Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Episode 145 (Final)

“Then….”

Knock knock—

Garam was about to ask something more he was curious about, but his words were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Just a second. Let’s check your condition first.”

Since Sa Muheon had been looking at him with such a worried expression the entire time, Garam quietly nodded his head. A nurse entered to check Garam’s condition, and soon after, a doctor came into the room and began asking various questions.

Only after answering all of those questions sincerely did the doctor say that there were no major issues, and that it would be fine for Garam to be discharged after monitoring his condition a little longer.

“Thank you very much.”

Sa Muheon bowed repeatedly, expressing his gratitude to the doctor. Only after the doctor chuckled and left the room did Sa Muheon let out a long sigh and collapse into a chair. Even then, he didn’t let go of Garam’s hand. From where they touched, warmth seemed to spread through Garam’s entire body.

When Garam wriggled his fingers, Sa Muheon tightened his grip even more. As if that still wasn’t enough, he looked up at Garam and muttered,

“…It finally feels real.”

“What does?”

When Garam asked, Sa Muheon pressed his lips together. Only after a long moment did he slowly open his mouth.

“While you were unconscious, I had nightmares every day. The dream kept repeating that you wouldn’t come back….”

Though his voice wasn’t loud, Garam didn’t miss a single word he said.

“Every morning, I was afraid to open my eyes. I was sure I had carried you here in my arms, but I kept thinking—what if that was all a dream?”

He said that and then chuckled, as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere, mumbling, “Listen to me saying all this…”

But Garam could understand his feelings more than anyone. Just a short while ago, before he opened his eyes, he had the exact same thoughts.

Garam gave a firm squeeze to the hand holding his. Sa Muheon, looking puzzled, slightly loosened his grip. Garam withdrew his hand, only to take Sa Muheon’s hand again. Just like Sa Muheon always did, he interlocked each of their fingers tightly. Sa Muheon looked at Garam with a slightly surprised expression.

“…Me too.”

“Huh…?”

Sa Muheon, uncharacteristically, blinked blankly in confusion.

“Just a little while ago. Before I opened my eyes, I already knew I was in a hospital. But I was terrified to open them.”

As Garam continued speaking, Sa Muheon silently stared at him. Garam didn’t avoid his gaze. He looked straight into Sa Muheon’s eyes and shared his heart. Even if his words weren’t enough to fully express himself, he hoped that Sa Muheon would see his sincerity in his eyes.

“I wondered if I’d just been dreaming. That maybe I was still trapped by that person, and I’d just made up the whole thing out of desperate hope. That’s what I thought.”

“……”

“It’s a relief, though. Because it wasn’t a dream.”

With those words, Garam squeezed Sa Muheon’s hand tightly. Sa Muheon looked back at him without even blinking.

Just knowing that Sa Muheon had felt the same fear Garam had was enough to give him strong reassurance.

Maybe that’s why—Garam felt like now he could finally open his heart completely.

“I ran away from him… and went into the forest. I just ran blindly. I figured if I climbed up into the trees, I wouldn’t be caught right away, so I climbed up and kept moving along the branches.”

Garam felt Sa Muheon’s grip on his hand tighten ever so slightly.

“Then I thought I should rest a bit. Luckily, there was a hollow space inside a tree, probably a place used by birds, so I hid inside it….”

As he recalled that moment, emotion swelled up within him. But Garam took a deep breath and continued.

“…It reminded me of when I used to stay in the park. When I first started sleeping there—when I was lying down all alone—I remember feeling really lonely.”

Fortunately, recalling that time wasn’t painful. Come to think of it, that was the day he first met Sa Muheon.

When his grandmother passed away and he was left alone, he had felt lonely, of course. But that first night he tried to sleep in the park—he truly felt like he was all alone in the world.

But after enduring that cold loneliness and getting up, Garam met Sa Muheon in that dark park for the first time. He’d been kind to Garam, and though Garam had thought he didn’t seem like a bad person, he never imagined back then that Sa Muheon would become someone so important to him.

“But after I met you, Sa Muheon….”

Before he realized it, Garam’s eyes had begun to glisten with tears. It felt like he might cry at any moment, but he somehow held back the tears and kept speaking.

“I never felt lonely again. I tried to remember the last time I felt lonely, and it turns out that time at the park was the last.”

As soon as he said that, tears streamed down Garam’s cheeks against his will. But he forced a smile. This wasn’t meant to be a sad story.

“When my parents died, and when my grandmother passed away—honestly, I thought I’d never be able to have a family again. I felt like everyone I loved would always leave me too soon.”

“…Why would you think that?”

Sa Muheon, who had been quietly listening to Garam’s story, finally spoke. He gently shook his head and held Garam’s hand tightly.

“Don’t ever think that. It wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re right. I used to think that, but… now I know it wasn’t my fault.”

And the person who taught him that was right there in front of him.

“You always come back to me, Sa Muheon. That’s how I know. Everyone said you nearly died, but even then, you came back safely to me. And this time too… you found me.”

The more he recalled the love Sa Muheon had shown him, the more he smiled. Before he knew it, the tears had dried.

“Thank you. And…”

“……”

“I love you.”

Sa Muheon stared blankly at Garam. As if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, he blinked slowly and stared at Garam intently, then quickly closed the distance between them.

“Say it again. One more time.”

“I love you.”

“Again…”

“I love you. So…”

Garam lightly tugged on Sa Muheon’s hand as he drew closer. With even the smallest amount of force, Sa Muheon was pulled towards Garam, and Garam kissed him.

Sa Muheon’s eyes opened wide, as if they couldn’t get any bigger. Seeing his expression, Garam burst into laughter.

There was one last thing he wanted to say. Should he think about it a little more carefully? For a moment, he had that thought, but Garam shook his head lightly as if brushing the thought away.

This was the perfect moment. No matter what happened after this, Garam was certain that he would never regret the decision he made in this moment.

“Please become my family.”

“Huh…?”

At Garam’s words, Sa Muheon blinked in confusion and asked again, stunned. Even his reaction made Garam laugh. With a voice mixed with laughter, Garam opened his mouth.

“Please marry me, Sa Muheon.”

Tears began to fall from Sa Muheon’s eyes, which were now wide open. Strangely, seeing his tears, Garam’s own tears began to flow again, even though he thought they had finally stopped.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

Only then did Sa Muheon snap to his senses, startled, and kneel down. He shakily pulled out a small case from his pocket with trembling hands. This time, Garam’s eyes widened. What he pulled out looked unmistakably like a ring case.

As Garam had expected, inside were a pair of beautiful rings. Sa Muheon’s hand was still shaking terribly. He carefully picked up one of the rings and slipped it onto Garam’s finger.

Garam stared at the ring on his finger, stunned. When had Sa Muheon prepared something like this?

“I wanted to say it first.”

Sa Muheon quickly wiped his tears and took Garam’s hand, which now had the ring on it. His hand was still trembling, but his expression was more serious than ever.

“I’m older than you, and compared to you, I don’t have a proper job. I’m a snake beastman, and people point fingers at me, but…”

Garam furrowed his brows slightly. The words coming out of his mouth were all about putting himself down—words Garam hated.

“Still, no one will love you more than I do. I would die for you, if it came to that.”

Sa Muheon swallowed nervously and asked his final question.

“So, Garam, will you become my family?”

The answer had already been decided. Garam smiled brightly and pulled him into a hug.

“You don’t need to die.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t die. Just live by my side for a long, long time. That’s all I want.”

At Garam’s words, Sa Muheon fell silent for a moment but then nodded and pulled Garam into a strong embrace.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll always, always be by your side.”

“Yes, that’s enough for me.”

Garam chuckled, and only then did laughter escape from Sa Muheon as well. Looking at his face up close, Garam saw it was a mess, stained with tears. But even that seemed endearing to him.

Garam wiped away the tear that had gathered at the corner of his eye. It reminded him of the time when he wanted to wipe away Sa Muheon’s tears before he collapsed. As Garam’s fingers pulled away, Sa Muheon kissed the area around Garam’s eyes several times. Before long, both of their tears had disappeared.

He remembered something his grandmother had once said.

Just as the squirrel has its own burrow, Garam had found his own place. A place where he would always have someone by his side, a reliable ally. He now had a family—one he had chosen, and one that had chosen him—and he was no longer lonely.

Feeling the warm sunlight streaming into the hospital room, Garam burst into laughter. It was a joyful laugh, like the sunshine itself.

Even the lonely squirrel has its burrow. The end.

Author Note – 💚 Even the Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow has been fully uploaded up to today’s final chapter! Since this was my first serialization, there were definitely many shortcomings, but thanks to all the readers who supported me until the very end, I was able to complete it safely. Thank you so much! I’ll do my best to return soon with side stories! 🥰