Meow.
‘How is it, perfect right?’
He showed off his transformed paws and tail as if boasting, and laughed. Thanks to frequently hanging out with cats, he easily mimicked their appearance. In the first place, when they were kittens, they all looked similar, so there wasn’t much that needed to be changed.
He, who was imitating a cat, was actually a snow leopard beastman.
He looked exactly the same as a regular snow leopard, but his snow-white fur lacked the black rosette patterns that were the snow leopard’s signature.
The fur color composed entirely of pure white was just white. This was because he was a special existence.
The snow leopard beastman who would become the next chief of the beastman clan, Baek Suho.
He was one of the main characters of the novel Dawoon was waiting for.
The fifth son of the current chief and chosen as the next successor, he was still an immature existence. Compared to his siblings, he was exceptionally slow in growth and frequently ill, making him the burden of the beastman clan.
No one expected him to be designated as the next chief. Thanks to that, he spent his childhood so freely it was close to being neglected.
While his older and younger siblings studied beastman society and planned for the future, he ran around mountain valleys every day and hunted with animals.
As a result, his naturally free-spirited temperament expanded uncontrollably. Even in front of their father, who kept his siblings in line, he calmly caused trouble.
Well, what could be done. It was because he hadn’t received enough care.
His siblings and parents, thinking of it as their karma, belatedly looked after him attentively and educated him.
However, changing a personality that had already solidified after growing up couldn’t be easy. They even attached the leader of the crow clan, the most capable and intellectually superior among the beastmen, but it didn’t have much effect.
“Suho-nim.”
Heuk Guhyeok, stroking his neat face lengthily, let out a sigh as if coughing up blood.
“Aren’t you past the age of rebellion?”
Even though it was an age to prepare for marriage in the beastman world, he was still causing trouble, making his insides burn. In the first place, unless they were avian species that could fly, beastmen lived only in the mountains for their entire lives, and among them, Baek Suho was an existence who shouldn’t come out of the mountains.
“Didn’t you promise you’d stay quiet if we just let you look around. But then you suddenly jump into a car. I told you so many times that cars are dangerous!”
Meow!
‘That thing tried to hit me first!’
“It almost hit you because Suho-nim ran at it! I explained that’s a road where only cars travel!”
Hiss!
‘I was going my way! How dare it block my path!’
Heuk Guhyeok pressed his forehead at Suho’s hissing. It was even more frustrating because they couldn’t communicate. At first glance it seemed like a conversation was happening, but in reality, the two couldn’t understand each other’s words.
“Calm down first.”
If he forcibly dragged him away, he had a personality that would cause even bigger trouble, so he had no choice but to attempt a proper conversation. He flapped one of the black wings folded behind his back and plucked out one of his feathers.
“Here, eat this.”
The jet-black feather imbued with power had a luster close to light. The color was as extraordinary as its unusual size. Compared to other crows’, Heuk Guhyeok’s feathers were especially beautiful. As the leader of one clan, Heuk Guhyeok also possessed exceptional power.
Suho opened his mouth with a blank expression. At least he seemed willing to talk since he didn’t refuse.
Heuk Guhyeok’s feather that went into the small mouth was mercilessly crunched.
The flock of crows stuck close together on the window, watching their leader and Suho. Everyone was amazed at Suho, who had changed from a snow leopard to a cat. To human eyes it was a subtle difference, but to fellow beastmen, it was like changing hair color and facial features.
So he even rebels in that way. The flock of crows simultaneously held the same thought and sighed following their leader.
Suho, who deliberately chewed the feather slowly, swallowed it just before Heuk Guhyeok’s breath gave out.
The moment his short Adam’s apple bobbed, his white back heaved, and in an instant his appearance changed. From cat to human.
“Achoo.”
As soon as he transformed into a human, he sneezed and made his usual sullen expression. His eyes held an intimidating aura incomparable to when he was a kitten, but his actual body was only that of a small child.
However, his real body was much larger than Heuk Guhyeok, who was over 190cm tall. Except for his eldest brother, he had a splendid physique with a larger body and more developed muscles than his other siblings.
But he spent more time in a child’s form like now. A physique about seven years old in human age. It was all because his physical condition was unstable.
“Suho-nim! Why did you leave out clothes again!”
Seeing Suho’s naked body, white like the color of flour, Heuk Guhyeok quickly created clothes. He had said until his mouth hurt that outside the mountains, he must wear clothes like other humans. But he didn’t listen to warnings at all.
“If you walk around naked here, you’ll be treated as a pervert. Hurry and raise your arms.”
Heuk Guhyeok forcibly dressed Suho. Even with a blank expression, Suho silently raised his arms. For him, who found clothes uncomfortable, Heuk Guhyeok made him a loose short-sleeved shirt and shorts that only came above the knees.
“Now, lift your legs too. And your butt.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid.”
Suho, kicking Heuk Guhyeok who was putting pants on him, snapped irritably.
When his body became smaller, his actions became childish too. Just like his taste changed when he returned to his true form, when his body became younger, his mind became younger too. Though he would never admit it.
“Bring me water.”
“I’ll go out and buy you some. Everything outside the mountains has an owner. You can’t touch things carelessly.”
Having lived drinking valley water to his heart’s content when thirsty and hunting freely when hungry, there was no way he would know about the outside world. Heuk Guhyeok calmly explained and politely pointed outside the window.
“Let’s move locations first. Don’t do this in someone else’s house.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Why?!”
Heuk Guhyeok’s voice rose again. Suho, picking at his ear, kicked him once more.
“Won’t you lower your voice? Do you think I’m a joke? Huh? Funny?”
He smacked Heuk Guhyeok’s knees as punishment for disrespecting him.
The flock of crows stuck to the window secretly giggled at Suho’s appearance, like a bratty child. Apart from the seriousness of the situation, it was honestly funny. He was completely different from his real self, who was close to being an adult.
“You need to eat too. Let’s hurry out, have your last meal, and go back. Okay?”
Heuk Guhyeok, who had calmed him down, knelt and begged. However, this time too, a stubborn response came back.
“No. He said he’d buy me food.”
“Who?”
“Someone. A pretty guy.”
Heuk Guhyeok and the flock of crows’ heads tilted diagonally together. A pretty guy…. It was a word that had never once come out of Suho’s mouth, so they were utterly flustered.
“I’m staying here, so get lost. Don’t appear until I call you.”
At the following notification, Heuk Guhyeok’s heart sank once again. Before Heuk Guhyeok could let out a roar close to a scream, Suho struck first.
“Just try to forcibly drag me away.”
Suho’s eyes, with the face of a beautiful boy with a promising future, flashed fiercely. His white eyes sparkling with a mysterious light held a chill colder than ice.
Though he had seen it for a long time, it was a gaze he could hardly get used to. The flock of crows looked only at their leader while avoiding eye contact. Heuk Guhyeok also slightly lowered his eyes.
“…How long are you planning to stay?”
“Don’t know. As long as I want.”
The eyes of the flock of crows squeezed shut. Someone was already laughing as if they had reached enlightenment.
“Cough.”
Then Suho, who had been nonchalantly scratching his belly, burst into a cough.
Heuk Guhyeok immediately brought water from the kitchen. Though he felt bad about it being someone else’s house, taking care of Suho came first. The traces of use could just be erased with abilities.
“Drink slowly. You’re still not feeling well.”
Suho, going “hmph,” didn’t empty the water glass in one gulp like usual. Heuk Guhyeok and the flock of crows looked at Suho drinking water slowly with worried gazes.
Heuk Guhyeok, whose heart softened at that sight, ultimately backed down a step today as well.
“Don’t stay too long. The chief is worried.”
“Why is the water so bland. Tasteless.”
“And avoid contact with people as much as possible. You mustn’t attack them either. Rather, get hit and come back. We’ll scold them.”
“Is that a TV?”
The two said what they each wanted to say, not much different from when in their true forms. Of course, Heuk Guhyeok gave in first and responded to Suho’s words.
“Yes, that’s right. They’re usually smaller, but this house uses quite a large one.”
“That?”
Suho pointed at the living room furniture. Heuk Guhyeok, who frequently went in and out of the mountains, answered everything to the extent of his knowledge.
“That’s an air conditioner, below is a display cabinet for storing jewels, and you know what a sofa is, right?”
“I know. I have a sofa too.”
He had once learned the word sofa by chance and made something similar by piling up bunches of grass. His older and younger siblings also liked sofas, so he often made them. It was a comfortable nest not much different from a burrow.
Heuk Guhyeok explained the names and uses of the furniture in detail to the curious Suho. Having been born in the mountains and lived his entire life only among the beastman clan, it was natural to be curious.
“That?”
Suho’s interest moved from the living room to the kitchen.
“That’s a refrigerator. It’s a box that stores food for a long time so it doesn’t spoil. Next to it is a water purifier, you can understand it as a container that water comes out of.”
“The inside of that refrigerator was cold.”
“Yes, that’s what it’s for. Food needs to be cold so it doesn’t spoil. Since refrigerators also freeze food, you mustn’t go inside carelessly.”
He especially emphasized not to go inside in the form of a baby snow leopard. Besides that, Heuk Guhyeok explained all the furniture in the house step by step.
And Baek Suho memorized all the names and uses after hearing the explanation just once.
He, who inherited the chief’s bloodline, was the most intelligent across all beastman species along with his extraordinary power. The problem was it didn’t show well.
“There’s nothing much, right? Now that you’ve heard it, aren’t you losing interest?”
“No, it’s fucking interesting.”
“Su, Suho-nim, that vulgar language again, when did you…!”
Heuk Guhyeok was shocked seeing Suho naturally spout a word he had never taught him. He immediately thought of the sparrow clan leader’s kid who wasn’t here. He must have learned profanity from that punk.
“Normal humans are scared of large animals, right?”
Heuk Guhyeok, who had been imagining plucking out all the sparrow clan leader’s feathers, stopped. He looked intently at Suho, who was looking up at him with his chin propped up.
“…I suppose so. Since humans are weak.”
“And they like cute, small animals. Right?”
“Everyone likes that. Even non-humans.”
“Good, now get lost.”
Suho, whose business was done, waved his hand and stretched. Heuk Guhyeok, whose worry couldn’t fade, tried to talk a bit more, but he coldly transformed back into a cat.
Meow.
‘Farewell.’
Suho, turning his back without lingering attachment, walked toward the stairs with tiny steps.
Though Heuk Guhyeok sighed deeply enough to cave in the ground, he grew more worried watching Suho’s strangely weak gait.
He needs to at least eat well….
He looked around the relatively spacious house and thought of the human who had been protecting Suho. That human, who had snatched up Suho while misunderstanding the situation, seemed very kind.
Heuk Guhyeok had excellent judgment of people. That human had a cold impression, but the soul contained within seemed pure.
…At least he’ll feed him well. He didn’t have the face of someone who would starve a kitten.
Believing that, he left for now. It was hard to stay long in this cramped space. Compared to the vast mountains, even Sau Guild’s dormitory was no different from a narrow cage to them.
