"Feel free to whatever's in the fridge," Changkyun said, scratching at the nape of his neck. "Not sure what's in there, really. But have at it. Wonnie's food is in this cabinet," Changkyun said, opening one of the higher-up cabinets to demonstrate before closing it once more. "He can open the bottom ones," he added as an explanation, giving his cat a narrow look. "Bad kitty."

The cat hissed before whipping its tail around in the air agitatedly.

"If you eat too much, you'll get fat," Changkyun defended, his stern tone weakening as the cat rubbed against his leg, purring loudly. He turned to Taehyung, trying not to give in to the cat's need for constant attention. "You can put out food in the morning and then again at dinner. Be careful though, even if he eats it all, you can't just keep refilling it whenever. Let's see, what else..."

The cat mewled pitifully, and Changkyun sighed before bending down and picking him up, rubbing the spot between his ears absentmindedly. "His room is next to mine-"

"Your cat has his own room?" Taehyung asked, eyes wide. He hadn't even had his own room until he was fourteen.

"It's a small room," Changkyun said, raising his nose defensively. "Kitty likes his own space. Anyway, you can take over my room while I'm gone. You can put him in his room at night and shut the door. There's a litter box in there, so when you let him out in the morning, you'll have to clean that. Other than that..." Changkyun paused to think and stopped petting the cat, who meowed at him sharply. Changkyun mumbled an apology and kept petting before smiling at Taehyung. "That's about it. He's a little fussy, but he's a good boy. Just keep him fed and let him do his own thing. Oh, and I'd recommend wearing thick socks. He likes to bite at your ankles. And I left little notes as reminders just in case there's anything I forgot."

Taehyung just nodded, eyes slightly wide. Changkyun had always been more of a friend-of-a-friend. He'd never been inside his apartment before. In fact, he didn't even know that Changkyun had a cat. When Changkyun had first called him, he'd been under the impression that he'd be cat sitting (because that's exactly what Changkyun had told him he'd be doing), but now that he was here, it felt like he was babysitting a child. Taehyung didn't think he was qualified to babysit, period. Plants, no; pets, no; kids, definitely no...

"I'm really sorry about this," Changkyun said, setting the cat down. It mewled for attention before winding around and between Changkyun's legs. "I hadn't planned on leaving, but it came up so suddenly and-"

"It's fine," Taehyung said, holding up a hand and smiling. He felt slightly dizzy from all the instructions, but in the end, it was just a cat. Cats were easier than dogs, anyway. Dogs had to be walked. That was too much effort for Taehyung at this point in his life. "I get it. I'm happy to help."

Changkyun gave a tensed, closed-lip smile before looking down at his cat. "I don't like leaving him alone," Changkyun admitted. "I'm not really comfortable leaving, but I thought with you here, maybe it would be okay. And it's just for two weeks," Changkyun rambled, trying to find some excuse good enough to justify his absence.

The cat meowed, the note long and plaintive. Tae could almost believe that the cat really didn't want Changkyun to go.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Changkyun responded, pouting at his furry little friend.

Taehyung couldn't help but smile. He'd only ever really seen the serious side of Changkyun. It was sort of cute seeing him talk to his cat.

"Call me for anything," Changkyun said, looking up and grabbing the handle of his suitcase. "I mean anything. If you forget where his food is or if his litter runs out or if-"

"We'll be fine," Taehyung assured, smiling as he walked Changkyun to the door. "Really. You have nothing to worry about."

Changkyun gave one last worried look towards his cat, who was tracking Changkyun with his eyes, sitting patiently on the kitchen floor as though expecting Changkyun to come scratch his ears again. His tail moved through the air slowly, curiously, waiting.

Changkyun walked out the door.

The cat meowed once, twice when Changkyun didn't answer his call.

Taehyung shut the door, flipping the locks as instructed before he turned to face the feline.

The cat stared at him as though disappointed with his presence as Changkyun's replacement.

"Look, -" Taehyung cut off suddenly before tilting his head back and sneezing loudly.

The cat darted out of the room, most likely startled by the loud noise, and Taehyung just sighed, his lips settling into a frown as he brushed the back of his hand against his nose.

Why did he have to be allergic to cats?