- Hong Woo-jin regretted it.
‘My thinking was too shallow.’
The infiltration had been successful. He had approached the target’s cat-loving sister, captured her heart with pitiful yet sparkling eyes. The only problem was…
“What does our Yeoreum eat to be this cute? Hmm? Hmm?”
Meow.
“Yeoreum, why do you keep trying to go outside? Let’s play with unnie here.”
Meow.
“Kyaa, too cute!”
Hiss! Hisssss!
“Oh! Yeoreum, are you angry? I’m sorry. Did unnie touch you too much? Okay, I’ll stay still, so play on the bed, okay?”
The problem was that this damn sister had no intention of letting him outside. As a result, he’d been trapped in Jin Ha-yeon’s room for more than a day and a half.
‘I should have gone with a dog instead.’
If he’d been a dog, he might not have gotten in as easily, but he wouldn’t have been semi-imprisoned after getting in. At least he would have been taken for walks.
‘This isn’t getting me anywhere.’
Overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, Hong Woo-jin attempted to escape.
‘Let’s see who wins, you or me!’
He started with such determination, but…
Scratch, scratch-scratch-scratch.
Meow. Meeoooow.
The first attempt was a failure. He tried scratching the door vigorously and meowing loudly, but Jin Ha-yeon, sitting at her desk, didn’t react even once.
Without even wearing earphones, she just continued solving workbook problems with fierce eyes and quick hand movements.
‘They said she was in the top 0.01 percent nationwide.’
He had seen it in the initial investigation data. Since middle school, she had consistently ranked first or second in her school and had numerous awards from various competitions—a record hard to forget.
Only today did Hong Woo-jin understand why. When she sat at her desk, she truly possessed a terrifying level of concentration.
‘Such a girl would be perfect as a magician… No, that’s not the point.’
After that, he tried everything to disrupt her studies. He continuously touched her feet and acted cute.
But Jin Ha-yeon’s response was simple.
“Unnie is studying now. You shouldn’t disturb.”
When she put her feet up on the chair, sitting on the desk leg, his tiny body could never reach her. The limitation of being a kitten.
‘This operation has failed.’
With the study disruption strategy failing, he had no choice but to play his final card. It would severely damage his human dignity, but this was no time to be picky.
‘Let’s see if you ignore this too.’
Shhhhh.
The pristine white bedspread turns yellow.
As they say, big and small matters should be resolved at once. Having completed two tasks simultaneously, Hong Woo-jin made a firm resolution.
‘Yes, since it’s come to this, let’s handle it thoroughly. Like a professional.’
Roll around, roll around.
In his five years of using familiar magic, this was the first time he had degraded himself to this extent. He continuously self-hypnotized.
‘I’m a professional, I’m a professional, I’m a professional…’ A moment later, when Jin Ha-yeon turned her head, catching an odd smell, everything was already done.
Meow.
A bedspread stained with excrement, and a kitten equally covered in filth.
“Kyaa, Yeoreum!”
Startled, Jin Ha-yeon moved quickly. She gathered the soiled bedspread and carefully picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck.
“How could you do this when there’s a bathroom? Our Yeoreum needs a bath.”
‘Yes, go to the door! The door!’
This was the moment he had been waiting for. Though he was dangling from the hands of a girl not yet twenty, covered in filth, Hong Woo-jin was filled with elation.
Click.
It’s opening, the door!
He could see the living room that he hadn’t seen since yesterday!
Meow! Meeoow!
“That’s strange. Why does he seem so happy?”
Just as Jin Ha-yeon was tilting her head in confusion:
With the familiar sound of a password being entered, the front door opened.
“I’m home… What’s that?”
“Where have you been… What’s that?”
The siblings stared at each other with bewildered gazes. To be precise, at the creatures in each other’s hands.
Meow.
Meow.
The exchange of bewildered looks went both ways.
‘Is that Hong Woo-jin?’
‘Is that the amateur from the Sangdong Guild?’
And the following thought.
‘Why is he covered in feces?’
‘Ah, shit.’
It was the moment Hong Woo-jin’s last shred of human dignity crumbled away.
“So he made a mess on the bed?”
“Yeah. Seems like he had an accident while I was studying.”
***
Accident my ass, it was clearly intentional, Tae-kyung thought.
Ha-yeon kept him locked in the room, so he was trying anything to get out.
Meow…
The cat—no, now that there are two, I should call them by name.
Anyway, Yeoreum’s weak cry made Ha-yeon ask with a worried face.
“He’s been lacking energy for a while.”
“Hmm, that’s understandable.”
I imagine his self-loathing must be no joke.
Being caught by both his industry colleague and surveillance target while covered in excrement.
“Don’t worry too much. Cats generally hate getting wet.”
“Is that why? No, he was quite docile when I bathed him earlier, not resisting at all.”
“Oh, really?”
“I don’t know if it’s just my feeling… but he seems a bit out of it. Maybe he knows he did something wrong and feels sorry?”
Our Yeoreum must be in full post-shame clarity.
Swallowing my laughter, I said:
“Who knows. Anyway, what about your bedding? You’ll need to change the sheets too.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like a person did it—it’s just an animal, so what’s the big deal?”
They say an innocent stone can kill a frog.
This is exactly that situation. Ha-yeon’s casual remark transformed into a dagger, piercing someone’s heart.
Flinch.
A little kitten trembling, unable even to meow.
Meanwhile, the other one was ecstatic.
Purr, purrrr.
Ha-yeon looked lovingly at the black cat, which kept rubbing its face against my legs with a pleased sound.
“Where did you get this one?”
“At the apartment complex entrance.”
“Is it a stray?”
“Probably. It was alone.”
“What? Then its mother might still be around. That’s why you should watch a kitten for at least a day before taking it.”
“Some man told me it had been crying alone since yesterday.”
“Ah, then its mother is gone.”
Flinch!
The affectionate purring stops abruptly. Ha-yeon, who had unknowingly achieved a double kill, smiled brightly.
“Aww. You don’t have a mother either. It’s okay, from today, unnie will be your mom.”
She’s my sister, but she’s quite skilled at serving people while smiling.
The black cat seemed torn between professional integrity and family trauma but eventually accepted its new reality.
Meow.
It’s almost pitiful to see it being affectionate toward its mother’s nemesis. That’s the hardship of being a working professional.
Watching this, my thoughts suddenly turned to Mom.
“Where’s Mom?”
“Don’t know, she went out saying she had an important appointment.”
“Appointment?”
“Yeah, she’s been going out a lot these days.”
What could it be?
Mom’s outings have become more frequent lately. Now that she’s quit her job and has some leisure, is she finding her own life?
‘Come to think of it, the atmosphere has been strange.’
Like sitting with a face that seems to have something to say, or being startled when suddenly spoken to. Clearly, some change is happening around Mom.
‘She’ll tell me when the time is right.’
Mom is the person I love and trust most in the world. As always, I can only believe and wait.
Of course, it’s also a child’s duty to have conversations at appropriate times and listen to her stories.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Nothing important. By the way, aren’t you going out?”
“What? You sound like you want me to leave.”
“Not exactly.”
“Hmm, suspicious. You’re not planning to bring a girlfriend over, are you?”
I wish I had a girlfriend to bring over.
My thoughts clearly showed on my face, making Ha-yeon hesitate.
“Ah, sorry.”
“…Don’t apologize. It makes me twice as miserable.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Now that I think about it, I need to return some books to the library.”
She dashed into her room, grabbed her bag, and came out at the speed of light.
With a bang, the front door closed, and the house became quiet.
‘Stabbing a single guy’s heart like that.’
Though a corner of my heart felt empty, the stage I’d been waiting for was finally set.
This was an issue that had to be resolved when the family was away, if possible.
Meow.
Meow.
Two cats, one black and one white, began to slink toward me, circling around. Bright eyes, perked ears.
Leaving the familiars desperate to gather information about me, I went out to the balcony.
The first thing visible was the parking lot with hundreds of cars lined up.
‘Parking lot is clear.’
Before returning home, I had walked around the apartment complex once, holding the familiar in my arms. To others, I might have appeared as an idle person taking a stroll on a nice day, but my purpose was to check the vehicles.
The result: nothing unusual.
‘Then it must be in a house.’
This confirmed that the watchers were using a recently traded apartment as their hideout. I recalled the information I had obtained from the real estate office once more.
‘Building 5, Unit 901. Building 4, Unit 302. Building 3, Unit 202.’
Coincidentally, all three surrounded our apartment like a circle. They also had windows overlooking the building entrance, making them ideal for surveillance.
It wouldn’t be strange for watchers to be in any of these places.
‘The question is, which one are they hiding in…’
These guys are cautious enough to use familiars instead of magical equipment for fear of detection.
If I approach carelessly, I’ll lose them.
For a definite capture, I need to cast a substantial bait.
‘Shall we begin?’
Swish, swoosh.
First, I closed all the curtains in the house.
Despite it being midday, the darkened living room center became the spot where I rummaged through my pocket.
‘Inventory open. Mana detection equipment.’
Simultaneously, a piece of metal half the size of my palm came into my hand.
As the name suggests, it’s equipment that can detect mana—an item I bought at the Store for 20 million won.
‘Next step, search.’
I thoroughly scanned the house with the detection equipment. After confirming that no mana was detected inside, I took out my smartphone and called someone.
Ring ring. Click.
With the connection sound, the other person picked up.
“Hello?”
I responded.
“It’s me, Jin Tae-kyung.”
The two familiars watched my actions without even breathing.
Kim Joonsu shouted the moment he opened his eyes:
“He’s here, he’s here!”
The security team members, who were huddled together writing reports, jumped in surprise.
“What?”
“Who’s here? Our team leader?”
“Or could it be…” Kim Joonsu nodded at the team member who trailed off.
“The target. This guy smells fishy as hell.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I felt something was off when he closed the curtains as soon as he got home, and then he even used detection equipment to check the house.”
This isn’t something an ordinary C-rank hunter, especially one on vacation, would do. Everyone in the room gulped.
“S-so?”
“He took out his phone and made a call.”
“A call? To whom?”
“That’s what I don’t know.”
Kim Joonsu frowned.
“The call was short, less than three minutes, but I could feel he was extremely careful with his form of address.”
“That’s enough. We can report this up the chain and check his call records.”
“Yes, is there anything else?”
“How could there not be? Do you know what he said?”
Ahem. After clearing his throat once, a low voice flowed from his mouth.
“The plan is proceeding without a hitch. Yes, yes. The Sangdong Guild hasn’t noticed yet. I have the item securely.”
The team members listening slapped their knees.
“This is it!”
“Finally, we’ve got something!”
“Wow, I just got goosebumps. What is this, some secret agent?”
At that moment, Kim Kwon-dong, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.
“Joonsu, didn’t that guy just say he had some item?”
“Good observation.”
Kim Joonsu smiled meaningfully.
“That guy has a USB.”