He’d been here a few times before, but that thing hadn’t been there. Was it moved here from somewhere else?
Scowling, he glared at the wallet, then opened it. Just as he thought—it was his. Both the ID and student card had Go Hoon’s name and photo on them.
“What are you doing over there?”
Startled, Go Hoon turned around. Bae Jung-yoon was leaning casually against the doorway, slouched to one side. When had he gotten so close without making a sound? The surprise lasted only a second before Hoon shot him a sharp glare.
In contrast, Bae Jung-yoon smiled faintly, looking completely relaxed. He clearly recognized what was in Go Hoon’s hand. His pitch-black eyes swept over Hoon’s entire figure. Then, noticing that everything Hoon was wearing belonged to him, Jung-yoon gave a low whistle.
“Looks like a stray cat broke into my house.”
“You’re the thief, you attempted-assault. Piece of shit.”
The words flew out of Go Hoon before he could stop himself. The insult wasn’t entirely logical, but it applied well enough to Bae Jung-yoon on both counts.
When Jung-yoon had grabbed his arm and cornered him, it had felt like his arm was going to be torn right off. The pain had been unbearable, and the fear even worse. Jung-yoon hadn’t been bluffing—he’d really looked like he meant to rip his arm out.
So it wasn’t entirely an unfair label. Still, despite Hoon’s sharp tone, the guy he was accusing just gave a bored snort, which made Hoon’s blood boil even more.
“Attempted-assault? You saying that to me?”
“Who else here fits the bill if not you?”
“And why would I be that?”
He genuinely looked confused, and Go Hoon let out a dry laugh, incredulous.
“You seriously don’t know?”
“Did you forget everything I did to try and save you? You’re calling me out on that over one little incident?”
One little incident? Hoon was stunned speechless—and yet, deep down, a pang of guilt stirred. He remembered it clearly: how Jung-yoon had thrown himself around him and rolled down the slope to shield him.
Come to think of it, this guy had only woken up less than a day ago. How was he already up and walking like nothing happened? Was he some kind of monster?
And the way he was talking made Hoon feel wronged in his own right. He’d run until his feet nearly split open trying to save him too.
If he’d known it’d turn out like this, he wouldn’t have wasted time worrying about whether Bae Jung-yoon was freezing to death. Not that it mattered now—too late for regrets.
In the end, they’d each taken a hit for the other. But that didn’t mean Hoon was going to forgive what Jung-yoon had done so easily.
Whatever concern he’d felt for Jung-yoon had vanished. The only thing burned into his memory was that merciless grip yanking his hair and twisting his arm like it was nothing.
“Doesn’t matter. You still tried to rip my arm off. Don’t tell me you’re gonna pretend you don’t remember.”
“No, Hoon. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to scare you a little.”
That was scaring someone? Unbelievable. Did this shameless bastard really believe that? After all that?
Go Hoon frowned, his eyebrows tightening.
“Fine. Then what’s this? Why the hell do you have my stuff?”
“Oh, that?”
When Hoon shook the wallet in his hand, Jung-yoon replied like it was no big deal.
“Of course I have it. I picked it up along with you when I found you on the street.”
Picked it up along with me? So Bae Jung-yoon had known all along that he was human?
Still reeling from that, Go Hoon watched Jung-yoon approach him without hesitation. His confident steps made Hoon instinctively take a step back.
“When I first found you, your clothes and other stuff were lying next to you.”
Go Hoon narrowed his eyes. So everything he thought he’d lost—Bae Jung-yoon had it from the start? The absurdity of it all made him laugh under his breath, but then Jung-yoon grabbed his arm.
“At first, I thought it belonged to whoever had been taking care of the cat. Didn’t think much of it.”
Go Hoon instinctively tried to pull away, but Jung-yoon didn’t let go. His thumb gently brushed the bruise on Hoon’s forearm, and Hoon clenched his jaw hard.
“Didn’t think much of it? If you find someone’s belongings, shouldn’t you try to return them?”
“And why should I?”
Was that seriously a question? Most people, if they found a wallet or phone, would at least take it to the police or try to contact the owner.
“Isn’t it the person who lost it that’s at fault?”
Jung-yoon looked genuinely puzzled, like he truly didn’t understand why he should’ve done anything else. Go Hoon let out a breathless, disbelieving scoff.
“Taking something that isn’t yours is theft. That’s a crime.”
“Then you should’ve come looking for me. If you wanted to call it a crime, it’s not on me to find you—you should’ve come to me.”
Go Hoon fell silent. So what—now it was his own fault for not trying hard enough?
That settled it. Bae Jung-yoon was definitely not wired like a normal person. His brain worked on a completely different frequency.
“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? That the cat was me.”
Suddenly, the day they’d run into each other in the school courtyard came to mind. At the time, he wasn’t sure, but now that he thought back on it, Jung-yoon had definitely called him “Kkongddeok-i.”
Jung-yoon didn’t avoid his gaze. He answered in a flat, emotionless tone.
“I figured it out from the ID and student card in your wallet. That the owner of all this was a ‘Go Hoon’ attending Hankuk University.”
At the same time, long fingers crept upward with a tickling touch, eventually resting over the back of his hand. Goosebumps spread from where their skin made contact.
“To be honest, at first, I didn’t think Kkongddeok-i could be you. It was just too hard to believe—the idea that a person could actually turn into a cat.”
Bae Jung-yoon’s eyes, locked onto Go Hoon, gleamed faintly under the light.
“But at some point, I became certain. I just knew the Kkongddeok-i I’d been looking for all this time was you.”
Go Hoon’s mind replayed their conversations in the lecture hall. He remembered how casually, how familiarly Jung-yoon had spoken to him—like they were old friends.
“Hoon.”
He called his name gently, lips curling into a small smile.
“When I was unconscious after the accident, I had a dream.”
A dream? What was he talking about now? Go Hoon frowned, confused, but Jung-yoon continued.
“I saw you. Up in a tree. A really tall one.”
That might not have been a dream after all. Go Hoon had actually climbed a huge tree trying to save him. He’d assumed Jung-yoon had been out cold the entire time—but maybe he’d regained consciousness briefly.
“No matter how far I reached, I couldn’t touch you.”
Jung-yoon’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if recalling the moment, though his pitch-black pupils never wavered from Go Hoon’s face.
“So I thought to myself—ah, I have to pull him down to where I am. Drag him down to the ground.”
He said it in a low voice, smiling softly.
“But I knew you’d never come down on your own. So there was only one option left.”
“……”
“I had to cut down the whole tree you were sitting on. Right?”
What the hell was he talking about? Go Hoon couldn’t make sense of a single word.
“So I’m giving you one last choice. Think it over carefully and give me your answer.”
Choice? The word echoed in his head, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. The glassy, unreadable eyes staring straight through him made it hard to breathe. Sweat slowly gathered in his clenched palms.
“What do you think will happen if I expose your secret?”
His shoulders flinched before he could stop them. His secret—the fact that he could shift between human and cat. If people found out…
He couldn’t even begin to imagine it. How they would look at him. What might happen next. None of it was predictable, but one thing was certain: it wouldn’t end well.
Go Hoon stared straight back and answered coldly.
“You really think people will believe you?”
“Of course not—if it’s just my word. But if I’ve got solid proof, the story changes.”
There was a dangerous glint of interest in Jung-yoon’s eyes.
No way. Go Hoon opened his mouth, hoping he was wrong.
“…You filmed it?”
“Came out nice and clear. Want to see for yourself?”
Jung-yoon admitted it without hesitation, voice smooth. It all made sense now—why he’d lured him into the bathroom, pressuring him to transform. He’d wanted to record the entire process.
And of course, the video would include footage of Jung-yoon using force, too. But when it came down to it… where would people focus?
That was obvious. On him.
Go Hoon clenched his jaw. His teeth ground together with a sharp scrape. This was blackmail. The video was leverage—proof that warned him not to act out.
Anger burned hot enough to sting the back of his neck, but Go Hoon forced his voice to stay level.
“What do you want from me?”
What was Bae Jung-yoon even trying to accomplish with all of this? So what if he knew Go Hoon was Kkongddeok-i? What did that matter?
Better to figure out what he wanted, hand it over if possible, and cut ties cleanly.
“Why did you run?”
“…What?”
But instead, Jung-yoon hit him with a completely unexpected question. Go Hoon blinked, thrown off, and Jung-yoon spoke again, calmly.
“Why’d you run from me? It’s not like I treated you badly. So why did you go so far as to hurt me to get away?”
“I didn’t mean to—it was an accid—”
“Do you know how hurt I was?”
Go Hoon froze. For the first time, Bae Jung-yoon looked genuinely wounded. Like he was actually hurt. His lips parted slightly, then closed again, before he finally let out a deep sigh.
“If it were you, and you thought your balls were about to get chopped off, would you just sit there and take it?”
Jung-yoon blinked at him once, then again.
“Ah…”
He let out a heavy sigh, then burst into laughter. A loud, easy laugh. Go Hoon watched him silently, unamused.
“You think this is funny? Laughing it up just ‘cause it’s not happening to you?”
Eventually, Jung-yoon’s laughter died down. He looked at Hoon again, his face now relaxed, almost sleepy.
“What if I said I wouldn’t neuter you? Would you stay with me as Kkongddeok-i then?”
