UR Chapter 77

Chapter 77

‘Kang I-bom? He’s cute, but… he’s lacking in sex appeal.’

Someone had said that once, on a winter evening when the school was dim and quiet. Thinking back on it now, it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing students in uniform should’ve been saying, but at the time, it had been quite a shock.

So I’m… lacking in sex appeal.

High school students aren’t quite adults yet, but they’re also far from being just kids. I-bom had been too busy working part-time jobs to enjoy school life, but some classmates gave off a mature, adult-like aura and even dated.

I-bom, however, had never been popular in that way. Most people treated him like a younger brother or the neighborhood puppy—cute, harmless. So he had believed those words completely.

And yet here he was, having done something like that first…

“I-I kissed you…?”

I-bom covered his mouth with his hand in shock. Even though the car was lit brightly by the overhead light, his vision darkened at hearing something like that for the first time.

When, where, what, how… me?

“Yes. You’re the one who took my first kiss.”

Eun Beom-ho leaned back lazily in his seat and nodded. In truth, it had only been a peck, but in his mind, a peck and a kiss were the same thing.

“F-first kiss?”

I-bom stammered, his gaze openly scanning Beom-ho up and down. With a body like that, his first kiss? Had he been living in a monastery or something?

“You’re lying…”

Whether he was just being honest or whether his thoughts simply slipped out, the doubt was plain in his eyes. But Beom-ho shook his head firmly.

“Tigers mustn’t lie.”

“But…!”

I-bom’s voice rose slightly. Honestly, he couldn’t remember. He tried to stay calm, but nothing came to mind.

Still, it was hard to deny outright when the man looked perfectly fine. If it were a lie, his “conscience fever” should have made him unwell—but he seemed completely at ease. And besides, I-bom had fainted at one point, so he couldn’t stubbornly insist it wasn’t true. Could he have made a fool of himself back then? The thought made his forehead damp with sweat.

His lower lip jutted out in something like a pout.

“I like you, you like me, and you kissed me… What’s the next step, then?”

“…What is it?”

“Doesn’t that mean you have to take responsibility for me?”

Responsibility? Of course, he had fallen for the man at first sight. But that was nothing more than a selfish emotion. Even if meeting him on a proxy blind date and falling instantly was one thing, he had never harbored any improper intention of actually pursuing him.

What was this, some scene out of War and Love? He’d never once dreamed of seducing someone to take their place.

“Responsibility…?”

“Yes. Maybe not right away, but you also said you wanted to marry me.”

…Said I wanted to marry him? Me?

I-bom’s jaw dropped. This was a complete disaster.

“Did I… drink without realizing it that day?”

“I believe you had a glass of grape juice.”

“I… I must have been out of my mind.”

His memory was fuzzy. Oh—grape juice. The one that had made him collapse from an allergy.

He could understand losing his senses after drinking that. But to have kissed someone and babbled about wanting to marry them on top of it—he was speechless. He’d read online before about how terrible it was to kiss someone and then claim not to remember. He’d called people like that awful. And now here he was, that awful person.

As an adult, he supposed he should take responsibility, as the man said. But he didn’t have a house, money, or a proper job to support someone. The whole thing made him feel like some shameless swindler.

‘They say if you want to get married these days, you at least need to bring a house in Seoul. Wow, marriage is hard.’

He remembered Jin-sang grumbling that once. If he were to take responsibility and propose, they’d need somewhere to live… What should he do?

“Um, I’m sorry, but…”

He was about to say he was too poor to afford marriage, but the man cut him off like he’d expected it, smiling shyly.

“It was my first time being proposed to. I couldn’t even sleep because I was so happy.”

“…Oh.”

“But then you never contacted me afterward, so I came to find you.”

I-bom stared at him, frozen.

“Don’t you think… you might be a bit too naïve?”

“Naïve?”

“Yes. I mean… someone proposes to you, and you just follow them around?”

“……”

“You can’t do that. The world’s dangerous these days. You could get in real trouble.”

The man met his gaze with eyes as sincere and serious as I-bom’s words.

“Why do you say ‘someone’? You’re not just anyone.”

While I-bom’s thoughts tangled in confusion, the man took something from his pocket—a long, slim packet.

“You even put this in my pocket when you said you wanted to marry me.”

It was getting worse. What he pulled out was cat treats—Churu. The same kind I-bom always carried for Weoong. When had he given him that? And why? Embarrassment flooded him.

“This is my first time receiving a gift like this.”

Of course it was—it was cat treats.

“I gave you that? Oh no… This is so embarrassing.”

And it only cost three thousand won.

“I’m really, really sorry. Ugh… I must’ve been a bit tipsy from the grape juice that day.”

I-bom ducked his head. His face burned from the rudeness of it. He had no idea how to apologize enough.

“…I stole your first kiss, and then p-proposed… But, um, my grandmother is very… old-fashioned. My mother had a really hard time with in-laws, too. Think of it as like one of those War and Love families. It’s… not a good family to marry into.”

“……”

“So I’m sorry, but I can’t just casually suggest you… marry into our family.”

He fidgeted, then carefully opened his palm.

“So… could you give that back, please?”

“Give what back?”

“The Churu.”

The man looked at him blankly, then lifted the end of the Churu packet and gave it a little shake.

“…Why would you take back a proposal gift?”

“P-please…”

That kind of embarrassing thing needed to be gotten rid of quickly. Watching for an opening, I-bom reached out fast. It was a quick, snatching motion, but the man’s long arm lifted easily out of reach. The packet dangled teasingly from his long fingertips. I-bom leaned forward to grab it, only to end up caught at the waist by the man’s other arm.

The car went silent. The air felt stifling, like it had stopped. Only I-bom’s clear brown eyes broke the stillness as they blinked. The man lowered his thick brows and murmured in a low voice.

“You want it back?”

“Y-yes…!”

“Then how about this—I’ll give it back if you agree to go on a date with me.”

“A… date?”

“You took my first kiss, you want to take back my proposal gift… Then I get nothing out of it.”

I-bom’s expression crumpled. How was he supposed to take responsibility? After stealing his first kiss, it felt like he at least owed some sort of compensation.

“People say you date before you start going out seriously.”

But all he could think about was his bank account. He still had ten million won in debt, and taking around a man this handsome seemed like it would cost a lot. At best, he could afford to splurge on tteokbokki. What to do…

“Ah… Fine.”

I-bom nodded cautiously.

“I’ll… be in touch.”

It was the most sincerity he could show.

* * *

“Oh, the weather’s got a great vibe tonight.”

Kang Jin-sang muttered to himself as he watched the snow fall silently.

Not all half-beastmen lived in clan villages. After enrolling in the police studies department, Jin-sang had moved out. The village was a bit far from school, so commuting was a hassle, and besides, he had wanted to live freely once he got to college.

Of course, going to college didn’t mean he could just relax and have fun. If anything, life had gotten busier—classes, part-time jobs, training, workouts… Every day was packed tight, and he ran through it all at full speed. That was why days like this, when he could take it easy, were rare.

Looking out at the snowy scenery, he thought he’d spend tonight drinking alone and watching a movie.

[ Jin-sang, you awake? ]

Right on cue, a message came from his friend, I-bom. Maybe he was bored too. On a Friday night, Jin-sang, feeling upbeat, checked the time and quickly replied.

[ Nope. Wanna come over and have a drink? ]
[ Sure. ]

It seemed I-bom had just finished work; the reply came almost instantly. Humming to himself, Jin-sang headed out to buy some drinks.

“Khh…”

Jin-sang furrowed his brow as he set down his beer. Wiping the foam from his lips, he let out a long breath. Drops of condensation beaded along the cold beer can.

“What’s this? Why aren’t you drinking?”

Chewing on some squid he’d placed next to the beer, Jin-sang jerked his chin toward I-bom. I-bom just held the beer with a slightly downcast look. Leave it like that, and it’d go warm in no time. Clearly, he wasn’t used to drinking and didn’t know how to go about it.

“Hey, if you’re not gonna drink it, give it here. I’ll finish it.”

Jin-sang reached out toward the precious beer. If I-bom was just going to fidget with it, it’d lose its taste—might as well stick it back in the fridge. He was already making a dissatisfied face.

“…Jin-sang, I went on a blind date.”

“Huh? What blind date? You drunk without drinking?”

Jin-sang gave him a bored look. Everyone in Aji Village knew I-bom was the black sheep in his family. If there was a blind date, that grandmother of his would obviously save the spot for his older brother, not him. The thought made Jin-sang tilt his head.

“They said I kissed the person… Do I… have to take responsibility?”

“…Kang I-bom.”

With a quiet thud, Jin-sang set down the squid he’d been chewing.

“What… kind of scumbag thing is that to say?”