The Cat Fight at the Zoo
Jinwoo was in the middle of a cat fight.
“Wow, there are so many cats.”
Eunbyul gazed around in wonder at the cats filling every corner of the space. The two of them had stepped into the cat café inside the zoo. From pure white and solid black cats to ones with every color mixed together, the variety was endless. It was a cat café, so of course there would be lots of cats, but being surrounded by so many different kinds still made the corners of her mouth lift on their own. Watching them roam freely warmed her heart without even trying.
“How can cats be this cute?”
Eunbyul’s eyes sparkled as she watched them. For a brief moment, Jinwoo thought that Eunbyul was cuter than any of the cats. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. It felt embarrassing, a little too forward. Anyway, it was obvious that saying it would make things incredibly awkward.
“They’re cute.”
So he settled for a safely vague reply, omitting the subject. It was a slightly cowardly move, but it wasn’t a lie. Eunbyul seemed to assume he was talking about the cats too, because she nodded without thinking much of it.
“Actually, coming to a cat café has been a dream of mine for a long time.”
“There are cat cafés closer than this one, though?”
“Those ones you have to go out of your way to visit. Going alone felt a bit too intimidating.”
It wasn’t an entirely unreasonable thing to say. Even Jinwoo, who liked cats, would have hesitated to walk into a cat café by himself as a guy. To him, it felt perfectly natural for Eunbyul to be here, though.
“And for some reason, cats never really come to me.”
Eunbyul turned her head to the side. There, a black cat was lounging comfortably.
“Here, kitty kitty. Butterfly, come here~”
Eunbyul used the sweetest voice she could manage. The cat cracked one eye open, glanced at her, then abruptly turned its head the other way and flopped over.
“……”
“……”
It was an unmistakably blatant rejection. Less than a minute after being dumped by a cat, Eunbyul’s face crumpled. Jinwoo, standing beside her, awkwardly scanned her expression and tried to comfort her.
“Haha… cats are just like that. They’re naturally wary creatures, you know.”
“Hmm, I guess so.”
The moment Eunbyul quietly nodded, a soft “meow” sounded.
One of the cats suddenly leaped up and gently settled onto Jinwoo’s lap. It looked up at him, rubbing its body lightly against him in the clearest “please pet me” pose imaginable.
He only had a second to admire the adorable sight before a chilling aura washed over him from right beside him. Jinwoo’s body stiffened.
Whoa…
Eunbyul was radiating a terrifying aura as she stared at the cat on Jinwoo’s lap. Even though none of this was his fault, Jinwoo felt a cold sweat break out down his back.
Needless to say, Eunbyul’s expression was not pleasant. I’ve only managed to link arms with him so far! Though the exact point of her anger was slightly different from what Jinwoo imagined.
It had taken so long for her to get this close to the shy, dense Jinwoo. And now this cat was openly clinging to him and acting all cute. Total cat burglar. No, it literally was a cat burglar.
Of course, Jinwoo had no idea what she was thinking. He just gave an awkward smile and tried to explain.
“This one must really like people. Every cat has a different personality, after all.”
“Hmmm.”
Eunbyul narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between Jinwoo and the cat. She carefully reached out a hand to stroke it.
“Nyaang!”
The cat immediately responded with a swift cat punch that clearly said “don’t interfere!” Eunbyul’s expression grew even darker after getting her hand slapped. Still, it wasn’t nearly as serious as the look on Jinwoo’s face, caught in the middle.
“……Jinwoo, you seem pretty popular with cats, huh?”
“Ah, no. Probably not. I’ve never once thought that in my entire life.”
“Hmmm~”
Why was he stuck between his senior and a cat like this?
The common web novel trope known as a “cat fight” flashed through his mind. The only problem was that the rival was an actual cat. If it had been another woman, Jinwoo—who only had eyes for Eunbyul—would have built an iron wall. But he couldn’t exactly scold a cat the size of his own head, could he?
But if I just keep acting like it’s cute, I feel like I’m going to be in big trouble.
Just having it on his lap was enough to put Eunbyul in this state. This didn’t seem like it would end with her being mildly upset or playfully sulking.
“……That cat really seems to like you. Why don’t you pet it?”
“No, I don’t have to. I don’t even know if it likes being touched or not.”
Eunbyul wasn’t the type to get narrow-minded and sulk just because he petted a cat. She would probably find the whole thing amusing instead. But it was a matter of mood. Jinwoo simply didn’t want to do anything that might make her feel even slightly hurt.
“Nyaang.”
After they had stayed like that for a while, the cat let out a lazy cry. Then, as if Jinwoo’s tense posture was uncomfortable, it jumped straight up and settled onto Eunbyul’s lap instead.
“Oh?”
The cat didn’t act cute the way it had with Jinwoo. Instead, it curled up into a perfect “cat loaf” and fell asleep. Jinwoo let out a small chuckle at the sight.
“It acted all cute with me, but apparently you’re more comfortable.”
“Hmm, what a selfish little thing.”
Even though she said that, she didn’t look displeased at all. There was something magical about a cat’s body heat and soft fur that could melt anyone’s heart.
“Touch it once.”
“Me?”
“What if I touch it and it runs away like before?”
Would it really do that? He doubted it, but Eunbyul’s expression was completely serious. Maybe she wanted to pet it but also wanted to keep it on her lap, so she was trying to get some vicarious satisfaction through him.
“Then I’ll just touch it lightly.”
Jinwoo carefully reached out and stroked the cat’s chin. The gentle touch must have felt good, because the cat began to purr.
“Whoa.”
“It’s so cute.”
Eunbyul and Jinwoo looked at each other. Both of them were beaming with bright, surprised expressions.
“……This kid is quite the little temptress.”
Muttering to herself, Eunbyul finally reached out to pet the cat herself. The cat stayed calmly curled up even under her touch. The scene looked like a perfect painting, incredibly adorable. Jinwoo quietly watched them and thought to himself.
The two of them spent a long time enjoying the cats before finally stepping back outside. They could have stayed all day if they wanted, but there were still more things to see.
“What should we do next?”
“Looking at the time, it looks like they’re doing some kind of event right now?”
“Ooh.”
Just watching the animals was fun, of course. But since they had come all this way, it would be nice to join in on an event. Even just watching would be good.
“What kind of event is it?”
“Hmm, it looks like you can watch the horses or even ride them. Sounds fun!”
Eunbyul’s eyes sparkled. Horses weren’t something you saw often in Korea unless you went all the way to Jeju Island. Riding one was an experience you could only really have at a tourist spot.
“Have you ever ridden a horse before, Jinwoo?”
“I tried it once when I went on a trip with my family.”
“Wow~ I’m jealous. I want to ride one too.”
“……It might be a little different from what you’re expecting?”
Riding a horse might look glamorous and fun, but in reality your butt and lower back started hurting almost immediately. It wasn’t easy even for experienced riders, and for beginners it was just painful rather than enjoyable. Jinwoo had regretted it after trying once.
“Still, I want to try it. Thinking something will be bad without trying it is different from actually trying it and deciding it’s bad.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
As expected of a star writer. Eunbyul would occasionally say things that sounded strangely philosophical.
“Then let’s go!”
The two headed straight for the event area. A large grassy field was already crowded with people. In the center, several gentle-looking horses wandered around or showed curiosity toward the visitors. Some people were already riding.
“Wow, real horses. In games I’ve only ever seen ones wearing armor and running around on two legs. These guys look super gentle.”
“They’re probably bred differently from the ones that race at tracks.”
Even here, the two of them couldn’t help showing off their otaku knowledge.
As they watched quietly, one of the keepers raised a hand and called out.
“Does anyone else want to ride?”
It was a rare event, but no one stepped forward right away. The horses were much larger than most people had imagined, so it took real courage.
Then one person shot their hand up.
“Me! Me!”
It was Eunbyul. Her face was already sparkling with curiosity.
“Will you be okay?”
“Yeah! I’ve always wanted to try this! I’ll be careful!”
Eunbyul walked straight up to the keeper. She stroked the horse once, then climbed onto its back with surprising skill. For a first-timer, she had pretty good sense.
“Ehehe!”
Eunbyul on horseback looked both excited and a little nervous. Even though she was riding, the keeper was holding the reins and leading the horse, so there wasn’t much for her to do. Still, being that high up was enough to make an ordinary person feel uneasy. At first, a flicker of fear crossed Eunbyul’s face, but she quickly got used to it and even waved at Jinwoo.
……I’m glad I came after all.
When Eunbyul had suddenly suggested the zoo, he had been nervous. But seeing her this happy made him think he would have felt disappointed if he hadn’t come. At the same time, he felt purely glad that this opportunity had come to him instead of someone else. This was a memory that belonged only to the two of them.
I hope we can enjoy days like this again in the future.
Jinwoo was quietly making that wish when—
Suddenly, a loud pop! echoed as a balloon burst. Everyone jumped in surprise, but for the sensitive horses it must have been especially startling.
“Hiiiiiiing!”
The horse Eunbyul was riding suddenly reared up, front hooves flashing high. Even now, Jinwoo couldn’t understand how it had happened. Maybe because he had been staring only at Eunbyul the whole time. Or maybe his body had moved before his brain could catch up.
Anyway, the moment Eunbyul let out a surprised “Whoa?” and lost her balance, Jinwoo was already throwing himself forward. Then came the loud whoosh as a cloud of dust rose into the air.