TGMC 04

chapter 04

You really are a cat.

At first, I thought I was seeing things.

But the more they made noise, the more certain I became.

Ah, I really am seeing this correctly.

At that moment, the girl seemed to sense my gaze and muttered in a small voice:

[…Could it be that we can be seen?]

I met eyes with the girl, her entire body a vivid blue, rolling her eyes nervously, and replied:

“Yeah. I can see you.”

Immediately, the girl jumped back in surprise.

Meanwhile, the completely white cat beside her crouched low, bristling its fur and hissing fiercely.

[Hiss, hsshh.]

It made a harsh metallic sound, trying to intimidate me.

But to me, it wasn’t much of a threat.

The creature was far too small to scare me.

“I don’t know what you are, but I don’t mean to hurt you.”

I took a step back, trying to communicate.

This was a special creature I had never seen before.

I had to approach carefully.

“So, don’t be too on edge. I’ll stay here, let’s have a little talk.”

[…]

When I raised both hands and stopped, they seemed a bit relieved.

[How can he see us?]

[Not only can he hear us, he can see us too? No way!]

They didn’t know what to do.

From their reactions, it was obvious they were flustered.

I pondered for a moment, then spoke first.

“Hi. My name’s Song Min-woo. What are your names?”

[Uh, um, well…]

The girl peeked shyly from behind the white cat.

While she hesitated, the cat growled and asked sharply:

[Why should we tell you our names?]

The prickly creature still had its fur bristled.

“I already told you my name.”

[We didn’t ask…]

[My name is Bang-ul. And this is Hoya.]

Shyly, the blue girl, Bang-ul, blushed as she spoke.

Her name reminded me of a water droplet.

She really looked like a water spirit from an animation.

Could she really be a water spirit?

Meanwhile, the stubborn companion next to her was clearly a cat, not a tiger.

Of course, I couldn’t reveal this thought aloud.

“Ah, so you’re Bang-ul and Hoya. You know who I am, right?”

[Yes. You used to live here a long time ago, right?]

“Yeah, that’s right. I moved out because I was scared of the ghostly sounds at night, but I did live here. Could those ghostly sounds I heard back then have been you?”

[Yes. We were just chatting among ourselves. We didn’t think you’d hear us.]

Now it all made sense.

Those ghostly voices I heard every night while staying at my grandmother’s house weren’t ghosts.

It was these two.

Bang-ul, the entirely blue girl, and Hoya, the white cat.

I looked at them and asked:

“So…who exactly are you?”

Spoiler: They’re spirits.

Bang-ul was a water spirit.

Hoya was a tiger spirit.

I glanced at Hoya, suspicious.

Licking its paws and grooming, it looked exactly like a cat.

[How can you see us?]

“Well… I don’t really know. Can nobody else see you?”

[No.]

A firm answer.

According to Bang-ul, I was the only one who could see them, and I had no idea how that was possible.

It was an unsolvable question.

And honestly, I didn’t need to know.

I left that problem for later.

Instead, I asked something else.

“Why are you here?”

[Because we like it here.]

“You like it? Why?”

From my perspective, this place was an abandoned house.

And yet they liked it?

[Why else? It’s sacred.]

“Sacred?”

Hoya stopped grooming and answered.

[Yes. The natural energy flowing from this land is abundant, so we’ve settled here.]

Ah.

No wonder my grandmother chose this land carefully.

It was really fertile.

But there was a problem.

I had planned to use part of my lottery winnings to tear down my grandmother’s house and remodel it into a pension.

I had planned to submit my resignation at work tomorrow and then find a contractor for the renovation—but now I wondered if it was okay to continue with the remodeling.

I worried I might be taking away their territory.

[Don’t worry. The energy Hoya mentioned comes from the land, not the house itself, so it won’t be a problem.]

Really?

That was a relief.

[But there is one problem.]

Hmm? What now?

Wasn’t it safe to build a new structure?

[It’s fine for us, but there’s a family living deeper inside the house.]

“A family living inside?”

The abandoned house already had a collapsed roof and broken walls.

Water and electricity had long been cut off.

And yet, someone lived there?

Bang-ul shook her head vigorously.

[They’re not people. It’s a family of cats.]

My goodness.

I instinctively glanced at Hoya.

It growled in response:

[Hey! I’m not a cat, I’m a tiger!]

I decided to follow Bang-ul inside.

I needed to see how many cats there were and whether they were healthy.

First, I took out my phone and pressed record.

I was planning to start a YouTube channel after moving to the countryside, and rescuing a stray cat family was perfect material.

“This is my grandmother’s old house where I grew up. It seems a family of cats is living inside. Let’s take a look.”

I stepped inside the abandoned house with my phone in hand.

As I passed the backyard and approached the large, nearly collapsed room, I heard small meows from a hidden corner.

Meow… meow…

The floorboards creaked under my feet as I stepped onto the raised wooden floor.

Peeking inside the large room, I saw a mother cat nursing her kittens.

[These are them.]

I surveyed the family.

The thin mother cat was a domestic short hair with a striking black spot on her nose, a mackerel tabby.

She was so thin her ribs were visible.

Three kittens clung to her belly, trying to nurse, but it was difficult.

Both the mother and the kittens seemed malnourished.

Speaking to the camera, I continued:

“There are four of them in total. Judging by their condition, they seem to have been starving for a while. I’ll get closer to check them out.”

I stepped on the worn-out floor mat and approached.

The mother cat, sensing my presence, opened her eyes slightly and glared at me.

Haaaahh…

She hissed in warning.

I froze.

If I got any closer, who knew what she might do.

“You don’t have to be scared. I’m here to check on you.”

I spoke calmly, though she probably couldn’t understand me.

Haaaahh… hsss…

She continued hissing, her gaze fierce.

When I didn’t back down, she staggered to rise.

“Hey! Hoya, she’s a cat. Can’t you do something?”

Hoya was right beside Bang-ul.

Since Hoya was also a cat, maybe he could help.

Hoya grumbled:

[Ugh! I said I’m a tiger, not a cat!]

“Cat or tiger, it doesn’t matter. Just calm her down.”

I couldn’t touch her.

Any hand extended would surely result in claws.

Hoya shook his head and said:

[Fine, fine. Can I… enter your body for a bit?]

“What? Enter my body?”

[Yeah. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything you don’t want. I’ll just use your body to persuade the mother cat. Okay?]

“…Is that really okay?”

[Ugh, I’ll handle it.]

Impulsively, he jumped into my body.

At that moment…

Yaoooong! Yaooong! (Don’t worry, I’ll help.)

Huh? What…?

A strange sound came from my throat.

It was a cat’s meow.

The mother cat, startled, tilted her head.

She meowed again.

Yaoooong! Yaoooong!

This time, I could understand her perfectly.

[Hey! I’m starving here, bring me some food!]

Huh? What?

I chuckled nervously.

So that was her request—she wanted food.

I heard Hoya’s voice in my head:

[What are you going to do? Is there food for cats in the kitchen?]

‘Mom will make something for them.’

[Got it. I’ll tell her.]

Yaooong.

Hoya repeated, and the mother cat mewed in satisfaction.

[Yes, bring it quickly.]

Though absurd, thanks to Hoya, she had stopped hissing.

Just as I turned to ask my mom, she called out:

“Son… did you just… talk to that cat?”

Outside the door, Mom looked at me, disbelief written all over her face.

I was able to bring food to the mother cat.

I removed the bones and served soft fish generously on a plate.

The mother cat devoured it as if possessed, burying her head in it.

Mom watched silently and said:

“I thought they had left the neighborhood since they were gone, but I didn’t know they were hiding there.”

“Yeah. If we had found them a little later, they might have starved to death.”

“Good. So, what will you do with this cat family?”

If I went through with the remodeling, they’d lose their home.

I carefully asked Mom:

“If you don’t mind, can we keep them in our backyard until the remodeling is done?”

“You’re thinking of adopting them?”

“I’d like to, but they might not want it. For now, I just want to give them a place to stay, and let them choose if they want to stay or leave.”

They were strays, after all, and might reject human care.

I had no intention of forcing them.

“If you take them in, you must take responsibility for them for life. Don’t adopt them out of pity. You understand?”

“Of course. As long as they don’t leave first, I’ll care for them completely.”

With permission, I grabbed a suitably sized box from the storage room.

It was for bringing the mother and kittens.

Returning to my grandmother’s house, Bang-ul greeted me.

[You’re going to take the cat family?]

“Yes. I’m planning to. We’ll be remodeling soon.”

[Thank you, sir! The cats will love it too!]

Bang-ul was happy.

She smiled so cutely.

She asked Hoya:

[Are you happy too?]

[What’s there to be happy about? It doesn’t concern me.]

Hoya pouted, but his tail swayed lightly—a sign of a cat’s contentment.

He said one thing, acted another.

I decided to test him.

“Hey! Hoya! You like this too, right?”

I tossed the apple box in front of him.

Hoya immediately crawled inside.

Purring, Hoya settled in the box.

I said:

“See? You really are a cat.”

Grrr…