My Pet Cat Turned Into A Boy!

We were sitting down at the table having dinner. Jongin was sitting across from me and he hadn’t looked at me once.
I had tried to talk to him but he had avoided me all afternoon, so I was feeling understandably frustrated and annoyed at him.
Maybe he was angry at me because I had talked him into listening to what Junmyeon had to say and ask - maybe he hadn’t like what they had asked him.
I moved my food around my plate listlessly, and stole a glance at President Junmyeon – who I had finally met. He wasn’t particularly tall or intimidating, and he most certainly didn’t look like what you’d expect from such a powerful man.
He had been nothing but kind to me. I wondered if I could trust him, and for some reason I found that I wanted to trust him. He just seemed so nice.
I sighed despondently, and stole another look at Jongin. He was scarfing his food down rather aggressively, and ignoring everyone around him.
‘As you all know, I spoke to Jongin this afternoon, and he was kind enough to share important information about Wu Yifan’s headquarters,’ announced Junmyeon from his seat at the head of the table.
Jongin stopped eating and turned to look at Junmyeon with an unreadable expression on his face. Junmyeon smiled at him and continued.
‘He gave us invaluable information th
at we would never have been able to find out otherwise. He’s also told me about Yifan’s other prisoners, and I’ve promised to make them my utmost priority,’ he said seriously and then he smiled widely, ‘I think we finally have all the tools we need to dismantle Yifan’s criminal operations. It’ll take time, of course, but with this new information I’m fairly optimistic.’
Everyone cheered happily, except for Jongin who was looking even graver then he had been before.
‘You can’t defeat him.’
Jongin’s voice cut across the cheers like a knife. Everyone went silent and turned to look at him.
‘Don’t worry, Jongin. We’ll get your friends out before we try anything,’ the President assured him.
Jongin looked at him almost sadly.
‘I believe it’s possible to save my friends – I have to believe it,’ Jongin said the last bit so softly I almost didn’t hear it. ‘But there is no way you can defeat Yifan. He’s a monster.’
‘I know he did terrible things…but you don’t have to be afraid anymore. You’re with us now, and united against him I do believe-‘
Jongin cut across the President’s voice.
‘I told you he was trying to find others like us to build an army, and that he…experimented on us to try to make more people with our abilities,’ he paused and glared at everyone as if daring them to feel sorry for him, but everyone was silent for once, ‘But the truth is, he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t need an army. You’ve managed to evade him so far, and you’re all still alive only because he doesn’t want you dead. He’s obsessed with our kind, and he will stop at nothing to capture every single one of us. My advice is run as fast as you can and hide in the farthest corner of the earth because you cannot defeat him.’
‘Aren’t you a ray of sunshine,’ muttered Baekhyun sarcastically.
Kyungsoo gave him a sharp look and he quieted down.
‘Jongin, I’ve got a lot more resources then what you see here. Even though the boys are my special elite force, I’ve got hundreds of highly trained soldiers at my disposal. Don’t underestimate us,’ said Junmyeon with a frown.
‘You forgot to mention the mercenaries,’ observed Chen with an innocent look on his face.
Junmyeon flushed a little bit as he floundered, ‘Yes….well, there are the…er, yes, it’s a bit of a funny story that one. Maybe I’ll tell you…some other time.’
Chen chortled as he watched the President struggle to explain why he would ever be involved with a mercenary group. Kyungsoo looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh, and Tao smirked knowingly from his seat beside the President. Chanyeol had a reminiscent grin on his face, and Baekhyun was looking at the President curiously.
‘You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?’ asked Junmyeon with a resigned expression on his face.
‘Nope,’ answered Chen with a Cheshire grin on his face.
‘Was that the time you were wearing –‘ Yixing started asking only to be cut off quickly by the President.
‘That will be all, Yixing. I’m sure nobody is interested in that matter when we’ve got more important ones to discuss,’ he said in a commanding tone, which was somewhat ruined by the fact that his face had gone completely red.
‘If you say so,’ said Chen smirking.
‘Anyway,’ said Junmyeon sharply, ‘as I was saying, we’ve got a lot of resources. Don’t count us out so easily.’
Jongin sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
‘I guess you don’t know – very few people do. Wu Yifan has the E.X.O gene. He can turn,’ said Jongin quietly.
‘I had heard rumours,’ said Junmyeon carefully.
‘They’re true,’ confirmed Jongin looking grim.
‘But he’s still just one man. You’ve said the other prisoners won’t fight beside him, so it’s only him that has special abilities, while there is seven of us – eight if we count you. I’d say the odds are definitely in our favour,’ countered Kyungsoo with a frown.
‘The problem isn’t in numbers. The problem is in Yifan’s ability,’ said Jongin looking slightly sick.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Kyungsoo slowly.
‘It’s not possible! It can’t be!’ exclaimed Junmyeon suddenly, his face contorted in an expression of utter dread.
Jongin looked at him pityingly.
‘What is it?’ asked Tao curiously.
‘Wu Yifan can turn into a dragon,’ said Jongin wearily.
You could have heard a needle drop, it was that quiet for a moment, and then the room erupted.
Junmyeon closed his eyes like his worst fears had just become a reality. Both Chen and Baekhyun had jumped to their feet and were expressing their opinions - quite loudly - while Chanyeol was trying to talk over the both of them. Yixing looked so spaced out, I wondered if he had even heard what Jongin had just said. Kyungsoo was talking fast into Junmyeon’s ear, and Tao…Tao was choking on his water. Eventually, Yixing reached over and thumped him on the back helpfully.
I was sitting there in shock. He could turn into a…into a what!?
I looked up to see Jongin staring at me, but as soon as we made eye contact he looked away. I swallowed my frustration, and concentrated on Junmyeon who was presently quieting the room down.
‘Okay, I understand that this is not exactly…ideal (Chen snorted at that), but I’m still determined to go ahead with our plans. If we run from this now, we’ll be running for the rest of our lives,’ said Junmyeon with a hard glint in his eyes. ‘Obviously, we’ll have to rethink some of our strategies, but I think we’ve still got a good chance. Now, if any of you, don’t want to be involved in this operation any longer, I completely understand.’
He looked down in silence, patiently waiting for the others to back out.
‘Are you kidding!?’ exclaimed Chen suddenly. ‘I’ve always wanted to see a real life dragon.’
‘Hear, hear!’ said Chanyeol high fiving Chen.
‘As long as Tao’s not driving,’ muttered Baekhyun.
‘Hey! My driving is fabulous,’ said Tao with a superior look, then he flicked his bangs to the side and added, ‘like me.’
Baekhyun made a gagging noise which earned him a kick in the shin from Tao under the table. Yixing was smiling at the boys, his dimple peeking out cheekily.
‘Well, I have to keep this rowdy lot in line,’ said Kyungsoo, cocking an eyebrow at President Junmyeon. ‘Unless, of course, you want the city burned down to the ground, and our existence all over the seven o’clock news?’
Junmyeon laughed softly and shook his head. He looked around the table with a smile.
‘Good! Now, that that is sorted, we can move on with our plans.’
‘You guys are insane,’ said Jongin, but there was a reluctant look of respect on his face.
‘That pretty much sums us up,’ agreed Chen.
‘Let’s not forget that we’ve also got a mythical creature on our side,’ said Chanyeol happily.
‘That’s true,’ said the President smiling in Yixing’s direction.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked warily, at this point half expecting someone to suddenly morph into a three headed dog.
Even Jongin looked intrigued as he stared at Yixing.
‘Yixing, maybe you can show them,’ suggested Junmyeon.
‘Sure,’ shrugged Yixing uncaringly.
Almost immediately his body started changing, and then there was a flash of blinding light. I blinked at the creature that was now in Yixing’s place, and my jaw dropped.
‘Is that a…?’
‘Yes, he’s a phoenix,’ Junmyeon answered my unfinished question.
He was a lot larger than any normal bird had the right to be. And his feathers were all molten gold and fiery red, his majestic tail cascaded behind him like a trail of fire.
He spread his wings, and I gasped in awe, it looked like they had been kissed by the sun itself.
A beautiful melodic sound floated around the room and I realized he was singing. A sense of calm washed over me and all of a sudden I felt incredibly happy.
‘No way,’ I breathed out.
I looked at Jongin, and I could tell he was just as transfixed by it as I was.
Yixing spread his wings again but this time he took flight, gliding around the room gracefully and landing on the table directly in front of me.
His black pupils were slits that were ringed by a silver iris that seemed to glow with an inner light.
I couldn’t help it I reached out my hand and stroked his head gently. He closed his eyes and leaned his head into my palm, emitting another melodic note.
‘A Phoenix might not be as physically strong as a dragon, but it’s got powers that a dragon can never possess,’ said the President with a note of pride in his voice. ‘Yixing possesses incredible healing powers, and his song can make even the most tortured soul feel at peace. He only has that one form, unlike the others.’
‘Yifan only has one form too,’ said Jongin softly.
Yixing flew back to his seat and turned back to his original form, which was stark naked. I choked and turned my face away blushing, so he could put his clothes back on.
‘Yixing, maybe warn the lady before you turn back next time,’ said Junmyeon shooting me an apologetic look.
‘Yeah, Lay! Casey, doesn’t want to see your scrawny ass,’ said Baekhyun mildly then he turned to me with a smirk, ‘Are you actually blushing, Cas? Maybe I should turn too.’
‘I’ve seen your scrawny ass before, so excuse me if I don’t look too overwhelmed,’ I scoffed, throwing a napkin at his face.
Everyone turned to stare at me. Jongin’s jaw tightened considerably as he glared down at his plate. Baekhyun started laughing, and at the same time I realised how my words had sounded.
‘Oh, c’mon! You guys know that is totally not what I meant,’ I groaned.
‘I thought you meant that you’d seen Bacon’s booty,’ said Chen with a grin.
I glared at both Chen and Baekhyun – who was still laughing.
‘We grew up together, so yeah, sometimes we’d go swimming in the river and we didn’t have swim suits, okay? We were only kids,’ I said refusing to blush over something so innocent.
‘So, you went skinny dipping?’ asked Chen sniggering.
‘BAEKHYUN STOP LAUGHING!’ I burst angrily at him, which only made him laugh harder.
‘Honestly, you are so immature,’ I said with as much dignity as I could, and decided to ignore them.
Shortly afterwards, Jongin excused himself from the table. I frowned after him, and decided that I was going to talk to him before I went to bed.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I sighed as I walked to my room, feeling irritated that I hadn’t been able to find Jongin. I just wanted to know why he had been so off with me all day. My heart felt heavy at the thought of going to sleep while knowing Jongin was still angry at me.
I closed the door behind me and turned the light switch on.
Suddenly, I was spun around roughly, and my back slammed against the wall as my breath left me in a loud gasp. I stared up at Jongin in surprise as he towered over me.
‘W-what’s wrong?’ I stuttered.
He was silent as he leaned forward until his face was mere inches away from mine. My heart thundered in my chest, and my eyes fluttered as his lips came within a hair’s breadth of mine. Suddenly, Jongin slammed his hand on the wall next to my head, startling me. Then he pulled away and stalked out of the room.
I stood there for a second in shock before a wave of anger come over me.
I ran out of the room and caught him half way down the corridor. I grabbed his arm and forced him to stop.
‘What’s your problem?’ I asked him angrily.
He glared at me then looked away silently.
‘You’re going to ignore me now, are you?’ I snapped at him.
He didn’t say anything.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself down a bit.
‘Are you even going to bother telling me what I did?’
He thrust his hands into his pockets and threw me a mulish look.
‘I don’t like that guy.’
‘Junmyeon? Why not? He’s done nothing but try to help us,’ I said with a frown.
‘Not him. He’s okay – I guess,’ muttered Jongin.
I looked at him in confusion.
‘Who are you…wait a minute! Are you on about Baekhyun?’ I asked in disbelief.
His jaw clenched and he looked away.
‘He’s my best friend, Jongin. And he’s one of the best people I know. What did he ever do to you?’ I asked angrily.
‘A lot! He’s done a lot!’ snapped Jongin just as angrily.
‘You’re being ridiculous!’ I scoffed at him. ‘In fact, if I remember correctly, you’re the one who bit him for no apparent reason, and Baek, in case you’ve forgotten, saved you from getting dragged back to Lord whats-his-name McDragon.’
‘Yes, he saved me. And I hate it! I hate it that I owe him. But most of all I hate that I can’t compete against him,’ he spat out.
‘Compete? What are you talking about?’
‘I’m talking about you,’ he said quietly.
He turned on his heels and walked away. I stood rooted to the ground in shock and watched him go.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It had been a week since my argument with Jongin, and I still hadn’t managed to sort things out with him. Mostly because I hardly ever saw him.
He was always either out on missions or trying to find his other friend that had also escaped – I think his name was Minseok.
But besides being busy, he also seemed to be avoiding me like the plague. It was driving me crazy.
I felt utterly useless in this whole Yifan business, so as a result I had thrown all my energy, and frustrations, into training.
I had shown a promising aptitude for hand-to-hand combat – or at least, that’s what Tao had said two day ago – unfortunately my shooting skills were still pretty laughable.
Yixing was teaching me about explosives – which usually had me breaking out into a cold sweat –, Kyungsoo had me running laps around the property and doing all sorts of crazy core exercises which apparently would help toughen me up for physical combat. Baekhyun helped me train whenever he could, and even Chen had taken it upon himself to teach me how to fight with a knife.
At the moment I was in the training room with Tao. He was teaching me a few basic martial art techniques. He’d taught me a few vital points of the human body that I could knee, elbow or kick, which could effectively deter an attacker.
Presently, he had me in a vise like grip from behind that I was supposed to break using a technique he’d just taught me. So far…not so good.
Finally I managed to get my hands in position but I just couldn’t break his hold. He let me go.
‘I think you’re still too weak for this one. You have to build more muscle,’ he flexed his arm, giving me a glimpse of his muscular bicep.
‘But just remember, if all else fails, a good old eye gouge or a sturdy head butt will always get the job done,’ said Tao with a wink.
‘Thanks for the advice, but how am I supposed to do that if you’re holding me from behind,’ I asked him sceptically.
‘Well spotted,’ he commented. ‘I’ve got a good trick for that.’
He got me back in position.
‘Now you just side step, and swing your fist backwards towards the crotch area as hard as you can. That should get him to release you – unless he’s a eunuch,’ he said lifting his brows and giving me a side long glance.
‘That would be awkward,’ I muttered.
He let out a loud laugh, and clapped me on the back.
‘Okay, now let’s practice your kick-‘
He was interrupted by the sight of a golden retriever and a beagle shooting across the practice room, barking excitedly. They started play fighting. The retriever got the upper hand on the beagle, and was holding him down submissively by the scruff of the neck, when a falcon swooped in and landed on his back. He started going around in circles trying to shake of the falcon, who only leaned over and nipped him on the tail with his beak.
I watched this sequence of events with no small amount of surprise, and alarm, only to notice that Tao not only looked unsurprised, but was smirking at the whole thing.
Suddenly the retriever started changing, and turned into a massive wolf. Its coat shone with a million different shades of brown and red. It was beautiful.
It shook the falcon off its back, baring its teeth warningly. The falcon flew up to land on the rafters, at the same time the beagle had also started turning. I watched in amazement as it morphed into a majestic grizzly bear.
I knew this could only be Chanyeol’s animal form, but I still couldn’t help taking a couple of steps backwards.
The wolf was circling the bear, when a movement from overhead caught my eye. I looked up and gasped at the cheetah that was currently prowling the spot the falcon had previously occupied. It crouched down and then pounced, landing on the bear, who lost its balance and went crashing into a couple of treadmills.
The wolf jumped into the fray and tackled the cheetah. The two of them went rolling across the room and straight into a cross trainer. It crashed to the ground loudly.
They were scuffling about when the bear – or Chanyeol, if you prefer - jumped on them. The cheetah managed to scramble away just in time, but the wolf only had time to let out a loud whine before it was promptly squashed under the bear – I could almost imagine Chanyeol grinning maniacally as he doggy piled his friend, who I was starting to suspect was Baekhyun.
The falcon/cheetah had to be Chen, I mean, they had said he was the fastest so that would make the most sense for him.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!?’ said a voice disbelievingly.
I looked around and saw Kyungsoo standing in the doorway looking absolutely furious.
‘They’re so dead,’ said Tao gleefully.
‘How many times do I have to tell those mongrels – not in the bloody practice room!’ ranted Kyungsoo striding into the gym angrily. ‘Do they have any idea how much this stuff costs?’
He stopped next to us, ‘Should we teach them a lesson, Tao?’
‘Ready when you are,’ said Tao with a wild grin.
Kyungsoo smirked before breaking out into a sprint, Tao just behind him, and then he turned mid sprint. His clothes tore away from his body as a sleek black panther took form. Tao turned much the same way, except his form was a tiger.
I watched as the “fight” became progressively more brutal. The cheetah was quick to turn back to a falcon and fly up into the rafters – which made me suspect that that was indeed Chen, and that the wolf was Baekhyn.
I wondered if Kyungsoo even realised that the amount of damage the others had inflicted on the room before, was nothing compared to the destruction that was now taking place.
Chanyeol rolled in his bear form and missed the gun rack by an inch. I guess that was my cue to leave - before I became collateral damage.
I decided to go to the kitchen and snack on something. On the way there I ran into Junmyeon.
‘Casey, how are you?’
‘I’m good, thanks,’ I answered with a smile.
‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen Kyungsoo or Chen anywhere, have you?’ he asked with a sheepish look on his face.
‘Er, well, I did briefly see Kyungsoo,’ I stuttered, wondering how he’d react if I told him that his special elite force was currently demolishing his expensive training room.
And to be fair I had only very briefly seen Kyungsoo before he’d morphed into a panther.
‘Really? Where? I really need to talk to him.’
‘He was…sorting something out in the training room,’ I answered carefully.
‘Great! Thank you,’ he said as he started to turn away.
‘I think…maybe you shouldn’t go there - just yet,’ I suggested feeling a rising sense of alarm.
Junmyeon looked at me quizzically, but just then the faint sound of something incredibly heavy – and possible made of glass – breaking, reached us.
Junmyeon turned his head in the direction of the noise and let out a sigh.
‘For heaven’s sake! It’s the second time this month,’ he said looking exasperated. ‘Oh, well, guess I’ll go find Yixing, they’re probably going to need him.’
I gave him a sympathetic look before he walked off. He didn’t even seem angry that they were wrecking his place, but more worried about the fact that they might have hurt themselves.
I was almost reaching the kitchen when I rounded a corner and crashed into something hard. I bounced off it, and would have landed hard on the ground if a pair of strong arms hadn’t caught me.
‘Jongin!’ I said in surprise, feeling incredibly happy to see him.
I hadn’t realised just how much I had actually missed him. He didn’t seem to share the feeling as he quickly let go of me.
‘You alright?’ he asked.
‘Yeah. Wait!’ I cried as he turned to leave.
‘What is it?’ he said looking tired.
‘I’ve been trying to talk to you, but you’ve been ignoring me. Are you still angry at me?’ I asked him.
He rubbed his face and looked away.
‘I’m not angry at you, Casey. It’s just hard to face you after I made such an ass of myself.’
‘What…what you said last time, what exactly did you mean?’ I asked feeling my heart beat quicken.
He thrust his hands into his pockets and looked at me with an expressionless face.
‘I think it’s pretty obvious. You know what? Let’s just forget I ever said anything,’ he said as he turned and started walking away.
‘What if I don’t want to forget?’ I asked him.
Jongin stopped and turned to face me slowly. He stared at me.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked carefully.
My heartbeat quickened as I thought about what I was about to do. I walked until I was standing directly in front of him.
‘I mean that, if you like me, then I don’t want to forget,’ I said softly.
I leaned forward and placed my lips gently on his. I pulled back and smiled hesitantly at him. He stared back at me in shock, his eyes wide.
‘Aren’t you…going to say anything?’ I asked nervously because he wasn’t responding in the way I had hoped.
He just kept staring at me.
‘Okay, maybe we can talk another time after all. I’ll, er, go,’ I said awkwardly, feeling my face burn embarrassingly.
Maybe I had completely misread his feelings.
I hadn’t taken two steps before I felt a hand grab my arm and spin me around. I landed against his chest, and before I could do anything else, he grabbed my face and his lips crashed against mine.
We stumbled backwards until my back hit the wall. His kiss was hard and urgent at first, but then slowly became gentler.
I just wanted to drown in this moment forever. My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest, and my knees felt weak.
His thumb caressed my cheek, and his lips parted from mine as he rested his forehead against mine.
‘I guess, what I was trying to say, is that I like you,’ I whispered breathlessly.
He laughed silently and said, ‘I think I got that.’
‘Smartass!’ I muttered punching his arm playfully.
He smiled then leaned down and kissed me again, and once again I was drowning.

Notes