I may be a sick Sparrow, but I am still the Landlord chapter 23

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“Food?”

“Yes, food. What would you like? My treat.”

Since Jibeom had helped him out, and Saewoo wanted to show his gratitude, he offered readily.

But oddly, Jibeom stayed silent.

“Is food… not appealing?”

Maybe he wanted something else?

Saewoo hadn’t considered any other options, so he looked a bit flustered.

‘What should I do…’

As he pondered, Jibeom stared intently at him and replied.

“Anything’s fine. As long as it’s not alive.”

Saewoo breathed a sigh of relief, now certain that, as a predator, he would never skip a meal.

Click.

Stepping out of the room with Saewoo, Jibeom went straight to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of sparkling water, handing it to the gas technician.

“Thanks for your hard work. Have a drink.”

“Oh, uh… thank you.”

The technician accepted the sparkling water with a slightly taken-aback expression.

“I just took a drink from your fridge. That okay?”

“Sure, no problem…”

Saewoo had bought a bulk supply of sparkling water, so he didn’t mind giving some away.

But something else caught his attention.

Only a moment ago, Jibeom had seemed annoyed, but now he looked oddly cheerful.

Could food really shift his mood so drastically?

‘Hmm… maybe he’s just hot-headed…’

While pondering, Saewoo continued to think about what kind of meal would be best.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

“It’s not far. But it’s nice to see you dressed warmly.”

“Yeah, the weather report said it would be cold today.”

After the gas installation was complete, Saewoo hopped into Jibeom’s car, heading to the outskirts of the city for a scenic spot with a good restaurant, at Jibeom’s suggestion.

Thinking of the last place they went to for stew, Saewoo wondered if Jibeom might actually be a bit of a foodie, so he followed along without any hesitation.

“Why the hat?”

“Oh, just in case…”

He’d changed his part to cover it, but if the wind blew, his patchy hair would show.

So he’d decided to wear a hat whenever he went out for now.

Click.

“Here, try this.”

Jibeom handed Saewoo a tube of ointment he’d taken from the console box.

“What is this?”

“What was it called…? Ah, hair growth serum. Remember that raccoon guy at my place? I asked if he knew anything good for hair growth, and he recommended this. It’s made from medicinal herbs, so it’s gentle.”

“…”

“I didn’t say it was for you, so thanks to you, everyone thinks I’m balding.”

It seemed that Jibeom didn’t mind what others thought of him.

For a moment, Saewoo envied his laid-back nature.

With his own tiny bald spot, he’d been too embarrassed to even tell his close friend Jinho about it honestly.

‘Is it because he has no insecurities…?’

Maybe it was because he was a predator—a predator’s natural status might make them see things differently from the average person.

“Do you find predators that scary?”

“What?”

At that moment, as if he could read Saewoo’s thoughts, Jibeom asked about predators.

The way he phrased the question was unusual, though.

Wasn’t it normal for regular people to be afraid of predators?

“Yes, I suppose…”

Saewoo replied, nervously fidgeting with his hands.

If it weren’t for Jinho’s encouragement, he wouldn’t have dared to call Jibeom or request the gas installation.

To him, predators were simply fearsome beings.

“Ha… What do you all think predators are, anyway? Sure, there are some weird ones, but most of us live pretty much the same way you do.”

“…”

Jibeom was right.

He hadn’t had much contact with predators before, but since moving into this building, he’d even joined an online community for predators out of curiosity.

He’d found it was actually better than he’d expected.

Their lives weren’t all that different from those of regular people.

But even among predators, there were differing opinions and some prejudices toward regular folks.

In short, predators and regular folks lived similarly.

Saewoo, feeling a bit embarrassed, shared this with Jibeom, scratching his head.

“I think I’m finally starting to understand… To be honest, I was pretty nervous about requesting the gas service, but that technician was really nice. I left him a five-star review.”

“What? You gave that bear a five-star rating? The same guy, right?”

Saewo tried to reflect on his biases against predators with his comment, but Jibeom only seemed irritated.

“Don’t be fooled by them being a bit friendly. Predators are all the same.”

“…?”

Earlier, Jibeom had seemed to be against discrimination, but now he was muttering as if not a single predator could be trusted.

He even added that he was, of course, an exception. The hypocrisy was astonishing.

Still, Saewoo decided to listen to Jibeom, as it helped him categorize the types of predators.

For example, the black bear he met today seemed to belong to the same category as the landlord from last time.

And then…

“So, that white leopard… Song Hoyoon, he’s dangerous too, right?”

“What? Why’d you remember his name? Forget it. You won’t be meeting him again.”

“Oh, but…”

Jibeom’s sharp tone made Saewoo hesitate, but then he spoke.

“There’s… a picture of him.”

“What? A picture?!”

Screech!

Suddenly, the sound of tires skidding on asphalt filled the air, and the car jolted.

“…Ah!”

Jibeom quickly swerved onto the shoulder.

As the car stopped, he turned to Saewo.

“Where? Where was it taken? The restroom?”

“Huh? Y-yes…”

“What?! That sick pervert!”

Clenching his fists until his veins popped, Jibeom slammed his hand on the steering wheel, making Saewoo tremble.

The low, menacing growl that followed made him shrink back.

‘Definitely a hothead…!’

Saewo mentally prepared himself to shift into his bird form and escape if necessary.

“Sigh… Sorry, did I scare you? It’s just… hearing his name riles me up.”

After a while, Jibeom calmed himself and apologized to Saewoo.

Maybe it wasn’t just his temper; there could be some lingering resentment over territory disputes.

Saewoo could understand that much.

“…But why are you only telling me this now?”

Actually, never mind that last thought.

“Well, it wasn’t like it was a weird photo…”

“But it was still taken, wasn’t it?”

“…”

The intense look in Jibeom’s eyes made Saewoo too embarrassed to mention that the picture captured him partially transformed into his bird form.

He worried that Jibeom might brush it off as unimportant.

“Alright… I don’t know what kind of photo it is, but don’t worry. I’ll make sure it gets erased.”

As Jibeom sighed and assured him, Saewoo mentally placed him alongside the black bear and the landlord in his categories.

“…Thank you, Jibeom.”

When Saewoo murmured his thanks, Jibeom unclenched his fists and gave a slight cough, followed by a smirk.

“Of course. You owe me a lot, right?”

His mood lifted entirely, Jibeom grinned widely.

“Then you can treat me to another meal.”

Saewoo simply thought, Wow, he really loves eating out.

Guess my budget will take a hit this month, and nodded.

“Really? Let’s see…”

With a grin, Jibeom counted on his fingers.

“I’ve treated you twice, cooked for you once at my place, came to your house today, and agreed to that promise just now—so that’s five times. You owe me five meals.”

“Huh…”

Saewoo was more shocked that Jibeom remembered all that, rather than the fact he’d have to treat him to five meals.

This definitely seemed…

“Are you J—?”

“What?”

“No, never mind. I’ll treat you.”

Saewoo’s quick agreement made Jibeom’s eyes briefly widen, then narrow.

“Or, you know… we could settle it all at once with something else.”

“Something else?”

Saewoo blinked, genuinely curious.

“What would that be?”

Jibeom wrapped an arm around Saewoo’s shoulder and looked at him with a glint in his golden eyes.

“Sleep with me. One more time.”

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