Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 17

As the man had promised, saying he would let him roam freely once the house was organized, the house looked even emptier than yesterday overnight.

Any items that a small squirrel might bump into and get hurt by had disappeared, and half of the beautiful decorations were gone, while the other half was encased in transparent cases. Garam stared at the desolate living room for a moment before beginning to explore every corner of the house.

Some of the rooms he had seen yesterday were now closed, while some rooms he hadn’t seen yesterday were open.

After completing his exploration of the house, Garam returned to the living room, where the man was leaning against the sofa, drinking coffee. Garam scurried over to the man, climbed up his leg, and perched on the sofa. He was careful not to step on the man’s thigh, of course.

As Garam sat beside him and looked up at him, the man smiled and moved a small bowl from the table in front of him to Garam’s side.

“Chirp!”

‘Walnuts!’

A joyful cry escaped Garam’s mouth. The bowl was filled with walnuts, almonds, and cranberries, brimming to the squirrel’s standards. Garam quickly reached out for the walnuts—or tried to. Before his hand could reach the nuts, the man picked up the bowl again.

“…Chirp?”

‘…What are you doing?’

Tilting his head in confusion at the incomprehensible behavior, Garam felt a surge of betrayal. To give food and then take it away—he hadn’t thought the man could be this petty. As his body trembled with indignation, the man laughed and handed him a single walnut.

It was then that Garam realized the man had taken the bowl away because he wanted to hand-feed him.

As long as he could eat, it didn’t matter whether he received food from the man’s hand or picked it out of the bowl himself. Garam calmly extended his hand, took the walnut the man offered, and began nibbling on it in a comfortable position.

The man sat beside him, handing him food one piece at a time with his large hand until the small bowl was empty. It was a bit frustrating, but Garam didn’t mind since he didn’t have to eat alone. Quietly, he ate the food offered by the man.

“Stay here for a moment.”

After the meal, the man said this to Garam and got up, carrying the empty bowl. Watching him walk toward the kitchen, Garam waited until the man was far enough away before dashing toward the documents the man had left behind.

Though the documents were covered with files and couldn’t be opened, Garam didn’t stop there. He looked around and spotted a business card on the table. After gauging the distance from the sofa to the table, he leaped without hesitation.

Thud-!

Landing in a pose reminiscent of a hero in a movie, Garam moved toward the business cards he had already spotted. The presence of several identical cards made it almost certain they belonged to the man.

On the high-quality white paper, a name was printed in deep blue ink:

‘Representative Director Sa Muheon.’

What stood out was that, apart from the title, name, and contact information, there was no company name. Garam stared at the card for a long time.

‘Sa Muheon.’

The man’s name etched itself into his mind. It was unusual.

Moreover, contrary to his initial assumption that the man might be unemployed or a playboy, he held the respectable title of Representative Director. Yet, for someone in such a position, Sa Muheon gave off a somewhat laid-back impression. His usual behavior wasn’t particularly dignified, either.

As Garam mulled over the peculiar name and thought about Sa Muheon, the man returned and spoke to him from behind.

“How did you get up there?”

When Garam turned around, he saw Sa Muheon holding a cup in one hand and a slightly larger bowl in the other. Sa Muheon placed the bowl, which resembled the one previously filled with nuts, in front of Garam. The bowl now held clean water that rippled gently.

Feeling a bit thirsty, Garam drank without hesitation. After drinking to his heart’s content, he looked up to find Sa Muheon watching him with a satisfied expression.

Seeing the man look as though he might praise him for merely breathing, Garam instinctively wiped his face. There were times when Sa Muheon treated him as if he were the cutest thing in the world, and for some reason, Garam wanted to look his best in front of him.

When Garam wiped off even the tiny water droplets clinging to his face, Sa Muheon reached out and gently scratched under Garam’s chin.

“You’re adorable.”

“Chirp, chirp!”

‘Why do you keep calling me cute?!’

If he had been in his human form, his face would have turned bright red as if it were about to explode. Pretending not to notice, Garam climbed down from the table and began wandering leisurely around the house.

Something new had appeared in the house overnight—a cat tower. But there weren’t even any cats living here, so why was such an item in the house? As Garam stood in front of the cat tower, looking up at the top, Sa Muheon, who had been observing his actions, quietly approached. He carefully picked Garam up and placed him on the very top of the tower.

“Chirp!”

‘So high!’

There was a significant difference between climbing up to a high place on his own and being carried there in someone else’s hands. Unable to rise, Garam lay flat on the top of the cat tower, and seeing this, Sa Muheon, with a worried expression, picked him up and set him back down.

“Does he dislike high places…?”

It was a complete misunderstanding, but there was no way to explain. Letting out a deep sigh, Garam sprawled his body across the man’s palm.

Sa Muheon held Garam in his arms and returned to the sofa. Sitting in the sunniest spot, he closed his eyes, still cradling Garam gently.

Garam couldn’t understand why someone with the title of “CEO” was living such a seemingly idle life. All he could do was assume that there must be some kind of story behind Sa Muheon. As he pondered, Garam let out a big yawn as the man’s hand slowly patted his back.

Stealing a glance at Sa Muheon, Garam noticed his eyes were still closed, meaning he hadn’t seen the yawn. Thank goodness. Sa Muheon had a slightly cool body temperature, but being wrapped in his hands while basking in the warm sunlight made Garam feel drowsy. He tried to keep his heavy eyelids open but ultimately failed, leaning against him and closing his eyes.

Soon, Garam was breathing softly, fast asleep. Perhaps the change in environment had left him tense, as he didn’t notice when Sa Muheon opened his eyes and looked at him. Curling himself into a ball, Garam settled in for a proper nap.

Sa Muheon smiled faintly, waiting patiently without moving until the little squirrel on his hand fell into a deep sleep. Only after Garam was soundly asleep did he rise very slowly and head to the bedroom. Placing the squirrel on a soft cushion on the nightstand, Garam stirred briefly, adjusted his position, and fell back asleep.

“Good night.”

At his whispered words, Garam’s small ears twitched but didn’t wake him. His tiny mouth moved as if he were dreaming about eating something delicious. Watching this with a heart full of affection, Sa Muheon left the room quietly.

—

A cute squirrel sat in the middle of the sofa with a serious expression.

Sa Muheon had left long ago, wearing a neatly pressed suit, after taking a phone call earlier in the morning. Left alone, Garam seized the opportunity to explore the house thoroughly. The large house was so exhausting to inspect in detail that it drained all his energy.

Climbing onto the sofa with weary steps, Garam let out a deep sigh and seriously contemplated the layout of the house he had explored today. No matter how much he thought about it, the conclusion remained the same. This house had no gaps that a small squirrel could slip through.

Most rooms had windows, but they were either securely locked or designed in a way that made them impossible to open. Garam had inspected every room, examined the windows, and checked for even the tiniest openings leading outside, but the conclusion was clear: there was no way out for him.

Of course, Sa Muheon was a pretty decent caretaker. If Garam had been an ordinary squirrel, he would have lived every day filled with joy. But unfortunately, Garam wasn’t just a squirrel—he was a squirrel shapeshifter. Staying here for 10 or 15 years as Sa Muheon wanted was not an option.

With a serious look, Garam gnawed on a cranberry Sa Muheon had left behind.

Munch, munch.

The sound of the little squirrel eating cranberries echoed softly in the living room.

‘This is bad….’

At this rate, he might end up living in Sa Muheon’s house as a pet squirrel for the rest of his life.

Of course, there weren’t any options at all. As far as Garam could see, there were two ways to get out of this house.

One was to take advantage of the moments when Sa Muheon came and went, darting out through a crack in the door. The other was to transform back into his human form while Sa Muheon was away and open the door himself.

The latter was the most reliable method. Attempting the former and getting caught awkwardly by Sa Muheon would almost certainly lead to tighter security around the house—a conclusion Garam could predict even without experience.