Black Cat //Ateez

°5°

The cat had disappeared after some time. That gave the time to Hongjoong to get out of the water, and drying himself, he put his clothes on.

He went to the hanging clothes, seeing that they had dried of rather quickly. He took them out and folding them, he placed them carefully inside his bag.

He started making his way to the village. Maybe he could be there to cook some lunch for them.

Opening the door to house, he was greeted with Jongho and San, playing with each other.

They both were on the floor, San on Jongho's lap, playing with the dog like doll. Once they heard the door open, they whipped their heads to the side.

A big smile was prominent on Hongjoongs lips, seeing the two of them together after all this time.

"How are you?" He asked and went close to them, setting his bag to a nearby chair.

"We are great. Jongho and I played all day. Look, he even made this for me" San said excitingly, showing Hongjoong a small doll, made of small sticks of wood.

That's beautiful Sanie" He said ruffling the smallers head, smiling gratefully at Jongho.

"But do you know what Sanie did Hongjoong? He gave me a piece of the strawberry pie you made yesterday" The older said, pinching the smallers cheeks, making him giggle.

"Ahh no Jongho. Sanie made it all by himself. He wanted to do something for you too, so he made the cake"

"Is that true Sanie? You baked it for me?" Jongho gasped jokingly.

San laughed at his reaction and nodded shyly, burying his face to Jongho's neck.

Jongho once he heard the confirmation, he smiled sadly. What a horrible brother he was. His siblings were doing the best for him, and all he did was push them away. They didn't deserve it. San didn't deserve it. He needed his brothers right now.

Jongho was distancing himself because, he saw that as a form of punishment. He was the reason their parents abandoned them, leaving Hongjoong and San alone.

They would have the perfect family, but Jongho had to ruin it all. He thought that, by getting away from them, it would be easier for the to forget him, act like he wasn't there.

He thought that it would be easier for Hongjoong and San to not care about him anymore, to grow tired of him. That would have given him the opportunity to get away from there, and let his brothers live in peace.

Their parents left because of him, and his siblings didn't deserve it. They needed to have the love and affection they deserved. But he had to destroy it all.

But the truth is that, Hongjoong and San hadn't forgotten him. If anything, they became even closer, always by each other's side. And Jongho felt horrible. What he did was cause trouble to them, when they tried to help him.

At this moment, having in his arms his young brother and, Hongjoong watching them, made tears well up in his eyes.

He squeezed San close to him, refusing to leave a sound that would alarm the younger. But he couldn't hide that from Hongjoong.

The older watched him with sad eyes, and went closer to hug both his siblings. Jongho placed his head on the crook of his neck, getting his face away from San.

"I'm so sorry Hongjoong" He said whispering.

"There is nothing to say sorry about. I understand" He said, trying to calm the younger.

"What are you saying?" San asked, trying to wriggled from their grip. He was curious.

"Nothing little one. Dont worry"

~~~~~

After some time, with the three of them hugging each other, San's stomach started to growl.

"Ohh someone's hungry" The older said, tickling San's belly, making him squeal, and try to hide further into Jongho's embrace.

"What would you like?" He asked the two of them.

"I dont know. What do we have?" Jongho replied.

"Yeah, that's something to worry about. I guess I should go and see in the cellar" He said while standing up.

"Can you start the fire while I'm searching?"

"Of course Hongjoong. You shouldn't ask that"

The older smiled thankfully at him, and went outside the house, to the cellar.

It was in the back of the house, you had to open a door that led you to a basement. That was were they kept their food because it was cold down there, and it could be preserved.

He searched through the cupboards and barrels. After some time he found some meat inside a cupboard. It was wrapped in a white cloth, and it was in a pretty good condition.

He took a basket they had there and put it inside. As he was looking around, he thought that he could make some bread. The one they were eating was going to be finished.

So he grabbed a small container, filling it with flour from a barrel, he grabbed some eggs, a little bit of milk and oil, and exited the room.

As he was walking, he saw the black cat, eyeing him from under a tree.

He waved slightly at it and continued his way to the house. But he heard something from behind, meaning that the cat was following him.

He stopped in front of the door and looked at the cat who stayed in the corner.

"Do you wanna get inside?" He asked the cat, but something in his tone was different. It felt like he almost mocked  the cat.

He let out a sigh and brought his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like this. If you want I can get you some meat later. Is that OK?" He asked hopefully.

The car meowed and Hongjoong took that as a yes.

~~~

The food was ready, finally, and served. The three siblings sat on the table, and started eating quietly.

San would occasionally open his mouth at Jongho, wanting him to feed him, and Jongho was more than happy to do so.

Hongjoong watched them the whole time, a soft smile on his face. He didn't have the heart to interrupt them, so he let them.

Once they were finished, Hongjoong let them go to their room, and stayed behind to clean. Eventhough they asked him if he wanted any help, he dismissed them, saying that they should spent some time together.

He put the food that wasn't consumed in the pot, and left some to feed the cat. Grabbing a small bowl he had, he put some meat, and went outside the house.

The cat was again on the corner of his room, as if it was waiting for him to feed it. He went a little further and put the bowl, under a tree.

Once he had distanced himself and sat down on a nearby tree, the cat started to eat. It let small meowing every once in a while.

Hongjoong watched it as it gobbled the food, making it disappear rather quickly. He was amazed.

The cat looked at him, tilting its head to the side, eyeing him. Hongjoongs heart started beating fast when he saw it approaching him.

He stood there stiff, not breathing afraid that it might leave.

The cat went and stood just a few centimetres away from him. Hongjoong wanted to try something, so he extended his hand a little, just enough for the cat to sniff him.

The cat though, flinch away, taking steps back, to which Hongjoong retracted his hand quickly.

"I I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry" He kept saying apologetically, bowing lightly his head at the cat.

As he was standing up, ready to go inside the house, he felt something rub against his leg. Taking his eyes down, he saw the black cat, rubbing his head to his leg.

That made his heart beat a million times faster and stood still. The cat meowed one last time, and then it left, leaving Hongjoong alone.