The Cat hides its Claws

“Even after you find out what makes him become a sheep, you won’t do your best to catch him.”

Myohan twist his neat eyebrows. Instead of asking why, he grabbed O Shin’s hand on his head. O Shin held his soft finger and kissed its tip.

“It would be better to not know.”

“But what are you going to do if I can’t capture the sheep?”

O Shin smiled faintly. But it soon faded and he shook his head.

“You will capture the sheep, and…”

He hugged Myohan, his expression was now the same it had been when they saw Miho’s sister the other day. Myohan let him embrace him and blinked, his head now buried in his chest. O Shin whispered sweetly, “You’ll think it would have been better not to catch him.”

After that, Myohan thought really hard for a few days about how to free Miho and about what O Shin had said to him. He was smart and capable, but he couldn’t find any clear answer to either of the two problems.

It only got stranger the more he thought about it. Who told everyone Miho’s parents were gone, and were boys of Class 5 really stupid enough to bully him for only that reason? No, it probably happened in the opposite sequence. They were bullying him because they didn’t like Miho, and were only using the fact he was an orphan as a method. Either way, they were the worst, but they kept messing with Miho even though he didn’t let them do it easily. Myohan wanted to know why.

“Myohan!”

It was lunchtime, and Myohan was having a meaningless conversation with O Shin in the empty classroom. But then Jagyeom slammed open the back door. He must have been running as he was sweating.

He panted and said, “Miho got into another fight!”

Myohan jumped to his feet.

“Where is he?”

“In the garden.”

He followed Jagyeom to the hallway, but then he frowned and turned to the end of the hallway instead of going to the stairs. Jagyeom stopped him in surprise.

“Where are you going?”

Myohan took off his jacket, threw it to him, and opened the window. Jagyeom didn’t know what he was doing when the situation was so urgent, but then his eyes widened.

“The stairs are there…”

Myohan stood up the windowsill and crouched down. He looked back at Jagyeom and tutted.

“Take your time.”

Jagyeom didn’t have time to stop him. He jumped down. Jagyeom couldn’t believe his eyes.

They were on the sixth floor. Sixth floor. And yet, Myohan had jumped down to the ground without any safety equipment. Jagyeom grabbed the windowsill with trembling hands and looked down, dreading what he would see. What was he supposed to do? But then…

“Ha.”

Myohan was there, stretching his legs. He looked up at Jagyeom. He rubbed his eyes, and then Myohan started to run toward the garden. Maybe he was dreaming. Or hallucinating.

“Really, that cat just can’t stand injustice.”

He heard a sweet voice. O Shin was there, looking down the window. ‘Cat?’ Jagyeom couldn’t believe it. But then, his nimble moves, feline eyes…. Why hadn’t he noticed it sooner? It made perfect sense of everything that had happened.

“Well, then…”

O Shin took the jacket Jagyeom was still holding and turned.

“Let’s go and see.”

***

‘Oh, déjà vu.’

That was what Myohan thought as he ran at the top of his breath. That stupid vegetable garden. Maybe he should put in formal suggestion about it, like putting a guard or remodeling the place. First Myo Cheong, and now…

“….Got it, you fool?”

As he got closer to the garden, he could hear a boy talking. But it wasn’t Miho. It was that boy of Class 5 who was always insulting him.

“Stop ignoring me, Miho.”

Myohan hid behind a wall to catch his breath and take a look at the situation. He thought there would be a number of them, but to his surprise, only Miho and the bully were there. He looked at his hand holding Miho’s collar and sighed. It was good that Miho wasn’t a rabbit like Myo Cheong. He couldn’t hear him.

“You look is really creepy, you know that?”

When Miho said nothing, he let him go angrily. Miho just listened to him without any expression. Bam! He kicked the wall right next to Miho.

“I never liked you, even in middle school.”

In middle school? Myohan frowned. So they had known each other in middle school. He could remember a rumor about how Miho used to be a troubled kid since middle school. But Miho still wouldn’t say a word, and he kicked the wall again. But that wall is innocent. Myohan sighed, thinking so.

“Psychopath,” he said. Miho still looked like an expressionless robot. He muttered, I hate you so much, and then he pushed Miho’s shoulder.

“You look good now, after you got a friend.”

“…”

“But does he know?”

Maybe it was Myohan, since that friend had to be him. Myohan started to move, but then he stopped to hear what the bully said after that,

“That you didn’t even blink an eye when your friend died.”

A small crack appeared on Miho’s face. It was subtle, but Myohan could see it. The bully didn’t see it and went on.

“Your best friend died, and what did you do?”

Miho grabbed him with anger. He had kept quiet, but now he was starting to get fierce. Myohan frowned.

“Well, that’s Miho I know.”

The bully was still grinning. He seemed to be enjoying Miho’s reaction.

“You didn’t come to the funeral, and when the kids cried for him, you beat them up and told them to shut up.”

He was brutally pushed to the wall. Thud! His grin immediately faded. His lips were still smiling, but his eyes were deadly. He snorted and said,

“So sad, isn’t it? He thought of you as his friend till his last moment.”

Miho swung his fist. Myohan was supposed to stop him, but he didn’t. He knew Miho would keep his promise, and he was right. What Miho hit wasn’t the bully but the wall. He smiled and glared at Miho.

“You are really strange.”

Jagyeom and O Shin were coming. Myohan put a finger on his lips to tell them to be quiet and went on listening.

“How could you not cry even once? Aren’t you sad at all? Are you really a psychopath?”

This time, Myohan couldn’t help sighing. He moaned deeply and looked at O Shin. He didn’t say anything and just looked back. In the meantime, the bully spoke again.

“We even went to visit your sister at the hospital. But you…”

Bad feelings were always right. Myohan bit his lips. He wished he wasn’t so clever. Then he wouldn’t be feeling what he was feeling now. He wouldn’t have found out what made Miho become a sheep only with that conversation.

“Oh, right. You didn’t cry even when your parents died.”

Creepy psycho. Myohan’s heart ached. O Shin stared at him. I told you, it would have been better not to know. His black eyes were saying so.

Shit, shit. He kept saying that. Why? Why? He got so many questions, but no one could answer them. He ruffled his hair angrily and looked at Jagyeom. He flinched to get the dangerous gaze. He took a deep breath and asked.

“What did he say? Has Miho hit him?”

Jagyeom couldn’t answer it immediately. He wondered if he should tell him, but he soon made up his mind and said, “That he wouldn’t cry even when his sister dies…”

Myohan turned before he could even finish saying that.

“Bring everyone here.”

He couldn’t stop him. Myohan walked there fast and stood between them with his back toward Miho. He raised his hand.

Before Miho could stop him, before the bully could ask who he was, he slapped his cheek.

“…!”

Both Jagyeom and Miho were too shocked to say anything. Before the bully could hit back, Myohan grabbed his arm. With rage, he said, “You’re the psycho.”

“Shit, what are you?”

“What am I? But you know, you said it yourself.”

He pointed at Miho with his chin, making him finch. He went on, pulling the arm toward him.

“I’m his friend.”

The bully couldn’t say anything. He clenched his teeth. Then he freed his arm with force and started to speak again,

“Why are you always interfering? I’m telling you, you should stop taking this psycho’s side…”

“I told you,”

Miho grabbed Myohan’s sleeve to stop him, but Myohan took a step forward. His lips curled up.

“You’re the psycho.”