Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 130

The wall was almost black from the countless scribbles left by visitors. But Garam stared at it for a long time as if trying to find something among all those letters.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

He wanted to do whatever Garam wished, but they were still eating. It felt oddly out of place for him to be distracted while eating the food he’d been so eager to have.

“Oh, well…”

It was only after hearing his question that Garam seemed to come to his senses, a sheepish smile forming on his lips as he finally tore his gaze away from the wall.

“Actually… I used to come here a lot when I was little.”

“Here?”

“Yeah. I lived nearby until right before I entered elementary school. So I used to come here often…”

Since officially starting to date Garam, he had heard many stories, but this was the first time he heard about Garam’s childhood.

He wasn’t uninterested in Garam’s early years. But to hear about those times would inevitably lead to the story of Garam’s late parents.

Nine years old—that was how old Garam was when he lost his parents.

To be honest, Sa Muheon couldn’t even remember what he was doing at that age. His memories from then were nothing more than faint fragments.

Having lost his parents at such a young age, Garam probably didn’t have many memories left either. And this place must have been one of the few remaining ones.

Only then did Sa Muheon take a good look around the old restaurant. Scribbles and photos scattered throughout the place held the memories of countless people.

“Have you never come back here since?”

As he looked around, Sa Muheon asked Garam, who was still watching him. Garam nodded at the question.

“No. I just didn’t feel like coming here alone.”

Though he smiled lightly, Sa Muheon couldn’t imagine how many tears it must have taken to speak so calmly and smile like that. It was a pain he couldn’t even begin to fathom.

As uncharacteristically at a loss for words as he was, Sa Muheon opened his mouth just as Garam continued speaking.

“I just remembered something—when I was little, I tried to write something on that wall. But I was too young to write properly, so my mom helped me.”

As he spoke, Garam’s gaze scanned the graffiti-covered wall as if searching for a trace that might still remain.

“Want to look for it after we finish eating?”

Watching him, Sa Muheon suddenly spoke up. It was a spontaneous remark, but seeing Garam’s surprised face made him feel it was worth saying.

“Huh?”

“You want to find it, right?”

“But… it might not be there anymore, and we might not be able to find it.”

“So what? Who knows? Maybe it’s still there, perfectly intact.”

Garam responded hesitantly, but perhaps intrigued by the suggestion, his eyes kept drifting toward the wall. Eventually, he nodded at Sa Muheon’s continued encouragement.

“Then let’s finish eating first and take our time looking.”

“Okay…!”

Nodding with a much brighter expression, Garam began eating a bit faster than before. He had initially declined, saying he didn’t know how long it would take, but now he seemed restless, eagerly chewing and swallowing while unable to take his eyes off the wall.

“I’m done!”

“I’ll pay, so go ahead and take a look first.”

“Okay!”

Screech—

Garam quickly stood up and headed toward the wall. Fortunately, they were the only customers in the restaurant. Sa Muheon finished paying and walked over to Garam.

“Do you remember around where it was?”

“Hmm… I think it was around here…”

Crouching in front of the wall, Garam tilted his head as he read through the scribbles one by one.

“I remember standing right here while Mom wrote it next to me…”

Murmuring, Garam’s hand glided over the graffiti until it stopped somewhere.

“Oh…!”

“Did you find it?”

Sa Muheon looked where Garam’s fingertip was pointing. There, written in wobbly letters, was a short phrase.

[Pulip Class Kang Garam]

Right below it, in small letters, were the words: “With Mom and Dad.”

“Wow… I didn’t think it would still be here…”

Garam murmured as he kept his eyes fixed on that small scribble. His finger slowly hovered over the words “Mom and Dad” beneath his name.

“So this is what Mom’s handwriting looked like…”

Sa Muheon stared quietly at Garam’s profile as he spoke to himself. Garam didn’t seem to notice his gaze, still fixated on the graffiti.

Even after all the hardships he’d gone through, Garam still had a resilient heart. At least, that’s how it seemed to Sa Muheon.

He sometimes wondered if he could have survived as well as Garam had if he’d been in the same situation. But the answer was always the same: he wouldn’t have been able to.

But Garam had endured those difficult times and was now here, by his side.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder—if those hardships had never happened to Garam, would he have been even happier now?

As complex thoughts swirled through Sa Muheon’s head, Garam, still unaware of his gaze, turned and looked at him.

“Look at this! I stood right here when I wrote it… I was pretty short back then. I didn’t think it’d be this low.”

As he said that with a smile, there wasn’t a trace of sorrow on Garam’s face. But seeing that smile somehow made Sa Muheon’s heart ache just a little.

“You really were just a little kid back then.”

But he couldn’t bring himself to show those feelings in front of Garam. He forced a smile as he replied, and Garam nodded.

“That’s right. I was really short as a kid… I remember my mom used to call me her baby squirrel every day.”

“Really?”

At those words, Sa Muheon tried to imagine Garam as a child. Smaller and younger than now, he could easily picture Garam in a time when he was always happy.

“Do you remember anything else?”

“About what?”

“Something you did with your parents.”

“Hmm…”

He felt like now was the right time to ask such a question. Just as he thought, Garam paused for a moment in thought, then soon let out an “Ah” as if he’d remembered something and began to speak.

“When I was little, we went to the beach.”

“The beach?”

“Yeah. It was my first time seeing the ocean, and it just so happened to snow that day. It was really windy and super cold… but I still remember how amazed I was seeing the ocean for the first time.”

Garam chuckled to himself as if reminiscing about that time.

“My dad carried me to the water and told me just to dip my fingers in because the water was so cold. But I was so shocked at how cold it was that my mom laughed at me for a long time.”

Garam’s face, as he spoke of the old memory, looked happier than ever. Watching that expression, Sa Muheon suddenly spoke without thinking.

“Wanna go?”

The question was so sudden that Garam blinked in confusion.

“Go where?”

His question came with a look that clearly said he didn’t know what Sa Muheon meant, so this time, Sa Muheon gave a clear answer.

“The beach. Want to go now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

Garam stared at him like he was trying to figure out if he was serious. Sa Muheon gave a small nod. Even after confirming his answer, Garam kept looking at him for a while before finally getting to his feet.

Sa Muheon, who had been sitting beside him, looked up at Garam. Garam smiled and extended his hand toward him. Sa Muheon looked at the hand offered to him, then took it and stood up.

With a satisfied expression, Garam held his hand and began walking ahead. Sa Muheon couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle as he looked at Garam’s back walking in front of him.

Swoooosh—

The winter sea was colder than Garam remembered. The sharp wind brushed past his ears, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of him.

“Wow…”

As Garam let out a soft exclamation, Sa Muheon, who had followed behind him, wrapped a scarf around his neck.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’m fine…”

“Just wear it.”

At his firm tone, Garam smiled and nodded. Only then did Sa Muheon turn his gaze to the sea that Garam had been staring at.

It was hard to tell what Sa Muheon was thinking as he looked out at the ocean. Garam glanced at his side profile, then turned his head back again.

The sun had just begun to rise, illuminating the dark sea. The sight brought an odd sense of calm to his heart.

The two of them stood there for a long time, watching the sea bathed in warm light. Garam was the first to speak.

“Hey…”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

Only then did Sa Muheon turn to look at Garam. It was hard to guess what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, but Garam could tell he was staying silent out of embarrassment.

“You brought me all the way here because I talked about my parents. I just wanted to say thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“It’s not like it was a big deal.”

He replied like it was nothing.