Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 139

Even in his sleep, his whole body throbbed as if he’d been beaten all over. Garam unconsciously furrowed his brow. But for some reason, he didn’t want to wake up.

As his mind gradually became clearer, Garam kept his eyes closed and began to collect his thoughts.

Before going to sleep—what had he been doing?

He tried hard to recall, but the memory right before he fell asleep was clouded over, as if shrouded in fog. Still, Garam didn’t give up and slowly traced the remaining fragments of memory.

So then, the last thing he remembered was kissing Samuheon. That was Garam’s final memory—stealing a kiss from Samuheon, who was cooking in the kitchen, and then running away like a thief.

What was he trying to do after that?

Garam tried to recall what had happened next. He remembered holding a pair of gloves in his hand and running toward the front door. Only then did he finally remember what he had intended to do before collapsing.

The snowman he had made with Samuheon. He was going to put his gloves on it and take a photo. So he had told Samuheon, who was making dinner, that he’d be back shortly and went outside…

What happened after that?

Suddenly, a searing pain stabbed through his head. Garam groaned without realizing it.

“Ugh…”

And at that moment, the memory he had forgotten came flooding back all at once.

Garam took a sharp breath as he recalled the last thing he had seen before losing consciousness.

Ryu Beomju. That man had appeared in front of Garam. He had taken the form of a tiger, but Garam had recognized immediately that the tiger was Ryu Beomju.

The moment he faced him, Garam was overwhelmed by fear. Even an ordinary human would be terrified to face a tiger up close, but Garam was a squirrel beastman. The unavoidable instincts of prey took over his entire body.

Besides, hadn’t Samuheon been injured by this guy not long ago? Everyone had called it a miracle that Samuheon survived that attack.

So the moment Garam recognized Ryu Beomju, he thought his short life would end right there.

The idea of screaming for help didn’t even cross his mind. He instinctively thought that calling Samuheon would only result in two victims instead of one.

The moment Garam, trembling with fear, involuntarily stepped back, the tiger leapt at him.

Blood dripped down from his thigh, but Garam couldn’t make a sound. The tiger didn’t seem to intend to kill him outright, only wounding him enough so he couldn’t escape, before backing away.

But that didn’t mean the injury was shallow. In the end, Garam couldn’t withstand the surge of pain and reverted to his true form.

He could feel the cold snow against his entire body. His soft fur soaked through with the cold, and his consciousness faded.

The last thing Garam saw before completely losing consciousness was the tiger approaching him.

Gulp—

Having recalled everything, Garam swallowed hard. He had definitely thought he was going to die, but the vivid sensation coursing through his body now made it clear he was still alive.

Garam gave a small squeeze with his hand. Judging by the sensation in his fingertips, he was still in his squirrel form.

It was only then that a strange scent reached his nose. It was a mix of damp earth and the musty air one might smell in an old, abandoned building.

It definitely wasn’t the villa he had been in with Samuheon, nor a hospital. Only then did Garam slowly lift his eyelids.

“Ha, I thought my eyes were going to fall out waiting for you to wake up.”

As soon as Garam opened his eyes, a mocking voice called out, as if it had been waiting. Garam instantly fluffed up his fur and warily eyed the speaker. It was Ryu Beomju.

Ryu Beomju scoffed, amused that such a tiny squirrel was baring its fur at him in warning, and opened his mouth.

“I was curious when the little rat would wake up, but you’re so damn small, I could barely see you.”

“……”

“You were definitely awake, but you just kept your eyes closed. I started to wonder if something was wrong.”

Apparently, Ryu Beomju had been watching the entire time since the moment Garam first regained consciousness.

“So, were you trying to come up with an escape plan or something?”

Garam glared at him with all the strength he could muster, but Ryu Beomju wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

No matter how much a tiny squirrel, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, flared its fur and glared, there was no way it could seem scary or threatening.

There was no point in wasting energy on someone who felt no threat. Instead of glaring, Garam quickly scanned his surroundings.

This looked like an abandoned building that had been deserted for a long time.

There was a small window high up on one wall, its glass broken, offering a clear view outside. But through it, all he could see was blue sky.

The interior was littered with broken stones, old and damaged furniture, and dust, making it difficult to run barefoot. And besides…

“You shouldn’t even think about escaping. Took some precautions, you see. Can’t have my hostage running off after all the trouble I went through.”

“…Ppi.”

Just as he said, Garam was trapped inside some kind of transparent cage. It felt similar to the hamster cage he had first entered at Samuheon’s house.

The difference was that the walls of the cage he was trapped in now were much taller. Garam looked up at the dizzyingly high walls and let out a sigh without realizing it.

Even if someone told him to just climb up, the smooth walls didn’t seem like they would even let his claws catch. Besides, the leg that had been injured by Ryu Beomju throbbed with pain, making escape by climbing over the wall seem nearly impossible.

“As you can see, I’m just giving you a heads-up so you don’t waste your energy. You’re family, after all.”

“Ppi!”

At the word “family,” Garam let out a threatening squeak. Although Ryu Beomju was the son of the grandmother who had raised Garam, not once had Garam considered him to be family.

Ryu Beomju probably felt the same way, which made it all the more disgusting for him to suddenly bring up the notion of family now.

“For such a tiny thing, you’ve got quite the lungs.”

Ryu Beomju pretended to cover his ears as if the noise was annoying and stepped back.

“Anyway, even if you manage to escape from here, it’s just a mountain outside. Unless you want to be found as a frozen corpse in the wilderness midwinter, you’d better stay put. As long as you behave, I’ll let you live.”

His breath grew ragged with fury, but for now, there was nothing he could do. With no response from Garam, Ryu Beomju simply shrugged and walked away.

Bang—!

This place must have been a room deep within the abandoned building, as the sound of Ryu Beomju’s footsteps grew more distant after he left.

Garam took in the new information and began carefully examining the space where he was being held. Though all four walls were high, the floor area wasn’t very large.

If he could return to his human form, he might have been able to think of a way to escape, but in such a confined space, it was impossible to shift back.

“Ppi…”

After restlessly moving around the small space, Garam slumped down with a sigh onto the pile of his clothes in the corner.

He racked his brain as hard as he could, but there seemed to be no way out. At this rate, all he could do was wait for Ryu Beomju to release him out of his own volition.

Then, Garam felt something hard underneath his bottom.

“Ppi?”

Tilting his head in confusion, Garam stood up and dug through the carelessly piled clothes. Inside, he found a cellphone with a cracked screen.

“Ppi…!”

Garam urgently looked around. He knew Ryu Beomju had left, but still instinctively checked if anyone was watching.

After confirming he was alone, he tapped on the screen with his small front paw. But the phone didn’t respond at all.

“Ppi, Ppi…”

Had it broken when it fell? Overwhelmed with despair, Garam began to squeak softly without meaning to.

That’s when he sensed someone approaching. It was definitely Ryu Beomju.

Garam quickly wiped away his tears and scurried out of the pile of clothes. He made sure to hide the phone well under the pile, then sat on top of it just as the door burst open and Ryu Beomju appeared.

Bang—!

“From now on, until I tell you to speak, keep your damn mouth shut.”

“Ppi…”

Garam nodded obediently at his words. He didn’t know what Ryu Beomju was about to do, but it was crucial not to provoke him now.

Ryu Beomju seemed pleased with Garam’s compliant attitude and smiled as he sat down on a nearby chair.

Creak—

The chair gave an unpleasant sound under his large frame, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

He fiddled with the phone in his hand and made a call, a sinister smirk appearing on his lips as he spoke.

“Director Sa. Looks like you’ve been doing well, huh?”