“Shu, I’ve been thinking… shouldn’t this little one have a name too?”
“Huh? Who?”
“This one. This little guy.”
“Ah… wait, who exactly?”
“The hamster.”
On a rare warm afternoon, sunlight poured in through the clear windows, casting a golden glow over the room. I was lazily sprawled out on the sofa when I finally stretched my neck out and turned to look at Kyle.
He was carefully cradling the hamster in his palm, feeding it tiny bits of nuts one by one. He looked so ridiculously devoted, you’d think he had just reunited with a long-lost sibling.
“Just name it after food or something. Rice noodles? Vietnamese spring rolls? Pu Pad Pong Curry?”
“What… are those all names of food?”
“Uh… yeah, you don’t know them?”
Scratching my cheek, I pushed myself upright.
But really, why is this even something to deliberate over?
“By the way, Your Highness, didn’t you just randomly pick my name too?”
“You mean Cashew Nut?”
“Exactly! What kind of person names a hamster after a type of nut?”
“But Shu, you liked it too, didn’t you?”
“When did I ever say that?”
“You don’t like it?”
His eyebrows drooped slightly as he looked at me. I clamped my mouth shut and groaned, feeling cornered. In the end, I surrendered.
“Ugh, fine! I like it! It’s cute, okay?”
“I thought you’d say that.”
He chuckled and sat down beside me, still holding the hamster in his hands.
Damn sneaky snake, getting better at this every time!
I grumbled under my breath but still leaned in closer to watch the hamster gnawing away at its snack like its life depended on it. No wonder it was so energetic—it ate a ton.
…Wait a second.
Hadn’t it… gotten a bit chubby?
“…How many nuts have you been feeding it?”
“Not much. I just gave it as much as you usually eat.”
“Oh, well, no wonder it’s getting fat!”
I was well aware that I ate a lot. But a hamster? If it ate the same amount as me, obesity would hit real fast.
“Take that away from it right now!”
“Right away!”
Kyle swiftly snatched the almond right out of the hamster’s mouth.
The hamster, having its food suddenly taken away, looked up at Kyle with a face like it had lost its entire country. Then, as if processing the injustice, it let out a sharp squeak and started chattering angrily.
“Wow. Look at that temper. Who does it take after to be this feisty?”
Kyle’s gaze landed directly on me.
“…What?”
“…Nothing at all.”
Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I placed the hamster in my palm. No matter how I looked at it, the round little thing really did resemble me.
“What about naming it something like Bun or Rice Cake?”
“You’re just going to name it that casually?”
“And Cashew Nut wasn’t a casual name?”
“But—”
“But what?”
“…I spent a whole week thinking about that name.”
“…Huh.”
It felt like I had just discovered a single flaw in my otherwise perfect lover.
Well… it was kind of endearing, actually.
***
Despite his already packed schedule, Kyle still made time to care for the hamster. No—actually, it was more like he rushed through all his other responsibilities at a supernatural speed just so he could spend more time with it.
At one point, he even wanted to keep the hamster in the bedroom so he could watch it all day. It took every ounce of persuasion I had to convince him to move it back to the study.
“Hezzi, is it tasty? You sure eat well, little one.”
In the end, the fake Shu—who had doubled in size since we first brought it north—was named Hezzi.
I had argued fiercely for a name like Bun or Rice Cake, but Kyle had firmly rejected the idea on the grounds that you can’t name an animal after human food.
But wouldn’t naming it after something hamsters actually eat be even crueler?!
To make matters worse, he said he picked Hezzi because the hamster loved sunflower seeds. How did that even make sense?!
I gave Kyle an exasperated look, but he was too busy fussing over the hamster to notice. With a sigh, I walked up behind him and rested my chin on his shoulder as he continued handling the tiny creature.
“Are you just going to play with Hezzi all day?”
Not that I was jealous or anything. Watching him dote on the hamster was frustrating as hell, but that wasn’t the point.
I was human. A human! There was no way I was getting jealous of a hamster. It was a good thing that my boyfriend loved animals, right?
“Isn’t Hezzi adorable?”
“…”
“Yeah, yeah, you must be sleepy. Look at that yawn.”
“…”
“Alright, time for a goodnight kiss—”
Oh, hell no.
I shot my hand out and blocked the space between Kyle’s lips and the hamster. He ended up pressing a completely bewildered kiss to my palm instead, then gave me a confused look.
“It’s already asleep!” I blurted out. “You’ll wake it up!”
“Shu, your voice is louder.”
“That’s not the point…! Anyway, no. Stop bothering it while it’s sleeping and leave.”
I quickly moved the hamster back inside its enclosure, then grabbed Kyle’s arm and dragged him out of the study. He kept glancing back wistfully, but only after I poked him in the side did he finally straighten up and face forward.
“I was supposed to watch over it until it fell asleep.”
“…Why?”
“It must feel lonely in a foreign place.”
“It’s a hamster.”
“Even hamsters have feelings.”
“……”
This man is seriously a hamster fanatic.
At this point, I was starting to suspect that the real reason Kyle had fallen for me in the first place was because I reminded him of a hamster.
As I stared at him with an increasingly dissatisfied expression, he finally seemed to notice my sulky mood. He shifted awkwardly, his face slightly sheepish.
“Shu?”
“What? What now? If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you just spend the night in the study with your precious hamster? I will be going to bed first. A nice, big bed all to myself—how lovely.”
“……”
I repeat: this is absolutely not jealousy. I was just annoyed. That was all.
“…Are you pouting?”
“Who’s pouting?!”
I snapped back at him, my voice echoing down the hallway. The passing servants flinched at my sudden outburst before quickly scurrying off, pretending not to have heard anything.
An awkward silence followed. I hunched my shoulders, feeling a little embarrassed, and peeked up at Kyle to gauge his reaction.
And there he was—
“Are you laughing?”
He was desperately trying to hold back a smile.
For some reason, that pissed me off even more. I clenched my fists.
“Are you seriously laughing right now? You find this funny?”
My tone immediately lost all semblance of politeness. I glared up at him with the utmost defiance.
“Go on, then. Hurry up and leave. Didn’t you just say even hamsters have feelings?”
Kyle’s face turned slightly red, struggling to contain his laughter. His shoulders even started shaking a little—was that just my imagination?
Before I could grumble any further, he suddenly scooped me up. My feet left the ground in an instant, and in my panic, I instinctively grabbed onto his shoulders for support.
“W-What the hell?!”
“You’re right. Hamsters do have feelings. I failed to consider them properly.”
“…What?”
“The hamster’s feelings,” he said, gazing up at me with all the seriousness in the world.
“…I’M A HUMAN, DAMN IT!”
“But the only hamster I’ve ever loved is you.”
You really should’ve just kept your mouth shut…
I stared blankly at him while Kyle strode purposefully toward the bedroom. He climbed the stairs two at a time before speaking again.
“I don’t have much on my schedule tomorrow. Other than trying on my tailcoat for the grand banquet and having dinner with the Meinhardt couple, there’s nothing pressing. For either of us.”
I had left the clothing preparations entirely to him, knowing he would handle it flawlessly. So tomorrow, all that was left was to slip into the perfectly tailored ensemble for a quick fitting.
Leaning against him, I murmured slowly, “That’s true.”
“Which means… we don’t have to sleep early tonight.”
“…Huh?”
Wait a second. This… this sounds like…
Kyle came to a sudden stop in front of the bedroom door. Because I had grabbed the doorknob and refused to budge.
“Why are you hesitating?”
“Hold on a minute. So… because we don’t have to wake up early tomorrow, you mean…”
I trailed off, unable to bring myself to finish the sentence out loud. My mouth opened and closed awkwardly, but Kyle only smiled, his nose crinkling slightly.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”
“You can’t just decide that on your own!” I shouted.
“I—I’m still mad, you know?!”
“Didn’t you say earlier that you weren’t mad?”
His hands, which had been supporting my back, moved up to lightly brush the nape of my neck. His gaze held a curious mix of amusement and anticipation, and his expression carried just the right amount of regret to make me waver.
“Even if I adore hamsters, there’s no way I’d love one more than you.”
The words should’ve sounded ridiculous, but for some reason, they made me… happy. And at the same time, I felt utterly humiliated for having been jealous of a hamster in the first place.
I let out a small sigh, lowering my hands from his shoulders and gripping the bedroom doorknob instead. With a soft click, the door swung open, and darkness spilled out from within.
Kyle tilted his head just slightly before pressing his lips against mine. The warmth of the kiss was soft, gentle.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm.”
“You know… sometimes, you’re incredibly annoying.”
“Me? Why?”
“Just…”
Step by step, we moved deeper into the room, our lips parting and meeting again. At first, the kisses were light, teasing, like the brush of a feather. Then they turned deeper, tender and warm. By the time we were fully swallowed by the darkness, the touches had grown slow and fervent, steeped in longing.
“You know my heart too well,” I murmured.
A low chuckle resonated through the space, the vibrations traveling through our joined bodies.
“So, do you hate that?”
I narrowed my eyes and gazed at his face. In the faint light, only the outline of his features glowed softly.
Reaching out, I ran my fingers over his firm, cool skin, then pressed my forehead against his and whispered,
“You’ve been asking that a lot lately.”
Kyle let out a soft laugh.
“Do you think I could ever hate you?” I murmured, my voice laced with quiet amusement.
“I like this.”
“Hm.”
“I like you.“
“I feel the same, Shu.”
I pressed my lips against his and whispered,
“But if you push me too hard, don’t think for a second that I’ll let it slide tomorrow…”
Kyle chuckled, the sound deep and rich.
“Haha, alright. I’ll do my best.”
No matter how merciless the northern cold might be, it could never stand a chance against the warmth of this moment.
With that thought, I threw my arms around Kyle and held him close.
