Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

 

In his sleep, Garam felt something cool and instinctively snuggled closer to it. The pleasant chill brought an unconscious smile to his lips.

 

But then, something felt off.

 

There was nothing in his bed that could provide such coolness. Moreover, he was holding onto something. In fact, this felt like…

 

“Ah…!”

 

Garam’s eyes flew open.

 

The first thing he saw was a mass of bare skin. Startled, Garam immediately tried to sit up.

 

However, his effort was thwarted by an arm wrapped around his waist. To make matters worse, his movement began to rouse the owner of that arm, who had been sleeping peacefully.

 

“Ugh…”

 

He saw the person’s closed eyelids flutter. Garam clamped his hands over his mouth, watching the scene like he was awaiting a death sentence.

 

The man before him frowned deeply at the sunlight streaming in and then began to open his eyes.

 

“……”

 

“…What’s this.”

 

The deep morning voice carried only confusion. Sa Muheon blinked blankly at Garam, who was lying next to him.

 

Garam, who had been covering his mouth, slowly lowered his hands and forced an awkward smile before speaking.

 

“…Good morning.”

 

“Uh…”

 

Sa Muheon responded to the greeting but seemed unable to grasp the situation fully. Perhaps he thought the alcohol from last night was to blame. Watching his subtly confused expression, Garam hesitantly spoke again.

 

“Um…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Could you, um… give me some clothes?”

 

Unable to maintain eye contact, Garam’s gaze started to wander. He hadn’t expected to succeed in transforming into a human so suddenly, so he hadn’t prepared any clothes. Thankfully, the blanket was covering him, but he felt incredibly self-conscious, especially since he was wearing nothing underneath and was so close to Sa Muheon. The only solace was that Sa Muheon had fallen asleep fully clothed.

 

Realizing the reality of Garam in his arms, Sa Muheon quickly sat up, startled.

 

“Wait, wait a second.”

 

Getting up hurriedly, Sa Muheon avoided looking directly at Garam, adjusted the blanket over him, and promptly left the room. Garam heard the sound of a door opening across the hall—it was the dressing room. A moment later, Sa Muheon returned with a handful of clothes.

 

“I’ll leave these here.”

 

Before Garam could even thank him, Sa Muheon exited the room.

 

As the door closed, Garam, now alone in the bedroom, gripped the blanket tightly, trying to calm his burning face. Why did this transformation have to happen in such an awkward situation?

 

The thought of burrowing into Sa Muheon’s embrace in his bare form made Garam want to disappear from embarrassment.

 

At least Sa Muheon had been completely asleep at the time. That was the only silver lining.

 

“Phew…”

 

After fanning his face and taking several deep breaths, the heat subsided somewhat.

 

Finally, Garam cautiously peeked out from under the blanket and reached for the clothes Sa Muheon had left by the bed. They carried Sa Muheon’s scent.

 

Sa Muheon could have fetched Garam’s clothes, but it seemed he had grabbed whatever was closest in his flustered state.

 

Not wanting to ask for more, Garam settled for putting on Sa Muheon’s clothes. Luckily, they fit comfortably. Though fully dressed, Garam hesitated to leave the room and face Sa Muheon.

 

How long he had longed for this moment. Yet now, faced with the opportunity to talk to him, he found himself overcome with embarrassment and fear of confronting what had happened.

 

Garam approached the door, his hand hovering over the handle as he deliberated. Eventually, he gave up and returned to the bed, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

 

“Haah…”

 

What would Sa Muheon think of him now? Waking up to find someone else in his arms—especially someone in their natural state—would be shocking for anyone, not just Sa Muheon. If the roles were reversed and Garam woke to find someone naked next to him…

 

The thought alone made him dizzy. Clamping his hands over his mouth to stifle a scream, Garam lowered his head. He doubted he could have handled the situation as calmly as Sa Muheon had.

 

The more he thought about it, the more he felt Sa Muheon had been incredibly considerate. Resolving to apologize for the awkwardness, Garam stood up.

 

But just as he did, a knock came from outside the door.

 

Knock, knock.

 

“Are you dressed?”

 

“Ah, yes!”

 

“I’m coming in.”

 

Upon hearing Garam’s reply, Sa Muheon opened the door to the bedroom. However, he didn’t step inside, simply standing at the doorway and looking at Garam. His gaze felt unfamiliar, as if he were seeing Garam for the first time. As the persistent stare made Garam uncomfortable, he averted his eyes, and only then did Sa Muheon stop observing him.

 

“…Come out.”

 

Sa Muheon gestured toward the living room with a tilt of his chin and turned to leave. Garam quickly followed him.

 

In the living room, Sa Muheon sat on the sofa and glanced sideways, indicating where Garam should sit. Understanding the unspoken instruction, Garam quickly took a seat next to him. Once again, Sa Muheon looked Garam up and down before speaking quietly.

 

“How’s your body?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Garam raised his head at the sudden question and looked at him. However, he simply tilted his head slightly, as if signaling Garam to answer.

 

“Ah… I think my body’s fine. I don’t feel anything unusual….”

 

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

 

With those words, Sa Muheon let out a short sigh. The sincerity in his concern for Garam’s condition caused a faint warmth to stir in Garam’s chest.

 

“Still, just in case, you should go to the hospital.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Garam obediently nodded at his suggestion. Only then did Sa Muheon’s lips curve slightly into a small smile. He got up, placed a hand lightly on Garam’s head, and then withdrew it. Finally realizing he was back, Garam watched intently as Sa Muheon headed to the kitchen.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Sa Muheon acted naturally, as though Garam’s sudden reappearance didn’t surprise him at all. Garam also responded comfortably and rose to his feet, heading toward the kitchen. He tried to help with the meal preparations but was promptly ushered out with an instruction to rest.

 

Left with no other choice, Garam picked up his phone from the table in the living room and began replying to the backlog of messages.

 

While he had been able to send replies even in his original form, handling multiple exchanges as a tiny squirrel had been cumbersome, so he had postponed them all until now.

 

Finally, after responding to the most recent message from Minjae, Garam heard Sa Muheon calling him.

 

“Come eat.”

 

“Oh, okay!”

 

Placing his phone back on the table, Garam made his way to the kitchen.

 

As they ate, no conversation passed between them. Yet, the silence didn’t feel awkward. While quietly eating, Garam frequently glanced at Sa Muheon. Unable to ignore Garam’s furtive glances any longer, Sa Muheon finally broke the silence.

 

“What?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Garam hadn’t expected to be caught and was flustered, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

 

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

 

But Sa Muheon wasn’t going to let it slide. Faced with the question, Garam froze, then slowly set his chopsticks down. Sa Muheon’s gaze followed Garam’s hand before returning to his face. Garam, seemingly having made up his mind, looked resolute.

 

“Well… I’m sorry.”

 

The sudden apology caused Sa Muheon to lower his own chopsticks.

 

“What are you suddenly sorry for?”

 

“That is….”

 

Hesitating, Garam finally spoke in a barely audible voice.

 

“It’s just that… I suddenly ended up like that….”

 

“What about it?”

 

“…I wasn’t wearing clothes, and…”

 

“Ah….”

 

Sa Muheon’s gaze drifted momentarily into the distance. After a brief pause, he picked up his chopsticks again and spoke calmly.

 

“It’s fine. It was an unavoidable situation. But why were you sleeping there?”

 

“…Don’t you remember?”

 

Sa Muheon’s hand froze midair. Slowly, his eyes rose to meet Garam’s.

 

“What….”

 

Sa Muheon’s voice trailed off as if he genuinely remembered nothing. But at the same time, something seemed to dawn on him, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.

 

His face turned pale in an instant, only to flush red as though recalling something mortifying. Watching his rapidly changing expressions, Garam waited patiently for his response.