Without any shame, Haram hesitated to grab his spoon to eat breakfast. He fiddled with the phone in his hand as the old man spoke in a low voice.
“Eat first, and think it over slowly.”
At that, Haram finally scooped up a spoonful of rice and put it in his mouth. He wasn’t sure when the last time was that he’d eaten. Even though it was just a spoonful of warm rice with no side dishes, it tasted incredibly delicious.
“I’m not thinking straight right now, so I can’t really remember… but I’ll try calling a few times. If I get through, I’ll go. I’ll go right away, I promise.”
Chewing his food slowly, Haram broke the awkward silence in the room. He didn’t want to impose any further on the old man. He had already borrowed clothes and a phone, and now he was getting a meal—he felt more than a little guilty.
“How did you end up here?”
While eating quietly, the old man stared intently at Haram’s silvery-gray tail and asked.
“I’m being chased.”
“By debt collectors?”
“No, no… it’s not like that…”
Haram trailed off awkwardly, biting his lip. He couldn’t bring himself to explain his complicated situation. Fortunately, the old man noticed his discomfort and didn’t press further.
Haram took another bite, mixing his rice with soy sauce and wrapping it in a sheet of seaweed. It tasted as good as peanuts. He couldn’t wait to make this dish for Tae-yi when he got back. Stifling the urge to exclaim, he scraped the last bit of rice from the bowl, determined not to leave a single grain.
“You don’t eat fish, either.”
The old man, having observed Haram carefully, finally spoke.
“Ah, well…”
Haram wasn’t accustomed to eating seafood, but the real reason he didn’t touch it was because he felt like he didn’t deserve it. Given his current situation, he would have likely avoided eating the main dish altogether and just emptied the rice bowl.
“I had another squirrel Beastfolk here before. He used to eat with me, too.”
“Ah… Was that Beastfolk’s name Chan-woo?”
Haram remembered the old man asking him if he was Chan-woo earlier. The old man nodded slightly and stared at Haram before speaking.
“That was more than ten years ago. He stopped coming one day, and I figured he must have gotten a job in another area.”
Listening carefully to the old man’s words, Haram cautiously spoke up.
“I don’t know his name, but the Sky Squirrel Beastfolk like me told me to come here for help.”
“It might have been Chan-woo. Was he still around here? Is he doing well?”
The old man looked at Haram with clear warmth and curiosity. Haram smiled awkwardly in response.
“I think he’s doing well. He… kindly told me the way and… he’s strong too…”
Haram had no real information about this other Beastfolk, so he made up whatever he could. But one thing he was sure of was that this Sky Squirrel Beastfolk was likely the largest and strongest one among their kind.
The memory of getting hit by him made Haram’s head throb again. He absentmindedly brushed his silver hair with his hand and sighed quietly. If he hadn’t taken that one extra hit, would he have remembered at least one more phone number? He could only blame his foolish head for that.
“I’ll do the dishes!”
When the old man stood up, holding the small tray, Haram jumped in surprise and quickly grabbed the tray.
“It’s fine. Go ahead and make the call.”
The old man walked past Haram, tail stiff, and left the room. Haram, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, sighed heavily before picking up the phone lying on the yellow mat.
The paper the old man had given him was covered in hastily written numbers. As he tried to recall the numbers, a few seemed familiar, though he had dialed wrong numbers to women, elementary school students, and others by mistake.
“Ha…”
Even though he had a chance to call, the memory of Tae-yi’s words from when they first met made Haram hesitate. He had specifically told him never to call the police. At the time, Haram hadn’t understood, but now he did. Someone like Kang Tae-jin could easily manipulate the local village police, so calling the authorities would only make things worse.
Still, he was fortunate to have met such a kind old man. Shaking off his growing sense of despair, Haram kept writing down numbers, trying again and again.
***
How much time passed, Haram wasn’t sure. Lying on the yellow mat, pulling at his hair in frustration, he groaned. He looked outside and saw that the sunset had begun. He had hoped to remember the number before the old man returned, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed impossible. His mind was blank, like a completely white sheet of paper. He wanted to go to the bus terminal right away and take a bus to Seoul, but he knew the people who were chasing him wouldn’t let him get away so easily.
His heart pounded with anxiety, and his lips trembled, fighting back tears as he clenched his teeth. Suddenly, he heard the sound of cars outside. Someone was approaching. The sound of multiple footsteps. It wasn’t the old man.
“Chik…”
In an instant, Haram shifted into his animal form, grabbing the clothes he was wearing with his teeth and dragging them under the shelf where the TV was placed.
The old sliding door creaked open, followed by the sound of several people entering the shop. Holding his breath, Haram crawled quickly under the shelf and hid.
“Is anyone here?”
The unfamiliar voices and scents made Haram squeeze his eyes shut. He could almost see the large guns the men had been holding earlier. If they caught him, he was sure he’d be killed. The thought of death made his entire body tremble. Holding his breath, he clutched his flattened tail tightly and waited for the trembling to subside.
“What is this?”
The men, now in the room with their shoes on, lifted the piece of paper where Haram had written down the numbers.
“Can’t even save a number, huh?”
One of the men fiddled with his flip phone before tossing the paper to the ground. Cursing under his breath, he left the room and joined his colleagues who were searching the area outside.
“This place doesn’t look like it.”
“Ugh, this is crazy. How are we supposed to find him if we’re the only ones moving?”
“Any updates from the terminal?”
“We should head to the city center, too.”
The frustration and exhaustion from chasing the Sky Squirrel Beastfolk since dawn were finally boiling over. They cursed Haram and the boss who hadn’t increased their search teams. After circling the small store once, they finally left.
Haram stayed frozen in place, holding his breath, as the sound of car engines starting and tires rolling filled the air. After a long while of hiding, Haram slowly crawled out from beneath the shelf, covered in dust.
“Chik…”
He sighed, thinking he was nearly a goner. He wasn’t in a state where cold sweat would form, but for some reason, he wiped his forehead with his front paw. Careful not to disturb the dust on the floor, he carefully made his way out of the room, stepping lightly as he left the shop. Once outside, he shook his body to get rid of the dust clinging to his silvery-gray fur.
The tension in him slowly dissipated, and he realized his mind was more blank than before. He hadn’t remembered the number, and it felt like his brain had turned into a blank sheet of paper. When would the old man come back? He might have to ask if he could stay the night.
“Chik…”
Waiting for the old man to return, Haram stood idly in front of the store, sniffing the air as the sea breeze brushed against him. He really wanted to go to the beach. After a moment’s hesitation, he slowly crossed the road and headed toward the seaside.
The feeling of stepping on fine sand felt completely new to him. It was so different from walking on the soil of a garden.
“Chik, chikk.”
It feels like I’m being swallowed.
Due to his small size, with each step on the soft sand, he felt as though he was being pulled in. Struggling to walk toward the crashing waves, Haram stared blankly at the endless sea. He had once marveled at the full Unseung Reservoir near the village, but now, seeing the ocean, he realized how different it was.
He wanted to dip his hands in the sea, but the waves looked so powerful that he restrained himself, not wanting to do something foolish and drown.
Staring at the blue sea, Haram suddenly turned his head toward the distant pier, where he saw people. It looked like the old man might be there. Walking along the beach would be quick, but with the sand sucking at his feet, it would take a long time in his current form. Deciding to go back to the shop, Haram turned his back on the sea and began walking.
He distracted himself by touching the seashells buried in the sand and poking at the seaweed, forgetting about his troubles for a moment. He wished this was just a trip to the beach with Tae-yi. As the salty wind blew, he felt the urge to cry, but instead, he let out a sigh.
With a heavy heart, Haram climbed the stairs leading up from the beach to the road.
“Chik…”
Just then, a black sedan passed by quickly in front of him. It might be the people looking for him. His heart began pounding loudly in his chest, and the sound was almost unbearable. When the sedan stopped on the side of the road in the distance, Haram was startled and rushed down the stairs. It looked like they were about to get out of the car.
