Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 74

Chapter 74

 

“But…”

 

“Yes.”

 

A voice filled with hesitation trailed off into the air, unfinished. Garam glanced at Jang Seokgyu several times while he was driving, as if gauging his reaction, before finally speaking as if he had made up his mind.

 

“Has the Director, I mean Mr. Sa Muheon, mentioned me recently?”

 

“……”

 

Until just a moment ago, Jang Seokgyu had struggled to suppress his laughter, but the follow-up question genuinely left him at a loss. He didn’t say anything and kept his mouth shut.

 

Had his boss recently talked about this squirrel shifter?

 

There was no need to deliberate over the answer. Yes, he had. A lot.

 

However, in Jang Seokgyu’s opinion, the things Sa Muheon had said weren’t the kind of matters he could share on his behalf. To him, it sounded almost like a confession of love—like Sa Muheon was confessing why he had come to feel affection for this young man. It was as if he was pouring out his heart. And such an important confession couldn’t be recited by someone else.

 

That was something Sa Muheon had to tell the person sitting beside him directly.

 

After a brief moment of contemplation, Jang Seokgyu slowly began to speak. He carefully chose his words before opening his mouth.

 

“Saying I haven’t heard anything would be a lie. Naturally, since you’re living together, your name comes up now and then.”

 

“Not just that… Has he said anything else?”

 

Garam asked cautiously. This time, Jang Seokgyu remained completely silent. He wasn’t sure what kind of response the young man was hoping for.

 

When he didn’t answer, Garam, perhaps interpreting the silence in his own way, hastily added more words, flustered.

 

“Not in a weird way! Just… anything about me.”

 

“……”

 

“…I know it might sound strange, but lately, he’s seemed a little… different.”

 

There was no confidence in his voice as he said this. Lowering his head, Garam stared at his fingertips. He looked utterly dejected.

 

Even without turning his head, Garam could feel Jang Seokgyu’s curious gaze on him. But he couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

 

It was slightly embarrassing to say such things out loud, and the memory of Sa Muheon’s recent behavior dampened Garam’s mood further.

 

There was a reason Garam had mustered up the courage to ask this question. Jang Seokgyu was a trusted subordinate of Sa Muheon and close enough to him. Moreover, as Garam’s bodyguard, there was a chance Sa Muheon might have shared something related to him.

 

Recently, Sa Muheon had been acting strangely. But not in an overtly odd way.

 

It was more of a subtle difference that Garam could sense.

 

Sa Muheon was still kind to Garam. After Garam returned to his human form, he had expected the man to distance himself somewhat—because Garam was not a real squirrel, and thus, it seemed natural that Sa Muheon wouldn’t find him as endearing anymore. Even Garam thought that was reasonable.

 

But for some reason, Sa Muheon seemed to have pulled away even more than Garam had anticipated.

 

It wasn’t a significant enough difference for others to notice. Even Garam had initially brushed off the change, uncertain if it was real.

 

Sa Muheon was still attentive to Garam’s needs, often noticing and addressing them before Garam even voiced them. He also seemed highly concerned that Garam might get stressed and revert to his squirrel form. Not long ago, he had even brought Garam an adorable squirrel plush, saying it reminded him of him.

 

But for all of that, Sa Muheon rarely approached Garam directly. Unless there was a reason to talk or come closer, he kept a slight distance, often retreating to his room under the pretense of needing to be there.

 

At first, Garam had believed his excuses. He had nodded, thinking, “Oh, he must be busy lately.” But once he realized the man was subtly distancing himself, those excuses began to feel hastily made up.

 

“…Is he busy these days?”

 

“The Director?”

 

Garam nodded. Jang Seokgyu shrugged, looking as if this was the first he’d heard of it.

 

“Well, as far as I know, there hasn’t been anything particularly busy recently.”

 

“Couldn’t it be something you wouldn’t know about, Mr. Jang?”

 

“Haha!”

 

Jang Seokgyu burst into laughter. After laughing heartily, he stopped and replied, his voice still tinged with amusement.

 

“I clock into the Korea branch every single day, you know. If it’s related to the Director, there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it.”

 

“Oh… Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that.”

 

“I understand. Anyway, the Director hasn’t been busy at all lately. If anything, it’s the staff below him who might be busy because he’s not doing much.”

 

“What?”

 

Garam widened his eyes at the unexpected remark, and Jang Seokgyu chuckled before elaborating.

 

“He didn’t even come to work for about a month, and even now, he’s been leaving early almost every day. While Manager Han has always handled most of the workload, it seems like even more has been delegated to her recently.”

 

Garam lowered his head again. He knew exactly why Sa Muheon had been leaving early. It was because of him.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

 

Jang Seokgyu shrugged. Garam glanced at him, his voice barely audible as he added.

 

“It’s just… he told me he’s been really busy lately. So I was worried if I had done something wrong…”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“…And it feels like he’s been keeping some distance from me recently.”

 

Finally, Garam confessed the worries he had been holding onto. A faint hope flickered within him that Jang Seokgyu, being close to Sa Muheon, might have some answers.

 

Jang Seokgyu remained silent for a long time. Just as Garam was beginning to regret saying anything, he finally spoke.

 

“Maybe he’s feeling a bit awkward.”

 

“…What?”

 

“You spent quite a long time as a squirrel, didn’t you? Maybe he just needs some time to adjust.”

 

…Is that it?

 

Garam tilted his head slightly. It felt a bit strange, but Jang Seokgyu’s voice was so full of certainty that Garam’s heart wavered. Considering that it wasn’t common for shapeshifters to fully reveal their true forms to others, it seemed like a plausible explanation.

 

“…That might be the case.”

 

Eventually, Garam voiced a positive response. Since his head was still bowed, he didn’t see Jang Seokgyu let out a small sigh as he gripped the steering wheel.

 

Fortunately, they arrived at Sa Muheon’s house not long after, cutting the conversation short.

 

“See you tomorrow, then.”

 

“Yes. Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

 

“And about what we talked about earlier…”

 

Just as Garam unfastened his seatbelt and was about to get out of the car, Jang Seokgyu’s words stopped him. Garam paused with his hand on the car door handle and turned to look at him. Jang Seokgyu, rubbing his chin awkwardly, opened his mouth.

 

“Well, as you know, I can’t exactly go around spilling things about the Director everywhere.”

 

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

 

“And since he’s my boss, there’s only so much I can say.”

 

Garam nodded.

 

“So if you’re curious about anything else, it’d be best to ask him directly.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“Like I said earlier, even if it’s not about something like his ideal type, he’ll probably answer most things you ask.”

 

Noticing that Garam seemed a bit uneasy, Jang Seokgyu gave an embarrassed laugh.

 

“The Director generally doesn’t pay much attention to people, but that doesn’t mean there’s no one he’s interested in. When he cares about someone, he tends to treat them quite well.”

 

“…I see.”

 

Garam already knew that very well. He also knew that he fell into the category of people Sa Muheon cared about.

 

Honestly, it was impossible not to know. Even Garam thought Sa Muheon’s kindness wasn’t something just anyone could expect. If Sa Muheon extended the same level of consideration to everyone as he did to Garam, he’d either be revered as a saint of the century or pitied as the world’s greatest pushover, left with nothing.

 

But neither of those extremes fit Sa Muheon’s reputation. Even from what Garam had heard about him through Minjae or Attorney Yang, Sa Muheon was described as a fairly cold and calculating person. It was something Garam found entirely incomprehensible.

 

“In any case, the Director seems to care about you quite a bit, Mr. Kang Garam. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Seeing Garam nod without hesitation, Jang Seokgyu felt a small sense of relief. At least Garam wasn’t hiding that fact.

 

“So ask him anything. He won’t ignore your questions.”

 

That was about all Jang Seokgyu could say. While he had already shared a fair bit about his boss, those were things he could speak of. The things he couldn’t say were up to Sa Muheon to express personally.

 

Fortunately, Garam didn’t seem overly dejected. Instead, he nodded with a slightly brighter expression before leaving the car with a final farewell. Jang Seokgyu stayed for a moment, watching Garam make his way to the front door, before slowly driving away.