Cat Therapy Chapter 3.10

He must have met all sorts of therianthropes. He might have met everyone from a very famous celebrity to that deer therianthrope actress he once dated. Thinking blankly, Haedong felt 괜히 exhausted and deliberately groomed the back of his hand slowly.

Just then, the bear therianthrope manager approached, carrying something. As expected, he couldn’t just walk past Haedong.

“Mr. Dodong, it’s been a while, right? Have you been well?”

“Yes···.”

“Oh, he answered.”

Even though he had answered vaguely, the manager, as if finding the response amazing, gently stroked the cat ears sprouting atop Haedong’s head with fingers shaped like scissors. Although it was bothersome, Haedong didn’t even have the energy to get angry and just let him be.

Then, the manager, as if checking to see if Haedong would hit him or not, started laying things out on the living room table.

“Yongwoo hyung asked me to get some famous catnip for Mr. Dodong, so I brought that. Ah, by any chance, do you like chocolate?”

Shake, shake.

Sweet things were really not to his taste, so when he shook his head, the manager wore an excited expression as he unwrapped a piece of high-end chocolate and popped it into his own mouth. Showing a fondness for sweets, he ate the chunk of chocolate well and chattered on to Haedong, who was barely reacting.

“But do cats really get high on the smell of catnip? The tigers don’t really react to it. Mr. Haedong, if it works on you, maybe once,”

“But··· Manager hyung.”

When he cut him off and called out, the manager, who had been tidying Seo Yongwoo’s suit, looked openly pleased. It seemed new and nice to him that Haedong had initiated a conversation. The reaction was very burdensome, but Haedong asked what he was curious about first.

“By any chance.”

“Oh, uh-huh. Yes. What are you curious about? Do you have a worry?”

“Is Mister··· uncomfortable with me?”

“Uh···.”

At the cautious question, the manager’s cheerful face was instantly clouded with a look of trouble.

Then, he scratched the back of his head, cleared his throat, and couldn’t hide his flustered state. For Haedong, who liked things to be direct, it was beyond frustrating and getting on his nerves. Still, just as he was about to get angry, the manager opened his mouth.

“Aww, I think Mr. Dodong probably knows anyway···. Don’t all tigers go through a period like that?”

“What kind of period?”

“Mr. Dodong, you know too, since you’re a male cat.”

“···What?”

The manager spoke, pretending to be shy in a way that didn’t suit his hefty build.

“The rut. Ah, is it a heat rut?”

“······.”

“You know that for male felines, it can come anytime they’re influenced by pheromones or find a partner they like.”

The manager spoke with an embarrassed smile, but Haedong just stared blankly at the fancy items placed on the table. Come to think of it, he could also see something like a medicine bottle.

[Pheromone Suppressant]

It was something he hadn’t seen usually. The packaging was already torn, as if it had been taken a while ago.

Only then did Haedong understand. A heat rut. It was something that annoyingly flared up for male felines.

In the wild, a heat rut would be triggered by the pheromones of a female in heat, but therianthropes, who had evolved from that, could also have it triggered when their sexual desire was stimulated.

But to think that Mister, of all days, had gone into a heat rut today.

‘Is it··· because of me?’

The thought that suddenly occurred to him sent a sensual shiver down Haedong’s spine.

He had wondered if it was a possibility all this time but had thought it was absurd. Yet, it was possible that Seo Yongwoo had gone into a heat rut because of him, a male.

Could it be that he had been holding back all this time because he was young and it was their first time? Following that thought, Haedong felt the tips of his ears grow hot. It felt both futile and somehow relieving, but rendering that feeling moot, another possibility arose.

‘But, Mister went to his schedules today···.’

He remembered how he had returned with a variety of scents clinging to his whole body. On top of that, it was natural that he would have met all sorts of therianthropes. If his heat rut had come on then··· it might not be because of him.

Just thinking about it was unpleasant, and Haedong gently bit his lower lip. He had been ignoring these feelings of his until now. But at this moment, he felt he understood. If a heat rut had come upon him, he wanted it to be because of him and no one else. Since he was his lover, after all.

At that moment, the manager, seeing Haedong’s conflicted expression, offered some clumsy comfort.

“Well, if it’s very awkward··· should I find you a separate place to sleep or something?”

“······.”

“Gosh, Yongwoo hyung told me not to be nosy. Anyway, well, if you’re troubled, let me know. The agency president also told me to look after Mr. Dodong a bit···.”

Even as the manager rambled on, his words absolutely did not register in Haedong’s ears.

“Then··· if you’re ever in trouble, contact me anytime. Got it?”

With those words, the manager finished by stroking his cat ears with scissor-like fingers. Finding it unpleasant, Haedong ducked his head completely, and the manager, with an embarrassed expression, apologized and left. It seemed he now understood that for a sensitized cat therianthrope, indifference was the best medicine.

In the meantime, it seemed Seo Yongwoo had finished washing up. A refreshing, watery scent suddenly washed over, followed by the sound of his leisurely footsteps.

“Did the manager bother you again?”

“······.”

As Haedong remained curled up on the sofa without a response, Seo Yongwoo covered his body snugly with a blanket. His touch was gentle and warm, but he could feel that he was trying not to let even his fingertips brush against him.

‘It really was because of the heat rut···.’

If it was because of him, this was Seo Yongwoo’s way of being considerate, he supposed. But if it wasn’t··· this beautiful house was not a place he should be.

Just then, Seo Yongwoo searched for something, then picked up the medicine bottle from among the things on the living room table. It was the pheromone suppressant.

Unlike his usual self, Seo Yongwoo glanced at Haedong as he held it and tried to take it to the kitchen. It seemed he intended to take it with water.

Haedong, who saw the entire scene, watched his back and called out weakly.

“···Mister.”

“Yes.”

“Are you in a heat rut…?”

“······.”

At the direct question, Seo Yongwoo flinched and couldn’t answer right away. He just turned around with a somewhat troubled smile and spoke to Haedong in a tone that suggested it was no big deal.

“Was that bothering you?”

“······.”

“I’m not going to eat you. I was wondering what you were so scared of.”

“······.”

Seo Yongwoo spoke playfully and poked Haedong’s cheek with his fingertip, just as he did when he was a cat. His casual attitude, however, made the tip of Haedong’s nose sting and his eyes prickle.

Now he wanted to know for sure. Whether his body’s reaction was because of him or not.

As he turned away again, Haedong, without realizing it, asked with desperate eyes.

“Is it because of me, by any chance···, is it?”

“···What?”

This time, Seo Yongwoo turned back, his face devoid of its playfulness. Since they were two males bothering each other, aggression could have surfaced, but there was no time to be afraid. Haedong couldn’t even fathom his own feelings and was just confused.

In the end, Haedong, trying hard to hide his tearful face, unknowingly muttered as if to himself.

“It’s strange. I really hope it’s because of me···.”

“You···.”

“But if it’s not, if it’s really not··· you don’t have to answer···.”

“······.”

After speaking, Haedong turned away weakly.

It seemed like Seo Yongwoo was about to say something, but he didn’t listen. Haedong, having turned away, felt sad as he hesitated to even enter the guest room. It was because that was the place Seo Yongwoo had given him when he first brought him in as a cat.

Still, if he was not the reason for the change in his body, he would have to prepare to leave as well. He had been bracing himself for it for a while, but he couldn’t understand why it felt so sorrowful.

‘Why am I feeling upset···.’

Haedong firmly ignored the sorrow that tried to leak out and curled his body up small. It bothered him that Seo Yongwoo kept being unable to answer and was just staring intensely at him, but as expected, he was afraid to hear the answer.

Just then, he heard the sound of the guest room door opening.

Click.

It was a small, clean sound, but Haedong flinched, his body freezing. Soon, Seo Yongwoo strode in and moved about busily. There was the sound of him tossing down things like outerwear, and the sound of him hastily tossing a small object onto the spot next to where he was lying on the bed.

Thud, thud.

‘What is it···?’

Out of curiosity, Haedong lowered the blanket and peeked at the room. Seo Yongwoo, who had entered the dimly lit room with only the lamp on, was already undoing his belt. The sound of metal clicking together was somehow chilling, making Haedong’s cat ears flatten back.

Haedong asked, sticking to the headboard with a horrified face.

“M-Mister?”

Having unbuckled his belt, Seo Yongwoo began to roughly unbutton his shirt. His solidly muscled upper body was revealed, and his subtly deepening breaths made his body heave.

“You told me to answer.”

“Ye-Yes···?”

“I’ll show you directly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Seo Yongwoo grabbed Haedong’s hand and pulled it over his briefs. When his hand touched the heavy shaft, Haedong shuddered in terror, but Seo Yongwoo did not loosen his grip. He let out a deep sigh and smiled faintly, but a thick line formed on his cheek as if he were clenching his teeth. It was obvious at a glance that he was feverish and only half sane.

“Turning a person into a damn beast···.”

“M-Mister. Wait···!”

“And you even get jealous. Does that make my head spin or not? Huh?”

When on earth had he been jealous? Haedong shook his head, but Seo Yongwoo forcefully snatched the blanket Haedong was clutching and threw it to the floor below the bed.

Whoosh.

In that state, he grabbed Haedong’s ankle, pulled him down, and made him lie on his back beneath him on the bed. As his body was dragged down, his t-shirt rode up, revealing his lean waist. Seo Yongwoo seized that slender yet firm waist in one handful and pressed their hips together as if he had already thrust his cock inside.

“Hngh, Mi-Mister···.”

Haedong managed to push against his thick body, but it didn’t budge. His eyes darted around with nervousness. Then, he was horrified by what he saw Seo Yongwoo had tossed aside.

Seeing several condoms and a tube of gel, Haedong realized he had come prepared. Realizing the situation was serious, Haedong spoke urgently.

“Mister, right now, slowly··· Heut!”

“How can I wait any longer.”

Before he could be stopped, Haedong’s pants were pulled down. His briefs were stripped off in one go as well, revealing his soft buttocks. Barely covering the crevice with his tail, Haedong made another meaningless gesture, pushing his hands away as if to calm him down.