Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 

Sa Muheon let out a thoughtful hum and briefly set Garam down beside him. Then, he opened the folder that Chief Han had handed him. Inside, there was a photograph and personal information about someone.

 

Garam climbed onto Sa Muheon’s lap and stared intently at the documents he had opened.

 

“Are you trying to look too, little one?”

 

Sa Muheon’s gentle voice floated down, but it didn’t register at all in Garam’s ears. One photograph caught Garam’s eyes as if it had been nailed into place.

 

It was… a picture of himself.

 

Garam stood frozen, staring at the documents. Even though he was looking at them with his own eyes, it didn’t feel real. It was like a terrible dream. He had no idea when the photos were taken, and the fact that there were more than just one or two sent chills down his spine.

 

On top of that, what that Chief Han had said earlier lingered in his mind. He had clearly said “our side.” In that case…

 

Garam’s head slowly lifted. Sa Muheon was looking down at the documents with the same indifferent expression as usual. He gently stroked Garam’s head, as if finding him adorable, but instead of feeling the usual pleasant tickle in his chest, Garam felt his heart gradually growing cold with each touch.

 

“Hmm, twenty-one years old… So he wasn’t lying?”

 

Chief Han gave no response. Whether he had just been thinking out loud, Sa Muheon continued speaking.

 

“That guy’s the same age as me… Eleven years younger—what kind of relationship could this be? Could he be a secret lover or something?”

 

“Peep!”

 

Horrified by how far off the mark he was, Garam let out a sharp cry, but Sa Muheon didn’t even look at him. Instead, he simply rubbed Garam’s chin to calm him down.

 

“Hmm, just wait a moment, little one.”

 

Sa Muheon absentmindedly petted Garam as he dragged out his words, focused on the documents.

 

“Too young to be a lover, though. Did that cat have this kind of taste?”

 

Hearing Sa Muheon’s mutterings, Garam felt as though he was about to collapse right then and there. What kind of misunderstanding was this? Judging by their conversation, it seemed like the “Chief Hong” they mentioned was actually Ryu Beomju.

 

Garam didn’t know why they called him Chief Hong or why he had to be treated as that tiger’s secret lover. He let out a sharp breath in frustration, but his anger wouldn’t subside.

 

Normally, Sa Muheon would have picked up on Garam’s mood right away, but he seemed too absorbed in the documents to notice this time. That only made Garam feel even more upset.

 

“But what does it matter if he borrowed the money?”

 

“He disappeared.”

 

“Disappeared?”

 

Sa Muheon chuckled as he repeated the word.

 

“How did you let someone like this slip away?”

 

“Well…”

 

Chief Han hesitated under Sa Muheon’s suddenly sharp gaze before opening his mouth.

 

“Apparently, some of Captain Jang’s men visited recently. But when they went back the next day, he had completely vanished.”

 

“Hah.”

 

“At first, he claimed he wasn’t a half-human. That seems to have caused some delay in identifying him.”

 

As Chief Han finished speaking, Sa Muheon burst out laughing.

 

“Haha! How bold. This little squirrel is braver than that cat.”

 

Sa Muheon tapped Garam’s photo in the folder with his fingertip. There was a trace of amusement in his expression as he looked down at it.

 

“We asked around the neighborhood for information, and it seems Chief Hong’s mother took in the half-human squirrel and raised him. They were said to be distant relatives.”

 

“Really?”

 

Sa Muheon’s eyes showed a hint of curiosity.

 

“Yes. The house originally belonged to Chief Hong’s mother, but after her death, the title was transferred to the half-human squirrel. Only the people involved would know what really happened in between.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Listening to Chief Han, Sa Muheon appeared to be lost in thought before he finally spoke again.

 

“He’s not a secret lover.”

 

Garam’s ears perked up. After all the ridiculous nonsense earlier, it seemed like Sa Muheon had finally come to his senses.

 

“I don’t know him very well, but one thing’s certain. That guy, who’s practically declawed himself and pretends to be human, wouldn’t go so far as to raise a lover’s kid. Especially not when they’re distant relatives.”

 

“…Phew.”

 

Garam let out a small sigh. It seemed that he had finally escaped from that crazy misunderstanding. His sigh was so quiet that Sa Muheon didn’t seem to notice it. Moreover, he appeared to be completely absorbed in the situation, his curiosity apparently piqued, and he seemed quite excited.

 

“We’ll find him first.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“We’ll find him and bring him here. We can just ask him ourselves.”

 

“Well, yes, but…”

 

“Could it be that by ‘disappeared,’ you mean Ryu Beomju is hiding him?”

 

It was really Ryu Beomju. The exact name had finally come out of his mouth, and Garam’s ears perked up. This man really knew Ryu Beomju. Moreover, the way he spoke about Ryu Beomju pretending to be human suggested that he knew in detail why Ryu Beomju was hiding his identity.

 

Garam shifted his gaze toward where Sa Muheon was looking. Upon hearing the question, Chief Han shook his head.

 

“It doesn’t seem to be that way. It seems that Chief Hong is looking for him too.”

 

“Then that’s good. We’ll just find him first.”

 

Sa Muheon said lightly. Garam looked up at him with wide eyes.

 

Is he really planning to find me? Suddenly, he felt a chill run through his body.

 

“Let’s ask him what Ryu Beomju is planning or hiding. We’ll ask him instead.”

 

Sa Muheon’s sharp eyes glanced down at Garam’s photo. Despite his sharp gaze, a soft smile lingered at the corner of his mouth. The contradiction between his expression made him seem even more frightening. As Garam met his gaze, a sudden tremor started to course through his body. Feeling his body shake, Sa Muheon gently placed Garam back on his hand and began to stroke him slowly.

 

“My little one, why are you trembling? Is it cold?”

 

Sa Muheon, tilting his head and inspecting the little squirrel, didn’t stop there. He pulled Garam close to his chest and held him tightly. Garam, with his head now pressed into the firm chest of the man, desperately stretched out his hands to block his face from making contact.

 

“Peep, peep…”

 

“No, no…”

 

Fortunately, Garam’s desperate movements seemed to have worked. Sa Muheon pulled Garam away and looked him in the eyes.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

Sa Muheon looked down at Garam with a worried expression. He tried to warm Garam up by cupping him in his palm, but Garam was still shivering. Normally, Sa Muheon’s warmth would have been comforting, but today, his hands and chest felt strangely cold to Garam.

 

As Garam continued to tremble, Sa Muheon’s expression grew serious. He looked up at Chief Han and issued a command.

 

“Chief Han, please leave for today. My little one seems to be sick.”

 

“Understood.”

 

As Sa Muheon carefully cradled the squirrel in his arms, he gave one last piece of advice to Chief Han as he was about to leave.

 

“Don’t forget what I said.”

 

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

 

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Sa Muheon nodded and entered the bedroom. Garam was gently placed in Sa Muheon’s arms and then transferred to his small bed on the nightstand. As Garam curled up and hugged his tail, Sa Muheon, looking worried, covered him with a thin, soft blanket.

 

“Why is this happening all of a sudden…”

 

Normally, Sa Muheon’s voice, full of concern for him, would have sounded warm, but today, it didn’t.

 

His mind was spinning with the sudden flood of information. Garam glanced at Sa Muheon briefly and then shut his eyes.

 

Sa Muheon continued to gently pat Garam, never stopping. As he received these tender touches, Garam’s thoughts became even more tangled.

 

He recalled the business card he had seen once before. The card had only listed the position of CEO. It was hard to believe that this person was the CEO of Mirae Capital.

 

Despite showing a gentle side to him, Garam knew well from Sa Muheon’s phone conversations that he wasn’t such a warm person to others. But to think that this man had such a dangerous job, Garam had never imagined it. The man he thought was just a simple gambler turned out to be the director of a loan shark company.

 

Clang!

 

The image of men barging into the house where he had memories with his grandmother, stomping and creating chaos, came to mind. Overlaid with that was Sa Muheon’s gentle voice.

 

“Little one, are you okay?”

 

Even though Sa Muheon seemed like a kind person to him, the thought that he might be in the same group as those men made Garam’s heart lurch.

 

“Peep…”

 

Grandmother, what should I do in this situation?

 

Of course, there was no answer. Unable to bear the weight of the situation, Garam squeezed his eyes shut.