My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

68. My Childhood Friend is Too Cute, Making Me Resolve Myself. (3)

After wrangling and bickering for a long while because of the cat filter photo, we eventually moved on, like always, and started teasing each other. We then stuffed ourselves with sweet treats and left the dessert shop.

“Ah, that was fun.”

“Hmph, *Atashi* wasn’t having fun at all…!?”

Though, judging by her reaction, it seems I was the only one who enjoyed it.

My stomach’s full, and I got to see cute Aki’s reaction, so I’d say today’s date is a success.

Of course, it’s not over yet, but anyway, feeling much lighter, I moved closer to Aki to soothe her slightly sulky mood.

I’d pushed enough at the dessert place; now it was time to pull. My original objective and all.

I subtly took Aki’s hand. And spoke.

“Aki, where should we go next?”

“Nowhere. I’m going home….”

Truly pouting, Aki stubbornly avoided my gaze.

But even as she did, she didn’t let go of our joined hands, which, judging by that, was a kind of protest.

To explain in Aki’s own way of speaking, it’d be something like, ‘Hurry up and comfort *atashi*. If you don’t, I’ll really go home…!’ maybe.

Having hung out for eleven years now, just by looking at her eyes, I can already know her mind. I carefully gauged her mood and intertwined my fingers with hers.

“Come to think of it, you said you wanted to go to a cat cafe, right? There’s one nearby, wanna go together?”

“……Really?”

Aki raised her head with a sudden movement.

Her eyes, looking up at me, held an expectation she couldn’t hide.

‘……Ah, really.’

Unconsciously, a smile spread across my face.

Blushing after taking pictures with a cat filter, then brightening up like this from just hearing about going to a cat cafe together.

She’s seriously so cute I could die…….

I want to give her a k*ss on the cheek, but we’re outside, so I can’t. So, instead, I took out my phone, searched for the nearby cat cafe I’d looked up before, and showed it to Aki.

“Here, see? The location is really close, too. It’s about a 15-minute walk from where we are now, I think?”

“Ah, is it really?”

“Of course, it is. How about it, wanna go?”

“Yup, yup, I wanna go!”

“……Is that so? Then, let’s go.”

* * *

*Ting-a-ling-*

“Welcome. Master/Mistress~”

Opening the cafe door, a friendly-looking employee bowed. Aki and I nodded lightly in response and approached the counter.

[The Korean Abandoned Cat Protection Association’s Directly-Run Cat Cafe!]

[Open: 10 AM ~ 10 PM]

[Unlimited Time on Weekdays, 90 Minutes on Weekends]

[Please Be Sure to Observe the Time Limit, Okay? ♡]

The cafe rules were scrawled on a signboard above the employee’s head. Nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary, so I gave it a quick once-over before pulling out a twenty-thousand won note.

“Here you go.”

“Yes, thank you. Before entering, please change into slippers in the shoe rack, store your belongings in the lockers, and grab whatever drink you’d like once you’re inside~”

“Ah, understood!”

I took the locker key and headed inside. After swapping my shoes for slippers as instructed, I pushed open the glass door once more.

“…Woah!”

Cats of every conceivable shape and size were lounging on the polished floor. The sheer number of them was staggering. No exaggeration – twenty, or even more.

I wouldn’t claim to be a cat connoisseur, so I couldn’t pinpoint their breeds, but they definitely weren’t the kind you’d typically see roaming the streets.

How should I put it? Each cat radiated an aura of elegance or an almost excessive cuteness; they hardly seemed like the type to be abandoned.

Not that being less cute justifies abandonment, of course. It’s just… you know how some abandoned animals make you think, “This one’s a stray? Really?” because they’re just *that* adorable? These cats had that exact vibe.

“Wow, wow…!”

I was busy dissecting and analyzing the cats when Aki, her mouth agape in awe, zipped past me.

“Woo-joo~chan, look at this one! It’s a Turkish Angora…!”

“Turkish…what?”

“A Turkish Angora, silly! Heterochromia, different colored eyes!”

I knew what heterochromia meant. Two eyes of different colors.

Taking a closer look from a distance, I saw that the cat in front of Aki truly did have differently colored eyes. One was blue, the other yellow, a striking contrast that gave it an almost fantastical appearance.

“Does having different colored eyes automatically make it a Turkish Angora?”

“Eung, not necessarily… But if it has a lot of fur and differently colored eyes, it’s almost certainly a Turkish Angora, I think? I don’t know much, I’ve never raised a cat before…”

“Really? Why not?”

“Mama hates cats; says they shed too much…!”

“…Ah.”

Shedding was indeed a serious matter.

Our family had never been able to keep pets because Dad couldn’t stand fur. Some people just couldn’t tolerate the stuff, I guess.

“Wow, it’s so pretty…. Excuse me, is it okay if I hold her?”

“Of course. Feel free to hold them as much as they allow you to.”

“How do I know if they’re giving me permission…?!”

“Watch their eyes and their tails. If their tail is swaying, it means they’re feeling good, so it’s usually okay to hold them. But this one might be a little difficult to hold.”

“Huh? Why?”

“She doesn’t really like people much. She only lets you hold her when *she* feels like it, so you have to watch her a little more carefully than the others…”

“Ah, I see…”

Aki’s gaze flicked downwards.

She was intently observing the cat in front of her, listening to the employee’s words.

‘Watch the tail, huh…?’

A quiet curiosity bloomed within me, and I joined in the scrutiny.

“C-can…can I hold you…?!”

– Mrow.

“Gasp, Universe-chan! Did you hear that just now? She said I can hold her…!”

“……”

Really?

It just looked like a yawn to me…

“……Oof-tah!”

– Myaoong…!

Aki scooped the cat into her arms. The cat, looking inwardly bothered, glanced at Aki’s sparkling eyes, and then, with a resigned air, began to wag its tail.

And, as if deciding to commit to the performance, it rubbed its face against Aki’s hand, making a small crying sound.

“S-so, so cute!”

“Oh, look at that…? It seems like our Sogeum likes you, Miss Guest~?”

“Her name is Sogeum?”

I wasn’t planning on interrupting, but curiosity got the better of me. How could a cat be named Sogeum – Salt?

“Yes, her reactions are a bit salty, you see. So, Sogeum.”

“Ah.”

So that’s why ‘Sogeum’.

Anyway, the cat named Sogeum pressed its bristling whiskers, soft fur, and tender nose against Aki’s hand. Aki s*cked in a breath, her face alight with pure joy, and showered the cat with k*sses.

“So cute, so cuuute…!”

– Myaoong….

“Hwaa…. Why are you so cute? Really, I just want to snatch you up and raise you…!”

– Meow, meooow.

“Huh. What was that? You want to live with noona too…?!”

“…Is it a he?”

“It *was* a he until recently, but now it’s neutered. Got him fixed just the other day.”

“Ah…”

So, it got snipped.

Well, if cats in a cat cafe kept having kittens, the numbers would get out of hand, so I guess it’s necessary?

For reasons unknown, I felt a slight shiver in my lower half, and unconsciously shrunk back.

“Woo-joo~chan, Woo-joo~chan, come and pet him, he’s so cute!”

“Hmm, should I?”

Since I’m here, I figured I might as well try petting him, so I approached.

But then.

– Meooow…!

“Huh? He’s hissing!”

“Huh? What’s hissing?”

“It means he doesn’t want you to get close. He’ll bite if you do.”

Seriously? This guy was being all affectionate with Aki, but as soon as I approached, he started glaring at me, eyes wide and frantic?

Startled, I figured I’d be in serious trouble if I ignored the warning and tried to touch him, so I didn’t get any closer and backed away.

Seemingly satisfied, the cat then returned to its languid expression and started rubbing its face against Aki’s cheek.

“Heheh, I guess he doesn’t like Woo-joo~chan…?”

“……”

How absurd.

What did I even do to make him dislike me?

Since he was a male once himself, maybe he just doesn’t want to be held by a man…

This cat, only showing affection to people he likes – it irked me a little. But, thinking about it again, *I* didn’t want to hold a cat that used to be male either.

If I was going to hold one, a female cat would be better. They’re probably more affectionate.

“Are there any other cats besides this one? One that’s a little more affectionate.”

“Ah, we do have a few. Shall I bring one over?”

“Yes, please… one cuter than him…”

– Meooow…!

“Uh oh, Sogeumi says you shouldn’t bring another one over?”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“You can just tell by looking in his eyes, and well, Sogeumi is actually quite the jealous type. If he shows interest in someone and they try to go to another, he gets like this, glaring to say, ‘Don’t you dare go?’ …But that’s strange. I’ve trained him well, so he hasn’t been doing that lately. Is it possible our Sogeumi likes you, master-nim, so he’s acting this way?”

“……”

Just moments ago, he told me not to touch him, and now, because I’m playing with another cat, he’s glaring and getting jealous?

Is this what they call *tsundere* or something like that…?

“Hehe, really? Our Sogeumi, was Uju~chan jealous because I was going to see another kitty~?”

– *Nyaaong.*

Aki subtly gives me a little wink.

A signal to come closer.

“He’ll get angry if I get close…”

“Our Sogeumi wouldn’t get angry at Uju~chan, would he?”

-…… *Nyaong.*

The cat shows the slightest glimpse of his hind paw, as if it’s okay to touch him.

“……Wow.”

He got angry at me, but he listens to Aki so well.

Does he really pick and choose his people like that?

For a split second, I was dumbfounded, but the sight of those soft, squishy-looking paw pads swayed my heart.

Since I’m already here, I should at least try touching them.

I cautiously approached the cat Aki was holding.

*Squeeze.*

With a fingertip, I gently pressed on the cat’s paw, or what people often call the jelly bean part.

“Oh….”

So soft.

Not exaggerating, it really does feel like I’m touching jelly.

Before I knew it, a sound of admiration escaped my lips, and Aki, who was watching me from the side, chuckled softly.

“You like it, Uju~chan?”

“Yeah, I do…”

“Hey, how about we raise a cat together sometime?”

“That does sound nice…”

“…Really? You promised?”

“Yeah, later…”

Let’s raise it together.

I almost said it, but then I belatedly realized something was off.

‘Let’s raise it together, later.’

That meant…

“…”

“…Heheh.”