Chapter 36: Dragon Sparks and Cat-astrophic Crushes

6: Cats Go Meow

“Pfft.”

Garam nearly spits out her candy but quickly covers her mouth to save it. Chewing, she shoots Jimin a what are you talking about? look.

But the overly generous dragon, unfazed, continues.

“Isn’t she just so cute? She’s still small, but with how she’s growing, she’ll be a stunning beauty in no time.”

“Huh? What?”

Junseo, prompted by Jimin’s words, looks Garam up and down. She is cute, objectively speaking. Unlike her former childlike frame, she’s grown enough to have a feminine air.

But that’s purely objective. Junseo’s never seen her that way. Sure, when she strips in front of him or licks her fingers, it catches his attention—but not romantically. It’s just worry for his oblivious friend.

Garam’s too small to spark those feelings. Though, now that she’s grown a bit, if you look closely…

Junseo shakes his head, banishing the thought. That’s not how you think about a close friend—especially one who was a guy.

Clearing his mind, a question hits him. Why’s Jimin saying this?

Garam mentioned Jimin knows her original gender. So she’d know Garam and the guys were same-gender friends. Why talk about Garam being pretty?

Pondering, Junseo concludes: Jimin’s just innocently praising Garam’s cuteness.

She did hug Garam like crazy, calling her cute when they entered the café. Probably just wanted to gush about it.

Chiding himself for overthinking, Junseo replies:

“Yeah, sure…?”

Objectively, Garam is very cute. With her growth, it’s easy to imagine her becoming a beauty as an adult. So he agrees readily.

But Garam, overhearing, freezes.

“What? Why am I cute?!”

Jimin’s comment didn’t faze her, but hearing it from Junseo—her friend—makes her shy. She protests, but Min-jae and Kanghyuk pile on.

“She’s… kinda cute? Like a kid throwing a tantrum.”

“Yeah… definitely.”

“Why are you guys—”

Her retort cuts off as Jimin interrupts.

“Right? She’d look so pretty in women’s clothes. She never wears them for me…”

“Oh, yeah. She looked… nice. Like, in a dress… or skirt last time.”

“What?”

Jimin’s shocked. Garam wore women’s clothes? She thought Garam only stuck to cat-printed T-shirts and sweatpants—like now.

But this is good. Better, even. The clothes Jimin carefully picked must’ve left a strong impression on her friends, especially Junseo.

All she needs to do is revive that image. Unfazed, Jimin grabs Junseo’s hand.

“Right! She’s gorgeous! They suit her! Tell me more—since she won’t wear them for me!”

“Uh, um… sure…”

Garam’s eyes lock onto their clasped hands. The emotion in her gaze is complex, indescribable even to herself, but if forced to name it—jealousy.

Jimin grabbing Junseo’s hand was half-impulse. Unintentional, but perfectly aligned with her goal, as it sparked that near-jealousy in Garam.

“At first, it was a pink dress… really cute, since she’s so small. It fluttered in the wind, kinda delicate.”

“And? And?”

“Uh… then a sky-blue dress. The dress was like the sky, her hair like clouds… felt like looking at the heavens. Yeah.”

Junseo answers dutifully, feeling swept up but thinking Jimin genuinely wants details.

She does, to an extent—she hasn’t seen Garam in women’s clothes since picking them out.

But for Garam, listening makes her increasingly flustered. Why does their hand-holding bother her? Why’s Junseo describing her outfits with poetic metaphors? Did he really look at her that closely? What’s happening? Her thoughts swirl chaotically.

Unable to keep up with their rapid-fire talk, Garam stammers, helpless.

As Junseo’s descriptions grow more vivid, her face burns redder. Her halo flickers unstably with her embarrassment, her wings shrink, and she covers her face.

The cat in her arms meows at the loss of her touch, but Garam’s too overwhelmed to hear. Jimin, seeing this, cheers inwardly, clenching her fist.

Junseo feels something odd too. He started just describing Garam’s outfits, but recalling her in them stirs something new. Beyond seeing her as a friend or child, a tiny sprout of… seeing her as a woman takes root.

That’s exactly what Jimin intended, but Junseo’s oblivious. He shakes off the thought.

Jimin, noticing their shifting attitudes, is thrilled. Listening to love stories is fun; matchmaking is even better.

Whether they’re aware of it matters little. Once love blooms, the details sort themselves out. Her dragon impulsiveness races unchecked.

Hearing Garam’s vivid clothing descriptions fuels her further. Yes, let’s buy her more women’s clothes. Skirts, dolphin shorts… or animal pajamas!

Animal pajamas!

Jimin marvels at the idea. Garam, already cute, in cat pajamas with twitching ears and a swishing tail? She nearly gets a nosebleed imagining it.

Next shopping trip, cat pajamas it is. Swept up in the thought, Jimin forgets her original matchmaking goal, now fixated on dressing Garam in cute cat pajamas.

So!

Jimin spins to Garam, startling her so much she flinches, and the cat on her lap yowls and flees.

“Garam-ssi! Let’s go clothes shopping!!!”

Grabbing her hand with intense enthusiasm, Jimin’s request is undeniable. Caught in the storm, Garam can only stammer, “Uh? Y-Yes…”

The dragon’s whirlwind rampage rages until the café’s two-hour limit finally brakes it.

“So, Garam-ssi, we’re definitely shopping next time.”

“Y-Yes…”

Vroom.

A fancy car, engine roaring expensively, vanishes over the horizon. The four of us stand dazed, drained, unable to recover for a while.

“Garam… you’ve got one heck of a friend.”

“Yeah.”

“Haha…”

Kanghyuk and Min-jae, less caught in the storm, recover first, bid weak farewells, and trudge home.

Garam and Junseo snap out of it after a moment. The air between them, nudged by Jimin, feels oddly charged. Garam’s mind is a mess; Junseo’s, less so, but still tangled.

“Uh… see ya, Garam.”

“Y-Yeah… you too.”

Feeling an odd distance from the earlier events, Garam heads to her apartment, leaving Junseo behind.

*

“Cats… were cute.”

Forget today’s weirdness. The more she thinks about Junseo, the more indescribable feelings bubble up.

Instead, Garam lies on her bed, picturing cute cats: one rubbing her ankle, one basking in her halo, one napping lazily on her lap.

The soothing images ease the strange heat from earlier. Predictably, her playful side kicks in.

“Nya~ Nyaow~”

Garam mimics cat sounds, fists curled like paws, swinging cutely.

“Cats go meow, hehe. Nya, nyaow. Nyaow.”

The front door opens.

“Garam, I’m here. Mom sent some side dishes…”

“Nyaow…?”

Her brother walks in.

“….”

“….”

He nods, as if understanding everything. His sister turned angel, now aiming to be a cat? He sets the side dishes down, shuts the door, and bolts.

Garam, a beat late, yells at the closed door:

“No, wait!!!!”