The Cat Hides Its Claws - Chapter 3

Myohan wanted to deny it, but for a second, he thought maybe the man really needed him. Perhaps his black eyes were beguiling him. He even pitied the man and his plea. But that thought didn’t last long. The man’s expression soon changed and he grinned.

“And that was a joke.”

“What?”

The man winked as Myohan gave him a shocked look. Then he closed his eyes and reclined.

“I need you for one reason. I’m so busy that I need some helping hands, maybe even helping paws, so I’m going to get your help. It would be better to do it together than to do it alone.”

Myohan couldn’t tell how much of the man’s words were genuine, but he thought he was still joking and threw his towel at him with all his might. However, the piece of cloth just landed on the man’s lap lightly.

Anyway, Myohan decided to try a different approach. Waiting for the man to explain wasn’t going to get them anywhere, so he had to point out everything that seemed suspicious.

“What on earth are you going to do when you find them?”

“Nothing bad for you, cat.”

“…Okay.”

Myohan narrowed his eyes, disgusted. He didn’t like the man’s way of talking.

“You are right. I’m a cat, and I sometimes turn into a cat, which puzzles me a lot. But it’s not like it’s troubling me a lot.”

Myohan checked and the man wasn’t saying anything. Then he continued slowly.

“Having better reflexes than others is rather good.”

He recalled how he had jumped from the sixth floor earlier in the day. An ordinary man wouldn’t have been able to do it.

“If we find those twelve and I stop turning into a cat, just like you’re promising, it would be good only for me. So why are you convincing me to find them? What will you get out of it?”

It had been bothering him all along. The man’s offer had a great flaw. He wasn’t going to gain anything by helping Myohan become a full human, but he was literally forcing him to find the twelve zodiac animals.

“And who the hell are you that you know about them?”

The man slowly frowned. Then he opened his mouth as if he wanted to talk, but he closed it again. He looked a little frustrated. Myohan went on calmly.

“I don’t want to keep talking if you’re not going to give any answers. How can I trust you and help you? Why would anyone kindly help a total stranger who talks nonsense?”

“There are many things I can’t tell you.”

“Then we’re done here.”

Myohan made it clear that he had reached his limits. The man kept playing a game of words, and it wasn’t making him feel like helping at all. Being bothered was the thing he hated the most.

“I can’t tell you who I am.”

“Then…”

“All I can tell you is that I have to retrieve something special to me, and to do it, I must find all twelve animals. And to find them, I must get your help.”

Their eyes met.

“I’ll tell you everything once we find them all. I promise you won’t be losing anything with this.”

Myohan wanted to tell him to leave, but he couldn’t, because—

“I promise.”

Firstly, the man’s voice trembled a little,

“I’m really good at keeping promises.”

and secondly, his eyes looked so sad.

“Help me, cat.”

Myohan was dull to other’s feelings naturally. He wasn’t kind enough to pity anyone, and he wasn’t nice enough to help without getting something in return.

“I don’t trust you.”

But this time, it was different. Each word the man said reached the depth of Myohan’s heart. It almost felt like he was being enchanted.

“But you find the rat within a week. Then I will help, even if I don’t trust you.”

Myohan couldn’t push the man away. His animalistic instincts were telling him so. The man’s eyes widened, and then he smiled softly.

“Of course.”

***

Three days passed. Despite the man’s promise to find the rat, he was nowhere to be seen. Myohan was supposed to feel good about it, but for some reason, he was disappointed.

‘I will distribute time to you.’

He sighed as he mopped the floor. He was thinking of the dream he had had the night before.

‘The moon and the sun…’

The dream had been foggy, and he forgot about half of it the moment when he woke up. He thought he heard some of the things the man had talked about, like distributing time and the thirteen, but he couldn’t recall. He just decided to blame the man’s nonsense for all that.

“Myohan! You are not late these days! I guess your punishment has taught you a lesson?”

“Yeah, this is really killing me. I would rather stay up all night and come in time than to do this more.”

Sinsul, who was holding his soccer ball again, leaned against a wall to make a joke to Myohan. He found it extremely amazing that Myohan wasn’t coming to school late anymore. After mopping the floor, Myohan straightened his back, stretched, and yawned, just like a cat. It was a cat habit which only he didn’t know about.

“I heard the teacher saying she would end your cleaning punishment early.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she likes you because you get good grades. It’s only when you come late.”

“Oh…. yes, you’re right.”

“And unless you don’t sleep during classes.”

Although Myohan was frequently late to school and spent his time there mostly on sleeping, he got quite good grades. He was smart, and as he heard everything that happened around him even while he was sleeping, he never missed a word his teachers said. And it wasn’t like he caused trouble, so he was a good student, as long as he wasn’t late of course.

“If you are going to wash that mop, let’s go together.”

“No, that isn’t necessary.”

“Well let’s go! I’ll keep you entertained!”

Myohan, who had been planning to jump from a window again, frowned, but Sinsul couldn’t know what he was thinking and pressed him. Myohan eventually had to go with him reluctantly, but then he felt someone looking at him and looked back.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s just…”

The gaze felt familiar. He had felt it when he jumped from the window the other day. It was quite ominous to dismiss it as an illusion.

“It feels like someone keeps staring at me these days.”

“But this is an all-boys’ school. Are you going crazy?”

“No, you idiot. Of course not.”

Myohan let out a sigh and shook his head. He couldn’t expect a serious answer to anything from Sinsul. And despite his promise to keep Myohan entertained, he ran away kicking his ball the moment they arrived at the schoolyard. Myohan had to go to the taps alone.

But when he got there, he found the place wasn’t deserted. He narrowed his eyes to see a familiar back. Then the man took his eyes off the sky and commented leisurely.

“You’re late.”

“Why are you here?”

The man hadn’t come to see Myohan for three days. He just shrugged at the question.

“I was a bit sick.”

“I asked, what you are doing here.”

“I thought you were going to jump down from that building.”

He pointed at a window on the sixth floor. Myohan thought the gaze must have been his, so he just started to wash his mop.

“You have two days left to find the rat.”

“No, I still have four days.”

“Weekend doesn’t count.”

“Well…. Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“But you don’t look worried at all.”

“Oh, I’m going to find him today.”

“How?”

Myohan asked that without much thought, just because he couldn’t understand how the man was going to find the rat after three days of doing nothing. But instead of answering the question, the man smiled mischievously and grabbed a hose, its end pointed directly at Myohan. Before he could get away, he turned the tap.

Water started coming out mercilessly until Myohan was completely soaked. The man turned off the tap only then. Myohan’s hair was dripping water.

“Like this.”

For a moment, Myohan couldn’t know what was happening. His hair dripping water, the man smiling so brightly, it all just didn’t feel real. He rubbed his face with his shaking hand. It was all real.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Myohan hated water. And it was really cold. He undid three buttons of his now completely soaked shirt, and then he took a step toward the man. He was still smiling.

“And how are you going to do it?”