Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 97

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Creak—.

“Oh my, our dear Director Sa actually requested to meet first.”

“You’ve arrived.”

The door opened, and President Yoo appeared. Sa Muheon, who had arrived first and was already drinking, gave him a slight nod and gestured toward the seat in front of him. President Yoo cleared his throat repeatedly, as if displeased about something, yet he still took the seat Sa Muheon had offered.

“Ah, normally, if someone asks to meet on the same day, I wouldn’t agree to it. But Director Sa, you’re not just anyone, are you?”

He let out an unpleasant laugh and flattered him. Watching that display, Sa Muheon didn’t even feel like laughing. He quietly filled his empty glass with liquor. Seeing that Sa Muheon had called him all the way here only to remain silent, President Yoo’s face flushed red with growing anger.

“It seems you don’t have anything in particular to say. I don’t see why you called me here.”

The place Sa Muheon had chosen for their meeting was the same restaurant where they had encountered each other before. It was reasonably quiet, and no sound leaked out, making it a perfect setting for a conversation. The food was decent as well. He recalled the time he had brought Garam here not long ago—how their eyes had widened in delight at the delicious meal. Perhaps the good food had helped Garam overwrite a bad memory with a pleasant one. It had been a sight worth seeing.

“If you leave now, you’ll regret it.”

“What?”

President Yoo, who had been on the verge of storming out, hesitated and turned back at Sa Muheon’s words. Without taking his eyes off him, Sa Muheon calmly emptied his glass.

In the end, it was President Yoo who surrendered first. In situations like this, the one with something to lose always had to yield. Sa Muheon had nothing to lose, but President Yoo did. Given that Sa Muheon clearly held some crucial information, there was no way President Yoo would be the first to walk away.

Returning to his seat with a grimace, President Yoo irritably loosened the tie that had been choking his neck and tossed it onto his jacket. Then, filling his own glass, he spoke in a somewhat calmer tone than before.

“What is this about?”

His polite manner of speaking had completely disappeared, replaced by irritation.

That was when Sa Muheon let out a chuckle. No matter how much he pretended otherwise, Yoo Taewoo’s true nature was exactly this. He played the gentleman in front of others, but behind the scenes, he indulged in all sorts of filth. It was only natural for him to raise his hand easily, as well as to spew all manner of degrading words as if it were his right. Sa Muheon had already heard enough about his misdeeds to know they were extensive—he didn’t even need to imagine how much worse the unseen ones must be.

“President Yoo.”

“…What is it?”

“I’ve heard that there was someone who played a significant role in helping you rise to your current position.”

“What?”

Yoo Taewoo frowned, as if he had no idea what Sa Muheon was talking about. Seeing his apparent ignorance, Sa Muheon couldn’t help but let out a laugh—though it was far from a pleasant one. The sheer foolishness of his cluelessness was amusing in a derisive way.

“Oh, is it because I called them a ‘person’ that you don’t understand? Let me correct myself. I heard that a loyal dog took care of all the dirty work to get you where you are.”

Only then did Yoo Taewoo seem to grasp what he meant, curling his lips into a nasty smile.

“Oh, so that’s what this is about. I didn’t know Director Sa had an interest in that sort of thing.”

He downed another drink before continuing.

“To be precise, it only looks like that. No matter how much you tear open its belly, a beast like that will never be a mere dog.”

“Of course.”

“Haha! What a funny question. You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you? You probably know better than I do. Does that guy really deserve to be called a dog?”

Yoo Taewoo slammed his glass down onto the table with a loud clatter, his voice dropping to a low murmur.

“He’s a tiger. A beast that was once even called the ruler of the mountains—how could such a thing ever become just a mutt?”

“Hah.”

Sa Muheon couldn’t suppress his laughter. It was absurd to think that someone who knew that would still treat the man in question the way he did. Yoo Taewoo seemed even more foolish than Sa Muheon had expected, making him reconsider whether forming an alliance with him was truly the best option. But not only Sa Muheon, even Chief Han had been certain about this choice—there was essentially no better alternative.

“I thought you considered Director Hong nothing more than a disposable mutt.”

“Ha! How could that be? Where else in the world would you find such a valuable piece of trash?”

Yoo Taewoo’s greasy eyes met Sa Muheon’s. The vile greed lurking in them made the liquor in Sa Muheon’s mouth taste bitter.

“He came to me of his own accord because he wanted something. I had to put him in his place.”

“Hmm.”

“It would be a problem if he couldn’t even recognize his own master, wouldn’t it? Hahaha!”

Yoo Taewoo burst into laughter, as if he truly found his own words amusing.

Sa Muheon remained silent.

Interpreting his silence in his own way, Yoo Taewoo grew even more excited and continued to ramble.

“I was the one who gave that guy his name.”

“…Is that so.”

This was a story Sa Muheon had never heard before. He had always known the name Ryu Beomju. That was only natural, as Ryu Beomju was one of the very few tiger shifters. Moreover, his mother was quite well-known among the shifters, so as someone of a similar age, Sa Muheon had naturally come to recognize the existence of Ryu Beomju.

And then, after a very long time, when they met again, Ryu Beomju introduced himself under a different name. He had done it so naturally that Sa Muheon even doubted his own memory, wondering if he had somehow remembered incorrectly.

But as time passed, Sa Muheon realized that Ryu Beomju had discarded not only his name but even his identity as a shifter, living as if he were an ordinary human. When he first discovered this, Sa Muheon genuinely thought Ryu Beomju might have lost his mind.

Yet, Ryu Beomju had not changed at all from what he had once known. That meant that Ryu Beomju had always been somewhat strange from the beginning. It was only then that Sa Muheon understood—he was someone so broken that abandoning his identity as a tiger shifter meant nothing to him.

There had been times when Sa Muheon wondered how it had come to that, what he had been thinking to make such a decision. But he had never considered asking Ryu Beomju about it directly, so he simply let the thought slip away. And now, Yoo Taewoo was speaking as if he knew the entire story. His words intrigued Sa Muheon more than anything.

“I see you’re interested in this.”

“Well, it’d be a lie to say I’m not interested at all.”

When Sa Muheon let out a short laugh, Yoo Taewoo chuckled loudly and continued.

“That brat was around eighteen when he first showed up in front of me, I think? He appeared out of nowhere, saying he’d do anything if I would take him in.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“Yes. I don’t know where he heard about me, but… Well, it just so happened that I had a job that needed handling at the time.”

Yoo Taewoo took another drink.

“Anyone can say they’ll do anything. You know that well, don’t you, Director Sa?”

“I do.”

“I’ve seen plenty of those types before. So I told him—then kill that guy over there, right now.”

As if reminiscing about that moment, Yoo Taewoo let out a low chuckle and fixed his gaze on a point in the air. Sa Muheon lifted his glass to his lips, masking his rising discomfort.

“There are plenty who just talk big, but very few who actually follow through. Yet that kid… He really did as I told him, right then and there. He was someone who truly did anything.”

“……”

“I wasn’t the boss back then either. Just like Director Hong is now, I was one of the directors serving under the president. So when that brat asked me to take him in, it felt like a godsend. It’s not easy to find someone willing to dirty their hands in your place, is it?”

Yoo Taewoo smirked as he spoke.

“All he asked for in return was a new identity. At first, I thought he might have a criminal record, but for someone who had killed without hesitation, he was unnervingly clean. Not a single record—completely spotless. That only made me more certain he was a rare find. So I gave him the identity of the man he had killed. Fabricating something like that was no trouble at all.”

At last, one of Sa Muheon’s lingering questions was answered. But he still didn’t understand why Ryu Beomju had made such a choice.

“At first, I cherished him dearly. Of course, I did.”

“……”

“He was a rare tiger shifter, and I was the only one who knew his true identity. On top of that, he willingly dirtied his hands on my behalf. A man who would roll when told to roll, crawl when told to crawl—how could I not like him? But then…”

As he trailed off, his expression, which had just moments ago been filled with laughter, hardened in an instant.

“I started wondering—why would he go this far?”