By Zephyria “What do we do, Nabi… They say we can’t stay together anymore. You have to go to the shelter.”
Since returning home, the woman had been sighing constantly. Though it had been a short time, her heart ached at having to send away the cat she had grown fond of, no, the wildcat.
Yumin felt the same, letting out a sigh. Trying to avoid a tiger had led him to the shelter, so things had certainly gone awry. His appetite vanished, and he didn’t even want to eat the food the woman gave him.
To Yumin, who wasn’t eating at all, the woman offered a squeeze-tube snack. He tried not to eat it, but the smell of tuna sparked his appetite. He used to laugh at cats who went crazy for such childish treats… but thinking he wouldn’t even be able to eat these in the shelter, he decided to eat it one last time.
Suddenly, the woman’s phone rang. As expected, the call plunged Yumin into fear.
“Yes, hello. Ah… yes. I am sheltering him. I am home now.”
It was the shelter calling. Yumin felt a chill run down his spine. His fur bristled, and a hiss escaped him involuntarily.
“Nabi, they’re coming this evening. It’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do.”
The woman stroked Yumin’s head gently, her face etched with worry. Yumin’s mind raced.
‘I can’t be caught like this. I have to escape somehow.’
How could he possibly slip out of the house unnoticed by the woman? The windows of this house were tightly shut, and the front door was rarely left open. There was no gap for a small wildcat’s body to slip through.
“Oh, I had a missed call…”
It seemed the woman had received another message. She made a call. A man’s voice came from the receiver.
“Yes. Darling. I’m home. Ah, my clothes? Yes, they’re here.”
At the mention of clothes, Yumin’s ears perked up. From the conversation, it sounded like the other person was her boyfriend. It also seemed he had left his clothes here.
“Yes. Come pick them up before it gets dark. I have something going on this evening. Ah, someone is coming over. I should tidy up the house before then. Speaking of which, I’ve run out of trash bags.”
The woman stood up and started looking for her wallet. Was she planning to go out? Yumin’s pupils dilated with anticipation.
As expected, she headed straight for the front door and opened it to leave. Yumin rejoiced.
“Yiiiaaang!”
“Hah, I thought I was a goner.”
Yumin wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and let out a long-held breath. The clothes weren’t his size, but he was incredibly relieved to be able to wear something on both his top and bottom properly. Now, he could walk among the crowds on the street with confidence, feeling perfectly natural.
“I should go to the dormitory first.”
This was a villa complex very close to the school. It would only take a 15-minute walk to the dormitory. At first, he had been terrified to be brought to a place so close to school, but with no money for transportation, this couldn’t be better.
After packing a few essentials at the dormitory, he would flee far away. As far as possible, so Tae-jun couldn’t find him. Thanks to not buying a birthday present, he had a decent amount of cash left. He would use it to buy a bus ticket to another province, hide his tracks for a while…
Yumin was lost in thought as he walked.
“Yumin-ah?”
Someone called out to Yumin and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Why are you so startled?”
“Ah, it’s you. It was Juwan.”
“Yeah. Why haven’t you been coming to school? You’re not answering calls either.”
Juwan flicked Yumin’s forehead and clicked his tongue.
“I was busy and couldn’t come to school.”
“What? Is something going on?”
“Nothing major, just something came up.”
“But, what’s with your shoes?”
“Huh? My shoes… what about them?”
Yumin unconsciously looked down and was horrified. Good heavens, no matter how rushed he was. He was wearing women’s slippers with ribbon decorations on the instep. No wonder they felt tight and uncomfortable.
“Ah, they’re a bit unusual, aren’t they? I lost my shoes, so I’m wearing these in a hurry.”
“Hmm. I’ll buy you a new pair.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I like these.”
“What nonsense. Walking around in those will bring shame to the neighborhood. Come with me quietly.”
“I’m telling you it’s fine! I’m busy!”
Juwan grabbed Yumin and wouldn’t let go. Yumin slapped his hand away repeatedly to break free.
“Buy them for me later, later!”
Yumin ran without looking back. He was grateful for Juwan’s kindness, but he had to survive right now. There was no other choice.
Meanwhile, Tae-jun was listening to the cat detective’s report at a guesthouse in Gyeonggi Province. The detective spoke with a perplexed expression.
“I searched the entire vicinity with the butler’s clothes, but there were no significant findings. Just in case, I even set up traps with the clothes, but similarly, I found no trace of the cat having been here.”
“Hah… you’re saying he didn’t even come close?”
Tae-jun repeatedly wiped his dry face. He had hired a capable detective and expected to find Yumin soon. Yet, five days had passed, and he hadn’t seen a single hair of Yumin. His insides had burned to the point of becoming a pile of black ash.
“There’s only one situation where my skills fail to find a cat.”
“And what is that?”
“…It has already left the vicinity and gone far away. Normally, cats don’t travel far when they leave home. Instead of running in a straight line, they have a habit of circling around and gradually moving further from their original location. Today is the fifth day since his disappearance… for an ordinary cat, he should be within the search radius.”
“Then why did our Kkyayang go so far away?”
“My guess is that he traveled by car. For example, being loaded into the back of a truck and taken far away…”
“Damn it!”
Tae-jun slammed his fist on the table. He had clenched his fist so hard that the veins on the back of his hand stood out.
“Find him. I will obtain as much CCTV footage from the surrounding area as you need. Somehow, find him.”
“Understood.”
Tae-jun’s breathing grew ragged. A quiet rage simmered, and his heart began to beat anxiously. Even in his animalized state, Yumin seemed to possess the same intelligence as a human. Therefore, if he had escaped by car, it was not a mistake but a deliberate act.
“Did you really want to run away from me that badly? You sly thing.”
This was the point of his anger. It was understandable to panic momentarily upon seeing a tiger. But to plan an escape, flee far away, and perfectly conceal his tracks… the betrayal was immense.
In that case, he had no choice but to become more persistent. Tae-jun gritted his teeth, calmed his anger for a moment, and picked up his phone. Then, he found his secretary’s number.
Yes, young master.
“Secretary Kim. I have one more task for you.”
Whatever you say.
“I need CCTV footage from roads within 30km of the guesthouse, no, as much as you can obtain. Immediately.”
If Yumin had headed towards the road, he would surely leave a trace. In a way, it would be easier to find him than if Yumin had hidden deep in a forest. If he had taken a car, he would have been caught on some CCTV, and they would eventually be able to determine the car’s destination.
Tae-jun was confident in cornering his prey once he caught its scent. He was already enjoying the chase.
Not a single ray of light entered the small motel room. Due to the nature of motels, it was not well-lit from the outside to begin with, but Yumin had gone a step further, drawing all the blinds and tightly closing the windows.
He lay on the bed, buried under the covers, trembling. The temperature and humidity were surely adequate, but for some reason, he felt constantly cold. He shivered so much that he couldn’t tell if his body was cold or if he was trembling from fear.
“Hoo…”
Yumin let out a long sigh. He had been repeating this kind of life for days. During the day, he stayed put in the room, and at midnight or dawn, he would go out to buy food. Fortunately, there was a convenience store nearby, so procuring food was not a problem.
After quickly buying supplies, he would return to the motel, wolf down the food, and then tremble in fear until morning, snatching a few hours of sleep. Sometimes, he slept a little longer. When that happened, he couldn’t tell if it was day or night immediately after waking up.
“How did it come to this?”
There was no one to answer, but Yumin muttered to himself. In fact, when he first escaped from Tae-jun, he had the courage to act boldly. But now that his life on the run had truly begun, it had become more frightening and difficult.
Even the slightest sound would startle him, and when loud noises came from the next room or the room above, he would jump. He knew it was all noise unrelated to Tae-jun, but he trembled instinctively with fear.
Yumin was unaware. This was a natural phenomenon that occurred when one was isolated from the outside world, doing nothing but hiding. In such a situation, anyone’s fear would be amplified, and rational thought would become difficult.
In reality, he could leave this motel room right now and hide in an even more remote location. But Yumin, cornered, didn’t have the mental capacity to think that far.
“I’m hungry…”
Yumin forced his weak body to sit up. He had to eat something to survive. In fact, the discomforts Yumin was experiencing were not limited to one or two. His appetite had also changed. He craved foods he had never eaten before, while foods he used to enjoy were often unappealing.
He could put off eating the foods he craved for later. But being unable to eat foods he used to enjoy was quite difficult. Therefore, the range of foods Yumin could eat was limited. Fortunately, bread products were still acceptable.
He felt he would lose all his strength if he delayed any longer, so he decided to eat the sandwich he had bought from the convenience store the night before. Stumbling, he approached the small table, sat for a moment to catch his breath, and then stood up again. He needed to replenish his energy before his condition worsened.
The moment Yumin reached for the mini-fridge.
Beep- Click.
At the familiar sound, he froze in his awkward standing position. He hadn’t misheard; it was definitely the sound of the motel room lock disengaging. Yumin knew it well, as he heard it every time he occasionally went out and the door was opened or closed.
‘Wh-what is it?’
Cold sweat trickled down his spine. His hands trembled, and his legs felt weak, as if he would collapse at any moment. As Yumin stood rigidly, the door slowly began to open. The creaking sound pierced his ears ominously.
He knew he had to move, but Yumin couldn’t. Sweat dripped from his face, and the sound of something falling to the floor seemed like a roar. Amidst it all, Yumin’s heart pounded like a madman. He tried to swallow, but his throat was so stiff that even that was difficult.
The light from the hallway spilled into the room. As the light reached his feet, Yumin instinctively crouched down. He wished the darkness would hide him.
However, as Yumin stepped back to avoid the light, he bumped his waist against the table. A small groan escaped him.
‘No, I’m ruined.’
As Yumin despaired, the door swung open wide, and someone strode into the room. Yumin couldn’t hold back and screamed.
“Aaaah!”
A massive amount of CCTV footage had been acquired. Tae-jun waited anxiously for the results in the empty guesthouse. He was sure Yumin’s image would be captured on some camera. He would jolt awake from sleep thinking about it. He couldn’t carry on with his daily life, so desperate was he to get Yumin back as soon as possible.
It had been quite some time since he had last attended school. But he didn’t care about his grades. For Tae-jun, the only important task was Yumin.
Just as he was growing weary from the long wait, hopeful news finally arrived. The cat detective came to find Tae-jun.
“I’ve found a lead.”
“Is that true?”
“Let’s check the video.”
He played a video on his phone. A normal car was parked by the roadside, a short walk behind the guesthouse. A small object appeared and darted into the open trunk. It was instantaneous, but Tae-jun was certain it was Yumin.
“Hah, just as I expected. He got into a car.”
Next, a series of short videos followed, showing the car’s path. The car left Gyeonggi Province and entered Seoul. But it didn’t end there. Surprisingly, the car’s final destination was in front of the school.
“…Wait a minute. Isn’t this in front of Korea University, where I live?”
“That’s correct. After checking multiple times, it is indeed in front of Korea University.”
“Hah, the darkest place is under the lamp… He was near the school? How dare he try to deceive me…”
“Butler, please calm down. Since he’s nearby, it won’t take long to find him.”
“Ah, yes… I got a bit carried away. Please focus your search around the school from now on.”
“Understood. I will commence immediately.”
The cat detective said it was fortunate that Yumin was nearby, but Tae-jun thought differently. The fact that he had gotten into a car heading towards Korea University was too coincidental to ignore.
‘Could he be in cahoots with the person who gave him a ride? Did Yumin plan to escape from the start?’
He suspected Yumin hadn’t just run away randomly but had planned to get into the car. If that were the case, tracking down the car owner and approaching them would be effective. They needed to thoroughly investigate what kind of relationship the car owner had with Yumin, and whether they were perhaps hiding Yumin now.
However, the video ended with the car stopping, so the appearance of the person who got out of the car was not captured, nor was it known what happened to Yumin afterward. He must have gotten out of the trunk, though.
Tae-jun carefully read the signs visible in the video to pinpoint the exact location. It was about a 20-minute walk from the main gate, near a villa complex where many students lived. If the car owner was a resident of this area, they might be able to find the car. Parking was scarce in these buildings, so cars were frequently parked along the roadside. The vehicle was undoubtedly nearby at this very moment.
With that thought, Tae-jun hesitated no longer. He sprang to his feet. There was no time to waste. Even as they spoke, Yumin was undoubtedly getting further away.
Tae-jun picked up his phone and called his secretary.
“Secretary, it’s Tae-jun. Yes, I’ve secured a lead. There’s an additional area I need you to investigate.”
After briefly conveying his request, Tae-jun hung up. The joy of finding a clue was short-lived. A strange, unpleasant sensation washed over him. It was the kind of feeling an ordinary person would call anxiety. But Tae-jun, who was naturally not prone to feeling fear or dread, couldn’t quite identify the source of this feeling.
Perhaps Yumin was further away than he thought.
His animal instincts told him so. In short, it was not a time to be swayed by fleeting emotions. Yet, he couldn’t just stand by idly.
Tae-jun got into his car and had to battle this inexplicable feeling all the way to Seoul. It was a peculiar sensation that he suspected wouldn’t subside until he saw Yumin with his own eyes and touched him with his own hands.