My Cat Became a Hot Guy (And He Remembers Everything)
One morning, Mio wakes up to find a gorgeous, golden-eyed stranger sleeping where her beloved cat Kuro should be — and he's got the same scar behind his ear, the same haughty attitude, and apparently all his memories intact.
Yes, all of them. The nail trims. The forced baths. The embarrassing lullaby she only ever sang to her cat. Rei remembers every single indignity she ever put him through — and he's got five years of grudges to settle.
To make matters worse, he's got a suspiciously real My
My Cat Became a Hot Guy (And He Remembers Everything) - When I woke up, there was a hot guy next to me—I'm getting back five years' worth of resentment.
"...Huh?"
She couldn't tell if the sound had actually left her throat or not.
Beside her futon. There was a man she'd never seen before.
Black hair. Long limbs. A straight, elegant nose. He was asleep, and yet his face was strangely well-formed. Mio froze for several seconds, then quietly studied his face. A stranger. Definitely a stranger. And yet—
(Something about this presence...)
April morning light poured through the window. Kopo Tsukimidai, Room 203. A six-tatami room. A cat tower stood imposingly by the window, a few cat toys scattered across the floor, and Kuro's favorite faded light-blue cushion sat beneath the window. The usual room. The usual morning.
Except for one thing — one absolutely critical thing — that was wrong.
Kuro wasn't there.
In his place, there was a handsome stranger.
"—!"
She screamed. Probably. Before she knew it, she'd scrambled behind the cat tower, back pressed against the wall, phone yanked from her pocket.
Her hands were shaking.
"Wh—who are you!? Why are you in my room!? That's breaking and entering! I'm calling the police!"
The man opened his eyes.
Slowly, sleepily. The way anyone does when they've just woken up — a beat of delay. Then he languidly pushed himself upright and— looked at her.
His eyes were gold.
Amber-like, pale gold. She knew that color.
(Kuro's... the same color as Kuro's eyes)
The man watched her for a while. Without a word. Just staring, utterly composed. And that gaze — how to put it—
It was like a cat's.
Appraising, and yet capricious. Exactly that feeling.
"...Did I wake you?"
His voice was low.
Mio couldn't move from the wall. She stood frozen, phone still raised. The man brushed his disheveled black hair back with one hand and slowly surveyed the room. Cat tower. Cat toys. The light-blue cushion. And Mio.
"It's quite a mess in here."
"That's not the issue right now! Who are you!?"
The man turned his gaze back to her.
Behind his left ear, there was a small scar.
The strength nearly drained from Mio's hands. That scar's location. When Kuro had been a stray kitten, he'd come home injured from somewhere — that scar. Every time she stroked behind that ear, it caught on her finger, that exact scar—
In the exact same place.
"Ku... Kuro?"
Her voice trembled.
The man's brow shifted slightly. That was all — his expression didn't change otherwise as he watched her. Mio took half a step away from the wall and asked, timidly.
"That's impossible. A cat turning into a human — that's impossible. That's absolutely insane."
"...Yeah."
"But those eyes, and the scar on your ear..."
The man — Rei — paused for a moment.
There was a secret Mio had shared with no one but Kuro. On nights when living alone made the room too quiet, she'd set Kuro on her lap and secretly sing an original lullaby. The melody and lyrics were all nonsense — just a rhythm that felt good. A song she'd never let anyone hear.
Rei hummed it.
The pitch and rhythm matched perfectly.
The strength left Mio's legs. She crumpled to the floor, her phone slipping from her fingers. A small clatter.
"Five years' worth of grudges. I'm collecting every last one."
His voice was low and quiet.
Mio sat on the floor and looked up at him.
Rei looked down at her. Tall — over six feet. A face too handsome to belong to someone who'd been a cat until yesterday. His black hair caught a faint reddish tint where the light hit it, and his golden eyes were narrowed. Arms crossed, expression almost blank — but the corner of his mouth was just slightly turned up.
(Smug...)
That was the vague thought that crossed her mind. It had been that way since he was a cat. After a nail trim, he'd pointedly look away and strut off with his tail up. Even as a human, nothing had changed.
"Wait, hold on. Five years' worth of grudges — what does that even mean? The nail trims? The baths? All of that was for Kuro's own good!"
"I remember everything."
"Everything!?"
Rei blinked slowly. That was all. He said nothing. The silence was heavy.
Mio clutched her head. The nail trims, the baths, the cheek-rubbing, the commemorative photos, that incident where she'd tried to force-feed him a cat birthday cake — he remembered all of it?
(I'm doomed)
Outside the window, she heard a car from the direction of Kagerou Street's shopping arcade. The usual morning sounds. Minase City was lazily stirring to life. The distant clatter of the Naruse Railway crossing reached her ears.
That was when Mio realized.
"Wait, wait— the time! What time is it!?"
She snatched up her phone. Her face went pale at the screen. 8:17. First period was at 9:00. Eight minutes by bus, twenty-five on foot — she wasn't going to make it. If she ran, maybe.
Mio stood. She grabbed her bag and pulled a hoodie over her head. Rei watched her steadily.
"I'll talk when I get back! No — before I talk, I've got a ton of questions!"
"...Don't trip in a hurry."
"Shut up!"
She opened the door.
Someone was in the hallway.
Kishimoto Tae — the landlady of Kopo Tsukimidai, seventy-eight years old — stood there beaming. Small and round, wearing a white apron. She held a laundry basket in her hands.
"Oh my, Mio-chan. Good morning."
"Ah, Tae-san, good morning! I'm in a bit of a rush today—"
Tae's gaze slid past Mio's shoulder into the room.
She must have seen Rei leaning against the door with his arms crossed.
A beat of silence.
"...Oh my."
Tae narrowed her eyes and slowly smiled.
"Your boyfriend? When did that happen? He's handsome."
"H-he's not! Um, he's, uh, a distant relative!"
"A relative? Oh, but if a boy stays the night in your room, that makes him a boyfriend, doesn't it?"
Tae nodded along at her own pace. Her smile didn't waver in the slightest. Mio turned bright red to her ears and looked back.
Rei was still leaning against the door, arms crossed, watching the whole exchange. The corner of his mouth had risen a little higher than before.
"...A distant relative, huh."
He said it quietly, in that low voice.
"That's a stretch."
"Shut uuuuup!"
Mio's voice echoed through the April morning of Minase City. Over by the Kagerou Street shopping arcade, a flock of sparrows took off all at once.
Tae chuckled and adjusted her laundry basket.
"You two get along so well. Ah, to be young. So full of energy in the morning."
Tae strolled leisurely down the hallway. Mio covered her face with both hands.
She was going to be late. Kuro had turned into a human. The landlady thought he was her boyfriend. Three facts spun around and around in her head.
She started running.
* * *
The road down the hill from Kopo Tsukimidai was warm with spring sunlight. As she passed the small park at Tsukimidai, a single swing swayed. Must have been the wind.
Mio jogged into the shopping arcade. Kagerou Street. Three hundred fifty meters long, a Showa-era arcade that still clung to its old charm. Most shops weren't open yet, their shutters drawn in a row. Only Kissa Lamp had its door open. The smell of coffee drifted out.
(No shift today)
She slipped past and the thought crossed her mind. Kuraki-san would be at the counter grinding beans today, probably. She worked part-time here twice a week. 1,020 yen an hour. This month, Rei's food expenses might get added on top of that—
(Added on top? What, are we living together? Wait, are we?)
Her brain couldn't keep up while she ran.
The Naruse Railway crossing came into view. The Minase Line crossing. The red lights were flashing. The barrier was down.
Mio stopped running and stood before the barrier.
The train passed through.
Clack, clack. Clack, clack.
Then silence.
She shoved her hands into her hoodie pocket and her fingers brushed something hard.
(...What's this?)
She pulled it out. A thin card. Bluish. She turned it over — it was a My Number card.
She looked at the photo.
The face of the handsome man from this morning was on it.
Name field.
"Kurose Rei."
Address field. Kopo Tsukimidai, Room 203.
Mio stood frozen before the crossing.
The train was already gone. The barrier was up. But her legs wouldn't move.
A cat had turned into a human. That alone was absurd enough. But this — who had made it? Was it real or fake? Had a person named Kurose Rei ever existed in this world?
The April sun shone down on the Kagerou Street arcade, glittering.
Mio's mind spun in circles.
Kuro had become human. There was a My Number card. The landlady thought he was her boyfriend. He'd said he'd collect five years' worth of grudges. He'd said he remembered everything. The nail trims, the baths, the cheek-rubbing, the lullaby — everything.
What was waiting for her when she got home?
Mio put the My Number card back in her pocket and ducked under the barrier.
She was definitely going to be late.
Eight minutes by bus to Touyou University's campus. She wasn't even sure she could catch that bus. And yet, somehow, her steps weren't heavy.
Deep in her chest, something was beating fast.
What it was, Mio didn't know yet.
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