UR Chapter 24

Chapter 24

「Your Majesty Tiger-nim, it seems your cover has been blown. What shall we do?」

Bukpung whispered politely. Beom-ho pretended not to hear, casually licking his front paw.

While Seopung was young, naive, and chatty, Bukpung was the most seasoned of all the mountain spirits of Manwol. He wasn’t one to joke lightly.

「Shall I… take care of it?」

Beom-ho calmly looked down at the bowl of milk and replied in a quiet voice.

「She’s just a child.」

Then, as if nothing had happened, he lowered his head again and resumed lapping at the milk. The cool wind brushed across his tongue, carrying the bland flavor of the milk slowly into his mouth.

Tasteless.

Beom-ho clicked his tongue as the milky film coated his mouth. It wasn’t the premium milk he was used to—just a bland, shelf-stable UHT milk. It had a faintly stale flavor, warm and slick on his tongue. Normally, he wouldn’t even touch something like this.

“Eat lots, okay?”

Just as he habitually moved to knock over the bowl, the child’s voice stopped him mid-motion.

“…Meowng.”

And so, he slowly began to lap at the milk again.

Beom-ho could tell the little girl watching him with those curious eyes held no malice.

「She may look like a child, but she’s sharp. Could be a spy or an assassin.」

Bukpung muttered endlessly. Accusing a soft, chubby-cheeked kid of being an assassin—now that was a stretch. And maybe a bit rude. Spy or assassin, seriously? Beom-ho started thinking he needed to summon all the winds and give them a long talk about virtue and honor—In-Ui-Ye-Ji and all that.

「I said, be quiet.」

“Kitty. You understand me, don’t you? Why’re you pretending you don’t?”

Thump.

Suddenly, his body was lifted without warning. His field of vision flipped in an instant.

He’d let his guard down, too caught up in talking with Bukpung. He looked around, startled, but before he could even catch his breath, a soft slap landed across his face. A small, chubby hand had grabbed his fluffy orange cheeks and covered his eyes, darkening his vision.

His thick, silky fur dangled from her grip.

“KyAaaowng!”

A sharp cry burst from the tiger’s mouth, echoing throughout the house.

Flutter flutter—

Birds perched between the tightly woven blue leaves and branches outside scattered in panic at the sudden noise. Startled winds and surrounding spirits shuddered in response to Beom-ho’s cry.

As a guardian spirit of the mountain—and the mountain’s sovereign—his emotions had a direct impact on its atmosphere. That was why he always tried to stay calm. But what had just happened was so sudden, his natural feline instincts burst out before he could stop them.

Without even thinking, Beom-ho raised a paw and swatted at the human who’d covered his eyes.

SMACK!

The little girl let out a short cry as she dropped Beom-ho from her arms.

“Ow!”

If it had been a regular cat’s paw, it might not have hurt much. But even a small tiger had a very different build. He might look soft, but his entire body was packed with solid muscle.

Instead of Beom-ho, the child ended up tumbling to the floor.

“Weyooong!”

The large ball of orange-striped fluff seemed like it was about to crash into the floor but instead landed gracefully, balancing himself mid-air before landing lightly. His plump, puffed-up tail gave an instinctive flick, swishing against the ground in irritation.

“Ah—what the heck!”

I-seol grimaced and rubbed at her forearm, the one that had taken the hit. Fortunately, it was just a little red and swollen—no real harm done.

Did it hurt?

Beom-ho glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then cast a side-eye at his own paw. Thankfully, his claws hadn’t been out. Even in a cub form, a tiger was still a predator. One wrong move with his dewclaw, and it could easily have ended much worse.

Phew. Beom-ho let out a silent sigh of relief.

‘I’m sorry,’ he thought.

She was just a child, after all.

“…Meowng.”

Feeling sheepish, Beom-ho slowly approached the child. Then, he gently licked her swollen forearm. The spot was a bit puffy. He licked it a couple more times, then pressed his fluffy cheek to her arm, rubbing it softly. The white, plush fur brushed back and forth, almost like he was trying to say sorry.

“…Are you saying sorry?”

Still holding her forearm, the girl murmured quietly.

Nod.

Beom-ho gave a small nod, then lifted his paw and tugged lightly at her sleeve. He pulled the fabric and gestured toward his back, his butt shifting slightly, his body giving a small shake.

“…You want me to… hit your butt?”

Nod nod. Beom-ho gave another patient nod and continued tugging at her sleeve, eyes earnest.

It was a common feline gesture of affection.

Patting a cat’s hindquarters released pheromones that made them feel euphoric and content. He was trying to say, I’m sorry, you’re sorry—let’s pat it out and make peace.

“Why do I have to smack your butt, though…?”

Grumbling under her breath, I-seol let herself be pulled along. Beom-ho let out a tiny sigh, then shifted his body and plopped his plush hindquarters right up against her legs.

Because I feel bad… so just pat me, okay?

His round, puffed-up tail thumped against the floor, thwap, thwap, quietly asking for forgiveness.

---

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tired, the little girl eventually sat down next to Beom-ho and started lightly patting his chubby backside. Her slaps were weak and listless.

“Ugh, how long do I have to keep doing this…”

Her voice drooped just as much as her arms did. Beom-ho considered ignoring the whining, but as the strength of her pats continued to dwindle, he started smacking his lips in disappointment.

Such weak technique.

It was time to stop. Beom-ho lifted his now-lowered tail and gave her a gentle tap. Then he raised a front paw and gently nudged her small hand away from his butt.

“Huh? I can stop now?”

Their eyes met—her wide, clear gaze locking with his golden one. He nodded.

“…Yay! Thanks!”

She beamed, her eyes curling as she grinned. The neat little smile resembled the baby student more than she knew.

Beom-ho opened his eyes wide and perked up his ears. The girl leaned in beside him, still smiling, and rested her weight gently against his side.

“Sorry about earlier. For picking you up like that. You got scared, didn’t you?”

nod

Beom-ho nodded, already beginning to groom himself again. He was a proud feline and took his appearance seriously. Honestly, grooming made up most of his spare time. Even in front of the baby student’s little sister, he wasn’t about to slack on keeping tidy.

“Sorry. I thought you didn’t hear me, so I tried to make it louder.”

The girl apologized again.

“When dogs eat or get too excited, they sometimes don’t hear stuff. So I usually lift them up and talk loud so they’ll get it. Most people don’t notice, but half-beastmen… we do it like that. I didn’t know cats might get startled and lash out. I mean, dogs bite sometimes when they’re scared too.”

She mumbled, clearly remorseful.

“In our village, everyone’s from dog bloodlines. Grandma says it’s a clan settlement. But we’re not full beastmen—just half. You know what that is? That’s why there are no cats.”

“…….”

“You’re my first cat, so… try to understand, okay? I didn’t mean anything bad.”

Beom-ho looked at her.

“But you know… I feel like if it had been my brother, you wouldn’t have hit him. You hit me because it was me, right?”

She was sharp.

Ahem.

Beom-ho averted his gaze and pretended not to hear.

“Oh, right! I’m Kang I-seol.”

She grinned and held out her hand. It was small and chubby, like a tender sprout. Beom-ho looked at it beneath his lashes.

“Hey, you have to accept my apology too. All puppies do this.”

She suddenly grabbed his two front paws with her little hands and started shaking them up and down like she would with a puppy. His body wobbled helplessly with each shake.

“See? Good boy. You did well.”

Then she ruffled his head and pulled out a tiny scrap from her pocket. It had the musty scent of fabric lint, mixed with a strong, greasy meat smell.

“For being good.”

Beom-ho eyed it, tongue flicking out uncertainly. It looked like a piece of meat—maybe some cheap jerky.

Is she offering me food?

The act of shaking his paws, ruffling his head, and giving him some mystery item from her pocket? It was too much.

I don’t eat things like this.

Beom-ho had been raised in a refined household. If it wasn’t the finest-quality food, it never made it past his lips. He had begrudgingly tolerated the bland UHT milk, but some sketchy jerky that had been rolling around inside a kid’s pocket for days?

No, thank you.

“Snack.”

“……”

「Dog snack. Brand: ‘Ah Mashisseo Puppy Meat Jerky,’ sold at the stationery shop in front of Manwol Elementary. Suggested retail price: ₩1,000. Based on scent trace analysis, it’s been in the pocket for at least two days. Oh—and I also detect saliva from another mammal. Judging by the wiped residue, she probably already took a bite and decided to share it.」

Bukpung chattered in Beom-ho’s ear, rattling off an unnecessary info dump about the mystery snack. Beom-ho bristled. If he could touch Bukpung, he’d shut that mouth shut right now.

Shaking his head, Beom-ho raised a paw and gently pushed I-seol’s hand away.

Sorry, but I don’t eat things like that.

“You don’t want it?”

I-seol blinked up at him, then casually popped the jerky into her own mouth.

“It’s tasty, though.”

Beom-ho’s expression twisted in quiet horror.