SLC 33

“Haah.”

Kim Jinkyung brushed back his sweat soaked hair.

Namsan, the Han River riverside, the cafe where they had tutoring sessions together. He searched everywhere so thoroughly that there was nowhere left he hadn’t checked. Just in case, he even asked people nearby whether they had seen Mok Seongha, describing his appearance.

“He’s over 190 tall, and his eye color is gold. He’s good looking.”

When he asked like that, people who hadn’t seen Mok Seongha shook their heads with expressions that asked “What nonsense are you talking about?” But anyone who had seen him even once immediately understood and their eyes lit up.

“That person? Of course I know him.”

Most of the cafe employees they had visited remembered Mok Seongha, especially the female staff, with a 100 percent success rate.

“Ah, him! I remember. Today? No. He didn’t come today. When is he coming again? Let me know the day he comes. I want to call my friends and show them. I said I saw a crazy handsome guy and nobody believes me!”

Just in case, Kim Jinkyung searched nearby cafes as well. He wondered if maybe Seongha had gone to a different place by mistake. But he couldn’t find him anywhere.

He checked his phone. There was only one message that had come earlier from Secretary Kang. The latter had said he would contact him if he found him, so they probably still hadn’t. …Honestly, he wished that they were both working together to mess with him because Seongha hated him.

Kim Jinkyung sighed and checked the time. It was already well past midnight. Most cafes were closed, and only the signs of a few bars flickered here and there.

There was nowhere left to go. Should he go home and wait for now?

As he moved his heavy legs, a thought occurred to him.

There was one place left he had gone to with Mok Seongha.

Kim Jinkyung immediately started running. It wasn’t that far, and even waiting for a taxi would be a waste of time. His heart felt like it was about to burst, but he continued running.

Please, please, please be there.

Kim Jinkyung prayed silently as he pressed the elevator button. He just hoped that Mok Seongha, who didn’t know how to take a bus or the subway, wasn’t wandering around somewhere.

[The door is opening.]

When the elevator arrived at the 9th floor, the door opened with a cold mechanical sound. Kim Jinkyung walked across the hallway. The moment he saw a tall man kneeling in front of the front door, he felt so relieved and exhausted that he nearly fainted.

“..Seongha-ssi.”

He must have known that Kim Jinkyung was there, but the man didn’t lift his head. Kim Jinkyung approached and called him again.

“Seongha-ssi. Are you okay?”

Mok Seongha slowly lifted his head. His face was expressionless.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

Mok Seongha shook his head. Kim Jinkyung bent his knees and sat down right in front of him.

“Do you have a fever?”

He placed his palm on Mok Seongha’s forehead. A lukewarm body temperature was transmitted through his palm. Kim Jinkyung muttered “That’s a relief,” and pulled his hand away.

“What’s a relief?”

“Pardon?”

“That I have to go on a blind date with a woman?”

“……”

“So that’s a relief?”

It seemed he had talked with the chairman and changed his mind. That was a good thing. It was something he needed, and something the old man needed as well.

Even knowing that, Kim Jinkyung couldn’t say anything.

It wasn’t his in the first place, so it made sense to let it go, yet his feelings persisted.

“I’ll contact Secretary Kang.”

Kim Jinkyung took his phone out of his pocket. Mok Seongha grabbed his arm. Because the wound still hadn’t healed, Kim Jinkyung frowned and let out a small sound. Mok Seongha’s expression darkened.

“Ah, it’s okay. It just itches a little….”

Mok Seongha let go.

“…Sorry.”

Why was he apologizing so obediently? It made him feel both fond and pitiful.

Kim Jinkyung smiled and pulled Mok Seongha’s hand.

“Stand up. If you sit in a cold place too long, you’ll catch a cold.”

He stood up obediently as Kim Jinkyung led him by the hand.

“I’ll take you home.”

Just in case, Kim Jinkyung always carried the car keys. The car was parked in this apartment’s parking lot, so he could put him in the car and go to the mansion.

“I’m not going.”

“…….”

“…I’ve got nowhere to go.”

It was strange to say he had nowhere to go when there was a huge mansion, but Kim Jinkyung figured he must have been extremely upset.

“Let me sleep here.”

When Kim Jinkyung didn’t respond, Mok Seongha promptly added,

“I won’t do anything. I’ll just sleep….”

“You can’t sleep here.”

Mok Seongha’s expression stiffened for a moment.

“I moved.”

“Why? Because of me?”

Kim Jinkyung shook his head.

“No. A senior I know lent me this place temporarily. Mine is close to here. Do you want to walk? We can also take the car.”

Kim Jinkyung deliberately spoke brightly. Mok Seongha said he’d walk and quietly followed behind him.

“But there’s a condition. You have to agree no matter what.”

Mok Seongha slowly nodded.

The moment they entered the studio, Mok Seongha’s expression fell.

What is this?

It wasn’t hard to read shock and disbelief in his eyes.

“…The bathroom has a room attached to it?”

That was the conclusion Mok Seongha reached.

“Studio apartments are originally this small. Sit down.”

At Kim Jinkyung’s words, Mok Seongha plopped down onto the bed. With two men in a studio, one of them over 190 tall, the already small room felt even more cramped.

“Secretary Kang is asking me to check whether you ate.”

Kim Jinkyung asked while looking at the message he had just received.

That was the condition Kim Jinkyung had set while coming here.

He had to talk to Secretary Kang no matter what and get permission.

He didn’t want to be suspected as a kidnapper again, and thinking about how Seongha must have been running around all day, contacting him as soon as possible was the right thing to do.

“I didn’t eat.”

“Aren’t you hungry? I can make ramen…. or should I go buy something else?”

“No.”

Mok Seongha shook his head.

He didn’t eat food outside. He didn’t eat food given by others. The only food that entered his mouth was food made at the mansion.

“Then let’s go early tomorrow morning and you can eat then.”

Kim Jinkyung informed Secretary Kang of Mok Seongha’s decision.

Secretary Kang

If you need anything, please contact me anytime. I will have a lunchbox prepared.

Kim Jinkyung put his phone down on the desk and turned toward Seongha.

“Um, may I wash up first?”

He had been running around for hours, so his whole body was drenched in sweat. Mok Seongha nodded. Kim Jinkyung went into the bathroom and quickly showered. Thinking about the man on the other side of the thin door made him nervous, but he didn’t want to worry about it right now.

When he went back out while drying his wet hair with a towel, Seongha was lying on the bed.

“…Aren’t you going to wash up?”

“…….”

Is he asleep?

Kim Jinkyung carefully walked closer and set a pillow down. At that moment, his eyes met a pair of pupils in the darkness. He flinched at the glowing eyes, which he hadn’t seen in a while.

“You’re not asleep?”

“Yeah.”

When Mok Seongha blinked, the glow disappeared.

“Do you want me to give you some clothes to change into?”

“No.”

Moi Seongha continued speaking with his arm laid across his forehead.

“The chairman used the new drug.”

“…….”

“He already tried it 2 months ago.”

It seemed the old man had revealed the secret Kim Jinkyung had been keeping. The thought that there wasn’t much time left for him felt all too real.

“…What have I been doing all this time? Like a fucking idiot.”

His voice, full of self-loathing, drifted into the quiet room.

“You did your best.”

“My best at what? Studying?”

Moi Seongha sat up.

“Fuck, I’m not even going to attend university. Does it even matter?”

“…….”

“What happens if I put forth extra effort… It makes absolutely no difference.”

His voice trembled, as if he were swallowing his rage. Kim Jinkyung couldn’t find comforting words.

He quietly looked at Mok Seongha. He wanted to listen to whatever he said. His golden eyes stared at Kim Jinkyung’s face in the dark.

“…I’m going to get married.”

“…….”

He didn’t want to hear this kind of thing.

Kim Jinkyung lowered his head and answered “Yes.”

“They said if I make up my mind and have a child, it won’t manifest.”

Kim Jinkyung finally understood why the old man had insisted so much on marriage.

“I said I’d absolutely never do it. I said I’d rather just die than pass this kind of thing on. Do you know what he said then?”

“…….”

“He said the chance of that gene expressing itself decreases with each generation.”

“Then why did Seongha-ssi….”

“Maybe it activates if you get a huge shock, or if you’re unlucky. I’m the unlucky bastard who pushed through that tiny probability.”

Or maybe a cat bastard? Seongha muttered with a self-deprecating laugh.

“…The chairman cried.”

Seongha covered his face with his palms and continued.

“He cried and said he couldn’t leave me like this….”

“…….”

‘Seongha has to form a pair. He absolutely has to. Only then can he live looking like a proper person.’

So that was what those words meant.

Kim Jinkyung’s throat burned. He lowered his gaze and regulated his breathing as his emotions surged.

He couldn’t dare imagine how a grandfather must feel, crying and begging in the little time he had left, toward a grandson who hated marriage enough to wish for death.

In this scenario, expressing his own sentiments would be purely selfish.

“Teacher, I….”

Mok Seongha looked at him, about to say something, but Kim Jinkyung quickly cut him off.

“I’m glad the two of you talked things out.”

“……”

“And I’m glad you chose the method that’s best for you too.”

On rainy days, he wouldn’t be able to step outside, and he would have to live his entire life anxious about when and where he might be exposed. How many guardians could close their eyes peacefully while leaving behind a child like that?

“You think that too? That it’s a good method?”

Seongha asked slowly, emphasizing each word.

“…Yes.”

“…Alright. What you taught me was always the right answer.”

Seongha lay back down and muttered.

“I’ll do it your way this time too.”

Kim Jinkyung lay down as well.

The small space was filled with only calm breathing. It was a night when sleep refused to arrive.