Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Click—.

It didn’t take long for Han, the chief secretary, to return after escorting Sa Mujin out. Finding his strangely composed expression odd, Sa Muheon questioned him as he quietly shut the door and stepped back inside.

“Did he leave quietly?”

Sa Muheon added, as if in disbelief, That’s unlikely. Han approached with a faint smile.

“He didn’t say much.”

“Really? That’s unusual.”

Sa Muheon had expected him to make a fuss until the very end over some absurd excuse. Yet, for some reason, he had left quietly today. Was he holding himself back out of fear that their mother might find out about today’s events? Even after some thought, he couldn’t come to a definite conclusion. Deciding it wasn’t worth wasting his energy on, Sa Muheon leaned back in his chair.

“I don’t think he’ll make any obvious moves for now…”

“Should I keep an eye on whether he makes contact with Director Hong?”

“Yes, that should be enough.”

Sa Muheon nodded in satisfaction at Han’s suggestion.

“He might have already reached out discreetly. Someone as greedy and foolish as him is easy to manipulate. Ryu Beomju must have approached him knowing that.”

“I’ll look into it.”

It might have been an unnecessary assumption, but Sa Muheon was fairly certain his prediction was correct. Even if Sa Mujin was furious about his sudden dismissal, his behavior today had been suspicious.

“I’ll leave everything related to Sa Mujin in your hands for now, Chief Han. For now, I should handle the matters that require my attention first.”

“Understood.”

After Han left the office, Sa Muheon sat in contemplation for a moment. He went over the connection between Sa Mujin and Ryu Beomju once again, wondering if there was anything he had overlooked. But nothing particularly suspicious stood out. Having already made one mistake before, he could not afford another. His thoughts continued until Han returned and knocked on the office door.

Despite causing a scene in Sa Muheon’s office, Sa Mujin’s movements afterward were oddly quiet. It seemed he hadn’t even told their mother about his dismissal from the law firm, as he left home every morning under the pretense of going to work, only to hole up in a bar. That alone was peculiar. Sa Muheon flipped through the report summarizing Sa Mujin’s recent movements, then set it down with a bored expression.

“He’s being more well-behaved than I expected.”

“I thought so too, but…”

“Is there something strange?”

At Sa Muheon’s question, Han hesitated. Noticing this, Sa Muheon leaned forward in interest. If nothing had been out of the ordinary, Han wouldn’t have bothered showing him the report.

“As you can see in the photos, Sa Mujin leaves home every morning under the excuse of going to work and heads to a certain club. Upon investigation, he appears to be personally acquainted with the club’s owner.”

Sa Muheon examined the photos again. The club’s sign was captured in the background above Sa Mujin’s head as he entered the building. He had heard of the place before—though as someone who was particular about cleanliness, he had never visited it himself. He only knew of it because its name was quickly spreading among the beastfolk community.

And not in a good way.

A club called Nocturnal had long been rumored to be a hotspot for illicit drug transactions. Sa Muheon knew for a fact that it was more than just a rumor.

“Hmm… Who owns this place?”

Tapping a finger against the club’s sign in the photo, he looked up at Han. As if expecting the question, Han handed over another document. It contained a photo of a surprisingly clean-cut man. He appeared to be around the same age as Sa Muheon, and his tidy appearance seemed out of place for someone running an establishment with such a shady reputation.

“His name is Yoo Jaehyuk. He’s a jaguar shifter. What stands out is that he lived abroad until recently and started running this club as soon as he returned to Korea.”

“A jaguar, huh…”

“Considering how quickly he set up an operation of this scale, he must have some powerful connections. However, we haven’t gathered enough information to determine the extent of his network. We’re working on obtaining more details.”

“Alright. By the way… does this jaguar have any ties to Ryu Beomju?”

At Sa Muheon’s question, Han nodded.

“Yes. In fact, there’s a high possibility that Yoo Jaehyuk was the one who introduced Ryu Beomju to Sa Mujin in the first place.”

“Hmm…”

Lost in thought, Sa Muheon drummed his fingers against his desk. Han then handed over the last document in his possession.

“And just yesterday, an unidentified tiger shifter was spotted at this club.”

“A tiger shifter?”

Sa Muheon immediately checked the attached photograph. Taken at night, the image was dark and grainy, but a large figure was visible in the shadows. The man, seemingly of considerable build, wore a cap pulled low over his face, making it difficult to discern his features. However, his long tail, reaching down to his ankles, unmistakably belonged to a tiger.

“Hmm…”

Based on the photo, there was no doubt the man was a tiger. But something about it felt off.

Tap, tap.

Sa Muheon’s neatly trimmed fingernails moved slowly across the image.

He had called Ryu Beomju a dumb cat before, but even so, Ryu Beomju wasn’t reckless enough to do something this foolish. At the very least, he was intelligent enough to deceive others and escape when his life was on the line. There was no way someone like that would reveal himself so carelessly.

However, tiger shifters were rare. As far as Sa Muheon knew, Ryu Beomju was the only tiger shifter left in the country. Even though this situation seemed like an obvious trap, it was hard to ignore entirely.

“If he knows it’s dangerous to show himself right now, there’s no reason for him to do so, is there?”

“Correct. It’s highly likely to be a setup, but since it’s confirmed that a tiger shifter appeared, we should at least investigate.”

“That’s true. The timing is suspiciously convenient, which makes it hard to overlook…”

A crooked smirk played at Sa Muheon’s lips. After a brief moment of deliberation, he made his decision.

“I’ll go check it out myself.”

“Director, that’s…”

“It’s definitely bait, but I don’t think Ryu Beomju is the one who set it up. There’s no way that bastard could have slipped past all the tight security and gotten right under my nose. And revealing himself so openly like this? If he really were nearby, it would be much faster for him to sneak in and rip my throat out. Why would he go through all this trouble for such a cumbersome and uncertain plan?”

Han said nothing. He didn’t voice it aloud, but he must have arrived at the same conclusion as Sa Muheon.

“So, it has to be one of two things. Either that idiot Samujin is pulling some kind of stunt, or… it’s bait set up by this club owner.”

“But do you really need to check it out yourself? Wouldn’t it be better to send our men instead…?”

“If I’m the target, then I should be the one to confirm it personally. That last incident already spread like wildfire. Do you really think anyone would dare come after me again?”

There was an edge to his words, despite the smile on his face. And for good reason—Sa Muheon was already a well-known figure among the beastfolk community. His mother was the head of a prestigious law firm, and his father, now addressed as the chairman of a successful company, had quite the background himself.

Despite being a snake shifter, there was no denying that he was considered a highly attractive marriage prospect. News of his serious injury had spread quietly through the grapevine, and along with it, rumors that his father had flown into a rage, hunting down anyone even remotely connected to the incident.

Everyone knew—though no one dared say it aloud—that while Sa Muheon’s father now ran a legitimate business, he had once been a formidable gangster. For the time being, at least, no one would be reckless enough to lay a hand on Sa Muheon.

“For now, let’s just dig for more information. I have plans tonight anyway.”

“Understood.”

Han bowed his head. There was nothing on Sa Muheon’s schedule that Han wasn’t already aware of.

This so-called plan was nothing more than a simple dinner with the person he lived with. But Han knew just how much that person meant to Sa Muheon, and how deeply he treasured his time with that young squirrel shifter.

And truth be told, Han didn’t dislike the young man either. Although he now served as Sa Muheon’s subordinate, he had been by his father’s side long before Sa Muheon was even born. To Han, Sa Muheon was practically like a son. He had seen firsthand the discrimination Sa Muheon endured as a snake shifter, so he found himself quite fond of the young man who offered Sa Muheon such genuine, unconditional affection.

“I’ll take you straight home.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Seeing Sa Muheon’s bright smile, a faint grin found its way onto Han’s lips as well.