CHAPTER THREE

I slowly opened my eyes. My body ached in a way that I had never experienced before.

It took several long moments for me to remember that I was in the body of a cat. It hadn't been a dream or a terrible nightmare.

I whimpered, buying my face into the soft fluff.

"Meow?"

I peeked out to find a larger, white cat staring at me with large blue eyes.

"Do you understand me?" I asked. I had tried talking to other stray cats before, but none of them could understand me. This one was no different.

"Meow?" She tilted her head.

Speaking of…

Where was I?

I was definitely not in that filthy alley anymore.

It appeared as if I was in a large, fancy room. It looked very expensive. How did this happen? Was it a hotel room?

Slowly, I got up, wincing as pain cut through my body.

"Meow!" The other cat gently nudged me, laying her head down. "Meow…"

Did she want me to lie back down? I really wanted to know where I was, but with how much my body hurt, it was probably for the best. I could explore tomorrow.

I closed my eyes, willing for the pain to go away, but it was difficult. The pulsing agony only grew worse as time passed. I tried to shift around for a better position, but nothing helped.

"Kitten?" a smooth, deep voice roused me from my daze. 'You're in pain, aren't you? Poor thing…"

A small syringe was placed into my mouth. The taste was strange. It was sweet and bitter, but also disgustingly grainy. What was this?! Why was he giving me something so vile?

I tried to push it away with both my tongue and my paws, but large hands held me still.

"It's alright. This will make you feel better. You will get better faster if you drink it all like a well-behaved kitten."

Once I was finally done, I opened my eyes to look at the man who was taking care of me. 'Mew…" Who was he? Why did he take me in?

"Good, kitten." He had a soft smile on his face as he placed the disgusting syringe into a porcelain bowl.

He was very handsome. His dark hair messily framed his regal face. His grey eyes seemed to pierce through me. Did he see a woman at all or was I only a fluffy animal?

"I have a carefully planned routine for Elizabeth the 3rd. I will show you everything slowly when you are feeling better." He gently gathered me into his arms. His body was warm. I instinctively rubbed my cheek against his chest, stopping only when a deep rumble caught my ears.

He was chuckling. "You're an affectionate thing, aren't you?"

"Mew…" I wish he could understand me. That would make this all much easier.

Did cats understand each other like humans did? Right now, it felt as if I was caught between two worlds because neither cat nor human seemed to understand me.

Life was so unfair.

"Since you need constant monitoring for the next couple of days, I will take you to work with me, but you have to behave yourself," he told me as he set me back down to get dressed.

I quickly turned around, feeling my heart flutter. Even though I was a cat right now, I was still mentally a human woman. I couldn't possibly peek on him.

"I will only feed you with the finest, most nutritious food," he stated, placing a small bowl down beside Elizabeth's beautiful, crystal one. Mine was a more simple, sleep black with a silver paw print on the side.

Hesitantly, I gave it a cautious sniff. It didn't smell terrible, so I gave it a tentative lick.

Acceptable.

Perhaps my taste buds had changed as well to adapt to this because I was certain I heard cat food tasted awful or maybe this was the brand that he purchased.

Once I was done, I walked up to him, blinking with wide curious eyes.

He smiled fondly back at me. "Time to go. I am sure I have even more paperwork to do today." He picked me up in his arms before crouching down to hug Elizabeth as well.

"Meow!" She happily snuggled against him.

"I'll be back soon. I'll miss you very much," he sighed, reluctantly separating from Elizabeth.

He turned to me. "Do you want to go back into the carrier or will you be good?"

"Mew!" I rubbed my cheek against his and even gave him a small lick. His face was a little salty, but not unpleasant. About the same as licking your own skin.

I was hoping the added affection would keep him from putting me back into the carrier. It was cramped and uncomfortable.

He smiled. "Good girl…"

As promised, I obediently curled up in his lap as his driver took us to a tall office building. When we exited the car, I realised that this was the place right by my alley.

I leapt down from his arm to take a peek at the dreary place, but noticed that it had been cleaned up with side lights to illuminate the space.

Had he done this?

"You won't have to go back there anymore. I didn't take you here to abandon you," he assured me, lifting me back into his arms. "I promise that if you stay by my side, you will never have to suffer ever again. I will take care of you forever."

That sounded pretty nice. I wanted to become human again, but if this was the only way, then I'd be content with having a considerate owner. As a cat, what more could I possibly ask for?

He took me inside and up the elevator.

"Mr Han" A short-haired brunette greeted him as he walked in.

"Assistant Kang," he greeted back before entering his office. It was exceptionally tidy, except for the large stack of papers on his desk.

Curiously, I kept on to the table to take a peek.

They were all contracts and stats – things that I didn't understand at all.

Who was Jumin Han?

He worked on the top floor of C&R and he lived in a beautiful penthouse. He had to be someone powerful.

"Here." He relocated me on to the couch that was against the wall. "I'll have to finish all of this before noon, so I'll need you to stay here for a while. At twelve, I will give you your medication gain and some food. I wish I could spend more time getting to know you, but that will have to happen later." He sounded rather disappointed.

Not wanting to upset him further, I entertained myself by looking at everything in the room. The view from down here was very interesting. The world was much more exciting. There was much more to look at.

When I tired myself out and my body began to ache, I tried to jump back on to the couch, but found myself too small to reach the top by myself.

"Mew…" I ended up curling by the foot of it.

A soft chuckle caught my attention. It wasn't long before I was placed back on the smooth leather.

"mew!" I beamed at him, nudging his hand with gratitude.

He rubbed the top of my head and began to scratch behind my eras. I didn't know anything could feel so good…

My eyes closed and I was able to feel something in my chest.

Was I purring?

"Mew… Mew...!" I batted his hand, until he stopped.

He went back to his desk and worked until precisely twelve in the afternoon.

From a mini fridge by the couch, he retrieved a pre-filled oral syringe identical to the one from this morning.

"Open up," he urged, nudging my lips open. "When you're done, I'll give you your lunch."

I wiggled about, trying my best to avoid the disgusting liquid, but he lightly pulled my jaw down and dispensed everything at once.

Scrunching up my face, I continued to squirm and paw my face.

Yuck!

By the time I settled down, he already had food ready for me. I quickly ate it up to get rid of the taste.

Once I was full, I plopped on to the floor, spreading out like a flying squirrel.

I looked over to Jumin who had gone to work, again. Wasn't he going to eat? It was lunch time!

I waited another hour before walking over to him and pawed at his pants. He needed to eat. His meagre breakfast at four in the morning was not enough to sufficiently last him this long.

"Mew!" I nibbled at the hem, until he picked me up.

A frown marred his handsome face. "What is it? Didn't I tell you to be good? I have a lot of work to finish up here."

I looked at him with wide eyes, willing him to understand what I wanted to say to him.

This workaholic…

I playfully nipped his fingertip.

"What do you need?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Mew…" I reached a paw at him, batting it around until he brought me closer to his face. I gently tapped his lips.

"Hmm… You want me to eat?" he mused with a small smile on his face.

"Mew!" I happily bobbed my head, kicking my legs in excitement as he guessed it right.

He sighed. "There's no time for that, but… perhaps you are right. A bit of food may increase my productivity."

"Mew!"

He picked up his phone. "Assistant Kang?" He told her his order and she promptly had it delivered to him within ten minutes.

For a moment, she stood at the doorway, looking rather perplexedly at him.

I blinked from my position on his shoulder, my tail wrapped cosily around the back of his neck.

Shaking her head, she turned around without asking anything, and quietly shut the door behind her.

While Jumin ate, he had his phone out. I took a peek to see him conversing in an interesting looking chat room.

[Dropping Out]

Yoosung: it's over for me!

if I fail this test

i'm done for!

ZEN has entered the chatroom.

ZEN: You just need to stop playing that game

Or you'll be stupid

And single forever

Yoosung: u're right

i need to quit right now

ZEN: How many times have you already said that?

You need to commit

Unlike me

You can have a girlfriend without worrying what your fans would think

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

Jumin Han: Study hard.

Once you succeed, you can play as much as you want.

Yoosung: u're right!

i can play during my breaks!

but…

they have a new event coming out

if I don't join, I'll fall behind!

ZEN: Then I guess your future will be failure

Yoosung: NOOOO

!

oh Jumin…

what happened yesterday?

u left without explaining anything

Jumin Han: I found an injured kitten and had to take her to the hospital.

I needed Assistant Kang to take care of Elizabeth the 3rd in the mean time, but it wasn't needed in the end.

The kitten just need some time to recover, now.

She'll be fine.

ZEN: I'm glad the cat is okay

But can we change the subject?

My nose is itching just thinking about those furballs!

I scrunched up my nose at the clear dislike this ZEN had for felines. How could just talking about them trigger his allergies? That's not how it worked! He had a clear bias against them and it wasn't fair!

Click!

I tilted my head in surprise as Jumin suddenly took a photo of me with his phone.

Jumin Han: [photo of MC kitten]

Yoosung: she's so cute!

just looking at her makes me happier

alright!

i will go study now

wish me luck

ZEN: Good luck.

Yoosung has left the chatroom.

ZEN: Stop sending cat pictures on here!

Jumin Han: Why?

They are majestic creatures and should be worshipped.

I shall share them with everyone.

ZEN has left the chatroom.

Jumin Han: How unfortunate that there will always be people who will not appreciate them.

I shall depart with one last gift.

[photo of MC kitten]

Jumin Han has left the chatroom.

He put his phone down and began to scratch the back of my eras. I began to purr and rub my head against his hand.

"Just a few more hours, kitten. Then, we can return home," he informed me with a gentle smile.

He tossed away the remainder of his food and began to diligently work, once more.

The few hours he spoke of became eight. The sun had long since gone down and he had even fed me my third dose of medication already.

I had slept most of the day way. It wasn't actually so bad living as a cat. I had no responsibilities, but sometimes, it was a little lonely because no one could understand me and there were a lot of things I wish I could do that I couldn't anymore.

By the time we left the office, everyone had already gone home. Only sprinklings of security were left in the building.

I gave his lips a quick tap once we were in the car and I was once again settled on his shoulder.

"I guess it's time for dinner…" he mumbled. 'Thank you for reminding me. I will have the chef prepare something for when I am home."

Chef?

He had a chef?

Why was I not even surprised? But if that was the case, he should've remembered to eat regularly!

"Elizabeth the 3rd…"

He set me down to cradle the larger cat who was enjoying the attention he was giving her.

I left them to follow my nose to the dining table. There were two closhes and a bottle of expensive wine set out. It looked so fancy – something I had only seen in movies and television shows.

Wow…

Not only that, the chef came and left so quickly. It was as if the food came by magic! Actually, I wouldn't even be surprised if that was the case anymore.

I circled around a table left, wishing that I could see what had been prepared. Being so small really had its disadvantages! How could I satiate my curiosity when I couldn't reach anything?

"Meow…" Elizabeth walked up to me and gave my face a tender lick. "Meow."

I huffed, plopping on to the floor.

Elizabeth nudged me with her light pink nose towards the food bowls that Jumin had filled up.

"Mew!" I followed her and obediently finished my food. It was okay, but this wasn't the same as sitting up there with a knife and fork. I'd even settle for plastic utensils if it meant eating like I did before!

Once I was done, Elizabeth began to lick me again.

I tried to squirm away, but she put a paw on my head to keep me still.

"You'll be a good older sister, Elizabeth." Jumin smiled at the two of us as Elizabeth continued to groom me.

I whined, pathetically, but had no choice except to submit to the other feline's will.

Once she was done, she sauntered away with her tail swinging in the air behind her.

I would rather get a proper bath. That was so humiliating!

Feeling a little put out, I made my way to my bed and curled up.

I was so bored and I had saliva all over me…

Jumin was showering – something I really wanted to do – and Elizabeth had gone… somewhere…

I looked around and spotted something that could keep me entertained. IT was on the nightstand, so it could be a bit of a challenge, but I was determined.

After a few tries, I managed to stand on my back legs and tug the first draw open all the way. With a big of difficulty, I climbed on to it.

Ah… His silk shirts…

I hoped that my claws didn't damage any of them. They looked very expensive – nothing I could replace if I was ever to turn human again.

Shaking my head, I dismissed the useless thoughts. It was his fault for not keeping me entertained!

I stood on my feet once more, teetering from the lack of balance, and began to tug the top drawer until it was half opened.

Just those simple actions were exhausting. I was so pathetic right now.

Tears of frustration began to well up in my eyes, so I quickly wiped them away. There was no use for self-pity! I might end up living like a cat for the rest of my life, so I better get used to this!

With a deep breath, I pulled myself up with shaky arms.

I was so close!

Once I was on the top counter, I pounced on the black remote and positioned it towards the large, flat-screened TV.

Predictably, the channel was on the stock market.

How boring…

I changed it to cartoons and contently watched the animated characters fight each other.

"Hmm?" Jumin walked in right as it was getting interesting. "Did I leave it on…?"

He spotted me looking innocently back at him with a paw still on the remove and my tail swinging happily in the air.

"Mew!"

He had a surprised expression on his normally stoic face and walked over to me. 'Were you the one who turned it on?"

"Mew." Had I made a mistake? What if I scared him away and he wouldn't want me anymore? Or worse… What if he had scientists dissect me?! I let out a whimper and covered my eyes with my paws.

Already, I felt attached to him and Elizabeth.

"Why do you look so frightened?" he mumbled, hand falling on to the top of my head. It was so large and his fingers were to long… It almost felt as if he was engulfing my brain. That was a very strange thought.

I slowly uncovered one eye to peek at him. His hair was still damp from his shoulder. He looked very handsome.

"Kitten?"

My eyes widened when I realised where my mind had gone and quickly covered my eyes one more in an attempt to rid myself of the image.

Oh, no…

"Kitten, I'm not angry." He picked me up into his arms. "Just… amazed. I have never seen cats do what you've done. There is something very humane about you that baffle me."

"Mew…"

"If I could understand you, I wonder what you would be saying to me." Absentmindedly, he began to stroke my back, being careful not to irritate my wounds.

He sat on the bed and after placing me on his shoulder, he went on that strange messenger app.