UR Chapter 11

Chapter 11

6:50 a.m.
A rickety little village bus came to a stop in front of the company. Yawning, Eun Sung-jun trudged off the bus and made his way toward the building. The sun hadn’t risen yet, so everything outside was still shrouded in darkness. But for some reason, the dark, early-morning commute felt pleasant today.

Sung-jun had never once gotten up early in the morning in his life as a serval beastman. But ever since he’d been “marked” by Eun Beom-ho back in their college days, he had no choice but to live like a good little beastman of the new world, going for early morning stargazing workouts.

If there was one saving grace, it was that his boss, Eun Beom-ho, occasionally let him leave work early.

They say when you work as a secretary for a second or third-generation chaebol heir, you end up seeing all sorts of things—good and bad. But this much? This was nothing. Dabbing at the corners of his eyes where tears had gathered, Eun Sung-jun scanned his employee card at the entrance.

KAPS was housed in a modern building that straddled the line between Gangbuk District and Manwol District. Unlike all the successful startups clustered around Gangnam Station, it was based on the outskirts of Seoul for a reason—because the CEO, Eun Beom-ho, was a tiger beastman.
Tiger beastmen were deeply connected to the energy of mountains. Setting up shop in a place rich with mountain energy was the most favorable way to regulate that power.

Thanks to that, the building was connected to Gangwol Mountain, which stretched out behind Manwol Mountain, and the Manwol Stream ran in front of it. People unfamiliar with the area were often awed by the breathtaking view of KAPS, nestled between water in the front and mountains in the back. But because of that very placement—river out front, mountain at its back—the building was frequently wrapped in mist around the middle floors, and on humid days, it felt even more damp and stuffy than other places.

This morning, too, a cloudy fog had wrapped around the building since early hours. As Eun Sung-jun took the transparent elevator up to the 38th floor where the CEO’s office was, he stared out at the thick mist swirling outside.

“No matter how many times I see it… it’s always amazing….”

A mystical tiger beastman might look at fog and not feel a thing. But for a serval beastman like Sung-jun, who’d only ever lived in the city, it was always fascinating—like some countryside bumpkin seeing it for the first time.

“Hoo…”

Letting out a sigh, Eun Sung-jun stepped into the hallway on the 38th floor.

‘I’ll get off work early today and go on a date.’

The words slipped out before he even realized it, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face. A rosy glow seemed to bloom in Eun Sung-jun’s once-dull, tightly wound life.

‘I had a great time. Would you like to have dinner together again tomorrow?’

Even though he was yawning as he walked into the company at dawn, his steps felt lighter—all because of that second dinner date waiting for him in the evening. It was a first for him. Dating someone and then making plans to meet again.

Eun Sung-jun had lived overseas until high school, and during his university years, he was ‘claimed’ by Eun Beom-ho and became his personal secretary. While attending Korea University with him, he received a scholarship as well as a generous stipend from Samho Group. It was more than he ever could have dreamed of.
But becoming Beom-ho’s exclusive secretary locked his life into a single path, earning him nicknames like ‘Beom-ho’s gum’ or ‘Beom-ho’s errand boy.’

Living alongside someone like Eun Beom-ho—a tiger beastman with overwhelming presence and the dazzling aura of a third-generation chaebol—meant that Sung-jun himself was practically invisible.
Though he was a solid, well-mannered male serval beastman raised by a kind mother and a family-oriented father, no one ever approached him because of who he was constantly seen with.
Forget getting close—most people didn’t even know who he was.

‘For someone like Sung-jun oppa, with such a good personality and work ethic, he’s totally husband material. But Beom-ho sunbae is just… too perfect.’

That was the same reaction from acquaintances since their university days. People always praised Sung-jun’s character and sincerity, calling him the perfect groom-to-be, but the results were always the same. Every person he was interested in would end up confessing to Eun Beom-ho instead.

That’s why being asked to have dinner together felt so thrilling. It was overwhelming—the feeling that spring had finally come for him, too.

‘Now hold on… If I want to leave early today….’

Eun Sung-jun spread out his fingers and began folding them one by one, starting with his thumb. On a day like this, there was no room for falling behind on work. He ran through a quick mental checklist, simulating everything he needed to do. Thankfully, if he started working efficiently from the morning, he could finish in time and leave right on schedule for his date.

The only thing that might get in the way was the CEO’s wild heart rate from yesterday. For beastmen, abnormal vital signs were no trivial matter, and it had left him with an odd sense of unease since then.

Still, that wasn’t his responsibility—it was a job for the programmer, Eun Ji-ho. Sung-jun made a mental note to message Ji-ho after 9 a.m.

Click.

Unless there was a special issue, Eun Sung-jun always arrived at the office around the same time. He pressed the fingerprint-activated button to unlock the heavy doors leading to the CEO’s office. With a soft click, a motor started up with a low hum that echoed through the quiet 38th floor.

Past the double doors was the office where Eun Beom-ho spent most of his time. The lights were off, and the room beyond was pitch black. But just as the doors slid open, something caught Eun Sung-jun’s eye.

“…Huh?”

Something was moving in the darkness.

Even though it was morning, the sun hadn’t risen yet, and with the double-sealed doors, it was normal for the room to be dark. But in the pitch black, something gold and cold glimmered faintly, swirling lazily in midair. Squinting, trying to focus, Sung-jun thought, ‘What is that?’—and in the same instant, that golden gleam flashed sharply toward him.

“Ah—Mom!”

A sharp screech echoed through the 38th floor as the serval beastman’s shriek rang out. Sung-jun dropped to the floor on instinct, trembling all over like a leaf in the wind.

“…Jun-ah.”

That ‘golden something’ spoke with a familiar voice.

“Y-You scared the crap out of me! I nearly died of shock!”

In the darkness, a tiger’s eyes gleam. If one didn’t consciously remind themselves they were living in human society, even Eun Beom-ho’s eyes could flash with a terrifying light. It was mystical, yes, but facing that primal glare stirred something ancient and instinctual—fear buried deep in the bones.
Of course he knew Beom-ho wouldn’t hurt him, but still, a chilling thought crept in: ‘What if he transforms and eats me right here?’

“P-Please turn on the light when you’re sitting there like that! My heart almost gave out!”

“……”

Blazing golden tiger eyes. That raw, untamed glow, like a will-o’-the-wisp, flickered in the room, completely unaware of how it pierced into the everyday life of humans.

Click.

With the flick of a switch, the pitch-dark room instantly lit up. The quiet, empty office was suddenly flooded with warm cream-colored lighting.

At the same time, the glossy gleam in Eun Beom-ho’s eyes slowly faded, and he began to focus again.

“Why were you just sitting there in the dark like that? Hah… I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

Sung-jun let out a deep sigh, pressing a hand to his chest. He was a wild animal too—a serval—but in front of a tiger larger and stronger than himself, it was only natural to become overly sensitive.

Even though he was a beastman, Sung-jun was the typical kind—the kind who only showed ears or a tail. Acting with human-like social behavior felt more natural to him than following primal instincts. But his boss, Eun Beom-ho, was a pureblood beastman. Every now and then, he would act in ways that completely disregarded how things might appear to others.

And that, of course, was precisely why Sung-jun received a hazard allowance for staying so close to him as his personal secretary.

“Here, drink this. It’s mugwort tea. They say it helps calm your nerves.”

Sung-jun brought over a small tray with a cup of warm mugwort tea and held it out to him.

“I was actually planning to ask you about this today. What happened yesterday? And what’s this about postponing the blind dates?”

Leaning back against the desk, Sung-jun gave him a worried look. Beom-ho accepted the tea, gently blowing on it before bringing it to his lips.

No matter how many times he saw him, his looks were always striking. He had a clean, intellectual appearance, with a faint scent of bitter cedarwood clinging to him. It was hard to believe that such a modern, well-groomed man was actually a Baekdu Mountain tiger at his core.

And yet, there he was—flawlessly dressed, not a single hair out of place from the early morning, sitting in the dark alone with those glowing golden eyes. Something serious had clearly happened.

“What is it?”

Beom-ho lowered his gaze slightly as he sipped the tea. The mugwort tea, brewed with concentrated extract and steeped in hot water, gave off a gentle medicinal aroma. It wasn’t too hot or too bitter, and he drank it without even a change in expression.

“Sung-jun.”

His voice didn’t carry the bright, cheerful tone he had the night before, when he said he was heading to Manwol Mountain after work. From the look in his eyes this morning, shadows clung thick around them.
Now that he thought about it, the strange heart rate alert had also occurred somewhere on Manwol Mountain.

Patiently, Sung-jun blinked and nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?”