The first to wake up was Siyul.
Whenever he came off a night shift, he would usually relieve his fatigue with a short nap like this.
Even half-asleep, the very first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to check whether the cat in his arms was still there.
“Still here, huh.”
Curled up in the sheets with only her face peeking out, the black cat was sound asleep, completely oblivious to the world.
He had thought she might’ve run off somewhere again while he was asleep, but for once, she remained exactly where he’d left her.
How commendable.
It seemed his efforts to tame her had finally paid off.
Siyul smiled softly and stroked the edge of the cat’s perky ear.
At that, Haein’s facial muscles twitched, and she began to grind her teeth.
“Mm… mmng…” (S-Stop with the yang energy…)
“…Dreaming, huh?”
“Ughhh!” (How dare you call me a monster!)
She even let out a distressed little cry.
Siyul, who had been watching, couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer and burst out chuckling.
He couldn’t understand what she was saying, but watching a sleep-talking cat was surprisingly entertaining.
“Mngnya nya…” (This must be a dream…)
She was just sleeping, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. It was a strange feeling.
Of course, it would’ve been far more delightful if she were in her human form—but this wasn’t bad either.
Considering how much she had hated him at first, this truly was a huge step forward.
Who knew how many months it had taken to reach the point where she could sleep beside him like this?
Still lying on his side, Siyul rested his head on one hand and tried to estimate how long it had been. They’d met in summer, and now it was already the beginning of winter.
It really had taken a long time to tame her.
A flood of emotions welled up.
Siyul slowly got up, stretched, and glanced at the clock. It was only 4 p.m.
“Didn’t sleep as long as I thought.”
He looked down at the sleeping Haein once more, then quietly left the room.
He made sure not to wake her.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
With Haein asleep in Taeil’s room, this was the perfect chance for Siyul.
In most ordinary homes with pet cats, if there’s just a person and a cat in the house, people would assume the person is alone…
But Siyul knew very well that the cat living with him was no ordinary cat.
Which is why, from time to time, he had to work in secret, out of Haein’s sight.
“Let’s see here.”
He entered his room, turned on his computer, and browsed through the web pages he’d recently bookmarked.
Many of them were in incognito mode, thanks to Haein frequently using his computer.
[The Great Monster Encyclopedia Through the Ages]
[Origins of Monsters in Chinese Folklore]
[Types of Dokkaebi According to Our Ancestors]
[Ghost or Human?]
If the self-proclaimed lady cat ever saw this, she would raise hell—so he had no choice but to sneak around like this.
Like someone committing a crime.
Well, it was practically a crime. If he got caught, all hell would break loose.
Occasionally, Siyul would search at the hospital too, but it was hard to do much at work.
Especially since this wasn’t just idle browsing—it was all strange, specific information.
“Witches, women who made contracts with demons. Can transform into cats or bats… Close, but not quite.”
In between reading, Siyul occasionally paused to check whether Haein had woken up.
If he came across something noteworthy, he would email it to himself for safekeeping.
In truth, he’d been doing this research for quite some time now, but he still hadn’t found anything definitive.
“Werewolves… humans who transform into wolves under the full moon? But this other site says they only become human ‘on’ full moons…”
The hardest part was the overwhelming variety of conflicting information.
Take the Imoogi, for example—some sources said it was a sacred creature training in spiritual cultivation.
Others claimed it was a bewitching serpent that should be decapitated on sight.
For someone earnestly trying to study, it was frustrating beyond belief.
He felt pathetic relying on these sources—but what choice did he have?
The subject of his curiosity wouldn’t tell him anything herself.
“I’d rather you didn’t ask about me. Sometimes… hiding things from you feels painful.”
Those were her words just yesterday, spoken with a strained smile.
A face that couldn’t hide a single emotion. When angry, she’d lash out. When embarrassed, she’d lash out again. But when happy, she’d beam with delight.
When she sulked, her cheeks would flush—and it made him want to pull her into his arms.
She was so lovable that it sometimes felt dangerous… this girl with no name.
“…”
She told him not to ask—but did that mean he shouldn’t search, either?
Siyul’s hand hovered over the mouse for a moment, then moved again.
She said not to ask.
But she never said not to search.
He couldn’t just sit around and cry after losing her someday.
So Siyul pressed on, eyes scanning the endless stream of text, doing everything he could to get just a little bit closer to the truth about Haein.
If Siyul had started this research out of mere curiosity, now it was solely because he didn’t want to lose her—not even by the slimmest chance.
For that moment—if it ever came—when she might vanish overnight and leave him in shock, just as she had warned.
When grief and despair drove him to search the entire world for her… he needed to know where to go.
“…She’s definitely not a ghost. I can touch her. She has body heat. That narrows it down to two candidates.”
No matter what thoughts ate away at him on the inside, Siyul kept his expression neutral as he continued compressing the information.
The two identities he had most recently narrowed Haein’s nature down to were:
A gumiho or a werewolf.
It was the best he could do after countless searches. These were topics he’d never cared about before, so it was still all confusing—but he was trying.
“A gumiho seems more likely… But she doesn’t even like meat, let alone livers.”
Even assuming there was a feline version of a gumiho, there were still too many inconsistencies.
The only foods Haein showed interest in were sweets at best.
She’d even said once that not eating didn’t really affect her physically.
Siyul, propping his chin on his hand and staring at the monitor, eventually pulled a diary from his briefcase. He began reviewing the notes he’d written down earlier:
1. Can transform from a cat into a human.
2. Can speak human language even in cat form.
3. Can roughly understand animal speech.
4. Cries when she encounters a freshly operated animal—says she can feel their pain.
5. There seem to be limitations on transforming into human form. (Not unlimited.)
6. Claims to be good at drinking, but is actually weak. (Has telltale drunken behavior.)
7. Speaks Korean but seems to struggle with English.
8. Based on a test, she doesn’t understand Chinese either. (Korean origin?)
9. Likes drawing.
10. Has a very sharp sense of smell, though it’s weaker in human form.
11. Sleeps a lot. All day, even.
12. Sulks easily. Can be appeased with sweets.
13. Likes moonlight.
…
…
…
After reading all the way down, he added one more line at the bottom:
29. Keeps getting cuter.
Neatly written, as if it were a critical piece of evidence.
Maybe this was what people meant by being “bewitched.”
Thinking that, he closed the diary and opened a new search tab.
This wasn’t the time to space out. He had to gather as much information as possible while he still had the chance. He didn’t know when the adorably dangerous Haein might wake up.
Today, Siyul decided to focus his efforts on native Korean mythology. He started randomly searching for old terms for cats—like ‘goe (괴)’.
And whether by luck or persistence, it didn’t take long for something to catch his eye.
“…A folktale passed down in Yeongsan, South Chungcheong Province, tells of a ‘Black Goe.’ When it appeared, flocks of crows would follow, and death would soon follow. Thus, the Black Goe came to be seen as a harbinger of death. Its eyes were said to gleam golden like those of a tiger…”
Promising, like most of the entries he came across, but—as usual—it only offered a few lines and ended with: “See reference text for details.”
When it came to old legends, books were far more reliable than the internet.
“Excerpt from ‘Korean Folk Tales and Mythical Legends‘. Damn it—published in 1992? Out of print, even.”
The problem was that the useful sources often had no remaining copies.
Siyul searched for any libraries that might have it.
Lately, he had grown pointlessly skilled at online sleuthing.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
“Myaang?” (Kang?)
Meanwhile, Haein had just woken up—and was feeling slightly annoyed that Siyul wasn’t by her side.
What the heck? He was the one who begged her to sleep with him, and now he was gone? She had even been generous enough to fall asleep next to him…
“Mmmng.” (So rude.)
Still drowsy, Haein sat up and tried to trace Siyul’s presence.
Judging by the keyboard clicking sounds, he seemed to be in his room.
Well, he was nearby, so she supposed that was fine.
Stretching slowly, she let out a long yawn.
A body charged with yang energy really did feel different.
Since becoming a cat, she had never felt this lively before. Maybe she hadn’t been functioning properly due to low energy until now?
Yang energy really was something else—she felt better than ever.
It was the kind of energy that made her feel like she could turn human right now and sprint a hundred meters.
Hopping off the bed, she padded toward the living room.
She hummed a little tune as she made her way toward Siyul’s room, feeling refreshed after a good nap.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
“Yup!”
Siyul stepped out of his room before she could even enter, so she paused in the living room.
Looking up at the tall Siyul in cat form made her neck ache, so she jumped onto the couch.
There was something suspicious about how quickly Siyul came out of his room. Tilting her head, she asked,
“What were you doing?”
“Just browsing the internet.”
Hmm… Suspicious.
Just like Siyul watched Haein, she also enjoyed observing him. He wasn’t the type to play games or scroll mindlessly—he even got the newspaper delivered every morning.
“Kang, you don’t really like using computers.”
“You were sleeping. Watching TV might’ve woken you up.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.”
“Didn’t want to wake you.”
That did make sense. Haein nodded, tail flicking in satisfaction.
Siyul came closer and gently patted her on the head.
That familiar, affectionate gesture.
Being petted in cat form… wasn’t so bad.
Haein narrowed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his hand.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“I slept really well.”
“Next to me, right?”
Seeing Siyul’s pleased expression as she responded made Haein’s heart flutter.
Seriously, this guy got proud over the weirdest things. Embarrassing.
“I should wish that guy goes on business trips more often.”
He sounded very sincere.
If Taeil wasn’t around, Siyul could have Haein all to himself.
And—lucky for some, unlucky for others—it was currently peak business trip season for Taeil. He was busy preparing for the upcoming spring photo book.
“Anyway, good thing you’re awake. I was about to wake you.”
“Why?”
“Want to transform and wait for me while I shower?”
“Huh? Why would I wait for you to—”
“What kind of dirty thoughts are you having, young lady?”
Siyul wasted no time calling out her perviness. The title “lewd cat” felt incredibly unfair to Haein.
I’m perfectly modest! You’re the one who said it like that!
“I just meant, let’s go on a date. You could transform and put on some clothes while I shower.”
“…So bold! People would think we’re dating!”
“We kissed, didn’t we?”
“Well… yeah, but…!”
Siyul’s shameless reply left Haein at a loss for words.
She wanted to blame the mood at the time—but the truth was, they had kissed too many times now to use that as an excuse.
Good thing she was in cat form. If she were in human form, her face would’ve looked ridiculous by now.
“We’ll have fun while that guy’s away. Right? Besides, you like being in your human form.”
“That’s true, but—wait! Kang, you—! You’re being way too smooth… We’re not even dating!”
Emergency. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up as his girlfriend by default.
Haein told herself to stay sharp.
“Still, I’m only going to kiss you, and you’re only going to kiss me. So what’s the difference?”
“Wha—?”
There really was no winning against Siyul’s slick tongue.
“Oh, Taeil and his pet-owner dynamic don’t count. And honestly, the whole ‘dating’ thing probably doesn’t mean much to you anyway, right?”
Not even that smirking gaze of his could be resisted.
How could this man look so serious while saying such things?
Trying to play hard to get had zero effect. Haein had already been stripped bare—spiritually, at least.
“I’m fine not dating. As long as I’m the only one you kiss… as a man.”
Watching that lazy smile, Haein finally realized—
She was already on a tight leash, completely bound to Siyul.
