TGMND 144
by Springlila“Cat videos?”
“It’s about Bbosong.”
Yoon Ji-gu answered roughly.
Yoon Bbosong is different from ordinary cats. It’s just a bit more insolent than normal cats and has equally more sophisticated thoughts. Even a cat expert wouldn’t be able to guess what Yoon Bbosong-i was thinking or saying.
The second hurdle was in front of the mart. For some reason, everyone seemed to be out today, and again a voice called out to him from a passing car.
“Maknae. Come here.”
“Uncle!”
As the window rolled down, unwelcome faces made their greetings. Yoon Ji-hyeok beckoned to him with a finger wave. He should just take the kids to the amusement park on the weekend… Why was he loitering around here again?
“Here’s some pocket money for you.”
Yoon Ji-hyeok in the driver’s seat rattled his sunglasses and smirked. What’s with him, does he think that makes him look cool? Since the money itself wasn’t at fault, Ji-gu folded the cash he received in half and put it in his pocket.
“What’s with the money?”
Yeong in the back seat answered instead.
“Dad said his stocks mooned!”
“Hey! Yoon Yeong, who taught you to use such bad words?”
“Dad used it first!”
“When did Dad say that?”
“I’m telling Mom.”
Teaching kids such good things. Whether or not he realized his youngest sibling was mocking him to his face, Yoon Ji-hyeok seemed to be in particularly high spirits today.
“Hi, Yeong.”
“Uncle!”
Finally noticing someone who absolutely adored him, Yeong suddenly wiggled his butt and wanted to get out of the car. Yeong really liked Yeo-woon.
Yeo-woon smiled slightly while greeting the child. Looking closely, not just his face, but sometimes even his actions resembled Yoon Ji-gu quite a bit. Though of course, young Yeong was far more honest than Ji-gu.
Yeo-woon managed to calm the child by putting banana milk he’d bought for himself into his hands.
“Uncle, can I come to see Bbosong today?”
Yeong asked, trying to act cute. Yoon Ji-gu had no intention of spending his precious weekend time with the little brat.
“The cat is sleeping.”
“When will it wake up…?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“Why does it sleep so much?”
“All cats are like that.”
“…Can’t we wake it up?”
“Hey, Yoon Yeong. Would you like it if someone woke you up while you were sleeping? It’s the same for cats.”
It was a shameless lie. But truly, whenever his nephew came over, Bbosong would either sleep or climb to high places to watch Yeong. The more this happened, the more desperate Yeong became for Bbosong’s attention. The child thought seriously for a moment before making a decision.
“Okay. Send me Bbosong videos today too. Just Bbosong, not uncle. And you have to send pictures too. Just Bbosong, not uncle.”
“…”
“And don’t take your clothes off at uncle’s house.”
“Mind your own business, you little brat.”
“I’m not little! I’m the biggest in kindergarten!”
“Put your seatbelt back on. Hyung, go quickly. There’s a car coming behind.”
“Alright. See you next time, Yeo-woon-ssi!”
The car glided away from the alley. It had been chaotic. Yeo-woon, who was now drinking the banana milk with a straw after placating Yeong, mumbled.
“This neighborhood is small…”
“…”
Though it wasn’t meant to make him self-conscious, Ji-gu felt oddly guilty at those words and, while watching Yeo-woon’s reaction, subtly snatched the bag he was holding.
When Ji-gu saw his second brother’s car in front of the house again, he quickly grabbed Yeo-woon’s hand and darted into the building. He didn’t want to waste his time with hyung by getting caught by another weird person.
This neighborhood was occupied by his family. Even living alone didn’t feel like living alone.
It was an ordinary weekend. Preparing and eating meals with Yeo-woon, enjoying hobbies…
Even without deliberately doing things together, just sharing the same space and each other’s time felt enjoyable. He wished every day could be like today.
“What was that about Yeong earlier?”
“What?”
“Your mother mentioned it too. Are you uploading videos somewhere these days?”
“…It’s nothing special.”
When Yeo-woon asked to see, he couldn’t refuse to show him.
The channel had a blank default profile and empty channel description. Only the channel name had been changed to Yoon Bbosong.
Initially, he started sending videos to Yoon Ji-hyeok because Yeong kept making a fuss about wanting to come see the cat. But when the messenger file attachment period expired, he kept pestering him to resend the old videos. So…
“Is this when Bbosong was a baby?”
The screen showed footage from when Yoon Bbosong was still living on the streets. Being unusually wary for a kitten, at first he couldn’t even get close and had to film from far away with extreme zoom. There weren’t any long recordings, just occasional clips stitched together, showing its gradual growth as the video progressed.
Back then, he hadn’t planned to take it home. Something about being responsible for such a small life until the end felt somehow scary.
“Oh.”
“Why did you pause there!”
Near the end of the video, there was a brief shot of the cat purring on his lap, and his shirtless upper body was momentarily visible. It was really just for a moment, but he paused to look at that. Lee Yeo-woon is truly a pervert.
If-if you want to look, I’m right here beside you.
“Already comments with just twelve subscribers?”
Yeo-woon clicked on the video comments. After scrolling, he went back and started browsing other videos. This time, Yeo-woon immediately opened the comments section and asked Ji-gu.
“Why do these people keep leaving know-it-all comments?”
Ji-gu looked at the problematic comments Yeo-woon was examining.
Rose Lee: The cat’s meow is too quiet.^^ Only car and wind sounds are loud. Subtitles are a must! Need improvement~~^^
“That’s mom.”
“…”
Yeo-woon flinched and added.
“The car sound is a bit loud though. …Then who are these people below?”
“Look at the names.”
“…”
Yoon Ji-ho: Why’s the video so shaky?lol
Yoon Ji-ho: 04:27 completely out of focus here. I could film better with my feet.
Yoon Ji-ho: 02:10 Looks like the ear is torn? wtf what did you do to the cat shouldn’t you take it to the hospital?ㅡㅡ
└Yoon Bbosong: Cat ears are naturally like that
└Yoon Ji-ho: Why the informal speech
Seong Name: Giving.the cat that expensive red ginseng^^ Living the best life. Better than humans. Dad wants to.be reborn as a cat in the next life.~
└Yoon Bbosong: It’s not red ginseng, it’s cat treats
└Seong Name: Cat ginseng hahaha~~~@
Han Ah-reum: The jelly pad is pink. So cute
hyuk yoon: Hahahahaha?,??
“They’re all people I know.”
“Who is Han Ah-reum?”
“First brother’s girlfriend.”
“Future sister-in-law?”
“You could call her that.”
“Hmm….”
Except for Han Ah-reum’s comment, the whole family had gathered in the comments section wearing the mask of malicious commenters.
All videos had quite a lot of comments compared to their views, including multiple comments from Yeong and a few simple supportive comments for the channel.
“Are these people your family too? People like Kim Deok-bae seem like regular subscribers.”
“Uncle Deok-bae is dad’s fishing friend.”
“…”
Mom from various hobby groups, and father from the fishing club. They’d been spreading exaggerated rumors about their son having a cat and uploading videos these days. Yoon Ji-gu sighed, saying that was his concern.
Yeo-woon suggested his own solution. There should be a setting to make videos visible only to people with the link… After hesitating briefly at Yeo-woon’s mumbling, Ji-gu answered in a very small voice.
“If someone happens to see it… it’s okay if they do. So I just left it public.”
“Hm?”
He wanted as many people as possible to love Bbosong. While his world now had Yeo-woon and others and would have more people in the future, Bbosong’s world really only had him…
That’s why he’d set it to public, just in case. So that someone might chance upon it and love it. He didn’t want to give only one person’s worth of love to his greedy cat.
Yoon Bbosong, who had been prowling around, suddenly hopped onto Yeo-woon’s lap. Yeo-woon’s eyes curved.
“Do you like hyung that much?”
Yeo-woon stroked between Bbosong’s eyes with his finger as if pressing down. Just from that alone, it purrs like a motorcycle engine, apparently enjoying it so much. Its black tail swayed gently.
You’re so obvious even when trying to hide it, you easy cat.
“Bbosong-ah. Should hyung just live here?”
“…!”
“Should hyung not go home? Hm?”
Lee Yeo-woon speaks in a higher tone than usual when talking to children or animals. A deep tenderness permeated his gentle voice. When he approaches with that tender voice and softly coaxes, neither children nor animals can resist.
Ji-gu knows it’s just casual talk. Of course, it must be empty words. He knows it’s a joke… But he couldn’t understand why his heart suddenly sank at those words.
In fact, they were already practically living together now. Yeo-woon would spend time at his own place but would also randomly drop by Ji-gu’s house. The same was true for him. They were close enough to share each other’s door passcode and enter each other’s private spaces anytime without it being strange. That’s how close Yeo-woon and he had become.
But… would there come a day when he would live with him too?
“…”
For some reason, Ji-gu couldn’t imagine it. A life where Yeo-woon doesn’t return to his own home. Their living spaces would overlap to the point of being almost identical. While thinking it might make them even closer than now…
A sudden fear gripped him. If that happened, the flaws he hid from Lee Yeo-woon might be revealed. Ji-gu unconsciously thought he might end up being disliked by him.
He didn’t want to show his unwashed face in the morning. Though Yeo-woon said he didn’t mind, he just didn’t want to do that. He always wanted to look cool for him. He actually really loved it when Yeo-woon called him cute.
We might really live together someday… Will that really happen? His heart swelled at the thought. His feelings were half fear, half anticipation.
“Ji-gu thinking dirty thoughts again? You’ve been quiet for a while.”
“N-no, I’m not! What are you saying…”
“Then is it okay if I just go home today?”
“…”
“Should I go home?”
“…Stay over.”
Since tomorrow’s still the weekend…
Yeo-woon glanced down at his sleeve caught in Ji-gu’s large hand and chuckled. Seeing his smiling face made Ji-gu’s thoughts very complicated.
Ah, not even knowing my deep feelings… Hyung is really a pervert.
* * *
A loud alarm rang. A groan escaped from Yoon Ji-gu, who was hugging Yeo-woon’s waist. Yeo-woon reached out to the side, fumbling around before finding his phone and turning off the alarm.
But less than 10 seconds after turning off the alarm, the ringing started again.
“What now….”
Yeo-woon roughly removed the hand on his waist and sat up first. When he picked up his phone, it wasn’t the alarm but a phone call. When he instinctively hung up, no more calls came through.
The door opened slightly, perhaps drawn by the phone’s ringing. A black cat tail could be seen swaying beneath the bed.
“Ah, it’s Seol.”
Both missed calls were from his younger sister. Yeo-woon scratched his cheek while checking the messages that were still coming in.
Seol: Not home?
Seol: Mom told me to bring Oppa side dishes but where are you wandering around on a weekend morning
Seol: Why’d you hang up?
Seol: Why’d you hang up?
Seol: Why’d you hang up?
Seol: Why’d you hang up?
Seol: Why’d you hang up?
Seol: Give me your door passcode the food will spoil if I leave it
Yeo-woon replied with a yawn.
Yeo-woon: Are you a voice phishing scammer?
Seol: Wtf are you talking about why aren’t you answering calls
Seol: Just tell me the passcode already
Yeo-woon: lol
Yeo-woon: My Seol never calls me Oppa~
Seol: Ugh so annoying;
Seol: Tell me the passcode
Seol: If you don’t
Seol: I’ll break down the door
Just joking. Lee Yeo-woon silently laughed as he stepped down from the bed. He quickly put on the pants he had worn yesterday and threw on Yoon Ji-gu’s T-shirt. When he turned around after getting dressed, he saw Yoon Ji-gu sleeping soundly and the black cat that had confidently taken his place.
The slightly curly black hair was a mess from tossing and turning all night, and the way he lay on his side was more defenseless than ever. Lee Yeo-woon found it fascinating that he had naturally blended into this scene.
Yoon Ji-gu didn’t know how to push and pull. He was honest with his feelings and though trembling, he would just push forward recklessly.
That personality inadvertently led to his family discovering their relationship, but they accepted the fact without any fuss. It was surprising how whenever he ran into Ji-gu’s family in the neighborhood, neither they nor he felt any awkwardness.
Lately, Yeo-woon had been thinking more seriously about his relationship with Ji-gu.
When Yeo-woon opened the front door and stepped out, his younger sister turned around a few steps ahead and tilted her head.
“Huh? Wasn’t your home… here? Did you move?”
“Who moves right next door.”
Yeo-woon took the shopping bag Seol was holding. As he entered his door passcode and went in, Seol followed behind with a strange expression.
After neatly arranging the side dish containers in the refrigerator, Yeo-woon turned around. Seol was standing with her arms crossed, creating an interrogation-like atmosphere.
“…”
“Why are you staring?”
Seol, who had been staring intently at Yeo-woon for a while, spoke while picking off hair from his clothes.
“Why are you wearing such big clothes. What’s this, does someone have a dog?”
“Not a dog, my lover’s cat.”
“Cat? Show me a picture… wait. Your lover lives next door?”
“…”
“…No way? Last time, that, super glaring guy said he lived next door… Ah, he must have moved?”
Ah right, now that Yeo-woon thinks about it, she ran into Ji-gu before going on that trip. Though it was just passing by, she seemed to remember that day.
“He didn’t move.”
“…What?”
“He’s just really shy. He wasn’t glaring. Last time, he asked me to tell you he was sorry he couldn’t greet you, but I forgot.”
Seol stayed blank-faced for a moment before suddenly frowning deeply.
“You’re saying that guy and your lover are the same person?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“…You’re not lying?”
“Nope.”
Seol thought her brother who said such things so naturally was really strange. But… somehow it wasn’t surprising.
“Really? But why are you apologizing for him? Tell him to do it himself!”
“You’re not bothered that your brother is dating a man?”
“Well, no….”
Seol hesitated for a moment before adding.
“It’s just unexpected. You had lots of girls who liked you since school. But Lee Yeo-woon, you steadfastly only dated women, so I thought men weren’t even in your consideration.”
A moment of silence passed. Seol stared quietly at Yeo-woon before bluntly saying,
“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
That was a typical response from Seol. She had never been particularly interested in Lee Yeo-woon’s love life. It was the same for him. There was no need for siblings to report every detail of their romantic affairs to each other.
Yeo-woon saw his sister off to the hallway as she prepared to leave. Seol watched him awkwardly before asking.
“But why are you telling me this?”
“Just wanted to.”
“You’ve never introduced anyone to me before.”
“Were you disappointed?”
Seol’s expression twisted at Yeo-woon’s smiling response.
“Damn, what are you saying… Just pay me for running errands. My arms nearly fell off carrying all that.”
“I’ll send it to your account.”
Yeo-woon showed his phone with a slight wave. Seol’s slightly sullen expression cleared. She nodded once emphatically as she stepped into the elevator that had just arrived.
“Don’t tell mom you paid me. She’ll cut my allowance.”
“Seol.”
“What now?”
As Lee Yeo-woon hesitated for a moment, Seol pressed the open button to keep the door from closing.
“Is it a long story? Should I get off?”
Why am I more nervous now than before? Yeo-woon swallowed hard. No matter what anyone said, Yeo-woon had never regretted his choice, and never would. He wasn’t seeking Seol’s understanding about his relationship with Ji-gu either. That was the truth.
“Are you free any evening next week?”
He simply didn’t want to hide the existence of someone he cherished and loved. That was all.