Baby Cat (2)
Baby Cat (2)
"So? Why did you come out here to wait? It's dangerous and cold out here."
I shot a look at Lee Min-ho and stroked Ji-ye's hair.
This reminded me of when Minji was little.
"It's because Ji-ye said she missed you, that's why we came out. And anyway, cars can't come in around here, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because the road out front ends right at our house and goes nowhere else."
"Is that so?"
Indeed, ever since I first came to Lee Min-ho's house, I had never seen a car driving in front of it.
I figured it was because it was all Lee Min-ho's family's land.
"You're unimaginably rich, huh?"
"Hey, my family's wealth is probably similar to A-ra's, though?"
"Is it that much?"
"Good grief... you don't even know your own wife's assets..."
As if he knew all about it himself, he started bragging, shrugging his shoulders.
Meanwhile, Ji-ye, not understanding what the talk was about, tilted her head back and forth like a puppy.
"Since I'm here anyway, I want to see Cloud. That okay?"
"Cloud? He's probably playing in the yard right now."
"Then I'll go cuddle with Cloud in the yard, too."
Cloud had grown explosively, becoming a huge dog.
He was cute even as a newborn because he was already a big puppy, and now his ears stand perked up, making him a great dog to hug.
"Oppa."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I heard from oppa that you raise dogs, too."
Ji-ye looked up at me, holding onto my sleeve.
Was this why people wanted a daughter?
I began to think it would be nice to have a cute daughter myself.
"Oppa?"
"Hm? I have two dogs. And I brought a cat home yesterday, too."
"Can I come see them sometime?"
"Come with oppa and Cloud. Our Lil' One and Pipsqueak are super cute, you know?"
I told her she could come play anytime and stroked her hair.
I really seemed to like stroking people's heads.
"Hey, but is it okay to just stroke another woman's hair like that?"
"That's a big statement. You're banned from my house going forward."
"Haha! Do you think that'll go your way!?"
Of course, it would.
That house is my house.
No, technically it's A-ra's house, but would she really refuse to let her husband's friend visit?
"Good grief... hey, stop talking nonsense and get the meat ready."
"Okay. What were you going to do again?"
"I'm going to hug Cloud."
With a clanking sound, the door leading inside opened.
As expected, the security was really incredible.
***
"There's so much to clean today..."
As always, before cleaning, I had to call for cleaning services.
It was because our house was so large that cleaning it alone was like crawling into hell.
Counting the rooms on the upper floor, there were a total of 10 rooms. The lower floor had three bathrooms, one in the master bedroom, plus a separate bathroom with a bathtub on the lower floor and another in the master bedroom—so it was practically impossible for someone as weak and easily tired as me to clean the entire house.
That's why I used the cleaning service, one of the apartment resident services, about twice a week.
The price was a bit high, but it had the advantage of being safe since it was a company certified by the apartment.
On top of that, the same guys had been coming to our house for over a year, which made it comfortable, too.
"Hello."
"Hello~ Oh, a cat I haven't seen before?"
"Meow."
Probably shy around a stranger, she puffed up her body and started lying down in a weird posture.
Since I felt like she was about to cause a big scene, I picked her up and hugged her to my chest.
"Little one, let's stay in the playpen until the oppas finish cleaning, okay?"
"Meow."
Of course, our Tiny's consent wasn't needed.
Forced execution was my style.
She was begging to be held constantly, but I couldn't clean if I was holding the cat.
Just rest a little while.
I immediately put Tiny in the playpen, grabbed a broom, and headed to the entrance.
"You can let her roam free, though."
"Nah, there might be someone who doesn't like cats."
"Hahaha, you're the only one who cares about things like that, Seong-hwan-ssi."
The guys still said they weren't afraid of animals like dogs or cats and that it was fine.
Should I bring an animal like a chinchilla next time?
They probably wouldn't like rodents that much, since they're guys.
"So where shall we start?"
"Hm... let's start over there, from the living room."
The plan was to start from the opposite side of where the cat was, then midway move the cat to the cleaned area and clean that side.
For reference, the dogs had gone into a room and were resting quietly.
*
"Meow~ Myaang~"
"Ah-ah, little one, you have to be quiet."
Since I was cleaning right next to her, she was causing a ruckus wanting to play.
Were cats originally animals that followed people so well?
Or maybe it was because she was still a baby.
Still, once I gave her a warning, she went off to do her own business, which seemed like a difference from the dogs.
Whenever Lil' One and Pipsqueak started whining to play, they kept clinging to me.
"Phew.... I'm mostly done here..."
Because I had to clean the dogs' room too, I let them all out onto the terrace.
Leaving only Tiny, who was still a bit iffy to be with them, behind.
"Seong-hwan-ssi! We just need to clean up here too, right?"
"Yes, please."
I answered because I heard a voice coming from the utility room and auxiliary kitchen.
We didn't use the auxiliary kitchen or the maid's room, so we left them unused.
The maid's room was roughly the size of a studio apartment with a bathroom and shower, and the auxiliary kitchen was attached, so although it was small, it seemed to have the advantage of being convenient to use as a separated space.
I used the auxiliary kitchen when I needed extra burners for filming videos, though.
"Myaang~"
"Oh? How did you get out?"
I lifted up Tiny, who was rubbing her head against my leg.
I definitely put her in the playpen, so there shouldn't have been a way out...
"Baby, how did you get out?"
"Meow~"
"If you just keep meowing like that, how is daddy supposed to know?"
I scratched my head with my other hand and walked back to the playpen.
I didn't know how she got out, but I had to clean right now.
"You have to be quiet, okay?"
"Meow~"
"Alright, alright..."
I was still quite uneasy, but I started cleaning again.
This time, I decided to clean the hallway leading to the master bedroom, which was a little ways from the living room, with a wet rag.
Since it was a place where people came and went quite often, it was a spot where a lot of fur and hair flew around.
That's why I had to clean it meticulously.
"Meow~"
"?"
I looked down again, and Tiny was rubbing her cheek against my leg.
Something was definitely strange.
Was there some kind of problem with the playpen?
"Eutcha..."
Since it had come to this, I had no choice but to leave her in a room that was already tidied up.
If you keep staging Prison Break like that, daddy has ways to deal with it.
*
After finishing the cleaning, I sent all the guys from the center back home and began inspecting the playpen.
It was a playpen that anyone could see was sturdy and well-fixed.
What on earth was the problem?
"Not like this. I should put the culprit in and check."
I headed to the prison where Tiny was confined, hugged her with one arm, and returned to the living room.
Once I put her in the playpen, she started jumping around excitedly as if she was back in her hometown.
And as if checking that I had left, she shook her head back and forth, and then... . . . . . . She shoved her head into a small hole in the playpen!!
And then, she squeezed right out!
I knew cats were incredibly flexible, but she was able to escape through a hole that small?
If that's the case, then there's no point in buying the playpen, is there?
...That little one, she wasn't escaping and roaming around inside the house when we were sleeping, was she?
Especially since the door to Lil' One and Pipsqueak's room was wide open at night.
I guess... I'll have to install a CCTV to monitor the animals.
***
"Our Tiny is amazing, huh?"
"Meow."
"By nature, a woman must know how to be challenging."
A-ra didn't hold back on praising her for escaping.
But you probably shouldn't praise a young one for escaping, right?
"It's fine, it's fine. Noona saw at night, and she was looking at the moon together with Lil' One and Pipsqueak."
"Really?"
That's amazing in its own way...
That they weren't fighting and were calmly looking at the moon.
Did they not need as long of an adaptation period as I thought?
"But why didn't you tell me that?"
"S...Sorry, noona completely forgot."
And then she lightly smacked her own head and winked.
Did she think I would just let it slide if she did that?
"S...Seong-hwan?"
"I can't just let it slide today. You know that, right?"
"Uh... huh? W...What do you mean you can't let it slide... what..."
She knew full well and was playing innocent again.
I slowly pushed A-ra towards the bed.
Then, I gently stroked her head and began undoing the buttons of her top.
"Since there's no Obedience Voucher... I guess I'll have to use the Lead-right today."
"Th...That... You definitely said today you..."
"It's canceled. Today, I'm going to do whatever I want."
The authority to override A-ra's promise and do as I pleased—that was what A-ra was most pressured by.
I guess she didn't really like being led by a man, after all.
Still, there was no helping it.
Because she brought it upon herself.
"Lie down. Hurry."
When I said it strongly in a flat tone, A-ra quietly lay down on the bed.
I slowly placed my hand on her chest and softly kneaded it.