THE STRANGE noise jolted your senses awake, and all the fatigue left your body almost instantaneously, to be replaced by cautiousness. As you slipped out of bed, you took special care not to make any noise as your bare feet landed on the cold ground.
You silently pray to all the Gods that you were merely hearing things prior to your drowsiness, but the constant faint thuds against the wooden material of your bedroom door made you doubt and rethink otherwise.
No one couldn't have just barged in inside your apartment since you were sure you locked the doors after you had gone back from work, plus the windows were normally never unlocked.
Your hands instinctively grab the nearest object among your field of vision, which so happens to be an antique, creamed color vase that your grandmother had given you on your 11th birthday. Tho you had less time to worry about it, so this will do for the meantime.
Please don't be an intruder please don't be an intruder please don't be an intruder —
The constant thoughts in your head were intruded when you heard an unusual, indistinct voice mutter something incoherent on the other side. You couldn't quite grasp whether the voice belonged to a male or a female, which only made the situation perhaps more worse.
You swallow the huge lump in your throat, finally gripping all the courage you have left in you to take an effort closer to the door, tightening your grasp on the vase.
However, the noise had suddenly ceased. You froze on your spot, eyebrows furrowing at the hasty silence.
Are they.. gone?
Despite having a good 2 minutes to pass, you wavered motionless on your spot, still wary at the strange deafening silence that enshrouded the whole room.
When you were confident that it was finally safe, you puffed out a sigh of relief. It was only then when you recalled the particular orange-furred Jimin that was still lying on the couch, not knowing whether he was free from disturbance.
What if something happened to him? Should I check on him just in case?
Yeah.. maybe I should just to be sure.
Without any hesitancy, your hand engulfs the doorknob, twisting it as you yank the door open.
Promptly as you do, your eyes had basically bulged out when an unfamiliar figure unexpectedly came dashing in and collided its body against yours, immediately feeling a pair of arms encircling their way around your waist.
You initially wanted to scream on top of your lungs when the realization slowly dawned on you that that someone was a complete utter stranger, but the way it tightened its arms around you as if all life depended on it came to be the cessation of your restlessness.
His heart palpitated uncontrollably, you could feel it at how much your bodies huddled each other while his arms and legs remained intensely stock-still. You felt his shoulders subtly move up and down, indicating his rather unkempt breathing as if nervous and..
Hurt.
"H-Help me," The quivering voice murmured, which you could clearly make out that it belongs to a man, beggingly that clamped the soft spot of your heart as your eyes unconsciously morph into a softer shape.
No, stop, he's a stranger! You don't even know him!
But as he said those words, you felt something damp soak the fabricated material of your shirt. Confusion glinted in your features before you glimpsed down, eyes docking on the blood that augmented rapidly against your shirt.
Your eyes widened as panic began resurfacing inside your head. He's bleeding!
Before you could even open your mouth to say something, you felt his arms go limp before dropping from your waist, his body right there and then collapsing harshly to the ground.
•┈┈••✦♥✦••┈┈•
You continue to stare at the unmoving body that laid comfortably on the white mattress of your bed for the past few hours as you fiddled nervously with your fingers. You were so distracted by the amount of blood and him that you forgot about the reason why you had opened that door in the first place.
His respirings were rough, too rough that bursted a comber of worry in you. Yeah, he was a stranger and you have no idea how he got inside your apartment, but the way his brows occasionally met, or how his nose would oddly twitch every now and then had ensured you to at least be a practical person for once.
Your eyes subconsciously inched up towards his face, leisurely as you surveyed every section of his outlines.
You would have been prevaricating if you said he wasn't good-looking. Infact, he was exceedingly good-looking.
His hair was pigmented in a reddish, almost orange color that resembled the citrus fruit, plump lips toned in a sweet color as the smooth, milk-white skin complimented the unreal, seraphic impression of his face.
Indeed, he was the most prepossessing man you had ever laid your eyes on.
How can someone look so unreal?
Despite the natural scowl on his sleeping guise, the exquisite charisma that radiated off his body was enough to say that he was an extravagant sculpture of the Gods. The thin piece of fabric of his shirt fully exposed the well-built muscles of his upper body, lining and molding perfectly against it.
Drowning in your mind of fantasies, a phone ring startles you from your stupor as you snapped back fro reality. Not wanting to wake up the handsome sleeping stranger, your hands hysterically fiddle inside your pocket and slip your phone out, not having the time to check the caller ID.
"Hello?" You answered, tone almost a whisper as you cover your mouth.
"Hello, Y/N?" The manly voice whispers back. It was Jung Hoseok, a good friend of yours who also happens to be a co-worker back in the bistro.
"Hoseok? Hey, why did you call?" You whispered, eyes fixated on the man who slept on your bed. Thankfully, his breathing has finally gotten stable.
"I wanted to tell you something. But first, why are we whispering?" Despite the confusion that lingered in his voice, he was still whispering back. You shook your head, a small chuckle escaping your lips.
"It's hard to explain," You reason out, not wanting to tell him that there was a ridiculously handsome stranger with you inside of your apartment. "Look, can we talk later? I'm kind of busy right now."
"Busy with what?" You imagined him frowning at you. "Did you finally hook up with someone? Did you download that dating app I told you about?"
"What? No, no, I didn't —"
A muffled groan suddenly escapes the earlier dozing man's lips, abruptly stopping you. Hoseok must have heard it when your ears picked up a too-dramatic gasp from the other line.
"Y/N, you have a lot of explaining to do."
"Bye!" You quickly ended the call and you cussed at yourself as it only made you more suspicious. You slapped yourself right in the cheek, covering your face with both your palm.
With a deep heave of breath, you retracted your hands, immediately catching the man's eyes slowly fluttering open, long eyelashes gracefully mimicking the wings of a butterfly flapping it's wings as his eyes had now fully opened. You stoned in your spot, and literally stoned, when he looked around as if scanning his surroundings before his gaze fell upon you, causing you to slightly flinch that you were now under the man's strong gaze.
"Y/N. Y/N is your name, isn't it?"
The name rolls of his tongue casually, voice velvety and equally smooth as he peered at you, overlooking the now surprised expression painted on your face as your mouth gaped open.
"H-How do you know my name?"
"Your phone was on speaker." His eyes move to the phone in your lap before slowly meeting yours once again. God, even the way he looks at you was undeniably attractive. Who the hell even is this man?
"Oh and one more thing you should probably know," He gestures to you with a pointing index finger before slipping a hand through the pocket of his jeans, throwing a familiar blue collar in your direction. You were quick enough to react as your hand caught it in mid-air.
The same recognizable golden disk hung in the middle of the blue-collar, and the sight alone had yet again made you confounded as you stared at it with pure disbelief.
It had the name Jimin written on it.
"Do you remember me, Y/N?" He smiles, more affectionately, that made his eyes disappear at you. You hated to admit it but his smile was utterly adorable.
"Feels familiar, doesn't it? Or was that not enough?" He says before he leant himself against the headboard, letting out ragged paintings as he squeezed his eyes shut.
You shook your head, "No, that's impossible." You muttered, peering up at him with suspecting eyes. How does this man literally have the audacity to mess with you while he's severely injured and bleeding? "You're not Jimin, you can't shit on me."
"What if I told you I am?" A roguish smirk that glossed over his earlier-adorable demeanor crept its way up to his lips, but the way he was leaning uncomfortably caused him to wince that indicated he felt a stinging pain trigger from the gash across his chest. You were too shocked to even notice his current state.
Jimin.. is a human?
Bullshit.
"You have to be kidding me." You scoffed, placing a hand on your forehead to comprehend all words that had just left his mouth. This must be a dream. He's still there, isn't he? The real jimin should still be there in your couch —
"I wish I was, sweetheart."
Your head abruptly shoots up at the sudden term of endearment. He smiles innocently whilst you glared at him before squeezing your eyes shut in annoyance. "Seriously please, can you not mess around right now? How did you even get inside my apartment? You should be grateful I did not call the cops on you."
"Right, how can you even call the cops on someone as irresistible and as cute as me?" He gestures to his face, arching one brow upwards.
Don't listen to him. He might just be some random dude who decided to mess with you and guess what? You are not gonna let that happen. Don't be stupid.
"That's what I thought." He hums at your silent response, making your glare harden. For whatever reason, the way he spoke was getting on your nerves.
"I don't believe you." You retort, before adding. "So prove it." Your words had caused a mischievous smirk to curve up his lips, and not even seconds later, a pair of ears that reciprocated the color of his hair had suddenly popped up on his head. Your eyes widened at the sight, completely bewildered as your eyes refused to believe all of this was actually happening.
"N-No fucking way —" You mutter as you leaned closer to him, hands lifting up to inspect every inch of it. As your hand makes contact with it, you can't help but to grace a smile on your lips when you realize how soft his ears felt under your fingers. He closes his eyes upon the small gesture, and you soon feel an odd vibrating noise tremble from his chest as you proceed to caress his fluffy ears.
The man was literally purring. Oh God I must be dreaming right now.
Jimin.. is a human.
A freaking human.
"No wait.. how did you even change your.." You cleared your throat, a little sheepish before continuing. "Your.. form?" You still felt skeptical of the fact that the innocent, tiny kitten was now a full-on, talking human.
"I don't know. I just.. change. I do that all the time." He replies, shrugging as you began to pull your hand away from his ears that caused him to pout sadly at the action, opening his eyes.
All the time?
"So you're saying that you've been a human all this time? Even way before I found you last night?"
"Exactly, sweetheart."
"Can you stop with the endearment?" You snap, scowling at him yet he ignores your remark with a sly smirk. You wanted to be nice but the endearment ticked you off for whatever reason. You weren't used to it.
A brief moment of silence engulfs the atmosphere before he breaks it with another deep sigh, catching your attention.
"It's never easy being a hybrid, too." He mumbles, almost as if not wanting you to hear purposely.
Yet you heard, and much to your curiousness, you ask. "What do you mean?"
"For the most part, I'd rather not tell."
You nod in understanding, averting your gaze away from the man.
"But.."
Your gaze falls back at him, an uncertain look stuck across his face as he stares at the blank wall ahead of him. The ambience suddenly changed.
"It sucks looking so helpless like that. I was there for weeks, but I'd rather not have any place to stay than.." He stopped himself, realizing he was already opening up to someone whom he barely even knows. "Never mind." He continues, plastering a smile that wasn't enough to reach his eyes.
Silence.
"Then.. what should I call you?" You inquire, changing the subject as you peeked at him with raised brows. "Are you okay with Jimin?"
He stares at you, before lightly shaking his head. "Hm.. I prefer the other one." He smiled.
"Jiminie?"
He nods contentedly, a huge smile stretching wide on his lips that had his eyes mirror a crescent-shaped moon. His smile was contagious, therefore, you soon found yourself smiling along with him too.
You noticed that there was something about the name that had the man feeling enthusiastic and alive. You wanted to ask why, but you were afraid that it would come out as a personal question and it would only make him more uncomfortable.
Jimin notices the look on your face, immediately catching the message behind your expression like an open-book.
"Uh.. my erstwhile owner used to call me that." He replies softly and you look up at him, blinking.
If that's the case, then he must've had a great relationship with his previous owner. But even if he did, why was he there in the alleway, alone and hurt in the first place?
Interrupting your thoughts, he suddenly lets out an abrupt wince in pain as his ears flattened against his disheveled hair. You immediately look over at the bandage wrapped across his chest with an agitated look on your face.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
The white bandage that was securely wrapped around his chest only had fairly serious shades of deep crimson on it, and thankfully, they had started to dry up, showing that the bleeding may had already stopped.
"Water," He mumbles in a rough tone and you quickly nod, getting up from your seat. You walk out of the room, closing the door behind you with a soft click before making your way to the kitchen.
You open the fridge to grab a bottle of water and close it. You then quickly return to your room, walking in and about to hand him the bottled water when your eyes land on his sleeping figure, mouth slightly hanging open as his chest slowly heaves up and down. He fell asleep faster than you expected.
Chuckling at the sight, you glanced at the wall clock and noticed that it was only 8:32 in the morning. You sighed, placing the water on the bedside table just in case he was gonna wake up with a dry throat.
A yawn escapes your lips as you exit your room, carefully closing the door behind you and making your way to the living room.
You hadn't been able to catch a good sleep since you had to look out for Jimin. He seemed to be in a very bad condition, so you had to keep an open eye out for him just in case.
Plopping yourself on the couch, you shifted to get in a more comfortable position. Nodding in contentment, you close your eyes and let yourself fall in a deep doze.