Chapter Text
Being an actor comes with many “damn, this could be a movie scene” moments. Mostly because you, well, play in a movie. You live with these moments and honestly that is kind of expected.
Nevertheless, the current one was a first even for Kim Taehyung - Korea’s sweetheart (according to W Korea - Taehyung wasn’t that conceited to say that about himself (openly))
Standing outside a dingy apartment block in Seoul, he had called his own home for the past few months, Taehyung kept staring at the sky. Better said - he kept staring at the descending KAI Surion currently primed for landing on the empty Elementary School football field across the road.
When his hyungs had talked about calling a helicopter for faster travel, he’d been expecting one of these funky private VIP ones. Not that 8 ton military monstrosity currently waking up the entire neighborhood with how hard the rotors had nearby windows rattling. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel both madly intimidated as well as absolutely badass at the same time. Who could have known that pairing his Hobi hyung with the newly acquired Jin hyung would lead to such a scary duo.
Smiling from one ear to another he was trying hard to match the general badass vibe - also seeing his Jimin-hyung hide the Police gun under a much too big jacket belonging to Taehyung himself was doing wonders to make him feel even more like a King ready to take an enemy castle. These fuckers were going to pay for making his precious Joonie cry!
=^._.^= ∫
About 3 months earlier:
FREEDOM! It was supposed to taste so good. Taehyung had imagined himself traveling foreign art galleries and beaches, sipping funky fruity (non-alcoholic) cocktails in skyscraper bars donning breathtaking views (of the skyline, not just because the windows reflected his face partially as well) - he”d been planning this year of hiatus for a while now and he wanted to savor every bit of it.
Having spent the majority of his youth and a good bit of his formative years building a very successful acting and modeling career had been lots of fun, but also meant he never got to really enjoy what it meant to have a “normal” life. The list of things he wanted to experience had grown and with enlistment looming it was his dear Hobi-hyung that had the idea of simply going on a hiatus of a year to actually start ticking of some of the points on it rather than just adding more each time.
Taehyung had been overjoyed to say the least! There was a reason Hoseok held such a big part of his heart. Besides being an excellent and resourceful celebrity manager the other also had a keen Taehyung-feels-radar. For someone that prided himself in being an award winning actor Taehyung could never fool his hyung when he wasn’t feeling up for something. It made him both resent and love the other more and more each time it happened.
It had only taken some heated screaming battles between the Upper Management of his agency and one-man-force Jung Hoseok and Taehyung had gotten his year free of any work obligations. In total that would mean 3 years of his fans being unable to see him (read: the company making money off of him) but he'd preemptively made sure to record enough behind the scenes material and other snippets for them to not be starved too much.
He’d even recorded the OST to his newest drama which would air once his promotion free period had started - seriously nobody could whine about him being away that way!
=^._.^= ∫
On his very first morning of said freedom Kim Taehyung woke way before his 7:00 am alarm clock could ever wake him. The nervous energy of anticipation had him bolt upright at 5:30 am sharp - right in time for the first sunlight to peak through his curtains. Rolling off the bed and over his Hobi-hyung (the other was still passed out like a light from last nights drinking - he had to have both shares of shots since Taehyung refused to down alcohol of any kind) he bounced towards the living room and tore open the curtains there.
Seoul was still in slumber mode, but he couldn’t wait! He had to get outside and start exploring!
Zooming around the apartment he made sure to leave a quick note on the kitchen counter, transformed into his cat form and then made a dash towards the apartment door (only to transform back into a human once again since he couldn’t reach the doorknob in cat form. Seriously Kim Taehyung - use your brain!)
Once outside Taehyung simply relished in the quiet hum of the city awakening and even more so in the fact, that he could strut past massive billboards plastered with his face and still remain unrecognized. This was heaven!
He sat next to a nice Ahjumma selling baked sweet potato and serenaded her with a meow concert until she eventually gave him one to chomp away on. Amazing - even in cat form he could snag free stuff from strangers.
Content with the simple things in life it had been a proper shock to him when he was eventually cornered by Animal Protection Services ready to take him to a shelter. Transforming into his human form - even in some Seoul back alley - was not an option or his entire plan of a year in stealth mode would be reduced to nothingness.
These two meatheads sure looked like they’d gladly run to the tabloids and give a perfect description of his cat form (a Toyger wasn’t the most common breed after all) and Taehyung had to shudder at the thought of countless screaming fangirls chase him down the roads of Paris or some other metropolis on his list when Hoseok and him would finally fly out tomorrow.
Only mild panicking (okay, who was he kidding… MAJORLY panicking) he was trying to find a way out of this situation without assaulting the two stupid henchmen when his prince on a white horse came for the rescue!
Well, he wasn’t on an actual white horse (or any horse at all considering this was downtown Seoul), but seeing bumbling Namjoon pretend Taehyung was his cat, knowing full well he could be embarrassing himself in front of literal strangers, simply made his heart melt with affection.
This muscly dork with the slipping glasses ready to tilt off his nose managed to charm the seasoned actor in a matter of minutes. Like, how could anyone NOT fall in love with this giant bending down to embrace a strange cat and cuddle them to his (*cough* very impressive) chest as if they were the most precious being in the entire world.
Taehyung was fully done for the moment Namjoon had him twirl through the air safely clutched in his arms in excitement - and he had to confess the high pitched squeaky noises he made had been only 10% fear and a solid 90% genuine excitement.
The initial plan after his rescue had been to wait until they were on neutral territory, transform back, charm the kind giant and then profoundly thank him before being on his way back to his penthouse apartment. Turns out that plan was nullified when neutral ground turned out to be Seoul National University’s lecture hall…
A room full of early to mid twenty students - they would surely know him. Cursing his bad luck Taehyung did his very best at preening at the old lecturer to not be thrown out and soon had the entire class wrapped around his little fluffy tail. If only they knew!
Trying his hardest not to fall asleep during a lengthy explanation on the evolution of written language on the Korean Peninsula and then an even longer trip to the campus library and an extensive study session, Taehyung ended up both incredibly endeared with his smart and nerdy charge but also a tad bit annoyed. Didn’t this guy have a life besides university? If his head scratches weren’t so on point and his little crescent moon eye smile so charming he would have long bolted.
When they finally got up and made their way home he was overjoyed! At least up until the very moment they both stepped into the dingy student apartment Namjoon called his home and Taehyung got to meet Lil Meowgi - aka his celebrity crush, South Korea’s record producer MIN YOONGI.
Seriously what were the odds…
All he could do was stare dumbly for at least a solid 15 minutes while the other was posturing on the kitchen counter.
The only thing that helped elevate the awkwardness was Namjoon trying to get both of his “cats” to be acquainted. Taehyung had had a slight suspicion the other cat shifter didn’t really know how to spot a fellow shifter and this simply helped confirm it. It made him eat to wrap the bumbling giant into a big big hug and never let go again! How had this precious bean survived all the time so very alone in a city as big as Seoul?
Well… he did have a little time on paw didn’t he? Maybe a few days and some nice interior design features could help brighten the other shifters life a little? After all who didn’t enjoy a bit of Gucci decor in their humble abode.
=^._.^= ∫
Now if later anybody had told Taehyung he would find his Soulmate, get close to his eternal crush and share soft mornings half asleep across the kitchen counter sipping on a hot chocolate (because “Yoomfi hyung I love you, but I am not drinking the black brew of liquid *how-to-forget-what-sleep-is* or whatever you call coffee”), watch said crush’s hair get dyed mint (“Thank you Jin hyung!” Also “hot damn”), develop another crush or two on said Jin-hyung and his baby Namjoon and then eventually adopt the little dork that was JK - he would have called himself crazy!
Again… NONE of this was on his list! The Mona Lisa remained trapped in the Louvre exposed to crowds of selfie hungry art imbeciles, and Taehyung had not had a single funky fruity cocktail like he’d initially planned (“No Jimin hyung! You can bring that cranberry vodka monstrosity without me! I have class” - “You decorated the living room with Gucci Tae! If that’s class I have a flat ass!”)
So overall… Life had been amazing?!
Every time Namjoon would come back home Taehyung would make sure to be the first to greet him - he missed those pecks! Sue him!
He got his fair share of head scratches - both from Namjoon and eventually from Jimin (his eternal soulmate). The Policeman had a heart of gold and Taehyung was weak for soft yet fierce beings any day.
Again… Life had been amazing. Until a few bastards decided to steal the baby maknae.
Nobody got to disturb his hiatus full of bliss and domesticity if he had any say in it!
=^._.^= ∫
Taehyung’s list of things he had to do had been very extensive. At least 13 pages long on DIN A4 notebook paper. From ice skating at Lotte World to trying to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre to give the esteemed lady a more deserving place with less camera flashes and squeezing tourist all day long, he had put literally everything from mundane to outrageous on it!
Not one of the many points on it however had included charging into a potential criminal base on a military helicopter to free his adorably awkward baby dongsaeng. Not that he was complaining. Giving another reassuring squeeze to Namjoon’s hand Taehyung put on his best imma-fuck-you-up face - with a smile that could cut you into pieces he had a look outside the window onto the roof of the warehouse they were closing in towards.
He could hear his Jin-hyung bark out instructions to the assault crew (hilarious considering he was a cat not dog shifter) - and as they touched down he was left with one last thought only: May whatever deity these imbeciles prayed to have mercy on them, because neither he nor his hyungs would have any.