Work Text:
everyone at work knows wonwoo. or of him. or about him. they know he exists and wonwoo too, knows he exists. some, don't know his name. some know that the guy walking around with unruly short hair is wonwoo. the guy that constantly brushes down his hair has a soul. it's his soul. wonwoo likes to think he protects his soul.
he protects him the way that he kind of, maintains it. maybe, maintains it is a weird word. but a couple of years back, wonwoo adopted a cat. a little friend. he moved to taiwan previously for a job opportunity and for the need to escape all the things he doesn't want to face. eventually, without the presence of his brother's voice in his home or the acquaintances in his neighbourhood, he realised he needed a cat. just a little something that keeps him going. something that gets him out of his bed in the mornings.
it usually works. his cat which he named after his friend's nickname, lies on top of him in the mornings and gets heavier by the minute until wonwoo can't breathe and agrees to get up. then, his little cat is light on his feet and on his way to the kitchen for his food.
parts of taiwan reminds him of home. of working in seoul was a little different. there, when he was on his way home on the subway, he could hug his bag to his chest and eavesdrop to quiet conversations. in taiwan, the language barrier is a little more difficult. but it's no big deal, wonwoo finds comfort in the mystery of stranger's lives. he's only ever happy when someone has something going on.
wonwoo has his little friend. his little friend is named in his best friend's memory and it gives him a few more years with his best friend that's no longer here.
leaving his home country was the right thing to do. even if his phone is quieter here, even if he uses his voice to simply talk to his cat. he doesn't need more. he doesn't really feel like he needs more. sure, he could use more but he finds comfort in reading his books, in practising his mandarin and going on walks. sometimes, he takes his little friend on a walk. the highlight of his day is always coming home to his cat.
when he first got his little friend, he looked at the orange cat and gently rubbed its cheek while it purred with affection.
"you remind me of my friend," wonwoo had said. it was just a quiet little whisper for him and the cat to hear while they stood there in the shelter. the attendant had left him to greet the cats on his own. the orange cat found him easily when others were disinterested.
"his name is zhi," the attendant had said when she found him ten minutes later. "it means he thinks he's a lion, he's got a big personality." she said with a gentle smile. wonwoo couldn’t stop thinking about his beloved soonyoung.
"of course," he said. his memories bring him back to the cold hospital room. the typical white painted walls. so bright, yet so dull. there were drawings on the wall from soonyoung's students. his students were just kids. they have grown up now, wonwoo's sure. wonwoo doesn't know. so many of the drawings were tigers. some kids really knew how to draw, some drew an orange cloud and added stripes and called it a day.
soonyoung treated every drawing like it was a masterpiece. wonwoo watched him go through the drawings time after time. after a while he stopped getting drawings but soonyoung still went through them.
"i love tigers, they know that," soonyoung would say with a wide smile. "look," wonwoo had to tear his gaze away from the iv tucked into soonyoung's arm and he looked at the drawing he was holding up. "isn't it pretty?" he had asked with a wide smile. back then, wonwoo had to force himself to ignore the way his collarbones protrude or the way his cheeks looked hollow.
"it's really pretty," wonwoo would always say whenever he held out a new drawing. the i will miss you on the paper doesn't go unnoticed.
every time wonwoo had to go home, he left soonyoung with a kiss to his temple. he would rise from his chair, walk step closer to the bed and cup his cheek with one hand so he could give him a kiss. without fault, soonyoung's frail hand found its way around his wrist. he could always feel the smile on soonyoung's face as he held his cheek in his palm.
"i'll be back tomorrow," wonwoo always told him until soonyoung no longer had any tomorrows. until he was left with his own tomorrow.
when he sat there in the shelter with the orange cat that made its way onto his lap, he knew he couldn't leave without him. the orange tabby cat. a small orange cloud with stripes. a small tiger, curled up on his lap with its paws playing with the string on his hoodie.
"i would like to adopt zhi," wonwoo said. the attendant looked at him and smiled. maybe she could sense he needed zhi.
wonwoo has left south korea. he took his stuff, his memories of soonyoung and took him to taiwan.
wonwoo always comes home around six pm. he opens the door, hears his little friend meowing upon his return and once the door is closed, he crouches down. wonwoo sits down on the floor and gently rubs the little cat's face while it meows again, continuing even as they sit together on the floor. in wonwoo's head, his little cat is telling him about his day. about the birds he saw from the window, about how he should change out his dry food to wet food, about how the shadows were extra playful today.
"i missed you too," wonwoo leans down and kisses the little cat's head.
when he gets up on his feet again, wonwoo has to smile. the cat is already down the hallway and waiting for him.
"hoshi, what did i say about being greedy about food," he says as he hangs up his coat. “the vet scolded me because you gained weight,” he said fondly.
all he gets in return is a meow from the kitchen. wonwoo smiles as he makes his way down.