Chapter 86

Birthday gift

Meow?

"…A cat?"

It was a sound so faint that I would have missed it if my hearing wasn't so acute. It wasn't a direct sound but one that was muffled by nearby cars or buildings.

I bent down to find the source of the faint meowing. Given how agile cats are, there was a high chance it was hiding in a crevice. As I stood in an odd position, passersby glanced at me but soon lost interest and walked away.

As I circled the area, the cat's meowing grew less frequent.

The first sound I heard seemed weak, and the energy in the meowing was fading. Growing anxious, I almost crawled around while calling out to the cat.

"Meow~."

Meow...

The fact that the cat was still responding faithfully was the only hope I had. After straining my ears, I finally found it. The cat was curled up inside the tire of a parked car.

"Meow. Come here."

I lay down in a narrow alley, turned on the flashlight on my phone, and stretched out my arm to check on the kitten.

The small, dirty cat was shivering. Its matted fur and emaciated state made it look like a lost child. The crust in its eyes suggested it might be sick.

"It's dangerous here…."

The cat was so close to the car, almost hanging onto the tire, that it could be in danger if the owner returned and started the engine. At least it would be fortunate if the cat heard the engine and ran away.

I turned off the flashlight and watched quietly. Then, a good idea came to me, and I cleared my throat.

"Hmm. Will this work? Purr, purr, meow, purr, purr, meow?"

I tried to mimic the sound a mother cat makes to call her kittens, hoping it would be close enough. After several repetitions, the cat stirred and took a few steps closer.

It worked!

"Good. Purr, purr, meow, purr, purr, meow—."

Seeing that it was working, I imitated the mother cat's meowing a few more times. The cat shuffled closer, eventually rubbing its small head against my fingers.

I extended my other hand and gently picked up the cat with both hands. It was much lighter than it looked. How long had it been since it last ate….

"Let's go together. How about it?"

Meow?

"Let's go to the vet first."

I took off the bomber jacket I had slung over my shoulder, wrapped the cat in it, and held it close as I looked for a nearby animal hospital.

I completely forgot about the members waiting for me for the birthday party.

* * *

After finding the animal hospital, registering, and handing the kitten over to the vet, I let out a sigh of relief. Then, I checked my phone and saw a pile of missed calls—23 in total.

"Oh no…."

After experiencing a potentially dangerous situation, I had lost contact and returned to my accommodation. I was worried. The members might have left the accommodation in a panic.

I quickly called, and before the second ring, Green answered.

"Sorry. I found an abandoned cat on my way back to the accommodation…."

"Yeah, it's okay. You're at the animal hospital, right? Finish the check-up and come back quickly. I'm really sorry for worrying you."

"Here? It's Hope and Love Animal Hospital. Are you coming?"

The call ended abruptly. They were probably on their way to the animal hospital. I was in for another scolding.

No matter how low I set the ringtone or vibration, the sound was too irritating, so I had it on silent. I had forgotten to change it to vibrate.

"Huh?"

Thinking about the scolding to come, I sighed. I didn't regret rescuing the cat, but I shouldn't have forgotten to contact them.

Since the accommodation and studio were nearby, and I found the cat in the area, I brought it to the closest animal hospital. It didn't take long for the members to arrive.

The door jingled as several men, wearing caps and masks, entered the animal hospital.

"Welcome…."

The staff member, who was about to greet the new customers, was taken aback and stumbled over her words. Another customer, who was sitting with her dog, looked at us in surprise.

Xehun held a phone with a selfie stick in one hand and approached the staff, lowering his mask to reveal his face.

Are they filming?

Before I could wonder, a stern reprimand, with the volume turned down, surrounded me, leaving me speechless.

"Hyunoh! Do you know how worried we were?"

"Sorry. I didn't realize my phone was ringing. I was completely distracted."

"Where's the kitten?"

"It's still being treated."

"I understand the situation, but you said you'd come back to the accommodation, and after 30 minutes, you still hadn't arrived and weren't answering your phone. Do you know how scared we were? We imagined all sorts of things. If it had been someone else, we wouldn't have been so worried, but you have a history…!"

I wanted to cover my ears from the scolding that felt like it was drilling into my eardrums. I endured it quietly, and Green finished with a terrifying statement that the rest of the scolding would be done back at the accommodation.

"We even started a live broadcast while waiting for you, and the fans were worried too."

"Ah…."

They had prepared a surprise birthday party to share my reaction with the fans. I had worried countless fans, and I didn't know how long they had watched the W Live. This was a major disaster that would be hard to fix.

Feeling helpless, I instinctively looked up, but all I saw was a white-painted concrete ceiling.

"We got permission to film. We can only show our faces and the vet's. We have to be quiet, though."

Following Xehun's instructions, we decided to continue the W Live outside while the cat was being treated.

I slightly lifted my cap, lowered my mask, and looked into the phone's lens. The chat messages flooded in, filled with tear emojis and 'ㅜ', 'ㅠ'.

The surprise birthday party, which they had been excited about, must have turned into a thriller. If I said I understood their feelings, it would sound insincere.

"I'm sorry. I was planning to go straight to the accommodation, but I got distracted by the cat's meowing…. I know it was a shock. I wasn't careful enough. If I had contacted you, this wouldn't have happened. I sincerely apologize. Everyone."

Reassuring messages flooded in like a tidal wave. Actually, it's not that big of a deal for a grown man to be missing for 30 minutes. If there hadn't been any previous dangerous situations, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

I have a history, but the members seem to be overprotective. Considering how safe our country is, I didn't bring it up for fear of getting scolded more.

– How is the cat? ㅠㅠㅠ

"The vet said there are no visible diseases other than conjunctivitis. However, it's severely dehydrated and malnourished due to starvation. It's currently receiving an IV."

Some of the fans, who are cat owners, kept offering tips on raising a cat, making it hard to keep up with the chat.

– Are you going to keep the cat?

– Adopt! Adopt!

– I want to see it!!!

– A handsome man and a cat? I can't handle it! 😂

"The vet said it's about two months old and needs careful attention. I was planning to send it to my parents' house. I didn't get the members' approval, and Theo has a busy schedule, so he'll be away from the accommodation often."

– Meow ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– The members don't have cat allergies, Hyunoh!

– Yeah… This is the wise choice… Sending it to a place where it can be happy is better than adopting it impulsively. 😢

"Our members don't have cat allergies!"

Did we talk about adopting the cat while rushing to the animal hospital?

"I was so excited! We can't keep a cat…? Really…?"

Bakha's eyes welled up, making me feel awkward. She had been looking forward to it, but I had to be firm for the cat's happiness.

"Hyunoh, how about keeping it for a day or two to see how it goes?"

"…Okay."

My parents would take good care of it, but I had grown attached to the kitten and wanted to raise it myself. So, I reluctantly accepted Green's suggestion.

While we were talking about the cat, a nurse came to take us to the consultation room.

We carefully entered the consultation room with the camera. With six of us in a not-so-large room, it felt cramped.

"Our meow has six guardians."

"Thank you for allowing us to film."

"I was surprised, but it's a good opportunity to promote our animal hospital. It's fine."

"How is the cat?"

The cat, which was now much cleaner, was curled up on the examination table. I had thought it was all gray, but now I could see it was a gray cat with a white tuxedo.

The vet informed us that the cat was a male and a Korean Shorthair.

"As I mentioned, the symptoms aren't severe, but it has conjunctivitis, so you need to apply eye drops regularly. The main issue is its nutritional state, but it seems to have regained some energy after the IV. When you get home, feed it small amounts of nutritious food frequently, and make sure it drinks plenty of water. …I'll give you a detailed guide to follow."

The kind vet explained the precautions to the new cat owner, one by one. The cat, wearing a neck collar, didn't resist when I picked it up.

"It's so calm. Is it because it's weak?"

"Despite living outside, it seems to like people."

The vet said the cat was very docile, making the examination easier. Cats have different personalities, but our cat seemed to have a beautiful one.

We bought a cat carrier and put the kitten inside, observing its movements quietly on the way back.

The camera for the W Live became a cat observation camera.

"Let's give it a name. A name!"

Bakha showed a paradoxical action, whispering with enthusiasm.

"I already named it. It's Hamhyun."

"Ah! How can you just add your surname! I was going to name it Alexander Frances Iliad Thraso III! Short for Alf III!"

"…Where did you get that name? And why III?"

"Just because! To make it sound cool!"

Meow?

"Rejected. Hamhyun doesn't like it."

"Sniff."

"Hamhyun, I claim you as my own."

"Since Hamhyun chose you, it will be hard to separate you two."

I want to keep it at the accommodation if it's not lonely, but I'm not sure what the best approach is. I just hope it's happy.

'Hyun' is a character from Hyunoh's name. It came to me instinctively, and it suits him well.

"Did I name it wrong…."

Can I separate Hamhyun, who carries Hyunoh's name, from me? I had this belated worry as we headed back to the accommodation.