UR Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Of all days, it had to be today that the bad memories came back.

Maybe it was because the snow made the memories overlap, or maybe it was just a particularly hard day, making him dream of his mother.

‘Why are you crying? Don’t cry.’

Someone gently patted his head.

In the dream, I-bom hopped and played until his body was worn out. He kept doing it because he wanted to keep hearing his mother’s amused voice, wondering aloud, “Is running around in the snow really that exciting?”

He rolled around until the fluffy snowfield turned soggy and mixed with dirt under his feet, until he was a complete mess, covered in mud.

‘Don’t cry.’

Someone whispered to him.

Was it his mother?

I-bom, sobbing, opened his mouth.

Mom.

It was a word that had been hard to say. In the midst of caring for his younger sibling and cleaning up after his older brother, in the constantly busy flow of daily life, she was the only one he could ever be childish with. The word slipped out without him realizing, and his throat tightened.

“M… om…”

Something brushed against his fumbling hand. Like a child gripping something tightly, he held onto whatever it was that he had grabbed.

* * *

“Why.”

At Eun Beom-ho’s short question, Kim Sung-woo spoke with a serious expression.

“I don’t think it’s polite to talk about this in front of the patient. Let’s talk in the next room.”

Kim Sung-woo lifted a hand and hung his stethoscope around his neck. Then, with practiced ease, he opened the glass door to the terrace right beside the guest room. The large glass door swung open, and the cold night air rushed in.

“Let’s sit.”

Brushing snow off the terrace chairs, where it had piled up thickly, Kim Sung-woo gestured for him to take a seat. Eun Beom-ho nodded.

Snowflakes brushed coldly against his cheek before falling away, but with the night sky hidden by clouds, he couldn’t see Kim Sung-woo’s expression clearly.

“For a beastman, his pheromone levels seem a bit low. What exactly is he?”

“Half-beastman.”

“Ah, a half.”

Being a doctor, Kim Sung-woo’s reaction was crisp. Like a professor about to present a paper, he spoke matter-of-factly.

“That explains the vague reaction—he’s not a full beastman. Once the blood test results come back, we’ll know for sure, but I think there was a mild allergic reaction to something he ate.”

“Really? That kind of allergy exists?”

Kim Sung-woo nodded. The dim light from the terrace lamp made it hard to catch the details of his face, but his movements stood out sharply in the shadows.

“I got the ingredient list from Sung-jun. There are a few foods that only trigger a reaction in dog beastmen, and I’m guessing it was the grapes he ate last. We sometimes get beastmen in the hospital who collapse after drinking the wrong fruit juice.”

Only then did Eun Beom-ho realize that from the moment Kang Soo-hyun collapsed, he’d been so tense he could barely breathe. His muscles were still painfully stiff, and even breathing made them ache. It was the first time he’d ever felt fear like that in every part of his body.

“I gave him a sedative along with the allergy shot.”

Leaning back in his chair, Kim Sung-woo made it creak. Beom-ho’s eyes flickered.

“…A sedative? Why a sedative?”

“……”

Kim Sung-woo turned his head to meet Beom-ho’s gaze with a look that seemed to say, “You really didn’t know?” One eyebrow twitched upward.

“…The patient’s overall condition was pretty bad. His tension and stress levels were above the norm… and he’s malnourished, with anemia.”

“…Malnourished?”

“Yeah, not severely, but he needs to take better care of himself. Not that I’m telling you to shove down three courses’ worth of food in one sitting like you do. I also gave him some supplements.”

Eun Beom-ho folded his arms, staring silently into space. He gave a slight nod, as if something had occurred to him.

“Do you remember my younger brother? Sung-yeon?”

“……”

Beom-ho didn’t answer, his air suggesting he truly had no idea who that was.

“Hey, we’ve known each other longer than you’ve known Sung-jun, and you don’t even remember my brother? I know you’re not the type to care about people around you, but… anyway, my brother told me you had a blind date today. Apparently it’s under an embargo until tomorrow when it’s going public.”

Kim Sung-woo frowned, his shoulders twitching as if his brother’s voice was still ringing in his ears.

He had gone home hoping to relax during his first vacation in a while, only for his brother to grab his head and shake it.

‘What the—what’s going on?’

‘Beom-ho had a blind date! Did you know? You’re supposed to be his best friend, how could you not know that?’

Pulled back and forth by the collar, Kim groaned.

‘What are you talking about? Eun Beom-ho? My friend?’

‘I’ve never heard of it… and Beom-ho on a blind date? Him?’

‘Yeah! You idiot! And apparently it’s because of that mess with the cheetah family last time.’

‘The one where he bit someone? What does that have to do with—’

‘Because of the big cat peace pact! If one family causes trouble they can’t handle, another steps in to help. And sure, I get that, but if he was going to have a blind date, shouldn’t it have been with someone in the big cat circle? Like me! But no—Jung-ah saw him meeting some small fry at a hotel!’

The image of his fuming younger brother flashed in Kim Sung-woo’s mind.

“It was awful. I went home for some sleep and got chewed out for not knowing.”

“Really?”

Beom-ho said it absentmindedly, as if he’d forgotten to respond at all. Kim let out a sigh.

“I don’t know why you went on a blind date with a half-beastman in a different social bracket, but…”

“Yeah.”

“When I saw you carrying him out with your face pale as death…”

“……”

“…Is he someone you like?”

A slow smile spread across Kim Sung-woo’s face. Beom-ho gave a single nod.

“Well, then. Good for you. If a guy who’s never even had a fling finds someone he likes, that’s worth celebrating.”

Humming, Kim Sung-woo grabbed Beom-ho’s sleeve.

“So, since we’re here, let’s recheck your pheromones.”

“…What does that have to do with anything?”

Beom-ho pushed his arm away in annoyance. For beastmen with seasonal mating cycles, pheromone checks were practically an annual event, but he still found them a nuisance.

“If you like someone, you need to match pheromones, right? That’s just how it is for beastmen.”

Kim shrugged his other shoulder.

“…My pheromones match well with Kang Soo-hyun. I took measures.”

“What measures?”

Kim’s gaze sharpened in suspicion.

“Judging from the state he was in, you two haven’t slept together.”

“……”

“Have you? Or are you going to? The mating season’s coming soon.”

Beom-ho’s brow twitched.

“…He’s a half-beastman. How could he instantly—”

His expression turned sour, as if the words themselves were distasteful.

“For god’s sake, Mr. Eun Beom-ho, help me out here. I need to check your pheromone levels so we can figure out what to do. Did I tell you to have sex right now? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I want to be this stressed over someone else’s sex life?”

Halfway through the conversation, Kim clasped his hands together like he was pleading. Whether it was a request or a complaint was unclear, but as the family doctor, periodic checks were his job.

Eun Beom-ho was, among pureblood beastmen, especially strict in his moral discipline. He’d never caused the kind of “trouble” people gossiped about, but from a doctor’s perspective, his type was a headache—he avoided sex entirely and even used medication to suppress his mating cycle.

From Kim’s view, Beom-ho was already in a risky state. Exercise might have been his way to vent, but a beastman’s instincts were like a fire that didn’t go out easily.

“Help me out here. We’re both big cats.”

“Your mating season’s coming up, isn’t it, boss?”

He grimaced as if it pained him physically.

“Mating season won’t kill me. The fact that some can’t handle it—that’s the weird part. What, are they animals? Claiming they can’t endure it is just an excuse. It’s a lack of willpower.”

Beom-ho despised beastmen who used their animal nature as an excuse to lose control.

“Hey, no one said you’d die. Tigers go into heat before winter ends—if you try to fight it, it’ll make you sick. You remember that cheetah beastman who went crazy? If you lose it, it’ll be harder to handle than with a cheetah. Guys your size need the max dose of tranquilizers if it comes to that.”

Kim pressed his hands together like in prayer, speaking in all seriousness. He glanced around, then lowered his voice.

“Let’s just check your pheromones first. Going on that blind date before mating season was a good move, but… since he’s a half, things are a little uncertain. We should confirm your levels.”

“You can just give me the meds.”

Beom-ho replied curtly, tapping Kim’s clasped hands with a fist to push him back. The slight shove made Kim sway, and he looked back at him with clear disapproval.

“Maybe the meds won’t work anymore. Not always, anyway.”

“……”

Beom-ho kept his mouth shut.

Bzzzt—

The brief silence was broken by the buzz of a phone. Light flashed from Kim’s trouser pocket. He shot to his feet.

“Oh? One sec, I’ve got a call. Anyway, you need to get your pheromones checked. I keep telling you, there’s a limit to what meds can do, right?”

He answered the phone and brought it to his ear.

“Just hold on. We’ll talk again.”

He waved a hand, repeating firmly,

“Don’t run off! I’ll track you down to the end if I have to!”

Eun Beom-ho turned and walked away as if he hadn’t heard a word.