UR Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“Ah, hyung. Hello!”

“Yeah, hey.”

Soo-hyun pulled his hands out of his pockets and gave a cheerful wave. Then, glancing around cautiously, he squeezed his way through the crowd.

Kang Soo-hyun, for context, was two years older than I-bom and the son of the Poodle family. Outwardly, the Kang family of dogs was known for being cheerful and playful, but under the same sky, no dog is exactly the same. If some dogs love to play, there are also dogs who love to work.

The Poodle family was the hardworking type. On top of that, they had amassed immense wealth thanks to a pet food factory funded by bone savings from previous generations. They were the wealthiest household in Aji Village.

The reason someone that rich could be on friendly terms with I-bom’s family was because the Poodle Kang family actually owned the house with the yard that I-bom’s family lived in. On top of that, Soo-hyun was best friends with I-bom’s older brother, I-jun.

“Hey, Bom, how are you?”

Soo-hyun twisted around, looking all over the place. The store was packed with people carrying oversized hiking backpacks, and he seemed uneasy, unable to see clearly ahead. I-bom, who was stuck behind the counter scanning barcodes nonstop, stood on tiptoe and poked his head out. Spotting Soo-hyun peeking between the backpacks, he asked worriedly,

“Can I help you find something?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I’m good. I just came to buy some jerky. Geez, why are there so many people in here?”

Soo-hyun set his bag down on the floor, turned his body at an angle, and quietly mumbled, “Excuse me,” as he tried to pass through.

“Looks like a hiking group showed up all at once. Oh, hyung—the jerky is hanging on the rack across from the alcohol section.”

I-bom responded quickly, fingers still flying. Dogs often got anxious in tight, enclosed spaces. Knowing that trait well, he watched Soo-hyun carefully as he spoke.

“Ah, got it. Thanks.”

Finally, Soo-hyun made his way toward the large fridge where the alcohol section was. He slipped through the crowd and stood in front of the jerky rack. There was a rattling sound as the metal rack shook, and before long, he came back to the counter with both hands full of jerky. True to being a poodle, his long legs made him fast.

“Can you—ugh, ring these up? It’s so stuffy in here.”

Thud.

Soo-hyun dumped all the jerky packs onto the table in front of the register.

“Ugh. It’s so hot with all these people crammed in here.”

Soo-hyun grabbed the hem of his shirt and flapped it to cool down. The hikers with their backpacks had already started to trickle out like the tide, but being stuck in the middle of the crowd must’ve been stuffy—his face was flushed red.

As he flapped his shirt, a sweet scent drifted in on the breeze. I-bom cautiously sniffed the air. The sweetness was strong—it probably meant mating season was approaching.

Those with beastman blood naturally had mating seasons. Some followed a regular cycle, while others experienced it irregularly. Even half-beastmen went through mild cycles. It wasn’t dangerous enough to require isolation like with purebloods, more like catching a cold.

I-bom hadn’t experienced one himself yet, but he’d heard that people like Soo-hyun would often stock up on emergency food and hole up at home when it hit.

“Wait, why are you working alone with this many customers? Where’s the manager?”

“He said I’d be fine handling it on my own and left.”

I-bom replied while scanning the jerky packs. He felt a bit guilty badmouthing the manager to the owner’s son, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie either.

—This just in: It has been confirmed that the man in his 40s attacked on a hiking trail in Seoul was in fact assaulted by a cheetah-type beastman. The attack did not occur at a private zoo or dogfighting arena, but rather at a public spring on a regular hiking trail, causing public alarm. Authorities urge pet owners to take extra caution and advise hikers to avoid ecological routes frequented by wild animals.

A breaking news alert blared from the TV mounted near the entrance. The anchor’s crisp and formal voice drilled straight into I-bom and Soo-hyun’s ears.

“Whoa! Why is the volume so loud?!”

Soo-hyun flinched and covered his ears in shock. He was sensitive—he got startled even when people raised their voices a little. Knowing that about him, I-bom glanced over and spoke cautiously.

“Oh… I didn’t adjust the volume. Just a sec.”

He fumbled around behind the counter and opened the top drawer to find the old remote.

Normally, the store played soft, boring daytime programs in the background, so he had no idea why the volume was suddenly cranked up.

“Sorry about that, I’ll turn it off.”

I-bom raised the remote and reached up. The old TV and remote didn’t sync well, so he had to hold it at just the right angle to get it to respond.

“Wait—don’t.”

Soo-hyun stopped him with a serious expression.

“Why?”

“I-bom… Didn’t you hear just now? A spring on a hiking trail… in Seoul.”

Soo-hyun muttered nervously, brows knit tight. One of the two last hikers with backpacks, who was about to leave, stopped and turned to look at him.

“Oh my, there aren’t many springs on Seoul hiking trails.”

Another customer who overheard clapped their hands and chimed in,

“Right. When the new mayor came in, they shut most of them down. Said the water wasn’t clean or something. I think only five are left?”

“Exactly, right? There aren’t many. And from what I remember…”

Soo-hyun went pale and clamped a hand over his mouth, anxiously stomping his feet as he looked at the other customers beside him.

“You mean Manwol Mountain’s one of them, right? That’s what you’re getting at? We know.”

One of the customers with a massive backpack that reached their head nodded seriously. They patted Soo-hyun’s shoulder gently as his face went white and his words trailed off.

“Gasp…! That’s right!”

“You’re quite the scaredy-cat, aren’t you, young man?”

The customer clicked their tongue and shook their head.

“Well, it is a scary news story. A beastman biting someone in broad daylight? And now they’re saying it might’ve happened here at Manwol Mountain? Who’d still go hiking after hearing that? Hey, part-timer, turn the volume back up, will ya?”

The two customers who had been chatting with Soo-hyun leaned against the wall near the store’s TV.

—As the details are still unclear, a joint investigation is being conducted by the police and fire department. Residents near Seoul’s southern mountain ranges and hiking trails are advised to…

The screen showed flashes from reporters’ cameras and back-to-back shots of a medical helicopter airlifting a patient. But the news still didn’t confirm which mountain it had happened on. As everyone watched in tense silence, Soo-hyun broke it.

“Hey, I-bom. Do you think it’s… that guy?”

“Who?”

“You don’t know? That huge cat. The one roaming around our neighborhood lately.”

Soo-hyun uncrossed his arms and flailed them wide for emphasis. The two customers’ faces turned serious at his words. I-bom swallowed hard. If they were talking about a giant cat in this neighborhood… only one came to mind.

“It could be a cheetah-type beastman, right? Cheetahs and cats look similar.”

“N-no. It’s not.”

I-bom stiffly denied it, his tongue dry and his throat sore.

“What do you mean, it’s not?”

“I-it’s not a beastman.”

I-bom said firmly, though his tightly clenched fists trembled slightly.

“Manwol Mountain is full of canine-type beastman energy, so it’s hard for feline-type beastmen to even get close. Plus, hyena beastmen roam the outskirts of Manwol Mountain, and feline-types hate hyenas.”

“……”

“…And that cat is definitely not dangerous.”

I-bom said firmly. Sure, it was big—but it never hurt anyone or acted aggressive enough to be suspected of being a wild beastman. It was sweet and adorable. There’s no way it could be a predator-type beastman.

The once-chatty customers and Soo-hyun fell silent at I-bom’s determined words.