In the school studio where three people were discussing music, Byung-jun arrived. On a slightly warmer day, wearing a thin summer suit and carrying a large blue bag, he entered the studio grunting with the weight of his bag.
“Hey, take this for a moment.”
Kevin hurried over and took the bag, tilting his head.
“It's not that heavy?”
“It's not that, this is heavy, whew.”
Byung-jun, who also had a fat, bulging bag over his shoulder, put it down on the floor. The bag made a heavy sound as it fell to the floor, prompting Geon to ask,
“What is that, hyung?”
Byung-jun rubbed his shoulder and grimaced.
“Phew, I just met with Director Lin, and his mother, who was taking care of a cat, entrusted it to the director as she went on a long trip. But the director doesn’t like cats, so he asked me to look after it for a few days.”
At the mention of a cat, Shizuka reacted first.
“Kyaa, so there's a cat in this blue bag? Let me see! Show me!”
“Alright, just wait.”
Byung-jun opened the metal gate of the blue bag. As the three people watched expectantly, the bag remained still for a moment until a white paw cautiously stepped out. Shizuka, whose eyes turned to hearts, clasped her hands over her chest and screamed.
“Kyaah! Look at that paw, it looks like a white rice cake!”
Startled by Shizuka’s scream, the white paw quickly withdrew back into the bag. Byung-jun peered inside the bag and coaxed the cat.
“Come on, Lucy? Come out. Say hello to the kids.”
As Shizuka squealed,
“Kyap! Kyap! Is her name Lucy? Oh my, she’s a girl!”
“Yes, she's a female, two years old. Try to be a bit quieter; she's scared and won’t come out.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
The three of them quietly waited for Lucy. Pretending to be doing something else, as if uninterested, their gazes never left the blue bag.
Geon, who had always liked cats since he was young, unlike his mother Yeongha who disliked cats, showed great interest as he had never had the chance to raise one himself.
Unable to contain himself, Geon peeked inside the blue bag.
A cat with a white body and black eyes, with a pink nose, sat close to the inside of the bag, staring back at Geon.
Although not a kitten, its adorable appearance brought a wide smile to Geon’s face as he reached out his hand and said,
“Hello? Won’t you come out and say hi?”
Lucy, perking her ears as if trying to understand Geon’s words, sniffed his hand and cautiously moved a paw forward.
Eager to touch the cat but knowing the typically disapproving nature of cats about being handled, Geon patiently held out his hand and waited. Soon, Lucy poked her small head out of the blue bag.
Shizuka, about to scream at the sight of Lucy’s face, covered her mouth and whispered to Kevin,
“See? She’s so pretty! A snow-white cat with that pink nose! What do we do!”
Even Kevin, who wasn’t particularly interested in animals, nodded at the sight of the pretty cat.
“She really is a beautiful cat, manager. What breed is she?”
Byung-jun frowned as if trying to remember, then looked at his phone after recalling a text conversation with Lin.
“Ah… a Scottish Fold, I think? It’s one of those breeds with folded ears, but Lucy’s ears stand upright, making her a bit different from other cats.”
Shizuka, examining Lucy’s face closely, remarked,
“That’s right, her ears stand upright like a Turkish Angora?”
Byung-jun pouted his lips.
“Maybe she’s mixed?”
Lucy cautiously stepped out of the bag. As her long, supple body completely emerged, she showed interest in Geon and approached him.
While Lucy slowly circled around, sniffing and inspecting him, Geon just watched her and said,
“I’m not a bad person, you know. Someone you might have to live with for a while.”
Lucy, as if understanding, intently watched Geon’s mouth movements and shook her head.
The scene was so endearing that Geon carefully stroked the back of Lucy’s neck, and she appeared to smile with her eyes closed.
As Geon had heard from friends before, he touched the spot where her tail and back meet, and Lucy stretched out her front paws and arched her back as if stretching, her tail held high while she purred contentedly.
Feeling pleased, Lucy rubbed her body against Geon as she twirled around, glancing
at Shizuka and Kevin.
Shizuka, visibly eager to hug the cat, showed her longing on her face, while Kevin simply looked down at Lucy with an appreciative eye for a pretty animal.
Lucy, a curious cat, could have explored others, but instead, she sprang onto Geon’s shoulder and sat there in a loaf position.
Uninterested in Kevin and Shizuka, Lucy licked Geon’s neck with her raspy tongue, making him laugh.
“Tickles.”
Shizuka, her eyes filled with envy, turned to Byung-jun.
“How long are you keeping her?”
Byung-jun, examining other cat items he had taken out of another bag, responded,
“I don’t know. Director Lin’s parents are quite old, and they went backpacking, so it might take a few months, I guess?”
“Eh… That long? Then we might get too attached…”
“That’s why I said not to get too attached. I have some errands to run and can’t carry a cat around, so I just stopped by to set up her litter box and then I’ll be going.”
Already captivated by Lucy, Geon played with her using his fingers and laughed.
“Yes, do that, hyung. Lucy~ stay with me.”
Lucy playfully tapped Geon’s fingers with her paws. Although Byung-jun had left, Geon, captivated by Lucy, lost focus and continued playing with her.
For over an hour, as Shizuka hoped Lucy would approach her, she eventually received her reward for patience.
Carefully, Shizuka hugged Lucy, her face expressing happiness, and the three of them ended up spending more than four hours playing with Lucy.
As they returned to Red Castle in the car, after finishing his tasks, Byung-jun suddenly asked,
“Hyung, there are many guard dogs at home, will it be okay? Lucy might get stressed.”
Byung-jun, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head and saw Lucy curiously looking around the car.
“We’ll keep her inside only, what? No need to walk her like dogs.”
“Really? Won’t she feel stifled?”
“Cats aren’t like that. They’re just curious, you know.”
Soon after arriving at Red Castle, Byung-jun tilted his head as he got out of the car.
“Huh? Why don’t I hear the dogs barking? Usually, a few of them bark when someone comes in.”
Geon, reluctant to put Lucy back in the bag, carried her on his shoulder as he got out of the car and looked at the garden.
The organization’s guard dogs, all watching Lucy on Geon’s shoulder, neither barked nor approached threateningly, which made Geon breathe a sigh of relief.
“Luckily, they’re well-trained not to approach cats.”
Byung-jun frowned as he looked at the dogs.
“Is that even training? Eh, I don’t know. It’s good they’re not barking. Go inside first, I’ll bring the luggage.”
“Okay, hyung. Need help?”
“It’s just one bag. Go inside.”
Geon, holding Lucy, opened the door to the annex, and Lucy, jumping off his shoulder, scampered inside and began exploring the house. Evidently excited by something, she darted out of an open window, prompting Geon to shout.
“Lucy, no!”
Geon, rushing outside the annex, spotted Lucy running across the roof.
“Lucy! That’s dangerous, come down! Uh…? Why are there bats on the roof…?”
As Lucy ran and caught a bat with her front paw, the bats perched on the roof suddenly took flight.
Despite her cute appearance, Lucy, flashing sharp fangs, held the bat in her mouth and looked at Geon, who waved his arms and exclaimed,
“Lucy!! Yuck, that’s dirty! Spit it out! Ptooey!”
After shaking the bat in her mouth a few times, killing it completely, Lucy shook her head and threw the bat carcass away.
Jumping down from the roof to Geon’s shoulder, Lucy closed her eyes and licked her paws, causing Geon to grimace.
“Ah, you need a bath. Lucy, you shouldn’t touch those things, you know? You could get sick.”
Byung-jun, carrying luggage into the annex, remarked,
“Help me assemble the cat tower instead of bathing her. Let’s leave that to the professionals at the vet clinic tomorrow.”
The heavy items in Byung-jun’s bag turned out to be parts of a cat tower. Cat food, a litter box, and cushions came out, but the heaviest items were the cat tower parts, which Geon began assembling after dusting off his hands.
Lucy, seemingly aware that it was her possession, sat on Geon’s thigh watching the cat tower. As soon as the tower was completed,
she claimed the topmost perch and lay down.
Pleased with Lucy’s approval, Geon smiled and after a thorough look at his dust-covered body, headed to the shower room.
After a long time, Geon adjusted the water temperature and entered the steam-filled bathroom.
“Ah… nice.”
Lying in the warm bathtub, Geon hummed a tune and closed his eyes as light streamed through a small window in the bathroom.
As soon as Geon’s eyes closed, a small shadow appeared on the bathroom window, but it was indiscernible through the steam.
Creak.
Hearing the small sound of the door opening, Geon opened his eyes and saw the bathroom door, which Lucy had opened with her paw. Smiling, Geon extended his wet arm and said,
“Lucy~ want to join me in the bath?”
Lucy’s eyes, previously cute, widened menacingly as she stared at the bathroom window, and the small shadow hastily disappeared.
Following Lucy’s gaze to the window, Geon looked at the empty window and tilted his head.
“Huh? What’s out there, Lucy?”
Meowing, Lucy sat on the bathroom sill and looked down at Geon, captivating him once again as they laughed and played in the water.
“Kahaha, come here!”
Regardless of what Geon was doing, Lucy clung closely to his side, flicking her tail. After the bath, Lucy showed little interest in the food Geon had prepared for her, drinking only water.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Lucy reappeared on the roof, eyeing a few bats that had settled there again.
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