Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

—

The fingers moving busily across the keyboard came to a halt.

“It’s over…”

Releasing a sigh-like word, Garam stretched. After saving everything as he hadn’t forgotten to do, Garam stood up from his seat with a light heart.

Having missed his midterm exams due to a prolonged recovery period, Garam had to substitute them with numerous assignments and reports as previously announced. Although it had been a tough two weeks handling everything, he felt incredibly relieved that everything was finally being taken care of.

Since the exams couldn’t be replaced with any external help, Garam spent countless nights staying up late and sacrificing meal times just to complete the workload.

During that time, Sa Muheon, who had been watching over him, eventually pulled Garam aside and lectured him seriously.

“How long have you been recovering, and you’re already overworking yourself like this? Are you trying to stress yourself out again?”

Garam gave a sulky look at Sa Muheon, but he wasn’t one to easily give in. With his arms crossed, Sa Muheon looked determined to not let things slide. Eventually, Garam agreed to not sacrifice sleep and make sure he ate meals as well.

Despite their minor conflict, Garam successfully completed everything he needed to do. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming, wrapping his entire being in pride.

“Ugh…”

Lying down heavily on his bed, the warm blanket enveloped his body. Garam lay motionless for a while before reaching out to grab his phone.

“Where…”

Even after returning to school, Garam had been busy enough to postpone all his commitments, saying he would handle them later unless they were urgent. Now that everything urgent was done, it was time to catch up on those delayed messages.

Garam received messages not only from friends but also from seniors and juniors. However, the one that caught his attention first was a message from Minjae.

[Hyung, let’s grab a meal together once your assignments are done! I’ll treat you!]

Minjae had always been unusually fond of Garam, and Garam didn’t dislike the way Minjae acted like a younger sibling toward him. Though there were many other messages, Garam responded to Minjae’s message first for that reason.

[I’ve finished all the urgent work]

[Are you free for lunch tomorrow?]

After sending the message to Minjae, Garam set his phone aside and folded his hands on his stomach. Lying there, he stared at the ceiling with only his eyes blinking, when, after a while, his phone vibrated at a distance.

Stretching his arm, Garam retrieved his phone and quickly saw Minjae’s reply.

[Wow, you finished already?]

[Lunch tomorrow works for me!]

[Shall we meet near the back gate?]

Reading the consecutive messages, Garam couldn’t help but smile. He replied with a message and added a squirrel waving emoji.

“Ugh…”

Still lying there, Garam eventually felt the urge to get up. Since all the urgent matters had been dealt with, he thought about resting by reading a book for a while. Although the mountain of assignments had disappeared, Garam still wanted to make the most of his free time.

Spending too much time as a squirrel, Garam had come to appreciate the value of having time to himself to do whatever he pleased. Though he usually didn’t push himself this hard, recently, he had felt a strong desire to accomplish whatever he set his mind to. And he had indeed succeeded in achieving everything he set out to do.

These achievements had a positive impact on Garam. While he had been limited by his squirrel form, unable to do things freely, and even unable to express his thoughts, now he felt he could handle anything, which helped alleviate much of the stress he had built up.

“I should start reading this…”

It was a book he had borrowed for his art history class. Garam had little interest in art, but his close friend had convinced him after hearing it was an interesting class.

The lecture, as promised, was conducted in a relaxed atmosphere. Even though Garam had no background in art, he found it enjoyable. Because of this, Garam had, for the first time, borrowed a book related to art history from the library, and this was the same book.

Finding the section he had stopped at a few days ago, Garam began reading it again from there.

Turning a few pages, he came across a painting of lovers lying side by side. Without much thought, his face slightly reddened as he kept reading. The memory that surfaced was not triggered by the painting itself but by the vivid recollection it brought to mind.

“Ah…”

Feeling his face heating up, Garam waved his hand over his face.

Whenever memories of being cradled naked by Sa Muheon surfaced, Garam couldn’t hide his flushed face. While it had been an unavoidable situation, the lingering embarrassment didn’t simply fade away. Even if the circumstances were unavoidable, the shame still lingered.

At least, Garam found solace in the fact that memories tended to fade over time. This embarrassing recollection would gradually become more distant, and someday, he would recall those moments without feeling embarrassed, making it easier to endure now.

“Right. It really was an unavoidable situation.”

Garam muttered to himself. Since Sa Muheon said the same thing, his words must be true.

Before long, Garam’s thoughts shifted to Sa Muheon. A smile naturally appeared as he thought of Sa Muheon. Recently, the things Sa Muheon had been doing brought laughter to Garam.

His actions weren’t specifically meant to make Garam laugh, but Sa Muheon seemed entirely unsure about how to handle Garam lately.

He wasn’t cold toward Garam at all. In fact, he was overly affectionate. That’s what made his behavior somewhat amusing.

It seemed as though Sa Muheon couldn’t regulate his kindness at all.

From Garam’s perspective, Sa Muheon had always been quite affectionate. However, during the time Garam had been living as a squirrel, his affection only deepened endlessly.

When they first met, Sa Muheon acted the same way, and the tiny squirrel naturally seemed fragile compared to humans, making his concern and care understandable to a degree.

But now, Garam wasn’t just a small squirrel sitting on Sa Muheon’s palm. He was a healthy 21-year-old man, and yet Sa Muheon still treated him with extreme caution, as though he might fly away or shatter if touched too hard.

“… He’s such a funny person.”

Garam muttered to himself and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Thinking about him, the desire to read faded away. It didn’t seem to be the right day. Eventually, Garam closed the book he had been reading and rested his chin in his hand, continuing to reflect.

Sa Muheon’s behavior was sometimes overwhelming, but it wasn’t something Garam disliked.

In fact, if he had to weigh it, he preferred it. It was definitely on the good side of things. Sa Muheon’s behavior often brought laughter, and watching him helplessly fumble with how to treat him made Garam’s heart flutter.

Throughout his life, Garam had received affection from many people. From the love given by his parents when he was very young to the care his grandmother provided, and the countless acts of kindness and affection he had received along the way kept him going.

Perhaps because of that, Garam was accustomed to receiving affection. He didn’t push it away; instead, he graciously accepted it. However, the affection Sa Muheon gave him felt special and new.

“I wonder why…”

Garam muttered, resting his cheek on his desk. His gaze then landed on the squirrel plush Sa Muheon had brought days ago, placed in the corner of the desk.

He grabbed it and gently poked the plush’s cheek. It was the same kind of light, effortless motion Sa Muheon had once used with Garam’s own hand.

“Really, such a funny person…”

Garam laughed again as he stared at the smiling squirrel plush.

Only Sa Muheon would give such a cute plush to a grown man like him.

TL– Caught up with raws