Cat Therapy Chapter 2.8

“Why are you crying, did you get scolded by Grandma again?”

[Nooo, we fought···.]

The child drew out the end of his words and sniffled for a while. Haedong soothed him with more firmness than expected, then belatedly heard the reason from his younger brother.

“Oppa told you not to talk back to Grandma, didn’t I?”

[Grandma keeps, sob···! She says she doesn’t know where oppa is. She won’t, tell me anything.]

“······.”

[But sob, she said she had the money oppa gave her, so she bought me a new jacket··· Don’t tell me the debt collector misters, hic, took oppa away···?]

Unfortunately, he was right next to him, so the entire conversation was audible. Seo Yongwoo felt awkward and, gripping the steering wheel with one hand, wiped his mouth in embarrassment. He felt like a debt collector himself for keeping Haedong tied to his side.

Then, Haedong spoke quite calmly.

“Oppa just came out far away to work. It’s no big deal, why are you crying. Stop it.”

[Hic, then why didn’t you tell me···? I was, scared.]

He must have been quite upset, as the sound of crying continued. Then, as if he couldn’t overcome his sorrow and had reverted to his true form, the consecutive sounds of a young cat crying, not human words, could be heard.

As if even this was familiar, Haedong gently soothed him.

“I said it’s okay. Haeyoon just needs to attend school well. Oppa will be··· back soon.”

[Meeow, meow!]

“I don’t know what you’re saying if you do that into the phone in your true form. Anyway··· I’ll go home as soon as the work is done. It’s really okay.”

Still, as Haedong calmly placated him, his younger brother seemed to calm down a bit. A little later, bright nyang-nyang sounds could be heard. At that, Haedong sighed and, in a rather stern voice, told him to apologize to their grandmother before hanging up the phone.

Click.

“······.”

A silence, as if a great storm had passed, lingered in the car.

Seo Yongwoo saw Haedong’s gloomily hardened face and couldn’t bring himself to speak. Is this why the kid kept feeling anxious even when he went to a good place? As if feeling guilty for enjoying luxury all by himself. It was a situation too heavy to even ask about.

Seo Yongwoo, who had been driving quietly, deliberately spoke first to ease the tension.

“So the little thief was the eldest son after all.”

“Of course I am···.”

Haedong retorted, fiddling with his tail. He seemed lost in thought, worried about his younger brother. He kept fidgeting with his phone, checking the date, and then bit his lower lip in distress. Noticing this, Seo Yongwoo deliberately spoke nonchalantly.

“You can go home for a visit after the filming is over.”

“Don’t you mean I can go back home···?”

“Where do you think you’re going, leaving your tiger boyfriend behind?”

“······.”

Unlike usual, Haedong seemed to have no energy to be tired, and simply nodded his head obediently after a moment.

Feeling sorry for him, Seo Yongwoo gently took his hand, and Haedong gripped it tightly with both of his own. Feeling the sensation of him leaning on him more than usual, Seo Yongwoo’s heart grew heavy.

‘A child has been taking care of a child.’

Suddenly, he recalled Haedong mentioning that he was usually the one who did the grooming. Grooming is something a parent does for their young, which meant the kid had been living as the head of the household.

If so, was the reason Haedong rarely expressed his emotions and found peacefulness unfamiliar because he had been forcing himself to act like an adult···. Seo Yongwoo’s thoughts grew deeper and deeper.

Seo Yongwoo had never been interested in others his whole life, but strangely, he wanted to know about his cat’s circumstances.

Because it was about Haedong.

Regardless of their species’ characteristics, they were living together, giving affection and their hearts, so couldn’t they confide in each other at least that much? And if he found out by Haedong telling him directly, wouldn’t he be able to do something? If not help, then at least comfort.

After much deliberation, Seo Yongwoo asked carefully at the end of the silence.

“Why did your family fall into debt?”

“······.”

Haedong couldn’t answer readily. Since Seo Yongwoo hadn’t expected an answer anyway, he didn’t press further. Instead, while driving, he kept holding one of his hands.

As if relieved that he wasn’t being questioned further, Haedong belatedly and slowly opened his mouth.

“Originally my mom··· ran a business for a long time, but in the end, she went bankrupt with debt.”

“···What about your father?”

“Dad··· My father.”

He had asked without knowing the details, but Seo Yongwoo regretted it. Haedong’s large eyes widened pitifully, and his face looked like he was about to cry. It seemed that, like for him, matters concerning parents were the most depressing secrets one wanted to hide.

Seo Yongwoo deliberately steered the conversation toward his own father.

“My father was a very famous gangster, and he passed away suddenly from a chronic illness without any good memories. You might have seen it on the internet.”

“···Would the mister hate me if I said I knew?”

“No way.”

As if empathizing, Haedong was being considerate of him for a change. Finding that admirable, Seo Yongwoo felt at ease even after speaking of his own uncomfortable personal matters first. In truth, it wasn’t something he needed to hide from his cat.

This in turn seemed to put Haedong at ease as well, as he began to share more of his story.

“My dad, he was originally a successful businessman··· but he left home when I was in elementary school. Saying his business was failing because of me···.”

“···Good grief.”

“So my mom set up a shop and raised me and my younger siblings.”

“······.”

So this is why the kid grew up so fast.

Although discrimination against beastmen had decreased significantly now, when Haedong was young, it was more than ten years ago. Back then, discrimination against beastmen was worse than it is now, so it seemed Haedong’s father had been swayed by such thoughts. To Seo Yongwoo, it was a completely incomprehensible way of thinking.

As expected, it must have been a big wound for Haedong, as he stealthily tucked away his black tail, which had been wrapped around his waist, out of sight. Seeing this, Seo Yongwoo became lost in thought.

‘The mother was listed as deceased in the documents···.’

The papers he received when looking for Haedong before had stated he lived with his grandmother. And since his mother was listed as deceased at a young age, she surely hadn’t passed away for a good reason.

Still, perhaps talking about it once made it easier, for in the quiet silence, Haedong opened his mouth and confided his deeper circumstances.

“So I started working to earn money as soon as I graduated···. Then one time, I went for what they called a high-paying part-time job, but it turned out to be a place where you sell your body.”

“······.”

“When I tried to quit, they threatened me, so I paid the penalty and became truly penniless··· but I couldn’t bring myself to tell my struggling grandmother. So I just sent all the money I had and lived day by day with great difficulty···.”

“···Yeah.”

“The mister, you picked me up.”

They had met at the most difficult time. Seo Yongwoo secretly sighed. At that time, he had simply acted impulsively, really just to please himself by being nice to the cat and bringing him home. He never imagined he would encounter such a painful past.

As if it was difficult to say with his own mouth, Haedong now looked somewhere at the floor and spoke haltingly.

“At first, I really, had no intention of deceiving the mister. At that time, my body was sick so I couldn’t humanize···.”

“I know.”

“······.”

“···It’s okay. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

At his tone that suggested it was truly no big deal, Haedong bit his lower lip gently while looking somewhere below. While he usually acts aloof and haughty, he’s surprisingly weak to praise or comfort. Is it because he’s young? Seo Yongwoo secretly thought he should express these things to Haedong more often.

Haedong clutched Seo Yongwoo’s hand with both of his, as if feeling the warmth. His actions felt somewhat desperate, and his trembling voice seemed tinged with guilt.

“Then later, it really felt like the mister liked me··· so the thought of having to leave grew stronger. But when I remembered the debt collectors showing up at our house and even the school my siblings attend, I was so scared···.”

“······.”

After that, Haedong couldn’t continue and looked out the car window.

That was probably the reason he impulsively stole. Seo Yongwoo, who had been listening quietly, deliberately squeezed the back of Haedong’s hand. That alone made Haedong’s face crumple again. It seemed his guilt was that great.

It seemed Haedong wasn’t originally a man of few words after all. Now that he had someone to listen to him, he was pouring out the feelings he had been bottling up all by himself. Even when he was a cat, if you responded when he was in a good mood, he would keep meowing and following you. Perhaps these were things he had wanted to say all along.

Haedong carefully opened his mouth again.

“I know that stealing is really bad. Still··· I thought if the mister reported me, everything would be neat.”

“What’s so neat about that.”

“It’s just··· the mister gets public sympathy, and I get some criticism and then go to jail.”

“······.”

“And I could pay off the family debt, and I couldn’t live by the mister’s side pretending to be a cat forever anyway···.”

“···Ha.”

Seo Yongwoo let out a deflated laugh without realizing it. This time, he couldn’t bring himself to think it was because Haedong was young. He had committed theft harboring thoughts only someone pushed to the brink would have.

The fact that Haedong had harbored such thoughts at a young age was bitter, so Seo Yongwoo laughed like a sigh.

“So. Did you think being criticized by people was a trivial matter?”

“It doesn’t matter since people don’t like me anyway.”

Was it because he was a black cat, or because his dad left saying it was his fault? The kid kept seeming accustomed to being disliked. When there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t lovely.

Seo Yongwoo replied with a hollow voice, as if it was absurd.

“But I like you.”

“······.”

“Why didn’t you know that?”

“······.”

He had spoken his heart casually, but Haedong didn’t react. He just stared blankly out the car window at the black road rushing by. The kid was silent and his characteristic aloof eyes didn’t even twitch, so Seo Yongwoo thought he had just ignored his words like usual.

But a reaction came belatedly.

Sniffle.

Rarely, Seo Yongwoo was so startled that he even stomped on the brakes and quickly turned to his side. Wondering if it was really his cat crying, he kept glancing nervously to the side while driving.

“Baby, baby why are you crying.”

“I’m not, crying···.”

He said that, but Haedong was indeed crying. It was just quiet; tears were already falling in big drops from his large eyes.

In the end, Seo Yongwoo hastily pulled the car over to the side of the road. Then Haedong, while sobbing, spoke as if it were strange.

“I think the tiger has really strange tastes···.”

“What’s strange, is it that sad? Fine, I’ll have strange tastes. Baby, stop.”

“Hic···.”

Seo Yongwoo tried to soothe the kid unconditionally, hastily wiping away the tears with his sleeve. Thanks to that, his sleeve was messily rubbed all over Haedong’s face.

Then Haedong, while sniffling, seemed to be overcome with emotion and turned into a cat. Seo Yongwoo, trying to placate that small bundle somehow, fussed over him, even apologizing, something he had never done well his entire life.

“Why are you crying so sadly, it’s my fault, okay? I won’t ask anymore.”

Meow···.

Then the black cat stood up, its eyes drenched in tears, and said something. Seo Yongwoo understood its body language at once.

‘Mister, I’m sorry.’

Saying it was his fault, the cat cried sorrowfully again and tried to get into Seo Yongwoo’s embrace. It was dangerous to do this in the car, but Haedong stubbornly buried his head deep into his lower abdomen and wouldn’t let go, so he lost this time as well.

Ultimately unable to do anything, Seo Yongwoo wrapped his huge, pot-lid-sized hand around Haedong’s entire body and patted him for a long time. With his other hand on his forehead, he spoke as if in lament.

“Just go ahead and turn my life upside down··· ha.”

How long had it been since he was this startled, his heart pounding in his throat. He hadn’t been this shocked even when filming a movie while hanging from the top of a building. The kid cried once and all sorts of emotions raged through him. Haedong found peace unfamiliar, but he was even more so. It felt like the world was shaken by a single reaction from his cat.

Then it grew quiet, and when he looked down, Haedong had cried himself to sleep. A familiar sensation could be felt on his wrist.

‘···Since when did this become a habit.’

The little cat had fallen asleep hugging his wrist again. At that warm sensation, Seo Yongwoo sat in the driver’s seat for a long while, mulling over what Haedong had said just a moment ago.

Even his father had blamed and left him. Now that he knew the inside story, he began to see things he hadn’t before.

He thought the kid didn’t care much about being disliked by people, but it was a habit he had developed from living without expectations after even his parents blamed him for being bad luck and left. On top of that, an image of Haedong living as the head of the household, chased by money from an early age, naturally formed in his mind. The world had pushed a person to the edge of a cliff, and the choice the kid made was theft.

Seo Yongwoo lightly tapped the nose of the sleeping thief cat and said.

“You melon-sized thing. What did you think you could take responsibility for.”

“······.”

“Instead of stealing, you should have just been honest.”

Meow···.

As if dreaming about something, the cat cried sorrowfully and hugged Seo Yongwoo’s wrist tightly. It even pressed its forehead against it and flapped its tail, its sorrow and sadness just like the day they first met. The only difference from then was that he had gained a bit of chubby flesh. Seo Yongwoo, his heart aching that his little cat had only known hardship, silently stroked his head.

Seo Yongwoo watched the cat sleeping while hugging his wrist for a long time.

And seeing the cat lean on him, at least, he thought that perhaps Haedong had been desperately looking for a place to lean on since the first time they met. Just like him.