"You encountered the cat's owner, who's also an awakener?" Kenji's voice carried the sharp edge of someone trying to process information that defied all common sense.
Jiwoo nodded, his expression a mixture of guilt and stubborn determination.
"And why the hell didn't you escape?!" The question exploded from Kenji's lips, cutting through the evening air with the force of genuine disbelief. He couldn't fathom how someone could be so recklessly heroic in the face of mortal danger.
Jiwoo didn't attempt to defend his actions, instead adopting the sheepish demeanor of someone who knew they'd made questionable life choices but would probably do it again.
"Let's go inside your house first," Kenji said, his tone carrying the weary resignation of an adult dealing with a particularly adventurous child. I can't believe this kid would do something so foolish.
Inside Jiwoo's living room, Kenji approached the unconscious black cat with the methodical precision of someone accustomed to assessing damage. The feline lay motionless on the sofa, its breathing shallow but steady—a small mercy given what it had endured.
Placing his right hand gently on the cat's torso, Kenji channeled his aether in carefully controlled pulses, using the energy to probe beneath fur and skin. His enhanced senses mapped the extent of the injuries with clinical detachment: multiple contusions along the ribcage, internal bruising from the violent impacts against the brick wall, and the lingering traces of forced awakening that had fundamentally altered the creature's cellular structure.
"The good news is he'll live," Kenji announced, his voice carrying cautious optimism. "But his body has experienced significant trauma. He's going to need plenty of rest and careful monitoring."
Without waiting for a response, Kenji began channeling aether in a different pattern—not the analytical probe he'd used for diagnosis, but a crude attempt at cellular repair. His energy flowed into the cat's damaged tissues, encouraging accelerated healing and reducing inflammation. The process was imperfect, like trying to perform surgery with gardening tools, but it would help.
"Kenji, I didn't know you could heal!" Jiwoo exclaimed, his eyes bright with surprise and gratitude.
"My healing is subpar at best," Kenji replied with characteristic honesty, watching as Jiwoo began carefully wrapping bandages around the cat's injuries. "I'm not a healer, kid, so don't expect miracles. This is just crude aether manipulation to give his body a head start."
"As I said earlier, he'll need plenty of rest before he's completely recovered," Kenji continued, noting the way Jiwoo's gentle hands moved with practiced care around the bandages.
"But I'm already glad he'll be fine," Jiwoo said, his expression radiating pure relief as he softly petted the unconscious cat's head.
Kenji sighed, the sound carrying the weight of someone preparing for an interrogation he didn't want to conduct. "Kid, I need you to tell me everything. Start from the beginning."
Jiwoo's recounting unfolded like a case study in heroic recklessness: the cat's sudden awakening and escape, the dark aether saturating the air like a malevolent perfume, the desperate chase through neighborhood streets. Then came the confrontation—the red-suited man's casual brutality, the effortless telekinetic manipulation that treated a living creature like a toy to be broken.
"And then I used my super speed to catch him off guard and grab the cat," Jiwoo concluded, as if describing a perfectly reasonable response to encountering a dangerous awakener.
Kenji's response was a masterpiece of physical comedy. First came the temple rub—slow, deliberate circles as if trying to massage away an impending migraine. Then the nose bridge pinch, followed by a sigh so deep and prolonged it seemed to emerge from his very soul. The entire performance lasted nearly ten seconds, a symphony of exasperation that spoke volumes about his mental state.
"I can't believe you, kid," he finally said, his voice carrying equal parts admiration and despair. "You're either the most stupid or bravest person I've ever met. Or you just completely lack any sense of self-preservation."
Jiwoo maintained his sheepish expression, clearly recognizing he had no defense for his actions.
"I know, but I couldn't just leave the cat alone," he offered weakly.
Flick.
The forehead flick was precise and perfectly calibrated—enough to sting without causing real harm, delivered with the expertise of someone who'd probably used this particular disciplinary technique before.
"Ow!" Jiwoo yelped, immediately covering his forehead with both hands.
"That's for nearly giving me a heart attack, kid," Kenji said with grim satisfaction.
Returning his attention to the unconscious cat, Kenji adopted a contemplative pose—hand on chin, brow furrowed in concentration. Kayden chose that moment to make his entrance, having apparently finished whatever business had occupied him in the bathroom. The orange cat leaped onto the sofa with surprising grace for his considerable bulk, then arranged himself in a distinctly human-like posture with one front paw stretched casually across the cushions.
"I'm wondering about the difference between this cat's awakening process and the methods used by awakeners with animal companions," Kenji mused aloud. "What I do know is that this cat was forcibly awakened through experimental procedures."
"There are awakeners who fight with animals?" Jiwoo asked, his curiosity immediately piqued.
"Yeah, there are, kid. In fact, there's an organization here in South Korea specifically for awakeners with animal companions," Kenji explained patiently, slipping into his informative mode.
"So how do awakeners awaken animals? Aren't they being forcibly awakened too?" Jiwoo's confusion was evident in his voice.
"No, they aren't, kid. The animals that awakeners use as companions come from awakened lineages—they achieve resonance awakening with their human partners. It's a natural bond formation." Kenji paused, gesturing toward the injured cat. "Unlike this guy, who was just a normal stray cat, not born from any awakened lineage."
Jiwoo nodded thoughtfully. "That's actually really cool, fighting alongside animal companions."
"As for this black cat, I'm betting his experimental awakening wasn't sanctioned by the World Awakener Association," Kenji said, his tone growing serious as the implications settled in.
"Anyway," he continued, shifting to more immediate concerns, "you don't have class tomorrow since it's Sunday, right?"
"Yeah, we don't have class tomorrow," Jiwoo confirmed.
"Why did you have class today if it's saturday?" Kenji asked, momentarily confused by the timeline.
"There was a school activity that required everyone to attend," Jiwoo explained.
"So tomorrow, just stay in your house while I investigate where they might be conducting their experiments. Hopefully, I can get to the bottom of this whole situation," Kenji said, his voice carrying the authority of someone accustomed to handling dangerous situations.
Then, almost casually, Kenji walked over to where Kayden sat in his feline glory and fixed him with an intense, searching gaze.
Both Kayden and Jiwoo felt their internal panic meters spike to dangerous levels. Did he figure it out? The thought raced through both their minds as they tried to maintain casual expressions while internally sweating bullets.
The tension stretched for several heartbeats, Kenji's analytical stare seeming to peer directly into their souls, searching for secrets they desperately hoped to keep hidden.
Then he spoke.
"Hey, kid, you should put this fat cat on a diet."
The anticlimax was so complete, so thoroughly deflating, that both Jiwoo and Kayden nearly collapsed from relief, then got mad by what kenji said to him as veins popped out on his round face just because you're this kid's neighbor doesn't mean I can't fuck you up!
Kenji then accompanied his observation with a gentle poke to Kayden's considerable belly, the gesture carrying all the casual concern of a neighbor commenting on a pet's weight gain.
"He's getting a bit too round for his own good," Kenji added with the kind of practical concern that says of his worry of the cat's obesity.