UR Chapter 29

Chapter 29

People sat around the table, locked in a heated, grim-faced debate.

The door to the conference room, lined with opaque glass blocks, bore a nameplate: Samho Group Executive Meeting Room.

“Why do we have to clean up after a cheetah beastman’s mess?”

Bang.

One of the executives—wearing a triangular badge—slammed the table loudly as he spoke.

“……”

At the far end of the table, Madam Baek’s golden eyes glinted. Watching from the head of the room, she found the scene rather amusing.

Terrified, fragile creatures who had long since shed any pride in being pureblood beastmen. Opportunists who watched carefully, trying to figure out where to align themselves to protect their positions. And those silently calculating their own interests. A mixed bag of people. She leaned back in her seat, relaxed, quietly observing them all.

“Because of that damn ‘Predator Peace Pact,’ we have to step in too. They cause all the trouble, and we’re always stuck cleaning up the aftermath. Isn’t that unfair?”

“At this rate, if we keep helping them, we’ll just be taken advantage of.”

“Why don’t we just control the media? Samho’s not exactly powerless, is it?”

Listening to all this nonsense was almost laughable.

What had been Samho’s founding principle? Those with more must help others and serve as a positive influence. Yet the very people who once praised that mission were now scrambling to secure their own safety. Even among purebloods, tiger beastmen who were close to yeongmul—spiritual beasts—were said to be born with an innate sense of moral conscience, the Conscience Flame. Yet here they were, acting shamelessly. Were they not afraid of the heavens?

Eun Kang’s thick eyebrows twitched as he observed the scene. Madam Baek cast him a brief sideways glance.

“Still, none of the media outlets under Samho have published any reports yet. We can pressure the others to take their articles down.”

“Do you hear yourself?!”

The room buzzed. Voices filled with anxiety sliced sharply through the atmosphere of the conference hall.

Lately, protests had started appearing near Samho’s headquarters—people holding signs saying ‘Beastmen out!’ or ‘We want peace!’ Though beastmen and humans had been living side by side for over a century, these protestors dug up hundred-year-old prejudices to justify their complaints.

Maybe it was true that if you repeat a lie enough, it becomes public opinion. More and more people were starting to question whether beastmen were inherently violent.

And then came the breaking point. In broad daylight, in the heart of Seoul, a cheetah beastman bit a human.

According to information from the press and police, the beastman had been overwhelmed by an unexpected mating cycle, lost control of his mind, and went berserk. He’d caught the scent of blood after bumping into a human who’d gotten injured—and acted purely on instinct.

The profiler’s conclusion was that the culprit was likely a young, inexperienced beastman going through his first cycle. Still, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

A popular current affairs show had announced an episode focused on the dangers of beastmen. So the Samho Group—an influential gathering of tiger beastmen—couldn’t just sit back and watch.

Among predator-type beastmen, there existed something called the Predator Peace Pact. If one species caused trouble, those of the same family were responsible for stepping in to resolve it.

There were voices suggesting they should just leave it to the cheetahs, since they were always the ones causing problems. But under the pact, fellow felines—leopards and tigers—were obligated to help. Especially now, the tiger beastmen—the most powerful of the predator races—needed to take the lead.

“Hmph, all of you are talking nonsense. As if you’ve never feared your own Conscience Flame.”

Sitting in the executive seats, Ho-seung rubbed his long eyebrows and chuckled.

“Enough with the foolish talk. Let’s hear some practical solutions instead.”

After that, Ho-seung cast a glance toward Eun Kang, quietly watching his expression as he spoke.

“We are, after all, a group recognized as mountain spirits. As descendants of spiritual beasts who possess the Conscience Flame, how can we speak so selfishly?”

It would’ve been faster to calm the room if Chairman Eun Kang himself stepped in—but there was a reason Ho-seung was the one speaking now. He wanted to avoid Eun Kang’s wrath. Teasing his unmatched grandson was mere entertainment, but provoking his fury over matters of justice? That was something else entirely.

And Eun Kang was clearly angry. Facing a tiger burning with righteous indignation was a fate Ho-seung had no desire to invite. He glanced toward Eun Kang, whose expression remained dark, and then slowly lifted his half-lowered lids. The elderly man’s usual warm, friendly smile had already vanished, replaced by the sharp face of a warrior.

“I believe this crisis could be diffused with a more sensational issue.”

“…What?”

Another executive, sensing the mood, asked cautiously.

“You counter an issue with a bigger issue.”

“Ah.”

“If the distraction is dramatic enough—say, something like a surprise marriage announcement that shocks everyone.”

Tch.

Someone clicked their tongue in disappointment from the back. The sharp, youthful tone revealed it was one of the younger tiger beastmen.

Marriage, seriously? They’d expected some sage-level wisdom from the mountain elder said to possess a century’s worth of insight, only to be met with such a simple-minded suggestion. It was both disappointing and frustrating.

“Elder, to suggest something as trivial as marriage… I’m honestly disappointed.”

One of them finally voiced the thought lingering in everyone’s mind. A young tiger beastman looked directly at Ho-seung with a bold expression.

“You’re suggesting we cover this scandal with another issue, but isn’t marriage a bit outdated as a distraction?”

“Disappointed, are you?”

Ho-seung asked calmly, unfazed.

“Honestly, yes. I expected more wisdom from someone of your stature.”

“Well, the marriage itself isn’t what matters. Suppose I were to get married. Would that make headlines? Would anyone even care that this old man was tying the knot?”

He chuckled, brushing down the droopy ends of his long eyebrows. The fire in his eyes faded into soft, grandfatherly lines.

“Everyone, the kind of marriage announcement I’m referring to doesn’t involve someone like me. I’m talking about someone higher.”

The room froze.

Among pureblood tiger beastmen, the highest in status were the members of Chairman Eun Kang’s household. If Ho-seung meant someone higher—and also unmarried and of eligible age—there weren’t many possibilities. And if it had to be someone the public would pay attention to, there was only one name: Eun Beom-ho, Executive Director of External Affairs and the Chairman’s eldest grandson.

“Uncle.”

Madam Baek raised her hand. In a room where no one dared speak, she alone lifted her hand with graceful ease. Her gold bangles jingled as she moved.

“If you’re referring to someone higher than yourself in this family, that would leave only Director Eun Beom-ho, or my nephew Ji-ho. And Ji-ho is still too young.”

“Vice President.”

Ho-seung didn’t deny her pointed words. It was already something everyone had been thinking. The reason no one else dared say it aloud was because the man in question—Eun Beom-ho—was Madam Baek’s son.

“It’s not a bad idea. But…”

Her cold, icy gaze slowly lifted. As her sharp jaw tilted upward, her black hair slipped gracefully down. A slight smile touched her doll-like lips.

“The average person doesn’t know much about Director Eun Beom-ho. Of all of us, the only publicly known face is Chairman Eun Kang. And as you know, Uncle, pureblood tiger beastmen tend to maintain an air of mystery.”

“That’s true.”

“So I’m wondering—how exactly do you plan to address that?”

The Eun family had a long-standing policy of keeping its members out of the public eye, except for the chairman, to protect them from threats like kidnappings or terrorism. Though officially labeled “mystique,” it was also due to how rare pureblood beastmen had become.

“I respect your desire to cover the scandal with a grand gesture to maintain peace. But what will you do about Director Eun Beom-ho’s safety?”

“Hmm…”

Ho-seung looked at Madam Baek. Her lips smiled, but her eyes were sharp. The old man seemed to have anticipated even this.

Slippery snake…

Baek Yoon-seo bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“Of course, I’m not suggesting we publicly expose every detail of Director Eun Beom-ho’s life. What I mean is… let’s present the concept of a marriage alliance for peace.”

Ahem.

He cleared his throat.

“Simply announcing that the chairman’s grandson—the third-generation heir of a major conglomerate—is forming a marriage alliance is itself a message of effort. What the public fears is that beastmen are like animals. They think we coexist with humans, but could transform into uncontrollable beasts at any moment.”

“Yes.”

“The image of pureblood beastmen, to most people, is still that of closed-off elites. So we need to show them someone more relatable. Someone who lives a ‘normal’ life. Someone who seems human.”

“Such as… who?”

“Well, that—”

Clack.

“I heard you were all having an interesting conversation without me, so I decided to join.”

A voice, familiar to all in the room, cut in clearly as the door swung open.

With a confident stride, Eun Beom-ho walked into the room and approached the gathering.