Chapter two- The masked men
A week had passed, and Hwon, who had been looking for work, eventually got one as a delivery man. But right now, he is heading home from work. "Finally, I'm done for the day," he thinks. Life has been good ever since he took in the cat as a companion. It still feels wrong at this point referring to him as "cat." Well, he did try naming him, but the cat didn't seem to like it, so they just stuck to "cat." Hwon wonders what was wrong with the name.
Hwon recalls when he tried to name the cat a bunch of names; one, for example, was Furbin, but the cat seemed to really hate it, so he just stuck with "cat." "I wonder what's the cat's gender," he thinks. "Maybe that's why it didn't like the name. I'll have to check later."
Hwon finally reached home and found the cat sleeping amongst some books. "I must have forgotten to keep these books before I left," he thought. Hwon carefully picked up the books and arranged them on the bookshelf. "These books are really dusty; I really need to clean them. I can't even see the title of this book well, thanks to the dust." Hwon used his hand to wipe away the dust on one of the books and said, "Oh yeah, I remember this book. It's one of my favorites. I found it in the trash when I was still living on the streets. It really helped me get through those lonely days. What was the name again? Survival of the Beast King..."
As Hwon was thinking, the cat woke up and crawled under him. Hwon petted it and said, "It must have been really lonely here without me. I brought some food for us to eat." Hwon brought out a bag filled with sushi and gave one to the cat, saying, "Eat up." As Hwon and the cat were eating, Hwon heard footsteps and some murmuring by his door. Then he said to the cat, "Hold up, let me check who it is." He then heard a knocking sound on his door and shouted, "I'm coming! I wonder who it is, maybe it's the landlord." As Hwon was getting closer to the door, the knocking got louder. Hwon reached the door and was about to open it when he heard a piercing sound followed by a sharp pain in his abdomen. He raised his hand and touched his mouth. As he looked at his hand, he saw that there was blood on it. His eyes widened as he began to cough up blood and fell toward the floor. He then realized that he had been stabbed in the stomach as he continued to cough up blood. A hand burst through the hole that was now in the door and grabbed the handle to open the door from the inside.
As the door slowly opened, Hwon saw two men standing outside, wearing a particular designed red wooden mask that covered only their faces, while they wore black cloaks with a weird pattern, swords on their backs. One, taller with black hair, said in a deep voice, "I told you we needed to be discreet. Why do you always make a mess on every mission?" The shorter one, with blue hair, laughed. "The boss said no witnesses. It's his fault for being so unlucky, not mine."
Hwon, lying on the ground with blood slowly draining away, his body weakening, tried to talk but could barely muster words. "W-why... W-who?" The shorter one said, "See, he's still alive. We can still ask him questions." The taller one replied, "Barely. Let's ask questions next time before you go playing around with your blade." He reached for his pocket bag on his leg, pulled out a metal spike, stabbed it into Hwon's wound, saying, "This way, we can get more answers from him."
Hwon screamed in pain as the man grabbed his hair. "You asked us why earlier. Let's just say you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Blame your luck." Hwon, having lost much blood, could barely feel his body. The man continued, "Where is it?"
Hwon replied weakly, "Where... is... what?" The man slammed Hwon's head on the ground. "Don't play with me. We know it's here. You know what I'm talking about." Hwon replied, "I... don't... know... what." The man said, "Okay, let me make it simpler. Where is the creature staying here? We've been tracking it for a long time. Our trackers last tracked it to this location before we lost its trail. That's no coincidence. Do you know how much that thing is worth? It may look like a cat, but that's just its hidden form."
The shorter one placed his hand on the taller one's shoulder. The taller one apologized, "Sorry, I lost my cool." Hwon realized they were referring to the cat. He wondered what they were talking about, but his consciousness was fading due to blood loss. The taller one calmly asked, "Just answer me, where is it? We don't have all day."
Hwon thought, "What do they want with the cat? Were they the ones who hurt it? The ones who left it for dead?" A surge of anger fueled his determination. "That doesn't matter. I'll be dead soon, but if I'm going to die, I'm at least going to screw these guys over." Hwon raised his hand as the man pulled him by the collar. The man looked at Hwon's hand, Hwon stuck out his middle finger, saying, "Screw you, like I'll help you guys." The man let go of Hwon, dragged out the spike from Hwon's wound, saying, "Then die." He looked at the other and said, "Let's go. There's nothing here. We'll surely find it. It's just a matter of time."
As Hwon lay on the floor, bleeding out, he thought about his life. He thought about the struggles he had faced, the pain he had endured. He thought about the cat, and how it had changed his life. He thought about the what-ifs, the possibilities that would never be. The tears flowed more freely now, streaming down his face as he whispered, "If only..."
The room grew darker, and Hwon's hearing began to fade. He heard the sound of the cat's meow, distant but familiar. And then, a voice. "This is not the end, Ooh great Beast King's heir and only son." The words seemed to echo through Hwon's mind, a mysterious phrase that meant nothing to him now.