* * *

“What… put me down!”

Saewoo struggled, his feet dangling, but Jibeom wouldn’t budge.

His face grew more shadowed as he leaned in closer.

‘Oh no…’

Thinking Jibeom was about to kiss him, Saewoo threw his hands up to cover his mouth.

But Jibeom ignored it and pressed his nose to Saewoo’s neck, sniffing.

‘Definitely smells like a predator… but it’s faint, just a newbie scent.’

Internally, Jibeom smirked.

The pheromones on Saewoo were light, hinting that he hadn’t spent much time with the other guy.

His nerves relaxed, satisfied with this confirmation.

“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but there’s nothing going on!”

Realizing it wasn’t a kiss, Saewoo’s face turned scarlet as he yelled.

His flushed cheeks and trembling lips made Jibeom want to bite them.

Jibeom tilted his head, watching Saewoo’s innocent expression, as a small smile escaped him.

‘Is he… laughing?’

Feeling both trapped and embarrassed, Saewoo suddenly snapped.

“Fine! So what if it’s true! What would you even do about it?”

One of Jibeom’s eyebrows arched, but his smirk stayed.

He glanced around before calmly walking inside the building with Saewoo still in his arms.

When they reached the locked entrance, he set him down gently.

Saewoo’s feet touched the ground, and he let out a sigh of relief, grateful he hadn’t been completely overpowered.

“Why are you doing this? You can’t just show up and act like this!”

Saewoo clenched his fists, determined not to back down this time.

Jibeom looked at him intently, then ruffled Saewoo’s hair with a careless hand.

“You’ve grown up well.”

“Ugh! Stop that!”

As Jibeom’s large hand tousled his hair, Saewoo yelled in irritation, his eyes narrowing in frustration.

He even grabbed Jibeom’s arm and bit down.

“You keep this up, I’ll bite you for real.”

Having already bitten him, Saewoo muttered the threat anyway.

Jibeom just looked at him with a strange expression.

“Only a bite? Why not just turn into a sparrow and escape?”

‘Wait… why didn’t I think of that?’

Saewoo blinked, momentarily lost.

Whenever Jibeom acted this way, he usually ran.

But this time, he didn’t want to run; he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding and have an actual conversation.

‘A conversation? Really… a conversation?’

Just three weeks ago, the thought of ever crossing paths with a wild animal had never occurred to me, and if I did, I was determined to avoid it at all costs.

But now, things feel entirely different.

Of course, wild beasts still scare me.

But if it’s Jibeom… well, that’s a different story.

“Who would’ve thought I’d have a casual conversation with a predator someday…”

Caught off guard by this sudden change, but also a little fascinated, Saewoo could only stare blankly at Jibeom.

“Alright.”

Jibeom answered shortly and took a step back.

“I won’t touch you.”

When Jibeom, whom Saewoo thought would hold out longer, backed off without resistance, Saewoo finally let go of the coat hem from his mouth.

The gray coat now bore a tiny bite mark from him.

“Oh, I left a mark…”

Feeling embarrassed, Saewoo was about to pull out a wet wipe from his bag when Jibeom handed him the phone he’d shown him earlier.

“Oh.”

“Keep it with you. Who knows when I might call?”

Saewoo’s heart skipped a beat.

He hadn’t thought he was waiting for Jibeom to contact him, yet that remark stirred something inside him.

“Where did you find my phone?”

“At that food stand we went to. When I called, the elderly lady who owns it answered, grumbling and calling me by some other guy’s name, Jinho.”

“Oh, so that’s…”

So, the person he’d called earlier was Jibeom after all.

“Jinho is my college friend. We used to go to that food stand a lot when we were in school. That’s probably why she thought it was him.”

“Ah…”

Jibeom nodded slightly, understanding from Saewoo’s explanation.

“Hold on.”

Then, something clicked, and Jibeom’s eyes lit up.

“Jinho? Could it be the Jinho I know?”

Another jolt hit Saewoo.

As much as he hated how often Jibeom could rattle him, it was unavoidable given the connections between them.

“So, you understand everything now—no more misunderstandings?”

“Misunderstandings?”

“You said something about a misunderstanding earlier.”

“…Ah!”

Saewoo immediately pulled out a flyer from his bag.

“What’s with this? Jibeom, you made these, didn’t you?”

“What is this?”

Contrary to what he’d expected, Jibeom took the flyer with a blank look and handed Saewoo back his thermos.

“How tacky. But it seems they didn’t leave out anything important.”

“Huh? Important stuff?”

“Can’t you see? Here.”

“Where? Lower your hand a bit; I can’t see it.”

Saewoo, curious, gripped the flyer and looked closer.

His fingers, chilled from the cold outside, were visibly pale and trembling.

Seeing that, Jibeom casually plopped down on the ground.

“…Huh?”

“It’s about the conditions.”

Without hesitation, he pointed to the “tenant requirements” section on the flyer.

“Why is this important…?”

Saewoo, at a loss, crouched down next to Jibeom.

“It’s important. You’re renting here, aren’t you? But only predators can live here. So, wouldn’t it be better if they fit the conditions—vegetarian, not in heat, no sharp fangs? Otherwise, do you want any predator just coming in? Are you planning to stay cooped up inside forever?”

“Well, no…”

Saewoo couldn’t find any way to refute Jibeom’s explanation and looked down, disheartened.

Since he’d decided to stay in this building, he needed to make ends meet by renting it out.

“But whoever made this… they did it without the owner’s permission?”

“What? …Yes.”

“Some lunatic…”

Jibeom’s face darkened as he muttered a curse.

Saewoo was thrown off.

He’d been so sure it was Jibeom’s doing, so he hadn’t anticipated this reaction at all.

“You really didn’t make this flyer?”

“Do I look like I’d have the time for this? Why would I go around handing out something like that?”

“….”

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed true.

After all, there was no reason for Jibeom to make and distribute flyers for Saewoo.

“Yeah, it’s not like we’re in a serious relationship… huh?”

Feeling a bit sulky, Saewoo couldn’t believe the word “serious relationship” had even crossed his mind.

“Still, isn’t it serious if your address and phone number were exposed?”

In the meantime, Jibeom, still scrutinizing the flyer, pulled out his phone.

“Wait. Let me track down whoever did this…”

“Oh, no! It’s okay. I don’t want any more fuss over this…”

Saewoo quickly stopped him as Jibeom prepared to call someone.

Rumors were already spreading through the neighborhood about the small birdman who became the building’s landlord. He didn’t want to make the situation worse.

He still didn’t know who had made and distributed the flyers, but now he was certain it wasn’t Jibeom.

“Alright, then.”

Not wanting to cause Saewoo any more trouble, Jibeom slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Still, whoever did this must be insane. But at least think it over.”

Jibeom tapped the tenant requirements on the flyer once more with his fingertip before handing it back to Saewoo.

“….”

Saewoo stared at the flyer in his hand.

Somehow, despite the ridiculous nature of the requirements, Jibeom’s reasoning started to make a bit of sense.

“Actually, today… a student reached out after seeing this flyer. He’s a tiger with missing teeth…”

“A toothless tiger?”

“Yeah, apparently it runs in his family. They have a rare condition where some of their teeth fall out. It’s kind of sad. He’s only twenty-one…”

As Saewoo recalled Minho’s bright smile, he felt a pang of sympathy.

Jibeom observed him quietly and then spoke in a calm voice.

“Well… you might not know this, but many predators are born with rare conditions like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, maybe it’s their diet.”

“Oh…”

Nodding in agreement, Saewoo thought it made sense.

Even in the human world, eating meat was linked to various health conditions.

Swish.

As Saewoo nodded, Jibeom suddenly shrugged off his coat.

“Huh? Why are you taking off your coat?”

“I’m hot.”

“But it’s cold…”

“Thinking about someone passing out these flyers without permission made my blood boil.”

“….”

Saewoo should have been the one upset, but Jibeom’s reaction felt… endearing.

“Here.”

Jibeom draped the coat over Saewoo’s shoulders.

It was so large that it almost swept the floor, so Saewoo quickly stood up, though it barely helped.

“Haha! What is this? I look like a walking coat rack!”

“Oh, coat rack?”

Jibeom laughed out loud, teasing him.

Saewoo knew he was being made fun of, but somehow, it didn’t bother him.

In fact, seeing Jibeom’s smile, with the little folds under his eyes, made his heart flutter just a little.

* * *