On his way out, Yi-beom returned home and packed his things. As he came out carrying his luggage, Jinwon, Younguk, and Professor Hwang stared at him in bewilderment. Each of them held a carrier in their own hands as well.
“Are you really leaving, hyung-nim?”
Younguk shot a glance at Eunho. As if determined to watch until the very end, Eunho was sitting on the sofa, staring at Yi-beom.
“Y-You’re leaving Eunho alone?”
Leaving the three men in confusion, Yi-beom said nothing. He simply opened the refrigerator to check how much food was inside. After looking around here and there, he finally faced Eunho.
The moment their eyes met, Eunho quickly turned his head away. His round tail twitched toward Yi-beom instead.
“Professor Hwang will come every three days.”
“……”
“At that time, he’ll restock anything you need and do a health check, so at least allow that.”
Eunho, who had been turned away, slowly turned his head back at last.
“What about a week?”
“That’s too late.”
“Then five days…”
With a sigh, Yi-beom sent a look toward Professor Hwang.
“If anything happens, you must call immediately. Beastman births are unpredictable.”
Professor Hwang continued, looking at Eunho’s belly.
“It’ll be soon. Very soon. You have to take good care of yourself until then.”
Eunho placed his small rabbit paw on his stomach. As he gently stroked it, the soft fur lay flat in the direction of his hand. As long as the baby is born safely. Eunho nodded.
Yi-beom, who had been staring at him silently, approached. A towel was in his hand—no one knew since when he’d been holding it.
Bending down, Yi-beom wrapped the towel around Eunho’s body. Startled, Eunho’s eyes widened, but Yi-beom didn’t look at him.
“Don’t stay cold.”
He tied a firm knot beneath Eunho’s neck as he continued.
“Don’t overdo it in the pool. And don’t go anywhere near the sea.”
Hearing the gentle tone made tears surge up without warning. Biting his lips, Eunho lowered his head deeply. Then Yi-beom’s hand lightly brushed against his lips.
“Don’t bite your lips either.”
Eunho looked up at him. Unlike when he’d seen him on the beach, Yi-beom’s face was calm. If not for the vein bulging on his forehead, Eunho might have truly believed he was fine.
As if suppressing his emotions with all his might, the vein on Yi-beom’s forehead stood out more and more. Eunho stared at it blankly. Without realizing it, his foot lifted toward it.
Soft fur touched Yi-beom’s forehead. As though he had been waiting, a low voice resonated.
“It’s not your fault.”
The moment the words ended, Eunho hurriedly pulled his foot away. W-What am I doing? Did it look like he was trying to hold him back? Eunho quickly turned his head aside.
After staring at Eunho for a long moment, Yi-beom straightened up. Then he walked toward the front door without hesitation.
His footsteps echoed through the house. Soon, the front door closed, and silence settled in. Only then did it truly sink in—Yi-beom had left him behind.
It’s not your fault.
As the last words Yi-beom had said resurfaced, tears welled up in his eyes. He’d thought he’d hidden it well. But it seemed Yi-beom had seen straight through his heart.
It would’ve been nice to stay with Ahjussi. Yi-beom’s face was already flickering in his mind. The thought that he wouldn’t see him for a long time made tears stream down his face.
Still, I can’t stay with Ahjussi.
He’d said he would accept the baby now, but there was no guarantee Yi-beom wouldn’t change his mind. He already had a history of secretly trying to make him get surgery. Casting off his lingering attachment, Eunho scrubbed at his tears roughly.
“This isn’t the time for this.”
Eunho jumped down to the floor. The towel Yi-beom had tied fluttered.
The pitter-patter of his feet echoed through the house. Maybe because Yi-beom wasn’t there—today, the sound seemed especially loud. Entering the room, Eunho picked up the receiver attached to the floor. It was the one used to call Jinwon and Younguk.
Jinwon had explained that it could only be used within the house, but if you pressed 8 on this model, you could make outside calls as well. It was the exact same model used at the supermarket where Eunho had worked part-time in high school, so he’d known how to use it long ago.
Pressing the number 8 firmly, Eunho dialed a number he had memorized.
It was Sobin’s number.
***
A week earlier.
After losing Eunho, Chanwoo and Sobin had been dragged away by the organization members and locked inside a warehouse. “Locked up” was the term, but they weren’t treated badly. Meals were provided on time, and they weren’t beaten. Just as Chanwoo, who had been tense to the extreme, began to loosen up slightly, someone opened the warehouse door and walked in.
Bright light streamed inside. Within it, the silhouette of a slender body appeared.
“Friends of Student Eunho?”
The sound of dress shoes echoed in the warehouse. Judging by the way the organization members guarding them bowed their heads and stepped back as he entered, the man seemed to hold quite a high rank.
Did he come to kill them? Did something happen to Eunho? Chanwoo’s thoughts tangled chaotically. In the meantime, the man had approached right in front of them.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
With his arms crossed, the man casually looked over Chanwoo and Sobin. His expression was indifferent, as if he wouldn’t treat them even if they were injured. Instead of the dazed Chanwoo, Sobin answered.
“We’re not hurt. Thanks to you.”
The man’s gaze, which had been on the stiff Chanwoo, shifted to Sobin. Hm. He trailed off with an ambiguous expression.
“Well… if you think about it, it’s thanks to Student Eunho. He strongly insisted that you mustn’t be harmed.”
“Is Eunho-ssi safe?”
Sobin added.
“He made it to the hospital, right?”
Feeling something strange, Chanwoo turned to look at Sobin. Why was he asking about a hospital? Whether Eunho had been caught by Yi-beom or had escaped safely, there would’ve been no reason to go to a hospital. Yi-beom didn’t know about the pregnancy.
Heh. Letting out a faint laugh, Jinwon bent at the waist and met Sobin’s eyes.
“And why do you ask that?”
“In case he was injured.”
“……”
“As a doctor, shouldn’t that be the first thing to ask? Whether he was caught or not, in a rabbit body he could’ve been hurt.”
Right, of course. Only then did Chanwoo withdraw his suspicious gaze. As expected of a doctor, he must have been worried about Eunho’s body first.
Well, he’s not alone either.
He really was a kind hyung. To take such risks several times for a friend he’d only met a few times. With affectionate admiration, Chanwoo scooted closer to Sobin.
“Huh.”
The man, who had been pondering Sobin’s words, let out a hollow laugh.
“This is a funny guy.”
The moment Yi-beom’s permission was given, Jinwon had headed straight to the warehouse. It was something he could’ve ordered other organization members to handle, but he couldn’t resist his curiosity about this guy called Moon Sobin.
According to their investigation so far, the subordinates of political and business figures who were actively advocating for the separation of carnivorous Beastmen were all entangled with this guy. Not only did related funds pass through bank accounts under Moon Sobin’s name, but they were also funneled into Moon Bar, which he operated. It all felt extremely unsettling.
The feeling was bad. They say it takes one dirty bastard to recognize another. He’d been in this industry for ten years now, but it was the first time he’d seen something so tightly intertwined.
And it bothers me that the rabbit Beastmen who were involved with this guy have gone missing.
The Beastmen who built connections with him through herbivore gatherings naturally ended up visiting his hospital, and among them, several rabbit Beastmen were now missing.
All of them either had lovers or were married.
Narrowing his eyes, Jinwon suddenly grabbed Sobin’s hair tightly. Twisting his head back, the pleasant smile on Sobin’s face cracked.
“Hey—!”
“I really hate it when people try to test me.”
Leaving the restless water deer behind, Jinwon locked eyes with Sobin.
“You should’ve just openly asked whether he knew about the pregnancy.”
“……”
“Then I would’ve kindly answered you.”
Roughly releasing his grip, he flicked his hand. Damn it. That had been too natural. After learning nothing but Yi-beom’s threats and violence, it seemed some of that grime had rubbed off on him as well.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Hyung, your head—”
“So he does know? That carnivorous Beastman?”
Cutting off Chanwoo’s words, Sobin lifted his chin and asked. Reading the impatience in his expression, Jinwon straightened up. Tsk tsk, he clicked his tongue.
“What if he doesn’t?”
Sensing killing intent in Sobin’s eyes, Jinwon turned his head. With a signal toward the men standing behind him, they untied the ropes binding the two.
“You’ll be under surveillance for a while. Even if you try to run, it’ll be useless, so let’s not waste each other’s energy pointlessly…”
In Jinwon’s field of vision was the water deer Beastman who had been fidgeting the whole time—Chanwoo. Though he couldn’t understand a word of the conversation between himself and Sobin, he seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere, because his ears had popped out. If this dragged on any longer, it looked like he might start shaking his head at any moment.
Even though the face was completely different, somehow Eunho’s image overlapped with his. Without realizing it, Jinwon muttered,
“They really are cute in pairs.”
“Yes?”
Chanwoo lifted his head.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
If I’m with the President, does that make us a pair too? The thought made his mood sink instantly. Running a hand through his hair, Jinwon left the warehouse. The two of them watched his retreating back.
***
The man’s words had been true. After that, Chanwoo constantly felt eyes on him. On his way home, while working his part-time job, even when visiting relatives—it was the same. If he turned around, they didn’t even bother to hide, merely bowing their heads half-heartedly.
Because of that, he hadn’t been able to meet his other friends.
I’d just be causing trouble. Meeting the guys…
Today as well, Chanwoo visited Sobin’s café and slurped up his mango smoothie with a hop.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
Sobin, who was sitting across from him, answered without taking his eyes off the window.
Since being locked in that warehouse, Sobin had changed. It was hard to pinpoint exactly how, but his atmosphere had grown sharper, and he never let go of his phone. Was he anxious? Chanwoo tilted his head.
