New Family Member
Finally, the moment to open the gifts had arrived. As soon as it began, Yoo Yeona was the first to hand Choi Yeonbi an expensive-looking bottle of whiskey. Lee Chansu didn’t know much about whiskey, but he could tell the one Yoo Yeona brought was definitely pricey. His friend who loved drinking had once told him that the bigger the number on the bottle, the more expensive it was. “It says 38… so it must be an incredibly expensive drink.” Even without the number, the packaging alone set it apart from the ordinary bottles you’d see anywhere. Yet despite receiving such an expensive-looking gift, Choi Yeonbi’s expression remained calmer than expected. She hadn’t shown much change in expression even at the amusement park, but to stay completely blank even after getting a present like this… “Well, she’s ridiculously rich, after all…” Someone that wealthy probably wouldn’t feel anything special from receiving whiskey. So Chansu sat there stewing internally, wishing she would just hurry up and open his gift so it could all be over. But contrary to his hopes, the next gift Choi Yeonbi opened was a luxury perfume from Park Jisu.
“This is…”
“I wasn’t sure what scent you liked… so I picked one that seemed like it would suit you.”
After thanking her, Choi Yeonbi lightly sprayed the perfume. A cool yet substantial fragrance spread gently through the living room.
“How is it?”
“…It’s nice. I like it.”
She smiled faintly and carefully set the perfume down beside her. It was definitely a scent that matched her image. Chansu marveled at Park Jisu’s taste and glanced at his own towel set. It looked pitiful by comparison. “If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve ignored Mom and bought something else.” Just as he was thinking that, Choi Yeonbi picked up his towel set. Of all times, right after receiving those extravagant gifts. Chansu deliberately turned his head, afraid she might look disappointed or force an awkward smile.
“Isn’t this an expensive towel?”
But what he heard was completely different from what he’d expected. Startled, he turned back to look at Choi Yeonbi’s face.
“Towels are kind of tricky, you know. It feels weird to buy a cheap one, but buying an expensive one feels a bit wasteful too.”
Everyone laughed and nodded at her words. Choi Yeonbi then opened Chansu’s towel box, poked at the neatly folded towels inside, and pulled one out to unfold it.
“Expensive ones really are different.”
With a satisfied expression, she began folding the towel again. Only then did Lee Chansu smile faintly as he watched her. He thought it wasn’t a bad idea to listen to his mom after all. At the same time, he understood why Yoo Yeona called her unusual. Liking towels more than expensive items? His preconceptions about rich people were starting to crumble. “I wonder if she even licks the yogurt off the lid.” A pointless curiosity began to form as well.
Today’s gifts: whiskey, perfume, and a towel set. Plus the large standing lamp Eun-ah prepared and the wine and whiskey glass sets Minhyuk brought. “This one’s a personal gift from Hwangdae. Open it when you’re alone later.” And on top of that, Hwangdae’s mysterious present. Aside from Hwangdae’s gift, everything else was the kind of thing that would’ve been awkward for me to buy myself. Out of all of them, what I liked most was… the towels. I’d been unsure about the number of towels I had. I didn’t have many to begin with, and after using one for Meonji’s cage last time, my towel had basically become Meonji’s dedicated towel. I’d been planning to buy new ones anyway, so receiving them like this made me grateful. The expensive liquor and glass sets were nice too, but I still preferred practical gifts. Of course, that didn’t mean I disliked the others. How could I hate something they’d thoughtfully brought for me? “Besides, they all went out of their way to get expensive things because they were worried…” Anyway, I’d gratefully accepted everyone’s gifts, so now it was my turn to treat them. Though saying “my turn” was a bit much when Nayeon had prepared almost all the food.
“Dinner is ready.”
At Nayeon’s words, everyone stood up and headed to the kitchen.
“Wow, this is a feast… Yeonbi, the food probably cost more than the gifts you received.”
Yoo Yeona looked genuinely surprised at the spread on the table. When I glanced to the side, Nayeon’s shoulders were puffed up proudly.
“Nayeon made everything, so you should be surprised at her, not me.”
At my words, everyone turned to look at Nayeon standing beside me. Her raised shoulders slowly lowered. She looked a little embarrassed. “She could’ve just been proud at a time like this.” I smiled faintly as I watched her retreat with an awkward laugh.
“It’ll get cold. Eat quickly before it does.”
“Okay, let’s eat!”
“Let’s eat!”
Everyone seated at the table began enjoying the food filled with Nayeon’s care. As we ate diligently, Nayeon kept bringing over anything that seemed needed from the side. When water ran out, she refilled the pitcher and brought it over. When napkins ran low, she immediately replaced them. Watching her made me feel both grateful and guilty. “She can’t even eat with us.” I’d told her it was fine to eat together, but she kept insisting it wasn’t right. Because she was so firm about it, I couldn’t force her to sit down. Still, it was fortunate that this kind of guilt and gratitude could be resolved with money. “I should give her a generous bonus.” Of course, a separate retirement package too.
— Meow!
Startled, I looked down under the table at the now-familiar sound. Meonji was wandering around beneath the table. The thought that he was living up to his name made me chuckle. When our eyes met as I looked down, he immediately pressed his head against my leg, bumping it repeatedly.
“Th-there’s a cat under the table…?”
“Oh, just let him eat!”
At Minhyuk’s words, Yoo Yeona lightly patted his back. He nodded stiffly with a frozen expression. Chansu and Eun-ah were too busy laughing at the sight to care. Since I couldn’t just leave it like that, I pulled out my chair, took Meonji out, and carried him to the room.
“Stay here while we eat, okay?”
I quickly closed the door before Meonji could come out. I could hear him meowing from inside, but I had no choice—if I left it open, he’d keep interrupting. “Even so, hearing those sounds makes me feel weak.”
“Unni, you’re going to have your hands full with Meonji.”
When I returned to my seat, Eun-ah mumbled something while chewing. I nodded at her words, sat down, and looked around at everyone.
“Does anyone want to raise Meonji? I’m keeping him for now, but I’m not sure I can continue.”
I didn’t ask in a burdensome way—just casually while we ate. At my question, Minhyuk avoided my gaze and focused on his chopsticks, so I looked at the others instead. Everyone started thinking seriously. Park Jisu was the first to finish pondering.
“I move around too much, so it’d be difficult.”
She shook her head as she spoke. It was true that Park Jisu traveled frequently. “I saw it at the event last time too.” Even though cats were independent animals, I’d heard somewhere that leaving them alone at home often wasn’t good.
“I think it’d be hard for me too. I don’t live alone.”
Chansu also spoke with a regretful expression and picked up a piece of honey bread in front of him.
“I’d have trouble because of work too. He’s really, really cute though.”
Yoo Yeona declined as well. That left only Eun-ah.
“Unni! Can I ask my mom?”
Fortunately, she spoke with a bright face while pulling out her phone.
“Of course.”
If it was Eun-ah, she’d probably take good care of him. She’d been so fond of Meonji earlier, and she seemed responsible. Plus, since she was active on social media, it’d be easy to check on Meonji’s updates. In many ways, she seemed like the perfect adopter. But contrary to my expectations…
“Unni… Mom said absolutely not, no matter what…”
“Ah… Then there’s nothing we can do.”
It wasn’t Eun-ah’s refusal, but her mother’s. In the end, I couldn’t find an adopter among my close friends. Nayeon had also said it wouldn’t work for her.
“Then should I ask around to see if anyone I know can take him?”
I was grateful, but I didn’t want to burden Eun-ah that much. Since I’d brought him, I should be the one to find an adopter. “Actually, if we’re being precise, I didn’t bring him—he came in on his own.” Either way, I couldn’t shift the responsibility onto Meonji.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll look for someone myself. Thanks for worrying about it.”
Eun-ah nodded at my words, looking very disappointed. “Finding an adopter isn’t easy.” Then again, even I, who was financially comfortable, was struggling with this—so how much harder would it be for others? I felt like I’d acted a bit selfishly.
“I’m done eating.”
With that, the enjoyable housewarming came to an end without finding a home for Meonji.
“Well then, I’ll be going too. I left plenty of food, so make sure you eat well, okay?”
“Got it. Get home safely.”
After Nayeon left last, everyone had gone. The house fell silent in an instant. Sitting alone on the living room sofa with no one else around…
— Meow! Meow!
Ah, not completely alone.
“Okay, okay.”
Probably still upset about being locked in the room, Meonji meowed energetically while digging his claws into my leg. When I picked him up and set him beside me, he purred contentedly and rubbed his head against my thigh.
“What am I going to do with you?”
No one to take him, and I didn’t want to send him to strangers either. In a way, this was also a kind of greed—wanting to see someone close to me raise him well even though I wasn’t going to keep him myself. I had to let go of that greed and choose one of the two options: keep him or send him to an adopter, even if it was a stranger. “With Meonji… he’s so cute, someone would probably take him right away.” He was far too adorable for a stray. Maybe his mother was a pedigree cat, or maybe I was just biased because he was right in front of me—I didn’t know.
“……I don’t know anymore.”
I left Meonji, who was still meowing hard, on the sofa for a moment and stood up. I wasn’t getting up to send him for adoption… I was going to check what Hwangdae’s gift was. I still didn’t understand why he’d sent me something like this through Yoo Yeona. “The packaging looks luxurious.” It was wrapped in paper that resembled a letter. You could say it was just documents that had been packaged and sent. When I carefully unwrapped it, a thin cardboard box came out. I untied the ribbon around the box and opened it. “…What is this?” Like a matryoshka doll, I kept opening boxes until I finally found what was inside. “Hotel dinner vouchers…?” Two dinner vouchers for one of the top three hotels in the country were neatly placed inside. And at the bottom of the box, handwritten in small letters: “Thanks for last time.” It seemed my opinion had indeed played some part in that redevelopment project. “Is this okay?” Well, if it wasn’t okay, they wouldn’t have started the work. That aside, why were there two vouchers? Did he assume I had a partner? “Hmm……” My thoughts grew more complicated. Either way, it wasn’t a cheap item, so I should gratefully accept it. “And…”
— Meow?
I needed to properly set up the room where Meonji would live from now on. “A cat tower, was it? I heard that’s essential…” Muttering to myself, I walked toward the master bedroom to find my laptop. Meonji followed closely behind me. I picked him up right away. “He likes it.” I gently stroked Meonji’s forehead as he purred.