PAMPERED

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The soothing sound of a cat’s purr and a soft fragrance coaxed Zoren back from his deep slumber. His eyes slowly cracked open, squinting as he caught some warm light from the corner of his eyes.

Meow.

He blinked slowly and carefully, his head still a little heavy. He could hear the soft purr of a cat before he felt something warm on his chest. Zoren lifted his eyes, only to see a cat sitting on his chest, licking his cheek.

“Chunchun?” His voice came out coarse, but he didn’t feel as sickly as before. Moreover, he could see the cat a little clearer. His vision was still blurry, but this was by far the best it had been since his eyesight deteriorated. So, for him, this level of blurriness was clear.

Meow.

Chunchun licked his cheek and nudged its head against him.

The corner of his lips curled up as he lifted his hand to touch the cat. Feeling its fur and size, his eyes softened.

“You’ve grown so big” he said, running his fingers through her soft fur, which emitted a very soft, almost milky scent. “And you still smell the same.”

The cat casually indulged in his rubs, as if she didn’t mind his embrace and soft touches. As Zoren played with her, Chunchun suddenly wiggled her way out of his embrace.

He stopped, his brows rising. “What’s wrong?” he asked, watching the cat move to his side and. lay down there.

When Zoren turned his head to where Chunchun was, his eyes caught the person sleeping on the side of the bed. She was seated on the chair right next to his bed, her arms resting on the small space of the bed, her face buried in her arms.

Deep lines appeared between his brows as he moved his eyes to the bowl and towels on the bedside table. Slowly, he moved his gaze back to the person, who seemed to have looked after him through the night.

“Penny?” he whispered, reaching his hand out to her. His eyes softened as his hand landed on top of her head. “Is it you?”

Meow.

Zoren snapped his eyes to the cat beside him–who was also in between him and Penny. “I know it’s you, Chunchun,” he said as he reached out to the cat and stroked her head.

The cat rose from her spot again, as if she was done showing him their other company. This time, Chunchun moved closer to him, her head on his shoulder. A chuckle escaped him as he kept his hand on top of Penny’s head, not moving an inch so as not to disturb Chunchun.

“You’re also tired, hmm?” he whispered to Chunchun, tilting his head closer to the cat. “Let’s

341 Out

sleep, then.”

To be fair, Zoren didn’t know if he was completely awake or still in a dream. Although

Chunchun’s licks were too vivid, he couldn’t trust his mind that much. Therefore, even for a moment, he wanted to believe it was real and that he would sleep tonight with Chunchun in his

“SULIC

“Goodnight, Chunchun,” he whispered before rubbing his fingertip on the head beneath his hand. “Goodnight, Penny

The next day…

The scent of a soft, sweet, milky fragrance coaxed Zoren to consciousness. His eyes flickered beneath his eyelids before his long eyelashes cracked open. He squinted his right eye a little as the warm glow of the morning sun cast upon the side of his face.

He lifted a hand over his face to shield his eyes.

“Hmm?” Zoren furrowed his brows, noticing that the back of his hand was free of needles. Checking the other one, he saw that nothing was inserted into it as well. He propped his elbow on the soft mattress, pushing himself to sit up.

Unlike last night when his vision had completely gone black, his vision today was… less blurry. It wasn’t as severe as before–when he could only base everything on color–though it wasn’t as good as before the accident. Even so, after spending weeks with this condition, this was much

better.

“Chun…” he trailed off as he looked around the room, but no one was there aside from him.

Was that a dream last night?

Zoren looked around once more, but there was no one there except for the lingering scent of a soft, familiar fragrance.

“Hmm?” Shifting his gaze to his palm, he furrowed his brows at the long strands of hair between his fingers. “What’s this?”

He pinched the strands and moved them closer to his face. The side of his lips curled up.

“Sir!” Just then, the door flew open and Benjamin’s loud voice pierced the air. “Sir! Are you alright?!”

Zoren inhaled and snapped his eyes to Benjamin. He lifted his hand in a motion to stop Benjamin from coming closer.

“Get out,” he said, making Benjamin furrow his brows.

“But sir, you were burning up last night! And you also said you couldn’t- Benjamin abruptly stopped as he noticed that Zoren looked much better now. He even narrowed his eyes as if that would make his vision clearer. “Sir… are you… you look okay. Can you see me now?”

Looking at him now, one would wonder if Zoren was even sick last night because of his natural complexion. Zoren didn’t look as pale anymore. Though to some, he probably still looked pale,

for those who had been around him, these were vibrant colors. Not to mention, Zoren emitted a strong energy as if he was recharged to full.

“Out. Zoren’s voice snapped Benjamin back from his trance. “Get out and don’t come in ever again.

“Sir??” Confused, Benjamin scrunched up his nose. “Sir. I didn’t mean to come in here last night. but you weren’t answering, and if I hadn’t gone in, then you would’ve been-”

“Your perfume, Zoren clarified before his assistant could finish his dramatic sentiments. “It’s too strong, and it’s spreading in my room. I don’t like It

“Eh?

“Go” Zoren tipped his head toward the door. “Get out.

Confused, Benjamin turned around and left the room. Closing the door behind him, he furrowed

his brows.

“He never complained about my perfume before…” he trailed off, furrowing his brows even more. “Just now, was he… it feels like he didn’t have problems finding my eyes”