“It wouldn’t even fill me up if I ate you. What would I even catch and eat?”
“Hic! Th-then I’ll, I’ll wait until I g-get fatter…!”
What on earth is he even thinking? With a dumbfounded look, Yi-beom asked back,
“What are you talking about? Why would I eat you?”
“Hngh, h-hic…!”
As if he couldn’t even hear him, Eunho had buried his face between his two feet and was bawling. Watching him wipe away tears with those soft little paws left Yi-beom speechless.
“Hah.”
Slowly, he set Eunho down on the sofa. Only after carefully draping the blanket and even placing a pillow over him did he rise from his seat.
“I’m not going to eat you, so stop crying.”
“Hng, hng…”
“There should be something in the study. Watch TV comfortably.”
Eunho, who had been inching his way under the blanket, lifted his head. For some reason, his heart felt uneasy when he saw Yi-beom heading toward the study.
Snff. Wiping his tears, Eunho whispered,
“Ahjussi…”
“What?”
Without turning around, Yi-beom replied. His long tail was still swaying menacingly over his pants, yet perhaps worried Eunho might be frightened, he didn’t look back—that quiet gentleness was still the Yi-beom Eunho knew.
“You’re really, snff, not going to eat me?”
A small laugh slipped from Yi-beom. It was the laugh he let out whenever Eunho said something ridiculous.
“What do you mean, eat you or not?”
“……”
“I already ate you.”
Thoroughly, at that.
Adding that, Yi-beom entered the study. Until the door shut, Eunho tilted his head, mulling over his words.
“Already ate me…?”
What does that mean? After pondering for a long while, Eunho finally grasped what he meant.
“Gasp.”
Ahh. His face burned hot. If he’d been human, his cheeks would already be bright red—but since he was a rabbit, only his ears twitched upright.
His round tail wagged wildly. Mortified, Eunho kicked furiously at the center of the sofa with both feet.
“Pervert…”
For a while, the only sound echoing through the living room was the rabbit’s kicking.
***
Even as time passed, things didn’t improve. Eunho was still afraid of Yi-beom, and Yi-beom kept his distance for Eunho’s sake.
The house the two of them lived in was unnecessarily large, so it was entirely possible to avoid running into each other. Of course, they had only realized that fact three years into living together.
“I miss Ahjussi…”
Lying on the bed, Eunho muttered. Being scared was one thing; missing him was another.
“It feels like I haven’t seen him for a whole week already.”
Was it last week? They’d run into each other in the bathroom, and Eunho had toppled backward—after that, Yi-beom seemed to be even more careful. Once he made up his mind, Yi-beom stuck to it rigidly, and because of that, Eunho hadn’t even caught sight of his clothes.
Should I go see him? But what if I fall over backward again like last time? More than fainting, he feared the shock Yi-beom would receive.
“What kind of person faints at the sight of their own lover…”
That day, recalling the last expression he’d seen on Yi-beom’s face, Eunho buried his face into the blanket.
“But still…!”
Rubbing his cheek against the blanket, he lifted his head.
“I can’t take it—I miss him too much!”
Hopping down to the floor, Eunho pushed the door open with both feet. Then he glanced around the hallway.
“Would he be in the study?”
When they weren’t spending time together, Yi-beom usually handled his work in the study, so there was a high chance he’d be there. Perking up his ears, Eunho hopped along toward it.
Through the slightly open door, he saw Yi-beom. Leaning languidly back in his chair, he looked exhausted. As if he hadn’t been sleeping properly, dark circles shadowed his eyes and his complexion was dim.
Eunho’s lips twitched. Even though he was the kind of lover who collapsed at the mere sight of his face, still—he was his lover. It seemed Yi-beom hadn’t been sleeping well because of him.
I wish he’d turned into a rabbit, same as me.
Even if not a rabbit—well, a squirrel, a puppy, or even a cat.
If it were at least that much, I wouldn’t be this scared.
But a tiger? A tiger! At the sight of the tail visible beside the chair, Eunho’s body flinched.
Still, there was enough distance to endure it. Besides, just as Yi-beom struggled not seeing him, Eunho felt the same.
I’ll just recharge like this. As Eunho stared intently at him, Yi-beom’s voice reached his ears.
“A rabbit…”
Still glaring at his phone, Yi-beom muttered to himself.
“……likes it?”
What’s he saying? Because of the distance, Eunho couldn’t hear clearly. He squeezed his head through the crack of the door.
Then his eyes caught Yi-beom’s hand. More precisely—the knife he was holding.
A knife?
“A rabbit tastes better?”
At the sound of Yi-beom’s voice, his heart dropped. Wh-what did he just say? His toes felt numb as Eunho took a step back.
He definitely said rabbits taste good! That rabbits taste better!
At that moment, the knife reflecting the fluorescent light flashed. The sharply honed blade entered Eunho’s field of vision, and he sucked in a breath.
He’s going to kill me.
His round belly rose and fell rapidly. With trembling eyes fixed on Yi-beom, Eunho hurriedly slipped out of the study.
I have to leave the house before I die!
He’d been naive. From the moment animalization had occurred, he and Yi-beom had become completely different from before—yet he had tried to pretend otherwise. Even though tigers and rabbits stood in a predator-prey relationship.
Unaware of the rabbit scampering away, Yi-beom continued staring at his phone.
“Fuck, what am I supposed to do?”
On the phone screen was the search term: ‘food rabbits can eat.’ The post he was looking at had the cute title, ‘Rabbit’s Favorite: Rabbit Apple!’ In the center of the post was a picture of an adorable apple carved into the shape of a rabbit.
“Make V-shaped cuts with the knife…”
Leave the end part? Rolling the apple around in his hand, Yi-beom let out a sigh.
“If he’s just going to eat it, he’ll just eat it… Why do they say to carve it into a rabbit shape?”
He set the apple down on the table.
It had already been a week since animalization began. Those who had reached a certain level of stability could freely transform between human and animal. The government had begun distributing instructions on how to return to human form, and everyone was slowly returning to their daily lives.
Yi-beom had deliberately not taught Eunho how to become human. That timid rabbit would obviously run away from him the moment he turned human, so he’d decided to tell him only when Eunho stopped being afraid of him.
Because of that, Yi-beom was going through the trouble of preparing rabbit food, something he’d never done in his life.
Picking up the apple again, Yi-beom sliced it in half. Then he carved the center into a pointed shape to create rabbit ears.
“What the hell am I doing at my age?”
Even while grumbling, scrape scrape, his hands diligently peeled the apple. When he imagined Eunho eating the rabbit apple, preparing it wasn’t something he couldn’t do.
“Fuck. Jung Eunho.”
Calling out desperately for the rabbit who had run away without even knowing he was preparing his food, Yi-beom continued carving the apple. Scrape, scrape.
***
It wasn’t until well after sunset that Yi-beom realized Eunho had left.
Carrying a plate piled high with rabbit apples, Yi-beom climbed the stairs. So as not to startle Eunho, he didn’t forget to muffle his footsteps.
He skipped lunch, too. Standing in front of the slightly open door, Yi-beom let out a sigh. Then he knocked with his fist.
“Eunho.”
“……”
“Baby.”
There was no reply. He’s already low on energy as it is, being a rabbit and all. He wanted to go inside and check on him, but if he did, Eunho might topple over backward again. Yi-beom didn’t have many options.
With no choice, Yi-beom set the plate down in front of the door and said,
“I’ll leave the apples here, so eat them.”
“……”
“I’ll be downstairs, so don’t worry.”
Just as he was about to stand, Yi-beom froze.
At this point, I should’ve gotten a response.
No matter how afraid Eunho was of him, he always answered without fail. Instinctively sensing something off, Yi-beom flung the door open.
It was the bedroom he hadn’t seen in a week. On the bed where they used to fall asleep together, only an empty blanket lay—there was no sign of the rabbit at all. Rushing in, Yi-beom threw back the covers, but it was useless.
Yi-beom’s jaw clenched tight. The rabbit apples he had carved all evening overturned onto the floor.
***
The moment he left the house, he ran without thinking. Without even looking back, he moved forward until he was out of breath. His body had grown smaller, but a rabbit’s legs were more powerful than he’d expected. Just by bending and straightening them slightly, his body shot forward as if he were pole-vaulting.
“Huff, huff.”
Breathing heavily, Eunho came to a stop. Looking around, he saw a main road. At some point, he’d passed the residential area and reached the busy district.
Where should I go now? Walking near the mouth of an alley, Eunho suddenly flopped backward. His short legs trembled.
“I don’t even have anywhere to go… hngh.”
His perked-up ears drooped downward. The more he recalled the image of Yi-beom holding a knife, the more tears dripped down.
“Hic, you said you’d take responsibility… How can you change like this in an instant…”
Rabbits taste good. Rabbits taste better…
Eunho rubbed his face with both paws. To anyone watching, it might look like the rabbit was washing up, as he diligently wiped away his tears.
