The Cat hides its Claws

“You’re really smart, Myohan.”

But then, O Shin was gone again.

“You already know, but you’re still asking, right? Wow, you are no ordinary person.”

Without a trace, as if he had never come.

“And your appearance, you must be…”

“I…”

Myohan didn’t want to feel like that. He didn’t want the feelings he had gotten so used to abandon him like that. He was shuddering in the cold. His eyesight became fuzzy.

“I’m not feeling that well right now.”

His head started to ache. Pieces of memories that had been coming out through that small crack suddenly flooded out. O Shin’s voice. Someone else’s voice he didn’t recognize. Faces he knew and faces he didn’t know, and among them, was himself, in the form of a cat.

‘And you, who have committed the worst crime…’

He could then hear the voice clearly through the rain. He remembered the people cowering in fear in front of the man. He held Myohan close to himself so he wouldn’t get wet, and O Shin couldn’t stop him.

‘Your punishment will be…’

Myohan’s eyes flashed. His instincts took over. He pulled the confused Seonhan, held him in his arms so that he wouldn’t be able to run away, and then he threw him off the bridge, just like he had done when he saved his cat.

“Aaah!”

Seonhan screamed. Oh, it’s going to be quite cold this time, he thought so as they fell. Seonhan became lighter in his arms, and he raised him high so that he wouldn’t get wet.

The thin layer of ice on the river cracked immediately under his weight. He fell with a splash and stood up, breathing heavily. Seonhan’s clothes fell a second later.

“…See?”

He could feel his body temperature rising. He had not felt well before he dived into icy river, so of course it got even worse. He smiled, feeling feverish.

“I told you I would get them all.”

The world went dark. The last thing he saw before he fainted was a monkey, clutching his arm and shuddering.

***

The boy ran as fast as he could. He ran and ran, until he tripped over a vine. He ran as if there was someone chasing him. Then he stopped in front of a wide lake. It reflected the blue sky and was even bluer. It shimmered beautifully.

The boy forgot he had been running and approached the lake. He felt thirsty the moment he saw it. It’s a clear lake, it would be okay for me to drink it. He thought so and was about to dip his hands into it.

“Do you know what kind of place this lake is?”

When he looked up, he saw a man with long hair. His hair was white and his clothes fluttered in the wind, but none of it felt real.

“Judging from your confused look, I guess you don’t know.”

The man approached the boy. He walked slowly around the lake, but then he turned and headed to the water.

“You, child,”

He walked easily on water. Little drops of water splashed with his every step.

“Are destined to die young.”

The man was then in front of the boy. He leaned down to look into his eyes. The boy’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight. The man slowly stretched out a hand to those clear, transparent eyes. The boy flinched, and he soothed him.

“I’m not trying to hurt you.”

He placed a hand on the boy’s forehead for a long time. There was a thin veil in front of his face, so that boy couldn’t tell if his eyes were open and what kind of expression was on that face.

Then, the man picked him up. The small body flinched in surprise due to being held up in the air. The man asked.

“Do you want to live?”

The boy realized why he had been running only then. He also realized what had been chasing him so fearsomely. His small hand grabbed the man’s arm. He smiled pleasantly to feel that little warmth. The boy asked.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Can you do that?”

“Huh…”

The man laughed and put the boy down. He looked up at him with doubt. He showed his right hand and explained.

“I am the god of five things.”

“…God?”

“Yes, god.”

He sounded so confident that the boy couldn’t say anything.

“Existence, death, life, time,”

He folded his fingers one by one. As he said ‘time’, he waved his other hand, making the trees dancing in the wind stop at once. He liked the awed look on the boy’s face. He nodded and waved his hand again, letting the wind go its way.

“And memory.”

His finger touched the boy’s forehead. At the same time, a memory he had never had before flowed in. It was the image of a huge and vicious-looking beast. The man laughed after seeing the boy’s eyes widen.

“Isn’t he grand? He’s an old friend of mine.”

“Oh…”

“Well, anyway.”

The boy looked up at the man, not sure what to think of it. He put a hand on his soft cheek and said in a low voice.

“I asked you if you want to live.”

He could feel his heart beat fast. The white hair tickled his cheek and went away.

“If you say you do, I will let you live.”

The boy blinked. His heart started to beat even faster. His voice was so tempting. And the offer itself was tempting, the boy couldn’t refuse it. He gulped hard and asked again.

“…Why?”

“Because,”

The man who introduced himself as a god spoke with a solitary tone, stroking the doubtful boy’s hair.

“I am extremely lonely.”

The boy bit his lips, hesitating. He couldn’t make up his mind immediately. The man didn’t press him. He waited.

“…Okay.”

In the end, what came out of the boy’s mouth was an acknowledgement. He wanted to live. That was the simplest wish he had been hoping for so earnestly. He eagerly held the man’s sleeve and took a step forward.

“I want to live.”

His eyes were still sparkling in the sunlight. The man liked his light brown eyes and soft hair a lot. So he opened his arms, and soon the boy was in his embrace.

“Okay.”

It was the first time the boy felt any warmth. The man was warm and kind to him. He slowly patted his back.

“It’s okay now.”

He lifted the boy with one arm without a problem. He hugged his delicate body and placed a hand on his forehead.

“I will protect you.”

The boy didn’t have many years left. How such a beautiful boy had ended up with such a wretched fate, he couldn’t know, but freeing him from that destiny was so easy to him.

The man smiled and thought, yes, a cat would fit you well.

“Until you turn 11.”

The boy became a cat in a snap. A small, furry cat.

“When you’re free from your human fate, I will return your original form.”

Wind blew. The strong wind removed the veil and showed the man’s face. He was beautiful. Yellow eyes shined under his eyelashes.

“You have such…”

Wind kept blowing. His white hair flew in the wind, and that image was engraved in the boy’s mind. His sun-like eyes, his beautiful face, and his calm voice that came out of his red lips. The god who was about to grant him a new life smiled brightly.

“Mysterious eyes.”

It was the moment the boy got his name, O Myohan.

***

“Is this really….?”

“How can this be…?”

“… shit.”

He heard murmurs. He turned with irritation. Someone stroked his body to soothe him. Someone else got a slap in the back. Myohan opened his eyes only because he heard a familiar voice close by.

“Don’t you dare wake him up.”

The calm voice warned, and all became silent immediately. Of course, Myohan was already awake. He saw a familiar ceiling when he opened his eyes, but it felt strangely high. He blinked, but then he heard Jino moan.

“Is he awake?”

Myohan looked around, not sure what was going on. He looked at the ceiling, looked at the boys looking down at him, and then turned to O Shin. When he looked down at himself, hoping it wasn’t what he was thinking, he could see what he had dreaded was happening.

“Meow—.”

His cat approached and rubbed against him. Jino ended up falling back at the cute scene. The cat was even bigger than Myohan. Shit, he thought so as he got up. O Shin looked just fine, despite him having been gone all along. He looked somewhat mad as he picked up Myohan.

*Omyohan is a Korean word for mysterious.