Black Cat //Ateez

°24°

"Tell me Hongjoong, what would you say if told you, that i was the black cat all along?"

~~

Seonghwa and Hongjoong were sitting under a tree, late at night as usual. They were peacefully enjoying the moment, when this question fell like a bomb.

Hongjoong stopped breathing for a moment, trying to process what the witch had told him. He gently detached himself from Seonghwa, creating some distance between them.

Seonghwa was the black cat all along? All those times that Hongjoong encountered the creature, it was actually Seonghwa turned into a cat?

"What.. What do you mean you were the cat?"

"I mean that I turned myself into the cat"

"Why would you do that?" Hongjoong asked confusedly, turning his head a little to the side.

"I don't know. It was an impulsive move to be honest" Seonghwa said and waited for a reaction.

Hongjoong had an unfocused face, his eyes moving around, refusing to look at the witch. He tried hard to process this, his emotions being all over the place.

"So, you're a liar. You.. You knew what was happening, so you let me win. Why didn't you tell me?" The human said. He didn't sound angry, more like disappointed. Why did Seonghwa had to hide such a big thing from him?

Seonghwa dropped his gaze to the floor, the look on Hongjoongs face was ubreable to see it. Because he was right. He didn't want to tell him that he was the cat all this time, but he knew that the human needed to know.

To Seonghwa this might have been a light matter, but to Hongjoong, it seemed that this was a big deal. He trusted the witch with all his might, so being kept in the dark about this was making him angry.

Maybe he was overreacting about this, maybe he had to ask Seonghwa about what was his motives of doing that. He wanted for the witch to tell him this from the beginning.

"Are you angry with me?" A soft voice was heard and it was like Hongjoong forgot why he was angry or disappointed in the first place.

"I'm just.. I thought that this was really serious, and you not telling me about this.."

"I wanted to tell you about this sooner, but I didn't know how or when"

"But why did you decided to do that in the first place. That's what I don't understand"

"You sparked my interest Hongjoong. For some reason I understood that you were different and I wanted to keep an eye on you"

"But, there were a lot of other ways to do so. Seonghwa, why do you have to be such an idiot" The human chuckled lightly.
"So, you did let me win. And here was I thinking that i did something"

"OK, maybe I helped you, but only a little bit. And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner" The witch smiled awkwardly at him, trying to test the waters with Hongjoong.

Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa, seeing his face. He had a weird smile, as if he was expecting for him to lash at him. But Hongjoong wasn't gonna do that.

He was a little angry at him, but he wasn't gonna show it. Seonghwa had his reasons and Hongjoong had no word in that.

He opened his arms and wrapped them around Seonghwa, feeling his stiffen under him.

"What? You didn't expect that?"

"I literally thought that you were gonna yell at me. So no, I didn't" The witch chuckled and carefully copied the humans actions, the smaller male disappearing in him.

"Im sorry about that, I really am"

"It's OK. I may over thought it, even though I shouldn't"

Seonghwa kissed the top of his head, getting comfy in his arms. He smiled till his face hurt, he thought that he almost made things worse.

There was silence for a moment, the two just enjoying the calmness of the forest.

"Wait, does this mean that you've seen me naked?!" Hongjoong whisper yelled, his eyes as wide as the owl's.

Seonghwa mimicked Hongjoong, his heart beating rabidly at this statement. His face grew hot, and his body stopped moving.

Okay, Hongjoong was right on that one. Though it was only two times, Seonghwa had the decency, as a cat, to respect his privacy. But he couldn't help by take a small peek at the human.

"Eeehh, look Joongie.. It was an accident.."

"You pervert, I was a little free, thinking that it was your cat, and I didn't have to be embarrassed because of an animal. But now.. "

"I didn't mean, I swear. But I didn't see anything, you had your back turned on me" Seonghwa moved his arms in front of him, trying to distract Hongjoong. He could see his red face, either because of anger or embarrassment and he didn't know what to do.

"Ahh and if I hadn't turned it, you would still be looking. Is this what you mean?"

"Yes.. I mean no, no, Hongjoong, what person do you think I am?"

Hongjoongs eye twitched, ready to pounce at Seonghwa. This little idiot deserved his title as an idiot.

"An idiot, that's what you are. I'm pretty sure you would have loved to see me like that"

"Yes.. No, no..."

"Seonghwa!"

"You started it!"

~~~

"Joongie, can we go to the river? It's really nice outside" San said.

All of them were currently sitting inside the kitchen, the olders coming just in time to make breakfast for them.

Hongjoong stopped eating and looked at his brother, who was bouncing on his sit. He was excited even with the thought of going outside.

"Did you ask Jongho?"

"Yes I did, and he said he wants too"

Jongho ruffled the boy's hair, making giggles escape his mouth.

"San's right. It doesn't hurt anymore so I thought that it would be good to go outside all of us"

Jongho looked at Seonghwas direction, bowing his head to show gratefulness and respect. The witch did the same, and smiled at him.

"Well, if that's the case, you can go, and I'll stay here to finish some work I have" Seonghwa said, wanting to give the brothers some privacy. They didn't spent so much time alone right now, and Seonghwa thought that this would be a great opportunity.

"Oh, you can come too Mr Seonghwa. It would be really nice to go somewhere together" Jongho suggested, and set his gaze on his lap.

He wanted Seonghwa to come with them. First things first, because he didn't want for him to be left out. He had done so much for them, that it would be selfish to exclude him from what they were doing. Besides, he really liked Seonghwas company, he was really fun to be with.

And apart from that, he suspected that there was something going on with Hongjoong and Seonghwa. He didn't know what exactly, but the two seemed to be pretty close. He was happy for his brother that he had found someone to be with, and he hoped that Seonghwa treated Hongjoong right. That was a big reason why he wanted Seonghwa, to be there for his brother. And he couldn't be more grateful for finding someone like him.