“Hey, kids, let’s eat.”
Coming to their senses and feeling somewhat better, the first thing Yellian did was to prepare food for Gamja and Geumdong.
Naturally, Gamja ate cat food, and while Geumdong used to eat cat food together with Gamja when he was smaller, now he devoured chunks of cooked chicken breast.
Thanks to that, the cost of feeding the kids had doubled, but since this was also bought with the money Yellian received from Leonard, Yellian always felt sorry toward Leonard.
“Gamja, Geumdong……. Geumdong is already here. Gamja, Gamja! Geumdong is already here. Gamja!”
Thinking that since Geumdong had come, they only needed to call Gamja, but strangely, no matter how much they called, Gamja didn’t show up.
In the end, unable to wait any longer, Yellian personally checked Leonard’s office, bedroom, and bathroom, but Gamja was nowhere to be seen.
“Gamja? Gamja!”
“What’s all this commotion?”
Just then, Leonard, returning from an outing, saw the frantic Yellian and asked. Yellian practically ran to Leonard.
“Gamja is gone!”
“That can’t be.”
At Yellian’s urgent words, Leonard shook his head. Of course, Yellian agreed with him. There was no way Gamja, who had only been inside the room, could have disappeared.
The window wasn’t open, and the door had a high cat-proof fence installed. Yet, Gamja was nowhere to be found.
“I’m serious, no matter how much I call, he doesn’t come out……. I can’t find him anywhere. Was Gamja there when you left, Leonard?”
“When I left, Gamja was sleeping next to you. With his buttocks pressed against your face, no less.”
Hearing Leonard’s words, Yellian became even more confused. If Gamja was quietly sleeping when Leonard left, where on earth had he disappeared to? He couldn’t have sunk into the ground or flown into the sky.
“I’ll look for him one more time. He couldn’t have left this room, after all.”
“I’ll look too.”
The two of them immediately started searching the room thoroughly. They checked every narrow gap behind and under the furniture without missing a spot.
But no matter how much they searched, Gamja was nowhere to be seen. It was not only bewildering but also despairing.
“Where on earth did he go…….”
Completely stunned, Yellian slumped down. Tears were welling up in their eyes.
Yellian wiped away the tears irritably, then once again called Gamja’s name while turning the entire room upside down. They opened every drawer and rummaged through every space between the bookshelves.
Seeing Yellian like this, Leonard’s heart was also uneasy. Though his mind had already accepted that Gamja wasn’t in this room, emotionally, he couldn’t come to terms with it.
At first, Gamja was just an annoying cat to him. He had only accepted it reluctantly because Yellian wanted to raise him. But as the days spent together increased, the little guy started to grow on him.
“He might have gotten out of the room, so I’ll have the estate searched. Don’t worry too much. We’ll find him soon.”
At Leonard’s calm reassurance, Yellian nodded.
He was right. Though it wasn’t clear how Gamja got past the cat-proof fence, it was evident that Gamja wasn’t in the room.
If that was the case, there was a high chance he was still wandering somewhere in the estate. If they mobilized the estate’s staff to look for Gamja, they would likely find him quickly.
* * *
“Eat something.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You need to eat something.”
“I don’t feel like eating.”
“Ha…….”
Leonard’s sigh felt like it pierced their heart, but Yellian truly had no appetite. Of course, they weren’t hungry either. So the thought of eating anything didn’t even cross their mind.
“Even if you don’t feel like it, eat.”
“No. If I eat something now, I feel like I’ll get sick.”
At Yellian’s stubborn words, Leonard barely held back another sigh that threatened to escape.
He sat beside Yellian, who was curled up on the bed. Their face wasn’t visible since they had the blanket pulled over their head, but they were surely crying.
“Then at least drink some warm milk. You can manage that much, right?”
“No, I don’t want to…….”
“Yellian.”
“…….”
“Eat for my sake. Please, I’m begging you like this.”
It had already been three days since they lost Gamja.
During that time, Yellian neither ate nor drank. Even when forced to eat something, they would throw it up soon after.
Seeing this, Leonard felt like he was going insane. The disappearance of Gamja was a significant shock and pain to him as well. He couldn’t believe that the little guy, who used to toddle around cutely meowing every day, had vanished in an instant.
Leonard just wanted to cry. He couldn’t even remember the last time he felt like crying. Yet, he was at the point where he truly wanted to sob out loud.
But crying wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t bring back the lost Gamja, nor would it lift Yellian’s spirits. So Leonard suppressed those feelings as much as he could and tried to act rationally.
“You didn’t eat anything yesterday either. I’m not asking you to eat a lot. Even a little soup is fine. Drinking milk is okay too. So please, eat something. I’m begging you.”
“…….”
There was no response. But Leonard couldn’t leave. There was a chance Yellian’s heart might soften even a little and they might agree to eat something, so all he could do was wait.
“Yellian, there’s also the pie you like. Remember? It’s the pie from Lena’s Pie Shop. I bought different kinds, so you can pick whichever you want.”
“……Leonard.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Though their voice mixed with sobs was heartbreaking, their call was a relief. Leonard felt reassured just by the fact that Yellian had called out to him. They hadn’t spoken at all in the past few days.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Leonard…… you’re doing your best to comfort me…… but I’m stuck in place. I can’t move from this spot at all. I’m afraid that if I do, it’ll mean forgetting Gamja, erasing him, so I can’t go anywhere.”
Yellian spoke through tears. Honestly, though it might sound harsh to Gamja, right after the accident that brought them to this world, they were so overwhelmed by their own situation that they had no energy or space to think about looking for Gamja. Even when they occasionally thought of him, they vaguely assumed he was doing fine.
It might seem irresponsible, but in truth, it was a defense mechanism to protect themselves.
Possessed in this world and living with the mad duke, they couldn’t search for or bring back Gamja, who was beyond dimensions. If they started worrying about Gamja, it felt like they would suffocate.
But now, the situation had changed. By some stroke of luck, they found Gamja and lived together, breathing the same air.
Losing that Gamja made them feel like their entire world had collapsed in an instant. Everything tangled and shattered to the point where they didn’t even know how to pick up the pieces.
“Yellian.”
“…….”
“It’s okay to stay in that place. I’m not telling you to come out of it. So stay where you are now. I’ll be by your side.”
At Leonard’s words, Yellian swallowed their tears instead of responding. Honestly, it had only been three days since they lost Gamja. It was too early to despair. Thinking that, Yellian slowly got up.
“I…… I’ll eat something.”
“Thank you.”
Leonard held Yellian’s hand and slowly lifted them to their feet. Since they hadn’t eaten and had only been crying for days, he was worried they might collapse.
“I’ve put up flyers all over the capital. I’m sure someone will contact us.”
“Yes…….”
Though their voice was weak, Leonard felt relieved just by the fact that Yellian had responded to his words.
Leonard led Yellian to a table in the corner of the room where food was prepared. Yellian walked unsteadily, as if they had forgotten how to walk. Seeing this, Leonard’s heart ached once again.
“Yellian!”
But just as Yellian seemed to finally sit on the chair, they suddenly lost strength and collapsed.
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