The Cat - September 23, Wednesday
The Cat
September 23, Wednesday
Seolah had come back. Now all I had to do was get close to her again…
“Seolah?”
“U-um, just a moment…”
“Seolah? Where are you going? No, um, Seolah?”
“Hey, why are you running… Seolah!?”
“Seolah?”
“Even if it’s just for a second, please listen to m— haa…”
The moment my shadow appears, she bolts. She vanishes in the blink of an eye, leaving me clutching the back of my neck in frustration. The more she runs, the more desperate I feel. I need to clear up whatever misunderstanding this is as fast as possible and get close to her again, but I can’t even take the first step. It’s enough to drive me insane.
After playing hide-and-seek like that for about thirty minutes, I finally cornered her.
“Haa haa… Found you! Seolah, wait a sec—”
In a secluded corner of the library, I finally faced her.
“Uuu, s-so embarrassing…”
Seolah covered her flushed red face with both hands. She refused to meet my eyes even once.
“It’ll really only take a moment, Seolah.”
“Uuu, uuu…”
I instinctively reached for her shoulder but stopped. My gut told me that any physical contact here, no matter how slight, would trigger an instant teleport. After several standoffs, I had figured out the pattern: see me and run; touch her and she vanishes. The same two behaviors on repeat.
I swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry.”
I started with an apology. I must have done something wrong to make her react like this. I had thought it over. What the hell had I done to make Seolah behave this way?
‘Now that I think about it, Seolah. Do you have someone you like?’
I was sure of it. Seolah already had someone she liked. But looking back at what I did at the aquarium… it really had been a date, hadn’t it?
Yes. That was my mistake. She already had someone she liked, yet I had gone on a “date” with her as her “friend.” Of course it had felt burdensome. From her perspective at the aquarium, I must have looked like a total creep—acting like a couple even though we weren’t together, refusing to back off even though I knew she had feelings for someone else. An odd, pushy stranger.
It was entirely my fault. And it hadn’t even been a full month since we became “friends.” No wonder she was embarrassed. On top of that, with my tough, thuggish “Blonde Thug” appearance, she probably felt repulsed. That kind of guy suddenly hovering around her? It made my head throb.
“Y-you don’t have to apologizeee…”
“What? No, no, no? I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“N-nooo… It’s just that I, uuu… I’m embarrassed, that’s alll…”
“No, Seolah, I’m sorry. For no reason at the aquarium acting like a couple—”
“Huu, s-stop, stooop… Stop talkinggg… It’s so embarrassing…!”
Seolah covered her face with her hands again. She squirmed, avoiding my gaze, even turning her whole body away.
“Sorry. I won’t do that anymore. Okay?”
“Huuu…”
“It was a bit much, wasn’t it? I’m regretting it now too. Seolah… I really messed up…”
“N-no, that’s not… Huu, i-it wasn’t burdensome…”
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t burdensome at allll…”
…It wasn’t? I had expected her to awkwardly scold me, tell me not to do it again.
“It’s just… a little. I was embarrassed, that’s alll… I’m sorryyy…”
Seolah hung her head, fidgeting with her fingers.
“From now onnn, I won’t avoid youuu…”
Seolah reached out and very lightly, hesitantly, poked my arm.
“Sorryyy…”
“…”
Was she really okay? Silence fell. The air grew thick and awkward. Seolah kept stealing glances at me, but the moment our eyes met she whipped her head away. For a long time we both fidgeted. The already quiet library grew even quieter.
“Haa…”
A sigh slipped out. Hidden behind a bookshelf, I watched the puppy. It was infuriating. He had been like this all day. He didn’t spare me a single thought. He only had eyes for the witch and thoughts only for the witch.
“…Puppy.”
You were supposed to be mine. Why? No matter how much I worried, thought, and tried to act, I couldn’t do anything because the opponent was that “witch.” The memory of that “volcano” still burned in my mind. Haa. Really. I couldn’t do a single thing.
“Ha…”
My chest ached. It hurt. I kept feeling like you would be stolen away. The anxiety was crushing. Stress pounded against my skull like a drum. The best way to relieve stress was sex… but whenever I thought of the puppy, even that resolve crumbled.
If the puppy had liked sex, we would have spent our entire lives at home, from morning until night, endlessly entwined. Except for mealtimes, all day. Continuously, continuously, continuously…
“…Huu.”
Heat flared between my legs. Just thinking about the puppy made me crave it again. I wanted it, but I couldn’t. Not right now… I had to get close to him first.
“Han Seolah.”
Three days. Just wait three days. I’ll find your weakness and shatter you.
“Haa…”
Puppy. You are mine.
“…For life.”
So wait for me.
It was strange. Today, for some reason, my boyfriend wouldn’t leave me alone.
“Arin, let’s go over there for a second.”
“Uh, um, Seokho?”
Every time I tried to approach Taeho, he grabbed my arm and dragged me somewhere else.
“Who are you texting?”
“Eh? Eh?”
Whenever I tried to send Taeho a message, he interfered endlessly. It was almost as if he was deliberately trying to keep me and Taeho apart…
“…No way.”
Was Seokho worried about me? I sat on a bench by the flowerbed and thought. His behavior was suspiciously different from usual. Ever since entering the Academy I had realized how distant we had grown. I felt it in my bones. He deliberately avoided me, never met my eyes, and lately our conversations had become curt and brief. Yet today, suddenly, everything changed. His guarded movements, the way he seemed to dislike me approaching Taeho…
“Huu…”
Now I understood. He was worried about me?
“…Hehe.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. Lately Taeho had been growing larger and larger in my heart, but I still didn’t dislike my boyfriend…
“…How cute.”
He was adorable. And lovable. Every single action he took out of worry for me. Yes, no matter what anyone said, he was still my “boyfriend.” Of course he would hate the idea of me being taken by another man. He would hate it.
“Did you wait long?”
Seokho sat down beside me.
“No? …Hehe.”
I gently stroked his hair. He flinched, shoulders trembling. How shy.
“Shall we eat now?”
Seokho nodded. I laughed softly. He laughed too. Slowly, I opened my lunchbox.
“Want to eat?”
“Mmm…”
We sat side by side on the bench and tore open the bread packaging. Seolah gave an awkward nod. Please, I just wanted to melt this insanely awkward atmosphere. Every time I tried to do something, an apology came first. When I tried to bring up another topic, the conversation stuttered and refused to flow. I had taken the first step, but it felt like the other foot was stuck in a swamp.
“Uhh…”
“Um…”
Again and again. I desperately searched for a topic. Something Seolah had said she liked…
“Oh, Seolah. You said you like cats, right?”
“Mmm… I like them a lottt…”
“Have you seen that movie with the cat in it?”
It was a recent release. I somehow managed to latch onto a subject.
“I saw ittt… but it was kind of meh…”
“Right? I thought so too. That whole, you know, uncanny valley thing?”
“It felt a little off… I ended up walking out halfway through…”
“Exactly. Speaking of the uncanny valley, Seolah.”
“Mmm?”
“Do you like horror movies or thrillers?”
“Umm…”
Seolah thought for a moment, then gave a small nod.
“I used to be scared of themmm… but lately I watch them sometimes. They’re still a little scary though, so I, um, watch them with Dad…”
Seolah fidgeted with her legs, looking embarrassed.
“What did you watch?”
“Umm… The Conjuring? That one, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and… the one with the monster that kills you if you make a sound…”
“You’ve seen quite a few. But they’re all movies that came out before the Gates opened, right?”
“Mmm. I like the old ones… Do you like horror movies, Taeho?”
The conversation was finally starting to flow.
“I do.”
“Oh… What’s your favorite?”
I thought for a second. The most recent one I had seen was…
“Hmm… Do you know this movie?”
“Which one?”
“It’s an old one too.”
I met Seolah’s eyes. They were sparkling faintly. Unexpected. She seemed to really enjoy this kind of talk.
“Have you heard of The Thing?”
“The Theeng?”
“That’s the most recent one I watched. It’s about an alien lifeform that takes over human bodies…”
Seolah slowly leaned closer to me. The awkward atmosphere had loosened considerably.
“Are you curious?”
“Mmm… a little?”
Seolah smiled. I smiled back. I would give her a rough outline of the movie, then move on to another topic, and eventually—
Tap.
“Huh?”
“Mmm?”
Someone grabbed my shoulder. A chill seeped from the hand gripping me.
“…Senior Lee Socheon?”
What?
“Kim Taeho.”
A voice like frost on ice. My entire body froze in terror. The rigidly expressionless face slowly turned toward me.
“See me after school today.”
The hand on my shoulder released. It was freezing. My shoulder alone felt like it might shatter from the cold. Lee Socheon gradually moved away. Once she had completely disappeared from sight—
“Haa… Haa…”
I could finally clutch my heart, which felt ready to burst.
“Taeho, are you okayyy?”
Seolah looked at me with worry. Was I okay? I forced a nod. In truth, I was anything but. The air grew heavy again. How was it even summer when it felt this cold?
“You’re here.”
The sun was setting. The orange glow of dusk filled the windows.
“I saw it again. You having sex with my little sister.”
I was losing my mind.
“I told you, didn’t I?”
Lee Socheon slowly approached me. The closer she came, the more the mannequin-like stiffness in her expression melted. Her face flushed red, eyes shining with excitement.
“Instead of doing it with my sister, do it with me.”
“Satisfy yourself with me instead.”
“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?”
Lee Socheon leaned her body against mine. Haa haa—her cold breath brushed my chest.
“I can’t hold back anymore.”
Lee Socheon pulled away from my body. She slipped a hand into her pocket and took out her phone.
“Give me your number.”
“Pardon?”
“Your number.”
What… Pardon? My face filled with confusion. Wait, my number? I was already going crazy dealing with Han Yerin and Lee Arin. Now Lee Socheon too?
“Hurry.”
“I, um…”
“Hurry, or else…”
I’ll get a little angry. Fear crawled up from the base of my spine. I was losing my mind. In the end, I took out my phone. Lee Socheon swiftly grabbed it and entered her number. When I got the phone back and looked, it was saved as “Socheon Noona.”
…“Noona”?
Grab.
Lee Socheon’s hand seized my crotch.
“Haa… Haa…”
Her eyes were completely glazed. She stared at me with a hazy, intoxicated expression.
“Taeho…”
Our eyes met.
“Do you have any favorite plays?”
Pardon?
“If you do, tell me.”
“I’ll do them all for you…”
Lee Socheon leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“I’ve seen a lot in manga, so I know.”
“Nurse, police officer, nun, fox, cat… Huu, aah…”
Cat ears sprouted from the top of Lee Socheon’s head. Soft, snow-white cat ears.
“I looked it up thoroughly. What men like…”
A tail sprouted from behind her hips.
“Taeho. Do you like… cats? Hnng.”
Our eyes met. Lee Socheon leaned into my ear again and whispered.
“Nyaang♡”