The Cat hides its Claws

“You’re asking what this is about.”

He had been gone. Myohan had been looking for him everywhere, but he didn’t leave a single trace. And now, here he was, asking as if everything was fine. He picked up cat Myohan and met his gaze. His twitching lips indicated he was mad, but his eyes couldn’t have been gentler.

“I saw a crazy cat jump into an icy river in this cold weather, so I just brought him in.”

He wasn’t wrong. It had been an act of madness; he could have died, him and monkey Seonhan.

“Reckless cat.”

Despite all of that, Myohan was mad. If he hadn’t been in his cat form, he would have cursed. He would have cursed wonderfully. I said no, I refused your offer, and you had no reason to disappear. He wanted to say so many things. He had to say so many things. But what O Shin whispered to him shortly after was enough to melt all of his anger.

“I’m sorry.”

His hand caressed Myohan, soothing him and making him think, whatever. He had returned, and he was looking at Myohan at the moment.

Myohan just rubbed his face on his hand as it stroked him. O Shin let out a deep sigh. But then, someone called Myohan’s name.

“Myohan.”

Oh, no. He looked around. He saw one, two, three, four… eight familiar faces. Seonhan was among them. Myohan wished he could sigh as Seonhan called him again gravely. It was then time for him to deal with the consequences. Yell at me, curse me, do whatever you want to do, he thought and braced himself, but then Seonhan’s eyes sparkled and he said, “I’ve fallen for you!”

“Shit.”

Myo Cheong spoke for Myohan. At the same time, O Shin scowled. But Seonhan wasn’t done yet.

“Your power! Your determination! Your passion!”

“He’s just like Sajun. Throw him out.”

“Cheong, you can’t throw out a person.”

“Seonhan! Myohan’s going to play soccer with me!”

“No, he’s not.”

Myohan had forgotten the murmurs he’d heard first. Jino took a deep breath to see his small cat ears perk up. He was a yellowish-brown cat, but his paws and belly were white. He looked so cute that even Myo Cheong was awestruck.

“So Myohan becomes a cat when he catches a cold?”

“I didn’t know he was a cat…”

“Well, the cat isn’t one of the twelve zodiac animals.”

Since he had turned into a cat, their chatting was too loud for him. He tried covering his ears with his front paws, but then he changed his mind and gave O Shin a pleading gaze. He had been looking to see if he’d been wounded.

He said, “He says you’re too loud.”

“…Says who?”

“Myohan.”

A bunch of confused gazes looked at Myohan. He waved his tail contentedly. I wish he would tell them what makes me change. The moment he thought so, O Shin added, as if he could read his mind,

“Myohan becomes a cat when he gets a fever.”

“…He must have gotten a fever when we were freshmen.”

O Shin knew why Myohan was so afraid of the cold and wouldn’t stand in the sunlight in summer. Myohan snorted to hear what Sinsul muttered to himself. Then, he stretched out his legs and closed his eyes.

“…Then, how does he go to the hospital when he gets sick?”

“He can’t go.”

O Shin sounded firm. The boys couldn’t say anything else. Cat Myohan was so small that O Shin could put him in his hands. He must have felt so lonely, in that wide apartment. Only then did they realize why he smiled when they offered to take care of him if he got sick.

“Get some more sleep.”

O Shin whispered and Myohan closed his eyes. He had been feeling drowsy. Little cats should get lots of sleep. With that remark, he fell into a deep sleep again.

As soon as they saw he was sleeping, they lowered their voices, determined not to wake up the little kitten ever again. Yuja was the first to speak.

“No wonder Sinsul and Seonhan are always fighting, the dog and the monkey are known enemies.”

“I didn’t know there were so many of us.”

Seonhan smiled. He had known Myohan was a feline as he had known Sadeol for a long time. Plus, Myohan did resemble a cat. But Seonhan was unaware that he knew he was the monkey. He had been so surprised when he grabbed him and jumped off that bridge.

“So, what makes you become a monkey?”

“Hmm, you’re the rat, right?”

“No, Jagyeom’s the rat. I’m the dog, Jino’s the horse, Yuja’s the rooster, and they are the sheep, pig, and rabbit!”

“Shit, what kind of animal farm is this?”

Myohan had jumped off the bridge as if he didn’t care about Seonhan’s safety at all, but then he raised him high so that he wouldn’t get wet.

He clung to his arm and shuddered, but when Myohan grinned then fainted, he thought that would be his end. He couldn’t swim in his monkey form, and there was no one around.

“I change when I fall from high places.”

So he closed his eyes and waited for the cold water to engulf him. He also worried about Myohan too, but he didn’t fall in the water. He just opened his eyes in surprise, as someone grabbed him by his neck and pulled him up.

“…What were you thinking?”

O Shin threw the monkey on the ground and held up Myohan. His clothes were then soaked, but he didn’t seem to find him that heavy. He took him out of the river and hugged him. At that moment, Myohan’s clothes fell, leaving only a small kitten in his hands.

“What kind of animal are you?” Seonhan asked, recalling how cold and angry he had looked. O Shin slowly took his eyes off Myohan.

Before Chandeul could stop Seonhan, he said, “I’m a human.”

He stroked Myohan and looked down at the cat at his feet. It looked just like Myohan, except for its yellow eyes. It gave him a fierce gaze then it climbed up the sofa to lick Myohan’s face. O Shin looked down and muttered under his breath.

“I’m a human.”

The yellow eyes looked at O Shin, but the cat said nothing, of course.

***

After that day, the boy stayed with the god as a cat. He was called Myohan, and all he had to do was to take naps and enjoy the sunlight. One day, someone went to see the god and demanded to take Myohan, but he just smiled and said, “He’s mine now.”

Anyway, he managed to go through ten years like that, and the god returned him to his human form as promised.

Standing on two legs for the first time in years, he stretched his back like a cat. The god revealed his face when he was with the boy. He looked at him with warm eyes.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“About what?”

His hand was as warm as his eyes while he caressed Myohan. Myohan looked up at him with his still sparkling eyes and said with a grin, “You are the god(shin) of five(o) things. So, I think I should call you O Shin.”

The god smiled warmly. It was a beautiful smile that would have awed anyone. He held up Myohan again. The boy had grown up in the meantime, but that wasn’t a problem for him.

“O Shin…”

He said it softly, like a confession of love. He looked into Myohan’s eyes and muttered, “It sounds like a human’s name.”

For a second, Myohan was nervous. Maybe he was about to get scolded for giving a human name to the noble god. He was worried. But the god just put his forehead on the boy’s forehead and smiled.

“I like it, a lot.”

O Shin was generous with everything Myohan did. He looked at the boy with gentle eyes, and always replied when he called him O Shin.

He stayed at his side at night so that he wouldn’t have nightmares. When he got sick even a little, he held him in his arms and wouldn’t let him go, more so as he turned into a cat every time he got sick, probably as an aftereffect of being a cat for ten years.