By Zephyria 
“Joo-ho.”
But someone calling Yoon Joo-ho’s name in a low voice came first. Yoon Joo-ho and Song Hyun-soo turned simultaneously towards the sound. Yoon Joo-ho’s manager was waving from the corner of the restaurant building. Yoon Joo-ho, gesturing with his chin that he would be there soon, asked Song Hyun-soo,
“You’re going to smoke, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Then wait. I’ll come back here.”
He then flicked the end of his still half-smoked cigarette with his fingertips. He threw the cigarette among the scattered butts on the ground and disappeared with quick strides without waiting for Song Hyun-soo’s reply.
“Am I… am I someone who has to wait just because he tells me to? Huh?”
Song Hyun-soo stared blankly until Yoon Joo-ho’s back completely disappeared around the corner. Then, feeling awkward even though no one was watching, he grumbled to himself. He continued his earnest act, pretending he’d been summoned by an unlikeable senior.
“How long do I have to wait? 10 minutes? An hour? A year?”
He busied himself picking up the cigarette butt Yoon Joo-ho had left and tossed it into the basin-shaped ashtray. Then, he picked up the striped tail that kept following his movements and rubbed his nose against it.
“He’s a really funny guy, isn’t he, Juli?”
Despite calling him a funny guy, Song Hyun-soo’s lips twitched into a smile. Perhaps he was funny, which was why he was smiling.
“What are you talking to yourself about, hugging a kitten in the middle of the night?”
Song Hyun-soo flinched at the sudden voice, still hugging the cat. It was the owner of Honey’s place, holding a bowl. Song Hyun-soo rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish laugh.
“How silly.”
She chuckled and walked past Song Hyun-soo. He followed her, drawn by the faint, delicious smell wafting from the bowl she carried.
“Auntie, do you guys raise these cats here at Honey’s place?”
“Who’s raising them?”
“You give them a home and feed them regularly.”
“So, should I just ignore a mother beast with her kittens?”
Just as with Song Hyun-soo, the mother tricolor showed no wariness even when the auntie approached the kittens. Instead, she slowly walked towards the auntie and meowed a couple of times as if welcoming her.
The auntie peered into the cat’s food bowl, which still had more than half its contents, and clicked her tongue.
“If you don’t eat it, it’s your loss. You’re not in a position to be picky, you know.”
Then she set down the bowl she had brought. It was samgyetang. The chicken was finely shredded by hand to be easy for cats to eat, and it contained a light broth. Seeing that there was almost no steam, it seemed she had cooled it down beforehand.
As soon as the bowl was placed down, the tricolor immediately showed interest.
Chomp, chomp, chomp. The tricolor focused on eating the samgyetang without lifting its head once. Looking down at the back of its head buried in the bowl, Song Hyun-soo somehow thought of Jung-ho.
The auntie’s eyes, watching the tricolor devour the samgyetang as if she were reluctantly taking care of it, were filled with a deep sense of pity.
“It started last summer, I think. The mother cat was hanging around the vacant lot. Maybe she was pushed out of her territory or something, she was so skinny… So, whenever I saw her, I’d give her some food and water. Then one day, I saw her belly was getting round. Winter was coming soon… What choice did I have? I figured I’d let her rest up and get through the winter.”
“Our auntie is a savior to the tricolor family.”
“Savior, what savior. If she hadn’t been pregnant, I would have ignored her. I just helped her out because I was afraid I’d have bad dreams if I ignored a pregnant animal.”
Even though she had personally shredded chicken for a special meal, hung a thick plastic curtain at the entrance to block the wind, and laid down a thick, cozy blanket inside, she spoke as if annoyed, saying she simply couldn’t ignore a pregnant animal. She reacted to compliments about her generosity as if she had an allergy.
Song Hyun-soo stroked the back of the striped tail in his arms and smiled.
“Our auntie is a tsundere.”
“What? What dress?”
“No, tsundere, tsundere.”
“What’s that?”
How could he explain tsundere to the auntie, who looked to be just over sixty? Pretending not to care when you do? Pretending not to like someone when you do? He thought about it, but he couldn’t explain it precisely himself.
“It’s… it’s a good thing.”
“Are you teasing an old person?”
“Ah, I’m serious! It’s a good thing.”
At least, that’s what I meant, Auntie.
The auntie, who had been looking at Song Hyun-soo with a suspicious expression, suddenly glanced downwards. She looked at the striped tail Song Hyun-soo was holding and said,
“When you come for the company dinner next week, let’s see about this one… This one, this one won’t be here. Say hello.”
She pointed to one of the other kittens. It was the one with black fur covering its left eye.
“Why these two? Where are they going?”
“Two of them have been promised to people.”
“This one too?”
Song Hyun-soo asked again, pointing to the one in his arms.
“I told you.”
“…That’s good. It was very fond of people.”
Someday, they would have to become independent from their mother, so adoption was a good thing. They would live without worrying about heat, cold, clean water, shelter, or food. He felt a moment of sadness at the thought of not seeing the one that had been so affectionate. I’m really something, I’ve only seen it a few times.
“They’re regulars. Both of them have cats now. They kept asking about them, so I just passed them on, even though I was bothered.”
“Yes…”
So that’s why you were so bothered that you put up a plastic sheet at the entrance of their home and made samgyetang for the mother tricolor as a special treat. Yes, you must have been very bothered. I’ll go with that.
“By the way, you’re an actor too, right?”
“Me? Yes…”
“I knew it. I don’t remember seeing you on TV, but you have a very handsome face.”
“Really? Haha. Thank you.”
“Are you a rookie?”
“Yes, I’m practically a rookie. A long-time rookie.”
“Look. Let’s take a selfie.”
The auntie, who might not know what tsundere is, knew how to take a selfie.
She took out her phone from her apron pocket. Then, she skillfully switched to selfie mode, extended her arm, and made a heart shape with her fingers towards the screen.
“I’ll brag about it later when you become a top star. That you were a regular at my shop.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to take one with Joo-ho Sunbae?”
Song Hyun-soo smiled brightly at the camera, holding the striped tail, and made a V-sign with his fingers. Click. The flash went off automatically due to the darkness.
“I already took one with the Crown Prince.”
As if checking if she liked the photo, the auntie held her phone at arm’s length and squinted.
“With Yoon Joo… no, Senior?”
“Yes, I took one last week.”
She quickly flipped through a few photos and showed the screen to Song Hyun-soo.
“Look here, look here. What do you think, did it turn out well? My son still hasn’t developed these photos for me. Even at his age, that kid…”
In the photo, Yoon Joo-ho had his arm around the auntie’s shoulder affectionately. His lips, which always spoke unpleasant things, wore a faint smile. His face, with its perfect eyes, nose, and mouth, smiled serenely, looking like an angel descended from heaven. Next to him, the auntie was smiling, making a heart shape with her fingers just like before. The happiest face in the world.
The auntie from Honey’s place and Yoon Joo-ho… A meeting of tsunderes.
“It turned out well!”
“What do you mean, well?”
“The Crown Prince’s photos don’t even capture half of his real appearance.”
Wait, Auntie. You said something different just now. What do you mean, well? Didn’t you just say that?
“He looks exactly the same as when he was young. He’s never not been pretty while growing up.”
Looking at Yoon Joo-ho’s face in the photo one more time, the auntie put her phone back into her apron pocket.
“Now that you’re filming a movie with Yoon Joo-ho, you’ll become a star soon too.”
“If only that were the case, my wish would be granted.”
“Of course it will! Anything with the Crown Prince is a guaranteed hit. Who was it… the one who looked so elegant, like a rich heir… you know, the one from that Dracula drama?”
“Actor Jung Ji-in?”