Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 142

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Tap, tap—.

As someone slowly tapped on the desk, Sa Muheon sat lost in thought. In front of him, Chief Han, who had just finished his report, waited for a response.

On his way back, Sa Muheon had remembered that Garam had taken a phone with him. He had tried calling several times on the way, but each time, all he got was the dry message that the phone was turned off.

The only remaining option now was to follow any trace left nearby. However, Chief Han had just said that even after hastily mobilizing nearby personnel to begin a search, they had not been able to locate Ryu Beomju.

It was already getting dark. Because of the remote location of the villa, the area darkened more quickly, and with snow beginning to fall, visibility had worsened. Even the footprints that had remained were now being buried under the freshly fallen snow. It looked as if the heavens were helping Ryu Beomju, and that thought only sank Sa Muheon’s mood further.

Whether the heavens helped Ryu Beomju or not didn’t matter much. The real problem was that Garam had become involved in all of this.

“Haa…”

Sa Muheon let out a sigh without realizing it. In the end, what he resented most wasn’t Ryu Beomju, who had seized an opportunity, nor the weather that had caused them to lose the trail. It was all due to his own carelessness, and every decision he’d made in the past weighed heavily on his heart.

But now wasn’t the time to calmly reflect on his mistakes and blame himself. Garam had been taken by Ryu Beomju, and no one knew what kind of situation he was in. He had to be rescued as quickly as possible.

After a moment of deliberation, Sa Muheon quietly opened his mouth.

“As Chief Han said, the snow makes it hard to find traces, but what if we widen the search range?”

“We’ve already expanded the range to some extent, but as you know, the surrounding area is full of mountains. We’re scanning as wide an area as possible, but at this rate, there’s no telling how long it’ll take.”

There was nothing wrong with what Chief Han said. Sa Muheon knew that too. In the current situation, blindly searching the mountains wasn’t a good plan. There was no certainty that Ryu Beomju had even stayed nearby. They needed a clue—anything.

“We’re also asking around for any eyewitnesses nearby. Since it’s a remote area, a stranger would stand out.”

“…If there is an eyewitness, that is.”

Not many people lived in the area, so the chance of having any eyewitnesses was slim. But at this point, they had to pin their hopes even on that small chance.

Having spent the night awake since the moment Garam went missing, Sa Muheon’s eyes were bloodshot and red.

On top of that, after hearing the report that the search was not going well, a wave of fatigue overwhelmed him. With a throbbing pain creeping up his head, Sa Muheon closed his eyes for a moment. At that moment, the phone on his desk began to vibrate.

Bzzzz—.

In the quiet office, the vibration sounded even louder than usual. Sa Muheon opened his eyes and checked the phone. It was a call from an unknown number, but his instincts whispered that it was undoubtedly Ryu Beomju.

“Director.”

Chief Han also seemed to have reached the same conclusion and called out with a tense expression. Sa Muheon raised a finger to his lips, signaling him to stay quiet.

When Chief Han closed his mouth and nodded, Sa Muheon answered the call. He switched it to speakerphone and spoke the caller’s name.

“…Ryu Beomju?”

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

The voice that came through was familiar. Just as he expected, it was Ryu Beomju who had made the call. Clenching the fist of the hand not holding the phone, Sa Muheon struggled to suppress his anger.

Sensing that Sa Muheon was barely holding back his fury, Ryu Beomju continued speaking in a blatantly mocking tone.

Fortunately, what he wanted was simple. Just preparing a small sum of money was nothing difficult for Sa Muheon. Normally, he would have ignored all of Ryu Beomju’s demands and tracked him down instead, but now Garam was in his hands. There was no need to provoke him unnecessarily. Frankly, if it meant Garam could return safely, Sa Muheon would’ve accepted worse terms.

But before he agreed to anything, he had to confirm that Garam was safe. However, when he asked to at least hear Garam’s voice, what he got in return was Garam’s scream.

-Bzzt, bzzzt…!

Something must have happened. It sounded like Garam had been caught by him in his squirrel form. The agonized scream of the squirrel instantly caused Sa Muheon to lose all composure.

“Ryu Beomju!”

-Ah, shut up already. He’s not dead, so stop yelling. What if you scare me and I end up killing this thing?

But with Ryu Beomju’s next words, Sa Muheon managed to hold back his rage and closed his mouth. For now, he had no choice but to meet Ryu Beomju’s demands.

-Anyway, I’ve said everything I needed to. I’ll call again around the same time tomorrow, so think it over and give me your answer.

With that, Ryu Beomju ended the call on his own. Silence fell in the office.

“Director.”

“You heard him too, Chief Han. Prepare what he asked for. And also…”

“I’ll try tracing the location from the number that just called.”

“…Yes, do that.”

Chief Han quickly began organizing what needed to be done. When Sa Muheon nodded, he gave a brief farewell and swiftly left the office.

Left alone, Sa Muheon covered his eyes with one hand.

The scream he’d heard from Garam moments ago kept echoing in his ears. He still couldn’t shake the image of the bloodstains he’d seen on the ground.

He couldn’t grasp the situation clearly, but it was certain that Garam was hurt. If so, it made sense that he had returned to his true form. Many shape-shifters reverted to their original forms when the pain became too much.

But the fact that Garam had suffered such pain while he wasn’t around made Sa Muheon feel even more disturbed.

“Haa…”

Sa Muheon let out a long sigh. This wasn’t the time for him to be like this—he needed to go and check the area where Garam had disappeared. Just as he grabbed his jacket and was about to rise, his phone chimed several times with brief notifications.

Frowning in confusion, Sa Muheon picked up the phone and, upon checking the notifications, his expression hardened.

“What the….”

It was a rescue request sent by Garam. Only then did Sa Muheon recall that he had installed a tracking app on Garam’s phone some time ago.

Until now, every time he had tried calling, he’d gotten a message saying the phone was off, but for some reason, Garam’s phone seemed to have powered on briefly.

For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that this could be a trap set by Ryu Beomju. But he quickly shook his head.

The app he’d installed looked like an ordinary messenger app on the surface, so it was unlikely Ryu Beomju would recognize it for what it was. Besides, since he had already agreed to all of Ryu Beomju’s demands, there was no reason to set a trap to lure him. Unless he was planning to ambush him when the money was handed over.

So this really was a distress signal from Garam. Moreover, just as Sa Muheon had taught him, Garam had sent a series of short messages. There was no more room for doubt.

“Team Leader Jang!”

Sa Muheon immediately went outside. Jang Seokgyu, who had been busily exchanging calls with someone out front, jumped up from his seat.

“What’s going on?”

“Send everyone who’s tracking nearby to this location.”

“This place is…”

Jang Seokgyu stared intently at the phone screen Sa Muheon held out.

“It’s from Garam. I installed a location tracking app for him before, and I think his phone turned on briefly.”

“I’ll contact the field team right away.”

Before the explanation was even finished, Jang Seokgyu grabbed his phone. After calling those continuing the search near the site where Garam went missing, he looked back at Sa Muheon as if waiting for the next instruction.

But Sa Muheon was focused on composing a message to send to Garam.

A near-certain worry crept in—if Garam’s attempt to contact him was discovered, the deranged Ryu Beomju would not let Garam go unscathed.

Sa Muheon quickly typed a message. The main content urged Garam not to argue with whatever Ryu Beomju said and that Sa Muheon would accept all of his demands—he only needed to focus on escaping safely. Though it wasn’t a long message, Sa Muheon rewrote it multiple times so that Garam could be reassured upon reading it.

Finally, he added a note advising Garam to turn off the phone again, in case Ryu Beomju discovered it, and then he included the most important part.

[I’ll come find you soon, so just hold on a little longer.]

He wished desperately that Garam would endure this situation well. That he would return safely to his arms.

Sa Muheon quickly scanned the message to make sure nothing was missing and pressed the send button.

Fortunately, the number next to the message disappeared immediately. Seeing that Garam had checked the message, Sa Muheon’s tension eased.

“…Let’s move too.”

“Understood.”

Leading the way, Sa Muheon checked the location Garam had sent once more.

Maybe because Ryu Beomju had traveled in his original form, Garam’s location was quite far from the villa.

But seeing that place, it now made sense why they hadn’t found a single clue until now.

During the car ride, Sa Muheon couldn’t hide his anxiety. Jang Seokgyu, who was driving, glanced back at him several times.

Because the location Garam sent was deep in the mountains, it was impossible to approach directly. Moreover, if Ryu Beomju realized they were closing in, there was a high chance the situation would turn worse.

The employees who had been contacted by Sa Muheon and Jang Seokgyu gathered at a point slightly away from where Garam was located.

“What’s the situation around here?”

At Sa Muheon’s question, one person stepped forward. He was someone brought in at the request of Eun Soohyuk to help make the surrounding search easier.