CATastrophe | WayV |

[6] Human Problems

The whole day was spent explaining, teaching and helping Louis understand the way things work. They showed him their music videos, sang and danced for him; told him they had friends in Korea who also made music. There were some things that he had known but they all seemed different now that he wasn't a cat anymore. Fortunately, he was a fast learner and could quickly follow their steps. Yangyang, Hendery and Lucas created a little stage and act out different scenarios, asking Louis what to do in those situation and how to handle them. Xiaojun and Winwin were on the balcony, using their free time to write lyrics. Kun felt proud to see them enjoying their time with Louis and wondered how thing would've been if he had refuse to change his mind.

"Louis, I want you to take a bath." Ten came in with towels in his hand. "We're going out later in the evening."
"But we're about to teach him the Moonwalk choreography." Hendery whined.
Louis obediently went to Ten.
"Can we come too?"
"No, we don't want to attract unnecessary attention." Ten stated firmly. "We won't be gone for long."

The cold air greeted them as soon as they stepped out of the cab. The mall was half empty, perfect for a late night shopping spree. As they walked towards the main door, Louis put his arm around Ten. He avoided walking near anyone and clung onto Ten like a koala. They bought new clothes, shoes and other things that Louis would need. Ten wondered if he should buy him a phone but decided it would only make it more complicated for him. Lastly, they entered a salon where Louis would get his first haircut.

"Please, sit down in this chair. What kind of cut are we doing today?" The lady smiled at Louis while removing his bucket hat.
"Can you give him this haircut?" Ten pointed at a picture of a model on a magazine. "But make his front hair a little longer than his."
"Sure, sure." The lady eyed Ten and then at Louis. "You're boyfriend sure knows what will suit you."
"He's my owner."
"Ahahaha- no, no. We're cousins." Ten glared at Louis. "We are cousins."

Ten decided to buy some chocolates for his members in the meantime. He left Louis saying he'll be back in a moment. He entered a fancy chocolate shop a few stores away from the salon. Carefully picking out different kind of flavors to suit each member's taste, he took his time and forgot to keep track of people watching him. Just as he was done making payment for the dairy, he heard someone calling his name repeatedly. He dash out the shop and saw Louis searching for him, he hurried over and told him to not call him by his name in public. Then he notice how much Louis changed after his haircut, he wanted to take a full look at him without his face mask on. To Ten, he looked like a model you'd found on the cover of a Vogue magazine.

The sound of a camera shutter made him startled. He looked behind him to see three girls giggling and slowly approaching them as they took their pictures. He told Louis to put on his hat and follow him. While walking out of the mall, Ten notice two more teenage girls looking at them suspiciously. He held Louis and walked faster towards their cab. They started to click their pictures as they followed. 'This is bad, this is bad.' Ten thought as they got in their cab. He told the driver to drive to their hotel using a different route. He frantically looked back from the side mirror but saw no sign of the girls. On the other hand, Louis was confused and didn't understand what was happening. Finally, they reached their hotel without any inconvenience. Half of the members were in the living space, sprawled out on the couch and floor while playing games on their phone.

"Guys, we have a problem."
"Let me guess, you caused it?" Yangyang said without looking up from his phone.
Ten chugged down a bottle of water to calm himself. "Some people saw us and took our pictures."
"What?" Yangyang, Hendery and Xiaojun said in unison.
"That means they saw Louis?" Xiaojun grew worried. "What are we going to do?"
"Did they follow you to the hotel? Are they outside?" Yangyang took a peek out the window. "I don't see anyone."
"I think we lost them on the way. Louis called me by name and- where's Kun? I need to talk to him." Ten got up and went to Kun's room.
Hendery went and sat near Louis, "Are you alright? Were you scared?"
"I don't know what happened. But whatever it is, I think it was my fault."
"No, don't blame yourself. You have every right to go out and enjoy. It's their fault for not respecting your privacy. Don't worry nothing will happen to you, I'm here." Henderey gave Louis a reassuring smile while putting his arm around him and patting his shoulder.

Three hours have passed since the incident and fans started to gather in front of their hotel. They were holding signs and shouting for the members. Inside, the boys gathered in one room while waiting for their manager to come back from an emergency meeting. Ten told them how things went back at the mall and apologized for not being careful enough. They told him not to think too much about it, at the same time, they were most worried about people finding out about Louis. Just then, Hendery's face lit up like he had found the cure for coronavirus.

"I have an idea." He took out his phone. "Let's check from my fan account about what people are saying."
"You have a fan account?" It was the first time they heard about this.
"Yes, now let's see the picture they posted."
They watch closely as Hendery went into some websites and comment sections.
"Here's the picture they took."

The pictures were mostly blurry and didn't show much of their faces. There was only one clear picture where Ten was standing in front of Louis and smiling at him. Kun told Hendery to read the comments.

"Wow, you're so lucky to see them in real life :( "
"Where is this place? Are they still there? I wanna meet them too smh"
"look at Ten smiling like an angel uwu"
"Can't believe you would invade their privacy like this!!"
"Guys, my tencus heart can't handle this"
"Lucas is so boyfriend material here"
"Use my code NOMIN to get 10% off on-"

"Stop." It was Kun. "Does this mean they think its Ten and Lucas?"
"Yup," Hendery scrolled through the comments, "everyone thinks it's Lucas since he's wearing his clothes."
"That's a relief." Winwin commented.

Their manager entered the room with a gloomy look on his face. He looked like a kid that was scolded by his teacher. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, guys. They said it would be best if you spend the rest of your vacation back in China. They want the fans to quiet down first before anything severe happens. It looks like they're sending you back soon."

Everyone had only one person in mind, Louis.