Pawned Kitty C1

Chapter 1

“Rraaow!”

Trapped inside a rattling cage, my fur stood on end as I trembled with betrayal.

With the fiercest glare I could manage, I stared at the middle-aged man carrying the cage.

The man looked like he hadn’t properly washed in days. His hair was greasy and matted, his clothes filthy as though he’d just escaped from somewhere, and his bloodshot eyes suggested he hadn’t slept at all.

And within those red eyes lurked an unmistakable greed.

You idiot, Lee Do-ha. You fell for it again? Again? It looked like things were changing, but in the end… again…!

“Do-ha, I’m sorry. Once I make some money, once I hit it big, I’ll come back for you! I’ll give you the good life then.”

“Mrrraaaow!”

Stop lying!

I wasn’t a child foolish enough to believe those lies anymore.

Even as my body was tossed around inside the swaying cage, I clenched my teeth against the metal bars and gnawed at them furiously.

The cold iron only hurt my teeth, but I refused to stop.

Panting angrily, I swallowed my tears.

I was too furious at my own stupidity to even notice the pain.

The reason he’d locked me in this cage was obvious.

He was going to sell me.

Just like always.

The middle-aged man walking forward with such hopeful determination was my father.

No matter how loudly I protested, he wouldn’t listen.

In the first place, he couldn’t understand me.

He was human, and I was currently in my animal form.

The only family I had left.

The family member I’d always wanted to cut ties with but never could.

My father had never acted like a father.

Ever since I was little, he’d spent his days gambling, chasing one big win after another, living like a mayfly.

Because of his gambling addiction, I’d suffered endlessly growing up.

Recently, after losing a huge amount of money and destroying his credit, nobody would lend him money anymore.

So he’d promised me he’d quit gambling and live honestly.

Of course, I hadn’t believed him immediately.

I’d demanded proof.

I refused to help him until I was certain he’d changed.

I’d already been tricked by his lies countless times before and handed over money because of them.

So I said no.

After that day, he changed.

Every morning, he’d wake up at dawn alongside me and head out for construction work.

Even when he returned injured, he never complained.

Instead, he’d comfort me, saying I’d suffered a lot because of him.

Late at night, I’d sometimes catch him staring at a photograph of my mother.

Eventually tears filled his eyes with regret.

The hand clutching the photo trembled slightly.

Seeing that, the doubts lingering in my heart finally crumbled.

Just once.

I decided to trust my only remaining family.

Afterward, I gave him part of my savings.

I told him to use it to pay off all his gambling debts.

I said I’d trust him one last time.

That this time, we’d truly become a family again.

For a moment, it felt like there was hope.

I was the fool.

While pretending to be hardworking in front of me, he’d continued gambling behind my back and searching for new lenders.

Seriously, when did he even find the time?! We ate together, slept under the same roof!

Everything he’d shown me had been an act.

A performance designed to lower my guard.

And when the debt grew beyond his ability to handle, he came up with a plan.

Use me as collateral.

No.

To be precise—

Sell me.

That was why he’d acted so perfectly.

People always say that when life becomes unbearably hard and lonely, family is all you have.

Not for me.

This had happened countless times.

I should have told him he wasn’t family and walked away without looking back.

But I hated being alone.

So I kept holding on.

And now I’d ended up here again.

“This is what you’ve always done. You’re still cute, so it’ll be fine.”

“Mrrrow! Yowl!”

Cute my ass!

This excuse for a father had drugged my coffee with sleeping pills, forced me into my beastman form, and was about to make me do something I never wanted to do again.

When I was younger and didn’t know any better, I’d volunteered because I wanted to help him.

But not anymore.

Not only was it dangerous for me, it also meant becoming an accomplice to his scams.

Maybe I hadn’t understood as a child.

But as an adult, I absolutely refused.

And he knew that.

The betrayal made my entire body shake.

Soon, however, anger gave way to sorrow.

No matter how much time passed, my father kept selling me for money.

And once again, I was being sold.

He’d always been like this.

He abandoned both my mother and me because of money.

That’s why my mother eventually ran away.

“M-Meow…”

I held back my tears.

I was worth more in my beastman form than as a human.

Human Lee Do-ha had nothing to be proud of.

As a predator beastman, I was usually avoided by people.

But my true form was a rare animal.

And despite being a predator, my appearance was cute enough that many people adored it.

More than once, loan sharks who saw my true form had said they would gladly accept me in place of debt repayment.

My father took advantage of that.

Today, once again, he was taking me to be used as collateral.

Or rather, sold.

He’d done it enough times that he no longer felt guilty.

Saving my strength, I stopped struggling pointlessly.

Still bristling with fur raised, I carefully observed my surroundings from inside the cage.

The dark street was silent except for my father’s footsteps.

Fearless, he walked through deserted alleys and headed toward an abandoned construction site.

The deeper we went, the stronger the scent of rust and faint blood became.

My head snapped around.

Even though everything was quiet, it felt as though something might leap from the darkness at any moment.

My ears twitched at every tiny sound.

My tail hung low, trembling slightly.

Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to spring away at an instant.

The smell of blood grew stronger.

My nose twitched involuntarily, and my tongue flicked out to lick it.

Meanwhile, my father continued marching forward, oblivious.

Just what kind of people did he borrow money from?

Most loan sharks he’d dealt with before were small-time operators.

After all, gamblers like him spent all their time at casinos.

Dangerous people usually avoided him.

Honestly, more loan sharks probably lost money lending to him than actually got repaid.

Word spread fast when it came to money.

It was only natural that fewer and fewer people were willing to lend to him.

Yet someone had still lent him money.

Please don’t tell me it’s somewhere truly dangerous…

Usually, the worst consequence of not paying was getting beaten up.

Occasionally, my father would hit a jackpot and repay part of his debt.

But this…

Just how much had he borrowed?

Had it really reached a point beyond saving?

The only reason he’d ever managed to pay off debts before was because my mother quietly paid the interest behind the scenes, preventing it from snowballing.

After she left, I’d taken over.

And while I was ignoring him…

I shook my head sharply.

For a second, I’d almost started defending him.

Worry about yourself first. Why are you sympathizing with him?

My father suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.

Then he carefully pushed open a rusty iron door.

Creeeak.

The ominous sound echoed through the darkness.

Beyond the door stood a group of men who looked dangerous at first glance.

Instinct told me immediately.

They were beastmen.

And not just beastmen.

They were feline beastmen, just like me.

None of them bothered hiding the dangerous aura of predators.

But among them, one man stood out.

He sat alone in a chair placed at the center, surrounded by subordinates.

His eyes fixed on my father and me the moment we entered.

They seemed to glow golden in the darkness.

Instinct screamed that these predators were far stronger and more dangerous than I was.

“Rrraow? Mrow?!”

What is this? What the hell is this?!

The man lounging in the chair radiated danger.

His crooked smile made it seem like he could kill either my father or me if the slightest thing annoyed him.

And worse—

His gaze was fixed on me.

It felt sharp enough to slice through skin.

There could only be one reason.

He’d realized I was a beastman.

Just as I’d realized what they were.

You borrowed money from people like this? Why? And why would they lend money to someone as infamous as my father? Don’t tell me they have some other motive…

For a long time, beastmen had lived in society’s shadows.

Humans greatly outnumbered them.

As a result, dangerous beastmen who followed their instincts were often rejected and pushed aside.

Korea was no exception.