The Cat hides its Claws

“Aaaagh!”

Myo Cheong screamed and pulled his hair. It seemed like he had gone mad. He grabbed the now unconscious guy with one hand by his scruff and then threw him to his friends. They flinched and looked at him with fear. He went to them, his hair in a mess.

“Oh, shit. Hey, you.”

He made growling sound that was hard to believe was a rabbit’s. The guys lost all their courage and started to walk backwards.

“You think I’m mute? I can beat up any of you like this, and you think being in a group would make any difference?”

His eyes glowered like beast’s eyes, contrary to how he had kept his mouth shut with a fearful look. His eyes almost glowed red.

“You should have stopped it there while I was being nice to you, but you dare to keep going? Shit, do you really want to die?”

Now anyone could have believed the four guys had been the victims. Their confidence was all gone and they were desperately trying to get away. Myo Cheong couldn’t control his anger and stomped his foot once again, making the unconscious guy flinch.

“What are you looking at? Piss off!”

He said so while breathing hard, but no one cared to move. His eyes were just too scary. He hardened his face and kicked the wall.

“If you don’t leave right now, I’ll do round two with whoever stays. One, two.”

This time, they ran away without even looking back. Aaaagh! Myo Cheong screamed again and stomped. O Shin, who had been watching like it had been a movie, talked only then.

“Are you okay?”

Myo Cheong turned to them, his eyes still mad. His rage was strong enough to make Myohan flinch, but it couldn’t bother O Shin. He started to walk toward them, but then he collapsed. Myohan instinctively caught him and looked at his still angry face. O Shin added matter-of-factly, “Rabbits have weak bones!”

Myohan crouched down and rolled up Myo Cheong’s pants. His ankle was red and swollen, just like Myohan’s ankle had been after he jumped into a river. Myohan frowned.

“Shit, I just got out of that cast!”

I could have won against those guys easily. Myo Cheong had said so. His perfect posture of kicking the thigh, his unbelievable speed, and his courage that didn’t fade even surrounded by four guys. Myohan had carried out a plan with all of those things considered, and it had worked.

“I’m going to kill them all! Aaaagh!”

Well, at least to some extent.

“Hey, just calm down.”

“Shit, how am I supposed to calm down?”

Oh, I’ve heard this much yelling before. Myohan thought of the chittering Jagyeom. He shook his head to dismiss the thought and leaned down to carry Myo Cheong. As the rabbit had been hurt because of him, he had to take him to the sickbay. But O Shin was faster.

“What are you? Put me down!”

“Let’s go.”

O Shin lifted up Myo Cheong as if he was luggage and started to walk. He didn’t seem to find the wriggling Myo Cheong heavy at all. Myohan followed him, glad that he didn’t have to carry the heavy load.

“Stop ignoring me!”

“You really want me to put you down?”

“Of course!”

The rabbit somehow sounded like a squealing boar. Myohan covered an ear and fell behind. Now was really good time to turn him into a rabbit.

“If I drop you now, you’ll break more bones.”

“You…!”

“If that’s fine with you.”

Myohan pitied him, which he rarely did. But he really did pity Myo Cheong. Being carried by a man dressed up as Snow White? That was something to be pitied.

When they ran into Jagyeom on their way to the sickbay, he was quite shocked to see them in what they were wearing.

“Snow White has abducted the rabbit…?”

There was no denying it.

“So Snow White and the prince lived happily ever after.”

Thunderous applause. Myohan held O Shin’s hand and bowed to the audience. Then he hurried down the stage.

“And that was class 2-1’s [Snow White and the Lazy Prince].”

Their practice of two weeks paid off during those ten minutes. The audience cheered enthusiastically, first when O Shin in his dress appeared, second when Myohan the prince appeared, and again when they kissed. They really loved it a lot more than Myohan had expected.

Myohan moved his sweaty hair from his eyes and took off the crown. He wished he could get changed, but he had left his school uniform in his homeroom. He watched O Shin with envy as he took off his wig and dress. Myohan also should have thought of wearing a T-shirt and pants under his costume. But Yuja didn’t care about what he was thinking and drove him to the seats, telling him to sit down.

“You were pretty good.”

“Of course we were good after all that practicing.”

Jagyeom and Sajun were near the air conditioner. Myohan flopped down on the floor, drying his sweaty hair. O Shin was leaning against the wall. He looked down at Myohan.

“A prince shouldn’t sit on the floor like that.”

“Stop sounding like Yuja.”

Now they were really done with that stupid play. They no longer had to practice for it during lunchtime and after classes. Myohan closed his eyes and tilted his head backwards, feeling quite good. He was waiting for all the plays to end so that he would be able to go to Myo Cheong at the sickbay. Sajun smacked to see his white neck, but then he had to look away because of the fierce gaze O Shin gave him. He sat down in front of Myohan.

“You know, there was a scene that was really impressive to me.”

“So?”

“So, is what Plato said true?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Myohan didn’t have the energy to argue with him. He slowly opened his eyes. Sajun traced his lips with a finger.

“Was it fascinating…”

For some reason, O Shin didn’t try to stop him. Jagyeom looked like he was about to throw up to see him at it again.

“As the soul leaving the body?”

Myohan narrowed his eyes. But then he laughed when he recalled something. It was what the teacher had been passionately explaining about when he was looking forward to Lee Jagyeom’s revolt. The thing he had just done up on the stage with O Shin. The hint he had given him. He turned to him, hating his curled-up lips.

“You should have paid more attention to the lecture.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

His powerful tone made Sajun flinch, but the anger wasn’t directed to the snake. O Shin asked, laughing, “Well, what are you going to do?”

“You know what I’m about to do.”

Once again, Myohan had been fooled by him so many times that he was getting used to it. He didn’t hesitate to stand up and started to walk. No, he ran.

“O Myohan, where are you going!”

Yuja shouted out to him from behind, but Myohan didn’t look back. He forgot he was dressed up as a prince, and that the plays hadn’t ended yet. He ran and ran, panting. He was headed to where his already captured rabbit was, where the poor rabbit that had been caught by snare was.

He opened the door. The sun was setting, and there Myo Cheong was, bored. Myohan went to him and grabbed him, making Myo Cheong’s round eyes frown hard.

“What the- shit. What are you doing?”

“You told me to bring proof that proves you turn into a rabbit.”

The experience of the moment when the soul leaves the body. He felt like cursing. Myohan put his other hand behind Myo Cheong’s head.

“You said even if I figure it out, I wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it.”

Myo Cheong seemed to be in doubt. He was thinking, it can’t be. Damn Plato. Damn O Shin. You told me to trust my guts? You dare to?

He had no reason to hesitate, so he tilted and leaned in.

“Hey, wait..”

The sun set softly outside the window. Myohan’s cape fell down quietly. Myo Cheong felt something soft on his lips, and then something hot came in between them. What his eyes could see were Myohan’s long eyelashes. He closed his eyes.

“….Got you.”

He sounded happy. Unlike shocked Myo Cheong, Myohan was smiling.

“At last.”

He smiled brightly as if he was having a great time.

“The rabbit.”

Plato said kissing is the experience of the moment when the soul leaves the body. What was in the smiling Myohan’s hands was a snowy white rabbit.