“We’re going to return for now.”
Heuk Guhyeok poked the back of Suho, who had turned over with a self-abandoned face.
Though he could forcibly take him back, he didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath. It was clear as day even without seeing how much of a fuss he’d throw.
Normally he was at a manageable level, but when his eyes turned, there was no one who could stop him. Even the Clan Leader would turn his head away. So he believed everyone in the mountains would understand his current decision.
“I’ll go take a breather and come back. Suho-nim, please stay as still as possible. Don’t transform carelessly or use your power.”
“Yeah, hurry and go. Leave right now.”
Suho, who rolled over, pressed and pushed Heuk Guhyeok’s leg firmly with both feet. Heuk Guhyeok, who stepped back out of courtesy, checked Suho’s condition in detail.
“Is your breathing not uncomfortable? What about pain?”
“None. Get lost.”
“Places where humans gather have murky air, so it’ll be hard to stay. Even if it feels stuffy, refrain from going out.”
At least since he transformed into a cat rather than a dog, there’d be no reason to go out. If he’d been a dog, he would have collapsed several times during walks because his lungs couldn’t adapt to the pollutants.
Even now, despite having eaten Heuk Guhyeok’s feather, Suho’s complexion was utterly pale. He was definitely suffering from a headache. How could it be otherwise when he’d even transformed into human form?
“Suho-nim. Please listen seriously.”
Heuk Guhyeok quietly opened his mouth while being conscious of the Omega sleeping soundly on the bed.
“You must not get close to humans.”
“We’re human too.”
Baek Suho answered with a sulky voice.
“No, we’re Beastmen. We’re clearly different.”
Heuk Guhyeok’s eyes, who drew a firm line, flashed coldly.
“Humans live at most 100 years, but we live several times longer than them. We’re merely beings who only resemble them in outer shell.”
Suho, who supported the back of his head with his clasped hands, let out a hollow laugh.
“Don’t talk like a god. You’re only 200 years old at best.”
Actually, the crow was also among the young ones in the mountains. He was the youngest among the clan leaders. The crow who flinched made a sparrow-like expression and retorted.
“And Suho-nim just turned 100.”
It was an age where the blood hadn’t even dried on his head yet. Above all, in Beastman society, anyone who hadn’t held a wedding ceremony was treated as a child.
Generally, after turning 100, they prepared for the wedding ceremony along with the coming-of-age ceremony, but Suho, whose body needed to grow more than others, had to wait another 50 years.
It meant he had to live being treated like a brat for another 50 years.
Suho ground his teeth. Taking him for some brat.
“Just hurry and get lost. That pitch-black thing coming repeatedly looks even more suspicious. You bird-brain.”
“Please refrain from species-discriminatory remarks.”
“Fucking cawing at me.”
At the vulgar word, Heuk Guhyeok flinched and was about to raise his voice again when Suho swiftly revealed his tail and slapped his mouth with a pure white, thick snow leopard tail—smack! It made a dull sound as if hitting with a club.
“Ow, stop…!”
Heuk Guhyeok rubbed his stinging mouth and forcibly headed toward the window while giving a final warning.
“Getting overly excited in an incomplete state isn’t good. For that Omega’s sake too. You know what I mean, right?”
Suho, who sat with his back turned, didn’t respond at all. However, the tail protruding from under the baggy short-sleeved shirt drooped subtly as if representing his mood.
Heuk Guhyeok, who opened the window, looked pitifully at young Suho’s back as he couldn’t even hide his emotions. And lastly, he entreated with sincerity.
“Absolutely, you must not give your affection to humans. Just think of them as light playthings like flowers and pebbles. Humans are dangerous.”
“My pheromones.”
Suho, who cut off Heuk Guhyeok’s words, touched his tail.
“They’re not dangerous to humans, right?”
“That’s…”
Heuk Guhyeok, who trailed off, slyly corrected his answer.
“Well. They could be bad, so be careful. Keep as much distance as possible.”
The crow’s wing feathers, awkward at lying, stood on end.
Beastman pheromones held good energy whether Alpha or Omega. Especially pheromones flowing with the blood of a strong dominant Alpha like Suho were full of healthy energy enough to make even a 1,000-year-old elder stand erect.
So there was absolutely no way they could be bad. Rather, they would even heal a sick body.
“Take care of yourself. I’ll come again soon.”
Heuk Guhyeok, who transformed back into a crow, flew up into the sky. As he cut through the clouds, before concealing his form, he briefly watched Suho in the form of a white mass beyond the window.
Suho, who had transformed into a cat again, was waddling toward the bed carrying some doll in his mouth. After neatly arranging the messy bed with just a glance, he jumped up onto the bed and lay down beside the Omega.
Then he gazed at the Omega for a long while. The crow, watching his white tail moving gently, let out a worried sigh.
May his interest fade quickly.
The earnest crow’s wish was buried in the pitch-black night sky. In the future, Heuk Guhyeok, who came outside the mountains again, greatly regretted this day’s decision.
Of course, even if he could turn back time, he wouldn’t have been able to break Suho’s stubbornness.
* * *
Blink. Dawoon, who lowered and raised his heavy eyelids, stared blankly at the high ceiling.
“……”
Even though 10 minutes had passed since waking from sleep, he only blinked with a hazy face. Though he had an expression as if deeply lost in thought, inside his head was a blackout state.
He definitely seemed to have had a really strange dream… but he couldn’t remember the content at all.
No matter how much he retraced his memory, nothing came to mind. Only the uncomfortable feeling as if he’d forgotten something became increasingly clearer.
“What was it…”
Dawoon, who had been muttering to himself, soon shook off the hazy energy with a yawn. Since it was a dream, it was fine to forget. What was important wasn’t dreams but reality.
After briefly pressing down on his slightly swollen eyelids, he lowered his gaze and carefully pulled his arm out from under the blanket.
His arm, covered with warm warmth, tingled. When he quietly grabbed the edge of the blanket and lowered it, the pure white buttocks of the culprit who made his arm tingle appeared first.
“You should show your face. Why are you sticking your butt out?”
Dawoon, who whispered softly, observed the cat’s rear view that showed no reaction. The pure white back stuck closely to his side as it slept slowly rose and fell.
Dawoon slightly raised his head, wanting to see the deeply sleeping cat in more detail. However, because it was sleeping curled up like a ball, the cat’s face wasn’t clearly visible.
“Where did you bring this from again?”
The cat, sleeping with its mouth wide open, was tightly embracing a doll. It was the stuffed doll Ryu Taeha had left behind.
Dawoon, who smiled while suppressing his laughter, pressed his nose to the cat’s soft back. He rubbed the tip of his nose against the warm, fragrant fur and fully enjoyed the warmth. Perhaps because it had been in the blanket for a long time, the cat’s body temperature felt even warmer.
The temperature inside the dormitory was always maintained appropriately. Still, worried the cat might get too hot, Dawoon removed the blanket.
“You must be hot too.”
Wearing such fluffy fur clothing, how hot must it be in summer?
Thinking that this small, fragile kitten must have wandered around in the sweltering heat without even eating made him feel even more sorry. On top of that, being attacked by a flock of crows.
“Sleep deeply. Sleep as much as you want.”
Dawoon carefully stroked the cat’s back, buttocks, and even head as it slept without knowing the world. Despite having its whole body touched, the cat didn’t budge and slept soundly.
“……”
Dawoon, who had been touching the cat to his heart’s content, suddenly turned his neck this way and that. Then, after stretching his arms and legs long, he made a dazed “Huh?” expression.
His body felt different from usual.
“What’s this…?”
Surely when he woke up, all sorts of places were stiff and his head was heavy.
“Wow…”
Surprised by his body condition that was mysteriously light, Dawoon slowly moved his arms and legs. He also shook his face left and right, but wasn’t dizzy at all. His condition was good enough that he could easily treat about 50 people right now.
Goodness. Just how well did I sleep?
Dawoon made a fuss, shaking his head left and right like a child just starting to shake their head no, and also tilting it back and forth. Since Jeong Dawoon’s body had never been this fine before, his heart was overly excited.
If I shake it this much, I should feel nauseous. It seems like I could even do a forward roll as is. Even the tiresome anemia showed no signs of appearing.
Dawoon, who had been shaking his head spiritedly as if possessed, suddenly stopped.
It was because he detected the cat’s gaze watching him intently.
He, who returned to his original calm expression, asked in a somewhat embarrassed voice.
“Are you awake?”
The cat, who had been watching Dawoon with a languid gaze, blinked slowly. Dawoon, who had been grinning and shaking his head until just now, composed his expression as if it had never happened and sat up.
“If you’re awake, say something.”
The cat naturally squirmed down from Dawoon’s side to his thigh and lay down. A pleasant rumbling sound, “grrr,” was conveyed from the cat’s throat as it placed one paw on Dawoon’s thigh.
Just when he thought it seemed to be smiling, the cat’s eyes closed weakly.
