* * *

“What’s up with you today, love? What’s gotten into you?”

Jibeom, caught off guard for just a second, asked with a relaxed look on his face.

Saewoo didn’t respond but hopped right up to the bowl of stir-fried shrimp.

“Peep.”

“You want me to feed you? But… love, how about turning back into your suin form? Then I can feed you with my mouth.”

“Peep!”

“You don’t want to?”

“Peep.”

“…You really want me to feed you like this?”

“Peep.”

Saewoo answered cheerfully, as if there was nothing strange about it at all.

‘You little…’

Jibeom was utterly baffled.

He felt that if he didn’t go along with it, Saewoo might throw a tantrum or outright refuse to eat.

Sure, he’d listen if Jibeom gave him a good scare a few times, but that wasn’t how he wanted to handle it.

“Alright, alright.”

Deciding to let it slide just this once, Jibeom returned to the dining chair he’d offered Saewoo and sat down.

“Here.”

With a click, he picked up a small shrimp with his chopsticks and held it out.

Saewoo blinked his eyes innocently and let out a “Peep–”

“It’s too big?”

“Peep-peep.”

(Cut it.)

It was a demand to cut the shrimp into bite-sized pieces.

Jibeom shot a deadpan look at the sparrow, who wasn’t much bigger than a mouthful himself, then got up to fetch a pair of kitchen scissors and did as requested.

Snip, snip, snip.

Saewoo used his beak to poke at the tiny shrimp pieces on the plate, laughing inwardly.

‘How do you like that, you beast? Isn’t this a hassle?! Sure, it’s a bit petty, but… this is my revenge!’

Peck, peck! Peck, peck-peck!

Saewoo hadn’t quite forgiven the bald spot incident yet, and he wanted to get back at Jibeom however he could.

Not that he believed Jibeom would actually obey him forever.

“…….”

Slice, slice.

But maybe out of some sense of guilt, Jibeom quietly cut up every side dish just as Saewoo wanted.

‘Hmm… still, he doesn’t seem like as much of a villainous brute as he’s said to be if he’s willing to go this far.’

As he pecked at the grains of rice scattered on his plate, Saewoo thought it over, then, for the first time, really looked at Jibeom’s face while he carefully tore the seaweed into sparrow-sized pieces.

‘Huh… he really is good-looking.’

Villains usually have unpleasant faces, but since this is a BL novel, maybe it’s expected.

Jibeom’s face was quite handsome for a supposed villain—though, that’s only if he stopped scowling so much.

“What are you staring so hard at, love?”

“……!”

Saewoo quickly tried to calm his startled heart.

Had Jibeom noticed that he’d been staring?

Jibeom gave a sly grin as he asked.

“Peep… peep-peep. Peep!”

“Something else? Alright, alright.”

Feeling flustered, Saewoo impatiently requested that another side dish be cut, and Jibeom nodded and cut all ten side dishes into tiny pieces.

His fingers started to go numb from all the scissoring, which he wasn’t used to doing, even for kids.

“Ugh… even a child wouldn’t ask for this…”

Looking at the sparrow that was pecking away at the side dishes on his plate, Jibeom muttered in a tone of disbelief.

He’d never once done something like this, feeding someone else—and a sparrow, no less, not even another beast.

It was absurd even to him.

His subordinates would probably lose their minds if they knew.

They’d likely refuse to believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes, though he had no intention of showing them.

“Pfft…”

After Saewoo finished off the small serving of mixed grains, he leaned back against the edge of his bowl, letting out a big sigh.

His silver-colored belly, though only slightly, now protruded a bit more.

“Full?”

Feeling pleased after his meal, Saewoo buried his head in the fluffy feathers on his chest and gave a small nod.

His eyes were half-closed by now.

Jibeom felt a chuckle escape.

He’d heard that birds were quite simple creatures—chasing warm places year-round, scavenging whatever food they could find.

Apparently, this sparrow was no exception; with a full belly, he was already getting sleepy.

“Alright, time for your medicine.”

Jibeom brought over a packet of Saewoo’s medicine and tore it open, carefully pouring purified water into a cup and setting it beside him.

But then he stopped in realization.

‘Don’t tell me…’

The sparrow remained sitting beside the bowl, blankly staring at the large pills.

“Peep-peep.”

(Cut it.)

Once again, Saewoo requested that the pills be crushed into easy-to-eat pieces.

“This isn’t something you can just cut up, you know.”

“Peep-peep-peep.”

“What? You want it powdered?”

It was a rather outrageous demand.

Jibeom stared in disbelief at the shameless sparrow, who promptly avoided his gaze.

“Hah… are you trying to make me run in circles on purpose?”

“Peep!” Saewoo responded sharply, though he still wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Ah… seriously, what am I supposed to do…”

Resigned, Jibeom began searching the kitchen for something to crush the pills.

Watching him go through all that effort, Saewoo’s mood softened, and he let out a long yawn with his tiny beak.

---

Snooze, snooze.

Right after taking the powdered medicine dissolved in water, the sparrow began nodding off, unable to keep his head up.

He’d been begging to hear about the real estate scammer just moments ago, but every time Jibeom tried to talk, he’d drift right back to sleep.

Whether it was just him or his suin form that reacted this way, Saewoo couldn’t tell.

“We’re almost there. Sleep if you’re tired.”

“Peep…”

(I’m not…)

Even as Saewoo insisted he wasn’t sleepy, he kept nodding off, so Jibeom carefully placed him in a small paper bag and got behind the wheel.

Watching the drowsy sparrow swaying in the bag with each bump in the road, Jibeom couldn’t help but be amused.

“This is ridiculous…”

And then there was the little red plastic cap visible between the bag handles, which made him chuckle even more.

Saewoo had adamantly thrown it off before, but when he mentioned going home, he quickly popped it back on his head.

Clearly, that bald spot was still bothering him.

Taps.

Jibeom lightly pressed down on the cap, careful not to wake Saewoo.

The red cap matched well with the slight reddish tint on the feathers covering the bald spot.

“Guess I really should get him a proper hat…”

Or maybe even a wig, since it would take at least two weeks for the feathers to grow back to normal.

A wig might not be such a bad idea for now.

“Wait… don’t tell me you’re planning to stay like this for two weeks?”

Given how insistent Saewoo had been on being fed and medicated as a sparrow, Jibeom couldn’t help but think he might actually stay this way until his feathers grew back.

“This one’s going to be a handful…”

Rubbing his chin, Jibeom looked at the red plastic cap rising and falling with each of Saewoo’s little breaths.

He resisted the urge to poke it and wake him up.

Then, all of a sudden, he realized something.

“Oh, hell… does this mean I’m out for two weeks?”

It was quite the predicament.

Sure, the rut only came once a month, and it had just ended, so it wasn’t exactly urgent.

But Jibeom was utterly captivated by Saewoo, enough to want him as his lover right by his side.

Honestly, from Jibeom’s perspective, it was downright infuriating.

He’d made it clear he was interested, that he didn’t want things to end after just one night.

But Saewoo gave no clear response and kept avoiding him.

Even so, it was obvious it was only a matter of time.

Sometimes, Jibeom felt like he might just pounce on him.

“Besides, you don’t seem strong enough for frequent sessions…”

Startled, Jibeom paused mid-murmur, feeling a pang of regret.

“Wait a minute. Then, how did we…? I’m sure one time wouldn’t have been enough for me.”

Even though he couldn’t remember anything, Jibeom knew his body well.

During a rut, his unchecked desire would completely overtake him, turning him into a true beast.

When he’d undressed the unconscious Saewoo, he’d found it odd—Saewoo’s smooth, white skin had no bite marks or other traces.

“Hmm…”

Jibeom glanced at the peacefully sleeping Saewoo, a sly smile tugging at his lips.

Whatever it took, he would find out firsthand.

* * *