In a calm, quiet voice, Haram responded—but immediately jerked away from Tae-yi’s hand, which was gently stroking his cheek. They’d even spent a Heat Cycle together, so saying this might’ve sounded strange, but physical affection still made him uncomfortable. Tae-yi, his face filled with longing as he withdrew his hand, suddenly caught Haram’s instead.
“Don’t hold my hand…”
“Did you come all the way to Seoul just to see me? You missed me, didn’t you?”
His playful tone was infuriating. Haram smacked the back of Tae-yi’s hand repeatedly, telling him to quit talking nonsense, but gave up in the end and let himself be dragged along.
Once inside Tae-yi’s cozy car—never one to reject passengers—Haram awkwardly nodded a greeting when he made eye contact with Chief Yoon in the driver’s seat.
“Take us home,” Tae-yi said, sitting next to Haram and pulling his hand into an interlocked grip again.
“L-let go! Don’t grab me! I’ll get mad,”
Haram blurted out, shifting his gaze toward the window to escape the relentless skinship. The words weren’t even sincere. He hated to admit it, but when Tae-yi had hugged him tight earlier, and now when he held his hand, it didn’t feel bad. And that was exactly the problem. He had come here to talk, not to get dragged around by Tae-yi’s whims.
“Don’t be mad. I’m sorry,” Tae-yi said, immediately releasing Haram’s hand and bowing his head so their eyes met. The smile spreading across Tae-yi’s face nearly made Haram let out a groan.
Haram was the same way, but still—Kang Tae-yi was seriously clueless. The last time they saw each other, Haram had ended things with cruel words, and now the man was smiling at him like that? Haram had always suspected something was off about him.
When Haram shifted uncomfortably in his seat, guilt swelling inexplicably in his chest at the sight of Tae-yi’s warm smile, Tae-yi immediately asked,
“Are you cold?”
Just as Haram turned his head to respond, a gentle warmth touched the back of his neck. Startled by the unexpected contact, Haram hunched his shoulders—and in an instant, transformed.
“…Da Haram?”
Tae-yi, now left with nothing but Haram’s gray hoodie, dug through the fabric until he found a soft bundle of silvery-gray fur. He gently lifted the tiny creature.
“Ch-chirp…!”
Let go of me…!
“You’ll get hurt. I’ll just hold you until we get home,” Tae-yi said, carefully cradling the squirming Haram in both hands, softly stroking his downy fur.
“Chirp-chirp!!”
I said don’t touch me!
Haram forcefully shoved at Tae-yi’s thumb with his tiny paw, clearly rejecting the skinship. Tae-yi chuckled at the feeble protest and finally stopped petting him, at which point Haram settled down.
Watching the tiny squirrel plop his fuzzy butt into his palm, Tae-yi couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. In the front seat, Chief Yoon glanced at the rearview mirror. The whole mood in the car had changed just because of that tiny squirrel—and it was honestly kind of amazing.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“…Chirp.”
Answering vaguely, Haram squeezed his eyes shut, avoiding Tae-yi’s relentless gaze. He planned to pretend to sleep until they reached the house.
Grrrrgle—
As he focused on faking sleep, a small noise came from Haram’s belly. He flinched, hurriedly clutched his stomach, and pressed his lips together tightly—but it was too late. Tae-yi had already heard the noise and chuckled softly.
I want to die…
The shame was unbearable. He wasn’t a rat, but he could really use a damn mouse hole right now. Thankfully, Tae-yi didn’t tease him further. He stopped laughing, and didn’t poke fun.
As soon as the car stopped in the garage, Haram cautiously opened his eyes. Tae-yi gathered up Haram’s clothes and got out, heading straight into the house and making a beeline for the kitchen. He placed Haram on the table, opened a cabinet like it was second nature, and pulled out a palm-sized bag.
He emptied the contents onto a small plate and set it in front of Haram, then quietly stepped aside as if to say, Help yourself. Haram stared silently at the plate filled with assorted nuts, then glanced over at Tae-yi, who was busy pretending to look for something in the kitchen corner. After licking his lips, Haram fiddled with his fur for no reason and hesitantly picked up an almond. His pride was no match for his hunger.
Crunch, crunch. As the sound of him chewing echoed through the kitchen, Tae-yi’s lips curled up into a smile. He pulled out some fruit from the fridge—something Haram might like—and carefully washed blueberries and strawberries at the sink, sneaking glances at Haram between rinses as the little guy ate like he hadn’t eaten in days.
“Here, eat these too.”
Tae-yi placed a dish of Haram’s favorite fruits—blueberries and some fresh strawberries—beside the plate of nuts. After a moment’s hesitation, Haram picked out a blueberry. Then, like a bird pecking at seeds, he began nibbling away.
Watching Haram eat with such satisfaction, Tae-yi smiled warmly. The destination Da Haram had been searching for… was right beside him. The fact that Haram had come all the way to Seoul to find him—regardless of the reason—was enough to make him content. Hoping to finally clear the air through a calm conversation and spend the night with Haram by his side, Tae-yi opened his mouth to speak.
“Wanna take a shower?”
“Chirp-chirp…!!”
That’s not why I came! Does he seriously think I came all the way to Seoul just to eat and wash up?!
Startled by the question, Haram leapt in place and flung his half-eaten blueberry back onto the plate, chirping furiously. Tae-yi, sensing the squirrel’s rising irritation, quickly shut his mouth and began treading lightly. He knew very well that he was in no position to push things right now.
“I just thought you might feel gross since you were sweating… Finish eating,” Tae-yi said, sliding the plate of blueberries gently closer to Haram. The squirrel blinked as his anger slowly cooled. He had been sweating a lot. It was true that he felt sticky, but he didn’t come here to eat and lounge around—he came here to talk. He couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.
“Chirp… chirp…”
Turn around…
Haram looked up at Tae-yi and pointed with his tiny paw toward the living room. Tae-yi, understanding instantly, turned his head. Haram scampered over to his clothes on the table, quickly transformed back into human form, and dressed in a hurry before awkwardly clearing his throat.
“…Sorry for dropping in out of nowhere.”
Meeting Tae-yi’s eyes, Haram spoke first. He’d rushed here, burning with the need to see Tae-yi and settle things once and for all. But now that his stomach was full, he realized how selfish he’d been.
“I should be the one apologizing.”
Tae-yi frowned deeply at Haram’s apology and spoke in a steady voice. Haram, who’d been sitting with his head bowed, clutching the edge of the chair, lifted his gaze slightly at Tae-yi’s words.
“I want you to be honest when I ask you something. If you lie to me again, I… I really…”
Could his existence even be a threat to Tae-yi? The idea seemed laughable. Feeling that any attempt to intimidate Tae-yi would be meaningless, Haram trailed off and closed his mouth. Tae-yi sighed as he looked at Haram’s drooping tail and finally responded.
“I’ll tell the truth. I promise.”
This time, there was no playful smile—just Tae-yi, serious and sincere. Haram fell silent for a moment, sorting through the thoughts swirling in his mind. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to hear. But now that it came time to speak, his mouth felt like it was glued shut.
“…Is the resort project your doing?”
Haram asked quietly, his head lowered, fingers clutching the chair even tighter.
“No. It’s my brother’s plan. The vice president of the construction company.”
Tae-yi answered without hesitation. Haram glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t seem to be lying.
“You told me to sell my peanut field… Why?”
You just wanted to use me, didn’t you? The words stuck in his throat. Saying them out loud would only hurt himself.
This time, Tae-yi didn’t respond right away either. An awkward silence hung between them.
“When Secretary Kim showed up at the hanok, that’s when I realized our company was the one behind the resort project. That it was my brother’s plan. And… yeah. At the time, I did want to screw over Kang Tae-jin. I did try to use you. But later…”
As Haram bowed his head even lower, tears began to fall, clear and quiet, landing on the floor beneath him. Tae-yi’s voice faltered. He couldn’t see Haram’s face, but he knew—it had to be a look full of pain.
“I’m sorry. For lying about who I was, for trying to use you. But Da Haram… I swear, none of the things I did with you were fake.”
He didn’t know how to make his feelings understood. He’d never felt this way about anyone before.
There was never a moment, while he was with Da Haram, where he acted against his will. If anything, there were so many things he wanted to do for Haram—so many things he wanted to share. Not once had he faked it just to use him.
Now, all he could do was pray that his sincerity would reach Da Haram.
A heavy silence settled inside the house again. The only sound was Haram sniffling now and then. Finally, he raised a hand to wipe his tears and looked up at Tae-yi.
“…I believe you.”
