* * *
“J-Jibeom?”
“Grrowl…”
“Ahh…!”
Before Saewoo could even turn around in surprise, a thick bundle of fur pounced on him, wrapping him up completely.
Unable to withstand the weight, Saewoo lost his balance and tumbled onto the bed.
“Ugh, wait, why all of a sudden—”
“Grroooowl.”
(Stay still.)
Even as Saewoo blinked in confusion, the black panther sniffed around warily, its sharp eyes darting about before flicking its tongue out.
The rough texture scraped against Saewoo’s nape—not ticklish, but outright painful.
“Agh, ah— that hurts…!”
“…….”
At Saewoo’s pained groan, Jibeom softened his licks, this time just flicking the tip of his tongue against Saewoo’s skin.
As if asking, ‘Is this better?’
Their gazes met, and instead of answering, Saewoo reached out and petted him.
Short but warm and soft fur nestled pleasantly in his palm.
…Purr, purr.
A deep, resonant vibration filled the air immediately after, as if Jibeom had been waiting for this moment.
Saewoo stifled a laugh and scratched under the panther’s jaw and neck.
Pleased, Jibeom’s rounded ears—thicker than a regular cat’s—tilted back slightly, his eyes narrowing in contentment.
Then, rubbing his face against Saewoo’s cheek, Jibeom nuzzled in closer.
With each movement, his white, whisker-like hairs pricked against Saewoo’s skin.
‘Poke. Poke…?’
“…Oh, wait! This isn’t the time for this!”
Only then did Saewoo realize—he had completely forgotten about the sparrow elder outside the window. He froze, withdrawing his hand.
At that moment, Jibeom perked up his ears and, as if refusing to move aside, let his head plop down onto Saewoo’s slender shoulder.
“Ah… Jibeom, wait a second. There’s a sparrow elder outside the window…”
“Grrowl?”
(A sparrow?)
“Yeah, yeah, you remember? The flock of birds that helped us chase away those other leopard Beastmen back then?”
“…….”
Jibeom fell silent, seemingly recalling that day.
Then, without warning, he sprang up.
Despite his large build, his movements were startlingly light.
With a swift leap off the bed, he seized the curtain in his mouth.
“Ah, w-wait! Don’t move yet!”
It was only then that Saewoo realized Jibeom was about to pull the curtain aside.
“Ugh…!”
In his rush to stop him, a sharp ache flared up in his waist.
Panicked, he yanked the blanket over himself.
Whoosh!
“Ah…!”
As the blackout curtains were ripped away, the dazzling noon sunlight flooded the room.
Saewoo squeezed his eyes shut, clutching the blanket tighter.
The sparrow elder was definitely going to get the wrong idea…
How was he supposed to explain this?
“Grrowl.”
(Where’s the sparrow?)
“……?”
Jibeom let out a disgruntled sound and fluffed up his fur.
“Grroowl, grrrr…”
(There’s no sparrow. You were just making excuses to run away.)
“What…?”
Startled, Saewoo quickly opened his eyes and checked the window—sure enough, the sparrow was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe it had sensed a predator’s presence and flown away.
But Jibeom didn’t seem to believe the sparrow had ever been there in the first place.
“N-no! The sparrow elder really did peck at the window, I swear—”
“Grrowl.”
(I saw you trying to shift into a sparrow.)
“Ah, t-that…!”
Saewoo frantically shook his head, trying to deny it.
“I wasn’t trying to run away… I just… it just hurt too much…”
Even getting off the bed had been painful, so he’d considered shifting into a sparrow instead.
But Jibeom refused to believe him.
The realization made Saewoo’s eyes well up with frustration.
“Hmm…”
Jibeom, standing just outside the sunlight’s reach, silently watched him, his round eyes glinting.
Then, after a moment, the puffed-up fur on his body relaxed.
Whoosh!
“Huh…?”
Jibeom abruptly drew the curtains closed again.
Darkness engulfed the room.
Saewoo, startled, gripped the blanket tighter.
“Sleep a little more.”
Swish.
And before Saewoo could react, Jibeom shifted into his human form and pulled the still-dazed Saewoo into his arms, blanket and all.
Creaaak.
The bed let out a groan under their combined weight.
Not only was Saewoo lying down again—Jibeom had climbed in with him.
Blinking in confusion, Saewoo hesitated before cautiously asking,
“Then… you believe me now?”
“…….”
Jibeom didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he patted Saewoo’s chest through the blanket.
“Yeah.”
Was he just saying that to end the conversation?
Or did he really believe him?
Saewoo couldn’t tell.
The darkness obscured Jibeom’s expression, and he found himself oddly disappointed by that fact.
‘But why does he want me to sleep again? I’m already wide awake…’
Even as the thought crossed his mind, the warmth of the blanket and Jibeom’s rhythmic pats made his eyelids grow heavy again.
The embrace was secure and comforting, almost lulling him back to sleep.
‘I guess… it’s okay to rest a little longer. But now that I think about it, why did the sparrow elder come looking for me? Did they have some kind of news…?’
Sinking deeper into drowsiness, Saewoo wondered about that—then suddenly realized something.
‘Wait… how did they even know I was here…?’
That lingering question flickered briefly in his mind.
‘I’ll think about it… after I get some sleep…’
But before he could dwell on it, sleep pulled him under, scattering the thought like the wind.
❀°•❀°•❀
Saewoo didn’t manage to move properly again until late afternoon.
His waist and thighs were still sore, but he felt much better than before.
Even the swelling around his eyes had gone down, revealing the faint lines of his original double eyelids.
Of course, there were still… other aches he couldn’t bring himself to talk about.
He made a mental note to take a hot bath once he got home.
Maybe even use one of those bath bombs he hadn’t touched in a while.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Huh? Oh, just…”
Jibeom, leaning against the elevator wall with an indifferent expression, asked as they descended to the underground parking lot.
Since Saewoo was struggling with muscle pain, Jibeom had decided to drive him home.
“If it hurts, tell me. Don’t just endure it.”
“…….”
Saewoo gave a small nod without a word and quickly turned his gaze away.
For some reason, making eye contact felt strangely difficult.
Maybe it was because Jibeom looked different from usual, making things feel a little awkward.
Unlike his usual style, Jibeom was dressed simply in a white T-shirt, jeans, and a thick beige cardigan.
His hair, which he always slicked back, now fell over his forehead.
It was a little messy, as if he hadn’t even bothered to brush it, but somehow, that only made him look more like someone his actual age.
‘Looking like this… he really does seem like we’re the same age. Maybe I could even drop the formal speech…?’
“Why?”
Just as he was mumbling to himself, Jibeom caught Saewoo stealing glances at him, and their eyes met.
The sudden eye contact made Saewoo flinch, so he hurriedly changed the subject.
“Uh, that… why did you bring a seat cushion?”
“Because my ass is precious?”
“…….”
Saewoo didn’t need to ask whose ass he was talking about—it was obvious.
By then, the elevator doors had opened, and the two of them walked over to Jibeom’s car.
Clunk.
“Try sitting down.”
The moment he opened the passenger-side door, Jibeom laid the cushion down for him.
Saewoo hesitated briefly before cautiously lowering himself onto it.
The contours of the cushion pressed against him, making it sting a little at first, but it was definitely better than sitting directly on the hard mat.
“…Thanks.”
When Saewoo expressed his gratitude for the small gesture, Jibeom—who had just been fastening his seatbelt—glanced at him with a look of disbelief.
Then, with a quiet scoff, he let out a short sigh and said:
“…Don’t go around thanking a bastard like me so easily.”
Huh…?
Saewoo blinked in confusion.
It was so unexpected that he was at a loss for words.
Maybe it was because he had never seen Jibeom say something that actually sounded… right.
Sure, he had briefly cursed him that morning when he woke up feeling like a wreck, but since he was the one who made the first move, it wasn’t really Jibeom’s fault.
If anything, shouldn’t he be the one reflecting on his actions?
But then again, thinking about it… there wasn’t much to reflect on.
Remembering the mess of the previous night was a little embarrassing, but in the end, it had been something they both agreed to.
Click.
“Why are you just sitting there spacing out? Put on your seatbelt.”
Jibeom unbuckled his own seatbelt just to help Saewoo with his.
As he leaned in close, Saewoo noticed that he no longer smelled as nice as he had before.
For some reason, that realization left him feeling a little disappointed.
Once he was securely buckled in, they finally pulled out of the underground parking lot.
The route was familiar—Jibeom’s place wasn’t too far from Saewoo’s house.
But as they drove, the car suddenly veered into an unfamiliar street.
“Huh? This isn’t the way…”
Saewoo’s eyes widened as he noticed the unfamiliar road.
“I did something, didn’t I? Can’t exactly send you off on an empty stomach.”
“Oh…”
Come to think of it, all he’d eaten since waking up was the strawberries Jibeom gave him.
He was hungry, but… wasn’t this whole “rice partner” thing supposed to be over now?
As if reading his puzzled expression, Jibeom smirked and added,
“But first, we have to go say hello.”
“…Say hello?”
Saewoo blinked, completely clueless about who they were supposed to be greeting.
* * *
