The Cat hides its Claws

O Shin had a hand on Myohan’s back head so that he wouldn’t be able to get away, but funnily enough, he gave him enough time to refuse.

He stood still with their lips touched, and then he opened Myohan’s lips. His tongue tingled, like tasting sweet candy. It was their first kiss, but it felt so familiar.

The hand on the back crept down Myohan’s neck. O Shin put his other hand on his cheek and their lips pressed even tighter.

Myohan didn’t refuse. He couldn’t. His hands trembled and he had to grab O Shin’s shirt. He slowly tilted his head, soothing Myohan. His soft lips went away for a second and then came again. Myohan could feel tingles in his stomach.

“Meow.”

The kitten had woken up. It jumped down the sofa. It yawned widely and then moved away. O Shin moved back slightly and then looked into Myohan’s eyes. Myohan stayed still, almost enchanted, then frowned to hear a voice in his head.

‘I will never forget you.’

His head buzzed. Scenes he had never seen before started to flood in.

‘Even if you can’t remember me…’

Rain was falling from the dark sky. Someone drenched wet in rain kept talking to him. Myohan couldn’t remember but he couldn’t let it go either. He blinked. His mind was in a mess.

“Don’t think.”

O Shin spoke calmly and kissed him again. He embraced Myohan and softly patted his back. Once, twice, each time his hand caressed Myohan, his memories went away. He kissed him again passionately, and Myohan let him. It didn’t feel real. A softm flooding sensation washed over him. He stayed in O Shin’s arms for a long time.

“So, our class is going to…”

Myohan took a deep breath. Hot wind, humid air, and the smell of sand. He looked away following a whisk of sand dust, and then he stretched his back. His sleepy eyes blinked.

‘So sleepy.’

“Are you listening?”

“No.”

Sinsul, who had been explaining with twinkling eyes, puffed and shook Myohan’s shoulder.

“But the sports competition’s just around the corner!”

Some days past after he got the rabbit. He had been happy to be done with the school festival, but now the sports competition was just around the corner.

Myohan had to be dragged out to the schoolyard by his classmates just because they had been given permission to train during independent study time. Myohan looked around, and there were many other boys out practicing as well. The weather was hot, and it was hard to believe it’d snowed only a while ago. And Sinsul’s passion was as hot as the scorching sun.

“O Myohan, we must play soccer!”

Myohan, who was crouching in O Shin’s shadow to hide from the sunlight, gave him a sulky reply.

“You can’t make me, and I won’t.”

Sinsul put a foot on his soccer ball and posed like a real athlete. He even pointed at Myohan with his index finger. Of course, that meant nothing to Myohan.

“This is a chance for our class to win first place, just like we did at the festival.”

It was way too bothersome. It was too hot and annoying. Myohan looked down. He really wished he could go back inside, turn on the air conditioner, and take a nap. O Shin, who had been his parasol, put a hand on his head.

“It’s hot.”

“The heat’s killing me.”

Bright light was behind O Shin because of the high sun. What an aura. Myohan muttered so and let him stroke his head. O Shin’s head was huge with his thick bones, but his hands were so gentle when they touched Myohan, just like he was doing now.

The day they caught the rabbit, after kissing passionately, none of them said a word even when after it was over. O Shin held Myohan carefully as if he was something precious. They each caught their breath. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Myohan fell asleep momentarily after listening to that steady heartbeat. He was on his bed when he woke up, so he just guessed O Shin must have put him there.

“You’re not playing soccer?”

After that, Myohan never mentioned it. He saw no necessity to do so and he didn’t want to do so. O Shin seemed to think the same thing.

“I don’t like playing with balls.”

O Shin shrugged at Myohan’s question. His broad shoulders and balanced body looked quite athletic, but it seemed like his preference didn’t match his body.

“Let’s play soccer! Soccer!”

Well, there was only one boy who liked playing with balls there, and it was Sinsul. He let out a deep sigh to see that none of his classmates was half as enthusiastic as he was. They had all worked under Yuja’s command for the festival, but it seemed like they weren’t that happy about the sport competition either.

Myohan could see how sad he was, but he pretended not to and looked away. In the distance, Myo Cheong was standing with his class, quite annoyed. And there was another tall student next to him.

“Well, let’s pick who’ll do the relay race first. Five will run each race according to your class number.”

Yuja, who couldn’t stand it anymore, eventually took command. The boys, who hadn’t bothered to lift a finger when Sinsul was talking, all got up. Luckily, no class was using the race track around the yard. Yuja made class numbers 1 to 5 stand at the starting line and asked Chookjae, “Choi Jino will do the relay race, won’t he?”

“Probably.”

Myohan, who was still hiding from the sun behind O Shin, narrowed his eyes to hear that. He didn’t know Choi Jino, but the name strangely sounded familiar. He had heard it before.

“Then class 6 will win the race. We should aim for second place.”

Class 6. That was the rabbit’s class. Myohan looked at Myo Cheong again. He suddenly recalled where he had heard the name Choi Jino. Jagyeom had told him that the boy who said Myo Cheong was being bullied was named Choi Jino.

“To be honest, isn’t it cheating to make a real athlete participate in a high school sports festival?”

“Who’s Choi Jino?” Myohan asked, and Sinsul looked at him with wide eyes. Then he said, tutting, “You should pay more attention to others.”

But Myohan just snorted.

“Tell me now if you want to stay alive.”

“…You know, the boy who runs around this yard during lunchtime every day.”

Myohan didn’t know. He always slept through lunchtime, so how could he know? Sinsul gave him a pathetic look, but he had to dismiss it quickly after seeing Myohan narrow his eyes.

“He’s a pro runner. He’s really fast. See, the tallest boy over there.”

Sinsul pointed with a finger. Myohan looked in that direction and frowned to see Myo Cheong there. The student who had been with him was now getting ready, stretching his legs.

He had to be Choi Jino. His legs looked really firm, probably because he was an athlete. He had been running since he was really little, and he wasgood at both long and short races. Sinsul went on saying what he knew about Jino.

Myohan rarely paid attention to bothers, but he couldn’t help thinking about Choi jino. His face, the movement of his muscles — they all felt familiar. Maybe it was just because Myohan had been way too into the twelve zodiac animals during the last few months, but he strangely looked like one of the twelve.

“Numbers 16 to 20!”

Yuja raised his voice. O Shin grabbed Myohan’s arm and made him stand up. Myohan said he was going too far. If he started doubting every student, it would never end.

If Choi Jino was an animal because he was a good runner, then was Sinsul was a dog because he liked to play with balls?

“…”

But then, something flashed through his head. It was an animal instinct he couldn’t explain with words. He tried to take Sinsul’s arm, his suspicion growing.

“Hey, Shin Seonhan!”

However, Sinsul called someone and ran away. Myohan looked at his back as he went away, and then his empty hand was still stretched out in an awkward position. What had he meant to do after catching Sinsul?

“Myohan, what are you doing? Come quick.”

Yuja called out to him again and Myohan scratched his back. O Shin smiled in secret, looking at the confused cat.