* * *

“Minho!”

Saewo, delighted, didn’t hesitate and quickly ran out of the building.

“Hello, Sparow nim! How have you been? I was just passing by and thought I’d drop in!”

Though it had only been a few days, Minho greeted him with a noticeably brighter expression.

His warm, gentle smile was contagious, making Saewo’s mood instantly lift.

At first, he hadn’t realized it, but now it was clear: Minho was more of a bear than a tiger.

“Did everything get resolved?”
“Ah…”

Minho was referring to the day he had given Saewoo a ride on his scooter, the day that had also involved Jibeom.

Though the incident hadn’t made it to the news, the neighborhood had been quite chaotic for a while.

Whether Minho truly didn’t know about the uproar or was pretending not to, he looked completely unbothered.

“Yes, thanks to you. I really appreciated the ride that day.”
“That’s a relief. I hate misunderstandings, so I’m glad everything worked out.”

His wide smile was genuine.

“Ah, but Minho… your teeth…?”

Saewoo asked cautiously, just to be sure, and Minho immediately jumped up in place.

“Wow, you’re observant! Yes! I got my customized dentures fitted!”

It wasn’t really a matter of observation; it was more that Minho’s pronunciation had greatly improved.

Saewoo decided not to mention that.

“You’ve waited a long time, so it’s good that you finally got them.”
“Right? Wanna see?”

“Heee—!”

Minho proudly showed off his newly-fitted, gleaming white dentures, clearly excited that Saewoo had noticed.

Saewoo examined his mouth curiously.

They sparkled brilliantly, maybe because the dentures were brand new.

“Wow…”

No, they were too dazzling… as if he were staring directly at the sun.

Squinting through the intense shine, Saewoo finally managed to get a closer look at the dentures.

‘Oh my god, what is that?’

His eyes widened in shock.

Upon closer inspection, only the two canines were colored — gold.

They were gold teeth.

‘Seriously… gold canines?’

Considering Minho’s already flashy scooter, it seemed he had gone all out with this tuning project.

But gold teeth? That was unexpected.

“What do you think? Aren’t they pretty?”

While Saewoo stood there dumbfounded by Minho’s unique taste, Minho looked at him with eager anticipation.

‘Well… even if it’s not to my liking, I have to respect his style…’

After hesitating for a moment, Saewoo nodded.

“Ha ha… Yes, they really suit you well, Minho.”

His compliment was awkward but sincere. It genuinely did suit Minho.

“Hehe, right? I can’t wait to see my friends’ reactions when the semester starts!”

Minho, eyes sparkling as brightly as his gold teeth, looked genuinely happy.

‘To think that not long ago, I was trembling in fear… Life really is full of surprises.’

Saewoo recalled his first meeting with Minho.

“By the way, Sparow nim, what were you up to? You were upstairs on the second floor earlier, right?”

“Ah, yeah. I was having photos taken of the room.”

“Wait… you didn’t forget that you promised to let me know, right?”

Minho seemed worried that Saewoo might be looking for new tenants, even though he was only having pictures taken.

“Of course not. The photo shoot is unrelated. I’m planning to set the rent and then reach out to you, Minho.”

Saewoo reassured him, adding that he had Minho in mind as the first tenant.

“What? Really? The first tenant…”

Minho’s eyes shone, almost tearful, as he looked at Saewo.

His eyes sparkled so much that Saewoo wondered if this really was the same person who used to be intimidating.

Calling him a predator now felt a bit much… since he’d already lost his fangs.

“Actually, Minho, there’s something I’ve been curious about.”

“Curious? Sure, ask me anything!”

Minho offered to answer whatever he could.

“Oh, it’s nothing major… Just, why do you want to move into this one-room apartment? You know it’s a bit small for someone like you…”

There was no need to elaborate.

Minho was well aware that the room size advertised on the slightly illegal flyer was modest.

“Ah… that’s…”

Minho scratched his head, understanding the implication.

“Well, my university is nearby…”

Then, as if embarrassed, Minho’s cheeks flushed red. He hesitated, then finally spoke.

“And my boyfriend’s place is really close by, too. I just want to be a bit closer to him.”
“Oh…”

The explanation made perfect sense, but for some reason, Saewoo momentarily blanked out.

‘To be near someone you love…’

Maybe that was just what love did.

Even Jinho and Ye Taekwon had moved in together as soon as they confirmed their feelings for each other.

Come to think of it, people married and lived together to be close, not just to date.

Saewoo knew this in theory, but hearing it now made his heart feel strangely heavy, as if a realization had struck.

“I see… Your boyfriend would be so happy to know that…”

“Enjoy it while it lasts~!”

“…?”

Before Saewoo could even finish, someone interrupted him, and not in a good way.

“What the…”

He turned around in shock, only to be startled.

Standing there was the old man who had shown up unannounced before, squinting his eyes mischievously.

“Oh, elder…? When did you…”

Saewoo stumbled backward, startled by the sudden appearance.

The old man had crept up so silently that neither Saewoo nor Minho had noticed.

“Sorry… Didn’t mean to startle you…”

The old man leaned heavily on his cane, looking even more stubborn than before.

“You’re the landlord… right?”
“Yes, that’s me… but what brings you here?”

Saewoo cautiously asked, hoping the old man wasn’t here on business related to him.

“The room… that room…”

Unfortunately, he was.

The elder blinked slowly, confirming the rumors Saewoo had heard about him moving out soon and looking for a place.

‘Oh… what do I do?’

Saewoo was troubled.

He wanted to offer the old man a room immediately, but the two-room unit on the third floor still needed repairs, and he wasn’t sure if offering a room like he had with Minho was the right choice.

“Elder, I’m really sorry… but the rooms aren’t quite ready yet…”

He tried to explain politely so as not to upset the old man.

“Eh? No room? But… I need to move soon!”

The elder’s hands trembled as he angrily thumped his cane against the floor, clutching a crumpled, illegal flyer from his pocket.

“It says here… good conditions, right? Even if I’m a worn-out old beast… I need to move by tomorrow!”

The old man was adamant.

He insisted this place was his only option, refusing to consider anywhere else.

“But… you can’t just show up like this and demand a room…”

Saewoo was flustered, and Minho, noticing Saewo’s discomfort, stepped in to help.

“Grandpa, your legs hurt, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do…”

“The room is on the second floor… Wouldn’t it be hard for you to go up and down the stairs?”

“I… I’m still strong. I even climbed up to the fourth floor quickly. The landlord would remember, wouldn’t he?”

“Ah…”

It was true.

There was no denying it—Minho had indeed made it all the way up to the fourth floor where Saewoo lived, evading the watchful eyes of the volunteer caretakers.

There was no room to argue.

“Then… Grandpa, would you take a look at this?”

“Hmm?”

When his words didn’t get through, Minho pulled up a real estate app on his phone and showed it.

It listed properties similar in price and features to the current one.

“Look at that~!”

But it was no use.

The old man seemed entirely fixated on the house shown on the flyer, stubborn as ever.

‘What do I do… How do I convince him…?’

Saewoo found himself at a loss, nervously shuffling on the spot, unsure of how to proceed in the face of this unexpected situation.

“Um… Mr. Landlord! Are you busy?”

Just then, while Saewoo was sweating bullets, feeling increasingly distressed, a photographer emerged from the building entrance and called out to him.

“Ah, sorry! I-I’ll come up right away…!”

Startled, Saewoo, who had completely forgotten about the photographer, quickly started moving toward the building.

“Wait! Hold on a second! That’s not it… Could you take a look at something before you head inside?”

“Yes?”

The photographer blocked Saewoo from entering the building, spreading his arms wide, and then showed him photos stored on the camera.

“I just found something in one of the rooms….”

“In the room…?”

With a puzzled look, Saewoo scanned the photos, but his eyes went wide when he came across something very unusual.

“W-what is this…?”

The photo showed a group of fluffy gray mice, huddling together with terrified expressions, clinging to one another tightly.

* * *