IPBD CHAPTER 4
by ScarletAnd then she took out a Paya fruit and examined it closely.
The perfect snack to satisfy her taste buds was right in front of her.
Of course, it felt a little wasteful to eat it now.
‘When else will I get to eat it if not now?’
She could always gather more fruit later.
Emilina went down to the kitchen to find a knife.
Then she cut off the top of the fruit, making it easy to scoop out.
A thick white liquid sloshed around, as if showing off.
Although she considered eating it as is, she shook her head and grabbed a spoon.
It seemed better to eat it in her room, in case the cat opened its eyes in the meantime.
Returning to her room, Emilina sat down next to the sofa where the cat was lying.
The little ball of black fluff still had its eyes closed.
‘Will it stay asleep until I finish?’
She wanted to savor the taste slowly.
If it woke up, it would either eat frantically or forget about it altogether—one or the other, for sure.
So, hoping the cat would wake up a little later, Emilina scooped up a spoonful of Paya.
“Aah─”
At that moment.
Growl.
A thunderous sound that could only have come from her stomach made Emilina’s hand freeze.
She tilted her head and looked down at her belly.
She didn’t feel hungry at all, which was strange.
‘Am I imagining it?’
She tried to bring the spoon to her mouth again.
But then.
Groooowl!
A louder, hungrier noise echoed, and she had no choice but to put the spoon down.
‘What impeccable timing.’
Swallowing her disappointment, Emilina glanced to her side.
Before she knew it, the cat had opened its eyes and was staring intently at her.
Its slightly open mouth looked as if drool might drop at any moment, clearly showing how much it wanted the fruit.
“Uh… Do you want to eat this?”
“Meow!”
The cat quickly responded with a cry.
It seemed like it was saying yes.
Emilina held back a sigh.
With those pitiful eyes staring at her like that, she felt as if the cat might collapse if she didn’t give in.
“Fine. I’ll give it to you. But you have to get better quickly, okay?”
As Emilina spoke, she gently tapped the cat’s nose.
The cat blinked once, then rubbed its cheek against her finger.
It felt like it was thanking her.
That warm, fuzzy feeling brought a soft smile to her lips.
The cat was just too cute, showing its affection so innocently.
‘But is it okay to give this to a cat?’
Just as she was about to feed it, a sudden concern crept in—what if it upset the cat’s stomach?
But she quickly brushed the thought aside.
There were quite a few households nearby that kept pets.
Since many couldn’t afford the luxury of aristocratic pet food, they often fed their animals regular food.
Besides, Paya was a fruit that grew in Mamak. Even animals craved it.
Some households even fed their pets the leftover pulp.
So, it didn’t seem like there would be any problem giving it to the cat.
After all, this was the world of a novel, and things like that weren’t strange here.
‘In that case, I’ll need a plate, right?’
Thinking it might be difficult for the cat to eat directly from the fruit, Emilina brought over a plate.
She scooped out the fruit’s insides and placed some on the plate, setting it down in front of the cat.
The cat slowly lifted its body and buried its nose into the plate.
Though it let out a slight groan, probably from the pain of its wounds, it didn’t seem to care and eagerly lapped at the fruit.
Slurp, slurp.
The cat must have been really hungry.
Emilina chuckled quietly, shaking her head in amusement.
“Eat slowly, kitty.”
Anyone watching might think someone was going to steal the food.
Well… she couldn’t entirely deny that thought crossed her mind.
The cat was eating so deliciously that Emilina couldn’t help but feel her mouth water.
She wrestled with temptation.
‘Wouldn’t just one bite be okay?’
There were two more Paya fruits left, but they were for her parents, so she couldn’t touch them.
Knowing how delicious Paya fruit was made it a nearly irresistible temptation.
‘Oh no! What am I thinking?’
Taking back what she had already given would be too shameless.
After all, there’s a saying: “You don’t disturb even a dog while it’s eating.” She almost became that dog herself, so Emilina shook her head in dismay.
Right. Watching the cat eat should be satisfying enough… though it wasn’t.
‘Ah, it really does look good.’
Swallowing her own saliva, Emilina resolved that next time, she would gather a lot more Paya fruit.
Now that there was another mouth to feed, she would need to stock up.
Just then, the cat, with its nose buried in the plate, suddenly looked up.
It glanced at Emilina, then at the plate, back and forth, before gently pushing the plate toward her with its little paw.
As Emilina stared in confusion, the cat hung its head, licking around its mouth.
Could it be?
Emilina sighed softly.
For some reason, the cat was watching her, hesitating—holding back its hunger.
‘If you’re going to do that, just eat it.’
Suppressing a laugh, Emilina pushed the plate back toward the cat.
She gently patted the cat’s back, as if to reassure it.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the cat finally relaxed and resumed eating, looking a little more at ease.
Watching this, Emilina smiled warmly and thought to herself,
‘Aren’t you just too cute?’
And thus, her journey as a full-fledged pet owner truly began.
***
Perhaps thanks to Emilina’s dedicated care, the cat seemed to recover more and more each day.
The wounds had mostly healed, so today she gave it a proper bath.
She had been wiping the cat down with damp towels, but a lingering smell had built up.
When she held the cat last night, the stench that hit her nose was something else.
Emilina shook her head at the memory, her stomach still turning.
“How do you feel? Refreshed after a bath?”
“Mew─”
The cat stretched out its front paws with a lazy cry.
Even though it had been so fussy about touching the water, now that it was clean, it seemed to be in a good mood.
As she praised it by stroking its head, she felt how much softer its fur had become.
Compared to the stiff, bristly texture from the day before, it was a huge improvement.
Purring contentedly under her touch, the cat then rubbed its face against the back of her hand.
Emilina couldn’t help but smile.
The cat’s affectionate behavior was enough to melt her heart.
“Ha ha. Did our little kitty customer enjoy their bath?”
The name she’d given it was “Yangi.”
It was simple and cute, derived from the word for “cat.”
But Yangi didn’t seem too fond of the name, always acting indifferent whenever she called it.
Almost as if it disliked being called a cat.
Once, thinking it might want a special name, she tried calling it “Nabi,” which means butterfly. The response? Complete rejection.
The way it narrowed its eyes and glared at her made it seem like it was saying, “If you call me that, you’ll regret it.”
Since that day, Emilina gave up on naming it anything fancy and just stuck with Yangi.
The cat seemed to tolerate it better, showing no more than a mildly grumpy expression.
Too bad. Nabi was a cute name, Emilina thought, a little disappointed.
‘But what time is it now?’
She withdrew her hand from Yangi and looked for a clock.
The small hand was nearing 3 o’clock.
She had plans to meet Rosie around that time, so it was about time to get ready.
“Yangi, stay home and be good. I’ll be back soon.”
“Meow?”
Yangi blinked its large eyes and tilted its head, as if asking, Where are you going?
It was fascinating how the cat seemed to understand her.
Some might laugh and call it a silly delusion.
But you never know—after all, smart cats are said to understand human speech.
Maybe Yangi was one of those clever cats.
As she was thinking that, Yangi suddenly stepped forward and placed its paw on her leg.
It was a gesture that clearly meant, I don’t want you to go.
‘Ugh. My heart.’
