Chapter 87: A Tiger Doesn’t Need Friends

Jinhyang remained still as Delphine stuck out her tongue.

Slurp—

Just from the timid movement of her tongue, it was clear.

Delphine was embarrassed.

As a master of licking, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize the emotions behind her hesitant tongue.

‘Oh dear.’

Jinhyang’s brow furrowed slightly.

It must be because she wasn’t satisfied with Delphine’s licking.

“Sigh.”

If Delphine had done it properly, Jinhyang wouldn’t have had any reason to frown.

They would have been so overwhelmed with joy and happiness that there wouldn’t have been room for any other emotions.

I let out a disappointed sigh.

‘There’s a lot to teach.’

The first lesson had to be overcoming her shyness.

Just as I was finalizing the direction of our future lessons and carefully moving closer to Jinhyang—

She suddenly reached out and tugged at Delphine’s cheek.

‘Oh?’

That was Jinhyang’s own way of showing affection.

Could it be that the licking actually worked?

I watched them with anticipation as Jinhyang slowly opened her mouth.

“Why did you suddenly lick my cheek?”

Delphine hesitated at the question.

As the teacher here, I had to step in.

“Licking is the best way to get close to someone.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. When you lick someone, both the licker and the one being licked feel good, right?”

“Hmm.”

Jinhyang lowered her head at my words.

She was resting her chin on her hand, staring at the table, as if deep in thought.

“Boss…?”

Was there something wrong with my lesson?

I looked at Jinhyang with concern, and after a moment, she lifted her head and met my gaze.

“Wouldn’t it be hard for Delphine to get close to people through grooming?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not saying grooming is bad, but… it’s not really a human thing to do.”

What was she talking about?

I blinked, not quite understanding Jinhyang’s words, and she tapped the table lightly before continuing.

“Delphine is just a regular person, but you’re a cat… I mean, a tiger.”

“Yeah. But why does that matter?”

“Grooming is a tiger thing. It’s not something humans do.”

“Huh?”

So people who aren’t tigers don’t lick each other?

I tried searching my memories, but nothing came to mind.

Aside from Delphine, it had been years since I’d last made a friend.

I had no choice but to ask Jinhyang directly.

“Boss.”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t lick Bora?”

“…Why would I lick Bora?”

Jinhyang let out a long sigh.

A sigh that only someone who truly had never licked Yoon Bora could let out.

‘No way.’

I had never actually seen them lick each other, but I just assumed they did.

The revelation was so shocking that my ears and tail bristled in disbelief.

“Boss, does that mean you and Yoon Bora aren’t close?”

“No? We’re pretty close.”

“But you don’t lick her…?”

I stared at Jinhyang suspiciously, and she placed her hand on my head.

“Licking is a cat… I mean, a tiger thing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jinhyang nodded, but my doubts weren’t going away.

Making friends without licking?

That was something I couldn’t even imagine.

I didn’t want to doubt Jinhyang, but this time, I had no choice.

Licking was my entire world.

I wasn’t going to let my way of life be denied so easily.

“Boss. Then how many friends do you have?”

“…Why are you asking that?”

“Because I find it hard to believe that you made friends without licking them.”

At my question, Jinhyang stroked her chin.

Just when I thought she was lost in deep thought, she finally spoke again.

“Doesn’t it depend on how you define a friend?”

“Hmm… To me, a friend is someone you have personal conversations with.”

“Personal conversations?”

“Yes. Like talking about what you ate yesterday or what movie you watched. Those kinds of things.”

A true friend should be someone you could open up to about your personal life.

That was my minimum requirement for friendship.

“If everyone I have personal conversations with counts as a friend, then I must have over a hundred.”

“A—A hundred…?”

“Yeah. I meet a lot of people through work.”

“T-That’s…”

I stared at Jinhyang in shock, unable to believe what I had just heard.

Just then, Delphine raised her hand eagerly.

“Harang.”

“Hm?”

“Isn’t your definition a bit too loose? By that standard, I’d have over thirty friends.”

“…?”

Didn’t she just say she only had three earlier?

Why did that number suddenly jump to thirty?

I was left speechless, my mouth opening and closing without a sound.

Delphine simply smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.

“Like Jinhyang, I also meet a lot of people through work.”

“T-Then what was that about only having three friends earlier?”

“I meant I have three really close friends.”

“Oh…”

I see.

I had six people I shared personal conversations with.

And yes, those six were truly close to me.

But I couldn’t shake this strange feeling of defeat.

To think I had fewer friends than Delphine…

My shoulders slumped, and my body sank lower and lower.

Before I knew it, I had slid under the table, with only my eyes peeking out.

That was when Delphine grinned and spoke again.

“Harang, if you count everyone you have personal conversations with, wouldn’t you have over a hundred too?”

“T-That’s…”

I couldn’t say anything.

Because even including all of them, I only had six.

In the end, I had no choice but to admit it.

I only had six friends.

The embarrassment was unbearable, so I buried my face into the bed.

“Harang.”

I felt Delphine poking my back.

But I couldn’t bring myself to look at her.

How ridiculous.

Someone with barely any friends teaching others how to make them?

I might as well win Comedy of the Year.

“Harang. Harang.”

Poke, poke—

Delphine kept prodding my back.

I had buried my face out of shame, but she just wouldn’t stop.

Annoyed, I flicked my tail and smacked her hand.

Slap!

“Ow!”

Delphine yelped and finally stopped poking me.

‘Did I hit her too hard?’

Startled, I quickly turned my head only for Delphine to press her hands against my cheeks.

Squeeze—

She squished my face so hard it looked like a squashed bun.

“D-Delphine, is your hand okay?”

“Yeah. Perfectly fine.”

“Thank goodness…”

My tail was incredibly strong, yet she wasn’t even injured.

Heaven must have been watching over her.

I sighed in relief.

But just then, Delphine’s hands slid down from my cheeks to my shoulders.

“How many friends you have doesn’t matter at all, Harang. That’s just a meaningless number.”

“I… I guess, but…”

I knew she was trying to comfort me.

But it wasn’t exactly working.

After all, having friends was still better than not having any.

“Sigh.”

Because of this whole ‘friend’ talk, I had completely lost my dignity as a beast.

As my strength faded, I buried my face into Delphine’s chest.

She gently stroked my back.

“Harang.”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you a tiger?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Why was she asking something so obvious?

I lifted my head slightly, peeking at her with just my eyes.

If she was upset because I, a tiger, was showing weakness, then I had nothing to say.

I would just have to accept it.

I swallowed hard.

But what she said next was completely unexpected.

“Harang, isn’t it natural for a tiger to have no friends? They’re solitary creatures.”

“Huh? That’s true, I guess?”

“Tigers are meant to be alone. They don’t need friends.”

“Uh…”

Now that I thought about it, she was right.

Tigers either lived alone or, at most, formed small groups of just a few members.

I had completely forgotten such an important fact.

“Harang, you don’t have friends because you’re a tiger.”

“Yeah! That’s right!”

My tail wagged furiously at her words.

It swayed so widely it practically painted a fan shape in the air.

“It’s fine if you don’t have friends. You’re a tiger.”

“Yeah! I don’t need friends because I’m a tiger!”

“Tigers are meant to be solitary, right?”

“Yeah! I’m a lone tiger!”

My wild instincts surged.

ROAR!

I threw my head back and howled at the ceiling.

Delphine placed her hand on my head.

“Harang, are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah! I don’t need friends at all!”

“…Huh?”

I felt as if I could fly.

The reason I had no friends wasn’t because I lacked social skills.

It was simply because I was a tiger.

“I have no friends! I am alone!”

“H-Harang?”

“Ahaha! I have no friends!”

I couldn’t contain my excitement and bounced up and down in place.

Delphine grabbed me and shook me back and forth.

By the time my head started spinning, she pulled me into a tight embrace.

“H-Harang, should we go somewhere fun?”

“Huh? Where? The boss told me I can’t leave the hospital.”

And even if I could, there wasn’t really anywhere fun to go.

The only place I’d been to outside was the park with Raxy Bora.

“Harang, did you know there’s a research lab inside the hospital?”

“A research lab?”

“Yeah, a monster research lab.”

“A… monster research lab?”

Would it really be safe to keep dangerous monsters in the same place as patients?

I stared at Delphine in confusion, and she smiled.

“This hospital treats patients using monsters.”

“Oh…”

Now that she mentioned it, Silver was conducting research here too.

I was starting to understand what she meant.

“So, do you want to go check it out, Harang?”

“Hmm…”

It sounded a bit scary.

But I was an even scarier tiger.

If anything happened, I could just use my ferocity to handle it.

“Alright.”

I nodded at Delphine.