Family of Tigers, and a Conditioned Reflex

After parting ways with Cheon Eun-jung, Kang-hyun headed for the Cheongdam-dong estate — the very symbol of the Moonseong Group's founding family. The family gathered there once every two months.

It was nothing more than an occasional meal together, but with every member commanding such an overwhelming presence, the gatherings were always exhausting. Kang-hyun had never been fond of them.

Dusk had fallen, and the mansion glowed with light. With every lamp lit, it was almost blinding — nothing like the silent, sealed-off house it usually was.

The moment he stepped inside, Jin Ae-ran greeted him, dressed in her finest.

"Oh, if it isn't my youngest."

Since the arranged date, Kang-hyun hadn't exchanged a single phone call with his mother. And yet Jin Ae-ran's face was bright, as if their quarrel had never happened. For all her grumbling, she seemed quietly delighted that her son was moving on his own terms at last.

Facing her smiling welcome, Kang-hyun held out what he'd brought with a blank expression.

"I picked up some fruit."

"Oh my, look at this boy. He pretends not to care, and then he takes care of everything so thoughtfully."

At that, Kang Sa-ra, the second sister-in-law, who had been setting the table alongside the house staff, laughed and chimed in.

"They call that a tsundere these days. That's our young master to a tee."

"Tsundere? I swear, I can't understand a word the young people say anymore."

Kang Sa-ra and Jin Ae-ran burst into laughter. Kang-hyun showed no reaction whatsoever and strode straight into the living room.

Moon Jeong-hyun, the second brother, who had been reading a newspaper in one corner of the room, arched a single eyebrow.

"So you're really going to meet the woman Mother chose for you?"

"I'll handle it myself."

Kang-hyun answered flatly and dropped onto the sofa. Jeong-hyun wore the certain look of a man convinced there was no way in hell Kang-hyun would ever actually date whoever their mother picked.

He'd been through that same measles before his own marriage. Fortunately, the woman he'd wanted to wed came from a family and a profession well within Jin Ae-ran's standards of approval. That was the only reason the marriage had gone through — had her background fallen outside his mother's accepted bounds, it would have been nearly impossible.

Kang-hyun was his younger brother by a wide margin, but Jeong-hyun had a vague sense of one thing: that Kang-hyun had carried a flame for someone for a very long time. And that whoever it was would never meet Jin Ae-ran's approval.

"Well, Kang-hyun's no child. He'll sort it out himself."

Moon Sung-hyun, the eldest, added his piece without looking up from the documents on his tablet. Like their grandfather Moon Hee-chan, he was a man of few words with a formidable presence — a figure worthy of the tiger's blood that ran through generations of the Moon family.

Beside him, Park Eun-joo, the eldest sister-in-law, spoke up, her eyes glinting sharply.

"If it's our young master, I'm sure he has some plan in motion."

Remarkably, Eun-joo possessed a predator's aura that matched the Moon family's own. At times, her force — tiger-like beyond even the tigers — eclipsed Sung-hyun's. As though she'd been born a Moon, she now wielded tremendous leadership within the group.

Whenever the whole family gathered like this, the pack of tigers was joined by the foxes — Jin Ae-ran and the second daughter-in-law, Kang Sa-ra — who got along famously and set the tone of every evening.

Thinking of Lee-jin, gentle as a rabbit, Kang-hyun swallowed a sigh. It was plain as day how pitiable a herbivore would look, dropped into a den of predators. Which was exactly why he had no intention of ever introducing her to his family.

"Yes, I'll take care of it myself, so I'd appreciate it if you'd all mind your own business."

At his brusque reply, everyone exchanged knowing looks and let the matter drop. The awkward silence was broken by the arrival of their grandfather, Moon Hee-chan.

"Everyone's here, I see."

"Father, welcome."

"Grandfather, have you been in good health?"

As if on cue, they all moved to the dining table. Moon Hee-chan met Kang-hyun's eyes for a brief moment, but said nothing more.

Throughout the meal, Jin Ae-ran chattered away about Kang-hyun's doings, but the tigers only smiled their sly, unreadable smiles — not one of them gave anything away.

Monday afternoon. Baek Jin-hee dropped by the workshop, looked around for a moment, and then blurted out:

"Be honest with me. Something's going on between you and Kang-hyun sunbae, isn't there?"

She had her reasons. She'd come to help, and there was nothing to help with.

The whole point of her regular visits was to haul the clay and glaze materials that Lee-jin couldn't manage alone. But today, there wasn't a single task waiting for her. Someone had already finished everything, neat as you please. Lee-jin certainly hadn't done it by herself — so who had? Her sharp intuition spun into high gear, running the obvious deduction.

"Um, well…"

For once, Lee-jin trailed off. The same girl who'd only snorted dismissively when told that Kang-hyun sunbae was probably in love with her — and now she was hemming and hawing! Her radar pinging like mad, Baek Jin-hee pressed the attack.

"Spill it, right now! If you tell me later, I'll sulk so hard I'll never forgive you!"

Under that ultimatum, Lee-jin managed an awkward smile.

"Kang-hyun and I… we're dating now."

"What?! I knew it! I called it!"

Baek Jin-hee puffed with excitement, huffing like a kettle. Her hunch hadn't been wrong after all. Moon Kang-hyun's eyes — she hadn't imagined a thing!

"Since when? How did it happen?"

Cornered by her friend's interrogation, Lee-jin had no choice but to lay out everything that had happened. Baek Jin-hee grilled her through all five W's and an H, and Lee-jin, flustered as she was, answered honestly. They hadn't been together long, so there wasn't that much to tell, at least.

"Hehehe, I knew it from way back. I told you Kang-hyun sunbae looked at you differently!"

Her friend's over-the-top gloating was so absurd that Lee-jin couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm the one who started dating him. Why are you so happy about it?"

Baek Jin-hee only raised her voice higher.

"Obviously I'm happy! A physique like Kang-hyun sunbae's is top one percent of the population! My best friend dating a total catch is something for me to brag about too!"

That was when it happened. A low, deliberate ahem sounded from across the room.

Baek Jin-hee's voice had been so loud that neither of them had noticed anyone come in. They nearly leapt out of their skins, spinning toward the entrance.

With the muggy weather creeping in, the front door had been left open — which was how a visitor had slipped in completely unnoticed.

Kang-hyun stood there, the full weight of both their stares on him, radiating his trademark lazy ease.

"Much obliged for the compliment."

Baek Jin-hee's face flared scarlet. Lee-jin had never once seen her flustered like this — the girl who could stand her ground against anything.

Creaking like a rusty gate, Jin-hee scrambled to gather her things and threw a hasty parting at Lee-jin.

"I— I just remembered something urgent. S-s-see you next time!"

"Wh-what? Oh— o-okay."

Before Lee-jin could stop her, Baek Jin-hee bolted for the entrance — then belatedly realized there was no way past Kang-hyun standing in the doorway, and creaked even harder as she ducked past him with a bow.

"H-h-have a nice time."

At the flat, pitchless monotone of a robot voice assistant, Kang-hyun chuckled under his breath.

"We will."

And with that, Baek Jin-hee fled in a scramble of footsteps.

"You really keep entertaining friends around, don't you."

At his teasing smile, Lee-jin felt her cheeks burning. Baek Jin-hee was a wonderful friend, no question — but the embarrassment she'd left behind was more than Lee-jin knew what to do with.

Ahem. Clearing her throat to reset the air, Lee-jin asked,

"I thought you were coming in the evening. You're early."

"Figured there might be something to help with. And if there's time, I was thinking I'd try my hand at the wheel."

As he answered, he crossed the room and perched on the edge of the table, looking down at her. Still seated, Lee-jin found herself gazing up at him without thinking.

Their eyes locked.

Kang-hyun seemed to fill the entire workshop just by existing. He was only leaning against the table, and yet it felt as if he'd claimed every inch of it.

Where their gazes met, a taut tension kindled into something warmer, something delicate and electric. Lee-jin did her best to pretend she couldn't feel the heat.

"Want some coffee?"

"Sure."

He gave a light nod, and she rose from her chair.

"Hold on, just give me a—"

She never finished the sentence. Kang-hyun had caught her around the waist and pulled her in tight.

She turned back to him with a what on earth look, but with their bodies pressed together, her lashes trembled all on their own.

"Wh-why…?"

Her voice came out hopelessly frayed. Physical contact she couldn't have imagined back when he was just her brother's friend was now so natural between them — and that was the strange part.

"Nothing. Conditioned reflex."

"Huh?"

She tilted her head, not quite following. Kang-hyun drew her waist in even closer and answered with an expression of pure, unapologetic shamelessness.

"You're next to me, and my hands just move on their own."

"What is that even supposed to—"

As she frowned, utterly at a loss for how to take that, Kang-hyun leaned in close, slowly catching her lower lip between his teeth before murmuring,

"See? Now my lips won't behave either."