Churu for the Angry Guide

21

Siwoo, cradled in Geonho’s arms, wore a sullen expression. He looked thoroughly displeased.

“Do you dislike it that much?”

Even when Geonho brought his face close or spoke to him, there was no reaction. Siwoo just stared with wide eyes, showing his discomfort as much as possible.

Geonho chuckled, seeming pleased as he patted Siwoo’s round bottom. Unable to bear it any longer, Siwoo buried his face in Geonho’s chest and burst out angrily.

‘Don’t you even have a carrier, you fool!’

When Geonho had said they’d go out together, Siwoo naturally thought he’d be put in a carrier. However, the fool had just stuffed Siwoo inside his coat and zipped it up tightly.

Siwoo felt his pride hurt, being held tightly against Geonho’s chest. It felt different from when he cuddled up voluntarily.

More than that, what angered Siwoo was the black leather collar around his neck.

Who knows when he had prepared it. Before leaving the guiding room, Geonho had put a black leather collar on Siwoo. It had a round, gold-colored pendant attached.

‘I don’t need this! Just bring a carrier!’

Siwoo tried to remove the leather collar with his hind legs. He thought he could break it by scratching with his claws, but it was so sturdy it didn’t even get a scratch.

“Come on, stay still. I’ll take it off when we get back.”

Geonho stopped walking, trying to soothe Siwoo who was causing a fuss inside his coat. He rubbed Siwoo’s head with his chin, pleading for him to bear with it a little longer. He didn’t forget to pat Siwoo’s bottom either.

‘Stop patting! You’ll burst my bottom, you jerk!’

However, seeing it seemed to have the opposite effect, he withdrew his hand. Geonho cautiously watched Siwoo’s reaction while gently rubbing the leather collar.

‘Do you think I’m a baby?’

Siwoo didn’t like the collar that seemed more suitable for a young child.

‘Take it off right now. I’m a cat without an owner!’

Wearing the collar made him feel like his freedom was being constrained. He was even angrier because it felt like the fool was acting like his owner.

To Siwoo, Geonho was just a subordinate. A kind subordinate who provided food. Definitely not an owner.

“What if someone tries to kidnap you because you’re so pretty? You need to wear something like this.”

Ignoring Geonho’s nonsense, Siwoo continued to paw at the collar with his hind legs. He was determined to get rid of the collar somehow. His pride wouldn’t allow such a thing.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have used real gold. Is it too heavy?”

Geonho tried to remove the collar, worried Siwoo might hurt himself. Although it was a shame because it looked good on him, he had to discard it if Siwoo disliked it.

As Geonho reached for the collar, Siwoo suddenly hunched his neck and retreated deeper into the coat.

…Did he say real gold?

Siwoo gulped as he felt the heavy pendant against his chest. No wonder it felt heavy.

“Are you okay? Do you want to keep wearing it?”

Geonho, pleased with Siwoo’s sudden docility, properly held the umbrella that had been hanging on his shoulder. The snow-white Siwoo looked even prettier wearing the black leather collar. He was glad he had it made.

He said it’s real gold, gold.

Siwoo became completely captivated by the gold adorning his chest. He licked his lips, disappointed that he couldn’t see the pendant properly. He even thought the collar could have been a bit heavier.

“Ah, the weather should be nice. Why does it have to be the rainy season?”

Geonho looked up at the sky, seeming pleased despite his disappointment. He appeared especially excited about his first walk with Siwoo.

“Let’s come out again when it’s sunny. This place is incredibly beautiful in autumn. The trees go all ‘whoa―’.”

Whoa? What’s that supposed to mean?

Siwoo frowned at Geonho’s poor expression. The kid sometimes spoke so vaguely like this.

I should read some books with this guy later. It would be embarrassing if people found out that Baekya Guild’s SS-class Esper was an idiot. The fool was kind, but he had no shortage of shortcomings.

Siwoo naturally thought about things he would do with Geonho in the future as he looked around. He liked that Geonho sought out places with few people. Siwoo also disliked crowded places.

Walking in the rain is nice too.

Siwoo poked only his face out of Geonho’s coat to look outside. Thanks to Siwoo behaving, Geonho was also able to enjoy the walk fully.

If Geonho had come out alone, he would have walked in the heavy rain. But he couldn’t let the fist-sized face get wet, so he reluctantly carried an umbrella. He even brought a towel just in case.

They walked for over three hours straight like that.

Siwoo didn’t get bored at all, seeing the outside scenery for the first time in a while. He was simply happy to discover walking paths he didn’t know existed.

Then suddenly, he raised his head, feeling like Geonho’s breathing had slowed.

‘Hey, are you sleepy?’

Wondering what was wrong, he saw that Geonho’s eyelids were half-closed. His face was covered in drowsiness.

Meow!

“What’s wrong, are you thirsty? Want some water?”

Geonho asked Siwoo, who suddenly meowed.

There was no strength in his voice at all. It seemed the side effects of the sleeping pills were quite severe. It was strange how he suddenly became so weak when he had been fine until they left the guiding room.

‘I told you to take those sleeping pills in moderation!’

“Should we rest over there for a bit?”

Geonho headed towards a nearby gazebo, trying to soothe the meowing Siwoo.

Siwoo felt relieved seeing the wide bench. He hoped Geonho would catch some sleep here. He looked like he would fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

‘You fool, you should have stopped earlier if you were sleepy.’

“Okay, I’ll give you water. Wait a bit.”

‘Do you have any thoughts in that head of yours?’

“Alright, I’ll give you a treat too.”

Their completely mismatched conversation continued at length. Siwoo, who had been scolding Geonho thoroughly, immediately quieted down when Geonho offered a treat.

The two rested, listening to the pitter-patter of rain falling on the roof and floor. As Siwoo stretched out and lay down lazily, Geonho, sitting next to him, also lay down.

“Ah, this feels good.”

Geonho yawned widely as he stretched out on the long bench. Siwoo naturally hopped onto his chest. Geonho, equally accustomed, hugged Siwoo. Worried it might be chilly because of the rain, he even took off his coat and covered Siwoo with it.

“Do you like it too?”

…Like what?

Surprised by the sudden question, Siwoo looked down at him, pressing on his chest. He had been in the middle of kneading Geonho’s chest with his front paws.

“Let’s go on walks like this often from now on.”

Ah, he meant the walk.

Siwoo meowed casually and continued kneading. Coming outside after being indoors all day felt better than he had expected.

Being naturally a homebody, life in the guiding room hadn’t felt stifling at all. Still, coming out like this occasionally didn’t seem too bad.

Feeling Geonho’s gaze, Siwoo looked back at him. Geonho was struggling to keep his sleepy eyes open, watching Siwoo.

‘What are you looking at? Just go to sleep.’

Siwoo tapped Geonho’s chin, urging him to sleep quickly. At this, Geonho raised his head and suddenly bit Siwoo’s front paw with a “chomp”.

‘I told you not to do that!’

Siwoo quickly pulled his paw out of Geonho’s mouth, annoyed. Just like a dog. He keeps putting Siwoo’s paws in his mouth whenever he gets the chance.

He especially liked Siwoo’s tail. Even now, he was touching Siwoo’s tail.

“What should I call you?”

Geonho, who had been quietly looking at Siwoo, asked.

“What do you want your name to be?”

‘You still haven’t decided?’

Siwoo knew that he had been pondering over his name for a long time. It was amusing how he could easily choose dinner menus, but it took him over two weeks to decide on a cat’s name.

What’s the big deal about a name?

“I’ve narrowed it down to five candidates now. You choose one.”

Geonho opened his palm with quite a serious face. It seemed he was finally going to decide on a name.

Thinking he might as well hear them out, Siwoo flopped down on his chest. He felt a bit excited, expecting some pretty good names after all that consideration.

“Listen carefully. You’re choosing your name.”

Geonho spread his five fingers wide and started folding them one by one as he listed the candidates.

“Heundungi, Baekho―.”

‘Hey, knock it off.’

Disliking the first name already, Siwoo swatted at his mouth. Heundungi and Baekho? Those were both names you’d give to dogs.

“Listen. Heundungi, Baekho, Happy, Yeoreum.”

Siwoo closed his eyes before even hearing them all. He even curled his tail to cover his face. To think he had pondered for two weeks on these.

“And Shiro.”

Geonho said the last name, folding his last finger. The moment he said ‘Shiro’, the perked white ears twitched and Siwoo suddenly raised his head.

“Shiro? Do you want Shiro?”

For a moment, he thought his own name had been called. Even though he knew that couldn’t be.

“Shiro does suit you best.”

Geonho finally decided on the cat’s name with a satisfied expression.

“Shiro, Kang Shiro.”

Siwoo blinked his eyes and then buried his face in Geonho’s chest again.

Why change someone else’s surname? He grumbled internally while rubbing his face against Geonho’s warmth.

Geonho’s hand patting his back felt especially warm today.

“Kang Shiro.”

Geonho grinned and called out the name he had chosen after much deliberation. Now that the name was decided, he felt like they had truly become family.

“You’re our family now. You know that, right, Shiro?”

‘…’

“I’ll make you nice and plump. You’ll be the pig of this neighborhood.”

Geonho’s leisurely voice mixed with the sound of rain and dispersed.

He continued patting Siwoo’s back as he slowly closed his eyes. The purring, which sounded especially loud today, made him feel even more at ease.

“Kang Shiro, your name means ‘white’ in Chinese.”

He mumbled for a while with slurred pronunciation before gradually falling asleep. The hand holding Siwoo also loosened a bit.

Siwoo listened carefully to his deep breathing and grumbled to himself.

‘It’s Japanese, you fool.’

Perhaps due to the fool’s warm body temperature, Siwoo’s eyelids also grew heavy. Siwoo didn’t stop purring until the moment he fell asleep.

However, along with the happy feeling, a stinging sense of guilt also grew. Remembering the day he first met Geonho made his insides ache even more.

[I hate liars the most.]

Ah…

Siwoo, waking from his dream, flinched.

He couldn’t remember the content of the dream that had been forgotten as soon as he opened his eyes. Only the terribly sad emotion remained.

Siwoo shook his head to shake off the gloomy mood. Geonho was still sound asleep. Seeing that peaceful face made him feel calm again.

However, the moment he raised his head, sensing a presence approaching, his heart started pounding again.

Siwoo froze, mouth agape, unable to make a sound.

Why is… that guy here?

Kang Taebeom, dressed in all black like a grim reaper, stood holding a black umbrella. He silently stared at Geonho, on whom Siwoo was lying.

Oh no, this is bad.