Cat Therapy Chapter 1.1

Tiger beastmen did not have a good image because of their unique rough impression and innate robustness.

It was to the point where there was a saying that a tiger beastman was either a detective or a criminal. In history as well, tiger beastmen were often generals who protected the country or leaders of heinous criminals.

The actor Seo Yongwoo, being a beast of prey, was greatly affected by these prejudices.

He succeeded as a handsome man with outstanding acting skills and a sense of weight, but his indifferent eye shape stretched long without double eyelids and his fierce three-white eyes stood out, so the roles he took were mainly villains.

Especially after he chillingly portrayed the role of a lonely and psychologically twisted psychopath murderer in the movie ‘Black Road’, that image stuck firmly to him.

It was thanks to a travel variety show that such Seo Yongwoo was able to build recognition with a likable image.

When the actor who always took only villain roles showed a caring and gentle side throughout the trip, he greatly captured people’s favor with his unexpected charm, and accordingly, information about Seo Yongwoo surfaced.

[If you get to know him, an actor from a diamond spoon family who studied abroad]

[Time-reversing actor who has lived with a 35-year-old face since his early 20s, 32 years old this year]

Soon, articles and posts about Seo Yongwoo occupied the top ranks on various community sites, and the harsh prejudices against tiger beastmen improved a bit. As his recognition increased that much, Seo Yongwoo received more lead role casting offers for movies than before, and he even shot a car commercial.

But it is not possible for everything to go well.

The biggest crisis in Seo Yongwoo’s acting career occurred because of just one cat.

Two weeks ago, he first encountered a black cat that was rummaging through the staff’s cars in the area he visited for filming. It was such a pitch-black creature that at first he thought it was a black plastic bag blowing in the wind, but it turned out to be a real cat.

The cat happened to be caught while eyeing a tuna sandwich in the director’s car.

“Damn it, this thing crawled all the way into the set and brought bad luck.”

The director, who was already sensitive from dealing with investors, grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and slammed it onto the dirt ground.

When he cursed that the dark thing had come in and it would bring bad luck, the small black creature, apparently very startled, huddled close to the car wheel and trembled finely. The round yellow eyes that occasionally glanced around were filled with fear.

It was Seo Yongwoo who was startled by that sight and intervened.

“Director, if you do that, you’ll kill the beast. What does this little one know?”

Seo Yongwoo tried to stop him in his characteristic low and slow tone. The director, who was wary of Seo Yongwoo as a beast of prey, could not hit it more and barely listened to the words, but he continued to pour verbal abuse at the small huddled trembling cat.

The pitch-black cat, surrounded by the staff, fidgeted restlessly, and before long, tears welled up thickly in its two eyes. It was clear at a glance that it was exhausted from hunger and grievance.

Feeling sorry for that sight, Seo Yongwoo wrapped the skinny cat in his outer jacket and picked it up himself. The cat seemed to know he was on its side, as it clung tightly to his wrist, and that small force felt quite desperate.

“I’ll take care of this, everyone go back to work.”

When the tall and sturdy man picked up the cat, it looked as small as hiding a loaf of bread in his arms. It was a medium-long-haired breed, so it did not show much on the outside, but when he actually held it, it was in quite a malnourished state.

Seo Yongwoo patted and soothed the cat that would not leave his side at all.

“Who do you think I am to cling like this. You’ll get attached.”

Mew…

“It’s pitiful. So what if the fur is a bit black.”

Seo Yongwoo, who had lived misunderstood as a rough beast of prey, felt some empathy for the poor thing treated as bad luck. When he even chimed in agreement, the cat mewed sadly and did not let go of Seo Yongwoo’s wrist for a long time.

In the end, Seo Yongwoo delayed the filming a bit, held and soothed the creature, and when it had calmed down a little, he asked his manager to take it to an animal hospital. Since there was still filming schedule left, that was the best he could do.

Soon, a message came from the manager.

[Photo]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: Yongwoo hyung, this guy’s wariness is so severe that they say it’s hard to do the pheromone test and examination?]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: He looks really stressed and like malnourished, so they put him on IV fluids for now ㅜㅜ]

Originally, one could determine if it was a beastman or an animal through a pheromone test, but it seemed too sensitive for even that. Seo Yongwoo first conveyed that he had worked hard since there was still filming left.

[Seo Yongwoo: Yeah, thanks for the trouble]

[Seo Yongwoo: For now, take him to my house]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: Yes sir]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: This guy is super cute, he keeps glaring at me]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: He scratched the back of my hand earlier too ㅎㅎ]

The manager was unnecessarily talkative. As the manager of a tiger actor and being quite burly himself, he always could not help but ramble when he saw something cute.

On top of that, to loiter in front of a cat expressing dislike with its whole body. Animals cannot speak, so they communicate through body language, but the manager, being a moon bear beastman, seemed unable to understand the cat’s body language. He regretted that he should have taken it himself instead.

Seo Yongwoo was about to put his phone in his pocket, but he looked again at the photo the manager had sent.

It was a photo of the cat inside a square hospital cage, and the cat was still huddled tightly in the corner as if terrified, receiving IV fluids on its front paw. Among that, the phrase written on the glass outside the hospital cage caught his eye.

<Name: Dodong-Stray Cat>

<Weight: 2.6kg>

Dodong, huh. Did the tactless manager even name it? Out of curiosity, Seo Yongwoo asked briefly.

[Seo Yongwoo: What’s Dodong?]

The reply arrived immediately.

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: Uh]

[Manager-Shin Sungbo: I just said thief, but it seems he took it as a name?]

“Good grief.”

Seo Yongwoo let out a hollow laugh and put down his phone. It was probably because the manager’s dialect inflection remained in his speech that it was misunderstood at the hospital.

“Dodong…”

It was a name that strangely stuck well to his mouth, so Seo Yongwoo muttered it to himself. Then, another actor sitting nearby, who rarely spoke, awkwardly asked why Mr. Yongwoo was smiling.

It was indeed a rare occurrence. He was generally indifferent to everything, but the image of the small black cat huddling and trembling kept coming to mind throughout the filming.

‘Should I raise him?’

He needed to focus on acting, but that thought alone circled in his head.

Dodong. He even liked the name that had come about by chance. He was not one to believe in fate, but the creature’s terrified bright yellow eyes kept resurfacing.

The black cat had only been sniffing around for food out of hunger, yet it was called bad luck. Memories of the time when he suffered from prejudices saying he was fierce because he was a tiger resurfaced, creating a strange sense of kinship.

“Hmm…”

Just then, Seo Yongwoo spotted a bunch of black cat fur stuck to the sleeve of his shirt. He had only held the cat briefly, but black fluff had stuck all over. Yet, it did not feel repulsive at all; instead, he let out a small chuckle. It was because he recalled the cat’s small front paw that had gripped his wrist like a lifeline.

‘I guess I have to raise him.’

Seo Yongwoo picked off a strand of cat fur and examined it with pleasure as he made up his mind.

It was the first time such a thought had come to him about another being.

*

As soon as he brought the cat home, Seo Yongwoo gave up an entire guest room with an attached bathroom. He also poured plenty of various feeds and snacks that the manager had bought into bowls.

“There, live as you please.”

Gasp!

When he offered the feed, the cat did not show gratitude but instead knocked over the bowl and scratched Seo Yongwoo’s hand, drawing blood. Then, after causing the mischief itself, it huddled its body like a sea urchin with a frightened face.

Seo Yongwoo did not get particularly angry or scold it. He went to wash his hands late and discovered the bleeding, but he brushed it off as no big deal. After all, he had not expected to get along well with a stray cat from the start.

‘It looks like the adjustment period will be quite long.’

Seo Yongwoo deliberately left Dodong alone to adapt on his own. Indifference was the medicine for a sensitive cat.

The house was so spacious that he did not even know where the cat was, and he lived in the same regular pattern as when there was no cat. He knew that animals needed time to adjust to a new territory. He planned to take the cat back to the animal hospital once it had settled down a bit.

Dodong mostly hid, but the places where he was occasionally found were a bit peculiar, so they stuck in his memory. Just when he would forget about its presence, the cat would pop out like a lost remote control.

Whenever the two accidentally made eye contact, they would stare at each other as if they had run into each other wrongly in the wild, but it was usually Seo Yongwoo who spoke first.

“Is that yours?”

Mew.

The place where the cat mostly appeared was the display cabinet with various gold accessories and gold bars. Right now, the creature was huddled on top of it like a loaf of bread.

Even while looking at him warily, Dodong did not avoid the passing tiger. Rather, he glared as if Seo Yongwoo was invading his territory, showing clear discomfort.

Seo Yongwoo found that attitude a bit ridiculous, but his eyes were drawn to how the pure gold sparkled under the pitch-black fur ball with ears, and it suited him quite well.

‘Should I get him a gold necklace?’

Seo Yongwoo thought it was no big deal, but because it was cute, he took several photos and posted them on SNS.

[New family member♡]

He only added a short comment, but the response was more explosive than expected. When asked in the comments what the name was, he replied ‘His name is Dodong.’, and it spread instantly with people saying it was cute.

Only after about a week like that did Dodong seem to gradually adapt to the house, starting to wander around here and there while ignoring Seo Yongwoo. He still glared with wary eyes whenever they got close, though.

At such times, Seo Yongwoo strangely wanted to approach the cat more. It was because he recalled how it had leaned on him at first, and he kept wanting to see that sight again.

“Why. You still don’t like me?”

Mew.

Seo Yongwoo reached out his hand once, finding it commendable that it had made a sound. Since it did not scratch or run away, he gently stroked it. Dodong huddled his body tightly like a loaf of bread and quietly accepted the touch. Then, without realizing it, he let out a purring sound and fled the spot with a face as if his pride was hurt. Such incidents repeated often.

That sight was quite cute, so Seo Yongwoo gradually began to take good care of the cat.

The cat hardly ate, so Seo Yongwoo even started cooking, and among the numerous menus, he grilled tuna steak without salt and it ate it very well, making him proud.

“You only pick the expensive stuff to eat. You’re a real prince.”

With the praise and him cooking and taking good care of it, the cat gradually became bold enough to steal only the tuna from his own plate. No, with all its fur puffed up and glaring openly, it was not theft but outright robbery.

Yet, far from being angry, it only seemed cute, which was surprising.

‘I’ve basically volunteered to be his slave.’

He simply liked how the little one was gaining weight and becoming more spoiled. When he first brought Dodong home, his wariness was so severe that it was heartbreaking, so he was grateful to this extent for such changes.

The cat gradually began to invade Seo Yongwoo’s core territory, the bed. It seemed less because he wanted to sleep together and more because he liked the box-shaped bed that was blocked on all sides like a sofa backrest. In any case, the two finally started sharing the same space.

Once, when Seo Yongwoo woke up from sleep, he saw Dodong sleeping while hugging his wrist tightly with his front paw.

‘He’s finally approaching now.’

That felt a bit thrilling, so Seo Yongwoo lay there without getting up for a long time, content with offering his wrist. For feline animals to sleep clinging together held a very special meaning, and he wanted to savor it a bit more.

This behavior itself meant ‘I accept you as reliable family’, but for Seo Yongwoo, who had become independent from his family long ago, it was something he experienced for the first time in 20 years. As such, Dodong gradually became more special.

That seemed quite surprising to the people around him. Once, the manager asked with a face full of wonder.

“Yongwoo hyung, is it okay if the cat invades the bed?”

“He keeps sticking close, what can I do. I have to let him.”