Cat Therapy Chapter 1.3

Even while doing that, in the end, he stared blankly at the sleeping Seo Yongwoo with arms full of items.

“……?”

Wondering if he felt some guilt perhaps, he watched, but soon the guy seemed to remember something and quickly gathered a pile of tuna cans before fleeing.

“This thieving bastard…”

Seo Yongwoo twisted his mouth and let out a hollow laugh.

Under his thick eyebrows, his characteristic tiger eyes stood fierce and cold. More than the stolen items, he could not just let it slide because he was indignant about having been deceived all this time. His insides boiled so much that tension stiffened his entire body’s muscles, making his tiger fangs reveal themselves in his rising anger.

Soon, the manager burst into Seo Yongwoo’s house.

*

The list of items stolen by the fresh-faced thief was as follows.

A Swiss brand metal watch, all kinds of gold accessories, and all the cash in the wallet. He also put on and took Seo Yongwoo’s T-shirt and jumper, and stuffed as many tuna cans as he could into his arms.

There were porcelain pieces and artworks in the house worth over ten million, but he either did not know their value or only pilfered the shabby-looking things bit by bit. On top of that, he could not even open the safe, so he only dusted it off.

That did not mean the theft was forgivable, though.

Seo Yongwoo checked the CCTV in the parking lot. Looking closely, the guy who seemed barely in his early twenties fled in a fluster with a makeshift bundle hugged to his chest. He looked even more sloppy because he had stolen and worn clothes that were much larger in size.

As the saying goes, the thief trips on his own feet, and sure enough, he fumbled so much that once he got startled by a passing car and left behind an expensive wristwatch without even realizing it had fallen.

He was clearly not a natural-born thief.

“It seems like he took about 100 million won worth. This ungrateful punk…”

The manager scowled fiercely at the thief clearly captured on the screen. The young punk had a yellow streak in him, and that’s why he disliked him, he grumbled. He said to call the police right away and draw a red line across his life.

“Let’s report this bastard and throw him in jail. No wonder he refused the examination at the animal hospital so stubbornly. I let it slide because he was cute, but a beastman?”

“……”

“It seems like he deliberately pretended to be a cat and approached. Hyung, did he act suspiciously at all during that time…”

“Sungbo.”

Seo Yongwoo stared indifferently at the guy’s face on the screen. He narrowed his eyes while looking at the low-quality footage. Seeing the youthful face made his thick neck ripple.

‘Even if I report him…’

Seo Yongwoo first had a self-mocking thought.

If he reported Dodong, he could catch him quickly, but since Dodong had become famous online, reporters would swarm like hyenas. No matter how much he was the victim, he did not want to endure such hassle to catch the culprit.

And this young punk would just receive endless criticism without the stolen items even returning.

He was sick and tired of the interest in his private life. Rather than letting it turn out that way, he wanted to resolve it himself. On top of that, since it involved his cat, it was a much more personal matter.

“Forget it, I’ll catch him myself.”

“Yes?”

He could feel the manager looking at him like he was crazy. He scolded, asking if he pitied the thief who had even hidden his identity, and why he would not report him. But Seo Yongwoo did not waver in his opinion despite the persuasion. Instead, he asked the manager to just block the reporters.

With such a distinctive appearance, it seemed like he could find him quickly. Moreover, Seo Yongwoo was the type who had to handle everything with his own hands to feel satisfied.

Seo Yongwoo had quite a wide network of connections.

He had lived trying not to cause harm to others, so good people stayed by his side. On top of that, while working as an actor, he got along well with extras, so he ended up with all sorts of connections. Seo Yongwoo thought it was all thanks to his good fortune with people, and now was the time to use that fortune. He made calls here and there and separately asked a reliable casting manager for a favor.

“I sent the photo, do you recognize the face by any chance?”

[Oh, a rookie? He’s neatly handsome in a compact way.]

“I only know he’s a black cat beastman.”

[If he’s a black cat, he might be a bit of a weird one… Anyway, you want me to find him?]

After a few exchanges and stating the purpose, Seo Yongwoo hung up the phone. He had also asked to keep it as secret as possible. He was already distraught with so many upcoming matters.

Of all things, he had to film a variety show tomorrow that used his house as the background, so he was extremely busy.

Seo Yongwoo looked down at the variety show script in his hand with indifferent eyes.

<My Sweet Home Script – Seo Yongwoo Edition>

‘My Sweet Home’ was a variety show that filmed celebrities living with different lifestyles according to their beastman characteristics.

Preparations were underway with broadcasting equipment being installed all over the two-story mansion, making it quite cluttered. Seo Yongwoo was already a tiger sensitive to his territory, so just having the staff enter his domain caused him significant stress. With the break-in on top, it felt like his house had become a public restroom.

While doggedly going through his schedule in this sensitive state, Seo Yongwoo kept thinking of the fresh-faced thief.

‘So he’s a beastman, but he deliberately stepped all over my face.’

The more he thought about it, the more reasons piled up to question the guy.

Seo Yongwoo clenched his fist tightly and gauged how much the cat beastman in his true form weighed. A cat whose body was only the size of a melon once the fur coat was stripped off, yet he had so boldly toyed with a tiger.

No wonder he ignored the feed and snacks and only nibbled away at canned tuna.

On top of that, for water, he would only dip his front paw into what was poured into his own cup and drink, and he would blatantly pretend to retch at the smell of his salad. Even though he gave him an entire room, he would always go into the closet with shirts and stick all his black fur on them. He would only run around playing through the whole house when he was asleep. Then, when sleepy, he would subtly hug his wrist and sleep clinging tightly…

“Damn it.”

My cat.

The more he recalled, the more anger rose to the top of his head, yet thinking of his cat gone made his chest feel stuffy. As a territorial tiger, it was even more distressing because it was the first companion animal he had ever accepted. As time passed, Seo Yongwoo became confused whether he was angry about the theft or desperate because his cat had disappeared.

Grrr…

Out of frustration, Seo Yongwoo let out a deep sigh that made a beast-like growl rumble in his throat. He could sense the manager glancing at him warily from the side, but he did not care. In fact, he did not even have the time for that because of the filming.

Thanks to that, time passed somehow, but after Dodong disappeared, Seo Yongwoo had been in low spirits for nearly ten days.

The people around him felt like they were walking on thin ice as well. Even the friendly staff who usually talked to him could not bring themselves to pretend to notice.

Seo Yongwoo was originally hard to approach. His beast-of-prey build and aura, his blunt expression as an actor that made it impossible to read his inner thoughts, and so on. Moreover, now with his emotional ups and downs, his vertically slitted tiger pupils kept showing, making it hard even to meet his gaze.

And so, after Dodong disappeared, days continued where even the people around him felt their blood run cold.

*

…As time passed, the situation only worsened.

Even though he had tried his best to hide or remove traces of the cat in the house during the ‘My Sweet Home’ filming, after the broadcast aired, people started searching for Dodong based on just the outlines of cat items captured from afar.

“Um… Yongwoo hyung. This seems like it will make the news.”

“……”

The manager swiftly held out the tablet PC. It was captures from various sites.

On community sites, various opinions boiled over because Dodong did not appear on the broadcast.

[Title: Did you see Mas Home today? Seo Yongwoo is seriously a total pro]

[Content: But I was looking forward to Dodong in Seo Yongwoo’s house, but he’s just not there? I thought I couldn’t find him because he’s black, but even rewatching, he’s goneㅠ]

[Reply: Wasn’t it filmed before bringing Dodong home?]

[Reply: Or there’s a new cat tower left in the corner of Seo Yongwoo’s house]

[Reply: He posted on SNS about a new family member with a heart and all, lol]

[Reply: Please not Gungye no no..]

[Title: But from the start, a tiger trying to raise a cat is kinda lol]

[Content: The cat adopted by a beast of prey is pitiful too.. no words.. lol]

[Reply: Looking at the photos, the kitty is super skinny.. even considering he’s young, he’s too small]

[Reply: Isn’t it because he’s still young?]

[Reply: It’s a long-haired breed, but if you can see the bones, it’s really serious]

[Reply: Whoa, seriously raising a cat?]

[Reply: Yeah but only cat stuff on the show, no kitty, so it’s chaos]

[Reply: No explanation for days, but he posts photos whenever he gets a chance lololol]

[Title: But this is true, cat beastmen absolutely don’t move territories unless it’s minor]

[Content: That’s why cat beastmen are the most obsessive about homeownership, but the adopted cat suddenly gone from home? It’s not like he accepted him as family or anything, maybe lent to another family temporarily? lol What family does a tiger have, he’s just a workplace superior you meet during holidays, 100% he let another animal into his territory but couldn’t adapt and kicked him out]

[Reply: This is right, I’m a civet too, even if my house is old and I don’t like it, I cling to remodeling desperatelyㅜㅜ Just thinking about moving gives me hives all over my body]

[Reply: Just seeing all the cat furniture cleared out confirms he abandoned him]

[Reply: His face looks like he’d do that haha]

[Reply: What face, lololololol]

[Reply: Isn’t this beastman racial discrimination?]

[Reply: If you knew who that actor’s dad is, you wouldn’t say that lol]

[Reply: ??]

[Reply: Who?]

[Title: Chairman Seo Taegun]

[Content: Former chairman of Hogan Group and a tiger beastman. He was famous as a gangster in the Yeongnam region in the past. He apparently amassed business funds through so-called land deals, and after marrying a chaebol daughter, he built up the current Hogan Group.

(Photo)

This is the famous meme of a root handsome guy from the 90s wandering around. Died in 2021 from chronic illness. Scraped the key points from Wiki]

[Reply: Whoa..]

[Reply: Wow, I always thought that meme guy was super handsome, and it’s his dad??]

[Reply: The son is a dead ringer for the old man]

[Reply: This guy was famous from news too, but young kids these days don’t know haha]

[Reply: Stop the brain rot, what does this have to do with the current controversy;]

“Ha…”

Seo Yongwoo let out a sigh and roughly tossed the tablet PC onto the table.

He had known this would happen. Among the tags that followed Seo Yongwoo around, the most persistent and annoying one was his father. To an independent male tiger, he was now no different from a stranger, but every time stories about resembling his parents or his long-dead father’s past surfaced, his head ached.

He knew he could neither deny nor escape the roots of his identity. The disappointment had been great when he learned of his father’s misdeeds, so Seo Yongwoo wanted to break free from such prejudices. From the beginning, during his growth period, he had suffered under his strict father’s wariness simply because he was male, so he had not felt much affection. His father had cherished only his mother terribly, and had always been dissatisfied with his son who resembled him.

At that moment, the manager who had been watching him cautiously from the side spoke carefully.

“…Think about it some more, hyung.”

The agency kept calling, so the manager’s phone rang nonstop. Seo Yongwoo habitually ground his fangs and slumped deeply into the sofa. With impatience added to his anger, his senses became hypersensitive.