IH Ch 120

Chapter 120

“Don’t get angry. He looks so much like you.”

“……”

It was true—out of nowhere, the beast had transformed into a human shape, and the face it now wore resembled Jae-i so closely that no one could possibly deny it.

At Dohwa’s words, the beast snapped its head up so fast it made a sharp whoosh in the air, staring up at Dohwa with its tiny, scrunched-up face before burying it against its own knees and shaking its head violently from side to side. It was as if it desperately wanted to deny what Dohwa had said—that it looked like Jae-i. Considering everything the creature had shown so far, that was probably not Dohwa’s imagination. Jae-i clenched his teeth.

“This little—”

Dohwa stepped in front of him, both arms stretched wide to block his path. Staring straight at him, he asked:

“Are you going to get mad?”

“……”

At those words, Jae-i loosened the fist he had been clenching and looked down at the beast. For the moment, it was obediently keeping its face hidden. But the fact that it was clinging to Dohwa at all was irritating Jae-i immensely; one of his eyes narrowed sharply.

“…It may look like a person, but it’s a beast. You know that.”

Dohwa glanced behind him. The beast, still hugging his leg meekly, seemed to sense the gaze. Its head peeked up. The moment their eyes met, it broke into a radiant smile.

“…It really does look like you.”

Dohwa muttered it almost without thinking—because even if Jae-i never smiled like that, there was an undeniable resemblance. The beast’s smile instantly fell. Its little brows knitted in deep shock. Then it scrambled away from Dohwa and began smearing its cheeks with both hands as if kneading clay, desperately trying to reshape its face into something different.

“Don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Bending down, Dohwa gently held the beast’s tiny hands. Its soft, squishy hands fit entirely within his palm. The texture was pleasant enough that he kneaded them lightly. The beast immediately stopped rubbing its face, looked up at him, and stretched the other hand high toward him. When it opened its mouth, a small “Ah,” came out.

But the beast did not get what it wanted. Jae-i wrapped an arm around Dohwa’s waist, lifted him as though he weighed nothing, and shifted him behind his own back. Standing like a wall between them, arms crossed, he stared down at the beast with cold finality.

The beast’s eyes widened in shock. It flared its nostrils, then lifted its foot and stomped on the floor with all its might. Despite its small size, the sound echoed loudly. Jae-i bent down with an annoyed “This little—” about to grab it, but Dohwa hurriedly grabbed his arm and shook his head.

“It’s fine. I don’t think he’s that dangerous.”

“Beasts—”

Beasts were creatures that were never meant to be outside a Gate. No matter how harmless they appeared, they were fundamentally dangerous. Had Dohwa already forgotten the parking lot incident? After witnessing that, how could he still defend the thing? Jae-i opened his mouth to say exactly that—but then remembered. Even during that incident, Dohwa had not been hostile toward the beast.

Swallowing the words that had reached the tip of his tongue, Jae-i asked in a low voice:

“What happened to the cage? How did it get out?”

“…Well, it kept biting the iron bars.”

“……”

“And I thought… what if its teeth got damaged.”

Why should he care about the beast’s teeth?

Its real form had been a round, fluffy ball smaller than Jae-i’s fist. Maybe he needed to remind Dohwa of that fact. But before he could say anything, a sharp jolt hit his shin. Jae-i looked down to see the beast kicking him repeatedly with both tiny fists clenched tight.

Despite putting its all into the kicks, Jae-i didn’t budge an inch. Perhaps disappointed, the beast grit its teeth and kicked him several more times.

“……”

It was clearly being serious—giving little martial-arts “yap yap” kicks—but to Jae-i, it was simply laughable. He watched in stony silence as the beast attempted a spinning back-kick, only to abruptly glance upward, pout, and then sprint out of the room.

Dohwa made a startled “Ah,” and was about to chase after it when Jae-i cut in curtly:

“Don’t chase it. It’s still a beast. It’s dangerous.”

He knew Dohwa understood that. But—

Dohwa fidgeted with their intertwined hands and mumbled:

“…But he looks like you.”

“……”

Inside Jae-i’s chest, two conflicting emotions collided.

Annoyance at the idea that anything about him resembled that creature—and embarrassment at realizing that Dohwa was paying attention to the beast because it resembled him. If it hadn’t, Dohwa wouldn’t have cared at all.

Why couldn’t the beast transform into something appropriately repulsive like a proper beast? Why did it choose his face? No—no. There was no way something like that could resemble him.

With that thought, Jae-i strode out first. Dohwa hurried after him.

“That kid didn’t escape. I let him out. Because he kept putting his mouth on the bars—”

“……”

“So… don’t get too mad?”

Everything Dohwa was saying had one fundamental flaw: a beast was not something one got angry at. A beast was something one eliminated on sight.

Jae-i stared down at Dohwa, who was gripping his arm with a face full of worry, as if afraid Jae-i might kill the creature immediately. Closing his eyes briefly, he opened them again.

“We’ll see.”

With that ambiguous reply, he entered the living room—where the birdcage stood in the center. The very cage that had contained the beast in its humanoid form.

Inside the open cage was a faint, unimpressive scratch. Obviously from the beast attempting to chew the bars. Jae-i nudged the open door with a finger. It should not have opened. Looking closer, he saw it had been neatly severed from the inside.

“……”

He lifted his gaze.

Behind the sofa, pressed flat against it, the beast peered out. The moment their eyes met, it flinched, scowled fiercely, and stuck its face outward in a threatening glare. It wasn’t intimidating.

Jae-i snorted lightly. Raising a hand, he produced a small shimmer above his palm. Magic stones fell into his hand with a soft thud-thud. He closed his fingers and shook them slightly.

The beast’s red eyes widened. Its gaze followed the movement of his hand with frantic focus.

Seizing the moment, Jae-i tossed one stone toward the floor. Instantly, the beast pounced like a lightning-fast cat, snatched the stone, and shoved it into its mouth. Crunch, crackle, crush—sounds that no ordinary item should make filled the room as the beast ground the magic stone to dust.

When it finished, it stared at Jae-i with bright, eager eyes—shining through strands of long black hair that had slipped across its face.

“Yes, it tastes good, doesn’t it?”

Jae-i tossed another stone into the cage.

“Come here.”

“……”

The beast glanced between the stone and the cage, then stubbornly stepped back. Even if it liked magic stones, it clearly refused to go inside. Jae-i tossed in another—bigger, brighter than before.

“You want this, right? You won’t get opportunities to taste something like this often.”

A beast’s magic stone reflected the nature of its power and had grades of quality and potency. The ones in Jae-i’s hand were at least A-grade or higher—far beyond what a small fluff-ball of a beast would ever encounter.

As Jae-i reached for another stone, something moved beside him. Dohwa picked up the stone inside the cage and threw it outward. It rolled to the beast’s feet. The beast instantly snatched it and stuffed it into its mouth, crunching frantically as if afraid someone might take it back.

Jae-i looked down in startled confusion.

“Why…”

“You shouldn’t play with someone’s food.”

“……”

As Jae-i froze, Dohwa snatched the remaining stones from his hand. It wasn’t even accurate to say he snatched them—Jae-i simply opened his hand the moment Dohwa touched it.

With the stones in hand, Dohwa walked toward the beast. The beast, crouched low, jumped up eagerly and reached its arms toward him—then glanced at Jae-i and instead grabbed the stone first, stuffing it into its mouth before anyone could stop it.

With its cheeks puffed full from the various stones, it chewed loudly—crack, snap, crunch—while Jae-i stared silently at Dohwa’s back.