Side Story 15
Translator: RaidenTL
Side Story 15
“Anyway, just as you said, Young Master, it seems everyone really does want to play with Lady Cotton Ball. The young lady of the Galho Clan said she’d be coming to visit in a fortnight.”
Ga-yul pouted at the news Su-ri delivered.
“The Mountain Lord Festival only just ended. Why is she coming back already?”
“Well, that young lady has started exchanging letters with our lady lately. It seems Lady Cotton Ball promised to introduce her to a new friend.”
“A new friend… You mean Seol-yo?”
Ga-yul glanced sideways at the black-haired boy standing quietly beside So-ya.
Seol-yo was a demonic beast So-ya had brought back from Mt. Horim, and he had recently taken human form. Of course, the fact that Seol-yo was a demonic beast remained a secret; the people of the White Tiger Palace believed him to be a wolf beastkin.
While Ga-hyeon occasionally watched Seol-yo with suspicious eyes, Ga-yul, unlike his older brother, was simply thrilled to have another playmate.
When he was younger, he had either played alone or dragged Su-ri along, but now his circle of playmates had grown to include So-ya and Seol-yo. This meant there were three people to play with right here in the White Tiger Palace.
Especially when it came to hide-and-seek.
That was a game one couldn't play alone. When Ga-yul had been struck by the urge to play hide-and-seek as a child, he would simply go off and hide somewhere by himself.
Yet, no matter where he hid, his father and eldest brother always managed to find him with uncanny precision. Whenever he asked how they did it, his eldest brother would always say he gave off a 'savory baby tiger scent'…
‘What kind of smell is that, anyway?’
Sniff, sniff.
Ga-yul pulled at his sleeve and took a whiff.
‘I don’t think I smell like anything.’
Even now, at the age of ten, he still didn't quite understand what that scent was supposed to be.
‘I wish I smelled like something soft and fluffy like Cotton Ball, instead of that savory scent.’
While he didn't know what a savory baby tiger smelled like, he knew exactly what a fluffy baby bird smelled like. So-ya always gave off a pleasant, downy scent. It was a cozy fragrance, the kind that felt like it could drift and soar away on a gentle breeze.
‘If I had wings, would I smell that fluffy, too?’
A tiger with wings. It was a rather useless thought.
Well, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that they could all play together like this now. And so, Ga-yul…
“Cotton Ba-all! Play with your big brother!”
He ran toward So-ya, calling her name as energetically as always.
*
Ga-hyeon was in his room, receiving the report of the day's schedule from Ho Jeok-a.
“So-ya is playing hide-and-seek?”
As he listened to the report on So-ya’s activities, Ga-hyeon’s expression grew remarkably serious. He knew that the highly competitive Ga-yul and Ah-rang were determined to find So-ya, having failed to catch her even once in previous games.
[Youngest Young Master… I mean, I played hide-and-seek with Brother Yul and Lady Ah-rang, and it was so much fun! No one could find me until the very end!]
He recalled So-ya saying those words recently. Though she was now part of the family and lived with them in the White Tiger Palace, So-ya still tended to be shy and cautious.
But on the day she said that, she had seemed unusually excited. Her voice had been higher than usual, and she had spoken a bit faster. Just like a child having the time of her life.
[Our Lady Cotton Ball usually acts so mature, but when she plays ball with Young Master Yul, she’s still just a little baby cotton ball.]
[But honestly, Young Master Yul is so competitive that he never goes easy on her.]
He also remembered the conversation between Yeon-jeong and San-ho.
“Hmm.”
After a moment of contemplation, he ordered Ho Jeok-a to revise his schedule.
A short while later.
“You want to be the seeker, Brother?”
So-ya asked, her eyes going wide like a startled rabbit’s as she looked up at Ga-hyeon.
“Yes. So let me join in today, So-ya.”
Ga-hyeon, who usually didn't mingle with Ga-yul or Ah-rang’s play, had appeared before the children and volunteered to be 'it.'
“I’m in! Then Brother is the seeker!”
Ga-yul shouted before So-ya could even answer.
As soon as Ga-hyeon began to count and the game started, everyone scattered in different directions. So-ya scurried about looking for a place to hide until she spotted a large tree. She felt that if she hid among the leaves, no one would ever find her.
Poof!
Transforming into a tiny bird, So-ya flitted up onto a branch.
Rustle.
Hearing a sound below, she glanced down to see Ga-hyeon passing by, having already finished his count.
‘Oh, already…!’
So-ya, who hadn't quite settled into her hiding spot yet, quickly moved behind some leaves. Perhaps she was in too much of a hurry; in her haste, she accidentally knocked a leaf loose.
Flutter, flutter—
Ga-hyeon tilted his head as he watched the leaf drift down right before his eyes.
“Hmm?”
Startled, So-ya held her breath and her wings trembled. She felt certain she was about to be caught.
“I suppose the wind blew the leaf down.”
Fortunately, Ga-hyeon didn't seem to pay the leaf much mind.
“Now, where could So-ya be?”
Ga-hyeon looked around briefly before simply walking past.
“Peep…”
So-ya let out the breath she had been holding as the tension eased.
‘I almost got caught.’
Her heart was still thumping at the thought of nearly being discovered.
‘This is…’
So-ya thought, her tail feathers quivering.
‘This is so much fun!’
Hide-and-seek really was the best.
*
Near a large thicket, the long tail of a baby white tiger was sticking out.
“Found you, Baek Ga-yul.”
At Ga-hyeon’s words, the protruding tail slithered back into the bushes.
“...?”
Ga-hyeon’s brow furrowed at the bizarre sight. The leaves and vines shook, making a rustling sound. Realizing Ga-yul intended to run away while pretending he hadn't been caught, Ga-hyeon let out a disbelieving chuckle and then…
Poof!
In an instant, he transformed into a massive tiger and pounced toward the thicket. The baby tiger, who had been crouching and trying to sneak away inside the bushes, was instantly exposed.
“R-Roar…! Rawr, roar!”
Startled, Ga-yul let out a series of threatening roars, but they had no effect on Ga-hyeon whatsoever.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Ga-hyeon snorted and snatched the baby tiger by the scruff of his neck with his teeth.
“Hiss!”
Ga-yul dangled in the air, hissing and flailing his paws, but Ga-hyeon merely gave the rebellious cub a stern look.
“Whimper…”
In the end, Ga-yul had to be carried out, dangling limply from his brother’s jaws.
“Baek Ga-yul, it’s poor sportsmanship to try and run away after you’ve been caught.”
“Grrr… (I really wanted to win this time.)”
Ga-yul pouted as he looked at Seol-yo, Ah-rang, and Su-ri, who had all been caught before him.
“Rawr, roar? (But where’s Cotton Ball?)”
“Indeed. I don’t see So-ya.”
Ga-hyeon replied in a gentle voice. Unlike how quickly he had found everyone else as soon as the game began, he had yet to find So-ya.
“Then let’s all go find So-ya together!”
At Ah-rang’s shout, the whole group began to move to search for her.
Meanwhile, So-ya was watching the whole scene from a short distance away.
‘I’m the last one left.’
Her heart throbbed with a pleasant sense of pride.
‘I’ll hide a little longer, then go out and surprise them.’
So-ya was giggling to herself at the thought when Seol-yo, who was looking around nearby, tilted his head and stopped right under the tree where she was hiding.
So-ya shifted slightly, tucking herself perfectly behind the leaves.
‘He definitely won't see me now, right?’
Seol-yo glanced up at the tree where So-ya was hidden and tilted his head once more.
“Seol-yo! Do you see Lady Cotton Ball over here?”
Su-ri, who had been searching for So-ya a short distance away, approached Seol-yo and asked. At the mention of her name, So-ya froze in tension.
Instead of answering, Seol-yo shook his head vigorously.
“Really? You don’t see her here either? Where on earth could she be?”
“....”
Seol-yo just stood there with a blank expression, blinking his eyes.
“What are you doing, Seol-yo? You have to help find the Lady, too. Come on, hurry!”
“Uh, u-uh…”
Seol-yo didn't seem particularly inclined to move, but he ended up being dragged away by Su-ri.
Left alone, So-ya let out a long sigh. “Peep—”
‘It’s too dangerous here. I’m too close to everyone.’
Just as So-ya began to sneak away to change her hiding spot…
“Grrr?!”
Ga-yul, who had climbed a tree opposite her to search, spotted the wiggling tail feathers of a baby bird. There was no mistake. That was Cotton Ball!
He had never managed to find So-ya in all their previous games, and he was beyond thrilled. Just as Ga-yul was about to shout that he had found her…
“Rawr— Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”