Stray Kids one-shots

Everyone Knows Minho Loves His Cats

Minho was too many kilometres away from Gimpo.

Perhaps it sounded too dramatic when he said it like that considering it wasn't his first time being away from home. But the Wings Tour in Japan had been the longest and the farthest he'd ever been from home. On the bright side, he was also constantly surrounded by other dancers who missed home and empathised with him immensely.

On the less bright side, though everyone could understand missing mothers and grandmothers, not a lot of them could understand missing cats.

Minho talked to his cats. A lot. His mother, well aware of his thoughts on the matter, was very used to his actions. So when he'd called her thirty minutes into the call and asked her to put the "kids" on the call, she simply nodded, padding off to find his lovely kids.

Eventually, the phone was set on the ground, his mother told him to send one of them to her when he was done, and three curious sets of eyes filled the screen.

"Soonie, Doongie, Dori-ya," he called, chuckling softly as they all quirked their heads to the side.

He missed his cats so much.

Minho spoke to them conversationally, smiling when he received small meows in response. He told them about the tour, the scenes he'd seen in Japan, the food he'd eaten, how comfortable the rooms were and how nice everyone was. Then he asked them whether they were eating well, whether they weren't clawing at the furniture and making sure to use the scratch post that had hurt his pockets a little too much when he purchased them, and whether they were helping Mom properly and not causing too much trouble. Doongie yowled a little indignantly at the last sentence. Eventually, he decided he'd spent enough time spoiling them with affection. (Deep down he felt like it would never be enough. He was terrified of the future, where he'd get even less time to spoil them, and perhaps they would forget his scent or his voice or his face and would hide from him when he visited home. Minho loved his cats so much and that thought terrified him beyond anything he knew. Oh God, he was way too attached.)

"Mn Eomma. I'm ending it now, okay? Mn. Take care, and don't overwork. I'll be home soon. Mn~ Love you too."

He put down his phone with a sigh.

Shit. He missed them too much.

"Minho?"

He jumped, stumbling to his feet. "I–" His shoulders dropped once he caught a good look at the person's face. "R–RM-nim?"

The man smiled guiltily. "Ah sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

He shook his head. "I mean I was the one talking in the hallway. Was I disturbing?"

"Not at all. Everyone knows the maknaes keep up the hotel by being much noisier," joked the elder. "Can I sit?"

Minho scrambled aside to give him space, unable to quell the steadily rising rhythm of his heart.

"You have cats?"

"Ah yes!" He quickly swiped his phone open, offering the wallpaper. "Three of them. This is Soonie, the eldest, he came in back when I was 18. Then Doongie, he's second. I got him a year back. And Dori, the youngest. I found him a few months ago."

"They look endearing." The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. "Much like the way you speak to them."

Minho flushed, a small embarrassed laugh tumbling out of his mouth. "Ah, it's a habit I've picked up for a while, like, sometimes it feels like they understand what's happening really well, and even though I told them what was happening before I left, I just wanted to make sure..." He flushed harder. "Sounds pretty silly but sometimes I get scared that they'll forget about me with the amount of time I spend away from home."