Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 122

Gulp—.

Facing Sa Muheon at an extremely close distance, Garam involuntarily swallowed. Just as he was thinking that the sound of his swallowing seemed louder than usual, Sa Muheon’s face moved even closer.

“Ugh….”

Anticipating what was about to happen, Garam tightly shut his eyes. But Sa Muheon’s actions defied his expectations.

He had thought that Sa Muheon would immediately press his lips against his with fervor, but instead, Sa Muheon placed gentle kisses on his cheek, making small smacking sounds.

The soft sensation made Garam slowly open his eyes, and the moment he did, his gaze met Sa Muheon’s. Before Garam could say anything, Sa Muheon’s lips touched his once more.

This time, their lips met.

But again, just like before, Sa Muheon pulled away as if playing a prank, leaving Garam narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

“Seriously, what are you doing?”

Garam reached out and cupped Sa Muheon’s cheeks to stop him from planting another kiss on his cheek. As he struggled to hold back Sa Muheon, Garam ended up lying completely on the bed, looking up at him. But despite the situation, he didn’t feel any sense of danger.

Rather, it felt more like trying to restrain a large, mischievous dog.

With both of his cheeks held in Garam’s hands, Sa Muheon gazed down at him intently. But even then, his displeasure at being denied his kisses was evident in his eyes.

Just as Garam was about to burst into laughter, he suddenly felt something was off.

“Huh….”

Garam shifted his hands slightly against Sa Muheon’s cheeks, but nothing changed.

The warmth of Sa Muheon’s skin beneath his palms felt excessively hot.

It was only then that Garam realized Sa Muheon’s body temperature, which was usually on the cooler side, was significantly higher than normal.

Startled, Garam quickly withdrew his hands and tried to sit up.

But that attempt went nowhere.

The moment his hands left, Sa Muheon immediately resumed pressing soft kisses all over Garam’s face.

In the end, Garam once again grabbed Sa Muheon’s cheeks and locked eyes with him.

“What is going on? You’re not even explaining anything… Are you feeling sick?”

There was a faint mix of irritation and concern in Garam’s voice.

But Sa Muheon, seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the situation, merely chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Baby….”

“What?”

At the sound of Sa Muheon’s voice, Garam’s face lit up, but his excitement was short-lived.

Sa Muheon closed his mouth again, saying nothing more.

Growing impatient, Garam gently patted his cheek, trying to coax a proper response out of him.

His movements were no more than soft taps with the tips of his fingers, but strangely, they seemed to snap Sa Muheon out of his daze.

For the first time, his gaze looked markedly different, more lucid.

“Oh.”

Noticing the change in his eyes, Garam let out a small exclamation.

Sa Muheon, now appearing confused, pushed himself up halfway.

“Why was I….”

“Are you coming back to your senses?”

Garam reached out and grabbed Sa Muheon’s wrist as he tried to move away.

The moment their skin made contact, Sa Muheon froze, allowing Garam to touch his face, checking his forehead and cheeks with careful hands.

It was a relief that Sa Muheon had finally regained some clarity, but Garam couldn’t fully put his worries to rest.

With concern still evident on his face, he lightly pressed his fingers against Sa Muheon’s cheek and forehead before looking up at him with furrowed brows.

“Are you okay? You were acting really strange just now….”

At that innocent question, whatever remained of Sa Muheon’s conscience cried out in agony.

His fever still made his head feel hazy, but it wasn’t hard to reach the rational conclusion that he couldn’t possibly go any further with someone so oblivious to the situation.

“…Sorry, but I need to get out of here.”

“What?”

Garam blinked, confused by the completely unrelated response.

Normally, Sa Muheon would have explained things in a way Garam could understand, but this wasn’t the time for that.

Sa Muheon knew that the fact he had regained his composure at this very moment was nothing short of a miracle.

Instead of giving an explanation, he grabbed Garam’s shoulders, helping him up before stepping away from the bed, putting a considerable distance between them.

“This situation… Ha… It’s dangerous. Just leave.”

“Who was the one who brought me here in the first place….”

Garam’s baffled murmur reached his ears.

Realizing that Garam wasn’t going to leave so easily, Sa Muheon spoke again.

“I’ve suddenly gone into heat. It’s dangerous. Get out of here. Now.”

“…What?”

Garam stared blankly, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Sa Muheon quickly laid out what needed to be done.

“Get out right now. Call Chief Han or Team Leader Jang. Stay in the garden until they come to pick you up. And until I contact you, don’t come back inside the house.”

With every word he spoke, a sharp pain throbbed in his head.

Leaning against the dresser, Sa Muheon held his pounding head, finishing what he had to say before staggering away.

He wasn’t sure when he would lose control again, so he figured it was best to lock himself away in the bathroom.

But before he could take even a few steps, he felt a cautious hand grab the sleeve of his shirt.

And just like always, Sa Muheon couldn’t bring himself to shake off the hand that held him.

Instead, he stopped and turned around.

“…I won’t go.”

Garam, who had been staring at the floor, slowly lifted his head to meet Sa Muheon’s gaze.

The first words that came from Garam’s mouth were entirely unexpected.

In his already muddled state, those words were enough to shake Sa Muheon’s fragile sense of reason.

Even Garam could see the slight tremble in his pupils.

However, Sa Muheon barely held onto his self-control, shaking his head lightly before speaking in an unusually firm voice.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said leave.”

But Garam only bit his lip and shook his head.

Sa Muheon let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

“You… you’ve never even experienced a heat cycle before, have you?”

“…….”

“Do you think this is some kind of joke? Get out. Now. And do as I said.”

He purposely spoke coldly, but even as he did, Sa Muheon’s heart felt uneasy.

Still, there was no way he could let someone so clueless go through a heat cycle with him.

Sa Muheon clenched his teeth and was about to turn away again.

But what stopped him was Garam’s small voice.

“Why do you keep telling me to leave?”

Sa Muheon’s gaze turned back to Garam. The eyes that met his again carried a firm light. Garam tightened his grip on Sa Muheon’s clothes and took a step closer to him.

“I like you.”

It was the words he had been waiting for.

Though he had already known Garam’s feelings, hearing them directly from his lips was beyond joy—it was almost intoxicating. But the situation wasn’t one where he could simply revel in that happiness.

“…Let’s talk later.”

“No. I want to say it now.”

Sa Muheon tried to remove the hand gripping his clothes, but instead, Garam grasped his approaching hand tightly and continued speaking.

“You’ve helped me whenever I was sick or struggling, haven’t you?”

“That’s…”

He wanted to say that this situation was different, but Garam shook his head, cutting him off.

“No, at least to me, it’s the same.”

“……”

“I can’t just leave the person I like when they’re struggling.”

Sa Muheon couldn’t say anything. Garam, noticing that his resolve was wavering, stepped even closer and clung to his arm.

“You would do the same if our positions were reversed.”

“…Ha.”

In the end, a sigh escaped from Sa Muheon’s lips. The outcome had been decided from the start. He had never once won against this little squirrel. In the first place, he had never even considered trying to win against Garam.

Gathering the last remnants of his rationality, Sa Muheon asked one final question.

“You won’t regret this?”

Garam looked up at him with clear eyes.

“You’re okay with getting involved with someone like me? You’re still young, and it’s not like you don’t know what kind of work I do. I’m telling you now—if you get involved with me, I’ll never let you go.”

“……”

“Even if you regret it later, I will never let you go. Besides, I’m a snake shifter. Do you really think you can handle being with someone like me…?”

Sa Muheon’s words were cut off before he could finish. As if saying that was enough, Garam stepped closer, wrapped his arms around Sa Muheon’s neck, and kissed him first.

It was nothing more than a firm press of his lips, yet in that moment, Sa Muheon was completely undone. His hands slid down to wrap around Garam’s waist. As if he would never let go, he pulled their bodies together and deepened the kiss, swallowing Garam’s lips entirely. When he finally pulled away, Garam was gasping for breath as he slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you… like me?”

“…Ha, is that even a question?”

Sa Muheon let out a breathless chuckle, but Garam continued to stare at him, waiting for a clear answer. Sa Muheon laughed and pressed his forehead against Garam’s.

“Yes. I like you.”

Upon hearing those words, Garam’s face broke into a radiant smile. It was the brightest, happiest smile Sa Muheon had ever seen from him.

“Then, I won’t regret this.”

Before the words had even fully left his lips, Sa Muheon pounced on him.