UR Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Flutter.

Light as down, a tuft of cat fur floated gently in the air. Like swimming powerfully through the depths of the sea, the soft fluff drifted up and down with the wind before—tap—it brushed against the cheek of the deeply sleeping I-bom.

The bundle of cat fur, soft as a dandelion puff, touched his smooth cheek and slid away. His peach-tinted cheek twitched at the ticklish sensation. Long dark lashes trembled faintly over tightly closed eyes.

“Mm…”

The faint rustle of movement broke the silence of the night air. Seopung clapped a hand over his mouth in alarm.

It had all started with Bukpung’s offhand remark.

「The baby student fainted. So the tiger got all worked up.」

Seopung had been about to casually ask Bukpung how the tiger was doing and what the baby student was up to, but he nearly jumped out of his skin. Knowing Bukpung’s tendency to downplay serious situations, Seopung had let out a shrill yelp before he could stop himself.

「Fainted? Why? And the mountain lord? He got worked up?」

「Ah, you’re too loud. Keep it down.」

Bukpung covered his ears with affected dignity. For a spirit born from the fierce, wild Russian mountains, he always acted like a cranky old man centuries older than he was. Seopung puffed out his lower lip with a whine.

「What happened?」

「Find out yourself. I don’t want to get scolded.」

When Bukpung answered curtly, Seopung grumbled.

「You’re so cold! I hope a typhoon blows you away!」

Whoosh—

No wonder the blizzard was getting stronger. A mountain lord’s emotional changes always affected the weather. It really might mean something had happened to the baby student.

The small Seopung remembered the tiger’s fierce warning not to approach the baby student, but curiosity won over the fear of being caught and scolded—by both the tiger and the immortals in charge of him.

Yes, on that day when sharp winter snow poured down, the reason a tuft of cat fur had moved on its own was because a small wind spirit had followed I-bom.

Tigers were still in the cat family, and cats shed their fur year-round. Unlike dogs, whose shedding came in heavy clumps, cats’ light, fluffy fur drifted through the house in soft balls that rolled around everywhere. Naturally, Eun Beom-ho’s home had its share of floating tufts.

Shedding was an unavoidable cycle for any double-coated animal with fur.

Wherever Seopung moved, the tufts swirled in his wake. Ordinary people wouldn’t notice the subtle change, and in the general commotion of the night, Seopung slipped in unnoticed.

I did it! I actually made it in!

Usually, Seopung only trailed after the baby student to bother him or secretly enjoyed watching the romance between him and the tiger. But somehow, this time, he’d ended up in much deeper trouble.

It’s huge…

Mouth hanging open, Seopung carefully stepped into the garden of the rescue house.

Crunch, crunch. The wind roared around him with every move he made, but fortunately, the howling blizzard masked the sound.

I’ll get in trouble if I’m caught…

The dark rescue house was eerie enough to feel haunted. Even its name—Rescue House, Tiger’s Mouth—was intimidating. Still, with only the goal of seeing the baby student, Seopung crept toward the innermost terrace room beside a big tree, where a light was on.

「I hope it’s nothing serious.」

Creak… A window slid open, and a faint murmur reached him. The tiger sat on the terrace, speaking with a friend.

“……”

The house, saturated with the tiger’s energy, wasn’t a place where spirits could easily pick up sounds, but by edging closer without revealing himself, Seopung caught the friend’s voice.

“…He didn’t faint.”

Didn’t?

“He’s asleep.”

Relief flooded him. Ears perked, Seopung listened on, then let out a deep breath. From the rest of the conversation, he gathered that the baby student had collapsed due to mild allergy symptoms and accumulated fatigue.

「I’m so upset…」

He sniffled, as if it were his own problem, and wiped his eyes. Slipping quickly through the open window, he entered the baby student’s room.

Seopung ran one of the most popular threads on SpiritWiki—ranking in the top three—about romantic tales between pureblood beastmen. His own series was based, with some exaggeration and embellishment, on the romance he had personally witnessed between the mountain lord and the half-beastman.

It’s so good, even if I say so myself.

How romantic, that the solemn ruler of the mountain had fallen for someone as small and cute as a puppy. Despite the barrier of their different statuses, the mountain lord had openly courted the half-beastman.

If only the mountain lord didn’t lose his temper so often…

Seopung sighed. His fingers itched to write the next chapter. Bukpung had said that the tiger had carried the fainted baby student onto a helicopter. Not seeing that scene with his own eyes was disappointing, and the sight of the pale, sleeping baby student now was heartbreaking.

Standing by the bedside, Seopung clapped his soft hands.

Ah, right.

He happened to have an item for pleasant dreams—Starlight Fantasy Powder. He’d bought it with spirit currency earned from his romance thread on SpiritWiki, intending to save it for a special day. But looking at the baby student lying there so pale, his heart ached.

If he fainted, he must be exhausted. I hope he has a good dream.

Filling the wish with all his heart, Seopung carefully took the Starlight Fantasy Powder from his pocket. It glittered on his soft, transparent palm as brightly as the Milky Way. Swallowing hard, he sprinkled it gently over the baby student’s head.

To ordinary eyes, it looked like a bit of drifting white animal fur, but to those with keen sight—or a vision over 5.0—it was a rare treasure, a sight like stardust gliding through the air.

* * *

Meow.

The ticklish, nasal sound of a cat’s cry brushed softly against I-bom’s ear. His lashes trembled and his fingertips quivered as he lay asleep, eyes closed and body limp.

There was no movement to shake him awake, but the earnest, heartfelt call tapped gently at his heart. It was a loving coax, whispering tenderly for him to wake up—like the sweet voice of a lover rousing their partner.

“Mmm…”

With the repeated mewls, I-bom’s damp lashes fluttered, and little by little his vision began to brighten. A shadowy blur lingered between his half-lidded eyes. What… how long had he been asleep? He blinked slowly, shifting his hazy gaze.

He had opened his eyes without thinking, stirred by a familiar scent brushing his nose.

A faint warmth, laced with a subtle bitterness—the distinct scent of an animal.

“Oh…”

The first thing he noticed upon waking was the smell of a cat.

Every animal has its own scent. Even within the same species, each individual’s natural scent was different—salty, cool, sweet, warm…

I-bom was sensitive to such things. He could not define every scent in the world with a single word, but the beastman blood rooted deep within him could tell the difference with just a breath. And so he knew.

In this house… Weoong was here.

“Weoong, huh? …It’s you?”

The sad dream had, without him noticing, shifted into the presence of someone he missed. From within the hazy fog, Weoong’s mouth, cutely parted, revealed a small pink tongue that peeked out to rub against I-bom’s skin.

Warm and slightly rough, that tongue made him giggle and squirm from the ticklish sensation. Grinning, he kept calling Weoong’s name over and over.

Slowly, I-bom pushed himself upright. Beyond his blurry vision, the view outside was dark. His head throbbed like heavy stones were rolling inside it, making it hard to tell whether this was a dream or reality.

Moving his heavy body as though wading through the depths of sleep, I-bom reached out. His fingers touched a solid body.

“Weoong-ah…”

He threw his arms around Weoong, pulling him close. There was no time to think about why Weoong’s scent was filling this unfamiliar house.