A rough voice, tinged with a metallic rasp, slipped from his dry throat. No… That can’t be right. Bae Jung-yoon has no reason to be here. He hadn’t heard anything about him waking up. Was his body in such bad shape that he was hallucinating?
Just as the thought passed, a familiar voice called out.
“Hoon.”
Standing before him was unmistakably Bae Jung-yoon. Why would he be here, when he should still be in the hospital?
With the same calm presence as always, Bae Jung-yoon looked at him. No—he seemed slightly different. There was a coldness in his expression that hadn’t been there before.
Why are you here? Before Go Hoon could ask, Bae Jung-yoon spoke first.
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?”
“…Phone?”
He pulled out the phone he had shoved deep in his pocket. The moment he turned on the screen, a flood of missed calls from Bae Jung-yoon lit up the display.
Business Major Bae Jung-yoon
[Hoon]
[Where are you?]
1:59 PM
Starting with that message, a long list of calls followed in tight intervals. He hadn’t even realized how many had come through. His condition really must’ve been worse than he thought.
“…How’d you even get here? Wait—when did you wake up?”
He didn’t know exactly when Bae Jung-yoon had regained consciousness, but it was obvious he shouldn’t be up and walking around yet. He’d been unconscious for over a day, after all.
“This morning.”
“Aren’t you supposed to still be in the hospital?”
Coming face-to-face with him like this, completely out of the blue, was disorienting.
“And how did you get inside? The front gate… it should’ve been locked.”
“I dunno. It was open.”
No way. The landlady was obsessive about locking up. Then again, maybe someone had forgotten to close it properly. It wasn’t just him and the landlady living here, after all.
Go Hoon gave a reluctant nod, somewhat convinced, and pressed his fingers against his temple. The throbbing in his head had grown worse.
“Anyway… why are you here?”
As overwhelmed as he was with joy at seeing Bae Jung-yoon alive and well, his body was reaching its limit. The pain was making his nerves raw.
But Bae Jung-yoon said nothing—just stared at him, unmoving.
“I asked why you’re here. You didn’t come for no reason, right?”
Go Hoon’s brow furrowed as he pressed for an answer. Then, Bae Jung-yoon took a step closer.
“There’s something I need to check.”
The response made no sense. Check what? Was it really so urgent that he had to come straight here the moment he woke up?
As Go Hoon tried to make sense of it, Bae Jung-yoon, eyes fixed on him, whispered in a low voice.
“Are you sick?”
Now you notice? Go Hoon bit back the sharp reply forming in his throat and shook his head. Or—he tried to.
He wanted to say no, but the words wouldn’t come out. His breathing started to grow shallow and rapid.
“Haa… ha…”
“Go Hoon?”
He staggered against the wall, breath ragged.
“Hoon!”
The urgent voice calling to him grew distant. At the same time, he felt his body tipping rapidly toward the floor.
***
Something was definitely wrong with his body. He wasn’t some fragile drama heroine—so why the hell did he keep collapsing like this?
Grumbling to himself, Go Hoon opened his eyes.
His body still felt like trash. His head was foggy, and his senses were completely off. …And this view—it looked like the one he had when he was a cat.
Blinking in confusion, he stretched his front paws wide. He wiggled his back legs, flicked both ears, then lowered his head.
What came into view was a body covered in pristine white fur.
What the hell? Why am I a cat again?
The moment the thought hit, Go Hoon froze.
He clearly remembered seeing Bae Jung-yoon at his place right before he blacked out.
Just then, he felt a hand gently touch his back. It stroked him from the back of his head down along his spine in a calm, soothing motion.
Go Hoon instantly knew who the hand belonged to.
But fully understanding the situation? That was another matter entirely. What the hell is going on?
His eyes darted around in a panic. Now that he noticed, the surface he was lying on… it was someone’s thigh.
Things that should’ve been hidden were now out in plain sight—Bae Jung-yoon’s belongings, the ones Go Hoon had shoved deep into the closet. They were laid out across the floor, like someone had gone digging for them.
“Hoon.”
At the sound of his name, his heart went cold. Go Hoon jolted upright, immediately scrambling away. His fur stood on end as he retreated, muscles tight with tension.
“Grrrr—”
A low, warning growl rumbled from deep in his throat. Unlike Go Hoon, who was completely on edge, Bae Jung-yoon remained unfazed. He tilted his head slightly, staring with those ice-blue eyes—and then let out a quiet chuckle.
“Can’t believe you were actually a cat.”
The low murmur slipped into his ears like a knife. There was no denying it now. He’d been completely, unmistakably found out.
He’d suspected for a while that Bae Jung-yoon had started to piece things together about Kkongddeok’s identity. But up until now, there had always been a boundary—an invisible line that hadn’t been crossed. Without solid proof, unless Go Hoon told him the truth or transformed in front of him, Jung-yoon could never be certain.
And yet in the end, he’d transformed right in front of him.
Go Hoon kept his eyes locked on him, guarded and wary. Bae Jung-yoon responded with a soft smile, lips curling up gently.
“I missed you, Kkongddeok.”
All the tension that had coiled through Go Hoon’s body suddenly unraveled.
“So much.”
The tenderness in those words disarmed him instantly, the sharp edge in his chest fading.
Go Hoon opened his mouth to say something without thinking, but quickly remembered the state he was in and slipped into the bathroom. If they were going to talk, he needed to be in human form.
A few moments later, now back in his human body, Go Hoon called out from behind the bathroom door.
“Bring me some clothes.”
He wasn’t exactly thrilled about greeting him naked. He heard rustling outside—the sound of Jung-yoon moving—followed by the quiet approach of footsteps toward the bathroom.
Go Hoon reached out blindly.
Then suddenly—he was yanked forward by a brutal grip. His body, still unsteady, was pulled effortlessly through the doorway.
Thud! His back slammed against the wall. Fingers shoved into his hair, gripping hard.
Bae Jung-yoon looked down at him, cold eyes burning into him as his fingers dug deep into his scalp. Pain exploded across his skull, twisting Go Hoon’s face in a grimace.
“Gah—! What the hell are you doing?!”
He struggled fiercely, trying to pry the hand off, but Bae Jung-yoon’s grip was relentless. Even as he squirmed and fought, Jung-yoon clamped down harder, like he was trying to tear his hair out by the roots.
Their eyes met—Go Hoon’s furious, Jung-yoon’s dead calm. Then, in a low, flat voice, Bae Jung-yoon murmured:
“Change in front of me again.”
…This bastard’s completely gone. The warmth he’d shown to Kkongddeok was long gone.
Staring into those gleaming, hollow eyes, Go Hoon froze. A cold fear slithered down his spine, wrapping around his chest. He couldn’t read him—couldn’t see a trace of emotion.
“Y-You crazy fuck! Let go!”
Go Hoon forced his unsteady body into motion. He tried to swing a fist, but his arm was caught mid-motion. His body was flipped, and his face slammed hard against the wall.
It didn’t end there. Bae Jung-yoon locked his arm into an L-shape and pinned it in place, forcing his upper body forward. The pressure on his back sent sharp, shooting pain through his shoulder.
“Argh…!”
Any more force, and his shoulder would dislocate—or snap completely.
His body was still weak, unstable. He wanted to fight back, to break free—but he couldn’t get any strength into his limbs. Not his arms, not his legs. The more he resisted, the more the pain dug in.
It hurt so bad he could barely breathe. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He’s seriously trying to rip my damn arm off.
The thought barely formed before his vision turned white. His body went limp—and in an instant, Go Hoon transformed back into a cat.
The hand holding his arm suddenly lost its strength.
As he slumped forward, Bae Jung-yoon caught him effortlessly and cradled the trembling cat in his arms, its frantic heartbeat thudding against his chest.
“Bae Kkongddeok.”
The low voice spilled into the space beside his ear. There was something disturbingly amused in that tone, but Go Hoon couldn’t react. He couldn’t move at all.
“You’ve come back to me.”
For 24 years, he’d trusted in his monster-like stamina. But today, he was about to set a personal record—his second time fainting in a single day.
…Go Hoon, your body’s toast.
Even as that empty thought flickered across his mind, his vision blurred and darkness swallowed him whole.
***
His whole body felt unbearably heavy. Even lying still, with every muscle relaxed, he felt like he was sinking—dragged down through the floor to the ocean’s depths.
Cold prickled against his skin. It wasn’t even winter—so why was it so freezing? Was it the draft?
Go Hoon groaned weakly and rubbed his cheek against the blanket.
A soft, comforting sensation brushed against him. His furrowed brow relaxed, and instinctively, he burrowed deeper into the warmth. A gentle coziness enveloped his entire body.
Mmm… something smells nice.
Wait. Nice?
There was no way his bedding ever smelled this good. Face buried deep in the plush blanket, he suddenly sensed something was off—and his eyes flew open.
The space around him felt familiar… but not in the right way. It definitely wasn’t his place. There were no stains, no dust, no lingering mustiness. It was clean. Pristine. Far too comfortable.
And then it clicked—
“…What the hell.”
Go Hoon shot upright. A quick glance around confirmed what he already suspected: he was in Bae Jung-yoon’s home.
When the hell did I get here?
He retraced his memory. The last thing he could recall was Bae Jung-yoon pinning him to the wall, pressing him down, demanding that he transform.
“That fucking bastard…”
He cursed under his breath, jaw clenched tight.
The memory alone was enough to send a sharp jolt through his right arm. He glanced down to find a clear, red handprint still stamped on his forearm. Undeniable proof that what happened wasn’t some fever dream—it was real.
At least the fever seemed to have broken a little while he was out. Aside from some lingering dizziness, he felt mostly okay.
He pulled back the blanket. Just as he expected—completely naked.
It looked like he’d returned to human form sometime after being brought here.
Why does my body feel so unstable? He was sure he’d passed out in cat form… and now he was human again. His body was shifting back and forth, seemingly without warning or control.
He was about to get lost in thought when it hit him—this wasn’t the time.
Wrapping the soft white blanket tightly around his shoulders, Go Hoon carefully climbed out of bed. He crept toward the door and gently grasped the handle.
It turned easily. So much for worrying it might be locked.
He cracked the door open and peeked out into the living room. No movement. No sound.
Holding his breath, he tiptoed across the hallway and slipped into the walk-in closet. He quickly grabbed the least flashy, most normal-looking clothes he could find and began changing.
A glance at the wall clock showed the hour hand pointed at eight. Given how dark it was outside the bedroom window, that had to mean 8 p.m.
If he moved fast, he could still make it to the factory in time for his shift.
Decision made, Go Hoon turned to leave— Then suddenly stopped.
Something caught his eye in the corner of the room. Something familiar.
Wait… is that—?
Brows drawing together, he reached out toward the small pile.
“…Why is this here?”
There, sitting neatly in the corner of the closet, were his phone and wallet—items he’d thought he’d lost for good.
