Chapter Text
Gunil carefully stepped in. He had just left his college campus about an hour ago, deciding to take his time to walk back to his accommodation, when he chanced upon a cat cafe on his way back. Interesting. He hadn't walked this path in a few months, so he supposed this cat cafe was new. His curiosity got the better of him, and so Gunil slowly pushed open the door to the cat cafe, slightly grateful for the choice of the soft lighting. He was pretty exhausted at this point, and harsh lighting wouldn't be any more beneficial for his eyes after he had been staring at his laptop, working on his assignments for the entire day. Taking a glance around the cat cafe, most of the cats were already asleep — some of them were still awake, roaming and scuttling around. Gunil decides he should find a spot to sit down, opting for the closest cushion he could find as he continued roaming the area before he gently drops his bag on the floor, the clinking of his keychains seemingly alerting some cats to his presence as they immediately begin to crowd him, some of them approaching for a brief moment to sniff him and register his scent. The moment he sits down, a tiny kitten seems to want to seek comfort, immediately climbing over his crossed legs and getting comfortable in his lap. Gunil smiles. He doesn't mind at all; he finds it adorable. He decides to pet a few of the cats surrounding him and even gives the tiny kitten in his lap some ear scritches.
"They seem to like you a lot; they don't even seem this excited to see me unless I'm feeding them. All I am to these adorable babies is a walking kibble dispenser." Gunil looks up from giving the kitten its ear scritches, seeing a man trying to catch the attention of a cat nearby by dangling the cat toy around, clicking his tongue and imitating their trills. Looking at the light brown apron tied around his wool cardigan, Gunil assumes he's one of the employees working his night shift here. Gunil is a little bit at a loss as to why the cats like him so much, too. "I'm not sure why they like me so much. I don't even have a cat. I have a dog at home." The employee's mouth forms an 'O' shape before he continues to speak again. "You seem pretty relaxed and experienced for someone who has never owned a cat, though. Most non-cat owners come in here pretty shy about approaching the cats, especially because they're afraid of scaring them off or doing something to set them off." Is this the part where Gunil admits that he has had experience with cats before? Probably. So he decides to tell this random employee about it, because he'd feel bad for lying to him and simply shrugging him off. "Ah, I know a little about them. My friend has a cat, and since we share an apartment with each other, I've had several encounters with him. His cat is really clingy to him, though. He acts all sassy towards everyone, but the moment my friend is in proximity or holding him in his arms, he's a complete angel. I called him a cat, but I can't tell which stage he's exactly in. The toddler stage that's situated right in between a kitten and an adult cat, if it exists." The employee nods. "Some cats do like sticking the closest to their humans, but if he's a kitten, it makes sense that he's searching for his human more often, since their scent and presence help them to calm down a lot more easily. If your friend has the time, you can always bring him here! I'm sure all the other cats here would love to make a new feline friend." Gunil supposes he could try, although he does inform the guy that Hyeongjun is someone who prefers to hole himself at home and only leaves to restock on necessities, so dragging him to a usually crowded place like a cat cafe might be slightly difficult. The only good thing is that Hyeongjun seems to be nocturnal, though, so he wouldn't be interrupting his sleep or anything of the sort if he brought him here around this time.
Gunil and the employee continue talking for a while as they play with the cats and kittens roaming around, and the chain of constant meows and tongue clicking is disturbed by the sudden growl coming from Gunil's stomach. The employee, who had been talking, immediately pauses, blinking at him. Although Gunil knows his own face is probably red from embarrassment at the moment, he seems to note that the employee has this habit of blinking a lot, which isn't weird to him — it's endearing, and it makes him seem cuter. "Ah, I'm so sorry about that. I came from my college campus after working on an assignment the entire day, and it seems like I forgot about having dinner." The moment the employee heard that, he perked up. "Oh! I think we have some cookies and tea leftover, if you'd like. You don't have to worry about it, it's on the house! I was planning to wipe down and close the cafe kiosk since it seemed like nobody was really going to order food at this time, but heating up a cookie or two and brewing some tea shouldn't take too long nor make too much of a mess." Gunil definitely couldn't trouble someone so much, so he tried to decline. "I would rather not trouble you; you really don't have to, although I appreciate the gesture." It doesn't seem to work, as he's constantly pestered to accept. "It wouldn't be a bother to me, really! I was thinking of having some tea to drink too, and the cookies are leftovers. It would be better for us to eat them than for me to toss them away after I close down for the night. And although it just sounds like I'm saying this to make you accept, which is half true, I kind of am hungry too. I had to take over half of my colleague's shift today, so I've been here longer than usual without much time to take any breaks to get even a nibble in." With how desperate he seemed to be, he finally relented and gave in. "I suppose if you want to…thank you again."
The moment the employee heard him agree, he immediately got up, bouncing behind the kiosk, humming a tune as he grabbed some leftover cookies from the display and began to grab some tea bags to steep them. Gunil watches his back while he works his way around the different spots in the small area he's given, until he hears a soft mewl and something pawing at his thigh, which catches his attention. When he looks down, he sees a small kitten and immediately recognises it as the one that had been sleeping in his lap for a good while. Gunil notes that the kitten kind of reminds him of the employee — no, the employee reminds him of a kitten with his chubby cheeks and sparkling eyes that seemed to be filled with curiosity. The fact that he also got along well with the other cats, like he was one of them, didn't make it any better, either. Before long, he approaches Gunil once again, placing down a plate full of heated up cookies that Gunil immediately scarfs down his throat (Gunil was unaware that he was this hungry himself, honestly), and almost let out a moan at how the chocolate melted perfectly in his mouth, while he disappeared behind the counter before emerging with two cups of tea. "We only have chamomile left for now. I hope you don't mind. You might just knock out the moment your head hits your pillow tonight, if this is strong enough." He throws his head back, laughing at his own statement for a good second before Gunil convinces him to quickly take a seat so that he can have a bite of the cookies too to get some sugar in his system.
The two of them had continued their conversation for a while, giving the cats jumping into their laps some scritches and playing around with them for a while, and before either of them knew it, they had finished the cookies and tea, and it was getting quite late. Gunil looks at the time on his watch, and he immediately realises he must've kept the poor employee longer than he intended to. "It's getting quite late, I just saw the time….I'm sorry for keeping you here for so long. The cookies and tea were absolutely amazing, though. I'll be taking my leave now." As Gunil grabs his bag and slings it around his shoulder, getting ready to leave, the tiny kitten that had been attached to him the entire duration of his stay immediately grabs onto his pant legs, clawing at him and wailing. It seemed like it didn't want him to leave. Cute. He kneels down, patting the kitten gently. "It's alright, baby. I'll come visit again soon once I have the time, okay? Just be a good kitten for…" Gunil trails off, looking up at the employee as he realises they haven't exchanged names at all during their entire encounter and conversation. "Jungsu. Kim Jungsu." The man says, seemingly realising that Gunil was asking for his name. Jungsu was a pretty name; it fit him really well. He spoke to the kitten again, completing his sentence now that he had finally gotten the employee's name. "Be a good kitten for Jungsu and the others, okay? I'll bring you lots of treats next time." Jungsu immediately reaches for the kitten, which is fussy as it is separated from Gunil's warmth. The kitten seems not to be wailing as much, but is still clawing at Jungsu's apron, demanding to be with Gunil again, as Jungsu tries his best to soothe it, booping its nose and giving it some more scritches, reminding it that it'd be getting treats from Gunil the next time he visited. Gunil shoots him an apologetic look — he didn't expect such a small kitten to be so attached to him. Just as he takes a few steps out of the cafe, he pauses, speaking up. "I'm Gunil. Goo Gunil. Good night, Jungsu." And with that, he takes his leave.