When the security guard of Hiroshima’s Onomichi City Museum of Art arrives for work each morning, he is met by two mischievous cats.

Ken-chan, a small black cat, and Go-chan, his ginger companion, are desperate to enter the museum through the sliding doors as the guard opens them for the day.

To a chorus of meowed protestations, the security man gently leads them back outside each time. It’s a friendly rivalry, and the cats spend hours outside with the guard.

With Ken-chan in particular following him about or gliding around his ankles as he stands at his station, possibly as a ploy to persuade him to let him in.

What’s even cuter is that they’ve been doing this every morning for years. It all started in 2016, when the museum opened a cat photography and art show, which seemed to draw stray cats from all around the area who sought to get inside.

Ken-chan and Go-chan haven’t given up after five years. They normally only try to enter while he’s at his position.

So it’s possible they’re as enamored with the guard as they are with the museum. Other times, they’ll simply sit outside the entrance, sunbathing and napping.

Ken-chan, a cat that works at a nearby restaurant, has formed a friendship with the guard over the years, and the cat walks to the museum every morning and greets him at the entrance.

Even when the museum was closed for two months due to the epidemic, Ken-chan stepped in as the guard at the door, but was overjoyed when his friend returned, surrendered his duty, and resumed their special friendship where it had left off.

As the museum’s feline mascot, the devoted black cat now wears a collar. Even cat calendars and card games with artwork based on him and his companions are available at the museum.

Onomichi City Museum also tweets about Ken-chan and Go-chan on a regular basis, indicating that the cats have no intention of giving up their attempts to get in anytime soon.