Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 100

Chapter 100

“Aren’t you going to go in?”

“…….”

Sa Muheon urged Garam once more. Garam alternated his gaze between Sa Muheon’s outstretched hand in front of him and the columbarium building beside him. Then, as if making up his mind, he took Sa Muheon’s hand and stepped out of the car. Sa Muheon held his hand firmly.

As Garam looked down at their clasped hands, he slowly lifted his head. The white columbarium building looked somehow desolate. He had wanted to visit often after placing his grandmother here, but because of the distance, he couldn’t come as frequently as he wished. The last time he had visited was on her memorial day last year.

He had wanted to come more often, but this year had been particularly overwhelming. Especially after loan sharks had shown up at his house, his life had completely changed. As he stared at the white building in silence, his gaze shifted to the person still holding his hand. Sa Muheon was looking at him with a steady, unwavering gaze.

“…Will you go in with me?”

“Of course.”

Sa Muheon answered readily and began walking ahead. Since their hands were still tightly clasped, Garam followed him at a slow pace. Sa Muheon walked more leisurely than usual, seemingly mindful of Garam.

As he quietly followed behind, Garam spoke in a low voice.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was afraid you’d blame yourself like this.”

“…….”

Garam pressed his lips tightly together. Sa Muheon was right. Garam was deeply disappointed in himself for forgetting his grandmother’s memorial day. It was just one day in the entire year, and he had failed to remember it. He felt pathetic.

But as if reading his thoughts, Sa Muheon spoke again.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve had a lot going on lately.”

“…Even so.”

Garam’s voice came out weakly. Hearing it, Sa Muheon came to a stop. Looking straight into Garam’s eyes, he spoke.

“If she were here, I bet she’d say the same thing I just did.”

Sa Muheon glanced at the columbarium as he said this. Strangely, hearing those words brought Garam some comfort. He felt as if his grandmother truly would have said the same thing. She would have lightly patted his back, scolding him for making such a big deal out of it. For some reason, it felt as if her voice was drifting toward him with the wind.

“How do you feel? A little better?”

“…Yes.”

When Garam nodded, Sa Muheon started walking again.

“I heard her memorial day is tomorrow, but you have school then.”

“Ah…”

“I wanted to bring you tomorrow, but Team Leader Jang told me that if you miss class one more time, you’ll have to retake everything.”

He was right. While he had been sick, he had already missed several classes. And after running into Ryu Beomju recently, he had skipped a few more, putting his attendance in a precarious position. When Garam didn’t respond, Sa Muheon glanced back at him and asked,

“Coming today is okay, right?”

“…Yes.”

Hearing Garam’s answer, Sa Muheon gave a brief nod, as if that settled things, and continued walking. He moved without hesitation, as if he were someone who had been here before, which Garam found a little curious. But he remained silent and simply followed behind him.

As they neared the place where his grandmother’s remains were kept, Sa Muheon came to a stop. Garam, who had been following, also halted. Sa Muheon finally let go of the hand he had been holding tightly and gestured lightly with his chin.

“Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

With a much calmer expression than before, Garam nodded. As he stepped forward, he suddenly noticed how empty his hand felt. Slowly, he walked further inside.

Garam came to a stop in front of a specific spot. The most visible place in his line of sight—this was where his grandmother’s urn was placed.

“Grandma…”

He had thought he was okay, but in an instant, tears overflowed and trickled down his cheeks. Inside the niche was a photograph he had placed there—a picture of him and his grandmother together. In the photo, she was smiling brightly, looking at young Garam with warmth.

He had thought they had taken many pictures together while living with her, but after she passed, he realized the truth. There weren’t many photos of the two of them together. Most of the pictures in the album were ones his grandmother had taken of him. Each and every photo carried her love, and the weight of it clawed at his heart. The fact that she was no longer in this world to look at him like that left his heart in shambles.

“Hngh, hhic…”

He tried his best to suppress his sobs, but it wasn’t easy. In the end, he failed to stop his tears and roughly wiped his eyes with his hands. But before he could rub them any further, Sa Muheon, who had quietly approached, gently took his hands and lowered them.

“If you do that, it’ll hurt.”

“Hic, hhngh, snff…”

Hearing his gentle voice, Garam suddenly started crying even harder. Unable to hold back his sobs any longer, he leaned into him and let his tears fall. His tears soaked through Sa Muheon’s jacket, leaving it in a mess, but he showed no sign of caring. Instead, he simply wrapped one arm around Garam’s shoulder and waited patiently for him to finish crying.

Feeling the slow, comforting pats on his shoulder, Garam was finally able to calm down a little after a long while. However, the sorrow in his heart did not disappear so easily, and he continued sniffling as he gazed at his grandmother’s picture.

In the photo, his grandmother was smiling brightly. Her strong and beautiful presence remained deeply etched in Garam’s memory. Perhaps that was why, when he first heard of her passing, he thought it was some kind of cruel prank call. But when the second call came, he had no choice but to accept the painful reality he didn’t want to believe.

After her funeral, Garam had returned home, holding her urn in his arms, unsure of where to lay her to rest. He had asked Ryu Beomju for his opinion, but he had simply responded with indifference, telling Garam to do whatever he wanted.

In the end, after much deliberation, Garam chose this place.

Ever since she had taken him in as a child, his grandmother had often shared her stories with him. On nights when he was too scared to fall asleep alone, she would hold him close and tell him old tales. Many of those stories were about the home where she was born and raised.

Whenever she spoke of her hometown, she would always wear the happiest expression. Because of that, Garam decided to lay her to rest in the place she had cherished and longed for the most—a columbarium located in her hometown, with a view of the mountains she had once run through as a child.

Some of his relatives had offered to help, but Garam refused all of them. His grandmother had given him everything she had while she was alive, so he felt that at the very least, he should take responsibility for her final resting place.

Thus, the very first thing Garam did with the money he earned was to bring his grandmother to this columbarium.

With careful fingers, he brushed over the engraved letters of her name. He stood silently in front of the urn for a long time before finally lifting his gaze to meet Sa Muheon’s eyes. Sa Muheon had stayed by his side the entire time, saying nothing as Garam wept, remembering his grandmother. He didn’t offer any words of comfort, but even in his quiet presence, in every small gesture, Garam could feel his sincerity.

“…Let’s go now.”

“Are you sure? We can stay longer if you want.”

“This is enough.”

Sa Muheon spoke with concern, but Garam shook his head with a light smile.

“If Grandma were alive, she would’ve scolded me by now. She used to say it all the time when I was little. If you keep crying like that, a tiger might come and take your tail away.”

“So, you must’ve cried a lot when you were a kid.”

It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood, but Sa Muheon, with a completely serious expression, reached out and gently wiped the lingering dampness from Garam’s eyes.

“Not so much anymore.”

“…I’ve grown up now.”

At Garam’s response, Sa Muheon let out a small laugh.

“Grown up? You’re still just a kid.”

With that, he didn’t give Garam a chance to argue and simply wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leading him forward. Garam took one last look at the photo of his grandmother and sent her a silent farewell before following him outside.

As they stepped out of the building, Garam found the situation strangely unfamiliar. Every time he had come here, he had always been alone. He never expected to visit this place with anyone, let alone Sa Muheon. If he had ever imagined coming with someone, it would have been one of his relatives at most. That’s why this moment felt a little strange—but also comforting.

Perhaps his grandmother would have been happy to see Sa Muheon here as well. The thought made his gaze naturally drift back toward the building.

Sa Muheon noticed immediately and stopped in his tracks.

“Do you want to go back in?”

“No. I’m really fine.”

Garam gently shook his head, and this time, he took the lead, walking ahead. Before he knew it, he was holding Sa Muheon’s hand tightly. Without a word, Sa Muheon let himself be led, following Garam’s pace.