Chapter 1 (1/1)
*Attention: You do not necessarily have to read this, although it will help you understand the next chapters more and it gives more background! Either way, read on my lovely subbies <3 Junhong, Age 4 Junhong tugged at the hat on his head in annoyance. The hat felt restricting and it made him feel a little skittish. He wasn’t sure why he had to wear it, but his parents were adamant on him wearing it every time they left the house. Junhong let out a small sigh as he stood behind his mother, absent mindedly playing with the end of her scarf. He squealed when he was suddenly lifted up into the air, encircled by strong arms. Seunghyun chuckled as he perched Junhong on his hip, the small boy grinning in delight. Junhong looked around the room that smelled like wilting flowers. There were chairs in rows in the middle of the room and against the wall. Pictures of trees and flowers hung on the pastel blue walls and plastic plants were set in the corners of the room. Junhong caught sight of the short table with building blocks, children’s books, and toys on it and patted his father on the shoulder, pointing at it. “Use your words, Junhong.” His father said with a slight smile. “I want to play!” Junhong wiggle in his father’s hold, wanting to be set down. His father complied and set him down, watching as his son ran to the table and started to play with the blocks. Seunghyun walked over to where his wife was sitting, taking a seat next to her. Three years ago he had been wary of taking care of the unusual child, but within two weeks of caring for the child, he realized he had come to love him. He smiled as he remembered the first month they had taken the child home. The memory was a whirl of rushing off to buy things for the baby and converting the guest bedroom into a nursery. He couldn’t have resisted Ji Young about the child on anything, even if he tried. They had found out in their first year of marriage that she couldn’t have children and knowing this, he knew this was what would make her happy, regardless of how unusual the child was. Seunghyun looked up at the sound of a door being opened to see a nurse step out. “Choi Junhong.” Ji Young and Seunghyun stood up, Ji Young making her way toward Junhong to pick him up. The child whined in protest as he was carried into a hallway through the door. They passed a few doors before the nurse slowed and opened one of the doors. She held the door open for the family with a soft smile. “Dr. Kim will be with you in a minute.” The nurse stepped out and closed the door, leaving the three alone. Ji Young set Junhong down on the examination chair, the paper crinkling under the small child’s weight. “Umma.” Junhong whined, pulling at his hat. “Junhong, no,” she nudged his small hands away and righted his hat, tucking in his red hair, “You know you can’t take it off yet.” She said, placing a small kiss on Junhong’s forehead, making the toddler giggle. He always hated wearing the hat, but they couldn’t risk anyone seeing Junhong. It wasn’t out of shame, but out of fear. Fear for Junhong. Luckily, as the child had grown the fur that had covered most of his body had receded, disappearing almost completely. The only visible signs now are just his tail, which is usually tucked into a pants leg, and his ears that can be easily cover with a hat, along with his striking red hair. Ji Young rubbed Junhong’s back in soothing circles as a knock sounded on the door. Seunghyun called out a quick, “Come in.” A male who looked to be in his late twenties in a white lab coat walked in, closing the door. Seunghyun smiled and clapped the doctor on the back. “Jaejoong. Thank you for this.” Jaejoong smiled and patted Seunghyun’s shoulder. “Anytime, Hyunnie.” “Just a check up?” Jaejoong asked, as he made his way over to Junhong. “Yes, but… Jaejoong, we haven’t been completely truthful…” Seunghyun casted his eyes down. Raising a brow, Jaejoong looked at his childhood friend over his shoulder. “Oh?” Ji Young spoke up. “We didn’t just find him… he has… unusual qualities about him.” Jaejoong chuckled and turned back. “Unusual? I’ve seen plenty of unusual things in my line of work.” Ji Young bit her lip as Jaejoong looked at her expectantly. She smiled at her son and tugged his hat off, the boy letting out a contented sigh, happy to have that confining hat off. Jaejoong’s eyes widened as he took in the bright red of the boy’s hair and nestled in the hair, were two big furry feline ears, perched atop the toddler’s head. Jaejoong stumbled backwards, mouth agape as he watched the ears swivel back and forth. Of course, in all his line of work he had never seen anything like this. Jaejoong’s eyes settled on the child’s face and he felt a calming feeling come over him by simply looking into the child’s eyes. He edged closer and stretched out his hand, feeling Junhong’s ears. He breathed out in amazement at how soft it was, not even realizing he had been holding his breath. “Jaejoong?” Worry colored Seunghyun’s voice. He hoped they hadn’t broken the doctor. The doctor jumped, snapping out of his slight trance. He cleared his throat. “Yeah… unusual.” He mumbled as he took the stethoscope from around his neck and went about checking the child’s breathing. Junhong squealed and giggled at the cold instrument as it touched his chest. “Take a deep breath for me, Junhong.” “Another… okay.” Jaejoong took off the stethoscope, wrapping it around his neck. Ten minutes later, the doctor stepped back, jotting a few things down on his clip board. He turned to the anxious parents and smiled. “Forgoing his special attributes, he seems to be in good health. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. If anything arises, just give me a call.” Seunghyun pulled Jaejoong into a tight hug, whispering thank you over and over again. The doctor patted him on the back. Seunghyun pulled back, glancing at his wife, a look of relief on both of