Haram gave a short answer in a voice strained with emotion, biting down lightly on his lower lip as he fought back the tears welling up again. He didn’t believe Tae-yi had faked all the affection he’d shown him. But that wasn’t the point. The truth was, Tae-yi had lied to him more times than he could count. He had tried to use him, and in the end, the only one who’d been hurt… was Haram himself.
“I’ll make it right. I’ll get the resort project canceled. I promise, the place you live won’t be changed or ruined anymore.”
Tae-yi gently brushed the tears from the corners of Haram’s eyes with his thumb as he spoke. Haram didn’t shy away from the touch this time. Sniffling, he stared straight at Tae-yi. He wanted to believe him again. Even after everything—even after being fooled so many times—he still found himself wanting to trust the pretty words coming from Tae-yi’s mouth. He felt like a fool.
Seeing the hesitation in Haram’s eyes, Tae-yi didn’t miss his chance.
“If you’re okay with it… I want you to stay here again.”
“…Why?”
Haram had been planning to return to the countryside even if it meant leaving late at night. The sudden offer caught him off guard.
“It’s dangerous for you to be alone right now. Kang Tae-jin won’t leave you alone.”
Haram didn’t get it. Why wouldn’t Kang Tae-jin leave him alone? Because of the resort deal? The confusion showed plainly on Haram’s face, and Tae-yi reached out again, softly caressing his tear-flushed cheek as he added,
“You’re my weakness. If someone used you to threaten me… I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Haram’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Tae-yi. And Tae-yi, even as he said the words, realized just how true they were. If Kang Tae-jin ever used Da Haram as leverage, he would be completely helpless—like a child. That’s what Da Haram had become to him.
“…I-I’ll think about it.”
Haram ducked his head and stammered out a reply. His heart was pounding so hard, he worried Tae-yi might be able to hear it.
But Tae-yi smiled, satisfied that it wasn’t an outright rejection.
***
Haram sat on the edge of a soft bed, staring blankly into space. It wasn’t Tae-yi’s room—he’d chosen the one he used to stay in. No matter how he looked at it, sleeping in the same bed as Tae-yi didn’t feel right. Not yet. Though Tae-yi had clearly been unhappy about it.
“If you get scared at night, call me.”
“Can I curl up your tail for you?”
“Use me.”
Right up to the bedroom door, Tae-yi had kept spewing nonsense. Too disappointing to call him a lover, too close for just friends… They had become something undefined.
“Haa…”
Collapsing face-first into the bed, Haram rubbed his face against the soft blanket and shut his eyes. A fleeting thought crossed his mind—maybe he should just go home. But his body wouldn’t move. It was heavy, like stone.
Being alone in a room wasn’t much different from being in the countryside. But knowing Tae-yi was just in the next room was enough to soothe his anxiety. As much as he hated to admit it, it felt more comfortable than home. Running his fingers over the soft comforter, Haram slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
“Mmm… That tickles…”
A hand gently stroking his hair stirred Haram from sleep. He wriggled deeper under the covers to avoid it. Someone chuckled quietly, but Haram didn’t budge—sleep was still his top priority.
“I’m heading out. Don’t run away. No flying off either.”
“Mmm…”
Tae-yi’s unusually firm voice rang in Haram’s ears. Half-asleep, Haram groaned petulantly in response—a sound that basically meant stop bothering me already. Tae-yi chuckled softly in the room for a bit before finally disappearing. The sound of footsteps descending the stairs faded away, and Haram shut his ears off completely.
He didn’t open his eyes again until well past noon. Rubbing his swollen face, he crawled out of bed and cautiously stepped into the hallway. The house was quiet. Tae-yi hadn’t come back yet.
On his way downstairs, Haram paused at a window flooded with warm sunlight. Like he was being drawn in by a magnet, he slowly made his way out to the garden.
“Ah…”
There, in a sunny corner of the garden, sat a single lonely flowerpot. It was the cherry tomato plant he and Tae-yi had planted together. The rest had all died, but one lonely sprout remained, guarding the wide pot. The soil was still damp—Tae-yi must have watered it before leaving.
“…So it wasn’t all a lie.”
Haram mumbled as he touched the moist soil. Growing cherry tomatoes had been his idea. Tae-yi hadn’t needed to do it. It had been a personal whim, something he’d wanted just for himself.
And yet, Tae-yi had even gone so far as to stick in a liquid fertilizer to help the last sprout survive. That tender effort made Haram’s chest ache in a strange way. Since yesterday, his emotions had been a tangled mess—impossible to define.
Haram crouched there for a long time, silently watching the tomato plant, before finally standing up again.
His steps naturally took him to the kitchen. There, on the table, lay a familiar phone. It was the one Tae-yi had given him long ago. As soon as he turned on the screen, a flood of unread texts popped up, and Haram blinked in surprise.
—Eat something when you wake up. There’s food in the fridge.
—I’ll be back before dinner. Let’s eat together.
—Still asleep? You didn’t run away, right? No walking out, and definitely no flying out either.
—If you’re bored, call Da In-ho.
It was more talkative than Tae-yi usually was. And yet, the more Haram reread the messages, the more his lips twitched upward. Maybe he was losing it.
On the table were small packets of nuts, no bigger than his palm. Licking his lips, Haram instantly transformed.
Yesterday, he’d scarfed them down without thinking, but now that he took the time to savor them, he realized—these were the exact same nuts Tae-yi always scattered around him after they’d had wild sex. The types, the taste—it all matched.
“Chirp.”
Delicious.
Haram clutched a big macadamia nut in his tiny arms and nibbled contentedly. Then came a sudden noise at the door, startling him into staring toward the entryway.
“…Excuse me.”
“Chirp?”
Doctor Da In-ho?
Da In-ho walked down the hallway in casual clothes, looking a bit hesitant. Seeing that the unexpected visitor was Da In-ho filled Haram with pure joy, and he waved his little front paws in the air like crazy.
“Da Haram!”
Spotting him, Da In-ho also lit up and walked over to the table.
“Chirp-chirp?”
What brings you here?
“Tae-yi told me to come by in case you got bored… Haha.”
Well—more like told him to keep an eye on things. Watch. Monitor. Still, even if his awkward smile said he was hiding something, Haram didn’t press.
“Chirp-chirp!”
Here, have some!
Overjoyed to see an old friend, Haram dragged a nut packet over to Da In-ho’s seat.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I was seriously worried about you.”
Haram scratched his head, embarrassed by Da In-ho’s sincere voice. Considering how much Da In-ho had helped him the day he ran from Tae-yi’s lies, even a hundred thank-yous wouldn’t be enough.
“Chirp… chirp…”
I should’ve sent you some peanuts or something…
Peanuts were the only thing Haram had ever really owned. And now he didn’t even have those. Looking down in dismay, Haram drooped. Sensing it, Da In-ho quickly spoke up.
“Mr. Kang Tae-yi compensated me more than enough. He even gave me today off.”
“…Chirp?”
…Really?
Good. That was good. No—wait. That meant he owed Tae-yi again. It felt like his debts just kept piling up.
“Did you two work things out?”
Da In-ho asked cautiously. The fact that Haram had come back to the very place he’d once been desperate to escape seemed like a good sign. Whatever happened between them, he just hoped Haram was safe.
Haram nodded awkwardly. Things weren’t fully resolved, but… he no longer felt like punching Tae-yi in the back of the head, or storming out on sight. So maybe that counted as progress.
“How was your Heat? Professor Yoon’s been really worried since he heard.”
More accurately, curious. He was probably dying to have Da Haram share his Heat data.
Haram set the macadamia down on the table and opened his mouth.
“Chirp, chiiirp, chirp.”
It was the weirdest experience ever. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember much about it. Just the desperate way he’d clung to Tae-yi—over and over.
“Chirp-chirp?”
Is it normal for Heat to last two full days?
The question was a little embarrassing, but he asked it with the mindset of a patient getting examined.
“It depends on the person,” Da In-ho replied, nodding. “Some people go through it for two days, others up to a week. Two days is actually short. Would it be okay if I shared that info with Professor Yoon?”
“Chirp.”
Haram nodded, signaling it was fine.
Talking to Da In-ho helped clear his head. The mental fog began to lift. When the last peanut he’d brought over was gone, Haram pushed one of the unopened nut packets across the table to Da In-ho.
“You’ve got expensive taste.”
“Chirp?”
Really?
At that, Haram stared at the packaging as if trying to read through it. But he’d never bought nuts with his own money before. So no matter how hard he stared, he didn’t know what made them expensive.
Oh. Maybe that’s why they tasted so good.
