Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 12

Even though autumn was approaching, the weather was still quite warm.

The man was enjoying the warm weather. It was quite late at night, but instead of being chilly, the pleasant breeze carried a warm touch. It was his favorite kind of weather.

He’d heard from his subordinates that sitting alone and doing nothing like this seemed very strange, but he didn’t care. If he were someone who worried about others’ opinions, he wouldn’t be sitting in front of an empty convenience store in a dark suit at this late hour.

But Sa Muheon rather liked this time. He had recently experienced something personally sorrowful, so he wanted some quiet time alone.

As he reminisced about past memories and let out a small chuckle, he caught a faint sound with his ears. It was a tiny footstep, so small that one wouldn’t hear it without paying attention. Sa Muheon turned his head toward the direction of the sound, wondering if it was a stray cat.

But what appeared before him was an entirely unexpected presence.

Moreover, it wasn’t fleeing after making eye contact with Sa Muheon but stood still, staring straight at him. A smooth curve formed on Sa Muheon’s lips. He had a feeling something interesting was about to happen.

Sa Muheon, age 32.

For his age, Sa Muheon had led a rather unusual life. There were many peculiar aspects to his life, but if one were to pick the most influential factor, it would be that he was a shifter—specifically, a snake shifter.

Looking at his life as a whole, he was far from ordinary, yet some parts of his life were surprisingly normal. It was something both he and those around him found odd.

Among the snake clan, known for their strong sense of camaraderie, Sa Muheon was an outcast.

“This half-blood!”

Though born as a snake shifter, he’d been called a half-blood all his life. This was because, unlike his mother, who was a snake shifter, his father was an ordinary human.

Fortunately, because snake shifter placed more importance on matrilineal lineage, Sa Muheon had been raised within the shifter society from a young age. Still, he didn’t quite fit in with either the snake clan or the humans.

Even though his mother held a respected position among the snake shifter, it didn’t improve the way others viewed Sa Muheon.

On the contrary, his mother’s siblings often looked at him with disdain, saying he tarnished her reputation.

Whenever that happened, his mother would reassure him that he had done nothing wrong. But her words alone couldn’t erase the wounds he had accumulated.

To make matters worse, being a snake shifter caused him additional pain.

The reputation of snake shifter in the shifter society was not just bad—it was downright abysmal. Negative remarks about snakes had existed for a very long time. However, snake shifter didn’t care much about being ostracized by other shifter.

“Snake shifter are cunning? Hmm… That could be true. It’s not entirely wrong.”

Snakes valued their clan highly but were also extremely individualistic. They didn’t think the stereotypes others had about them were entirely off the mark. What others called insults were, in the snakes’ eyes, not without reason, so they didn’t pay much attention to the judgment placed on them.

As a young child, Sa Muheon thought the labels placed on him, like being a half-blood or a cunning snake, were unjust. He believed they were simply tags assigned to him for existing.

But as he grew older, Sa Muheon, like other snake shifter, began to nod along nonchalantly to the assessments.

“Well, I guess that could be true.”

It was his most common phrase.

Of course, his human father was deeply frustrated by the attitudes of the shifter.

Though his parents’ relationship wasn’t bad, his father disliked shifter—especially snake shifter other than his wife and son. Naturally, Sa Muheon and his mother would simply nod along, saying, “Well, that could be true.”

Whenever they did, his father would burst out in exasperation, but Sa Muheon truly didn’t feel much about it. He only found it mildly fascinating to think that he was truly a snake shifter, even if only half.

“Muheon, would you consider taking charge of a business?”

One day, after Sa Muheon graduated from college, his father asked him this question. Sa Muheon’s answer was as good as decided.

Having had no particular ambitions, Sa Muheon had even hesitated to attend college. However, his mother, who usually let him do as he pleased, strongly insisted he go to university. As a result, he entered the law department at her urging.

While studying at university was better than he expected, it wasn’t enjoyable enough for him to want to make it his lifelong career.

After graduating and doing nothing for a while, Sa Muheon readily nodded at his father’s proposal.

“You’re not even going to ask what kind of business it is?”

His father looked at him with a perplexed expression. Sa Muheon let out a small laugh and replied.

“What kind of business could you possibly entrust to me? It’s probably something that involves persuading people with words.”

“Geez…”

Despite clicking his tongue at Sa Muheon’s remark, his father didn’t correct him, implying that he had hit the nail on the head.

“Well, it’s not entirely wrong…”

Of course. As Sa Muheon thought this with a disinterested expression, his father continued.

“But it’s not quite what you think.”

“What is it that you’re dragging this out so much for?”

Slightly intrigued, Sa Muheon straightened his posture and looked at his father. Only then did his father grin and open his mouth.

“I want you to take charge of the capital business. What do you think?”

“…Are you serious about that?”

For the first time, the previously indifferent expression on Sa Muheon’s face showed a change. His father, Chairman Go, nodded.

“Yes. There are already people under you, so you won’t have to do much directly. Just make sure the money flows properly.”

“Hmm…”

Chairman Go was what one would commonly call a gangster.

Though he now lived as a chairman, he had started as a typical thug. No one knew how such a man came to meet and marry a snake shifter like Sa Muheon’s mother.

Not even Sa Muheon.

But one thing was certain: Sa Muheon had grown up in a very loving family.

“You have no idea how much your mother worries about you these days. I thought giving you a proper position might ease her concerns a bit.”

As expected, there was a reason behind offering such a prime business.

Since his mother’s attention was focused on her son, her doting husband probably found it somewhat annoying. However, this didn’t mean he disliked his only son. It seemed he planned to hand over a fitting position to earn praise from his wife.

“Well, alright.”

Still, it wasn’t a bad proposal for Sa Muheon either. Among his father’s businesses, the capital sector was highly profitable, and as his father said, there wasn’t much for Sa Muheon to personally manage. He was also well aware of his mother’s recent concerns for him.

Snake shifter generally provided a lot of mutual support within their clan. This included everything from minor assistance to helping one another get into good universities or find jobs.

But as a half-blood with human lineage, Sa Muheon still faced many who viewed him unfavorably within the clan. Among them, there was also jealousy towards Sa Muheon for growing up well without relying on any assistance.

“Are you serious?”

“Why would I joke about this?”

“Hahaha! Alright. You made the right decision. It’s all going to be yours someday anyway, so it’s not a bad idea to start gaining experience now. You can slowly learn how to manage people.”

…Truthfully, Sa Muheon didn’t intend to permanently take over his father’s business, but he also knew very well that saying this now wouldn’t do him any good. He quietly nodded, and Chairman Go cheerfully patted him on the back.