My Pet Cat Turned Into A Boy!

I woke up with a start, not entirely sure what had disturbed my sleep.
I blinked up at the shadow hovering over me in the dark, and for a second I thought I might still be dreaming, but then I realised - with a certain amount of horror - that I wasn’t.
I opened my mouth to scream but it was muffled when a hand covered my mouth quickly.
‘Calm down. It’s just me,’ whispered Jongin urgently.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. He removed his hand from over my mouth and, before I could think about it, I had thrown my arms around him and was hugging him as hard as I could. After a second, I felt his arms come around me.
‘I was so scared! It happened so quickly. I didn’t know what they had given you, but the boys said it was probably just a very strong anaesthetic. You were asleep all day,’ I blubbered into his shirt.
He stroked my head soothingly.
‘I’m so sorry, Cas. It’s all my fault. But right now we’ve got to go,’ he said pulling me off the bed.
His eyes widened when he took a good look at me.
‘Why are you wearing a man’s shirt?’
I tugged the hem of the white shirt down self-consciously as he stared at me.
‘I didn’t exactly bring any of my stuff, and seeing as only boys live here this was all they could lend me,’ I explained.
‘They didn’t…hurt you, did they?’ he asked as if he were scared of hearing the answer.
‘No, of course not.’
He let out a sigh of relief.
‘Okay, just get changed quickly,’ he ordered me.
‘Jongin, it’s the middle of the night!’ I exclaimed.
‘Yeah, I know, we need to hurry up. I’m pretty sure these aren’t any of Yifan’s people but I’d rather not hang around to find out what they want. I just don’t get why they didn’t tie me. Maybe they have really good security,’ said Jongin looking worried.
Of course, he wouldn’t have spoken to anyone yet, if he only woke up now.
‘Jongin, calm down, they aren’t trying to hold you prisoner. They are trying to help. They rescued us from Yifan’s men.’
‘Casey, you can’t believe these people - you can’t trust anyone. We need to go now,’ he said impatiently.
‘But, Jongin, they can turn. They’re like you. We can trust them,’ I said reassuringly.
He narrowed his eyes at me.
‘Did you see them turn?’
‘No,’ I admitted.
‘They probably lied then. Just forget about the clothes, put some shoes on. We shouldn’t waste any more time,’ he said pulling me towards the closet.
I dug in my heels and forced him to turn to face me again.
‘Normally, I would agree with you, but Baekhyun is one of them. I know him, Jongin, and he would never join a group of criminals as despicable as Yifan’s. I believe them,’ I said simply.
I could see a confliction of emotions warring on his face.
‘How do I know we can trust him?’
‘Do you trust me?’ I asked him.
He nodded slowly but somewhat reluctantly.
‘Great! Just hear what they got to say, and if you don’t like it we can always leave. Now I think we should probably get some sleep – or at least I should. You’ve been sleeping all bloody day,’ I said with a small laugh.
I climbed back into bed and turned to find Jongin still standing in the middle of the room.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked him.
He shook his head and started towards the door, ‘Nothing. If you need anything I’ll be outside.’
I stared at him in astonishment.
‘What do you mean you’ll be outside?’
‘If you think I’m going to leave you all alone in a house full of dangerous strangers, you’re crazy. I promised that I’d protect you, or have you forgotten?’ growled Jongin with a fierce glare, and then he stalked out the door.
I gaped after him. What the hell was he so angry about?
I left the bed and padded across the room to the door. I opened it and poked my head outside.
He was sitting next to the door with his back to the wall, and sporting the world’s biggest scowl on his face.
‘Save your breath! I’m not leaving this spot,’ he said stubbornly.
‘If you think I’m letting you sleep out here, then you’re crazy,’ I said dryly. ‘You can sleep inside. It’s a king sized bed.’
He turned his head so quickly to stare at me, it was a wonder he didn’t snap his neck.
‘You want me to sleep with you?’ he asked with wide eyes.
I felt my face heat up instantly as I blushed.
‘Don’t make it sound like…like that,’ I snapped at him before adding defensively, ‘besides you used to sleep with me all the time when you were Fluffy.’
He lowered his face and I could swear he was blushing.
Suddenly I felt exhausted and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. I sighed.
‘It’s been a long day and…I would feel better if you were next to me,’ I said softly.
He looked at me and I knew I had won.
He stood up wordlessly and followed me into the room. After he had taken his hoodie and his shoes off, he joined me on the bed.
I switched the light off and turned my back to him. Almost immediately I felt that pull to turn to him, and again that wonderful smell that was uniquely his own engulfed me.
I sighed in frustration. Even though I felt absolutely exhausted, I could tell I was going to have a hard time falling asleep.
Suddenly I felt him touch my hand softly. A shiver ran up my arm.
‘Would you like me to hold you?’ he asked quietly.
He always seemed to have this uncanny ability to know what I was feeling.
I turned around to face him and he understood without me having to say it. He tucked me against his chest and put his arms around me. I sighed contently, feeling incredibly warm and safe.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
‘Wow…you’re really bad at this,’ said Chanyeol wonderingly.
I glared at him.
‘Well, I’m sorry I’m not up to your criminal standards,’ I snapped irritably.
Chanyeol looked hurt, and immediately I felt guilty.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just feeling a bit on edge at the minute,’ I apologised.
And I truly was on edge, my nerves felt frayed to the very seams. Jongin was locked in the office with the President and Kyungsoo. I had no idea what they were talking about, or what questions they were asking Jongin, and it was driving me crazy.
And then there was my current situation.
I had been told in no uncertain terms that it was too dangerous for me to return to my apartment now that Yifan knew I was with Jongin. Of course, I had already thought that might be the case, but I was still in shock at this whole turn of events. Kyungsoo told me not to worry because the President didn’t mind me staying in his home as long as it was necessary. I was more than thankful, obviously, but I felt incredibly sad.
I missed having my own things around me, and being in my own room. I missed the paintings that I had picked out for the living room, and the comfy couch that my mom had given me as a present when I moved out.
That was another thing. I was going to have to stay as far away from my family as possible. I didn’t want to get them involved in any of this.
I snapped out of my thoughts, focusing on the target in front of me. I was in a rather large training room that the boys used to exercise their skills and abilities.
This had been Baekhyun’s idea. He’d suggested that I start learning some self-defence.
Chanyeol had eagerly offered to help and said he could teach me how to shoot (Baekhyun had rolled his eyes at this and muttered something about “trigger happy cowboys”).
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But half an hour later after failing to hit anywhere near my target, and suffering through Chen’s snide comments, and Chanyeol’s tactless observations, I was feeling incredibly frustrated and annoyed at myself.
Baekhyun patted me on the back in sympathy and said encouragingly, ‘Don’t worry, Cas, no one ever became a pro on their first try. You can do anything you set your mind to. I’m positive you’ll do better with time.’
‘It’s not like she can do any worse,’ observed Chen.
He was leaning back in a chair and twirling a dagger in his hand. Without warning Baekhyun kicked the chair out from under him.
The chair went over but Chen moved so quickly, my eyes almost couldn’t keep up with his movements, as he jumped up in the air and landed on an overhanging beam. He grinned down at us. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and muttered, ‘Show off!’
I gaped up at Chen feeling incredibly impressed despite myself.
‘Can all of you jump that high?’ I asked in awe.
‘Not all of us, some of us are better at certain things than others. Chen, for example, is the fastest one out of all of us. But all our senses, speed and reflexes are far superior to that of a normal human,’ explained Chanyeol with a smile.
‘I guess that makes sense. But that still seems too high of a jump for a little cat,’ I said.
‘A little cat!?’ repeated Chen looking offended.
Chanyeol looked confused, and Baekhyun face palmed.
‘Please tell me, you didn’t think we all turned into cats?’ begged Baekhyun.
‘Who can turn into a cat?’ asked Yixing interestedly as he wandered close to us.
‘You don’t all turn into cats?’ I asked in surprise.
‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all week, and I spent most of it with Chanyeol,’ commented Chen dropping back down to the floor gracefully.
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ asked Chanyeol angrily.
‘Point made,’ murmured Chen smugly.
‘I like cats,’ commented Yixing.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
‘Sometimes I worry about you, Lay,’ said Baekhyun with a frown.
‘Lay?’ I asked, confused.
‘It’s his nickname, or maybe it would be more accurate to say it’s his alias when he goes on “jobs”. A few of us have them, like Jongdae is Chen, Kyungsoo is D.O. and even the President is known as Boss Suho in the underworld,’ said Baekhyun.
I nodded my understanding.
‘So how do your abilities work? What do you turn into?’ I asked curiously.
‘Well, most of us have two forms. We call the first one our stealth form, because it’s usually smaller and more inconspicuous – great for spying and tracking. The second is our attack form. But just as people are different, so are our forms,’ explained Baekhyun. ‘Did Jongin not explain this to you?’
‘No, but I didn’t really ask either,’ I said feeling myself flush at how stupid I must have sounded. ‘When did you start turning? I mean, how old were you when it first happened?’
‘Again, it varies from person to person, but usually around twelve or thirteen,’ answered Chanyeol.
My jaw dropped, and I looked at Baekhyun accusingly. He looked away guiltily.
‘I’ve known you since we were ten, and you never thought to tell me any of this?’ I asked feeling incredibly hurt.
‘I didn’t know what was happening at first…it took me a long time to be able to control my abilities. I guess I didn’t want you to think I was a freak,’ he said quietly.
I smacked him upside the head and he looked at me in surprise.
‘Byun Baekhyun, you’re an idiot,’ I said dryly.
He rubbed his head sheepishly.
‘I know. I wanted to tell you so many times, but at the time I was confused, and I just wanted to be normal. And then my dad died,’ he looked down, and I could see a cloud of grief pass over his face.
I felt my heart go out to him. It had been such a hard time for him. I had done my best to comfort him at the time, but it had been a very dark period in his life. He’d been in the car with his dad when they’d crashed. He had lived, but his father had died almost instantly. He never said it, but I knew he felt guilty for having survived.
Chanyeol looked at his friend with a sad look on his face, and even Chen seemed subdued.
‘And then soon after, I noticed that I was being followed. It went on for a long time. The constant watching and stalking. I guess they must have found out for sure – I must have given myself away somehow – and they tried to take me. Twice…twice I escaped,’ he said and I could detect a note of pride in his voice. ‘But then I got caught. They were taking me to Wu Yifan – I heard them - but luckily for me, they decided to stop and have some fun. See, they had another one of us with them. And they wanted us to…to fight in our attack forms.’
I looked at him in horror.
‘T-they what!?’ I stuttered.
‘They wanted us to fight, to maul each other for their entertainment,’ said Chanyeol grimly, I had never seen him look this serious.
‘You where the other one they had kidnapped?’ I asked in surprise.
Chanyeol nodded and Baehyun’s jaw tightened.
‘I was already living with Junmyeon and some of the others at the time, and I had been captured during a recon operation,’ sighed Chanyeol.
‘I was lucky to have been taken by the same team that had Yeollie, because the boys came to break him out, and ended up rescuing me too - although at the time I didn’t think so, especially after he turned,’ said Baekhyun with a shudder.
‘I bet you pissed yourself,’ sniggered Chen.
Baekhyun snorted, ‘How would you feel if you were suddenly confronted by a big ass, snarling grizzly bear?’
‘I wasn’t snarling,’ murmured Chanyeol with a blush.
‘You can turn into a grizzly!?’ I exclaimed in shock.
‘You wouldn’t believe it from seeing his stealth form,’ chortled Chen.
‘You were definitely snarling. And I thought you were going to rip me to shreds,’ said Baekhyun matter-of-factly.
‘I was snarling at the guards,’ said Chanyeol defensively.
‘You…did you fight?’ I asked fearfully.
‘You have to understand, they weren’t exactly asking nicely. They forced us to turn by inflicting pain, and they threatened to kill me if we didn’t,’ said Baekhyun.
‘Those sadistic bastards,’ muttered Chen, anger flashing in his eyes.
‘I wish we had gotten there earlier,’ said Yixing sadly.
‘You guys did just fine,’ said Chanyeol putting his arm over Yixing’s shoulders comfortingly.
‘Yeah, you saved my worthless hide, and healed my wounds – it was more then I deserved,’ said Baekhyun softly.
‘Baekhyun! Of course you deserved to be saved. You didn’t ask to be kidnapped by a bunch of maniacs. Why would you say that!?’ I exclaimed feeling shocked and upset.
Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol then looked away.
‘I attacked him,’ he said and I could see his jaw clench.
‘I attacked you first,’ snorted Chanyeol.
‘You only did that so I would fight you, after that you didn’t even try to defend yourself,’ Baekhyun shot back at him.
‘They were hurting you. You were so young, and you didn’t know what was happening. I just wanted it to stop,’ said Chanyeol quietly. ‘That was the only way.’
‘Besides, in the state you were in when we found you, I doubt Chanyeol even felt your puny attacks – so, enough with the chick flick moments, okay?’ said Chen cocking an eyebrow – I realised in some surprise that he was, in his own way, trying to make Baekhyun feel better.
Chanyeol laughed lightly and even Baekhyun cracked a reluctant smile.
‘They were pretty pissed off at me for having given them the slip twice before,’ said Baekhyun ruefully, ‘I might have also made some unnecessary, but deeply satisfying, comments that they might have found somewhat offensive.’
‘That’s the spirit!’ enthused Chen, clapping him on the back.
‘Don’t encourage him, Chen. They beat him up so badly, I’m surprised he didn’t die. You two need to learn how to keep your mouths shut,’ said Yixing with a reproving look at both Chen and Baekhyun.
Baekhyun looked down shame facedly but Chen only grinned and asked, ‘Are you worrying about me, gege?’
Yixing rolled his eyes and ignored the question. Baekhyun looked at me and continued his story.
‘Anyway, after I got rescued, Junmyeon offered me a place here – so I accepted. After we finished high school I moved here permanently. I lied to my mum about attending Cambridge and living on campus – but it was for her own protection - I was actually studying and training here. I was given a job at Mama Publishing’s because it’s easier for us to just all work in the same place. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I thought it would be too dangerous to get you involved in any of this. I thought it was best you not know anything. I’m sorry, Cas. You’re my best friend. I should have told you,’ he said regretfully.
‘As long as you know,’ I said in a choked voice, and then I threw myself into his arms, and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.
He looked down at me in surprise.
‘Casey…?’
‘You idiot! You went through all that and I…I wasn’t there for you,’ I said into his shirt, my eyes burning with tears as I imagined a young Baekhyun being brutally beaten up and terrorized.
My heart ached for him.
‘Of course, you were – more then you’ll ever know,’ Baekhyun murmured into my hair.
He pulled me back, and looked down at me with a smile, then he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.
‘Will you stop crying, now? It really doesn’t suit you,’ he said with a grimace.
‘I’m not crying – I’ve just got an abnormally large bit of dirt in my eye,’ I said in a dignified tone of voice.
I hugged him again, and he laughed and hugged me back lifting me off my feet. I looked up at that moment and my eyes met Jongin’s across the room. He was standing across the room by the door, his eyes burning with barely contained anger. I gasped as he gave me a fulminating look and stalked out of the room.
I gaped after him. What was he so angry about?

Notes