For two full days, Jung Eunho did not appear.
In that time, Yi-beom secured an officetel near the neighborhood where Eunho was staying. It was so he could respond quickly if Eunho attempted to escape.
“This is all?”
Clutching the photos in his hand, Yi-beom tossed them onto the table as he asked. Younguk, who had been standing with his hands clasped behind his back, nodded.
“Yes, the other photos are similar.”
“Ha…….”
Pressing a hand to his forehead, Yi-beom looked down at the pictures. They were filled with a pale pink rabbit. Most of the time, it was nestled in the grandmother’s arms watching TV, or in the middle of being fed something.
There were photos of it running around with a carrot in its mouth, and even shamelessly digging into the yard with a hiss-hiss sound to bury cucumbers in a hole. Yi-beom glared at them one by one. The rabbit in the pictures seemed to be living quite comfortably—its belly plump and round.
“This rabbit’s unbelievable.”
Looking at the photos that showed not the slightest trace of missing him, he ground his teeth. Soon after, Yi-beom grabbed his jacket and left the office.
***
Mrs. Kim was remarkable.
All day long, she bustled around the house, holding her bent back. She woke at dawn, watered the vegetable patch, organized the refrigerator, then finely chopped vegetables for Eunho and stir-fried them in a pan.
Sniff, sniff—whenever Eunho twitched his nose from under the blankets, the grandmother would appear before he knew it and scoop him up.
“Come now. Let’s eat.”
As he barely managed to open his eyes, a meal spread entered Eunho’s field of vision. Endless stacks of lettuce and carrots, alongside a large cucumber and even dried spinach. There was more feed laid out than the grandmother’s own meal.
At first, he had been horrified, but now it wasn’t particularly surprising. The moment the grandmother lifted her spoon, Eunho rolled a carrot with his tiny paws.
“Hm? You want Grandma to give you that?”
The grandmother firmly placed a carrot into both of Eunho’s paws.
“There, there. Is that enough?”
With gratitude, Eunho bit into the carrot in one big mouthful. Crunch, crunch—once the sound began, the grandmother resumed eating her rice.
It had already been two days since he’d stayed here, and Eunho had grown accustomed to this peaceful life.
Chewing the vegetables the grandmother gave him at every meal, warming his body on the heated floor—when he did that, escape and everything else slipped from his mind.
Still… I can’t just stay like this.
Fiddling with his now-rounded belly, Eunho sank into thought.
If I stay too long, they’ll catch my tail.
And it might become a burden to Grandma too… Setting down the carrot he had been chewing, Eunho looked at her.
When the crunching sound stopped, the grandmother looked down at him. “Mm? Want something else? Sick of carrots already?”
I could never get sick of carrots, Grandma…….
“Want them stir-fried?”
He twitched his nose to say no, but the carrot had already been taken away. Oh dear, groaning as she held her back and stood up, the grandmother muttered,
“That thing in your belly might not be a baby but a carrot.”
Otherwise, why would you work this old woman so hard? Tsk, tsk—clicking her tongue, she still diligently turned on the gas and took out the frying pan.
“Did the health tonic restaurant kick you out for eating too much?”
No!
“Judging by how you eat, even the price of health tonic wouldn’t cover it.”
A rabbit kicked out of a health tonic restaurant. There was no dishonor quite like that. Even as she said such things, if he left vegetables behind she would ask if something hurt, if it tasted bad, and talk to him for a long while while holding his belly.
Before long, the grandmother brought back the stir-fried carrots, blowing on them—hoo, hoo—to cool them. Then she placed the least hot ones in front of Eunho.
“Are you a pig or a rabbit?”
The grandmother did not know that rabbits could eat as much as pigs. Eunho felt wronged.
“A pig rabbit……?”
Eunho felt even more wronged.
***
Right after breakfast, he ran around the yard. Hop, hop—he had to skillfully avoid the vegetable patch the grandmother tended while running. Even if it was tiring, it couldn’t be helped.
I’m a pig ra— no, a rabbit for Grandma!
He couldn’t very well say he was actually a rabbit Beastman now, so he continued pretending to be just a rabbit. Every time he ran across the yard, flap, flap—his long ears fluttered.
“Baby!”
The grandmother, who had been putting on her shoes on the wooden porch, called out to him.
“Baby, Grandma’s calling you!”
Pretending not to understand, Eunho tilted his head. Then, after glancing around, he cautiously crawled toward her.
As he approached, the grandmother picked him up.
“Oh my, what house’s rabbit are you, with grime dripping off you like this?”
Scrubbing Eunho’s face hard with a wet wipe, the grandmother clicked her tongue. He had been hopping around since morning, and dirt clung thickly to his pale pink fur.
Was it because he had been locked up at the health tonic restaurant the whole time? This rabbit ran around the yard whenever he finished eating. If only he just ran around—but sometimes he dug at the yard with his hind legs or nibbled on weeds.
“What kind of wild mountain rabbit are you?”
Even a wild rabbit wouldn’t be like this. Yet the rabbit staring at her with clear eyes was so cute that she clicked her tongue again.
“Grandma’s going to visit Mrs. Park down in the lower neighborhood, so watch the house well.”
“……”
Setting Eunho down on the floor, she added,
“If a thief comes, bark. Hm?”
“……”
“Grandma will come running.”
I still don’t even know how rabbits cry. Eunho blankly looked up at her. After patting his head, the grandmother opened the gate and headed out.
Soon, the slow sound of her footsteps continued away. Padding up to the gate, Eunho pricked up his ears. Aside from the grandmother, he heard no other presence.
Looks like the uncles have all withdrawn.
With the grandmother gone, if there was ever a chance, this was it. There was the option of sneaking out at night, but leaving while she slept didn’t sit well with him.
Making up his mind, Eunho bit down on a tree branch he had set aside earlier. Then he lowered the end of the branch to the ground and moved his body this way and that. It was a method he had learned after repeatedly writing letters with his paw.
<Thank you for everything during this time.>
After writing that much, Eunho hesitated.
“If I leave it like this, she won’t know if a thief wrote it or if I did…….”
Beneath the greeting, Eunho added more words.
<Thank you for everything during this time.> – Rabbit –
She called him pig rabbit every time, and he had considered writing that, but it seemed better to just write rabbit.
Looking back at the house, he felt like tears might spill. Covering themselves with a blanket every evening and chewing cucumbers together—he would likely remember it for a long time.
<I’ll come back.>
Twitching his nose, Eunho added one more sentence. Once he gave birth to the baby and reconciled with Yi-beom, he promised himself he would come visit.
If he stayed any longer, leaving would become too difficult. Turning around boldly, Eunho pushed the gate with his small paws. With a creak, it opened a crack.
Like when he had first come in, he pushed his head through, then his belly. Perhaps because he had been eating and sleeping well, when he pushed his belly through, thump—the gate swung open wider.
“……”
No one’s here… right? Feeling inexplicably embarrassed, Eunho glanced around.
It was quite a distance from here to Moon Bar. Still, if he walked diligently, he should be able to reach it by evening.
Hyung’s house definitely has Ahjussi’s men planted there.
He had already been caught at that house before. Moreover, it would be difficult to explain to Jung Eunchan—who still didn’t know about the pregnancy—the reason he had fought with Yi-beom. One way or another, Moon Bar was the only thing he could rely on.
Behind Eunho, who had begun walking in the direction of Moon Bar, an organization member raised his phone.
“Hyung-nim. Student Eunho is escaping right now……”
[What?]
Yi-beom’s incredulous voice came through the phone.
[You said he was running around in the yard earlier.]
“He, he was definitely grazing in the yard just a moment ago…….”
He gulped.
“He’s leaving the house now.”
***
A black sedan that did not suit the neighborhood came to a stop. With his phone pressed to his ear, Yi-beom stepped out of the car and ran in the direction Eunho would be.
“Don’t hang up. Follow him.”
[Yes, Hyung-nim.]
Turning into an alley, a staircase came into view. Since it was a hilly neighborhood, there was a rather long set of stairs stretching from the lower road up to Mrs. Kim’s house. It was a staircase one had to pass to reach the main road.
With long strides, Yi-beom climbed the stairs. Even though he had stationed Younguk and other organization members at places where Eunho might appear, he was unbearably anxious.
“It wasn’t even this fucking bad when I was shooting guns in Macau.”
He should’ve just been grazing. Why did Jung Eunho have to leave the house today of all days—right when he was coming?
Recalling the reports he had received about Eunho’s movements before he departed, Yi-beom muttered curses. The higher he climbed the stairs, the more it felt like his blood pressure was rising with them.
After climbing for a while, he saw something pale pink up above. Perhaps because the slope was frightening, Eunho was descending backward, extending his legs first. Because of that, he had yet to notice Yi-beom.
“Block the top.”
The moment he gave the order, an organization member appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Hiik!”
Spotting the jet-black suit, Eunho let out a scream. How did they find this place! His thoughts tangled chaotically.
He quickly turned his body. Fortunately, only one organization member had appeared. If he ran hard enough, he might be able to escape.
Just as he tensed his legs, Eunho’s eyes shook violently.
“Ahjussi?”
