Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

—

After that day, there was no longer any major obstacle in their communication.

Though Sa Muheon could still understand what Garam wanted to say with uncanny precision and rarely needed clarification, he would hand Garam a phone whenever he had questions. Then, he would look at the typing squirrel as if he were witnessing the most fascinating thing in the world.

Since Sa Muheon’s compliments weren’t entirely unpleasant, Garam would willingly answer his questions whenever the phone was placed in front of him.

As time went on, the messages, which had initially been riddled with typos, became progressively cleaner. Garam had now grown adept at typing on the phone even in his squirrel form.

The issue of sleeping arrangements, which had also been a concern after the first day, followed a similar trajectory.

Garam quickly became accustomed to sharing a room with Sa Muheon again, so much so that his initial worries about sleepless nights seemed unnecessary.

Perhaps it was because he had been used to living with Sa Muheon when he first moved into this house. Sharing a room felt like the natural order of things, and he could sleep more peacefully than when he was alone.

“Squeak!”

At Garam’s loud chirp, Sa Muheon immediately caught on and handed him the tablet PC sitting on the table.

When Garam glanced between the tablet in front of him and Sa Muheon, the latter fumbled to look through the other items on the table.

“What? This isn’t it? Do you want a book instead?”

“Squeak…”

When Garam shook his head, Sa Muheon asked for clarification again.

“This is what you wanted, right?”

“Squeak.”

Faced with the persistent questioning, Garam finally nodded, and only then did Sa Muheon sit down with relief, picking up some papers that had been lying nearby.

Before long, Sa Muheon fell silent, fully absorbed in the stack of documents in front of him.

Only after confirming that Sa Muheon was completely engrossed did Garam sneak a few glances at him.

Though Garam often teased that Sa Muheon resembled a slacker or a swindler, the sight of him sitting quietly with documents in hand gave off a strikingly intellectual impression. Garam found it fascinating as he fiddled with the tablet.

Was it because he naturally had good looks? With that thought in mind, Garam tilted his head curiously before turning his gaze back to Sa Muheon. This time, their eyes met.

“…Squeak.”

Startled, Garam let out a noise before clamping his mouth shut. Though they had made eye contact, Garam tried his best to act nonchalant.

Feigning a casual glance, Garam quickly shifted his gaze back to the tablet in front of him, fixing his attention on the screen.

‘Did he notice?’

But as if reading Garam’s mind, Sa Muheon chuckled softly. Garam had thought he’d been subtle, but judging by Sa Muheon’s mischievous tone, he had been caught long ago.

“Why? You can keep staring if you want.”

“…Squeak.”

“If you’re bored playing alone, just say the word.”

That wasn’t it. In fact, the one who got restless when left alone wasn’t Garam—it was Sa Muheon.

Sa Muheon set aside the documents he had barely read and pulled the tablet sitting in front of Garam onto his lap. Then, he picked up Garam and placed him on his thigh.

“So, what were you trying to do?”

“Sque-eeak…”

In truth, Garam didn’t have anything specific in mind. However, he found it fascinating how Sa Muheon acted as if he truly understood him, so he often made various requests just to test it. Today was simply an extension of that.

Sa Muheon was putting all his energy into helping Garam recover as quickly as possible. Worried that Garam might grow bored and stressed, he made sure Garam could do whatever he wanted.

Since they could converse through the phone, as long as Garam clearly expressed what he wanted, Sa Muheon was determined to provide it. Of course, the only thing Garam had ever asked for so far was the tablet now sitting in front of him.

Even that had been a model much smaller and cheaper than what Garam had requested. But Sa Muheon insisted that it was better to buy the best if they were getting one at all, and he chose the largest and most expensive model to bring to Garam.

Knowing full well that he had almost no chance of winning an argument against Sa Muheon, Garam decided not to bother fighting him and instead sincerely typed out a message of gratitude to show him. Naturally, Sa Muheon responded with a satisfied smile.

When Garam first heard that he would have to spend three whole weeks stuck together with Sa Muheon, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Having never spent such a long stretch of time with anyone before, he worried that simply being with Sa Muheon might itself become a major source of stress.

But that was something he couldn’t truly know without experiencing it.

Since his grandmother’s passing, Garam had spent most of his time in a quiet house, except when going to school or part-time jobs. Even when his grandmother was alive, things weren’t all that different.

Right before her passing, Garam had been a high school student preparing for college entrance exams.

Most of a student’s day was spent at school, and Garam, who went straight to private academies or study rooms after school, barely spent any time at home except to sleep and eat breakfast.

So, the last time Garam had spent an extended period close to family was long ago, when his parents were still alive.

Now, those memories had almost faded entirely, so it was only natural for him to worry about living with Sa Muheon.

However, contrary to his concerns, the time spent together was incredibly satisfying. He was amazed at how they could spend so much time together without Sa Muheon ever once irritating him.

In fact, he found himself thinking that once this arrangement ended, he might miss living with Sa Muheon. That thought was so unfamiliar to him that it felt strange.

Through this time together, Garam came to realize that he wasn’t someone who struggled with cohabiting with others. He recalled how he had initially comforted himself by thinking of their shared room as a temporary dormitory stay. Reflecting on that, he thought living in a dorm might not have been such a bad idea.

One of his closer classmates often complained about the inconveniences of dorm life, saying they would definitely move out as soon as they could afford to. The discomfort mainly came from sharing a space with complete strangers. But for Garam, this experience made him feel more comfortable and stable sharing a home with someone else than living alone.

And Sa Muheon was the perfect housemate. He not only fulfilled all of Garam’s requests without complaint but also seemed to eagerly await more tasks to be assigned, behaving almost like Garam’s personal butler or servant. What’s more, he appeared to genuinely enjoy it.

As much as Garam appreciated this lifestyle, the bond between the two deepened rapidly.

Though neither openly acknowledged it, both felt the growing closeness between them.

Perhaps because of that, the incident happened when they both let their guard down.

—

“That can wait until I get to the office. Just bring the urgent documents for now.”

Judging by his casual tone, it was obvious he was speaking to Jang Seokgyu, even without seeing him.

As their time together grew, Garam learned more about Sa Muheon.

Although he had quite a few subordinates under him, only two seemed to truly have his trust.

One was Jang Seokgyu, who had once been assigned to Garam, and the other was a middle-aged man referred to as Chief Han, who had delivered information about Garam to Sa Muheon at some point.

Since Sa Muheon had been cooped up at home to care for Garam, Chief Han frequently visited to deliver important documents or news. Thanks to this, Garam came to understand just how much Sa Muheon relied on him.

Chief Han appeared a bit too old to be handling such demanding tasks, but Sa Muheon had explained that the man had worked with his father for a long time, helping Garam make sense of their relationship.

It made sense, after all. While Sa Muheon was generally polite to those older than him, he often displayed a notably relaxed, almost childlike demeanor around Chief Han.

Sa Muheon even described Chief Han as a father figure to him, joking that the man probably knew more about him than his biological father did.

Initially, Garam wondered if Sa Muheon had a strained relationship with his father. But through other stories Sa Muheon shared, Garam learned that they got along just fine, and he was relieved.