UC Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A celebrity? Or maybe a model?

From his sunglasses and military-like outfit, I-bom had expected him to be stiff and unapproachable.

But that voice—low, rich, and resonant, like the depths of a cave—was criminally attractive.

How is it fair for someone to be good-looking and have a voice like that?

The man pulled out his wallet from inside his jacket.

A sleek leather wallet, not a single seam out of place.

Inside? Crisp, orange banknotes—thick stacks of 50,000-won bills neatly lined up.

His long, smooth fingers slipped out one of the bills effortlessly.

“Of course, we have them! What flavor would you like? Oh, did you know? Recently, ‘Monster Energy’ came out with new strawberry and soda flavors! They’re super new—no ads yet or anything! Have you tried them?”

I-bom’s cheerful voice carried through the air.

The man paused mid-motion.

Then, as if examining something unfamiliar, he looked at I-bom—really looked.

His eyes were hidden behind those dark sunglasses, but even so, I-bom could feel the weight of his gaze.

For a split second, the way they faced each other felt too close.

“Is that so? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

The man’s lips curved just slightly, the barest hint of amusement surfacing.

I-bom’s head bobbed up and down excitedly, like a puppy wagging its tail.

Some customers were put off by his naturally bright voice, but this one?

This shepherd-like man seemed genuinely interested.

“Yes! Yes! Some customers always ask for new products the moment they hit the shelves! If you’d like, I can check if we have them in stock?”

His voice practically sparkled with excitement.

Just moments ago, he had been downright miserable because of his brother.

Now? One ridiculously handsome customer had completely lifted his mood.

“That would be appreciated.”

The man gave a small nod.

I-bom quickly tapped the search bar on the point-of-sale system, fingers flying across the screen as he asked:

“So, do you usually drink energy drinks? Or are you more of a coffee person?”

“Hmm… This one’s so new, there’s no price tag yet. Oh! But it just went on a buy-one-get-one-free deal today!”

I-bom printed out the product’s price card and, feeling a bit shy, glanced up at the customer with a soft, cheerful eye-smile.

The man curled his fingers into a loose fist, lightly covering his mouth.

Then, in the quietest puff of laughter, he exhaled.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Of course! It’s a great thing! Buying one and getting one free feels just like getting a gift!”

“A gift, huh?”

The man’s smile deepened, his tone carrying an amused warmth.

“A gift, you say. Then, can I ask—what flavor do you prefer?”

“Strawberry! I love anything strawberry-flavored.”

“Is that so?”

I-bom enthusiastically nodded—twice, quickly.

The man’s voice was gentle, his tone surprisingly pleasant.

And just like that, his customer-service smile kicked in automatically.

The signature Kang family puppy-eyed grin—practically ingrained in their DNA.

With his long, crescent-shaped eyes curving upward, I-bom beamed softly at the man.

The customer, who had been watching him quietly, lingered for a moment.

Then, he gave a small nod, the corner of his mouth tilting up ever so slightly.

“I see. Then, grab me one classic Monster Energy and one strawberry.”

I-bom spun around, reaching into the mini fridge by the counter.

With a light clink, he pulled out two ice-cold cans and placed them on the counter.

“An excellent choice.”

I-bom smiled softly, giving a small, polite nod.

“Hehe. If you like it, be sure to come again! This is the only store in town that sells them.”

Just as he was about to ask if the man needed a plastic bag (which cost 100 won), something unexpected happened.

The man placed a crisp 50,000-won bill on the counter.

Just as I-bom was about to reach for it, the man spoke.

“Here.”

With a swift, fluid motion, the man picked up one of the energy drink cans.

Then, with effortless precision, he hooked his finger through the tab and popped it open—chhhhk—the satisfying sound of carbonation escaping into the air.

Only one can remained on the counter.

The strawberry one.

“The strawberry flavor is for you, little student.”

“…Huh?”

I-bom’s voice wavered embarrassingly, climbing high like a rollercoaster, only to plummet back down.

His round brown eyes blinked up at the man, wide with confusion.

The stranger simply smiled—calm, composed, and entirely unfazed—before casually gesturing to the can.

“A gift. You looked upset earlier because of that person.”

“Ah…”

“I figured it’d make you feel ‘completely happy’ again.”

So… he had seen everything.

Oh, God.

It wasn’t even his fault, but embarrassment still burned through him, spreading like wildfire across his face.

He must’ve looked so pathetic.

Like a dejected puppy getting scolded by its owner.

Now, his face was just as red as the strawberry drink in front of him.

His voice shrank to a whisper.

“…Thank you.”

“Keep the change.”

It wasn’t unusual for hikers passing through the town to leave small tips, given the store’s location at the base of the mountain.

But this?

A 50,000-won bill for a 4,000-won drink?

That meant…

46,000 won in change.

This was far from ordinary.

I-bom blinked, stunned, before quickly lowering his head in gratitude.

His fingers tightened around the cold energy drink, his grip so tense that the aluminum let out a small, crumpling sound.

Shit.

He loosened his grip immediately, eyes darting up as the man began to walk away.

And then, before he could think—

Before he could stop himself—

He blurted it out.

“Uh—!”

A surge of emotions fluttered in his chest, like an overexcited puppy tail wagging uncontrollably.

But—

What was he even trying to say?

It had been impulsive, a reflex, as if he wanted to cling onto the man’s shadow and keep him here just a little longer.

His eyes darted nervously, his thoughts scrambling.

Then, as if to grant him mercy, the man paused.

“…Yes?”

He turned his broad shoulders slowly, waiting.

I-bom’s mind went blank.

Shit. Say something.

His pulse hammered in his ears.

And then—in a moment of sheer, unfiltered stupidity—

The only words that left his mouth were:

“…I’m not a little student.”

The moment they escaped his lips, I-bom wanted to die.

He wished he could rewind time—erase the words from existence.

Out of all the things to say, out of every possible sentence in the world, he chose that?!

His entire face turned as red as a tomato.

---

I-bom let out a small sigh. The memory lingered, bittersweet—like the fleeting touch of cotton candy dissolving on his tongue, leaving behind nothing but a sense of longing. The moment spun in his head like a whirlwind, looping over and over again, but he shoved away the shameful part of it.

“I’m telling you, he was seriously cool.”

I-bom mumbled dreamily, his gaze lost in the air.

“He was wearing sunglasses. How do you even know if he was handsome or not?”

Jin-sang stared at I-bom with an unimpressed look. For someone like Kang I-bom, a lifelong single, saying something like that was nothing short of ridiculous. From what Jin-sang knew, I-bom was completely weak for a handsome face and fell for good looks almost instantly. He had crushed on so many people that Jin-sang could count them on his fingers, but despite that, he had never once made a move.

He was so painfully shy that he couldn’t even talk properly to his crushes, let alone confess, and his level of courage wasn’t even puppy-sized—more like a rat’s tail worth of bravery.

“How could I not know? Even with sunglasses on, you can tell if someone’s handsome.”

I-bom spoke with absolute confidence, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Jin-sang, who had been listening with a bored expression, let out a quiet chuckle. It was the same old story.

“So, what did you say to him? Did you at least ask him out?”

I-bom ran his tongue over his lower lip, looking as if the thought had never even crossed his mind.

“Ah—!”

Jin-sang was one of the few friends I-bom had. Among the canine beastmen, Jin-sang had inherited the blood of a shepherd, and he was currently attending Daenam University’s Police Science Department. As a descendant of shepherds, he had a habit of digging into the truth like a literal dog until he got his answers.

He let out a chuckle, shrugging his shoulders. His expression made it clear—he had already figured out exactly what had happened just from I-bom’s tone.

After giving I-bom a quick once-over, he turned his head and crouched down, his left shoulder supporting a backpack slung diagonally across his body as he seriously examined the snacks by the counter.

He noisily flipped over different packaging, contemplating whether to buy gummy worms, which were on a buy-one-get-one-free deal, or caffeinated vitamin gummies.

“Tsk. So you didn’t do it.”

I-bom’s shoulders twitched slightly, and before he could stop himself, his lips pouted in protest.

He didn’t dare admit that the only thing he had actually blurted out to the handsome stranger was “I’m not a little student.”

No way.

It had been a completely impulsive, embarrassing mistake, but there was no way he was letting Jin-sang find out.

“…Jin-sang, uh, you should go with the vitamin gummies. If you use the store’s point card, you get a full point refund this month.”

Both vitamin gummies and gummy worms were top-selling items at this convenience store, especially among the little kids who came by after school.

The store manager often scoffed, muttering, “Damn little pups, why do they only ever buy jelly?”

But it was no mystery—young beastmen puppies loved chewing on gummies because of their natural teething instincts.

Of course, it wasn’t just the kids.

Grown-up beastmen liked gummies, too.

Like I-bom, for example—he was way past the teething stage, but something about chewing on fruity, fragrant gummy worms made his gums feel soothingly tingly.

Swallowing his saliva discreetly, I-bom casually added,

“Hey, you like sour stuff too, don’t you?”

“Hmmm.”

Jin-sang ignored I-bom’s recommendation and casually hooked his index finger through the snack rack, pulling down two packs of gummy worms.

“Wow. Look at you, dodging the question. You’ve grown up, huh? Sneaky little pup.”

“…I-I didn’t dodge anything.”

“Tsk. You mutts. Always so damn weak for a pretty face.”

Jin-sang smirked, his tone light but knowing—like he had already seen straight through I-bom’s thoughts.

Whether it was mockery or teasing, I-bom couldn’t tell, but that snickering scoff landed right in his ears, loud and clear.

“What are you even saying? We’re both from the same Kang family. You’re no different.”

Sure, Jin-sang had inherited shepherd blood, so he looked big, tough, and serious, always acting cool.

He strutted around in his police cadet uniform, trying to look all authoritative and weighty.

But at the end of the day?

The blood was the same.

A face-first, looks-obsessed beastman.

“Yeah, I know. I have it bad too. Remember? I literally threw up when I saw my class rep’s face at the first MT of the semester.”

He snickered, but then let out a deep sigh, shaking his head slightly—like recalling a deeply unpleasant memory.

I-bom didn’t even know what MT was, but if someone’s face alone made Jin-sang physically sick, then it definitely hadn’t been a fun experience.

“Wait. You actually threw up just from looking at someone? That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

There was a big difference between being weak for a pretty face and literally throwing up at the sight of someone’s face.

If it had been him, he would have hidden behind a wall and silently sobbed into his fists—not thrown up right in front of the person….

“Well, he was an ugly lunatic who talked like an absolute asshole, so I kind of saw it coming. Anyway… I’d rather not go into detail.”

Jin-sang dusted off his knees and stood up.

“Just ring me up already.”

With a thunk, he placed the gummy worms on the counter, still crinkling the packaging absentmindedly with his fingers.

Then, digging into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet.

Unlike that mystery man from earlier—the one with a sleek leather wallet stuffed with crisp bills—Jin-sang’s wallet was a mess of crumpled receipts, folded into awkward triangles.

Slipping his fingers through the piles of paper—aka trash—, he finally fished out his old debit card, its plastic peeling from overuse. He had been using it since high school.

“Ah. Didn’t you say duplicate membership cards were fine? Add my points, too.”

Beep.

As I-bom scanned the barcodes, he mumbled,

“I told you to get the vitamin gummies. Why’d you go with the gummy worms?”

“Three years working in a restaurant teaches a dog how to read the room.”

“Huh? What does that even mean?”

I-bom tilted his head in confusion.

He had only recommended the vitamin gummies because he saw Jin-sang looking at both options—so what was he talking about now?

Jin-sang casually picked up one of the two bags of gummy worms and handed it over to I-bom.

“Kang I-bom, you like gummy worms.”

The crinkled bag still held his lingering warmth, the packaging creased from being squeezed in his hands.

It was probably too warm now to taste good, but I-bom’s eyes grew misty with emotion.

“Jin-sang, you…”

Ding-a-ling!

Before he could finish, the store bell rang sharply, and the convenience store door swung open—hard.

“Ah, welcome—”

He had only been chatting with Jin-sang for a second, but he jumped like he had been caught doing something illegal, hastily raising his voice in greeting.

Then he froze.

Standing in front of him, with a slightly irritated expression, was none other than—

The store manager.

“I-bom, we need to talk.”