UR Chapter 66

Chapter 66

“Hm…”

Kang Soo-hyun narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he opened his messenger.

It wasn’t likely that I-bom had just run away. Kang I-jun, who knew I-bom better than anyone, had kindly told him exactly how to “control that guy,” and Soo-hyun had faithfully followed the method I-jun instructed.

I-bom was a diligent coward. No matter how much a pureblood beastman bared sharp teeth and looked ready to swallow him whole, as long as there was a purpose, he wasn’t the type to bolt and run.

“Should I scare him a bit more…”

Muttering to himself, Soo-hyun began scrolling through his chat windows one by one. Most of them were messages inviting him to hang out or advertisements. It was Christmas season, so there were invitations to go to ski resorts, drink at hotels, party at clubs, whining messages about escaping the dreary winter to vacation abroad, or year-end event ads.

Soo-hyun moved his fingers to scroll further down. After a while, he found a chat window labeled “Kang I-bom.” He lightly tapped on I-bom’s profile. He needed to know what had happened yesterday—whether he had safely met the “predator” pureblood beastman and made it back home without “getting eaten.”

Soo-hyun plopped down on a bench beside the language center building where TOEIC lectures were held. Sitting with one leg crooked over the other, he fiddled with his phone.

“…He’s not dead, right?”

He muttered under his breath, lips barely moving.

It wasn’t an entirely baseless thought. He hadn’t told I-bom, but when he was younger, he’d heard from another beastman about meeting a pureblood “predator” in person. Rumor had it that among purebloods, some predator species were so powerful that meeting them unprepared could be dangerous. He remembered hearing that weak-hearted beastmen, or those from weaker species, shouldn’t even make eye contact with them.

“Well, if that’s why he’s not answering… there’s nothing I can do.”

He shrugged indifferently. If I-bom had been eaten by a predator beastman, it was unfortunate, but as I-jun had said, compensation money would come out of it—maybe a good thing for his family.

“Hey! Kang Soo-hyun!”

Just as he was about to call I-bom, someone shouted at him from a distance. A voice calling out while waving caught his attention, making him pause mid-action.

“Huh…?”

Squinting, he saw that the person running toward him was a classmate from the same TOEIC special lecture. When Soo-hyun looked at him, the classmate ran up, practically shouting in excitement.

“Dude, you won’t believe this! There’s this insane car parked in front of the school. Have you ever seen it in person before? Was it ‘Perrira’ or something we saw on social media? Anyway, come check it out!”

“No way, seriously?”

Not all of Seoul was the same. The area around Soo-hyun’s university might have had a Seoul address, but just past the back gate it bordered Gyeonggi Province, in a quiet place. The narrow dirt road was mostly used by the occasional train or village bus—so spotting a luxury car there was rare.

Hearing the murmurs, Soo-hyun quickened his pace toward the school gate. A car was parked beneath the streetlights that lit the dark road ahead.

“Whoa… incredible.”

Even from afar, the gleaming golden bull emblem stood out. The headlights of the yellow luxury sports car flashed with a blue tint. It was a foreign car rare to see not only in Manwol-gu but even in the busy districts of Seoul.

“First time seeing one in person.”

Soo-hyun hurried over with his classmate, staring with his mouth agape. Other students were already there, peeking around the car just like them—some shyly standing to the side, snapping photos as if it were their own.

“Yeah… who even drives something like this?”

They say when you hit the gas, it can go over 200 kilometers per hour in an instant. As Soo-hyun listened to someone mumbling the fact beside him, the car door opened. With a smooth sound, the door of the yellow sports car swung gently open, and someone stepped out.

“Oh…”

As the chorus of awed murmurs from the students died down, the streetlight caught the sleek curve of polished shoes, making them gleam. The bright beam contrasted sharply with the deep darkness of the night—it felt like a spotlight at an awards ceremony. With each slow step of the leather shoes onto the ground, the long lines of a tailored suit came into view, prompting someone to murmur.

“Cool…”

A man in a deep navy suit stepped out of the car and stood straight.

Tall, broad-shouldered. Even in a perfectly fitted suit, the lines of firm muscle could be seen beneath the slender frame—enough to make you believe he could be a model. It was just in front of the school, yet he looked like a celebrity stepping onto the stage at an international film festival.

Soo-hyun’s gaze slowly traveled upward from the suit, and under the streetlight, the man’s features stood out clearly. A sharp, straight nose, lips with clean edges, long and delicately beautiful eyes. He had the sleek elegance of a jaguar standing tall in the darkness.

Before he knew it, Soo-hyun’s mouth had slowly fallen open, and as if noticing, the man turned his gaze toward him.

“Hello.”

The first words were spoken in a low, cavernous voice, powerful enough to command the space around them.

“Ah, hello…”

Soo-hyun dipped his head politely, feeling the weight of every eye around him shift to the man who had suddenly addressed him. It lasted only an instant, yet it felt as if time had slowed to a crawl.

“What’s your name?”

The man spoke politely, his eyes narrowing in a subtle curve. The deepest black is always the one that stands out most clearly in the dark—and he was a man who wore that pitch-black perfectly.

His unhurried tone made Soo-hyun’s heart pound. His gaze followed the smooth, pale fingers that contrasted sharply with the black clothes tinted faintly with blue. The unknown tension made Soo-hyun swallow hard and nod quickly, his words tumbling out as if pulled by a magnet.

“K-Kang Soo-hyun.”

“Ah.”

The man tilted his head slightly, the smooth line of his eyebrow twitching almost imperceptibly. It was a small motion, yet paired with the quiet smile he gave at Soo-hyun’s quick, unhesitating answer, it carried weight.

“So, you’re the ‘real’ Kang Soo-hyun?”

He asked with a leisurely smile. Soo-hyun’s eyes shifted as he thought. If someone looked that striking, there was no way he would have forgotten them… Was it someone from a club? Someone he had drinks with? No matter how hard he searched his memory, the man simply wasn’t there.

Blinking, he urged himself to think.

Think. Remember, Kang Soo-hyun.

“Uh… haha. I don’t remember well when I drink. Could you… maybe give me a hint about where we met?”

Abandoning the mental search, he shifted tactics. He might not remember, but it was worth keeping the conversation going.

If this man had come to find him directly, it had to mean he was interested. If he showed interest in return, he could at least get the man’s number—or maybe ask for a drive. Yes, he thought, I’m clever like that. Pleased with his own quick thinking, he fought back a grin.

“…I’d appreciate it if you could.”

Glancing around, Soo-hyun stole another look at the man’s appearance. His good looks were one thing, but the real problem was that sports car with the golden bull emblem. The kind of foreign luxury car that cost as much as a decent house, the kind they didn’t sell to just anyone—it radiated wealth without even trying.

And the suit he was wearing—there was no big brand logo, but anyone could tell it was expensive. Soo-hyun forced a humble smile.

“A hint, hmm.”

The man paused, humming thoughtfully, then slowly placed his index finger against his chin. The way his lips curved was somehow mocking, almost derisive, but Soo-hyun, caught in the strange charm of the man’s long, smiling eyes, hurried to speak.

“Y-Yes, a hint. I’m just bad with names, haha…”

“Well, true. I was surprised myself at how different you look from yesterday.”

“…Sorry, what?”

Had he been staring too openly? Before the droplet of spit at the corner of his parted lips could fall, the man’s words jolted him.

Yesterday?

So different?

…No way.

Soo-hyun froze mid-thought, eyes going wide. The man’s expression briefly turned sharp, but then he smoothed it over into something polite and refined again. From his jacket, he pulled out a business card.

“Yesterday, you wore quite an… entertaining outfit. Today, you’re dressed like a student. You look so different I had to ask your name ‘once more.’”

No way… it couldn’t be…

A cold bead of sweat ran down Soo-hyun’s back.

If the man’s words were right, then standing before him right now was the very “blind date” partner he had pushed off onto I-bom.