Chapter 8

8. The Tiki-Taka of the Baby, Puppy, and Cat

After getting out of the taxi, Hyun-ju stopped by the mart in front of her house to buy wet wipes and diapers.

These were essential items that, no matter how many she stocked up on, would always run out eventually.

She put the wet wipes in her bag and, holding two packs of diapers in her hands, stepped outside. The sun had already set.

She walked through the dark alleyway and arrived home.

Perhaps due to the intense nervousness she had felt at the film company, a wave of fatigue suddenly washed over her.

'I should go in and rest for a bit. I did all the dishes before leaving, so I should tell my brother to order dinner tonight.'

With her exhausted body, Hyun-ju entered the code for the door lock.

– Meow.

Just as she was about to open the door, a cat's meow came from somewhere, and she instinctively turned around.

The handsome cat that often waited for her in front of the house was nowhere to be seen.

Did I hear it wrong?

After entering the house, Hyun-ju noticed Do-jin's shoes and called out to her husband.

"Brother~! I'm home. Do you know what happened today? I met a really annoying auntie... met... met... huh?"

Do-jin was lying on the living room sofa with his legs stretched out.

This was a familiar sight.

What was different was...

A black cat was playing on Do-jin's stomach.

"Brother? Brother?"

"Yeah. Did you have a good trip? You must have worked hard."

"That's not the point right now... that cat..."

Do-jin, who had been stroking the cat's head while lying down, sat up.

Then, with a serious expression, he said to Hyun-ju.

"Wait. Don't get mad, just listen. There's a reason for this."

"What reason?"

Do-jin glanced at the cat lying on his lap and began to speak.

"This cat has been following me for a few days now. It even tries to get into the car when I go to work."

It wasn't just following me?

Hyun-ju was quite surprised to hear this.

Did it want to live in our house?

Why?

Bok-sil sometimes barks while looking out the window. Could it be friends with Bok-sil?

She couldn't figure it out.

But she could clearly feel that the cat liked this house.

"So?"

"It's still cold outside, and it looked pitiful."

"You just brought it in because it looked pitiful? We have a baby and Bok-sil at home."

"Well, when I came home today, I tried to stop it from coming in, but it kept meowing at the door. It seemed hungry or maybe in pain, and it cried for a long time. The lady upstairs saw it and thought it was our cat. She even said we might have abandoned it outside..."

"I told her it wasn't."

"But she didn't believe me. So..."

"That's how it ended up here?"

"For now. It was meowing at the door, so what could I do? I took it to the animal hospital before bringing it home, so don't worry about that."

"What did the doctor say?"

"Very healthy. The doctor was surprised, saying it was even healthier than indoor cats. I paid extra to get it bathed. It's completely clean now."

Hyun-ju sighed deeply.

Was this our fate?

"Are you planning to keep it?"

Do-jin subtly observed Hyun-ju's reaction as he spoke.

"If you don't like it, I can ask my colleagues at the police station tomorrow if anyone wants to take care of it. Or I can post on the internet."

Seeing Do-jin, who looked the happiest he had in a while, petting the cat's chin, Hyun-ju thought for a moment and decided to add another family member.

"Alright. Let's keep it. Didn't you say you wanted to keep a cat before?"

It just so happened that Hyun-ju had been considering whether to bring a pet into the house.

She felt relieved.

After unstrapping the baby carrier, Hyun-ju held Si-woo and approached the cat.

Since they were going to keep it, she wanted to introduce it to Si-woo.

"Si-woo, this is a cat. A cat."

Si-woo, held in Hyun-ju's arms, and the cat sitting on Do-jin's lap, looked at each other.

Do-jin grabbed the cat's front paw and waved it.

"Say hello. This is Si-woo, the top of the house... Oh, the doctor said it's about a year old? So it's the older one?"

"Brother, don't say that. What if Si-woo calls Bok-sil and the cat 'big brother' later? Si-woo is the oldest."

"Got it."

With their parents' voices in the background, Si-woo loudly called out to the cat.

"Abu!"

'Are you here?'

The cat also got up from Do-jin's lap, stretched, and meowed.

– Meow~!

"Abuabuabu! Abububu!"

'Behave yourself and don't mess up the house. If you scratch the wallpaper or furniture, you'll get a lot of scolding.'

– Meow... Meow...

Seeing Si-woo, who suddenly became talkative, and the cat, Do-jin and Hyun-ju burst into laughter.

"What is it? They seem to be having a conversation, don't they?"

"Yeah, they're cute. Brother, wait a moment. Let's take a picture of the cat. Let's take a photo of Si-woo and the cat together."

"Sure. Bok-sil~! Come here too. I'll hold you. Let's take a commemorative photo of the three of you getting along well."

"Should I include your face in the photo?"

"No, just the kids. We can use it as a profile picture later."

Do-jin sat Si-woo on his lap and held Bok-sil and the cat in his arms.

Click!

The photo captured the adorable Si-woo with a bright smile, the cat with wide, surprised eyes, and Bok-sil, all in Hyun-ju's phone.

After checking the photo, Hyun-ju burst into laughter at the decalcomania-like expressions of the two animals and handed the phone to Do-jin.

"They're cute, but they look funny. Should we take another one?"

"No, this is good. Send it to me."

"Are you going to post it on social media? You used to say you didn't want Si-woo's face to be seen, but now you're posting his photos?"

"Since he's already appeared in a drama and signed a movie contract... I see other colleagues posting their kids' photos on social media. I'm just showing off, you know."

Hyun-ju recalled what she had heard from Jung-tae's mother earlier that day.

"Brother, do you have 30,000 or 40,000 followers on social media? Is that a lot?"

"It depends on the person. For a celebrity, it's not much, but for a regular person, it's a lot."

"How many followers do you have?"

"About a hundred."

"That's not many."

"I just post landscape photos occasionally. I don't have the charm to attract followers. But lately, when I post Si-woo's photos, my followers have increased. I get a lot of likes. Si-woo must be cute."

"Our Si-woo is really cute. Maybe I should create an account and post some of his photos?"

"You used to say you didn't care, what's the sudden change?"

"I saw another child actor's mother today and felt like I'm living too isolated."

"Sure, give it a try. Take photos of food when you go out to eat, and take photos of pretty things you see on the street. Do you want me to teach you how to do it?"

"Sure."

"Sit here."

Hyun-ju sat next to Do-jin and learned how to create a social media account and post photos and videos.

For Hyun-ju, who was exhausted from housework and childcare, everything Do-jin taught her was new and interesting.

"Done. It's simple, right?"

"If I just post photos, will people really follow me?"

"Sure."

"Hmm, then I should aim to have more followers than you. You have about 80, so I'll aim for 100?"

Do-jin laughed.

"Sure. People love baby and pet photos, so post a lot of Si-woo and the pets. You'll surpass me in no time."

"Got it."

Posts: 0, Followers: 0, Following: 0.

Hyun-ju's eyes sparkled as she looked at her first social media account.

* * *

– Woof!

– Meow!

On a weekday afternoon.

Si-woo, who was playing with blocks on the living room mat, turned around at the sharp sound behind him.

Bok-sil and Nero were growling at each other.

Hyun-ju, who was folding laundry, shouted.

"No! Don't fight! Nero, why do you keep eating Bok-sil's food? You have your own food."

Despite the cat food clearly in front of him, Nero was eyeing the dog food.

Nero's paw reached into Bok-sil's food bowl, and like a skilled gambler, he subtly pulled out a few pieces of food.

Thud.

Seeing his food fall out of the bowl, Bok-sil was furious.

– Woof!

Bok-sil's strong bark was met with Nero's front paw.

Punch!

Startled, Bok-sil tried to growl again, but was interrupted by a flurry of punches.

It was a skillful display of street fighting.

Shocked, Bok-sil quickly turned around and ran to Si-woo.

With Bok-sil gone, Nero proudly sat in front of Bok-sil's food bowl.

That's when it happened.

"Wow! Awooo!"

Si-woo shouted.

Nero, who was about to enjoy his meal, was startled and glanced at Si-woo.

Bang bang!

Si-woo was angrily hitting the mat.

Nero looked back and forth between the dog food in front of him and Si-woo, then quickly grabbed a piece of food and trotted over to Si-woo.

Chewing the food like a cool cat, Nero approached.

– Woof woof woof!

Bok-sil, hiding behind Si-woo, poked his head out and barked.

Si-woo grabbed the necks of Nero and Bok-sil, sat them down facing each other, and started a storm of baby talk.

"Abuabu- ibabu- awoawo- bububu-!"

'Be quiet, you two. And I told you to stop eating dog food.'

Bok-sil and Nero, pressed down by Si-woo's hands, glared at each other.

As Si-woo scolded them, he suddenly looked up and met his mother's eyes, who was holding a phone camera.

Lately, his mother had been pointing the camera at him every chance she got.

It looked like she was recording a video.

Seeing his mother's happy face, Si-woo decided to give her a performance.

"Abuabu. Abububu?"

'Mom is filming. Everyone needs to act their part.'

Bok-sil and Nero, who were having a staring contest, expressed their annoyance by simultaneously burying their heads in the mat.

"Yea! Awoabuba!"

'Get up! Ready, action!'

– Woof!

– Meow!

Bok-sil and Nero jumped up and barked loudly.

Then, Nero's front paw rose threateningly.

Bok-sil, startled, looked at Si-woo.

Si-woo grabbed Nero's raised paw to prevent it from hitting Bok-sil.

Nero, however, quickly extended his free front paw and hit Bok-sil's face.

Punch!

"Abuabu! Ababubu!"

To Hyun-ju, it looked like Si-woo was trying to stop them, but that wasn't the case.

'Good job. Use your claws. Let's do it again.'

Si-woo, as if telling them to stop fighting and make up, grabbed Nero's and Bok-sil's front paws and made them shake hands.

While they were forced to shake hands, Nero's other front paw, which was on the mat, slashed the air again.

Punch!

Bok-sil, who had been hit in the face several times, glanced at Si-woo and suddenly started barking fiercely.

– Woof woof woof!

Now for the highlight.

Since Bok-sil was in charge of taking the hits, Nero had to provide the comedy.

When Bok-sil barked, Nero was so startled that he jumped back.

Then, as if determined to eat all the funny cat videos on the internet, he fluffed up his fur, twisted his body in a strange way, and did a side step.

'...That guy really was scared.'

To bring out more of Nero's cat charm, Si-woo transformed into a director with a megaphone.

"Abubaba! Bubaba! Apupu!"

'Bok-sil, burning with revenge, chases after! Nero, roll and run in the funniest way possible!'

"Yeo! Abuabu- abububu-"

'Nero! If Mom laughs out loud, I'll change your food to dog food tonight.'

Nero's eyes sparkled, and he immediately entered method acting mode.

Hyun-ju's phone was capturing the entire scene.