Side Story 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Side Story 1
1. Before the Baby Bird Builds Its Nest: The Story of the White Tiger Young Lords
The front courtyard of the White Tiger Palace.
A snow-white tiger cub was frolicking on the grass, his four short legs pouncing with every step.
The grass was still damp from the previous night’s rain, and a thick, earthy scent wafted up every time his paws padded softly against the blades.
“Rawr!”
Feeling grand, the baby tiger wrinkled his pink nose and let out a cheerful huff.
This cub, who had just completed his First Beast Transformation a few days ago, was named Baek Ga-yul.
He was the Youngest Young Master of the White Tiger Clan, the rulers of the West.
To Ga-yul, who was currently scampering about in his white tiger form, the entire world felt like a wondrous playground.
He loved the feeling of his sturdy forepaws pressing into the grass.
He loved racing across the courtyard of the White Tiger Palace with all his might.
And he especially loved how a brave, fierce roar—“Rawr! Rawr!”—burst from his throat every time he smiled.
Like all young beastkin in the Taehwa Empire, Ga-yul had counted down the days until his First Beast Transformation. Now that it had actually happened, it was even more magnificent and wonderful than he had ever imagined.
It was enough to make him chuff with pure delight.
“Purr, purr!”
As he stood there with his pink nose twitching, a tuft of white fur suddenly caught his eye.
“Wrawr?! (My tail!)”
The long, white, black-striped bundle of fur was none other than his own tail!
“Wrawr, wra-rawr! (What a handsome, gallant tiger tail!)”
The baby tiger pounced to catch it.
In that instant, the tail flicked out of sight.
“Rawr! (Tail!)”
Snap! He whipped his head around, only to see the tail swaying mockingly behind his backside.
The way it seemed to be teasing him ignited a competitive fire in his chest. Ga-yul pounced again, determined to catch the elusive thing.
After spinning in circles for a long time, the baby tiger eventually collapsed onto the grass, completely spent.
“Rawr, huff… (Pant, pant. That was fun…)”
He breathed heavily from the intense exercise. His tail, which he had failed to capture in the end, flicked lazily against the grass.
Despite being a cub who loved company, he was always alone.
His father was away at the front lines; the last time Ga-yul had seen his face was on his birthday two years ago. He had been told that his mother had left for a distant place on important business when he was very small.
At only six years old, Ga-yul’s memories of both his father and mother were faint.
But Ga-yul didn't cry.
After all, he was now a magnificent baby tiger who had successfully completed his First Beast Transformation!
Only weak babies whimpered and cried because they missed their mommy and daddy.
‘Hmph! Baek Ga-yul, the brave third son of the White Tiger Clan, doesn’t cry over things like that.’
Ga-yul thought to himself with a stout heart.
‘I’m perfectly good at playing by myself.’
Ga-yul was good at running alone, he knew how to play with a ball by himself, and now he could even play tag with his own tail.
Still, it did make him a little cross that his older brothers wouldn't play with him.
You couldn't play tag with yourself. Or hide-and-seek.
And honestly, playing with a ball seemed like it would be much more fun with his brothers than doing it alone.
‘I want to play with my big brothers…’
His eldest brother, Ga-ya, refused to play, claiming he was too busy handling their father’s duties in his absence.
In reality, Ho Jeok-yeong of the Red Fox Clan was doing all the clan’s work alone, so Ga-yul had no idea what his brother was so busy with.
When he went to find his second brother, Ga-hyeon, the boy had simply offered a mean, squinty-eyed smile—pretending to be kind—and thrust a pile of terrifying books toward him.
Ga-yul had fled in horror this morning after Ga-hyeon suggested they "play" by reading books together.
‘How is that fun?’
Ga-yul tilted his head in confusion.
He couldn't understand what was so great about books you couldn't even eat.
‘It’s not fun at all.’
As he looked around, a leather ball caught his eye.
“Rawr! (Ball!)”
Ga-yul scrambled up and trotted over to fetch it. He spent the next while happily tossing and rolling the ball around by himself.
“Rawr, rawr! (Now this is fun!)”
Purring with joy, Ga-yul gave the ball a powerful shove.
The ball rolled across the ground and thudded against someone’s foot.
“Mew?”
Ga-yul looked up.
A very tall man with snow-white hair and piercing blue eyes was standing before him.
Ga-yul’s eyes grew wide with shock.
Though it had been two years since they last met, Ga-yul recognized him instantly.
‘It’s Papa!’
The man smelled like his father.
It was that same refreshing, pleasant scent that used to linger at the tip of his nose whenever he was tucked into his father’s arms as a smaller child.
“Rawr!”
Ga-yul instinctively coiled his muscles to spring into his father’s embrace. But then—
“Who is this little tiger?”
Ga-yul faltered.
At Sa-eon’s muttered question, Ga-yul froze mid-leap, blinking his eyes in confusion.
“Mew…? (Huh…?)”
His tail stood stiff with tension.
Crunch, crunch.
Sa-eon stepped closer and scooped the baby tiger’s small body up into the air.
He then began to inspect the white cub from every angle with a mock-serious expression.
“Let’s see. His fur is snowy white and glossy, his stripes are quite gallant… and his face? Who does he take after to be this handsome?”
Ga-yul gulped as Sa-eon tilted his head in feigned wonder.
‘Does Father not recognize me?’
Just as that worry began to take root—
“I heard you were quite successful with your First Beast Transformation.”
A playful smirk tugged at the corners of Sa-eon’s mouth as he stroked Ga-yul’s head with his large palm.
“You’ve become a very fine tiger, Yul.”
“Rawr! (Papa!)”
Realizing his father had been teasing him, Ga-yul beamed and burrowed into Sa-eon’s chest.
‘Papa’s arms are so warm and nice!’
Being held in that broad embrace made him start purring uncontrollably.
“You’ve returned, Father.”
“Clan Head, you’re back!”
“We are glad to see you returned safely.”
Soon, the sound of people gathering around Sa-eon filled the air.
However, Ga-yul paid no mind to their conversation, focusing entirely on digging deeper into his father’s arms.
He was happily purring, trying to coat himself in his father’s scent, when—
Tug!
Someone yanked hard on his tail.
“Hiss!”
Ga-yul whipped his head up from Sa-eon’s chest and bared his teeth fiercely.
“Oh? Look at this. You little cub, did you just hiss at your big brother?”
Ga-ya, who was still tugging on Ga-yul’s tail with one hand, asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Ga-yul’s eldest brother, Ga-ya, was already eleven years old—a formidable age, having already completed his First Growth.
But Ga-yul, being a gallant baby tiger, was not intimidated.
“Rawr! Wra-rawr! (Don’t touch my tail!)”
Ga-ya let out a sharp laugh at the shrill cry.
“A baby tiger who hasn't even learned how to hide his claws sure is feisty.”
“Mew? (Claws?)”
“Because you aren't hiding your claws, you’re tearing Father’s clothes, you little brat.”
Only then did Ga-yul realize with a start that Sa-eon’s sleeve had been snagged and torn by his sharp claws.
“…!”
Ga-yul’s eyes shook violently, as if an earthquake were happening inside them.
He had torn his father’s clothes after not seeing him for so long.
As Ga-yul froze in horror, feeling as though he had committed a terrible crime, a gentle voice reached his ears.
“It’s alright for a baby tiger to do that.”
A warm hand patted his plump rump.
“Papa was too busy to teach our little tiger how to hide his claws. Papa was the bad one, wasn't he?”
Ga-yul glanced up to see his father smiling down at him.
As he looked up at Sa-eon, Ga-yul’s eyes began to well with tears, and then…
“Waaaah! (Papa is mean! Why were you too busy to teach me how to hide my claws!)”
Ga-yul buried his face in Sa-eon’s chest and burst into tears.
A sudden wave of sorrow washed over him, and the tears wouldn't stop flowing.
Crying and wailing for your mommy and daddy was supposed to be for weak babies, but…
“Waaaah! (I missed you so much! You didn't come for my birthday last year, and you didn't come this year either! You’re so mean!)”
The truth was, Ga-yul had missed his father.
He had missed him very, very much.