Chapter 38: Is Your Name Saho?

“Oppa, where did you get this cat?”

If I told her that it was a wildcat, my younger sister would probably faint in terror.

“Chairman Park asked me to keep him for about two weeks.”

“So you went to Chairman Park's place just to pick up a cat?”

“Well, among other things.”

“But isn't he way too big for an ordinary cat? And if you look closely, his eyes are kind of fierce and predatory.”

At that moment, something no one expected happened. The wildcat deftly jumped out of my arms, walked over to my sister, and began rubbing affectionately against her legs. Hyeonji instantly melted at the display of affection, called him adorable, and started stroking his head.

‘This little rascal definitely understands human speech. Smart, and he even knows how to pretend to be a house pet...’

The beast's charm was so overwhelming that anyone who wasn't completely cold-hearted would instantly let down their guard. While I was thinking about it, my sister suddenly asked:

“Oppa, what's this cat's name?”

Monk Popchin had surely given him a name. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to ask Chairman Park Yeongil the most important thing—the cat's name. I couldn't just make something up.

“It slipped my mind. I forgot to ask Chairman Park.”

“Then let's just call him Meowy.”

“Whatever you want.”

And then something unexpected happened. The cat, who had been lying on the floor acting cute in front of my sister, suddenly sprang to his feet. In one swift movement, he dashed toward the balcony window and raised his tail straight up.

‘Did he hate the name Hyeonji came up with that much?’

My sister and I froze, staring silently at the beast without understanding what was going on. The tense atmosphere lasted for two or three minutes. Then, as though the danger had passed, the cat relaxed, returned to my sister, and resumed rubbing affectionately against her. While petting him, Hyeonji looked at me in confusion.

“Oppa, why did Meowy suddenly get scared and act so threatening just now?”

“I have no idea. It's late already, let's go to bed.”

After taking a shower and entering my room, I found the wildcat sprawled out comfortably on my bed as though he owned the place. My bed was only a single, so sharing it with such a large animal would be far too cramped. I walked over and lightly tapped one of his hind legs.

“Get off my bed.”

However, the predator didn't even move, making it clear that he had no intention of leaving. I had absolutely no desire to sleep in such cramped conditions with a wild animal.

“Do you want me to get rough with you, or are you going to get down while I'm asking nicely?”

Apparently, my warning worked. The cat sadly lowered his tail and reluctantly climbed down from the bed.

“And remember, if you sneak back up while I'm asleep, you'll be thrown out of the house immediately.”

“...Rrrrh!” the beast grumbled unhappily.

“If you act like that in front of my sister, she'll figure you out quickly. In the worst-case scenario, you'll end up in some secret laboratory where they'll perform biological experiments on you.”

Bzzzz!

As I lectured the cat, my phone vibrated on the desk. Looking at the screen, I saw that Chief Secretary Kang Inhan was calling.

“Hello, Chief Secretary.”

[The head of the security team assigned to Cha Hyeonji just reported something suspicious.]

“What is it?”

[A black sedan parked in the alley in front of your house for about two minutes before driving away.]

“Could it be...”

[What do you mean, "could it be"? Did something happen?]

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's voice was filled with concern.

“The wildcat I brought home suddenly rushed to the balcony window a few minutes ago, raised his tail, and assumed a defensive posture.”

I honestly explained everything that had just happened.

“...And he remained on alert for about two or three minutes.”

[Could it be... that this wildcat sensed that the people inside the black car were enemies?]

“But how could he identify them as enemies when we don't even know who they were?”

[I told you before. This wildcat is a sacred, extraordinary creature.]

“I suppose... But who could have been inside that black car?”

[I'll find out as soon as possible and report back to you.]

“Please do. Oh, and Chief Secretary, do you happen to know the cat's name?”

[Before his death, Monk Popchin used to call him Saho.]

The name sounded incredibly old-fashioned and plain, but it wasn't my place to complain.

“I understand. Thank you. It's late, so please get some rest.”

Click.

After hanging up, I looked at the beast lying on the floor.

“So your name is Saho?”

As if confirming it, Saho wagged his tail and nodded his head.

“Good boy. If you sense danger again like before, make sure to warn me immediately. Now let's sleep.”

As soon as I turned off the lights and lay down, Saho quietly approached the bed.

“If you don't get down within ten seconds, I'll throw you out of the apartment...”

Before I could finish, Saho obediently jumped back onto the floor. Yet despite the late hour, sleep wouldn't come. Thoughts of the black car waiting outside kept bothering me.

‘Could it be... that bastard who caused Hyeonji's accident?’

The thought made my heart sink. Kang Inhan had told me that the witnesses to the accident, who had moved to Canada and New Zealand, had disappeared without a trace.

‘But Hyeonji is under protection now, so something like that shouldn't happen again.’

Just as I chased away the dark thoughts and started drifting off, Saho carefully jumped onto the bed again.

“I'm not asleep yet. Get down.”

Arguing lazily with Saho, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

***

“Oppa! Hurry up and wake up, look!” Cha Hyeonji shouted as she burst into my room.

Thinking something serious had happened, I instantly shook off the remnants of sleep and sat up.

“What? What happened?”

“You won't believe it, but your Meowy completely devoured the leftover chicken from last night!”

“Seriously?”

“I'm telling you! Come and see!”

I quickly got up, rushed into the living room, and stared at the dining table. The fried chicken box was open, and inside were perfectly clean bones without a single shred of meat left. The culprit had vanished.

“Saho!”

Despite my call, the cat didn't appear. Of course, I knew his weakness very well, so I wasn't worried in the slightest.

“If you don't show up within five seconds, you're getting kicked out...”

As expected, before I even finished counting, Saho came flying out of the room. Fully aware of his guilt, he approached us and deliberately rolled onto his back, exposing his belly. Hyeonji looked at him in confusion.

“Oppa, so this cat's name is Saho?”

“Yes. I called Chairman Park's chief secretary late last night, and he told me.”

“That's a strange name.”

“I think so too. But if his previous owner gave him that name, what can we do? By the way, can cats even eat fried chicken?”

‘Ah... I finally understand the feelings of those fairy tale protagonists who had to hide the truth from their loved ones.’

“Well, felines are predators, you know.”

“Really? I guess that makes sense.”

“Yeah. He must've just been starving.”

“Looks that way. We should go buy him proper cat food.”

Buddhist monks didn't eat meat. Naturally, Monk Popchin probably hadn't fed Saho meat-based food. To satisfy his hunger, the beast had most likely grown up hunting rabbits, field mice, and fish in the mountains. Store-bought cat food might easily upset his stomach. The problem was that I couldn't tell Hyeonji the truth. After thinking of a safe answer, I said:

“Chairman Park mentioned that Saho is used to raw food.”

“No way, seriously?”

I needed to completely eliminate my sister's doubts.

“Saho, tell her I'm right.”

Hyeonji nearly lost her voice in shock. Saho nodded convincingly as though he had understood my words perfectly.

“O-oppa... Does he understand human language?”

“Chairman Park said he can understand simple speech. He's also toilet-trained.”

“Wow! That's incredible.”

“Just don't get so excited that you send applications to those TV programs about unusual animals. Anyway, back to the point. Chairman Park said Saho loves raw chicken.”

At that moment, something unexpected happened. Saho, who had been peacefully lying on the living room floor, stood up and approached the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. He persistently scratched at the glass.

Realizing that he wanted to go outside, I walked over and opened the door. As soon as Saho stepped onto the balcony, he immediately scratched at the outer window. Completely confused, I opened it and slid aside the mosquito screen. In the next instant, Saho lightly jumped onto the balcony railing.

Hyeonji asked curiously,

“Oppa, why did he climb up there?”

“Maybe it's stuffy inside and he wants some fresh air?”

But what happened next made us doubt our own eyes.

Our apartment was on the third floor of a five-story building. About ten meters away stood a huge old elm tree with sprawling branches. Without the slightest hesitation, Saho leaped straight toward it.

“Ah!”

While we cried out in alarm, the cat landed perfectly on one of the large branches. Then he skillfully climbed down the trunk and immediately disappeared.

With eyes wide from shock, Hyeonji asked in a trembling voice,

“O-oppa... Did he run away?”

Saho was an extraordinary creature that had consumed the miraculous herbal medicine created by Monk Popchin. Moreover, he had already recognized me as his master and listened to me. After thinking about it, I realized there was only one reason for his jump.

“I told you already, Saho is very well-trained.”

“You mean he jumped to that tree just to use the bathroom outside?”

“I think so.”

“But... can cats really jump that far?”

An ordinary wildcat could only jump about three meters. Covering ten meters through the air without wings was impossible. But Saho was a sacred beast transformed by Monk Popchin's rare medicine. A jump like that posed no difficulty for him.

‘I wonder... did my physical abilities improve too because of the medicine, just like Saho's?’

The idea seemed perfectly logical.

Turning to my sister, I replied,

“I told you from the start. Saho is an extraordinary, almost magical animal.”

“Yeah... but what if someone sees him while he's outside doing his business?”

“They'll just think he's an ordinary stray cat. Come on, let's have breakfast.”

While eating sandwiches and drinking coffee, Hyeonji suddenly became thoughtful again.

“Oppa, if Saho is so smart and clean, why doesn't he just use the bathroom at home instead of running outside?”

“All felines have a strong instinct to bury and hide their traces in dirt or sand.”

“To avoid predators and hide their presence?”

“Exactly. You understand perfectly.”

“But still, how did he become so extraordinary?”

Long ago, Monk Popchin had used Saho as a test subject to verify the effects of his herbal elixir. Thanks to that medicine, the cat had become a sacred animal. It was a pity I couldn't tell my sister the truth.

“No idea.”

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn't know. So how long are we keeping him?”

“We promised two weeks, so he'll definitely stay with us until next week.”

“And what if we're both out?”

“Saho is a nocturnal predator. He'll sleep all day, so he won't cause any trouble.”

“What about food?”

“Just leave raw chicken and a bowl of water on the table before we leave. He'll take care of himself when he gets hungry.”

At that moment, Saho reappeared on the balcony railing. He gracefully jumped down and leisurely walked into the living room, heading straight for the dining table.

Looking at him, I felt something was strange. Since he had just been running around outside and touching the ground, there should have been dirt or dust on his paws. Yet not a single dirty footprint appeared on the clean floor.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

“Oppa, why doesn't Saho leave any dirty paw prints?”

Without answering, I picked up the cat and turned him over to inspect his paw pads. Just as I had expected, all four paws were perfectly clean—not even a speck of dust.

Deciding to test my suspicion, I addressed the beast.

“Were you actually taught not to dirty your paws and bring dirt into the house?”

Saho obediently nodded, confirming my guess.

“Amazing...” Hyeonji breathed out.