UR Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“I’m going for purification. Is that strange?”

As he spoke, Eun Beom-ho casually ran his fingers through his neatly styled hair, tousling it ever so slightly.

A few sleek black strands fell naturally into place, giving him a more effortless, charismatic look.

It was a simple motion—just long fingers brushing through his hair—but the way he did it was something out of a movie photoshoot.

“No, you look fantastic.”

Eun Sung-jun gave him a genuine thumbs-up.

This wasn’t just empty flattery from a secretary—Beom-ho really did look incredible.

Even in an office full of rounded shoulders and forward-leaning necks, he stood out as an impeccably built figure.

“But where exactly are you going to purify yourself? If you’re recharging your energy in Seoul…”

“The mountains, of course.”

“In this weather?”

Sung-jun turned his head toward the storm raging outside.

Unlike Beom-ho’s calm expression, the view outside showed a terrifying storm, winds howling in the grip of a strong wind advisory.

“Shouldn’t you be resting on a day like this?”

His eyes widened slightly in concern.

It wasn’t just about the weather—his boss had been extremely busy lately.

On top of that, he had spent the entire morning enduring the beastman gathering. Was he really okay?

Sung-jun subtly studied his face, searching for any signs of exhaustion.

“Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for a San-gun (Mountain Lord) to be afraid of a little wind?”

“…You’re going to Manwol Mountain?”

Hearing that name, Sung-jun blinked, clasping his hands together.

“After spending the whole day surrounded by the greedy ambitions of beastmen, my body feels unbearably heavy. I need purification.”

It made sense.

Manwol Mountain was known as the best place in Seoul to absorb lunar energy, making it an ideal location for tiger beastmen to recharge.

Of course, for ordinary humans, it was just a treacherous rocky mountain, nearly impossible to hike.

“Are you sure it won’t be too slippery? Will you be alright?”

Sung-jun asked carefully, as if watching over a reckless child standing too close to the water’s edge.

“And—just to be clear—you do know that you’re not allowed to climb the mountain in your beast form, right?”

For pure-blooded beastmen, especially ones like Eun Beom-ho, transforming into their true form while roaming the mountains was the easiest way to recharge their energy.

But as his secretary, Sung-jun had no desire to wake up tomorrow to headlines about a giant tiger roaming Manwol Mountain.

“Yeah, yeah. Nagging Secretary Eun Sung-jun, I know the rule: ‘Never transform into my beast form in places where humans frequent.’”

“Then….”

Sung-jun let out a small sigh of relief, nodding.

For someone so work-obsessed, he had assumed Beom-ho had zero awareness of social etiquette—but apparently, he did know better.

“Alright, got it. Have a good trip, then.”

With that, he waved his boss off, watching him stride toward the door.

But just as he thought the conversation was over—

“But turning into a baby tiger is fine, right?”

With a grin, Beom-ho slipped a pair of sunglasses into his jacket pocket.

“People keep mistaking me for a leopard cat.”

And before Sung-jun could process what he had just said, the CEO was already gone—slipping out effortlessly, too fast for him to stop.

“Wait, what? A leopard cat?!”

“President!

All that was left in the office was the sound of Sung-jun’s despair echoing against the walls.

---

‘People believe whatever they want to believe.’

It was something his grandfather always said.

People will think as they please, judge as they please—so rather than worrying about their opinions, one should stick to their own path and push forward.

But Eun Beom-ho had taken those words a little differently.

‘Then it’s fine if I transform into something ambiguous enough to confuse people, as long as it’s not my true tiger form.’

Not all tiger beastmen had a true beast form.

Only pureblooded beastmen could freely shift between their human and animal forms.

Among them, those with strongest bloodlines—like Beom-ho—had the rare ability to transform in two stages.

No one knew exactly when this ability emerged, but it had likely developed after carnivorous beastmen began being perceived as dangerous by humans.

It was, in a way, an adaptive anomaly for survival.

The Art of Ambiguous Transformation

Eun Beom-ho often roamed the city in a small juvenile form.

Unlike his full tiger form, which was impossible to hide, a young beast’s form gave him much more freedom.

If a fully grown Baekdu Mountain tiger strolled leisurely through the streets, every single person would scream and faint on the spot.

Even without extending his claws, the mere sight of him would be enough to trigger a national emergency.

So, most beastmen with predatory true forms avoided revealing them in public.

But when he transformed into a small juvenile form, people didn’t pay much attention.

If a muscular elk turned into a tiny fawn and hopped around the city, people would probably just coo at it and take pictures.

A tiger was still a feline, after all.

Whenever he transformed into a smaller form, people who weren’t familiar with beastmen would simply tilt their heads and say, ‘Is that a leopard cat?’ or ‘What a chubby stray cat.’

Cats were everywhere in Korea.

So, shamelessly, Beom-ho would even meow like a cat while strutting around town.

It was more fun than he expected.

Most humans lacked deep knowledge about beastmen, and other beastmen or animals wouldn’t dare mess with a tiger pretending to be a cat.

“I should grab an energy drink before heading in.”

Muttering to himself, Eun Beom-ho parked his car in the public parking lot near Manwol Mountain’s entrance.

Half-human, half-beast.

There were moments when he needed to purify his energy in an animalistic way.

Especially for tiger beastmen, whose spirits were deeply connected to mountains—restoring energy in a well-purified sacred mountain had a mental and physical revitalizing effect.

And on the night of a full moon, mountain energy surged at its peak.

Tonight, he planned to fully indulge in the power of the moon.

“Hoo…”

The fierce winds howled, shaking the trees violently.

Though the cold wind cooled the sweat on his forehead, making him feel a little refreshed, the way branches twisted and snapped under the gusts made it obvious why the parking lot was empty.

Stretching his arm, he supported it with his opposite hand as he did a light warm-up.

As he walked toward the winding road leading to Manwol Mountain, a familiar convenience store sign caught his eye.

It had been there for years, selling snacks and drinks to hikers.

But now, instead of the old wooden sign, a shiny corporate convenience store brand logo hung in its place.

‘It used to be just a small shop. Looks like a company took over.’

Thinking this, he strolled forward at a leisurely pace.

“Hey, you damn mutt.”

The rattling of the convenience store door was followed by a rough, displeased voice.

Damn mutt.

A phrase every beastman despised.

Beom-ho’s cheek twitched slightly.

Slowly, his gaze shifted to the scene inside—to the man spewing insults and to the smaller man standing opposite him.

The smaller one had a beastman’s scent.

It would have been easy for someone like Eun Beom-ho to intervene and end the situation in an instant.

But great strength comes with great responsibility—and meddling recklessly had consequences.

“Stop talking nonsense and just give me some money. I finished my group project, and I wanna play pool. I’m broke.”

“Hyung… I barely have enough for my own living expenses. I can’t give you an allowance too. Why don’t you get a part-time job?”

‘Siblings?’

Leaning against the doorframe, Beom-ho crossed his arms.

A money issue.

Not surprising. Even among wealthy families, conflicts over financial matters were common.

‘A dog beastman, huh?’

Beneath the faint musky scent of fur, he could smell a soft, young scent mixed in.

It tickled his nose.

The hunting instinct within his predator’s blood stirred ever so slightly.

“Ah, fuck!”

The older man cursed, his voice laced with mockery, disdain, and frustration—as if taking his anger out on the weaker one.

The smaller beastman was on the verge of tears, his lower eyelids turning red.

Carnivorous beastmen—especially tigers—were not supposed to interfere in other people’s matters.

But at the same time, ignoring injustice was just as unacceptable.

A beastman with divine lineage could not turn a blind eye without consequences.

Ignoring such wrongdoings could lead to Conscience Fever (良心熱)—a spiritual affliction that punished those who betrayed their duty to uphold righteousness.

Just as Eun Beom-ho’s fist instinctively tightened, a whispering wind brushed past his ear.

「Since there’s a strong wind advisory today, there aren’t many people around… and now, Young Master has arrived. You’re not just going to stand there and watch, are you?」

It was the North Wind, the spirit that resided in Manwol Mountain.

As a mountain lord (San-gun) and a divine beast, all spirits of the mountain belonged to him.

「I won’t meddle recklessly, but…」

He replied lightly to the wind.

“Hmm.”

Beom-ho slid on his sunglasses, which had been hanging loosely in his pocket.

He always carried them—because most people couldn’t even handle direct eye contact with him.

Most humans and weaker beastmen couldn’t withstand the full force of a pureblood predator’s energy.

Even at work, the 38th floor of his company was exclusively occupied by other predatory beastmen for the same reason.

Ding-a-ling.

As he stepped inside, the door chimed softly.

The older man, still filled with aggression, turned to look at him.

Though his sunglasses concealed his sharp gaze, the violent aura of rage in the man’s expression shrank back instantly—crushed beneath Beom-ho’s overwhelming energy.

A golden glint flickered beneath the black lenses.

Sweat began to bead along the man’s temple.

Cowards like him responded best to fear.

One look was usually enough to freeze them in place.

As Beom-ho casually adjusted his sunglasses, the man muttered curses under his breath and stumbled backward.

When corrupted energy clashed with a divine beast’s righteous aura, the corrupt side always crumbled.

After their energies collided, the man would likely feel weak and sick for days—not enough to cause real harm, but enough to keep him from bothering the younger beastman again.

A faint smirk played at Beom-ho’s lips.