The Cat hides its Claws

Jagyeom seemed to have thought about it for a long time. He wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing by telling Myohan. Myohan looked at his hands for some time, and then he recalled what O Shin had said about how he had already given the answer.

He thought about what Jagyeom had just said and about what O Shin had said. Then he suddenly jumped to his feet.

“….The god distributed time.”

“What?”

“He gave two out of the 24 hours of a day to each animal, and they have power over their time.”

And the god took pity on the cat who didn’t get any time, so he granted the power to the twelve animals.

“Ha.”

He laughed. He could finally put the puzzle together. If that god had really given them power over time, then each of them got two hours a day in which they didn’t change into animals.

And, according to that theory, Myohan, who was the cat, held control over the twelve.

“I would stop transforming once I find the twelve.”

O Shin had told him even though he wouldn’t get to find out why he transformed. He would be able to put a stop to it.

He laughed like crazy. And then he went to Jagyeom. The rat was frowning as he couldn’t understand what Myohan was saying. He looked up at him.

“Jino lied at noon.”

He started to fold his fingers one by one. Starting at 11 p.m., two hours, another two hours, and then more two hours. His lips curled up.

“More exactly, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.”

“How can you tell?”

“You don’t turn into a rat during Ja Time, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.”

Jagyeom’s eyes widened after hearing about Ja Time. He muttered about the twelve animals, and then he exclaimed, just like Myohan had a minute ago.

“Yes, the twelve zodiac animals. But then, there must be more about time…”

“First, we must get more proof.”

His theory was perfect. Jagyeom didn’t turn into a rat during Ja Time, and Jino didn’t turn into a horse during O Time. But two examples weren’t enough. Both Jagyeom and Myohan couldn’t remember clearly when Jino didn’t transform, especially if it had been between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“And how are you going to do that?”

“We must test it on the other boys, excluding you and Jino.”

Myohan started to do the math again. Now was the Ja Time of the rat, and Jagyeom wasn’t going to transform even if he took a shower. Sul Time, the time of dog, had passed already, and there was the Sa Time of snake, but they couldn’t make it snow. Their only option was Myo Time, the time of the rabbit. It was from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

“Are you going to kiss Myo Cheong again?” Jagyeom asked, wishing to get no as an answer. Myohan was surprised that he knew what he was thinking, but then he recalled someone and smiled. Jagyeom frowned and backed off from that sly smile.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“We don’t have to bother to wait till 5 in the morning.”

“Then…”

The twelve zodiac animals didn’t transform during the two hours each of them had. Now was Ja Time, the time of the rat. It would last from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Myohan thought about it again and then tapped on the door.

“After the rat comes the cow. Ja Time is followed by Chook Time, the time of cow.”

Chook Time. It was when Chookjae, who was now in the living room, wasn’t supposed to transform.

Myohan gave Jagyeom some clean clothes and went out to the living room, acting like everything was completely fine. O Shin, who was sitting on the sofa with a bored look on his face, followed him with his eyes.

Myohan decided not to say anything, at least for now. Sajun, who had been sitting quietly, which he almost never did, suddenly asked, “Would you like to take a shower with me?”

Myohan gave him an irritated gaze. Myo Cheong shuddered and moved away, muttering about how crazy he was. Myohan just ignored Sajun and turned to Chookjae. He was trying to soothe Sinsul who had given up after trying to solve a math problem with his help.

“But I don’t want to do it!”

“You’re so close to getting the answer.”

Chook Time was about an hour away. Myohan just had to make him transform before that and see if he transformed back into a human the second the clock struck 1. It was as simple as that.

“But how does Jagyeom take his shower?”

Sinsul, who was whimpering while rolling on the floor, asked matter-of-factly. Myohan replied as if the question didn’t mean much.

“Part by part, I guess.”

“Oh.”

Sinsul bought that and started rolling and whimpering again. Sajun looked at Myohan with doubt, but he just ignored his gaze. He didn’t ask more and just smiled.

O Shin saw that all and made Myohan sit down next to him. Then he whispered, “Now do you remember the answer I gave you?”

Myohan laughed because his voice tickled his ear. It meant yes. Myo Cheong heard it and glanced at them, but he didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Hey,”

Myohan yawned. He got up, rubbing his face. His cat followed his example and yawned, too.

“I’m going to bed. Just sleep on the floor or something.”

After that, he went into his bedroom before someone could stop him. He didn’t have much of a reason for it. He just didn’t feel like doing vacation homework on the first day of summer vacation, and he wasn’t into staying up all night for fun, either. He was sleepy, and he decided to get some sleep. That was all.

But he didn’t know he was going to sleep for three hours, and his friends were all about to go to sleep on the floor of the living room.

“Just be easy on…”

“You can’t do…. I told you…”

He could hear someone muttering and his cat meowing. So noisy. He recalled muttering so while sleeping. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw a pair of black eyes.

“You’re awake.”

O Shin didn’t wait to kiss him. He blinked and closed his eyes again. What time is it? Is it already morning? No, it’s still dark. It’s nighttime. Butwhy am I awake?

“…!”

He was startled and got up. O Shin stroked his hair softly. He was smiling. Myohan looked around slowly. It was dark and he couldn’t see a thing. He looked back at O Shin, and with a smile, he said, “It’s five minutes before 3 in the morning.”

“Shit.”

Myohan muttered and quickly went out. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he flinched to see the boys sleeping there. He had told them to sleep on the floor or something, but he hadn’t known they would carry out his order like that.

What he saw first was Myo Cheong. The small boy had rolled up like a ball, and he almost looked pitiful. Jino was leaning on the table, and Sajun was lying on the sofa. Sinsul was sleeping in a corner. Myohan spotted Jagyeom sleeping right next to the table and frowned.

Chookjae wasn’t there. He wasn’t among the boys. Myohan looked at each of them again, but then he saw a door to another room that was half-open. O Shin was now behind him and hugged him from behind.

“You must hurry.”

Myohan moved slowly, with him on his back. He could see someone’s legs and he knew they were Chookjae’s.

“But why is he sleeping like this?”

There he was, sleeping in the middle of the empty room. He had entered the room without asking Myohan, but what mattered more was that he was wearing only his underwear. Myohan crouched down to take a look at him, and then he looked up at O Shin. He just shrugged.

Chookjae didn’t know that he changed into a cow. There were two possible explanations. He either lost consciousness when he transformed, or he transformed when he was unconscious. Myohan was thinking the latter was more probable. Then, ‘what Chookjae had been doing two hours ago’ became so simple. He either had been getting ready for school, or he had been sleeping, just like he was doing now.