All I had to do was sneak onto the car they’d arrived in and get out that way. I looked at the cluster of men gathered before me. Every last one of them looked like they’d be no match for me.
That said, I couldn’t very well transform into a human right in front of them. For now, I’d slip past them and sneak out through the kitchen window — I’d already found the route I could use to get out, so I could escape before the day was over.
I leaped down with purpose.
“Oh, he’s finally moving.”
“Hey kitty, want to play with this?”
“More than that, aren’t you hungry? Here, eat this.”
I ignored all of it and kept walking with my head held high. But they followed along behind me just like before. How dare they tail a predator.
I tapped my tail against the floor to make my displeasure known.
Isn’t this a bit too thorough for keeping an eye on a cat? Who assigns their subordinates to trail a cat around everywhere.
Are they doing this because they know I’ll run? There was that business earlier with them stopping me when I was trying to slip away… Are they planning to sell me off after all?
Those men alone looked like complete fools, yet the two main ones were in a completely different league from any loan sharks I’d encountered before. The dressing room alone had expensive watches scattered around as if on proud display.
What on earth did they see in my father to lend him money? The more I thought about it, the more puzzling it was. Normally, you only lend large sums to people who have the means to pay it back, don’t you? My father has nothing to squeeze out of him.
Forget it! Escaping comes first right now. Did they think posting a watch on me would make me give up? They should be collecting their money from my father, not trying to settle it by selling me! And they’re not even short on money!
Every time I stepped on the plush carpet and walked across the gleaming white marble, a strange twinge of envy passed through me.
We’d always been poor at home, and I had never lived in a wide, spacious house like this. My father was always chasing one big score, but had never had any intention of actually providing for me and my mother. I’d been walking with my eyes cast downward, and I lifted my head.
I steeled my resolve further. I was going to escape soon and confront my father. But I was done being used by him. I’d unload all the frustration that had built up over the years, make him pay properly for deceiving me, and cut ties. That would be enough. But then… I’d truly be alone.
…I’ll think about that later.
For now, I just had to wear those men down. I’d exhaust them first.
I dashed across the living room. It was nothing like running through the mountains, and the floor was surprisingly slippery — I stumbled once or twice — but I got used to it quickly.
The men scrambled after me in surprise, but I darted nimbly in and out, over and under the sofa and display cabinets. Then I stepped squarely on top of a prized piece of porcelain sitting in a prominent spot in the living room.
“Ah, that’s expensive! Don’t break it!”
“Eo-k.”
Oh really?
My eyes lit up. I put my weight into it and shoved the porcelain, launching myself up in a high jump. The men dove to catch it. They piled up on top of each other one by one, like a sandwich.
“Ow!”
“Hey, move!”
“If you move — hey hey, stay still! The porcelain will break!”
I watched from the top of the display cabinet and let out a sly little laugh. Thrilled at having made fools of them, I curved the tip of my tail and strolled around at my leisure.
Eventually the men came to their senses and found me again.
Hide-and-seek only works so many times — stuck in the house, I was bound to get caught sooner or later. Then one of the men spotted me lurking near the kitchen window.
He must have been a sharp one, because he realized it was a way out and shut it tight and locked it. Undoing the latch would take more time now. And no matter how much I tried to lower their guard, a cat fiddling with a window latch would look a little suspicious.
I’d have to think of another escape route.
To sneak onto the car and get out of this deep mountain location, it seemed I’d need to escape before those two men returned. Just then, one place came to mind that I hadn’t tried yet.
The second floor.
I moved immediately. As I climbed the stairs one step at a time, a commotion broke out below.
“Huh? W-wait! You can’t go up there!”
“E-ong?”
The reaction is a little different?
The men broke into a cold sweat and beckoned at me. One of them said he’d go find something to tempt me with, stepped away, and came back holding out a snack.
“There, there — come eat this. You can’t go up there.”
He held out a tube of churr — the kind cats supposedly go crazy for — and shook it at me.
“Ka-aong!”
I’m a predator, not a cat!
These people apparently saw nothing but a cat when they looked at me.
I ignored the man who kept shaking the churr in my direction. He couldn’t bring himself to step onto the stairs and was just leaning his body forward, continuing to tempt me — so I raised my claws to let him know he was being a nuisance and scratched him.
“Ow!”
The man’s yelp was nothing but sweet music to me.
Hmph. Hurts, doesn’t it?
I shrugged my shoulders. But the man was in pain for only a moment and didn’t back down. The people around him snickered, saying it was a scratch that would heal with a little spit. If anything, seeing me raise my claws, they were saying I must have been scared of him and nudging him aside shoulder by shoulder.
Scared of him? Me? Scared?!
“Why is this one so feral? Is it because it’s a stray?”
“But does the Executive Director even seem like the type to keep a cat?”
“A tiger cub, then?”
“Does that look like a tiger cub to you?”
“No. Just bad-tempered, maybe?”
That part’s true, so why does it put me in such a foul mood. Ignore them. I need to get up there fast. From what I could tell, those men couldn’t come up here…
At that moment, someone grabbed me. I spun my head around in surprise. A man I’d never seen before had hold of me.
What surprised me even more was that he was a Suin. My heart thudded at the sudden appearance of this Suin man.
“I’m sorry, but please stay still. No one is permitted to go up here.”
“Oh, nice work.”
The fact that he’s a Suin means he must be one of the man’s subordinates.
“But now what do we do with this one? Should we tie it up so it can’t roam around?”
“Kyao? Kyarr—!”
What — tie me up? Let go! Let go of me!
Being caught in a moment of carelessness was already infuriating, and the talk of tying me up made me even angrier. I struggled and thrashed, but the man’s grip was firm.
“If you do that, the Executive Director will be furious.”
“Did the Executive Director call you in too?”
“Yes.”
“R-really…? Must be true that the Executive Director has a soft spot for this cat.”
“At this point, is it really not a tiger cub?”
“But no matter how you look at it, for a tiger cub…”
The men suddenly started murmuring among themselves, worried about something. A moment later they glanced about nervously and asked the Suin man:
“You’re a Tiger Suin, right? This isn’t actually a tiger cub, is it? It’s not, right? Could it be that this cat… no, that this one here is telling us he doesn’t like us…?”
“Eo-k?”
Tiger?
I was so shocked I stopped struggling. I met the eyes of the seemingly impassive Suin man. You’re a Tiger Suin? Earlier the subordinate had said something about calling in a Tiger Suin. And from what the others were saying, the rest of them seemed quite close to a tiger as well. Then a thought struck me.
Why hadn’t I caught on sooner? If there’s a Tiger Suin nearby, that means this is a Tiger Suin group! Could it be — are you people a Tiger Clan?
The Tiger Clan was a Suin clan that had long established itself in Korea — at one point they had even been elevated to the status of kings. They had of course been pushed out and ostracized by the sheer number of humans, but in the modern age they had reclaimed their standing and secured their place in Korean society. They were a clan that had also used that position to work toward improving the perception of Suin.
Which meant they were the Suin clan that held the greatest power and influence in all of Korea.
“He is not a tiger.”
“Phew, thank goodness. I thought he was a tiger the Executive Director knew.”
My head snapped around. These people really are the Tiger Clan!
“However, he is a cat that the Executive Director is fond of.”
“Ah, right. Good thing you’re here. Since you’re the same Feline type, you’d know what he’s saying, wouldn’t you? We’re human so we can’t understand.”
“We’re not the same species, so I can’t understand either. Each one is subtly different. And this one isn’t even a Korean-native breed.”
I was born in Korea, but my mother wasn’t Korean. The language of gestures carried across, but spoken language was another matter.
“Can’t you at least make a rough translation? You’re the only Feline Suin here.”
The Tiger Suin stared at me steadily.
Under that gaze my shoulders hunched, but I kept trying hard to wriggle free.
“…He says to let him go.”
“We could figure that much out ourselves just from looking.”
But it was no use. No matter how much I flailed my arms, I couldn’t break free from the man’s grip. Eventually, utterly spent, I gulped down ragged breaths and trembled.
“Eu-ung…”
Why has my lot in life come to this.
With a Suin having shown up, escaping from this place would be even harder now. Better than those two, but this one also gave off a dangerous air.
I couldn’t stand how pathetic I was.
