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The "cats for adoption" sign next to the animal rescue center's door had drawn Songmin's eyes ever since she'd moved to the city for university, but she'd managed to exercise great self restraint and stayed away from the building.
Unfortunately, her self restraint could only last so long and on this Saturday, only three weeks since she'd first seen the sign, she found herself walking up to the door, the "cats for adoption" sign still in the place it had always been.
Unsure of whether she could just walk in, she knocked the door lightly a few times, somewhat hoping no one would come open the door and she could go home without any social interaction and without the financial burden of a cute pet.
Unfortunately, fate wasn't on her side (or, if we were to look at it from the other perspective, fate was on her side) and a second later the door opened, revealing a woman who invited her inside.
The lobby of the rescue center was rather small and minimally furnished. A receptionist desk faced the building's entrance. Tucked away in the corner near a window was a small couch, a small coffee table with some animal magazines a few feet away from the couch.
"So, what brings you here? I'm guessing not any vaccinations or appointments since you don't have a pet on you," the woman asked, walking behind the receptionist desk. Songmin liked how her purple hair matched her blue rescue center shirt.
"I'm here to adopt a cat." At Songmin's words, the woman looked up, a sudden smile replacing the stoic expression she had a moment earlier. "Great, we've been having a surplus of rescued cats and a sever lack of adopters lately, so I'm glad you came. Come, we'll have you take a look at our cats in the back and hopefully get some paperwork going."
With that, the woman led Songmin through a door near the receptionist desk labeled "cats & dogs". The two entered into a lobby-like room though only about a quarter of the size of the room they'd entered from. Two doors were imbedded into the wall opposite them, the one of the left labeled "dogs" and the one on the right labeled "cats".
"We have two other volunteers in the cat room right now, so don't feel too frightened when you see them," the woman said, placing her hand on the "cats" door doorknob. "All of our cats are super friendly and I'm sure our volunteers would be more than happy to give you some information on any of them if you ask. I'll give you five minutes then come back and check on how you're doing. Ready to go in?"
Instead of being nervous as she usually would about meeting two more strangers, Songmin felt more excited than scared. She nodded, a little more eagerly than intended, and the woman opened the door. Songmin slipped into the room and the door closed behind her.
Shelves of kernels lined the far wall, each with a cat inside. Shelves for the cars to climb on were attached on every wall of the room. Cat toys lay strewn across the carpet-covered floor, most of them looking rather age worn.
Two college-aged men sat together in the corner with their backs to the door, flocked by all of the cats in the room except for one sleeping in its kernel. The two men, who'd been laughing amongst themselves and when Songmin first entered, turned as they heard the door click shut.
