Churu for the Angry Guide

11

‘What do you mean wash!’

Siwoo yelled and resisted violently. He couldn’t bring himself to extend his claws, so instead, he threw punches, trying to shake off Geonho’s hands.

“You need a shower. You haven’t had one since you came here.”

‘You do it, idiot!’

Siwoo grabbed the bathroom doorknob and cried loudly like a newborn. He kicked Geonho’s abs with his hind legs, refusing to enter until the end.

“You hate it that much?”

Geonho, who had been trying to force Siwoo in, hesitated a bit. He seemed slightly taken aback by Siwoo’s sudden wild resistance after being so docile during mealtime.

‘I hate it! I don’t want to wash with you!’

“Okay, okay. Calm down.”

As Siwoo twisted his body violently in resistance, Geonho finally backed off. With the cat thrashing about as if possessed, he couldn’t push any further.

“We’ll definitely do it tomorrow.”

Even this behavior seemed cute to Geonho, as his smile never left his face.

Siwoo glared at the fool with his incongruously easy smile and took refuge under the dining table. Just as he was about to feel relieved that the fool wasn’t chasing him, Geonho pulled down his underwear.

‘Are cat eyes not eyes?!’

Even if it’s in front of a cat, that’s too much. Siwoo returned to the bedroom, unnecessarily angry. This guy never gave him a moment to let his guard down.

‘Scary bastard…’

Having seen the enormous thing Geonho had been hiding in his pants, Siwoo lost his appetite. Not that there was anything left to eat anyway, as he had finished all the cat food.

He jumped onto the bed, shaking his head to erase the memory. Still not feeling better, he punched the pillow repeatedly.

Squeak― Hugging the soft toy made him feel a bit better. He lay down on the bed, holding the toy that was now saturated with his scent from being hugged so much.

‘Haa…’

Honestly, Siwoo did want to take a shower. He wanted to soak his body in a large bathtub.

The bathtub must be huge and luxurious. With hot water gushing out.

The sound of the shower from afar made him feel regretful. When he lived in a studio apartment, he often had to wash with cold water, let alone have a bathtub.

It was embarrassing to admit, but Siwoo often used to transform into a cat and take half-body baths in a pot of hot water. It was the best he could do to save money for the public bathhouse.

Siwoo really loved sitting in hot water. If only that fool hadn’t undressed, he would have closed his eyes tight and let himself be dragged into the bathroom.

‘Why did he have to pull down his underwear.’

As he grumbled and washed his face with his tongue, he suddenly looked around.

Is this really a guiding room? Somehow, he couldn’t feel any guiding energy in the room at all.

Usually, when entering a guiding room, one could feel a faint characteristic energy. Though still a rookie, Siwoo with his good intuition could already sense the guiding energy.

While he couldn’t sense an Esper’s wavelength, he could detect the energy of fellow guides well. With his good sense, Siwoo showed talent for guiding.

Even his nitpicking superior was surprised. He always scolded Siwoo but during guiding training, he told him to just keep doing what he was doing. Saying he had innate ability.

It seemed to be true, as that wasn’t the kind of person to say such things lightly. Thanks to this, Siwoo’s confidence briefly skyrocketed.

Very briefly. Until he realized he had an aversion to physical contact.

At that time, Siwoo thought his exceptional guiding skills would become known and all kinds of guilds would contact him. Until he was assigned to his first team, he had been nurturing a garden of dreams in his head.

Those were good times.

“Hey― Where are you?”

While Siwoo was lost in thought, he heard the bathroom door open and a booming voice.

“Come out here. Treats! I’ll give you treats!”

Ignoring the fool’s voice calling for him, Siwoo finally moved at the mention of treats. Having eaten a meal, it was time for snacks. His lost appetite was slowly returning.

As he meowed and came out of the room, the fool rummaging through the shelves turned around. Did he think I’d be in there? What a real fool…

“What? Were you sleeping again?”

The fool, grinning happily, was again strutting around naked. He had brought a towel, but instead of wrapping it around his waist, he was just holding it.

Ah, I wish I could buy eyes that haven’t seen this guy.

“I’m going to be in the tub for a while.”

‘So what?’

“Eat this and wait patiently. Don’t worry if I don’t come out for a long time.”

Siwoo turned his head away and was about to return to the room when he stopped, seeing the plate the fool was holding out. On the flat plate was delicious Churu. My Churu that I’d never tire of eating for a lifetime.

“If I’d known you were sleeping, I would have left you alone. Sorry for waking you.”

True to his simple nature, he apologized well. He also gave lots of food and snacks. Siwoo purred, burying his nose in the plate to avoid looking at the fool’s naked body.

“Keep sleeping. I’ll come out after soaking for a bit.”

He must have dried himself roughly, as water droplets were falling around his large feet. Siwoo looked only at the transparent water droplets without raising his head.

As he watched the legs move away again, he felt the urge to suddenly lift his head but resisted. Not wanting to see the body covered in muscles, he focused only on the snack.

By the time he had licked the already empty plate clean, he was left alone in the spacious living room. Touching the light plate with his front paw, he stared at the now quiet bathroom door.

…He said it would take a long time.

Now was the chance to leave if he wanted to.

Siwoo’s eyes sharpened as he looked around. The windows were still closed, but if he turned into a human, opening them wouldn’t be a problem.

He had to leave through the window as exiting through the front door risked being caught on the hallway CCTV. Having pretended not to be a beastkin and eaten his fill, he absolutely couldn’t reveal his true form.

It would be very embarrassing. And… he felt a bit sorry too.

Siwoo ran to the bedroom, firmly resolved to transform into a human. Before crossing the threshold of the room, he looked at the bathroom door one last time.

He clenched his fist, recalling the fool’s naked body—no, his face—that he would never see again.

‘I’m sorry, you fool.’

It was just one night, but sharing a bed had softened his heart a bit. Especially after just being fed Churu, he felt even more conflicted.

Get a grip. It’s not like you’re going to live here.

But he soon changed his mind. What that fool liked now was not him, but a cat.

If he found out I was a cat beastkin… he would surely dislike me. He’d be disgusted. Even if I didn’t leave on my own, he’d curse at me to get out immediately.

There was no one in the world who welcomed cat beastkin. Moreover, having lied about not being a beastkin, he’d be lucky not to get beaten.

So let’s leave quickly.

Siwoo gathered the Churu bag and mouse toy he had hidden under the pillow. He wrapped the Churu and toy in the towel that the fool had given him to use as a blanket last night. Since it was still summer, he had brought a towel from the bathroom, saying it would be too hot with a blanket.

That foolish guy. Unnecessarily kind.

Siwoo placed his front paw on the towel, his head constantly turning towards the door. Even when he tried not to look, his eyes kept drifting towards the bathroom door.

‘…’

It was quiet in the bathroom. Had he fallen asleep in the hot tub?

You can catch a cold if you fall asleep during a half-body bath. Worry clouded the white face looking at the bathroom. Siwoo, prone to colds, knew well how much one suffers when sick. Especially a summer cold—

‘Hey, what am I doing?’

Siwoo hit his own head and widened his eyes.

I must be living too comfortably these days. Worrying about a wealthy Esper living in such a nice environment.

It seems I’ve developed some peace of mind after living well-fed for just a day. But this peace would completely disappear by tomorrow.

‘Let’s really go now.’

He squeezed his eyes shut with firm resolve.

Just as he was about to grab the towel after transforming into a human, mentally conveying his apologies…

‘Huh…’

A snow-white hand landed on the white towel. Siwoo looked down at his small hand covered in white fur, then closed his eyes again.

He tensed his body and opened his eyes again, but.

‘Huh…?’

His hand was still covered in white fur. The perked-up ears and tail were also still there.

No matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t return to his human form.