The Cat's Stirring, and the Encounter with the Cat
"This one is DidiDisaurs, and that one is KungkaKungkaBargus. This one looks like a dinosaur but isn't a real dinosaur, and that one looks like a gorilla but isn't either. And when those two are nearby, a banana'na'Angfur will appear."
"...Why does the banana'na'Angfur appear?"
"It's not banana'na'Angkur, it's banana'na'Angfur. And the reason it appears... no one knows because it's still under research."
"I see..."
I sat in the living room and glanced at Kang Heeji playing with Go Yeonjun in the next room.
Even I couldn't understand what Go Yeonjun was explaining so earnestly. Heeji blinked with her green eyes blankly, her expression equally puzzled.
"Here... it's green tea. I'm sorry we only have this at home."
"No, it's fine. I mean, I suddenly showed up anyway."
Go Yeonji handed me a cup of green tea for me and one of the ice creams she'd bought earlier.
Even though I only wanted to eat the ice cream, it felt strangely off, but I didn't bring it up.
I had a feeling I could guess why she was doing this.
She wanted to treat me, but with nothing in the house, she offered the ice cream from the guest as a treat.
Yet when I joined her for the ice cream to make it feel natural, she was clearly holding back because she wanted to feed the little brother instead.
"The banana'na'Angfur can control time. If you turn back the time to the age of dinosaurs, the DidiDisaurs will see real dinosaurs and turn into an idiot. But the KungkaKungkaBargus can defend against it—"
"...Sorry. You talk about weird things a lot, huh?"
The cheerful voice of Go Yeonjun echoed through the house, and even I was distracted. Go Yeonji lowered her head with an incredibly embarrassed expression.
"It's one thing when you're in the middle of it. Besides, listening to it is starting to get interesting."
"By the end of the day, you'll think differently."
"That's... a bit too much."
Yeonji and I exchanged small smiles while facing each other.
Then Go Yeonji suddenly became serious and clasped her hands together.
"Noona said she wouldn't be attending the academy, right? ...Since when?"
"When I checked the attendance book, she hadn't been to school all year. She'd slip out early whenever she could. Lily Academy has few required attendance days, so she could have piled them all up in the second half... but still."
"I had no idea. I didn't realize she was skipping the academy that much."
"I just figured she was going normally. Of course I didn't know."
"But... noona quickly figured out everything about us."
Go Yeonji sighed deeply, her eyes full of self-reproach.
"Could it be... that the reason Yeonji isn't going to school is... something you suspect?"
"............Well, you've probably guessed. Our parents aren't at home."
The innocent voice of Go Yeonjun filled the quiet that followed for a moment.
"Dad... was an alcoholic. Mom said he used to run a successful business back then. But when the business collapsed, he changed. He only drank, didn't respect his wife, and kept raising his hand to us."
"I see."
"He wasn't just drinking. He smoked at home and treated Mom like a servant, stealing her earnings from the shop. Mom got beaten while trying to support us until she couldn't take it anymore and left."
"When was that?"
"Two years ago. ...It's been two years already."
Go Yeonji's fingers drummed on the table, then stopped.
"With no money coming in, Dad's eyes turned to me and Noona. He started working at a shop without a contract for minimum wage and had it stolen back. Last year, he suddenly disappeared."
"Disappeared...?"
"Yes. Noona took Dad away and came back alone. Then she told us to get along without him now that she's the head."
What on earth had happened?
Go Yeonji looked curious, but she seemed relieved that the trashy person was gone. She didn't dig deeper into the past.
"After that, Noona promised to earn a lot of money and told me not to worry about working, just study. Then she started bringing big sums of money and giving it to me. I wondered how she was earning it while going to the academy, but it turned out she wasn't attending."
"You didn't know what kind of work it was?"
"She wouldn't say. I suspected it was illegal, but... I trust her. It's like how she trusts me."
Go Yeonji looked at me with steady red eyes.
Somehow the nasty rumor I'd heard from Heeji made me dizzy, but seeing her eyes calmed me down.
If I were Go Yeonhee, I would never have given my little sister money earned through shady methods, no matter how much I wanted to protect the family.
Even if I wavered... seeing Yeonji's eyes would give me the strength to keep going.
It was a truly admirable family, holding each other up in tough times.
Just as I was gazing at Go Yeonji with warm eyes, a strange gurgling sound came from somewhere.
".........!"
Go Yeonji flushed bright red and quickly wrapped her arms around her stomach.
After swallowing the smile that threatened to escape at her adorable reaction, I stood up from my seat.
"Yeonji, how about we take a short walk with the teacher?"
Go Yeonji looked at me blankly before carefully placing her hand on mine.
***
"This one is called Colcorkingking. Colcorkingking has the ability to make anything go upside down. It walks upside down in the sky. But it's not just walking. Even if the banana'na'Angfur reverses time, the Colcorkingking can turn it into the future and nullify its power."
With the constant chirping in my ears, Kang Heeji stared blankly at the screen Go Yeonjun was showing, lost in thought.
It was... an unforgettable memory that refused to leave her mind. That night two years ago.
Yang Hyein had grabbed Woo Yeoeun's hand and pulled her into the bedroom. The rough sounds that followed made Heeji press her ear to the door in panic.
She'd heard Yang Hyein's vicious voice pressing Yeoeun, and Yeoeun trying to soothe her gently.
Right before Heeji could intervene, lewd sounds suddenly began to leak through the door crack.
In the situation unfolding in a completely unexpected way, Heeji froze. All she could hear was:
Yang Hyein's voice repeatedly forcing something, and Yeoeun's increasingly sweet, lewd voice.
'She definitely said "carrot"...'
And the word "carrot" kept coming up between them.
Even when she pretended not to hear and returned to the living room, or when she couldn't sleep lying on the bed Yeoeun had made that night, the sounds from beyond the door and the events inside kept looping in her head.
'Yang Hyein must have forced something weird on Yeoeun. Yeoeun's kind and innocent... she probably went along with it unwillingly.'
Would she have kissed Yeoeun's pretty, soft lips? Touched those tempting breasts? Touched the pretty hips wrapped in the skirt? Or... that place too...
...It's okay. It doesn't matter. I'll protect her from now on. I'll help her.
No one else can help Yeoeun.
She was her first student.
But Heeji had no real evidence to prove Yang Hyein was being rough with Yeoeun.
If she mentioned what she overheard, Yang Hyein would just deny it. And she'd look like some creepy girl who secretly listened in.
'There must be a hint in the "carrot".'
Since then, Heeji had stayed glued to Yeoeun, protecting her from more rough encounters, collecting clues, but the key to "carrot" still hadn't clicked.
That was why she felt sorry for Yang Hyein, who couldn't shake the wicked villainess Yang Hyein off Yeoeun's side.
Yet living closely beside Yeoeun for the past few days had been incredibly enjoyable.
She never imagined something like a pure romance story could happen—falling for just one person.
"Noona, what kind of character do you like?"
"Eh? Eh... uh?"
"Character. Of the ones I explained, which one is your favorite?"
Go Yeonjun stared at Heeji with expectant eyes, unable to break her childhood heart.
After desperately searching her memory, she finally answered.
"DidiDisaurs? I like that one."
"It's DidiDisaurs. Not Dida twice, but Dididisa. I like banana'na'Angfur, and among my classmates, there's a noona who likes DidiDisaurs like you."
"T-That's... I see..."
"Ah! The kimchi jjigae smells delicious! Can I eat this?"
"Yes. Were you hungry? Sit with Noona and eat lots."
"Yum yum!"
Go Yeonjun sat in front of the table as if someone was stealing his rice.
"Hey, Go Yeonjun! An adult should pick up the spoon first."
"No. Don't worry about the teacher. Just let her eat. You eat too."
"...Thank you. You went to this much trouble."
Go Yeonji was at a loss for words when she expressed her gratitude. Yeoeun gently curved her lips and wiggled her fox ears on her head.
"I was hungry too. Might as well eat together while we're at it. Or maybe we'd be better eating out?"
"No, this is way more delicious."
Looking at Yeoeun in her apron, smiling benevolently at the children, Heeji thought.
She would definitely make a good wife.
"Heeji, come eat too."
"Y-Yes!"
As Heeji excitedly approached the meal Yeoeun had prepared with her own hands...
The doorbell rang from outside. A metallic clank.
A moment later... the front door unlocked and swung open.
"I'm back. What are you guys doing? What's that smell...?"
In loose training clothes, with short gray hair and a cat-ear smile, Go Yeonhee entered the house with a tired face.
And there, at last, Yeoeun revealed her true self to Heeji.
Then.
"......What the hell is this."
Seeing her little sister eating dinner with strange women in the house, she—
Snatched a baseball bat from the corner of the entrance and charged in.