Do I Smell?
Meow!
Mew!
“Those two are here again.”
Dojin, who had just returned from a walk to the village with Ttorang-i, spotted cats walking along the top of the wall.
One was a pitch-black cat without a single speck of white, and the other was a mackerel tabby with a common brown pattern.
“When did they first show up?”
“I don't know. They've just been around for a while now.”
“I think this is part of their walking route. They always walk along the wall around lunchtime.”
To Dojin's question—having just returned from his quarantine—the two of them just shrugged and replied.
Meow~
Mew~
“Well, look at you two.”
When they made eye contact with Dojin, the two felines hissed.
Dojin let out a hollow laugh at their attitude, which seemed to say, What are you looking at?
To an outsider, it would look as if Sekki House belonged to them.
“What's going on? They've been lingering around for quite a while lately. Don't tell me they're trying to slide their way in?”
Wondering if this was what people called a "stealthy cat invasion," Dojin approached them with Ttorang-i.
“Go away, you guys. We already have resident cats in our house.”
And there were six of them, no less.
Moreover, those resident cats were highly suspicious and jealous. If he left these stray cats alone, Dojin would be the one in trouble.
They would surely come by every dawn and wake him up again.
“Meow!”
“Hiss!”
When Dojin waved his arms to shoo them away, their hissing grew even fiercer.
“Ha? Unbelievable.”
Dojin was dumbfounded to see them raising their fur and hissing at him.
He thought they would just back off if he shooed them away, but instead, they were threatening him.
“I had a feeling, but you guys really intend to settle down here, don't you?”
Just looking at them threatening him without even coming down from the wall made it obvious what they were thinking.
They seemed to already consider this place their home.
“Not a chance. Ttorang-i! Bark!”
Woof! Woof woof!
As Dojin let go of the leash, Ttorang-i dashed forward as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.
Ttorang-i disliked them anyway.
Whenever they crossed paths during walks, she would growl at them, unlike how she treated Bo-ri or Samsaek-i's siblings.
Back then, Dojin hadn't understood her behavior, but seeing this now, it seemed Ttorang-i had already seen right through their nasty cat personalities.
Hiss!
Screech!
Were they startled by Ttorang-i's threat?
A sense of panic washed over the two cats.
Still, they remained somewhat composed.
Since Ttorang-i was on the ground and they were up on the wall, they deemed themselves safe.
Smirk.
“Well, I guess you guys haven't seen Ttorang-i jump properly, have you?”
With Dojin's words, Ttorang-i launched herself into the air.
Tap, thud!
Kicking the wall mid-air to make up for her lack of height, Ttorang-i easily scaled the wall.
Growl!
...
...
As Ttorang-i began to growl at them, the cats, who had been so smug just a moment ago, instantly shut their mouths.
They realized that if they bluffed now, they would be in serious trouble.
“Oh, is it because they're strays? They're quick on the uptake.”
The walls of Sekki House were old school walls, so they were quite wide, leaving plenty of room for Ttorang-i to move around.
Dojin had once seen her climb up the wall herself to chase away a rat.
Well, the rat was ultimately caught by Hwindung-i, though.
The important thing was that Ttorang-i could move incredibly fast up there.
“What are you doing? Run away quickly! Ttorang-i shows no mercy to anyone except Bo-ri and her kittens.”
Woof woof!
Ttorang-i barked loudly as if agreeing with Dojin's words.
Unable to hold out any longer, the cats leaped down from the wall.
“Good riddance. Don't come back.”
Just like with humans, Dojin absolutely detested ill-mannered animals.
He had even left cat food on the wall from time to time so they wouldn't starve, but their attitude today showed they had terrible personalities.
“Tsk, typical feline thugs. No more food for you guys.”
It was right after he finished Ttorang-i's walk and returned.
Mew?
Bo-ri, who had been lying in the playroom as usual, suddenly got up and trotted over to Dojin.
Sniff, sniff.
Hiss!
“...Hey, isn't that a bit too blatant?”
It was quite shocking to see her circle him, sniff, and then back away to hiss.
Anyone could see that she found the smell on his body repulsive.
Sniff, sniff.
“Do I really smell that bad?”
Normally, Dojin would always take a shower after finishing a walk around the neighborhood.
Because of Ttorang-i, who insisted on stopping by Sun-ja Hal-meoni's house whenever they went to the village, he had to spend a lot of time under the scorching sun.
However, the weather had cooled down significantly lately.
Since he wasn't drenched in sweat like before, he had only washed his face, which resulted in this reaction.
“Pfft! What's gotten into you, Oppa? Getting rejected by Bo-ri?”
“Tsk. Bo-ri, I didn't think you were like this. Just you wait. Let's see if you still react like that after I wash up.”
Even if she didn't welcome him as openly as Ttorang-i or Samsaek-i, Bo-ri had always shown affection whenever she saw him. Her sudden change of heart was a shock to Dojin.
“Ttorang-i, you're taking a bath too. Follow me.”
Woof...?
Ttorang-i, who was lying down in Dojin's workshop enjoying the cool breeze from the air conditioner, looked at him with an absurd expression.
Her face seemed to ask, Why me? Dojin frowned slightly and said,
“What are you looking at? It's about time for your bath anyway. You went for a walk, so you need to wash. Come on, hurry up.”
Whine...
At Dojin's words, Ttorang-i reluctantly took a step forward.
She wanted to hide somewhere, but unfortunately, there was no place to hide in Dojin's workshop.
At best, she could hide behind her cushion, but there was no way Dojin wouldn't find her there.
Ttorang-i followed Dojin into the second-floor shower room.
“Ugh, look at this dirty water! I feel like I wash you every two weeks, but where on earth did you roll around to make the water this dirty?”
Whine.
“Quiet, you. Don't make excuses. You rolled around in the vegetable garden at dawn again, didn't you? I told you not to do that.”
...
“Oh? No answer? Do you want me to blow in your ear?”
...
...Woof.
“That answer was half-hearted. Two days' worth of snacks, confiscated.”
Woof woof!
Was the humiliation he suffered from Bo-ri that shocking?
Dojin was taking it out on the innocent Ttorang-i.
Sniff, sniff.
“This should be fine, right?”
He had showered and changed into fresh clothes.
“...No, this is definitely overkill.”
Dojin picked up a bottle of air freshener, shook his head, and put it back down.
It wasn't like he was going on a date with Do-hee, so why was he spraying air freshener just to look good to a cat?
The thought itself was ridiculous, but more importantly, he shouldn't spray air freshener for Bo-ri's sake.
To animals with a sense of smell much stronger than humans, air freshener could feel like a terrible stench.
Rattle.
“Oppa is here! Bo-ri, you little rascal! Let's see you hiss this time!”
As he confidently opened the playroom door and stepped inside, Samsaek-i's siblings began to approach him as if they had been waiting.
However, Bo-ri, whom Dojin had actually been expecting, was lying on a shelf, glaring at him.
“Uh... Huh? What's with that look in your eyes...?”
It was a fierce gaze he hadn't seen since the day he rescued her.
She looked as if she would unleash a flurry of cat punches if he dared to ignore her and approach, so even Dojin couldn't bring himself to take a step closer.
“Oppa, did you do something to upset Bo-ri?”
“Cats are different from dogs. Once they're upset, it lasts a long time. I think it's best to apologize and make up quickly.”
“Huh? Me?”
At Do-hee and Seung-wan's words, Dojin spoke as if he were being falsely accused.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall doing anything wrong to Bo-ri.
In fact, right before he went out for a walk, Bo-ri had been grooming herself on his lap...
“What could it be? Did I do something when I took Ttorang-i out for a walk?”
Her reaction was so extreme that even Dojin was getting confused.
But no matter how much he racked his brain, nothing came to mind.
Even when he reviewed the CCTV footage, nothing out of the ordinary showed up, driving Dojin crazy.
“Bo-ri? Would you like some Churu?”
Even when he approached with the Churu that Bo-ri usually loved, she reacted fiercely.
Hiss!
“...T-Then how about some catnip? I just picked it.”
Even when he brought catnip freshly harvested from her favorite vegetable garden, she wasn't having it.
Hiss!
“...Oppa, give up. Today is just not your day.”
“Yeah. If you push it any further, it might just make things worse between you two.”
Was it because Bo-ri's reaction was so intense?
Do-hee and Seung-wan, who had been watching the situation with amusement until now, began to stop Dojin.
They feared that if this continued, the relationship between the two might become irreparably damaged.
“Hmm... I guess I have no choice. Alright.”
With both of them dissuading him, Dojin finally backed off.
Even to him, the current situation was abnormal.
Since he couldn't find the cause and her state was only worsening, it seemed best to retreat for now.
And the next day.
Meow~
“...What? Who are you? Are you really the same Bo-ri from yesterday?”
Dojin asked, looking down at his lap with a mixture of bewilderment, absurdity, and dumbfoundedness.
Meow?
Bo-ri, who was lying on Dojin's lap—or to be precise, acting all cute and cuddly there—looked up at him as if to ask what he meant.
Dumbfounded by her sly behavior, blinking her large eyes, Dojin turned to Seung-wan, who had approached him.
“Do cats get bipolar disorder or something?”
“...It's possible. They are such mysterious creatures, and there's still far more we don't know about them than what we do.”
“...Isn't that the same for humans?”
“No. Compared to humans, cats are still practically uncharted territory. There's a reason people call them liquids or ancient gods.”
“...”
Dojin quickly averted his gaze as Seung-wan began pouring out praises for cats once again.
If he kept dealing with Seung-wan in that state, he would end up wasting the entire day.
Mew!
Oblivious to Dojin's thoughts, Bo-ri wrapped herself around his lap and rubbed her head against him just like usual.
In the past, even when he saw such a cute sight, Dojin would worry about cat hair getting on his pants, but perhaps because of yesterday's incident, his mindset had changed.
He was just happy in this moment.
“...What was it? Was it really just a simple mood swing?”
Looking at her now, it was hard to believe how fierce she had been yesterday.
“Well, she's fine now, so I guess it's okay. As long as it doesn't happen again.”
Mew.
A smile spread across Dojin's face as he stroked Bo-ri, who had suddenly turned into a bundle of affection overnight.
But did those words turn into a curse?
Exactly a week later, Dojin had to face a fierce Bo-ri once again.
Hiss!
“...What on earth is it? What is the problem?”
“Oppa, I don't think that's the problem right now.”
“She's right. Her reaction is even worse than last time.”
At their words, Dojin looked at Bo-ri.
Last time, she had hissed from atop the shelf, but this time, she had marched right up to him, raising her fur.
She looked so fierce that she seemed ready to pounce at any second.
“Sigh, not today, I guess. I'll have to ask you two to clean the playroom today.”
“Yeah, we got it, so get out quickly. Bo-ri is glaring at you so hard.”
“That's right. Besides, Obei and Begter clean the playroom every morning and evening anyway, so you don't have to worry.”
Hiss!
“T-Then, good luck!”
Seeing the murderous intent in Bo-ri's eyes, Dojin had no choice but to hurriedly escape the playroom.
Looking at her now, she seemed less like a cat and more like a wild fox.
And the next day.
“...Why are you really doing this to me? Is this some new kind of bullying?”
Dojin cried out in frustration, looking at Bo-ri, who was snuggling in his arms as if nothing had happened.
Watching from behind, Do-hee and Seung-wan were having a serious conversation.
“...Should we take her to the vet? It could be rabies or something.”
“It seems too inconsistent to be rabies... but we should definitely take her to the clinic.”
While they had brushed it off as a simple mishap the first time, they couldn't let it slide now that it had happened twice.
Especially since Bo-ri's state yesterday had looked dangerous to anyone, the three of them immediately took her to the veterinary clinic.
However, even at the clinic, they couldn't get a clear answer.
“...Well, the test results don't show any particular symptoms. It will take a few more days for the detailed blood test results to come out, so we'll have to wait for that.”
“Yes. Please contact us as soon as the results are ready.”
Taking advantage of the visit, Dojin and his companions completed her routine checkup and returned to Sekki House with heavy hearts.
Since Bo-ri, who had never caused any trouble before, was suddenly acting out, they were worried in many ways.
The thought that Bo-ri's condition might affect her kittens made them sigh constantly.
It was just as they were returning to Sekki House, with nothing resolved.
Hiss!
Bo-ri, who had been quietly looking outside from inside her carrier, suddenly began to hiss.
She was shaking so violently that the carrier itself was trembling.
“B-Bo-ri! What's wrong?”
Seung-wan, who was in the back seat, hurriedly hugged the carrier.
If he didn't, the carrier looked like it would roll off the seat.
But the vibration of the carrier didn't stop.
In fact, it seemed to get worse, and the door of the carrier began to rattle violently.
Bo-ri was repeatedly throwing herself against the door from the inside.
“W-What do we do? Is Bo-ri really sick with something?”
“I-I don't know. She won't calm down.”
“Oppa, let's turn the car around. I think we need to get her checked at the clinic again.”
Despite Do-hee and Seung-wan's panicked words, Dojin didn't say a word.
No, to be precise, he couldn't.
Right now, he was focusing all his attention on Bo-ri's gaze.
What is she looking at?
Since stopping the car, Dojin had been watching Bo-ri's eyes.
He realized that even amidst her frenzy, Bo-ri was glaring intently at one specific spot.
And following Bo-ri's gaze, Dojin turned his head and finally realized what had made her so agitated.
Those guys?
Just like Bo-ri, there were eyes watching her from atop the wall.
The stray cats they had run into every time they went for a walk in the village.
Particularly, the black cat among them couldn't take its eyes off Bo-ri.