Yoongeon held me tighter, as if shielding me. He glared at the beastkin who'd just greeted him, as though shooing away a bug. The man flinched and stepped back.
I bit down hard on my lip. It was embarrassing, but his hand was warm, and the way he patted me was reassuring. Every time I squirmed, he stroked my back gently, as if to calm me.
When Yoongeon walked into the building and crossed the lobby, people started murmuring. A few came over to greet him, and each time, the mood shifted.
Just as I'd expected, my owner was somebody impressive.
He was popular enough that I couldn't understand why they tore him down within the clan, and he seemed to be highly regarded by others.
In the middle of all that, I heard something strange.
“Huh? What's the Executive Director holding...?”
“What is that?”
“Is it a tiger cub?”
“But isn't the fur color a little different? Kind of dark?”
The employees all seemed to know Yoongeon was a tiger beastkin, so they mistook the tuft of fur peeking out from between the folds of his suit for a tiger. With my face buried in his chest, it took me a moment to realize that the tiger cub they were gossiping about was me.
“W-wait, surely... it's not the Executive Director's child, is it?”
“What? Where's this coming from?”
“No... there've been all these rumors about an engagement lately. And the Executive Director's not exactly young, so I figured it wasn't out of the question.”
Being mistaken for a tiger cub was annoying enough, and now I was being treated like an actual baby. And then a fiancée came into it. I'd even heard about that one myself.
That's the story about the arranged marriage, the one about producing offspring, right? My owner hated that idea!
For some reason, my chest tightened.
Before the misunderstanding could grow, I popped my face out. At that, a string of small gasps burst out around us.
“It's not a tiger?”
“It's a cat! It's so cute...”
“Whoa, its eyes are so round.”
“Did you see it wag its tail just now?”
“No, but... the Executive Director came to work carrying a cat...?”
Now it was that damn cat!
Every misunderstanding I hated was being piled on me at once. I nearly got a little angry, but maybe because the person holding me drew so much attention, there were far too many eyes on me. Some of them belonged to beastkin. It was the first time I'd been the focus of so many stares, and the tension made my tail stand stiff.
“Baby, your face is showing.”
Just then, something covered my line of sight. It was Yoongeon's hand. His palm pulled my face against his chest. My view went dark, and only the people's voices grew clearer in my ears.
“Is it a cat Deputy Director Baek keeps...?”
“I don't know either. The Executive Director never talks about his private life.”
“Even when I tried talking to him a few times, he was so indifferent... But I'm not bad, right?”
“You still haven't given up on that dream? Wake up.”
“I heard he's not even engaged. Doesn't that mean I still have a chance too?”
The more they went on, the stranger it felt. They were human, not beastkin, and yet they seemed to like my owner. When I lifted my head, Yoongeon's handsome face came into view. And it wasn't just the looks! He had strength and status. On top of that, he was even kind.
...Sure enough, there's absolutely no reason for me to stay by his side. Even if I disappeared, he'd be sad for a moment and then get his ordinary life back.
That was when I noticed a group huddled in a corner, whispering as they threw sidelong glances at Yoongeon.
The ones admiring Yoongeon were ordinary humans. And, surprisingly, beastkin who didn't look like tigers. Some of them, I could tell, felt genuine goodwill toward him. But there were also beastkin who stood off at a distance, clicking their tongues in disgust.
So those are the problem?
Before I knew it, I was glaring at them fiercely. Then I wondered what on earth I was doing. I was supposed to be thinking about how to get out of here.
As if reading my thoughts, a large palm appeared again, blocking my view. It was the same hand that had been stroking me and scratching my chin now and then.
“Baby, done sightseeing?”
Don't use that needlessly gentle voice. It pricks my conscience...
“The building's big, so it's easy to get lost. If you do get lost, just stay put where you are. I'll come get you right away.”
My head shot up.
Something was off. A man who wouldn't let me leave his side would go out of his way to talk about what to do if I got lost? And I'm a cat right now. There's no way I'd even understand something like that.
The question welled up, but when I met Yoongeon's serious gaze, the words caught in my throat. It wasn't something he'd said in passing. Instinctively, I avoided his eyes. And since I was busy scheming to run away, it was even harder to look at him straight on.
Yoongeon let out a small laugh. Being held against his chest, I felt every faint tremor of it. My body trembled along with him. Strangely, my heart seemed to pound.
Just then, my reflection appeared in the elevator mirror. The most precious thing, the one I'd checked and checked again through the veranda window every day.
...The necklace my owner gave me.
I tapped the necklace lightly with my front paw. This was the most precious thing I had right now. Not a spoken promise or a heart that could change at any moment, but something that could turn into money. People say money can't buy happiness no matter how much you have, but to me, someone who'd never even held a large sum in the first place, that saying was utterly useless.
Affection that's doled out on a whim and then vanishes can't be trusted.
If that's how my own heart works, others' hearts are probably much the same. No matter how kind he is to me, no matter how much he seems to worry, in the end what's left is money. That's what I'd learned.
When the elevator stopped, Yoongeon walked off somewhere. Yeongho appeared at the end of the hallway. The moment he saw Yoongeon, his face lit up as though a savior had arrived.
“Hyung...! Inside...”
“I know who's here.”
“I'm sorry. They wouldn't listen to a word I said...”
“It's fine. It's obvious why they came.”
...So he wasn't going to fight after all.
But Yoongeon's expression was still cold and cynical. It was clear these were people he had no wish to see.
Yoongeon opened the door without hesitation. The instant he did, several pairs of eyes on the sofa turned to him. He faced them without flinching.
On the desk, I could see a nameplate that read Baek Yoongeon.
They'd seized his office without permission and didn't so much as greet him. All they did was watch him out of the corners of their eyes, as if gauging what he was thinking. If anything, someone cleared their throat to announce their presence, as though prodding Yoongeon for not greeting them first.
“What's the reason for this shabby little visit of yours?”
At his blunt choice of words, a few of them furrowed their brows. But he paid it no mind.
“I'm rather busy, so make it quick.”
“...We heard about what happened between the two of you.”
“Why so much interest in a common squabble between brothers...”
“Because one of you two will someday become the chieftain!”
It was a little different from what I'd heard before, so I tilted my head.
I thought the one who'd become chieftain later was my owner? Or does that guy have a chance too, since the same blood runs in them?
“When have the two of us ever gotten along? Since when.”
Yoongeon didn't sneer, and yet it sounded like a sneer.
“The ones who stirred up the fight in the first place were the people of the clan, though.”
Among those who'd clamped their mouths shut as if lost for words, one with a brazen face spoke up.
“Then tie it up for good. How long do you intend to leave the chieftain's seat empty? By the rules...”
“The very ones who put those rules off have a lot to say. Or are you flustered because things aren't going the way you expected?”
Yoongeon murmured, quietly scratching my forehead. Looking up at him from below, Yoongeon seemed both fed up and sad.
...If tying it up for good means settling the ranking, does that mean he has to beat his brother? Is that what he doesn't want? Even if he doesn't want to, you can't ignore blood. Look at me right now.
I'd known the situation around him was bad, but it was far more serious than I'd thought. On impulse I nearly bumped my head against him to comfort him, but I held back.
“...Then do it by the rules now, at least.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Deputy Director Baek! At a time when the clan should be uniting and it's still not enough, do you really think it's right to start an internal fight? I heard both sides took heavy losses!”
“Well now. Since when did you care so much about our people? I thought you disliked them for being only half.”
The one who'd been shouting flinched and his face went rigid. His flushed features twisted as if with rage.
“You'd be better off going and saying all this to Executive Baek. I don't like fighting. You know that better than anyone, so why play dumb now? Everyone already knows who struck first at me when I was minding my own business, as far as I'm aware.”
Yoongeon didn't even raise his voice, yet the air in the room pressed down. You could feel everyone drawing shallow breaths at the same time. One thing was certain: not one of the people gathered here was on my owner's side. That was why they kept glancing at him warily while still knitting their brows.
