Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Leo and Daeho
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The other White Tiger exploration team members, who had arrived late, tilted their heads repeatedly as they looked at the little tiger sitting obediently at my feet.
"Is that a baby tiger in the middle of the city...?"
I could hear them murmuring.
None of us knew how to explain the situation, so we were all fumbling for the right words.
Even we weren't entirely sure if this tiger, Daeho, was a monster or not.
As a result, we had nothing to say and could only twitch our lips.
"Th-this tiger...!"
At that moment, an unexpected person stepped forward first.
It was Bora.
She began her excuse in a slightly stammering voice.
"Ah, ahaha... This kid is my, my familiar! It's a spirit beast that he-helps with exorcisms and stuff! Sometimes it turns into... a small animal like this... or grows big... you know, like that! Yeah!"
We and the other team members tensed up inwardly at her clumsy excuse, but surprisingly, the White Tiger team seemed to accept it easily.
They whispered among themselves.
"Oh, so that's the exorcist they scouted as a team leader this time..."
"A familiar... Exorcists really are something else."
It helped that Bora had some fame in the industry.
They seemed surprisingly okay with it, thinking, "I guess skilled exorcists can control spirits like that."
The rarity of the exorcist profession made them more inclined to believe it.
One young woman from the exploration team, looking at Daeho with curiosity, cautiously approached us and extended her hand.
"...It's really cute. Can I pet it?"
Daeho, wary of the unfamiliar touch, shrank back slightly and tried to hide behind my leg.
I gently stroked his back and said in a low voice.
"It's okay. She won't hurt you."
Whether reassured by my words or just resigned, Daeho allowed the woman to pet him obediently.
The woman kept exclaiming how soft his fur was and how cute he was.
Yeah, that's right—show them you're a gentle tiger.
As they watched Daeho accept the petting meekly, their suspicions vanished like they'd been washed away.
"We can hear the details later. We have to head to another site."
The man who appeared to be the exploration team's leader got a radio call, gave us a brief nod, and hurriedly led his team away somewhere else.
The moment they left, deep sighs escaped from all of us at once.
It felt like all the energy drained from our bodies.
Park Sunja said we should all go home and get some solid rest today, and we agreed. We'd been dragged into that absurd shoot and were mentally and physically exhausted.
We were about to say our goodbyes and head to our respective homes when I suddenly noticed the little tiger still at my feet, staring up at me blankly.
Wait. Did that mean I really had to take care of Daeho?
I already had Leo.
A practical worry hit me all at once, and my head throbbed.
In the end, I couldn't ignore Daeho.
I couldn't just leave him in front of the White Tiger building, and there was nowhere else to drop him off.
Reluctantly, I tucked him carefully into my arms, hailed a taxi, and headed home.
Whether my stuffy embrace felt suffocating or he was just in a bad mood, Daeho kept making low growling noises like "Grrr... grrr..." the whole time, and I broke out in cold sweat.
Sure enough, the taxi driver, who kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, finally asked.
"Um... sir, is there any weird noise from the back?"
"Oh, uh..."
My heart dropped. Panicking, I clutched my stomach and tried to play it cool.
"No, no, driver. My stomach's been upset today... that's the noise from inside."
"Oh dear, that's rough. If you need to stop suddenly, just say so."
"I'm fine... thank you..."
Fortunately, the driver didn't pry further, but I spent the rest of the ride on pins and needles, worried Daeho might make a louder noise.
After all that ordeal, I finally brought the tiger home.
"Leo, I'm back."
As I opened the door and went in, Leo—who was occupying my bed as usual—spotted me and let out a happy "grrr."
But that lasted only a moment.
Sensing a strange presence, he jumped up, fur bristling all over, and started hissing sharply: "Kyaaak-!"
The aggressive sound wasn't directed at me.
Stimulated by Leo's hissing, perhaps, Daeho wriggled in my arms, poked his head out from under my clothes, and hopped down to the floor.
Gone was the small, cute form from moments ago. With a low "grrrrr..." he issued a threatening growl at Leo.
Tension crackled instantly between the two feline beasts.
Surprisingly, Daeho now looked about the same size as Leo.
One had sleek black fur and an agile build, the other golden fur with a clumsy but fierce predator aura.
They glared at each other without backing down, ready to pounce any second.
"You two!"
I had no choice but to scold them.
I made my signature "Tsk-!" sound and patted the floor with my palm.
Familiar with it, Leo and Daeho—who remembered training—both glanced at me, still growling at each other but huffing "Hmph!" in annoyance and turning their heads away.
I'd put out the immediate fire, but I couldn't help sighing.
Our two housemates' first meeting didn't look smooth at all.
I had a bad feeling things would get noisy from now on.
Watching them reluctantly retreat to their corners after my scolding, a crucial fact suddenly hit me.
"What about dinner?"
Leo could just have his usual cat food, but could I feed this little tiger, Daeho, cat food too?
No matter how small he was, he was still a tiger at heart.
I pulled out my phone and searched "Can tigers eat cat food?" but, predictably, got no answers.
Of course—who would even think to feed a tiger cat food? My situation was too unique.
"...Raw meat should be fine, right?"
After some thought, I decided to buy raw meat myself. Tigers love raw meat, obviously.
These days, even convenience stores sold decent quality raw meat, so it wouldn't be hard to get.
I grabbed my wallet to head out, then glanced back at my two feline housemates, still eyeing each other warily from opposite corners.
"If you fight while I'm gone, you'll both be in big trouble when I get back. Got it?"
Whether my threat worked or it was just my imagination, Leo and Daeho both seemed to understand, settling far apart from each other.
Good enough.
I quickly bought some high-quality pork neck and belly from the nearby convenience store and hurried home.
When I got back inside, their positions seemed set in stone now.
My bed was still Leo's domain, and Daeho had claimed my computer chair.
They both loved soft spots equally.
With one more housemate, the house suddenly felt much smaller.
"...Gotta look for a bigger place."
Once I officially joined White Tiger, I should start thinking about moving somewhere larger.
I prepared dinner for them.
For Leo, I filled his bowl with his usual premium kibble, and for Daeho, I cut up the raw meat into bite-sized pieces in another bowl.
Leo alternated glances between his bowl and Daeho's, then let out a heartbreaking wail like he'd been betrayed by the world.
"...Meeooow... kyaaong...!"
For the first time, the guy who usually just growled was meowing like a real cat, all pathetic and teary.
As if protesting, "How could you do this to me?"
Daeho, watching, made what sounded like laughing noises—"Grr... kyarr..."—teasing Leo.
Leo got even more indignant and started clawing at my calf with his front paws.
It didn't hurt, but the desperation came through loud and clear.
"Come on, Leo. Your food's more expensive... Fine, fine."
I hurriedly searched on my phone if cats could eat raw meat.
Fortunately, plenty of info said yes, as long as it was the right cut and portion, even uncooked.
I sighed in relief and gave Leo the same cut-up raw meat in his bowl.
Just like that, the two—no, cat and tiger—sat side by side, devouring their food eagerly.
I had a foreboding feeling that from now on, our fridge would hold more raw meat for my companions than food for me.
Still, seeing them eat well made me proud.
"Yeah... I'll work hard and earn money."
I'd just gained one more reason to make money.