Meow
Sunday evening.
Before drifting off to sleep, I logged into the game for a little while. Daily quests still needed doing, and I had voice chat lined up with Shuboma.
She really got betrayal over the smallest things. I never even claimed to be a loner in the first place. Of course, I was one, but still.
Apparently my image with Shuboma wasn't great. Some gloomy, ugly shut-in nerd who never left the house. That seemed about the level she had me pegged at.
That was news to me. I never imagined Shuboma might have some kind of story of her own. Then again, nobody ends up making a living off game Ssalmeok without a story. Maybe she carried a wound a lot like mine.
I had let it slip without thinking because talking to Shuboma felt so easy. Until now I had deliberately kept quiet, worried it would make things awkward. But we had gotten pretty close by this point. Maybe it was finally okay to open up a little.
After a short internal debate, I slowly opened my mouth.
"···Because of trauma. Trying to get some treatment."
I felt that same strange kinship in return. Of everyone I had met so far, Shuboma might be the one who matched me best.
Once we get even closer I should ask her to recommend a good psych hospital.
I was swallowing that thought when her voice came through the headset again.
Shuboma finally knew the truth. I thought the misunderstanding would naturally clear up from here—
Her assumption that I was ugly stayed firmly in place. Fine. I would just leave it. Shuboma had said she hated handsome guys, so I would take this secret to the grave. If that was how she wanted to think, what could I do? This wasn't even deceiving her. I had never once claimed with my own mouth that I was ugly.
I enjoyed the game for about two hours, then decided it was time to shut the computer down. I was a student now, not a jobless shut-in. I needed to sleep early if I was going to the Academy tomorrow.
"I'm gonna head off to sleep."
Come to think of it, I still hadn't told her. That I was attending a Hunter Academy. No real reason to hide it.
"I've been going to a Hunter Academy since this month."
Her reaction was nothing like I expected. I had figured she would say something like: so you have Shinbi, that's news to me. Or: aiming to be a Hunter? That's surprising. That kind of response.
We exchanged awkward goodbyes and ended the voice chat. It left a strangely unsettled feeling.
Monday morning, on the way to school.
"Nyaa!"
I ran into a cat in the alley. It was the same one that had bolted in shock when I grabbed it without warning before.
I wasn't even hoping···.
I was genuinely moved. A whole week had already passed since I last saw it. A full week since our reunion. Honestly I had half given up by now, resigned to the idea that I would never meet it again and feeling pretty dejected about it.
Better pull out the churu first.
I hurriedly dug through my bag and found the cat treat I had packed a week ago—churu—and took it out.
"Here, kitty. Come here."
"Meow."
The cat approached me little by little. It didn't seem wary of me. Looks like it had cleanly forgotten the last incident.
Thank goodness.
I let out a sigh of relief. The last thing I ever wanted was for this little guy to hate me.
Absolutely no repeating last time's mistake.
Scooping it up was strictly forbidden. This cat hated excessive skinship. I had to be as careful as possible and pet it gently.
I crouched down on the spot and held the churu out toward the cat. Almost no cat alive disliked these.
"Nyaa···."
The cat looked slightly flustered. Don't tell me this was one of those rare cases that actually hated churu? I watched it with a nervous heart.
"Meow···."
It almost seemed to sigh. After a moment of hesitation the cat padded over with its tiny steps and stuck out its tongue.
"Slurp, suck···. Mmm···."
"Eating well. Is it tasty?"
"Meow."
Even the way it ate was insanely cute. It made me wonder if a creature this perfect was even allowed to exist in the world.
Ah. I really just want to scoop it up right now.
I barely managed to hold the impulse down. Reckless moves only made the relationship worse. No rushing. We would slowly close the distance like this, and once we were closer later on, I would be able to hug it and blow raspberries on its belly without it running away. I was already looking forward to that day, whenever it might come.
After finishing the churu, the cat went—
"Nyaa!"
—and without even looking back, hopped lightly over the wall and vanished. Truly a free-spirited little soul.
17th Academy, Class 3.
Students poured into the classroom in a noisy rush. Kang Hahwi still hadn't arrived. The girls in class looked at his empty seat and, same as always, busied themselves talking about him.
"Hahwi's not here yet. I wanna see him already."
"He always shows up right under the wire."
"Does he live kinda far?"
"Did you see the Hahwi pics that went up on Bamboo Forest yesterday?"
"Of course I did. Even though they were sneaky shots they came out crazy good."
"But isn't taking secret photos a crime?"
"Apparently they weren't secret. Just took them from far away after getting permission."
"Hey hey. Last Friday Hahwi said hi to me first? Jealous?"
"Bullshit. Why would he greet you."
"Is our Hahwi's phone broken or something···. He won't answer a single message···."
"Have you ever actually talked to Hahwi privately?"
"···No? Why?"
"You think he's gonna reply to texts from someone he's never even spoken to in real life. Use your head."
"Then why did he give me his number···. Doesn't that mean Hahwi's interested in me too?"
"He just gave it out because he felt bad for you. Stop assigning meaning. He gave his number to pretty much every other girl too."
"Why even give people hope then···. This is Hahwi's fault for the false hope torture···."
"That thinking is pure stalker mindset. Creepy girl."
"It's nothing but Kang Hahwi talk. Guy's got so much popularity."
"Makes sense he'd be popular. He's handsome."
"His personality sucks though."
"Face over personality."
At the seat next to Kang Hahwi's, Seo I-eung—who had just arrived in the classroom—listened to the girls whispering and snorted.
Pathetic. I trade messages with Kang Hahwi totally naturally.
The corner of Seo I-eung's mouth lifted just a fraction. For some reason she felt like she had won.
"Um···."
Seo I-eung looked up at the voice calling her. The one who had spoken was Isabella Chambers. Seo I-eung answered bluntly.
"What."
"There's something jelly-like stuck by your mouth. Just wanted to let you know."
Hearing that, Seo I-eung wiped around her lips with a finger and came away with sticky liquid.
"Ah."
Seo I-eung hurriedly turned her head away. She scrubbed her mouth hard with a handkerchief as she spoke.
"···Thanks."
"No problem. But what did you eat?"
"Chu···."
"Chu?"
"Chu, Chupa Chups···."
Isabella tilted her head. It hadn't looked like a candy blob. Why lie about something like that? The question crossed her mind, but they weren't particularly close, so she didn't dig any further.