UR Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Kang I-bom was nestled deep between the fluffy, puffed-up fur of the tiger, shielding himself from the chilly wind.

It was surreal enough that a tiger big enough to fit a whole person inside its fur even existed—let alone the fact that he was actually nestled in its embrace.

I-bom lifted a hand and gently ran his fingers through the fur, soft as cotton. His palm, his fingertips—wherever he touched, he left plump little impressions that smoothed back out. It was just like petting a cat.

Even when you brush a dog, no matter how much, you can still feel the stiff, thick texture of the fur. But this was silky, soft like silk, and so dense that his touches left marks that disappeared just as quickly as they formed.

“Um… I’ll get down. I don’t even know why I fell asleep here….”

He gave an awkward, sheepish laugh as he tried to explain himself. Of course it must be a dream. The wind had talked to him, and he’d dozed off in a tiger’s arms—what else could it be?

Back in Aji Village, the only beastmen I-bom had ever known were fellow half-beastman villagers or small herbivore types. He had never seen a carnivore beastman before—especially not a tiger beastman, one of the rarest and most dangerous types.

And when he was little, his brother used to tell him things. That carnivore beastmen—especially purebloods—could transform into full animals, had razor-sharp teeth, and could gobble up little doggies like I-bom in a single bite. The Kang dogs were only half-beastmen, so they couldn’t transform, but they still smelled delicious to predators—just like regular puppies. Easy prey.

“I-I’ll go now. Sorry.”

If it’s a dream, wake up already.

I-bom stood up. The spot where he had slept was still visibly indented in the fur. As he tiptoed forward, his ankles sank deep into the thick coat.

“Oh…”

Still thinking he needed to wake up, he turned his head slightly and gave his cheek a light pinch—but instead, his gaze accidentally landed on the tiger’s face.

It was huge. Unreal in size. Just as massive as the way his body had been completely engulfed by its fur.

The tiger looked exactly like the Baekdu Mountain tiger he had once seen in a book as a child. Proud, powerful features, soft and shiny orange-and-white fur, and bold black stripes. Long, thick whiskers, a prominent snout, and a slightly upturned mouth under a sharply defined nose. Even its large, sturdy front paws looked impressive.

‘Handsome.’

He was handsome.

I-bom briefly wondered whether it was appropriate to call a tiger handsome, but hey—what else do you call someone who looks good? He figured the reason he could even think a tiger looked handsome must be because he had some beast blood in him, too.

Then, wrapping around all of that, was a long tail that gently coiled around I-bom as if embracing him.

“Um, so… you’re not letting me go….”

He laughed awkwardly, stammering an excuse to the empty air.

Thump.

“Y-you sure toss and turn in your sleep, huh.”

The heavy tail gave a few firm thuds. Compared to the waggy little tails of dog beastmen, this one was on a whole other level—it had a weight and presence that was impossible to ignore. I-bom nearly lost his balance and stumbled, instinctively grabbing the tail.

It’s soft… but firm.

Carefully, he lifted the end of the tail. It swayed a bit like a cat’s, but it was easily two or three times thicker, and beneath the fluid motion, it held a strength that made it hard for I-bom to grasp fully with one hand.

「Baby student, you’re still not immune to ■■…」

As the slightly grumbling voice of Seopung trailed off in the background, I-bom realized that the tail had actually kept him from falling over.

Was it helping him?

Just as I-bom tilted his head in confusion, the cheerful voice of Seopung whispered quickly again.

「Um. There’s something I’d like to ask you… would you be willing to answer?」

“What do you want to ask me?”

I-bom asked cautiously, his voice tinged with wariness.

He could sense energy. To inherit the blood of a beastman meant having qualities that set one apart from humans. Though the beast blood had thinned over generations—so much so that they could no longer transform into full animals—and they were looked down upon as beings that were neither animal nor human, that blood still ran deep. It never fully faded. Things like interpreting the five senses differently from humans, or being able to read a person’s aura—that was part of it too.

The aura surrounding him was gentle, pure, and bright, swirling around softly. The voice of “Seopung,” born with the energy of a spirit—not quite human, not quite beastman—was fascinating.

「Do you have a lover?」

But the question itself was bizarrely mundane and worldly—far too normal for a supernatural being one meets in a dream.

“…What?”

I-bom gawked, his mouth opening dumbly, voice rising in disbelief.

「Ah, shh! It’s actually really important, so I don’t want anyone else to hear. Can you say it a little more quietly?」

Seopung hushed him with a sound like the wind, whispering fast and low as I-bom’s voice had come out louder than expected. Why are you whispering something like that? I-bom looked in the direction the voice had come from, confused.

“…No, I don’t.”

A lover? People often said that dog-type half-beastmen loved dating and attention, that they couldn’t stand being single. Was that why it asked? But I-bom didn’t even have the experience of dating anyone seriously, let alone a lover.

「Wow, what a relief! Lover: none.」

A scratching sound came from the empty air, like someone jotting something down with a pen—or maybe sketching with a quill. I-bom’s eyes flicked toward the source of the sound.

「Then… do you have any kids? If yes, is it one? Two—?」

“…Kids?”

People had asked him if he had a lover plenty of times while working part-time jobs. But kids? That was a first.

I-bom quietly shook his head.

He wondered if the question had come from seeing him around with I-seol. Even though there wasn’t much age difference between I-bom and his older brother I-jun, their youngest sibling I-seol was ten—just a third grader in Korean school terms—and tiny for her age, so she looked even more baby-like. It was easy to mistake him for a young dad who’d had a child early.

「Ah, it’s not like I had some weird intentions or anything. I’m just really curious about stuff… sorry. Did I offend you? I promise, once all the questions are done, I’ll give you a little prize.」

“…A little prize?”

「Yes! Once the ‘SpiritWiki’ entry is complete, you’ll receive a gift certificate.」

…SpiritWiki? What was that now? And a gift certificate? Is viral marketing happening in dreams now too? A whole string of question marks floated around in I-bom’s head.

“Ah… I see.”

「Yup! I’ll send it out in a week!」

「Hey. Read the room. You’re making him uncomfortable.」

This time, a slightly sarcastic voice whispered from I-bom’s right ear.

「What? It’s a survey! People want to know, so I gotta fill out the SpiritWiki entry at least.」

「Yeah, but why you? That’s the tiger’s private life.」

Unlike the bright, bubbly, childlike voice of Seopung, this new voice had a calmer, more neutral tone. I-bom perked his ears and listened intently to their conversation.

“Um, sorry to interrupt… but… who’s the new voice?”

「Ah, apologies. I should have introduced myself first.」

In this surreal dream full of rainbow skies, a tiger five times the size of a person, and disembodied voices riding the wind, I-bom figured nothing would surprise him anymore—even someone new showing up.

As he listened to the low and calm tone, a cluster of leaves suddenly came swirling toward him with a whoosh.

Instinctively, I-bom raised both hands to shield his face.

But then, with a soft whistling sound, the leaves lost their force and dropped limply to the ground with a faint rustle. It felt like a special effect straight out of a sci-fi movie.

“Whoa…”

Startled by the dramatic entrance, I-bom let out a small gasp of awe.

「I am Bukpung.」

The voice greeted him politely, stirring the air with elegance.

「Why do you get to show off?」

「Show-off or not, just say what you came to say. The tiger will be waking up soon. Don’t get caught and scolded.」

The two bickering back and forth sounded like kids arguing. Like two children outside a convenience store fighting over who gets the last piece of candy. I-bom couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Well, dream or not, this situation was kind of fun. And even if it were real, it wasn’t that strange. After all, beastmen existed, and each race had its own special traits. If winds could talk, then so be it. Just roll with it.

「Okay, just a few more questions. Um, your personal information will not be reused for any commercial purposes under Article 4, Clause 2 of the Spirit Information Protection Act!」

“Ah… sure.”

「Have you ever been married?」

“No, I haven’t….”

「Oh, so you’ve got no lover, no kids, and you’ve never been married. Which means… don’t tell me—have you never dated either?!」

“No, I’ve never dated…”

「Then you must have some kind of romantic fantasy, right? Do you have a preferred type of romance? Like blind dates, matchmaking meetings, or fated encounters disguised as coincidence?」

The voice asking the question sounded unusually excited.

「I told you to stop. It’s incredibly rude to ask a human stuff like that.」

Bukpung’s voice grew sharp, clearly irritated by Seopung’s increasingly nosy questions.

「It’s a survey!」

“Uh, I don’t really have a preference when it comes to dating…”

「Bukpung, you don’t get it. Ah, young student, you’re okay with it, right? These questions are all part of planning a happy future life for you and our tiger friend! It’s not weird or bad at all, I swear!」

The voice of the wind was bright and oddly sincere—like listening to an AI calmly explain insurance policy terms.

「Next question—what’s your ideal type?」

Ideal type?

I-bom rubbed his soft jaw, deep in thought. He’d never really thought about it before, but being a dog-type, he got flustered easily. He liked pretty faces. Things that were cute, beautiful, lovable. And if he had to choose an ideal type among them…

TL/N: This novel is kinda confusing with alot of kr terms that i prob can’t change, but I’ll try to make it simpler, so and also lmk if you guys want me to add my name doc here in one of the chapters. I make one for every novel to keep track of the new names its kinda helpful lmk if you guys need it TT