You Came with the First Spring Breeze... - Episode 5: An Eye for an Eye, a Cat for a Cat

Episode 5: An Eye for an Eye, a Cat for a Cat

I got back into the car.

Although I had only been gone for about 30 minutes, the car, which had been turned off, was like a sauna. It was so hot that for a moment, I seriously thought I could die from the heat.

I turned the engine back on, desperately seeking cool air, and rolled down all four windows.

I lowered the sunshade, half hiding my face, and put on sunglasses.

Though I used to be colleagues with Mita, we hadn’t seen each other in about three years. At that time, I didn’t even own a car, and Mita wouldn’t recognize me in my current state.

It was like a moth flying straight into a flame.

I decided to watch him for a while.

Mita was in the driver’s seat of a black Lexus, repeatedly fiddling with his smartphone. It looked like he was trying to make a call, holding the phone to his ear and pressing buttons over and over.

He was probably freaking out because the GPS wasn’t working. I could practically feel his frustration from here.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, so I went back to my apartment.

“Sorry, Nao. For coming back in here again,” I said, though it felt a little weird apologizing for entering my own room, but seeing Nao so relaxed made me feel guilty.

Nao groggily sat up on the bed, looking slightly annoyed.

“Can I borrow your phone for a second?”

I extended my hand to her, casually as if I were asking for a 100 yen coin.

She eyed me suspiciously.

“Why?”

I wasn’t going to explain my reason, so I just said, “I have a good idea.”

Nao hesitated, then reluctantly handed over her phone.

“Tell me your PIN number,” I said.

“Like I’m going to tell you that.”

I muttered a silent “I knew it” and started brainstorming for my next move.

“It’s fine, I won’t look at anything. Even if I do, I won’t care. I’ll return it in 30 minutes,” I said.

“No way, of course not,” she responded.

At this point, it was a last-ditch attempt.

“Well, then you can leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Then, do as I say.”

Nao pouted and frowned.

“Promise me you won’t look at anything.”

Reluctantly, Nao handed me her phone and told me the 6-digit PIN.

“I’ll give it back later.”

I left the room, heading for the door.

“Hey, hey!” Nao followed me, wearing nothing but a flimsy camisole, and tugged on my clothes as I was putting on my shoes.

“You didn’t say you were taking it out! What are you doing?”

“I’ll bring it back right away. I promise I won’t do anything bad. Wait quietly, and I’ll bring you crepes.”

After three years of living together, I knew Nao’s quirks pretty well.

“Strawberry, not the jam kind, the one with real strawberries on top.”

“Okay.”

I got back in the car and headed for a home improvement store in the neighboring town.

I was, of course, planning to buy supplies for Haru—food, a litter box, and other necessities.

And on the side, I was going to give Mita, who had hurt Haru, a little punishment.

It was about a 20-minute drive. There were other home improvement stores nearby, but I chose one with an older building and a large parking lot facing the main road.

By the time I arrived, Nao’s phone had received about five calls—each one from Mita.

I parked and unlocked Nao’s phone.

I turned on the GPS.

Then, I slipped the phone into my pocket and walked into the store.

The store had a section dedicated to adopting stray cats, so I headed there first.

The cages were stacked, each with two cats, some of which were no older than Haru. When people came by, they would meow loudly in warning.

Some cats would even puff themselves up and hiss.

I connected Nao’s phone to the call that had been ringing nonstop.

“Hello? Nao? Where are you? I’ve been so worried. Are you okay?”

Mita’s voice was surprisingly sweet and gentle. I nearly laughed at how affectionate he sounded.

I held the phone out toward the cats and let them meow and hiss for about 10 seconds before I screamed, “Kyaa—help me!” and abruptly ended the call.

People around me, both customers and employees, looked around confused, but no one realized it was me.

Next, I leisurely went about shopping for the cat supplies I needed, paid at the checkout, and left the store.

Just as I was walking out, I saw Mita’s black Lexus speeding toward the entrance, swerving as it turned.

He had arrived.

Mita pulled into the store’s parking lot, his eyes glued to his phone screen, as he entered through the one-way “Entrance.”

I quickly turned off the GPS.

I exited through the “Exit” on the opposite side of the store, and while Mita wandered around the store, I opened a bag of cat food with catnip and checked Haru’s food.

By coincidence, Mita’s car was parked right next to mine.

“Oops!”

I accidentally dropped the bag of food, spilling it under Mita’s car.

“Oops, my bad. This is for adult cats. Haru might be too young for this one.”

I mumbled to myself, then got in my car, parked at the farthest spot from the scene.

“Meow,” “Meow—”

A few wild-looking stray cats, with rugged faces, began to gather out of nowhere, drawn to the smell of food. Around five of them circled Mita’s car and started scrambling for the food.

It was going exactly as planned, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

The smell of catnip seemed to attract even more cats. The sight was a bit unsettling for anyone unfamiliar with it.

This area had a lot of stray cats, and the ones that were caught were put up for adoption at the store. The ones that remained wild survived by hunting for food.

Some had awful scars, and one particularly tough-looking cat was known as the “Boss” around here.

“I hope Mita likes cats,” I muttered under my breath as I waited for him to return to his car.

About 15 minutes later, there were about 10 cats around, clawing at the tires, trying to get to the food trapped underneath.

Mita returned to his car, looking bewildered. He stopped in his tracks, his sunglasses on, blinking in confusion.

He slowly approached the car, attempting to shoo the cats away with his hand, but the “Boss” cat stood its ground, hissing loudly.

The hungry stray cats weren’t about to back down easily.

Mita was going to be stuck dealing with the cats for a while under that Lexus.

Since animal protection groups kept an eye on the area, there was no way Mita could harm the cats.

It would be fun if he thought his precious girlfriend had been abducted by a monster cat.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter as I drove away to buy the crepes.