Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 133

He had thought about it not too long ago.

If those things hadn’t happened to Garam—if his parents were still alive and he’d grown up without a care in the world—would he have turned out differently?

The young Garam in the photo provided a partial answer to that question.

The child’s brightly smiling face bore some resemblance to the Garam of now. He possessed the kind of loveliness typical of children that age, and was beaming up at his parents with a radiant smile.

Even now, Garam sometimes showed that same bright smile to Sa Muheon. It was because he knew that, that Sa Muheon found the memory bitter.

If only he could’ve just kept smiling like that. Sa Muheon couldn’t take his eyes off the photo, knowing that this child would soon lose his parents, fall into deep sorrow, and temporarily lose that brightness.

“The investigation at the time concluded that the truck driver was driving under the influence. All the passengers in the car that collided with the truck died on the scene, and the truck driver wasn’t properly punished, supposedly because he showed remorse.”

As Sa Muheon’s silence dragged on, Chief Han began to share the information he had gathered.

“The driver who caused the accident was no longer able to work afterward, but in exchange, he received a large sum of money from Ryu Beomjoo. He used that money to start a business and didn’t seem to face much difficulty in life.”

“Then why is he turning himself in to us now?”

When Sa Muheon asked this, clearly perplexed, Chief Han hesitated for a moment, his expression grim, before finally speaking.

“…It seems his business suddenly began to falter, and he needed money. Apparently, he was lured by the promise of compensation in exchange for information and came to us.”

“Hah…”

Sa Muheon let out a dry laugh and leaned back in his chair.

“Blinded by money, he doesn’t even know when to keep his mouth shut, huh…”

“I’ll handle it from my end.”

When Chief Han said this, Sa Muheon gave him a casual nod of approval and turned his gaze back to the documents in front of him.

This was something he hadn’t seen coming. He’d already known that Ryu Beomjoo wasn’t a decent person, but even so, this far exceeded anything he’d imagined.

Even for Sa Muheon, who had seen all sorts of things over the years, this was a shocking revelation. And so, his thoughts grew heavier and deeper.

“Are you considering telling him the truth?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

As if reading his thoughts, Chief Han quietly asked the question. Sa Muheon answered honestly.

It was the first time he’d ever been so undecided about something. Usually, in cases like this, it was because he knew the answer he wanted wasn’t the right one. But this time, he truly didn’t know what to choose.

“What do you think, Chief Han? Do you think it’s better to tell him?”

“……”

Chief Han didn’t answer immediately. A long silence followed, as if he too hadn’t come to a decision.

“…I think this is something too difficult for me to give an opinion on.”

After much contemplation, his answer wasn’t much different from what Sa Muheon himself felt.

“Let’s think it over for now. It’s not something we need to tell him right away.”

“Yes, understood.”

With that, Chief Han left the office. Left alone, Sa Muheon continued to ponder.

The winter day that had crept up on them somehow felt especially short. Lost in thought, Sa Muheon only realized how dark the room had become when it was already nearly pitch black. Clicking his tongue, he stood up from his seat. At the same time, he pulled out his phone from inside his jacket, and at the top of the screen was a message from Garam.

Instead of replying with a message, he called immediately. As if he had been waiting, Garam answered the call after only a few rings.

“Hey, baby. A guest dropped by, so I checked my phone a little late.”

—I figured you might be late, so I reached out.

“And here I was thinking my baby missed me already and called because of that.”

When he joked, he could hear Garam let out a soft laugh through the receiver. Just hearing that laugh seemed to ease his heart.

Listening to Garam’s voice through the phone, Sa Muheon began walking slowly.

“I’m heading over now. Is there anything you want to eat?”

—I don’t really have anything in mind. Is there something you’d like?

“Hmm…”

It was just a simple conversation, but it calmed his previously tangled thoughts in an instant. As he opened the office door and stepped out, Jang Seokgyu—who had apparently been waiting this whole time—quickly stood up.

With a slight gesture of his eyes, Sa Muheon started walking slowly. Jang Seokgyu silently followed behind him without a word.

“Yeah. I’ll be there soon, so see you in a bit.”

—Okay, drive safe.

Once the call ended, Jang Seokgyu finally started the car. Sa Muheon didn’t say a word during the entire drive home. Perhaps Jang had heard about what happened today from Chief Han, because he stayed quiet and focused on driving.

“What do you think, Team Leader Jang?”

Suddenly, Sa Muheon thought that maybe Jang Seokgyu could give him an answer to his dilemma. After all, Chief Han didn’t see Garam very often, but Jang Seokgyu saw him almost every day, so it might be easier for him to make a judgment.

“…You mean what Chief Han reported, sir?”

Despite the unexpected question, Jang Seokgyu immediately understood what Sa Muheon was referring to. When Sa Muheon nodded, Jang answered without hesitation.

“If I were in his position, I think I would’ve wanted to know the truth.”

“So you’re saying it’s better to tell him?”

“No, it’s just a hypothetical—what I would do if I were in that position. But if I think about it based on what I’ve seen so far…”

Jang Seokgyu trailed off for a moment. Just then, the car they were in came to a smooth stop at a traffic light. He glanced at Sa Muheon through the rearview mirror and continued speaking.

“If he learns the truth, it’ll definitely be a shock. But even so, I believe he’ll be able to overcome it.”

“……”

Sa Muheon didn’t respond to his words. But Jang Seokgyu didn’t seem to mind, and quietly started driving again once the light changed.

Sa Muheon agreed with Jang Seokgyu’s belief that Garam would be able to overcome it. Still, he wasn’t sure if it was truly better for Garam to know the truth—even if it meant enduring sorrow and shock.

When he entered the house, Garam ran to the entrance to greet him. The sight reminded Sa Muheon of the first time he’d seen Garam, looking just like a squirrel, and it brought a smile to his face.

“You’re home?”

“Yeah, were you having fun?”

Sa Muheon pulled Garam into an embrace and kissed his forehead. Garam smiled sheepishly, but hugged him back.

“I wasn’t playing… I had some studying to do today, so I was working on that.”

“Studying what?”

As he held Garam’s hand and headed toward the living room, Sa Muheon couldn’t hide his curiosity at the word ‘studying’ and asked again.

“I thought it’d be better to prepare early for some certifications. They say it’s chaotic to try and cram everything in during the senior year.”

Sa Muheon led Garam to the couch, pulled him close by the waist, and sat him down next to him. As if it were routine, Garam comfortably leaned his head on Sa Muheon’s shoulder.

“It’s winter break. Why are you studying so hard?”

“This is the first time someone’s nagged me for studying too much.”

Garam answered with a playful laugh and, under Sa Muheon’s fixed gaze, eventually added an explanation with a smile.

“It’s just… I’ll be job hunting at some point, and I figured it’d be good to start early.”

“You’re already thinking about job hunting?”

“Isn’t it better to prepare little by little in advance? That way I can feel more at ease…”

Seeing Sa Muheon still looking at him with a puzzled expression, Garam let out a small sigh.

“…I originally wanted to go to graduate school, but it seems hard with the current situation. Since the plan I had is falling apart, I guess I’m feeling a little anxious.”

“Why would graduate school be hard?”

“Because I need to earn money…?”

Garam looked up at Sa Muheon with an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Why even ask that?’

But Sa Muheon felt the same way. He couldn’t understand why his little squirrel thought he needed to earn money.

Maybe this was how it felt if a hamster he raised suddenly declared it would earn its own sunflower seeds from now on and leave home.

“Why do you need to earn money?”

“Then how am I supposed to live?”

The two of them stared at each other, equally baffled.

Sa Muheon knew Garam was an independent person, but he hadn’t expected to be confronted with it like this. He sighed lightly and changed the subject.

“If money weren’t a concern, would you still want to go to graduate school?”

“Well…”

Garam hesitated to answer. But that alone spoke volumes about how he truly felt.

Why in the world does he like studying so much? Sa Muheon couldn’t really understand it. So he decided to finally get to the bottom of his curiosity today.

“Why do you want to study so hard?”

“Hmm…”

Garam hummed for a long time, seemingly trying to figure out where to start, organizing his thoughts.

“…When I was little, I wanted to be like my dad.”