* * *

Saewoo stiffened instantly at Jibeom’s proposal.

‘He… can’t just mean sleep, right…?’

He hesitated. Jibeom was probably still misunderstanding what happened that night, which was why he brought it up.

“Um…”

They were overdue for a talk.

The misunderstanding had always been on Jibeom’s part, and it was finally time to clear things up.

“Jibeom…”

Saewoo swallowed and turned to face him.

“Well… actually, nothing happened that night.”

Jibeom stared at Saewoo without a word.

He had expected Jibeom to react angrily or say something, but instead, his reaction was frustratingly impassive.

Sweating nervously, Saewoo looked away and continued.

“So… I, um, I’m not interested in… a serious relationship like that…”

His voice trailed off to almost a whisper as he fidgeted anxiously.

It dawned on him that, of all times, this topic had come up on the way to a meal, making the conversation awkward.

‘I really have been pretty clueless…’

In hindsight, he should have cleared this up much sooner.

Now, he wasn’t sure if it would come across as a lame excuse.

“…”

Saewoo held his breath, unsure of Jibeom’s response, but he remained silent.

‘…Is he that furious? Maybe he feels betrayed because I misled him. Or… does he think I’m lying?’

As the silence dragged on, Saewoo’s mind swirled with anxious thoughts.

‘What if he just leaves me here? Should I call a cab? It’s the middle of nowhere… and what if a predator shows up? Maybe I should just fly off… but it’s really cold out there…’

As Saewoo worriedly glanced out the window, Jibeom finally spoke.

“Nothing happened?”

Saewoo’s heart dropped at his unusually calm tone.

“Uh, y-yes… I’m really sorry. I should’ve told you sooner… So, I just want us to be friends…”

“No.”

Before Saewoo could finish, Jibeom cut him off firmly.

Caught off guard, Saewoo began to fidget nervously.

“Come on, that’s not fair.”

“Huh? What’s not—?”

“How many times have we kissed, do you think? Friends don’t just go around kissing each other, right? Or are you saying… our little bird goes around kissing just anyone?”

“What? No way! I’m not that kind of person!”

Flustered, Saewoo turned bright red and fiercely denied it.

‘Who just goes around kissing everyone?!’

Saewoo felt wronged.

Just because they’d kissed a few times, did Jibeom think of him as some kind of promiscuous beast-person?

No way.

Let’s get this straight—wasn’t Jibeom the one who always forced those kisses?

And, technically speaking, could those even be called kisses?

Every time, Jibeom would press his lips against him, insisting he was “leaving a scent,” then start… rubbing his tongue…

“Ugh, argh… What on earth am I even thinking…?!”

Realizing he’d just recalled every kiss they’d shared in vivid detail, Saewoo didn’t know what to do with himself.

“…Hmm.”

While Saewoo’s face flushed bright red, Jibeom looked at him with a somewhat contemplative expression.

“So, a serious relationship feels overwhelming?”

“Yes? Yeah…”

“Then what about something casual?”

“What?”

For a moment, Saewoo couldn’t understand how things had taken such a turn.

“If a serious relationship is too much, we could just start off casual, right?”

“Oh… so, uh… that’s how it works…?”

“Exactly.”

“A casual relationship? What even is that…?”

Saewoo was bewildered.

He’d only mentioned “serious relationship” for formality’s sake, but Jibeom’s suggestion threw him off completely.

Did “casual relationship” mean just being friends? But hadn’t Jibeom just said he didn’t like being “friends” a moment ago…?

“Want me to explain it for you?”

Seeing Saewoo’s confused expression, Jibeom kindly elaborated.

“It’s like this: we’d hang out, have meals, drink together. And then, like ‘two birds with one stone,’ we’d… you know.”

“W-what…?”

Saewoo listened intently but couldn’t believe his ears.

“Oh, I misspoke. I meant, ‘eat the bird and its egg,’ you know?”

‘He probably means “kill two birds with one stone”! Why is he bringing up eating birds? It’s scary!’

Saewoo wanted to correct him, but by then, Jibeom had already started the car again, thankfully with less aggression than before.

“So.”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay with a casual relationship?”

“…”

If he went along with Jibeom’s definition, it seemed like he was suggesting they keep things easygoing—dining together, staying in touch, and seeing where things went.

[Guess it’s just getting to know each other,] he remembered Jinho’s advice.

Alone in the beast world, constantly on guard and focusing solely on survival, Saewoo had come to think of close relationships as a luxury.

Even after becoming a landlord, he’d had no plans for companionship.

He’d only wanted to live out his days in peace.

Sure, this situation seemed to stray a bit from that plan, but…

‘Yeah, life’s unpredictable, like falling into a novel without knowing what lies ahead. No point trying to control everything, and nothing says it won’t work out.’

With that thought, Saewoo felt slightly more at ease.

Maybe, as Jinho said, he could afford to open up a little.

Even if he was wary of predators…

“…Alright.”

After a slight hesitation, Saewoo nodded.

“Let’s… try a casual relationship.”

Jibeom’s mouth curved into a smirk.

He glanced at Saewoo, confirming once again that there was no going back on his words.

“Yes, promise. Oh, but… I don’t drink.”

“Why not? Is our little bird’s liver not up for it?”

Jibeom chuckled, his mood completely different from when they’d talked about serious relationships.

“It’s not that my liver’s weak… I just take meds every day, so I can’t overdo it. Also, stop calling me a ‘little bird.’”

“Then would you prefer ‘sweetheart’?”

“That’s… worse.”

Saewoo pouted.

While the nickname “sweetheart” made him uncomfortable at first, he’d gotten used to it as just something Jibeom said out of habit.

“Saewoo.”

“…!”

Suddenly, Jibeom called him by his name, catching him off guard.

For some reason, it sounded weirdly foreign coming from him.

“What? You don’t like that either?”

“Huh? No… just, you surprised me…”

As Saewoo awkwardly averted his gaze, Jibeom sighed.

“You don’t like this, you don’t like that. You dislike a lot of things.”

Jibeom’s grumbling was beyond exasperating to Saewoo, and he blurted out defensively, “That’s not true! I like plenty of things too!”

“Like what?”

At Jibeom’s question, Saewoo listed off various things.

How he loved spinach, pumpkin fritters from snack shops, and coffee—although he limited himself to one cup a day because of caffeine.

They were all small, endearing details.

“Hm…”

Listening quietly, Jibeom finally parked in an outdoor lot, arriving at their destination.

“So, kissing’s okay, right?”

“What? Out of nowhere…”

“You like kissing, don’t you?”

“Wh-what? When did I ever…?!”

The moment Saewoo’s face went beet red, Jibeom undid his seatbelt and leaned in.

“Wh-what are you…?!”

Saewoo squeezed his eyes shut, expecting a kiss, but all he heard was a click as Jibeom released his seatbelt.

“We’re here.”

“…”

Jibeom’s calm tone brought Saewoo back to reality, and he opened his eyes.

Not only his face, but his whole body felt like it was burning.

“Ugh… so embarrassing…”

Saewoo slapped his cheeks to cool down his flushed face.

* * *