SATURDAY 12

Fortunately, the condition of my arm was not as serious as the swelling suggested. It was just like me to always make a fuss whenever I was in pain. It was a ligament injury that would heal in about two weeks, but it was a bit regrettable that I ended up wearing a brace because I was told it would heal faster if I were careful.

Seeing me come out wearing the brace, Mr. Taeseon looked surprised for a moment, then turned his head without a word. I had no choice but to lower my head awkwardly.

After leaving the hospital, we headed straight to the shelter.

The shelter staff seemed genuinely happy that a cat scheduled for euthanasia tomorrow had found a guardian. While apologizing for arriving late and waiting for them to bring the cat out, one staff member asked.

“Are you perhaps her husband?”

At those words, Mr. Taeseon didn’t answer but turned around and walked out. The atmosphere turned chilly in an instant. The staff member looked at me with a flustered face and asked.

“Di… Did I make a mistake?”

“No….”

This is troublesome. It weighed on my mind to introduce Mr. Taeseon as my husband here, but since we were supposed to get married anyway, I couldn’t exactly say, “He’s a stranger.” As I hesitated, the staff member said with a serious face.

“Adoption is difficult without the active consent of all family members. You are aware of that, right?”

“Ah, it was agreed upon. He… also said the cat was cute. Though he hasn’t seen it in person because he’s been busy. Actually, it’s not because of the cat; we just had a bit of a disagreement on the way here.”

I felt like I had made a mistake here. If I had just closed my eyes tight and said he wasn’t my husband, it would have been simple, but instead, I ended up bothering Mr. Taeseon for nothing.

“Will it be alright? I think he needs to at least come inside and say a word.”

The shelter staff member was firm. I let out a sigh inwardly. It was probably because there were so many cases where people returned animals using family as an excuse. Returned animals are re-listed, and if they aren’t adopted again, they are euthanized. It was natural for the staff to be sensitive.

Hesitating, I went outside and hovered near Mr. Taeseon, who was on a phone call.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye while talking, but he just ignored me and continued his conversation. In reality, it was probably less than five minutes, but thinking that someone was waiting inside made it feel like tens of minutes. He hung up the phone and spoke coldly.

“What is it.”

“Ah, well…. They said that to adopt, I need the consent of all family members.”

“I gave my consent, through Inyoung.”

“I’m sorry…. It seems he needs you to come in and say at least one word. That’s, because I’m going to write the adoption application in my name again….”

My voice came out trembling like a fool. I didn’t bother to mention it was because he had abruptly walked out moments ago.

Mr. Taeseon looked at me for a moment with annoyed eyes before turning around. Fortunately, it seemed he was going to come in. Entering the shelter, he looked around and approached the staff member, who had a somewhat nervous face.

“The adoption is an agreed-upon matter. I caused a misunderstanding. You don’t need to worry. Since you’ve seen all the other documents, you must know it is a stable environment.”

“Ah… Yes! I… I see! Yes, I understand. Then, could the primary caregiver sign here? Since you already filled out the paperwork before…. Oh, but by any chance, is Ms. Yoon Inyoung….”

“…I’ll write it again. In the name of Yoon Inha.”

“Ah, yes, I’d appreciate it if you did that.”

I was so nervous that Mr. Taeseon might walk out again while I was filling out the paperwork that my hands were sweating, but Mr. Taeseon stood there with his arms crossed, looking at the other animals.

Occasionally, he would ask the staff things like how old that one was or how long it had been since it came to the shelter.

Perhaps because we were twins, they didn’t seem to mind much even though the adopter had changed. It also seemed like they thought Yoon Inyoung would recover soon.

But they will find out soon once they do a background check on the paperwork. That Yoon Inyoung is someone whose death has already been reported. It was better for them to find out that way; I didn’t want to say it with my own mouth right now.

Still, I felt relieved because the atmosphere seemed much more relaxed than before. When I let out a short sigh, the staff member helping me with the paperwork tilted their head.

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no, I’m just nervous.”

“Why be nervous? The little one followed you well when you came before. Oh, you’ve decided on a name, right? You said back then you’d think about it until adoption day.”

“Ah, yes, I did.”

“You can write it here.”

In the name column, I wrote the simple name ‘Lili’. It was a name I had thought of since before the accident. I had already told Mr. Taeseon too.

However, although he showed quite a bit of interest when I first said I was bringing a cat, he seems to have no thoughts about it now. I don’t know if he’ll even remember the name.

He said it was fascinating, that he hoped it would come soon, that he was looking forward to it—were all those words just things he said for my sake?

I even became gloomy at the thought that he might not actually like cats very much. We’re going to be a family now. It’s a sad thing not to be loved by your family….

After finishing the procedures, I was about to go to the car to get the carrier, but Mr. Taeseon had already brought it and placed it on the table. Inside the carrier were the soft blanket I had laid out in advance, a toy the cat was said to like, and some treats.

I don’t know when he brought it over. I tried to say thank you to Mr. Taeseon, but he wasn’t looking my way.

Awkwardly scratching my eyebrow, I put Lili into the carrier. Lili, as expected, had a big head and a listless face, and looked a bit small compared to his weight. It seemed partly because he was small for a ginger cat.

I heard he was only ten months old, but his strangely philosophical face was cute.

Lili was very gentle when being taken out of the cage. When I had come with Inha, Lili was aggressive toward Inha, but he was quite friendly toward me. Even though it was Inha’s body, Lili seemed to recognize it was me and was gentle even under my touch.

The squishy-feeling striped cat was moved from the narrow and desolate cage into the carrier.

“A-ye.”

He still made that strange sound. However, I had liked cats and studied a lot even before I decided to bring Lili. I knew that cats rarely cry “meow.” Lili was the same.

After confirming the carrier was locked well, Lili poked his face toward the mesh in the front. As the mesh stretched out, Lili’s face became subtly—actually, a bit terrifyingly—taut, as if someone were pushing him from behind. With his facial fur bulging in the shape of the netting, Lili cried out loudly.

It sounded as if he said “Let’s go”… but there’s no way that’s true. However, the shelter staff member tilted their head.

“Did it sound like ‘Let’s go’ only to me?”

“….”

It seemed Lili was a cat with above-average intelligence.

I thought all I had to do was bring Lili, but the adoption process became longer than expected because of the new paperwork. Feeling like I had taken up too much time, I was conscious of Mr. Taeseon’s mood even as I got into the car.

In the past, there would have been no reason to be self-conscious about something like this. I’m already afraid of Mr. Taeseon just because I was treated coldly those few times.

Sitting in the front seat while holding the carrier, I spoke cautiously to Mr. Taeseon as he fastened his seatbelt.

“Um, CEO…. I’m sorry it took so, so long.”

“….”

Mr. Taeseon didn’t give any answer. I ended up biting my lip for no reason. Since there was no reaction, I became more anxious, and it felt like my mind would only stabilize if I heard something, anything. In the end, knowing it was better not to, I opened my mouth again.

“Are you… by any chance, angry?”

At my words, Mr. Taeseon glanced at me.

I regretted saying it. It was a look so cold it was scary.

“I am not.”

“…Yes.”

It was as if… he was saying I wasn’t even worth being angry at.

My face grew a bit hot, so I lowered my head and hugged the carrier. My injured arm was a bit uncomfortable, and the medicine was wearing off so it even started to hurt, so I had it dangling awkwardly to the side. Because of that, I had no choice but to hold the carrier awkwardly with one arm.

Mr. Taeseon stared at that sight for a moment before reaching his hand toward the carrier. It seemed like he was trying to move the carrier to the back seat. Lili already made a dissatisfied sound—a-ye-eng—from inside the carrier, and I grabbed Mr. Taeseon’s hand with my one good hand.

“….”

He looked at me with a deep frown.

“It’s, it’s okay, I’ll just hold him. It’ll be pitiful if he’s in the back seat…. He might get motion sickness from the shaking.”

At my words, Mr. Taeseon stared at me for a long time as if looking at something strange. While I was at a loss, becoming increasingly embarrassed and awkward under his piercing gaze, Mr. Taeseon asked.

“Did Inyoung tell you the cat’s name?”

“Pardon? Ah….”

Now that I think about it, I never told Inha the cat’s name. I had only told Mr. Taeseon via message. Rolling my eyes, I nodded stiffly.

“Yes, that, well…. On the day of the accident, he told me, Inyoung did….”

“….”

The atmosphere inside the car sank in an instant. I regretted it immediately. I shouldn’t have said it was the day of the accident. But it was the name decided that day, and I had even told Mr. Taeseon that I was letting him know as soon as it was decided.

Mr. Taeseon turned his head. The sound of the engine starting echoed through the car, and Lili, with his face pressed against the netting just like before, cried out, “Kka-ook.” When I stroked Lili’s head over the mesh, the crying grew longer. At least he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

I wanted to stroke him more, but I stopped there. It was because it seemed Lili would keep crying if I kept stroking him.

I didn’t want to irritate Mr. Taeseon even a little bit more here. Fortunately, once I stopped stroking, Lili became quiet.

The car cut through the quiet city. While I was blankly watching the flow of vehicles passing in the next lane, Mr. Taeseon suddenly spoke.

“Your way of speaking.”

“Hng…! Yes, eh?”

I was so surprised I even made a strange sound. My heart was thumping. Mr. Taeseon glanced at me with a momentarily bewildered expression and continued.

“I mean your way of speaking.”

“My, my way of speaking?”

“Just how long are you going to keep imitating Inyoung?”

“….”

“I can’t stand to listen to it, so stop it.”