It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 8

“Because I’m holding both of your hands, I can’t grab the handle.”

“Alright. I’ll open the door for you. But next time, you have to open it yourself.”

Deon chuckled as he opened the door, and the bright sunlight made him squint. The maids, who were cleaning their room with the windows open, bowed their heads.

Deon’s voice was a bit sharp as he told everyone to leave.

“Soft Paw, I’ll introduce the employees to you slowly after they’re registered in the family registry. For now, let’s think about the painting for the funeral.”

“Okay.”

He returned to his kind voice when speaking to me. He must be taking extra care of me because I’m small.

I felt good sitting on the freshly dried, fluffy sofa cover. My room was quite bright, but Deon’s room was much larger and more pleasant, befitting a young master’s room.

While Theo prepared high-quality paper, a blank frame, and colorful art supplies, Deon sat me on a chair.

“You’re too light. I should have ordered twice as many snacks.”

“Wouldn’t twice as much be too much…?”

“Hmm. Come to my room whenever you want something to eat. My room is right next to Theo’s. I’ll keep salmon jerky ready every day.”

“Thank you, Deon.”

“Well, that title ‘Deon’… Never mind. Let’s take it slow. A dignified older brother can wait.”

He seemed to want me to call him ‘older brother.’ His inner thoughts were clear. I held back a laugh, and Deon chuckled, stroking his perked-up ears.

Theo, who had placed all the heavy art supplies down, looked at me and Deon with a sulky face. More precisely, he was glaring at Deon.

“To monopolize her while I looked away.”

“I’m the older brother, so you should concede this much.”

Theo, who was slightly more mature than Deon, was making a childish expression. When I stared at them, they cleared their throats. Theo began to speak in a very grown-up manner.

“If you use these tools to draw on this paper, it will fit perfectly in the frame.”

“Thank you.”

I gripped the pencil tightly. I remembered my mom, dad, and brother’s faces clearly, so I was going to draw them carefully.

As I was unleashing my artistic spirit, I sensed Theo and Deon whispering to each other.

“Hyung [older brother], do you see this? The tail is moving exactly like the pencil.”

“I’m going crazy……”

Their gazes were directed at the edge of the chair where I was sitting. I made a pouty face and quickly hid my tail.

“A baby wolf can make mistakes!”

“Sorry, Soft Paw. Sorry for teasing you.”

“I won’t do it again.”

The tail moving along with the pencil was an unconscious action.

Mom always laughed and said it would get better when I grew up, but it felt like something only kids did, so I was embarrassed.

As I was puffing out my cheeks and trying to focus on the drawing, someone knocked on the door. It was an employee with a tray full of snacks.

“Kitty. Snacks are here. Should I feed you?”

“Hmph. Just one, please.”

I munched on a cookie with white chocolate chips and looked back at the paper. Cookie crumbs fell on my brother’s drawing.

‘Oh no. My brother is starting to smell sweet and nutty.’

I quickly brushed off the cookie crumbs and focused on the drawing again. As I ate the sweet snacks and drew my family as humans, my expression naturally softened.

They always showed me their smiling faces.

I accidentally drew my brother, dad, and mom all the same size, but it’s okay because they were all bigger than me.

I carefully held the crayon so it wouldn’t break and started coloring. Mom’s hair was the same gray as mine. Dad and brother had dark brown hair.

After spending a long time on it, I felt good because they were all smiling.

“What were Kitty’s family like?”

Theo, who had been watching my drawing all along, asked. I pointed to each family member in the picture and explained.

“Mom was a warm person. She always hugged me tightly. She gave me the nickname Soft Paw.”

“She did a wonderful thing.”

“Dad and brother are heroes! That’s what Mom always said. They had to carry out missions, so they only came home occasionally, but they always brought me presents.”

“We’ll try to do that from now on too.”

“And there are three little ones in Mom’s belly… I can’t draw them yet because they haven’t been born.”

I carefully stroked the finished drawing. Drawing it like this made me feel even more affectionate.

I checked that there was still some time left before sunset and asked them.

“Can I draw on the back? I’ll draw it quickly.”

“Okay. But be careful not to damage the front.”

Theo and Deon leaned back on the chair and waited for me again. I cupped my hands so they couldn’t see and quickly started drawing.

I also wanted to remember my family as cats.

First, Mom. A pretty gray cat with one folded ear. White fur grew like socks up to her ankles on all four paws.

‘Such a beautiful mom… Bad Jerian.’

Next, Dad. Dark brown fur that shone golden when he came home against the sunset, and bright emerald eyes.

Lastly, Brother. A tabby cat with perked ears like me. Brother’s fur resembled Dad’s, so it was a delicious caramel color under the sunlight on a bright day.

‘I’ll remember everyone.’

It was difficult to draw the cats’ faces from the front, so I drew them from the side, and the drawing was completed with Dad, Mom, and Brother lined up in order.

They’re going to a wonderful heaven. Everyone will be happy, so Kitty has to be happy too.

I kissed each of their faces, then kissed Mom’s belly three more times and quickly flipped the drawing over.

Theo and Deon’s eyes were glistening as if they had yawned because they were bored of waiting for me.

“Ah! The sunset is starting!”

Karis clearly told me to finish the drawing by sunset. As I became anxious, Theo put the drawing in the frame.

Just then, there was a knock, the door opened, and Karis came in. Karis smiled slightly after looking at the drawing.

“You have good skills, Kitty.”

“Thank you. Is this good enough to use for the funeral?”

“Of course. Let’s go. You two come along too.”

I thought they would follow right away, but Theo and Deon said they would stop by somewhere for a moment and went outside.

I held Karis’s hand tightly and walked lightly.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to Kitty’s room.”

Huh? This isn’t my room.

We entered a room with a wolf-shaped doorknob. Jackal was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and he looked like a magnificent work of art.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Jackal. Where is this?”

“Your room.”

“But the room I was assigned is somewhere else…”

“This is Kittyah Gridwolf’s room.”

Ah, I see. The wolf-shaped doorknob was only for the Gridwolfs. I felt a warmth in my heart as I felt accepted, even if it was temporary.

I smiled brightly and greeted him.

“Thank you so much. I didn’t expect you to move the pillows too.”

Jackal shrugged his eyebrows as if to say, ‘It’s only natural, you don’t have to thank me for everything,’ and placed the frame in a small cabinet.

The birdcage-like cabinet had glass doors that opened on both sides, allowing the items inside to be preserved and viewed at any time.

Inside, there were already three candles and three large white chrysanthemums decorated for Mom, Dad, and Brother.

“When Theo and Deon come, we’ll light those candles. When the candles burn out, everyone will go to a happy heaven. Prepare yourself.”

I clasped my hands together and looked at my smiling family in the drawing. My heart felt heavy, especially when I looked at Mom’s picture.

‘If the little ones had been born, I would have drawn them, even if they were small.’

I felt uneasy that I couldn’t include them in the drawing because I didn’t know what they looked like.

But I didn’t want to make them up and draw them. The little ones born in heaven might get upset if they looked different from me.

I felt bad, but there was nothing I could do, so I couldn’t leave the cabinet. Then, I heard loud footsteps from afar.

Soon, the door burst open, and Theo and Deon were panting as they caught their breath. They must have rushed so much that their hair was a mess.

“We’re not too late, are we?”

“We were late because we were getting something to give to Soft Paw. We’re sorry.”

The two staggered towards me and placed something in my hands.

Three small chrysanthemum buds that had not yet bloomed. Three small candles to put on a cake.

The moment I realized what Theo and Deon had brought for me and what it meant, my eyes welled up with tears.

“Did you remember the little ones…?”

As I sobbed, Theo and Deon stroked my hair and opened the cabinet door.

“Of course. How could we not remember when my little sister was so worried about it?”

“Soft Paw, don’t cry and decorate quickly. The sun will be completely down soon.”

My original family and those who would soon become my temporary family were waiting for me. I wiped my eyes and answered bravely.

“Yes!”