READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 236
Whether it’s complicated or not, first things first, order the essentials one by one.
Before the bowls and cat supplies arrive, there was something I had to do.
The infamous cat bath, notorious among cat caretakers.
Cats that handle baths well are said to be water-friendly, but more than half of them have seizures at the mere touch of water.
“Sun.”
To avoid getting scratched while washing, I transformed into a sturdy body.
Leaving the magic wand in the living room, I held the cat firmly with my small hands and headed straight to the bathroom.
After entering the bathroom, I shifted the cat to my left side, freed my right hand to place the showerhead in the basin, and turned on the hot water.
Swoosh, the sound of water droplets forming a puddle in the basin.
I slightly turned my head to look at Siyeon outside the door and said, “Close the door, please.”
Without a word, the bathroom door closed.
At the sound of the air being trapped, the cat looked towards the door.
The only exit blocked, the bathroom became a confined space.
The warm bathwater filling the basin.
The cat’s uneasy gaze turned towards me.
Seems like it knows what’s coming, huh?
Though it doesn’t seem to like water, after enough water had filled the basin, I removed the showerhead and held the cat’s body with both hands.
As I slowly dipped its paws into the basin…
“Meowww-”
Even before touching the water, the cat’s dialect exploded.
It started thrashing its legs wildly, unlike its previous calm demeanor.
But, for an ordinary cat owner, this might be a problem…
However, I possess the strength to hold a bear tightly, so a few scratches are nothing.
No matter how much it thrashed, it couldn’t escape the basin.
“Meow… Meow!”
The bathroom echoed with the cat’s pitiful cries.
After thoroughly wetting its fur, I applied shampoo, lathered it up, and rinsed off the foam with the showerhead.
The cat, now clean, seemed to have an easier time thanks to my strength.
Both the cat and I were new to this, so it was a mutual first.
After the bath, I dried its body with a towel.
“Meow…”
Even after the bath, the cat seemed very wronged, muttering in its dialect.
“It’s over, it’s okay-”
Siyeon reassured the cat in a gentle tone, squeezing out some cat treats.
Despite its earlier pitiful cries, the cat eagerly accepted the treats from Siyeon.
Meanwhile, the cat didn’t even glance at me, perhaps unfamiliar with my transformed appearance.
I guess I’m the disliked one here.
“Phew, it’s done.”
“Good job.”
“Yeah, release.”
As Siyeon praised my efforts, I muttered the transformation release spell.
Suddenly, my body grew larger, and the cat, wrapped in a towel like a sushi roll, looked up at the sky.
“Meow-”
Seeing my face, it pressed its jelly-like thighs and cried as if complaining about the world.
It felt like a scolding, as if saying, “Where have you been all this time!”
Maybe it sees my transformed and original forms as different people.
Well, they do look completely different.
Anyway, the cat has become a new member of our household.
“What should we name it?”
After all the sudden events, I pointed at the cat wrapped in the towel and brought up the topic of naming.
“Oh right, the name!”
As if she had forgotten, Siyeon clapped her hands and exclaimed.
The cat, startled by the clapping, twitched inside the towel.
From traditional names like Nabi to cute ones like Cheese, Tofu, and Mango, we brainstormed.
Then, a name casually popped up.
“How about Junie?”
“Meow-”
Hearing that, the cat perked up its head and meowed at Siyeon.
Clearly reacting to the name, I glanced between Siyeon and the cat.
“It’s responding?”
“Junie?”
“Meow.”
As if confirming it wasn’t a coincidence, the cat responded again when Siyeon repeated “Junie?”
From that day, our cat was named Junie.
Though it sounds a bit like a human name, Jun, but whatever.
Our previously half-empty storage room naturally became Junie’s domain.
Cat supplies arrived one after another.
From bathroom arrangements to dedicating a whole room, complete with a cat tower, scratcher, cat wheel, and various toys.
Within a week, our house was filled with the scent of animals.
Playing with the cat and its toys became my daily routine when I had nothing else to do.
“Ebi-”
The sound of a toy jingling as I shook it.
A hunting game, where I dangled a fur ball at the end of a fishing rod… Junie pounced and bit it tightly.
A test of its wild instincts, unlike other toys.
…Three fishing rod toys met their fate due to those wild instincts.
After a round of hunting, two mascots approached Junie.
“Today, I will finally rise in rank!”
“Why don’t you just give up?”
Gomteng, with wide eyes, and Seayeon, looking at him pitifully.
Originally, Gomteng was at the bottom of the household hierarchy.
In order, it was me, Siyeon, Seayeon, and Gomteng, but now…
“Let go, you brat! How dare you challenge your senior… Agh!”
As you can see, Gomteng’s rank has fallen below the newcomer, Junie.
Boldly charging at Junie, Gomteng was bitten and swung around like the fur ball on the fishing rod.
The current household hierarchy is me, Siyeon, Seayeon, Junie, and Gomteng.
Strangely, Junie only picks on Gomteng, despite no attempts to establish rank with Seayeon.
Is it the wild instincts?
Junie quickly identified the lowest rank and placed itself above Gomteng.
Despite being a senior, Gomteng was thoroughly beaten.
Watching him curiously, I sighed and added, “Sigh… How do you manage to get bullied by a cat?”
“Grrr… I can’t take it anymore! Today, it’s you or me!”
Finally walking on all fours like a beast, Gomteng bravely charged at Junie, despite the size difference.
“Gah…”
The result, of course… was a complete defeat.
Gomteng, still tightly held in Junie’s mouth, looked like a scene from a past memory.
He said, “It’s you or me,” but it seems only he is destined to lose.
He hasn’t grown at all since then.
Junie, holding Gomteng tightly with its paws and teeth, looked like it was playing a hunting game.
“Junie, let go, let go.”
I approached Junie, gently tapping its hindquarters to calm it down, and removed Gomteng from its mouth as if it were something dirty.
Junie, licking its lips, spat out Gomteng and gracefully jumped onto the sofa, curling up and closing its eyes.
The classic “baking bread” pose among cat owners.
Captivated by its adorable appearance, I reached for my phone and opened the camera app.
As if sensing it, Junie got up from the sofa and walked gracefully to its room.
It’s like it has a sixth sense, always knowing when I’m about to take a photo.
“Grr… Just you wait.”
Our disheveled Gomteng, covered in bite marks and drool, struggled to his feet and vowed revenge.
His appearance, groaning and making villainous declarations, reminded me of familiar antagonist characters.
“Sounds like a villain’s line from every episode.”
“Hmph, just you wait… I’ll rise in rank for sure.”
To his habitual retorts, Gomteng confidently vowed to rise in rank.
Regardless, from my perspective, as long as the monster alerts were handled properly, it didn’t matter.
As our new household member settled into daily life, the season grew warmer, and the first-semester final exams approached us step by step.