UR Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“Do you want me to tell you how you can keep holding me, not just today?”

“Mmm? Uh… how?”

“Marry me.”

Was this a sweet dream, or just a fantasy? With his arms still wrapped around the other’s waist, Eun Beom-ho blinked. The man in his arms took slow, quiet breaths and asked,

“Marriage…?”

“Yes.”

“To Weoong…”

“Yes. To Weoong.”

“Hee…”

His voice slipped through the fine hairs by Beom-ho’s ear. The gentle, amused tone made him offer his scent-rich nape more comfortably for the other to rest against.

“No… Mmm, no…”

The reply was a firm refusal.

“Why not?”

A tense swallow slid down his long neck. It was close to a pang of loss, but outwardly he pretended not to mind.

“You like cats, don’t you?”

Even if, because of the medication, he currently seemed to mistake him for a cat…

Well, it didn’t matter, since his true form was the same anyway.

“If you marry a cat…”

“Yes. Not just any cat—Weoong.”

Beom-ho corrected him with a gentle but shameless whisper. If Ji-ho had been here, he would’ve been appalled to see him imitating a cat’s cry—opting for a “meow-weoong” instead of a tiger’s “roar”—but oh well.

“I’ve already marked you plenty, so you can’t cheat with another cat anyway.”

Wearing a composed expression, Beom-ho gave a smooth smile.

“Go ahead, try going to another cat like this. Smile at them. No one will accept you.”

It was a chilling statement delivered with a smile. In any case, there weren’t any cats in his neighborhood, and even if there were, no cat would cozy up to someone carrying the pheromones of a top predator like a tiger.

“That’s… not true.”

Instead of denying it sharply, he mumbled in a small voice.

“Hm?”

“The only cat I like… is Weoong.”

He nodded twice, unsteady.

He knew better than anyone that he liked Eun Beom-ho as a cat. Just the sound of his thick tail tapping against the ground had been enough to make his eyes crinkle into a beautiful smile.

And Somi—that’s what she was called, right?—had once teased him, smelling of another cat’s fur, saying, “If you like him so much, why don’t you take him home?” He had clearly looked disappointed then. The way he handed over the Churu treat at the shop with that longing look was brimming with affection.

“Then why won’t you marry me?”

“……”

Beom-ho reached up to touch the hair resting against his chest. Soft and fluffy, like a dog’s fur, it carried a sweet trace of his scent. His fingers moved gently, brushing away tiny beads of sweat caught between the strands.

“You wanted to live with a cat, didn’t you?”

“Yes…”

He remembered the sad look in his eyes when he’d been sent outside. He had clearly been reluctant to leave. That silent plea—to stay together, to live under the same roof, to share the meals given here and be happy—had been obvious. The way his slightly parted lips closed sadly, his throat bobbing with a swallow, was burned into his memory. Those transparent brown eyes had been so easy to read.

“I’ll treat you well. Weoong will cook and do the dishes.”

Beom-ho rested his chin atop the soft crown of his head. Before the other could slip away and refuse again, he pressed down just enough to cut off his escape route. The hair beneath his chin tickled against the sharp tip of his jaw.

“I’ll give you shoulder massages, earn money for us. Isn’t that enough?”

“Mmm…”

“I’ll be Weoong for you. What do you think? I can be your cat as much as you want.”

Recalling those unwavering, honest eyes, Beom-ho brushed back the hair hiding his forehead and pressed a gentle kiss there.

“Marry me, Soo-hyun.”

“I… I can’t…”

The man who had been resting limply in his arms flinched. His body gave a light tremor, like he wanted to run away, before his fingers clutched tightly at Beom-ho’s shirt. The veins on the back of his hand stood out sharply, but then the strength drained away, his grip falling loose in defeat. He whispered softly, as if hesitating to reveal feelings he had kept buried deep inside.

“I… I’m not Kang Soo-hyun.”

“…What?”

The ends of Beom-ho’s straight brows lifted slightly. His once-gentle gaze sharpened toward the man in his arms. One hand gripped his shoulder, unsure what to do as he looked on the verge of tears.

“Hic… I’m sorry. I’m a fraud, a liar…”

“Okay, don’t cry. A liar and a fraud? Tell me slowly. What do you mean?”

Not Kang Soo-hyun? Then who was he, this man who had worn Kang Soo-hyun’s nametag and accepted his blind date invitation?

“Soo-hyun, hmm?”

Clunk—

And then, shattering the delicate silence, the door burst open without warning.

“Hey, Eun Beom-ho. Are you in he—”

Kim Sung-woo’s loud, careless voice rang out as he casually stepped inside, but then he froze mid-step. His eyes went wide, as if he’d just seen something he shouldn’t have, and his whole body stiffened. Slowly, he began backing out of the room.

“Uh… carry on.”

What had made him retreat the moment he entered was the sight of Eun Beom-ho holding the man tightly by the waist, their bodies entwined in an intimate position.

* * *

“…Hyun… Mr. Hyun! Soo-hyun!”

…What…?

…Why is he calling me?

A low voice pushed into I-bom’s ear. It carried a tense, heavy weight, stiffly reaching for a stand-in name that wasn’t his, and before he knew it, his mind began to clear.

Forcing open eyes that didn’t want to lift, I-bom slowly turned his gaze.

Somehow, through the dampness at the corners of his eyes, a hazy shape came into view. After a few more blinks, a lukewarm tear slid down his cheek, and his vision gradually sharpened.

“Y-yeah…?”

I-bom cleared his dry throat and echoed the call. The surroundings felt unfamiliar. Wait—he had definitely been in the yard, holding Weoong just a moment ago.

What… where was he now? Rolling his eyes around, he met the gaze of a black-haired man with a pale face. Even through his groggy haze, he could tell the man was strikingly handsome—flawless features, neatly put together. Beside him stood another man in a white coat, watching I-bom with a worried expression.

“Are you alright? Wow… that side effect hit hard.”

“So, which medicine caused this exactly?”

“That’s… haah. This is why I keep saying we need more variety in beastman-specific meds…!”

The man scratched his head, looking troubled.

“Uh…? Uh… yeah?”

At his voice, I-bom’s eyes widened, starting to raise his voice before swallowing it back down.

Ah, right. The blind date.

Kang Soo-hyun’s blind date. That he had taken in his place.

And now, he was in the arms of the very man from that date. His hand was clutching tightly at the man’s clothes, crumpling the fabric at the hem.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Eun Beom-ho’s whisper brushed I-bom’s ear. His careful tone seemed aimed at making sure I-bom, who was gripping his sleeve in such an awkward position, wouldn’t be startled. Still half-asleep, I-bom stammered out a weak, “Uh… uhh…” while looking between Beom-ho and the sleeve he was holding.

Blink.

It took several blinks before I-bom realized what he had been doing. And then, he jolted in shock, quickly letting go. The sleeve was wrinkled in the exact shape of his tight grip.

‘What the… I must be crazy!’

He yanked both hands away and brought them together over his chest.

“I think we can start the examination now.”

The man in the white coat nodded and stepped in. With a friendly smile, he held out the lanyard hanging from his neck toward I-bom. On it, in bold letters, was written: Samho Foundation Medical Center — Beastman Specialist Kim Sung-woo.

“Hello? This is who I am.”

Seeing that warm, approachable smile, I-bom bowed his head in dazed politeness.