Thump, thump—the sound of his heart pounded loudly in his ears. Jung Eunho was so lovable it felt like he might go insane. Letting out a hollow laugh, Yi-beom stroked Eunho’s cheek.
“I should’ve locked you up sooner.”
To think he’d left this out in the world for five whole years. He felt like beating his past self.
“Since the first time we dated… no, since the day we met at the bar.”
“Ah, Ahjussi?”
“I should’ve locked you away back then and made you look only at me.”
Tsk—Yi-beom clicked his tongue as if something precious had been wasted.
“What a waste.”
If he’d locked him up from the start, they wouldn’t have had to fight at all. Narrowing his eyes at memories of those turbulent days, Yi-beom fell silent.
With his cheek squished under Yi-beom’s hand, Eunho mumbled,
“This isn’t it…”
This isn’t what I wanted…?
The corners of Eunho’s eyes drooped.
Ding-dong—
At that moment, the intercom rang. Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
Familiar faces appeared on the screen. Eunchan and Chanwoo. Behind them, Younguk shuffled awkwardly in place, looking unsure—he must’ve been guarding the gate until now.
[Mr. Kwon Yi-beom.]
A face that resembled Eunho’s filled the screen.
[Are you there?]
One arm braced above the camera, Eunchan frowned deeply. He looked tense from Eunho’s constant lack of response.
His younger brother Jung Eunho was the type who stayed in touch often. Even when busy, he always sent a reply eventually—especially to him, his only family.
When Chanwoo mentioned he’d also lost contact, they had come together. Eunho’s house looked completely different from before. The wall that once revealed the yard had long been rebuilt into something tall, and men in suits now surrounded the place like a fence.
Something definitely happened.
Otherwise, Kwon Yi-beom wouldn’t have stationed his men like this.
Letting out a deep sigh, Eunchan continued.
[You didn’t… actually starve Eunho, did you?]
[Starve him?]
From behind, Younguk added cautiously,
[You mean our hyung-nim?]
[Because your hyung-nim starved him, the kid ran away to my place.]
[E-Eunho student?]
If anything, Yi-beom was more likely to devour someone whole than starve them… Younguk glanced toward the camera.
Well, considering he’d already snatched up a twenty-year-old and even imprisoned him, nothing surprised him anymore. Suspicion crept into Younguk’s eyes, and Yi-beom, watching the screen, muttered a curse.
[Is that true, hyung-nim?]
“That bastard, seriously…”
Now labeled not only a captor but also a shameless rabbit-starver, Yi-beom covered his eyes with one hand and let out a deep sigh.
Watching the screen the whole time, Eunho bit his lip. Seeing Eunchan’s face made a wave of longing crash over him.
I was so busy worrying about the baby… I didn’t even think about hyung or Chanwoo…
Everything had happened so fast that contacting them never even crossed his mind. Thinking that they must’ve believed he’d cut them off made his chest feel heavy.
After hesitating, Eunho tugged at Yi-beom’s white T-shirt.
“Ahjussi.”
“Yeah.”
Yi-beom answered while glaring at the screen like he wanted to kill it.
“Hyung and Chanwoo… can’t you let them in?”
Only then did Yi-beom turn his head, his expression calculating—just like when he’d been on the terrace earlier. Eunho quickly added,
“I-I’m not trying to go out. They’ll be worried…”
“And what am I supposed to trust?”
Yi-beom tilted his head crookedly.
“What if I open the door and you tell them you’re being held here? What if you ask them to get you out?”
“……”
“If you ask them to report me, then what?”
Oh? Eunho’s eyes darted. He hadn’t thought of that—but now that he did, it sounded like a pretty good idea. Tilting his head, he asked quietly,
“Could I do that?”
“Like hell you could.”
The warning in Yi-beom’s lowered voice made Eunho close his mouth. It was a shame, but he had no intention of leaving with them right now anyway. Even if he managed to slip past Yi-beom, the men stationed outside would catch him immediately.
Still… he wanted to see his brother. Pressing his lips together, Eunho hesitated. At that moment, a large hand grasped his chin.
“Don’t bite.”
“Then let them in.”
“That’s not happening either.”
“This isn’t allowed, that isn’t allowed…”
There were too many things he wasn’t allowed to do. Mumbling with his lips puffed out, Eunho suddenly tensed his body. Pop—with a soft sound, his body shrank.
A rabbit poked its face out from between the clothes. “Aam,” it opened its mouth wide, rice-grain-sized teeth gleaming. For an herbivore, the way he curled his lips and bit down was almost shockingly aggressive. He began chewing his own lips obsessively, like gnawing on a carrot.
“Jung Eunho!”
Hastily scooping the rabbit up, Yi-beom shoved his finger between its lips.
“If you’re going to bite, bite this.”
“Iff you don’b obun the doob… I’b g-gonna keep ch-chewing…”
“Are you protesting now?”
Ptoo ptoo—the rabbit spat out his finger and bit down on his lips again. Those tiny teeth gnawed so fiercely that the surrounding fur became damp.
“You’re not going to listen?”
“Thas why— juss obun the doob awweady!”
Afraid he might get hurt, Yi-beom couldn’t even touch him properly. Seeing that inward-curved little “ㅅ”-shaped mouth, Yi-beom’s eyes flipped with frustration.
“You little—fuck…!”
This crazy rabbit would probably chew his lips raw until the door was opened. Even if his own finger got bitten off, he couldn’t watch that happen.
Damn Jung Eunho. Over something as small as biting his lips… being wrapped around his finger like this at thirty-five was almost laughable. Slowly closing and opening his eyes, Yi-beom lifted the rabbit right in front of him. Tiny feet dangled in the air.
“Fine, just stop biting.”
“R-really?”
Eunho’s ears trembled.
“You’ll really open it?”
“Yeah. I’ll open it, so please.”
Only then did Eunho gasp and pull his teeth away from his lips, quickly tucking them back inside. As if nothing had happened, the rabbit sat neatly with both feet together, waiting obediently. Yi-beom glared at him—the area around his lips already flushed red. Despite his annoyed expression, the hand rubbing around Eunho’s mouth was gentle.
“But there’s a condition.”
After hearing it, Eunho hesitated, then nodded. It was a negotiation he’d won by literally biting for it.
Click. At last, the closed gate opened.
***
Since moving in with Yi-beom, it was the first time the house felt this lively. Eunchan and Chanwoo had visited before, but only briefly when Yi-beom wasn’t around—this was the first time everyone had gathered together.
Sitting across from them, Eunho watched with a bright, excited expression.
“So,” after hearing Yi-beom’s explanation, Eunchan’s face twisted in disbelief. “You’re telling me… our Eunho has actually turned into a rabbit?”
“Yes.”
The moment they sat down, Yi-beom laid out everything that had happened—that Eunho had lost the ability to speak like a human and couldn’t humanize, which was why he hadn’t been able to contact anyone.
“I didn’t even think to grab his phone.”
Cradled in Yi-beom’s arms, Eunho shot him a sharp glare. His phone was sitting perfectly safe inside Yi-beom’s study safe.
Seriously, this shameless man…
Listening to the lie, Eunho wiggled his hips in protest—but he couldn’t say anything out loud. One of Yi-beom’s conditions was that he had to stay a real rabbit until they left.
Ugh…!
And so Eunho now sat trapped between Yi-beom’s knees, keeping his mouth shut—sitting politely with his feet together like a pet rabbit. Yi-beom quietly stroked his back with the ease of someone taming a wild beast.
“Haa…”
Seeing Eunho truly turned into a rabbit left Eunchan and Chanwoo staring with troubled expressions.
“You didn’t just bring another rabbit and pretend it’s Eunho, did you?”
“If I had, I’d be running a circus.”
Yi-beom snorted.
“He understands speech and eats well. The hospital says there’s nothing wrong.”
“Then what about the people outside?”
“Just in case he tries to run off. It’d be dangerous if he went out like this.”
As if reciting a prepared script, Yi-beom smoothly spilled lie after lie. Reclining loosely against the sofa with his legs crossed, he didn’t look like someone lying at all.
“Everything happened so suddenly.”
Yi-beom lightly tapped Eunho’s rump.
Don’t do that!
Hyung is right here! Huffing angrily, Eunho wriggled between Yi-beom’s legs.
“Want me to touch you more?”
I said don’t!
“Baby, you have to endure it in front of your hyung.”
Smack—Yi-beom pressed a kiss to the rabbit’s belly. Eunho shoved him away with both feet. Then, the moment Yi-beom’s lips pulled back, he launched himself off the sofa and sprinted toward Eunchan before Yi-beom could catch him.
Scritch, scritch—he scratched at Eunchan’s pant leg with his paws. Chanwoo bent down.
“You want to be held?”
Nod.
With a solemn expression, the rabbit waited, and Chanwoo lifted him onto the sofa. Trotting between Chanwoo’s and Eunchan’s legs, the rabbit finally stood up on two feet.
Me. Eunho!
