UR Chapter 20

Chapter 20

A round, slightly diamond-shaped face. Fluffy fur and long whiskers. Ears perked up boldly, full of spirit. Thick, round, mochi-like paws. A puffy, tense tail and a wide, chubby rump with sharply defined stripes like a zebra’s. All of this combined into one creature—a cat.

I-seol sat curled up, blinking at it. For something that supposedly lived outdoors, it didn’t smell at all and looked perfectly clean. On top of that, its fur was smooth, fluffy, and neatly groomed. It was far too well-maintained to be a stray.

“Hi.”

When I-seol greeted it, the cat blinked its large eyes slowly, as if it understood. It was the first cat she had ever seen in Aji Village, a place usually overrun by stray dogs. Still, at least it wasn’t the super giant rat Ye-chan had mentioned… so maybe that was a relief?

No—more than that, it was amazing. A real cat, like the ones she’d only seen on TV. And for a cat this big and pretty to be following her oppa around? It was unbelievable.

“It’s my first time seeing a cat…”

I-seol murmured, lifting her tiny finger. Just like she did with puppies, she gently scratched under the cat’s chin.

“So soft.”

The soft fur coiled around her small fingers. Unlike the coarse, stiff hair of dogs, the feel of the cat was squishy—like jelly, or kneaded dough. It was a totally new sensation.

“Oppa, what is this? It’s so cute!”

I-seol pulled the cat closer with a delighted coo. Even though the cat was quite large, she was surprisingly strong for her size and ended up dragging it along with ease. “Waeooong!” The cat let out a sharp meow, but it sounded more like a whine than a protest. Some cats would scratch, but this one didn’t even unsheath its claws. It must be a gentle cat.

“Wow… so big and so cute.”

Murmuring “What do I do…,” I-seol hugged the cat tightly and rubbed her cheek into its fur. The soft texture tickled her, so different from the bristly feel of a dog’s coat.

She wrapped her arms fully around the cat. It was so big that it looked more like she was being hugged by the cat, but she didn’t mind. She clung to it, nuzzling and whining sweetly.

“Oppa! Let’s keep it. You’re gonna let me, right?”

It was past 1 a.m.—a time when any child should have been fast asleep. But unlike earlier, when she was teary-eyed and whining about oppa not coming home, now her eyes were wide and sparkling with energy thanks to this mysterious giant cat.

“I can’t promise anything yet. It’s just for tonight.”

I-bom replied while rummaging through the storage shed next to the house. He was looking for the cleanest among the old blankets and quilts left there for emergencies—used for thawing frozen pipes or blocking leaks.

“Whyyy? I’ll feed it and give it baths! Isn’t that enough?”

“What if Grandma says no?”

I-bom shrugged. He wasn’t wrong. He didn’t know whether Grandma liked animals or not. If they decided to keep it without asking and she ended up scared or upset, that would be a huge problem.

“But it’s soooo cute…”

I-seol hugged the cat around its neck and tilted her head back dramatically. Whining and stomping her feet, she clung to the oversized cat, clearly desperate.

“She might get scared ‘cause it’s so big.”

“I’m not scared! And I’d be less scared when you’re not home if it was with me…”

I-seol muttered gloomily.

“You don’t have a home, do you? That’s why you followed oppa, right? Stay with me.”

She whispered as she gently kneaded the cat’s soft cheeks.

Thud.
A cloud of dust puffed up as I-bom laid out a cotton blanket on the small front yard. Wrapped in plastic and recently stored, it was still in good condition. No bugs, no stains. As he shook it out, the blanket puffed up nicely.

After laying it out neatly, I-bom placed a wide bowl at one end. The cat, who had been watching him work, slowly approached and plopped down right on the blanket.

“You can sleep here tonight, Weoong.”

I-bom said gently, stroking the cat’s head.

“Please? Pleaaase let us keep it, oppaaa…”

“I-seol, shouldn’t you be asleep by now? Kids who stay up past midnight don’t grow tall.”

I-bom scolded in a stern voice. Watching him, the cat let out a huge yawn, mouth wide open.

---

Blink, blink.

A sky shimmering in iridescent colors, like a neon sign, stretched before his eyes. The sky was painted with a rainbow of aurora lights blended with starlight, and fluffy clouds floated by, carrying a sweet scent. And there was I-bom, lying snugly on a cloud as if he were some kind of celestial spirit.

What… is this?

He had passed out the night before after working late, completely exhausted. So waking up to this dazzling dreamlike amusement park sky didn’t make any sense. I-bom blinked as he looked around.

A dream?

It had to be a dream, of course—the setting was far too surreal. But the sensation at his fingertips as they touched the cloud felt surprisingly real. Then again… was this even a cloud?

I-bom spread his fingers and gently touched the soft fluff beneath him.

It was white and puffy—like dandelion fluff or the hair of a baby doll. Soft and ticklish, tangled yet clumping together, it had a strange texture unlike anything he’d felt before.

Maybe it’s not a cloud…

He remembered from science class back in school that clouds were just clusters of water vapor. Riding on clouds like a celestial being was supposed to be completely unrealistic.

So then, he couldn’t possibly be lying on an actual cloud.

Not a cloud… maybe fur?

He slowly lifted one hand and gently pinched the puffy white mass beneath him. It felt like artificial fur—shiny and silky, like soft satin.

Where have I felt this before…?

It seemed familiar, but the memory was fuzzy. The fur at his fingertips began to clump slightly, forming soft little tufts like tiny knots.

「Hello!」

A bright, cheerful voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.

Startled, I-bom turned toward the sound. What was that? He peeked around, but no one was there.

Only the faint whooshing of wind could be heard. It brushed playfully between his cheek and hair, tickling him softly.

“Who’s there?”

He stretched his neck cautiously in the direction of the voice. As he perked up his ears, between the cheerful voice he began to hear murmuring background chatter as well.

I-bom wasn’t a full beastman, but with dog blood in his veins, his hearing was exceptionally sharp. His ears weren’t pointed, but they were round and large, and when he focused, he could hear sounds from much farther away than most people—every rustle and murmur picked up instantly.

「It’s me—Seopung!」

Seopung?

Who’s Seopung again?

I-bom rolled his eyes around, trying to recall who this “Seopung” speaking so casually might be.

In the Kang family of dog beastmen—those from Aji Village—having lots of kids was the norm. While the outside world was all about low birth rates, the dogfolk were always bustling.

Just like how dogs give birth to five or six puppies at once, the Kangs were similar. Triplets and quadruplets were common in a single class, and families with ten kids born one after another weren’t particularly shocking.

Maybe it’s one of I-seol’s friends?

I-bom tilted his head and listened toward the sound of the cheerful laughter as he asked,

“Who’s Seopung? Whose friend are you?”

「Nope! I’m not a person—I’m the wind! I live in Manwol Mountain. So nice to meet you!」

I-bom was briefly speechless at the overly confident introduction. Not a person but… the wind? Was this just a dream? The nonsense continued. If he were one of the timid Kangs, he might’ve screamed by now out of fear or surprise, but I-bom was brave. And besides, this was a dream anyway.

「You’re the baby student, right?」

“Huh? What?”

I-bom replied in confusion. ‘Baby student’—it was a weird term, and yet somehow familiar. But there was only one person who ever used that nickname for him.

He suddenly wondered if he really looked that babyish.

“I’m not really a baby…”

「Ah, good! So it’s really you. Excuse me, but… could you get up for a sec?」

The voice that had claimed to be the wind—cheerful and excited—chattered away with enthusiasm. Then a cool breeze zipped in from somewhere and began poking gently at I-bom’s side. It felt pleasant and cool, not just some imagined sensation.

“Where from?”

He looked around, puzzled, as he asked.

「From, um… the young master’s—wait, the tiger’s chest! Could you please get out of it?」

“…What?”

In a place already so surreal, nothing should have surprised him anymore. But the word tiger did.

“A t-tiger?”

I-bom hastily scrambled upright. So then, this soft, fluffy surface beneath him wasn’t a cloud, but…

「Yes!」

“…Huh?”

Leaving behind the rising pitch of Seopung’s voice, I-bom pressed his hands down to support himself—and felt something firm, yet soft and elastic under his palms. It tickled.

He looked down—and it wasn’t a white cloud at all.

It was a tiger’s fluffy white belly fur.

“Gasp! I-I’m so sorry! Why am I even here?!”

Turns out, the idea that he was floating through the sky had been a total illusion. What he thought he had been snuggling into… was a tiger.

A tiger of massive, absolutely overwhelming size.