The Cat hides its Claws

“No, I’m fine.”

Came blurting out of his mouth before he could think about it. O Shin’s eyes narrowed. He looked down and muttered,

“You’re not fine.”

Myohan had been like that ever since he woke up in the morning. His face was a blank, and then he looked sad. O Shin stroked his hair and touched his hand, but he just looked out the window and wouldn’t even budge.

“…Who’s looking for me?”

Myohan pretended not to have heard O Shin’s remark and stood up. Yuja pointed at the back door. O shin let him go without saying anything else.

It was Chandeul. In his daze, Myohan had forgotten to hide from him. He had to try not to laugh after seeing Chandeul’s still pink cheeks and a lollipop in his mouth. He was eating something again.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Oh, I just wanted to return this to you…”

What Chandeul offered to Myohan was his nametag, of course. Myohan looked down at it, and he took it with a grin.

“Hey, wait.”

Chandeul was walking away fast, but then he froze when he heard Myohan calling out to him. Myohan saw the fear that flashed in his eyes for a second and narrowed his eyes. But then, he grinned as if it was all fine.

“I’m going to the store, come with me.”

Myohan thought he would say no, but to his surprise, Chandeul followed him. The store was mostly empty as lunchtime was about to end. The shop lady recognized Myohan. He said hi, bought a few pastries, went out, and offered one to Chandeul. He was just throwing away his lollipop stick. He waved his hand.

“No, I’m fine, really.”

“Take it, I bought it for you.”

He hesitated, but soon he thanked him and took it. He looked calm, but his eyes made him look as if he was always smiling.

“You must like eating snacks.”

“Oh, um…”

That wasn’t exactly an acknowledgement. He went to the school store every day to buy snacks, and he was always eating something, but he didn’t say yes to the question.

Was he embarrassed of eating too much? No, his mouth wasn’t smiling at all. You won’t be able to tame him with food. Myohan recalled what O Shin had said to him and frowned.

“Um…”

This time, Chandeul was first to say something. He spoke in the middle of the stairs, and he looked at Myohan, hesitating. The bell rang to announce lunchtime was over, but Myohan didn’t hurry. He just stood there and waited for Chandeul to speak. He looked down and opened his mouth.

“I’m telling you this because you don’t seem like a bad kid…”

Myohan’s eyes sparkled. He was sure Chandeul was about to say something important. Maybe he was about to find out why the boy was so scared of him.

“You know, That tall kid you’re always with…”

“Yes?”

“You…”

Chandeul couldn’t say more. He kept opening and closing his mouth, which showed how much he was hesitating. Myohan didn’t push him and waited. Chandeul sighed, made up his mind, and said,

“You’d better distance yourself from him.”

Myohan hadn’t seen that coming. He blinked. Chandeul added,

“I can’t explain, but I have this really good gut.”

“What you said is really rude if it comes without an explanation.”

“Oh, um…”

The classes must have started as it was deadly quiet. Their voices rang through the hallway. Myohan looked at Chandeul, then out the window, and asked,

“Do you really have to take your next class?”

***

Myohan went to the vegetable garden. It was really cold out there, but it was the only place where they could have a conversation without being caught by the teachers. Myohan was often late for school and often slept through classes, but that was his first time missing a class.

“Well, explain.”

He crouched down and looked up at Chandeul. The wind was really cold. He regretted not bringing out his coat, but it was too late.

“I get this… vibe.”

“Vibe?”

“My grandmother was a mudang, so I grew up seeing a lot of supernatural things.”

Chandeul started to talk only after a long time, and what he said was not what Myohan had expected at all. It wasn’t about him being a pig, and it wasn’t about the twelve zodiac animals. Myohan nodded, inviting him to go on.

“So I can know certain things when I see a person. But your friend…”

He scratched his cheek. He was still hesitating, but he was feeling more confident since Myohan was listening. He met eyes with him and said firmly for the first time,

“He doesn’t smell like a human.”

His eyes looked sharp. Myohan blinked, and then he slowly looked up. The sky had been cloudy since morning.

“Why aren’t you also saying I smell like a cat?”

“…You do smell like a cat.”

Chandeul was pointing at a strand of cat fur on Myohan’s cat. Myohan flinched for a second, but he regained his smile.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Chandeul wasn’t afraid as he talked about O Shin. He remained calm even when he said he didn’t smell like a human. But he flinched when he met eyes with Myohan, which meant Myohan was the one who scared him.

“Why are you afraid of me?”

Chandeul was clearly startled by the question. He backed off with wide eyes. Myohan just shrugged instead of trying to hold him. Chandeul grabbed the pastry in his pocket tightly and sighed.

“Don’t be offended, but…”

“You should have said that earlier.”

“What?”

“Before you told me to distance myself from him.”

Chandeul realized his mistake and rubbed on his cheek. The cold was making his cheeks even redder. He looked away and said,

“…You’re not a child of Grandmother Samsin.”

“Grandmother Samsin?”

“Your fate, you shouldn’t have lived more than 11 years.”

11 years? It strangely sounded familiar. He had heard some kind of change had happened to him at that age, but he couldn’t recall more. Chandeul nervously glanced at him.

“I think you’re a good person, but I’m afraid of what’s behind you.”

He was flinching, so he probably meant it. Myohan looked back, even though he knew Chandeul wasn’t talking about what was literally behind him. Then he stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. He looked somewhat dissatisfied.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel…”

“Hey, pig.”

Myohan took a step forward.

“Is that all you’ve got to say to me? I should be careful because he doesn’t smell like a human?”

Chandeul slowly nodded. Looking at his confused, wide eyes, Myohan placed a hand on his shoulder. Then he said with pity.

“I thought you were going to say you’re the pig.”

“…How did you?”

“Why are you pretending not to know?”

Chandeul tried to back off, and he would have, if Myohan’s hand hadn’t been holding him. Myohan smiled and looked into his eyes.

“You’ve smelled each and every boy around me.”

He had said O Shin didn’t ‘smell’ like a human, which meant he had smelled all of them. He had probably smelled all the animals near Myohan, just like Sinsul did.

“Why do you think they’re all with me?”

It was similar to how Sadeol had thought Myohan was a tiger. Chandeul smelled only the twelve zodiac animals, so he must have thought Myohan smelled like a cat just because he had a pet cat. As he had just pointed at the cat fur on his pants, he didn’t know Myohan was the tiger.

“I’m collecting the twelve zodiac animals.”

He was offended in no time, by what Chandeul said about O Shin when he knew nothing about him.

“Rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, sheep, rooster, and dog.”

If Chandeul’s fear wasn’t due to a trauma he had about transforming into an animal, Myohan had no reason to care about it.

“And with you, I’ll just have to find two more.”

Myohan grinned. He was tired of waiting.

“…Why are you collecting them?”

“Why?”

That wasn’t Myohan. The familiar voice startled him and he turned, forgetting what he had meant to say.

“You said I don’t smell like a human.”

It was O Shin. He went close to them, wearing only his school uniform, with Myohan’s coat in his hand. Raindrops started to fall one by one from the cloudy sky.

*mudang: shaman

*Grandmother Samsin: a deity that is believed to bless mothers with babies. No child can be conceived and born without her help.