TGHD Ch34

A deeper sense of confusion spread across Cheon Ryubeom’s face. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved by the children’s resilience or to seriously question Dongo’s education.

However, there was something from the conversation behind the school that lingered in Ryubeom’s mind, so he called Yeohwi and headed to the veranda. The veranda of the old villa was neatly organized, but the peeling paint on the railing revealed its age.

As Ryubeom fidgeted with the railing, he spoke honestly about his concerns.

“Is it common for humans to look down on beast people? The incident in Hyojomyeon and what happened at the school today… In the past, I could understand it because it was unfamiliar, but nowadays, don’t they interact more often?”

Cheon Ryubeom had always lived within a narrow boundary. In the past, the house where he lived with his parents was his entire world, and from the age of ten, the vast Cheon family estate became his whole world. Although the area expanded, the society he engaged with became even more rigidly narrow. Since last year, he had taken on the role of a bodyguard during family meetings, but he always stayed near the meeting venue.

The humans he encountered back then all revered the tiger beast people. Although Cheon Ryubeom was somewhat detached from that respect, he rarely experienced conflicts between beast people and humans. So, he always thought they lived well together.

Moreover, on TV, people seemed to adore beast celebrities. He had heard that people admired and praised their beauty and charm. But now, facing a different reality, Cheon Ryubeom felt confused.

Yeohwi responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Even if they do interact, there are still many people who reject anything different. Especially since there are many restrictions on beast people.”

“Restrictions…?”

“For example, the punishment for a beast person injuring a human is more severe than the punishment for humans hurting each other. Even if the beast person is weaker than the human, the same applies.”

He explained that even if a weaker herbivorous beast person was injured while defending themselves from human violence, they could still face harsher punishment under the Beast People Special Law. Ryubeom’s mouth slowly opened in disbelief.

“Isn’t that law supposed to protect humans? Why is it…?”

“Laws also shape public sentiment, and they can create additional emotions. Feelings like, ‘This beast person won’t easily harm me because of the law,’ leading to a sense of complacency, or resentment based on history, where humans were severely harmed by strong beast people, fueling the belief that ‘beast people are violent.’”

Yeohwi’s tone was calm, as if this was a simple and obvious fact. Ryubeom, encountering this truth for the first time, blinked in astonishment before sighing. Although it was unclear whether the children he saw earlier were influenced by such laws, it was likely that their parents were.

However, there was still one unresolved question.

“Then why do they mock beast people who take human form? Is that also due to resentment towards beast people? They seem to look down on it as mere imitation of humans…”

In the Cheon family, if you couldn’t properly transform into a human, you were scolded for not even mastering the basics of magic. Yet outside, beast people were ridiculed for taking human form, as if they were acting unnecessarily by pretending to be human. They were mocked as if they were following humans because human society was superior. Ryubeom recalled that Kwon Namil had said something along those lines.

At first, such mockery seemed strange, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, leaving him confused. For smaller animals, transforming into a human might be important, but wouldn’t it be fine for tiger beast people to show their animal form? In fact, wouldn’t that be better?

“Why did beast people start transforming into humans…?”

As Cheon Ryubeom pondered deeply, a hand suddenly reached out and pressed his furrowed brow. He knew it was meant to smooth out his frown, but the sudden touch made his heart drop. As Ryubeom froze in surprise, Yeohwi smiled faintly.

“To make you let your guard down.”

“…Huh?”

“When you get used to something, you can’t stay on guard.”

Ryubeom listened as if entranced by the soft tone.

“Imagine a being with power far greater than humans, hiding among them by taking the same form… Isn’t that the scariest thing?”

“….”

“Well, of course, the primary goal is coexistence with humans. It’s laughable that humans mock beast people for transforming, but perhaps they unconsciously do so as a defense mechanism, trying to downplay the threat.”

In fact, all the powerful beast clans had mastered the art of human transformation. From the outside, it was impossible to tell whether someone was a human or a beast person. These influential families quickly began businesses as soon as the peace treaty was established, and they all thrived, successfully integrating into human society. The tiger family, for example, was connected to universities, hospitals, and companies through the Cheonho Foundation.

While Cheon Ryubeom sighed in realization, Yeohwi muttered to himself.

“When we lived separately in the past, such conflicts didn’t exist…”

In the past, when beast people and humans lived in separate areas, there were no such conflicts as today. Back then, there were fewer beast people, so interactions with humans were rare, and when they did occur, humans mostly saw beast people as fascinating beings. Most of the mysterious creatures recorded in old myths and legends were later revealed to be beast people.

As time passed, the number of beast people gradually increased, and as society developed and communication became widespread, it became difficult for beast people to remain isolated. This led to more interaction, and eventually, after significant conflict, relations improved through the peace treaty.

Since Cheon Ryubeom had learned about this history, he looked at Yeohwi with a sense of wonder. Was Yeohwi older than he had thought? From his appearance, he didn’t seem much older than Ryubeom, but it was impossible to judge the age of a beast person by their appearance, so Ryubeom subtly probed.

“Were you present during the peace treaty?”

“Well… yes.”

Yeohwi’s response was somewhat dry. If he was there during the peace treaty, that would make him far older than Ryubeom, but what caught Ryubeom’s attention more than that was the cold look in Yeohwi’s eyes. It seemed as if Yeohwi had some distance from the peace treaty.

Ryubeom had assumed that Yeohwi would feel pride since it was the fox family that led the treaty, but maybe that wasn’t the case? He suddenly remembered Yeohwi’s earlier reaction, as if mocking the behavior of humans. It reminded him that many beast people had opposed the treaty at the time…

“…Do you not like the peace treaty?”

“Well… I’m not particularly interested in it.”

“Huh? But it’s a treaty made by the fox family, right?”

“Well, that’s…”

Yeohwi tilted his head slightly. His muttering voice was murky and unclear, like muddy water.

“It was only made because someone wanted it…”

For a moment, Cheon Ryubeom felt an unfamiliarity toward Yeohwi. His beautiful face, usually vibrant like a camellia flower blooming in the winter snow, now seemed artificial. It was a strange sense of dissonance, as if he were both saturated with life and yet utterly dried out. In this brief moment of recalling past memories, Yeohwi felt incredibly distant, as though he existed far away from this space.

It was odd. There had been times before when Ryubeom thought that Yeohwi didn’t quite fit in this villa. His face was too strikingly gorgeous, clashing with the old and worn-down surroundings. But today, he noticed something different—Yeohwi and the villa felt oddly similar. Both seemed as if they had been left unattended for a long time, barely maintaining their form.

Ryubeom, blinking slowly, wanted to carefully call out to Yeohwi. Somehow, he felt that saying his name would pull him back into the present.

But just as Ryubeom was about to speak, Yeohwi suddenly smiled, dispelling the previous atmosphere. The usual, familiar smile returned as if nothing had happened.

“Anyway, thank you again for your help. Thinking about it now, those kids were quite audacious. The fox family worked hard to establish the peace treaty and end the war between humans and the beastfolk. And yet, they dared to bully the children of such a family. Maybe it’s true that being too kind makes one an easy target?”

“I-I don’t think it’s about being an easy target…”

“I’ll have to discuss this with Guil. I had no idea the children were going through something like this…”

Yeohwi placed a hand on his cheek, looking concerned. His protective demeanor left Ryubeom slightly bewildered but nodding along. It was only natural to be worried if the children were being bullied at school.

According to the triplets during their walk back to the villa after school, today’s incident was the first of its kind. However, even if this was their first conflict, there was a good chance that the children had been looked down upon from the beginning. Perhaps they hadn’t been bothered before because they always stuck together.

“Well, they haven’t been attending school for long, so they’ll probably adjust over time, right?”

“It’s important to set the tone early on.”

Yeohwi, who had been speaking seriously, suddenly lowered his gaze, looking overwhelmingly sad. A melancholic atmosphere quickly surrounded him.

“I’ve been a lacking guardian…”

His slow-blinking eyelashes seemed as if they were about to get wet, causing Cheon Ryubeom to panic.

“This is just the first time, so don’t blame yourself too much…”

“But what if it happens again? I’m going to be too busy to keep an eye on the kids properly… And I can’t rely on Guil’s help anymore…”

Then, at some point, Yeohwi slightly leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Their eyes were now on the same level. Ryubeom flinched and tried to step back, but Yeohwi gently took hold of his hand.

“Young master, as my second wish… would you help the children get home from school?”