* * *
“Wow, this stuff actually works…”
After using up an entire jar of ointment Jibeom had given him, Saewoo couldn’t believe how quickly his scalp healed, as if the patches had never been there at all.
Standing in front of the wall mirror, he inspected his hair with a satisfied smile.
“Guess it’s finally time to hit the salon.”
It had been a long time since he’d gone out. Not that he’d been shut in—he was slowly settling into his new home.
As Jinho suggested, Saewoo had filled the balcony with a small garden of hanging plants, placed a long table and chair made of birchwood, and even set up a branch to perch on when he transformed into a little bird, right in the spot that got the most sunlight.
He had even started mingling with the beastkin landlords of the neighboring buildings.
Both the weasel and wildcat beastkin had been surprisingly courteous and invited Saewoo over, happily sharing their leasing insights, especially once they realized how shy he was.
“Yeah, I mean, a real estate agency popped up, and a rabbit beastkin was running around as an agent? In a neighborhood like this? Not to sound harsh, but that’s pretty gutsy. Not surprised they turned out to be a scammer.”
“Saewoo, you must’ve had a rough time. Let us know if you need any help—and you know the price, right?”
The weasel and wildcat beastkin chatted on about the real estate business, but Saewoo now knew they weren’t bad or evil.
They were simply pragmatic and willing to offer a bit of friendly support.
If anything, the situation wasn’t so bad.
Living here, he enjoyed the peaceful, quiet mornings and evenings at the base of the mountain, where the air was always fresh.
The rent was high since it was a premium predator zone, but that meant most of the residents had stable jobs, and the neighborhood was largely free of odd incidents.
The only drawbacks were the need to avoid nighttime walks alone and the occasional ruckus in the middle of the night.
But given his unusual setting in the middle of a predator-heavy area, Saewoo figured his standards of discomfort were bound to differ.
“Well, maybe it’s all settled, more or less.”
Saewoo recalled an incident from two days ago, when the real estate agent who had scammed him—a rabbit beastkin—suddenly showed up at his door with a swollen eye, pressing his doorbell.
As soon as Saewoo opened the door, the rabbit burst into tears, falling to his knees and clutching at Saewoo’s pants, pleading for forgiveness instead of offering any formal apology.
A week ago, Saewoo would’ve been ready to grab him by the collar and give him a piece of his mind, but he had actually stayed calm.
He remembered what Baekseol had said:
Not all predators are the bad guys. He had come to understand that even creatures as seemingly gentle as rabbits were capable of trickery.
That didn’t mean he was about to forgive the rabbit easily; he just decided to avoid taking it to court.
Jinho’s friend, a squirrel beastkin, had advised him against it, explaining that since the contract itself wasn’t fraudulent, winning the case would be difficult.
If only he’d been more careful with the contract in the first place…
“No, I shouldn’t blame myself. It won’t change anything,” Saewoo thought with a quiet smile in the mirror.
This new perspective was largely thanks to Jibeom and Baekseol.
After that night, he’d begun letting go of his prejudices about predators.
“Not all bad guys are predators. You’ve experienced that now, haven’t you, Saewoo?”
Indeed, he had come to realize firsthand that Jibeom, though a powerful predator, wasn’t as sinister as he once assumed.
“Hmm… but isn’t it a little too quiet?”
Fully dressed to go out, Saewoo took out his phone.
For some reason, he felt uneasy about Jibeom’s lack of contact recently.
From experience, Jibeom was the type to keep messaging him, especially since he still owed him four more meals.
From Saewoo’s perspective, the sooner he cleared those four meals, the better.
He’d even pre-selected a few menus. But the silence from Jibeom bothered him.
He’d always eaten alone, so this wasn’t unusual.
But after sharing meals with Jibeom, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of emptiness when dining alone.
He’d even tried asking Jinho to join him, but it was exam season, so he couldn’t always call on him.
So today, Saewoo had planned to spend some time with the elderly lady who owned his favorite street food stall.
“Guess I’ll try calling him tomorrow. Not that I want to for any particular reason… it’s just because of a debt. A food debt.”
Muttering as if convincing himself, Saewoo prepared to head out.
Ding-dong.
Just as he was about to put on his shoes, the doorbell rang.
“Who could that be…?”
Knowing he wasn’t expecting anyone, Saewoo still approached the intercom with a slight flutter of excitement.
Could it possibly be Jibeom?
“Jeez, as if he’d actually… Huh?”
Expecting it to be Jibeom, Saewoo’s eyes widened when he saw a stranger on the screen.
“Oh dear… is this the right place…?”
No matter how much he rubbed his eyes, it definitely wasn’t Jibeom.
Instead, the screen showed an elderly person with deep wrinkles, leaning heavily on a cane, standing there hunched over.
“Who… who are you?”
“Oh… are you the homeowner…?”
“Uh, yes, I am… What brings you here?”
“Ah… well, I heard there was a room for rent….”
“A room? Really?”
Saewoo was startled.
He hadn’t put up any rental notices for the building, let alone a room.
Feeling uneasy about the stranger, Saewoo opened the door, unable to just leave the elderly person outside.
“Um… Sir, I’m not sure what you saw, but I haven’t put any rooms up for rent. Are you sure you’re not mistaking this for another building?”
“Oh… is that so…?”
The old man trembled as he stood there, seeming barely able to keep himself steady.
‘What should I do…? He’s elderly, but he smells like a predator… I can’t just invite him in so easily….’
Saewoo hesitated, unsure what to do, when suddenly—
Thump, thump, thump.
“Oh, sir…!”
A young woman’s voice and the sound of hurried footsteps approached, calling out for the elderly man.
“What are you doing here? You can’t just wander off like this! Oh my, I’m so sorry, so sorry!”
The woman, upon seeing Saewoo, repeatedly apologized as she gently lifted the elderly man into her arms.
“Come on, let’s go…! How did you even make it up to the fourth floor… good grief….”
As she descended the stairs with a sigh, the old man, clinging to her back, glanced back at Saewoo.
“Huh? What…? That leopard guy definitely said it was here….”
‘Leopard guy…?’
Watching them head down the stairs, Saewoo suddenly snapped out of it.
“Leopard guy”—of course, Jibeom immediately came to mind.
Then again, he also remembered Hoyoon, a white leopard shapeshifter, but still…
“Not that he’s even worth thinking about… it’s just that picture….”
Thinking about Hoyoon, who had that embarrassing photo, Saewoo’s mood soured, and he shut the door with a loud thud.
Saewoo visited the food stall and brought the old lady a gift—a warm down blanket.
While helping her with small tasks, he chatted with her.
It seemed that Jinho had told her that Saewoo had moved, perhaps wanting to avoid shocking her by mentioning that Saewoo, so young, owned a building.
“I suppose I should visit your new place, but I can’t just close up shop and leave, can I?”
“Haha… yeah, that’s true.”
Though he wanted to invite her over, given where he lived, he could only mumble evasively.
“Instead, here’s a little housewarming gift.”
“Gasp! You didn’t have to bring me anything….”
“Fish cakes are quite good these days. Even the broth tastes refreshing cold, so be sure to keep it in the fridge.”
“Thank you, I will!”
She handed him a thermos filled with his favorite fish cakes and broth.
* * *
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