Lonely Kitten

2

Jisung had graduated two years ago and now aged twenty-one, had moved out from his parents' apartment a few months prior, moving into a small apartment in the city center. He wanted to live closer to the studio him and his two friends Chan and Changbin worked to produce music under their group name '3racha'. First Chan had offered to take the younger in but being extremely introverted, Jisung preferred to live alone, so he'd have some peace and quiet after being around his two older friends all day. He had thought that he might feel a little lonely living on his own for the first time in his life but to his surprise, the young rapper really enjoyed it and the freedom that came with it.

His parents had joked about getting their son a pet, so he'd have some company but soon decided against it, doubting he'd be able to take care of himself, even less of a helpless little creature that'd be fully dependent on him. Jisung didn't feel lonely though, considering he spent pretty much his entire day at the studio, making music with his hyungs till late into the night, only staying at his apartment to sleep. It wasn't big, because Jisung insisted on paying the rent by himself without any help from his parents and since they weren't too popular yet, they only earned a little bit of money with their music, just enough for rent and food but Jisung didn't mind.

The only thing the boy disliked about his apartment, was how bad the sound isolation was. When it rained outside, the noise became almost unbearable. Now that the seasons changed and it became increasingly rainy, Jisung had made the wise decision to buy himself noise-cancelling headphones to wear while he slept. During the day, he tried to keep himself busy at the studio, since it was soundproof for their recording. That was also where he was at the moment. They were working on a new album, sometimes even staying there the entire night, taking turns sleeping on the couch of their studio. Just like the previous night but Jisung didn't mind. It had been raining throughout the entire day and it just continued into the night, which was why the youngest 3racha member was particularly eager to stay at the studio for the night.

Now that it was morning and the trio had barely slept, they dearly needed some coffee as well as a snack for breakfast. However, with the storm still raging outside, none of the three rappers really wanted to go outside and a game of 'rock, paper, scissors' would decide which unlucky boy would have to make the journey to a close-by café to get their breakfast. Jisung groaned when he lost, not in the mood to go out into the rain at all. He didn't have an umbrella with him either, so he put his hood up and hurried out of their studio building. The café on their street was coincidentally the one, where Minho had used to work, yet the boys had never met each other.

Minho still hung around the same street his previous workplace was in, because he knew the area well and felt considerably safe there. Sometimes his former coworkers would throw out the left-over pastries, just like Minho himself had done until a few months ago. It was way better than the prey he himself managed to hunt down, which was his main reason to stay there. That and the fact that his only possession was hidden behind one of their trashcans. While Minho had lost his pacifier when he had been kicked out, sleeping on the streets had made sure the hybrid would keep his blanket with him. When he had decided to shift into his cat-form, he had stashed the baby blanket behind the trashcans and hoped it wouldn't be taken.

That was also where he sought shelter as the storm started raging outside. Similar to his fear of heights, Minho was terrified of storms, so when it started, he limped back to the place he used to sleep and wiggled his small body trough the gap between the trashcans. A heavy weight lifted off the hybrids chest when he discovered that his baby blanket was still there. He couldn't afford to slip into his headspace right now though, as little Minho would be even more frightened. Thunder boomed overhead and the hybrid tried to crawl under his blanket as far as possible, shaking from both, fear and cold. The soaked fabric did nothing to shield him from the heavy rain that had set in and soon the poor boy was soaked too, trying his hardest to suppress the timid whimpers because they might attract other stray animals that could harm him.

Jisung hurried down the street with his hood pulled down to shield as much of his face as possible. He had almost made it to the café wanting to get out of the pouring rain quickly when lightning cracked and thunder followed soon after. The loud boom was followed by an almost inaudible whimper, making the rapper stop in his tracks. Glancing into the street next to the café, he spotted a tiny ball of fur, sight mostly obscured by a dirty rag. No matter how badly Jisung wanted to get out of the rain, he felt the need to go and check what was hiding there. It didn't make much of a difference anyway, considering he was already soaked to the bone.

Hesitantly approaching the trashcans, the rapper lifted up the dirty rag, startling the cat hiding underneath it. Spinning around, Minho hissed at the stranger. "Oh dear, hello kitty cat", Jisung said nervously, afraid the animal would attack him but Minho only scooted further away. It was then that the rapper noticed how badly the cat was shaking. He considered his options, leaving the cat out here seemed cruel, especially because it didn't look like the poor creature had a place to stay and it looked so frightened. Plus, it was really cold and would only get colder. He still needed to get their coffee and breakfast, so he whispered: "Stay here, little one, I'll be back in a moment." He turned around and walked up to the café entrance, looking back when he heard a soft meow. Jisung looked down and found the cat trying to follow him but it had a bad limp.

The way Jisung had spoken to him made Minho feel small and when the rapper called him 'little one', the hybrid couldn't help but slip into his headspace. Little Minho was really clingy. He had been on his own, with people treating him badly, so it was no wonder he'd get attached to the first person, who treated him softly. With his injured paw though, the small cat couldn't keep up with Jisung, who entered the café after glancing back at Minho once. Being little and alone in an environment that scared him badly, the hybrid sat where the stranger had left him and cried. He cried so hard that he barely noticed when Jisung returned, startling and hissing when the rapper picked him up. "Ssh, it's me. I just had to get some food", Jisung shushed, "Let's get you out of this weather." Minho's heart started to race when he realized somebody was taking care of him and he was eager to let the stranger take him, before he remembered his blanket.

Wriggling out of the rapper's grasp, Minho jumped from his arms and cried out in pain when he landed on his injured paw. He limped back to the trashcans and tried to drag the blanket out from its hiding place. Jisung, though a little impatient due to the rain drizzling down on them, took a closer look at the rug and realized that it had once been a mint colored baby blanket with a paw-print pattern and the cat seemed to be pretty attached to it. Wanting to get back to the studio but unable to just leave the cat there, he pulled out the dripping wet blanket and bundled the equally as wet cat in it. Carrying the soaked bundle in one hand and the bag with their coffee and breakfast in the other, Jisung hurried back to the studio.