UR Chapter 135

Chapter 135

Fuck. I’m screwed.

That was Kang Soo-hyun’s first thought when he received the lawsuit from Eun Beom-ho. The real problem was that it had been sent to his house, meaning his father and older brother found out before he could hide it. His father was a businessman, but worse still, his older brother was a police officer. The moment he read the contents, his brother blew up, scolding him harshly.

“Do you even think before you act? What were you thinking, harassing someone to the point they send you a lawsuit? Defamation and insult? Are you insane? You’re going to end up with a criminal record!”

The lawsuit was practically slammed down over his head. Seeing his father and brother glaring at him and ordering him to apologize immediately filled Soo-hyun with a surge of indignation.

“I’m the one who should be mad!”

Not only had he received a lawsuit, but he’d also been beaten by that slow-witted Kang I-bom. His pride was in tatters. There was no way he could admit to anyone that he’d been hit by the same guy he’d mocked and called a pushover since childhood. But he still wanted revenge. Grumbling to himself, he began thinking of ways to get out of this mess.

Normally, the best person to rely on in situations like this was Kang I-jun—he knew exactly how to backstab and blackmail people. But since I-jun had been hard to contact lately, Soo-hyun reached out to I-jun’s acquaintance, Doo-shik.

“Our company’s executives are from the cheetah line. They hate tiger beastmen with a passion. Can’t stand how they act all high and mighty, like they’re pureblood representatives, or pretend to be agents of mountain spirits—it makes them sick.”

Because Doo-shik worked for Donghwa Daily, Soo-hyun had treated him with respect, only to find out he was just a lowly intern. Tch. Soo-hyun begrudged the money he spent buying him drinks. Still, once plied with alcohol, Doo-shik started running his mouth without being asked. Most of it was rambling born of insecurity, but occasionally, there was something useful—stories about Samho Group, a rival to his company, and about tiger beastmen.

“Yeah? So they hate tiger beastmen that much? …Then you must know their weaknesses too?”

Soo-hyun’s eyes lit up, leaning in close. He didn’t like the way Doo-shik, a mere intern, puffed himself up, insisting he couldn’t share anything for free. According to him, there were “tiers” of interns, and he was an elite one because he was in the economics department—meaning he knew critical weaknesses of corporate figures. Soo-hyun listened intently.

“It’s called ‘conscience fever.’ Tiger purebloods are so close to being spiritual beings that they can’t commit crimes or do bad deeds. If they do, the wrong they’ve done comes back to them directly. They might get into accidents, fall ill, or—if it’s bad enough—suffer pain so severe it’s like dying. Cheetah beastmen don’t have that, so they live a bit more freely than tiger beastmen. Eun Beom-ho? He’s the chairman’s grandson. He’s nothing special. Can’t do shit.”

Doo-shik, red-faced from drink, tapped his empty soju glass on the table. Soo-hyun, who had been listening closely, hurried to refill it. Downing the shot in one go, Doo-shik smirked.

“They look scary on the outside, but it’s all bluff. Because of conscience fever, they can’t even threaten or use violence. What’s the point of turning into a tiger? Looking strong doesn’t matter if you’re useless.”

Soo-hyun lifted the corners of his mouth in a confident smirk.

“Among tiger beastmen, some purebloods have something called conscience fever, right?”

He clenched his trembling hands tightly. It was a gamble—half worried that Doo-shik might have lied, half afraid that Beom-ho might transform into a tiger and bite him, or threaten him outright. He still hated and despised the feline kind—predators were dangerous, after all. But if Doo-shik was telling the truth… then he had a way to grab hold of this self-important man’s weakness.

“…”

“Say that, and he’ll definitely react. He’ll think, ‘How did you know?’ and freak out,” Doo-shik’s words echoed in his head.

Soo-hyun grinned smugly.

“I heard the purer the bloodline, the worse the conscience fever hits. And most people don’t even know about it, right? I know you can’t just treat me however you want because of it. I’m not scared of you at all. I know all your intimidation is just an act, so why don’t you drop the lawsuit? If you do, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“…”

Soo-hyun rambled on, watching for a reaction. The muscles at the edge of Beom-ho’s otherwise cold, still face twitched slightly. Seeing that serious look in his eyes, Soo-hyun began to believe his bluff was working. A grin slowly spread across his face. If it was really working…

“Oh, and not just dropping the lawsuit—you’ll have to pay me compensation too. Someone with conscience fever—no, some beast—how could you threaten a poor, innocent half-beastman? Right?”

“…”

“You know how big Donghwa Daily is. What do you think will happen to Samho Group’s image if I tip them off? People are afraid of pureblood beastmen, but they think they’re perfect, right? What do you think they’ll say if they find out they’re actually pathetic, imperfect monsters?”

His grin grew wider. Life in the half-beastman village had been comfortable thanks to his father’s wealth, but he’d always resented being a big fish in a small pond. He wanted to control people and have fun outside as well, but beyond Aji Village, people always looked down on him. Deep down, he realized his desire: he wanted the rich and powerful to kneel before him in desperation—like the arrogant man sitting in front of him now.

“Oh.”

With a soft thump, Eun Beom-ho sat back down, folding his arms and leaning loosely into the sofa. Soo-hyun felt a rush of exhilaration. Yes, now if he pushed just a little more, this guy would beg him to keep quiet.

But instead, Beom-ho stared straight through him and spoke.

“Did Donghwa Daily economics intern Lee Doo-shik tell you that? That tiger beastmen—especially Eun Beom-ho—have a weakness called conscience fever, so they can’t pull anything shady? That you should use that to blackmail me?”

“…W-what? No, that’s not it!”

The moment Doo-shik’s name came up, Soo-hyun’s eyes widened. Even though his reaction was written all over his face, he raised his voice in anger, as if unaware that such an outburst was the same as confessing.

“I see now why I-bom had such a hard time. I didn’t know. I didn’t know who was making our good I-bom’s life so miserable. So it wasn’t just his grandmother? If people keep popping out like some surprise box, just how much have you been exploiting him?”

Beneath the gentle smile, a chill seeped into the air. A strange, creeping dread made the tips of Soo-hyun’s clenched fists flush red, then drain pale.

“Honestly, I don’t have much interest in humans like you, Kang Soo-hyun. You’re trash. If it weren’t for I-bom, I wouldn’t even know you existed.”

“T-trash? Did you just say that to me?”

Soo-hyun’s voice went up. In the half-beastman settlement, no one had ever spoken to him like that. So what if he was a pureblood? Did that give him the right to talk to people however he pleased? Rage surged up inside him.

“I should have just gotten rid of you in one go, no matter what I-bom said.”

Beom-ho muttered it under his breath.

“…”

Soo-hyun instinctively leaned back in his seat, startled. Beom-ho’s eyes gleamed with a razor-sharp light, and only then did he realize the oppressive aura tightening around his throat.

“There’s something you don’t know, Kang Soo-hyun.”

“S-shit, if you touch me, I’ll report you!”

“If cheetah beastmen know about conscience fever and can use it to control a tiger beastman’s actions… why do you think they haven’t made full use of it?”

Something ominous seemed to click in Soo-hyun’s mind, and his face stiffened.

“A weakness, you say… But if it can’t be exploited, is it really a weakness?”

“…”

“Who do you think that safety device was really made for? And if cheetah beastmen know about it, why do you think tiger beastmen just sit there and do nothing?”

“…”

A low laugh echoed from Beom-ho’s throat. It was pleasant in tone, yet had the resonance of a howl—an animal’s rumble. Soo-hyun slowly glanced down at his arm. At some point, goosebumps had broken out across his skin.

“Interesting.”

‘Do you know why half-beastmen aren’t fully beastmen, but they aren’t human either? Shit. I didn’t know this myself at first, but it’s probably because, even if they have the strengths of humans, they can’t make proper use of a beastman’s strengths. Beastmen, as you know, have heightened animal senses. But for half-beastmen, those senses are shot to hell. If they see a dangerous large predator beastman, they should instinctively feel fear and run away, but their danger sensors are broken. I almost got killed once because I didn’t notice that myself. So don’t you go picking fights with predator species that outclass you. That’s something I learned firsthand working at the police station.’

His brother’s voice—calm, but grave—struck Soo-hyun’s mind without warning. At the time, Soo-hyun had scoffed at him.

‘Large predators? In Korea? What are the odds I’ll meet one? Wolves aren’t much. At worst, maybe one of the big feline predators, right? Don’t worry. I hate cats anyway.’

“Shit! Don’t come any closer!”

Soo-hyun shouted, veins standing out along his neck. His forehead, flushed red from the mix of agitation and fear, throbbed.