The Uninvited Guest
The doorbell chimed again, its tone ringing through the room.
"Hey! Why's the door locked? Eunhyuk!"
Of all the mornings for this pest to show up.
Ah, seriously — why today of all days…
"If you're gonna drop by, at least text me first…!"
I muttered, clutching my throbbing head.
The man at the door was Yu Kangmin. Twenty-four, same age as me. He looked like a delinquent, but he wasn't one — just one of the few friends I'd kept since high school. We hung out now and then, and every so often he'd barge in unannounced and I'd let him in without much fuss. That was the kind of relationship we had. But…
"Mmh… nngh…?"
The timing today was spectacularly bad. This was my studio apartment, and for once, I wasn't the only one in it.
Cecilia's ears twitched into view. Her eyelids fluttered — she looked ready to wake at any second.
"Eunhyuk~! Open up~."
And to make matters worse, Kangmin started pounding on the door.
"Kangmin! I—I can't today!"
"Huh?? Why not?"
"I've got plans with a senior from work, we're meeting up soon…"
A complete lie, of course. First priority was getting this guy out of here.
"Then I'll just grab a juice and bounce. I'm thirsty~."
This bastard…
Not even water — juice? The sheer nerve.
"E-Eunhyuk…?"
That was when Cecilia woke up and caught sight of me wrestling with the situation at the front door.
"Coming in~."
"How the hell do you know my passcode?!"
Kangmin punched in a code I'd never given him, and the door swung open.
"…Huh?"
"Hii…?"
Cat and delinquent locked eyes. A dazed voice and a wary one rang out through the room at the same time. I watched the whole scene with a hand pressed to my forehead.
"Uh… so, uh…"
Kangmin slowly turned to look at me. His face was a mix of awkwardness and a flicker of genuine apology. But then that familiar mischievous glint crept back in, and he opened his mouth.
"…If you were snuggling with your girlfriend, you could've just said so, ghk—?!"
He never finished the sentence. My elbow dropped him mid-word. Truly, it was the start of a very loud morning.
"Whoa, an otherworlder…. I've seen them on the news, but never in person. Eunhyuk's girlfriend? Or just a friend? Either way, nice to meet you~. Where are you from? Another world, like they say on TV? Or wait — maybe an underground civilization? Got a favorite food? Oh, I've got a piece of candy, want it?"
"…."
It was an excruciating sight.
First thing in view: Kangmin, planted in my chair, firing questions at Cecilia like a machine gun.
Gold-dyed hair, a piercing at the corner of his lip. No tan. Despite the delinquent look, his actual build and features were on the slender, almost delicate side. That gap was something he loved to brag about — claimed it made him popular. And to be fair, his outgoing personality meant he met people easily and got numbers often enough. A genuine ladies' man. But…
"…."
Not right now.
Cecilia was staring at Kangmin's easy grin with pure wariness. Her tail had gone rigid. The tips of her ears trembled.
She wasn't even on the bed anymore. She was in the corner of the room, in front of the wardrobe — the farthest, most tucked-away spot in the whole apartment — curled in on herself.
"Aww, you're adorable. What's your name? Can you speak our language? Hmm?"
Whether he genuinely couldn't read the room or found even her fear cute, Kangmin kept talking without a shred of tact. I tapped him on the shoulder.
"…Kangmin. Look, you two just met, so…"
"Don't crowd her? Got it, got it."
He flashed a grin. Impossible to tell whether he'd actually understood.
"Anyway…"
Of course not.
"Those ears look so soft…. Hold on, just once…"
He stood up from the chair and reached for Cecilia's ears.
"Hik…."
A tiny cry escaped her, and she went even more rigid. Pressed flat against the wall, she looked almost pale.
Cecilia, frozen in terror. Kangmin, hand outstretched toward her. The moment I saw it—
Smack! I knocked his hand away hard.
"…?"
"……?"
A sharp, dry crack filled the room, and two startled pairs of eyes swung toward my face. But of the three of us, I was the most surprised.
I hadn't expected my hand to move first. Sure, I'd been annoyed at Kangmin for being so dense, but I never thought I'd choose to strike before anything else.
I glanced at the back of Kangmin's hand — faintly red. He looked at it, then at me, then at Cecilia, and finally spoke.
"…Sorry. That was out of line."
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and sat back down in the chair.
"I really am sorry for just reaching out like that, miss. Got way too excited without thinking. Seriously, my bad."
"…Seriously. You still haven't fixed that?"
"I know, I know. Bad habit. Gotta work on it. Anyway, really sorry, miss. And you too, Eunhyuk — thanks for stopping me."
"…Yeah, well. As long as you get it."
Honestly, half of it had been pure reflex. But Cecilia looked a little less tense, and he'd owned up to it, so it worked out for the best.
"There's a lot more I'd love to ask, but… hanging around any longer would just be rude, right?"
"Obviously."
"Harsh."
Kangmin gave a wry smile, but there was nothing off about his expression anymore.
That was just who he was. Perfectly normal most of the time — until something caught his interest, and then he charged in without looking left or right. Take that one flaw away and he'd be perfect. A bad habit, just like he said.
"I'll leave this and head out. Brought it so we could play together, but another time."
"What is it?"
"A board game."
He set down a fairly large box. On the cover was a man who looked like a gem appraiser, holding up some jewel and examining it closely.
"I've played that one."
"Oh yeah? Well, it's fun. If you want, try it with your girlfriend sometime."
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Look at you, getting all shy."
No, she really wasn't…. But Kangmin clearly didn't buy a word of it. He just gave me a knowing smile.
"Alright, I'm out."
He stood up lightly and headed for the front door without hesitation.
"See you around."
He gave a casual wave and slipped outside. The door clicked shut, and silence settled over the room once more.
"…Finally quiet."
"…."
"Sorry, Cecilia. It got really loud first thing in the morning, and he was so rude…"
"…."
"Cecilia?"
When she didn't answer, I turned to look at her. Her eyes still held wariness — softer than before, but still there.
"Ah~…"
Right. With all the morning chaos, I'd completely forgotten. Cecilia was sober now. Completely different from last night, when she'd been dead drunk.
"Uh… Cecilia?"
I spoke carefully.
"Do you remember last night?"
"…Yeah."
"How much?"
"…Up to… the book. Reading."
"…Are you still scared of me?"
"A little…"
"I see…"
Her answer carried just that little bit of wariness, and I hung my head.
Earning her real trust was clearly going to take more time. A faint hollowness settled in my chest as I started tidying the bedding on the floor — and that was when she spoke.
"…Thank you."
"Hm?"
Cecilia's voice was small. When I asked again, she hesitated, then tried once more.
"Thank you. For… not letting him touch me…"
Careful, but clearly carrying something beyond just wariness.
I lifted my head and looked her way. For some reason, she was covering her face with her hands. But at the same time, I could see her two ears perking up, and the tail behind her swaying gently.
"…Don't mention it."
I smiled as I answered.
Scratch what I thought a moment ago. Little by little, it seemed I was already starting to earn her trust.
"Alright, breakfast time! Anything you want?"
"That… thin soup from yesterday…"
"Bone broth? Okay. Good thing I bought extras."
I rolled up the pillow and blanket, set them aside, and picked up one of the instant bone broth packs still sitting on the table, tearing open the wrapper.
"And… ah, almost forgot."
I turned back toward Cecilia, who was slowly, tentatively creeping out of the corner.
"You can stay here. It's okay. I'm not going to kick you out. Ever."
"…!"
"And housework — it doesn't matter if you mess up a few times. I'll teach you as many times as it takes. I promise."
"That…"
"You asked me to say it, didn't you?"
Her eyes went wide with surprise. But then her expression softened into something easy and calm. Combined with the sunlight filtering in, it painted a scene of pure warmth.
"…Yeah. Thank you."
"D-don't mention it."
She smiled quietly. And the fact that, for a moment, that smile looked so beautiful it made my heart skip — well, that was a small secret of mine.