ICYM Ch 9

Episode 9

“Kitty.”

When I called out, a cat poked its head through the fence. I opened a can and set it beside me, and the cat stretched lazily before nimbly leaping onto the fence and landing on the grass.

Hugging my knees, I quietly watched the cat. It glanced at me, let out a small meow, and headed straight for the food.

So I’m not that scary to you.

I let out a dry laugh at how relaxed it looked, so different from how it acted around Kendrick. While the cat ignored me completely, focused on its noisy munching, I pulled out my notebook.

There was a math quiz coming up. It was still early in the semester, so I could technically switch subjects if I really wanted to, but I had no real desire to change.

It wasn’t like I had another subject I was particularly good at, and switching now would probably make it harder to keep up with the pace.

This quiz wasn’t a big deal, but it would be a good way to check if I was keeping up with the material.

Step, step.

I turned around at the sound of footsteps behind me and saw Kendrick approaching. He was fiddling with the pull-tab on a can of cat food when he spotted me and froze.

He looked genuinely surprised to see me there, and for a moment I wondered if I had typed the message but forgotten to hit send.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d be here?”

I was just as flustered and began fumbling in my pocket to pull out my phone.

“…Oh, did you?”

Fortunately, I had definitely sent it. I nodded in response to Kendrick’s words.

“Yeah, I texted you after school.”

Only then did Kendrick seem to remember to check his phone. He pulled it out and confirmed my message.

“Sorry, just saw it now.”

“Next time, we should try to contact each other earlier.”

To my curt response, Kendrick replied, “Yeah, you’re right. In that case, I’ll just—”

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Before he could finish saying he’d be on his way, a noise came from the bushes beside the fence. It was too loud to be the wind, and both of us stared toward the bushes, forgetting to continue speaking.

Was someone about to come out of there? I swallowed hard, suddenly reminded of the time I had ripped my pants pushing through those same bushes.

Woof!

Peeking out, a small brown and white spotted dog stuck its head out. Seemingly displeased with the sudden attention, the dog barked.

Woof, woof-woof.

The sound of panting filled the silence for a while. Leaving the frozen Kendrick behind, I reached out my hand.

The dog had brown fur around its ears and eyes, while the rest of its body was covered in white fur. Its eyes looked gentle and kind. It resembled the dog I used to have so much that I found myself calling out without thinking.

“Awwww~ Come here~”

At my call, the dog bounded over and leapt into my arms. Meanwhile, the cat, having finished its food, distanced itself and stared at the dog cautiously.

Even under the cat’s watchful gaze, the dog wagged its tail like a propeller and stretched out a paw to scratch at my hand, as if asking to be petted. Its complete lack of wariness around people made me furrow my brow.

As I petted the head of the dog in my arms, I looked at Kendrick, who still seemed unsure of what to do. The feel of its fur in my hand was soft, without any tangles.

This wasn’t something I could handle alone.

“This one… doesn’t seem like a stray dog.”

Its coat was too well-groomed for that, and it showed no fear of humans whatsoever.

“They say this is something dogs can eat too. Should we give this first?”

“Yeah.”

Kendrick quickly came over and sat beside me, opening the can. As if it had been waiting for this moment, the dog started eating with loud, smacking noises.

Apparently famished, it jumped out of my arms and began devouring the food.

The cat, watching the scene unfold, let out a high-pitched “Meowrk!” and continued meowing.

“What’s it trying to say?”

“Who knows, maybe it thinks its food got stolen?”

“…You think?”

The cat lashed its tail against the ground and kept making strange sounds in our direction. The dog, too hungry to care, paid no attention to the cat’s protests and kept eating.

Kendrick, who had been quietly watching, pulled out his phone.

“There’s a cat translation app. Wanna try it?”

“There’s such a thing?”

“Yeah.”

Kendrick unlocked his phone and opened the app.

I chuckled when I realized it was already downloaded, not something he had to install on the spot.

Seeing my reaction, Kendrick gave an awkward little cough, as if suddenly embarrassed.

“That’s kind of amazing.”

The cat ignored us completely, still focused on the dog, meowing persistently.

Kendrick pressed and held the record button and captured the cat’s cry. A little hourglass icon appeared with a loading message.

Before long, the screen changed, and a sentence popped up.

[That’s mine.]

“Pfft.”

It wasn’t exactly accurate, but the app’s perfectly timed phrasing made me laugh.

At the sound of our laughter, the cat seemed even more annoyed and meowed again, more sharply this time.

The app, still running, recorded it once more. In the meantime, the cat jumped over the fence and disappeared, leaving behind one final sentence on the phone screen that felt like it was expressing the cat’s true feelings.

[I’m annoyed.]

“This is fun. It really feels like it’s translating what the cat meant.”

“It is, right?”

Kendrick looked in the direction the cat had gone and said with a hint of regret in his voice.

Meanwhile, the dog had finished its food. Thinking it probably needed water now, I took out a water bottle and a pair of scissors from my bag. I cut the bottle in half and placed it on the ground.

Only after filling its stomach did the dog seem to realize it was thirsty. It began gulping down the water eagerly, its nose practically buried in the makeshift bowl. As I watched, I felt Kendrick’s gaze shift toward me.

Wondering what he was looking at, I turned and saw him pointing at the badge on my bag.  

“Now that I look at it, it looks like this one.”

“Oh, I bought that because it reminded me of the dog I used to raise.”

“Really? It’s cute.”

Kendrick cautiously reached out and gently touched the dog’s back. The dog was so focused on drinking that it didn’t even notice, which seemed to amuse Kendrick. Gaining a bit more confidence, he started stroking its back.

When the wind blew, my eyes landed on the scar visible at the nape of his neck.

He had been intimidating yesterday, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like he wasn’t a bad guy at heart.

Should I tell him it’s okay to pet it more?

The dog glanced briefly at Kendrick’s hand touching its back. Even after confirming who was petting it, it stayed still. So maybe it didn’t dislike it.

But Kendrick, seemingly deciding that was enough, withdrew his hand and hugged his backpack. He rummaged through it and pulled out a paper bag.

“Oh, right. This.”

“What is it?”

“…A thank-you gift. For yesterday. The food was good.”

“…You’re giving me a thank-you for my thank-you?”

So now I’d have to give a thank-you for the thank-you of the thank-you.

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize.”

It felt unexpectedly comfortable between us. I opened the paper bag right away and found a blueberry muffin with a generous layer of crumble on top, the kind they sold at the bakery near school.

I took out the muffin, which was bigger than my fist, and split it in half.

“This one drops a lot of crumbs, so let’s just eat it all here before heading in.”

“…Okay.”

I handed Kendrick the slightly bigger piece. I was sure I’d given him the larger half, but when I saw it in his hand, it looked so small that for a second I wondered if I’d actually taken the bigger piece myself.

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you.”

The crumble on top was crispy, while the inside was moist and packed with whole blueberries.

“It’s good.”

As I ate, I snuck a glance at him.

I clearly gave him the bigger piece, didn’t I?

I hadn’t even finished a quarter of mine, but Kendrick had already polished off the last bite.

He’s big, so of course his hands are big, and with big hands come a big mouth.

There’s not a single thing about him that’s small, is there?

“…Do I have something on my face?”

“…Huh?”

Kendrick asked as he ran his thumb across his lips.

I was sure he hadn’t been looking at me. I thought I’d snuck a glance without him noticing. Did he catch me in the corner of his eye?

Caught off guard by his sudden question, I couldn’t come up with a good excuse, so I blurted out the first thing my eyes landed on.

“The scar…!”

“Scar?”

Idiot. Why did I mention the scar all of a sudden?

While I scrambled to salvage the situation, a breeze swept through the air.

“I just thought… if it’s because of the scar, trimming your bangs might be enough.”

I was scared, but I didn’t want to show it, so I racked my brain for a reasonable excuse and came up with that.

“…Really?”

Kendrick mumbled while fidgeting with his bangs.   

The line running from his forehead down to his nose was smooth and graceful, so honestly, having his eyes more visible might suit him better. So technically, what I said wasn’t a lie.

Just then, the dog suddenly jumped into my lap as if it had finished all its business. I adjusted into a cross-legged position so it could sit comfortably, and it immediately settled in. While gently stroking the fur on its head with my fingers, I checked my phone and naturally shifted the conversation.

“I don’t see any posts about a missing dog like this on social media or any apps. Should we just tell a dorm supervisor directly?”

“But if we do that, won’t it get sent to a shelter right away?”

As the two of us talked, the dog, who had been sitting quietly, perked up its ears at a certain word. Then, without warning, it kicked off my thigh and bolted forward.

“Whoa—!”

My hand instinctively reached out to catch it but froze midair.

Grrrrrr.

The dog, its docile nature nowhere in sight, began growling fiercely.