Chapter 36: The Moving House and the Toy Car Dream

Jinhyang’s expression subtly shifted as she chewed on the kimbap.

I had noticed this before Jinhyang was capable of making surprisingly varied facial expressions.

“…What did you put in this?”

Jinhyang paused her chewing, covering her mouth as she asked.

“Churu!”

I answered her confidently.

It must have been so delicious that she wanted to know what was inside. I couldn’t help but smile.

“…!”

“Sister!”

Jinhyang raised her voice as if she had something to say to me, but Yoon Boora, who had been silently watching from the side, stepped in front of her.

I understood what was happening. Jinhyang was overwhelmed by how delicious it was, and Yoon Boora was jealous, of course.

“Boora, let me go! She put…!”

“Sister, calm down and look at Harang’s face for a second.”

Hearing Yoon Boora mention my expression, I couldn’t help but wear the most confident smile in the world.

Like a chef who had just completed the ultimate dish.

I didn’t usually enjoy showing off, but this time, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to feel a little proud. After all, putting Churu in kimbap was a stroke of genius.

“Ehem.”

I puffed out my chest towards Jinhyang, and as if responding to my emotions, the bell on my tail jingled nonstop.

Jingle jingle jingle jingle

“O…”

Jinhyang looked at me with an expression and gaze I had never seen before.

Then, very slowly, she began to chew again, as if savoring the taste at a painfully slow pace.

“Boss, no matter how I think about it, putting Churu in kimbap was a great idea. Actually, I got the idea from tuna kimbap.”

“…Could you please be quiet?”

“Oh, yes.”

It seemed I had gotten a little too excited and talked too much.

Jinhyang probably wanted to fully enjoy the taste.

I clamped my mouth shut and watched her eat the kimbap.

Chew Jinhyang took a bite and closed her eyes tightly.

Chew with the second bite, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

I had never seen anyone savor the taste of Churu for so long.

Even I didn’t take it this seriously.

‘It must really taste amazing.’

Would Jinhyang turn into a happy fool after eating it?

‘If that happens, I’ll have to take good care of her.’

Though, knowing her, that probably wouldn’t happen, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

After about a minute, Jinhyang, who had been chewing the kimbap for a long time, finally swallowed it.

“So? It’s good, right?”

I asked eagerly, filled with anticipation.

“It’s… good. Boora, could you give me some water?”

“Here you go, sister.”

At Jinhyang’s simple acknowledgment that it was good, the bell on my tail jingled even more vigorously.

Jingle jingle jingle

Finally, someone who understood this taste!

I was thrilled to have found a comrade.

“Boss, I have a Churu sandwich here, too. Let’s eat it together.”

“…No, it’s okay. You can have it all.”

“Huh?”

“I’m the boss. It’s only natural to take care of my employees.”

Saying that, Jinhyang slid the Churu set towards me.

But somehow, her expression looked uncomfortable.

She must have wanted to eat more but was holding back because of her position as the boss.

Her self-control was impressive.

“…”

Taking advantage of the moment when Jinhyang sighed for some unknown reason, I pushed the Churu sandwich into her mouth.

“Just finish this one. I specially—”

“You…! Do you really want to get in trouble?!”

Squeak~!

Suddenly, Jinhyang grabbed my ear and pulled it upward.

“Ow!”

It wasn’t much more than the strength used to tug on my cheek, but since my ears were the most sensitive part of my body, the pain was overwhelming.

It felt like someone was hammering my nerve bundles.

I couldn’t help but cry from the pain.

“Waaah.”

I collapsed onto the mat, clutching my ears.

It felt like they were burning, as if I had been tortured.

I didn’t want to cry, but it hurt so much that tears kept falling.

However, I couldn’t even wipe away the tears.

My ears hurt too much, and I had to keep holding them.

“Was it… really that painful?”

Jinhyang placed her hand on top of my head, as if trying to check on my ears.

“Go away.”

I refused and turned my back to her.

It was a bit extreme, but the pain was severe enough to justify it.

If the tug had been any stronger, I might’ve flipped my eyes and passed out.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would hurt that much. Let me see for a moment.”

“No.”

“Haa… How much did it hurt? I’ve pulled your ears like that before, haven’t I?”

Guilt seeped into Jinhyang’s voice.

Even for someone like Jinhyang, using force on someone defenseless couldn’t have felt good.

“Boss, do you have any idea how sensitive my ears are? I’m always extra careful when I wash my hair because of them.”

I grumbled while lying on the mat.

Honestly, seeing Jinhyang so flustered made me want to push a little harder.

“I… I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?”

“I just wanted to eat something delicious with you, Boss. If you didn’t like it, you could’ve just told me. But instead, I was enjoying myself alone while you—”

“Okay.”

“Alright. I’m really sorry this time. I won’t pull your ears anymore.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah.”

I guess that settled it for now.

I slowly lifted my head and looked at Jinhyang.

“Boss, actually, it’s okay if you pull my ears, but you have to do it gently. Very softly.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, they’re sensitive.”

I quickly wiped the tears running down my cheeks, then picked up the sandwich that Jinhyang had spat out.

It wasn’t because I was greedy.

I needed the magical power of Churu to erase the pain in my ears.

Nom.

As I took a bite of the sandwich, the juice from the Churu soaked into the bread, numbing my brain.

Even the pain in my ears disappeared.

“…Is it good?”

“Yes!”

Jingle jingle

Just as the sound of the bell began to calm my mind again, a flower petal floated down and landed on my nose.

‘Oh no.’

Since both my hands were full with the sandwich, I couldn’t do anything about it.

I had no choice but to use my tail to wipe my nose.

Rub rub

“Achoo!”

The tickling fur made me sneeze.

“Harang, a flower petal fell on my nose too. Can you clean it off for me?”

Yoon Boora tapped me on the shoulder.

“You could’ve just used your hands to get rid of it.”

“A-ah! Suddenly, I’ve got a cramp in my hand!”

Yoon Boora twitched her arm, pretending to shiver.

“R-right?”

There was no other choice. I moved my tail and wiped Yoon Boora’s face.

“Heh, hehe.”

For some reason, she grabbed my tail and started rubbing it against her face, but I decided to ignore it.

It wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this.

‘Boora must really like my tail.’

I couldn’t understand what was so appealing about something so strange.

Forcing myself to look away, I noticed a toy car passing by in the distance.

It was one of those toys made for kids to ride around in the park.

Seeing that remote-controlled toy stirred something within me.

‘If I could put my house on top of that…’

It would be perfect.

A house that moves according to my will.

The birth of a one-of-a-kind moving house.

As I stared at the toy car with my mouth wide open, Jinhyang came over and spoke to me.

“Wait, do you want to ride that?”

“No, no. I’m thinking if I place my house on top of it, I could move around inside.”

“…Do you really think that would work?”

Jinhyang rubbed her chin in thought. Yoon Boora quickly chimed in.

“Unni, Harang is light enough for it to work, right?”

“Since he’s part of the cat family, he’s definitely light.”

Yoon Boora joined in, agreeing.

“Well, Harang is lighter than most, considering his size.”

“W-what do you mean by fat?”

What fat are they talking about?

I instinctively glanced down.

Sure, those two little bulges did look heavy.

Though, in reality, they weren’t as heavy as they seemed.

My shoulders never ached because of them.

‘Come to think of it…’

My body was light overall.

Normally, I should weigh almost twice what I currently did to be in the healthy range.

‘Is my agility due to my light weight?’

It was possible that my syndrome had something to do with it.

Some people with syndromes were said to have monstrous strength.

‘It would’ve been nice if I had gained some strength too.’

Since I weighed half of what I should, my strength was only half of what it should be.

“Tsk.”

As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, Jinhyang spoke to me again.

“So, should I buy it for you?”

“Well… it would be nice to have.”

No matter how I looked at it, though, it seemed too childish.

Jinhyang didn’t seem to care about the age appropriateness, though.

“I think they rent them out over there, so let’s just borrow one and see if it works.”

“Oh! I brought the house in the car’s trunk, so I’ll go get it.”

“When did you even put that in there?”

“Earlier, when everyone was packing. I always bring it with me now.”

Jinhyang sighed deeply and replied.

“Don’t bring it to the office.”

“Eek.”

I placed the box on the back of the toy truck and climbed inside, poking my eyes through a hole in the box.

In my hand was the remote control.

With that, I had become invincible.

Vroom…

The truck’s engine roared to life, and it started to move slowly.

My moving house was complete.

‘Amazing.’

A moving house!

An indescribable feeling of satisfaction rushed over me.

It didn’t matter if it was a child’s toy.

The value of an object depended on who was using it.

Vroom…

I drove the truck in circles around Jinhyang, Yoon Boora, and Raxy Boora.

“Harang, slow down. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t faster than a real car anyway.

Since it was a toy for kids, there was no danger.

“Look, Boora!”

I swerved the car in front of Yoon Boora at top speed.

This move was called an inertia drift.

The strong centrifugal force made it feel like the box was floating in midair.

“Huh?”

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

I was actually airborne.