111. The Ups and Downs of Cohabitation (2)

It was well after dawn before we emerged from the bedroom.

Aki showered first, then me. Dressed in comfortable clothes, we shared a late breakfast. The menu consisted of boiled pork and lettuce wraps, leftovers from the previous evening, along with various side dishes. I had made sure to boil a generous amount, enough to last until morning.

“Aki. Did you see the note stuck to the front door?”

“Hm? What’s this, a note?”

“Must’ve been last night. I saw it when I went out to throw away the trash…”

“Aah, here you go~”

Aki offers me a beautifully wrapped ssam. I quickly take it and gobble it down. Mumble mumble. It tastes even better because Aki made it. I chew diligently, swallow, and continue.

“Apparently, the cat next door cries too much at night. Asking if we can do something about it, you see.”

“Cat…? We don’t have a cat.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. So I wrote underneath, that we don’t keep cats, and that they must have mistaken us for someone else.”

“Aha. Is that so? Aah~”

I take another bite. Really, boiled pork belly tastes good no matter when or how you eat it.

“Mumble. I wonder why they made that mistake?”

“Hmm… I wonder. Maybe a cat lives around those back alleys near our place…?”

Aki crosses her arms and taps her chin with the tip of her index finger.

She seems to be pondering something, so I wrap a ssam to Aki’s liking and subtly offer it to her.

“Could be the alleys, could be the rooftop. Or maybe they just mistook a baby crying in another house, no?”

“Ah. That could be it. Babies and cats do sound a little alike when they cry.”

“Mhm. Right. But in case a stray cat really *is* living nearby, we should probably check, ne?”

“Ah, in that case, Atashi will come too… mhm, aah~”

She offers another ssam. Aki cutely takes it and munches on it. I dip a chili pepper in ssamjang sauce and glance at the clock.

9:10 AM. Second period starts at 10, so if I finish eating, do the dishes, change clothes, and head out, it’ll be just right.

“Mumble mumble… Mhm. Dear husband, what time do you finish today?”

“I have six periods. How about you, Aki?”

“Atashi has eight periods. But my friends asked me to have dinner with them today, so I probably won’t be back until around 7.”

“7? Alright. Then I’ll start looking around myself.”

“No. Let’s just go together when Atashi gets back. Cats are nocturnal, so you won’t find them if you go during the day. You have to look at night, you know.”

“Ah, really?”

So cats are nocturnal, huh. I always see them wandering around just fine during the day in variety shows and YouTube videos, so I thought they were diurnal like dogs.

“But dear husband. What if a cat really *is* living near our house?”

“Hmm. I haven’t really thought about that yet…”

If people are complaining about the noise, I should probably try to send it away peacefully somehow. Report it to an abandoned animal shelter, or move its home somewhere else.

I wrap a ssam and tell her my thoughts. Aki’s expression subtly tightens.

“Yeah…. I suppose that’s right, isn’t it? But, you know. What happens to the kitties they take from the stray cat shelter?”

“From what I understand, they take them in, try to find adopters, and if there are no takers, well, it’s euthanasia….”

“Huh, euthanasia…?”

“Yeah. Euthanasia. They can’t exactly keep all those cats, can they?”

“…Darling, why don’t we just take one and raise it ourselves?”

“Huh…. You want *us* to raise one?”

“Mhm, mhm. I’ve wanted to raise a cat for a while now. It’s so sad if they get put down…!”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Come to think of it. Aki had mentioned something similar back in high school. Said she wanted to raise a cat if we ever lived together. And I probably said we would, too.

‘A cat, huh….’

Well. Having a pet would be good, so at least one of us wouldn’t be so lonely. I guess it could be fun, raising one and all.

I nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do it. But we actually need a cat for that, you know…”

“Ah, really? I love you…!”

Before I could even finish, Aki jumped up. And, professing her undying affection, threw her arms around me. The feel of her soft chest against mine made me grin like a fool, and I desperately tried to get my expression under control. Composure. Composure.

“Darling. What should we name our cat? Nyan, Nero? Or maybe Babycat…?!“

“Hey, you know we haven’t even gotten a cat yet, right?”

“I know. But it’s good to decide on a name beforehand…!”

*Ding-*!

My phone’s notification chime. Not Aki’s, mine. I pulled the phone from my trouser pocket and checked.

A text. Tagged in the group chat for my high school basketball crew.

[@JuuJuu]

[@JuuJuu @Juu Joo @JuuJuu @JuuJuu @JuuJuu]

[When the hell is this b*stard finally having a housewarming party?]

[Moved in December, and still hasn’t hosted a single get-together]

[Doesn’t even check his texts, maybe he croaked?]

“Ah.”

That’s right. Now that I think about it, I haven’t had a housewarming party since moving.

Like the guys said, moved in in December. Right after, I went to Japan, so I couldn’t have a housewarming party and after coming back, we were too busy spending time together that I forgot about it. We were too hot and busy for it.

They kept asking when I was going to host one, but I kept putting it off. And here it was, already March, and I still hadn’t done it once. Feeling a bit guilty, I hesitated, letting out a small sigh.

“Husband, what is it?”

“Well. It’s just that….”

I briefly explained the situation to Aki. It had been three months since we moved, and my friends were giving me the earful for not having a housewarming yet.

Aki, too, seemed to have belatedly remembered the housewarming, as her eyes widened. It seemed she’d forgotten about it just as much as I had.

“Hmph. That’s right, a housewarming…! My friends have been asking me when we’re having one, too!”

“What should we do? We can’t just skip the housewarming altogether.”

“Yeah. I know. We have to make time for it…. When should we do it? I bet everyone else is getting busy starting this week, right?”

“……Hmm.”

It’s best to just ask the kids directly in times like these. I opened my messaging app and typed a message in our group chat.

[Sorry. I’m thinking of finally doing a housewarming. When works for everyone??]

…….

…….

…….

──*Ting. Ting!*

[Wow, Joo-joo, you b*stard, lol]

[Who has a housewarming three months after moving in??]

[I’m just bringing a roll of toilet paper, peace out ㅅㄱ]

[Thought you were dead, but you’re alive, huh, you son of a b*tch ㅄ럼]

“…….”

The reaction is… intense.

[Sorry. Been busy all this time…. Anyway, when should we meet?]

[I need to do it this week if we’re gonna meet. I’m starting a part-time job next week.]

[Yeah, me too]

[Hmm, then this weekend? Like, Saturday??]

[Weekends are usually easiest]

[Yeah, Saturday works for me too]

[What about Seung-woo? Is Saturday good for Seung-woo? @김승우 (Kim Seung-woo)]

[Uh, yeah. It’s good for me too. But if we’re meeting on Saturday, I can’t stay long, I gotta leave soon~]

[Ugh, sounds cheap already]

[Why are you leaving early?]

[Got a date with my girl that day… lol;]

[Fucking hell]

[This showing off is pissing me off]

“…Uhm.”

I felt a string of curses bubbling up. But it seemed the date was roughly set for Saturday. I closed my phone screen and looked at Aki.

Aki, too, was furiously tapping away at her phone, coordinating a date with her friends.

“Aki, what did your friends say?”

“This weekend, or the weekend after next, works for them. What about your friends, darling?”

“My friends are free this weekend. They have part-time jobs starting next week.”

“Ah. So should I tell my friends we’ll meet the weekend after next?”

“The weekend after next feels too late… Hmm, how about we all meet at once? I think it’d be fun, don’t you?”

Five of my friends, five of Aki’s. That’s ten people, plus me and Aki makes twelve in total. It’d be complicated with so many people, but the more the merrier, right? And, more importantly, less time spent on preparations.

It felt like a decent idea, so I floated it out there. Aki seemed to contemplate it for a moment, then sent a message, saying it wasn’t a decision she could make alone.

“What did your friends say?”

“Hmm… They’re asking if the guys are good-looking?”

“Tell them we’re handsome. That’ll get them to come.”

“Hehe. Should I? But what did your friends say, darling? Is it okay with them?”

“They’re fine, you don’t even need to ask.”

They were the types to constantly whine for introductions to girls, so there was no way they’d refuse. But, just in case, I still asked. If I was planning to invite my girlfriend’s friends over for the housewarming, would it be okay with them?

Whereupon…

*Ding, ding-*!

My phone lit up, sending back a flurry of excited responses.

Four of them sent messages in a row, it was like a deluge of texts. To sum it up, it was pretty much, ‘Just invite us, Universe hyung!!!’

[lol okay I will]

[Wow fuck I love you Universe hyung]

[Universe hyung? Is Joo Universe your friend?]

[We worship you…. GOAT]

[Great Universe]

[Is it you again…. God Universe….]

[Greatest of all time. Just a GOAT]

[Damn it. Another grand universe. I wanted to read only this before sleeping….]

“Yeah, he’s alright, she says.”

“Ah. Really? That’s a relief. My friends are doing okay too!”

“Then that’s good. How about we all hang out this weekend?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s do that. That’ll be fun…!”

Aki smiles prettily, as if she’s already having fun just imagining it.

I smile back at Aki, and then bring up a subject that had just crossed my mind.

“Oh, right. Aki, is there any talk about a Membership Training trip (MT) in your department?”

“MT? Ah, yeah. There is. The dates are already set. Our department is going next Thursday. I think your department is going around then too, isn’t it?”

“Really? I guess the departments are coordinating so everyone can go together?”

“Yeah. I guess so. Are you going, hon?”

“I don’t know. I’m planning on going if nothing comes up, but what about you, Aki?”

“I’m debating it. A package is supposed to arrive that day….”

“A package…? Is something important coming?”

I tilted my head, not quite understanding, and looked at Aki.

Aki looked something up on her phone, then quickly turned it around to show me a photo.

A pure white lingerie set, an extremely racy type, with thin straps going around the body.

A sailor uniform skirt so short that it looked like her underwear would be visible, and a crop top version of the sailor uniform shirt, exposing her navel.

“This and this are arriving in the package…. Lately, my chest has gotten a little bigger, so the size is kind of ambiguous. So I need to try it on right away and exchange it if it doesn’t fit.”

‘Since it’s international shipping, it takes at least two weeks to go back and forth, you know? That’s too long, right? So I need to check it as soon as possible….’ Aki continued.

But I was busy mulling over the cosplay outfit that Aki was going to wear just now.

“……”

Lingerie, sailor uniform.

Both are so incredibly s*xy and pretty.

Which one should I ask her to wear first…?