Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 72

Chapter 72

 

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“There’s no one like that, of course.”

 

At Garam’s words, Minjae, who had been listening, put down the fork he was holding and spoke with a serious expression.

 

Startled by the rare sight of Minjae’s stern face, Garam hesitated and slowly set down the fork he had been holding as well.

 

“R-Really?”

 

Garam asked cautiously, but Minjae nodded firmly, as if questioning why he’d even ask something so obvious.

 

“Of course. Who would do something so foolish?”

 

“Foolish…”

 

No matter how he thought about it, the word seemed completely incompatible with Sa Muheon. Swirling the straw in his drink, the liquid spun wildly on the surface, creating a small vortex. The sight mirrored Garam’s tangled thoughts perfectly.

 

After watching the whirlpool for a while, Minjae opened his mouth again.

 

“Hyung, they say there’s no such thing as kindness without a reason.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I mean, someone buying me pork might just be something you could shrug off, but if they buy me beef, it’s because they have some kind of ulterior motive.”

 

“Who told you that?”

 

It was amusing. Garam laughed as he asked, but Minjae answered without the slightest trace of humor on his face.

 

“That restaurant owner hyung we went to eat cold noodles with last time.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Garam nodded, recalling the face of the owner they had met then.

 

“Anyway, that hyung said there’s no one who does something for nothing.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. Honestly, I thought you might have an ulterior motive with me too, Hyung.”

 

At those words, Garam stopped swirling his drink and stared blankly at Minjae.

 

“Me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Garam asked, unable to hide his confusion. Minjae nodded quickly and added more words.

 

“No, I mean, hear me out. Actually, I’m not the only one who thought that way.”

 

“What?”

 

It was the first time he’d heard such a thing. And a ridiculous thing at that. As Garam furrowed his brows, Minjae quickly tried to justify his words.

 

“You’re just too nice to people, Hyung. Even I wondered at first why you were so kind to me. Of course, since you treated everyone else the same way, I figured, oh, you’re just that kind of person….”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes, I’m telling you! Seonhu hyung—oh, that restaurant owner’s name is Seonhu—he even told me to be careful because he thought you were interested in me!”

 

Hearing Minjae’s continued explanation, Garam couldn’t hide his disbelief.

 

“…What did I even do?”

 

“Well, I mean… starting with how you look—so neat and handsome, like the ideal older brother anyone would want….”

 

Garam couldn’t understand a word of what Minjae was saying. But he didn’t interrupt and waited for him to continue.

 

“They say it’s basically a crime for a handsome person to act kindly.”

 

“…I see.”

 

Garam didn’t fully understand, but if Minjae said so, he decided to let it slide. Besides, learning that other people had misunderstood his actions as well made Garam reflect on his behavior.

 

“Anyway, if someone goes out of their way to be especially nice to me, there’s definitely a reason for it, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“The first person who told me that was Seonhu hyung.”

 

Garam nodded and took a sip of his drink through the straw.

 

“That hyung was super nice to me from the moment he first met me. Turns out there was a reason for that. He confessed to me that he likes me.”

 

“Cough!”

 

The moment Minjae said that, Garam almost spit out the drink he had just taken a sip of. Luckily, he managed to avoid making a mess, reducing it to a small cough instead. Alarmed, Minjae rushed to bring him a glass of water.

 

“Hyung! Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah…”

 

Why would you say something like that while I’m drinking?

 

The thought crossed his mind, but he didn’t voice it. After sipping the water Minjae had brought him, the stinging in his throat subsided. Garam sat Minjae back down and pressed him for details.

 

“So, what are you going to do?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The confession… you said you got one.”

 

“Oh, so I decided to date him, for now.”

 

“What?”

 

Garam blinked in surprise. But Minjae continued nonchalantly.

 

“I mean, I’ve never thought about him that way, but Seonhu hyung is good-looking, and it’s obvious how much he likes me.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Who would take care of just some random kid next door like that? Even though I’m an only child, I know most hyungs wouldn’t go that far.”

 

Minjae replied with a slight pout in his voice.

 

“After the confession, I realized it. Oh, there really isn’t anyone who does something for nothing.”

 

“Still…”

 

Though Garam understood what Minjae was getting at, he thought his own situation was a little different.

 

“My situation with you is a bit different…”

 

“What’s so different?”

 

Unable to admit that he had been using Minjae as bait to lure Ryubumju, Garam opened his mouth, then closed it again without saying anything. When Minjae saw Garam fall silent, he leaned back in his chair as if to say he wouldn’t press further.

 

“Hmm… if it’s hard to talk about, forget it.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s fine. But still…”

 

Trailing off, Minjae added one last thing.

 

“Well, whatever the reason, I think if someone’s that nice to you, there’s definitely something else behind it.”

 

“……”

 

“Really?” Garam tried to reflect on Sa Muheon’s actions, but Minjae’s question came first.

 

“Let’s say that’s the case. What I’m curious about is—what about you, hyung?”

 

“Huh?”

 

At the question, Garam blinked blankly.

 

“We don’t know yet if that person likes you or not… but aside from that, the most important thing is your feelings, right?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

It was only after Minjae’s question that Garam began to think about Sa Muheon again.

 

What usually came to mind when he thought about him? Strangely, when he tried to recall, nothing surfaced.

 

But Garam didn’t give up and slowly began to organize his thoughts about Sa Muheon.

 

Sa Muheon was a kind person. The first word that came to Garam’s mind when he thought of him was kindness.

 

Of course, most other people either scoffed at or doubted Garam’s assertion that Sa Muheon was kind. But to Garam, if Sa Muheon wasn’t kind, then no one in the world could be considered kind.

 

If Sa Muheon had been a cold-hearted person, he wouldn’t have even considered letting Garam into his home in the first place. He could have easily assigned someone to monitor Garam from a distance instead of keeping him close.

 

Not only that, but he didn’t just bring Garam into his home—he also provided everything Garam needed. Without him, Garam would probably have been stuck at home doing nothing, still on leave from school. But thanks to Sa Muheon’s kindness, Garam was able to attend school again.

 

What else was there? Garam thought for a while longer, but what came to mind were similar descriptors. He was kind and a good person. If anything else stood out, it was that Sa Muheon was slightly older than Garam, had a surprisingly pretty face for someone with such a dangerous profession, was a snake shifter, and had an unusual background as a law school graduate.

 

“Well, he’s a good person.”

 

“That’s it?”

 

“Kind, a good person. And smart and pretty?”

 

Although many thoughts had crossed his mind, they boiled down to just that. Hearing Garam’s answer, Minjae squinted one eye.

 

“Okay, but what if that kind and good person says they like you?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

At those words, Garam paused to think. The idea of Sa Muheon confessing his feelings didn’t seem realistic. Still, Garam forced himself to imagine it. He recalled one particular night when Sa Muheon had kissed him on the cheek. Though Garam had been in his squirrel form at the time, the fact that Sa Muheon had kissed his cheek remained unchanged.

 

As soon as that memory resurfaced, so did the soft, gentle tone Sa Muheon used when calling out to him.

 

If Sa Muheon were to confess his feelings with that voice….

 

“Hyung.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Startled by Minjae’s voice, Garam snapped back to reality and looked up. Minjae shook his head slightly and spoke again.

 

“Hyung, your face is really red right now.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Garam instinctively raised a hand to touch his face. Underneath his palm, he could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Realizing this only made him more self-conscious. Garam lowered his head, covering his face with his hands.

 

“Never mind. I don’t need an answer.”

 

“Sorry…”

 

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

 

Minjae chuckled and quickly finished the drink in front of him. The remaining ice clinked against the cup.

 

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you don’t have feelings for him, at least.”

 

“No, it’s not like that…”

 

Garam couldn’t bring himself to admit that he’d been thinking about the time Sa Muheon kissed him. He was even beginning to feel confused about why he was so flustered.

 

Was it because he recalled the moment Sa Muheon kissed him? Or was it because he imagined him confessing his feelings?