Rolling down like a tumbleweed, he reached the sand dune and began digging into the sand like a mole Beastfolk. In no time, Haram had dug a small hole and buried himself inside. He knew that a lone, silvery-gray Sky Squirrel standing on the pale brown sand would surely be easily spotted. Feeling like he hadn’t hidden well enough, Haram squirmed, covering himself with more sand. When he felt the sand piling up on his back, he stopped moving.
Please don’t come to the beach. Just go away.
Haram squeezed his eyes shut, praying desperately that the men would just pass by, as they had earlier when they hurriedly glanced around the room.
***
“I can’t do this anymore.”
Yoon Ji-seok, who had pulled the car over to the shoulder, glared at Kang Tae-yi and Yoon Min-ho, who were sitting in the backseat. The entire day had been spent with those two, not even sparing him a glance as they did whatever they were doing in the back while he drove without a break.
“Is Kang Tae-jin an idiot? If it’s your mother’s inheritance property, you should know where it is! Would he be hiding there?”
“That’s why we’re checking the other relatives’ properties, right?”
Kang Tae-yi replied calmly as he put down the documents he was reviewing, answering Yoon Ji-seok’s frustrated grumbling. Finding properties owned by relatives on his late mother’s side wasn’t difficult. He could just have his subordinates handle it, but sitting around waiting for news in the office had been unbearable.
“So how many places is that? How long is this going to take? I can’t drive anymore.”
Yoon Ji-seok slapped the steering wheel with a frustrated gesture and got out of the car. He walked over to the beach, where the sound of the waves could be heard, and stretched out with a big yawn.
“What is that?”
Yoon Ji-seok muttered under his breath, noticing something strange sticking up vertically on one corner of the beach. It looked like a kitten’s tail, or maybe a doll’s tail. But why was something like that buried in the sand? Did the kids mess with it?
It couldn’t be. Maybe he was seeing things because of the drugs, or maybe because he’d been driving for too long, or maybe both. The reason for seeing things didn’t matter at all. He shook his head in disbelief as he lit his cigarette, staring at the open ocean and muttering to himself.
“Three men on the beach.”
It was the worst incident of his life. Not just any men, but Kang Tae-yi and Yoon Min-ho. Gripping his aching head, Yoon Ji-seok exhaled a heavy sigh.
“Should’ve just hired a driver or had Yoon Min-ho do it.”
Noticing Kang Tae-yi approaching, Yoon Ji-seok let out another deep sigh.
“Yoon Min-ho needs to work.”
“So what? If you just want me to drive, why’d you ask about my plans?”
“Your plans require Secretary Kim, but I still haven’t heard from him.”
“Anyway, I can’t do it. I’ve been driving so long that now I’m seeing things. There was a gray tail sticking out of the sand, didn’t you see? I’m the only one who saw it, right?”
At this rate, soon he might start seeing driving sea turtles or flying pigs, who knew?
“Where?”
Yoon Ji-seok’s whining caught Tae-yi’s attention. As soon as he mentioned the gray tail, Tae-yi’s expression changed, and he stared intently at him. His usually calm demeanor shifted, and he exuded pheromones that sent Yoon Ji-seok into a panic. He pointed helplessly toward the direction where he had seen the tail.
“It was over there, on the left…”
Where did it go? There had definitely been a cat-like tail standing upright there.
Yoon Ji-seok’s finger slowly dropped as he realized that it must have been an illusion.
“Don’t believe a junkie’s words.”
Yoon Min-ho, who had approached Tae-yi’s side, said in a firm voice, glancing coldly at Yoon Ji-seok. Tae-yi, after scanning the beach once more, clicked his tongue and started walking away.
“You drive.”
Yoon Min-ho, heading toward the empty driver’s seat, turned around to yell at his brother, who was still staring blankly at the sea.
“Ugh, why did I even come along?”
Cursing under his breath, Yoon Ji-seok muttered to himself. When Kang Tae-yi stormed out of the office earlier, he thought something exciting might happen. Instead, he had spent the entire day driving in boredom, staring ahead. It wasn’t just boring—it was humiliating. If Kang Tae-jin wasn’t in this area, they’d have probably just followed the coast down to the East Sea, just like before.
“I could blame it on my father.”
He thought about using that excuse, as he really didn’t want to stay on this journey any longer. It wasn’t fun, and no matter how much they searched, Kang Tae-jin would probably slip away like a snake. With a sigh, he crushed his cigarette and headed back to the car, thinking of how to make a quiet exit.
***
Whoosh…
Haram emerged from the small hole he had dug, panting heavily as he scanned his surroundings. The sun had set, and the beach was shrouded in darkness.
Did they leave…?
Carefully climbing the stairs, Haram looked at the empty road and sighed in relief. The sand had stuck to his soft fur, but he had hidden well enough that he didn’t seem to have been discovered. He felt a sense of pride in having hidden so well. With a smug grin, he shook his body and brushed off the sand as he turned to head back to the fishing supply store.
Just as he was about to cross the road, a sudden wave of pheromones hit him, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Ta-yi…?
The sweet scent of alcohol… It was Tae-yi’s pheromones.
It wasn’t just the pheromones. He could also faintly smell the perfume from his suit. The Sky Squirrel, standing frozen in place with his tail straight up, scanned his surroundings carefully. In front of him was the asphalt road and a mountain, while behind him stretched the vast ocean. If Tae-yi’s scent was in the air here…
That car earlier!
The black sedan parked on the shoulder was the car Tae-yi was in. He should’ve recognized it sooner. Filled with regret, Haram scratched his head with his front paws and ran down the road. The car was already long gone, but he couldn’t give up on the slim hope that it might still be nearby.
Hoping the car might be parked on the shoulder like before, he ran down the road.
…
But no matter how far he ran, there was no car on the shoulder. The cars speeding past only made him feel small, and his pent-up frustration finally boiled over. With tears welling up in his big eyes, Haram ran aimlessly on the asphalt road until he finally collapsed, wiping his tears.
I’m such an idiot. I should’ve checked who got out of the car before hiding… I was just scared for no reason.
Sniffling, with big tears dropping down his face, he turned around reluctantly and retraced his steps, trying to remember the blurry phone number of Tae-yi.
It hurts…
Then, he noticed the pain in his front paws and lowered his head to check. There wasn’t any blood, but his skin had scraped off, leaving a wound. His soft paws weren’t made for running on rough asphalt. If only he were a tiger or wolf Beastfolk, it would’ve been easier. He felt sorry for himself, his situation weighing heavily on him.
Stuck in this dilemma, standing there helplessly, Haram quietly sobbed and moved slowly. Every time his paws touched the rough road, his face scrunched up in pain. He couldn’t even fly because he didn’t have the strength to climb a tree.
I can’t do this…
Suddenly, Haram stopped, gritted his teeth, and strained to transform, but of course, it didn’t work. Nothing was going his way, and he felt endlessly downcast. When he reunited with Tae-yi, he had planned to hug him for a day or two, but at this point, it seemed he’d need to make it three days. He wondered if missing three days of work would cause issues.
I don’t care…
He’d be selfish, since he was going through so much. Three days didn’t seem like an unreasonable request. Thinking of Tae-yi, he momentarily forgot the pain and imagined lying in a warm bed with him, chatting softly. With that comforting thought, he slowly made his way back to the fishing supply store.
***
Finally, Haram returned to the front of the store, looking utterly exhausted. His large eyes were half-closed, and the skin on his paws had been scraped raw, now bleeding. He stared blankly at the darkened store before noticing the slightly open door.
Once inside, he faced the elderly man. Staring up at him, Haram couldn’t speak, only opening and closing his mouth.
The elderly man, hands clasped behind his back, looked down at the Sky Squirrel before speaking first.
“I thought you’d been caught. Are you alright?”
…
Haram weakly cried, nodding his heavy head. He felt like all the moisture had drained from his body. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had cried too much or if he was simply drained of energy.
“Hey, kid.”
Haram, who had started to doze off, didn’t hear the old man calling. As his eyes closed, he wobbled in place, ready to collapse. The elderly man, seeing the Sky Squirrel about to fall, bent down and carefully lifted the tiny creature in his hands. The moment the old man’s hands touched him, Haram curled into a ball and fell into a deep sleep. The elderly man, clicking his tongue, didn’t feel the weight of the Sky Squirrel at all as he carried him into the room.
