Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 110

When Garam, who had been silently staring in this direction, suddenly started shedding tears, a flustered Sa Muheon jolted upright. Just a moment ago, even attempting to sit up had sent sharp pain through his shoulder, forcing him to lie back down. But this time was different. He was so shocked that he moved as if he felt no pain at all.

“Oh my, you!”

Fortunately, Sa Hiran, who managed to keep the clearest head among them, stepped in to handle the situation. She pushed her son back onto the bed before he could climb down and then took Garam’s hand, guiding him into the hospital room. Even as Garam continued to let tears spill down his face, he obediently followed Sa Hiran’s lead. Yet, throughout it all, he never took his eyes off Sa Muheon, as if afraid that Sa Muheon would disappear before his very eyes at any moment.

“Now, dear, sit here… and stop crying. See? Muheon is awake, isn’t he?”

“Y-Yes….”

Sa Hiran spoke in a gentle voice as she sat Garam down in the chair she had just vacated. Until then, Garam had only been silently crying, but at her words, he finally began to sob in earnest, as if all his pent-up sorrow had burst forth. Watching him cry even harder instead of calming down, Sa Hiran let out a troubled sigh but soon began patting and rubbing Garam’s back in slow, soothing strokes.

“Hicc….”

Sa Muheon could do nothing but watch Garam cry. He tried to sit up again, but his mother’s sharp, warning gaze was enough to stop him in his tracks. More than that, the pain in his shoulder had intensified, likely because of his earlier reckless movement.

The first to notice the worsening condition was his mother.

“You…!”

Sa Hiran, who had been focused on comforting Garam, suddenly turned toward him, her face instantly draining of color.

At her short cry, Garam, too, snapped his head up, his own face turning deathly pale as he shot to his feet.

Unlike Sa Hiran, who froze on the spot in panic, Garam acted immediately—he rushed over and pressed the call button above Sa Muheon’s bed. Before long, a nurse entered the room, her expression turning serious the moment she assessed Sa Muheon’s condition.

It was only then that Sa Muheon realized blood was seeping from his surgical wound.

“Sir, even though the surgery went well, you absolutely cannot move so recklessly. For the time being, refrain from excessive movement, and if you need anything, please inform your guardian. Guardians, please make sure the patient does not overexert himself.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

After completing the treatment, the nurse left a firm warning for everyone in the room before exiting.

Garam, who had been bowing repeatedly toward her departing figure, turned back to Sa Muheon, still looking as pale as a sheet. Although he had remained calm enough to call the nurse, the sight of Sa Muheon’s wound during the treatment process must have shaken him—it had been clear from the way his face had lost all color, as if he might faint at any moment.

“Are you okay?”

At Sa Muheon’s question, Garam blinked at him for a moment before suddenly breaking into a quiet laugh.

“That’s what I should be asking you.”

Still, it seemed Sa Muheon’s words had helped at least a little, as Garam’s complexion looked slightly better. Sa Hiran, too, appeared somewhat relieved as she gave Sa Muheon a mild scolding.

“You really… Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

Even as she spoke to her son, her gaze kept flickering toward Garam. After confirming that the boy, who had been crying nonstop, now had a faint smile on his lips, she addressed him in a much softer tone.

“Dear, have you eaten?”

“Oh, uh, no… I wasn’t hungry, so I just came straight here.”

“Then go and get something to eat first. Now that Muheon is awake, there’s no need to worry so much. Where is Manager Jang?”

“He said he was waiting just outside.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing Garam’s response, Sa Hiran took his hand and gently pulled him up. Garam glanced between her and Sa Muheon, hesitating. He clearly wanted to stay, but Sa Muheon, rather than stopping his mother, simply pressed his lips together and gave Garam a quiet smile. He didn’t want Garam to stay here worrying about him on an empty stomach—he wanted him to take care of himself, too.

Seeing that smile, Garam’s expression turned slightly dejected, but in the end, he obediently followed her.

“Oh, Manager Jang.”

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I heard the director just woke up—did something happen?”

Jang Seokgyu had already reached the hospital room. His voice carried a note of concern, likely after noticing the nurses rushing about earlier.

“There was a bit of a problem, but everything is fine now. More importantly, this boy hasn’t eaten yet. You haven’t either, have you? Take him and go get something to eat. I’ll stay here, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

Once he confirmed that Sa Muheon was indeed fine, Jang Seokgyu nodded and immediately left the hospital room with Garam.

After seeing the two of them off, Sa Hiran returned to the room and took a seat. Looking down at her son lying in bed, she let out a small chuckle.

“You have no idea how worried everyone was about you.”

“…I see.”

“Of course, Manager Jang was concerned, but that boy… He cried so much….”

Sa Hiran trailed off, seemingly lost in thought, as if recalling the time while Sa Muheon had been unconscious.

“Be good to him. He really cares about you.”

“I will.”

At Sa Muheon’s simple reply, Sa Hiran, as if waiting for it, added with a pointed look,

“Yes. After all, if you went and brought such a young child into your home, you should treat him well.”

The sharpness in her gaze was more pronounced than usual, but Sa Muheon remained unfazed as he continued the conversation.

“Did anything happen while I was unconscious?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, was a wild tiger sighted somewhere?”

He spoke as if making a joke, but his true meaning was clear.

“It would’ve been ideal if everything was taken care of before you woke up, but unfortunately, Chief Hong’s whereabouts are still unknown.”

“……”

Sa Muheon quietly nodded.

Although he had framed it as a joke, he hadn’t really expected Ryu Beomju to have been found already.

Still, for some reason, the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Was there no trace of him at all?”

“For now. Moving around in his original form would draw too much attention, so he must have felt safe enough at some point and changed his appearance again before fleeing.”

“That makes sense.”

“For the time being, your father is also searching for him with everything he’s got, so don’t worry about it for now. Your priority should be recovering.”

“…Thank you.”

At his words of gratitude, Sa Hiran’s eyes widened in surprise. But soon, the corners of her eyes softened as she smiled.

“Oh my, there’s no need to thank me.”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if debating something, before finally making up her mind and speaking slowly.

“While you were unconscious, Mujin also left our law firm.”

“Samu-jin?”

“Yes.”

It was an abrupt decision. When Sa Muheon looked at his mother, silently demanding an explanation, Sa Hiran let out a sigh and began to speak.

“Haa… I mentioned it when you came home last time, didn’t I? That Mujin seemed to be involved with Chief Hong. To be honest, I didn’t take it too seriously at the time. Not just me, but in general, I don’t believe that everyone is completely clean. As long as it didn’t interfere with the firm’s work, I thought it wasn’t something that directly concerned me.”

A bitter smile formed on her lips as she spoke.

“But seeing you lying here with such a serious injury made me think differently. If I had told Mujin back then to stay out of unnecessary danger and just focus on his work at the firm, would things have turned out differently? Or was it that, in the end, because of my lingering sense of debt toward my sister, I was more lenient with him? And that’s why my son ended up like this….”

As emotions overwhelmed her, Sa Hiran couldn’t finish her sentence and pressed her lips together tightly. She chewed on her lip for a while before finally speaking again.

“But still, Muheon, I didn’t make this decision out of emotion because of you. Even before this, there were already complaints about Mujin not properly handling the tasks assigned to him. And there was also evidence that he had been neglecting his work recently because he was helping Chief Hong.”

Even so, it must have been a difficult decision to make. For someone like Sa Hiran, who valued family above all else, it must have been even harder.

Sa Muheon, looking concerned, was about to comfort her, but Sa Hiran, noticing the expression on his face, quickly cut him off.

“So don’t start thinking that your mother had to make a tough decision because of you or anything like that. Just focus on getting better and don’t worry about anything else.”

With that, Sa Hiran stood up from her seat.

“I’m going to step out for a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m just going to grab something to drink. Chief Han said he’d be coming soon, so don’t worry and just rest.”

Knock, knock—

Just as she finished speaking, someone knocked on the hospital room door. Soon, the door opened, and Chief Han walked in.

Seeing him arrive, Sa Hiran gave Sa Muheon a small smile, as if to say, See? I told you so. Then, at last, she stepped out of the room.