As soon as Siyul got into the car, he immediately checked the injury on Haein’s hind leg—the part that had been bothering him nonstop.
Haein was casually sitting in the passenger seat, licking her paw pads when Siyul suddenly grabbed her firmly, gripping her chicken-like hind leg and fiddling with it.
“Myaak!” (That hurts!)
The moment he saw the injury, which had shown no signs of healing, his face twisted in horror, and he shouted like he had seen a ghost. His voice was so loud it made her ears sting.
“The wound is completely swollen! Are you trying to die, you stupid cat?!”
“Myaak myaak myaak!” (Stop nagging!)
“This? This kind of wound usually ends with a nasty infection, you know that? And you know what happens after that?! Necrosis! We’ll have to cut your leg off!”
“Mweaaak!” (Let go of my leg!)
Startled by his sudden anger, Haein instinctively opened her mouth to bite his hand—but then froze.
She had gotten worked up because he kept yelling, but now that she thought about it, everything he was saying was… out of concern for her.
“Is it just your leg?! You’re a cat—don’t you know how to be scared of strangers?! You shouldn’t just follow anyone around like that! And why the hell did you run away?! Why?!”
“…Nngh.”
“You might not want to live with me, fine. But can’t you at least live responsibly, you idiot? Acting all smart and clever…”
She couldn’t bring herself to bite someone who was genuinely worried about her. Especially not someone who ran over in a medical gown and slippers the moment he heard she was found.
But saying I was wrong, or I’m sorry? That was even harder.
Haein turned her head away with a sharp hmph, refusing to meet his gaze. Siyul, still fuming, walked over to the trunk and pulled something out.
“Give me your leg.”
It seemed he carried emergency medical supplies in his car.
Pulling out disinfectant and bandages, Siyul switched into full scary doctor mode.
Haein struggled, clearly unhappy, but Siyul still managed to wrap the injured leg tightly with bandages.
Yet, he still wasn’t satisfied. He flipped Haein’s body this way and that, convinced she must’ve gotten hurt elsewhere too.
Annoyed, Haein reluctantly extended her front paw.
“Mi-yang.” (Here too.)
The paw she offered had patches of missing fur, revealing raw, reddish scabs beneath.
It was a wound from when she escaped the carrier at the animal shelter.
Next, Haein turned and licked her shoulder, showing off another wound—the spot where she’d been hit by a rock.
Her message was clear: This hurts too, look.
“What the hell… What have you been doing to yourself?!”
“Myang myang?” (Running away?)
“Say it in words!”
“Mii~” (Nooo~)
Haein turned her head sharply again. Ever since the incident with Gaeun, talking had become scary. She couldn’t forget the look on her friend’s face—as if she were some kind of monster.
Compared to that, Siyul, who casually demanded she speak like it was nothing, felt strangely fascinating.
Is this guy… really okay with this?
Haein rolled her eyes, sneaking a glance at Siyul as he treated her paw and continued his endless nagging.
Pretending not to look while secretly watching—it was a cat’s specialty.
“Tsk… unbelievable. Did you get rained on too? Do you know how dangerous pneumonia is for cats and dogs? You’ll die, I’m telling you! You didn’t eat anything weird off the street, did you? Oh wait, you don’t eat in front of people… That’s the only good news. At least I don’t have to worry about food poisoning or starvation.”
“……”
“Are you even listening to me?”
Siyul suddenly lifted his head, glaring. Haein quickly looked away, acting like she wasn’t interested.
This guy really nags too much, she grumbled inwardly.
Still… she realized, she wasn’t as uncomfortable around Siyul as she used to be.
“Even your paw pads are all cracked! You’ve got zero survival skills! What made you think you could run away, huh?!”
“Hmph!”
“Don’t you know, five out of ten house cats die if they turn into strays?!”
“Haaaam…”
Haein yawned dramatically, pretending she wasn’t listening. But Siyul wasn’t one to just let that slide.
Grabbing Haein’s ear, he gave it a firm tug as he scolded her—no different from a strict veterinarian.
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand me!”
“Nngh.”
“When a person talks, you answer!”
“…Kak! Miak miak! Myamya!” (Tch! Shut up! You’re so annoying!)
You’re the weird one for expecting a cat to talk back!
Haein hissed in irritation, clearly fed up with Siyul’s endless scolding.
Siyul’s brow twitched as he pinched Haein’s cheek, stretching it along with her whiskers.
Even though it was just cat gibberish, he somehow seemed to understand exactly what she meant.
Her tiny cheeks, barely enough to stretch, were pulled along with her whiskers, exposing not only her back teeth but her gums as well—but far from intimidating, the sight was just ridiculous.
“You little brat! I came all this way to find you, and you’re acting all high and mighty!”
As if furious that an animal dared to look down on him, Siyul scowled.
I’m human, Haein’s a cat. Obviously, I’m superior! That was his shameless logic.
“Uya-wooya-ong!” (What the hell are you doing, you punk!)
Of course, Haein absolutely refused to accept such logic.
I’m human too!
She scratched his hand with her claws extended, but Siyul, used to being scratched and bitten by animals, didn’t even flinch.
Determined to teach this haughty cat a lesson, Siyul shouted, ready to discipline her for good.
“If you made people worry, the least you can do is apologize! Running away without a word—what’s wrong with you?! Especially when you can talk!”
“Umiyang! Uuung… Krah! Si! Ggeu! Reo! Who told you to come looking for me?! And what does it matter to you if I run away or not?! Let me go right now!”
“You…! Look at yourself right now! You say that with a straight face?! You might be an animal, but at least have some conscience!”
“What’s wrong with my conscience that you’re slandering me like this?!”
Unable to endure Siyul pulling her cheeks any longer, Haein blurted out human words.
A mix of irritated meows and grumbling human speech filled the car—an absurd situation, but Siyul was focused solely on straightening out her bad behavior.
Establishing hierarchy, even for animals, was crucial.
Grabbing the scruff of Haein’s neck, Siyul lifted her slightly, staring straight into her eyes as he scolded her. Haein burned with anger at the obvious attempt to educate her.
“Admit you were wrong! Do you know how much your owner and I…!”
“I ran away because of that owner!”
“…What?”
“Ugh, seriously!”
“Why? You liked him so much.”
Siyul’s face twisted in confusion at the unexpected reason for her runaway act. Without realizing it, his hands loosened from her cheeks.
Rubbing her sore face, Haein almost answered instinctively.
“Amyamya, that hurts… Because, I… I…”
“You…?”
“……”
“Why aren’t you talking now?”
Panicked, Haein clamped her mouth shut.
It wasn’t as if a cat admitting they liked their owner was some huge secret—but the nuance was the problem.
It wasn’t just as a pet that she liked him… She liked him as a man. There was no way Siyul would understand that if she said it aloud.
“What is it? You know I can keep secrets.”
“……”
“I’m actually helpful sometimes.”
“Are you…?”
“Of course! I’m only asking because I’m worried and curious about why you ran away. What made you so upset?”
Siyul was sharp. He also had a silver tongue.
His gentle coaxing made Haein waver. Come to think of it, if there was anyone she could confide in, it probably was Siyul.
“This… is a secret, okay?”
“Obviously. Who would I even tell?”
“It’s really a secret?”
“I get it. Come on, even if I did blab, who’d believe me? That I heard a confession from a cat? They’d lock me up in a psych ward.”
True, fair point, Haein admitted to herself, agonizing over whether to spill her heart or not.
But after a moment of hesitation, she made up her mind—she’d unload this frustrating, suffocating secret onto Siyul.
“So, listen…”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t tease me after, okay? I’m only saying this because I’m curious if it makes sense to you—as a human.”
“Sure, sure.”
It felt a lot like confessing to a friend in high school that you liked someone.
That fluttering nervousness, and the weird feeling that, just by saying it, it would change the relationship between them…
Knowing that someone—anyone—was aware of her feelings for him, even if it wasn’t him himself, gave Haein a strange sense of relief.
“Y’know… I like my owner.”
“Yeah, obviously. You’ve always liked him.”
“Idiot! I mean… romantically.”
“…Romantically? Like… as a female?”
Female?! Haein recoiled in disgust. Of all the words he could’ve picked—female?!
“You rude jerk! I’m a lady, not some ‘female’! I’m a proper lady!”
“…Love?”
“Yes!”
“Well… that’s surprising.”
Siyul couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Haein puffed her cheeks in frustration, regretting her confession immediately. Siyul, meanwhile, seemed to have never seen a cat make such an expression and laughed openly.
Only now did Haein remember—Siyul wasn’t the type to blab secrets to others… but he was the type to laugh right in your face.
“Damn it… I shouldn’t have said anything!”
“Pfft! So that’s why you ran away? Because you think it’s weird?”
“It’s not normal, is it…?”
“Ah, you ran away because you despaired over your hopeless love, huh?”
“It’s not that dramatic, okay?!”
Though… Siyul wasn’t exactly wrong. Haein had run away out of fear that her feelings for Taeil would grow completely out of control.
She turned her gaze elsewhere, acting indifferent, but Siyul was far too sharp to be fooled so easily.
“Ohh, so that’s your reason for running away? A cat in love, huh?”
“I’m not a cat, okay?!”
“Then what, you’re a person?”
Haein was left speechless.
In Siyul’s mind, even though she could talk and transform into a human, her default image… wasn’t entirely human.
Trying to have an honest conversation with someone like that? Impossible.
“If you’re so upset, why don’t you just tell me what you really are?”
“…Hmph.”
“An alien? A leftover from some bio-experiment? A gumiho or some kind of yokai? Personally, I think the last one makes the most sense.”
Siyul was genuinely curious about everything to do with Haein.
How could such a creature even exist? The mystery consumed him.
But, since she belonged to someone else, he had held himself back all this time.
Her intelligence meant she could run away the moment he exposed her secret, so he had carefully built up their bond, coaxing her little by little.
And now? She’d run away and finally been found in this sorry state.
“Whenever it gets inconvenient, you just play dumb. Hey, little mutt-cat.”
“Kak!! Don’t call me that!”
“Mutt-cat fits though, doesn’t it? Unless… you actually have a proper name from your parents? Myomyom? Myamya? Mimi?”
“Uuuiiii…!”
Haein bristled, fur standing on end, but she quickly realized Siyul’s trick.
He was provoking her on purpose, trying to get more information out of her.
It was high-level information warfare.
“Oh? Not talking?”
“Not talking!”
“Fine, whatever. After all that suffering, I’m sure you’ve realized how safe it is living with humans, mutt-cat.”
With gauze on one front paw and bandages wrapped around a hind leg, Haein looked like a severely injured stray at first glance.
She used to be fairly laid-back by nature, but ever since becoming a cat, her personality had simplified, grown rough, sharp, and excessively sensitive.
Her species had changed, her environment had changed—it was unavoidable. Keeping calm in such circumstances would be abnormal.
“I said, stop calling me that!”
“Fine. If you’ve got a pretty name, tell me. I’ll call you that instead.”
Siyul’s voice was laced with temptation, and for some reason, Haein’s heart fluttered.
This guy’s a womanizer, isn’t he?
She was sure of it now.
Her guard went up immediately. Say too much, and the Reaper might drag her back to that gray space.
You could never let your guard down around Siyul.
“Why so wary? Okay, okay, I won’t ask. Instead… how was your runaway adventure? Usually, pets come back half-dead, and their owners feed them to make up for it… but you’re not the type to crave food, are you? Is there anything you do want? A shower? A massage? A drive?”
“…Something I want?”
“Yeah. Normally I’d open a tuna can or something, but you’re… different.”
Siyul was trying to figure out her preferences, since knowing that was the first step to taming her.
“What do you need? What do you like?”
His friendly smile practically oozed sincerity, but in reality, Siyul was several levels more cunning than Haein gave him credit for.
“…Well…”
“Come on, tell me. After all that hardship, how could I refuse?”
Such dangerously tempting words. Haein wrestled with herself. She didn’t even realize how easily she was being swayed.
The truth was, there was something she needed.
After much hesitation, she finally opened her mouth, eyes darting away in embarrassment.
“Lend me some money…”
Her voice was so small it was barely audible. Siyul, unlike her, didn’t have exceptional hearing.
“What was that?”
“…Lend me some money!”
“Pfft!”
“Don’t laugh! I’m serious! Kang Siyul, why do you keep laughing?!”
She needed money to send her mom a letter, even to make a quick phone call.
She needed money to buy clothes if she transformed into a person.
But right now, she was completely broke.
Even to retrieve the money she had stashed away as a human, she needed a little cash upfront.
Haein was dead serious, but Siyul was laughing so hard he clutched his stomach.
A cat, making such human-like demands—what a riot!
He laughed so hard, his head hit the steering wheel, the car shook, and the horn blared.
Beeeeep!
“Kahaha! I can’t believe this… a cat… asking me for money…”
“You’re the one who said to tell you! You said it yourself!”
“Agh, seriously… this is killing me. Fine! How much do you need? A thousand won? Two thousand? Gonna buy some anchovies? A can of mackerel? Hahaha!”
“Grrr… Forget it! I won’t borrow anything from you! I changed my mind!”
It was frustrating, but Siyul was her only option.
And Siyul knew that all too well.
For all her arrogance, this poor, pitiful cat didn’t have many people she could rely on.
The sulking, puffed-up cat was both ridiculous and adorable.
Siyul, barely suppressing his laughter, patted her head—whether to tease or comfort, even he wasn’t sure.
“Okay, sorry, I’ll lend it to you… I’m serious… Haha… sorry, sorry… I’m done laughing, really.”
“You’re literally still laughing!”
“Okay, okay, I swear I won’t laugh anymore. But… at least tell me what you need the money for. Just curious. You don’t even have to pay me back, I promise. Just satisfy my curiosity, Miss Penniless Cat.”
What exactly did this cat plan to do with borrowed money?
Siyul was genuinely curious.
“I will pay you back… as soon as I can. Seriously.”
Once she became human again, money wouldn’t be an issue.
Siyul didn’t entirely believe that, but smiled softly and asked—his voice as gentle as when coaxing a human woman.
“Okay then… what do you want to buy?”
“…”
“Hmm? You have to tell me, or I won’t know.”
Hearing this, Haein was sure Siyul would laugh again. But… it was something she desperately needed.
“…Clothes.”
“Clothes? Cat clothes?”
“No! Human clothes!”
“You really want that?”
Why was he still asking, even though she was clearly embarrassed?
Ah… probably because he enjoys teasing me, Haein realized. What a wicked man.
She turned her head away, cheeks puffed, and Siyul simply chuckled.
He’d asked what she wanted with such tenderness, like questioning a lover—never expecting that the answer would be exactly what human women said.
Life with this cat was full of surprises.
Her every reaction was unexpected.
Siyul pictured Haein’s human form, wondering what clothes would suit her.
“I’ll buy you clothes, but… you’ll have to show me how you look wearing them.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“Such a tsundere… Fine, then I won’t buy them.”
“Okay, fine! I’ll do it!”
In the end, Haein reluctantly gave in.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
At a women’s clothing store nearing closing time…
The shop catered mostly to women in their twenties—soft chiffon materials, pink and nude tones, a generally lovely, romantic atmosphere.
It was the kind of overly feminine place most men wouldn’t willingly set foot in.
This year, their model starred in a hit film, driving the brand’s popularity even higher.
Naturally, reluctant boyfriends were often dragged along by their partners.
But a man walking in alone, with confident strides and a relaxed smile—that was a first.
Siyul, dressed like a veterinarian in slippers, caught the staff’s attention instantly.
With his usual charming tone, he asked,
“Still open?”
“…Yes, we’re still open.”
“Great.”
Siyul was the type to effortlessly charm women. His looks, his intellectual speech, his respectable job, and that deep, husky voice…
Even at his animal hospital, female clients lined up for his attention.
The clerk greeted him with exceptional care.
“Can I help you? Buying a gift?”
“Hmm… yeah, something like that. I’m looking for a simple dress.”
“Right this way, sir. This season’s popular items are from this line…”
The clerk rambled on, but Siyul was barely listening.
He looked oddly serious, lost in thought over what would suit Haein.
Her human form lingered in his mind—long lashes, round eyes, flushed lips, soft cheeks, delicate shoulders and collarbones…
He chose a dress himself.
“This one.”
“Would you like to check the size?”
“This should fit. You carry lingerie too, right?”
“Yes, but… you’ll need her size.”
“Probably around 80B? Roughly.”
He had no intention of forgetting what he’d seen that day—Haein would flip if she knew.
The clerk quickly figured it out.
“Ah… buying for your girlfriend?”
“Pfft, what?”
“Your girlfriend…?”
“Funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”
His face remained serious, but his tone mocked the suggestion.
The clerk wondered if she’d misspoken. But a man knowing his girlfriend’s lingerie size? Pretty standard.
“It’s not like that. Absolutely not.”
He denied it repeatedly, unprompted.
“How could I… with a cat…”
“…Ah. Right.”
Maybe his girlfriend just had a cat-like personality?
Siyul frantically waved his hands, as if the idea itself was dangerous.
“Not possible.”
