Chapter 1
In a corner of the orphanage’s old room, a worn-out blanket quivered up and down, rolled into a tight ball.
Inside that blanket, a young child was gasping for breath. Her face was bright red, streaked with tears and snot from crying so hard.
“Waaah… Waaaah… Som-i…”
In front of her, a jet-black cat curled itself into a perfect circle.
The child’s name was Han Moa. The cat’s name was Som-i.
Even to little Moa’s eyes, it was obvious that Som-i was unwell.
“Teacher… why won’t you take her? Som-i’s sick! We can just go to the vet…!”
“I’m sorry, Moa…”
The orphanage director refused Moa’s plea to take Som-i, the yard cat, to a veterinary hospital.
Even at just five years old, Moa was smart enough to understand the reason: money. She had heard adults say countless times that money was the problem whenever something went wrong.
“This time, please… listen to me…”
To care for so many children, adults often had no choice, and well-behaved Moa, unlike the troublemakers, was often overlooked.
“Moa’s a senior here at the orphanage.”
Whenever a new child arrived.
“Moa’s kind, so you understand, right?”
Moa’s patience and understanding were repeatedly relied upon.
Through all kinds of reasons, Som-i had always stayed by Moa’s side in the quiet corners of the yard, a constant companion.
“If Som-i disappears, I’ll really be all alone. I don’t want that…”
Muttering that, Moa shuddered. The word “alone” made her feel even more frightened.
As she cried, a dark, circular stain formed on the blanket.
Som-i had always been Moa’s friend.
When Moa was found at the orphanage’s front door, lying there naked, it had been Som-i sitting beside her, sharing warmth, keeping her company.
From that day on, Som-i became the orphanage’s yard cat, Moa’s only friend, and in a way, another mother.
Whenever Moa had a sad dream about the mother she’d never known leaving her at the door, Som-i somehow knew. The cat would scratch at the window, then leap inside to lick Moa’s forehead, cheeks, and everywhere, as if to soothe her wounds.
Licking away the pain of abandonment.
Som-i was everything to Moa.
“I want to stay with Som-i. Please don’t die, Som-i…”
With her throat choked, Moa whispered her wish desperately. Her weary eyes finally closed.
“You’ll really stay with me?”
In her half-sleeping dream, a clear, melodious voice faintly reached her ears.
Yes.
I don’t want to be where you aren’t.
Moa held Som-i’s soft paw tightly.
“Yes. We’ll always be together.”
Damp.
Moa’s forehead felt cool.
“Hey… stop it…”
With her eyes closed, she let out a small laugh.
“Hehe… Som-i, is that you? Stop it…”
Still not fully awake, Moa flailed her hands around, then suddenly realized and sat upright.
“Som-i! Are you okay?!”
And then…
Thud!
She tumbled back just as quickly as she had risen.
Thankfully, the soft earth and leaves broke her fall, and she wasn’t hurt, but she was utterly flustered.
Something had clearly pulled her backward.
Moa tilted her head, bringing her short, plump hands behind her hips.
Then…
“Eek?!”
Between her legs, a fluffy, cloud-like tail swished.
Feeling around, Moa tugged at it awkwardly, realizing it was a tail—and attached to her own body.
Moa’s eyes widened in shock.
“A t-tail!”
Her pounding heart wouldn’t calm, and her trembling hands reached to her head.
Ears—triangular, twitching as if with a mind of their own—greeted her fingertips.
Cat ears!
As surprised as she was, her pale pink tail puffed up like a cotton ball.
“But… where am I?”
She had been asleep in the orphanage blanket. Yet now, she was surrounded by densely packed trees.
Moa realized this place was a much deeper, taller forest than the orphanage’s backyard hill.
“…Is this a dream?”
Lying on the ground, she wiped the dampness from her forehead.
She thought Som-i had licked her, but it was dew dripping from the trees.
“…Som-i, where are you?”
Calling anxiously for her friend, Moa scanned her surroundings.
Where is this place?
Seeing she was alone in an unfamiliar forest frightened her far more than the sudden appearance of cat ears and a tail.
I have to find Som-i.
Som-i had promised. They would never be separated. Som-i hadn’t died. It hadn’t been just a dream.
Thinking that Som-i was waiting, Moa braved the unknown. She wandered, following a sound she heard somewhere.
“…If I wait, I’ll get there eventually.”
“Hey, sir, are you sure this is okay? The Jinryong clan is the most powerful of the great families…”
“You fool. No matter how skilled he is, what if the carriage falls off the cliff?”
A suspicious group of men spoke.
Moa felt her heart drop. These were the scariest adults she had ever seen in her life.
The air around them was sharp with danger.
“Hehe, all we need is to roll the rocks.”
“So… when do we leave?”
“Just past the winding path. We should double-check, just in case…”
Then, a branch snapped.
“Who’s there?!”
A sharp gaze poured down on little Moa, peeking from behind a large tree.
“…A child in the forest? With a tail? Must be one of those legendary spirits!”
“That’s not the point! They may have heard everything! We must catch them and silence them immediately!”
Trembling, Moa shouted, following the training she’d learned at the orphanage.
“No! Stop! Go away!”
Then she bolted.
“Catch them! Don’t let them escape!”
“Towards the cliff where the carriage comes…! If we mess up, everything will fail! Hurry!”
The men chased after her, gritting their teeth.
Of course, they should have caught her easily, but surprisingly, Moa put up a fight!
Perhaps the cat-like ears and tail had granted her incredible agility.
She leapt over tall tree roots, dodged dangerous rocks, and avoided their hands with nimble, cat-like movements.
She even remembered every single conversation, something she would usually forget.
At the very least, she understood that these people meant harm to someone.
I should warn another adult. They might help me.
Although Moa was strong and clever for a child, she also knew she couldn’t face dangerous adults alone.
In the middle of her frantic escape, she came to one conclusion:
I need to find another adult to help!
With that thought, she ran frantically toward the carriage, unaware of the cliff, and tumbled down.
“Ahhh!”
Looking at the ground below, Moa’s eyes shook in terror.
She thought she would die before finding Som-i, and tears sprang to her eyes.
And then—
“…Huh?”
Instead of hitting the ground, she landed on the moving carriage, like a cat dropping from a height. Gracefully.
Her panicked tail knocked the carriage roof off entirely, an inadvertent display of strength.
“I survived…”
Her racing heart slowly calmed as she realized the carriage had stopped.
And she was cradled in someone’s arms.
“Who… who are you? Those ears and that tail…”
“I’m Moa.”
Wide-eyed, Moa instinctively answered and looked up at the man holding her.
The man in a black robe radiated overwhelming presence, like a mountain looming over her.
Moa stared at his blue eyes in awe.
“Are you… Jin Saheon?”
“Yes. I’m Jin Saheon. Why did you attack my carriage?”
“I didn’t attack…”
Moa tried to explain the absurd misunderstanding.
But will he believe me?
Even her teachers, who had raised her since she was a baby, often brushed off her words with “later.”
She wasn’t sure if this stranger would believe her completely.
“Um…”
She fiddled with her fingers.
Jin Saheon, unbothered and composed, didn’t brush her off.
He’s actually listening…
“They said some bad people are going to kill you. On the winding path…”
Seeing his calm demeanor, Moa decided to tell him everything she had witnessed.
After hearing it all, he took Moa’s tiny hand and pressed it gently over her twitching pink ears.
Then, his large hand covered hers, pressing the ears down.
“Close your eyes for a moment. Cover your ears.”
Above, the roof of the carriage trembled as a massive shadow loomed.
Rumble—!
A giant rock threatened to crush the carriage from above.
