It started out as a very typical Sunday for Irene - she woke up at a reasonable enough time to have breakfast and did some laundry and even had sufficient amount of time left to fix up a quick and easy lunch. It didn’t take long before she was curled up on her couch with a cup of tea, blanket and book in hand, ready to do some reading on a chilly afternoon and maybe even dozing off for a bit before it was time her favourite - grocery shopping.

She double and triple checked her shopping list before leaving the house, it would be a nuisance to forget anything and make a second trip when the weather was so cold outside. Rain or shine, Irene would religiously complete her grocery shopping if she could help it.

Irene was the type of carefully select whatever item it was that she had listed to get, she usually went with the usual brands she was familiar with but was not opposed to trying out something new if the packaging and descriptions were convincing enough.

She hummed to herself as she exited the store, utterly happy with her haul for the week and another successful trip to the grocery store. Irene carefully balanced the grocery bags in her arms as she made her way to the parking lot.

With everything loaded, she started the engine and slowly drove out of the parking space once the road was cleared. Irene was about to pick up speed to exit the parking lot when she heard it.

Meow

“What on earth?” She brushed it off as it being a cat beside her car perhaps. She drove a little further along the rows of parked cars when she heard it again!

Meow

“Am I going crazy?” Irene her signal lights and temporarily double parked behind a car to listen for the meows.

She sat there for a few minutes, straining her ears to catch the tiny noise but there was nothing.

Until, she heard a tap on her car window and jumped.

Irene saw a girl waving at her. Squinting, she didn’t seem to recognise her and lowered her window.

“Hi, sorry but you’re blocking my car and I want to go home.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry I was-”

Meow

“Did you hear that? I’m not going crazy, right?” Irene asked the girl who seemed just as surprised as she was to hear it.

“Yeah, I hear it, too.” The girl paused as another soft meow was heard, and it sounded like it was in distress. “It’s coming from your car, no doubt about it.”

Irene turned off the engine and stepped out to examine her car together with the girl. They went a few circles around the car before realising that it was coming from the bonnet.

“Would you mind opening the hood?” Irene nodded and quickly did as told.

As the hood opened, they were greeted by another meow and Irene hid behind the girl when she saw a kitten tucked in between her car’s engine and battery, clearly frightened by the machinery and the two girls.

The girl swiftly leaned forward under the hood to fish the kitten out. It was quite a struggle as the frightened kitten managed to worm its way deeper into any tiny space available. It took a while before the girl manage to get a hold on the kitten.

“Aaaaalmost there..stop wiggling!” The girl gave one last stretch and caught the kitten by the scruff of its neck. “Got it!!” She cheered as she brought the kitten out and showed it to Irene, who pushed the arm away, not wanting to get close to the tiny animal.

“Not so close, please. I don’t like animals very much.”

“Aah that’s ok. This little guy must have crawled in there for warmth. It’s pretty cold out today. I wonder if its mom is around?”

“What if its not?”

“I’ll just bring it to the animal shelter my friend volunteers at.”

“That’s very kind of you. I’m Irene by the way. Thank you for helping me with the cat.”

“No problem. I’m Seulgi.” Seulgi switched the kitten to her left hand and shook hands with Irene. “Wow you’re really pretty.”

“Th-thank you.” Irene looked away from Seulgi’s face only to see that her clothes were stained from trying to rescue the kitten. “Your clothes..they’re dirty.”

“Huh?” Seulgi took a look at herself and laughed. “So I am! It’s alright, nothing a little laundry detergent can’t fix.”

“Can I at least pay to get it cleaned?”

“No, it’s really alright.”

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee at least?”

Seulgi paused for a moment before agreeing. “Coffee sounds great. How about that cafe over there in about an hour? I’ll drop this little guy off at the shelter and get changed.”

“It’s a da-” Irene caught herself just in time. “See you in an hour.”

“Cool!”

END