Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

 

“Hmm…”

 

Sa Muheon raised his hand to cover his mouth. Even without hearing more, it was easy to guess what kind of scheme that cat had pulled. However, Sa Muheon didn’t express what he was thinking out loud.

 

Perhaps this squirrel was thinking the same thing, which is why he had tried to find Ryu Beomju. But it wouldn’t have been easy to find Ryu Beomju, who had already changed his name and blended into ordinary human society.

 

“Right. I understand up to that point.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“But then, why did you sneak into my house pretending to be a squirrel?”

 

“That’s…!”

 

At Sa Muheon’s sharp question, Garam didn’t seem scared at all, but instead wore an expression full of grievance. He clenched his fists tightly.

 

“I didn’t come in because I wanted to… I was just as shocked as you!”

 

“Then why were you even there in the first place? You’re not even a real squirrel.”

 

“That’s because of you…!”

 

“Me?”

 

Sa Muheon raised an eyebrow at the title Garam used. Only then did Garam seem to realize that he had gotten a little worked up, and he quickly relaxed his hand.

 

“…The Director?”

 

Garam rolled his eyes and glanced at Sa Muheon, finally calling him by the title he had come up with. Sa Muheon couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

“Sa Muheon.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“My name. It’s Sa Muheon.”

 

Even though Sa Muheon told him his name, Garam was still rolling his eyes as if to ask, ‘So, what’s the big deal?’

 

“Why do you think I told you my name?”

 

“…Uh.”

 

“So, because of Sa Muheon… you ended up in this situation?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

It wasn’t such a big deal to call his name, but seeing Garam’s face all tense while calling him by it made Sa Muheon lightly nod, and only then did Garam seem to relax a little.

 

“But why is it my fault?”

 

“…You said the debt collectors came.”

 

“Ah…”

 

When Garam spoke in a gloomy voice, Sa Muheon nodded as if he finally understood.

 

Now that he thought about it, Sa Muheon remembered that the underlings had gone to the house, and shortly after, this squirrel had disappeared.

 

Had they lied about not being a beastman? It was a pretty good act. Since he didn’t look any different from an ordinary human, there was no way to verify the truth at that moment, and since he was a small squirrel, escaping secretly wouldn’t have been difficult.

 

“Those people…”

 

Garam clenched his fists again and continued in a trembling voice.

 

“They came in and completely destroyed my grandmother’s cherished cabinet. Then they said next time I’d better have the money ready or I’d have to sell the house, and so…”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Although Sa Muheon hadn’t been there at the time, he could clearly picture the situation in his mind. The debt collectors were known for causing trouble like that. To Sa Muheon, it didn’t seem like anything special.

 

But to the squirrel in front of him, it seemed like a huge shock. Sa Muheon silently examined Garam’s face.

 

It still looked like a face with soft baby fur. He was around twenty, if he remembered correctly, and certainly looked his age.

 

To Sa Muheon, who had inherited this kind of thing from his father and was now hardened and used to it, it wasn’t anything extraordinary, but to this young one, it seemed like a huge shock.

 

“…So I ran away. A close junior helped me, and I got assistance from a lawyer. Then I settled in that park. That’s how I ended up here…”

 

The more Sa Muheon looked at this squirrel, the more interesting he seemed.

 

At first, when he heard that this squirrel had tricked his subordinates and ran away, he thought he was just a cheeky squirrel. But when he realized that this squirrel beastman was one he had picked up, the story changed.

 

The fact that he knew Ryu Beomju also piqued Sa Muheon’s interest.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Sa Muheon had been holding back the impulsive urge to deal with Ryu Beomju, who would often overstep his bounds, but it had only been a few times. Ryu Beomju, who refused to give up and kept crossing the line, had already become a thorn in Sa Muheon’s side.

 

At first, Sa Muheon thought it would be fine if he just kept him in check, but as he thought about Ryu Beomju’s recent actions, he realized that would no longer be enough.

 

He had been considering getting rid of Ryu Beomju for good, but the right moment never seemed to come, so he was still undecided.

 

Then, the opportunity he had been waiting for arrived.

 

Sa Muheon, hiding his true thoughts, pretended not to know and spoke again, as if recapping the situation.

 

“So, you’re saying you’re in debt, but you didn’t cause it, and it seems like Ryu Beomju had something to do with it?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“So, you ran away and ended up living as a squirrel?”

 

“Yes. The place I went to earlier was the lawyer’s office that’s helping me, so I went there. They said they would look for Ryu Beomju on my behalf… In the meantime, I was afraid the debt collectors would come, so I left the house and stayed in the park.”

 

“So, by chance, I picked you up?”

 

Garam nodded.

 

“Did Ryu Beomju tell you to approach me?”

 

There wasn’t anything particularly strange or suspicious in Garam’s story, but Sa Muheon didn’t let go of his suspicions easily. He asked the question and quietly observed Garam’s reaction. If there was the slightest sign of suspicion, he was ready to dig deeper.

 

But when Garam was asked, he jumped up as if he had heard something absurd and indignantly expressed his frustration.

 

“I haven’t seen Ryu Beomju for years! How could I know him?”

 

“Tsk.”

 

“…So how could I know Sa Muheon? I really didn’t know. I just…”

 

Garam awkwardly corrected his title and continued mumbling.

 

“…I didn’t even know you were a director. I just came because you gave me a lot of tasty food… Honestly, I thought you were either a bum or a freeloading guy since you were out every day.”

 

“What?”

 

When Sa Muheon asked again, Garam averted his gaze but still said what he had to say.

 

“Well, it couldn’t be helped…”

 

“Hah…”

 

He was really a fearless little guy.

 

If he had known Sa Muheon was a director of the company the debt collectors worked for, he would at least have realized he was dealing with someone dangerous, but to openly say he thought he was a bum or a freeloader was gutsy. Though he was trying to read the situation, he certainly wasn’t your typical squirrel.

 

“…Yeah. If I had known who you were from the start, I wouldn’t have said something so ridiculous.”

 

If Garam had heard from Ryu Beomju who Sa Muheon was, he wouldn’t have even dared to say something so nonsensical. If he did know, then he was putting on quite an act.

 

There wasn’t anything particularly suspicious in the story Garam had told so far. Sa Muheon decided to believe a part of what this cheeky squirrel was saying.

 

Of course, he hadn’t fully let go of the suspicion that Garam might be involved with Ryu Beomju, but at least for now, with Garam biting his lip as if wronged, it seemed better to hide those thoughts.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Garam claimed he last saw Ryu Beomju years ago, but Sa Muheon remembered that Ryu Beomju had once tried to introduce this very squirrel to him after spreading an absurd rumor that Sa Muheon liked rodent beastmen because he had kept a few hamsters.

 

This was something Director Han had investigated, so it was a confirmed fact.

 

But what Sa Muheon still couldn’t understand was why Ryu Beomju not only embezzled money under this young squirrel’s name but also tried to offer him up to Sa Muheon. Was he trying to get in Sa Muheon’s good graces, or was there some other scheme at play?

 

That’s why Sa Muheon decided to use this squirrel to satisfy his curiosity.

 

Normally, he wouldn’t have let this squirrel who had tricked him and pretended to be a squirrel in his house off so easily, but since this seemed like the opportunity to deal with Ryu Beomju, Sa Muheon thought he could afford to be lenient just this once.

 

Of course, it helped that the squirrel was quite cute, but Sa Muheon ignored that and put it aside.

 

“Alright. I’ll trust you for now.”

 

For now. Garam seemed to pout slightly at the condition, but it seemed he didn’t realize how much leniency Sa Muheon had shown. Then again, it wasn’t really an important issue.

 

“But why did you leave?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You could have just stayed here and pretended you didn’t know anything. Why did you leave?”

 

“Ah…”

 

At Sa Muheon’s question, Garam finally seemed to understand and nodded.

 

“You investigated me, didn’t you?”

 

“Oh, that?”

 

It seemed to be referring to the documents Director Han had given him. Now that he thought about it, Garam had acted a bit strangely while he was looking at those papers, which had led Sa Muheon to chase Director Han away.

 

“Is that really the reason?”

 

“…I was going to leave anyway. I couldn’t stay here forever.”

 

Garam seemed a bit upset at the word “only,” but he quickly hid the feeling. Sa Muheon chuckled and asked the next question.

 

“Where did you plan to go?”

 

“…I hadn’t really thought that far, but I probably would have gone back to the park.”

 

“What’s so great about that place?”

 

“It’s not about that… It’s just that it’s close to the lawyer’s office. It’s a pretty spacious park too…