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Na Jaemin, son of the blacksmith, was undeniably the most desired man in town.
His mother died when he was young but her beauty was renowned, and it remained written in his features. His kindness and natural talent for healing made him beloved throughout the land, and by the time he was of marrying age, the parents of all the eligible maidens traveled from all across the land to ask his hand for their daughter.
So many began to knock on his door, in fact, that all day, every day, a line was seen stretching down the street just to get a chance to speak with him. The people of the town never thought that much of it: Jaemin had always been an extroverted man, happy from even a young age to have company. They had assumed he had been basking in the attention, glad for the constant stream of visitors and presents, a promise that he was never lonely.
But one balmy spring morning, Na Jaemin had evidently had enough. He refused to open the door, the visitors and suitors piling up in his courtyard. They began by trying to ply him with sweet words, promises of gifts. They began to get more frustrated, their tone sharpening into frustration, then annoyance and then even anger. Fathers began banging on his door, mothers screaming up to his window.
Barely a week after this nonsense had begun, Jaemin stormed outside, into the sunlight, fury in his eyes, unable to take it anymore.
“Fine!” He said, his tone clipped and his brow furrowed. “If all you want from me is my hand in marriage, then I will gladly give it.”
“But to who?” A mother called from the back of the crowd.
Jaemin’s eyes flashed. “The first person to catch my cat and retrieve the key to my front door from around his neck may enter, and I will gladly go with them to marry their daughter. Until one of you has caught the cat in question -” Jaemin snarled and turned on his heel, retreating back to his doorway. “Do not bother me again.” And with that, he slammed his door shut, the sound echoing all the way down the main street of the small town, Jaemin’s last words echoing along with them.
The parents looked around in shock at one another and then scrambled away, desperately looking for the cat in question.
Jeno knew that cat: in fact, everyone in town knew that cat. It was friendly, often basking in the sun outside of his bakery or chasing mice through the town square, allowing all the children of the village to play with it.
Jeno couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jaemin. That cat would surely be caught in minutes: its temperament was trusting and amenable, and who knows the lengths those crazed suitors would go to catch it and have Jaemin’s hand.
Yet Jeno was proven wrong when all of summer had passed and the cat had not been caught. That’s not to say that the cat hadn’t been seen - it had been seen plenty. It still lounged in the sun outside Jeno’s bakery when there was no one else in sight, batting at the lazy summertime butterflies that flew around Jeno’s hydrangeas.
But whenever a suitor rounded the corner or an angry mother approached, the cat would slink away, slipping right through their fingers, never surrendering the key. Hordes of people chased the cat through every nook and cranny in town only for the cat to jump out of reach at the last moment, clearly scared to death by the angry yelling and the rough hands grasping desperately toward it every time it was seen.
Jeno felt bad for the cat. It was just a cat, it didn’t ask to be assaulted at every turn. To be fair though, neither had Jaemin, and Jeno could understand wanting peace and quiet in your own home.
Still, it was Jeno’s concern over the cat’s wellbeing that lead him to start leaving the door to the bakery propped just the slightest bit open, a bit of cat food behind the counter where it wouldn’t be seen, only smelt. A sort of quiet promise of safety.
Jeno let the cat see him through the window a few times. The first time, it had been ready to bolt, jumping just the the sight of Jeno approaching the window until Jeno hurriedly sat down.
“I’m not going to grab at you, pretty one,” he murmured at the cat through the glass. “Promise.”
The cat hesitated, flicking it’s tail back and forth, clearly untrusting. But ever so slowly, it lowered itself back down to lie in the sun, one eye still on Jeno. Jeno just smiled and stood up, going back to the counter to wait for more customers.
The second time, the cat didn’t bother to get up, but it kept an eye on Jeno the whole time as he swept the courtyard, humming a tune to himself under his breath. When he finished he gave the cat a little wave. The cat yawned in response. Jeno considered it to be a positive interaction.
The third time, the cat got closer, venturing inside and jumping up onto one of the bakery’s counters, the furthest possible from Jeno. Jeno just smiled at it, going about his day and getting ready to bake another batch of cupcakes. The cat had sat on the counter for a good half hour or so that time, flicking its tail, its eyes following Jeno around the kitchen as he prattled on, absentmindedly voicing his thoughts to the cat, who was an excellent listener.
The fourth time was a time of sheer necessity.
Jeno was wiping down the front counters when the cat came streaking in the door and behind the counter. Jeno dropped his rag, surprised, and hurried over to the door. He was getting ready to close it when a woman, her hair a mess of flyaways, ran up to him, out of breath.
“Excuse me, have you seen that damn cat? I’ll pay you well if you’ve seen him,” she said, eyes wild.
“Uh, sorry ma’am, which cat?” She blinked, shocked. She was only caught off guard for a moment before she huffily pulled herself upright, exclaiming,
“What do you mean, which cat? Na Jaemin’s cat of course! White with a black mask and black spot on his back?”
Jeno just shook his head, nearly trembling with anxiety as he thought of that same cat, cowering just out of sight behind them. “Sorry, no… I haven’t seen that cat around in ages since you lot have started chasing him to hell and high water,” Jeno lied through his teeth, voice calm but insides burning with annoyance on the cat’s (and maybe also Jaemin’s) behalf. “A shame too - it’s real sweet.” He shook his head, just adding to the act. “Anyways ma’am, I’m sorry, but I was just about to close for the day. We’re all sold out.”
This is a lie, Jeno had at least three more baguettes, two bagels and half a batch of lemon bars to sell but he wanted to get the lady out of there as soon as possible, even if it meant sacrificing some profit. Her lip curled in visible annoyance and she stepped backward, exhaling loudly.
“Fine,” she said, acerbic. “I’ll leave you to it.” She turned and walked away down the street, muttering under her breath about that damn Na Jaemin and his clever tricks.
Jeno breathed out, relieved, and closed and locked the bakery door. He hesitantly approached the counter, and when he went behind it, the cat was pressed up against some of his drawers, eyes wide and skittish. It nearly jumped a mile into the air when it saw Jeno, drawing back even more.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Jeno said soothingly, his hands already up in surrender as he kneeled down, closer to the cat’s own height. “She’s gone. I just came to tell you that you’re okay, you’re safe.”
Maybe the cat couldn’t understand Jeno’s words, but it seemed to relax at the sound of his voice, shifting the slightest bit away from the drawers in Jeno’s direction. One inch, then another, and soon the cat was winding itself around Jeno’s legs. Jeno smiled, and out of instinct, he’s put his hand on the cat’s head to pet it.
The cat froze. Jeno froze, and realized that while he felt the soft fur of the cat, he could also feel cool metal around the cat’s neck. The cat looked up at him, clearly nervous about being touched, but Jeno was nervous for an entirely different reason.
The key. If Jeno wanted, he could marry Na Jaemin tomorrow, no questions asked. He could have Na Jaemin on his arm, the cutest, smartest, most handsome and sought after man not just in the town, but the wider kingdom. All because a damn cat trusted him.
Not because of anything he had done for Na Jaemin, not because of any particular connection between them, but because of an angry woman who had driven the cat into Jeno’s arms by trying to take the one thing he had now in his grasp.
Besides, he had known Jaemin for years, passed him on the street, sold him bread form his bakery, sent one another christmas cards, traded hellos and holiday wishes as long as they’d been alive. And yeah, maybe they aren’t that close, but Jeno would feel bad for making Jaemin marry him when they’ve never even had a proper conversation.
So Jeno didn't take the key, just ran his fingers through the cat’s fur and sent him back home through the back entrance.
Summer turned to fall, fall to winter, and the cat was still not caught. Maybe it was at least partially thanks to Jeno’s constant offerings of shelter from the crowds and complicated schemes of the delusional parents who still thought that they might be the ones to catch Na Jaemin’s magical disappearing cat and his hand while they’re at it.
Jeno’s started selling hot chocolate in his bakery, and in early December, he’s surprised to hear the jingling of his bell and come out from the back to see Na Jaemin himself in the doorway, cheeks red from cold, a scarf wrapped around his neck up to his nose and buried in an oversized winter coat.
“Hi! Welcome in,” Jeno said, always the picture of professionalism as he greeted Jaemin. Jaemin looked up with wide, bright eyes, clearly surprised by Jeno’s words. He brushed new fallen snow from his gloves and smiled at Jeno.
“Hello yourself, Lee Jeno,” Jaemin said, and his smile was so sincere, it lit up the room. Jeno would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit blinded. “I hear you’ve been watching out for my cat,” he added, and his eyes twinkled. Jeno turns red.
“What? How do you know that?”
Jaemin just winked. “My cat tells me things, sometimes,” he said, and ordered a medium hot chocolate, beaming smile never abating. Jeno blinked and took his order. Maybe Jaemin’s cat really does talk to him. After all, there are some that say that Jaemin’s natural talent for healing may be more along the lines of a supernatural talent, so who’s Jeno to say? Witches may not be that common, but they’re still around.
When Jeno handed him the hot chocolate, Jaemin just grinned, inclined his head, and turned to leave with a wave.
Jeno waved back. “Hope to see you again soon!”
Jaemin paused at the door and smiled like he’s in on a secret. “You will,” he said, and then he’s gone.
A few weeks passed and Jeno’s routine has long since absorbed the cat into it. He left the door open even on the chilliest winter days by at least a small crack, and in the evenings the cat sometimes padded along his balcony and jumped in through his open window to take a nap on one of Jeno’s blankets or even Jeno himself.
Strangely, Jeno was also beginning to see a lot of the cat’s illustrious owner as winter melted into spring. Na Jaemin had taken to buying his daily treat and a loaf of bread once or twice a week, exchanging words with Jeno before heading back home with a wave and promise to come back again soon.
The strangest thing about it was that he always did. When Jaemin was once swarmed by parents whenever he stepped foot out of the house, he's now virtually unbothered. He’s sometimes stopped to talk by old ladies that know him well, or one of his friends like Renjun, the schoolteacher, or Donghyuck, the librarian.
Jeno puzzled over the change until he mustered the courage to ask Jaemin for himself. They were in the middle of their bi-weekly small talk when Jeno asked, a little more suddenly than he’d meant to, “Jaemin, what happened to that swarm of people that used to pester you all hours of the day?”
Jaemin paused, his smile not fading, but becoming more pensive, his eyes more serious. He shifted in his seat, crossing his legs and leaning back before he answers,
“They’re just focused on my cat now. He’s still getting bothered. He’s quite upset about it, actually. Being a cat used to be so relaxing, and now it’s all running and hiding these days.” Jaemin sounded amused. “He likes you though.” Jaemin was quiet as he said this, and his cheekbones began to blush an attractive shade of dusty rose.
Jeno frowned, too caught up in Jaemin’s answer to focus on what was happening in front of him. “That’s… That’s actually kind of sad.”
Jaemin sipped his hot chocolate, which Jeno for some reason still sold, even though it was the middle of spring and Jaemin’s the only one who buys it anymore. “Oh? Do enlighten me, Lee Jeno.”
“I mean, its like…” Jeno struggled to come up with the words, his hands moving as though he could pull them out of the air around him. Jaemin just smiled wider. “They focus on your cat just to what, tie you down for your status or whatever. It’s stupid. If they want their daughters to marry you, shouldn’t they be getting to know you instead of just chasing after a dumb cat?”
“Hey!” Jaemin said, and he was beaming. “I’ll have you know my cat is very smart.”
“My bad,” Jeno says. “Your cat is very smart. I love him and would never say a word against him. He’s a good listener.” Jaemin raised an eyebrow at him suggestively.
“Ooh, what secrets have you spilled to my cat Lee Jeno? Are you gonna tell me or am I going to have to ask him?" Jeno laughed nervously, pretending like he didn’t sing embarrassingly loud show tunes in the cat’s unimpressed face last night.
“Now you’re just deflecting.” Jaemin sighed and leaned forward to put the hot chocolate down, his legs unfolding in the process.
“You’re right, I am deflecting,” he admitted. His smile becomes more of a smirk and he continued, saying, “I already know that you sang embarrassingly loud show tunes in my cat’s face last night. He thought it was highly entertaining.” Jeno crumpled over onto the counter and groaned, his face going red.
“I’m humiliated,” Jeno lamented. “I trusted him!”
“Yeah, but he’s my cat,” Jaemin shrugged. Then he dropped the smile, a shadow passing across his face as he seriously answered Jeno’s question.
“All they’re after is my reputation and my pretty face. I devised the cat thing as a trick, to filter out the ones who were only in it for the idea of me, not the real me, and I thought I was so clever. I chose the cat method because in order to catch my cat, you have to be kind, not harsh and angry and demanding. My cat doesn’t take kindly to being told what to do, and neither do I. I thought that that way, I’d find the kindest and most understanding of the lot.”
Jaemin smiled, but it’s full of melancholy. “I was wrong. Not one of them has treated my cat with kindness, they’ve only harassed it day in and day out. It’s been months, and you’re the only one who’s befriended the cat Jeno,” Jaemin said. “The only person to have the chance to take the key and not even bother trying.”
Jeno told himself he wouldn't blush. He blushed.
---
Suddenly, he and Jaemin were hanging out a lot more. When Jeno would previously spend the night in with maybe Jaemin’s cat for company, Jaemin himself was knocking on his door asking if he wanted to climb up the hill overlooking the village to see the stars.
Under the thousands of twinkling lights in the sky, Jeno felt small lying next to Jaemin on the small blanket they brought. The milky way is sprawling out across the sky, and when Jeno looked over, it was reflected in Jaemin’s eyes.
More and more Jaemin came knocking on Jeno’s doorstep, and the more time he spent with Jeno, the more Jeno could understand why his smile was so renowned, and his beauty so praised. Jaemin’s mind, too, was beautiful, able to weave tapestries out of words and offer insights that Jeno himself never would have thought of. Once, on the rare occasion that Jeno was visiting Jaemin’s home, Jaemin was working on his poultices and medicines.
“What does that plant do?” Jeno had asked, pointing to a strange red root on one of Jaemin’s many side tables.
“It’s the root of hemlock,” Jaemin said, almost absentmindedly as he stirred his current concoction in a pot over his stove. “The actual plant is deadly, but the root has some… unexpected healing properties.”
“How about those?” Jeno asked, pointing to a bunch of dried out yellow flowers, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Jaemin took his eyes off the stove for a split second to see where Jeno was pointing, and he smiled.
“Oh, those. They’re morpheus flowers. They’re sweet tasting, but their petals can be brewed to make a deadly poison or a miraculous cure. It’s ridiculously easy to mess up, but the effects can be undone with the leaves of the same plant.” Jaemin frowned, thinking. “Still, they’re only found in one very specific cave and they’re hell to get ahold of, so I don’t recommend using them unless you already have a handful of the leaves on hand.”
“I’m sure you have the leaves around here somewhere,” Jeno said, gesturing around to the organized chaos that was Jaemin’s kitchen and sitting room. Pots and pans are stacked up on the counters, and various herbs were hanging from the ceiling. Jars of god-knows-what lined the walls, and books were piled up on overstuffed bookshelves. The fire was roaring, and papers were stacked messily on Jaemin’s desk in the corner.
“You wouldn’t be wrong,” Jaemin said with a grin that could rival the Cheshire Cat’s, and went back to stirring. Speaking of cats, Jaemin’s cat was strangely nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s your cat?” Jeno asked, offhandedly, and Jaemin froze.
“Oh, uh. It’s out and about,” Jaemin said, waving his hand. “You know, lots of uh. Cat things to do, and all.” Jaemin looked a little red, but maybe it’s all the steam in the kitchen. Jeno narrowed his eyes.
“Okay?” He laughed. “I was just curious about your cat, I’m not accusing you of being a bad owner or something, I promise.” He held up his hands in surrender and Jaemin visibly relaxed, the tension leaving his frame.
“Oh… good,” he said. “I just don’t know where he is all the time, you know? I barely ever see him, to be honest. I think he likes you better.” Jeno really laughed at that.
“I don’t think so, but thanks.” Jaemin only smiled at him, and turned away.
---
Before Jeno realized it was happening, he had fallen in love with Na Jaemin.
The thought occurred to him on a Wednesday afternoon, four months after he and Jaemin began hanging out. It was a warm day, just on the edge of summer but still clinging to spring. The sunlight was beaming down and reflecting off of Jaemin’s hair as he laughed at Jeno’s joke, eating a scone Jeno made for him, when it just hit Jeno like a punch to the chest, sucking all of the air out of his lungs.
I could spent the rest of my life with you, and never be bored.
Jeno blinked and Jaemin looked at him expectantly at him from across the table. “Oh,” Jeno breathed. “Sorry, I didn’t hear.”
Jaemin just laughed and rolled his eyes. “This is what I mean when I say you have selective hearing,” Jaemin said. He’s scolding but there’s nothing but affection in his tone and in his eyes and god when did Jeno start looking in his eyes?
Jeno sat back in his chair and genuinely listened as Jaemin told him about the last patient he had, a sweet little girl with a cough that wouldn’t go away, but the whole time his eyes were fixated on Jaemin’s hands, circled around a cup of hot chocolate. They were long and slender and Jeno never thought he could find hands beautiful, but he was slowly beginning to realize that he found everything about Na Jaemin beautiful.
Finally, he admitted to himself that he was still selling hot chocolate on the cusp of summer for Na Jaemin. Every time Jaemin came in and asked if he’s still selling hot chocolate Jeno just kept saying yes because he couldn't bear the thought of Jaemin being sad, even over something as trivial as a cup of hot chocolate.
Jeno wished that his fluttering heart would perish in his chest, because it was becoming ridiculous the lengths he would go to for Na Jaemin to be happy. After three more months and countless escapades around the town and dozens of scones and cups of hot chocolate shared across the table in Jeno’s bakery, Jeno knew Na Jaemin inside and out.
Jaemin may be happy, but he was sad too - he pretended that the thoughtless actions of the men and women who roamed the town didn't hurt him, but they do. After all, Jaemin was kind-hearted and extroverted, and all he really wanted is hundreds of people to entertain. He still hosted the occasional get-togethers with Renjun, Donghyuck, and recently even the new grocer from far away, Yangyang. And of course he spent hours on end with Jeno. But he could no longer hide that the fact so many people care nothing for him beyond his looks bothered him more than he would like to admit.
Jeno came to love Jaemin not just for his kindness and beauty but also his empathy, and above all, his strength. He was also pretty sure Jaemin can do magic, but they haven’t really talked about it, and in the end, Jaemin is still Jaemin, magical or not.
Soon Jaemin was leaving Jeno with a kiss on the cheek and repeated promises to see him soon. Soon Jeno was calling Jaemin Nana and they were spending their evenings not sharing hot chocolate at Jeno’s bakery, but snuggling on Jeno’s couch and talking into the late hours of the night.
Soon, Jeno was pretty sure he and Na Jaemin were dating, and have been since maybe that first night that they went out to gaze up at the stars.
So one rare night six months later in their second winter together when Jaemin was nowhere to be found and the cat was once again walking along his windowsill, Jeno couldn't lie and say that he wasn't sorely tempted to take the key from around the cat’s neck and return it to Jaemin.
The cat hopped down from the windowsill and curled around Jeno’s legs, purring. It forced its way under Jeno’s hand and stopped when Jeno’s fingers were just hovering over the key. The cat pushed up under Jeno’s hand, almost like he was saying,
Take it, you idiot.
But still Jeno hesitated. He couldn't betray Jaemin, couldn't become like the others who scream Jaemin’s name up and down the boulevard and would kill the cat to get their hands on the key.
You’re not like them Jeno, a voice told him, and it was fondly exasperated. It sounds like Jaemin. Just take the key.
Well, Jeno thought to himself. If he doesn’t want to marry me, I’ll just give the key back. And with that assuring thought in mind, he took the key from around the cat’s neck.
The effect was instantaneous: The cat jumped backward and was engulfed in a glowing light. Shocked, Jeno shielded his eyes and looked away, peeking through his fingers as the cat morphed and mutated, and when the light faded, Jaemin was standing before him, tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.
“Jaemin?” Jeno was shocked, standing up to face him, the key still held tightly in his hand. “You’re your cat?”
Jaemin laughed. “I’ve been trying to get you to take that key for months,” he said, “but you’re too nice, Lee Jeno.”
Jeno was still shocked, his mouth hanging open. Jaemin sighed. “Yes, I’m my cat.”
Jeno laughed, and Jaemin joined in, and they fell into one another’s embrace. By the time their laughter subsided, they were lying on Jeno’s couch in one another’s arms.
“So,” Jaemin said, and it’s mischievous. “I’m thinking a spring wedding?”
Jeno smiled and kissed him. “Sure, Nana.”
fin.