The "cats for adoption" sign next to the animal rescue center's door had drawn Songmin's eyes ever since she'd moved to the city for university, but she'd managed to exercise great self restraint and stayed away from the building.
Unfortunately, her self restraint could only last so long and on this Saturday, only three weeks since she'd first seen the sign, she found herself walking up to the door, the "cats for adoption" sign still in the place it had always been.
Unsure of whether she could just walk in, she knocked the door lightly a few times, somewhat hoping no one would come open the door and she could go home without any social interaction and without the financial burden of a cute pet.
Unfortunately, fate wasn't on her side (or, if we were to look at it from the other perspective, fate was on her side) and a second later the door opened, revealing a woman who invited her inside.
The lobby of the rescue center was rather small and minimally furnished. A receptionist desk faced the building's entrance. Tucked away in the corner near a window was a small couch, a small coffee table with some animal magazines a few feet away from the couch.
"So, what brings you here? I'm guessing not any vaccinations or appointments since you don't have a pet on you," the woman asked, walking behind the receptionist desk. Songmin liked how her purple hair matched her blue rescue center shirt.
"I'm here to adopt a cat." At Songmin's words, the woman looked up, a sudden smile replacing the stoic expression she had a moment earlier. "Great, we've been having a surplus of rescued cats and a sever lack of adopters lately, so I'm glad you came. Come, we'll have you take a look at our cats in the back and hopefully get some paperwork going."
With that, the woman led Songmin through a door near the receptionist desk labeled "cats & dogs". The two entered into a lobby-like room though only about a quarter of the size of the room they'd entered from. Two doors were embedded into the wall opposite them, the one on the left labeled "dogs" and the one on the right labeled "cats".
"We have two other volunteers in the cat room right now, so don't feel too frightened when you see them," the woman said, placing her hand on the "cats" door doorknob. "All of our cats are super friendly and I'm sure our volunteers would be more than happy to give you some information on any of them if you ask. I'll give you five minutes then come back and check on how you're doing. Ready to go in?"
Instead of being nervous as she usually would about meeting two more strangers, Songmin felt more excited than scared. She nodded, a little more eagerly than intended, and the woman opened the door. Songmin slipped into the room and the door closed behind her.
Shelves of kernels lined the far wall, each with a cat inside. Shelves for the cats to climb on were attached on every wall of the room. Cat toys lay strewn across the carpet-covered floor, most of them looking rather age worn.
Two college-aged men sat together in the corner with their backs to the door, flocked by all of the cats in the room except for one sleeping in its kernel. The two men, who'd been laughing amongst themselves and when Songmin first entered, turned as they heard the door click shut.
The two appeared to have been feeding the cats, seeing as a bunch of food bowls were placed before them and one of them had a bag of cat food in their hand. Really regretting her out-of-nowhere burst of bravery, Songmin was about to turn around and go right back out when one of them smiled at her and gave a small wave.
Awkwardly, Songmin waved back, trying to muster a smile but struggling to lift the corners of her lips and feeling her cheeks turn sour. She had suddenly lost all courage and wanted to go home, to crawl into her bed and forget about the outside world. A bowl of ice cream would be nice too.
But it was too late to just leave without seeming rude, so Songmin gestured toward the cats, not knowing what to say and desperately praying that the strangers would know what she was there for. The one who had smiled at her looked at the cats then looked back, thankfully understanding what she was getting at.
"You're here to adopt one, right?" Songmin nodded at his question, feeling incredibly relieved that he understood. He waved for her to come closer and sit near them which she did, crossing her legs one over the other and keeping a good three to four feet distance between her and the men.
"I'm Jaemin and this is Jeno," the smiling man said, first pointing to himself and then the other stranger, Jeno. Jeno gave the girl a nod in greeting and she nodded back, finding a bit of comfort in the fact that it was kind of funny how a man who looked so much like a Samoyed was volunteering to take care of cats.
The two men shifted in their spots so that the three of them formed a sort of triangle. Seven cats completely ignored them, eating from their food bowls. A small ginger kitten was settled in Jeno's lap, nearly falling asleep as he gently stroked its small head.
"So... you two come here often?" Songmin asked softly, internally cringing at her attempt to break the silence and lighten the mood. What a stupid question! They almost definitely come here often, and it sounds like you're hitting on them! They probably think you're super weird now.
Contrary to Songmin's thoughts, Jaemin did not in fact look at her as if she were a creepy stranger. Instead, he picked up and held a lithe grey cat who'd finished eating and casually answered her question. "Yeah, we come two times every week to help feed these lovely animals and clean up this room a little. Jeno sometimes comes on days we aren't scheduled to be here, so the cats tend to like him more."
Jaemin's last comment made Songmin giggle and Jeno immediately break into protest. "That's not true. They like you just as much... except Mimi, Mimi definitely likes me more."
Jaemin gasped in fake indignance and shoved Jeno's shoulder, who playfully shoved back. The tension Songmin had felt a few moments was starting to fade and she allowed herself to relax a bit, her stiff posture softening. The kitten in Jeno's lap, startled awake by the commotion, got up and jumped away to join the other cats at the food bowls.
All of a sudden, something touched Songmin's back unexpectedly and she recoiled, drawing her arms tightly to her chest. The something turned out to be a cat. It was a fluffy black cat with a short stub of a tail and a white patch that began on its neck and ran up onto its cheek, rubbing itself along Songmin's clothing.
Songmin felt a rush of embarrassment at having been scared by a cat while being in a room specifically designed to contain cats and pinched herself in the arm, hoping her embarrassment wasn't outwardly visible.
The cat perched itself on her crossed legs and stretched upward toward her face, staring up at her with its big green eyes. Out of impulse, Songmin leaned down and touched noses with the cat. At the contact, the adorable creature drew back and crawled into Songmin's lap, laying down on her legs and setting its head on her knee.
"What's her name?" Songmin asked distractedly, gingerly petting the cat. Jeno, who'd been rather silent the whole time, answered her. "That's Bbongie. She's usually pretty antisocial, but she seems to really like you. She really likes it when someone pets her-" he pointed to a spot behind Bbongie's ear, "-right here."
Songmin brought her hand to where Jeno had pointed and scratched delicately. She'd never actually physically interacted with a cat before and she didn't want to risk hurting it. After a few seconds, Bbongie began to purr contentedly, leaning into Songmin's hand with her eyes closed. The sight melted Songmin's heart and her lips unknowingly curved into a smile.
"So," Jaemin began, setting down the grey cat he'd been holding and opening a jar of cat treats, "do you know anything about how to take care of a cat?"
Of course Songmin didn't.
Half an hour later, after a long talk laced with laughter about taking care of a cat and filling out legal forms needed for animal adoption from an organization, Songmin walked out of the animal rescue center with a big grin on her face, a heavy cat carrier on her left arm, a bag of cat care supplies on her right, and two new friends. No, not friends yet. Acquaintances.
People she felt comfortable around.
But more importantly, she was now the proud cat mom of Bbongie.
Hellooooo mo.cha here :). Hope this chapter was okay. I'm not exactly satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but honestly this is kind of a filler chapter, so it might not have been exceptional but hopefully it isn't terrible.