I may be a sick Sparrow, but I am still the Landlord chapter 15

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‘Wh-what is this…!’

As soon as Saewoo saw his reflection, he was shocked.

The sight of himself as a sparrow with a red plastic cap on his head was utterly ridiculous.

“Wow, it fits perfectly. Looks like it was made for you.”

Jibeom, on the other hand, seemed pleased, tapping the cap with his fingertip.

Tremble, tremble…

“Peep!”

Saewoo, thoroughly annoyed, shook his entire body and flung the cap off.

Thunk!

The cap flew across the room, hitting the wall mirror and falling to the floor.

Then Saewoo flapped his wings widely, preparing to fly away.

Jibeom let out an amused huff.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Quickly, he reached out and caught the ball of feathers.

“Peep!”

Even though Jibeom didn’t grip him tightly, Saewoo let out a loud cry as soon as he was caught.

“Hey, you’re going to lose your voice.”

Despite Jibeom’s warning, Saewoo continued to cry loudly, his voice echoing throughout the room.

“Peep! Peeeeep!”

(Let me go! Let me gooo!)

Saewoo screeched, practically throwing a tantrum.

By now, he figured if he acted obnoxious enough, maybe Jibeom would get fed up and release him.

But Jibeom only looked mildly troubled, with no intention of letting go.

‘I thought he was just a weakling, but he’s got more nerve than I expected.’

In fact, Jibeom found Saewoo’s stubbornness endearing.

He might look tiny and fragile, but this little bird was always thinking of ways to survive with that small head of his.

Jibeom wanted to tease the helplessly chirping sparrow in his hand a little more, but he knew that doing so might make Saewoo hate him even more, so he decided otherwise.

Pondering how to calm Saewoo down, he suddenly thought of a solution.

“Want me to put you in my mouth?”

“Peep, peep!”

He had expected Saewoo to stop crying instantly, but instead, Saewoo let out only a slight squeak of surprise before resuming his loud cries.

At least he wasn’t completely oblivious, as his crying had noticeably decreased.

Jibeom, holding back a grin, raised one corner of his mouth.

“Oh? You think I won’t do it?”

He brought the sparrow closer to his mouth, opening wide, and Saewoo’s gray eyes darted around anxiously.

“…Peep.”

Finally, Saewoo stopped crying, though he soon started weeping softly again, tears trickling down.

“Peep… peep… sniff…”

It wasn’t out of fear but rather a wave of sorrow from his pitiful state.

“What’s with the tears again…?”

Jibeom stopped, realizing that the sight of the crying sparrow with a big patch on his head was strangely adorable.

He had felt this way a few times since meeting this sparrow shifter, finding him surprisingly cute.

Holding back the urge to nuzzle the exposed skin of the patch, he grabbed a tissue.

‘Ah, he really is small….’

He tried wiping Saewoo’s tears but realized that, with such a tiny face, his large fingers would make it difficult.

So, Jibeom simply covered Saewoo’s head with a tissue.

Now, Saewoo looked like a disguised ghost one might see at a Halloween party.

“When are you going to stop crying?”

“Peep… peep…”

The little sparrow continued to sniffle under the tissue, soaking the tissue around his face with tears.

The sight of a weeping ghost-like sparrow almost made Jibeom laugh, but he bit his lip to hold it in.

Lowering his head, he whispered into Saewoo’s ear.

“…Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Stop crying.”

“Peep… sniff… sniff…”

“Okay? I said I’m sorry, and yet… No, never mind. I’m sorry, really.”

“Sniff… peep…”

Jibeom found himself repeatedly apologizing to Saewoo until the sniffles finally began to subside.

Eventually, Saewoo pecked at the now-damp tissue with his beak, flinging it aside.

“Are you done crying?”

“…Peep.”

Saewoo replied but quickly turned his head away.

‘Geez… I don’t know if he’s complex or just straightforward… Gets mad, pouts, then cries… Cute little thing….’

Jibeom chuckled softly and carried Saewoo out of the room.

“Here.”

“Peep…?”

Jibeom walked into the kitchen and set Saewoo down on a placemat on the table, avoiding the cold glass surface.

Saewoo’s eyes widened.

‘What’s this…? Did he… set this up himself?’

Saewoo looked around the table.

There were around ten side dishes, a bowl of multigrain rice, warm seaweed soup, and fresh, high-quality dishes. It didn’t seem like Jibeom’s cooking.

“I quickly called in a housekeeper. Happy now?”

Reading Saewoo’s thoughts, Jibeom sat across from him with a candid smile.

“Eat up, then take your medicine.”

“….”

“If you want to go home so badly, eat first.”

‘Wait… Does that mean I can go home?’

Saewoo had been expecting a grim outcome from Jibeom’s earlier ominous remarks about his ankle, but now, it seemed he could leave.

With a slightly embarrassed expression, Saewoo took a small sniff of the food.

In truth, he was starving.

He hadn’t eaten properly in two days and had even thrown up yesterday; his stomach felt like it was clinging to his back.

Clink.

As if ignoring Saewoo, Jibeom picked up his spoon, quietly scooping a large portion of the multigrain rice into his mouth.

“Hm, it’s not bad.”

He spoke as if he’d never tasted multigrain rice before.

‘That looks delicious….’

Saewoo stared blankly at Jibeom eating, his gaze settling on the closest dish: stir-fried barley shrimp.

Its savory aroma hinted at a spicy seasoning—a side dish Saewoo loved.

‘I really want to eat…’

Part of him wanted to transform into his beast form and pick up the food with his hands right away, but Jibeom’s presence held him back.

The memory of Jibeom laughing hysterically at his botched haircut, leaving a bald spot, still bothered him. Just thinking about it killed his appetite.

Whether Jibeom sensed Saewoo’s hesitation or not, he was already halfway through his meal and rummaging through his pocket.

“I was going to show you after eating, but you seemed distracted.”

“Pii…?”

Jibeom took out his phone and showed it to Saewoo.

“The real estate scammer you mentioned. This is her, right?”

“Piit!”

Saewoo chirped loudly at the sight of the woman in the photo.

It was blurry, but it was unmistakably the real estate agent who had once shown him such a friendly smile.

“Whoa, whoa.”

Seeing Saewoo flap his wings in a fit of excitement, Jibeom pulled the phone back and continued.

“I get why you’re looking for the agen, but he’s just a front. He’s backed by someone else.”

‘W-What…? A backer? Could he be connected to some gang…?’

Saewoo’s mind spun at Jibeom’s words, and unpleasant memories from his time in the human world began creeping back.

There had once been a wave of rental scams that shook the entire country.

An organized group preyed on ordinary citizens, leaving countless people financially ruined, and some even took their own lives.

Saewoo had heard tragic stories about such incidents happening in a building he once stayed in.

Even in a fictional world, it seemed such schemes were universal, whether among humans or beast-folk.

Tap, tap. Jibeom, noticing the sudden darkness clouding Saewoo’s expression, drummed his fingernails on the table.

“But there is a way to catch the agent.”

“Pipit?!”

(A way?!)

Saewoo’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was a hopeful statement.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you after we eat.”

Jibeom stood up, thinking that whether Saewoo was in beast or bird form, he was surprisingly easy to handle.

“I won’t come back into the kitchen until you’re done, so eat at your own pace.”

Realizing why Saewoo was hesitating to eat, Jibeom decided to leave him alone for a bit.

“Pii.”

Just as Jibeom was about to step out of the kitchen, Saewoo let out a short chirp to call him back.

“Pipit, pipibibibit.”

“What?”

Jibeom’s eyes widened as Saewoo made a series of sounds.

“You’re… asking me to feed you?”

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