Squishy Hands and Fluffy Traps
The walk to the cat cafe was an absolute drain on my energy. Harang, seemingly tireless, stuck close to my side and chattered without a single pause.
“Do you like cats, Mir? The place Unni is taking you to has so many cute ones! Oh, you don't have any allergies, do you?”
“...No.”
“Thank goodness! They said we can feed them treats ourselves. The cats are going to swarm us like a fluffy cloud! Just thinking about it is so incredibly cute!”
Even as Harang's chatter distracted me, I could feel a heavy gaze drilling into my right side. Red wasn't as overly friendly as Harang, but she had been stealing glances at me with a completely blank face for a while now, and it was starting to get on my nerves.
I did my best to ignore her and kept my eyes fixed forward.
Red, your stare is seriously intense...
Popo, tucked inside my clothes, must have felt Red's gaze too, because the spirit was holding its breath and staying absolutely still.
One was suffocating me with words, the other with her eyes. My mental battery was going to hit zero before we even reached the cafe.
After walking like that for a bit, Red, who had been stealing glances, suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand without warning.
“...?”
What was this? I looked up at her. But Red completely ignored my look, simply squishing and kneading my hand in hers.
“So squishy...” she muttered, uttering something utterly baffling.
“...Excuse me?”
At that moment, Harang, who had been babbling beside us, caught sight of this. She gasped and snatched my other hand.
“Whoa, seriously! Oh my gosh! It really is so squishy!”
What was wrong with them? Frowning, I wondered if these girls had collectively lost their minds as they suddenly began kneading both of my hands. What made it even more ridiculous was what came next.
Since both of them were significantly taller than me, they had to bend their knees slightly to match my stride while holding my hands, resulting in a bizarre, half-squatting walk. Could they look any stupider?
“Ugh...”
I thought they'd stop after a moment, but for some reason, this parade of fools continued until the cat cafe's sign finally came into view.
“We're here! Mir, Senior, it's right over there!” Harang shouted excitedly, finally letting go of my hand.
[Cat Shelter]
The cute sign was striking enough that anyone could tell it was a cat cafe from a mile away.
Chime! The moment the door opened, the gentle aroma of coffee drifted over.
“Welcome!”
Greeted by the staff, we stepped inside to find the exact scene Harang had described. On the sofas, atop the cat towers, and even nestled in the laps of customers who had arrived before us—cats of all shapes and colors were lounging in various poses.
“Oh my gosh... Mir, look over there! There's one that looks exactly like you!”
Where Harang was pointing, a white cat with half-lidded, annoyed eyes was loafing on the floor. It didn't spare a single glance for the other cats who were acting cute and enjoying the customers' touch.
It was simply lying in the prime spot by the window, soaking up the warm sunlight pouring through the glass all to itself, fast asleep.
Looks like me...?
Well, I couldn't deny that we both hated being bothered and loved lounging in the sun. But comparing me to a creature that looked that goofy felt a bit insulting.
“Alright! I've decided. My goal today is to win over Whitey! Just you wait, kitty!”
What kind of name for a cat was Whitey anyway? Harang suddenly resolved herself with grim determination and marched deeper into the cafe.
“...”
Yeoreum was still staring down at me with a blank face, not even glancing at the cats in the cafe. What was her deal today?
“...Aren't you going?”
Unable to take it anymore, I blurted out. Yeoreum, hands shoved in her pockets, replied in a low voice.
“No, I should.”
She leaned her upper body slightly toward me. What was she doing now?
“Um...”
Leaning down to look at me, the expressionless mask Yeoreum wore began to twitch ever so slightly.
“...Hey, kid. Could you come with me?”
Where had her overwhelming charisma from earlier gone? Her quiet voice carried a strange, nervous tension. What was this about?
Wait, is she... scared of cats?
To be precise, it wasn't that she disliked them, but rather that she liked them yet was terrified of them. Red was completely frozen, the fierce aura she had when we first met entirely vanished.
“You can just go with Harang.” She looks incredibly excited, after all.
At my suggestion, Yeoreum knit her brows and shook her head. She bit her lip, clearly trying to preserve her pride.
“I can't. I can't show my junior such an embarrassing side of myself. A senior has to maintain her dignity...”
“...”
Whatever. Dumbfounded, I stared blankly at her. Man, kids these days are truly impossible to understand. Does she not care about her dignity in front of a child she just met today, or has she let her guard down because I look completely harmless? I couldn't tell what her logic was.
Well, we did just meet today.
A veteran magical girl panicking because she didn't want her junior to find out about her cat phobia. It felt like I had stumbled upon an unexpected weakness.
“Fine. I'll help you out just this once.”
When I answered as if doing her a massive favor, Yeoreum's eyes shook slightly, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
I slowly took a step toward the area teeming with cats. From behind, I felt Yeoreum's hand gently, yet desperately, clutching the hem of my clothes.
“Sit here.”
I led Yeoreum to a low sofa in the middle of the cafe. She followed right behind me, but she was gripping my clothes so tightly that I thought they might stretch out.
How to handle cats... Honestly, it wasn't that complicated. They weren't wild cats, and the felines in a cat cafe were generally gentle.
To demonstrate, I sat on the edge of the sofa, extended a single finger, and wiggled it slightly. If you just hold your finger out like this and wait, they'll come over to sniff it on their own.
“S-so that's how you do it...”
Watching my demonstration, Yeoreum swallowed hard and sat down on the edge of the sofa, mimicking my posture with extreme caution. Then, with a dead-serious expression, she extended her index finger into the air.
Right then, a cat that had been sleeping by the window stretched and began to slink over toward Yeoreum.
“Meow.”
“...!”
As the cat let out a soft cry and rubbed its head against Yeoreum's knee, her shoulders flinched visibly. The cat pressed its nose to the tip of Yeoreum's finger, sniffing for a moment. Deciding it liked what it smelled, it stuck out its tongue and gave the back of her hand a soft lick.
“Oh...”
Yeoreum's eyes widened. The tension from moments ago vanished instantly. As the rough tongue brushed against the back of her hand, a suppressed smile began to spread across her face.
“It licked me... Hey, it just licked my hand, right?”
When I gave her a small nod, Yeoreum let out a soft, “Wow...” and stared intently at the cat. I couldn't help but chuckle at the unexpected innocence hidden behind the usually angry Red. Well, Red was still a teenage girl, after all. It made sense.
Figuring she would be fine on her own now, I began petting another cat that had climbed onto my lap and started kneading. But that peaceful moment didn't last long.
A calico cat, which had been biding its time atop the cat tower, pounced like lightning, snatched Popo—who was hiding inside my clothes—in its jaws, and bolted.
“W-What is this?! Mir! Save me!! Rescue teaaaam!!!”
Oh. Popo's ear-splitting scream echoed directly in my mind. I glanced around to check the reactions of the people nearby, but Harang, Yeoreum, and even the cafe staff showed no response. It seemed Popo's voice could only be heard by me.
...They say animals are sensitive to spiritual entities. I guess it's true.
To a cat, a plush-like creature suddenly moving must have looked like the ultimate toy. Watching Popo dangle in terror as it was carried away, I offered a gentle, smiling eye-curve. Who was it that had been so excited to watch me squirm earlier?
“I am absolutely not saving you.”
Enjoy your karma, I silently mouthed.
With a look of utter despair, Popo screamed, “You're so cruel!!” before vanishing into a pile of cats. Poor Popo. I'll save you, eventually... maybe in an hour? Heh.
As I giggled, feeling thoroughly vindicated, Harang quietly approached my side. She looked a bit dejected, likely having failed in her mission to win over Whitey. In her hand, she held a small pouch.
“Mir, look at this. This is called catnip, and they absolutely love it. Want to try?”
Wait, catnip?
“Look at this...”
No, wait. If you open that here—
The moment Harang opened the pouch, the atmosphere in the cafe shifted instantly. The sleeping ones, the ones tucked away in corners, and even the one that had been hunting Popo—every single cat whipped its head around and began charging straight toward me.
“Meow!”
“Mew!”
Ah. In an instant, dozens of cats surrounded me. And with Mir's fragile body, there was no way I could withstand this massive tidal wave of fluff.
“Wa—”
Ultimately, pushed by the sheer force of the swarming cats, I tumbled backward. Soft, heavy felines began piling on top of me layer by layer.
As my vision was obscured, I barely managed to lift my head and send a desperate plea for help to Popo, who had escaped the cat's jaws and was now safely perched atop the cat tower.
Rescue team, Popo!
But this time, Popo was wearing the exact same wicked, bright eye-smile I had given it earlier.
Serves you right, Mir!
"Aaaaargh!!"