Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 105

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“Have a good trip. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes. Have a safe trip.”

Receiving the farewell, Sa Muheon ruffled Garam’s hair. When Sa Muheon’s hand left, Garam pretended to fix his hair, but he showed no sign of displeasure. Even until the moment he got into the car, he kept glancing back at Sa Muheon. Then, he waved at him before quickly squeezing himself into the passenger seat as if embarrassed. His swift movements made it obvious why he was compared to a chipmunk.

Sa Muheon smacked his lips in regret as he watched Garam disappear in an instant, but he remained in place until the car carrying Garam was completely out of sight. Only when the vehicle had vanished did he slowly make his way back into the house.

“Hmm…”

On a normal day, Sa Muheon would check that Garam had left for school before heading to the office himself, but today was different.

Last night, after confirming with Sa Muheon, Chief Han had coordinated schedules with President Yoo until late at night, and they had decided to handle the matter this afternoon. No matter how perfectly things were prepared, getting rid of someone in broad daylight was no easy task. It was best to wait until the sun set and darkness arrived to avoid drawing attention.

The location President Yoo had specified was a redevelopment site on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. Today, Ryu Beomju was scheduled to visit the site on President Yoo’s orders. This wasn’t a last-minute change in plans—he had an existing appointment there to collect under-the-table money.

Since it was dirty money, the cleanest way to handle it without leaving any traces was to receive it in cash at an inconspicuous location. Truthfully, Ryu Beomju could have sent his subordinates to do the job, but President Yoo was highly suspicious. He couldn’t fully trust even Ryu Beomju, who had been loyally groveling under him, let alone the men below him.

Normally, Sa Muheon would have mocked such paranoia, but this time, President Yoo’s caution worked to their advantage. Thanks to that, they were able to lure Ryu Beomju to the outskirts without much trouble.

Bzzzt—

Sa Muheon checked his phone and saw a message from Garam. It hadn’t been long since he left the house, and though Garam had tried to act mature by simply telling him to have a good trip, it seemed like he actually wanted to cling a little.

[Chipmunk: Will you be back early tomorrow?]
[Chipmunk: I only have morning classes tomorrow, so if you come back early, would you like to have lunch together?]

Below the messages was an emoticon of a chipmunk blinking up at him with big eyes. Sa Muheon chuckled as he looked at it and sent a reply.

[I probably won’t be too late. I’ll know for sure by this evening, so I’ll message you then.]

[Chipmunk: Okay!]

The moment he sent the message, the notification indicating it was unread disappeared, and a reply arrived right away. Sa Muheon stared at the short response for a moment before putting his phone down.

Since he was moving with Chief Han today, he planned to take it easy and wait for his call.

Chief Han’s call came around the time Garam messaged to say he had finished lunch and was heading to his afternoon lecture. Just moments ago, Sa Muheon had been smiling, but now his expression hardened.

— We just received word from President Yoo’s side. Chief Hong has departed.

“Then let’s head out as well.”

— Yes, we’ll be there soon. I’ll call again when we arrive.

Ending the call, Sa Muheon immediately stood up. There was still some time before Chief Han arrived, but there was no need to waste time idly at home. He checked his phone one last time to see if there were any messages from Garam. Fortunately, there weren’t any after his last update about heading to class.

That was only natural. Despite his small, chipmunk-like appearance, Garam actually enjoyed studying quite a bit. Just by looking at his pretty face, one might assume he had little interest in academics, but he had been a model student throughout his school years. Even now, he seemed to love his major, as his eyes sparkled whenever the topic came up.

Even in this situation, Sa Muheon found himself thinking fondly of Garam’s adorable traits. Realizing this, he smirked before heading out.

As he put on his suit jacket, a message came from Chief Han saying he had arrived. Sa Muheon stepped outside and got into the waiting car. Chief Han nodded in greeting. The car pulled away smoothly, and only then did Sa Muheon speak.

“How’s the situation?”

In response, Chief Han calmly delivered his report.

“The employee who was supposed to accompany Chief Hong today was bribed by President Yoo’s side. It seems he was never particularly loyal to begin with. He was only sticking with Chief Hong out of fear, but as soon as President Yoo promised to take care of Chief Hong, he switched sides immediately.”

“And?”

“We took that employee out of the picture and replaced him with one of President Yoo’s men. The original employee personally called Chief Hong and made an excuse.”

“What kind of excuse?”

A flimsy lie would have immediately raised suspicions. Sa Muheon frowned slightly as he asked, and Chief Han quickly replied.

“He said he broke his arm. Since a fake excuse might arouse suspicion, he actually got injured for real.”

“Heh.”

Sa Muheon let out a dry chuckle. Should he call that impressive? Either way, thanks to this, they had successfully avoided suspicion.

“You said President Yoo’s side moved first?”

“Yes. They’re handling the preliminary setup, so all that remains is for you to do the final confirmation, Director.”

“Mm, got it.”

Sa Muheon nodded and leaned back into his seat. Though he had been waiting for this moment, he found himself feeling unexpectedly unenthusiastic. More than anything, he just wanted to hurry home and see Garam’s face welcoming him back.

Screech—

The door swung open with a loud noise. Ryu Beomju turned toward the sound—

The door opened with a loud noise. Ryu Beomju frowned slightly at the sound. At the noise of the door opening, the man sitting inside immediately stood up and bowed.

“Ah, Chief Hong. You’re here.”

“Director Jang. It’s been a while.”

Only then did Ryu Beomju relax his expression and step inside the office. Given that it was just a site office, it was nothing more than a crude space without any decent furnishings. But for handling discreet matters, a place like this was perfect. At this hour, when all the workers had already left, it was hard to find a single person nearby.

Still, there was no knowing who might be watching, so Ryu Beomju gave a subtle glance to the staff member who had followed him. He was slightly dissatisfied that it wasn’t one of his usual subordinates who moved at his beck and call, but the man didn’t seem entirely clueless. As soon as he caught Ryu Beomju’s signal, he immediately positioned himself by the office door, keeping watch outside. That was satisfactory.

Once the door was closed, the man referred to as Director Jang gestured for Ryu Beomju to take a seat, then pulled out a small beverage box from under the desk. Pushing it toward Ryu Beomju, he watched as Ryu leisurely opened the box. Inside, it was filled to the brim with fifty-thousand-won bills. Ryu Beomju casually checked the contents before closing the box again.

“Well, I trust that Director Jang has counted the amount properly.”

“Oh, of course! I made sure not a single bill was missing.”

“Our boss turns into a hawk when it comes to money matters. But I suppose Director Jang is well aware of that.”

“Of course, haha. Who in this business wouldn’t know about President Yoo’s personality?”

Laughing obsequiously, he continued to flatter Ryu Beomju. Ryu Beomju reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. As he took one and placed it between his lips, Director Jang swiftly and skillfully lit it for him. Ryu Beomju accepted the courtesy as if it were expected, inhaling the smoke deeply.

Just as he was enjoying this brief moment of leisure, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

Ryu Beomju, who had been sitting with his back to the door, turned around. At that moment, the closed door swung open again with a loud creak.

Creak—!

“Well, with this kind of noise, I guess there’s no way for someone to sneak in unnoticed.”

The person who stepped into the office with a lighthearted remark was an unexpected figure.

“Oh my, President Yoo, what brings you here…?”

Director Jang, who had just been fawning over Ryu Beomju, immediately stood up and approached President Yoo. Sticking close to him, he cast a questioning glance at Ryu Beomju, as if asking what was going on. But this situation was just as unexpected for Ryu Beomju.

“President, what brings you all the way here…?”

“Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be?”

Hearing the irritation in President Yoo’s voice, Ryu Beomju quickly put on a smooth smile and replied.

“Not at all. I just meant that I could have handled everything myself, so it seems like you came all this way unnecessarily despite your busy schedule.”

Compared to everything he had endured in the past, this was nothing. Ryu Beomju skillfully chose his words so as not to provoke President Yoo. Fortunately, Yoo’s mood didn’t seem too foul, as his voice soon softened, and he spoke with his usual arrogance.