Seulgi decided on an early night. There was still plenty of evening left, but she didn’t have the energy to do much more than get under the covers in bed and read until Oblivion took her. It may have been only a half hour, but after having read the same page for a third time, she gave up and just set the book down, turned off all the lights, and closed her eyes.

  She was aware just long enough to feel Suki jump up on the bed. Knowing the cat was there, all was right with Seulgi’s universe and she let sleep cim her.

  There were no nightmares tonight. However, her unconscious mind was determined to project the most absurd image it could find. Cats smoking, fish with shoes (and no feet), popcorn, and Chinese prawn crackers. There may have been a protractor in there somewhere as well. If she could remember any of this, a psychiatrist would have a field day analyzing her and her dreams. It was very fortunate that all of these absurd things were forgotten even before she woke up.

  Despite going to be early, she stayed asleep until the arm sounded. Just to make sure she woke up, she had a particur fuzzy tail under her nose, making it hard to breathe. Not to mention a sizeable lump of damp fur in her mouth.

  Not quite choking, but it was a near thing. She brushed the tail away from her face with a light swat to a furry rump. This was answered with a ‘Mew!’ which in any human tongue would have been ‘Hey!’

  Over the course of the night, Suki was inelegant with her tail. She had left it across Seulgi’s face and while flipping the tip, she had gotten it stuck in Seulgi’s mouth. This left quite a bit under her nose as well. Neither of them knew this, nor did they care.

  Suki was indignant at her ill treatment and Seulgi was spitting fur out of her mouth on the way to the bathroom. Seulgi started her morning ministrations, but first, she rinsed her mouth out, to begin with to get any fur that she missed earlier.

  Since she basically colpsed into bed st night, she took a shower in the morning. With how long it took to dry her hair, she decided to take a quick shower. So, that’s what she did. Still, she managed to wash everything and then shampoo and condition her hair. She was quick but efficient. After drying herself off, she took a bit of time to use a hair dryer to speed up the drying. She would not want to walk into work with damp hair, would she?

  She was still so muddled headed that she did not pn for an outfit before climbing into the shower. While under the blow dryer, she made her decision as to what to wear. In the moment that it took her to decide, she continued to luxuriate under the heat of the blow dryer. It was times like this that when Suki poked her nose into the bathroom, that even she looked at the blissful look on Seulgi’s rexed face and thought ‘Hedonist!’

  After her hair was dry enough, she got some underwear on and ambled into the kitchen. Noticing the time, she knew that she didn’t have the time to make a good breakfast. So, she grabbed a breakfast bar to take the edge off. Then she’d grab something on the way.

  She was still if mixed thoughts about how to dress. She wanted to look good and be professional. However, she did not want to be too eye catching and make herself more easily targetable. So, dark colors it is. And a rge square heel as opposed to the stiletto heels. If she needed to run, stiletto heels were not what she needed. She also decided to get a bigger bag than usual as well. She would put a few extra, and heavy, things into it so if she needed to swing it, she’d make solid contact.

  With all of these things in mind, she put them on in a specific order. She did not y them out on the bed. Not even the thought of a kidnapper or murderer could break the programming of one small cat.

  She had opened the wrapper of the breakfast bar and was munching on it while dressing. Yet, somehow, that rotten cat still managed to get a hair on the bar and into her mouth without her noticing until too te. She thought about either shaving or just skinning the tiny beast that was currently mocking her. She might be able to make an old time, 1950’s era fur muff out of the cat.

  The increasingly dark and violent thoughts directed at her slid off like water off Teflon. She was used to this sort of thought in the morning when her human was weakest.

  Seulgi went over her checklist before leaving. Jacket. Phone. Keys. Backpack with work stuff. Large, heavy purse. She had decided to get lunch delivery today. She was not up to making a bento. While spending some time in Japan, she had learned how to make some adorable bentos, too.

  She was as ready as she was going to be. So, she reflexively checked on the food and water, making sure they were full. The litter box would need to be changed when she got home.

  Checking the time, it would seem that she was running a bit ter than she had hoped. She opened the door without looking first. But, it was alright, there was no one waiting there for her. She did stumble over the small box that she didn’t see as she stepped out.

  It was a small cube. Brown paper wrapper. It had her name and address on it like there should be. It was tightly wrapped and taped. It was odd, there was no return address. She picked it up and shook it, but there was no noise. She tucked it into her purse to open at the office.

  She turned around, and shut the door, making sure Suki was still inside first.

  She locked the door and trotted over to the elevator.

  And that was how her day started.