Suddenly... a loud notification
Jun groaned when his phone buzzed. Another weekend, another "study sesh" with the gang, he thought, scrolling through the chat.
"Yo Jun, you in or no?" typed Kaito.
"Bruh, you coming or just ghosting?" replied Minho.
Jun stared at the screen. He wanted.. no, needed a break from his lonely apartment, from the weird tension brewing with… the cat. The cat who now had a permanent spot on his lap, all smug little golden eyes and soft fur.
"…Fine," he muttered. "I'm going, but only for an hour."
The moment he tried to stand, the cat leapt from his lap and planted itself on his chest, tail flicking like it owned him which, honestly, it probably did.
Jun huffed, pushing gently. "Yo, chill. I have to go see actual humans today."
The cat blinked slowly. Slow. Deliberate. And then, just for effect, it flicked its tail straight across his face, leaving a faint smear of damp fur on his cheek.
Jun yelped. "Dude.... seriously?"
The cat didn't budge. It purred, low and resonant, like it was saying, good luck leaving me, loser.
Jun groaned, brushing his cheek. "You're literally insane. I swear…" But deep down, he couldn't resist the soft weight against him. The way it pressed into his chest felt… weirdly comforting. And, okay, maybe he felt a little guilty leaving it behind.
"Fine, fine, I'll be back soon," he muttered, finally wriggling out of the cat's embrace. The cat watched him with golden eyes that seemed to drill into his soul, as if saying: you better.
Jun's friends were already gathered at the usual café. Kaito sprawled across a chair like he owned the place, Minho scrolling on his phone, and Jisoo already sipping his latte like a seasoned pro.
"Jun! About time, man," Kaito grinned. "You ghosting again?"
"I.. uh... traffic, man," Jun mumbled, sliding into a chair. Inside, his mind kept wandering. How's the cat doing? Is it sulking? Probably plotting revenge for abandoning me.
The café was warm, bustling, and alive. Jun tried to focus on small talk, class, stupid professors, who stole whose pen but every so often he felt an itch in his chest, a quiet pull toward the thought of the cat. He shook his head. "Get it together, Jun. It's just a cat… right?"
Wrong.
Halfway through their chat, Jun's phone buzzed. A notification from his smart home app: Motion detected in bedroom.
Jun froze. "Uh… excuse me, guys." He fumbled with the app. The camera feed came alive. And there it was, the cat. Sitting upright, tail wrapped neatly around its paws, staring directly at the camera. Golden eyes glowing faintly.
Jun's jaw dropped. "Wha...? That… that's impossible."
Kaito leaned over his shoulder. "Dude… is that… glowing?"
Jun swallowed. "It's… probably a reflection. Yeah. Totally a reflection. Nothing weird here."
Minho smirked. "You're paranoid, bro."
But Jun couldn't shake the feeling that the cat was… judging him. Watching him. And maybe even jealous.
Later, after the café, Jun walked home. The streets were lively, but his mind raced. What if the cat hates me being with other people? He tried to laugh it off, muttering: "Bro… you're insane. It's just a cat… a normal cat…"
He opened his apartment door. Silence. Too quiet.
Then: a soft tap-tap from the living room. Golden eyes met his from across the room. The cat had jumped to the sofa, sitting rigid, ears twitching. Tail flicked once, slowly, then twice.
Jun froze mid-step. "Yo… don't give me that look. I'm home now, all safe. Chill."
The cat didn't move. Didn't blink. Just sat there, watching, as if it were saying: Where have you been, huh? Hanging with those humans, huh?
Jun swallowed, heart hammering. "…I didn't think you'd care."
A slow, low purr rumbled from the cat's throat. Jun shivered. He didn't know why, but it felt… personal. Like the cat wasn't just warning him, it was staking a claim.
Jun laughed nervously. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're… possessive. Fine, fine."
The cat tilted its head, like it knew he was flustered. Jun groaned and dropped onto the sofa beside it. "You're insane, you know that?"
The cat leaned into him. Warm. Heavy. Heartbeat-thrum weirdly fast. Jun tried to readjust, pretending it was casual. "…You're warm. Way too warm."
The cat blinked slowly. Just once. Then curled against him.
Jun's chest tightened. "Stop it… stop doing that," he whispered. "…I... ugh! I can't stop thinking about you."
The cat purred, a deep sound that resonated in his chest. Jun's fingers drifted to its soft fur, brushing it gently. And for the first time, he realized, he wasn't just afraid of being judged. He liked it. He liked this weird, possessive, impossible little creature.
[Throwback... Days ago]
Rain poured heavy over the city, the kind that blurred neon lights into watercolor streaks. Jun, a twenty-two-year-old student with too much stress and not enough warmth in his life tugged the collar of his jacket tighter around his neck, wishing he had the courage to take a taxi instead of walking the half-hour home from the library. But the bus hadn't come, and he hated crowds.
He hated crowds most of all when he felt invisible.
A flash of movement caught his eye. Something small, white, shivering under the bus stop shelter. Jun slowed, squinting through the rain.
A cat. White fur plastered to its body, eyes gleaming unnaturally gold. Not just reflective like ordinary cat eyes, these seemed to look right through him, sharp and intelligent and unsettlingly human.
Jun hesitated. He wasn't a cat person. He'd never owned one, never wanted one. But the way the little creature huddled, soaked and trembling, tugged at something in him he didn't even recognize... responsibility? Compassion? Loneliness? Maybe all three.
"Hey… hey there," he said softly. "Poor thing…" He crouched at a safe distance, letting the creature sniff his hand. To his surprise, it pressed into his palm like it had been waiting.
The cat's golden eyes didn't blink. Instead, they studied him like a judge weighing his worth. Jun forced a laugh, trying to ease the tension. "Don't worry… I'm not going to hurt you."
The rain fell harder. Jun shivered. The cat didn't move, but its tail flicked once, sharply, as though acknowledging his presence.
Jun glanced down the street. No one was around. He took a hesitant step closer. "C'mon… you can come with me. Just… just for tonight."
The cat tilted its head, small ears twitching, eyes never leaving his. And then, it stepped forward. Just one paw. Then another. And before Jun realized it, it was brushing against his ankle, wet fur sticking to his jeans.
Jun smiled, a little breathless. "Alright… alright, you win. Let's get you somewhere dry."
By the time he got back to his small apartment, Jun's jacket was soaked through, and he smelled faintly of rain and wet fur. He found a box in the closet, lined it with an old towel, and gently placed the cat inside. It sat there calmly, tail wrapped around its body, golden eyes glowing faintly even in the dim light.
Jun frowned. "You're… not an ordinary cat, are you?" He shook his head and laughed softly, embarrassed by the words. "Of course you're a cat. Just… a very strange cat."
He set out a bowl of water and a bit of leftover chicken. The cat sniffed delicately, then turned its head, seemingly unimpressed. Jun sighed. "I guess I should've bought something fancy." He went to the fridge, muttering to himself, while the cat followed, graceful and silent, like a shadow.
Later, when he sat down at his desk to study, the cat jumped up, curling beside his notebook. Jun glanced down. "You… you know you're distracting me, right?"
The cat blinked slowly. It was a slow, deliberate blink, unnervingly human-like. Jun froze, heart thumping. He laughed nervously. "Okay… maybe I am imagining things."
Hours passed. The rain softened to a drizzle, and Jun eventually leaned back in his chair, exhausted. He hadn't even noticed the cat had settled on his lap, warm and heavy. He stared down at it, golden eyes reflecting the dim light of his desk lamp, and for the first time in a long time, he felt… noticed.
He didn't know the cat's name. He didn't know where it came from. But for tonight, it was his. And somehow, against the grey, lonely drizzle of the city, that felt like enough.
Jun yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Alright… you can stay, little guy. Just… don't get used to it."
The cat curled tighter against him. Its warmth seeped through his jeans, and Jun realized he didn't mind. Not one bit.
Outside, the city carried on, indifferent. But inside Jun's apartment, something fragile, something new, had begun as they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Jun woke to the sound of soft paw taps on the wooden floor. The morning light was pale, filtered through the thin curtains of his small apartment. His head throbbed slightly, library cramming had finally caught up to him but the feeling of warm weight against his chest made him pause.
He opened his eyes. The cat had jumped onto the bed during the night, settling snugly against his stomach, golden eyes blinking slowly in the dawn. Jun stared down, half amused, half unnerved.
"You're… really comfortable, aren't you?" he muttered, trying to disentangle himself without waking it. The cat only purred, a deep, resonant sound, and stretched, claws gently kneading the blanket.
Breakfast proved even stranger. Jun went to prepare toast and coffee, leaving the cat in the kitchen. When he turned back, the toast plate had been nudged slightly, the crumbs meticulously arranged near the edge. The cat sat nearby, tail flicking, eyes like molten gold watching him.
Jun laughed nervously. "You're… too clever. Did you do this on purpose?" The cat blinked slowly, almost smug, as if confirming it.
Throughout the day, the cat followed him like a shadow. When he opened the laptop to work, it hopped onto the desk, pawing at the keyboard at random intervals. Jun swatted gently. "Stop it, you're going to delete my essay!" But secretly, he didn't mind.
When he tried to shower, the cat waited outside the bathroom door, golden eyes peering through the gap. When he called it, it didn't budge. Jun groaned. "Fine… I'll be done soon."
By nightfall, Jun had begun to notice little… oddities. The cat's warmth was too constant, almost human. Its gaze followed him with an unnerving intelligence, and occasionally he caught it watching him like it understood his every thought.
"Stop staring at me like that," he whispered as he climbed into bed. The cat leapt gracefully onto the pillow beside him, curling its tail around his arm. Jun shivered not from cold, but from something undefinable. Something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
Hours later, he woke again to the feeling of being watched. He turned slowly, expecting nothing… but the cat's golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark, unblinking, observing. His heart skipped. "What are you…?"
The cat simply purred, stretching its long, sleek body. Jun rubbed his eyes, convincing himself it was nothing. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this strange creature was more than it seemed.
That night, as Jun drifted into sleep, he whispered softly, almost as if confessing to the darkness: "I hope… I hope you stay with me."
The cat blinked once slowly, as if acknowledging, and curled closer, melting into his side.
And though Jun didn't yet understand it, the bond had begun.
[ Back to the present ]
Days passed, and the pattern repeated. Whenever Jun tried to hang out with friends, the cat gave him the look. Whenever he stayed home, it followed him everywhere, curling in his lap, pressing close to him, glowing eyes watching every move.
Jun began talking to it more, jokingly, out loud. "Bro, you're literally the most demanding roommate I've ever had. You want attention 24/7, but I can't even leave for five minutes without you sulking."
The cat blinked slowly, deliberately, as if mocking him.
One night, Jun sighed, scrolling through his phone while the cat sprawled across his chest. "…I don't even know why I keep you. You're a pain in the ass, and yet… I can't imagine life without you."
The cat purred in response. Jun's breath hitched. He shifted slightly, heart thumping. "…Why do you have to be like this? So… smart. So… intense."
And as he drifted off to sleep, the cat pressed closer, golden eyes flickering faintly in the dark. Jun murmured half-asleep, "…You're… mine. I guess."
The cat blinked slowly, as if acknowledging.