Relatives
Daeho and Aju’s house.
I had helped carry their moving boxes and visited often before enlisting, so the place didn’t feel awkward. Still, after staying away for a full year, the sense of returning after a long time settled over me.
“Come in, Riha oppa.”
“Yeah. Sorry for intruding.”
This house felt small even compared to our own modest place… and until just yesterday, Daeho had been here. But now…
…Sigh. Never thought I’d come home looking like this.
There was Daeho, now inhabiting Hahu.
“I was surprised earlier. Hahu suddenly popped out from inside your hoodie, oppa.”
“Sorry. This guy… wouldn’t let go when I told him Daeho had died. So I brought him along in secret.”
“…Hahu really loved Daeho oppa, huh.”
“I guess…”
“Even so, you shouldn’t bring a cat to the hospital…”
“Sorry. I’m reflecting on it.”
On the taxi ride over with Aju, I had confessed everything to her. That the current Daeho—no, Hahu—was with us.
I’ve always been terrible at lying to Aju, so I laid the truth out from the beginning.
She looked startled at first, but soon her expression softened as she held Hahu… or rather, Daeho, in her arms.
“Hehe. First time here for you, Hahu? Come here.”
“…” / …
To anyone watching, it simply looked like Aju was calling over an adorable cat. In truth, a little sister was summoning her older brother, so both Daeho and I froze for a second, unsure how to react.
…Nya, ah…
Once Daeho grasped his current reality, he rubbed his face against Aju’s hand. She smiled softly and stroked his head. He accepted the touch with a slightly rigid posture.
“Maybe because it’s been so long, Hahu seems a little awkward.”
“Yeah. It’s because it’s been a while. Definitely.”
Nyaah…
I knew the real reason for that awkwardness but couldn’t say a word. I settled for responding in a way that wasn’t exactly a lie.
Hey… do something. This is mortifying.
“…”
Don’t talk to me out of nowhere. Unlike you, my words can be heard by Aju too.
I had no desire to show her me seriously conversing with a cat for no apparent reason.
“Aju, you should go change first. I’ll keep an eye on Hahu.”
“Ah, okay. See you in a bit, Hahu.”
…Nyaah.
“Hehe. Maybe because it’s been a while, his meow even sounds a little different.”
“…It’s because it’s been a while. Definitely.”
Giving the same answer as before, I watched Aju disappear into her room before approaching Daeho. He looked up at me with an exhausted expression.
Sigh… My pride as her older brother just got obliterated in one stroke.
“You’re overreacting to a single head pat.”
Tsk. You wouldn’t get it.
With that, Daeho stretched all four legs out in a languid motion that looked exactly like a cat waking up.
“The way you stretch is seriously cat-like.”
…I’ve actually been noticing it since earlier. I’m starting to act like a cat on instinct.
“Does that mean you want cat food now too?”
If you actually feed me that crap, I’ll rip your throat out.
At least some fragment of his human identity was still fiercely rejecting cat food. Not that I had any intention of offering it to my friend. That stuff was surprisingly expensive anyway.
…So when are you going to tell her?
“Tell her what?”
That you’re going to live here together.
“…”
When, huh.
I did need to say something. But no matter how I framed it, the core message would be that I wanted to live alone with Aju.
Once I thought of it that way, an awkward, hesitant feeling crept over me.
Sigh. Tell her as soon as possible. Aju might look soft, but she’s strong-willed. Once she pulls herself together, she’ll refuse no matter what because she won’t want to burden you. Right now, while she’s still vulnerable—that’s your chance.
“The way you say that makes me sound like complete trash.”
It’s fine when her brother says it.
“The problem is that I’m the one who has to actually say it…”
While Daeho and I were exchanging pointless banter, Aju’s door opened. At the sound, I turned toward her room.
And for a moment, I was stunned.
It felt wrong to think it about funeral attire, and I knew it was strange, but Aju in that black suit looked far more adult than the girl I remembered. It caught me off guard.
“Riha oppa, let’s go now.”
“…”
“Riha oppa?”
“Ah, yeah. We should head out.”
I had been staring at her in a daze. Her voice snapped me back, and I stood up. We were about to return to the hospital.
That’s when it came.
“…What about Hahu?”
“Hmm. Do we have to take him again?”
“But it’s a hospital…”
“It’s a funeral hall. Maybe it’s fine?”
“This hospital’s funeral wing probably prohibits companion animals.”
Right… To be honest, the only reason I’d brought Daeho to the hospital was so he could see his own death with his own eyes. There was no need to drag him along this time.
“Is it okay to leave him here?”
“I’m fine with it. Does Auntie know?”
“No, I snuck him out.”
“Huu… Then please explain it properly to her later, Riha oppa.”
“Will do.”
I never imagined bringing one cat would create so much hassle. Mom would worry if she noticed Hahu missing from the house, too.
I’d have to tell her later, just like Aju said.
“Then stay here quietly, Hahu.”
…Nyaah.
“Hehe, good boy.”
She patted him gently.
Daeho’s face now showed pure resignation as he accepted Aju’s touch. The sight looked a little pitiful, but I was also starting to find it funny.
“Let’s go, Aju.”
“Okay.”
…Sigh.
From behind us came Daeho’s heavy sigh. It carried every emotion he couldn’t put into words.
Of course he was exhausted. In the span of a single day he had learned of his own death, turned into a cat, and then been fawned over by his little sister. No ordinary person could have imagined going through all that so quickly.
“Rest up at home.”
…Yeah.
Home really was the best place to recover. No matter where you go, nothing beats the comfort of your own house.
---
The funeral hall.
In the already-prepared space for mourners, Mom was scolding me.
“Sigh. Who on earth did he take after to pull something like this…”
“Sorry.”
It had been a long time since Mom last chewed me out.
After returning home, she had searched frantically for the missing Hahu. By the time she had to leave for the funeral hall, she learned I was the one who had taken him.
She had every right to be angry.
“Aju, I’m sorry. If Hahu broke or damaged anything, tell me immediately. We’ll pay for it.”
“It’s okay. There aren’t any expensive items anyway, and for some reason Hahu is really well-behaved at our house.”
“That’s a relief… but let me know anyway, just in case. Oh, and the compensation will come out of Riha’s military savings, so don’t feel bad toward me.”
“Why are you using my money!?”
“It’s your fault, isn’t it?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“Hehe.”
Until this morning Aju’s face had been stained only with tears. Now smiles were beginning to appear more often. I felt glad to see it, yet at the same time I worried she might be forcing herself to laugh in order to bury her grief.
“Aju.”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind. I was just wondering who might come to pay their respects.”
I was concerned about her, but there was no point in reminding a girl who currently seemed fine on the surface about her sadness. I changed the subject.
“Ah… It’ll probably just be people from the company and our relatives.”
“Yeah, but the company…”
“Yes. They might not show up at all.”
After what happened with that Director Kim earlier, it was safer not to expect anything from that side. Which meant the visitors would likely be relatives…
“Those… people from before, too?”
“…Yes. I contacted them anyway.”
“I see.”
The relatives we were referring to were the ones who had taken care of the two siblings after their parents passed away—Daeho and Aju’s uncle and his family.
In this day and age, they hadn’t treated them like Cinderella just because they weren’t blood-related. Still, the invisible wall created by the inability to fully close the distance always made Daeho and Aju feel uncomfortable.
And then there was—
“That guy’s coming too, right?”
“Yes…”
“Hmm.”
The uncle’s son—in other words, the cousin to both Daeho and Aju—had been excessively attached to Aju.
To a worrying degree.
He had tried to control her as if he were her guardian. That was why I had once gotten into a fight with him.
Oh, and yes, it was a physical fight.
“Sigh. Personally, I’d rather he didn’t come…”
“Don’t worry. Like I told you before, after that day he stopped interfering with me so much.”
“No, I think I’ll be the one feeling awkward.”
“Ah…”
No matter how you looked at it, I was about to see the guy I had punched again. Meeting someone with whom I shared no good memories was… uncomfortable, to say the least.
“When are they supposed to get here?”
“It looks like they’re on their way now.”
“Ugh…”
If they were arriving immediately, I couldn’t even slip away. I had planned to use the excuse of running home for a moment if they gave me any time.
“…More importantly, Riha oppa.”
“Hm?”
“Your collar is folded here.”
“Oh, is it?”
“Yes… Hold on.”
Aju stepped close and reached out to adjust the collar of my suit.
…She smelled nice.
…Ahem.
“You can reach without standing on your toes?”
“…Uuu, I’m not that short, you know?”
“Haha, I’m kidding.”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… It’s just. Today is the first time I’ve seen you smile, oppa. I was thinking… it really has been a while.”
“Ah…”
Her words left me speechless. Just as I had been watching whether Aju was smiling, she had been watching me too.
Well, I hadn’t exactly been relaxed either. So much had happened in a single day. And on the very day I was discharged, no less.
“All done.”
“Thanks.”
The realization that Aju had been paying such close attention to me warmed my heart.
That was when a voice cut in, sounding distinctly annoyed.
“You two are still close as ever.”
I recognized that voice even though I had only heard it a few times.
“…So you really came.”
“I’m blood-related to Daeho. If anything, I’m wondering why you’re here.”
“…”
“…”
I stared silently at the owner of the voice. Neither of us looked away, and the gazes we exchanged were anything but friendly.
Aju stepped between us.
“Riha oppa. Let’s go inside first. And—”
Understanding the situation, she took my hand to calm things down and led me toward the reception room. Then she glanced back and spoke to her cousin as well.
“Eunhye unnie, you come in too.”
Precisely—her cousin unnie.
An Eunhye. A striking beauty with violet hair and yellow eyes, but…
She was the one who had cherished Aju more than anyone while Aju lived in her house—and at the same time, the one who had kept her under tight control. She was also the person who had traded real punches with me.
Some might ask how I could hit a girl, but…
Back then I was a middle-schooler and she was already in college. On top of that, she had been the three-time consecutive champion of the high-school girls’ boxing tournament.
Sigh. Really.
No wonder I hadn’t wanted to see her.
She was the woman who had beaten me in a fight, after all…