SATURDAY 25

My heart suddenly sank. I couldn’t tell what intention Mr. Taeseon had in saying that. Could it be that he is finally looking at me and thinking something is strange?

I looked at him, involuntarily filled with expectation, but his face remained as icy as ever. I felt the momentary disappointment show on my face, but Mr. Taeseon didn’t pay much attention to me and continued speaking.

“Both Yoon Inha and Yoon Inyoung were born weak, so I felt pity seeing that family’s members rushing about here and there, saying they were looking for this or that. Many people even mocked them for how excessive they were. Did you know?”

“….”

“But I didn’t know that it only went to one of the twins.”

Inha was also physically weak when he was young. My parents did everything supposedly good for Inha and fed him everything said to be effective. Naturally, there was no share for me. I am the one who stole Inha’s health, so if I were to become healthy, wouldn’t Inha’s body become that much weaker?

I had told Mr. Taeseon something similar before. I didn’t think he would actually remember. It was such a passing remark….

“I’m on a business trip starting this evening. Whether you wanted to gain sympathy by pretending to have a cold, or whether you weirdly really caught a cold, either way, you won’t be able to show it to me.”

Just then, Lili cried out loudly with a shriek—no, it was closer to a scream. At any rate, that stopped Mr. Taeseon’s words. Mr. Taeseon looked at Lili as if a bit surprised and then gave a short laugh.

“Lili, even if I couldn’t go see you before the adoption, your father is me, not that person.”

“Hiss!”

“It’s useless talking to a cat, though. …Come to think of it, it’s quite fascinating. Inyoung certainly said the cat detests Inha whenever he sees him, but I wonder how you won her over.”

“I, just…. since I brought her and we’ve been together in the house constantly, I guess we grew fond of each other.”

“I told you not to use that way of speaking.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt like I was going to cry. I can’t always imitate Inha’s way of speaking in front of Mr. Taeseon, can I? Reaching this point, I felt resentful toward Mr. Taeseon for not recognizing me.

Mr. Taeseon stared down at me as I remained hunched over holding Lili, then he turned away. Thinking he was going into his room, he changed his clothes and came down the stairs carrying luggage he had packed quickly.

Lili, who had quieted down, started hissing and crying at Mr. Taeseon, flailing her front paws. Her tail was standing straight up, all puffed out. Since it was already a thick tail, it grew even thicker until she looked just like a raccoon; I almost laughed in this situation.

Fearing Lili might rush forward and scratch Mr. Taeseon again, I held her tight. However, Lili slipped through my arms like a water bag and ran toward Mr. Taeseon.

“Lili!”

But Lili was snatched up before she could pounce on Mr. Taeseon. Mr. Taeseon, who supported Lili’s bottom with one hand and kept her far from his face, also grabbed the scruff of the wriggling Lili as she swung her front paws.

“You shouldn’t keep trying to scratch.”

“Mrowwwl!”

Lili must have been thoroughly provoked, as she made a sound I’d never heard before. Eventually, she gave up and tried to jump down, but even that didn’t go her way because Mr. Taeseon was holding her firmly. Lili was incredibly angry.

“Meow, yow! Aaah! Iyaaa!”

“It’s time you accepted it, Lili. Your other father is dead. Because of that guy. So you shouldn’t follow that guy like that.”

“Waaa! Woo! Euyaya!”

“Well, it’s not like I can control an animal’s heart as I please…. but it’s upsetting.”

“….”

Watching Lili as she kept crying out, I slowly approached Mr. Taeseon.

“Lili…. please give her here.”

“….”

Mr. Taeseon looked at me with a momentary chill in his eyes.

“I don’t know what kind of trick you used, but I dislike every single thing about this.”

It’s true that Lili hated Inha. Originally, animals liked me, and they seldom tried to go near Inha.

Before, there was a time when a strange puppy acted charmingly only toward me. Naturally, Inha threw a fit, and the moment my mother forcibly took the puppy and tucked it into Inha’s arms, it tried to bite him.

Of course, Inha didn’t stay still either. Inha immediately threw the puppy aside and tried to kick it. I was so shocked that I hugged the puppy with my whole body; thanks to that, I was scolded by my parents and bullied relentlessly by Inha.

It was like that with every animal. From cats and dogs to birds, even reptiles, and large animals seen on safari. I can’t tell you how much Inha cried because a giraffe wouldn’t come to him because of me.

I knew it was a fake cry, but after that, our family went to neither safaris nor zoos.

Lili was the same. When we went to a shelter to look at abandoned animals, for once, Inha came along. As soon as Lili saw Inha, she hissed and hated him. I still can’t forget the cold look in Inha’s eyes as he watched Lili then.

I had told Mr. Taeseon that story as well. It was because I was worried that Inha might come to our house later and bully Lili. Mr. Taeseon had firmly said that such a thing would never happen.

“I can’t exactly blame you for the cat following you, though.”

“….”

I had nothing to say. It was exactly as he said. I couldn’t explain why Lili followed me, and it would be strange to say I wouldn’t let her do that anymore. In the first place, I had no intention of doing so. Because Lili was the cat I brought.

“I can’t help it, since Lili follows me.”

“….”

Mr. Taeseon, who was looking at me coldly while holding Lili, released his hand from the small body with a reluctant air. Lili ran like an arrow and flew into my arms.

“Mew, aaah, mrow,” she made such piteous sounds that it was heart-wrenching, as if she were tattling on Mr. Taeseon’s behavior. Even so, there was nothing I could do to Mr. Taeseon….

“The business trip…. Ah.”

I slightly cleared my throat. My voice was already failing, showing how severely the cold was coming on.

“Have a safe business trip, Director.”

“….”

Mr. Taeseon looked back at me with a look of displeasure, then simply walked out without an answer. I didn’t know where he was going for the business trip, or when he would return.

Holding Lili, I saw Mr. Taeseon off on his business trip. The picture itself was a situation I had always dreamed of. But….

After Mr. Taeseon left, I provided Lili with her food and water. As if she had never been in such a bad mood, Lili finished her food completely, drank some water, and then followed me around.

I felt like I should take some medicine in advance. I refuse to suffer through a harsh cold for days. Of course, just because I refuse doesn’t mean the cold won’t come. My whole body was stiff and chilly with the flu-like symptoms.

After taking a long shower in hot water and tidying my hair, despite my empty stomach, I took out all the necessary medicine from the drawer.

After swallowing about five or six colorful pills all at once with some water, I added plenty of honey to the strange-tasting herbal tea I always drink when I have a cold and brought it up to the room.

Unlike Inha, I cannot eat hot things well. A tedious amount of time passed before I finished the cup of tea. At least Lili was on my lap, so I could stroke her and talk to her, which made the time go faster.

After finally emptying the cup, I set the empty glass down on the nightstand, settled Lili on the pillow next to me, and lay down. I had to sleep together today. Even though I turned up the boiler temperature and even pulled over a thick duvet, I was cold. To feel this kind of cold in early May—surely, both my body and I are not normal.

‘Come to think of it, the wedding isn’t far off either.’

The wedding, though perhaps it could be delayed a little, was still scheduled to proceed as planned for now. With one of the grooms changed.

Before the accident happened, almost all the necessary preparations were finished. The vendors had been selected, the venue preparation was all done, and I heard that our parents and Mr. Taeseon had already sent out invitations with just the names changed. By changing the names….

“….”

The wedding attire had finished the fitting stage and was waiting for completion; though it wasn’t enough for others to notice, Inha was slightly taller than me, and I was thinner than Inha, so perhaps it might need to be altered again.

And also….

“Uuugh….”

My body hurts. I felt weighed down like water-soaked cotton, and it felt as if the energy was draining right out of my fingertips and toes. Starting with a stinging sensation as if my skin were chafed, the pain spread through my body. The headache, especially, was serious.

I had brought all the medicine over. I was about to reach out to take just one more headache pill from among them, when something suddenly touched my forehead. Something warm and soft.

“Lili?”

Lili’s front paw was touching me. Lili placed her paw pads on my forehead as if measuring my fever and gave a short cry, “Meow.”

“To not take medicine…?”

“Yes.”

It sounded so much like a polite answer that I burst into laughter. Though I ended up coughing a lot after laughing. Lili watched me as if she were worried.

Just like that, I suffered severely for several days.