Side Story 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Side Story 5
Sa-eon approached the child and crouched down to meet his eyes.
“Let’s see now. This handsome little tiger who looks so cross must be our very own baby tiger.”
“……”
“Why is our baby tiger so upset?”
“……”
Seeing the corners of his tightly pressed lips twitch, it was clear he wanted to say why he was pouting, but his pride wouldn't let him open his mouth easily.
Reading Ga-yul’s adorable thoughts, Sa-eon suppressed a laugh and spoke in a feigned, heartbroken voice.
“Oh dear. Our baby tiger won’t even look at his daddy’s face… I guess he doesn't like Daddy anymore.”
Flinch.
Ga-yul’s body gave a small shudder at those words.
“Daddy is so sad he’s going to cry. Boo-hoo.”
“N-No, you’re not!”
Startled by Sa-eon’s fake sobbing, Ga-yul jumped to his feet.
“How could I ever dislike Father! It’s not like that, so don’t be sad!”
He stomped his feet in a flurry, trying to peer into his father’s downward-tilted face.
Is Father really crying?
Because his head was bowed, it was hard to tell.
A cool tiger shouldn't cry over something like this… What if my father gets disqualified from being a cool tiger?
“Y-You mustn't cry! Cool tigers don’t cry over things like this! Dry those tears!”
Worried, Ga-yul patted his father’s shoulder, just as his eldest brother had done for him whenever he cried. He was restless with anxiety, feeling as though he were the one who had made his father cry.
“Really?”
“Yes, really! You know how much I like you, Father!”
At Sa-eon’s question, Ga-yul shouted his answer quickly, watching him with a racing heart.
His father didn't respond.
Has he stopped crying now?
Just as Ga-yul held his breath and scanned his father’s expression—
“Me too.”
Sa-eon slowly lifted his head with a broad grin, and then…
“Daddy loves our youngest tiger so much, too.”
He scooped Ga-yul up into his arms.
“W-Waaaah?”
Suddenly hoisted into the air, Ga-yul clung to Sa-eon’s neck in surprise, only to realize a moment later that his father had been faking his tears.
“Father, you’re a liar! Pretending to cry like that!”
Ga-yul shouted, huffing with indignation at being tricked.
“Haha!”
Sa-eon’s laughter rang out loud and clear.
“It wasn't a lie. Daddy really was upset because his baby tiger wouldn't look at him.”
“I’m not falling for that ag—!”
Before he could finish his declaration, Ga-yul burst into giggles as Sa-eon began to tickle his sides.
“Ah, ahaha, ahaha! F-Father, it tickles! Stop, ahahaha!”
Ga-yul squirmed in his father’s arms, laughing for a long time.
“So.”
Seeing Ga-yul’s face brighten as if he had never been sulking in the first place, Sa-eon asked, “Why were you so cross, baby tiger?”
Only then did Ga-yul remember that he had been incredibly upset until just a moment ago.
“Well…”
But since he couldn't exactly go back to sulking now, he glanced at Sa-eon and began to mumble.
“All my brothers have a younger sibling, but I’m the only one who doesn't. It’s not fair.”
“It’s not fair?”
A look of warmth filled Sa-eon’s eyes as he looked at his youngest son, who was using such a big word.
“I’m confident I’d be really good to a younger sibling if I had one!”
“Whoa, really?”
“Yes! I’d share my delicious food, play ball and hide-and-seek with them, and stay by their side when they’re sick…”
Ga-yul began to count on his fingers all the things he would do for a younger sibling.
“And I’d teach them how to hide their claws properly. No, I’ll make sure they never have to use their claws by protecting them from all the bad things in the world myself!”
“Wow. Our baby tiger is truly amazing.”
“Yeah, yeah! I’m different from my brothers! I’m telling you, I’d be really good at it!”
Excited by Sa-eon’s encouragement, Ga-yul chattered away, but then he was reminded once more of the fact that he was the only one without a sibling.
“The stork is mean. He only brings siblings for my brothers. He won’t give me one. And I’m a cool tiger, too.”
“Baby tiger. Do you want a younger sibling that badly?”
Sa-eon asked, glancing at Ga-yul’s protruding pout.
“Yes! A tiny, cute sibling like this!”
As if he had been waiting for someone to ask, Ga-yul pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and showed it to Sa-eon.
“……?”
Sa-eon blinked as he looked at the drawing on the unfolded paper.
“What is this?”
“My younger sibling!”
Ga-yul answered with a giggle.
The crumpled paper was none other than a picture he had torn out of an encyclopedia a few days ago.
“Isn't it super cute? I’m going to ask the stork for a tiny, squishy sibling like this, not a fierce and mean tiger like Ah-rang.”
The animal in the drawing was indeed very small and cute, just as Ga-yul said.
The only minor problem was that the animal in the picture wasn't a tiger—it was a bird.
“I see. It is very cute.”
Instead of telling him it was impossible, Sa-eon let out a soft chuckle and replied.
“Then, shall we go write a letter?”
“A letter?”
“That’s right. A letter. Spring is coming soon. Our baby tiger should make a wish, too.”
The young beastkin of the Taehwa Empire had a custom of writing their wishes on leaves and floating them down the river before spring arrived. It was born from the belief that the Dragon God would grant those wishes.
“But…”
However, Ga-yul hesitated at his father’s suggestion, his voice losing its energy.
“My second brother said that’s just a superstition. He said only stupid tigers believe in stuff like that.”
“What?”
Sa-eon asked back, momentarily taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure.
“It’s alright. We aren't going to wish to the Dragon God; we’re going to wish to the stork.”
“To the stork…?”
“Baby tiger. Who did you say brings younger siblings?”
Sa-eon asked in a mock-solemn voice.
Instantly, Ga-yul’s eyes sparkled.
“The stork! I—I want to write a letter to the stork!”
Having regained his energy in a flash, Ga-yul shouted bravely.
“Then, Yul, shall we go pick some leaves with Daddy?”
“Yes! I want to pick a really, really big leaf! I have so much to say to the stork.”
That day, Sa-eon and Ga-yul climbed Mt. Horim and plucked the widest leaf they could find. It was so large that the baby tiger could sit on it with his tiny bottom and still have room to spare.
I live at the White Tiger Palace. I am the coolest tiger in the White Tiger Palace.
But I have one wish. I was wondering if you could bring me a younger sibling.
This is what my sibling looks like…>
Ga-yul looked at the finished leaf letter with a satisfied face. The handwriting, written with his father’s help, was a bit crooked and messy, but it looked quite impressive to him.
As he stared at it with a silly grin, a very important realization suddenly struck him.
“But Father, I don’t know where the stork lives. What should I do?”
“Birds live in the Southern Land, so let’s float the letter down the river that flows south. How about that?”
“……!”
Ga-yul’s face lit up at Sa-eon’s solution.
“Father, you’re a genius!”
Ga-yul burst into a bright laugh and leaped into Sa-eon’s arms.
Poof!
The tiny baby tiger wagged his tail in his father’s embrace, purring with joy.
* * *
In the southern part of the continent.
In a mountain valley where clear water flowed, a small girl with snow-white hair was scurrying along, holding her older brother’s hand.
“Brother San-yu, look over there! There’s a stream!”
The girl shouting in an excited voice was So-ya, the precious youngest daughter of the Vermilion Bird Clan.
As So-ya hopped toward the stream like a rabbit, a single leaf dangled from her hand.
It was the wish letter So-ya was sending to the Dragon God.