Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 141

When he heard Ryu Beomju’s words, the memory of the day he received news that Sa Muheon had been injured resurfaced.

Back then, he had survived thanks to sheer luck, but there was no way to know if such luck would strike twice.

Ryu Beomju, thinking that Garam was completely asleep, didn’t pay the slightest attention to his movements and continued the call.

“Oh, right. I added a condition. The money has to be handed over directly by Director Sa. Of course, he has to leave all his lackeys behind. You never know, right? If they’re lying in ambush nearby and attack, that would be a real problem.”

Garam’s heart began to pound anxiously. He wanted to slightly turn his head to see Ryu Beomju’s expression, but the interior was too dark to see his face clearly.

“For now, I’ll wait and see… but just leaving him there kind of bothers me. Depending on the situation, it might be better to just kill him.”

Ryu Beomju chuckled as if he were telling an extremely funny joke. But as soon as Garam heard those words, chills ran down his entire body. If anyone else had heard what Ryu Beomju just said, they wouldn’t have taken it as a joke either.

Garam swallowed hard. At that moment, Ryu Beomju’s gaze turned toward him. But Garam exhaled as slowly as possible and pretended to be asleep.

Fortunately, whatever the person on the other end of the call said in response, Ryu Beomju chuckled and stepped outside.

Only after he had completely left the room did Garam let out the breath he had been holding.

“Phew…”

He had been so tense that the fur of the tail he was hugging was standing completely on end.

Garam collapsed onto the pile of clothes. The little squirrel, with a serious expression, continued to think.

From what Ryu Beomju had just said, it seemed he wanted to eliminate Sa Muheon completely if he got the chance.

Moreover, since Sa Muheon was the one who had tried to eliminate his opponent first, Ryu Beomju made no effort to hide his hatred toward him.

Sa Muheon had survived by luck, but to Ryu Beomju, that was nothing but misfortune. Because Sa Muheon had survived, he could no longer set foot in Korea.

But that didn’t mean Ryu Beomju’s attempt to kill Sa Muheon was justifiable. Besides, Sa Muheon was Garam’s lover and the one who had supported him when he was lonely.

That was why Garam was even more afraid. He was terrified that Sa Muheon might lose his life again trying to save him.

Garam quickly crawled into the pile of clothes. Sa Muheon had told him to turn off his phone just in case, and he had obediently followed his advice, but now time was of the essence. He had to warn him immediately of the danger.

But no matter how many times he pressed the power button, the screen wouldn’t light up.

The battery had already been low earlier, and it must have died since then. Garam sank down helplessly.

He felt as if darkness was closing in around him. At this rate, he would have to just sit by and watch as Sa Muheon got hurt.

“…Beep.”

Garam, who had been sitting dazedly, slowly stood up.

The squirrel who had risen from his place carefully tried moving his legs. The pain from the injured leg was far less than before.

As he gently put weight on the injured foot, a slight pain rose up. But it seemed walking slowly was possible.

Garam’s gaze turned toward the window. It was installed at a slightly higher position. If he were in human form, it would probably be around eye level.

However, the window was very small, seemingly built for a specific purpose. It was too small for an average person to escape through. But…

“Beep.”

Looking down at his body, Garam nodded. A small squirrel like him could easily get through it.

Garam’s conclusion was simple. If Sa Muheon had heard this plan, he would have tried to stop Garam, saying it was reckless—but Sa Muheon wasn’t here now.

Garam knew this plan was dangerous. But to protect the one he loved, he had no choice but to take a risk.

Just as Sa Muheon had always protected him, now it was Garam’s turn to protect Sa Muheon.

But first, he had to get over this wall. Garam looked up at the tall wall.

Judging by his current condition, the best he could do was run toward the wall with the window and escape through it.

The only way out was if Ryu Beomju took him out of here himself, but under normal circumstances, there was no way that would happen.

In that case… he had to create a situation where Ryu Beomju would take him out. The little squirrel’s mind began working quickly.

Garam spent the night thinking without sleeping. Earlier, he had felt drowsy from exhaustion and pain, but the thought of needing to protect Sa Muheon kept him wide awake.

He came to his senses just as the darkness around him began to lighten faintly.

Lifting his head to look at the open window, he saw the dim light pushing away the darkness.

After confirming that the sun was rising, Garam lay down again on top of his clothes.

He had already signaled his location, so Sa Muheon was probably on his way. But he couldn’t just sit still and wait for him. To conserve energy, Garam lay curled up, hugging his tail. At a glance, he looked like he was sound asleep, but he bit down on his tongue to stay awake.

How much time had passed like that? Garam’s ears perked up.

The loud footsteps echoing through the empty building undoubtedly belonged to Ryu Beomju.

He could hear him saying something, but the voice was too distant to make out the words. Judging by the single set of footsteps, it seemed he hadn’t brought anyone else and was probably on the phone with someone.

Garam took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. This was his one and only chance. He couldn’t rely on luck again against Ryu Beomju.

Bang—!

“This is the last time. Got it, Director Sa? If you bother me again, I don’t know what I’ll do with this little rat.”

–We’re both busy, so just get to the point.

At the familiar voice, Garam’s ears perked up. It was Sa Muheon. His voice came through clearly, perhaps because it was on speakerphone.

Hearing his voice made Garam’s eyes well up. He felt like he was about to shed tears, but he had to hold them back for now. Garam held back the tears with all his might.

Fortunately, Ryu Beomju didn’t seem to notice Garam’s ears twitching and mumbled as he approached.

“This brat’s still sleeping.”

-What?

“Ah, hold on. Since you were so eager to see him, take a look for yourself.”

Ryu Beomju said that and stopped for a moment in front of the box where Garam was confined. Judging by the conversation, it seemed Sa Muheon had asked to check Garam’s condition.

“See? He’s fine.”

-…Is he sleeping? He should be awake by now.

“Hah…”

Even though Ryu Beomju was making noise up close, Garam didn’t move at all, which made Sa Muheon suspect something was off.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Ryu Beomju reached toward Garam, who was curled up.

He picked up Garam’s small, curled-up body and brought the phone camera close.

“Look, I told you he’s fine. He’s even breathing.”

The moment his eyes turned to the phone screen, Garam, who had been peeking through slitted eyes, didn’t miss his chance.

Chomp—!

“Argh! This damned rat, how dare you!”

Garam twisted his body. He could see Ryu Beomju’s hand gripping him. Garam targeted the soft flesh between his fingers.

Thinking of it like cracking open a walnut shell, Garam bit down on the soft flesh with all his might. Ryu Beomju screamed out a curse-laced cry of pain.

As the pain made his grip loosen, Garam seized that brief moment to twist his body and escape from his grasp.

“Hey!”

Noticing Garam slipping away, Ryu Beomju tried to tighten his grip, but the little squirrel had already slipped out of his hand.

Falling from a rather high spot made Garam’s whole body feel like it was ringing, but he immediately dashed toward his target.

“You damn rat!”

Ryu Beomju’s shout rained down from above. Garam’s tiny heart pounded like it would burst, but he never looked back.

Without stopping, he ran all the way to the wall with the window and leapt toward it. Thankfully, the old wall had crumbled in places, exposing the bricks inside.

For Garam, who had once lived in trees at the park, climbing this kind of wall wasn’t difficult.

If the wall had been completely smooth with no footholds, it might have been tough, but this was basically like having steps laid out.

Garam quickly climbed up to the window and jumped over to the other side.

He had been worried that Ryu Beomju might have confined him on a higher floor, but luckily, the place Garam had been held was on the first floor.

“Hey! Kang Garam, you brat!”

Only after safely landing on the ground did Garam finally look back.

Through the small window, he could see Ryu Beomju’s furious face. But Garam just glanced at him and began moving again.

The little squirrel vanished into the dense trees in the blink of an eye.