The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 178

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 1

Side Story 1

1. Before the Baby Bird Built Her Nest, the Story of the Baek Brothers

The front courtyard of White Tiger Palace.

A baby tiger with snow-white fur was bouncing around on its short four legs, playing on the grass field.

Every time it trampled the grass leaves moistened by last night’s rain with its front paws, a rich grassy scent wafted up.

“Roaaaar!”

The baby tiger, feeling good, wiggled its pink nose tip and smiled.

This baby tiger, who had just completed its First Beast Transformation a few days ago, was named Baek Gayul.

He was the Youngest Young Master of the White Tiger Family that ruled the Western Region.

Playing around in the form of a snow-white baby tiger, Gayul found everything in the world before his eyes fascinating and delightful.

Trampling grass leaves with his magnificent front paws.

Running around the front courtyard of White Tiger Palace, stretching his four legs with all his might.

Making brave tiger roars like “Roar, roaaaar!” every time he laughed.

Like all the Young Beastmen of Taehwa Kingdom, Gayul had been eagerly counting down the days until his First Beast Transformation, and when he actually transformed, it was far more amazing and wonderful than he had imagined.

So much so that he couldn’t help but let out purring laughter.

“Purr, purr!”

As Gayul wiggled his pink nose tip and laughed, a snow-white tuft of fur sticking up suddenly caught his eye.

“Roar?! (My tail!)”

The long white tuft with black stripes was none other than his tail!

“Roar, roaaaar! (A handsome and magnificent tiger tail!)”

The baby tiger bounced up to catch his own tail.

At that moment, the tail disappeared from before his eyes with a swoosh.

“Roar! (Tail!)”

Swoosh! When he turned his head, he saw his tail swishing back and forth at his rear.

As if it were teasing him, his competitive spirit somehow flared up, and Gayul bounced again to catch his tail.

The baby tiger, who had been spinning in circles playing tag with his tail, eventually got tired and collapsed onto the grass field.

“Roar, roar… (Huff huff. That was fun…)”

The baby tiger panted from the aftermath of vigorous exercise.

His tail, which he had ultimately failed to catch, swished back and forth on the grass field.

This baby tiger, who loved people, was always alone.

Father was out on the battlefield, and the last time he had seen his face was on his birthday two years ago, and he had heard that Mother had left for somewhere far away when he was very young due to important matters.

To young Gayul, who was only six years old, both Father and Mother were dim in his memory.

But Gayul didn’t cry.

Because I’m now a fine baby tiger who has completed his First Beast Transformation!

Sniffling and crying about missing Papa and Mother is something only weak babies do.

‘Hmph! The brave third son of the White Tiger Family, Baek Gayul, doesn’t cry over such things.’

Gayul thought with deliberate bravery.

‘I can play so well by myself.’

Gayul was good at running by himself, knew how to play ball, and could now even play tail-chasing games.

But he was a little angry that his elder brothers wouldn’t play with him.

Tag games couldn’t be played alone. Neither could hide and seek.

Actually, even ball games would probably be more fun if he played with his elder brothers instead of alone.

‘I want to play with my elder brothers…’

His eldest brother Gaya wouldn’t play with him, saying he was busy taking care of Father’s work in his absence.

When in reality, Ho Jeokyeong from the Red Fox family was doing all the family work by himself, so what exactly was he busy with?

When he went to his second elder brother Ga Hyeon asking to play together, he pretended to be kind with that characteristic wicked eye-smile of his and presented terrifying books.

It was just this morning that he had run away in disgust when his second elder brother suggested they could play by reading books together.

‘Is that kind of thing fun?’

Gayul tilted his head and thought.

He couldn’t understand at all what was good about books that you couldn’t even eat.

‘I didn’t find it fun at all.’

As Gayul looked around, a leather ball came into his view.

“Roar! (It’s a ball!)”

Gayul bounced up and brought the leather ball over in his mouth.

Then he played happily by himself, bouncing and rolling the ball.

“Roar, roar! (This is what’s fun!)”

Gayul laughed with a rumbling sound and threw the ball with all his might.

The rolling ball came to a stop against someone’s feet.

“Roar?”

Gayul lifted his head up.

A very tall man with snow-white hair and blue eyes was standing before him.

Gayul’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment.

Though it was a man he was meeting again after two years, Gayul could recognize him at a glance.

‘It’s Papa!’

The man had Father’s scent.

When he was even younger than now, whenever he was embraced in Father’s arms, that refreshing and pleasant scent that always lingered faintly at his nose tip!

“Roaaaar!”

It was when Gayul was about to instinctively bounce into his father’s embrace.

“Who is this little tiger?”

Pause.

At Saeon’s following murmur, Gayul froze awkwardly in his leaping posture toward him and blinked his eyes.

“Roar…? (Huh…?)”

Gayul’s tail stood up stiffly from tension.

Step, step.

Saeon approached Gayul and lifted up the baby tiger’s small body.

Then he examined the snow-white baby tiger from various angles with a deliberately serious expression.

“Let me see. The fur is very white and glossy, the stripes are magnificent too… whose face does he resemble to be this handsome?”

At Saeon’s head-tilting appearance, Gayul gulped.

‘Could it be that Father doesn’t recognize me?’

Just as such worry was about to set in.

“I heard you magnificently succeeded in your First Beast Transformation.”

Saeon playfully raised the corners of his mouth and stroked Gayul’s head with his large palm.

“You’ve become a very cool tiger, Yul.”

“Roar! (Papa!)”

Gayul, realizing it was his father’s prank, smiled brightly and burrowed into his father’s embrace.

‘Father’s embrace is so warm and feels so good!’

Being held in that broad embrace, he naturally made purring sounds without intending to.

“You’ve returned, Father.”

“Family Head, have you returned!”

“It’s fortunate that you’ve returned safely.”

Soon, the sound of people who had discovered Saeon gathering around and chatting could be heard.

However, Gayul paid no attention to the people’s conversation and focused only on burrowing deeper into his father’s embrace.

It was when he was excitedly purring while covering himself with his father’s scent.

Yank―!

Someone grabbed and pulled Gayul’s tail.

“Kyaaaak!”

Gayul, who had lifted his head up from Saeon’s embrace, bared his teeth fiercely.

“Oh? Little tiger cub, did you just growl at your elder brother?”

Gaya, who had been tugging on Gayul’s tail with one hand, asked while raising one eyebrow crookedly.

Gaya, Gayul’s big brother, was already eleven years old and had even completed his First Growth—a truly impressive age.

However, Gayul didn’t lose heart like the brave baby tiger he was.

“Growl! Grroowwl! (Don’t grab my tail!)”

At that fierce cry, Gaya burst into laughter.

“A baby tiger who hasn’t even learned to retract his claws yet is acting so brave.”

“Whine? (Claws?)”

“Since you’re not retracting your claws, Father’s clothes are getting torn, you youngest tiger.”

Only then did Gayul notice that Saeon’s sleeve had been torn by his sharp claws and was startled.

“…!”

Gayul’s frozen eyes shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.

To think he had torn his father’s clothes after meeting him for the first time in so long.

Gayul stiffened as if he had caused a terrible accident.

“A baby tiger can do that.”

A gentle voice came along with a hand patting his plump bottom.

“Papa was too busy to teach our baby tiger how to retract his claws. Papa was bad, right?”

When he lifted his head slightly, Father was smiling warmly at him.

Gayul’s eyes, looking up at Saeon like that, began to tremble tearfully…

“Whine! (Father is bad! Why didn’t you teach me how to retract my claws because you were busy!)”

Gayul burrowed into Saeon’s arms and burst into tears.

Suddenly overwhelmed by sadness, Gayul’s tears burst forth.

Crying “waaah waaah” because he missed Papa and Mother was something only weak babies did, but…

“Whimper, whine! (I missed you so much! You didn’t come for my birthday last year, and you didn’t come for my birthday this year either—you’re really bad!)”

The truth was, Gayul had missed Papa too.

Very, very much.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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