Chapter 36: A New Family Member
“Hey! This is my friend. There’s no need to be scared, just come here! Geez, what a scaredy-cat.”
And then, something amazing happened.
Meeeow
As if it understood my words, the cat’s wary eyes softened and it began to cautiously approach us.
Simultaneously, a smile slowly spread across Hong Seul-gi’s rosy lips.
I muttered while scratching the approaching cat’s chin.
“You’re quite an extraordinary one, aren’t you? Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Can… Can I pet it too?”
“Well, you’d have to ask it for permission, don’t you think?”
“Could you, uh, say something to it for me…?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurd request but I half-jokingly spoke to the cat.
“This friend here likes you. How about letting her pet you?”
Meeeow
The cat let out a cry, almost as if in response and then stared intently at the visibly tense Hong Seul-gi with its mysterious emerald eyes.
Hong Seul-gi took cautious steps forward and with trembling hands, gently stroked the cat’s soft black fur.
The cat seemed to enjoy the touch, purring softly in response.
“Hehehe…”
Hong Seul-gi’s cheeks flushed with excitement as she kept petting the cat, unable to stop.
“Such an adorable little one…”
I quietly watched her from the side.
The rigid, businesslike demeanor was nowhere to be seen; instead, a childlike innocence peeked through.
We spent quite a while playing with the black cat right there and after offering it the last sausage, it suddenly left.
Hong Seul-gi watched the departing black cat with eyes full of longing.
“Heh, what a surprise. That finicky little thing actually lets someone get close.”
The old caretaker, who had appeared out of nowhere, chuckled heartily while looking in the direction the cat had disappeared.
“Do you know that cat, ma’am?”
“Of course I do. I feed it from time to time. But even so, it’s never let me get close before. It usually bolts the moment it senses anyone nearby. Strange, isn’t it?”
“Does it have some kind of story?”
“Just a few months ago, it was on the brink of death. I found it severely injured. The vet said it seemed to have been badly abused by someone and then abandoned. Disgusting people, really.”
“Abused… Those scum…”
Listening to the caretaker’s story, Hong Seul-gi trembled with anger, her whole body shaking.
She seemed to be holding back harsh words that were rising to her throat.
“I should have given it one more sausage…”
Hearing its sad story, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about the cat.
“Thank you all! You’ve worked hard!”
“Goodbye, ma’am! We’ll be back next time.”
The volunteers, having completed their activities, packed up their things and said their goodbyes in front of the shelter.
Hong Seul-gi had to rush off to her next schedule, her manager hurrying her along.
As I recalled the image of her looking around with those wistful eyes, I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Does she really like that cat so much?’
With its mysterious emerald eyes that seemed to hold the universe within, its small and adorable appearance and its sleek, glossy black fur, it was undeniably a creature that could charm anyone.
Not that I expected to see it again anytime soon.
“We’ll be heading out now too, Hyung.”
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“Nah, it’s okay. Someone else is giving us a lift. We live in the same neighborhood, so it worked out. Hehe. Anyway, see you at school. Bye, Joo-hee-ya!”
“Take care, both of you. You did great today.”
After Lee Ga-haeng and Im Yoo-jin left, I turned to Kim Joo-hee.
“Let’s go too. Ugh, my whole-body aches from all that physical work.”
“I know, right? You really worked hard today, Oppa.”
Beep beep
I was about to close the car door after getting into the driver’s seat when something black suddenly jumped through the gap, startling me.
“Whoa, what the—?”
Meeeow
“What the heck, cat?”
I couldn’t believe it. Why did this little thing suddenly jump out of me? To make matters worse, it had firmly planted itself on my lap, digging its sharp claws into my pants.
“Oh my, it looks like you’ve been chosen, Oppa!”
“Chosen?”
Kim Joo-hee’s eyes widened in surprise as she covered her mouth, a gentle smile spreading across her face.
“You know how they say that cats choose their owners? It seems like she’s decided you’re the one to take care of her, Oppa.”
“You want me to take care of you?”
Meeeow
The cat’s cry came at just the right moment, almost as if it understood and was responding to my words.
“Come on now. I can barely take care of myself, how could I possibly…”
In that moment, our eyes met, its mesmerizing gaze holding me captive.
Those eyes were so expressive—filled with sadness, longing, loneliness and even a touch of hope.
Even though it was just an animal, unable to speak, yet somehow, I felt as if I could understand what this strange cat was thinking.
“A cat of all things…”
I didn’t dislike animals.
But I didn’t particularly love them either.
Indifferent.
That was the right word. I had no interest.
My life was too hectic that barely keeps me sane to even consider having a pet.
‘But maybe… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad right now?’
The apartment I lived in had always felt a bit too lonely for just one person.
The thought of this little one joining me brought a slow, creeping warmth.
“Are you sure you really want to come with me?”
Meeow
“Wow, you respond so perfectly, even though you probably don’t understand a word I’m saying.”
I stared at the cat, which had firmly planted itself on my lap, and eventually reached for the steering wheel.
“Alright then. Let’s go.”
“Wow! This is amazing! I’ve never seen someone adopt a cat in real-time like this before!”
Completely unaware of my thoughts, Kim Joo-hee clapped her hands excitedly from the passenger seat, her eyes sparkling.
“Let’s get going.”
Vroom
The engine roared to life with a rough growl.
“Huh?”
I expected the noise to startle the cat, but instead, it curled up on my lap as if it was the most natural thing in the world, even dozing off.
I couldn’t help but laugh at how nonchalant this little creature was.
“So, we should head to the vet first.”
“The vet? Why? Is it feeling sick?”
“No, it’s just that we need to get it checked for any diseases since you’re going to take it home.”
“R-right. How do you know so much about this?”
“My family has a rescued dog at home, so I’ve learned a few things. Anyway, there’s a good vet near my place. Let’s go there.”
Before we left, I called the old caretaker to let her know I was taking the cat with me.
She was overjoyed and praised my decision as if I’d made the best choice in the world.
After driving for about an hour to the address Kim Joo-hee had given me, we arrived at the animal hospital.
The cat, which had been so wary of others, was remarkably calm by my side, almost as if it had never been scared at all.
The veterinarian, wearing a white coat, examined the cat thoroughly, then tilted his head in confusion.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that… but I think it might be pregnant.”
“W-what? Pregnant?”
The unexpected news left me speechless as if the sky had just fallen on me.
“Let’s take an x-ray to be sure.”
In the end, the cat was laid out on the table and we proceeded with the x-ray.
“I’ve never seen such a calm cat before; it seems to have a lot of trust in its owner.”
I almost blurted out, ‘We only met today’, but I was more concerned about whether she was pregnant or not.
“She’s definitely pregnant. You can see here—one head… two… three. She’s carrying three kittens.”
“Whoa…”
“Wow! Congratulations, Oppa!”
“Is this really something to celebrate?”
“Of course! It’s not like it’s bad news. A new life is about to begin.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
My feelings were a bit mixed.
But what could I do?
I’d already decided to take her in.
Sure, now I was unexpectedly getting three more, but I decided to accept it with grace.
The vet gave me all the important information on caring for a pregnant cat and I ended up buying a bunch of supplies, which filled up the trunk.
After dropping Kim Joo-hee off, I glanced over at the black cat that had now comfortably settled in the passenger seat and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yeon-tan 1This is the name of the cat. “Yeon-tan” literally means “briquette” in Korean, often used to refer to a type of coal used for heating. In this context, it’s used as a pet name for the black cat, you little rascal. Did you come to me to protect your babies?”
Giving her a name made the reality of my new responsibility sink in.
Out of all the people she could have chosen, I wasn’t sure why she picked me, but maybe it was her instinctive behavior to protect her babies.
“Well, let’s take good care of each other from now on.”
I gently stroked Yeon-tan’s head, and she closed her big eyes, purring softly.
And just like that, I unexpectedly found myself with a new family member.
A family of four, no less, all in one set.
Meow
“Hey! Hey! Gong-tan! 2This is the name of the cat. “Gong-tan” might be a playful name, possibly referring to something round like a “ball” (공, gong) combined with “탄” (tan), which could be part of a creative pet name. You little troublemaker. When did you climb up there again?”
“Heok-tan 3This is the name of the cat. “흑” means “black,” and “탄” could refer to something like “charcoal” or be part of a playful name. So, “흑탄” could be a name that means something like “Black Charcoal,” fitting for a black-colored cat., please don’t scratch that. I’m begging you.”
“Yeah, Seok-tan 4This is the name of the cat. “석탄” means “coal” in Korean, which fits as a name for a black-colored cat, at least you stay calm. Good, good boy.”
Despite causing all sorts of chaos from the moment they woke up, the three black kittens followed me around diligently, making it impossible not to smile like a proud dad.
“Hey, Yeon-tan, you’re their mom—aren’t you being a bit too relaxed about all this?”
Meeow
Yeon-tan seemed uninterested in mothering, simply continued licking her paws.
It’s already been three months since these four became a part of my family.
The once tiny, wiggly kittens had grown up fast, now loudly and asserting themselves with their strong personalities.
Though they occasionally got into trouble, just watching them made me smile—they were that adorable.
“Listen, today’s a really important day for me, so please behave and stay out of trouble while I’m gone, okay? Especially you, Gong-tan! Got it?”
I lifted the small ball of black fur into the air and Gong-tan, for some reason feeling wronged, let out a high-pitched cry.
After planting a light kiss on the kitten’s head, I set him down and rushed out of the house.
The end-of-term exams were finally over, signaling the start of a long vacation.
Today was the highly anticipated day of the K-Startup Grand Championship.
“Ugh, I’m going to be late at this rate.”
I got into the driver’s seat, set the navigation for Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, and pressed hard on the accelerator.
“As this startup competition is jointly hosted by 11 government departments, over 5000 teams participated in the preliminary rounds, and it is reported that 210 teams advanced to the integrated final round.”
Out of all the teams, only about 20 would qualify to advance to the grand finale, and Lee Jang-won’s team, ‘Beslo’, had made it to that prestigious stage.
“Lee Jang-won is really something else.”
Though I believed in him and his potential, I hadn’t expected him to get this far. It hadn’t been an easy journey, either.
After much hard work, they launched the ‘Thumbs Up’ app, but they couldn’t attract as many web users to the mobile app as they had hoped.
Lee Jang-won was deeply discouraged, unsure of what to do next.
‘What’s the issue?’
‘Our users have a lot of requests, but with our limited manpower, it’s physically impossible to implement everything in such a short time.’
‘Can outsourcing solve it?’
‘These aren’t particularly difficult features, so it’s possible. But the money…’
It was clear that the initial 50 million won investment I made wasn’t enough to cover the costs of outsourcing development.
So, I invested another 100 million won and advised Lee Jang-won to implement the user feedback as quickly as possible.
Of course, I also secured a larger share of the company.
Thanks to this, the app’s features were stabilized rapidly and with additional marketing efforts, the number of downloads skyrocketed beyond our expectations.
“Phew… That was close.”
I parked the car hastily and sprinted toward the presentation hall.
As I opened the firmly closed door, I saw Lee Jang-won just stepping onto the stage under the dim lights.
The room was already packed, reflecting the scale of this startup competition.
“Why are you so late?”
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t miss the opening, right?”
Lee Ji-won, who had arrived earlier, had saved me a seat.
As I sat down, Lee Jang-won began his final pitch.
As each slide of the presentation flashed across the massive screen, the murmurs in the audience grew louder until the entire hall was buzzing with excitement.
“Wow… Is that real?”
“No way. Those sales?”
“Unbelievable… Are those download numbers accurate?”
As it became clear that what seemed like an ordinary swan was actually laying golden eggs, people’s mouths began to open in astonishment.
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