Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 103

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That evening, after finishing his lecture and returning home, Garam couldn’t greet Sa Muheon with a bright smile, even though the latter welcomed him warmly. Sa Muheon seemed to notice that something was off about Garam, but instead of asking any questions, he simply mentioned that he had prepared dinner and then headed toward the kitchen.

Left standing in the entrance, Garam let out a small sigh, making sure it wouldn’t be heard, before quickly heading into his room.

Click.

After closing the door behind him, Garam leaned against it.

“Phew….”

He let out a deep sigh and then quickly shook his head, trying to dispel the scene that had resurfaced in his mind. Sa Muheon was waiting for him, so he needed to hurry and change clothes instead of wasting time on unnecessary thoughts. As he changed, the tips of his ears turned a reddish hue. When he glanced in the mirror and saw his own reflection, he pretended not to notice and stepped out of the room.

Seated across from each other at the dining table, the two began their meal. Lately, Sa Muheon seemed to have taken an interest in cooking, often coming home early to prepare dinner for Garam. While Garam was grateful and genuinely appreciated Sa Muheon’s exceptional cooking skills, he couldn’t help but worry a little.

‘If he keeps coming home this early every day, how is he managing his work?’

However, voicing such concerns felt unnecessary. In Garam’s eyes, Sa Muheon was an incredibly capable adult, so he trusted that he would handle his affairs well. He pushed his worries aside, just as he had before.

As he continued eating, Sa Muheon suddenly spoke up.

“Come to think of it, you’re home a bit late today.”

“Oh, Minjae said he had something to talk about for a bit.”

“Is that so?”

Sa Muheon nodded and resumed eating, but Garam, reminded of their earlier conversation, found himself recalling what had happened that day. He tried to push the memory away, but the more he resisted, the clearer it became.

“Haa….”

“Why are you sighing? Is the food not good?”

“A-Ah, no. It’s delicious.”

Not realizing he had sighed aloud, Garam was startled when Sa Muheon reacted sensitively. He quickly shook his head in denial. As always, Sa Muheon’s food was excellent. Wanting to prove his words, Garam earnestly continued eating. Only then did Sa Muheon seem convinced and returned to his own meal.

However, as Garam continued eating, his hand movements gradually slowed. Before he knew it, his gaze had shifted away from the dishes on the table to Sa Muheon’s face. More precisely, his smooth lips.

Gasp…

Caught staring at Sa Muheon’s lips, Garam quickly averted his gaze in a panic when their eyes met. Sa Muheon’s suspicious gaze lingered on him, but Garam pretended not to notice and kept eating. Yet, inside, he felt like screaming.

It was all because of what had happened during lunch today.

Earlier, Garam had planned to have lunch with Minjae. Ever since Minjae introduced his partner, Seonhu, to Garam, he had become much more comfortable around him. Lately, whenever they had lunch plans, Minjae would take him to Seonhu’s restaurant.

Each time, Seonhu would serve Garam a meal without accepting any payment. While Garam felt a bit burdened by this, both Minjae and Seonhu reassured him repeatedly that it was fine, smiling warmly.

Though initially hesitant, Garam eventually gave in. Since the food at Seonhu’s restaurant suited his taste, he ended up going there for every lunch meeting with Minjae. Today was no different.

In the morning, Minjae had texted to say that his lecture had been canceled due to the professor’s sudden circumstances and that he would go ahead to Seonhu’s restaurant first. Garam, who only saw the message after his own lecture ended, quickly replied that he would be on his way and hurried over.

The fact that Minjae hadn’t checked his messages since sending that one lingered in Garam’s mind, but he dismissed it, thinking that Minjae was probably helping Seonhu with work.

However, when he arrived at the restaurant, he found a “Closed” sign hanging on the door. Puzzled, he recalled Minjae’s message saying that he would be waiting inside. The lights were on, so Garam hesitated for a moment before cautiously pulling the door handle. As expected, it was unlocked. He carefully stepped inside.

“Minjae…?”

He called out, but there was no response.

Did he step out for a moment?

It seemed odd to leave the door open like this, though. Tilting his head in confusion, Garam took a few more steps inside. Since they always ate in the inner room when they came here, he thought Minjae might be there.

But the moment he turned the corner and saw what lay beyond, he froze in shock and immediately turned away.

Gasp…! H-Hyung, you’re here?

Just as he had suspected, Minjae was indeed inside. But he wasn’t alone.

Minjae and Seonhu had been sharing a deep kiss.

Flustered by the realization that he had intruded on their private moment, Garam hastily tried to leave. But Minjae, reacting quickly, caught his arm.

Minjae still looked embarrassed, unable to completely wipe the awkward expression from his face. However, he seemed to have decided that letting Garam leave like this wasn’t a good idea.

“Um… Sorry. Do you want to sit for a bit? We’ll have your meal ready soon.”

“A-Ah, okay….”

Garam had no choice but to stay with Minjae. An awkward silence lingered between them, but he had no idea what to say. In the end, he finished his meal in the uncomfortable atmosphere and then made an excuse to return to school first.

What he had told Sa Muheon was also true. Since the incident at lunch had been on his mind, Minjae had come to find him, and they had talked for a bit, which made him arrive home later than usual.

In reality, he was a fully grown adult, and he was far past the age of being embarrassed just from witnessing a kiss. However, seeing someone he personally knew in such a situation was an entirely different matter. What was even stranger was that after witnessing that moment, he kept finding his gaze drawn to Sa Muheon’s lips.

Would it have been fine if he hadn’t imagined kissing him? That thought crossed his mind, but it was a meaningless hypothesis. Not only had he imagined it, but Garam had already kissed Sa Muheon before. More than that—Sa Muheon had been the one to kiss him first as well.

At first, Garam had thought that the kiss he shared with Sa Muheon on the night he had come home completely drunk was just a part of his own desire-filled dream. However, on the day Sa Muheon had kissed him first, the words he spoke afterward made Garam realize with certainty that it hadn’t been a dream at all—it had actually happened.

Not only was that dream-like memory still vivid, but the recent kiss also remained fresh in his mind, to the point where he could still recall the sensation of Sa Muheon’s lips.

Maybe that was why. Until now, he hadn’t consciously recalled their kiss, but today, for some reason, he kept remembering it over and over again. He even found himself imagining it.

The ambiguous state of their current relationship only added to the confusion. Neither of them had explicitly voiced their feelings, but it was as if they had already confirmed them. Because of that, Sa Muheon’s attitude toward Garam had been endlessly gentle lately, and as a result, Garam often found himself blushing at even the smallest words or actions from him.

“Here, eat this.”

As Garam kept his head lowered, Sa Muheon slid a plate in front of him. Now that he thought about it, all the side dishes he liked had been pushed toward his side of the table. With an indifferent expression, Sa Muheon continued moving a few more dishes toward him.

Garam had never explicitly mentioned what he liked, yet everything Sa Muheon was giving him was exactly what he preferred.

One could say it was nothing special, just a small gesture, but Garam felt grateful that Sa Muheon had paid attention and remembered what he liked. And in that moment, he realized that he himself knew very little about Sa Muheon in return.

“What do you like?”

At Garam’s sudden question, Sa Muheon’s busy hands froze in midair.

“Out of nowhere?”

“Oh, I was just curious….”

“Hearing that you’re curious about me makes me happy.”

Sa Muheon grinned as he spoke.

Garam, however, kept his true feelings hidden—that he wanted to know Sa Muheon just as much as Sa Muheon seemed to know him. He simply stared at him.

“Hmm….”

Was it such a difficult question? Sa Muheon seemed to ponder it for quite a while. But Garam waited patiently for his answer.

After a long moment of contemplation, Sa Muheon eventually gave a short shake of his head.

“I eat pretty much everything. There’s nothing in particular that I avoid.”

“I see….”

Garam nodded quietly. Now that he thought about it, Sa Muheon never seemed to be picky about food. He always ate an enormous amount every meal and never left anything behind.

Since Garam didn’t say much and simply accepted the answer before continuing his meal, this time, Sa Muheon was the one to ask a question.

“What about you, baby?”