Cats Really Can't Do "Stay" After All (1)
Chae Dayeon lay sprawled across the bed like a towel someone had flung there without a second thought, and out of nowhere she mumbled four little words.
"…I wanna lick him."
She was lying down, sure—but with her waist bent almost ninety degrees to the side, one arm angled ninety degrees down and the other flung a hundred thirty degrees up. Just like that.
"I wanna lick him…."
She muttered the same four words again, then groped around with the arm bent at a hundred thirty degrees, patting the sheets until she found her phone.
The clock said three in the afternoon.
She checked the time.
Once she finished texting Woojin, Dayeon rolled off the bed and flopped onto the floor. She hauled herself up with a limp, boneless motion and rummaged around for something to wear outside.
Late March. Instead of the usual cold snap that came with the cherry blossoms, a freak warm spell had everyone out in short sleeves—but Dayeon's outfit was still firmly committed to staying warm.
A loose knit sweater with a faint bluish cast. A deep navy coat. Pantyhose and a thick flared skirt. And on top of all that, beige fur ankle boots.
She wasn't really thinking about coordinating anything. She just grabbed whatever warm things her hands landed on and left the house.
Heading into the subway station to get from Gwangmyeong to Anyang, Dayeon glanced around, taking in what everyone else was wearing.
"…Aren't they cold."
It wasn't now, but a few years back—whenever she got lazy and skipped meals for a few days, the first digit of her weight would drop all the way to a three. With a body like that, Dayeon felt the cold far more sharply than most people. Sometimes she even slept with the electric blanket on low in the middle of summer.
Surrounded by people in loose, light clothes, Dayeon alone in a full coat couldn't help but stand out—even at a hundred fifty-five centimeters.
And then came the real problem.
She caught the eye for a completely different reason, and once people looked, they couldn't look away.
A baby-kitten face with just the faintest lift at the outer corners of her eyes. A tiny frame and build that suited that face perfectly. And a blank, slightly vacant expression that somehow completed the whole package.
Strangely enough, among the people who kept staring at her, the proportion of women was just as high as the men. Something about her quietly triggered a protective instinct, and their gazes lingered.
Meanwhile—
This stop is Anyang. Anyang Station. The doors will open on…
When the train pulled into Anyang Station, Dayeon stood in front of the doors with a blank expression that was nothing like Min Seoeun's—blank in an entirely different way.
Hisssss—
The doors opened. She scurried out in quick little steps and emerged in front of Anyang Station, looking around for Woojin.
A moment later.
"Dayeon."
"Mm."
Still answering with something closer to ung than a proper yeah, Dayeon trotted over on tiny steps and came to a stop beside him.
And stared.
She stood next to Woojin, kept staring all the way to the crosswalk light, and even after they stopped there she kept looking straight at his face. Just staring.
…I wanna lick him.
She knew that a woman licking a man was obscene even if it wasn't his cock—that the act of licking itself was filthy. That was just common sense.
But Dayeon wanted to lick Woojin so badly it blew right past common sense.
His face. His neck. His chest. …His cock. Anywhere.
Whether he could read that or not—
"I think this is the first time we've hung out on a weekend like this?"
"Is it?"
"We've grabbed dinner after work a few times, but never like this."
"Mm… yeah, you're right."
Woojin kept the conversation going in his usual everyday voice, nothing out of the ordinary. Dayeon, though, answered with that faintly vacant look and tone.
"What were you doing at home that got you so bored?"
"I wasn't doing anything, so of course I was bored."
"What time did you get up today?"
"Around… one, I think."
"One? What time did you go to bed last night?"
"Twelve."
"…You slept thirteen hours?"
"Guess so."
Remembering how she'd been half-asleep right up until he had to leave for work the last time he stayed over at her place, he was freshly reminded just how much she loved to sleep.
And one more odd detail.
"So then what about food?"
"I had some snacks."
"What kind?"
"Chocolate chip cookies."
"How many?"
"Like… five?"
Maybe it was the small frame, but her appetite was tiny too.
"You're not hungry?"
"…Not really?"
She even widened her eyes a little as she shook her head, like the thought of being hungry genuinely hadn't crossed her mind.
More than hungry… I wanna lick him.
"What's wrong?"
"…Nothing. So where are we going?"
"Good question. I hadn't actually thought that far. Anywhere you want to check out?"
She couldn't exactly lick Woojin right here on the street… but if they were somewhere alone together, she could, right?
So where was a place two people could be alone without it looking weird?
"…Wanna go to a comic cafe?"
"A comic cafe?"
"Mm. Anyang should have one."
"Hang on. Let me look."
Woojin scrolled through his phone, then turned his head to the right.
"There's one over that way."
"Let's go."
Nyaang—.
The way Dayeon pestered him to get moving had the same mewling quality as a cat begging for food. Her face, her expression… she really did look like a kitten whose eyes were still a little too big for its head.
She made you want to snort-laugh just looking at her. Together we headed into the comic cafe I'd found online.
After a quick rundown of the house rules—
"Hmm…."
First time in a comic cafe. I looked around wondering what might be good, then scooped up a few volumes of a comedy-fantasy series that looked decent enough.
I was about to sit in whatever open spot I saw when—
Tug— tug—
Dayeon started yanking on my sleeve.
"Hm?"
"……."
When I asked what was up she didn't exactly stay silent—instead of answering, she pointed somewhere with one small finger.
Following that tiny finger led to a space screened off by a curtain… what would you even call that. A private booth, I guess.
"You want to go over there?"
"Mm."
Nod nod.
For someone who usually answered with nothing but mm and no, the fact that she was nodding her head on top of it counted as a very strong statement of intent.
But if we went in there… would that be okay?
The fourth Remarks slot I'd newly attached to Dayeon last time said that whenever she was alone with me, she went into heat. That booth wasn't a perfect sealed room, so maybe it'd be fine…?
"…First things first—what about you? Aren't you going to pick out any comics? You're the one who wanted to come here."
"Ah…."
"Go grab whatever you want to read. I'll head in first… see that one? The far corner with the yellow curtain. I'll be in there."
"Mm…."
On the other hand, looking at her now, Dayeon didn't seem particularly interested in comics at all. Which made me wonder why she'd suddenly dragged me to a comic cafe in the first place.
And watching her back as she went to fetch something to read, that question answered itself immediately.
"…She wants to lick me, huh."
The third Remarks slot: looking at me makes her want to lick me. And licking me turns her on.
So then—
If that private booth counted as a sealed room because of the curtain, what would happen once Dayeon and I were alone in there…
"…Ha. Seriously."
I didn't even have time to keep spinning that thought.
Watching Dayeon stretch up on her tiptoes, hopping in place because she couldn't reach the comic she wanted, I let out a helpless little laugh.
I walked up behind her.
"Want me to get it down for you?"
"……."
"Which one do you want to read?"
"…That one."
"This?"
"Mm…."
Even she seemed a little embarrassed—her face, which usually barely changed expression, had gone faintly pink.
Min Seoeun yesterday had been cute too, but when it came to pure human cuteness, Dayeon was hard to beat.
Was it the small frame? The short height? The tiny face? All of that, plus the fact that she looked so young—that was a big part of it. We were definitely the same age, but standing next to her felt like looking at a little sister who'd just started college.
And when something's cute, the polite thing to do is show it. So as a thank-you for pulling the comic down, I pinched her cheek.
"Mrrreowww… hwaaah…."
I squished and kneaded, and her face warped this way and that. The fact that her actual expression still didn't change at all through any of it was honestly impressive in its own right.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
Once we'd picked out what we wanted to read, we headed for the yellow-curtained booth I'd mentioned earlier—but before we went in.
"Oh right. Want anything to drink?"
"Hm?"
"We're going to be in here a while. Figured it might be nice to have something."
"…Mm."
Honestly I wanted to get inside as fast as she did, but I paused on purpose, curious what kind of face she'd make later if I teased her a little first.
We ordered an iced americano and a peach iced tea at the counter, and finally stepped into the private booth.
"Smaller than I expected…."
Front to back it was maybe about 2.2 meters. The width… a little under two meters, maybe. The ceiling was low too, around a hundred fifty centimeters.
Even so, the cramped space had everything you needed—phone chargers, a power strip, even blankets and floor cushions.
I debated how to sit, then settled with my back against one wall.
"Where do you want to sit?"
"I… here."
"Sure. Sit."
Dayeon sat right next to me, pressed snug against my side, on the side closer to the yellow curtain.
"Let's read."
"…Mm."
The moment I opened the comic I'd brought, Dayeon gave me a vaguely sulky look, then glared at the curtain separating us from the outside.
If I hadn't ordered the coffee and iced tea before we came in, she probably would have jumped me on the spot. But with no way of knowing when a staff member might bring the drinks, even Dayeon had to hold herself back.
In the end she grudgingly opened the comic she'd brought and started reading too.
"……."
"……."
Quiet.
The occasional sound of someone talking. The whir of a coffee machine. The flip of pages somewhere in the distance. White noise filled the air, and yet the private booth Dayeon and I were in stayed utterly still—so still you could barely even hear the comic pages turning the way you normally would.
A few minutes passed.
"I'll just leave the drinks right here—."
Whether it was for privacy or not, the staff member set the tray down in front of the curtain and left.
Dayeon, sitting closer to the curtain than I was, shifted herself and pulled the tray—just barely visible under the hem—inside.
"Give me that. I'll put it over here."
"Mm."
I took the tray from her and set it on the low table deeper in the booth.
And then, quiet again.
"……."
"……."
I flipped through my comic at a leisurely pace and waited. Eventually Dayeon set down what she'd been reading and rose a little from her seat.
Then, without a word, she came closer—
Swish—!
"Hm?"
Like a total thug, she snatched the comic right out of my hands and flung it aside.
Which left me with both hands empty in midair—just in time for Dayeon to slip straight into my arms.
Sliiiide…!
She looped her arms lightly around my neck, pushed her face right up in front of mine, and—
"Haa, haa… haaaaah…!"
Her expression was still blank, but the way she was breathing looked pretty dangerous.
"What's wrong, Dayeon?"
"I… I, um…."
Her voice, too. Knowing there were people nearby—knowing this wasn't a perfectly sealed room—Dayeon kept that thin, pretty voice as low as she could.
"…I wanna lick you."