complicated.

*

Jinhwan hears the sound of the water stop running and knows that Junhoe’s done with his shower. He waits, and waits, but the bedroom door never opens.

Eventually Jinhwan gets to his feet, padding out of the bedroom and down the hall where he promptly finds Junhoe lying on the couch, right hand idly twisting the black leather cuff around his left wrist.

“Are you not coming to bed?”

Junhoe’s body jerks upright at the sound of Jinhwan’s voice.

“You—I just—” Junhoe stammers. “You don’t—you don’t mind?”

Jinhwan lets out an exasperated sigh. “Come to bed, Junhoe.”

Jinhwan re-enters the bedroom and slides into bed first, curling up on his side and leaving an ample amount of space for Junhoe. He waits for Junhoe to slip in close beside him like he always does, but the younger ends up lying as far away from Jinhwan as he possibly can, back straight and posture stiff.

Donghyuk was right. Junhoe is absolutely ridiculous.

Jinhwan mimics Junhoe’s position, lying with his back flat against the mattress and face tilted up towards the ceiling. There’s only enough space to fit a pillow between them, but it somehow still manages to feel like a chasm.

Jinhwan lightly touches his collar, sucking in a breath for courage. He knows what he wants.

“I heard stories,” Jinhwan starts, voice soft. “Growing up, in Jeju.”

Jinhwan sees Junhoe’s body stiffen slightly from the corner of his eye - he takes this as a sign that the younger is paying attention to what he’s saying.

“Young catpeople from small islands and the countryside - our friends and relatives always tell us stories of the catpeople who leave for the city to start a new life, to meet the people there.

“It’s always good at first,” Jinhwan continues. “Catpeople are exotic creatures. And us cats from the countryside - we’re always treated like something infinitely precious, something to be protected. The city men show us how different and beautiful this new life is; they take us in then spoil us, care for us, promise to keep us happy, always.

“They buy us collars,” Jinhwan’s voice goes quiet at this, the weight of his own collar around his neck suddenly so real and heavy. “Promise to love us, help us through our heats. ‘It always starts out good,’ they’d say. ‘But it never ends well.’”

Junhoe isn’t even saying anything, but he finds it very hard to breathe.

“The city men get bored. Catpeople aren’t really a rarity: there will always be a prettier one, a more attractive one, one with longer, more intense heats. And that’s what the city men want, isn’t it?”

Junhoe has never heard Jinhwan’s voice sound so bitter before, so harsh. “They want us because we go into heat, because they think we’re submissive. They don’t want a partner; they want a fucktoy.”

Junhoe feels as though he’s just been slapped.

“Jinhwan—” Junhoe tries to say, but he can’t find his voice, or the words to say.

“It always ends the same. The owner rips the collar off the cat’s neck and kicks them out, or drives them out then leaves them abandoned on the side of the road. And then the cat has no choice but to come home - return to the very same place they left - and face mockery and ridicule for the rest of their life.”

Jinhwan stops talking, and there’s silence for a long moment. Junhoe’s about to open his mouth to say something, anything, but then Jinhwan rolls over such that he’s hovering over Junhoe, and Junhoe’s breath catches in his throat.

Junhoe has stared at Jinhwan an inordinate number of times before, sure, but this is the first time he’s properly looking at Jinhwan since they fought, and Jinhwan’s bronze-colored ears shine in the moonlight, the silver buckle of his collar glistening in the light that filters in through the window.

Jinhwan is, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature Junhoe has ever laid eyes on.

Then Jinhwan reaches for Junhoe’s hand, bringing it up till it’s resting lightly on his collar. Junhoe can’t stop himself: his thumb brushes the soft skin of Jinhwan’s neck just above the black leather, and he feels his heart pounding in his chest at the sharp intake of breath the little action elicits from Jinhwan.

“That’s why, last night, when you pulled this collar off of me, I thought I was going to end up like one of those catboys,” Jinhwan whispers. “That I’d become nothing but just another sad story to tell, and I’d have to spend the rest of my life believing the things the catpeople in Jeju would say about me. You’re the first human I’ve ever been with, you know?”

And suddenly, it’s like so many things make sense: the way Jinhwan’s eyes go dark and how loud he purrs whenever Junhoe absentmindedly brushes his fingers over his collar, how Jinhwan always hisses whenever Junhoe tries to remove his collar to air it and oh, god , the way Jinhwan had almost gone hysterical the morning he woke up without his collar on.

“Hyung—” Junhoe chokes out. His throat feels too tight. “Hyung—”

“I’m sorry, too,” Jinhwan interrupts, because he knows that he needs to get all this off his chest before it’s too late. “It was wrong and - frankly - stupid of me to lie to you about my job. I should’ve just been honest and told you about it from the start. I wanted to do something for myself and contribute to this house but I went about it the wrong way, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, because I know you just want to keep me safe.

“Us—this relationship - it’s not going to be perfect all the time,” Jinhwan continues, looking down at Junhoe’s chest as his fingers fist the material of the younger’s shirt. “I’m not sure how much we’re going to argue, or how many times we’re going to say things to each other that we’ll regret. But if it’s one thing I’m absolutely sure of, it’d be that I love you, June-yah,” Jinhwan lifts his gaze and he’s looking directly at Junhoe, now. “I love you and I want to be with you, for a long, long time.”

And it’s in this moment where Junhoe realizes that perhaps, with Jinhwan, it had always been this simple.

There are many things Junhoe wants to say, wants to tell Jinhwan, but he’s never been all that good with words, anyway, so he does the best thing he knows how: he slips a finger under Jinhwan’s collar and pulls, tilting his head up to meet Jinhwan halfway as he seals their lips together in a kiss.

When they pull away, Junhoe hears a faint chuckle from Jinhwan, followed by the feeling of the catboy’s thumb brushing across his cheekbone.

“I can’t believe you’re crying,” Jinhwan says, and there’s laughter in his tone.

Junhoe flushes. “I’m not crying - stop laughing at me!”

But Jinhwan has dissolved into a fit of giggles by now, falling back onto the bed and tangling himself up in the blanket at the same time.

Junhoe stares at him for a long moment, overwhelmed by emotion (finally, ones he can name) - affection, tenderness and love.

Junhoe wraps his left arm around Jinhwan, pulling him close again.

“I—I love you, Jinhwan-hyung.”

The words feel a little awkward in his mouth - verbalizing his emotions has never come easily. But the way Jinhwan looks at him, smile lighting up his entire face, makes Junhoe wonder why he never said it more often.

For one horrifying moment when Junhoe first comes to the next morning, he’s afraid he’s all alone in bed again, right back to how it used to be before Jinhwan came into his life.

But then Junhoe feels something shift next to him, and when he glances down, he sees a messy tuft of bronze hair, two triangular-shaped cat ears, and Jinhwan slowly blinking his eyes open to focus his gaze on him.

“Morning, June-yah,” Jinhwan whispers, voice soft and scratchy with sleep.

“Morning, hyung,” Junhoe murmurs back, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the elder’s forehead, affection clear in his voice. Before he fully wakes up and his self-consciousness can return in full force, he blurts out a soft “I love you,” feeling heat rise to his face immediately afterwards.

Jinhwan chuckles softly, closing his eyes and pressing his lips to Junhoe’s jaw. “Love you too.”

Junhoe reaches out to pull Jinhwan a little closer to him, wanting the reassurance of feeling his catboy (his catboy, he reminds himself - they’re still together after all) in his arms. After the events of the days prior, he doesn’t want to take any more chances.

“Did you sleep okay?” Junhoe asks quietly, lifting his left hand to gently drag his thumb over Jinhwan’s cheekbone. The cold leather of Junhoe’s cuff on his wrist makes contact with Jinhwan’s skin, and the catboy purrs softly in content.

Jinhwan nods, turning his face to nuzzle into Junhoe’s shirt. “Better with you here.”

Junhoe’s heart aches a little at the thought of his catboy spending the previous night alone over in Bobby and Donghyuk’s apartment, especially with how much he knows the elder likes curling up against his side and breathing in his scent whenever they take naps or go to bed.

“I’m sorry,” Junhoe says. “I shouldn’t have—I won’t—” he stammers, trying to find the words to say. He still feels so, so guilty, knowing that he’d hurt Jinhwan, and while they’d talked about it last night, Junhoe can’t help but feel like he still has to make up for it somehow.

But Jinhwan just frowns, freeing his right arm from beneath the blanket and pressing his thumb to Junhoe’s lips. “Enough apologizing,” the catboy says firmly. “We both made mistakes, but they’re in the past, now - we learn from them and move on.”

“Hyung, I—”

“Junhoe.”

Junhoe lets out a slow breath, biting the inside of his cheek. He’s still not entirely settled with the whole thing, but Jinhwan’s right - they can’t just keep coming back to it over and over.

“Okay,” he finally relents, catching Jinhwan’s hand in his own and tangling their fingers together. He closes his eyes, then leans down to press a lingering kiss to Jinhwan’s lips. “I love you, hyung.”

“Mm,” Jinhwan hums in response, sighing softly in content when Junhoe moves his head a little to press his lips to the corner of his mouth. “I won’t object to you being this affectionate every morning, though.”

Junhoe laughs, feeling his heartbeat thrumming peacefully in his chest. “Whatever you want, hyung.”

Jinhwan is quiet for a moment, and Junhoe wonders briefly if something’s wrong before Jinhwan opens his mouth to speak again.

“I… June, I’m going to quit my job.”

Somehow, this doesn’t quite register with Junhoe at first - it takes a while for him to speak again.

“Hyung, you—what?” Junhoe asks, pushing himself up a little so he can better look down at the catboy. Jinhwan turns his face up at him, and Junhoe swallows thickly. “You don’t have to quit, hyung. Really. I get that you want to work, and I know I overreacted—”

Jinhwan shushes him again. “I wasn’t planning to work there long, anyway - it was just the first place I found. I’ve already been looking into other job vacancies, actually. So don’t worry, okay? This is a decision I’m making on my own.”

Junhoe stares down at Jinhwan for a long moment, trying to figure out what to say. Everytime he opens his mouth, however, the catboy just narrows his eyes at him, so Junhoe eventually sighs, lying down again and gently tugging Jinhwan back down on top of him. Jinhwan returns to resting his head on Junhoe’s chest, and the younger cards his fingers through his catboy’s hair.

“If you say so, hyung,” Junhoe murmurs, pressing his lips to Jinhwan’s hair before sighing softly and wrapping his arm around the elder’s waist. “I trust you.”

Jinhwan’s expression is fond as he flips over on Junhoe’s chest, reaching up a hand to lightly cup Junhoe’s cheek.

“Breakfast,” the catboy says with finality, pressing one more kiss to Junhoe’s mouth before pushing the younger away. Junhoe whines and reaches for him, but Jinhwan slips out of bed smoothly and is out the door in the next second.

Junhoe grumbles a bit as he pushes the blankets off himself and follows Jinhwan to the kitchen, where the elder is standing in front of an open cabinet.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan says, not even turning around as Junhoe approaches, “what should we eat?”

“How did you know I was here?” Junhoe asks, walking up behind Jinhwan and resting his chin on the elder’s head. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“I could hear you. And smell you,” Jinhwan replies matter-of-factly. “Is cereal okay?”

Junhoe shrugs, lifting his chin off and kissing the top of the catboy’s head between his cat ears. “Yeah, sure.”

Jinhwan reaches up to grab one of the boxes of cereal while Junhoe takes down two bowls from another cupboard and sets them on the table, followed by the carton of milk from the fridge. Junhoe is in the middle of retrieving two spoons from one of the kitchen drawers when the sound of the passcode being keyed into the lock sounds from the entryway.

“Guys?” Comes what is unmistakably Bobby’s voice, followed by the sound of the front door closing.

“Why are you here?” Junhoe groans, the response coming out before he can stop it.

“We’re just here to, uh,” Bobby says as he enters the kitchen, glancing between Junhoe and Jinhwan as Donghyuk pokes his head up over Bobby’s shoulder.

“We’re here to check up on you,” Donghyuk cuts in smoothly, looking straight at Junhoe.

“What are you, my mother?”

“Yeah, I kind of am.”

“Take out two more bowls and spoons, June-yah,” Jinhwan instructs kindly. “We can have breakfast together in the living room.”

“But hyung, they have their own food!” Junhoe protests, even as he moves to get them anyway.

Jinhwan smiles fondly, reaching up to pat Junhoe on the cheek as he carries the cereal and milk from the kitchen to the living room and puts them on the coffee table. Bobby glances from Donghyuk to Junhoe a little nervously, then grips his tail in his hands as he follows after Jinhwan.

“I’m guessing you managed to get your head out of your ass?” Donghyuk begins conversationally, leaning against the kitchen counter as Junhoe washes the spoons.

“You’re a dick,” Junhoe mutters, but then he swallows thickly, turning off the tap and turning to face his best friend proper. “Dong—thank you.”

“For being a dick?” Donghyuk teases, but there’s no real bite to his voice, and his expression softens. “You’re welcome, Junhoe.”

Sometimes, Junhoe wonders how he got so lucky with Donghyuk - his friend seems to understand him so easily, even though Junhoe barely says anything and he’s not even sure if he understands himself half the time.

The two best friends head out of the kitchen to join the two catboys in the living room, where Bobby looks much more relaxed than he did a couple of minutes ago and appears to be in the middle of making Jinhwan laugh with some story or another.

“Come here, Bobby-hyung,” Donghyuk chuckles, settling onto the floor. “Let Junhoe sit with Jinhwan-hyung.”

“Oh, right,” Bobby replies, grinning broadly as he gets to his feet and all but drops himself onto Donghyuk’s lap. Donghyuk doesn’t even bat an eyelash, just wraps one arm around his catboy and reaches for the cereal with his other hand.

Junhoe sits down in the now-unoccupied space, and Jinhwan leans against him briefly, reaching over to squeeze his hand once before turning his attention to Donghyuk and Bobby, offering to help serve them and asking if they want anything else.

Bobby shakes his head, a smile still on his lips. “Nah, hyung, we’re good.”

“We weren’t planning on staying long,” Donghyuk adds, looking from Junhoe to Jinhwan. “We just came to make sure everything was okay. I need to run to the mall.”

With that, Donghyuk lightly taps Bobby’s hip, and the brown-furred catboy gets to his feet, Donghyuk following suit. Junhoe and Jinhwan walk them to the front door, where Jinhwan circles both arms around Junhoe from behind and peers at their neighbors from around the younger’s body.

“Thank you both, really,” Junhoe says, and he winces at how terribly awkward he sounds. Donghyuk lifts one brow in amusement, and Bobby has to hide his laughter in the younger’s neck, tail coming up to wrap around Donghyuk’s waist. “For taking care of Jinhwan-hyung and just… being there, I guess.”

“God, you’re awful at this,” is all Donghyuk says in response, but his tone is light even as he turns to address Jinhwan instead. “Hyung, you really do put up with a lot.”

Jinhwan chuckles into Junhoe’s shirt, and Junhoe’s expression flattens immediately. “I take back my thanks. Get out.”

“You’re welcome!” Bobby calls as they step out. “Try not to be an idiot anymore!”

Junhoe flips Bobby the finger. “You first!” He shouts after the catboy, who raises his own finger in response.

Junhoe shuts the door, grumbling under his breath as he walks back into the living room and sees Jinhwan cleaning up the coffee table. He rushes over to help, taking the bowls and spoons from Jinhwan and bringing them back to the kitchen to wash.

The catboy joins him by the sink barely a few moments later, drying the wet cutlery Junhoe hands to him as they work in comfortable silence. It’s when Junhoe is handing Jinhwan the last bowl, though, that he swallows down the lump in his throat and nudges the elder gently in the side.

“Hyung, I—uh—love you,” Junhoe says, and Jinhwan actually laughs this time, evidently having picked up on Junhoe’s awkward tone as he leans against the younger’s shoulder.

“I think you’ve said ‘I love you’ more times in the past day than the entire time we’ve been together,” Jinhwan teases. “What brought this on?”

“I, um,” Junhoe stutters, words failing him yet again - how is he supposed to tell Jinhwan just how much the elder means to him, and how much he never, ever wants a repeat of what had happened to them? “Well, I mean, I just want to, y’know?”

“You’re cute, June-yah,” Jinhwan says fondly, an affectionate smile curling at the edges of his lips. “But you don’t have to force yourself to say it, okay? Even if you don’t say it, I know how you feel.”

“Still,” Junhoe grumbles, but as Jinhwan leans up to kiss him on the cheek, whispering a tender “I love you, too” against his jaw, Junhoe finds that verbalizing his emotions around Jinhwan might turn out to be much easier than he thought.

*

“How’s my report coming along?”

Junhoe doesn’t even bother dignifying Hanbin with a response as he moves his head nearer to the computer screen, squinting at the words on the document as he highlights a portion of a paragraph and presses ‘delete’.

“We’re almost done,” Yunhyeong answers for them both, turning around a little in his chair to look up at Hanbin.

Hanbin nods. “Print it out and bind it after you’re finished. My desk, please.”

Hanbin walks off after that, and Junhoe buries his head in his hands, letting out a frustrated groan. Yunhyeong laughs, rubbing his shoulder soothingly as he takes over the mouse.

“There there,” Yunhyeong mock-comforts, scrolling through the last few pages of the report. “It’s only what, nine p.m.?”

Junhoe lifts his head and glares at his co-worker, then presses the home button on his phone to check for any unread messages. There are no new notifications, though, just the sight of Junhoe’s wallpaper: him and Jinhwan, with the catboy perched on his lap and the brightest of smiles on both their faces. Donghyuk had taken the photo a while back, and as Junhoe stares at it now, he’s suddenly overcome with an inexplicable feeling of longing.

“The faster we finish this, the faster you can go home to that.”

The tips of Junhoe’s ears turn a little red at having been caught spacing out, but Yunhyeong’s gaze is gentle even in its teasing as he asks for Junhoe’s opinion on the conclusion of their report. They finish working on it about half an hour later, Yunhyeong clicking the ‘save’ button before not-so-subtly pushing Junhoe out of his chair and sliding into it instead.

“Hyung—”

“I thought you had someone you wanted to go home to?” Yunhyeong muses, gaze fixed on the computer screen as he readies the document for printing.

Junhoe opens his mouth but no words come out, staring down at Yunhyeong until the elder has no choice but to look up at him, rolling his eyes.

“Do I have to pack your bag for you, or something?” Yunhyeong asks, tipping his head in the general direction of the exit on their floor. “Go home, Junhoe. I can handle the rest from here.”

Junhoe doesn’t have to be told twice, hurriedly shoving his things into his briefcase before shrugging on his coat and getting ready to leave.

“Hyung—” Junhoe says, stopping in his tracks before he walks out of his cubicle. Yunhyeong looks over at him, and Junhoe forgets what he was intending to say. So he settles for a slight duck of his head, and a soft “thank you”.

Yunhyeong simply shakes his head and waves Junhoe off, and Junhoe immediately brisk-walks out of their office area towards the lift, anxious to finally get back home.

“Hyung, I’m back,” Junhoe calls dully about half an hour later, opening the door to the apartment. He doesn’t mean to sound so lifeless, but he’s tired from working late and he’s never been one to put on airs and pretend he’s happier than he is.

There’s a light on in the kitchen, but Junhoe doesn’t hear any sort of verbal response from Jinhwan, so he walks quietly into the room, one hand gripped around the handle of his briefcase in case he needs to beat someone up. Which is unlikely, but one never knows.

Luckily, it’s completely unnecessary; Junhoe relaxes his hand immediately when he sees Jinhwan sitting at the kitchen island, leaning over with his head resting on his folded arms. As Junhoe looks around, he can see a few covered dishes on the table, and he sighs guiltily.

“Hyung,” he says softly, approaching Jinhwan and shaking him gently by the shoulder. “Jinhwan-hyung, wake up.”

The catboy makes a soft noise, his nose wrinkling before he opens his eyes, squinting at Junhoe as he sits up.

“June…?”

“Yeah, hyung, it’s me,” Junhoe chuckles. “You fell asleep in the kitchen.”

Jinhwan blinks sleepily as he looks around for a moment, lifting a hand to rub at his crusty eyes.

“What time is it?” The catboy asks groggily, sliding off the stool and getting to his feet. “Have you eaten? You must be hungry. I’ll heat up the food—”

Junhoe doesn’t even say a word, just bends down to lift Jinhwan up, one arm underneath the elder’s knees and the other supporting his back. Jinhwan’s arms come up to circle around his neck on instinct alone, the catboy digging his nose into the fabric of Junhoe’s shirt and inhaling.

“You can sleep in bed, alright hyung?” Junhoe murmurs. “You look tired; don’t feel like you need to stay up just ‘cause I got back.”

Jinhwan mumbles incoherently into Junhoe’s shirt, but doesn’t protest as Junhoe carries him into their bedroom, laying him down and pulling the blanket over him.

“I’ll be back in a bit, ‘kay?” Junhoe says, kissing Jinhwan gently on the forehead before leaving the room, grabbing the t-shirt and shorts he sleeps in before shutting the door.

He returns to the kitchen, microwaving some of the food that Jinhwan had left out and putting some of it into the refrigerator. Once it’s heated, he eats quickly - he hasn’t eaten much recently, since he’d been working on his work project almost non-stop for the past several hours, but he doesn’t want to spend too much time eating.

After he puts his cutlery in the sink, he heads the bathroom, showering and brushing his teeth as fast as he can while still being thorough about it.

By the time Junhoe steps back into the bedroom dressed in his sleeping clothes with his hair slightly damp from his shower, Jinhwan has already fallen back asleep, curled up in the blankets and breathing softly. Junhoe lifts the covers and slides in as quietly as possible, but Jinhwan still stirs anyway, cracking one eye open and pushing himself up a little.

Junhoe winces. “Sorry, kitty,” Junhoe whispers, lying down quickly and turning off the bedside lamp. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

When Jinhwan lies back down, he rests his head on Junhoe’s chest instead of his own pillow, hooking his right leg over Junhoe’s and throwing an arm around the younger’s body. The catboy’s eyelids flutter shut when Junhoe wraps an arm around his back to hold him close, dropping a kiss in between the elder’s cat ears and keeping his face buried in Jinhwan’s hair.

Junhoe lays there in silence for a while, unable to sleep just yet as he runs his fingers through Jinhwan’s hair, occasionally rubbing the elder’s cat ears, chuckling a bit when he notices how Jinhwan lets out a low, unconscious purr when he does so.

“I love you,” Junhoe mumbles tenderly, brushing Jinhwan’s fringe away from his forehead.

“I love you too.”

Junhoe startles, pulling back a little to glance down at Jinhwan. The catboy’s eyes are open, and he’s staring up at Junhoe with affection in his gaze.

“I thought you, uh, fell asleep,” Junhoe says dumbly, feeling a little awkward at having been caught off-guard.

“I’m about to,” Jinhwan answers honestly, but there’s a loving smile on the catboy’s face as he lifts his right hand to press his fingers to Junhoe’s jaw. “I missed you. Kiss?”

Junhoe doesn’t need to be asked twice, and he’s amazed at how hard his heart still manages to pound when he ducks his head to kiss Jinhwan on the lips, even though they’ve been together for a while, now.

Jinhwan’s eyes close as he settles himself back down, still smiling as he does so. “Your heart’s beating really fast, June-yah,” he murmurs, and Junhoe feels his face flame at being found out.

“Not my fault,” Junhoe grumbles, gently dragging his thumb along the sliver of exposed skin at Jinhwan’s hip. “That’s what you do to me.”

Jinhwan laughs softly at Junhoe’s response, cuddling even closer. “I can’t believe you just said that,” the catboy muses. “That was horrible.”

“Well, it’s true,” is all Junhoe can say.

Jinhwan chuckles again, then hums softly as he digs his nose into the thin material of Junhoe’s shirt, drawing a deep, long inhale.

“I’m gonna sleep,” the catboy mumbles. “Goodnight, June-yah.”

Junhoe closes his eyes, pressing his lips to Jinhwan’s temple tenderly. “Night, hyung.”

“For the record, though,” Jinhwan slurs suddenly, and Junhoe’s eyes open again at the elder’s voice. “You do the exact same thing to me, too.”

It takes a while for Junhoe to process what Jinhwan is saying, but when it finally dawns upon him, he laughs quietly, tightening his grip around his catboy and feeling his heart swell with an overwhelming feeling of love.

*

A few days later, Jinhwan decides to pay a visit to Donghyuk’s cafe - he hasn’t visited in a while, and there’s something he’s been wanting to ask Donghyuk about.

When Jinhwan pushes open the glass door, he flinches a little in surprise when the first thing he hears is a loud and excited “Jinan-hyung!”

“Hi,” Jinhwan greets Bobby with a fond laugh, stepping up to the counter and ordering an iced americano for himself. Donghyuk emerges from the kitchen then, sending Jinhwan a warm smile before pushing up his sleeves and getting to work on Jinhwan’s drink.

“So what brings you here today, hyung?” Donghyuk begins conversationally, glancing up at Jinhwan.

Jinhwan twists his fingers together on top of the counter. “I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for a birthday present I could get for Junhoe.”

“You want to get Junhoe a gift?” Bobby asks, a trace of incredulousness in his voice. “I didn’t even know he liked anything. Besides you, hyung.”

“Be nice,” Donghyuk laughs, “Junhoe likes plenty of things.”

“But mostly Jinhwan-hyung. And food, and antagonizing people—”

“Anyways,” Donghyuk says, covering Bobby’s mouth with one hand, “Bobby-hyung does have a point. Junhoe’s not too hard to get gifts for, provided that you know what he likes… but then again, I’ve just gotten him food and accessories for the past who-knows-how-many years, and you probably were thinking of something more special.”

Jinhwan nods - Donghyuk’s right. It’s relatively easy to keep Junhoe content, provided that you know how to avoid what he hates, but Jinhwan can’t name too many things off the top of his head that make Junhoe really happy.

“You know what Junhoe would really like?” Bobby says as Donghyuk puts the lid on Jinhwan’s drink. “Sex and cuddling with Jinhwan-hyung.”

Jinhwan’s glad he hadn’t started drinking yet, otherwise he’s certain there would have been coffee spewed all over the counter by now.

“Bobby-hyung!” Donghyuk chastises his catboy, eyes wide. “Don’t be so crude.”

Bobby shrugs, completely undeterred. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Donghyuk opens his mouth, but then shuts it without saying anything. “... You’re right,” he finally concedes with a grumble, swatting Bobby on the back with a dishtowel.

Jinhwan takes a long sip of his iced americano, swallowing carefully before speaking again. “So you’re saying I should… gift Junhoe with sex?”

“Yeah,” Bobby says, “although it’s more, like, gifting Junhoe yourself. Get a bow and stuff. And you could lie on the bed naked or something—”

“That is enough out of you,” Donghyuk groans. “I’d rather not visualize this, thank you very much.”

Bobby grins wolfishly, tail coming around to wrap around Donghyuk’s waist and tug the younger in closer as he trails his fingers up Donghyuk’s torso. “If you want, we could always try this ourselves—”

“Are you trying to traumatize my catboy?”

“June-yah!” Jinhwan exclaims in surprise, turning around to face the younger. “When did you get here?”

“Just now, when Bobby started feeling up my best friend in public. Why?”

Nobody is able to offer Junhoe a response, which of course only causes Junhoe to become more suspicious, the youngest of the four narrowing his eyes at Bobby and Donghyuk.

“Did you say something weird to him?” Junhoe accuses, wrapping an arm around Jinhwan’s waist and pulling him close against his side.

“Of course not,” Bobby replies. “Who do you think we are?”

“Horrible people who are intent on making my catboy’s eyes bleed with your excessive handsiness,” Junhoe cuts back easily.

“So,” Jinhwan interrupts quickly, “what made you decide to come here? I thought you would’ve just gone back to the apartment.”

Junhoe shrugs, leaning down to peck Jinhwan on the cheek. “I was in the mood for something sweet, so I was thinking of getting a slice of cake to bring back for us to share tonight.”

“It’s on the house,” Donghyuk says smoothly, motioning to the display case of food.

“As if I’d pay for it, anyways,” Junhoe says, earning him a pinch to the side from Jinhwan. “Ow, hyung.”

“Be nicer to Donghyuk,” Jinhwan scolds.

“I am nice,” Junhoe insists, peering at the cakes on display. “If he gave me the cake for free, I was willing to consider it as his birthday gift to me for this year.”

“Oh, your birthday is coming up soon?” Bobby drawls. “How time flies! Guess we all need to start thinking about that, right Jinhwa—”

Jinhwan glares at Bobby, making a slicing motion across his neck. Bobby stops talking, but gives Jinhwan a mildly creepy grin in response.

“Okay, break time’s over,” Donghyuk says firmly, pushing Bobby back in the direction of the cashier. “Back to work for you. June, have you decided?”

Jinhwan finishes up the rest of his drink as Donghyuk packs up the slice of cake for Junhoe, and they bid goodbye to their two friends before stepping out of the cafe and heading home.

“Speaking of your birthday,” Jinhwan begins, biting his lip, “is there anything you wanted, June-yah?”

“Hm?” June raises an eyebrow, glancing down at Jinhwan. “Hyung, you don’t have to get me anything.”

“That didn’t really answer the question,” Jinhwan sighs, pouting a little. “I want to get you something nice, June-yah.”

Junhoe shrugs, tangling the fingers of his free hand with Jinhwan’s. “I dunno. I don’t really want or need anything else right now. I’ve, uh, got everything I want right here?” Junhoe holds up their interlocked fingers for a moment before dropping them back down again, a red flush spreading across his face. “Let’s just forget I ever said that.”

Jinhwan smiles fondly, squeezing Junhoe’s hand once before stretching up on his tiptoes to brush his lips against Junhoe’s cheek. Junhoe grins down at him, and Jinhwan’s smile widens as he curls into the younger’s side.

(As much as Jinhwan hates to admit it, Bobby’s suggestion is looking better by the moment.)

*

Junhoe is leaving the office a few days later when he spots a familiar figure sitting on one of the couches in the lobby, surrounded by none other than two of his closest co-workers themselves. Junhoe makes a mental note to never agree to let them leave before him ever again.

Jinhwan seems to sense his arrival before Junhoe can even call out to him, however, nose wrinkling slightly and ears perking up a little as he lifts his head and spots Junhoe stepping out from one of the lifts.

“Hyung,” Junhoe greets in surprise, walking quickly across the lobby, leaving Yunhyeong to quicken his pace behind him with a sigh.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan smiles, getting to his feet and stretching up on his tiptoes to press a quick kiss to Junhoe’s lips. Jinhwan’s tail is waving contentedly behind him, and Junhoe can’t help but smile back because he’s happy when his catboy’s happy. Jinhwan settles back into his seat, and Junhoe glares at Chanwoo who’s perched on the arm of the couch that Jinhwan’s sitting on until the younger has no choice but to huff and vacate the spot for Junhoe instead.

“Hi, Jinhwan-ssi!” Yunhyeong calls amicably, waving at the catboy with a friendly smile on his face. Jinhwan laughs, curling naturally into Junhoe’s side when the younger wraps an arm around him.

“We don’t have to be so formal,” Jinhwan says with a smile. “You’re older than June, right?”

“We all are, actually, except for Chanwoo,” Hanbin answers instead. “I’m older than Junhoe by a year, and Yunhyeong-hyung by two.”

“Oh,” Jinhwan says, his head tilting a little to the side in surprise. “Well, I’m three years older than June, so—”

“Jinhwan-hyung!” Yunhyeong interrupts, an excited grin on his face.

Junhoe opens his mouth to protest, but is quickly silenced with a press of Jinhwan’s finger to his lips.

“June-yah, I’ve met them what, three times now?” Jinhwan sighs. “And I’m probably going to see them more often in the future. There’s no reason for us to keep acting like strangers.”

“But hyung, they’re gonna start giving you weird nicknames and acting like you’re their friend.” Junhoe shudders at the prospect. “They’re horrible people. You do not want to be friends with them. I don’t want to be friends with them. I barely want to work with them—”

Yunhyeong lets out a loud and exaggerated sigh. “Junhoe, please. We all know you’d much rather work with us than anyone else.”

“Lesser of multiple evils.”

Everyone suddenly turns to shoot Junhoe an unimpressed look; he wonders if anyone around here will ever take him seriously.

“Well,” Junhoe clears his throat, “if you three are done here, I have places to be.”

“Junhoe-hyung, you’re not that important,” Chanwoo deadpans, “you’re literally just going home.”

Junhoe hopes that Chanwoo can feel the glare he’s sending his way. “Hanbin-hyung, can we fire him? He’s just an intern, after all.”

“No,” Hanbin says simply. Chanwoo beams in response, while Junhoe just sighs, turning around and striding toward the doors of the building. He hears Jinhwan say his goodbyes to the other three before quick footsteps make their way in his direction, and the catboy reappears by his side.

Junhoe drapes his around Jinhwan’s shoulders as they exit the office building, his thumb almost absentmindedly brushing over the black leather at his catboy’s neck. Jinhwan purrs softly, and Junhoe smiles.

“Not that you ever need a reason to come visit me at work, but what brings you here today, hyung?” Junhoe asks, peering down at his catboy curiously.

Jinhwan shrugs, cuddling into Junhoe’s side and resting his small hand on the younger’s abdomen. “Well, just thought you might be interested to know that I successfully got a new job.”

Junhoe stops walking immediately, gripping both of Jinhwan’s arms and looking down at him with wide eyes. “Hyung, you—seriously? Where? When did you find out? When do you start? Can I go down with you to check the place—”

The rest of Junhoe’s words are muffled by a soft pair of lips pressing against his own.

“It’s at a daycare center, I found out earlier today but I went in for the interview a few weeks ago, I start next week, and there’s no need for you to check the place out, but if you want to visit me then you can.”

Jinhwan takes in a deep breath after he finishes his sentence, evidently winded from trying to respond to all of Junhoe’s rapid-fire questions at once. Junhoe blinks, stumbling a little when Jinhwan slips his hand into his and pulls him along again. Silence falls upon them for a short while as Junhoe processes this new information, only interrupted by the soft sound of Jinhwan clearing his throat.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan begins tentatively, squeezing Junhoe’s hand gently and looking up at him. “I’ll only say yes to the job offer if you’re comfortable with me going out to work again so soon. I can understand if this seems too quick after the last job—”

Junhoe shoots Jinhwan a mildly bewildered look. “Hyung, it’s not like there’s some kind of…” he pauses, trying to find the right words to say, “mandatory rest period, or something between jobs. If you like it, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do it.”

Jinhwan opens his mouth to respond, but Junhoe beats him to it, chewing on his bottom lip apprehensively. “It… is a daycare center, right? Like, a legit daycare center? Not a daycare center above a nightclub—”

“June-yah, I really don’t think that’s legal,” Jinhwan sighs, but Junhoe can hear the amusement in his voice. “It’s a daycare center through and through. I can show it to you online when we get home?”

Junhoe actually sighs in relief, nodding at Jinhwan’s suggestion before letting go of his catboy’s hand to wrap his arm around the elder’s waist instead, pulling him close and leaning down to press a kiss to his temple. “I’m happy for you, hyung. And thanks for telling me straight-out this time.”

Jinhwan doesn’t say anything in response, but from the way he burrows deeper into Junhoe’s side and makes a soft noise in content when Junhoe drops a kiss in between his cat ears, Junhoe knows his catboy is satisfied, too.

*

Junhoe did not expect to be out till so late on his birthday.

It’s already slightly past nine p.m. when he finally exits the subway station and begins his walk back home. Some of his colleagues from the office had taken him out to dinner after work, and while Junhoe definitely had an enjoyable time, a huge part of him had just been itching to hurry home so that he could spend the rest of his night with his catboy.

(Of course, Yunhyeong had picked up on his distracted state, and after handing Junhoe his gift he had slapped him on the back and sent him off with a reminder to “practice safe sex!” Hanbin and Chanwoo had laughed at the way Junhoe had sputtered, flipped them off, and then brisk-walked to the nearest subway station.)

“I’m home!” Junhoe calls as he pushes open the door to the apartment, toeing off his shoes and locking the door behind him. He furrows his brows when he notices how dark the apartment actually is: all the lights are off, and Jinhwan is nowhere in sight.

“Hyung?” Junhoe calls again, worry the first feeling that creeps into his chest as he checks the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. He hurries down the hall to the bedroom when he comes up empty, turning the knob and hastily pushing open the door.

“Hyung—”

Junhoe’s words die in his throat, his eyes going impossibly wide when he takes in the sight before him: Jinhwan, sitting in the middle of the bed, clad in one of Junhoe’s oversized white hoodies and a pair of black shorts, a red bow tied on top of his head in between his cat ears and a little note held between his lips.

Junhoe swallows thickly, taking slow, careful steps towards the bed until he’s standing right in front of Jinhwan, the catboy tilting his head up slightly to look at him. The air in the room is humming with tension as Junhoe gently tugs at the slip of paper between Jinhwan’s lips.

Happy birthday, June-yah. Hope you enjoy your gift.

Junhoe looks back down at Jinhwan, and the catboy’s breathing hitches when Junhoe reaches out a hand and lightly drags a thumb down his right cat ear.

“Are you my gift this year, hyung?” Junhoe murmurs, trailing his fingers down Jinhwan’s cheek before they come to curl around the black leather collar fastened securely around his neck. Jinhwan’s breathing grows a little ragged, and Junhoe’s eyes darken.

“Unwrap me?” Jinhwan suggests, blinking up at Junhoe, and Junhoe leans down to kiss him, sliding one hand underneath the hem of the sweatshirt Jinhwan’s wearing before pulling it off of him, careful not to disturb the bow atop his head.

Jinhwan bares his neck for Junhoe when the younger moves his head down to start nipping and sucking at the soft skin there, allowing Junhoe to slowly ease him down against the pillows. Jinhwan lets out a soft, breathy keen when Junhoe bites into the skin just above his collar, before proceeding to suck the reddening flesh into his mouth.

“I—” Jinhwan’s words dissolve into a whine when Junhoe moves his head down lower to suck a nipple into his mouth. “I planned something for you.”

“You did?” Junhoe murmurs against Jinhwan’s skin.

“Y-yeah,” Jinhwan mumbles, sliding both hands into Junhoe’s hair to hold the younger’s head against his chest when his tongue comes out to flick at the hardening nub. “Let— ”

Jinhwan gently pushes Junhoe away, and Junhoe allows the catboy to flip their positions, pushing Junhoe down against the mattress before climbing into his lap. Junhoe’s hands come to grip at Jinhwan’s waist as the catboy leans down, touching his lips to Junhoe’s fleetingly.

“Let this be my gift to you,” Jinhwan breathes.

Jinhwan unbuttons Junhoe’s shirt, sliding it off his shoulders, followed by his undershirt. He grinds against the younger, and Junhoe can feel how hard Jinhwan already is underneath his shorts. Junhoe groans as Jinhwan kisses him fiercely, reaching between them to undo the fly on his pants, then slides back to pull them off, pushing them off the side of the bed.

Jinhwan’s small fingers ghost over Junhoe’s clothed erection, teasing with light touches before he pulls down the younger’s underwear. Junhoe bucks into Jinhwan’s hand when the catboy curls his fingers around his quickly-hardening length, swiping his thumb over the head to catch the pre-come that’s beginning to bead at the tip. Jinhwan begins to flick his wrist at a quick, rhythmic pace, spreading the pre-come around Junhoe’s dick as he starts pumping the younger deftly.

Junhoe is quick to start panting, dark eyes boring into the catboy sitting on his lap and one hand resting on Jinhwan’s right thigh. Jinhwan reaches for Junhoe’s other hand, bringing it up to his lips before sliding his mouth down over two fingers at once.

“Shit,” Junhoe hisses, his hips jerking upwards at the feeling of Jinhwan’s warm mouth and wet tongue around his fingers. Jinhwan coats his fingers thoroughly with saliva, and when he eventually pulls Junhoe’s fingers out of his mouth, Jinhwan’s lips are shiny with spit and there’s a sunny smile adorning his face.

“Fuck,” Junhoe groans, his head hitting the pillows behind him when Jinhwan guides his hand to wrap his fingers around his own cock, pumping it a few times.

“Needed the lubrication,” Jinhwan shrugs, lifting Junhoe’s hand back up to press a soft kiss to his palm. “Thank you.”

Junhoe chokes, words completely failing him as Jinhwan starts flicking his wrist at an impossible speed, leaning down to press his lips against Junhoe’s firmly. Junhoe’s hands are shaking as he brings them up to tangle his fingers into Jinhwan’s bronze-colored hair, keeping the catboy’s lips against his even as he starts panting into Jinhwan’s mouth.

“Hyung,” Junhoe chokes, letting out a low moan when Jinhwan brushes his thumb teasingly over his head. “Hyung—”

Just as Junhoe thinks he’s at the brink of release, Jinhwan lets go, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to Junhoe’s lips before he starts kissing down the younger’s chest, the slight roughness of his tongue against Junhoe’s skin making him shiver a little from the feeling. The catboy continues down Junhoe’s abdomen, stopping to press a kiss above the base of his cock before dragging his tongue over it until Jinhwan’s got the tip in his mouth.

Junhoe runs his hands through Jinhwan’s hair, rubbing at the elder’s cat ears. Jinhwan hums appreciatively around Junhoe’s dick as he takes it in deeper, and the vibrations send a shudder up Junhoe’s spine; he curls his fingers tighter into Jinhwan’s hair.

Jinhwan’s eyes close as he pauses for a moment, inhaling deeply through his nose as he slides down further. Junhoe can feel the tip of his cock hit the back of Jinhwan’s throat, and the elder gags a little as he continues on.

“Hyung,” Junhoe chokes out, ready to suggest that Jinhwan ease up a little, but the elder shakes his head a tiny bit, small hands gripping Junhoe’s thighs as he pushes himself all the way down.

Junhoe almost comes from the sight alone - Jinhwan, lips tight around his cock, tears just barely pooling at the corners of his eyes, cat ears perked up with that ridiculous bow still tied together firmly on the middle of his head.

Jinhwan starts to bob his head slowly, trying to build up a good rhythm. Jinhwan’s licking up the vein at the underside of his dick, cheeks hollowed out, and it takes all of Junhoe’s willpower to keep his hips as still as he can and not to just start thrusting into Jinhwan’s mouth.

The catboy pushes himself back, furrowing his eyebrows just a little. It’s an entirely inappropriate thought to be having right now, but Junhoe thinks that Jinhwan looks far too adorable.

“I’m not gonna break, June-yah,” Jinhwan almost scolds, “if you want to fuck my mouth, then do it.”

Junhoe feels the heat rise to his face as Jinhwan starts to suck on his cock again, and he looks up at the younger almost expectantly once he’s gotten about halfway down. Junhoe grasps Jinhwan’s hair tighter in his fingers as he starts to rock his hips gently at first, but eventually lets himself go, fucking into Jinhwan’s mouth as the elder keeps his lips tight around Junhoe’s length, occasionally teasing at it with his tongue. Jinhwan gags a couple of times when Junhoe thrusts in a little too hard, but Jinhwan runs a hand reassuringly along Junhoe’s thigh to let him know that he’s fine.

When Junhoe starts to feel the familiar heat coiling at the base of his abdomen, he tugs lightly at Jinhwan’s hair, trying to get the catboy to move off of him. “Hyung—” Junhoe chokes, mind going momentarily blank when Jinhwan drags his tongue up his shaft before giving his tip a kittenish lick. “I’m gonna—I’m gonna come—you should move—”

Jinhwan does pull off, but he doesn’t move far - he keeps his head near Junhoe’s swollen, red dick as he replaces his mouth with his hand, pumping the younger quickly and firmly a few times. Junhoe pants, screwing his eyes shut, and he lets out a long, guttural groan as he comes, the sticky white substance catching onto Jinhwan’s eyelashes, cheek, and lips.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Junhoe breathes out as Jinhwan’s eyelids flutter open, “you look like a hot mess, kitty.”

Jinhwan grins coquettishly, dragging his fingers through the cum on his face before licking them off. Junhoe curses as he feels himself start to grow hard again at the sight, slipping two fingers under Jinhwan’s collar to haul the catboy up into his lap. Junhoe brushes his thumb over the white smears that still remain on Jinhwan’s face, breath hitching in his throat and hips jerking up against Jinhwan’s when he brings his thumb to the catboy’s mouth and the elder’s tongue pokes out playfully, licking up the cum on the digit.

“Ready for the main event?” Jinhwan asks, tilting his head to the side and quirking his lips up.

“There’s more?” Junhoe laughs hoarsely, and Jinhwan leans up to kiss him before reaching over to grab the lube out of the bedside table’s drawer, setting it to the side as he situates himself a bit farther down on the bed. He slips off his shorts and boxers, spreading his legs out wide as he uncaps the bottle of lube and spreads some out on his fingers - from this angle, Junhoe can see Jinhwan’s cock, hard and leaking precum, and his tight hole, clenching around Jinhwan’s finger as he slides one inside himself.

“Fuck,” Junhoe whispers harshly, dick twitching at the sight and eyes darkening considerably. “Kitty, are you—”

“It’s a—ah—” Jinhwan whines, eyes slipping shut as he begins to work the first finger in and out of himself. “It’s a show, just for you.”

A second finger joins the first as Jinhwan says that, stretching himself open as he pushes his fingers as deep inside himself as he possibly can.

And Junhoe can’t help it - the sight of Jinhwan fingering himself and the sound of his breathy, high-pitched whimpers cause his dick to demand attention again, and Junhoe swallows thickly as he moves a hand down to wrap his fingers around his own hardening cock.

Jinhwan’s breathing starts to pick up as he adds a third finger, pushing himself against them insistently. Junhoe’s breathing grows labored as he drinks in the sight before him, pumping himself at a quicker pace.

“You’re doing so well, kitty,” Junhoe encourages when Jinhwan whimpers a little at the intrusion. “So, so well.”

“Not—not enough,” Jinhwan stammers out, and a breathy little keen falls from his lips when his fingers finally brush against his prostate. Junhoe moans at the exact same moment, cock twitching in his hands as he swipes his thumb over his leaking head. “Need you to fill me up, June-yah.”

The words go straight to Junhoe’s dick, and he would move to push Jinhwan down against the mattress and take him right there and then if not for the fact that he’s pretty sure the catboy has something planned.

Jinhwan slides his fingers out a minute later, reaching for the lube again as he crawls up to where Junhoe’s sitting, opening the bottle and squirting some more out onto his fingers before his hands join Junhoe’s, spreading the lube along the younger’s length.

“Condom?” Junhoe asks, and Jinhwan shakes his head as he kisses at the side of Junhoe’s mouth.

“I’m not in heat,” Jinhwan murmurs against Junhoe’s lips. “It’s fine.”

Junhoe furrows his brows in confusion when Jinhwan leans back again, because he’s pretty sure this is the part where Jinhwan usually pulls him down on top of him, but tonight, though, Jinhwan just wraps his fingers around Junhoe’s cock again, pumping it a few more times with no apparent intention to lie down.

“Kitty?” Junhoe asks when Jinhwan lifts himself off Junhoe’s lap slightly. “Baby, what’re you—”

Junhoe’s eyes widen when Jinhwan sinks down abruptly, a sinful yet satisfied moan falling from the catboy’s lips as Junhoe’s length sheathes inside of him.

“Shit,” Junhoe chokes, hips jerking upwards into the tightness and heat of Jinhwan’s hole, eyes rolling to the back of his head from the sheer pleasure of it all. “Holy shit, hyung.”

Both of them are still for a moment, Jinhwan catching his breath as he tries to adjust to the feeling of Junhoe’s length inside of him, and Junhoe praying for all the self-control in the world to not just snap his hips upward and fuck Jinhwan senseless.

Eventually, though, Jinhwan shifts on top of Junhoe, and a soft sigh falls from the catboy’s lips at the feeling of Junhoe’s pulsing length inside of him. Junhoe chokes on air, gripping onto Jinhwan’s waist when the catboy swivels his hips.

“Fuck,” Junhoe breathes, head hitting the pillows behind him at the feeling of Jinhwan clenching around him. Jinhwan’s movements are slow at first, evidently not used to this position, and Jinhwan’s hands grab hold of Junhoe’s shoulders as he lifts himself up and back down again, letting out a sharp exhale as he drops down.

Jinhwan slowly begins to pick up a rhythm, bouncing on Junhoe’s lap as he fucks himself on Junhoe’s cock. Junhoe is gripping Jinhwan’s hips so tightly, now - he’s sure there’ll be red, finger-shaped bruises on Jinhwan’s pale skin tomorrow. Junhoe allows himself to thrust upwards whenever Jinhwan drops down, but he forces himself to control the strength of his hips so he doesn’t end up hurting his catboy. He’s so painfully hard, the sight of Jinhwan bouncing on top of him with his eyes screwed shut and lips slightly parted in pleasure causing his head to spin with desire.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan whines a while later, letting out a high-pitched keen when he drops back down onto Junhoe’s dick. “H-help me,” the catboy mewls, head tossed back a little as he continues to move on top of Junhoe, chest flushed and perspiration shining on his skin.

Junhoe leans up and kisses the corner of Jinhwan’s mouth, trailing up to his ear. “You want me to take over?” He asks. Jinhwan nods, letting out a choked whimper when Junhoe reaches down to stroke Jinhwan’s length.

Carefully, Junhoe shifts his weight so he can push Jinhwan down onto the mattress, the catboy sighing as his head hits the pillows and Junhoe starts to rock into him, sucking a mark into his neck and pumping Jinhwan’s neglected cock between them.

It doesn’t take much longer for Junhoe to know that they’re both close - Junhoe’s already hypersensitive from having come once already, and Jinhwan from the sheer need for release after holding it back for so long.

Junhoe starts to thrust a bit faster, and he knows he’s got it right when Jinhwan screws his eyes shut, his entire body shuddering as Junhoe hits that spot over and over. Jinhwan’s breathing quickens, choking around Junhoe’s name as he comes first, letting out a sharp cry as he shoots his load onto his and Junhoe’s stomachs, Junhoe milking him through his orgasm. It doesn’t take much longer for Junhoe to follow suit, the feeling of Jinhwan clenching tight and hot around him causing the rhythm of his hips to falter, biting down into the soft skin at Jinhwan’s neck to muffle his loud groan as he spills into Jinhwan. The catboy whimpers, but slides a hand into Junhoe’s hair to hold him close.

“Did you—did you like it?” Jinhwan asks, once he’s recovered enough to speak.

Junhoe laughs, breathless. “You’re unbelievable. Of course I did, hyung.”

“Good.” Jinhwan grins.

Junhoe reaches for the box of tissues on the bedside table, rubbing Jinhwan’s hipbone with his thumb softly when his catboy whines as Junhoe slowly pulls out. He pulls out a handful of tissues, wiping Jinhwan’s inner thighs and stomach tenderly before tossing the soiled tissues into the bin by the edge of the bed. Then he cleans off the remnants of Jinhwan’s cum from his stomach, replaces the tissue box and promptly falls onto his side next to Jinhwan, reaching out to pull his catboy close.

Despite the fact that both of them are still quite warm from the afterglow, Jinhwan sticks close to Junhoe, burying his head into Junhoe’s chest when the younger’s arm tightens around his back, thumb brushing absentmindedly over his hipbone. Soon enough, though, Jinhwan begins to take long, drawn-out blinks, and Junhoe chuckles affectionately when his catboy lets out a soft yawn.

Junhoe closes his eyes, pressing a tender kiss to Jinhwan’s forehead. “Go to sleep, kitty.”

“June-yah…” Jinhwan mumbles, and Junhoe has to lean in close to hear the rest of the sentence. “Cake… in fridge…”

Junhoe laughs, brushing Jinhwan’s bangs out of his face. “Tomorrow, baby. Tomorrow.”

“Mm,” Jinhwan murmurs sleepily, and the dumbest of smiles pulls at the edges of Junhoe’s lips as he trails a gentle finger down his catboy’s cheek.

“Love you, Jinhwan-hyung,” Junhoe whispers. “And thank you.”

The room is silent, nothing but the sounds of Jinhwan’s sleepy snuffles and Junhoe’s soft breathing. Junhoe gazes down at Jinhwan for the longest of moments, takes in the sight of his messy bronze hair, fluttering eyelashes, slightly-flushed cheeks, and smiles.

Jinhwan in his arms feels like his best birthday gift, yet.

Junhoe’s not entirely sure what he's doing, standing in front of a daycare center.

In his defence, though, he was let off work relatively early today, and had decided to play the part of a good boyfriend and visit Jinhwan at his new workplace. What he conveniently forgot about until he actually arrived, though, was the fact that Jinhwan worked at a daycare center, which meant that there would be children.

Children.

Junhoe takes a deep breath, lets it out in a loud sigh, and tries to remind himself that he’s not gearing up for battle as he steps through the front door and walks up to the receptionist’s desk.

“How may I help you?” the woman sitting there asks, looking up from a pile of papers.

“I’m—uh—I’m looking for one of the staff here,” Junhoe begins, then remembers that the receptionist cannot, in fact, read his mind. “Jinhwan. Kim Jinhwan?”

This is stupid, Junhoe tells himself, he should have checked to see if Jinhwan was even available before coming—

“He’s in,” the receptionist replies after a moment, and Junhoe sighs in relief. “But I’m going to have to ask for some identification, though, and your relation to Jinhwan-ssi? It’s for the safety of the kids - we can’t just let anyone in.”

Junhoe pulls his wallet out of his pocket, taking out his ID card and handing it to the receptionist. She takes the card from him, peers at his picture, then back at his face. Junhoe starts feeling a little self-conscious, since that photo had been taken about four years ago, right before he started college. On top of that, official pictures are almost guaranteed to make everyone look bad, too.

“I’m—well—” Junhoe struggles to find the right word for it. “Jinhwan is my catboy,” he says eventually, but even that doesn't fit quite right on Junhoe’s tongue.

Thankfully, though, the receptionist nods in understanding, handing Junhoe back his ID card before getting up from her seat and walking around the desk. Junhoe follows after her as she uses her pass to unlock the glass door that leads into the daycare itself.

“You can go in,” the receptionist says, stepping aside to let Junhoe through. “The kids should be getting ready to leave right about now, so Jinhwan-ssi should be out shortly.”

Junhoe nods, thanks her, and she heads back out to the front desk. After the glass door shuts behind her, though, Junhoe finds himself standing alone amidst a sea of colorful play mats, wooden blocks and an assortment of toys.

Everything is so small. Did he actually use to be this small?

“Who’re you, ahjussi?” A small voice asks, accompanied by a light tug on his pant leg. Junhoe looks down to see a girl probably no more than four, blinking up at him with wide eyes.

“I'm not an ahjussi,” is the first thing that springs to Junhoe’s mind, and he probably says it louder than he thinks he does, because another teacher looks up at him from across the room from where she'd been helping a kid with his jacket.

“Are you looking for someone?” She asks as she approaches him. “You don’t look like a parent; I would have recognized you.”

Junhoe is beginning to panic when a group of children run out of the classroom at one end of the hall. “No, I, um—” he stammers, because children, god, so many children.

“There’s a giant in our school!” A little boy yells, pointing straight at Junhoe.

Junhoe would really like to die right about now. Clearly, this was a mistake, he's ridiculously out of his element—

“June-yah?”

Junhoe is immediately relieved to hear the familiar voice of Jinhwan, who steps out of the classroom with a child in his arms. Junhoe doesn’t know what, exactly, the feeling that overcomes him is as he stares at the way the little boy’s fingers are fisted into the material of Jinhwan’s shirt.

“What are you doing here?” Jinhwan asks curiously, eyebrows furrowed cutely as he walks closer to Junhoe, setting the kid on the floor and urging him to go play. “I thought you had work.”

“I did,” Junhoe says, “but there was just a meeting thing, and I was able to leave early, and I was kinda thinking maybe I would pop in and say hi, ‘cause y’know, you visited me at work before and I—”

Jinhwan glances around before giving Junhoe a quick peck on the lips. Junhoe wishes it could have lasted longer.

“You were rambling, Junhoe,” Jinhwan laughs, and Junhoe can feel the heat starting to rise to his face.

“Jinhwan-ssaem?”

Both Junhoe and Jinhwan look down at the source of the soft, tentative voice: the same boy who Jinhwan had been carrying just now is tugging lightly at Jinhwan’s jeans, and an affectionate smile spreads across Jinhwan’s face as he drops to one knee and gently grips the boy by his arms.

“Yes, Joohyun-ah?” Jinhwan asks gently, brushing the little boy’s bangs away from his forehead. “I thought I told you to go play.”

A light pink blush dusts across Joohyun’s pale cheeks as he fists the material of Jinhwan’s shirt in his hands, ducking his head a little. “Don’t wanna play without ssaem,” Joohyun mumbles, chancing a glance up at Jinhwan before hiding his face again.

Junhoe’s chest seems to tighten as he looks at the small boy in Jinhwan’s embrace, and watches the way Jinhwan’s expression softens as he tucks a stray lock of Joohyun’s hair behind his ear.

“Hey, Joohyun-ah,” Jinhwan replies, encouraging Joohyun to look up at Junhoe instead. “Ssaem needs to help the other kids get ready to go home, so what do you say to playing with this hyung instead?”

Junhoe pales. “Hyung—”

But Jinhwan gets to his feet before Junhoe can say anything more, fondly ruffles Joohyun’s hair, then walks towards the other teacher as they help the kids gather their things and get ready to go home.

Junhoe stares down at Joohyun for a few moments before realizing that he should probably try and get closer to the kid’s height, so he kneels down on the floor, wincing internally as he hears his joints crack. He’s really not that old, he swears.

Joohyun remains silent, and Junhoe wonders if he should do something, make the first move, but what does one even say to a kid—

“How do you know Jinhwan-ssaem?” Joohyun asks, blinking.

“Um…” Junhoe stalls, trying to think of an explanation suitable for children while also not revealing more than strictly necessary about his private life. “We’re… friends.”

Joohyun narrows his eyes, and whoa, Junhoe thinks, because where did the shy, blushing little boy from two minutes ago disappear to?

“Friends?” Joohyun repeats, and he somehow manages to make that word alone sound like a dirty word. “Jinhwan-ssaem is my friend, and he’s never talked about you.”

“Friends don’t always talk about other friends with each other,” Junhoe says. “Sometimes that’s mean.” On one hand, Junhoe’s a little miffed that Jinhwan apparently hasn’t mentioned him before, but he’s also glad that he hasn’t been talked about without his knowledge. Plus, he’s not entirely sure how much of his and Jinhwan’s relationship is actually… appropriate to discuss with the preschool age set.

Another boy approaches them then, evidently interested in what’s going on.

“Are you here to kidnap Jinhwan-ssaem?” He asks bluntly.

Junhoe’s immediately offended, and he has to remind himself that he cannot yell at these children, or else he will probably have a lot of crying kids and a lot of angry parents on his hands, and he could possibly cost Jinhwan his job.

“No, I’m not,” Junhoe replies, hoping he’s keeping his tone as even as possible.

“That’s something only a kidnapper would say!” Another girl pipes up.

Junhoe breathes deeply. I cannot yell at children, Junhoe reminds himself. I deal with Bobby on a daily basis; I can handle a bunch of four year-old children.

“If I were here to kidnap Jinhwan-hyung, you guys would never know I was here,” Junhoe says, wondering if it’s actually of use to try and rationalize with a bunch of four-year-olds. “He’d be gone through a back door and none of you would know until the next day.”

Oddly enough, this seems to satisfy them, and soon enough, a small group of children are all standing around Junhoe, peppering him with questions like “What did you eat to get so tall?” and “Are your eyebrows real?” and the ever-popular “How do you know Jinhwan-ssaem?”. Just when Junhoe thinks he’s about to get completely overwhelmed, he hears soft, tinkling laughter coming from behind him before two small hands are lightly resting at the base of his neck.

“I think that’s enough questions for today, hm?” Jinhwan suggests, and it’s like his words are a magic spell on the kids - they immediately turn to him, the interrogation ceased.

“Jinhwan-ssaem!” A little girl calls, coming up to tug lightly at Jinhwan’s leg. “Are you sure this ahjussi isn’t here to bother you? Kidnap you?”

Junhoe sputters, but Jinhwan just laughs. “Remember when Jina-yah took my phone last week and asked me who the guy in the picture with me on my wallpaper was?”

The girl in question lets out a small squeak of embarrassment while the other children make various sounds of assent.

“And remember how you asked if he was like my special prince? This is him, okay? He’s not an ahjussi and he’s not going to kidnap me.”

Junhoe wants to ask just what, exactly, has Jinhwan said about him to the children without him knowing, but that’s a question better saved for later - he doesn’t want the kids to develop an even worse opinion of him.

A fond smile curls at the edges of Jinhwan’s lips when he notices all the children looking at Junhoe curiously. Jinhwan slides a hand into Junhoe’s hair, then beams. “Kids, this is Junhoe.”

Junhoe feels a sharp knee hitting the back of his leg, and he gives an awkward half-bow. “Hi. I’m, uh, sorry if I scared you guys earlier. You can call me Junhoe-hyung. Or… Junhoe-oppa, I guess.”

“Jinhwan-ssaem said you saved him from bad people the first time you met him!” A girl with her hair in a braid says excitedly.

Guess I won’t have to ask Jinhwan what he told the kids - they might just tell me everything, Junhoe thinks, his gaze darting from the girl to Jinhwan, who’s averted his own eyes.

“I—well—I guess you could say that, yeah,” Junhoe replies, trying for a smile.

“You saved him from the rain and gave him a place to stay! And now he has good friends because of you,” a bright-eyed boy chimes in.

“You took care of him when he was sick.”

“And you celebrated his birthday!”

Junhoe is grinning for real, now, chancing a glance over at Jinhwan whose ears are tinged a little red at the tips. “I did do those things, didn’t I,” Junhoe muses, smirking at Jinhwan.

“Sorry for calling you a kidnapper, hyung,” one of the little boys from earlier says, looking slightly sheepish.

Another girl nods, looking from Jinhwan to Junhoe before beaming at the latter. “Junhoe-oppa, thank you for being Jinhwan-ssaem’s prince! He told us that he really loves you a lot.”

Junhoe’s smile could split his face in half as he looks over at Jinhwan and sees that his catboy’s expression is half-pained, half-embarrassed.

“How about,” Jinhwan says loudly, putting on what Junhoe can only describe as a ‘teacher voice,’ “we all get ready to go home?”

A few children protest, wanting to ask ‘tall-oppa’ more questions, but Jinhwan’s word seems to be law, and they all shuffle off to the shelves to fetch their belongings.

Jinhwan lets out a fond, tired sigh as they do, leaning against Junhoe’s shoulder. “Kids.”

“Kids,” Junhoe echoes, as a boy calls for Jinhwan to help him put his jacket on; the catboy straightens back up, heading over to help everyone prepare to leave.

Junhoe hangs around by the side of the room awkwardly as parents begin to trickle in and pick up the children, spending most of his time on his phone, staring blankly at the brightly-painted walls, or glancing at Jinhwan, who’s all smiles as he sends each child off.

Junhoe’s never been the fondest of kids, and he’s never particularly wanted any, either. He’s always found them to be enigmas - small, fragile beings that need constant love and gentle support in order to survive - things that he’s not sure he’s great at giving. He knows he (and everyone else on this planet) used to be that way, but when confronted with an actual small human, he has no idea what he’s supposed to do.

Seeing Jinhwan with the children, though, and how much he seems to adore them and how much they like him in return, makes him feel something. He isn’t struck with the sudden desire to have a kid or anything like that, but entertaining the thought of him and Jinhwan with one somehow brings a warm feeling to his heart.

Once the last of the children have left, Jinhwan lets out a long sigh, lifting his arms above his head and leaning to either side, stretching.

“Gimme a minute to get my stuff then we can go, okay June-yah?” Jinhwan says. Junhoe nods, and Jinhwan presses a quick kiss to his cheek before darting off into another room.

When Jinhwan re-emerges a few moments later, he bows politely to the other teacher before motioning for Junhoe to follow him out the glass door. They bid goodbye to the receptionist, then step out of the daycare centre.

Junhoe looks down with a smitten smile on his face when Jinhwan slides his small hand into Junhoe’s larger one almost immediately, tangling their fingers together as they begin the walk to the nearby subway station.

“I hope you weren’t too overwhelmed,” Jinhwan says as they turn a corner. He looks up at Junhoe, smiling a little. “Thanks for coming down to see me, though.”

“It’s nothing,” Junhoe mumbles, “I just… I wanted to see you. Missed you.”

Jinhwan beams, eyes curving up into crescents as he squeezes Junhoe’s hand a little tighter.

The conversation lulls a bit as they walk, Junhoe mulling over the past hour’s events in his head and remembering what the kids had said about him - about them, him and Jinhwan. Junhoe’s no stranger to having people talk about him without his knowledge, but it’s usually not quite so positive or personal in nature.

“Hyung, you—you talk to the kids about me? Sometimes?”

A telltale flush spreads across Jinhwan’s cheeks when Junhoe chances a glance down at him to gauge his response. “Sometimes,” Jinhwan answers vaguely.

“Hyung,” Junhoe whines, tugging slightly on Jinhwan’s hand. “That’s not an answer.”

“Yes, it is,” Jinhwan grumbles.

Junhoe frowns. “Kitty…” Junhoe trails off, dropping his voice a little.

Jinhwan tenses at the pet name, then sighs in resignation. “They asked about you when they first saw your face on my phone wallpaper, so I just… told them about us. And yeah, when they ask about you—us—sometimes, I guess I just… tell them what I can.”

Silence falls upon them for a moment, nothing but the sounds of their footsteps against the pavement and the occasional car driving by. Junhoe is trying to figure out what to say in response, but Jinhwan beats him to it.

“I’m sorry if you would’ve preferred that I didn’t say anything,” the catboy says tentatively. “I hope you’re not mad—”

Junhoe squeezes Jinhwan’s hand gently, cutting him off. “Don’t be ridiculous, hyung. I’m not mad at all,” Junhoe reassures the elder, and then his lips are pulling up into a smile. “So all those things that they said just now - those are true? You really told them that?”

“You’re impossible,” Jinhwan mutters, scowling just a little.

“I kind of like the sound of ‘Prince Junhoe’, you know,” Junhoe teases, earning him a smack on the back of his head from Jinhwan’s tail. But Junhoe just laughs, pulling lightly on Jinhwan’s hand so that the elder is leaning against his side, and then he’s ducking his head to drop a kiss to Jinhwan’s hair, right between his cat ears.

“I really love you a lot, too,” Junhoe murmurs, repeating what the little girl had said to him earlier.

Jinhwan groans, turning his head to hide his red face in Junhoe’s shirt, and Junhoe just chuckles harder as he holds his catboy close, ducking into the subway station.

(Jinhwan doesn’t let go of his hand the entire rest of the way home, and Junhoe can’t stop smiling.)

*

Time passes; before Junhoe realizes it, it’s already spring - the days are getting longer, the weather’s getting warmer, and the gloomy mood that generally seems to follow the winter months is beginning to dissipate. Change is in the air.

Most noticeable, perhaps, is the change in Junhoe’s own life: just a few short months ago and he was almost always alone, more or less content with his mundane lifestyle of working, playing third-wheel to Bobby and Donghyuk and occasionally meeting up with his family and friends. Junhoe was never really unhappy or dissatisfied back then, but it’s only in retrospect that he realizes it's because he could never really long for something he didn't yet have.

So if there’s one thing that Junhoe hopes doesn’t ever change in his life, it’s Jinhwan.

Junhoe knows it isn't a stretch to say that Jinhwan is the main source of happiness in his life: he never knew how happy he could be just coming home to the one he loves every evening, how every little touch, every hug and every kiss could set his heart ablaze. Junhoe treasures every date they go on no matter how insignificant it may be, be it a slow stroll along the Han River with their fingers intertwined, an afternoon date at Donghyuk’s cafe where they grin at each other over their drinks or having dinner together at the bibimbap joint near the apartment complex.

He doesn’t really have favorites, but Junhoe finds he likes the little moments best - like lazy, late Saturday mornings, when Junhoe wakes up to the feeling of a warm body pressing closer against his own and a head digging into the space between his neck and shoulder.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan whines hoarsely, burrowing into Junhoe’s neck. “We need curtains. Too bright.”

Junhoe tilts his head up to look at his bedroom window, squinting at the glare from the sunlight before sliding a hand into Jinhwan’s hair and carefully pressing the catboy’s face deeper into his neck.

“We can go buy some,” Junhoe murmurs into Jinhwan’s hair, dropping a kiss between his cat ears. “Wanna go?”

Jinhwan hums his assent, dragging his nose up Junhoe’s throat and breathing in his scent before allowing the younger to gently coax him out of bed.

They brush their teeth side-by side in front of the sink; it’s a little cramped, but Junhoe can’t help but find the whole thing oddly heartwarming, especially when he can see just how short Jinhwan is next to him in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.

To no one’s surprise, Jinhwan grabs one of Junhoe’s sweaters to wear that day, and the elder chuckles when he sees Junhoe pull on one of his own hoodies.

“What, hyung?” Junhoe asks, glancing at the catboy.

“It’s nothing,” Jinhwan replies, attempting to clear his throat to stop laughing. “It’s just, I know you own hoodies, and I know you wear them because I wear them, but it seems like most of the time I just see you in your office wear or a t-shirt.”

“... Should I wear my suit then?”

Jinhwan shakes his head. “No. You look cute like this, June-yah. Kind of… younger? But cute.”

Junhoe smiles. “Whatever you say, hyung.”

They grab some bread from the bakery just outside the apartment complex for breakfast, chewing on it leisurely as they take a slow walk to the subway station. Jinhwan peels off a small piece of his bread at one point before stretching up a little to pop it into Junhoe’s mouth, and the younger hums his thanks as he tangles their fingers together.

They manage to find seats on the subway, and Junhoe can’t help the smile that stretches across his face when Jinhwan rests his head on his shoulder, glancing down affectionately at his catboy as he brushes his bronze hair away from his forehead. Junhoe laces their fingers together again, and they spend the ride in comfortable silence.

When they reach their stop, Junhoe nudges Jinhwan and pulls the catboy to his feet, holding the elder’s smaller hand in his even as they exit the subway station and walk down the street.

“Oh,” Jinhwan says in a small voice as he takes in the massive building. Junhoe lets out a soft laugh at the elder’s reaction, giving his hand a slight squeeze.

“Stay close?” Junhoe suggests as they walk through the automatic doors, immediately heading for the store directory.

“I think if I were here on my own, I could be in here for weeks before making it out,” Jinhwan says, almost to himself as his eyes scan the map.

Junhoe grabs a trolley after figuring out what floor they need to go to, and Jinhwan walks close beside him as they take the travelator up to the second floor.

“The curtains are here, hyung,” Junhoe says, turning into an aisle and waiting for his catboy to follow after him. “You can pick one.”

Jinhwan carefully flips through the curtains on display, bypassing all the translucent, light-colored ones until he’s finally deliberating between a navy blue one and a dark purple one.

“June-yah,” Jinhwan calls his name, holding out the two curtains for Junhoe to see. “Which one do you prefer?”

Junhoe looks between the two designs in Jinhwan’s hands before replying with “the purple one?”

Jinhwan nods, picking up a sealed set of the dark purple curtain before placing it in the trolley. Junhoe pushes the trolley out of the aisle, intent on going to the register to pay, but is distracted by a tug on his hoodie.

“June-yah, do you mind if I look around a bit? There’s a lot of stuff here, and it’s kind of interesting.”

While Junhoe’s never really been one to spend a whole lot of time browsing in these types of stores (especially since he usually went alone and for one specific purpose if he needed something), he’s also never been one to say no to Jinhwan.

“Sure, hyung. It’s not like I’m in any rush to leave, or anything.”

Jinhwan beams, pressing a quick kiss to Junhoe cheek before darting off into an aisle three rows over.

“Wait, hyung!” Junhoe calls after him, pushing the trolley as quickly as he can so he doesn’t lose sight of the catboy. Jinhwan’s ghosting his fingers over a few sealed packages of bedspreads, ears perked and tail waving behind him like it always does when he’s in a good mood. Junhoe smiles unconsciously at the sight, stepping up behind the catboy to drop a kiss to the top of his head.

“June-yah, do we need more sheets?” Jinhwan asks as he leans forward to get a closer look at the packaging. “How often do you change yours?”

“Uh,” Junhoe replies, “that’s a good question.”

Jinhwan sighs softly. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to have an extra,” the catboy muses, holding up two different designs. “Which one do you prefer?”

“The, uh, striped one is nice?” Junhoe says. He’s never had much of an opinion regarding his bedsheets, as long as they were neutrally colored and didn’t have any sort of garish pattern, so he’s unable to offer any better input to Jinhwan.

Jinhwan frowns, turning the package in his hands. “Is there any way we can remove the bedspread from the packaging? I want to see how it’ll look like on our bed.”

Junhoe takes Jinhwan’s hand in his, leading him out of the aisle and walking through the floor until they turn a corner and reach the large showroom where all the beds are on display. The catboy’s eyes are wide as he trails his fingers over a white and baby blue bedspread, then turns around to face Junhoe.

“We don’t have anything this big in Jeju,” Jinhwan murmurs matter-of-factly. “Thanks for bringing me here, June-yah.”

A small smile tugs at the edges of Junhoe’s lips as he regards the elder, but it quickly morphs into something much more playful as he steps closer to his catboy, placing both hands on his shoulders before pushing him down onto the bed.

Jinhwan squeaks in shock. “June, what—”

Junhoe grins as he reaches for both ends of the blanket, laughing at the half-confused, half-horrified look his catboy shoots him before wrapping him up in the sheets on the bed.

“June—” Jinhwan sputters, unable to complete his sentence as Junhoe rolls him over once. Junhoe just grins wider, resting one knee on the bed as he leans down over his catboy.

“Yes, hyung?” Junhoe asks, the playful spark in his eyes completely betraying the otherwise innocent expression on his face.

“Koo Junhoe,” Jinhwan says sternly. “Unwrap me.”

“Oh?” Junhoe chuckles, grin wicked. “Unwrap you? Again? Is this the continuation of my birthday gift? Never knew you were an exhibitionist, hyung.”

Jinhwan glares at him, but the image of the disgruntled catboy with his messy bronze hair and slightly flushed cheeks all tangled up in the thick blanket is so adorable that it only causes Junhoe’s expression to soften, the younger lifting a hand to touch his catboy’s cheek tenderly.

“You’re so cute, hyung,” Junhoe says softly. “I love you.”

Jinhwan blushes even as he narrows his eyes at the younger, and Junhoe’s smile widens as he closes his eyes and ducks his head to press a soft kiss to Jinhwan’s lips.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to get off the display, please.”

Junhoe and Jinhwan both look up to see a young woman dressed in an employee’s uniform giving them a rather stern look. Jinhwan scrambles out of the blanket, Junhoe attempting to help him along while they both awkwardly bow and apologize for their actions.

As soon as she’s out of sight, though, a smile spreads across Jinhwan’s face, his eyes curving up into crescents as he lets out a soft laugh.

“Well, that was… interesting,” Jinhwan chuckles, and Junhoe can’t help but smile too, reaching to grab Jinhwan’s hand again.

“C’mon, hyung, let’s go look at something else that won’t get us yelled at.”

“June-yah, that was your fault,” Jinhwan reminds him, but there’s a fond smile on his face and no heat behind his words.

They spend some time just wandering around the different aisles, not searching for anything in particular - Jinhwan seems perfectly content to look at everything from utensils to bathroom floor mats, and while Junhoe would usually be bored out of his mind, there’s just something that seems to hold his interest for once.

It all feels so domestic; it’s a very novel feeling, but one that Junhoe finds he’s becoming increasingly less opposed to.

All of a sudden, Jinhwan stops, and Junhoe allows the catboy to let go of his hand and wander into an aisle displaying some home supplies. The catboy’s brows are furrowed in thought as he picks up a ball of twine, a pack of what looks like small wooden clothespins, and some self-adhesive wall hooks.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks, curiosity getting the best of him as he pushes the trolley to a stop behind the elder. “You wanna get something?”

Jinhwan says nothing, just adds the three items to the trolley. Junhoe stares at them, then looks back up at the catboy.

“And we need these things because…?”

Jinhwan grins cheekily, reaching up to pat Junhoe on the cheek. “It’s a secret.”

Junhoe just shrugs without asking any more questions; he trusts Jinhwan not to plan any sort of weird surprises, in any case.

After a few more minutes, Jinhwan announces that he’s done browsing. Junhoe takes this as the cue to head toward the register so they can pay for everything (Jinhwan insists on using his card; Junhoe doesn’t try to argue) before leaving the store, plastic bags in hand.

“June-yah, do you mind stopping at one more place?” Jinhwan asks as they reach the subway station. “The mall near the apartment - I’d like to pick something up.”

“Huh? Yeah, sure, hyung.” Junhoe has even more questions now, but he’s pretty sure that even if he asks, they’ll remain unanswered.

The subway is considerably more crowded now, and Junhoe deftly plucks the plastic bag from Jinhwan’s hand before gesturing to the one available seat with his head. Jinhwan sits, and Junhoe stands in front of him protectively, smiling down at his catboy when Jinhwan’s tail comes around to curl around Junhoe’s thigh.

They don’t talk much on the ride back - there are too many people around to even try and hold a semblance of a private conversation, and if Junhoe’s going to be honest with himself, he’s perfectly fine with the silence. It’s not uncomfortable like it might have been with anyone else.

When they finally reach the stop by the mall, Jinhwan lets go of his tail’s grip around Junhoe’s leg and stands, linking his fingers with Junhoe’s as they disembark the subway car and head for the exit. Jinhwan immediately goes for the store directory when they step into the mall, and Junhoe can only allow himself to get tugged along by his catboy who already seems to know where he wants to go.

“Hyung, what’re you looking for?” Junhoe finally asks after they reach the fourth floor of the mall. Jinhwan doesn’t respond, just ducks into a camera shop and looks around until he finally finds what he’s looking for.

“Hyung, you do realize you’re going to have to tell me what all of this is for at some point, right?” Junhoe says, staring as Jinhwan slides three packets of Polaroid film across the counter before pulling out his wallet to pay.

Jinhwan shrugs. “I know.”

“So…”

“You’ll find out later.”

Jinhwan says nothing more on the matter, accepting the bag of film from the cashier and tugging on Junhoe’s wrist with his tail to lead him out of the store.

They leave the mall right after that, opting to walk back to the apartment complex instead of taking the subway for just one stop. They stroll along in comfortable silence, arms brushing occasionally until all of a sudden, Jinhwan stops walking - Junhoe wouldn’t have noticed, if not for the fact that he no longer felt Jinhwan beside him.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks, turning around to face Jinhwan, who himself is turned to face the space in between two adjacent buildings.

Jinhwan glances over at Junhoe. “Do you remember this place?”

Junhoe is puzzled for a moment, his gaze wandering from Jinhwan, to the alley, to the signs on the buildings, trying to piece it all together.

Then, as his eyes drop from the sign of the bibimbap restaurant nearby, it hits him.

“This—hyung, this was where we first met, wasn’t it?”

Jinhwan steps into the alley, lifting his left hand to trail his fingers along the dirty wall. “It was right here - four months ago - when I was regretting my decision to ever leave Jeju for Seoul,” the catboy admits quietly.

It’s all coming back to Junhoe, now: the alley looks startlingly different in the daylight, but if Junhoe thinks hard enough, he can still see Jinhwan back on that cold, fateful Friday night, in his dirty hoodie and with his injured ankle, huddled pathetically against the alley wall as he cowered away from the high school troublemakers.

“You don’t know how thankful I am that someone came,” Jinhwan murmurs, “and ever since then, I’ve been even more thankful that it was you that did.”

Junhoe suddenly finds it very difficult to speak - he’s not sure what to say in response to something like this.

“Hyung, I—it was a bunch of stupid teenagers. You wouldn’t actually have been in any danger,” Junhoe replies lamely.

Jinhwan shoots Junhoe a mildly displeased look. “June-yah, that’s not the point here.”

Before Junhoe can even utter anything else, Jinhwan steps towards Junhoe and wraps his tail around his waist, pulling him close so he can stretch up on his tiptoes and rest his small palm against the younger’s cheek.

“The point is you did save me, June-yah: you saved me from what was most definitely going to be a very difficult, unpleasant and lonely life in Seoul, just by deciding to come into this very alley that night four months ago before offering me a place to call home. Thank you, June-yah,” Jinhwan tells him sincerely, searching his eyes before brushing his thumb over the younger’s cheek. “I love you.”

Junhoe’s not used to being put up on such a pedestal like this, but he’s pretty sure that no matter what he says, Jinhwan definitely won’t change his opinion about what had happened. Regardless, he still feels like he has to say something regarding the matter, and somehow ends up with “you know, usually when a stranger asks if you want to stay at their house, people tend to think that’s creepy?”

Jinhwan sighs in exasperation, but to his credit (or perhaps he’s just desensitized by now), he kisses Junhoe on the cheek anyway, then drops his hand down to hold Junhoe’s and tugs gently in the direction they need to go to get back home.

When they arrive back at the apartment, Jinhwan moves to pack away all the things that they bought while Junhoe busies himself with undoing the curtain packaging and figuring out how to hang it up in front of the bedroom window. It seems simple enough - Junhoe slides the open hooks through the holes at the top of the curtain, then starts to attach the hooks to the bare curtain rod above his window, working his way methodically across its length.

Jinhwan enters the bedroom as Junhoe’s finishing up the last few hooks, then pulls the whole thing experimentally back and forth a few times to see if it works.

“It looks good, June-yah,” Jinhwan comments, offering the younger a fond smile. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” Junhoe replies, letting go of the curtain and walking closer to the catboy. As he does, he notices that Jinhwan’s holding something - a Polaroid camera.

“What’s that for, hyung?” He asks, looking pointedly at the camera.

Jinhwan just grins mischievously, curling the end of his tail around Junhoe’s wrist before tugging the younger out of the bedroom and down the hall. Junhoe allows himself to get pushed onto the couch, steadying Jinhwan with an arm around his waist when the catboy climbs onto his lap, his back to Junhoe’s chest.

“Smile, June-yah.”

“Hyung—”

Before Junhoe’s even able to figure out the point of the whole thing, he’s met with a flash and the sound of a camera shutter.

“Hyung, I wasn’t ready for that!” Junhoe grumbles as Jinhwan removes the printout from the camera and shakes it so it will develop.

The catboy simply shrugs, placing the film onto the coffee table before wrapping his free arm around Junhoe’s neck and pulling him close. “I did tell you to smile.”

Junhoe remembers to do just that when Jinhwan takes another shot, shaking the printout a few times before placing it on the coffee table as well. Then the catboy slides off Junhoe’s lap, angling the camera at Junhoe.

“One of you alone, June-yah,” Jinhwan says, and Junhoe grumbles but complies anyway, his lips pulling up into his typical half-smirk just in time for the flash to go off.

“My turn.” Junhoe stands up and reaches for the camera, taking it in one hand and pulling Jinhwan back down onto his lap with the other. Jinhwan lets out a surprised squeak, but Junhoe just holds the camera up, grinning cheekily as he does so.

“Remember, hyung, smile,” he says, making sure that Jinhwan’s attention is fixed on the camera before closing his eyes, pressing a kiss to his catboy’s cheek and clicking the shutter at the same time, praying that he got the angle right.

“June!” Jinhwan yelps, twisting around on Junhoe’s lap to face the younger.

“What?” Junhoe shrugs nonchalantly, but he’s grinning broadly as he shakes the printout and waits for it to develop. Jinhwan peers over at it as the picture starts to come into view, tucking his face into Junhoe’s chest once it’s fully developed.

“I look so stupid,” Jinhwan mumbles into the fabric.

Junhoe just laughs, running his fingers through Jinhwan’s hair and scratching gently at the base of one of his cat ears. “I think you look cute, hyung.”

Junhoe’s just managed to duck his head and drop a kiss into Jinhwan’s hair when they both hear the sound of the passcode being keyed into the lock, and then the front door is swinging open to reveal none other than Bobby and Donghyuk.

“Gross,” is the first thing Bobby says as he toes off his shoes.

“No one asked you to come in here!” Junhoe groans, lifting his head but not letting go of the catboy on his lap.

Bobby just shrugs. “Neighbors’ privileges,” he says in response, tugging two plastic bags out of Donghyuk’s hands as the younger shuts the door. “We brought chicken and beer.”

“Thanks. Leave that on the kitchen island and you guys can leave.”

“June-yah,” Jinhwan sighs, lifting himself off of Junhoe’s lap so he’s sitting normally on the sofa.

“What? I thanked them for the food. Their duties end here.”

Jinhwan arches a brow at him.

“Fine,” Junhoe relents. “Donghyuk can stay.”

Donghyuk doesn’t even acknowledge Junhoe’s presence, just offers Jinhwan a warm smile before looking at the pictures on the coffee table with interest. “You guys are taking Polaroids?”

“We were taking Polaroids, until you two decided to barge in uninvited—”

“Looks like fun,” Bobby remarks, hooking his chin over Donghyuk’s shoulder.

Jinhwan picks up the camera from off the sofa, holding it out in invitation. “Let’s take some with the four of us?”

“Hyung, no, that’s so unnecessary—”

“Sounds good!” Bobby agrees readily, tail waving behind him excitedly as he playfully falls onto Jinhwan’s lap. Jinhwan laughs as he lets out an oof, and Junhoe swears an artery in his brain bursts before he’s stretching out a leg and kicking Bobby onto the floor.

“Jinan-hyung, you have such a mean boyfriend,” Bobby grumbles, pushing himself up.

“I was defending his life,” Junhoe retorts, “you could have killed him.”

“You take the picture, June,” Donghyuk says calmly, completely unaffected by the chaos happening around him. He hands Junhoe the camera, then moves to kneel on the floor. “You have the longest arms.”

Junhoe grumbles but takes the camera anyway, and Jinhwan moves closer to Junhoe, resting a hand on his shoulder and pressing up against his back. Bobby grins up at the camera from his spot beside Donghyuk, leaning his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder just as Junhoe presses the shutter.

“Take two,” Donghyuk says, “I want one too.”

Junhoe rolls his eyes at being ordered around, but takes the printed film out of the camera and readies for another shot regardless, pressing the shutter after making sure he’s got a decent expression on.

He hands the second picture to Donghyuk and the camera back to Jinhwan, who checks the indicator at the back of the camera before getting up off the couch and retrieving a new packet of film.

“You two should take one,” Jinhwan says to Junhoe and Donghyuk as he opens the packet.

“No,” Junhoe answers flatly.

Donghyuk rolls his eyes, getting up to sit on the couch next to Junhoe. He wraps an arm around Junhoe’s shoulders, and the latter’s expression contorts immediately.

“At least try to smile, June,” Donghyuk sighs. “We are best friends.”

Junhoe makes a gagging sound. “What are we, five?”

“Mentally, you might as well be.”

“I hate you.”

“C’mon, June-yah,” Jinhwan chuckles, “we haven’t got all day.”

Junhoe rearranges his expression into what he hopes is at least a mildly pleasant one as Jinhwan takes two shots in succession. Junhoe acts displeased with the whole thing, but he catches Jinhwan rolling his eyes at him when he ends up carefully pocketing the Polaroid he took with Donghyuk, anyway.

They take some more pictures after that - two of Bobby and Donghyuk together, one of Bobby and Jinhwan (that Junhoe tried and failed to prevent from happening), and a handful of other candid group and solo shots. They end up having to eat their dinner on the floor because the coffee table is full of Polaroids, and even though Junhoe barks at Bobby for spilling beer on the floor and fights over the last piece of chicken with Donghyuk, he doesn’t think he could ever be truly happy without the two of them in his life.

Just before Bobby and Donghyuk are about to head back to their own apartment for the night, Donghyuk picks up the camera again and smiles at Junhoe and Jinhwan. “Let me take one for you guys,” he offers kindly.

Junhoe’s about to protest that he’s not drunk enough for this, but one look at Jinhwan and any protest he may have had dies instantly. So Junhoe swallows thickly, wrapping both arms around Jinhwan’s waist and pulling the catboy in until he’s pressed flush against Junhoe’s chest.

“June?” Jinhwan asks gently, head tilting a little to the side even as he lifts a hand to touch Junhoe’s cheek; Junhoe tightens his grip around the catboy’s waist.

Junhoe’s usually not one for excessive shows of affection around others, but when Jinhwan stretches up to kiss him, he doesn’t even remember that there are other people around, and he’s only dimly aware of the sound of the camera going off.

“That’s really cute,” Bobby pipes up, peering at the printout from over Donghyuk’s shoulder. Donghyuk hands the Polaroid over to Jinhwan after it develops, and Junhoe keeps one arm around his catboy as they look at it together.

“Thanks, Donghyuk-ah,” Jinhwan says with a warm smile. “And thank you both for dinner.”

Bobby picks up all of his and Donghyuk’s pictures from the coffee table before tangling his fingers with the younger’s and tugging him towards the front door. “Thanks for having us! And for all the pictures too!”

“I’m gonna take a picture of our Polaroid and send it to my mom, June-yah. She’ll be pleased to see how much you’ve changed,” Donghyuk throws over his shoulder as he slips on his shoes.

“Dong, why would you do that,” Junhoe groans, “your mother does not need to know what I’m up to!”

“Don’t be mean,” Donghyuk replies, “she just wants to make sure we haven’t killed each other yet.”

Jinhwan laughs at that, and Junhoe shoots his catboy a thoroughly betrayed look. Bobby and Donghyuk bid them goodnight, and then they’re out the door.

Jinhwan sighs softly, tiptoeing to press a tender kiss to Junhoe’s cheek. “I’m gonna shower.”

Junhoe hums as his catboy disappears down the hall, busying himself with tidying up the living room and kitchen before grabbing his sleeping clothes from his closet. He ducks into the bathroom after Jinhwan is done, taking his time to shower under the warm water.

When Junhoe steps into the bedroom about twenty minutes later, however, he’s thoroughly surprised to see Jinhwan kneeling on the bed, tying one end of a string of twine to a self-adhesive hook he must have managed to stick onto the wall.

“Hyung?” Junhoe asks curiously, moving to stand beside Jinhwan by the edge of the bed. He takes in the string of twine hanging over the bed, as well as the clothespins and Polaroids laid out on the bedside table. “What’re you doing?”

“I wanted to hang up the pictures,” Jinhwan says, leaning over to reach for one of the photos and a clothespin. “I have something like this back home, in Jeju.”

Junhoe watches as Jinhwan hangs up the first picture: it’s the shot of him and Donghyuk, Donghyuk smiling brightly and Junhoe with a small smirk on his face. Junhoe chuckles unconsciously at the picture as Jinhwan reaches for the next one, sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling absentmindedly as he watches his catboy do his thing.

Jinhwan finishes a few minutes later, sitting back on his heels as he regards the end result. The catboy managed to fit ten photos onto the twine, and Junhoe lazily hooks his chin over the elder’s shoulder as they look at the pictures together.

“The middle two are my favorite,” Junhoe murmurs softly, tilting his head down a little to press his lips to Jinhwan’s shoulder.

Junhoe can hear the smile in his catboy’s voice as he answers him. “Mine, too.”

Hanging side-by-side right in the center of the string of twine is the photo of Junhoe pressing the surprise kiss to Jinhwan’s cheek, and the one that Donghyuk had taken of Jinhwan kissing Junhoe on the lips.

“You happy that you decided to let Donghyuk take a picture after all?” Jinhwan teases, to which Junhoe gives no reply; instead, he shifts backwards on the bed, then pushes against Jinhwan’s shoulder, causing the catboy to fall onto the bed with a soft squeak of surprise.

Junhoe leans over Jinhwan, just staring down at the catboy for a few long moments as he brings his left hand up to gently brush his thumb over the soft skin of Jinhwan’s neck, right under his collar. Jinhwan’s breath hitches at the touch, and Junhoe watches as the elder’s pupils dilate when his leather cuff grazes the skin in between his neck and shoulder blade.

There’s a lot that Junhoe could say about all of this. He could say that never once in his twenty-three years of living had he ever expected his life to end up like this, or he could say that he really likes how things have turned out for him now. He could say something stupid, because that’s something he seems rather prone to doing as of late.

Instead, though, he settles for something short and sweet - something much simpler, but it’s the only thing that he thinks is actually right to say.

So Junhoe swallows thickly, cradling Jinhwan’s cheek like the catboy is something infinitely precious (he is, a soft voice in Junhoe’s head supplies almost unconsciously) as he searches the elder’s eyes. “Hyung,” Junhoe whispers, and he never imagined that someone like him could ever sound so tender, but then he supposes it really is true that loving another person can change you - for the better. “Jinhwan-hyung, I love you.”

Jinhwan smiles, and it's so breathtaking, so stunning in its unadulterated happiness that Junhoe feels his breath catch in his throat. The catboy lifts a hand to card his fingers through Junhoe’s slightly damp hair, and Junhoe’s heart thuds wildly at the love shining in the Jinhwan’s eyes.

Jinhwan curls the fingers of both his hands around Junhoe’s neck, tugging the younger down such that the tips of their noses are touching, and the catboy’s eyelashes are fluttering against the top of Junhoe’s cheeks.

“I love you too, June-yah,” Jinhwan whispers against Junhoe’s lips, his voice soft and loving.

And Junhoe closes the distance between them, sealing their lips together in a kiss - it feels like a promise of forever.