“My nose is going to get blood on it.”
“Is that really the problem right now?”
“It is the problem. I don’t even know whose blood it might be.”
At my words, Lord Bihyeon’s lips parted slightly as if he was about to say something. Then he noticed someone approaching through the doorway and turned his head.
A sheep stormed in, clearly furious, snorting as it marched straight toward Lord Bihyeon. With a crooked glare that practically said You called me again because of a human?, it lifted a hand and pointed directly at me.
“So it’s this human again? If he’s going to die soon anyway, shouldn’t you just leave him?”
“Malgum.”
“Didn’t you say you hated them anyway? Humans, I mean.”
I sat quietly, fiddling with my hands, when the mountain spirit reached over beside me and tried to cover my ears. Unfortunately their hand wasn’t delicate enough to actually block them, so they looked at me awkwardly.
Then the bear who had been standing behind Lord Bihyeon strode forward and clamped his rough hand over my ears.
Gah.
The force nearly made my body sway, and the pressure of his palm against my ears stung enough that I had to swallow a scream.
“And after everything that happened, you’re trusting them again? Huh? What if you get hurt like last time! What if you cherish another human and lose everything again? Then what will—!”
“Malgum. Please treat him.”
The sheep who had been shouting at Lord Bihyeon trembled all over.
Then it whipped its head toward me. Grinding its teeth audibly, it stalked closer.
Honestly… I feel like I’d be fine without treatment.
That expression is terrifying. I swear the sheep is the scariest one here.
I pressed myself closer to the bear and gave an awkward smile. The sheep suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked it, making me stumble.
“Humans are fragile, so be careful!”
Smack!
The bear slapped the sheep’s hand away. It sounded like a light smack, but the noise was pretty brutal.
Seeing things turn out like this because of me made me feel a little guilty. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here after all…
I grabbed the towel and wiped my nose. When it seemed like the bleeding had finally stopped, I pulled it away and touched my nose.
Oh. It really had stopped.
The sheep grabbed my face roughly and turned it side to side, inspecting me. Then it stared deeply into my eyes.
Its brow furrowed as it leaned its face closer.
“…What the hell? What’s wrong with your soul?”
“My—my soul?”
“What is this…? What the hell is this? This is weird.”
After staring for a long moment, the sheep stepped even closer and peered into my eyes again.
“You…”
Its eyes widened in shock, and it suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“Ah! I told you humans are fragile!”
Smack!
This time the bear swatted the sheep’s hand away again, more roughly.
“Hey! Hold still for a second, you damn bear!”
The sheep shouted, then looked at me with deadly seriousness.
“How the hell are you even alive? Is it normal for a human soul to look like this? No… even then, this is way too strange.”
The sheep muttered to itself, clutching its own head. Its expression looked extremely troubled.
Then it pulled a piece of medicine from its clothes and tossed it into my hand.
Without another word, it turned and left the palace.
For some reason, the way it left made it look like it was running away from something.
I clutched the medicine tightly and looked up, meeting Lord Bihyeon’s eyes. He gestured toward me as if telling me to take it.
“You should take that and get some sleep.”
“I need to stop by the café first. I left some things there…”
The cake was big, so I had put it in the café refrigerator.
No matter what, we were meeting to celebrate a birthday. Showing up without a gift wouldn’t feel right.
Besides, the sticky rice cakes the mouse had given me were there too.
“Then go quickly and come back before taking the medicine. It’ll make you very sleepy.”
I nodded and stood up.
After thanking the fox who had taken the towel, I turned around.
Lord Bihyeon followed right behind me.
…Huh?
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes. I have a feeling you’ll ditch me and not go to the festival together.”
Seriously.
You won’t even say my name once, but you’re worried I might stand you up? That’s pretty annoying.
I almost told him outright that I wouldn’t go with him, but instead I sighed.
At this rate, he’s just going to keep calling me “you.” Or maybe “that one.”
But… it’s his birthday, and it’s supposed to be a good day. I’ll let it go.
Scratching my head, I stepped through the open door.
Grab the cake… and then…
Thinking that to myself, I took one step forward.
The familiar scenery appeared instantly.
I was inside the café.
I reached out and gently rubbed the door.
“Thank you, Door.”
The door gave no response.
Smiling faintly, I opened the refrigerator.
Behind me, Lord Bihyeon slowly looked around the café.
Then he tilted his head while staring at the closed door.
“Hmm? It seems a nostalgic guest might be arriving.”
“Huh?”
I finished packing the cake and stood up, about to ask what he meant—
Knock, knock—
A knocking sound came from the door.
…That feels ominous.
“We’re not open today… Who is it?”
Frowning, I stepped back.
Creak—
The door opened on its own.
…Door…?
My eyes widened and I reached out to grab it—
Something huge suddenly pushed through the gap and grabbed my arm.
Startled, I couldn’t even speak.
The door swung completely open.
A—a tiger!
An enormous white tiger…!
And it was wearing incredibly luxurious hanbok.
“Ah—hello! We’re not open today…”
The words flew out of my mouth automatically.
This damn work reflex.
Only after speaking did I clamp my mouth shut.
The white tiger released my arm and stood on all fours, its tail swaying.
It was even bigger than the tiger at the palace.
Its eyes were bright blue.
Like Lord Bihyeon, it carried an aura that felt mysterious and overwhelming.
There was a warm yet cool scent in the air too.
But something about it…
“I came from the west, so I’m a little late.”
“You came a long way.”
“It’s been a while, Bihyeon.”
Its voice was incredibly gentle and kind.
“This one here likes the cookies from this place, so I came to buy some as a gift…”
This one?
Is it Lord Bihyeon’s guest?
Startled, I looked at Lord Bihyeon. He just smiled and shrugged.
Well… it did say it had come from far away.
Scratching my head awkwardly, I stepped aside and gestured inside.
“Come in. What would you like?”
“I don’t intend to trouble you that much.”
“It’s okay. Since you came all this way, it feels wrong to send you away…”
“Hmm… In that case, I’ll have some citron tea.”
“Yes, just a moment. Lord Bihyeon, would you like coffee?”
“I’ll have citron tea too.”
I turned on the café lights and went behind the counter, pulling out cups.
Perfect timing, actually.
I had already packed some cookies.
I served the cookies and the citron tea.
The white tiger looked at me for a moment, then suddenly leaned its face closer.
An enormous tiger—several times bigger than a person—right in front of me…
I was so scared I almost fainted.
“Haha…”
Forcing an awkward laugh, I handed one cup of citron tea to Lord Bihyeon.
It felt a little funny acting like this right in front of the person who was supposed to receive the gift, but still…
“Oh, but the cookies weren’t made for sale…”
Since I needed to close the shop today, I had already cleared out all the sale items yesterday.
Looking embarrassed, I glanced over.
The white tiger swished its tail again.
“Then how about receiving something other than money in exchange?”
Hmm.
If it’s meant as a gift… refusing would probably be rude.
“I’ll just take the price of the cookies. The citron tea… please think of it as a gift from me and the café owner.”
I hadn’t planned on taking money anyway, so I hadn’t even turned on the register.
If the owner heard that a guest had come from far away, they’d probably tell me to give it for free.
If I did take money in this situation, I might actually get scolded.
Imagining Boss Bbiik’s reaction made me chuckle a little.
The white tiger picked up the cookies with its mouth and tucked them into an inner pocket.
Wait… then how is it going to drink the tea?
I had already prepared the biggest cup possible.
The white tiger stared at the citron tea, then stood up on its hind legs and grabbed the cup.
…So that’s how.
Watching curiously, I accidentally met its blue eyes and quickly looked away.
While I scratched my cheek awkwardly, the tiger wagged its tail again.
After staring at me for a moment, it seemed to search inside its inner pocket.
Then it pulled something out and handed it to me.
It was a flower-shaped candle.
“Hm. Kids these days don’t use these anymore, do they?”
The tiger paused mid-gesture and tilted its head slowly.
Then it clenched its paw.
The candle instantly changed shape.
What had been in its hand turned into a small flower-shaped lamp.
“Turn it on when being alone feels frightening.”
After handing me the lamp, the tiger took a sip of citron tea and looked down at the cup.
“Th-thank you… Um… but…”
“Hmm?”
“Are you sick, by any chance?”
“…Hmm?”
Ah. I had heard cats can’t handle hot things well, so I brewed it a little cooler.
Did I make it too cool?
“I let it cool down a bit. Would you like it hotter?”
“No. It’s perfect. You’re quite a kind child.”
My face instantly flushed bright red.
Seriously… these beings say things like that so casually.
“And to answer your other question…”
Other question?
Oh. The one about being sick.
I blinked and looked up.
The white tiger drank its citron tea quietly.
“My season is disappearing, so it would be natural for me to grow weaker as well.”
It felt similar to the way Lord Bihyeon spoke.
I didn’t understand what it meant at all.
But somehow its calm voice sounded incredibly sad.
Sniffling quietly, I rummaged through the shopping bag and handed it another cookie.
“This one is a gift from me to you, Mr. Tiger.”
“A gift… I’ll gratefully accept.”
The white tiger took the cookie, unwrapped it on the spot, and tossed the whole thing into its mouth in one bite.
Maybe I really should increase the default size…
“It’s delicious.”
“If you come visit again, I’ll make something even better.”
I couldn’t see its expression clearly in tiger form, but it seemed to smile faintly.
Its energy felt fragile—like it might vanish at any moment.
Weak, yet strong.
Lord Bihyeon, who had been watching silently the whole time, reached out and patted the tiger’s back.
“How long are you planning to sit around in a shop without its owner? Let’s move.”
“Very well.”
“Since you’re here, stay for a meal. I’ll have them prepare something more extravagant today.”
The white tiger nodded.
After finishing its citron tea, it stepped over the threshold on all fours.
Lord Bihyeon stepped aside to make room and then tilted his head toward me, as if telling me to follow.
I leaned closer and whispered quietly in his ear.
“Is it really okay if I come too? It’s your guest, Lord Bihyeon.”
“And you’re my guest as well. We made plans first.”
“That’s true, but… someone who traveled far should come first.”
“Just come already. At this rate, every time you open the door it’ll lead to my house anyway.”
Door… if you keep doing that, Lord Bihyeon is seriously going to scold you someday.
Watching me rub my eyes in exasperation, he let out a low laugh.
“Did you grab everything you need?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Okay…”
When I looked at him suspiciously, Lord Bihyeon shrugged and curled the corner of his mouth into a grin.