Ailurophilia.
Title: Ailurophilia.
Pairing: U-kwon/B-Bomb
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: ai•lu•ro•phile [n] - A fondness or love for cats.
When Minhyuk was seven years old, he got his first kitten. He was waiting in front of school, sitting on the edge of a wooden bench. His mom said she would come a little later today because of work, so he was left sitting on one of the dirty benches in front of the giant building named school. Minhyuk was kind of a lonely kid growing up, especially as elementary school student. He had just one friend, Jiho who was one year younger than him. Jiho was one of the naughty boys and his mom didn’t appreciate their friendship, so he was even lonelier. The boy tugged at his scarf a bit, feeling that the fabric had become wet because of the slowly falling snow. His legs rocked back and forth as he grew inpatient. He sneezed, wiping his nose off on the scarf. Just at that moment, someone else sneezed. Minhyuk turned his head to find the person that had sneezed, because he knew everyone should be gone by now. Near the bench, lay a kitten. A sweet, furry, white ball with big blue eyes. Staring at him as he sneezed again. “Hello there, kitty!” Minhyuk hopped off the bench and kneeled down in the snow, staring the kitten in the eyes. The kitten was crossed eyed, which made him laugh slightly. “I’ll name you Seunowoo.” He said, petting the kitten’s long fur. Seunowoo purred softly, pushing back against his hand. He sneezed again, into Minhyuk’s hand this time. And as if he was embarrassed, he lowered his head. “Don’t worry, that happens to everyone sometimes.” Minhyuk smiled. Just then his mother arrived, stepping out of the car and hurriedly coming up to him. “Oh, Minhyuk I’m sorry. Let’s go and drink some hot chocolate.” She took her son’s hand and was about to leave with him, when Minhyuk stayed still on the ground. “What is it, sweetie?” “Mom, can we take this kitten home? He is sick.” His mother peered over his shoulder at the fluffy kitten, who looked back at her. “Are you sure that he doesn’t have an owner?” She asked cautiously, knowing very well that you can’t just take a pet home with you. “I don’t know, we can at least make him better!” Minhyuk said excitedly, scooping Seunowoo up from the ground. He purred again, nestling deeper into Minhyuk’s arms. “Okay then, but we’ll take him to the vet and look for his owner. Understand?” Minhyuk nodded, skipping after his mother to the car.
When Minhyuk was nine years old, he got his second kitten. A Scottish Fold. The first kitten was taken away by its owner after one week. Minhyuk wanted to cry as he saw the old lady pick up his kitten, but as a good boy did, he held in his tears. His mother said they couldn’t afford to buy one for him, so he was left alone again. In that one week the kitten had become his best friend and he had never taken care of anyone better than of that kitten. Minhyuk was with Jiho, standing on the sidewalk, licking their ice cream. Jiho’s friend Kyung was there too, making Minhyuk feel left out again. He just licked his ice cream silently as Jiho and Kyung joked around, laughing at people and teasing each other. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a familiar sneeze. Without hesitating, he walked into the direction where the sound had come from, leaving Kyung and Jiho wondering what he was going to do. The kitten was attached to a tree, sneezing and meowing his lungs out. This kitten was a lot different than his first, this one was grey, with yellow-ish eyes and fold ears. “Hello there.” He greeted the kitten the same as he had greeted Seunowoo. He scratched the kitten behind the ears, feeling the vibrations of purrs under his fingers. Jiho came up to him, some of his ice cream dripping onto Minhyuk’s new shirt. “What are you doing?” “It’s a kitten, look.” Minhyuk pointed at the little fur ball on the ground. “It’s ugly.” Jiho said, scrunching up his face. “It’s not.” Minhyuk defended the kitten, detaching the kitten from the tree and picking it up. “I’m leaving.” He announced, looking at Kyung who was tapping his feet impatiently. “You can’t just take that with you!” Jiho said, pointing at the kitten with his ice cream. “Yes, I can.” And Minhyuk left without another word, running towards his house.
His mother wasn’t happy that her son once again brought a pet home, but this kitten was sick too and as much as she didn’t trust strange animals, her heart was too big to deny such an adorable pet. “His name is John.” He said, remembering an English film he had seen with his parents. He mispronounced the name, which made it sound more like Chon, but it was just the feeling behind it. His mother and him sat next to a bowl on the ground, carefully washing the kitten, until it was clean from all the dirt that got stuck in its fur. And once again, the kitten became his best friend. After a week, there was still no one who called to get their kitten back.
Minhyuk took care of the kitten like it was his son. Washing him, feeding him, taking care of him, defending him. His mother was happy for him, but also started to worry about him. Minhyuk build a habit of talking to John, and not just how normal people talk to their cats, but long stories. The only thing Minhyuk had eyes for were the cat, and when Minhyuk was eleven and his cat died, he did cry. He cried for a day straight, not even bothering to eat. His mother sent him to a psychologist to talk about his problems instead, and said they could buy a dog, which Minhyuk refused. He didn’t want a dog, he wanted a cat, a kitten preferably.
When Minhyuk was thirteen he found another kitten, which his mother refused to take into their house. “I’m sick of you just taking pets with you, we don’t have enough money to take care of them!” She slammed the front door shut in front of his nose, leaving him outside with a kitten in his arms. Instead, he brought the kitten to his grandma, who lived a few streets away. She was very happy to take care of his kitten while he was at school, knowing that her grandson would visit her more if she did her best at making the kitten feel home. This kitten was called Gogi, because his mother had told him she’d make meat stew out of the kitten if he did sneak it in. His grandma laughed at the name, smiling brightly as he finally let go of the kitten.
When Minhyuk was sixteen, he didn’t have enough time to go his grandma anymore. Exams were coming up and taking care of Gogi took too much of his precious study time away. He did think about the three year old, fat cat all day, hoping he was fine. Jiho and Kyung didn’t know anything about this cat, they thought he had a girl on his mind and teased him with that instead. Minhyuk was rather happy that they didn’t know, Gogi was his secret. One time when he was eating dinner with his family, his mother had told him to grow up. She told him that “You are sixteen, but behave like a three year old, only because of a fat cat that will probably die because of obesity.”, on which he calmly left the table and locked himself in up in his room.
When Minhyuk had just become seventeen, he forgot about his cat. He had graduated high school and decided that he did have to grow up. So he left all the thoughts about the cat in the back of his mind and searched for a college to go to. Together with leaving all thoughts of Gogi, he matured. He started dancing, working out and got more friends. He even started going out now and then, sneaking out of his room to go to a club with Jiho and Kyung.
When Minhyuk was nineteen, he found another kitten.
He had promised himself to stay away from kittens as much as he could, he would not let any of them ever affect his life again and bring them home. But that was all forgotten when he saw a kitten walk into the café he was sitting. He had been scribbling down some stuff before his class would start, sipping on his cappuccino, when doom had walked into the café. Minhyuk had looked up from his notebook at hearing the little bell above the door, to see who was coming in. All the while the kitten was walking around in the café he couldn’t stop staring, he wanted to get up from his seat and pet the red hair from the kitten. But he stayed still, eyeing the kitten who walked out again.
It went like that a few times, Minhyuk just staring how the kitten would come in and leave, until one day. Minhyuk was again sipping his cappuccino, feeling the presence of the kitten from far away. He started tapping the tabletop with his index-finger, impatiently looking out of the window. There he was, the kitten. He walked in quickly, as if afraid of the rain and walked up to Minhyuk’s table in one straight line. Minhyuk looked up at the kitten with big eyes, suddenly afraid. “Can I sit here?” The kitten asked, pointing at the chair opposite of Minhyuk with a lean finger. Minhyuk nodded quickly, observing the kitten up-close. The red hair looked even fluffier now and he felt the urge to run his fingers through it. “I’m Yukwon.” The kitten said, holding up a hand for Minhyuk to shake. As soon as their hands touched, Minhyuk felt the soft skin, as soft as the fur of his very first kitten. “And you?” Yukwon asked when Minhyuk could only stare at him dumbfounded. “M-Minhyuk.” He almost choked out, using the special ‘kitten-voice’ that he hadn’t used in over two years. The kitten-voice is lower than his usual voice, because kittens have very sensitive ears and every high sound hurts them. “It’s nice to meet you.” Yukwon smiled, baring his shining white teeth. His teeth were just a little sharp, just like his second kitten, who could never chew his food properly. “I know I’m good-looking, but you don’t have to overdo it.” Yukwon said, smiling even brighter when Minhyuk shook his head and quickly looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.” “That’s okay.” And Minhyuk had’t felt so happy since two years, it felt like all his kittens had decided to get together and form a human.
Minhyuk and Yukwon met up at the café twice a week, mostly talking about college and family. Apparently Yukwon was one year younger than him, and also loves to dance. Minhyuk was always the first to arrive at the café, waiting on the same table everyday for his kitten. Just like now, he was sitting there tapping the tabletop with his index-finger, until the bell above the door rang. Yukwon came in, all wet because of the weather. He sat down at the table Minhyuk is sitting, sneezing. That sneeze sounded familiar, that was the sneeze that made him find his first two kittens. Yukwon apologized quickly, on which Minhyuk said “Don’t worry, that happens to everyone sometimes.” And Yukwon smiled at him.
Minhyuk took Yukwon home with him, after they went clubbing. He walked over the sidewalk with a very drunk Yukwon in his arms, who was singing a children’s song loudly. Minhyuk couldn’t reach for the keys in his back pocket, so he rang the doorbell with his nose. Jiho opened the door, looking at the kitten in his arms before looking up at him. “You still bring home kittens?” Jiho said, opening the door further so Minhyuk could come in. Without answering, he went straight to his bedroom, dropping Yukwon down on the bed. Yukwon rolled over a few times, clawing at the soft bed sheets, just like his kittens had done. Minhyuk looked at him, and Yukwon looked up at him. The only thing Minhyuk saw were the chocolate brown eyes that reminded him of Gogi, the white teeth that reminded him of John and the fluffy hair that reminded him of Seunowoo. Minhyuk kissed Yukwon, hard and deep, the taste of cheap beer filling his mouth. Yukwon purred as soon as Minhyuk had his hands on his bare skin. And Minhyuk bit down on Yukwon’s bottom lip, drawing out a moan. And as much as Yukwon resembled his kittens, he wasn’t a kitten. Yukwon was a real human, a human craving for his attention, a human who actually paid enough attention to him to acknowledge his existence.
When they were laying in bed, both a little sobered up, Yukwon turned to him. Minhyuk looked at him, stroking some strands of red hair out of his eyes. They just looked at each other for a while, until Yukwon closed his eyes and fell asleep. Minhyuk smiled as he looked at the boy’s sleeping face, so peaceful and happy. There is no way Yukwon could ever be a kitten.
Pairing: U-kwon/B-Bomb
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: ai•lu•ro•phile [n] - A fondness or love for cats.
When Minhyuk was seven years old, he got his first kitten. He was waiting in front of school, sitting on the edge of a wooden bench. His mom said she would come a little later today because of work, so he was left sitting on one of the dirty benches in front of the giant building named school. Minhyuk was kind of a lonely kid growing up, especially as elementary school student. He had just one friend, Jiho who was one year younger than him. Jiho was one of the naughty boys and his mom didn’t appreciate their friendship, so he was even lonelier. The boy tugged at his scarf a bit, feeling that the fabric had become wet because of the slowly falling snow. His legs rocked back and forth as he grew inpatient. He sneezed, wiping his nose off on the scarf. Just at that moment, someone else sneezed. Minhyuk turned his head to find the person that had sneezed, because he knew everyone should be gone by now. Near the bench, lay a kitten. A sweet, furry, white ball with big blue eyes. Staring at him as he sneezed again. “Hello there, kitty!” Minhyuk hopped off the bench and kneeled down in the snow, staring the kitten in the eyes. The kitten was crossed eyed, which made him laugh slightly. “I’ll name you Seunowoo.” He said, petting the kitten’s long fur. Seunowoo purred softly, pushing back against his hand. He sneezed again, into Minhyuk’s hand this time. And as if he was embarrassed, he lowered his head. “Don’t worry, that happens to everyone sometimes.” Minhyuk smiled. Just then his mother arrived, stepping out of the car and hurriedly coming up to him. “Oh, Minhyuk I’m sorry. Let’s go and drink some hot chocolate.” She took her son’s hand and was about to leave with him, when Minhyuk stayed still on the ground. “What is it, sweetie?” “Mom, can we take this kitten home? He is sick.” His mother peered over his shoulder at the fluffy kitten, who looked back at her. “Are you sure that he doesn’t have an owner?” She asked cautiously, knowing very well that you can’t just take a pet home with you. “I don’t know, we can at least make him better!” Minhyuk said excitedly, scooping Seunowoo up from the ground. He purred again, nestling deeper into Minhyuk’s arms. “Okay then, but we’ll take him to the vet and look for his owner. Understand?” Minhyuk nodded, skipping after his mother to the car.
When Minhyuk was nine years old, he got his second kitten. A Scottish Fold. The first kitten was taken away by its owner after one week. Minhyuk wanted to cry as he saw the old lady pick up his kitten, but as a good boy did, he held in his tears. His mother said they couldn’t afford to buy one for him, so he was left alone again. In that one week the kitten had become his best friend and he had never taken care of anyone better than of that kitten. Minhyuk was with Jiho, standing on the sidewalk, licking their ice cream. Jiho’s friend Kyung was there too, making Minhyuk feel left out again. He just licked his ice cream silently as Jiho and Kyung joked around, laughing at people and teasing each other. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a familiar sneeze. Without hesitating, he walked into the direction where the sound had come from, leaving Kyung and Jiho wondering what he was going to do. The kitten was attached to a tree, sneezing and meowing his lungs out. This kitten was a lot different than his first, this one was grey, with yellow-ish eyes and fold ears. “Hello there.” He greeted the kitten the same as he had greeted Seunowoo. He scratched the kitten behind the ears, feeling the vibrations of purrs under his fingers. Jiho came up to him, some of his ice cream dripping onto Minhyuk’s new shirt. “What are you doing?” “It’s a kitten, look.” Minhyuk pointed at the little fur ball on the ground. “It’s ugly.” Jiho said, scrunching up his face. “It’s not.” Minhyuk defended the kitten, detaching the kitten from the tree and picking it up. “I’m leaving.” He announced, looking at Kyung who was tapping his feet impatiently. “You can’t just take that with you!” Jiho said, pointing at the kitten with his ice cream. “Yes, I can.” And Minhyuk left without another word, running towards his house.
His mother wasn’t happy that her son once again brought a pet home, but this kitten was sick too and as much as she didn’t trust strange animals, her heart was too big to deny such an adorable pet. “His name is John.” He said, remembering an English film he had seen with his parents. He mispronounced the name, which made it sound more like Chon, but it was just the feeling behind it. His mother and him sat next to a bowl on the ground, carefully washing the kitten, until it was clean from all the dirt that got stuck in its fur. And once again, the kitten became his best friend. After a week, there was still no one who called to get their kitten back.
Minhyuk took care of the kitten like it was his son. Washing him, feeding him, taking care of him, defending him. His mother was happy for him, but also started to worry about him. Minhyuk build a habit of talking to John, and not just how normal people talk to their cats, but long stories. The only thing Minhyuk had eyes for were the cat, and when Minhyuk was eleven and his cat died, he did cry. He cried for a day straight, not even bothering to eat. His mother sent him to a psychologist to talk about his problems instead, and said they could buy a dog, which Minhyuk refused. He didn’t want a dog, he wanted a cat, a kitten preferably.
When Minhyuk was thirteen he found another kitten, which his mother refused to take into their house. “I’m sick of you just taking pets with you, we don’t have enough money to take care of them!” She slammed the front door shut in front of his nose, leaving him outside with a kitten in his arms. Instead, he brought the kitten to his grandma, who lived a few streets away. She was very happy to take care of his kitten while he was at school, knowing that her grandson would visit her more if she did her best at making the kitten feel home. This kitten was called Gogi, because his mother had told him she’d make meat stew out of the kitten if he did sneak it in. His grandma laughed at the name, smiling brightly as he finally let go of the kitten.
When Minhyuk was sixteen, he didn’t have enough time to go his grandma anymore. Exams were coming up and taking care of Gogi took too much of his precious study time away. He did think about the three year old, fat cat all day, hoping he was fine. Jiho and Kyung didn’t know anything about this cat, they thought he had a girl on his mind and teased him with that instead. Minhyuk was rather happy that they didn’t know, Gogi was his secret. One time when he was eating dinner with his family, his mother had told him to grow up. She told him that “You are sixteen, but behave like a three year old, only because of a fat cat that will probably die because of obesity.”, on which he calmly left the table and locked himself in up in his room.
When Minhyuk had just become seventeen, he forgot about his cat. He had graduated high school and decided that he did have to grow up. So he left all the thoughts about the cat in the back of his mind and searched for a college to go to. Together with leaving all thoughts of Gogi, he matured. He started dancing, working out and got more friends. He even started going out now and then, sneaking out of his room to go to a club with Jiho and Kyung.
When Minhyuk was nineteen, he found another kitten.
He had promised himself to stay away from kittens as much as he could, he would not let any of them ever affect his life again and bring them home. But that was all forgotten when he saw a kitten walk into the café he was sitting. He had been scribbling down some stuff before his class would start, sipping on his cappuccino, when doom had walked into the café. Minhyuk had looked up from his notebook at hearing the little bell above the door, to see who was coming in. All the while the kitten was walking around in the café he couldn’t stop staring, he wanted to get up from his seat and pet the red hair from the kitten. But he stayed still, eyeing the kitten who walked out again.
It went like that a few times, Minhyuk just staring how the kitten would come in and leave, until one day. Minhyuk was again sipping his cappuccino, feeling the presence of the kitten from far away. He started tapping the tabletop with his index-finger, impatiently looking out of the window. There he was, the kitten. He walked in quickly, as if afraid of the rain and walked up to Minhyuk’s table in one straight line. Minhyuk looked up at the kitten with big eyes, suddenly afraid. “Can I sit here?” The kitten asked, pointing at the chair opposite of Minhyuk with a lean finger. Minhyuk nodded quickly, observing the kitten up-close. The red hair looked even fluffier now and he felt the urge to run his fingers through it. “I’m Yukwon.” The kitten said, holding up a hand for Minhyuk to shake. As soon as their hands touched, Minhyuk felt the soft skin, as soft as the fur of his very first kitten. “And you?” Yukwon asked when Minhyuk could only stare at him dumbfounded. “M-Minhyuk.” He almost choked out, using the special ‘kitten-voice’ that he hadn’t used in over two years. The kitten-voice is lower than his usual voice, because kittens have very sensitive ears and every high sound hurts them. “It’s nice to meet you.” Yukwon smiled, baring his shining white teeth. His teeth were just a little sharp, just like his second kitten, who could never chew his food properly. “I know I’m good-looking, but you don’t have to overdo it.” Yukwon said, smiling even brighter when Minhyuk shook his head and quickly looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.” “That’s okay.” And Minhyuk had’t felt so happy since two years, it felt like all his kittens had decided to get together and form a human.
Minhyuk and Yukwon met up at the café twice a week, mostly talking about college and family. Apparently Yukwon was one year younger than him, and also loves to dance. Minhyuk was always the first to arrive at the café, waiting on the same table everyday for his kitten. Just like now, he was sitting there tapping the tabletop with his index-finger, until the bell above the door rang. Yukwon came in, all wet because of the weather. He sat down at the table Minhyuk is sitting, sneezing. That sneeze sounded familiar, that was the sneeze that made him find his first two kittens. Yukwon apologized quickly, on which Minhyuk said “Don’t worry, that happens to everyone sometimes.” And Yukwon smiled at him.
Minhyuk took Yukwon home with him, after they went clubbing. He walked over the sidewalk with a very drunk Yukwon in his arms, who was singing a children’s song loudly. Minhyuk couldn’t reach for the keys in his back pocket, so he rang the doorbell with his nose. Jiho opened the door, looking at the kitten in his arms before looking up at him. “You still bring home kittens?” Jiho said, opening the door further so Minhyuk could come in. Without answering, he went straight to his bedroom, dropping Yukwon down on the bed. Yukwon rolled over a few times, clawing at the soft bed sheets, just like his kittens had done. Minhyuk looked at him, and Yukwon looked up at him. The only thing Minhyuk saw were the chocolate brown eyes that reminded him of Gogi, the white teeth that reminded him of John and the fluffy hair that reminded him of Seunowoo. Minhyuk kissed Yukwon, hard and deep, the taste of cheap beer filling his mouth. Yukwon purred as soon as Minhyuk had his hands on his bare skin. And Minhyuk bit down on Yukwon’s bottom lip, drawing out a moan. And as much as Yukwon resembled his kittens, he wasn’t a kitten. Yukwon was a real human, a human craving for his attention, a human who actually paid enough attention to him to acknowledge his existence.
When they were laying in bed, both a little sobered up, Yukwon turned to him. Minhyuk looked at him, stroking some strands of red hair out of his eyes. They just looked at each other for a while, until Yukwon closed his eyes and fell asleep. Minhyuk smiled as he looked at the boy’s sleeping face, so peaceful and happy. There is no way Yukwon could ever be a kitten.