Since the moment Yoon Si-woo dragged me away from the fence where the unicorn was, he started giving off tense vibes whenever people approached us.
He seemed fine earlier, so I wondered what triggered this sudden change.
While I was tilting my head in confusion, I finally realized I had been inconsiderate when I saw Yoon Si-woo wearing a mask and a hat.
Thinking back, Yoon Si-woo was quite famous, and many people would recognize his face.
It was obvious that if people recognized him, he’d be bombarded with requests for photos and autographs, making it a hassle. That’s probably why he was trying to hide his face so we could enjoy ourselves without distractions.
But I couldn’t help calling attention to us by happily waving and saying goodbye to everyone while riding the unicorn, especially since I was already someone who drew a lot of looks.
From Yoon Si-woo’s perspective, it was natural to be anxious about getting caught.
…I felt suddenly sorry, especially since my earlier advice about not riding the unicorn was ignored, and now this happened.
Still, since we came out together, I gently bowed my head and apologized to Yoon Si-woo for getting too carried away and only thinking about myself.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I mentioned not to ride it too much, but I didn’t think it would draw so much attention…”
“…Just be careful with actions like that. They could lead to troubles,” he replied.
“…Yeah, I’ll be careful next time,” I said.
As I was answering, I felt embarrassed about my behavior.
After all, I wasn’t a child, yet here I was, smiling and waving at people like a total doofus.
It had always been a recurring issue my friends pointed out.
The more difficult things got, the more I forced myself to think positively, resulting in spur-of-the-moment actions without filtering my thoughts.
That’s why, after acting like a total moron, I would feel embarrassed when someone pointed it out, making it hard to lift my head. Just then, Yoon Si-woo murmured to me.
“…You know, Scarlet, you looked really happy riding the unicorn earlier. It was the first time I saw you smile so brightly.”
“…Well, it was my first time. Riding something like a unicorn was new to me.”
His comment had an underlying tone that sounded like, “Hey, was it that fun?”
After something like this happens, I often become the laughing stock for a while among my friends.
So I couldn’t help but answer curtly, defensively thinking he might be trying to tease me.
“Of course… yeah, it was my first time…”
However, Yoon Si-woo’s next words were quite different from what I expected.
“…Well, I told you to be careful, but if you want to do something when you’re with me, you can go ahead and do it. Don’t worry about what others think.”
“…But that could cause trouble.”
“Even if it does, I’ll handle the aftermath. So just do what you want and have fun, alright?”
From the way Yoon Si-woo said it, I could feel his consideration for me.
He probably thought that I might hold myself back worrying about him and wanted me to enjoy myself freely.
Even if it meant he would have to deal with the consequences, his willingness not to let me worry really touched me.
Damn, what a good friend…
Realizing that refusing would just put him in an awkward position, I nodded, and Yoon Si-woo grinned and asked,
“Alright then, do you have more things you want to do?”
“…First, let’s check out the other animals. My goal today is to pet all the animals I can!”
“Sounds good. We have enough time, so let’s check them out in order.”
With that lofty goal in mind, I started wandering around the zoo with Yoon Si-woo.
Not long after, I had a feeling my goal had some issues.
It all started when I tried to pet a sheep in the pasture where we ended up after the unicorn. The sheep dodged my hand and ran away.
“…Huh?”
“…Ahaha, that’s strange. Our sheep usually love people,” the zookeeper said.
I gave up on the sheep, thinking maybe it was just a nervous one, but then…
“…Uh, excuse me, zookeeper?”
“Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?”
The puppies that usually approached people for treats, the birds that swooped down to peck at food on my hand, the penguins that would rub against my hand for fish—
Even horses that looked a lot like unicorns would flee at the sight of me.
I had to admit it: I seemed to have a knack for making animals dislike me.
“…Why is everyone avoiding me?”
In a state of despair, I knelt down in Cat Town, a place where I thought a ton of friendly cats would be waiting for me.
Every passerby had a cat in tow, but I was left alone in an empty spot.
Seeing my miserable state, Yoon Si-woo tried to comfort me.
“Hey, don’t get too down. Everyone has their own temperament.”
“…You’re lucky. The animals like you. Ugh, I want to hold a cat… The unicorn was friendly, though…”
Hearing that from him, who was surrounded by cats clinging to him, didn’t comfort me at all.
I didn’t expect all the other animals to hate me.
That unicorn must have been a hipster unicorn with a thing for unique preferences.
Damn it, I just want to hold a cat.
With envy, I looked at Yoon Si-woo, who was monopolizing all the feline affection, when he grabbed one of the cats clinging to him and offered it to me.
But the moment I hesitated and reached out for the cat, it let out a hiss and wriggled away from Yoon Si-woo’s hand, escaping to another spot.
To add insult to injury, the other cats attached to Yoon Si-woo started showing caution as soon as I got closer, raising their fur defensively. I sighed with a bitter smile.
“…I think they’ll avoid me if I’m around. I’ll wait outside. You play with the cats for a bit.”
“Ah…”
Holding back tears, I stepped outside and sat down on a nearby bench, letting out a sigh.
I had never smoked, but was this what it felt like to want a cigarette?
All I had was the lemon candy I’d brought just in case.
I popped one lemon candy in my mouth, sulking that “this tear-inducing sourness is just due to the taste,” when I noticed Yoon Si-woo coming out of Cat Town behind me.
He was holding some strange package in his hand.
“…Why are you out so soon? You should’ve played with the cats a bit more.”
“Um, actually… about that…”
As I scolded him lightly, Yoon Si-woo stammered and hesitated.
“Th-this…”
He pulled something from the package and handed it to me.
It had a fluffy texture, and when I looked closer, it was…
“…A plushie?”
It looked like a cat plushie sold in Cat Town.
“Since it’s impossible to have a real cat, I thought you could have this… But don’t get the wrong idea! I’m not trying to tease you! You just looked really down…”
I could feel his heartfelt intention in the desperate expression on his face, and I knew he wasn’t joking around.
Even though I don’t collect plushies, his thoughtfulness warmed my heart.
Damn, what a good friend…
Not wanting to refuse and put him in an awkward position, I nodded and hugged the plushie tightly.
“…Thanks. This made me feel a lot better. I’ll cherish it.”
“…I’m glad to hear that,” Yoon Si-woo said with a shy smile, scratching his cheek.
But, carrying this plushie around seemed a bit inconvenient.
Worried it might get dirty, I thought about putting it in the bag when Yoon Si-woo unexpectedly exclaimed.
“W-wait! I’ll carry the plushie!”
“Hey, since you gave me a gift, it’s only natural that I carry it… Huh? Did you buy something else? What’s this? A headband?”
“Uh, I just bought it as a souvenir! Just a souvenir!”
There were two headbands with cat ears in the bag—one white and one black.
Even though Yoon Si-woo insisted they were souvenirs, it was clear that wasn’t all there was to it…
When I stared at him with a knowing look, he fidgeted between me and the headband I was holding.
Seeing him act that way made me chuckle.
Sheesh, do you really have to be so coy about it?
Laughing, I put the black headband on my head.
Yoon Si-woo looked flustered and stammered, “…Huh?”
“What’s wrong? Hey. This is yours, so I’m going to put it on you.”
Taking advantage of his dazed state, I tiptoed and placed the white headband on his hat.
I nodded in satisfaction after seeing Yoon Si-woo in the headband.
It suited him! Even though his hair was hidden by the hat, the white color matched him perfectly.
Then I turned to him, who was absentmindedly fidgeting with the headband I put on him.
“Come on, silly! This is a total waste as a souvenir. You wouldn’t find a chance to use it when you get home, and you can’t decorate it like the plushie either. You can only wear it when you’re here. If you don’t wear it now, it’s a waste of money. Right?”
He nodded as if in a trance, so I handed him the plushie.
“Here, you hold this. Let me borrow your phone for a second.”
“Why your phone…?”
“Why? I’m taking a commemorative photo.”
Yoon Si-woo blankly handed over his phone, and when I opened it, I felt an overwhelming sense of despair.
A bleak wallpaper and a photo album.
As someone significant in this “super socialite’s” life, I felt a sense of mission in this saddening situation.
It was now my duty as his only friend to help him out.
So I wrapped my left arm around Yoon Si-woo’s shoulders and extended my right arm to take a photo of us.
“Okay, I’m going to take it. Smile!”
Click
After checking the photo, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Yoon Si-woo’s expression was so ridiculous it couldn’t even be hidden by the mask!
I set that photo as his phone’s wallpaper and handed it back.
Dazedly staring at the screen, Yoon Si-woo seemed lost in thought, so I reminisced and said,
“If you want to remember today, a commemorative photo is better than a souvenir. You can always recall the memory when you see the picture.”
I remembered a friend who always insisted on taking pictures whenever we traveled or tried new foods.
At the time, I didn’t understand why he went through the annoyance of snapping photos, but as time passed, I realized that in the end, the only thing that remains are the photos.
Every time I looked at those photos, I could smile.
Hoping for Yoon Si-woo to keep today as a joyful memory, I said,
“Since you gave me a gift, this is my repay.”
“…Yeah. I’ll treasure it,” Yoon Si-woo replied.
Seeing him genuinely happy, holding the phone and smiling brightly, I couldn’t help but smile a little as well.
*
“Ah! Big brother and sister have become cat beastkin!”
“Cat beastkin? Oh, talking about the headband, right?”
“Hehe, cat big sister!”
When I joined Yoon Si-woo, who was sightseeing with the kids, Rion came running up to me with a bright smile.
While the director told the kids to enjoy themselves freely and explore, I felt a pang of guilt for neglecting Rion, who was supposed to come with me. However, seeing her smile relieved my worries.
“Did you see a lot of animals?”
“Yeah! I saw Mr. Giraffe and even Mr. Tiger roaring! We’re going to draw Mr. Bear now, will big sister and big brother come along? We’re all going to draw pictures with Mr. Bear!”
“Of course! Let’s go see the bear together.”
“Yay!”
After getting the director’s permission, Rion, excited to see her favorite animal, grabbed my hand and headed toward the bear enclosure with Yoon Si-woo.
Upon arriving in front of the bear exhibit, Rion seated us on a bench and assigned our spots.
“Big sister sits here, and big brother can sit a little further over there!”
“…Why’s the middle spot empty?”
“That’s Rion’s spot! But Rion can’t sit there because she has to look and draw! So big sister and big brother need to sit still until Rion finishes her drawing!”
Honestly, considering Rion’s free-spirited drawing style, it didn’t really matter if we sat there or not, but it seemed she needed models for her artwork.
Once she settled down and began wandering around the bench, she eventually nodded and plopped herself down on the ground a bit away.
Seeing Rion wear her white dress and sit down made my heart drop, but then I figured the director would’ve considered this level of messiness.
After all, if they let a child wear white, they must’ve expected it to get dirty.
As I watched Rion happily focused on her crayon and drawing, I began to feel a bit bored and turned to Yoon Si-woo.
“Hey, Yoon Si-woo.”
“Uh?! Yeah? What’s up?”
“I’ve been curious about something. Rion mentioned beastkin. Did they actually exist?”
“Yeah, like you said, ‘existed’, but most beastkin were unfortunately wiped out by the Witch of Gluttony like many other races,” Yoon Si-woo replied calmly.
So, beastkin really existed in this world.
That made me think of something I’d been wondering about for a while.
“Did the cat beastkin really end their sentences with cat sounds?”
“I’ve never heard of them doing that,” Yoon Si-woo replied.
“Wait… So they didn’t? That’s a bit shocking…”
What? So what I had seen in those stories were just fairy tales or some exaggeration?
As I processed that melancholic realization, Yoon Si-woo looked puzzled and asked,
“What do you mean by the cat sounds?”
“Oh, didn’t you understand? For instance, they’d say stuff like this: meow at the end of their sentences.”
As I demonstrated dramatically, Yoon Si-woo suddenly coughed loudly as if he were choking.
“Are you okay?!”
“I-I’m just going to buy a drink for a second! Cough…”
“Oh, hurry back!”
Turning beet red from his neck up, Yoon Si-woo dashed off somewhere to grab a drink.
Ugh… I hope he’s okay.
Watching him sprint away with worried eyes, I noticed something odd.
Yoon Si-woo, our model, had vanished, and Rion should have reacted.
Looking over at Rion, there was something unusual about the way she stared at the spot we were in, absentmindedly doodling on her sketchbook.
Having seen this state before, I realized her strange ability was in effect—she was probably drawing her future.
So I stood up and approached her to see what she was sketching…
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