Work Text:
Sunoo meets Jungwon on his first day in Seoul.
Born and raised in a small mountainside village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do, Sunoo can count the number of times he’s been to the city on his hands.
During his senior year of high school, he did nothing but study—there wasn’t much else to do anyway—and, to his absolute delight, he got into a psychology program at a university in Seoul.
After arriving at the crack of dawn in his uncle’s pickup truck and hauling his boxes into his room, Sunoo decides unpacking is tomorrow’s problem. Instead, he grabs his keys and sets off on a tour around campus, admiring all the fancy university buildings and endless number of cafes.
There are so many cafes in Seoul. Back home there was only one—a tiny hole in the wall where all the students would flock to after school despite its extensive menu of exactly three items.
With nothing else to do, Sunoo figures he might as well check one of the cafes out. The moment he walks in he’s immediately overwhelmed by the menu that literally takes up an entire wall.
He didn’t even know most of these drinks existed until now—what in the world is a lavender oat milk latte? A mint chocolate milkshake? Why would someone contaminate a perfectly good chocolate milkshake with toothpaste?
People from the city sure have weird tastes.
What the hell, Sunoo might as well try something new since he’s already here. He points at the photo of the mint chocolate milkshake when the barista at the cashier—Heeseung, according to his nametag—asks for his order.
After paying, Heeseung hands him a small round gadget. At Sunoo’s confused look, he explains that it’s a buzzer that’ll let him know him when his order is ready. Sunoo thinks it’s silly; there are only two other customers in the cafe, and they’re both already sitting down with their drinks. People in the city sure have a penchant for unnecessary things.
He sits down, and sure enough, the buzzer alerts him a few minutes later that his drink is done. Sunoo returns to his table with his mint chocolate milkshake and takes a tentative sip.
To his surprise, the absolute monstrosity of a combination actually doesn’t taste half bad, the mint providing a refreshing kick to the sweet chocolate. He takes another sip, a bigger one this time. Maybe the Seoulites are onto something with this one…
Happily sipping on his new favourite drink, Sunoo busies himself with finally replying to the messages from his parents and friends from back home, asking if he’s arrived, if he’s met his roommate yet, and if he likes the city so far.
Yes, I arrived this morning. No, my roommate’s not here yet.
In response to the last question, he sends a picture of the cafe menu and his mint chocolate milkshake. He receives an influx of barfing emojis in return.
Sunoo’s preoccupied with trying to convince his hometown friends that mint chocolate tastes much better than it sounds and doesn’t notice the previously empty cafe quickly filling up as lunchtime approaches.
“Excuse me.”
Sunoo looks up from his phone to find himself staring at a boy around his age, smiling at him while holding a tray with some sort of strawberry-flavoured concoction. He’s pretty, with bright, feline eyes, fluffy blonde hair and… are those cat ears?!
Right, there are many hybrids in the city. Sunoo knows quite a lot of them live among humans today, ever since several hybrid clans settled in South Korea more than a century ago. But they were definitely a rare occurrence back in his village, so he can’t help but be a little fascinated. Sure, he follows a few celebrities who are hybrids and he occasionally saw a hybrid tourist or two passing through town, but this is the first time he’s ever seen one up close.
For what Sunoo hopes is only a brief moment, he gapes at the soft orange ears in starry-eyed wonder before catching himself, realizing he’s probably being rude.
Sunoo flushes as the boy tilts his head questioningly at the blatant staring, though thankfully, he doesn’t comment on it.
Instead, he asks, “Can we share a table if you don’t mind? All of them are full.”
Sunoo clears his throat and wills his tone to sound casual. “Sure,” he says, nodding at the empty seat across from him.
“Thanks!”
Never in a million years did Sunoo expect the boy to place his tray on the table, walk right past the empty chair, and plop himself straight down on Sunoo’s lap.
What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck.
Sunoo’s mind is racing a mile a minute. Is he getting molested in broad daylight?! He wants to freak out and demand to know why this guy just sat on his lap with no warning, but no one else in the cafe seems to pay them any mind.
Sunoo doesn’t want to land himself on the Hybrid Rights Foundation’s watchlist and get cancelled on his very first day in Seoul. Perhaps this is normal hybrid behaviour that city folks are long accustomed to. They never showed anything like this in Sunoo’s favourite K-dramas, though…
Not knowing what else to do, he sits there stiff as a board while the stranger happily sips on his strawberry matcha latte without a care in the world.
Sunoo’s too nervous to even finish his own drink, fully dedicating himself to being the hybrid’s personal human chair while his milkshake melts right in front of his eyes.
After what feels like hours but is only ten minutes according to the cat hybrid’s phone, the boy finally gets up from Sunoo’s lap.
“Are you gonna finish that?” he asks.
Sunoo blinks blankly as the boy points to his drink, which has long since turned into a warm, milky soup.
“Oh… uh, no.”
The boy nods, places Sunoo’s drink on his tray along with his own empty cup and dumps them into a nearby trash can. He looks back, gives Sunoo a small wave paired with a dimpled grin, and walks out of the cafe without looking back.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Jake Sim moves into their dorm two days before Sunoo’s classes begin.
The older boy is a second-year physics major, and he engulfs Sunoo in a big hug on their first meeting. Upon hearing that the younger is alone in an unfamiliar city, he immediately takes Sunoo under his wing and promises to show him everything he needs to know about living in Seoul even though he only moved here from Australia a year ago himself.
And he’s very serious about it, so much so that Sunoo nearly had a heart attack when Jake suddenly materialized beside him during a FaceTime call to his parents at 1 am. With one hand clutching his heart and a solemn look on his face, the Korean-Australian pledged to Sunoo’s parents that he’ll take care of the younger, assuring them they can rest easy because he’ll treat him like his own son (?). His soccer ball-patterned pajamas definitely helped seal the deal.
Sunoo’s parents honestly became more concerned after the physics major’s declaration, but Sunoo told them not to worry and explained that Jake is from Australia, so he’s not completely fluent in Korean yet.
Despite his lack of boundaries and strange way of speaking, Sunoo thinks Jake is a good person. Honestly, he reminds Sunoo of a curious golden retriever puppy, shamelessly sticking his nose into everyone’s business but somehow you can’t get annoyed at him even if you try.
Fortunately, Jake only acts like a puppy and isn’t actually a puppy. Don’t let the hybrid rights activists catch him saying this, but Sunoo’s secretly relieved his roommate is 100% Homo sapiens.
Sunoo doesn’t hate hybrids, he swears! He just needs time to get over some… culture shock.
At first, Sunoo’s dead set on avoiding the cafe where The Incident occurred. But every time he passes by, the sight of the mint chocolate milkshake advertised on the front window calls out to him, and for some reason they just don’t taste the same at any of the fifty other cafes on campus.
On the eighth day he finally caves, and he’s been a loyal customer ever since. Thankfully, nobody else has tried to sit on his lap—though Sunoo has been sitting extra close to the table just in case.
He even befriends the barista Heeseung, whom he later discovers is also part of Jake’s close circle of friends.
Lee Heeseung is a third-year computer science major sporting perpetual dark circles and a wrist splint for his carpal tunnel.
“From the last hackathon,” Heeseung explains.
(“From jerking off too much,” says Jake, although Sunoo suspects the real culprit to be something else entirely if Heeseung’s impressive 20-hour LoL streak on his Discord activity is anything to go by.)
It doesn’t take long for them to invite Sunoo to a study session at the library, where he’s introduced to the rest of the gang: Jay, Sunghoon, and Riki. Jay and Sunghoon are both sophomores like Jake, while Riki is a freshman from Japan Jake befriended at an event hosted by the International Students Association.
Initially, Sunoo is apprehensive when he notices the sleek black cat ears perched on top of Jay’s head, subconsciously scooting his chair forward until his chest is pressed flush against the edge of the library desk. However, he soon warms up to the older boy.
Jay is a hybrid studies major who spent half of his childhood in America and is possibly the smartest and most well-spoken person Sunoo has ever met. Sunoo greatly admires Jay’s eloquent way of expressing his radical ideas—ideas far ahead of the public sentiment in the East that would likely send half of his village into shock.
Contrary to his worries, the Korean-American cat hybrid doesn’t exhibit any odd habits aside from excusing himself every time he gets frustrated with his essay to take a puff of his catnip joint outside.
Sunoo’s relieved to find out he is able to get along with hybrids, which soothes his fear of discovering he might secretly be a speciesist asshole. It turns out the cat hybrid at the cafe was just an unfortunate outlier who gave Sunoo a terrible first impression of them.
Sunoo hopes he’ll never run into him again.
So imagine his shock when Jay shows up at their next hangout with a familiar mop of blonde hair in tow.
“This is my younger cousin, Yang Jungwon,” Jay announces, pushing the blonde boy’s head down into a bow.
“Jungwon, these are my friends: Heeseung, Jake, Sunghoon. You’ve met them before at my birthday last year.”
He introduces the older boys first before gesturing to the youngest of the bunch sitting at the farther end of the table.
“And that’s Sunoo and Riki. They’re both freshmen like you.”
Sunoo holds his breath as Jungwon’s eyes scan the group, greeting everyone with a polite smile. His eyes light up in recognition when they finally land on Sunoo, lips curling into a Cheshire cat grin as he immediately makes a beeline for the empty spot beside the psychology major.
Thankfully, he actually sits in a proper chair this time, and Sunoo finally lets out the breath he’s been holding.
An awkward silence hangs in the air at the presence of a new person in the group, but it’s quickly forgotten as everybody shuffles to pull out their laptops and notebooks, preparing to lock in for the fast-approaching midterm season.
Sunoo thinks they have an implicit understanding not to acknowledge their first encounter at the cafe, but apparently Jungwon doesn’t get the memo because he turns to Sunoo and asks: “Do you remember me?”
Sunoo can feel curious eyes from the other end of the table looking over at them with interest. “Uh…”
Jay raises an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”
“We shared a table at a cafe,” Jungwon explains casually, as if sharing Sunoo’s table was all he had done.
“Ah, right,” Sunoo says stiffly, pretending to have just remembered.
“That’s great! You guys are in the same year so I hope you’ll become good friends.”
“Of course, hyung,” Jungwon replies sweetly, big innocent eyes never leaving Sunoo, but there’s something unsettling about it that makes the human shudder. “I’m sure we will.”
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Sunoo is not a cat person.
It’s not that he dislikes cats—he just doesn’t really care about them. Growing up, Sunoo’s parents were not the biggest fans of pets. Despite his sister begging them for years, they always insisted that a puppy or a kitten was too much work—and fur—for them to handle.
Sometime during Sunoo’s second year in middle school, the family running the corner store adopted a kitten named Mochi. His sister had excitedly dragged Sunoo to see Mochi every day after school, cooing as the corner store uncle held the tiny kitten in his hands.
Sunoo’s first impression of Mochi was that it was a pitiful little creature, barely the size of the uncle’s palm. He wasn’t sure if keeping the kitten in the store was a good idea, because it seemed extremely easy to accidentally step on the poor thing.
But for whatever reason, Mochi had developed a liking for Sunoo. While the kitten scampered away from Sunoo’s sister’s calls and dodged other customers’ curious hands, it loved cuddling up to Sunoo’s feet whenever he visited. Too many times to count had Sunoo almost tripped over the kitten that he eventually developed a habit of looking at his feet while walking around the store.
“Cats love people who hate them,” his sister explained. “I saw it online! It’s actually a thing.”
Sunoo had thought it was a ridiculous idea back then, but it might be the only reason why Yang Jungwon is acting the way he is now.
Ever since Jungwon was introduced to the group, Sunoo’s been trying to maintain distance between them. He figures he’ll be seeing Jungwon quite often since they share the same circle of friends and Jungwon is literally Jay’s cousin, so avoiding him is out of the question.
Though Sunoo’s not sure if he wants to befriend him, being acquaintances should be fine… right?
Not for Jungwon, apparently. Sunoo wonders if the cat hybrid knows he’s trying to keep his distance, and that somehow makes Jungwon want to get closer to him even more.
Jungwon always makes sure to sit beside Sunoo whenever the group hangs out, going as far as to pushing poor Riki off the cafeteria bench once to squeeze in between him and Sunoo when both seats beside the psych major were taken. He always tries to strike up a conversation with Sunoo, asking him if he likes a certain dessert and what he did yesterday, seemingly unfazed by Sunoo’s one-word replies or the glares from other students in the library.
Recently, he’s also been very adamant about hanging out with Sunoo outside of the group, tagging Sunoo under Instagram posts of trendy dessert spots and asking if he’d like to go, and inviting Sunoo to his dorm to study for their shared elective together.
Sunoo’s been dodging Jungwon’s plans by giving him noncommittal answers or coming up with lame excuses, hoping the younger will eventually get the hint.
So far, no luck.
“Hyung, look!” Jungwon whispers, sliding his phone across Sunoo’s textbook.
The usual gang is in the library, everyone delirious off of one too many iced coffees and the anxiety of the final stretch of the midterm rush. Well, everyone but Jungwon, who appears as cheerful and relaxed as ever, leisurely scrolling through Instagram while Sunoo seriously contemplates dropping out.
“Doesn’t it look good?”
Sunoo glances at Jungwon’s screen and finds photos of a place specializing in Belgian waffles. Sunoo’s not going to lie—he’s been eyeing this exact place for a while now, but the temptation of sugar is not enough to change his mind.
Swallowing his drool, he turns back to his notebook.
“Yeah,” he says flatly, ignoring the way Jungwon’s bright eyes shine as they look at him expectantly.
“Wanna go with me this weekend?”
“I heard it’s going to rain…”
“I have a car, I can drive us there!”
“Um, I have to study…”
“Isn’t your last midterm on Friday? Let’s go out afterwards and celebrate!”
“I-I actually promised to visit my sister this weekend…”
Jungwon’s eyebrows knit together. “Hyung,” he says slowly, “you told us yesterday your sister went on a trip to Jeju Island.”
He takes back his phone and doesn’t say another word to Sunoo after that, suddenly opting to focus on an assignment—the one for their elective class the cat hybrid had been bugging Sunoo to work on together.
Sunoo feels a bit guilty for being caught in an obvious lie but tells himself it’s for the best. After all, he has been indirectly rejecting Jungwon in hopes that the younger would get the message. And Jungwon has finally done just that.
Heeseung leaves first, citing his morning shift at the cafe, and Sunghoon leaves with him to hitch a ride. Jungwon and Riki depart next, the two heading off together since they live in the same building. This leaves Jay, Jake, and Sunoo, the roommates waiting for Jay to finish the last part of his essay since he promised to drop them off.
“Sunoo-yah,” Jay says after finally closing his laptop. “I know it’s none of my business, but… is something going on with you and Jungwon?”
Sunoo fidgets uncomfortably with the straps of his backpack while Jake casually wanders over to the nearest aisle, suddenly interested in a book on the history of Spanish cuisine.
“Well…”
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Jay says with a small smile, patting Sunoo’s arm. He hesitates before continuing.
“I just wanted to say, as someone who watched Jungwon grow up, I can tell you he’s a good kid. He was always a bit quiet and aloof, so he didn’t have many friends other than me. In fact, this is the first time I’ve seen him so interested in someone else, and I don’t think he realizes his enthusiasm can be a little… overwhelming at times.”
“Not to mention his urges,” Jake interrupts, having just returned to their table. “I’m not sure if you know, Sunoo, but hybrids who live among humans have to constantly fight urges that go against common etiquette. That’s why you see a lot more hybrid kids acting out in public, because they haven’t learned to control those impulses yet.”
Jay nods. “Jungwon has a particularly hard time suppressing his urges. He really tries, but sometimes he just can’t help it. Though you should definitely tell him if it ever makes you uncomfortable, because sometimes we don’t even realize we’re acting on these urges until someone points it out.”
Sunoo tightens his grip on the textbook he’s been clutching to his chest and bites his lip. Now that he thinks about it, what happened at the cafe was probably due to Jungwon’s natural urges as a cat hybrid.
Maybe Sunoo’s been too harsh on the younger boy. After all, Jungwon has been nothing but nice, and he’s been the one making a one-sided effort to get closer to Sunoo all this time.
Being a newcomer to the city, Sunoo has been feeling like the odd one out for the past few weeks, but Jungwon has probably felt this way his entire life because of something he can’t even control.
“I understand, hyung. I didn’t know that so thanks for telling me,” Sunoo finally says, looking up and meeting the older boy’s soft gaze.
“Um, and I’m letting you know because you said hybrids don’t realize when they’re acting on their urges… but you kind of just clawed apart your assignment.”
“Shit!”
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
While they wait for Jay to print out another copy of his essay, Sunoo makes a beeline for the old librarian sitting at the circulation desk, who kindly guides him to an aisle on the second floor. After a quick scan through the titles on the shelves, Sunoo picks out a few that seem helpful:
My First Kitten: A Complete Guide
Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises, and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Cat
Decoding Your Cat
The Handbook for a Happy Cat
What Is My Cat Thinking?
Satisfied with the pile of books in his arms, Sunoo heads back to the circulation desk to check them out and finds Jay and Jake waiting for him by the exit.
A few minutes later, when he’s sitting in the passenger seat of Jay’s car while Jake talks their ears off from the backseat, Sunoo decides to text Jungwon—only to realize he doesn’t have his number, but what are Instagram DMs for?
9:48 PM
s.noo3
hey jungwon
i’m really sorry about earlier
if you’re still down i would love to go to the waffle place with you
[Read 9:49 PM]
nyangjw
YES
😸
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Friday rolls around, and true to Sunoo’s word, he meets Jungwon after his last exam, sits pretty in the passenger seat, and lets the younger drive them to the waffle house.
Perhaps because it’s a Friday and also the last day of midterm exams, the place is packed. Sunoo’s scanning the room for a spare table while balancing their tray with their drinks and the strawberry white chocolate waffles they’re going to share when Jungwon tugs him toward a lone seat in the corner.
“Absolutely not,” Sunoo deadpans, ignoring Jungwon’s hopeful kitty eyes.
Thankfully, a couple sitting a few tables away stands up to leave, and Sunoo motions for the disappointed cat hybrid to follow him there instead.
“I wanted to sit together,” the younger grumbles as he sinks into the seat across from Sunoo.
Sunoo rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his grapefruit ade. “We are sitting together, Jungwon.”
“No, you’re too far away. I can’t smell you.”
Sunoo nearly chokes. “What?!”
Jungwon huffs, seemingly unbothered by what he said but at least he hands Sunoo a napkin. “You let me last time.”
“I didn’t know who you were last time!”
Jungwon frowns. “So you would let a stranger sit on your lap but not me?” Fluffy orange ears flatten sadly against his head as the cat hybrid looks down at their plate of waffles dejectedly. “Do you like me less now that you’ve gotten to know me?”
“That is not what I said!”
Sunoo almost folds when Jungwon’s big, teary eyes stare into his soul like some sort of hypnosis. Almost. But rule number one of training a cat is to be firm and stand your ground.
“Oh my god Jungwonie,” Sunoo sighs. “I like you—as a friend—but if you sit on my lap in public again I might actually cry.” He cuts up a bite-sized piece of the waffles, making sure to add a piece of strawberry on top, and prods at the younger’s downturned lips.
Jungwon contemplates this for a total of five seconds while he chews on Sunoo’s peace offering, before all moisture suddenly evaporates from his previously glassy eyes and his scowl slowly curves up into a scheming grin.
An ominous chill runs down Sunoo’s spine then.
He watches in astonishment as Jungwon downs his previously untouched milkshake in one long gulp.
“So if it’s in private, it’s okay?”
He doesn’t even give Sunoo a chance to respond before skipping off to find a takeout container.
Oh boy. Something tells Sunoo he fucked up… big time.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Sunoo and Jungwon fall into a routine of some sort.
It starts in the morning, when Sunoo always wakes up to a cup of coffee sitting by his door. Most of the time it’s accompanied by a pastry. Sometimes it’s a makeshift bouquet of dandelions Sunoo’s pretty sure the younger picked from the quad. Once it was a dead rat—Sunoo had screamed bloody murder until he eventually woke up Jake, who recently joined the school’s gardening club and was thrilled at the free compost.
Sunoo’s mystified as to exactly when Jungwon’s dropping these off, because there’s always a piping-hot cup of coffee waiting for him whether he leaves the house at 7 am for his early morning lecture or at 2 pm on his day off.
Without fail, on the cardboard sleeve of the coffee cup Sunoo will find can we study tgt today? scrawled in what’s unmistakably Jungwon’s distinctive handwriting.
This all started because Sunoo once turned down Jungwon’s invitation to hang out at the younger’s dorm, citing the fact that he already accepted Jay’s invite for a group study session at the library first and it wouldn’t be cool to cancel without reason.
Hence, Jungwon now makes sure to be the very first person to ask. Every. Single. Morning.
And that’s another part brought on by their new routine. Thanks to Jungwon’s persistent morning invites, they’ve pretty much ditched their regular meetups at the library with the rest of the gang in favour of studying in their rooms, just the two of them.
Honestly, “studying” is a generous word, because Sunoo’s lucky if they get an hour of actual studying done before Jungwon’s paddling over from his desk to join Sunoo on the bed, complaining about how he can’t concentrate sitting on the hard wooden dorm chair.
Today is no exception. Sunoo’s sitting criss-cross applesauce on the bed, dressed comfortably in a hoodie and athletic shorts as he types away on his laptop. He’s trying to finish as much of his lab report as possible before Jungwon starts getting restless and makes it impossible to get any work done.
A loud sigh. Chair screeching against the hardwood floor. A warm body glues itself to Sunoo’s side.
“Sunoo hyung,” Jungwon says, hooking his chin over the older’s shoulder because apparently he’d rather watch Sunoo rewrite a sentence fifteen different ways than finish his own paper also due at midnight. “Can I take a little nap?”
“Sure,” Sunoo replies, confused as to why the cat hybrid has to ask for permission but not thinking much of it—until a fluffy blonde mop of hair plops down unceremoniously right on top of his keyboard.
“...What are you doing?” He tries to shuffle away but Jungwon has stubbornly wrapped his arms around the human’s thigh, keeping him in place.
Sunoo lets out a tired sigh. “Wonie, move. I really need to finish this paper.”
“Can I sleep on your lap?”
Jungwon pouts and fuck—those big kitty eyes. Sunoo knows the sneaky cat hybrid is well aware of his weak spots and exactly how to use them to his advantage.
“Only for twenty minutes, please? Your thighs are just soo comfy.” As if to prove his point, he squeezes the soft, milky flesh like a stress ball, startling Sunoo enough that he almost topples both Jungwon and his laptop off the bed.
“Fine,” Sunoo concedes, closing his laptop with a quiet clack.
Jungwon’s feline eyes light up with a victorious grin before he pushes the laptop off of the older’s lap and replaces it with his own head. Sunoo gulps, swallowing the weird fluttering feeling in his chest with it.
Sunoo sits in silence for a moment, hands resting stiffly on the bed while Jungwon gets comfortable. Too comfortable, because Sunoo’s stomach feels a little queasy when the younger starts rubbing his face all over Sunoo’s bare thighs.
Cat hybrid. Urges. Sunoo reminds himself. Be a good friend and absolutely do NOT freak out. Breathe in… breathe out.
“Hyung,” Jungwon sighs happily, his breath tickling Sunoo’s pillowy thighs. “Can you pet my hair? I fall asleep faster that way.”
And so Sunoo complies, because he’s lowkey scared of what his heart will do upon seeing Jungwon’s pleading kitty eyes again. He gently places a hand on Jungwon’s head, carefully stroking it as if petting an actual cat.
The younger closes his eyes with a satisfied hum, clearly pleased.
Sunoo gains more confidence and tentatively starts carding his fingers through Jungwon’s golden locks, and oh—they are so soft and silky smooth.
It’s also quite therapeutic, Sunoo finds. Is this why people own cats? Soon, he’s combing the younger’s hair from his forehead all the way down to his nape, over and over again, savouring the warmth of Jungwon’s scalp underneath the pads of his fingers.
At one point, Sunoo almost forgets that he’s petting Jungwon’s hair and not an actual animal, even absent-mindedly scratching at the base of the hybrid’s soft orange ears which causes Jungwon to make a contented noise in his throat, a soft hum that gradually gets louder and louder.
Sunoo mistakens it for snoring at first—until he realizes Jungwon is fucking purring.
He watches in amazement at the mini motor in the shape of a boy asleep on his lap, loud rumbles resonating through his entire body. He coos when Jungwon yawns before happily nuzzling into the older’s shorts, and it doesn’t take long for his breathing to fall into a soft, even rhythm.
Sunoo can’t believe that a human—well, at least partly—is capable of such a thing. Forget the countryside, Sunoo feels more like he’d been living under a rock.
They both end up taking a 10% late penalty on their assignments.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
3:37 PM
nyangjw
Hyunggg
My afternoon lecture got canceled :3
WYD
s.noo3
lucky!!
going to grab a mint choco milkshake from heeseung hyung’s cafe ^^
nyangjw
Can i come with
Plzzzzzzzz
s.noo3
LOL sure
where do you want to meet?
nyangjw
I’m already outside ur building
s.noo3
?????
nyangjw
😺
Originally, Sunoo had planned to grab his drink to go since Jungwon doesn’t like sitting at cafes and gets sulky when he’s not allowed to cling onto Sunoo in public. But Heeseung had begged them to stay and keep him company during the slowest hour (read: keep watch for him while he plays League on his laptop in the back).
While Jungwon had been stubborn to refuse at first, finally a box of strawberry macarons caused his resolution to waver. And that’s how Sunoo finds himself sitting across from the younger at a faux-leather booth.
Jungwon hums happily as he picks up one of his bribes and brings it to Sunoo’s lips.
“Thanks Wonie,” Sunoo says and opens his mouth, almost moaning as the sweet strawberry flavour explodes on his tongue. He can’t believe Heeseung’s League-worn carpal tunnel-ridden hands are able to make such a wonderful thing.
“These are so good,” he manages to say between bites, taking another macaron and offering it to the younger. “You should try some too!”
Instead of taking the macaron, Jungwon grabs Sunoo’s wrist and pulls it to his mouth, forcing the human to feed him. Jungwon devours the dessert in one big bite, eyes widening comically and making Sunoo giggle—though his laughter soon dies when, instead of letting his hand go, Jungwon starts licking the crumbs off the older’s fingers.
Sunoo can only stare at his hand in shock, unable to move as the cat hybrid’s tight grip holds his wrist hostage.
What the fuck, Sunoo screams internally as he watches the pretty pink tongue lap at his thumb.
“What the fuck?” Heeseung echoes in real life at the sight of his friend nibbling on the fingers of his other friend, because of course he chose the perfect time to return.
“Mmmm,” Jungwon gives one last lick before rubbing his cheek on the back of Sunoo’s hand, completely unbothered by the two humans gawking at him. “Your skin is even sweeter than the macaron, hyung!”
“Th-thanks?”
It’s his urges, Sunoo tells himself for the sake of his sanity. He can’t control his urges. They’re just biological instincts!
Heeseung stands there silently, face devoid of any emotion as he watches Jungwon teeth on the fleshy part of Sunoo’s palm. His lips form a perfect o-shape, followed by a tired sigh, and without uttering a single word, he turns on his heels and walks back to the stockroom.
Sunoo remembers reading online that cats will eat their owner’s corpse. If, God forbid, anything happens to him, Jungwon should not be allowed at his funeral because otherwise there may not be a body left to bury.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
It’s a Friday night, and for once Sunoo and Jungwon are not in either of their rooms but at Jay’s for a sleepover.
The older cat hybrid had complained that the two cutest members of their friend group never show up to their group study sessions at the library anymore, and that his cousin needs to stop hogging Sunoo to himself.
Jungwon had grumbled something about Jay needing to mind his own business, but let Sunoo drag him to Jay’s fancy off-campus apartment anyway.
Freshly changed into a loose t-shirt and sleep shorts, Sunoo’s munching on a bag of Hot Cheetos while listening to Sunghoon and Jake argue over what movie to watch.
“This calls for a vote,” Sunghoon announces after a ten minute argument that’s dangerously close to turning into a fistfight over the remote.
“The options are White Chicks and 21 Jump Street. Raise your hand if you want to watch White Chicks.”
He does a quick count of hands.
“Now for 21 Jump Street.”
Another count, and he frowns. “We’re missing someone. Jungwon?”
Jungwon emerges from the bathroom, having just changed into his pajamas.
“I’m fine with either,” he says, squeezing himself into the armchair Sunoo’s sitting in that’s clearly meant for only one person. He immediately wraps his limbs around Sunoo’s torso, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.
Sunoo nervously does a quick once-over around the room, but none of their friends seem fazed by Jungwon’s touchiness. In fact, they don’t even spare the two anything beyond a cursory glance, except Sunghoon who shoots the cat hybrid a tired look.
“You have to pick. You’re the tiebreaker.”
“Whatever Sunoo hyung picked, then.”
Jake howls and pumps his fist into the air while Sunghoon groans. “You heard him! Hurry up and put on White Chicks.”
White Chicks is a classic that Sunoo will never get tired of, no matter how many times he has seen it. It’s just a little hard to focus, with Jungwon practically entwined around him, feeding him caramel popcorn and rubbing his fluffy head all over Sunoo’s arm.
It also doesn’t help when halfway through the movie, he feels the younger’s hands travel down the side of his torso until they rest on his bare, milky thighs.
Sunoo’s breath catches in his throat when Jungwon starts rubbing his thumb in circles, massaging the area for a bit before eventually full on kneading his thighs.
He’s one second away from losing his mind before his brain recalls something he read in Chapter Two, Section One of My First Kitten: A Complete Guide: When cats feel at ease, they’ll often exhibit kneading movements with their paws against a soft surface. Jungwon is making biscuits!
That must mean the cat hybrid is feeling safe and relaxed around their friends, and Sunoo nearly tears up when he remembers Jay telling him Jungwon had trouble getting close to his peers while growing up due to his difficulty controlling his hybrid urges. He’s so glad Jungwon now has a group of people who love him for who he is.
Sunoo affectionately strokes the younger’s hair, who immediately closes his eyes and starts purring.
The heartwarming moment is cut short when he looks up and meets eyes with a disgusted Riki sitting in the recliner across from them.
Get a room, he mouths, casting them one last dirty look before turning his attention back to the TV.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Before Sunoo knows it, his very first semester in university draws to a close.
Sunoo is a shell of a human being stumbling out of the lecture hall of his last final, having survived only on black coffee and instant noodles alone for the past two weeks. And like a typical university student, he agrees to go along with his friends to a frat party because he has no brain cells left to tell him that he probably needs real food and a full night’s sleep more than he needs crappy music and beer pong.
You know what they say—getting shitfaced drunk is the best remedy for stress. They, as in Jake.
Now, Sunoo by no means is a frequent partygoer, having spent most of his high school years cramming math problems instead of sneaking out to parties. He finds out that Jungwon is even less experienced in that department when he hands the younger a red cup, which Jungwon takes one sip of before his entire face scrunches up in pure disgust.
Sunoo laughs, taking a swig of his own drink, savouring the burn of the alcohol sliding down his throat. “Do you want me to get you something else?”
Jungwon refuses and stubbornly raises the cup to his lips again, trying to suppress a gag and failing.
Sunoo rolls his eyes. He’s come to find that the younger has an extreme case of FOMO when it comes to anything he does.
“I’ll go get you a Coke,” he decides, not waiting for an answer before making a beeline for the kitchen.
Chilling by the counter with all the bottles of booze is Eric, a dog hybrid Sunoo shared a class with. His floppy ears perk up when Sunoo walks in, immediately flashing the younger a bright smile.
Sunoo’s not surprised to see him here since Eric’s known for being a prominent face in the frat, his charming personality and good looks making him one of the most popular members.
They’re acquaintances at best, having only interacted in class and during a group project they did together, but Sunoo has always enjoyed their brief conversations. Sure, Eric’s mouth moves faster than his brain and he’s a little too flirty at times, but Sunoo likes that the dog hybrid is at least a genuine person and he’s learned to not take his flirtatious comments seriously.
Just don’t let them be in the same group project again, please.
“’Sup, Noo,” Eric drawls, shamelessly running his eyes over Sunoo’s figure in his baby pink tee and baggy jeans. “You look gorgeous.”
Sunoo rolls his eyes but smiles good-naturedly. “Thank you,” he says. He eyes the older’s face momentarily before gesturing at his mouth. “You’ve got lipstick on your face.”
“Aw, fuck.”
The dog hybrid wipes furiously at his mouth with the collar of his varsity jacket until Sunoo shoots him a thumbs-up, resuming his dumb grin like nothing happened.
Sunoo doesn’t have the heart to tell him that was probably not the best idea, because now there’s a bright red stain on his previously white collar.
“You here with anyone?”
“Just some friends.” Sunoo surveys the massive pile of beverages on the counter behind Eric. “Do you guys have Coke?”
“Maybe in the garage? Or I have some upstairs in my room, if you wanna come with me to check…”
“Eric, I’m not hooking up with you.”
“Aw, it was worth a shot.” Disappointed, the dog hybrid’s shoulders droop for all of three seconds before they straighten back up, taking the rejection in stride. “How’d you find the philosophy final?”
“Okay, I guess. I could’ve written more for the short essay question if there were more time, but oh well. What about you?”
Eric gives him a blank look. “There was a short essay question?”
“...Yes?”
“Oh, I must’ve not gotten to it. I was stuck on all the math questions.”
“Math questions?” Sunoo’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Why would there be math questions on our Intro to Philosophy final?”
“I don’t know! That’s why I left the whole thing blank!” His soft white ears pin back in distress. “It asked me to state Newton’s Second Law. How would I know that?! I don’t even know the first one!”
“Eric,” Sunoo says slowly. “Do you remember the course code posted on the door of the exam room?”
“PHY100! I even triple-checked I got the right room!”
“PHY100 is physics, Eric. Philosophy is PHL100.”
“Oh my god.” Eric’s eyes fill with tears and he grabs Sunoo’s upper arms in panic. “Sunoo, what do I do? I’m going to fail! I already only had a 14% before the exam!”
The dog hybrid now looks close to tears, bottom lip starting to tremble as he lets out a sad whimper.
Sunoo sighs and decides to pull him in for a hug. “There, there.” He pats Eric’s back sympathetically. “If it helps, I don’t think you would’ve passed the course even if you had gotten full marks on the final.”
Eric pulls back with a dejected sigh. “Damn, I must be dumb as hell.”
As the music changes from R&B to a more upbeat pop song, his hands drop down from Sunoo’s arms to casually rest on the psychology major’s waist. He looks down at Sunoo, pitiful puppy eyes in full force. “This is my favourite song! Dance with me?”
Honestly, Sunoo feels bad enough for the older that he’s just about to agree when, out of nowhere, Eric’s hands are yanked off him in one swift movement.
Another pair of arms snake around Sunoo instead as something—or rather, someone—hisses over his shoulder.
“Get your dirty hands off my Sunoo hyung,” Jungwon snarls, his face right by Sunoo’s left ear, whose nose scrunches up at the faint smell of alcohol on the cat hybrid’s breath. Did he finish the entire drink while Sunoo was gone?
“Woah,” Eric stumbles back before quickly steadying himself. “My bad, bro. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Sunoo huffs, peeling the cat hybrid’s arms away. He turns to Jungwon and gives him a pointed look when the younger hisses at Eric again. “Jungwon, you can’t just shove people for no reason.”
The cat hybrid clearly deflates at Sunoo’s scolding, his sad, slouched form tugging at the human’s heartstrings. Sunoo sighs, offering Jungwon an arm, which the cat hybrid immediately jumps to cling onto.
“Really?” Eric looks unconvinced but he shrugs it off. “Well, I have to go now anyways. It was nice catching up with you, pretty!”
He attempts to go for a hug, but is forced to abandon that plan when Jungwon steps in between them and shoots the older a bone-chilling look.
“Um,” he says awkwardly, trying to make eye contact with the human over the cat hybrid’s shoulders. “I’ll text you, yeah? Let’s grab brunch tomorrow or something. Bye, Sunoo. Bye, kitty cat!”
And he’s gone before Sunoo can answer, which is good because Jungwon looked like he was one second away from clawing the dog hybrid’s eyes out.
“You wanna go check the garage for—What the fuck, Jungwon?!”
Sunoo watches in shock as Jungwon grabs the closest bottle and chugs the whole thing in one long gulp—which happens to be a newly-opened bottle of vodka.
“Hyngsmnfhjska,” is the best Sunoo can do to describe what comes out of Jungwon’s mouth before the younger promptly falls flat on the floor.
Sunoo is thankful he didn’t have much to drink when he has to drag Jungwon through the slew of crowded bodies. Despite the younger being roughly the same height as him, he’s practically deadweight as Sunoo finally manages to haul him into an empty room.
They don’t even make it to the bed, collapsing on the rug by the door where Jungwon immediately pulls the human into his arms.
“Wonie, let me go!” Sunoo gasps, trying not to laugh when Jungwon nuzzles into a ticklish spot behind his ear.
Jungwon just huffs, ignoring Sunoo and tightens his embrace even more. He flops down to lie on the rug, pulling Sunoo with him and rolling over so that they’re lying on their sides. Sunoo can’t hold in his giggles anymore when the cat hybrid starts leaving kitten licks all over his cheek and neck.
Welp. There goes his plan of getting shitfaced drunk.
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
2:12 AM
psh_on_ice
we’re leaving
where r u
is jungwon with u
s.noo3
yeah
he’s wasted tho send help 😭
we’re upstairs 2nd room on the right
“What the fuck?” Sunghoon says the second he walks into the room, the rest of their friends staggering close behind. They all seem to share the same sentiments as their designated driver, abruptly stopping in their tracks at the sight of Sunoo trapped between Jungwon’s limbs and the floor, the latter practically sucking on the former’s neck.
Sunoo just sighs, having given up on escaping on his own a long time ago. “Can somebody help me? He won’t let me go.”
The silence is ever so loud as their friends gawk at the two. Sunoo, who’s gone tomato red, is frantically trying to cover his face while Jungwon is gripping onto him like a koala cub, blissfully oblivious (or he just doesn’t care) to the tension in the room as he goes absolutely ham at the human’s neck.
Heeseung is the first to break the silence. He rubs furiously at his eyes, takes another look at his dongsaengs tangled together on the floor, then rubs at his eyes again.
“I’m too drunk for this shit,” he finally announces before promptly leaving the room.
“Um… are we interrupting something?” Jay says with an awkward clear of his throat.
Sunoo chooses to ignore the hushed snickers and suggestive looks from their friends. He does his best to shoot each of them a threatening glare even though he’s so embarrassed right now he wishes the earth would swallow him whole. But then he remembers the situation he’s in and ultimately decides to swallow his pride.
“Please help,” Sunoo begs. “He’s been at this for more than an hour. I can’t even feel my neck anymore.”
“Don’t worry.” Riki steps forward solemnly before digging into his back pocket and pulling out a bulky keychain. He fumbles through the tangle of metal until he finds what he’s looking for—a laser pointer.
“Hey, Jay hyung, look away!”
Jay makes a confused noise before Jake takes the initiative and covers the older cat hybrid’s eyes. A soft click is heard, then a red beam shoots across the room.
“Psst, Jungwon!”
Jungwon’s eyes shoot open, pausing his suckling as his gaze darts across the room until it lands on the red dot projected on the wall. In a flash he’s scrambling off of Sunoo, launching himself at the laser with a crazed glint in his eyes.
Riki smirks. “I knew this would come in handy one day,” he says, looking proud of himself. “Come here, kitty,” he croons, stepping into the hallway and pointing the laser in front of him.
The rest of their friends watch in half awe, half horror as Jungwon trails behind obediently, as if the red beam has him on a leash.
“Well,” Sunghoon finally says, already following after them, “if it works, it works.”
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Sunoo can only blame Riki for why he’s up at nine in the morning on the first day of winter break, slumped over the table at Heeseung’s cafe. After they had finally ushered everyone into Sunghoon’s car last night, Riki decided he wasn’t done having fun yet and kept pointing the laser at each person in the car, cackling like a maniac when it caused not only Jungwon but also Jay to pounce on everyone as if under a spell.
After nearly crashing the car three times, Sunghoon evidently decided he’d had enough when he ripped the gadget out of the youngest’s hand and flung it out the window into the darkness of the night.
While the rest of the car ride had been peaceful, it was absolute hell trying to coax Jungwon out of the car and upstairs to his dorm, the cat hybrid howling every time someone tried to pull him out of his spot curled up beside Sunoo. Even with all six of them, they barely managed to carry Jungwon upstairs because he kept thrashing around like a feral kitten being brought to the vet for the first time.
It was nearly 4 am when the group went to drop off Riki at his dorm just a floor below. Exhausted, they decided to crash at the younger’s for the night. Thankfully, Riki’s roommate Gunwook had finished his exams early and already gone home for the winter break. Sunoo ended up snuggling beside Riki while Heeseung and Sunghoon shared Gunwook’s empty bed. Jay and Jake simply passed out on the floor, which was probably not ideal for their backs, but nobody had enough energy left to give a fuck.
Sunoo was having the best sleep of his life until he was rudely woken up at 7:45 am by Heeseung’s alarm for his morning shift at the cafe. To make matters worse, the oldest had forced all his friends to wake up and tag along with him while spouting some motivational “early bird gets the worm” bullshit. The real reason is probably that he was too scared to trudge across campus in the dark alone.
So that’s why Sunoo and his friends—minus Jungwon, that lucky little menace who’s probably snoring away in the comfort of his bed right now—are all piled in a booth at Heeseung’s cafe, only half awake. Well, at least Sunoo is half awake. It’s hard to say, because Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon haven't moved a muscle ever since they sat down. On the other hand, Riki is definitely awake because he’s been cussing out the barista under his breath nonstop for the past ten minutes.
Sunoo is on the verge of drifting off to dreamland himself when somebody pokes his arm. It’s Riki.
“So…” he trails off, wearing a shit-eating grin that makes Sunoo wish the younger wouldn’t finish his sentence. “Are you and Jungwon a thing now or what?”
It’s almost comical how the 02z all try to inconspicuously peek an eye open, suddenly more interested in the conversation than a nap. Guess they weren’t asleep after all.
“No? We are just friends.”
“With benefits?” Jake asks.
“Without benefits.”
“Please, we all saw you guys making out last night,” Sunghoon snorts. Nods of agreement are seen around the table.
“F-first of all, we were not making out,” Sunoo splutters, turning bright red. “That was just his urges.”
His friends stare at him like he’s grown a second head.
Jay, in particular, does not seem convinced. “Are you joking?”
“What? Didn’t you say he has a lot of cat hybrid urges? He probably does the same with you guys!”
“Yeah, he swats the plants on my desk,” Jake exclaims incredulously. “Not suck hickeys on my neck!”
Sunoo nearly chokes on his spit. “He was not sucking hickeys on my neck!”
“Oh yeah?” Riki challenges. “Why did you borrow my turtleneck then?” He pulls down Sunoo’s collar in one swift motion, and sure enough, a scatter of red marks decorates the fair skin of Sunoo’s neck.
Sunoo lets out a surprised shriek before slapping Riki’s hand away. “He was just licking me a little too aggressively yesterday,” he defends, hurriedly adjusting his turtleneck. “You know, ’cause he was drunk and stuff.”
Sunghoon snorts. “So, hickeys.”
“I just said they’re not—”
Jake turns to Jay and grabs his face with both hands. “Hey kitten, will you come lick my neck and give me platonic hickeys?”
Jay flips him off, which sends everyone (except Sunoo) into a laughing fit.
“To be honest,” Jake says once he stopped wheezing, “I knew something was up when I saw Jungwon letting you pet his head at our dorm.”
“Hey, that was classic cat behaviour!” Sunoo protests.
Jay shakes his head. “No, Jungwon hates when other people touch his hair.”
“For real,” Sunghoon agrees. “I tried patting him on the head as a joke once and he fucking hissed at me.”
Riki clears his throat. “Well, I knew something was up when I caught Jungwon hyung groping Sunoo hyung’s thighs during movie night.”
“I saw that too!” Jake says, and Jay and Sunghoon chime in that they also witnessed the act. They all high-five each other at that, and Sunoo has to resist the urge to reach across the table and strangle all of them.
“First of all, he was not groping me, he was making biscuits—”
“Sunoo, I’m going to hold your hands when I say this,” Jay says and actually grabs Sunoo’s hands. “You know cat hybrids are different from actual cats, right?”
Sunoo jerks his hands away and narrows his eyes. “—Let me finish! Second of all, why the hell were you perverts all looking at my thighs?!”
…Well that shut them up real quick.
“Hey guys,” Heeseung appears at their table then with their well-deserved complimentary drinks, “what are we talking about?”
“How Jungwon is in love with Sunoo,” Sunghoon supplies helpfully.
“He is not!” Sunoo denies stubbornly, even though at this point he’s lowkey having second thoughts himself.
Riki scoffs. “Respectfully, are you slow?”
Heeseung nods. “Y’all need to seriously chill on the PDA. Why was he sucking on your finger in public at our cafe? Gross.”
Chaos ensues. Sunoo’s protests are drowned out by Jake’s delighted shrieks, Riki’s I told you so, Sunghoon’s In public? Sunoo, I thought you were classier than that, Jay’s tearful sniffles because his baby cousin is all grown up, and Heeseung yelling at Jay to put his catnip joint away inside the cafe.
Thankfully, they’re all too busy yelling over each other to notice Sunoo’s phone screen buzzing consecutively with texts from the missing member of their friend group.
10:19 AM
nyangjw
Hyunggg open the door
Let’s have breakfast tgt :3
I brought haejang-guk !
s.noo3
sorry wonie!! i’m at the cafe
Sunoo breathes a sigh of relief when he looks up to find that, fortunately, nobody has noticed him texting Jungwon, because that would’ve guaranteed a lot of teasing.
Unfortunately, Riki spills his coffee all over Sunoo’s phone, forcing him to miss the cat hybrid’s subsequent messages.
nyangjw
With who
Omg
Don’t tell me
That mutt from the party??
??????
?????????
HELLO??????
😾😾😾
KIM SUNOO
ANSWER
ANSWER
ANSWER
ANSWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
₊˚⊹♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆ ♡⊹˚₊
Heads turn and conversations stop mid-sentence when the cafe doors burst open with a loud slam. In barrels a gust of cold winter air and a very pissed-off Yang Jungwon. Eyes wide and nose flushed pink from the cold outside, he storms up to the cash register.
“Is Sunoo hyung here?” he demands, slamming both hands on the counter.
“Shit!” Behind the espresso machine, Heeseung jumps and nearly spills a cappuccino all over his apron. He glares at the younger. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The younger ignores him. “Sunoo hyung,” he repeats. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
Heeseung smirks and nods towards the back. Narrowed feline eyes follow the barista’s gaze until they land on a booth tucked away in the corner, and the cat hybrid wastes no time making a beeline for it.
Too absorbed in a discussion over whether the black hole is actually black or not, which eventually escalated into a heated debate, they don’t notice Jungwon until a menacing cat-eared shadow looms over their table.
Surprised, they all look up to find a very agitated cat hybrid, his usually sweet and round eyes burning with white-hot fury.
Heeseung follows behind, holding a plate of carrot cake as he glances between Jungwon and Sunoo. He places it in front of the latter. “On the house for being a loyal customer,” he explains.
Sunoo rolls his eyes. It’s obvious Heeseung just wanted an excuse for front-row seats to the action.
“Where is he?” Jungwon says through gritted teeth, frantically looking around.
“Who?” Jay asks.
“That mutt who was trying to hit on Sunoo hyung at the party!”
Riki, who’s sitting beside Sunoo, nudges him by the shoulder and gives him a pointed look.
“He’s just territorial over me because I’m his friend!” Sunoo mutters. “Cats are highly territorial creatures!”
Sitting across from Sunoo, Sunghoon overhears him and facepalms. “Great, this one thinks he’s a fucking cat expert now.”
“Hey Jungwon,” Jake says. “Someone asked for my number last night and wants to fuck me.”
“Congratulations,” Jungwon replies, voice devoid of any concern whatsoever. “Now answer me! Where’s that delta sigma pi square root motherfucker?!”
Sunoo pretends to be very interested in his nails when everybody but Jungwon turns to openly give him a look that says See?
Jay coughs. “Sorry guys, I have to go. I just remembered I have to go see Professor Choi about something,” he says, giving his friends a meaningful look.
Sunghoon is quick to catch on. “Me too, I have to take Gaeul on a walk.”
Jake is next. “I have to go finish my physics homework… for next semester… in advance,” he finishes lamely, then quickly nudges Riki.
“I have to, uh, go help Jake with his physics homework,” Riki says with an impressively straight face. Very convincing for someone who doesn’t know the difference between calculus and a calculator.
Jake clearly takes full offence at that. “Why would I need your help?”
Sunghoon clamps a hand over his friend’s mouth, ignoring the physics major’s muffled protests before turning to Heeseung, who’s still standing behind Jungwon. “Hyung, you wanna come with me to walk Gaeul?”
The barista shakes his head. “Bro, I’m still on the clock—ow!” he yelps when Jay kicks him on the shin, “—I mean, I have to go to the back to… sort some coffee beans, haha.”
Jay gets up from his seat first. “Do not fumble,” he mumbles when he passes by the younger cat hybrid.
One by one, their friends slide out of the booth and quickly say their goodbyes, leaving the two alone.
Ears drooping, Jungwon sinks into the seat beside Sunoo with a sigh.
Sensing the younger’s sour mood, Sunoo gently puts a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Wonie?”
The younger stays quiet for a moment, stubbornly looking everywhere but at Sunoo. When he eventually takes a deep breath and turns to face the older, Sunoo’s surprised to find all traces of his previous anger gone. Instead, Jungwon’s eyes are watery with unshed tears, but they’re missing the usual light in them when Jungwon’s pretending to act pitiful to get what he wants. Sunoo instinctively realizes the cat hybrid must actually be upset this time.
Swallowing hard, Jungwon finally speaks up in a tiny voice. “H-hyung,” he sniffles, lips trembling, “are you… are you cheating on me?”
What. Sunoo must’ve misheard him.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?”
“I said, are you cheating on me?”
??????????????????????
Flabbergasted, Sunoo’s mouth opens, then closes, then opens and closes again before he’s able to get any words out. “Who?” he asks dumbly.
Jungwon’s brows knit together. “What do you mean ‘who’? Are you—” He jabs a thumb at Sunoo, then himself “—cheating on me!”
Sunoo splutters. “How can I be cheating on you?”
The cat hybrid crosses his arms. “You went on a date with Eric.”
“What?! No, I didn’t!” Sunoo denies.
The tension seems to finally leave Jungwon’s shoulders. “So you didn’t cheat on me?” he asks, slowly blinking the tears away.
“No! I mean, wait—ugh, listen to me, Jungwon! I didn’t cheat on you because I can’t cheat on you!”
Jungwon’s ears twitch in delight. “That’s so romantic,” he sniffles.
Sunoo suddenly wants to rip his hair out. “Not in that way!” he groans. He grabs Jungwon by the shoulders and looks him dead in the eyes. “Jungwon, I can’t be cheating on you, because that would imply we’re dating, which we are not.”
In a split second, the younger’s eyes well up with tears once more. “We’re not?”
“No!”
Tears start trickling down Jungwon’s cheeks at Sunoo’s firm denial. “All this time,” he cries, “have you been playing with me?”
“No! I-I thought we were just hanging out as friends?!”
Jungwon looks shocked. “You would let your friends do those things?”
“What d-do you mean those things?” Sunoo flushes. He might not have much—or any—experience with romantic relationships, but was what they did really that scandalous? “It’s not like we k-kissed or anything…”
“Do you want to try?” Jungwon asks hopefully.
“Like right now? Wait, no—” Sunoo squeaks, before catching himself. “That’s not the point. We can’t!”
“Why not?” Jungwon frowns. “Do you not like me, hyung?”
“Do you like me?” Sunoo shoots back.
“Yeah,” the younger replies without hesitation. “A lot. I thought it was obvious?”
Okay, thinking back… it was obvious. Fuck. Was Sunoo the idiot all along?
“Why didn’t you just say so earlier?” he mutters defensively.
Jungwon taps his chin thoughtfully. “Jay hyung always told me actions speak louder than words.”
A blur of black hair and Prada knit suddenly jumps out from the corner, and a distraught-looking Park Jay materializes beside their table.
“Oh my god, you fucking idiot. I didn’t mean it like that!” he cries, slapping the back of the younger cat hybrid’s head in exasperation, which earns a yelp from the younger. “Yang Jungwon, if you don’t get your shit together, I swear…”
Riki also steps out, followed by Sunghoon, Jake, Heeseung.
“I can’t take this anymore,” Riki complains, while the older three struggle to hold Jay back from launching a full-blown catfight in the middle of the cafe. “This conversation’s giving me a stroke.”
Jake decides to take matters into his own hands. “Sunoo,” he says, “Jungwon just told you he liked you. You can either, a) reject him and Jungwon will mope in his dorm for a few days until we coax him out with a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and it’ll probably be awkward between you two for a few weeks or maybe even forever; or b) you accept his confession and kiss and everyone’s happy and I’ll throw my drink at Heeseung hyung so he has an excuse to call someone to cover for him while we go celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory.”
Heeseung frowns. “Wait, what?”
“So what will it be, Sunoo?” Jake continues, ignoring him. “Do you like Jungwon or not?”
Sunoo takes a minute to think about it. He thinks about Jungwon bringing him coffee every morning, along with his little gifts, which can sometimes be hit-or-miss. He thinks about Jungwon insisting they study together every afternoon, even though the sessions are not very productive. He thinks about Jungwon purring when he’s happy, hissing when he’s mad. He thinks about Jungwon attaching himself to Sunoo every chance he gets—something Sunoo used to not be the biggest fan of, though it has now become something he rolls his eyes at but secretly looks forward to.
Just imagining suddenly drifting apart from Jungwon, spending lonely afternoons by himself, being awkward and acting like strangers… sends a pang of emotion through his chest. An emotion that’s uncomfortable, that makes his vision blur and his heart throb in pain.
Something close to hurt, something close to… heartbreak.
Oh.
“I do,” Sunoo realizes out loud. “I do like him.”
“Great!” Jake smiles. “I now pronounce you two boyfriends!” He clasps his hands together dramatically before turning to the now beaming cat hybrid. “You may kiss the Sunoo!”
Jungwon might as well be the sun with how bright his face has lit up, wide grin stretching from ear to ear. His whole body is practically vibrating, clearly holding himself back from pouncing on the delectable human peach in front of him.
“Hyung,” he asks sweetly, big kitty cat eyes looking into Sunoo’s, “can I kiss you?”
Sunoo nods, and he only has time to suck in a short breath before Jungwon’s swooping in to crash their lips together. The kiss is syrupy sweet, a chaste dance of shy lips moving in tandem. Jungwon’s warm hands are on Sunoo’s cheeks, then his neck, then down his arms, and finally on his waist, and Sunoo feels something impossibly warm yet cotton-candy soft bloom in his chest at every touch.
He pulls away slightly to catch his breath but Jungwon’s lips immediately chase his like opposite ends of a magnet, even peeking out a daring tongue to prod along the seam of Sunoo’s mouth before—
“Alright guys, pack it up. This is still a public space,” Heeseung interrupts before jumping when Jake hurls his (thankfully now lukewarm) coffee at him. “Bro, the fuck?!”
Jake smiles menacingly. “That’s for ruining such a cute moment,” he says. “And also so you can pretend to get burned and call someone to cover for you, because according to plan, we should be en route to the Cheesecake Factory. Jay’s treat!”
“Oh, what the hell, sure,” Jay sniffles, pulling out his phone to snap photos of his beloved baby cousin embracing his first boyfriend.
If there’s one thing Heeseung loves more than League of Legends, it’s free food. “Ahhhh!” he suddenly says in a robotic voice, clutching his hand. “So hot!”
“Oh no! Did you burn your hand?” Sunghoon’s acting is even worse than Heeseung’s.
“NOOO!” Riki makes up for Heeseung and Sunghoon’s missing emotions by being extra dramatic. “Now Heeseung hyung won’t be able to use his hand ever again. His life will be meaningless now that he won’t be able to play games, which used to be the only thing he was good at,” he cries, even going so far as to crumple to the floor in slow motion. “WHY, GOD, WHY?”
Sunoo stifles a giggle. Their performance doesn’t look very convincing, but what does Sunoo know? He didn’t even realize how much he liked Jungwon until five minutes ago, so he clearly doesn’t possess the best judgment.
Beside him, the cat hybrid’s body rumbles with laughter, his hand on Sunoo’s arm giving a comforting squeeze. Sunoo can’t help but turn to admire Jungwon’s smiling face, the younger’s feline eyes crinkling with laughter as those adorable dimples peek through like sunlight through the clouds. Sunoo wonders what it would feel like to kiss them… and so he does. Which is allowed, because Jungwon is his boyfriend now, a thought that sends a rush of giddy excitement straight to his chest.
Sunoo is so glad the catboy fell onto his lap that day. Lesson learned: never doubt the cat distribution system.