His life was on the line.
He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but...
Chomp.
Hae Dam bit the owner's finger.
Not hard enough to draw blood. He only wanted to startle him.
"......"
The instant the owner's grip loosened, Hae Dam leaped down. Fortunately, although the floor was marble, a rug kept him from slipping.
He darted through the terrace door, which was open just wide enough for a single ferret to pass through.
The crow waiting outside immediately spread its wings.
The weasel scrambled onto its back, grabbed the feathers on either side of its neck with his front paws, and shook them.
The crow took off with a flurry of wings.
Phew. I'm alive.
He was breathing a sigh of relief when the crow spoke.
「What? Was that human trying to hurt you?」
「No. He was actually trying to help me.」
「Then why did you run away?」
「Sometimes, even help can do more harm than good.」
When Hae Dam looked back, he saw that the apartment owner had already followed him onto the terrace.
The young man was staring up at them, utterly dumbfounded, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
Well, anyone would be shocked to witness a ferret flying away on the back of a crow.
It had been a close call, but Hae Dam couldn't help laughing at the man's bewildered expression. It was the first time he'd seen anything other than perfect composure on that face.
Hae Dam had no intention of ever returning.
And yet, a week later, on a dark, deep night when even the moonlight was blocked by clouds, the weasel was back in the apartment complex's flower bed.
Or rather, he was lying collapsed in it.
He was simply too hungry to keep his promise to himself.
Over the entire week, he'd eaten nothing but some cheap red-ginseng jelly and a single ginseng root. That evening, he'd passed out while searching for a missing animal. When he regained consciousness, a stray cat was diligently licking him.
He had no idea how he'd managed to get from Mokpo to Seoul.
He'd reached his limit.
When he was younger, he could endure an entire week without food. But ever since turning twenty, physical exertion while hungry seemed to drain his strength three times faster than before.
Why? Why on earth is my body like this?
He couldn't get himself examined, so he might never know the reason.
Am I going to spend the rest of my life suffering from hunger like this?
The thought made him unbearably miserable.
Caw.
The crow landed beside him and gently pecked his side, careful not to hurt him.
「Where's my food?」
「I brought it.」
Hae Dam pointed toward the bread he'd hidden among the roots of a tree.
The crow danced with delight.
「That apartment is dark. Don't know if anyone's home. If someone is, probably asleep? Humans who live in apartments sleep at this hour!」
「Could you take me up there?」
「Hurry, get on.」
「Thanks. As always.」
Hae Dam climbed onto the crow's back.
Even on this bitterly cold winter night, the terrace door of the thirtieth-floor apartment stood open about a hand's breadth.
Just wide enough for one ferret to come and go.
Hae Dam cautiously slipped inside.
He could sense the owner's presence.
Just one wall away, lying on his bed.
Anyone could see that this was a meal prepared especially for a certain ferret.
Whirr.
Something caught his eye.
A pet camera that hadn't been there before.
Whirr.
The camera's head, which had been pointing elsewhere, turned until its lens was aimed directly at the weasel.
The owner had noticed the ferret's arrival and was controlling the camera.
He stays up late. Or did I wake him?
Hae Dam looked straight into the lens.
Is he planning to film me eating and post it on social media?
A peculiar ferret that eats ginseng and red ginseng.... Believe It or Not! An impossibly adorable little white animal doing a ginseng eating show!
If he uploads it to GemTube, it'll get a million views in a single day! Then animal experts from everywhere will come flocking, and they'll discover I'm actually a northern weasel, not a ferret!
I'll be abducted and taken to an animal shelter, and if I try to escape and they discover I can turn into a human....
Some evil organization controlling the criminal underworld will capture me and subject me to all kinds of torture, experiments, and research....
"......"
After some deliberation, Hae Dam decided to leave the camera alone.
He had a strange conviction that this lonely apartment owner wasn't the sort of person who would upload videos to the internet.
For now, he began chewing on a ginseng root.
His hunger quickly subsided.
He couldn't even use the excuse that he was merely disposing of ginseng roots that would otherwise be thrown away after being used to make liquor anymore.
But the owner had prepared all this especially for him, so surely enjoying the meal to its fullest was a form of repayment in itself....
There was a famous saying for situations like this.
When something like this happens, just tell yourself... it's because I'm cute.
After eating his fill, Hae Dam even provided a little bonus entertainment by adorably licking his front paws for the camera.
Only once his stomach was full did he begin to notice his surroundings.
The makeshift cardboard home that had occupied one end of the sofa was gone.
In its place stood a cat hideaway.
It was a monochrome little shelter that blended perfectly with the apartment's understated interior.
Hae Dam glanced at the pet camera once, then slipped inside.
It was warm even without a heat pack.
The cushion had a built-in heating function.
There was also a short wand with a toy mouse attached.
Hae Dam curled up on the cushion.
The unfamiliar luxury of a full stomach and the soothing warmth made his eyelids grow heavy.
I'll just lie down for a little while, then leave.
As everything fell silent, he heard a rustling sound from the bedroom.
Hae Dam immediately sat up, tense and alert.
"......"
He was ready to flee the moment the owner appeared, but the bedroom door remained closed.
There was another faint rustle, and then silence returned.
Apparently, the owner was settling down to sleep.
He didn't seem inclined to come out of his room.
How kind.
Could that kindness, perhaps, come from a terrible loneliness?
Hae Dam curled up again and closed his eyes.
2. The Even More Suspicious Apartment Owner
Ji Seokwon wondered if he'd misheard.
He asked again.
"What did you just say?"
"Last night, Prince Jaoud took his pet parrot out onto the terrace and lost it. He's terribly distressed and says he's so heartbroken he can't concentrate on business. He refuses to sign the contract."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It's what happens when the client knows he holds all the power."
"What the fuck does that mean? I'm asking what the fuck he's talking about!"
Unable to contain his fury, Ji Seokwon unleashed a barrage of punches on the punching bag suspended in the middle of his office.
Secretary Yoon moved a little farther away to avoid the dust flying off it.
His expression remained perfectly composed. After all, this was hardly the first time his notoriously short-tempered boss had suddenly started punching the bag in the middle of a workday.
Once Ji Seokwon had thoroughly beaten the punching bag, he returned to his seat.
Secretary Yoon knew perfectly well that his boss's ragged breathing had less to do with the physical exertion than with his undiminished rage.
"I've met all kinds of rich fucking assholes in this business, but this is the first time I've ever met a bastard who refuses to sign a contract because he lost his parrot."
"And you're the first boss I've ever worked for who can't control his temper, sir."
"Why the hell would he bring a pet all the way to Korea when he's here for a deal worth hundreds of billions of won, not a fucking vacation? Fine, let's say I can understand that much. But why would he take an animal with wings outside? He loses the bird because he's a moron, and now he won't sign the contract? Does that make any sense? The bastard's twenty-five and already has three kids! My seven-year-old nephew has more sense of responsibility than him!"
"Your eldest nephew turned eight this year, sir."
"So what if he's got oil? Huh? One punch from me and he'd go flying!"
"Having oil does rather settle the matter, sir. He is the sixth prince of an oil-producing nation, after all."
His secretary's unwavering composure only made Ji Seokwon's blood boil harder.
Unfortunately, Secretary Yoon was right.
Ji Seokwon was merely the head of a company in a country that didn't produce a single drop of oil.
That meant he had a duty to soothe the wounded feelings of a prince from an oil-rich nation.
"First, get the security camera footage from inside and outside the hotel. Send people out to search for the bird. Put up missing-parrot flyers everywhere. I'll talk to my sister, so make an announcement throughout the hotel, too. Ask if anyone's seen a parrot."
"Yes, sir."
"And go give that prince some words of comfort or something."
"I believe it would be better if you went personally, sir. That would demonstrate how seriously you're taking the disappearance of a parrot he considers part of his family."
"Aaaaargh!"
Ji Seokwon launched himself at the punching bag again.
Secretary Yoon quietly withdrew.
Late that afternoon, Ji Seokwon finally left his office and headed to the hotel.
The sixth prince of the oil-producing nation was sitting in the enormous reception room of his suite, murmuring prayers over and over in his native language.
Through an interpreter, Ji Seokwon assured him with exquisite politeness that they would do everything possible to find the bird and that he needn't worry.
Then he presented the contract.
The prince declared that he would not sign anything until his parrot was found.
Explaining that the parrot was practically family to him, he showed Ji Seokwon a photograph.
The bird certainly had beautiful pale-blue feathers.
But still.
"It looks way too fragile to survive this winter. It's probably already dead. Oh, don't translate that last part."
"Yes, sir."
It was early February, and South Korea was still in the depths of winter.
There had been sleet and snow just yesterday, and temperatures still dropped below freezing more often than they rose above it.
Fifteen hours had passed since the parrot disappeared the previous night.
By now, the poor thing was probably frozen chicken.
"Tell him we've sent people out and distributed flyers. Tell him we've even hired three animal detectives. It's ten below zero even in the middle of the day, but everyone is doing absolutely everything they can for his precious parrot. Really lay it on thick. Make sure he knows how much effort we're putting in."
"Yes, sir."
The interpreter launched into an impassioned explanation.
The prince's grief-stricken expression softened a little.