Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 94

Chapter 94

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Standing in front of the door, Garam couldn’t hide his nervousness. All he had to do was open the door and step outside, yet today, that simple action felt inexplicably difficult. The truth was, he knew the reason all too well. In fact, knowing it too well was precisely the problem.

Bzzz—.

The vibration from the phone in his hand stopped him from pacing any further in front of the door. It was a message from Jang Seokgyu. Normally, he would have gone out in advance to wait for him, but today, he had been hesitating at the door for too long and was now late.

“Haa…”

He worried that the person might be outside, but he couldn’t keep Jang Seokgyu waiting forever. If he missed any more classes, he would undoubtedly have to retake the course. Skipping school simply wasn’t an option.

In the end, Garam took a deep breath in front of the door. Even as he grasped the doorknob and pulled it open, he could feel his heart pounding wildly. He stepped forward cautiously even after the door had opened. The house was quiet. There were no sounds coming from the kitchen, and Sa Muheon’s bedroom door remained firmly shut.

Since he had stayed up all night with his eyes wide open and hadn’t heard the front door open, it was clear that Sa Muheon had yet to leave his room. Not seeing the face of the person he was most wary of at the moment, Garam quickly made his way to the entrance. He was hurriedly slipping his shoes on when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Leaving already?”

“Gasp…!”

His heart nearly dropped to his feet from the shock. At the same time, he felt his ears and tail pop out. Raising his hands, he covered his ears, which had perked up so high that even the soft fur stood on end, and slowly turned around.

“Sorry. Did I startle you?”

The study door was open, and Sa Muheon was leaning against the doorway. Though he spoke words of apology, his face showed no hint of remorse. Instead, he was smiling even more brightly than usual. Faced with such an expression, any thought of being angry simply melted away.

Garam fidgeted, unsure of what to say in response. Before he could figure out how to reply, Sa Muheon began approaching him at a leisurely pace.

“You were planning to leave without even saying goodbye, weren’t you?”

“Ah…”

Anyone could see that he had been trying to sneak out to avoid him. There was no excuse to make. Seeing Garam hesitate, Sa Muheon put on a wounded expression and spoke again.

“That hurts, you know.”

“Ah, well…”

“I didn’t get any sleep all night.”

Should he apologize? Garam hesitated awkwardly as Sa Muheon stepped even closer. He instinctively tried to step back, but the front door blocked his retreat. A sense of déjà vu washed over him—he had experienced this exact situation just hours ago.

Sa Muheon chuckled lightly and reached out. His hand moved slowly before brushing against Garam’s lips. Unlike the soft lips that had touched his the night before, the touch of Sa Muheon’s fingers was completely different. But the way he pressed lightly and then pulled away naturally reminded Garam of the kiss from the previous night.

A bright flush spread across Garam’s face. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from his chest. Worried that it might actually happen, he pressed one hand against his chest in an attempt to steady himself.

Though he said nothing, Sa Muheon seemed to read his every thought. With a faint smile, he leaned in even closer.

“Wh-why…?”

With the growing proximity, Garam barely managed to stammer out his question. Sa Muheon simply smiled in response.

He couldn’t tell if his heart was racing because of Sa Muheon’s handsome face, the overwhelming closeness, or the memory of last night. The distance between them was so small that Garam feared Sa Muheon might hear how fast his heart was beating.

Unable to bear it any longer, Garam averted his gaze. But unlike the previous night, Sa Muheon didn’t force him to meet his eyes. Instead, he gently patted Garam’s head twice before stepping back.

The unexpectedly casual gesture left Garam more flustered than anything else. Just moments ago, Sa Muheon had seemed like the same overbearing presence as the night before, but now, he was acting as if he were a gentleman.

Garam looked up at him in bewilderment, and Sa Muheon let out a soft chuckle.

“I was going to just let you go, but the way you’re looking at me makes it impossible to resist.”

Startled, Garam quickly covered his mouth with one hand. But Sa Muheon simply chuckled and gently pulled his hand away.

Expecting what would happen next, Garam tightly shut his eyes. But the moment he had braced for never came.

Chuu—.

Instead, a soft sensation pressed against his palm, accompanied by an unmistakably embarrassing sound.

When Garam slowly opened his eyes, he found Sa Muheon smirking at him from up close.

“Were you expecting something else?”

“Ugh…!”

Garam, his face flushed as if about to explode, shook off Sa Muheon’s hand, which was lightly holding his, and immediately opened the front door and stepped outside. If he got caught again, he had no idea what kind of words might escape his lips. Without looking back, he dashed away from the entrance. Behind him, he could hear Sa Muheon’s laughter. The amusement and unmistakable affection contained in that laughter made Garam’s face burn even hotter, showing no signs of cooling down.

“Take care!”

After the laughter subsided, Sa Muheon’s voice rang out. Garam, who had been walking briskly, instinctively hesitated for a moment. But he quickly picked up his pace again and ran toward the garage. The wind carried Sa Muheon’s low chuckle behind him, but Garam never once turned back, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Upon reaching the garage, Garam hurriedly climbed into the passenger seat.

“You’re he—re…?”

Jang Seokgyu, who had been waiting for him, was about to greet him as usual, but his words trailed off when he noticed how red Garam’s face was.

“Did something happen?”

He asked with concern, but Garam couldn’t bring himself to respond. Instead, he simply shook his head with his lips pressed tightly together. Seeing this, Jang Seokgyu gave him a worried glance but started the car without pressing further. Garam, feeling his flushed face, fanned himself lightly and fixed his gaze outside the window.

Last night, after that playful kiss, Garam had spent the entire night wide awake. Sa Muheon had insisted that, despite drinking, he was completely sober. But honestly, Garam hadn’t believed him entirely. After all, drunk people always claimed they were fine, so he hadn’t taken Sa Muheon’s words seriously.

However, at the same time, a part of him wondered—what if Sa Muheon really had meant it? Lying in bed, Garam had struggled to calm his wildly erratic heart. And as he recalled the sensation of their lips meeting, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed all over again.

The moment he kissed Sa Muheon, he realized that the memory of him coming home drunk and kissing Sa Muheon that night hadn’t been some meaningless, drunken fantasy. Sa Muheon’s words afterward had made that abundantly clear.

After all, he himself had kissed Sa Muheon while drunk and completely forgotten about it. So it was possible that Sa Muheon, upon waking up, might also forget what had happened last night. But regardless of whether Sa Muheon remembered or not, Garam had no idea how he was supposed to face him.

That was why he hadn’t wanted to see him this morning. In fact, if possible, he had planned to avoid him for the next few days—at least until he could sort out his own feelings and figure out how to act around him.

But Sa Muheon had appeared before him as if he knew nothing of Garam’s internal turmoil. And not only did he remember everything from last night, just as he had claimed—

“Ugh….”

Garam, who had begun to calm down, felt his cheeks flush once more. On top of that, he suddenly realized that the hand he had been resting his chin on was the same one Sa Muheon had kissed earlier. His palm felt like it was burning.

“…Are you all right?”

“Yes, yes. I’m fine. Sorry, I must be distracting you while you’re driving.”

Jang Seokgyu, who had been glancing at him, cautiously asked. Realizing how restless he had been acting, Garam quickly apologized. But Jang Seokgyu simply shook his head as if to say it was no trouble.

“It’s fine. I was just worried that something might have happened.”

“Ah….”

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Garam let out a small laugh. For a brief moment, the thought of Sa Muheon disappeared from his mind, replaced by the warmth of knowing someone cared about him. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Jang Seokgyu everything. Not only did he not know how Jang Seokgyu would react, but he also didn’t feel like sharing such things with someone else.

Garam turned back to the window, lost in thought.

Honestly, he had been surprised, but he hadn’t hated it. Besides, he was the one who had kissed Sa Muheon first while drunk, so they could easily brush it off as a mutual mistake made under the influence. But Garam didn’t want to do that. And luckily, Sa Muheon didn’t seem to want that either.

Garam liked Sa Muheon. But did Sa Muheon feel the same way about him? The prejudices against snake beastmen that Sa Muheon had once mentioned surfaced in his mind. Along with them came the rumors—that snake beastmen didn’t settle with just one partner but instead led promiscuous lives with multiple lovers.

What if… he was just taking things lightly?

Garam’s expression darkened in an instant.