Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

 

—

 

“I’m home.”

 

Entering the front door, Garam greeted out of habit. It wasn’t unusual these days for Sa Muheon to arrive home earlier than Garam, so it didn’t strike him as strange. But unlike usual, there was no response to his greeting today.

 

Garam tilted his head in confusion as he took off his shoes. He looked around the house as he walked in, but Sa Muheon was nowhere to be found.

 

“I guess he hasn’t come home yet…”

 

Muttering quietly to himself, Garam slumped his shoulders and went into his room.

 

Not knowing when Sa Muheon might return, Garam finished his shower quicker than usual, got dressed, and went back out to the living room. However, Sa Muheon was still not back. Garam returned to his room, his steps strangely lacking energy.

 

He flopped onto the bed, the duvet making a soft rustling sound under him. Lying there with his cheek pressed against the soft blanket, he turned over to stare at the ceiling.

 

For some reason, he felt a little disappointed that the person who always greeted him warmly wasn’t there today.

 

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Garam shook his head vigorously. Even though it was his own thought, he was flustered. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling this way.

 

But soon, Garam let out a small sigh and turned onto his side.

 

It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand at all, but still…

 

Garam recalled the conversation he had with Minjae earlier today. He could admit that he felt a slight fondness for Sa Muheon. After all, Sa Muheon had been a good guardian to him and the only one who could save him in times of trouble.

 

But whether he felt anything more than that, as Minjae had suggested, was something Garam wasn’t sure of. There were just too many things to consider.

 

His current situation, the ambiguous relationship between him and Sa Muheon, and even Sa Muheon’s feelings.

 

“Sigh…”

 

A sigh escaped his lips without him realizing it. But the train of thought didn’t last long. The familiar sound of the front door opening reached his ears.

 

Springing up from the bed, Garam opened his door. Just in time, he saw Sa Muheon stepping into the house.

 

“You’re back?”

 

“Yeah. You’re home early.”

 

Sa Muheon casually acknowledged Garam’s greeting while loosening his tie and walking further into the house. Garam followed closely behind him.

 

“Have you eaten dinner?”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I was waiting for you to eat together…”

 

At Garam’s response, Sa Muheon turned his head to look at him.

 

“You’ll have to eat alone today. I need to step out.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“No, I’ll call Seokgyu over. You can eat with him.”

 

Startled by Sa Muheon’s suggestion, Garam quickly shook his head. If he had known this would happen, he would have insisted that Sa Muheon stay. He felt guilty about calling someone back over for something so trivial, especially since they had just gotten off work.

 

“No, it’s fine. I don’t know how long your appointment will take. Leaving you alone makes me uneasy, so stay with Seokgyu. He only just left, right?”

 

“That’s why it feels wrong to call him back after he just got off…”

 

“You apologize for the strangest things. Don’t worry; I’ll call him.”

 

Garam tried to dissuade him again, but Sa Muheon, seemingly resolute in not leaving Garam alone, firmly shook his head and pulled out his phone. Without hesitation, he called Jang Seokgyu.

 

“Hey, it’s me. You’ll have to come back to the house. I need to step out urgently, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I can’t leave the kid alone.”

 

Garam couldn’t hear what Seokgyu said on the other end, but Sa Muheon gave a brief, “Okay, got it,” before hanging up.

 

“He’ll be here soon. I’ll leave once he arrives.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Garam nodded, unable to hide his dejected expression.

 

Seeing Garam’s face up close, Sa Muheon paused for a moment without saying anything. Then, after sticking his hand in his pocket, he turned away abruptly.

 

“Take it easy. If you want to eat anything specific, let Seokgyu know.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

—

 

Without properly listening to Garam’s response, Sa Muheon disappeared into his bedroom as if fleeing. Garam, who had been hanging his head, now lifted it and stared intently at the bedroom door Sa Muheon had gone through.

 

It seemed as though he wasn’t even trying to hide that he was avoiding Garam now. Garam bit his lip hard, his gaze fixed on the door.

 

He wanted to barge in right that moment and ask Sa Muheon why he was acting this way. But he was afraid of how Sa Muheon might react. Besides, Garam didn’t have any reason to confront him about avoiding him. Conversely, did Sa Muheon have any obligation to stay by Garam’s side?

 

In the end, Garam chewed on his lips as he turned and went back to his room.

 

The conversation he’d had with Jang Seokgyu on the way home earlier replayed in his mind. Seokgyu had encouraged Garam to ask Sa Muheon directly if there was something he was curious about. But after seeing Sa Muheon’s attitude today, Seokgyu’s advice seemed entirely useless. It didn’t feel like Sa Muheon would give him any proper answers now.

 

As Garam sat on his bed, trying to organize his thoughts, he heard the front door open again. When he opened his door and looked out, he saw Seokgyu returning. Seokgyu gave Garam a slight nod before stepping inside.

 

Apparently, Sa Muheon had heard Seokgyu arrive because he came out shortly after. Unlike when he first got home, he was now dressed in more comfortable attire.

 

“Did something urgent come up?”

 

“Yeah, I got a sudden call asking if I could come out.”

 

Sa Muheon didn’t look like he was lying. The slight furrow of his brows hinted at his mood.

 

“I’ll try to be back as soon as possible, but just in case.”

 

“Of course. Better to be safe.”

 

Seokgyu answered in a light-hearted tone, which made Sa Muheon frown even more. After letting out a small sigh, he started walking toward the door.

 

“Anyway, I’m off. He hasn’t eaten yet, so make sure he eats something. You eat too.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Garam trailed after Sa Muheon as he headed to the front door. Until the very end, Sa Muheon didn’t look at Garam even once. Only when he opened the door and stepped out did his gaze linger on Garam briefly, through the narrowing gap of the slowly closing door.

 

When the door shut completely, and even that fleeting moment of eye contact disappeared, Garam’s shoulders slumped. Watching from behind, Seokgyu hesitated, unsure of what to say to the clearly dejected Garam. After a moment of deliberation, he finally seemed to make up his mind and spoke cautiously.

 

“Um…”

 

Though it was just a small call, Garam turned around immediately. Thankfully, he wasn’t crying, but his disheartened expression was plainly visible. Swallowing nervously, Seokgyu asked in an even gentler tone.

 

“…Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

 

A silence fell between them. Honestly, Garam didn’t feel like eating anything at the moment, but he didn’t want to refuse Seokgyu’s thoughtful gesture either. After a short deliberation, Garam sighed softly.

 

Since Garam said he didn’t have anything specific in mind, Seokgyu began listing countless dishes. But when Garam showed no particular reaction to any of them, Seokgyu eventually settled on the simplest option.

 

It was something Garam hadn’t had in a long time since Sa Muheon was usually obsessed with making him eat healthy meals.

 

At first, Garam wasn’t especially interested, but as the smell started wafting in, he began to feel hungry.

 

“Let’s eat.”

 

“Thank you for the food.”

 

What Seokgyu had confidently prepared was instant ramen. The fact that ramen even existed in Sa Muheon’s house, where healthy eating was a priority, was surprising enough. But the second surprise was how incredibly delicious Seokgyu’s ramen was. Garam widened his eyes as Seokgyu, looking quite proud, took his portion.

 

“This is the only dish I’m good at making.”

 

Can ramen even be called cooking? Garam tilted his head slightly at the thought, but it wasn’t important right now. The fact that Seokgyu’s ramen was unbelievably tasty was reason enough for him to nod in agreement.

 

He thought he wasn’t hungry, but as he started eating, he realized just how empty his stomach had been. After thoroughly enjoying the meal, Garam stretched out on the living room couch while Seokgyu cleaned up.

 

The thought of falling asleep right there felt appealing, as his eyelids grew heavier.

 

Still, he didn’t want to sleep just yet. He wanted to see Sa Muheon return, and he had things he wanted to ask him when the timing felt right. There were also questions he wanted to pose to Seokgyu before Sa Muheon got back.

 

Despite nodding off, Garam fought to stay awake. But resisting the pull of sleep was no easy feat.

 

When Seokgyu came back after cleaning up, he found Garam dozing off and smiled as he lightly tapped his shoulder. Startled, Garam woke up and looked around.

 

“He’s not back yet. Looks like he’ll be late. You should get some sleep in your room.”

 

“…Will he be very late?”

 

“I’m not sure, but it’d be better if you got some rest first.”

 

After a moment of hesitation, Garam nodded and headed to his room.

 

As soon as he lay down on his bed, he felt oddly wide awake. Staring at the dark ceiling, Garam blinked with clear, open eyes.