Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Episode 18 The Yuri Game’s Top Three (Protagonist, Hidden Character, Main Villain) Gathered.
“You know our Shami, right? He’s super picky with food, incredibly prideful, and a haughty little bastard-cat who only acts affectionate toward my mother.”
“Shami is cute and sweet.”
“That’s only with you, In Yuna. With everyone else, he ignores them even if they do nothing, only approaches when he feels like it, and won’t even let people pet him freely.”
Mari likes that side of him too, saying it makes him elegant, but honestly I don’t get it.
“Still, seeing Shami follow you around like that honestly surprised me.”
“…….”
Gradually, In Yuna’s atmosphere began changing.
The cold air around her, like piled snow freezing the world solid, slowly softened as though spring fragrance was blooming through it.
‘Talking about Shami really works well.’
Still, it wasn’t a lie that Shami liked In Yuna.
Honestly, even I’d been shocked seeing that nasty cat—who barely let anyone except Mother pet him properly—act genuinely affectionate toward In Yuna.
“Geum Taeyang.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“The Churu. You bought it for Shami, right? Sorry.”
“What’s there to apologize for? Honestly, Shami needs a diet anyway. He’s been eating too much lately and getting chubbier by the day. This is a good thing instead.”
“Meow.”
“Ah, sorry.”
While talking about Shami, the hand holding the Churu had unconsciously lifted a little too high.
The stray cat let out a dissatisfied cry, so I lowered it again, and the cat resumed happily sucking down the Churu.
“So cute.”
Yeah, I understand it’s cute, but if you radiate such a strong aura of “I want to pet you” with your entire body, you’ll scare the poor thing.
Maybe she knew that herself too, because instead of approaching, In Yuna simply admired the cat from a slight distance away.
Still, the affection and interest shining in her eyes only deepened further.
Her fingers kept twitching toward her pocket as if trying to pull something out, only to grasp at empty air repeatedly.
Her gaze remained fixed heavily on the cat still obliviously licking the Churu, while her hand continued fumbling uselessly at empty space.
For some reason, that sight looked oddly pitiful.
Enough that In Yuna reminded me of a drenched cat herself.
‘She’d look perfect with cat ears.’
If In Yuna really had cat ears right now, I could almost picture soft triangular ears drooping sadly.
‘Should I buy one of those moving cat-ear headbands later?’
Since In Yuna liked cats too, maybe she’d wear it if I gave it to her as a gift.
Then I could see her cute cat-like side—
No, what the hell was I thinking!?
There was no way that would ever happen!
And even if it somehow did, that wasn’t the kind of thing you asked from a friend!
‘Begone, evil thoughts! Buddha, God, please bless and save me!’
Looks like I temporarily lost my mind.
Actually imagining something like that… that was the kind of nonsense Baek Daeji would think of.
“What’s wrong?”
“I suddenly got a little depressed.”
“? Are you okay?”
“Ah, seriously, I’m fine. Healthy as ever, so don’t worry.”
Aside from my heart taking a little damage, anyway.
“Instead of just staring, if you want to take pictures, you can.”
“!?”
“How did I know? Your hand kept almost reaching into your pocket over and over. There’s no way I wouldn’t notice. And he’s distracted eating Churu right now, so this is your chance.”
“……Is it really okay?”
“If you want to take pictures, then take them.”
It’s not like the cat had portrait rights or anything, so there was no need to hesitate.
And if she was worried about startling him, she could just mute the shutter sound and turn off the flash.
Even after I lightly encouraged her forward, In Yuna still looked torn, hesitation and confusion flickering repeatedly in her eyes.
Like some martyr wavering between her desires and her sacred beliefs, she carried a strangely tragic atmosphere.
Then what did that make me?
Satan?
I quietly waited like an audience member watching from the sidelines to see what choice she’d make.
Not long after, In Yuna finally pulled her phone from her pocket.
Desire had won.
The camera silently captured the cat through mute mode, and the speed of her thumb tapping the screen was almost fast enough to leave afterimages.
Her eyes sparkled with more life than ever.
The cat greedily sucked down the Churu.
In Yuna photographed the cat happily.
And I watched the two adorable creatures together.
It truly was a world where everyone became happy.
This place felt like a paradise.
A perfect world where everyone smiled happily together, becoming so flawless it felt untouchable—
Until—
“Ah! There you are!”
“Meow!”
“Hm?”
A sudden loud voice shattered the atmosphere, and the cat happily devouring the Churu jumped up in surprise.
In Yuna, who’d been blissfully taking pictures of the cat, pouted slightly in disappointment.
“Ah, uh… um…….”
Huh?
That girl—
She was wearing our school uniform, and since the trim color was red, she had to be a first-year.
I’d been with juniors earlier, so there was no way I could mistake the color.
‘That face…’
Round eyes, light brown hair tied into a side ponytail, and a lively yet cute appearance.
She was definitely a pretty girl.
But that wasn’t why she caught my attention.
More than anything, her face had become strangely familiar lately.
We hadn’t met often, but every encounter had been so impactful that she’d carved herself into my memory.
‘The first-year who saw me and ran away before?’
At least she wasn’t running away today.
“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare anyone.”
Today she wasn’t running away.
“You scared the cat.”
“I’m sorry!”
“Your voice is too loud.”
“…Sorry.”
Looks like In Yuna was genuinely upset.
I could feel the irritation in her voice from having her happy moment interrupted.
“You surprised us suddenly, but nobody got hurt, so you don’t need to apologize that much.”
“……Okay.”
Hm?
What was with this kid?
It was only for a brief second, but—
Did she just glare at me with displeasure?
Maybe I imagined it.
“Meow.”
“Ah, right. You got startled, huh? Here, there’s still more.”
“……Meow.”
The cat resumed licking the Churu after I held it out again.
But maybe because a stranger had suddenly appeared, he now seemed more cautious than before, which meant In Yuna couldn’t continue taking pictures.
“Eh? No way…… Jackie’s actually following him.”
The first-year’s shrill voice sounded like the ceiling had collapsed on her.
And at the name, In Yuna responded first.
“Jackie?”
“Huh?”
“Is that this cat’s name?”
“Are you this cat’s owner? Ah, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Geum Taeyang, and this is In Yuna. Are you Jackie’s owner?”
“……I’m Na Chaewon, Sunbaenims. I’m not his owner. And the name Jackie…… I just thought it’d feel sad if he had no name, so I gave him one myself.”
First-year Na Chaewon avoided our eyes with an awkward expression, clearly unwilling to meet our gaze properly.
Maybe she was shy around people like Kang Yena used to be.
She carefully avoided eye contact, and caution seeped through every little movement she made.
Still, looking closely, it felt like that wariness was directed specifically at me alone.
Just how terrible had the rumors about me become among first-years for her to look at me so cautiously?
At this point, even learning more sounded terrifying.
“Jackie. He’s male?”
“Yes.”
“Heh, really.”
When I petted Jackie’s head as he rubbed against the back of my hand, he purred happily.
While I played around with the cat, for some reason I felt two separate gazes stabbing into me.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re close.”
“……Impossible. Jackie’s usually scared of people. Even I’m not that close to him yet.”
In Yuna got sulky over something weird again.
But Na Chaewon looked equally shocked, her face pale white.
Did she love cats too?
Come to think of it, the basket she carried looked like one of those from Da○so.
And the thing poking out from inside definitely looked like one of those cheap cat toys Da○so sold.
‘So she’s a cat lover too.’
People always said women tended to like cats more often.
Especially around me, there seemed to be a lot of women like that.
Mother, Mari, In Yuna, and now even this junior Na Chaewon really loved cats.
“Sorry about that.”
“!?”
I genuinely meant it apologetically, but maybe it sounded like mocking provocation instead, because Na Chaewon’s face stiffened completely and her pupils shook violently.
Was it really that shocking?
“Just so you know, I don’t mean anything bad by it. But what can I do? He likes me.”
“……Ghk! Kgh…!”
“Are you okay?”
What was with that reaction?
Did she secretly have some kind of illness?
“D-Don’t think… don’t think you’ve won with this!”
Patpatpat!
“……Huh? Did I tease her too much?”
If I’d known she loved cats that much, maybe I shouldn’t have joked around so much.
Before she turned and ran off, did I really see tears welling in her eyes?
‘That was kind of mean.’
After Na Chaewon disappeared like a storm, silence returned to the alley.
As I petted Jackie, who still rubbed affectionately against my hand far away from all the chaos, a gloomy voice spoke beside me.
“As expected, Geum Taeyang really was Geum Taeyang.”
“Ah.”
I’d completely forgotten.
“Don’t sulk so much. He’s just attached to me because I’m feeding him.”
“But I’ve been taking care of him this whole time.”
“Don’t be too upset. Cats are naturally selfish like that.”
Cats were creatures who acted affectionate one moment, then slipped away the moment you tried getting closer.
That irrational selfishness was simply part of being a cat.
Which meant you couldn’t become too emotionally invested while dealing with them, nor feel hurt whenever they suddenly wandered off.
“…….”
“If you like cats that much, why not raise one yourself, In Yuna? What about Jackie?”
“Meow.”
For some reason, Jackie’s cry sounded like he was grumbling, “Why are you deciding where I live on your own?”
Still, I genuinely meant the suggestion.
Someone who loved cats this much would definitely cherish Jackie.
And stray cats lived short lives anyway, so being adopted into a comfortable home would honestly be better for him too.
“I can’t. That’s impossible.”
“I see.”
“…….”
I didn’t ask further.
If someone who loved cats as much as In Yuna couldn’t raise one herself, then the reason was probably either strict housing rules or family-related circumstances.
Topics like that could easily become sensitive, so avoiding them felt safest.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“……Geum Taeyang is kind.”
“A second ago you were saying Geum Taeyang really was Geum Taeyang.”
“But you’re still kind.”
“……That’s embarrassing.”
When someone looked at me so directly with warm eyes filled with gratitude and affection, even I couldn’t continue acting shamelessly unaffected.
Seriously, she was the kind of girl who made keeping distance feel impossible no matter how hard I tried.
“He said he didn’t mean anything bad! He was obviously mocking me! Aaaaah! Just wait, Geum Taeyang! I’ll never lose!”
Still, this confirmed it.
Geum Taeyang really was a reincarnator.
And on top of that, he’d already realized I was one too.
Once again, I felt how overwhelmingly strong my enemy was.
But I would never surrender.
To protect 【The Pure White Flowers Bloomed by Maidens】, I would never give up!