Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 140

Director Sa?

Hearing the name come from Ryu Beomju’s mouth, Garam’s ears perked up as he sat quietly.

As if drawn by some force, Garam stood up and approached the tall wall. Ryu Beomju didn’t spare him a single glance and continued his call.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve got him. Why did I take him? Director Sa, why ask something so obvious? Looks like you’ve lost your touch after all that playing house. If I want to get what I want, shouldn’t I at least have a hostage? I almost got taken down once already—how am I supposed to know if you won’t stab me in the back again?”

Whatever Sa Muheon said in response made Ryu Beomju burst out laughing.

“Ah, now that’s the Director Sa I know. Finally, we’re speaking the same language. What do I want?”

Ryu Beomju slowly turned his head and looked at Garam inside the enclosure. Just seeing his smug grin made Garam feel like throwing up. Thankfully, being in his squirrel form meant Ryu Beomju had no clue what Garam was feeling.

“Nothing much. Just a new identity and some cash. That’s all I need. I’ll take care of the plane ticket and all that, so just have the money ready.”

Garam’s eyes widened. It seemed Ryu Beomju was planning to escape with this. Just as Garam began to worry about whether Sa Muheon would actually accept such an absurd demand, Ryu Beomju began to laugh loudly.

“Yeah, sure. I can wait a day or two more. But don’t drag things out too long. If I get the sense you’re stalling to catch me, who knows what I’ll do to the hostage?”

Ryu Beomju’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he stared at Garam. Feeling that gaze, Garam instinctively stepped back. Despite himself, he felt the fur on his tail stand on end.

“I told you, he’s fine. What? You want to hear his voice? I didn’t know you had the talent to understand squirrel squeaks.”

Apparently Sa Muheon had asked to hear Garam’s voice. Ryu Beomju sneered but slowly got up.

As he stepped closer, the small stones beneath his shoes made a harsh noise.

Though the walls were high for a small, injured squirrel, they weren’t very tall for a large human. Ryu Beomju easily reached over and grabbed Garam.

Feeling himself suddenly lifted, Garam almost screamed but barely held it in.

Ryu Beomju brought his phone close to Garam’s face. The number displayed on the cracked screen was indeed Sa Muheon’s.

“Say something. Your lover’s calling.”

“……”

Though Ryu Beomju pressed him, Garam said nothing. He was worried Sa Muheon might make a wrong decision because of him.

But when Garam stayed silent, Ryu Beomju tightened his grip on him.

“Ppi, ppiit…!”

As Ryu Beomju’s grip tightened, he pressed down on Garam’s injured leg. The unbearable pain made Garam scream out despite himself.

Once he’d forced a sound out of Garam, Ryu Beomju loosened his grip and brought the phone back to his ear.

From the phone, still near his ear, the faint sound of Sa Muheon calling Garam’s name desperately could be heard.

“Ugh, shut up already. He’s not dead, so stop screaming. What if I got startled and accidentally killed him?”

Sa Muheon must’ve kept yelling, but Ryu Beomju replied with indifference.

Garam hung limp in his hand. Though the pressure on his wound was gone, the pain remained, making his mind hazy.

“Anyway, I’ve said what I needed to. I’ll call again around the same time tomorrow. Think carefully and just give me your answer.”

Having said his piece, Ryu Beomju hung up the call. Then he tossed Garam back to where he had been, half-throwing him.

“Ppi… i…”

Thankfully, he at least dropped Garam onto the pile of clothes. If Garam were to die now, Ryu Beomju’s own safety wouldn’t be guaranteed, so he likely had no intention of killing him just yet.

Thrown onto the clothes, Garam let out a faint whimper and curled up into a ball. Ryu Beomju clicked his tongue and walked out.

Once Garam was sure the sound of Ryu Beomju’s footsteps had fully faded, he slowly lifted his body.

His leg burned as if on fire, and his whole body ached, but he couldn’t afford to lie there doing nothing.

Garam crawled back into the pile of clothes. He reached for the power button on the broken phone.

“Ppi…”

Please, please… He had never wished for something this desperately in his life. After pressing the button repeatedly with all his might, the dark screen finally flickered to life.

“Ppit…!”

Garam let out a small cheer and quickly covered his mouth. If any noise leaked out and Ryu Beomju became suspicious and returned, it would be a disaster.

He perked up his ears but thankfully couldn’t sense any presence from Ryu Beomju. Garam sighed in relief and waited for the phone to finish booting up.

He worried the phone might make some noise while powering on, but thankfully it remained silent.

An agonizingly long moment passed before the phone fully powered up. Garam quickly entered the passcode and unlocked it.

Ryu Beomju had said this place was deep in the mountains, but fortunately the signal was working fine. Garam hurriedly checked the notifications.

The first thing he saw was a long list of missed calls. Just seeing Sa Muheon’s name brought tears to his eyes, but Garam quickly wiped them away and moved his paws to do what he had originally intended.

“Ppii…”

There it is. Garam’s eyes sparkled.

After Garam became lovers with Sa Muheon, Sa Muheon had installed an app on Garam’s phone. When Garam asked what it was, he kindly explained it. It was an app that allowed registered individuals to track each other’s locations.

Of course, Sa Muheon had no need to monitor Garam. Whenever Garam went out, Sa Muheon or one of his assigned bodyguards always accompanied him, so there was no need to use such an app unnecessarily.

It was simply a precaution in case of emergencies.

Recalling Sa Muheon’s explanation, Garam quickly moved his fingers.

Not only did the app have a location tracking function, but it also had the ability to send a designated short message.

Tap—

As Garam’s hand pressed the confirm button, a notification popped up saying the message had been sent to the recipient.

From then on, the waiting began. Time passed, feeling like the longest in the world, and eventually the dark screen lit up with a notification that a message had arrived.

Garam quickly read through the message.

The message from Sa Muheon wasn’t long. But it was more than enough to know that he was deeply worried about Garam.

[I’ll come get you soon, so please wait just a little longer.]

Among the many lines, that one sentence caught Garam’s eyes the most. He read it over and over again, then turned off the phone.

The battery was almost gone anyway, and there had also been a note of advice from Sa Muheon at the end of the message.

If the phone was discovered, he might be harmed—so he had advised Garam to turn it off and hide it. Garam made sure the phone was completely powered down and came back out from under the pile of clothes.

“Ppi…”

Before he knew it, the surroundings had grown dark. There wasn’t even a common light source here, making it darker than the outside seen through the small window.

Garam curled up on top of his pile of clothes. Just like he did whenever he felt anxious, he hugged his tail. But tonight, he just couldn’t calm down.

His heart pounded with unease, but Garam tried his best to steady himself. Recalling Sa Muheon’s message from a moment ago finally brought him a bit of peace.

Just as Garam’s eyes began to close from the shock and pain of the earlier events, his ears perked up.

Ryu Beomju entered through the door, mumbling to himself in a voice thick with irritation. He looked like a madman.

Holding his breath, Garam watched Ryu Beomju approach him. But because the man had turned on his flashlight, Garam couldn’t see his face properly.

Click—

There was the sound of a camera shutter a few times, as if Ryu Beomju was taking pictures of Garam curled up on the clothes. As the distance between them closed, Ryu Beomju’s muttering became clear.

“Whether it’s this bastard or that bastard…”

From the context, it seemed he was talking about Sa Muheon. Garam, afraid of provoking Ryu Beomju’s temper, didn’t even let out a beep and just quietly listened.

After taking Garam’s picture, Ryu Beomju appeared to make a call to someone.

“Yeah, that snake bastard said to send a picture. I sent it just like he wanted, so he can make a smart decision with that great brain of his.”

Garam didn’t know who the other person was, but Ryu Beomju kept talking, chuckling to himself.

“Seriously, they’re all nothing special. When I return to my original body, they’ll all be just a bite-sized snack. Even that bastard Sa Muheon—what can a snake even do? Even if it’s poisonous, it’s game over if I bite first.”

Ryu Beomju started to laugh, a deep sound rumbling from his throat like a tiger’s growl.

Hearing his words, Garam felt a cold sweat run down his back and held his breath.