Feline Instincts // Changmin & Taekwoon
At the moment, Changmin was taking a stroll at the small town situated just a few kilometres from the Academy. There was about a week left before the end of their Christmas vacation and Changmin was bored out of his mind. He had spent the earlier part of the holidays with his beloved other half, but the holidays were simply too long and the Academy lacked in the areas of entertainment.
Ever since the two lovebirds had returned from their trip, they had been joined at the hip. Neither leaving the side of the other. They had been much too close for comfort, to the obvious ire of Chang (No surprise there.). Thus, Changmin being alone in his current situation felt somewhat awkward and lonely. He had grown used to the other man’s company, and Taekwoon’s absence left him feeling sort of, empty? Either way, it was probably a good idea for him have went out on his own. Chang would’ve probably gone bonkers should they had stayed together any longer. Chang had been on edge more than ever since his and Taekwoon’s more than sexual endeavours.
As he trudged on, snow crunching under his shoes, he perked up as his ears caught the soft, gentle meow that resonated nearby.
Glancing around, his gaze fell upon a tiny ashen kitten pawing curiously at the glass window that separated it from the outside world. Looking up at the shop sign, he caught sight of the lacquered wooden alphabets.
Petopia. Pet care since 1975.
Pet shop. I see... The kitten meowed again, staring up at him through the glass with it's big, round, begging eyes. It was as if it were inviting him to enter. Changmin couldn't help but be captivated by the tiny creature's charming cuteness. Pft... It reminds me of Taekwoon. When he's begging me for something... Hehe... Changmin could almost hear the groan that Chang would have uttered in response to his thoughts.
After staring at the kitten for a period, he heard the soft jangle of bells to his side. Turning to the source of the sound, he came face to face with a homely looking middle aged man.
"Hello young man." The man greeted him with a friendly smile.
"You seem rather interested in that kitten over there." He chuckled. "He's 8 weeks old. Want to come in to take a closer look?"
"Ah... No, it's okay. I was just looking." He responded politely.
"Now, now. It's fine, even if you're looking. Don't be shy." The man teased lightly, gently tugging him into the store and leading him towards an enclosed playpen filled with numerous cats and kittens of different sizes and breeds. Just opposite it was an enclosed area just for the dogs. Despite how small the shop looked from the outside, Changmin was surprised at how large the shop actually was, considering the fact that it could fit in two separated play areas for the animals.
As Changmin hesitantly stepped into the playpen, the ashen kitten bounded towards him, stopping right before his feet as it looked up at him with its curious eyes before meowing again.
Beside him, the shop owner chuckled. "Seems like he's taken a liking to you." Turning to face him, the man nudged him playfully. "Would you be interested in taking him in? You can't say no to that kind of face now can you?" He inquired, his tone light and joking.
Changmin was caught off guard at the unexpected question. Grinning sheepishly, he stuttered out a reply. "H-huh? I mean... Umm... Yeah. I-I'd love to, but I can't..."
The shop owner, obviously not having expected such a flustered reaction grinned widely as he smack him kindly on his back. "Haha! Don't mind me, I was just joking. But I've got a business to run you know? I can just let an opportunity to market these fluffy little bundles of joy slip past."
Nodding shyly, Changmin turned his attention back to the kitten, bending down as he hesitantly reached out one gloved finger to prod it. The kitten squealed, tumbling backwards before it righted itself and bounded towards him again, meowing excitedly. He couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the kitten's peculiar reaction.
Bending down beside him he man asked, "Do you really not want to take him in? This lad usually isn't this friendly with people, and he seems to really like you. May I ask why is it you can't take him in?"
Changmin paused for a moment. He never considered taking in a pet ever since his power manifested. As much as he loved animals, it was an outrageous thought. How was he going to care for pet if he couldn't even touch it with his hands? That was probably the main and only reason why he couldn't take in this charming kitten, as much as he'd love to. But he couldn't very well tell the shop owner that now could he?
"Umm... I'm just not very good with animals...?" He explained lamely, knowing full well what a horrible reason that was.
The man snorted. "You? Horrible with animals?" Raising an eyebrow, the man gestured to the kitten. "The kitty loves you."
Scratching his neck, he offered a sheepish grin in return. "Ah... Well..."
Sighing, the shop owner reached down to pick up kitten before abruptly dropping it into Changmin's arms. Changmin panicked, frantically trying to get a good grip on the tiny creature so as to not drop it.
Looking down, he saw that the man was right. The kitten stared up at him, purring affectionately as it rubbed itself against his coat.
"You can have him for free if you want." The shop owner waved distractedly at him.
"Ah well... It's fine, it won't be a loss to me. That kitten's actually a stray. I found him and his siblings abandoned by a side walk. Probably by some irresponsible pet owner who didn't want to care for a new litter. I took them in, but it's pretty hard to sell them since any experienced pet owner would know that kittens who haven't been raised by their mothers are more likely to develop behavioural problem. That's why this kitten here is pretty shy and all. But it seems to like you, and you seem like a good, respectable man that could give the kitten a good home." He explained before fondly adding. "If I can get this kitten here a good home, it's fine if I don't make any money out of this."
"Don't worry about it. You like the kitten too don't you?"
That he couldn't deny. But there were larger problems at hand. How would he care for the kitten? How would he bathe it? Nurse it? He couldn't touch the creature without killing it. Suddenly, it occurred to him. But there's Taekwoon right? Would Taekwoon help in raising the kitten? Taekwoon liked animals right? So would he? Maybe getting a pet wasn't so bad after all? Would Taekwoon mind?
"Well, if you're interested. The offer comes with a complimentary litter box and milk bottle, heck, I'll throw in his favourite mouse toy as well?" He offered, his hopeful eyes sparkling.
Chewing on his lip, Changmin hesitantly confirmed with the kind male again. "Are you sure?"
"So you'll take him! Yes~!!!" The male did some sort of a victory dance before apologising. "Sorry, but it's just that I'd never thought this kitten would get adopted at any point. Once it passed it's kitten stage I'd have had to euthanised it." He pointed out solemnly before shoving a number of shopping bags into his arms. "But here! You can have this litter box and milk bottle to start you off! Oh! And some cat food too! Don't worry about the litter box and all. This is an old model. Most owners wouldn't buy it anyway."
Grinning, the shop owner's head suddenly perked up as he hastily shuffled off to the back of the shop before returning with a huge bag filled with what seemed to be filled with a certain type of dried up herb. Chuckling sheepishly, he offered up the bag to Changmin. "Now I feel like I'm dumping off stuff on you... But hey, would you like this too? The company got the order wrong and sent me this huge bag of catnip. No one would buy it and if I opened and separated it into smaller packets, still no one would buy it. Nobody likes tampered products."
"Yeah. It does feel like you're just clearing out your store on me."
That earned him a nervous chuckle from the other man. Grinning, he continued. "But I might as well take advantage of it. After all, how often do you get a stranger randomly offering you free goods?" He responded playfully. "So I get to keep all of this? For free, might I add."
"Yeah." The man responded good naturedly, patting his back. "And don't be such a stranger. I'm a nice man you know?"
"Yes. Thank you shop owner ahjussi." He replied, bowing before gathering up the good in his arms as he made his way out of the shop unsteadily under the weight off all the items. Gathered up in the hollow of his arms, was the ashen kitten who had somehow managed to fall asleep despite all the commotion. Smiling softly as the sight, Changmin made his way back to the Academy, albeit with much difficulty.
By the time he reached the dorms, Changmin was panting. Stumbling over to the door, he fumbled with his key before finally unlocking the door and tumbling into the room.
"Hey... I'm back." He huffed, gasping for air as he dropped all the bags to the ground, one arm carefully cradling the kitten. "And I brought back something... Umm... Hope you don't mind?" He added hesitantly, revealing the bundle of fur to Taekwoon studying the boy's reaction.
