Splash splash—As I moved through the water, chasing after the ball, the other twin tossed it again.
Yoon Bora had thrown the ball, and I simply brought it back, but somehow, it turned into a repetitive game of throwing and fetching.
“Huff, huff,” I panted, pushing the ball towards Yoon Bora and asked her,
“Bora, can we stop now?”
“Just a little bit more, Harang, just a tiny bit more, okay?”
“Uh, okay.”
I never thought they’d enjoy such a childish game. I couldn’t understand what was so fun about just throwing a ball.
Sigh.
But since Yoon Bora almost never made such requests, I figured I had no choice but to comply, like an uncle playing with his young nieces.
After all, I was the oldest one here.
“Harang, I’m going to throw it!”
“Okay, but don’t throw it too—”
“Yap!”
Pop!
The ball that Yoon Bora threw shot forward like a bullet, moving faster than a beach ball should.
Was it even physically possible to launch a balloon-like ball that far?
I was thoroughly baffled, but I couldn’t deny what I’d just seen with my own eyes.
‘…That’s far.’
I looked at where the ball had landed and thought, I really want to stop now.
Even before the twins got tired of the game, I felt like I’d collapse from exhaustion. The energy difference between the one sitting and throwing and the one constantly retrieving the ball was immense.
‘This is really the last time.’
My arms and legs were aching, and my body was starting to creak. Even if they wanted to keep playing, it was impossible for me.
“Huff, huff.”
Splash splash—I pushed through the water toward the ball, but it was so tiring that I just let myself float on the surface. Since my body was light, if I stayed in a certain position, I could float without sinking.
I called it the jellyfish position—limbs extended, with only my face out of the water, turning myself into a small boat.
“Phew, phew…”
As I floated there, I thought maybe throwing a ball while sitting could be fun.
Throwing something far was one of the basic joys of ball sports. In that sense, it wasn’t hard to understand why they were having fun.
Maybe it’s because they’re from a hunter family that they like sports so much?
Either way, I was the one suffering because of it.
Sigh.
After taking a deep breath, I retrieved the ball and handed it to Yoon Bora.
This time, Raxy was preparing to throw.
“Harang, I’m going to throw it!”
“Raxy, wait—”
Whoosh!
The beach ball soared through the air in an arc.
I watched the ball’s flight for a long time before I resurfaced.
“I-I can’t do this anymore.”
Panting, I sprawled out on the water, gasping for breath. Yoon Bora placed her hand on my stomach.
“H-Harang, are you okay?”
“Bora, I feel like I’m going to die.”
“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to wear you out.”
I stuck my tongue out a little from exhaustion, though for some reason, doing that made me feel like I was recovering quickly.
Of course, it was probably just my imagination.
“Raxy, can you get the ball this time? I’m too tired.”
“Well… but I don’t have any spare clothes to change into,” Raxy said with a bit of hesitation.
That one sentence from Raxy left me feeling utterly defeated. It meant I had to go get the ball again.
“I-I really feel like I’m going to die…”
“I’m sorry, really sorry, Harang. I got too caught up in having fun… I didn’t realize…”
“N-No, it’s fine, as long as you had fun.”
“Y-Yeah, sorry.”
I lay there, looking at them as I spoke,
“This is really the last time, okay? You can’t throw it again.”
“…Alright.”
I got up and splash—dived back into the water.
Just as I started heading toward the ball again, Jinhyang spoke to me from behind.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re tired, you can just walk over there.”
“But I might end up—uh?”
Now that I thought about it, the water only came up to my chest here.
Why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?
I looked at Jinhyang with a blank expression. The twins also avoided my gaze for some reason.
We arrived home just as the sun was beginning to set. Yoon Bora parked the car, and I was being carried in Raxy’s arms.
I couldn’t move at all because I had no strength left in my body.
As Raxy carried me towards the house, Yoon Bora’s surprised voice came from behind.
“Oh my.”
“What?”
Raxy, holding me, turned around, and naturally, my gaze followed hers.
“There’s a scratch on the hood.”
Yoon Bora touched the car’s hood as she spoke.
“Where?”
Raxy moved closer to check, and there were indeed several scratches on the hood.
‘Isn’t that car really expensive?’
I wasn’t interested in cars I couldn’t afford, but I knew that Yoon Bora’s car wasn’t cheap by any means.
At least worth billions, I thought.
Given that, a scratch on such a car would definitely be heartbreaking.
“Did someone do it on purpose?”
Yoon Bora stroked the car with a sad expression, and just then, Jinhyang approached and said,
“These are cat claw marks.”
“Cat?”
“Yeah. Cars are warm, so cats often climb on them.”
The moment Jinhyang finished speaking, all three women turned their eyes to me.
It wasn’t hard to guess why they were looking at me like that.
“I-It wasn’t me!”
I flared up and clenched my fists.
What did they take me for?
Sure, there were times when I couldn’t control my instincts, but I definitely didn’t go around scratching things like a cat, especially not something as expensive as that car.
“Harang, can you hold out your hand for a second?”
“I-I told you, it really wasn’t me…”
I alternated my gaze between them, feeling wronged, and Yoon Bora began fiddling with my ear as she spoke.
“It’s not because of the car, but when they mentioned claws, I just got curious about your… claws, no, your nails.”
“N-Nails? Why?”
“Well, I was wondering if there might have been some changes to your nails too.”
“Ah, I see.”
Since they weren’t suspecting me, I showed them my hand without much resistance.
“Oh?”
“Huh?”
Yoon Bora’s eyes widened as she looked at my nails.
“Harang, why are your nails so sharp?”
“Huh?”
At her words, I looked down at my nails.
‘Are these sharp…?’
I hadn’t really checked my nails since I changed, but I’d never thought they felt sharp. They looked just like the rounded, half-moon shape of regular human nails.
“…Bora, did you leave the ball we bought in the trunk?”
Jinhyang, who had been staring at my nails, finally spoke.
“Hmm… Yes.”
“Could you bring it here?”
At Jinhyang’s request, Yoon Bora seemed to think for a moment before nodding.
Click
Yoon Bora opened the car’s trunk and retrieved the beach ball. She handed it to Jinhyang, who then held it out in front of me.
“Try scratching this with your nails.”
“With this?”
The intention was clear. She wanted to test if my nails were really sharp.
‘They’re not that sharp.’
But since I always did what I was told, I lightly scratched the ball with my nails as she instructed.
I was sure nothing would happen…
Pop!
“!”
The beach ball burst suddenly, and my ears and tail stood on end.
“W-What the heck?”
Startled, I looked down at my nails.
‘Were they always this sharp?’
They still looked as round as a normal person’s nails.
I had never felt any discomfort from them before, even when I scratched myself.
“Harang, you definitely need to trim your nails.”
“…Yeah.”
Yeah, I guess I do.
Even as Raxy carried me into the house, I couldn’t stop staring at my nails.
‘How does this even work?’
I cautiously licked my nails, but they still didn’t feel sharp to me. Maybe, just like a real cat, there was some sort of trigger that made them pointy.
‘I really have no idea how far my body has changed…’
When we reached the living room, I sat on the sofa, still looking down at my nails. Yoon Bora came over and sat next to me.
“Harang, give me your hand.”
“Okay.”
I placed my hand on top of hers.
Then, Yoon Bora pulled out a nail clipper and a tool that looked like a nail file. Just looking at them made a primal fear rise from deep inside me.
“Shall I start?”
“W-Wait.”
I quickly clenched my fists, hiding my nails.
“Huh?”
“C-Can we just not do it? Nothing bad has happened so far.”
“But you never know when something could happen. Your nails are seriously as sharp as knives.”
Yoon Bora was right. Ten sharp nails were like carrying around ten knives.
Except they were attached to my body.
The thought of having my nails ground down with that sandpaper-like file sent chills down my spine.
“W-Why are you assuming I’ll cause an accident? I’ve never done anything reckless before!”
“Harang…”
“I-I’m tired. I think I’ll go to sleep now. See you later!”
I tried to pull my hand away, but Yoon Bora firmly grabbed my wrist, making it impossible to escape.
“Harang, are you scared?”
“Scared? Me? I’m not afraid of anything.”
“R-Really? Then can you open your hand for me?”
“N-No, I don’t want to…”
When I refused, Yoon Bora sighed deeply, staring at me.
“Sorry. Normally, I wouldn’t force you to do something you’re afraid of, but in this case, someone could get hurt.”
“I’m really not scared, I—Agh, wait!”
Yoon Bora began prying my fingers open one by one, and just as I was about to despair at the overwhelming difference in strength, a clever idea popped into my head.
A way to escape this situation.
Gulp.
I swallowed nervously and looked at Yoon Bora.
For this one time, I had no choice but to rely on something I absolutely hated—‘that.’
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