Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

 

That night, in his dream, Sa Muheon gently stroked Garam with the same kind voice and gestures as before.

 

At first, Garam was shocked when he treated him as if he were a real squirrel, touching his tail and belly without a care. But in the dream, no matter where Sa Muheon touched, Garam chirped in delight, raising his voice in joy. He was even shocked at himself when he presented his tail as if asking for more attention. Suddenly, Garam’s eyes snapped open.

 

“Chirp!”

 

And he met Sa Muheon’s gaze, who had his head leaning toward him.

 

Startled, Garam jumped up from the bed but twisted his foot. He was about to fall under the nightstand, but fortunately, Sa Muheon quickly caught him.

 

“Chirp, Chirp…”

 

‘C-Caught off guard…’

 

Garam noticed that his heart was racing. The nightstand wasn’t very high, so it wouldn’t have caused serious harm, but he almost ended up living with a sore body for a while.

 

As Garam tried to calm his racing heart and hugged his tail, freezing in place, he heard a heavy sigh from above.

 

“Ha…”

 

Just from that sound, Garam could tell that Sa Muheon was a little upset. As Garam hugged his tail tighter, he slowly lifted his head.

 

“You…”

 

Sa Muheon was looking at him with darkened eyes. Garam had witnessed Sa Muheon’s shocked expression when he had almost fallen, so he could only blink silently, staring up at him without a word.

 

“You, ha…”

 

Garam had expected Sa Muheon to lash out, but to his surprise, Sa Muheon only ran his hand over his face before carefully placing Garam on the wide bed instead of the nightstand.

 

For some reason, Garam thought that Sa Muheon’s hand trembled slightly as he set him down, but since the hand that moved away from him wasn’t shaking, Garam assumed he had misjudged it and looked up at Sa Muheon.

 

“…Put on your clothes and come out.”

 

“Chirp.”

 

Garam answered politely and even nodded, just in case Sa Muheon might not understand his response.

 

Fortunately, Sa Muheon seemed pleased with that, as his previously stiff expression softened a little. A faint smile seemed to appear on his lips, but then, as if reminded that he was still upset, his expression hardened again.

 

When Garam saw his lips tighten again, his tail drooped slightly. Feeling embarrassed, he began rubbing his face with both hands.

 

While Garam kept his head down, Sa Muheon looked at him with a satisfied expression, as if watching something cute, but once Garam finished washing his face and lifted his head, Sa Muheon immediately put on a serious expression again.

 

Without saying anything more, he left the room and made sure to close the door behind him.

 

Garam stared at the closed door for a moment, then quickly got up, thinking he shouldn’t keep Sa Muheon waiting any longer.

 

Now in his human form, Garam quickly grabbed the clothes he had folded earlier and put them on, stepping out from under the bed. During the process, he twisted his foot again and almost tumbled out from under the bed, but fortunately, as a human, he was able to land safely on the ground.

 

Meanwhile, he heard a small crash and Sa Muheon suddenly opened the bedroom door.

 

“You…”

 

Garam, awkwardly holding onto the bed frame, found himself facing Sa Muheon in a clumsy standing position.

 

Their eyes met, and Garam awkwardly smiled. Sa Muheon sighed and gestured for him to follow.

 

“Come out.”

 

Garam, still in a clumsy posture, stood up and turned to follow Sa Muheon, who had already walked out of the room.

 

“Why were you sleeping like that?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Garam couldn’t bring himself to say that he couldn’t sleep because of the lingering scent in the bed. He hesitated, unable to answer properly, and Sa Muheon sighed deeply.

 

“Do you know how scared I was thinking you had disappeared again?”

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

Garam lowered his head in apology. He had thought that opening the door would show the small bed on the nightstand and thought that would be fine, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

 

“I sent you in to sleep, but no one was on the bed. I even checked the bathroom, but you weren’t there. I was really worried, but then I found you there, sleeping without a care.”

 

Garam truly hadn’t realized. If he had known how startled Sa Muheon had been searching for him, he would have woken up earlier. He must have been in such a deep sleep, unaware of his presence, because of the exhaustion from the day.

 

That’s why he had been so startled when he woke up and saw Sa Muheon right in front of him.

 

“I told you to sleep comfortably in the bed, so why were you sleeping like that?”

 

“It’s not my bed… I felt sorry and uncomfortable…”

 

“That little bed is comfortable?”

 

Sa Muheon spoke with a bit of sarcasm, but Garam, unaware of the tone, nodded obediently.

 

Sa Muheon, letting out a powerless laugh, sighed briefly and spoke again.

 

“Alright. My bad. Your bed will arrive today, so from now on, sleep comfortably.”

 

“Ah… Already?”

 

“How long would it take? Both you and I need to sleep comfortably.”

 

Hearing that, Garam quietly nodded.

 

Sa Muheon, seeing Garam’s obedient response, seemed to calm down. He reached out and gently patted Garam’s head.

 

Garam tensed at the touch, but Sa Muheon didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he continued to pet Garam’s head more carefully, as if encouraging him to relax.

 

As Garam accepted the touch, he became confused.

 

He had thought about this last night too, but he still couldn’t understand what was going through Sa Muheon’s mind when he showed him such kindness.

 

Of course, compared to when he had thought Garam was just a squirrel, his attitude had been more rigid, but even then, the occasional warmth that slipped through soaked Garam’s heart.

 

As Garam continued to think, the hand that had been petting his head withdrew. He looked at Sa Muheon’s retreating hand with a look of longing.

 

Whether Sa Muheon knew it or not, he brought up a new topic.

 

“By the way, you said you were a college student.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is it possible to cancel the leave of absence application now?”

 

“Cancel…?”

 

At Garam’s question, Sa Muheon nodded.

 

“I’m not sure, but I think I should look it up.”

 

“Then look it up.”

 

Garam nodded obediently, but soon realized he didn’t have his phone.

 

“Ah…”

 

“Why?”

 

“Uh, could I use a computer?”

 

“You don’t even have a phone?”

 

At Garam’s cautious question, Sa Muheon easily inferred Garam’s situation. Nodding, Sa Muheon sighed briefly and walked ahead.

 

The place they arrived at was the study. Garam only realized today that such a large study existed in this house. The door to this room was always closed, so he had just assumed it was a place he shouldn’t enter.

 

“Here.”

 

Sa Muheon pointed to a laptop on the large desk. Garam hesitated but approached the desk and sat down.

 

“This is locked.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Sa Muheon walked behind Garam, who was sitting in the chair, and in a posture that seemed to embrace him from behind, unlocked the laptop.

 

Garam was startled by the sudden closeness, and unable to breathe properly, he stiffened and stared at the laptop screen.

 

“Look it up.”

 

“Yes, yes.”

 

His heart began to race. However, Sa Muheon, unaware of Garam’s nervousness, casually leaned his arms against the back of the chair and waited.

 

Garam tried to calm his trembling hands and searched for “Korean University” on the search bar.

 

“Wait, you’re a student at Korean University?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Sa Muheon hummed thoughtfully and continued his questions.

 

“What’s your major?”

 

“…Chemistry.”

 

Garam answered Sa Muheon’s questions steadily, while also starting to look for information about the leave of absence procedure on the school’s website.

 

“Really? That’s quite unexpected…”

 

“…Ah, yes.”

 

Garam’s eyes quickly scanned the contents on the monitor. While he responded vaguely to Sa Muheon’s words, Garam eventually found the information he had been looking for.

 

“You can cancel it during the course correction period.”

 

Just as Garam found the information, Sa Muheon, who was looking at the same screen, spoke first.

 

“It’s still during the correction period, right?”

 

“Uh… I think so.”

 

“Look it up.”

 

Garam checked the academic schedule and thankfully found that it hadn’t ended yet.

 

“Then why…?”

 

“Now that I think about it, it’s true that you’re still suspicious…”

 

Those words made Garam’s heart hurt, as if it had been poked.

 

It was understandable that Sa Muheon still doubted him, but that didn’t make it feel any easier.

 

“Still, what’s the point of locking a kid up at home? It’s better to send you to school.”

 

“…What?”

 

But at the next words, Garam turned his head and looked at Sa Muheon’s face, as if he hadn’t felt uncomfortable at all.

 

For a moment, Garam was surprised by how close Sa Muheon’s face appeared, but his attention was soon drawn to the smile that appeared at the corner of Sa Muheon’s lips.