114 The Emperors Dog Pt.1 (2/2)

”I see…”

With a slight tilt of the head, Gyuri observed how Jimin's eyes were playful. He quickly turned away as he suppressed a goofy grin from surfacing. ”We should hurry to the dumping ground” he hurriedly said as he increased his pace.

”Huh? Er, yeah, okay.” She raced after him, matching his large stride.

As Gyuri and Jimin resumed their journey to the dumping ground, Gyuri couldn't avoid wondering how things were between her and Jimin. She snuck a look at his hand and pursed her lips when she saw that he wasn't wearing his ring. Gyuri hmphed. I guess he remembered to take it off today. Passing by the dark alleyway, Gyuri abruptly halted as she recalled the cat. ”Hey, Chim Chim?”

Jimin looked over his shoulder.

She beckoned for him to follow her as she took a step into the dark alley.

Befuddled, Jimin watched Gyuri blend into the shadows. ”H-hey…” He jogged after her. ”Where are you going?” Once he reached the mouth of the dark alley he was stunned to find Gyuri plunging deeper into the darkness. ”Hey, this is not the way to the dumping—”

”Shh!” Gyuri hissed while pressing her index finger to her lips.

Jimin arched a brow. As he watched Gyuri creep forward, the pot of scraps outstretched in her hands, he followed suit. A frown accompanied his squinted eyes as he traced his hand across the wall for guidance. With only small pools of light seeping through the crevices of the dilapidated building, Jimin struggled to see what was in front of him. It was only when he noticed a pair of glowing eyes, did he manage to avoid stumbling on Gyuri's hunched profile.

”Here, kitty-kitty” Gyuri prompted.

Jimin watched in silence as Gyuri tried to lure the stray feline from the shadows with the pot of scrap meat. With wary steps, the cat lurked forward, its topaz eyes trained on the pot. As the cat hesitantly revealed itself, Jimin took note of the striped pattern of its grey fur and the scrawniness of its emaciated body.

A small smile appeared on Gyuri's lips as the feline cautiously approached her. The savoury smells of the meat bones, while bereft of meat, was seemingly enough to entice the small creature to come closer. Gyuri's smile widened when the cat finally took a tentative lick.

”Good, kitty” she whispered as the cat mewled in satisfaction.

With the cat occupied, Jimin carefully squatted down so that he was next to Gyuri. He whispered, ”Whose cat is this?”

Gyuri continued to gape at the feline. ”It's a stray. I've been feeding him every time we serve stew.” She inclined her head so that she was looking at Jimin. ”I think he's finally warming up to me. This is the closest he's ever been.”

Jimin observed as Gyuri turned to face the cat again, her hand firmly gripping onto her skirt. To him, it looked like Gyuri was resisting the urge to touch it. When he voiced out this thought, Gyuri just shook her head.

”You know,” Gyuri began, ”you and this cat actually have a lot in common.”

Jimin regarded her quizzically and she smirked.

”Both of you are hard to get close to.” Once the cat had its fill, it got up and left like it always did. Gyuri sighed as she watched it leave. ”The more I try to get close to him, the more he pushes me away.” She got up to dust her skirt, simultaneously picking up the pot with both hands. ”I guess it's better just to keep my distance.”

Jimin opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind.

”We'll go to the dumping ground now,” Gyuri said with a whimsical expression before leading the way out of the alley.

As Gyuri trudged ahead, Jimin trailed closely behind. There was something about her words that bothered him. Me? The same as the cat? He shook his head. What did she mean by that? But as he mulled over her words, he failed to notice that he had begun to outpace her.

”Chim Chim!”

Jimin turned and found Gyuri several steps behind.

”Wait up!” She jogged to close the distance between them. ”Geez, it's not a competition to the dumping ground, you know.”

”Ah, I apologise… I just want to get back to the others as soon as possible.”

Gyuri's lips formed a hard line. ”Oh, okay” she muttered, her tone somewhat hurt.

Jimin peered at Gyuri questioningly. Had I said something wrong?