Chapter Text
“Plié… Cou de pied… Arabesque…“
Vernon breathes in. And out. There is a feather stuck in his leggings, right above his calf, but he remains completely immobile, holding the position perfectly, his other leg stretched back in an elegant curve. Only his breathing lifts his shoulders rhythmically, waiting for the instructions to pick up again.
“Envelopé into third… Révérance… Yerim, the male one for you, stay in your role for the whole training… Aaaand…“
The music comes to a torrentious end.
“You’re done, voilà.“
“Thank you, Jeonghan,“ says Madame Seo with a smile and claps her hands together once. “Good work today, I hope to keep this energy up next week. Now go home and enjoy Chuseok with your families.“
The studio is filled with the bustling noises of bodies straightening themselves, polite, but not less sincere “thank you“s, and the rumbling of the second barre being pushed against the wall. Vernon finally picks that feather out of the fabric around his legs and blows it into Jeonghan’s dark hair when he conveniently passes by. The assistant trainer, albeit working in a serious establishment, is wearing a shirt that brightly proclaims “Chopin was gay for a reason“. Vernon can only guess what said reason might be.
“Nice music choice,“ he tells his senior. “Not often you get an arrangement to this Satie, but I liked the pace you set.“
Jeonghan gives his signature cocky grin, which doesn’t conceal his genuine pride, and shoots a glance at their instructor. “Gotta get creative to impress the lady of the house,“ he replies, “Plus, it was a really hot tip. Challenged myself, thanks, Vernon.“
The younger nods at that. Always nice to get a compliment from a sunbae, even more so when it’s an honest acknowledgement of what feels like a real accomplishment. Vernon had helped his elder out with pleasure. Satie is now what accompanies him off the parquet, into the locker rooms where he swaps slippers and tights for sweatpants, a woollen coat and a scarf, and out into the autumn drizzle. The Première Gymnopédie, contrasting Jeonghan’s earlier choice of the rather turbulent Troisième morceau en forme de poire (Brutal - that’s actually part of the piece’s name), raises Vernon’s eyes against gloomy facades and the gleam of cars’ headlights on wet streets - but not in melancholy.
*
Vernon takes his earbuds out when he stops his bike in front of the Jungs’ Record Store. As shit as the weather is, he is glad that he took his bike to training today, because the pedalling at least kept his muscles warm against the chilly wind and distracted them from already aching from the training. Sure, he could have taken the bus like he usually does, but he only plans to pick up some orders he has already paid for, give the Jungs his best wishes for the holidays, and then head home to start his post-training routine as soon as humanly possible. Joshua’s mother gave him some really nice bath salts the other day, and since this has been the last training session before Chuseok break, he plans to treat himself.
The plan, however, finds a slight change when the guy paying at the register before him turns around a little too quickly and nearly runs into Vernon.
“Oh shit, sorry,“ the guy mutters, pushes his slid down beanie out of his eyes, and then-
“Oh, hey, Vernon.“
The man’s eyes crinkle up a little as he moves away from the counter. They seem to be underlined in black.
“Wonwoo-hyung, hi,“ he replies with a smile. “Didn’t think we’d… well, you would run into me here.“
Wonwoo huffs his one-syllable laugh.
“Didn’t really plan to come here in the first place, but, you know - plans.“
Mr. Jung gives Wonwoo a pointed look at the possible implications of that statement, which he luckily doesn’t notice, so Vernon quickly turns his own attention to the shop owner and retrieves his vinyls from him. After a bow and a “Happy Chuseok“, which Wonwoo politely wishes as well, the dancer holds open the door for his new companion.
„So, what did you get?“ he asks in honest curiosity. Wonwoo’s appearance leaves only little room for guesses in his taste in music, clad in all black as he's been his whole life, with some silver safety pins on the trousers or red stitching highlights on the beanie, but it’s been a while since they’ve exchanged recommendations.
“Stuff for my friend, mostly, but they are selfish gifts,“ Wonwoo replies as he digs a pack of cigarettes out of his motor jacket.
“Some Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr.. Want one?“ he offers Vernon.
“I don’t smoke.“
“Huh. Didn’t we use to smoke together?“
Vernon shakes his head.
“That was college days. Don’t do it anymore now.“
Wonwoo shrugs and lights his solitary cigarette.
“Can I give you a lift home then? Can’t have your ankles freeze off,“ he grins after taking a drag. The smoke billows in a nearly pristine white in the cold, stark contrast against his dark appearance. His waterline is definitely traced in black, Vernon notes. It looks good. Ruggish.
Vernon points at his bike.
“Got my trusty steed, can’t leave her here to get rusty,“ he says, earning a deadpan stare from Wonwoo.
“Lame pun,“ he snorts, to which Vernon retaliates with a shrug of his own.
“You look good, though,“ the older smiles as he puts out his cigarette against the sole of his shoe. “Healthy. It was good seeing you, Vernon.“
The way he says his name carries a sweetness of tangerines and warmer winds that wins a battle against the bitter taste the smoke left on Vernon’s tongue. Wonwoo looks hesitant for a second, then leans forward to give the younger man a quick hug.
“You too,“ Vernon answers as he squeezes his elder a bit, receiving a small huff in return. “Say hi to your family.“
Wonwoo nods and heads towards the ugliest outdated BMW Vernon has ever seen, covered in stickers of bands and political slogans and… a sticker from the university’s art faculty?, where scratches and bumps taint the black surface. It’s so Wonwoo, it makes Vernon laugh a bit.
“You have my number?“ Wonwoo calls before getting in.
“Bet,“ Vernon replies and mounts his bike.
*
The training bag gets thrown on the floor in his room. His coat and scarf, too. The beanie gets flung on the coatrack with perfect aim. Seokmin isn’t home yet, but Vernon still wouldn’t leave a mess in the entrance, where he only left his shoes. With a fresh change of sweatpants and a plain white T, he grabs one of his new vinyls and heads into the bathroom where he sets up the disk on his spare record player while he runs the water. Seokmin had been unsure about putting the device into the constantly damp room at first, more out of concern to accidentally damage it, but Vernon had showed him how to clean the player and keep it dry on the shelf where even a Kim Mingyu can’t knock it over.
As soon as the temperature of the water is right, Vernon throws Mrs. Hong’s bath salts in, sets the needle on the record, and gets undressed. Brew (Regurgitated) sounds out of the speaker as he steps into the tub. Time to relax his sissone-jump sore muscles.
Sadly, his plans are disturbed once again. The first song on the record isn’t even over yet (admittedly, it’s over six minutes long) when he hears the front door slam open, followed by sounds of a scuffle and a shrill “hold on, Vernon is in there!“ before the bathroom door is swung open and in bursts a guy with heated cheeks and a gigantic duffle coat slowly sliding off his shoulders.
Vernon stares into round eyes, hands still massaging his tired thigh because his muscle memory is stronger than his common sense that tells him that his position must look very compromising, a thought that is clearly reflected in the guy’s look at him. And still, all he can do is offer a tentative smile.
“Uh, well. Hi“
“I’m so sorry!“ Seokmin near screams as he kneads Vernon’s shoulder on the couch.
“I didn’t think of telling him that you’re usually in the tub at this time, and the music threw me off! What kind of relaxation was that even supposed to be?!“
“McKenna is cool,“ Vernon mumbles into the cushions.
“You bought a whole Tash Sultana record! How was that a more appropriate bathing soundtrack than Tash fucking Sultana!“
Vernon laughs at his roommate’s desperate attempts to cover up how sorry he felt for not preventing that whole bursting in incident. Immediately after the friend he had brought over had started to make confused noises in the doorway, Seokmin had pulled him back into the living room and pulled the door shut with a screamed “I’m so sorry, continue!“, followed by a confused and slightly terrified “Continue??“ from his guest.
Seungkwan, the guy that had disturbed his bath time, was very sorry as well when Vernon came out a little while later - he had figured that 'calm' wasn’t really an achievable state anymore -, and after Seokmin had explained to him that the dancer was indeed not jacking off in the bathtub, but taking care of his very exhausted, very overworked muscles.
“I apologise so sincerely to have bursted in on you, I really did not mean to invade your privacy like that“, he had said with a remaining hint of pink in his cheeks.
“You could’ve just gone to the toilet after choir“, Seokmin had mumbled behind his back, to which Seungkwan had replied with a whined “I didn’t need to go then, and you made me drink your leftover tea that you bought even though you knew you didn’t like it!“
Vernon had just chuckled about their antics and smiled at Seungkwan when he told him not to worry about it. The guy was nearly a head smaller than him, but he carried himself with such self-assurance, despite the situation he was in. His eyes had glinted with relief and a gentle joy when he heard Vernon’s reply, and then he’d left the apartment.
“I’m glad you’re not seriously mad at me, because that would have been pretty bad for me, but that was still super embarrassing and I need at least four days to get over that,“ was what he had said to the taller before squeezing his arm once, throwing an empty plastic bottle at Seokmin’s head and heading out the entrance. “Thank you for letting me use your toilet, happy Chuseok!“ was his goodbye before the door shut behind him, leaving Seokmin to shout mild-ish profanities at him and Vernon to laugh at that exchange.
Now Seokmin is groaning pitifully and burying his face in Vernon’s back.
“That was NOT how the day was planned to go,“ he sighs.
Vernon tries to twist his arms so he can pat his friend on the head, but has to stop his endeavour when his muscles scream at the pull. With a grunt, he somehow manages to turn on his back without pushing Seokmin to the floor.
“And now Seungkwan is gonna feel bad about it, too, for sure, and he was so excited to meet you.“
“He was?“ Vernon asks while he can finally start patting Seokmin’s strawberry blond hair.
“Yeah, he thought it was so cool that you did ballet after I’d told him about your personality. I guess he thought that clashed, but he was genuinely curious to meet you.“
The man’s sharp features twist in worry when he finally starts unwrapping Vernon’s hot wraps to stick them to some more or less calculated places on his upper arms.
“I bet he feels really embarrassed now, even if he should get used to that, but it’s still a shitty thing to happen. Turn back around and take your shirt off if you want some on your back,“ he says with a slap on the last wrap on Vernon’s arm.
“Hyung, you were literally lying on my back for ten minutes,“ the younger protests, but still does as he’s been told. The short bath was not nearly enough to give his body any proper regeneration.
“We wanted to do something cool with you, too,“ Seokmin sighs again while applying the sticking wraps to Vernon’s lower back, this time more carefully.
“Don’t worry too much, hyung. We’ll do something fun with him after Chuseok,“ Vernon smiles into the crook of his arm. He’s already looking forward to it, if he’s being honest, and dishonesty isn’t something he plays with.
“The weather is supposed to be nice next week.“
*
The weather is, of course, not nice the week after Chuseok.
When he steps out of the studio the next Monday, Vernon feels pretty good about not coming to training with his 'trusty steed'. The downpour is dreadful.
"God, do I hate my luck," Chan says next to him.
Vernon looks down to see the younger boy looking up, his brows furrowed in disdain.
"There is really no reason I should get soaked to my bones the day our radiators get checked."
"Aw man, that stinks," Vernon replies, to which Chan heavily sighs and says “No but it really does, that’s why we had to get repair people in.“
The innocent despair of his dancing colleague and friend makes Vernon laugh, and just as he is about to offer his umbrella to him, he feels someone’s arms wrap around his shoulders.
"Now that’s what I call disgusting,“ Jeonghan says. “Want a ride?“
'The ride' is Jeonghan’s best friend, who is parked a few hundred meters down the street. Vernon is apparently the only one astute enough to carry a fold-in umbrella around with him wherever he goes, so the three dancers squeeze into the little weather-safe space it provides and run to Seungcheol’s car with a lot of screeches and laughs until they breathlessly drop into the Jeep’s back seats. The drive is filled with relaxed chatter while the three dancers rub each others’ arms, legs and backs warm, Seungcheol complaining about feeling like a glorified taxi driver and Jeonghan’s witty retorts giving them enough to laugh about. Even Chan, who was intimidated by the stranger’s overall authoritative presence at first, soon jokes along with his elders.
Vernon asks to be dropped off in front of the grocery store instead of directly home to avoid any further delay in the other guys’ schedules, but also to grab some soy milk since Seokmin decided to have three bowls of cereal in the middle of the night after studying instead of having dinner, again. He is in and out of the store, popping up his collar against the cool wind that is picking up again. The rain hasn’t gotten any weaker, but luckily his apartment is a mere four-minute walk away, and so is his bathtub. Once again the wish of an AI system that starts running the water for him to plunge into right upon coming home crosses Vernon’s mind, leaving him shivering in the cold. There’s a box on the sidewalk, sinking into itself when its soaked through walls are pushed down by the weight of the downpour, which pretty accurately represents the way Vernon feels at the moment.
Except Vernon doesn’t mewl like the box does.
Or wiggle.
Vernon slowly approaches the suspicious activity and carefully crouches down next to it when he can’t see the content right away. His duffle bag is heavy, slung on his back, and his thighs ache from the movement, and the wind keeps blowing the rain into his face despite the umbrella resting on his head now, but all of that discomfort is forgotten when the young man lifts the box’s lid.
“Oh…. my god,“ he whispers. And stares.
It’s kittens.
One of them screams at Vernon and falls over its sibling, making him gasp in awe. Two of them are the most luminous orange a cat could be, while the third is a wild mix of browns and greys, digging against the walls of the wet box.
“You... are the most precious little babies,“ he barely utters, gasping again when the loud one manages to stand up against the box, looking up at him.
And screams again.
And Vernon gasps again.
And then the other kittens start reacting to him, coming closer, until Vernon finally dares to reach out to the little animals. His fingers feel like they’ll freeze off if he doesn’t bury his hand back into his pocket within the next 19 seconds or so, but he’s soon met with soft fur and warm little noses pressed against his palm - one last gasp before Vernon sets down his milk.
“Alright, you’re coming with me.“
*
“Can baby cats have soy milk“ is more widely looked up than one would think, even more when someone would think that the answer is rather clear - NO, baby cats cannot have soy milk. However, baby cats need to eat, and Vernon has literally no idea what.
“They’re like real babies, right? They probably can’t have solid foods yet. But i can’t mush carrots for them, either,“ Vernon mutters to himself.
He did not think this through when he’d just scooped up the kittens and set them into his training bag to hurry home as quickly as possible. He’s never had cats, but god does he love them, although that doesn’t help him much in this situation. But the sight of the little creatures stumbling around on the living room carpet definitely makes up for his slight despair. They are. SO cute.
One of the orange ones keeps screaming and meowing at him and its siblings with its shrill little voice, the grey one replying from time to time. The other orange one is exploring the new environment, making big steps and hopping around loose threads in the carpet. Vernon can’t help grinning at the sight, especially when the loud one ventures closer to him and starts attacking his knee.
The living room floor looks like a battlefield. His bag is laying around open, some of its contents strewn around while the rest of it is in the laundry basket since one of the cats apparently peed into it, several towels Vernon used to wipe away said pee and rub the kittens dry are lying on the ground, and his wet coat is carelessly thrown onto the sofa. At least his umbrella is set to dry in the bathroom and not on Seokmin’s nice (-ish, but don’t tell him that) carpet.
“What do baby cats eat“ only tells him that he needs baby cat milk. A piece of information that proves more helpful when Vernon checks where you can buy said milk and he finds out that you can get it at any grocery store. In fact, the chain that the store he just came from belongs to, carries it as well.
A quick text to “please get that (insert picture of baby cat milk here)“ is shot at Seokmin, who replies with a pointed “????“, before Vernon heaves himself off the ground to clean up the mess he’s made. His movement is met with a protesting cry from two of the three kittens, the orange one immediately attempting to climb up his leg.
“Alright, so you're a warrior type,“ Vernon laughs. “You can help.“
It isn’t long before the front door opens and Seokmin’s “Vernon what the heeeell!!“ sounds through the apartment. Despite the urgency of his roommate’s tone, Vernon calmly looks out of the bathroom where he was scrubbing the inside of his bag to rid it of any cat pee residue. The kitten from before has conquered his sweater’s hood and fell asleep in it after playing with one of the hoody strings for a bit, while the other orange one has gone to sleep in the middle of the carpet. It’s the grey one that is now curiously hopping towards a terrified looking Seokmin.
“What’s up?“ Vernon asks innocently. “Did you get that milk?“
The little grey one is now screaming at his roommate.
“Vernon, I’m allergic! Why did you carry two random cats into our apartment?“
“Three, actually,“ Vernon says when the kitten in his hood starts stirring and climbs onto his shoulder. “Meet Napoleon Bonaparte, Kimchi-Jjigae and Earl Grey, names are more or less likely to change.“
Despite his initial shock, Seokmin laughs at the absurdity of these names. “Now what was the process of calling a cat Kimchi-Jjigae?“
Vernon doesn’t take any offence in his friends words and just shrugs with a grin. “Maybe I was a bit hungry.“
After moving around the Earl, who has started sniffing his shoes, Seokmin comes towards Vernon to hand him a plastic bag with the cat milk in it.
“They only had these huge combination packs, but I guess that’s not that big of a problem,“ he says while tentatively reaching for Napoleon Bonaparte on Vernon’s shoulder. The kitten immediately grips his finger with its paws and starts gnawing on it, at which the man’s eyes widen with momentary panic before he laughs again.
“I guess they’re cute enough.“ With a look at Vernon’s happy face, he can’t help but notice the exhaustion showing itself in his tensed up jaw and the mess of his usually neat hair.
“Wait, did you not take your bath yet? You kinda look… pretty shit, actually. Were you out in the rain for long?“
“Uuh, yeah, kinda,“ Vernon realises. “I was sorta distracted, honestly, but I guess I’ll do that now.“ He goes to gather the other kittens while Seokmin runs into the kitchen to quickly wash his hands before he accidentally rubs cat particles all over his face. Vernon follows soon after to finally feed the animals.
Both of them crouch down when the kittens have stopped their screaming and hungrily gather around the bowl, greedily lapping at the milk. Seokmin laughs when Kimchi-Jjigae nearly drops its little face into it and sighs.
“I haven’t sneezed yet, so I guess they can stay.“
Vernon looks up to his friend with a beaming grin.
“Thank you!“
*
How is it that both his last post-training bath times have been disturbed so drastically? Vernon sincerely hopes that this doesn’t become a common occurrence and he’ll be able to disrupt this unlucky streak on Wednesday when he has training again, because right now he’s setting up new televisions at work and his whole body hates him with a passion. God do his calves hurt. And his thighs. And his ass. And his whole entire back. And his neck.
“Is this what it feels like to be old?“ he says to no one in particular, but of course his boss hears him.
“It is, my boy! And it gets worse, trust me!“ Mr Hong shouts from the kitchen appliances, eliciting a groan from Vernon. He took a bath, in the end, but his evening was everything but the ordinary when he had dinner nearly two hours later than usual and got only little sleep after his evening yoga got disturbed by the kittens exploring his room, and other nightly activities. He had to carry them into the bathroom at one point because he realised that they could pee onto his comforter at any given second, and he did NOT want that, as much as he loved the little rascals. He nearly fell asleep on the bus to work, but luckily the human interactions with customers in the electronics store are managing to wake him up.
Especially when the bell above the shop entrance jingles violently around noon, followed by a loud “Mr. Hong, I need a printer!“
Vernon looks up as his boss chuckles “Good morning to you, too“ at the customer.
“Sorry for being so loud,“ the guy replies apologetically. “I’m just really in a hurry right now, and kinda stressed.“
Mr. Hong, patient as always, just waves the worry away.
“I know you aren’t as rowdy as you look, Wonwoo. Hansol will help you with that printer in no time.“
Both of them look up at the same time.
“Wonwoo! We meet again,“ the younger one exclaims. The other one looks a bit taken aback, pulling off his beanie to reveal a messy heap of black hair and… wow, those are a lot of piercings that Vernon did not notice the last time he saw Wonwoo.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t know you worked here,“ he greets him back, coming towards the younger as he makes his way towards him to converse without shouting across the shop.
“Well, not being the lead in ballet productions doesn’t make up for all of my worldly desires on top of rent and living expenses,“ Vernon replies as he stops in front of his elder. “Joshua got me the job a few years ago when I didn’t want to leech off of my parents’ allowance any longer, so now I’m leeching off his parents now,“ he grins into Mr. Hong’s direction.
Wonwoo smiles at him, his cheeks still flushed from the cold. He’s wearing a different leather jacket now. This one has a furry collar that seems to be the softest part of his whole appearance. He looks… sharp, that’s the only way Vernon can describe his look, and his dark and confident clothing makes him seem much bigger than he actually is, even if he is neither much taller than Vernon, nor much wider. All in black, with a backpack reminiscent of his BMW’s look, shiny and slightly pointy leather boots, skinny jeans with security needles at the seams and the eyeliner he noticed last time. And the piercings. Vernon’s breath catches a bit when he sees that not only both ears, but also one of his eyebrows are decorated with silver. Wonwoo got even cooler from when they’d see each other during Vernon’s college days.
He gets ripped out of his contemplations when Wonwoo replies to him.
“Right, I’d like to ask about Seokmin and Josh, but I really need to get that printer,“ he says with an apologetic smile, rubbing his hands on his pants.
“Oh sure,“ Vernon replies after a little pause. He can feel himself flush a bit, flustered that he checked out Wonwoo so hard he spaced out.
“What do you need a printer for so quickly? Doesn’t every self-respectable, what, master’s student have one?“
Wonwoo sighs. “Yeah, but mine broke down a while ago and Prof. Min sent me an email with a paper I need to print for him when I was already on my way home. He’s cool and all, but being his TA can seriously suck when he forgets his own deadlines and I have to save his academic ass. I don’t have time to drive all the way back to the copy shops on campus and send the thing off to research, and I need a new printer anyways.“
While his customer was rambling about his worries, Vernon was leading them to the office appliances section, where he chose the cheapest printer that he knows will actually do its job a long time and not die from staring at it a bit too hard.
“This bad boy can do all your regular printing stuff,“ he says with a slap on the device, pulling Wonwoo’s attention to him again.
“It’s not super expensive, but this one is usually pretty fast and dependable, and it’s pretty easy to set up with the internet and laptops and stuff. The more expensive ones just have some fancier touch pads or voice activation, and I’m assuming you don’t need a photo printer so it should be pretty okay for a student,“ he continues while the older man stares at the thing in interest, but also slight desperation.
Sensing his elder’s worry, Vernon chuckles and claps a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m off for lunch in a bit anyways, how about I set it up for you here and you can print your thing right away?“
Wonwoo’s eyebrows turn up in an expression of pure relief.
“God, please,“ he shoots out, making the younger laugh.
*
Wonwoo leaves with his inked up printer, a stash of paper, and a gleeful wave upon entering his hideous car, Mr. Hong waving back enthusiastically. This costumer left a nice tip for the quick assistance and Vernon’s spontaneous help, which earns the employee a shower of compliments by his employer when he finally gets to start his lunch break. He spends more time on stretching his aching body than eating, and he can not wait for a bath when he ends his shift four hours later. He plans to bring the kittens to the vet first, though. Who knows how long they’ve been out on their own, maybe they’re sick or carry flees or something of the sorts. But after that, Vernon will bathe for at least half an hour. No disturbances in his plans today.
“The cats cannot stay, Vern,“ Seokmin says with a tremendous sniff. “I’m sorry, but this day has been hell for my poor allergic body.“
The kittens are playing on the sofa, only Kimchi-Jjigae acknowledging Vernon’s arrival with a soft meow.
“You need to find someone to take them, please,“ his poor roommate tells him from his room’s doorway, standing as far away from the kittens as he possibly can without completely disappearing out of view. “I left the door open in case they started some shit, but that was already bad enough.“
Vernon can see from where’s he’s dropping off his shoes that Seokmin is in a bad shape. Eyes swollen and red behind his glasses, a runny nose, and his incessant sneezing are pretty good indicators that his friend’s situation is quite serious, which makes Vernon feel pretty bad about leaving him to watch for the cats while he was at work. In his defence, Seokmin had been pretty confident that he wouldn’t react that badly, saying that working on his assignments while the cats went on with their days shouldn’t be a problem. Obviously, he had thought very wrong.
The cats are picked off the couch, eliciting loud, heart-melting purrs and meows from the the entangled heap they build in Vernon’s arms as they’re carried into the kitchen to get them some milk.
While the kittens are busy drinking, Vernon walks over to Seokmin’s room, making sure not to enter it as not to spread more cat hair into it.
“I’m really sorry man,“ he says to his sniffling friend. “I’ll clean the apartment when you’re off to classes after I’ve gone to the vet, okay?“
Seokmin nods with a thankful pout.
“And I’ll text around to find someone to take them, don’t worry,“ Vernon adds. He is rather sad to have to let his new friends go, but his roommate’s health is more important.
“Thank you,“ Seokmin says, his voice all croaky and muffled from his stuffed nose. He sounds like he’s about to die, and Vernon can’t have that, so he sits down on the kitchen floor next to the cats to find a solution.
Joshua’s family has a dog. Chan’s apartment doesn’t allow animals bigger than a mud turtle. Mingyu, a walking boulder of a man, somehow gets the “heebie-jeebies“ from cats (his words, not Vernon’s). Jeonghan replied with a picture of two very big adult cats piled up on his chest and a simple “no thank you“.
“Nobody wants my little babies!“ Vernon shouts across the apartment, startling The Earl from her slumber with a purr. The other two kittens are still dozing in his lap, nestling themselves against his petting hands in their sleep.
“Ask the internet then!“, Seokmin shouts back. Vernon can see him packing his stuff for his evening class through the open doors. A look to his watch makes him curse under his breath. It’s nearly time for the appointment he made earlier today, and he still hasn’t found a new home for the cats. He decides to try one last person before he’ll ask the vet for any possibilities later, and he prays that he’s not out of line with his problem.
vernon
hyung do you like cats
Jeon Wonwoo
Fuck yeah man, I love cats, why
vernon
okay how about three of them
Jeon Wonwoo
Sure thing
Wait
Why
Vernon??
What are you asking for???
*
“They… are… beautiful.“
“Do you want to take them in?“
“Oh my god are you kidding? Yes! If I can?“
Wonwoo had come to meet Vernon in front of the veterinarian without asking any questions after the younger had sent him the location. The suspicion he'd had about the nature of the meeting had come to be true when Vernon let him look into the wicker basket he was carrying along.
“I can’t keep them with Seokmin’s condition, and I guess you should pay for getting me an allergic roommate,“ he jokes, making the older one laugh in a relaxed manner, his nose bunching up all cute.
“Hi… Oh my god you are the absolute cutest,“ he whispers as he tentatively reaches into the basket, immediately greeted with cheerful meows and purring. Vernon nearly doesn’t want to take the kittens to their appointment so he can keep observing Wonwoo’s enamoured reaction to them. He’s smiling in a way that makes him look absolutely blissed out, and Vernon feels sorry to interrupt him.
“I told the receptionist that I’d wait outside until it was our turn so I could catch you, but it’s nearly time, so do you wanna come with?“ he asks his elder.
Wonwoo straightens himself with a last coo towards the cats and nods at Vernon.
“Sure,“ he replies. “Only makes sense when I’m taking them.“
Dr. Park is really nice and understanding of their situation. She gives Wonwoo an unsure look, probably mistrusting his abilities as a loving cat dad due to his appearance and pretty stern face, but she relaxes when she sees him playing with Kimchi-Jjigae and he starts smiling softly. Vernon has to admit that Wonwoo’s neutral face can look pretty scary to people that don’t know him, nearly mean with his dark makeup, and his reserved behaviour towards strangers can make him seem rude at first, but his unwavering attention towards the vet’s explanations and his interested questions show how serious he is about the cats, and how trustworthy he is.
Vernon is pretty glad he thought of texting Wonwoo, too, because he feels like he hit the actual jackpot with that decision. Plus, the check-up on the cats is as positive as it can be.
“They must be around seven weeks old, judging from their moving abilities“ Dr. Park explains, “so they’re pretty lucky you found them, Mr. Chwe. Kittens shouldn’t be separated from their mothers this early, and they wouldn’t have survived on their own for much longer. They’re a bit malnourished, but that’s understandable considering they ended up in a box on the street, and with good care you will be able to get them up in shape. In at a month I need you to come back for another checkup and so we can chip them.“
She pauses for a bit to give one of the kittens a pat on the head, then continues her explanation. Since their eyes and noses are clean and they are lice-free, she assumes that the cats were set out of the street from a house cat’s litter, making both Vernon and Wonwoo frown at the thought.
As if to voice their disdain, one of the kittens screams, making the veterinarian laugh.
“She’s a lively one,“ she says while the intern who was in the room during the examination lifts the kittens back into their wicker basket.
“Oh, so Napoleon Bonaparte is a girl,“ Vernon mumbles surprisedly under his breath, making Wonwoo snort next to him.
“I need to know their names as soon as we’re out of here,“ he demands while the receptionist prints out the information the doctor has compiled for them. Vernon gives an incredulous chuckle when he finds out that Kimchi-Jjigae is, in fact, the only male, leaving Earl Grey as the second female.
“No more calling you The Earl then, I guess,“ he says while writing down the cats’ names onto their respective sheets, handing them and the basket to Wonwoo when they step outside. It’s gotten darker now, and Vernon gladly accepts the older’s offer to drive him home.
“So, uh, would you like to buy stuff for them with me one of these days? And you can visit the cats?“ Wonwoo asks after a very loud car ride, caused by both his car’s elderly state and the cats’ excited screams.
Vernon secures the seatbelt around the basket he’s placed on the passenger seat and looks up to Wonwoo with a soft smile.
“I’d love to.“
The elder nods.
“Cool, I’ll text you then,“ he says before driving off when Vernon has given the kittens one last pet. He already misses them. And can’t wait to see them again.
Vernon is finally taking his well deserved bath with his nicest smelling bath salts after hoovering, dusting, scrubbing and airing the whole apartment for Seokmin’s return, when he gets interrupted in his dozing by the pinging of his phone, announcing a notification.
This disturbance, however, does not ruin his peace this time.
Jeon Wonwoo
I still can’t believe you named a cat Kimchi-Jjigae.