TGMC 14

Chapter – 14

The Surprise I Prepared

I’m the only spirit mage of this era?

A story I had never heard before, completely unfamiliar.

I wanted to hear more details.

When I stared intently at Hoya, he seemed too lazy to explain and just flicked his tail.

After a moment, he grumbled and finally spoke.

[There is only one spirit mage per generation. The spirit mage of this era is Song Minwoo. That means you.]

“How did I end up becoming a spirit mage?”

[It’s inherited randomly.]

Then who was the previous spirit mage?

Curiosity arose.

Hoya shook his head.

[It’s not worth caring about. They probably died before you became the spirit mage. Also, just because you become a spirit mage doesn’t mean everyone will form contracts like you. Some are mistaken for being possessed, or even accused of being a witch and burned. It varies by era.]

“True. When I was young, I also wondered if I was just hearing ghosts talk.”

So I couldn’t speak carelessly.

People would surely look at me with suspicion.

[Now that the contract is made, it’s better to start heading back. People are looking for you.]

“Ah, okay. Got it.”

It had been a long time since I left.

I returned to the lakeside.

While doing so, I asked Ice in my mind.

‘Ice, do you like your name?’

Honestly, even I thought it was a clumsy name.

But there was no name that suited Ice better than this.

Unless I had named it in English… Ice? Or in Latin, Glaciēs?

I wondered if I should rename it even now.

Ice replied.

[Of course. I really like it.]

‘Really?’

An unexpected answer.

Anyway, it was a relief that he liked his name.

[You’ve been alone for twenty years, yet you handle social situations well.]

Hoya muttered, but I ignored him.

I rejoined the group and enjoyed the remaining free time.

After eating lamb for dinner and returning to the hotel to rest, I got a message on my phone.

It was from my architect brother.

• Minwoo. Your mother’s house remodeling is finished. You’ll be surprised when you return.

I replied immediately.

• Thank you so much for your hard work, brother.

• No problem. But there’s an issue.

• A problem? What problem?

He then sent a photo.

It was the storage shed in the backyard.

The space where Jeomsuni and her family were.

But in the shed, a cat I had never seen before, a mackerel-tabby, had its face buried in a food bowl, eating.

• Huh? Who is this?

It was bigger than Jeomsuni’s kittens.

About the same size as Jeomsuni herself.

• A stray that’s been seen around here for a few days. There are a few more besides this one.

• Stray cats?

• Yeah. About four of them. They’ve been wandering in the backyard.

Not only Jeomsuni’s family, but other strays had appeared in the backyard.

I told my mom, who looked at the photo with a casual expression.

“Oh, those? I’ve been seeing them since last month.”

“Really? Last month too?”

“Yes. You were busy traveling to Seoul for the remodeling, so you probably didn’t notice.”

They started appearing in the backyard about two months ago.

Apparently, placing food bowls in the shed attracted them.

While my mom was home, they didn’t come close, but when she went on a trip, they ventured inside the shed.

“Ask if Jeomsuni is okay.”

Following my mom’s advice, I asked my brother about Jeomsuni.

• She’s in the corner of the shed with her kittens. She hissed a lot when I checked on her.

It seemed Jeomsuni had become quite sensitive.

Understandably so.

Cats are territorial and don’t like intruders.

Now, other cats were invading Jeomsuni’s territory while my mom was away.

She was clearly stressed.

My mom, who had grown close to Jeomsuni over the past two months, stamped her feet.

“I’ll take care of Jeomsuni as soon as I return.”

“Right. She’ll be even more sensitive now to protect her kittens.”

“Ask the architect brother to take good care of Jeomsuni. You’ll be back soon, right?”

“Yes. Just a few more days.”

My mom seemed concerned about Jeomsuni.

Even though she wasn’t exactly a house cat.

But she was still our yard cat.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon, it was the day of my return.

The 7-night, 9-day package trip had been satisfying.

I was glad I had traveled to New Zealand.

The scenery of the South Island was especially beautiful.

It made sense why many movies were filmed there.

“Make sure to contact me when you get back to Seoul.”

“Minwoo, let me know when the pension remodeling is done. I’ll make time to visit.”

“Us too! We’ll come during summer vacation. I want to try the food your mother makes.”

“I’ll post in the group chat before I open. Thank you all.”

I had grown close to the people I traveled with.

So I made a new group chat.

I wasn’t sure how many would stay after we returned, but it was another memory.

A young married couple from Bundang, a couple with twins, all eager to visit my pension before May and stay overnight.

One more person showed interest.

Broadcast PD Park Yoo-jung.

However, she seemed more interested in the Jeomsuni family I rescued than the pension.

She also asked about my YouTube channel.

“You didn’t originally plan to do YouTube?”

“No. I planned to after moving to the countryside. But before demolishing the old house, I found Jeomsuni’s family and rescued them. That made me start YouTube a bit earlier.”

“They were impressed by your rescue. Especially how naturally you imitated the cats’ cries.”

When rescuing Jeomsuni’s family, I could speak cat language with Hoya’s help.

I uploaded the footage directly to YouTube. PD Park Yoo-jung admired how accurately I mimicked the cat cries.

Indeed, even without video, anyone would have thought the sounds were real cat cries.

“Are you interested in appearing on TV?”

“TV? Uh, well, sure, if I could appear, that’d be nice.”

Once the pension remodeling is done, I needed some marketing.

It’s a remote mountain pension.

There’s a beach, but the sand isn’t wide.

No famous tourist spots nearby.

TV exposure? That’s the cheapest form of marketing.

“I’ll ask my senior, the PD in charge of Animal Farm. Seeing your rescue, it seems like a story they’d like.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

It wasn’t a paid appearance.

It was a good opportunity to be on TV.

She took my contact info to see if I could appear once back in Korea.

“Did you all enjoy the trip?”

“Yes! It was amazing.”

“The guide worked hard too!”

Susan Oh, our South Island guide, smiled.

“I hope you all have only happy memories in New Zealand. If you come again, I’ll see you then. Thank you.”

Applause erupted.

After saying our final goodbyes, we boarded the plane.

We flew business class, arriving at Incheon International Airport after about 12 hours.

After claiming luggage, we took an airport bus to Dongdaegu, and night had fallen.

My architect brother was there to greet us.

“Brother!”

“You worked hard coming back. Was mom okay?”

“Oh, you came all the way here? A taxi or bus would’ve been fine.”

“No problem. I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

On the way home, I asked:

“How’s Jeomsuni?”

“She’s in the shed with her kittens. I put up a temporary fence, so she seems safer.”

“Are the stray cats still coming?”

“Yes. Four of them come morning and evening, eat, and leave. The food you bought is almost gone.”

Oh my.

Food expenses were going to add up.

I had no plans to chase away the new strays.

They also needed to eat.

As long as I could afford it, they’d stay in the yard like Jeomsuni’s family.

If they wanted to leave, I wouldn’t stop them.

I wasn’t their owner yet.

When I arrived home, it was nearly midnight.

Returning after ten days, the demolished old house across the street had already begun interior wall work.

“Is the construction going okay?”

“Yes. We put in a lot of supports to prevent collapse, so the wall team had limited space. They had some struggles.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Erect a wall, remove supports, erect another. But the company specializes in remodeling Hanok houses, so they did a careful job.”

Hearing construction was going smoothly was reassuring.

While I checked my pension remodeling, my mom headed to the backyard first.

Jeomsuni rubbed her tail against my mom enthusiastically.

Whenever I tried to touch her, she scratched, but with my mom, she acted like a house cat.

Anyone would think she was a house cat.

“Oh, you’re okay? Mom won’t go anywhere now, so don’t worry.”

My mom petted the purring Jeomsuni.

Could she also communicate with cats?

[No. She’s just picking up cues.]

I joked to myself.

Now it was time to reveal the surprise I had prepared for my mom.

“Mom, let’s go inside and sleep.”

“Okay. Time to wash up.”

We went upstairs together.

But my mom noticed the changed front door and tilted her head.

“Hmm? This is our house, right? The front door looks different.”

“It is. Let’s go inside quickly. We might freeze out here.”

After entering the code and opening the door, she stepped inside.

Her reaction:

“Son… I think we’re in the wrong house.”

Understandable.

The interior was completely transformed.

New wooden floors, freshly wallpapered in white silk.

New furniture and appliances not there before.

It looked like a brand-new apartment.

I grabbed my mom before she tried to leave, thinking it was someone else’s house, and smiled.

“Mom, this is the surprise I prepared for you.”