By Zephyria 
Jeong Ji-in enjoyed walking. He usually walked the two-hour round trip from his apartment in the 6th arrondissement to the theater company’s rehearsal studio in the 9th. Today, he had walked for a similar amount of time, yet his legs felt heavy and his body exhausted, as if he had spent the entire day wandering the streets of Paris.
As soon as he entered the front door, he tossed his keys onto the console.
Perhaps because Yi-han had gone to work, the house felt darker than usual. After everything that happened yesterday, the guy had begged to just stay together all day, but Ji-in had forced him to go to work. He found himself regretting it.
While he was with ‘Hyeon-seo,’ the day had been so bright, but during his walk home, grey rain clouds began to gather from the south as if by some trick of fate. Walking through the dim hallway, he called Yi-han.
[You don’t usually call during work hours. What’s going on?]
Yi-han answered before the dial had even rung two or three times; he sounded pleased to receive a call from Jeong Ji-in.
“I… went to see Hyeon-seo.”
Hesitating the moment he spoke the name, Jeong Ji-in gave a bitter smile and brushed a hand over his face. He now felt a resistance to calling the child Hyeon-seo instead of Hong-seo.
[Hmm… I see.]
After a heavy groan that sounded like he was enduring pain, Yi-han spoke.
[Should I leave work now? Should I come to you?]
Are you feeling okay? What did you talk about? What are you doing now? — Setting aside all the various questions one might ask in such a situation, Yi-han asked that first. Hearing that hesitant-less, unwavering voice made Ji-in feel much better.
“I thought about telling you before I went, but I figured you’d just worry for nothing.”
[Let me worry at least that much. Does it make sense if I can’t even worry about you?]
Plumping down onto the sofa they had spent months agonizing over before choosing, Jeong Ji-in let out a weak chuckle.
“I feel better now that I’m home and hearing your voice. I’ll tell you everything in detail when you get back from work.”
He took a long shower in warm water. Usually, he was the type to dry his hair thoroughly immediately after showering, but today he didn’t feel like it. Throwing a robe over comfortable loungewear, he left the bedroom and poured hot water into a cup noodle. It was probably the first time he’d eaten ramen in a month.
Normally, he didn’t bring food out of the dining area or kitchen. But today, he just wanted to let go. He placed the cup noodle on a tray and carried it into the living room.
Just as he was about to sit on the sofa after setting the tray down on the side table, Jeong Ji-in froze. Nyaa, nyaa.
“……Sam?”
A cat was sitting in front of the glass door leading to the terrace. The creature protested with a fragile meow, asking for the door to be opened. Just as Sam had done.
Jeong Ji-in stood up awkwardly and approached the door. Creak, clatter. As soon as the door opened, the cat scurried inside. Without even glancing around, it went straight to the cushion beside the sofa and curled up.
It was Sam’s dedicated sofa, which he had left there, unable to bring himself to get rid of it.
The cat looked up at Jeong Ji-in, who stood frozen, gripping the doorknob. Nyaa? He felt he knew what the small, tilting face was demanding.
Whenever Sam came and took over the cushion, he always gave him treats. No matter how much the cat acted cute to ask for more, Ji-in would give only the amount he had pre-determined after consulting with the elderly couple next door.
As if possessed, Jeong Ji-in went to the kitchen and opened the cupboard containing Sam’s treats and toys. That, too, remained exactly as it was.
He took out the canned treats Sam used to love. He scooped the treats into the bowl Sam had used and returned to the living room. The creature, who looked exactly like Sam, pricked its ears and stood up.
The moment the bowl was set down, the cat began to eat heartily, as if it had been starving.
Jeong Ji-in sat beside it and stroked its fluffy fur. It was much smaller than Sam, but he could feel a warmth just as Sam’s had. He gazed at the creature for a long time, forgetting that his cup noodles were becoming soggy.
“…Sam.”
He tried calling it that cautiously. His heart pounded.
Nyaa.
“Is it tasty?”
Nyaa.
Even while busy eating, the creature did not delay its answer.
“Sam.”
Only after calling it that was Ji-in able to properly face the longing inside him. How often had he laughed with Yi-han because of that cat’s eccentric and lovely behavior? Whenever the elderly couple went on a short vacation, Jeong Ji-in would volunteer as the cat-sitter. Even after getting along well with the two of them for days, the moment the elevator bell rang, the creature would bolt to the front door and scratch at it. No matter how many points he scored with favorite treats and toys, Ji-in would feel a slight sense of disappointment seeing that the cat ultimately found its owner the best.
He missed all those emotions. It was hard to accept the fact that he could never see him again.
Nyaa?
The small cat placed a front paw on Jeong Ji-in’s knee and looked up. Then, it climbed completely onto his thigh, settled itself, and rubbed its body and head against his chest. It was a gesture of comfort.
“Sam.”
Calling the name several times, he hugged the small, warm body tightly. Hot tears continued to well up from somewhere. The creature licked Jeong Ji-in’s tears with its rough, tiny tongue.
He didn’t even hear the sound of Yi-han returning home. Discovering Jeong Ji-in sitting on the floor, hugging the cat and crying, Yi-han practically leaped over the sofa to rush to his side.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
Despite being told there was no need to come early, it seemed he had hurried home immediately after the call.
“Who made you cry? What did that bastard Hyeon-seo or whatever say? Is that it?”
Yi-han looked ready to run out and beat Hyeon-seo down this instant. Gripping and pulling at Yi-han’s trousers, Jeong Ji-in shook his head.
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then why are you crying? Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen you cry?”
Jeong Ji-in stroked Yi-han’s flustered face.
“What do I have to do to make you stop crying? Huh?”
“Han…”
“Yeah.”
“Han… what should I do?”
“What?”
“I… I want to believe that child’s words.”
Yi-han didn’t press him with questions about what he had heard this time. He simply wrapped his arms generously around Jeong Ji-in, who was still hugging Sam, and whispered the words most needed into his ear.
“If you want to believe, then just believe. If you believe it, then it’s the truth for me too.”