Around two in the afternoon, on a quiet day, Siyul had already gone to work at the hospital, and Hae-in was sitting alone in a pavilion at the park, watching the rain fall.
Perhaps because she was by herself, the world felt strangely silent.
Other than the sound of rain, there was nothing else—no chatter, no traffic, no noise. And that, she liked. Normally, she was surrounded by so many sounds.
Time passed in an uncertain rhythm.
She thought about going home, but being alone in the house only made her thoughts spiral out of control. Sometimes, spacing out like this felt better.
“Meow.”
When the rain lightened a little, a familiar cat jumped into the pavilion and took shelter beside her.
Hae-in briefly met eyes with the beautiful gray cat before turning her gaze back to the park, watching the rain fall again.
Blankly, without a thought, just listening to the sound of the rain…
“Hi!”
“……?”
“Nice weather, isn’t it?”
A chill ran down her shoulders.
There hadn’t been a sound—no footsteps, no rustling. She’d been lost in thought, and suddenly, someone spoke right behind her.
And worse, they were saying nonsense about how nice the weather was, when it was clearly raining.
Startled, Hae-in turned around—and could hardly believe what she saw. There was actually someone else inside the pavilion.
Even though he stood right in front of her, she hadn’t sensed his presence at all.
That in itself was terrifying.
“Wh-who are you?”
“Who do you think?”
“……A lunatic.”
The man had his entire body covered in a patchwork cloak that looked like it was made from rags of every imaginable color. He answered her question with another question in an oddly cheerful voice.
From the voice alone, Hae-in could tell he was a man.
And at that moment, she caught an unfamiliar scent from him—something that sent a shiver straight through her spine.
Her whole body tensed, the kind of tension that came from instinctive fear—something deep within her recoiling. She’d never smelled anything like it, yet the hairs on her neck stood on end.
Her instincts were blaring a red alert. Even the cat that had been beside her was already gone, vanished without a trace.
“Pfft—hah, you’re pretty funny…”
Is this that dangerous person Siyul warned me about?
Was that why even his scent made her tense?
Hae-in didn’t stop to think further. She bolted out of the pavilion.
“Hey, wait—just listen for a sec—!”
It was raining, but there was no time to open her umbrella. Clutching it in her arms, she ran toward home without looking back once.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
What was that?
That guy was weird.
Panicked, she ran so fast she barely recognized herself.
She’d never sprinted like this before in this body. She felt like she could outrun a national athlete.
Then again, her body was far from ordinary. If she wanted, she could teleport. Though she’d never used that ability—she was too much of a coward.
Ugh! Now would be the perfect time to use it!
Just yesterday, she’d considered trying to teleport from her apartment to the rooftop garden—but chickened out.
There were too many buildings in between, too many things that could go wrong. What if she got stuck between walls, or worse, appeared midair and fell? What if someone was already on the rooftop? That would be a disaster.
So, for now, Hae-in could only teleport within visible range—within her line of sight.
And right now, her mind was too scattered to focus.
“Hah, hah…”
After running for a while, she finally made it into her apartment building and glanced behind her. Thankfully, the strange man wasn’t there.
Of course, no ordinary person could have kept up with that speed anyway.
Relieved, she pressed a hand to her pounding chest and caught her breath. She pressed the elevator button, stepped inside, and exhaled shakily.
“God… who was that lunatic?”
[The door is closing.]
“There was something weird about his smell…”
Even in her daze, Hae-in remembered to pull her hood over her head, aware of the CCTV camera inside the elevator.
Then—
“A tiger’s scent?”
“……Hiiik!”
“Yeah, probably that. Hard to hide that one.”
“Ugh—!”
Before she could scream, the man reached out a hand in what looked like a slow, lazy motion.
And just like that, her voice vanished.
She could still move her throat, but no sound came out. Panicked, she clutched at her neck, but it was useless.
She didn’t understand what was happening—terror crept in fast.
She stumbled back until she hit the elevator wall.
Then she saw it—in the mirror behind the man.
His reflection wasn’t human.
In the mirror, he had white fur. A beast.
“What should I say to make you recognize me…?”
“Mmph!”
Right. Now that she looked closer, she could tell. His cloak was made from animal pelts. And his eyes—those golden eyes—were unmistakably those of a predator.
A tiger’s eyes.
Predator. Apex hunter.
White fur. A tiger.
“Ah, maybe this’ll help.”
“Mmmph—!”
The man smiled brightly, slapped his fist into his open palm, and said,
“Do you know the way?”
He wasn’t just a lunatic—he was a tiger who had achieved enlightenment.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
“…Here. Please drink.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Pouring tea, Hae-in couldn’t believe what was happening.
“What is this? So sweet. What’s it called?”
“Co… cocoa.”
“Oh, I like it. Give me more.”
Can tigers even eat sweet things?
Whatever. He was a celestial being anyway. She decided it wasn’t worth understanding.
For a fleeting moment, she wondered if this was how Siyul felt when dealing with her.
“It’s been a while since I came to the human world. I wanted to see you, so I thought I’d stop by.”
“I see…”
“By the way, isn’t ‘hi’ the proper human greeting now? No?”
“…I don’t think so.”
“Eh? But a well-informed fellow told me it was. Said it earns you instant favor if you greet humans that way.”
The tiger immortal—handsome, proud-looking, and inexplicably sulky—didn’t seem remotely intimidating now. His energy was bright, almost childish.
“Give me another one of those. It’s delicious.”
He was already on his second cup of cocoa—Haein’s favorite drink.
He looked as if he were just hanging out at a friend’s house he’d known for years.
How can he smile like that after scaring someone half to death…
Despite his friendliness, Hae-in couldn’t relax.
Though he appeared as a fair-haired man on the couch, in her eyes he still looked like a massive white tiger.
It made her uneasy, unable to stop fidgeting.
“We haven’t even exchanged names yet. I’m Yaho.”
“…Like the cry from mountaintops?”
“No, ‘Yah’ as in ‘night’ (焲), and ‘Ho’ as in ‘tiger’ (虎).”
“I’m… Park Haein.”
Apparently, the god of death’s magic didn’t work on immortals—because her real name slipped out too easily. The realization left her strangely choked up.
“I know. You’re one of my fostered souls.”
“The reaper told me about you. You’ve been helping create my body.”
“Well, yes. I’ve got time to spare these days. You can only meditate for so many centuries before it gets boring. Oh, and your body’s almost done. Actually, you could enter it even now.”
What kind of bombshell is that supposed to be?
Yaho seemed pleased to share the news, but Hae-in quickly shook her head. She wasn’t ready.
“I heard… it takes about a year?”
“Creating the body takes ten months. The last two are for growth—to reach the age you were when you died. If you’re fine starting as a baby, you can enter it now.”
“I’ll… wait until it’s fully done.”
“As you wish.”
Yaho nodded easily, as if it didn’t matter.
Did he really come all the way here just to tell me that?
Hae-in couldn’t hide her unease.
“You didn’t come to… take me back, did you?”
“No, not yet. The reaper—Modal—just asked me to check your will once your body was complete.”
“Ah…”
“He’s been too busy to come himself. After what happened with you, he’s been running around trying to clean up the mess. Rebuilding your body took a lot of power, and the underworld’s work piled up. He barely finished shaping your vessel and left the rest to me.”
“…Um, when are you leaving?”
“…You want me gone already, don’t you?”
“N-no, not at all.”
You’re a terrible liar, human.
Yaho found her pure, honest soul amusing. Humans who couldn’t lie were rare—and those who were both truthful and kind were rarer still.
And souls like Haein’s—those transparent and pure—were the easiest to control. The clearer the soul, the better the spell worked.
In truth, a soul that was murky or tainted would rarely respond to incantations.
It would bounce back, as if rejecting the touch. Or perhaps it simply resisted domination too strongly to be contained.
If Hae-in ever wished to break the Reaper’s spell, all she had to do was become… a wicked soul.
Not that any human could ever understand how.
“Park Haein. Speak the truth. Tell me exactly what you’re thinking.”
“I—I don’t want to…!”
“You cannot lie to me, child. Say what you most hate to admit. Now.”
I can’t look.
She had to close her eyes. It was only after falling victim once more that Hae-in realized those eyes were the source of Yaho’s power.
Predatory, gleaming—eyes so wild they could stop a heart in an instant.
Her lips moved against her will, her throat forming words she didn’t want to speak. Even as she shook her head violently, her voice betrayed her.
“I… don’t want him to find out. If the Reaper knows, he’ll erase his memories. If he learns I broke a taboo…”
She choked out the confession—and then came the tears.
Are humans truly this powerless? And why must those with power always be so cruel?
“Ah, that man from earlier, during the day?” Yaho tilted his head.
“So he found out who you are, didn’t he? I see now.”
“No!”
Hae-in clung desperately to Yaho’s leg, her face wet and trembling. She had no idea how to fix this—only that she had to stop it, somehow.
She would beg if she had to.
This couldn’t be how it ended.
If his memories were erased, she’d be left with nothing. She only wanted to protect that—just his memory of her.
Was that really too much to ask?
She prayed Yaho had at least a shred of mercy.
“Please…”
“Well,” Yaho shrugged,
“it’s not really my problem, is it?”
“…What?”
“Sure. That Reaper fellow’s business is his own. To me, you’re just a little brat I happened to raise myself. And besides—laws differ between the Underworld and the Celestial Realm. Rules, too. Even how we deal with humans.”
“Uh… so, does that mean…?”
Yaho was busy picking his ear with his pinky finger, of all things. Haein’s tears suddenly felt ridiculous.
“Anyway, I don’t plan on meddling. Not on your side, not on his. The more people get involved, the messier it gets.”
“…I’m sorry I called you crazy!”
“Oh, I’d forgotten about that.”
“You’re—you’re a good tiger!”
“You’re terrible at flattery. Anyway, don’t worry. I’m not interested in your mess. I’m on vacation, you see. My only concern right now is relaxing.”
That was, quite possibly, the best thing she could have heard. Hae-in almost cheered out loud. So Yaho wasn’t on the Reaper’s side—he was neutral.
Come to think of it, he had mentioned something earlier about ascending soon. If he was that close to enlightenment, surely he’d stay calm and dignified…
“So, anyway,” Yaho continued,
“mind if I crash here for a bit? Just a short while.”
“…What?”
“I’m only planning to watch the full moon twice more before I head back to the continent. Before spring ends. Oh, and that sweet drink from earlier was good—the brown one.”
He meant the cocoa, apparently. The continent? Was he talking about China? Suddenly, Hae-in found the fearless tiger terrifying again.
“I—I’ll buy you some! Just go somewhere else, please…”
“I don’t know how to make it.”
“I’ll teach you!”
“…So, your secret is that… if a human finds out you can turn into a cat—”
“Ah! You can’t blackmail me! You’re supposed to be an enlightened being!”
“I’ve got nowhere else to go. All the humans I knew are either dead or ascended. You’re the only one left.”
How can he be this shameless?
Hae-in began to wonder if all non-human beings were just naturally devoid of shame—Reapers included.
“Wh—what about your vacation on Mount Baekdu?!”
“Oh, that? The heron told me something about it… uh… what was it again? Ah! ‘Last term before discharge,’ that was it. In human terms.”
“Ugh…”
So he’s basically lounging around waiting for enlightenment!
Hae-in stared at the clingy tiger in disbelief.
How did I end up with this freeloader?
To think he’d demand free food on their first meeting—in what was practically her newlywed home!
Maybe she should just be grateful he wasn’t reporting her secret to the Reaper. Still, there was no way she could let a suspicious white-haired man just move in.
“But… I can’t just take in a grown man! This isn’t even my house!”
“Oh, you’re freeloading too? Then how about this?”
“Wha—?!”
Before she could blink, Yaho’s clothes vanished, and in their place—fur sprouted.
A plump, round kitten with thick, luxurious fur sat where the man had been.
“Meow?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re obviously a tiger!”
Or rather, a tiger cub pretending to be a house cat.
“Come on, aren’t tigers technically cats too?”
“Kang’s a veterinarian! There’s no way he won’t notice—”
“Did I mention? Modal and I can communicate from a distance. Just have to focus a little, tune the frequency of thought…”
“F-fine! You can stay! Whatever!”
It was the arrival of a crazy tiger cub.
