UR Chapter 67

Chapter 67

“I was too flustered yesterday when you collapsed. Come to think of it, I never gave you my card.”

The man politely extended his hand, offering a business card. Still stiff as a board, Soo-hyun took it from him.

Samho | Samho Group

Eun Beom-ho, Director of External Relations

“…Samho?”

Soo-hyun’s eyes went wide. If it was that Samho—the one with the triangular logo—then it was a conglomerate everyone knew. It was on an entirely different level from the so-called “professional beastmen” his father used to rant about. This wasn’t just a step up in social status; it was like being launched into the stratosphere. And he was a director there…

“Th-th-the… Sa-Samho…?”

“Yes. For now, at least.”

Once he had the card in hand, all the unanswered questions began to clear. So that’s why he hadn’t revealed his full identity and had only mentioned being a pureblood beastman—because he was from a chaebol family. And on top of that, he looked like this. Soo-hyun mentally erased the fact that this was the “cat-type beastman” he had been so terrified of before. No, the feline part wasn’t even the problem anymore.

This was huge. Like hitting the jackpot.

His fingertips trembled, not from fear, but from the excitement and anticipation that had taken over his nerves.

Samho was the household name of the tiger beastmen—a family of top predators who reigned above the violent beasts while maintaining dignity. They weren’t the type to recklessly bite or harm people like the cheetah beastmen. And here was a director from that family.

“Are you feeling better now? You fainted, remember?”

“Ah. Yes, yes…”

Soo-hyun tucked his hair behind his ear, answering shyly.

Damn it. His mind was in chaos. No matter what happened, he should have gone himself. Now he’d just handed over a great opportunity to Kang I-bom.

But wait—was that really his fault? If they’d just told him whether the guy was a cheetah beastman or not, he wouldn’t have overthought it and would have gone himself. Why hadn’t they told him and spared him all this trouble?

A flicker of irritation crossed his mind, but the moment he looked at the man’s face, the spark of anger fizzled out completely. That face had a strange power to smother even rage.

Soo-hyun quickly thought about what he could piece together. From the man’s words, one thing was certain—Kang I-bom, who had gone in his place, had fainted yesterday.

“Well…”

But then, a question formed in the back of his mind. No matter how strangely they’d dressed up I-bom yesterday, could he really be mistaken for him? Sure, people said they looked alike, but that alike? Was this man unable to tell the difference between species?

It seemed suspicious, but that suspicion vanished in an instant thanks to the man’s looks. Whatever—did it really matter?

“Ah, um… could I just pop into the restroom for a moment?”

Soo-hyun smiled shamelessly. First things first—he needed to figure out exactly what was going on.

* * *

“I-seol, come help me salt the cabbage.”

I-bom rolled up his sleeves and called out loudly to I-seol.

Even without the cabbages shared by the neighbors, they had more than enough this year—the cabbage harvest had been exceptionally good. The winter cabbages grown in the small village plot were so plump and healthy that he felt like stopping passersby just to brag about them.

If he could, he’d hug them and use them as pillows, but once the yellow-green cabbages were pulled from the ground, they needed to be salted and prepared for kimchi to last through the winter.

“There’s so many…”

Muttering to himself, I-bom brought out a large rubber basin from the shed. Big enough for I-seol to fit inside, it was meant for salting kimchi cabbage.

The only people at home who could do the salting were I-bom and I-seol. Their grandmother’s back hurt too much, and his older brother wasn’t home.

“Just grab some salt and sprinkle it over.”

I-bom started placing the piled-up cabbages into the rubber basin one by one, then pointed at the sack of salt leaning against it.

“Ugh, I don’t want to.”

Grumbling, I-seol scooped salt from the sack with a dipper, moving it around with a shuffling sound. Having been dragged away from the TV after lazing around all evening, her lower lip stuck out in a pout. I-bom smiled and gently nudged her head with his elbow.

“Just help with this today. Tomorrow I’ll do it myself.”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t like kimchi—oh, your phone’s ringing!”

She was kicking her slippered feet when her face suddenly brightened. Moving slowly because she didn’t want to work, she’d found the perfect excuse. Without being asked, she dashed over and brought I-bom’s loudly ringing phone. He took it from her and pressed the call button.

“Hello?”

—Hey, Kang I-bom!

A booming voice came through the speaker. It was Soo-hyun.

I-bom glanced at his sister. Neither she nor their grandmother knew what had happened yesterday. If they found out he had dressed as Soo-hyun and gone on a blind date in his place, they’d bombard him with questions and bother him endlessly.

“Uh, just a moment.”

Cupping the phone in his hand, I-bom set the cabbage down and slipped out toward the front gate. He could hear I-seol’s cheerful humming behind him, but he didn’t have time to care.

“Yes, hyung.”

Closing the squeaky gate behind him, he put enough distance between himself and the house so I-seol couldn’t overhear.

—What happened yesterday? Why didn’t you call me!

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Scratching the back of his head, I-bom spoke awkwardly. He already felt bad for not calling right away, and knowing Soo-hyun had been waiting for his call made him even more apologetic.

‘So he was worried about me after all.’

Self-centered as he was, Soo-hyun was still warmer than I-jun. Even though he’d been too scared to go and had made I-bom face the predator beastman instead, he clearly still cared.

—I thought you were dead! I mean, I didn’t go because they said he was dangerous… and with that cheetah beastman incident, I thought you’d been eaten.

At his blunt tone, I-bom nodded.

“No, no. The atmosphere was fine yesterday. He wasn’t scary or anything like that.”

He recalled the man from yesterday—how he had smiled warmly despite I-bom being late to their first meeting, how he’d showered him with compliments and affection all evening. Honestly, he couldn’t understand why someone so perfect would even be on such a ridiculous blind date.

Even after seeing his outdated 2:8 haircut and strange clothes, the man hadn’t shown a hint of distaste, treating him with kindness instead. At the end, he’d carried I-bom when he fainted and had him treated by an expensive beastman specialist—for free. He’d even bought him dinner.

The memory made I-bom’s chest ache faintly. He wondered if that dream he’d had was just his subconscious wishing he could date such a perfect man, despite knowing he didn’t belong in his world.

I-bom smiled faintly, pushing those feelings down. Thinking too much about something that could never be his was pointless—he was used to resignation.

—That so? …So how was it?

“Well, you know I was late because I had to get a flat tire fixed? But he didn’t show any annoyance and understood completely. He even ordered me three full-course meals.”

—Three? What are you, a pig? What did you eat?

“Uh, there were holiday specials—Silver, Gold, and Diamond courses. I offered to split the bill, but he firmly refused and ordered all three.”

—And you ate all that?

“…Yes.”

Well, not all of it. He’d only had a bit of each, since the man had fed him bites himself. Swallowing hard, I-bom felt a faint sting in his throat.

—So what did he say? Don’t tell me you went and did every single thing I told you not to do to avoid being a turn-off. God… unbelievable.

The sound of Soo-hyun’s breathing over the phone grew slightly rough. He sounded either angry or like he was holding back curses. His question was sharp, almost biting.

As I-bom thought back over what had happened and answered his questions, he suddenly stopped talking.

‘…But I only did what he told me to.’

It had to be a misunderstanding. Yes, definitely a misunderstanding. He blinked slowly, straining to hear Soo-hyun’s voice clearly.

—Ha, fuck.

But before he could finish the thought, all he heard through the receiver was a cold, derisive laugh.