A rabbit with one paw pressed to its chest stared solemnly at Eunchan. Then it thump, thump—tapped its chest with its paw.
“Hmm?”
I’m Eunho!
“You’re Eunho… right?”
Nod.
He nodded so hard his ears flapped. As the small body wobbled and tilted back down toward the floor, Eunchan carefully scooped him up. Like the younger brother he used to hold every night, the rabbit’s body was warm.
Eunchan, stroking the rabbit with a confused expression, let out a sigh.
“How did this happen, huh?”
He lowered his voice.
“President Kwon didn’t really bully you, did he? He didn’t inject you with something while you were asleep or anything?”
If I nod here, will he take me away?
Eunho hesitated and looked back at Yi-beom.
Their eyes met. Yi-beom simply watched him without trying to stop or block him. His gaze was steady.
A strange certainty filled Eunho—that no matter what answer he gave, Yi-beom would desperately keep him by his side. And that, too, was his way of loving him. Because Eunho knew Yi-beom better than anyone, he couldn’t bring himself to betray that heart.
Even if I escape, it shouldn’t be like this.
After a moment’s hesitation, Eunho shook his head. Only then did Yi-beom speak.
“The doctor said it will take about a month.”
Looking at the rabbit now settled comfortably in Eunchan’s arms, he continued,
“I intend to keep him at home until then.”
A month…?
Eunho’s ears trembled faintly. A month was too late.
I have to make a decision within a month.
Sobin’s words from the hospital flashed through his mind. Without realizing it, Eunho placed both paws over his plump belly. The image of the tiger from his dream flickered before him, and his heart pounded.
At that moment, an extremely awkward laugh came from beside them.
“Hahaha. A month, huh? That’s good. A long vacation, too.”
The only water deer in this neighborhood. Chanwoo.
“I need to use the restroom… Eunho?”
Chanwoo held out his hand toward Eunho. His movements were stiff—like a robot serving food.
“C-could you tell me where it is?”
Do something! Chanwoo pleaded with his eyes. Somehow catching the signal, Eunho sprang down onto the floor.
Follow me!
If it was the bathroom, maybe they could talk. Yi-beom’s gaze wouldn’t reach there.
The rabbit concealing his true thoughts and Chanwoo hurried toward the restroom.
***
The place Eunho led Chanwoo to was the guest bathroom. Of all the bathrooms in the house, it was the farthest from the living room, so there was little chance of their voices carrying. The moment they stepped inside, Eunho hurriedly shut the door.
Though it wasn’t in use, Mrs. Park must have swept and cleaned it every day, because it was spotless.
Thanks to that, Yi-beom would occasionally corner Eunho here. It was narrower than the bathroom upstairs, so the sound echoed more, he’d said.
Eunho stared gloomily at the floor where they had once rolled around wildly.
That was all before the animalization…
When would he be able to roll around with Ahjussi like that again?
After we have the baby, and everything’s okay… will we be able to?
He didn’t know. Feeling down, Eunho plopped onto the floor. The rabbit’s tiny legs slumped outward.
“Hey, Jung Eunho.”
Crouching in front of him, Chanwoo whispered.
“What the hell happened? Why until now—”
A small light entered his field of vision. What’s that? He stopped speaking and lowered his head behind Eunho.
A faint glimmer shone from the corner of the tile. It was the same color he had seen weeks ago on Eunho’s necklace.
This is insane!
Chanwoo screamed internally.
He even planted a listening device in the bathroom?
He glared toward the invisible Yi-beom. Every day there were breaking news reports about carnivorous Beastmen, and stories spread nonstop at the water deer gatherings—but he had still believed.
After all, Jung Eunho had always been a good judge of character.
But this wasn’t it. First a location tracker, and now a bugging device. In the bathroom, of all places!
This is a crime!
As Chanwoo froze, Eunho tapped him with a tiny paw.
“Why— mmph.”
A large hand covered Eunho’s mouth. What is he doing? Eunho tilted his head, and Chanwoo glanced toward the listening device. Then, shaping his mouth clearly, he mouthed without sound:
<They might hear. Write it on the mirror.>
<What?>
They can’t hear us here? Eunho tried to say, but Chanwoo shook his head.
<You never know.>
After a moment of thought, Eunho nodded. It wouldn’t hurt to be careful. As far as he knew, Yi-beom was meticulous and thorough in everything. As expected, you need to be smart to do bad things. Watching Yi-beom work had always given Eunho that strange lesson.
The problem was… rabbits don’t really have distinct mouth shapes.
He tried puckering and moving his mouth, but there was no distinction at all—just the difference between opening wide and opening small.
<Um-nyum-nyum, um-nyum-nyum?>
After watching for a while, Chanwoo interpreted at random. Eunho’s eyes shot up.
<Om-nyo, om-nyo… Hey, speak properly!?>
That failed too.
He moved his mouth while gesturing desperately with his paws, but it was useless. With a sigh, the tiny body flopped backward.
This won’t work.
In a rabbit’s body, it was impossible to secretly converse. But he couldn’t very well transform into his human form naked in front of Kim Chanwoo either…
In resignation, Eunho stared up at the ceiling.
Wait.
The rabbit lying belly-up suddenly sprang upright.
The mirror.
Like when he’d drawn a heart on the terrace door—maybe he could write on the mirror. Eunho hurriedly pointed at the sink.
<What.>
<……>
<You want me to lift you? Up there?>
With a bewildered expression, Chanwoo picked Eunho up. As instructed, he set him down on the sink with a little plop. Eunho blew onto the mirror.
A foggy mist spread across the glass. Just like when he’d drawn a heart before, Eunho moved the tip of his paw without hesitation.
<I’m trapped here.>
<What, are you crazy?>
Chanwoo’s eyes widened even more than when he’d seen the bugging device. Huff, huff—he quickly breathed onto the mirror and wrote.
<Ahjussi locked you up here?>
<Yes.>
<Report him—no, tell your brother first!>
<How can I report him? Our Ahjussi can’t go to prison.>
Is this rabbit insane? Chanwoo stared blankly at the rabbit diligently fogging the mirror. In the meantime, Eunho continued writing.
<And don’t tell my brother either. He’ll worry.>
<Just report him!>
<Wouldn’t prison visits be exhausting?>
<What the hell are you saying, you lunatic!>
Lunatic? There’s nothing you won’t say to a friend. The moment Chanwoo wrote an exclamation point, Eunho bared his tiny rice-grain teeth at him—just like he had at Yi-beom. Thump! He even stomped both paws.
An extremely cute and trivial warning. So soft-hearted… Chanwoo looked down at the rabbit with a troubled expression.
Even if he reported it now, if Jung Eunho insisted nothing had happened, it would all be useless. But if he told Eunchan, their relationship might fracture because of this.
Ugh, my head hurts. Chanwoo pressed a hand to his forehead.
<Should I turn into a water deer and just bite you once?>
<Try it and see what happens. I won’t let it slide.>
Thump! Eunho stomped again. His stubby legs slipped on the sink, but pretending nothing had happened, he calmly brought his paws together.
That shameless rabbit. Watching him, Chanwoo let out a sigh.
<Next Friday, come to Central Park. I’ll be there with Sobin-hyung.>
Why him? Eunho started to write, then scrubbed the letters away. For the baby’s sake, it would be better to get examined by that man.
<How do I get there?>
<Somehow.>
After a moment’s thought, Chanwoo added another sentence.
<Even if you have to report him—come to Central Park.>
Eunho bit his lip. The only reason this confinement had remained intact until now was because he hadn’t attempted a reckless escape.
If he thought about it, there were many ways. He could have screamed loud enough to be heard outside. He could have jumped from the terrace. If he had just shattered a mirror and held a shard in his hand, he could have escaped long ago.
Still… I can’t do that.
Just imagining Yi-beom’s wounded expression made his chest feel like it was tearing apart.
Just because he locked me up here doesn’t mean Ahjussi doesn’t love me…
Looking at the letters left on the mirror, Eunho finally nodded. For the baby’s sake. He steadied his wavering heart.
<I understand.>
Even after their secret plotting ended, Eunho couldn’t leave the bathroom for a long while.
***
Only in the evening did Eunchan and Chanwoo leave the house. Perhaps because he couldn’t stop worrying about the Eunho left behind, Eunchan kept fiddling with Eunho’s paws right up until he stepped out the door.
