Cat Therapy Chapter 2.2

Haedong forgot what he wanted to say and only widened his black cat pupils. After living through such hard labor, his body was craving good food. In the end, he could not resist the temptation and popped the tuna belly right into his mouth. The soft and fresh sashimi melted gently as soon as it entered his mouth.

‘Delicious.’

Without realizing it, thick tears welled up in his eyes. It was not that he was so moved by how delicious it was, but among young cats, there were cases where the tear glands were stimulated along with the salivary glands, so eating something delicious would make tears come out.

“Is the seasoning too strong for the baby to eat?”

“I will wipe it, I,”

Ignoring Haedong’s refusal, Seo Yongwoo pressed and wiped away the tears with a tissue. That touch was familiar, but feeling taken care of even in his human form was strangely odd, so he kept his eyes tightly shut.

Then, after wiping away all the tears, Seo Yongwoo fed him tuna belly with even less wasabi than before. Although he hesitated, Haedong took it into his mouth once again. Seo Yongwoo’s actions were exactly the same as when he had taken care of him in his cat form, which felt strange and suspicious.

‘Does he not hate me···?’

Could it be that he had brought him back to take care of him like a baby again, even after the theft?

He had prepared himself to be hated and to live through hardships, but he could not understand why he was treating him so kindly. Haedong scrutinized Seo Yongwoo’s complexion in an attempt to fiercely figure out his intentions. But Seo Yongwoo maintained his characteristic aloof poker face.

At that moment, Seo Yongwoo spoke in a low voice.

“There is about a month left until the variety show filming.”

The deadline was more generous than expected. From what Haedong had eavesdropped on during phone calls when he was a cat, the variety show filming schedule was supposed to be two times, but it seemed like he had somehow postponed the second filming during the time he had disappeared. Haedong had thought it was fortunate that he did not have to appear on the broadcast, but since the abandonment controversy had been too big, this appearance seemed unavoidable.

Seo Yongwoo continued.

“Shall we go on dates in the meantime?”

“···Dates?”

“I even got accused of throwing you away, so I need to show some affectionate moments on the broadcast, right.”

As expected, he was being nice because of public opinion, Haedong jumped to conclusions about Seo Yongwoo’s true feelings on his own, but he did not feel particularly upset about it. He just thought that the world was as harsh as ever and brushed it off familiarly. Still, he could not help but feel intimidated by the face looking at his own black tail.

But to show affectionate moments with that scary beast.

Haedong swallowed hard with a gulp while looking at Seo Yongwoo’s broadly spread shoulders. It seemed like that tiger had firmly deluded himself into thinking that he was really dating him. Moreover, if the purpose of going on dates was merely to show affectionate moments on the broadcast, then Haedong wanted to decline.

“I do not think there is a need to go that far with dates to get used to it.”

“Then how will I show affectionate moments on the broadcast?”

“Pretending to be close would be enough···.”

As he replied without being able to hide his dislike, Seo Yongwoo looked at him expressionlessly.

A subtle sneer floated in the tiger’s half-folded eyes for a moment. It was a smile filled with cold conviction that knew nothing of humility.

“You are worse at acting than a tow truck driver.”

“······.”

Of all things, to compare him to a tow truck driver. Haedong wanted to hiss that it was too harsh, but he held it back tightly. Because it was not wrong.

Feline beastmen were famous for being bad at acting. The reason Seo Yongwoo had risen to become a top actor was partly because feline beastmen who could perform perfectly in acting were so rare.

‘I know he knows I am bad at acting, so why does he not realize I am pretending to like him···.’

It was not just strange but downright suspicious, but Haedong was not in a position to voice such complaints. His position now was even lower than when he had been a cat.

At that moment, Seo Yongwoo washed his hands and pulled a chair over to sit beside Haedong. Sitting with his legs spread appropriately, he leaned his arms on the table and subtly stared at Haedong.

“I am getting a bit tired of playing villains. I am trying to properly reinvent myself with this opportunity.”

As he spoke, Seo Yongwoo tapped his cheek, and even that seemed villainous, so Haedong became tense. If he was tired of villains, should he not just change species altogether, he wanted to say, but he held back obediently and replied.

“Ah, I understand.”

Still, Haedong had learned how to do things he disliked through various part-time jobs early on.

He had cleaned up terribly filthy filth at a bar before, and he had been hit while dealing with customers who were even filthier than that. Because of the outdated prejudice that followed black cats, there were not many jobs he could do, so he had lived through hard labor.

Recalling that time, Seo Yongwoo’s demands felt like nothing much. In fact, considering the theft he had committed himself, it seemed natural to obediently follow his words, so he quietly lowered his eyes.

At that moment, Seo Yongwoo fed him more tuna again. With the caring touch, Haedong gained a little courage and proposed one small compromise.

“In return, from now on, I will take the photos for SNS.”

At Haedong’s serious words, Seo Yongwoo burst into laughter and gladly permitted it.

After releasing the correction article, public opinion had also flipped, and contacts from the broadcasting station started coming in actively again.

Thanks to that, Seo Yongwoo was extremely busy for a few days. He said he had deliberately crammed his schedule to spend time with Haedong, but Haedong did not listen even when he explained what that meant. Roughly, Seo Yongwoo had gone for an advertisement shoot, suddenly signed a building contract, and had a meeting for the filming of ‘My Sweet Home.’ To Haedong, it was all just other people’s business, so no matter what stories Seo Yongwoo told when he came home, he listened with one ear and let it out with the other.

Meow!

He was just happy that he always brought delicious food, so he scratched the cat pole vigorously, and then when his claws got caught, Seo Yongwoo skillfully removed them, and such days repeated.

“I will go wash up. Do not get your claws caught in the cat pole again.”

‘What about food?’

Even when the cat raised its tail and meowed with nyang nyang sounds to ask with body language, Seo Yongwoo said he would be quick and went in to wash up. He always washed his whole body when he came back from outside, probably because, like Haedong, he disliked the scent of others lingering on his own body. Because of that, Seo Yongwoo’s shower times were always long.

Whether he did or not, the cat was starting to feel a bit drained. He had always been happy when Seo Yongwoo came home because he brought delicious delicacies. Unable to endure the hunger, Haedong climbed up to the high cat tower and flicked his tail discontentedly back and forth.

At that moment, the sound of someone coming up to the second floor was heard. It was Shin Sungbo, Seo Yongwoo’s manager.

“Um, excuse me···. Are you here?”

“······.”

“Uh, Hyung Yongwoo said to pass this to you.”

As the manager approached, the cat huddled tightly on the high cat tower with wary eyes. Haedong still found the manager, who was a crescent bear beastman, burdensome.

‘He knows nothing about manners. How does he manage a tiger?’

He understood that the manager, a crescent bear beastman, really adored him, but the excessive interest was extremely annoying.

From the time he had known him as a cat, the manager had kept stroking his body even though Haedong disliked it, grinning to himself and making eye contact. Moreover, he casually treated him, who was clearly male, as cute, and even took him to that dreadful hospital. To Haedong, all of it was things that hurt his pride and threats to fight.

But after the manager learned that Haedong was a beastman, he had become strangely awkward on his own.

“Uh···. Now you understand everything I say, right?”

“······.”

“I will come closer. I was going to give you some clothes. I also bought hairpins···.”

Although he was awkward, he still could not take his eyes off Haedong because he liked cats so much.

Whether he did or not, Haedong’s interest went to the items in the manager’s hands. For once, the manager had brought numerous shopping bags.

‘They all look expensive···.’

The shopping bags had engraved on them the names of expensive brands that even Haedong knew. The manager spread out the shopping bags on the large table.

Haedong liked the paper bag that was of an appropriate size more than the contents. Although it was awkward to go close to the manager, he could not resist that temptation and slipped right into the paper bag.

Shin Sungbo, who had been looking greedily at the round back of the cat’s head doing that, asked slyly.

“That Dodong···. No, should I call you Mr. Dodong?”

‘I am Haedong, though.’

“These are all clothes for Mr. Dodong, but since I thought you would hate wearing clothes, I bought them in a larger size. Is that okay?”

Because the manager was a crescent bear beastman, he almost could not understand the cat’s body language at all. Still, unlike his sturdy build, his impression was gentle and mild-mannered, and his personality was kind, so Haedong did not think badly of the manager. He just disliked the excessive interest directed at him.

Haedong’s interest quickly turned to the clothes. As he came out of the paper bag, high-quality brand clothes were neatly placed one by one in front of the cat’s front paws, which were prettily wrapped with his black tail.

‘Are these really all my clothes?’

Why did he buy so many clothes?

Feeling suspicious, Haedong examined the clothes while staying inside the empty box as the manager took them out. They were all casual clothes in generously sized fits. It was true that he hated wearing clothes, so Haedong just purred without any particular response.

The manager, knowing that was a positive reaction, recommended a few clothes and said.

“Even if it is annoying, try them on later for sure. Since Hyung Yongwoo picked them out himself, if you do not wear them, he might dress you himself.”

“······!”

He heard something scary. Haedong instantly shot up his body and became dazed with sensitive eyes.

The manager kept recommending hairpins to such a Haedong and then slyly reached out his hand. It was the first time touching Haedong’s fluffy hair.

At the soft fur texture, the manager’s awkward feelings seemed to melt away, as he grinned widely and spoke much more comfortably.

“Uh, Mr. Dodong···. Since you are back anyway, treat me comfortably. Okay?”

“······.”

“Hyung Yongwoo is a tiger that only he himself knows, right? It is not easy to deal with, so if there is anything difficult, I will help as much as I can.”

‘···When do you get off work?’

Even when Haedong slyly meowed with eong sounds to express what he wanted with body language, as expected, the manager could not understand a single thing and just kept grinning and adoring him.

Haedong disliked it when others suddenly stroked his head as if it were their right and found it presumptuous, but he stayed quiet because he was grateful for the warm words. Still, considering that he had even committed theft, it was extremely thankful that the manager was saying such things first.

But gradually, the manager started to lose all sense of proportion and cross the line.

“We are close again now, right···?”

“······.”

“The fur is really soft. The front paws too. Oh, the jelly is purple··· Ack!”

Unable to endure it anymore, Haedong finally bit down hard on the manager’s wrist. He raised his claws like a bagpipe and wrapped his front paws around the arm to scratch it. Even though the manager was a bear beastman, he jumped in surprise in a way that did not suit his size and backed away hurriedly with a tearful face.

At that moment, Seo Yongwoo who had come out after washing up approached briskly with a robe on.

“You are making him uncomfortable. Learn some cat body language.”

“Hyung···. We are close now. At first, he did not hit me even when I got close.”

The manager whined on and on to Seo Yongwoo, but Seo Yongwoo just gave a rough reply and that was it. It was obvious he was not listening properly.

As if used to that, the manager made a dejected face, roughly tidied up the surroundings, and went home. Still, when he left, he greeted energetically with a bright face, and it seemed like thanks to that kind of straightforward gentle personality without lingering resentment that he had been Seo Yongwoo’s manager for so long.

Whether the manager went home or not, Seo Yongwoo stroked the cat to his heart’s content and then asked with a confident smile.

“Dodong, did you miss me that much?”

Huh···.

Haedong lifted one front paw and openly made a dubious face. He had been glaring at the manager the whole time, so he had no idea what he had seen to misunderstand like that.