UR Chapter 40

Chapter 40

[SpiritWiki Anonymous Board ╹ㅅ╹]

Anonymous 34785) Title: This is crazy, this is crazy! Ing-ings, get in here right now (will delete soon)

I’ll delete soon so hurry if you wanna see)))

Wow, Ing-ings… guess what I just saw?

So, today, the neighborhood flower shops in Manwol-gu were all moving bundles of roses.

Heh… and guess who they’re for???

Beom-nim…

Apparently Beom-nim bought every single rose from all the flower shops in Manwol-gu and sent them for a marriage proposal hahahahaha

Oh my god, my heart (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ///

Ing 1: Kyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Ing 2: No way… that’s amazing… so romantic. I wish I had a spirit boyfriend like thatㅠ so jealous.

Ing 3: Screaminggggggggg this is totally a rom-commmmm

Ing 4: I hope Beom-nim and the one who got the proposal get married soon and have a cute tiger baby♡

Ing 5: The mood in here is so good today ✦‿✦ Everyone’s writing such sweet things, I’m all fluttery and happy… where did all the nasty Ing-ings who used to spoil the mood go?

Ing 6: Got banned.

▷Original poster: That explains it, hehe.

* * *

Early in the morning, I-bom was called over to Soo-hyun’s house. As soon as the sun rose, Soo-hyun had pestered him to come over.

“Hello.”

Peeking his head in, I-bom greeted politely as he quietly pushed open the front gate. He had no intention of putting off the conversation with Soo-hyun hyung, especially since they still needed to plan what they hadn’t finished discussing the day before. And if you thought about it, all of this was really because of his older brother I-jun, who had caused trouble and then gone into hiding. I-bom clenched his fist firmly, determined.

“Oh my, what brings you here so early in the morning, I-bom?”

When he stepped inside, Soo-hyun’s mother looked at him in surprise. Bowing his head slightly, I-bom answered politely.

“Ah… I have something to discuss with hyung.”

“Hyung? Which one? Woo-hyun or Soo-hyun?”

She smiled warmly and counted off on her fingers. Kang Woo-hyun was the eldest son of the house. I-bom wasn’t close to him and hadn’t seen him in a long time, so he shook his head. At her mention of “Soo-hyun?” he quickly nodded.

“Soo-hyun?”

She repeated the name with a smile. She’d often seen Kang Soo-hyun hanging around with Kang I-jun, but she’d never seen him bring along his younger brother. Mrs. Min, Soo-hyun’s mother, tilted her head curiously.

“Did Soo-hyun say he wanted to see you today? He should be asleep at this hour… Oh, but look at this, I-bom. Aren’t these roses beautiful?”

With a broad smile, Mrs. Min pointed to the mass of roses spread across the yard. The slight lift at the corner of her mouth carried a hint of pride.

“I saw the delivery yesterday.”

Smiling brightly, I-bom responded cheerfully to her boasting. Pleased by his receptive attitude, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out.

“You’ve already seen them? Don’t they smell wonderful? All of these are a gift for our Soo-hyun. Amazing, right?”

Nodding, I-bom crouched in front of the yard. Yesterday, he’d only seen the roses piled high like a mountain, and he’d simply been astonished. Now, Mrs. Min had arranged them neatly across the yard.

The roses that had been stacked like an unsightly mountain of trash were now set out beautifully. After a night in the yard, they had been kissed by the morning dew, their layered petals opening in lush, splendid blooms.

“Yes, they’re so beautiful. May I take a closer look?”

“Of course. These were sent along with a proposal for Soo-hyun to go on a blind date… Ah, the sender must really, really like him. And they must have money to spare.”

From behind I-bom, crouched among the roses, Mrs. Min chattered on, her voice full of excitement. Whatever trouble there had been—Soo-hyun’s distaste and his father’s loud objections—it was clear that she was happy.

After all, a pureblood beastman family of immense wealth had specifically chosen the “second son” of the “Dog Clan” half-beastman family, Kang Soo-hyun, and sent a marriage proposal letter. Her pride was sky-high.

No matter how rich a local family was, a half-beastman was still just a half-beastman. Employment ceilings were fixed for them, and even with talent, their opportunities were limited. In the 21st century, open discrimination might have ended on paper, but people still instinctively looked down on half-beastmen.

My life is finally about to blossom.

Mrs. Min preened as she continued to boast to I-bom.

A proposal from a pureblood beastman family—though formally called a “blind date proposal”—was little more than a ceremonial invitation. The other family’s intention was to meet a few times and then marry.

Pureblood beastmen were the pinnacle of their kind, most from backgrounds humans wouldn’t dare to belittle. No amount of local wealth, even from running a profitable feed factory, could match a pureblood.

She imagined herself as a true lady of the house in a grand mansion—all thanks to her younger son, who her husband often beat for being “useless.”

“It’s so impressive. Winter roses are hard to come by, and to send this many…”

I-bom, looking excited, gently stroked the roses. He only touched them lightly with his ring finger, careful not to bruise or tear the petals, leaning in to inhale their fragrance.

“Right? Doesn’t it seem like they bought up every rose in town? And at first, Soo-hyun’s father actually fought with him over the blind date and refused the proposal.”

“Why?”

“Oh, you know how he is. That man’s nothing but pride. If the other side is obviously far richer than he is, it eats at him.”

“I doubt that’s the only reason.”

I-bom shook his head slightly. From Mrs. Min’s expression, he worried that she’d breathe fire when she eventually found out what Soo-hyun had done.

“And they didn’t even tell us exactly which family or which beastman he was from—that made him even angrier. Our family might have half-bloods, but we’re still respectable Dog Clan. We deserve proper respect.”

“They didn’t say where exactly he was from?”

I-bom asked carefully, flicking a bead of dew from the layered rose petals.

“They say he’s a large feline pureblood, but the family details are confidential.”

Mrs. Min shrugged, as if she thought the reasons her husband and son fought were stupid.

“The two of them were making a huge fuss, saying it was suspicious and scary—crying, lying down, carrying on. My son might be cute enough to get a proposal from such a grand family, but… he’s childish, and that’s the problem.”

“They must have just been shocked.”

“But right after they refused, they sent all these flowers. I guess they really do want to marry him.”

Clatter, bang.

As the two chatted, a door nearby banged open noisily. At the loud sound of it sliding and rattling, both turned to look. Standing there with a swollen face and a pout was Soo-hyun, who waved quickly to acknowledge I-bom.

“Mom, why are you saying things like that? I-bom, you’re here?”

“Hi, hyung. You’re up?”

“Hey, did I say anything wrong?”

Mrs. Min shot him a look and got up. Normally she would have smacked him on the back like his father, telling him to stop being lazy and get a part-time job, but since the blind date proposal, her scolding had softened. She moved toward him, speaking in a tone laced with affection.

“Mom, I called I-bom over to talk, so don’t come in.”

“What, are you going to have him be a wedding helper?”

“Ah, seriously!”

Kang Soo-hyun yelled.

* * *

“You heard all that nonsense my mom was spouting, right?”

Soo-hyun whispered like he was making some huge confession, sitting in the corner of his room. He pressed his fingertips hard into his eyelids, hands clasped together as if he had a headache. I-bom knelt on the floor of the room, holding his tongue—neither denying nor confirming.

In front of them sat two glasses of peach iced tea filled with ice. Mrs. Min, now much more indulgent toward her son, had hummed a tune as she brought them in. I-bom quietly put the straw to his lips. As he sipped the pale pink iced tea, the ice clinked softly.

“She’s lost her mind. My mom’s running around the neighborhood bragging that she’s going to be some chaebol madam, never mind if her son’s insides are burning black.”

Soo-hyun frowned and picked up his iced tea. He seemed to be thinking seriously for a moment, then bit down on the straw.

“Who just hands out the title of chaebol madam for free? Her own kid’s so scared his heart’s pounding, and she’s making fun of me or what?”

“She said they’re from a very rich family.”

“Guess so. If they can send that many bundles of roses, they’re definitely not some average office worker’s family.”

“……”

Soo-hyun tilted his chin toward the roses in the yard, visible through the gap in the window.

“What could they be? Gangsters? Con artists? Or… are they trying to do something weird with a half-beastman?”