Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 104

“I…”

Garam thought for a moment, but he didn’t have any particular dislikes when it came to food. There were things he liked, but nothing he was extremely fond of.

“I don’t have any foods I avoid either.”

“And what about the ones you like?”

“Well…”

Garam’s gaze swept over the dishes in front of him. Sa Muheon’s eyes followed his.

“Everything here is something I like.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

When Garam nodded, Sa Muheon showed a satisfied expression and continued eating. Then, out of nowhere, Sa Muheon spoke up.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Huh?”

“It just makes me feel pretty good that you’re curious about me. I was wondering if there’s anything else you want to know besides my favorite food.”

Hearing Sa Muheon’s permission, Garam’s eyes sparkled for a moment. In truth, there were a lot of things he was curious about. He just hadn’t had the chance to ask.

He had even tried asking Jang Seokgyu a few times about Sa Muheon’s preferences, but every attempt had ended in failure. Jang Seokgyu was unbelievably tight-lipped, refusing to reveal anything even about seemingly trivial matters, always suggesting that Garam should ask Sa Muheon directly.

That was why Garam’s heart began to race at Sa Muheon’s unexpected willingness to answer his questions. There had been so many things he had wondered about, but among them, one question surfaced in his mind first. However, once it did, Garam hesitated and glanced at Sa Muheon’s expression.

“Why?”

Sa Muheon noticed that Garam, who had seemed eager to bombard him with questions just moments ago, was now hesitating instead. His curiosity piqued, he spoke first. After thinking for a moment, Garam carefully opened his mouth.

“Um…”

“Hm.”

“There’s something I want to ask, but you can’t call me childish after hearing it.”

“What kind of question is it that makes you say that?”

Sa Muheon was already smiling. It was a smile filled with amusement, as if he found Garam’s mannerisms endearing. Garam, unaware of this, earnestly made him promise.

“Just answer first.”

“Alright, I won’t. Now, go ahead and ask.”

Even after hearing Sa Muheon’s promise, Garam hesitated for a moment longer. Just as Sa Muheon’s thin patience was about to run out, Garam finally spoke.

“Have you… ever dated someone before?”

“What?”

It was a question he had already asked Jang Seokgyu, but he wanted to hear the answer directly from Sa Muheon himself. If someone mocked him for having a childish sense of possessiveness, he wouldn’t be able to deny it. However, Sa Muheon’s response was entirely different from what he had expected.

“I’ve never dated anyone.”

With a serious expression, he firmly denied it. As if that wasn’t enough, he even added a few more words.

“As you know, I’m a snake shifter. There’s a stereotype that snake shifters are promiscuous, but I’m definitely not like that. And because of that prejudice, not many shifters actually want to get close to someone like me.”

Only after hearing his answer did Garam relax, a small smile appearing on his lips. He felt oddly happy that Sa Muheon had responded to his question with such sincerity. Sa Muheon, too, grinned and spoke playfully.

“If you were that curious, you should’ve asked sooner.”

“How could I?”

“What’s the big deal? You can ask me anything you want.”

Sa Muheon said this, then, before Garam could even think of another question, he started speaking about something Garam hadn’t even asked.

“In case you were wondering, I’ll tell you in advance—I’ve never had someone I liked before either. In my entire life, I’ve only ever liked one person. The one I like now.”

His eyes never left Garam’s as he said those words.

The way he stared straight into Garam’s eyes made it feel like a confession. Garam thought his heart might beat so fast that it would burst out of his chest.

He wanted to look away for even a moment, but as if he had been caught in Sa Muheon’s gaze, he couldn’t do anything. He could only stare back at him.

“Actually, I was going to confess to them not too long ago…”

“……”

“But I couldn’t, because they’re still too young.”

At those words, the tension in Garam’s body immediately melted away. He shot Sa Muheon a sulky glare. Seeing this, Sa Muheon chuckled.

“What’s so young about a college student?”

“Did I say they were a college student?”

“……”

The words slipped out before Garam could stop them. The moment he realized his mistake, his mood instantly plummeted at Sa Muheon’s teasing remark.

As Garam pursed his lips and moved to put his spoon down, Sa Muheon hurriedly spoke.

“Sorry, I was just joking.”

“……”

But Garam still didn’t respond. He continued to avoid Sa Muheon’s gaze, keeping his eyes fixed on the table. However, Sa Muheon’s next words made Garam lift his head despite himself.

“But isn’t it true that they’re still young?”

When Garam pressed his lips together and stared at him, Sa Muheon grinned and rested his chin on his hand.

“I even want to marry them, but to do that, they need to graduate college first, don’t they?”

“Uh…”

Garam wanted to tell him not to joke about things like that, but the way Sa Muheon was looking at him was entirely serious.

Garam’s lips parted slightly, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything. His gaze wavered, unsure where to settle, and his cheeks flushed red, as if a single touch would make them spill color like crushed berries.

“See? Still plenty young.”

At Sa Muheon’s murmured words, which were almost like a whisper, Garam lowered his head deeply. With things like this, he had no way to refute him. While Garam was at a loss for what to do, Sa Muheon casually added another remark.

“And there’s still something I need to take care of…”

At that, Garam finally lifted his head to look at him. His gaze seemed to ask what that was about, but Sa Muheon only smiled as if he knew nothing.

Just then, a vibration came from Sa Muheon’s phone, which had been placed nearby, causing their conversation to be momentarily interrupted. Both of their gazes shifted toward the phone at the same time.

Normally, when talking with Garam, Sa Muheon would focus on the conversation and set other contacts aside for a while. But today, as if he had been expecting this message, he quickly picked up his phone.

His expression, which had been smiling just a moment ago, quickly became calm and composed as he checked the message. Then, after briefly looking at it, he placed the phone back in its original spot.

Noticing Garam’s gaze lingering on him, Sa Muheon smiled again and spoke.

“Sorry. I had to take a message that was a bit urgent.”

“It’s okay.”

Hearing Garam’s response, Sa Muheon smiled even brighter. No matter how many times Garam saw that smile, he never seemed to build any immunity to it. His heart started to beat faster.

Just as Garam was about to shift his gaze away, Sa Muheon suddenly asked a question with an unclear meaning.

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? No, I don’t have anything scheduled… Why?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Garam looked puzzled as he asked back. In response, Sa Muheon’s eyes curved into a soft smile.

“Something came up, so I don’t think I’ll be home tomorrow night.”

Garam’s expression instantly became dejected.

“Oh… Will you be back very late?”

Without realizing it, his voice carried a slight tone of disappointment. After speaking, a worry crept into his mind—what if Sa Muheon found that bothersome?

But Sa Muheon showed no sign of annoyance. Instead, he responded in an apologetic tone.

“Yeah, I might have to go a bit far. Since you don’t have any plans, you’ll have to have dinner with Seokgyu tomorrow—will that be okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

When Garam nodded obediently, Sa Muheon finally stood up from his seat. At some point, he had already finished his meal. Since Garam was also full, he rose from his seat as well.

Click.

After entering his study, Sa Muheon checked that the door was securely locked before walking further inside.

Sitting down at his desk, he once again reviewed the message he had received earlier during dinner.

[Chief Han: The negotiations with President Yoo’s side are complete. It just so happens that there is a suitable schedule tomorrow.]

Sa Muheon immediately called Chief Han. It seemed as though he had been expecting the call, as he picked up before the first ring even finished.

“Yes, Director.”

“I just checked… Since there’s an appropriate schedule, there’s no need to delay any further.”

“President Yoo said the same thing. If we try to set a new date, it might draw unnecessary suspicion, so tomorrow is the best timing.”

Since Chief Han had no objections, it was clear that he saw no significant issues either. That meant there was no reason to hesitate.

“Then proceed as planned. Are the preparations on their side solid?”

“President Yoo is very confident. But just in case, we will proceed with our own preparations as well.”

“Alright. I trust that you’ll handle everything properly, Chief Han.”

“I’ll make sure everything is in place.”

After confirming a few more details, Sa Muheon ended the call.

He casually tossed his phone onto the desk and leaned back into his chair.

Finally, it would all be over tomorrow.

The opponent who had continuously irritated him—it would all come to an end tomorrow.

“Haah…”

Sa Muheon let out a long sigh. A faint weariness was mixed into the breath as it dissipated into the air.