Trust Me

Chapter 1

It was a normal night. Nothing crazy, nothing interesting; a calm and beautiful atmosphere.

Ji-ah strolled home, enjoying the night air. She neared the lane to her house, and after cursing at the street lights that never worked, she walked along carefully using her phone as a source of light.

The neighbourhood was mostly safe, and so she was confident enough to walk home alone at the dead of night.

As she neared the garbage bin close to her one bedroom apartment, she felt something touch her feet. Startled, Ji-ah directed the light to the ground, only to find a small black kitten nudging at her foot.

"Damn, you really gave me a fright," She said, crouching down. The girl opened her palm towards it, and after sniffing her hand, it allowed her to pet it.

"Aw, you are such a cutie! Want to come with me?"

The kitten didn't protest when she lifted it off the ground and placed it on her arms. Instead, it purred happily against her chest, leaning closer to her body for warmth.

Ji-ah walked the rest of the way home, and when she reached her apartment, she put the cat down to unlock the door. Her apartment was the only occupied one on the ground floor, giving her a sense of privacy and peace.

Ji-ah pushed the door open, letting the cat go in first, before following it and closing the door behind her. The kitten pranced about cautiously before being courageous enough to walk into the dark living room.

She removed her shoes and bag and was about to switch on the lights when her cat scurried back to her, scared. She knelt down and picked it up, a sudden fear gripping her heart.

What scared it?

Grabbing the umbrella that leaned against the shoe rack, she padded cautiously into her living room, her socked feet not making any noise.

Ji-ah looked around the room. Nothing was out of place; the cushions were all in the same position as she had left them. The television was switched off — everything was right.

Letting her guard down, she dropped the umbrella and petted the kitten in her hand.

"What happened, baby? Why did you run?" She whispered to the cat as it closed its eyes and purred happily in her embrace. But no sooner had she uttered these words a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Boo."

♧♧♧

He watched her stroll down the lane, the dark window coating on his car, concealing his identity. A smile played on his lips as he picked up the book on the passenger seat. Taking out the red pen from its holder, he drew an 'X' over the picture of the woman he had just seen.

"Found you."

♧♧♧

"HAN JISUNG YOU ARE SO FUCKING LUCKY THAT THE CAT IS IN MY HANDS BECAUSE OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE THROWN A KNIFE IN PLACE OF THESE PILLOWS RIGHT NOW!"

"I said I'm sorry- OUCH! NO! Put that vase down!"

Fuming, Ji-ah placed the vase back on the table, only because it was too expensive to be broken. She glared at her best friend who smiled back nervously at her.

"You are so mean, you know that?" Jisung complained, pouting, while he picked up the pillows on the floor.

"I am mean?! Woah! You were the one who entered my house while I was not here and scared the shit out of me! How else would I, a girl living alone, react when finding a man in her house?!"

Jisung merely rolled his eyes and changed the topic, "Where did you get the cat from?"

"Outside, near the garbage bin." Ji-ah replied, her fingers lightly scratching a spot under the kitten's face.

She took a seat on the couch that now had its cushions back on it, and placed the small animal on her lap. Jisung approached her, and after receiving a glare which he shrugged off, sat next to her and watched the cat.

The tiny creature stretched its limbs on Ji-ah's lap, meowing. "Hold it. I'll get something for it to have." She said, carefully placing the kitten on Jisung's lap.

The animal stiffened for a while, so did Jisung, but then he softly scratched the base of its ears. From then, it was instant love. The kitten purred happily while Jisung giggled as he kept playing.

Ji-ah soon returned with a bowl and a bottle of milk. "Don't worry, it's lactose free." She said, noticing Jisung opening his mouth to protest.

"Why do you have lactose free milk?" He asked while the other placed the bowl on the floor and poured a bit of milk from the bottle.

"I bought it by mistake when I was hungover. It doesn't taste much different, just sweeter."

The kitten who had seen her pour the milk into the bowl, jumped out of Jisung's lap and ran to Ji-ah. It began lapping the liquid even before she could stop pouring. She got up from the floor and sat beside Jisung, watching the kitten.

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Yeah. It's cute."

"What about the landlord? Are pets allowed here?"

"Yeah, it's okay. The couple above has a dog. Hopefully Dal won't meet this cutie. He's a bit… hyper." Ji-ah said.

"What are you going to name it?"

Ji-ah already had a name in mind. "Kuro."

"Kuro?"

"Yep. Kuro means black in Japanese. It's a pretty name for a pretty cat."

Jisung smiled, satisfied with the name. Meanwhile, Kuro who had finished its milk padded upto Ji-ah and nudged at her leg. She picked the cat up and it curled in her lap, creating a warm spot.

“Ji-ji, another question. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Uh… I'm not sure."

Jisung picked up Kuro and placed it on his lap in such a way that it was lying on its back. "It's a boy."

"Doesn't matter either way." Ji-ah said and retrieved Kuro from the others arms and placed him against her chest.

Cute. Jisung thought, watching the two.

♧♧♧