Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Bzzzt—.

While lost in thought, Sa Muheon heard a faint vibration near his ear. It was coming from his phone.

Having stopped his car at a red light, Sa Muheon checked his phone. It was a message from Garam.

[Squirrel: Are you going to be late?]

Below the text was an emoticon of a small squirrel peeking out. It looked exactly like him.

“Heh.”

Sa Muheon chuckled unconsciously and quickly typed a reply before the light changed.

[On my way.]

He must have kept staring at the phone, because the notification badge disappeared almost immediately.

[Squirrel: Okay!]

The reply came back quickly, accompanied by another squirrel emoticon—this time hugging an acorn and nodding.

With a soft laugh, Sa Muheon tossed the phone to the side and tapped the steering wheel with his fingers.

Although he had adamantly told his mother earlier that he had no such thoughts, Sa Muheon was well aware that his behavior had been a bit unusual lately.

He had always been good at observing himself objectively. That’s why he vaguely sensed that his growing interest in the small, young squirrel might not be a good sign.

Being self-aware, he knew that the way he handled things he liked had always been a bit different from others, even as a child. And in his opinion, it was a significant flaw.

Sa Muheon had always been labeled as obsessive, a typical trait of snake shifters. However, even among his kind, his fixation on things he liked was unusually intense.

Whether it was his pet hamsters or his trusted subordinates, Sa Muheon tended to lavish attention on anything he considered his. So what if someone truly captured his heart?

It would be wonderful if their feelings aligned and they could be together, but what if the other person brought up breaking up first? Sa Muheon knew he wouldn’t be able to let them go.

One could say he was worrying unnecessarily about something that hadn’t even happened yet, but Sa Muheon was certain—if it ever came to that, he wouldn’t be able to let them go.

So now, when he wasn’t even sure what his feelings were, he had to stop himself before it went any further.

Familiar scenery began to appear, and before long, the sight of a warmly lit house came into view.

Despite the flurry of thoughts in his head, the drive home hadn’t felt boring, which wasn’t a bad thing. That realization brought a faint smile to his lips.

Even after parking in the garage, Sa Muheon sat in the car for a moment, organizing his earlier thoughts.

“Any further… would be dangerous.”

His soft murmur echoed in the now-silent car, more of a vow to himself than anything else.

—

After settling his thoughts, Sa Muheon finally stepped out of the car. The brightly lit house greeted him, yet stepping into a lit home still felt oddly unfamiliar.

It was a sensation that left his heart feeling restless—something he never wanted to acknowledge but couldn’t ignore.

Yet at the same time, it made him feel oddly exhilarated, as if he had unknowingly been waiting for this feeling for a very long time. Taking a deep breath, Sa Muheon tried to calm his wildly pounding heart.

Only after his heartbeat returned to normal did he start walking again.

Beep-beep-beep—.

The door lock opened. As Sa Muheon stepped inside and began taking off his shoes, something felt off.

He paused and looked around the house, but what he was looking for was nowhere in sight.

Sa Muheon stood frozen, waiting until the entryway light turned off. Still, nothing appeared.

After a long moment, he began moving again, his steps sharp with urgency and anger. He strode forward and flung open the nearest door.

It was a room he had grown familiar with by now. The only thing inside was a rumpled bed, as if someone had just been there, but the person he was looking for was gone.

“…Hah.”

Sa Muheon ran a hand through his hair, his eyes flashing coldly. Letting out a hollow laugh, he continued searching the house.

In the living room, he found a small plate—perhaps Garam had been snacking—and a cushion with a book nearby.

The kitchen had warm food laid out, as if someone had been preparing a meal just moments ago. Judging by the evidence, Garam hadn’t been gone for long.

That’s when it struck him—something wasn’t right. Standing there, staring at the prepared food, Sa Muheon suddenly remembered the message he had received earlier.

He quickly opened his phone and checked the timestamp. The first message had arrived 20 minutes ago.

If Garam had planned to leave, he might have sent the message to throw him off guard, but how could he explain the freshly prepared food?

Sa Muheon stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen, glaring at the squirrel’s message. He didn’t want to believe that the little squirrel had tricked him again.

Then, as a sudden realization hit him, his gaze snapped upward. Without hesitation, he headed toward his own bedroom.

Seeing the slightly ajar door sent his heart racing.

Without any hesitation, he pushed the door wide open and scanned the room.

His expression softened as his eyes landed on something. A quiet laugh escaped his lips.

“…Hah.”

He let out a soft laugh as he spotted a small bump in the middle of his large bed and slowly approached it.

As he drew closer, he noticed the slight rise and fall of the lump, as if something alive was nestled inside. Anyone could tell there was a living creature under the blanket. In this house, there was only one such small being.

Carefully, Sa Muheon lifted the blanket. As expected, curled up inside was a small squirrel, fast asleep. It was holding its tail tightly and had curled itself into a perfect ball—something Sa Muheon had never seen before.

The squirrel seemed to be in a deep sleep, breathing steadily even as the blanket covering it was removed. Watching it, Sa Muheon carefully sat at the edge of the bed.

Judging by the preparations in the kitchen earlier, it must have been hungry. Yet for some reason, it had chosen to sleep here instead. Even as he sat down, the squirrel didn’t stir, making it clear that it was deeply asleep.

Though its sleeping form was undeniably cute, he couldn’t leave it like this forever. Sa Muheon reached out and gently stroked the squirrel’s back.

That’s when he realized something was wrong.

“…Kang Garam.”

He called the name, but the squirrel’s eyes remained tightly shut. Worse, its body felt much hotter than usual under his touch.

Sa Muheon carefully picked up the curled-up squirrel. He didn’t even notice his hands trembling as they supported the small body.

“Hey, baby.”

Now that he looked closer, the squirrel’s breathing was faster than normal. Its body, warm to the point of being hot, made it obvious something was wrong.

Sa Muheon froze, unable to breathe properly. He only snapped out of it when the squirrel dropped the tail it had been clutching.

As if burned, he jumped up immediately. While he had been away for just a moment, the squirrel was burning up.

—

“Are you the guardian of Kang Garam?”

“Yes.”

Sa Muheon quickly stood up when he heard his name. His gaze remained fixed on the bed, where the squirrel lay motionless.

Seeing this, the doctor let out a small laugh and glanced down at the chart in his hand.

“Fortunately, the fever has come down quite a bit. It must have been quite a scare for you.”

“…Yes.”

“Has the patient been under a lot of stress lately?”

At the doctor’s question, Sa Muheon nodded. Garam hadn’t said anything, but considering everything that had happened, it wasn’t hard to imagine the stress it must have caused someone so young.

Despite being forced to follow Jang Seokgyu around every day as per Sa Muheon’s request, Garam had never once complained. But it wasn’t difficult to guess how stressful it must have been, not being able to move freely.

As he recalled the recent events, Sa Muheon’s expression darkened further. The doctor, noticing this, gave him a sympathetic look before shifting his gaze back to the squirrel on the bed.

“It seems that the stress caused the patient to revert to their original form. During that process, their body couldn’t handle the strain, which led to the fever.”

“I see…”

“Fortunately, it was caught in time. With such a small body, prolonged high fever can be dangerous.”