The Black Cat's Courtship
The next morning, Gkamnyangi—who had stayed up the entire night—only picked at his breakfast, stirring the kibble in his bowl more than he ate it.
Beside him, Hoesaegi and Sapsaree were crunching and chomping their way through their morning meal with obvious pleasure, but none of it reached Gkamnyangi's ears.
The triangle-shaped kibble and the round pieces sitting in his bowl kept calling Lady to mind. The glossy, gleaming triangular bits reminded him of her dainty little nose, and his favorite round kibble looked just like her dazzlingly beautiful eyes.
Haah.
By the time Gkamnyangi had spent himself staring at his bowl and thinking of Lady, the dishes in front of Hoesaegi and Sapsaree were as clean as if they'd been washed. Every last crumb, gone.
"Hah, finished it all, ong!"
"Buuurp! That was so tasty, it was!"
Meanwhile, the bowl of the cat lost in thoughts of the beautiful Lady was still heaped with kibble. The two didn't so much as glance at it as they scampered off toward the kitchen.
They'd finished eating, which meant it was time for their dental treats and dental chews. They shouted as they ran.
"Hyung-ah, ong. I finished my food, ong. Gimme a tasty snack, ong."
"Me too, gimme some!"
A moment later, a fresh, toasty aroma drifted into Gkamnyangi's nose. A flicker of life passed through his hazy eyes. It was the scent of the treats he'd been so taken with lately.
Tasty snacks.
But the light in his eyes faded just as quickly. He'd had them yesterday. And the day before that.
I'll have them tomorrow too, I bet.
With Lady shimmering before his eyes, there was no way everyday treats were going to register. Gkamnyangi gazed down at his bowl again with that same hazy look.
Just when it seemed he would stare at it forever, he lowered his head and gently took a single piece in his mouth. But the crunch that should have followed never came. Instead, with a soft tok, the round kibble dropped to the floor.
He picked up another piece and dropped that one too. Then he carefully took a triangular bit and set it down. He nudged them this way and that with a front paw until Lady's face took shape—jewel-bright round eyes, a glossy black nose shining like a polished pebble.
She smiled at me...
Lady hadn't smiled at him alone, but that was how it looked through Gkamnyangi's eyes.
As he gazed at the three pieces of kibble, smiling at the thought of her, he heard Hyungnim calling him.
"Gkamnyangi, if you're done eating too, come have your dental chew."
Soft and gooey with thoughts of her, Gkamnyangi let the words go in one ear and out the other.
I'll have it later...
He was sinking back into thoughts of Lady when, like a lightning bolt, Hoesaegi's words from before struck him square in the skull. The part about offering flowers and food to Lady Lara. And then strolling through the park with her at night.
That's it!
Gkamnyangi slammed a front paw against the floor. He'd had an epiphany.
He began crunching through the kibble in his bowl with the ferocity of a cat going into battle. In an instant he'd demolished his breakfast, then took off in a blaze of udada, shooting across the floor at the speed of light.
"Hyungnim, I want some too!"
"Here you go."
The moment he got his treat, Gkamnyangi raced to the master bedroom and slipped under the bed. Beneath it, three boxes sat in their respective spots—three treasure chests, one for each of them.
Gkamnyangi opened his own, carefully placed the treat inside, and closed the lid. Then he rested a front paw gently on the box and stayed like that for a moment.
From then on, every evening, Gkamnyangi collected his share of treats. As they piled up in his treasure box—one, then two—his confidence swelled with them.
I wonder what Lady's name is. Something beautiful, I'm sure.
An elegant name like Lady Lara? Or something cute?
I'll introduce myself and ask her to walk the park with me under the moonlight!
He had the snacks. All he needed was to pick a flower and ask her on a date, and it would be perfect. Just like Hoesaegi had done.
Gkamnyangi's heart fluttered at the thought of asking Lady out.
Even at the animal hospital, he thought of her whenever he had a spare moment. Sitting on the cat tower and looking at the sky, he saw her clear, deep gaze. Coming home and looking out the window at the moonlight-washed yard, he imagined strolling the park with her.
If I introduce myself, exchange names, and then immediately ask her to walk under the moonlight, she might think I'm being too forward. Right. I should meet her a few times first, then ask for a moonlit walk.
As Gkamnyangi collected treats and sighed with a vacant expression at every opportunity, Hoesaegi approached.
"Gkamnyangi, ong."
"Yeah!"
"The snacks... blackmai— ah, never mind, ong."
With that, Hoesaegi turned and walked off. Watching him trot over to Sapsaree's side, Gkamnyangi tilted his head.
What was that guy trying to say?
He replayed Hoesaegi's words.
The snacks, blackmai— what? Did he mean he'd back me up?
The moment the idea of help occurred to him, his face flushed crimson.
"Hah!"
He'd never said a single word about Lady, and yet Hoesaegi knew everything. Was it because he'd been so popular with the lady cats back in the day?
Kid's got sharp instincts. Anyway, he came to offer help, right?
Heehee. Heeheehee.
Gkamnyangi couldn't help smiling. This was why colleagues, friends, and family were such a good thing.
But a man—Gkamnyangi!—can't take help with something like this.
He had to win Lady's heart with his own power, and his alone. Gkamnyangi steeled his resolve and walked toward Hoesaegi. There was real dignity in that walk.
Meanwhile, by the living room window, Hoesaegi and Sapsaree had their heads together in grave conversation.
"Hoesaegi-hyungnim. What did Gkamnyangi-hyung say?"
"I couldn't ask, ong."
There was no way Hoesaegi and Sapsaree, living right beside him, wouldn't notice Gkamnyangi collecting treats and sighing with that vacant look at every turn. They'd been watching him closely. Hoesaegi had finally gone to ask what was going on, then taken one look at his face and shut his mouth.
"It wasn't the mood for questions, ong."
"Was he still shaking?"
"He was out of it, ong. But standing in front of him, this thought hit me, ong."
"What thought?"
"If we figured it out, Gkamnyangi would be embarrassed, ong."
"Embarrassed? I'd be happy if you hyungs smashed my enemies for me, I would!"
"Look at Gkamnyangi, ong."
"I see him. He's walking this way, he is."
"He's packing power into every step, ong. Looks like a boss heading into a fight, ong."
"Y-you're right. Looks like Gkamnyangi-hyung finally made up his mind to teach that bastard a lesson, it does."
Sapsaree spilled the words in a rush—in a whisper, of course, so Gkamnyangi wouldn't hear.
Gkamnyangi was being threatened by someone. Unable to resist the blackmail, he was secretly hoarding snacks. That was what the two of them had concluded.
"No, ong. That's hiding, ong."
"Hiding?"
"That's right, ong. The second I said 'snacks' and 'blackmail' to him, he changed just like that, ong. Means he wants to hide it from me, ong."
"Why hide it? I'd be so happy if you helped, I would!"
Hoesaegi answered Sapsaree evenly.
"Sapsaree, ong. We lived on the streets, ong."
"That's right. You hyungs were bosses, you were."
Sapsaree looked at Hoesaegi with eyes full of respect, and Hoesaegi answered with a faint smile before continuing.
"We're afraid of having our weaknesses known, ong. That's how blood feuds start, ong."
"Is that so?"
"It is, ong. A weakness getting out is a matter of whether you go to the Cat Star or not, ong. That's why Gkamnyangi is hiding it, ong."
Old habits don't die easily. Especially the ones tied to survival. So Hoesaegi understood why Gkamnyangi was acting this way. Sapsaree didn't grasp it as completely as Hoesaegi, but he understood, faintly.
"I get what you mean. We'll wait until Gkamnyangi-hyung tells us himself, we will!"
"Let's do that, ong."
Then Hoesaegi, who'd been of the same mind as Sapsaree, watched Gkamnyangi striding toward them with such force—and his eyes flashed.
"No, ong. Let's find that bastard first and stomp him, ong."
"Without Gkamnyangi-hyung knowing, right?!"
Once they figured out who the guy was, it would be over. And finding a guy like that was easy. They just had to identify whoever Gkamnyangi was watching warily.
"Leave it to this hyung. You just play dumb, little brother, ong."
"Heheh, got it!"
Sapsaree, blessed with such a reliable hyung, grinned like a puppy who'd been given the whole world.
"We'll stomp him so hard he can't even squeak—and Gkamnyangi will never know, ong!"
The two looked at each other and sealed their resolve.
That was when Gkamnyangi marched up and planted himself beside them. Then he declared:
He was announcing that he would win Lady's love with his own two paws.
Hoesaegi and Sapsaree exchanged a look, conversing with their eyes.
Hyungnim, so he really is being blackmailed.
That's right, ong.
They gazed at Gkamnyangi—so proudly determined to crush his enemy—with something like pride. And they supported his will.
"I believe in you, ong!"
"You got this, Hyung!"
"Thanks!"
Family really was a wonderful thing. Gkamnyangi smiled shyly at Hoesaegi and Sapsaree, who were cheering on his romance.
From that day until they went to the welfare center, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were remarkably quiet for two whole days. Watching the two of them, Lee Jun smiled.
"Looks like these two have made up their minds to become Manner Cats."
At last, the day they went to the Community Welfare Center. Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree set out.
In the car, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi said nothing. Hoesaegi's head was occupied with a single thought: find whichever of the three had been blackmailing Gkamnyangi and beat him to a pulp. And Gkamnyangi...
Will Lady come? No, maybe she won't. No. Don't come. No, no. I hope she does... come.
He didn't have the mental space to talk. Sapsaree stayed quiet because his two favorite hyungs were quiet.
The moment the three of them arrived at the welfare center and saw the grandmothers and grandfathers, they did a complete one-eighty. The elderly residents greeted Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree with delight.
Handsome. Magnificent. So good-looking. The grandmothers and grandfathers showered Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi with every word they loved to hear.
Normally they would have preened and carried on, but neither of them was in any state for that. Hoesaegi had told Gkamnyangi he believed in him, but his plan to find the blackmailer and mash him into paste hadn't changed. His nerves were razor-sharp as he scanned for the culprit, while Gkamnyangi's heart hammered at the thought of seeing Lady.
But the two of them were professionals among professionals. They hid what was going on inside and repaid the praise. They smiled. They even did a round of bubibubi, rubbing up against the grandfathers and grandmothers, and offered their foreheads to be stroked.
Even so, the cats' attention was trained entirely on the entrance.
Then one appeared. A plump yellow cat. Hoesaegi's piercing gaze flicked between the plump yellow cat and Gkamnyangi.
Not that one, ong!
Gkamnyangi's demeanor hadn't changed. The vacant expression was the same. No sign of tension.
Having reached that conclusion, next to enter was a sturdy, large-framed spotted fellow. The moment he came in, he bellowed a greeting.
"Hyyungs! Hello! Bongbong greets the hyungs!"
The spotted cat Bongbong came bounding over in a ridiculous display of excitement, then flopped onto his back, belly in the air. No different from last week. But Hoesaegi didn't let his guard down.
Could be an act to hide killing intent, ong.
He watched Gkamnyangi's reaction. The hazy expression was unchanged, but he wasn't tense.
Same reaction as the plump one, ong. Which means... so that's how it is, ong!
Hoesaegi was inwardly stunned. To think that elegant, refined Lady was a master. Now that he knew who the culprit was, he felt a sense of ease.
I'll take care of her on the quiet. One stomp and done, ong!
He would punish her thoroughly, so she'd never dare climb over them again. Something like that was easier than eating a mouthful of warm, tender meat.
A moment later, the culprit appeared.
Sure enough, Gkamnyangi's breathing changed. His whole body went rigid, and he let out a long breath.
That's the one, ong!
Unlike Hoesaegi, who watched the blackmailer with a composed expression while concealing his killing intent, Gkamnyangi hung his head and tapped at the floor with a hapless front paw.
She's here... Lady is here.
Gkamnyangi wanted to see Lady's beautiful eyes. But he couldn't dare lift his gaze to look at her. As he wavered between looking and not looking, a voice as beautiful as birdsong whispering, drunk on the scent of spring, drifted into his ears.
Gkamnyangi's cheeks flushed, and his heart went thump-thump.
How beautiful must the mouth be that produced such a lovely voice? She must have been smiling with her eyes crinkled into crescents.
I want to see her...
He wanted to see Lady's beautiful, deep eyes. He wanted to see the dainty mouth that spun that jewel of a voice. He wanted to see Lady's elegant bearing. He wanted to see Lady's glossy, gleaming black nose.
Wanting to see Lady from the tips of her ears to the pads of her paws, Gkamnyangi jerked his head up. And that was when—
"Welcome, ong!"
Gkamnyangi's eyes caught Hoesaegi taking Lady's front paw in both of his and bringing his mouth toward it.
What was this...!
Gkamnyangi's eyes went as wide as they could possibly go.
Hss. Hss. Hss.
He sucked in a huge breath, let it out, and then hurled himself at the two of them.
Whoosh—!
"N-no!"
And shnk! He shoved his own front paw in over Lady's.
Whump!
Hoesaegi's nose met Gkamnyangi's paw. Met it hard—which meant it got squashed.
"Ah, that hurts, ong!"
Hoesaegi covered his nose with a front paw. Bongbong beside him, and the plump yellow cat too, showed their concern.
"Hyung, are you all right?"
"...Doesn't that hurt?"
But the one who ought to have been more worried than anyone—Gkamnyangi—only stared, eyes spinning, and glared at Hoesaegi.