Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 

Sa Muheon briefly glanced at Garam before looking straight ahead.

 

“Let’s go home.”

 

The words, which seemed like a question or a statement, were casually spoken. The important thing was that Garam had no choice in the matter.

 

Garam slowly nodded his head and, as if that wasn’t enough, he opened his mouth and quietly responded.

 

“Yes.”

 

Only then did a small smile appear on Sa Muheon’s face, as if he was satisfied.

 

The journey home felt incredibly short. It seemed like it had taken a long time for Garam to arrive here, but going back was over in an instant.

 

After parking, Sa Muheon wordlessly opened the car door and stepped out. Garam, still looking blankly at him, quickly unbuckled his seatbelt as Sa Muheon approached the passenger seat.

 

Although Sa Muheon didn’t hurry him, Garam couldn’t help but feel rushed whenever Sa Muheon stared at him intently. When Garam got out of the car, Sa Muheon turned and walked toward the front door. Garam followed hesitantly behind him.

 

“Come in.”

 

The door lock clicked open, and Sa Muheon gestured toward the open door.

 

Garam, who had grown accustomed to the interior of the house, slowly stepped inside. As he took off his shoes and entered, it suddenly hit him.

 

The clothes he was wearing were all Sa Muheon’s.

 

He realized that if he had tried to pretend not to know him earlier, it would have been immediately obvious that he was lying. Flustered and embarrassed, Garam’s ears turned slightly red.

 

Garam’s steps faltered for a moment, but it seemed unimportant to Sa Muheon, who was already walking ahead. He only briefly spoke as he entered.

 

“Follow me.”

 

Garam tried to calm his flushed face before following him.

 

Even in his squirrel form, Garam had noticed that Sa Muheon was quite tall. Though Garam wasn’t short, Sa Muheon was taller than him. How tall was he? Though it wasn’t the right time to think about such things, Garam followed him with an oddly calm thought in his mind.

 

Heading toward the living room, Sa Muheon slouched down onto the sofa. He rested his arm on the backrest and let out a sigh that made him look a little tired for some reason.

 

After pressing down on his eyes, Sa Muheon opened them and looked at Garam. Garam immediately tensed and straightened up at his gaze.

 

“So, then…”

 

His voice, which was lazy and slow, didn’t carry any threat, but Garam couldn’t relax and had no choice but to wait for his next words.

 

“You’re a squirrel, right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Garam nodded obediently to the question. After hearing his response, Sa Muheon’s eyes seemed to sparkle.

 

“I knew it. You’re too smart to be just a squirrel.”

 

“…”

 

What’s wrong with being a squirrel? 

 

At Sa Muheon’s words, Garam pouted. Seeing his sulky expression, Sa Muheon burst into laughter.

 

“Right, my squirrel is actually a shifter…”

 

His next words were almost to himself, but his gaze remained fixed on Garam. Should he answer? Garam hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

 

“…Yes.”

 

Thinking it might seem rude to only nod, Garam answered in a small voice, and Sa Muheon chuckled. Garam, unsure why Sa Muheon was laughing, just stared at him blankly.

 

Once the laughter subsided, Sa Muheon’s expression turned serious, and he stared at Garam with an intensity that made Garam initially meet his gaze, but as the stare lingered, Garam couldn’t help but slightly turn his head to avoid it.

 

Sa Muheon didn’t even try to hide his amusement.

 

“Ha.”

 

Garam shivered slightly at the almost mocking sound, but Sa Muheon continued to examine the cheeky squirrel in front of him.

 

It wasn’t hard for Sa Muheon to recall the name from the paperwork. Kang Garam.

 

He was a good-looking kid, a face that matched the name. Though a little shorter than him, Sa Muheon’s height was above average, so Garam wasn’t exactly small. When he was in his squirrel form, he could’ve easily fit in Sa Muheon’s palm, so it was surprising to see him as tall as he was. Also…

 

Sa Muheon’s gaze lowered slightly, and his eyes lingered on Garam’s face for a considerable time. When the silence stretched on, Garam raised his head slightly and, upon making eye contact, quickly looked away again, causing Sa Muheon to chuckle.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Sa Muheon had thought Garam was quite handsome from the photo, but seeing him in person was a whole different level of attractiveness.

 

The dark brown hair, which grew closer to black near the roots, and the light brown eyes made the boy look softer, giving the impression that he was still young. However, that didn’t make him appear fragile. On the contrary, his appearance was soft yet firm, and his tidy features were eye-catching.

 

Even Sa Muheon, who didn’t usually feel much emotion about others’ appearances, thought so, so there was no doubt that others would notice as well. It was almost certain that there had been a number of people who had been troubled by this boy, if not more.

 

As Sa Muheon’s gaze lingered, Garam couldn’t hide his discomfort. Sa Muheon, thinking it was enough, withdrew his persistent gaze and spoke up.

 

“So, how do you know Chief Hong?”

 

Garam didn’t answer immediately and hesitated. Sa Muheon had asked again because he suspected that Garam might have fabricated the story, and seeing Garam hesitate only made Sa Muheon more doubtful.

 

Was it just a made-up story? As Sa Muheon was thinking this, Garam carefully asked a question.

 

“…The Chief Hong you’re talking about is the person we saw earlier, right?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Well, the name I know is different.”

 

Garam, seeming a little awkward while talking to him, fiddled with his fingers but still looked directly at Sa Muheon and continued. The corner of Sa Muheon’s mouth curved up slightly.

 

Though he had thought Garam was a cheeky kid, this was true. For a squirrel, he was quite brave.

 

Whatever Garam thought of that smile, he seemed to gain some courage and cautiously continued.

 

“So… The person I know is named Ryu Beomju.”

 

“Ah…”

 

With that statement, it was clear that Garam wasn’t lying about knowing him for a long time. Sa Muheon knew that Ryu Beomju had long discarded that name and was now living under the silly name Hong Tae-gyu.

 

“Right, that’s right.”

 

But he didn’t explicitly say that he had figured it out and just nodded lightly.

 

“…As I said earlier, my parents passed away, and my grandmother took care of me. Her son was Ryu Beomju.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“But we weren’t close. I don’t know him very well… My grandmother and he didn’t have a good relationship, so I didn’t see him much.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes. The last time I saw him was when my grandmother passed away.”

 

It was impressive that Garam continued speaking without avoiding Sa Muheon’s gaze, even though it was clear he was scared of him. Sa Muheon listened to all of Garam’s words and slowly nodded.

 

In fact, Sa Muheon already knew all of this. Ryu Beomju was quite famous in the shifter community. More specifically, his mother, a rare tiger shifter, was well known, and it was widely known that her only son had disappeared after causing trouble.

 

Moreover, Sa Muheon and a few others knew that Ryu Beom-ju had given up his identity as a shifter and had bowed to humans. However, there was no need to dig up or publicly reveal this information, so they had been pretending not to know.

 

So, if Garam wasn’t someone who had known Ryu Beomju for a long time, the story he was telling could not have been known.

 

“Right. I understand.”

 

At those words, Garam’s expression brightened a little.

 

“But what Ryu Beomju says is a bit different.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You heard him earlier, right? He said he was going to introduce me to a squirrel shifter. He talked as if he knew him really well.”

 

“Well…”

 

Garam’s expression, which had brightened a moment ago, stiffened again as he continued. Sa Muheon enjoyed watching the change in his expression.

 

“That… I don’t really know either. But it’s true that I was looking for that person.”

 

“Why?”

 

“You probably already know, but it’s about the debt I have.”

 

When Garam mentioned the debt, he bit his lip in frustration. However, feeling Sa Muheon’s gaze on him, he continued speaking.

 

“That… I didn’t spend the money myself.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“…I don’t really know. But I think that person did something.”

 

“Why do you think that?”

 

“He transferred my grandmother’s house to me without hesitation, and that’s strange. I signed the papers from the lawyer he sent… but even if I’m a bit clueless, I wouldn’t sign a document without reading it. It was definitely a title transfer document. But then suddenly, debt collectors came and showed me documents claiming I owed money… and there was my signature on papers I’d never seen before.”