SLC 1

There’s a short story by Hyun Jingeon called A Lucky Day that he learned about in middle school Korean class.

Of all the literary works he studied, that one was etched in his memory because of the main character’s final line that closed the story.

‘Strangely enough, I had good luck today…’

That last line, which could serve as the very symbol of irony, hadn’t left his mind all day.

Right after he got off the subway, the next train came. When he checked the bus schedule, the bus he needed pulled up right then, and even though the bus was crowded, a seat opened and he was able to sit.

Most of all, he’d been worrying about whether to take a leave from school because he’d missed a scholarship due to one subject, but then a senior introduced him to a great tutoring job.

‘It’s a student preparing for college entrance exams, introduced by my friend’s cousin’s neighbor. He said he’s a GED graduate, so he’d probably prefer private tutoring over an academy. I thought of you because they’re looking for a clean, quiet, non-smoking tutor. The pay’s about this much. What do you think?’

Kim Jinkyung accepted the offer on the spot. The terms were perfect, there was no need to think twice.

When he got off the bus and started up the slope, passing by a mansion with walls high enough to block the sky, he’d simply thought that the people who lived in such a nice house could easily afford to pay that much.

The garden was full of blooming lilacs, and the well-kept trees blended beautifully with the landscape. The mansion had flawless proportions, the kind you only saw in interior magazines.

As he followed the long hallway and was led into the living room, Kim Jinkyung was just grateful such good fortune had come his way. But the moment he entered, a strong premonition hit him that something was wrong.

A man was standing there, naked. Blood stained his mouth, and he was stomping on another man, covered in blood.

Kim Jinkyung froze in place.

“Mok Seongha.”

He extended a large hand. His voice didn’t sound like it belonged to someone who had just moments ago trampled a man on the floor and committed such brutal violence.

Kim Jinkyung stared at that hand with a pale face. The secretary beside him cleared his throat to draw his attention.

Kim Jinkyung, suddenly regaining his senses, and quickly grabbed his hand.

“I’m Kim Jinkyung.”

It was a large hand, the kind that could easily grab his head and smash it into the wall.

“The documents?”

The man spoke informally, and Jinkyung instinctively answered with the utmost respect.

“The documents, ah, yes!”

He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a file: a certificate of enrollment, a copy of his student ID, and a copy of his CSAT score report.

The man compared the photo to his face. Jinkyung straightened his back. A cold sweat trickled down his back.

“The terms are as written in the contract. Read and sign it.”

He handed him a sheet of paper.

It wasn’t entirely his fault that the piece of paper labeled “contract” seemed like a waiver of bodily emancipation.

His hands trembled as he took a sip of water and called out softly to the other person, “Excuse me…”

“What?”

“Wasn’t the tutoring supposed to be for a high school student?”

The man in front of him didn’t look like someone who had only completed six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school.

“I said it was tutoring for the college entrance exam. I never said it was for a high school student.”

“…..”

If it was a school, it must have been one of a very different kind. Kim Jinkyung swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say with a gulp of cold water.

“Then, the person receiving the tutoring is… you?”

“Yeah, me.”

He looked at the man sitting across from him again. Wearing a white T-shirt and black pants, he looked, in the best light, flawless enough that not a drop of blood would come out if you pricked him with a needle, and honestly, like he’d stab someone to death if you handed him one.

…I’m scared.

Jinkyung set the glass down with a trembling hand.

“When can you start the lessons?”the man asked directly.

“Ah, um, I mean…”

The offered pay had been too good. It had included hazard pay for risking his life.

He had to refuse. There was no way he could tutor in a place like this, where giving one wrong answer might get a pen shoved into his eye.

He mustered up courage and looked up, only to meet the man’s eyes. He took a deep breath and quickly lowered his head again.

…I’m so scared.

“What?” he asked again.

“Ah, um, I mean… I don’t think I can do this tutoring…”

“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

The fierce-looking secretary standing behind the man asked. The long scar near his eye twitched menacingly.

His heartbeat pounded so hard it rang in his ears. What do you mean? It means my life is worth more than money.

“If you suddenly change your mind, it’ll be difficult for us. The young master personally approved you, and now there’s no one left to choose from.”

The secretary growled fiercely. Kim Jinkyung felt wronged.

They didn’t even carefully picked him. They looked at his face, checked his documents, said okay. And it’s them who suddenly changed the situation, not him.

He thought “college entrance prep through GED” meant a quiet, shy student or a strategist focusing on the CSAT instead of school grades, not something like this…

“I, um, I got the offer from a senior at a drinking party, so I might have remembered wrong…”

Jinkyung tried to explain as politely as possible to this terrifying creature, for the sake of his own life.

“It doesn’t matter if you remember or not, the terms don’t change.”

Mok Seongha picked up an apple from the basket on the table and took a bite. The crisp sound of the apple flesh breaking resonated. He pushed the paper toward Kim Jinkyung. The conditions were short and clear.

Two hours per week.

Any changes to the schedule must be notified 24 hours in advance. If an emergency arises on the same day, changes are allowed once a month. (If it rains, the tutoring will be canceled regardless of the time – but the pay is still given.)

Tuition will be paid on the day.

Except for the special clause about canceling lessons on rainy days, the contract was perfectly normal. But to Kim Jinkyung’s eyes right now, the white was just paper and the black just letters.

“Ah, I think I can’t do it…”

“What reason do you have to refuse the tutoring?”

Mok Seongha tilted his head and looked at him. His golden irises surrounded the black pupils like blooming petals.

They were eyes beautiful enough to be called luxurious. But to Jinkyung, that surreal beauty only made him feel something alien, something detached from daily life.

“Speak.”

White fangs showed between his lips. At that moment, a painting that had once changed Jinkyung’s life flashed through his mind.

Dante and Virgil in Hell by William Bouguereau.

The first time he saw it, he’d felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.

The brutal expression of the naked man, entangled with his opponent, grabbing his arm, breaking his neck, and biting into him.

It was beauty wearing the mask of violence. Twisted muscles, explosive strength, cruel humanity. The extreme of aestheticism.

At first, Jinkyung couldn’t understand the painting at all. They said it was inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, meant to show the nature of hell and human sin, but as far as that goal went, it completely failed. If that was the purpose, shouldn’t Bouguereau have painted the man, Gianni Schicchi, uglier? Why make him so handsome?

“Hurry and talk.”

The man looking at him now had eyes like that same Gianni Schicchi. Jinkyung instinctively shrank and began cautiously, “Well, the thing is…” he expected the man to lunge at him and sink his teeth into his neck at any moment.

“…Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

They were terrifying people, but at least they handled things properly. Jinkyung let out a small sigh of relief.

“Of course, whether I accept that reason or not depends on me.”

“…Sorry?”

“In other words, don’t waste time with some pathetic excuse. That’s what our young master means,” the secretary behind him explained in a way that was easy to understand but hard to accept.

The man bit into his apple. The crisp sound of tearing flesh came with a flash of red peel.

“I’ll give you 5 seconds.”

“Sorry?”

“If you give me a convincing reason within five seconds, I’ll let you go.”

So that means if he failed, he’d bury him somewhere in the mountains?

Jinkyung’s pupils trembled.

“5.”

He started counting down.

“I, um, I’m very timid, and I have a quiet voice, so…”

“4.”

“I’m not good at speaking in front of people, and it’s been years since I took the CSAT, so I’m not confident I can teach well…”

“3, 2.”

The countdown got faster.

“Wait, please wait!” He shouted.

“Why are you counting two numbers at a time?”

“You keep giving useless reasons, so I’m saving time.”

He had to come up with something better. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t get out of here alive.

His brain started spinning. He’d never focused this hard even during the CSAT.

“I have an important reason! A really important one!”

“1.”

“I like men!”

“What?”

“I mean, I like men, and a lot!”

It was the first time in his life he’d ever said it aloud. The moment he’d always imagined turned out to be far more miserable than he’d expected.

‎

‎‎

‎

‎“Hahaha…”

Laughter burst out from the other end of the phone. Jinkyung rubbed the back of his flushed neck and muttered, “Stop laughing.”

“No, it’s just too funny. How could you even say that there? Hahaha!”

Seo Sangil couldn’t stop laughing.

“I just blurted it out because I was panicking…”

“No matter how panicked you were, how could you say you like men? You should’ve said you got your draft notice or something. Going to the army twice would’ve been better.”

“…Ha. Maybe.”

He belatedly regretted it.

‘I like men, and a lot!’

After shouting that, Jinkyung had wanted to die on the spot. The first time he ever confessed his sexuality, and it had to be to that man he’d just met. It wasn’t even in a romantic or ideal setting he’d always dreamed of. He shouted because he was desperate to survive.

I want to die. I’m going to die. I have to die.

Those were the three thoughts that crossed his mind. But the man didn’t react. The living room remained silent.

After a moment, the man, expressionless, asked, ‘So when?’

‘…Sorry?’

‘When’s good for you? Tell me which day works best.’

Jinkyung blinked. Did he not hear him? He was sure he’d yelled it loud enough.

‘Um, what I meant was… I…’

‘You said you like men. A lot.’

His face burned red. Hearing his own words come out of someone else’s mouth made his ears rot.

‘…Yes.’

He lowered his head and answered.

‘And?’

‘…Yes?’

“What does that have to do with me?”

He couldn’t answer. The secretary quietly added, ‘It doesn’t matter if you like men, as long as you don’t like our young master. If you do, your short life will end quickly.’

…What a polite, cruel, and completely unnecessary explanation.

‘Sign.’

He pushed the paper toward him. Without thinking, he picked up the pen and wrote his name.

“So, did you get fired?”

“If I got fired, would I be worrying like this?”

“You told him you like men and he didn’t fire you? That guy’s insane.”

Jinkyung’s smiled bitterly. His so-called friend didn’t know when to shut up. It’s hard to believe he’d once had a crush on that idiot all through high school.

“So what are you gonna do? Will you go?”

“…I signed.”

“That contract doesn’t have any real legal power. Just quit.”

If he did that, he’d be the one to cut him open instead.

“I already agreed, so I have to go.”

Jinkyung sighed as he spoke.

“You’re so uptight. Yeah, that’s the Kim Jinkyung I know.”

He was feeling gloomy. Being uptight was just a fact about him, and he had no intention of denying it. But if he’d refused back there, he was sure he would’ve ended up like that blood-soaked man earlier.

“The contract doesn’t have weird stuff in it?”

“There’s a special clause: if it rains, the lesson’s canceled, but I still get paid. It’s unusual, but it benefits me.”

“…So nothing weird?”

“Nothing. Just normal.”

He sighed again, looking depressed.

“If you don’t hear from me, call the police.”

“You idiot. You should get out of there before it comes to that.”

“How? I already signed.”

“Then just get fired. It’s not like you’ve never lost a tutoring job before.”

“…How exactly?”

“You’ve never been fired from one before?”

“…Never.”

“That’s so damn characteristic of Kim Jinkyung.”

He was about to argue that it wasn’t weird to not get fired from a tutoring job, but he shut his mouth. Getting tips on how to get fired was the priority right now.

“First, do things that guy would hate.”

“How am I supposed to know what those are?”

“You said you lied about liking men, right?”

It wasn’t a lie.

Jinkyung swallowed that retort and just said, “Yeah.”

“What was his reaction?”

“There wasn’t one. He just told me to sign the contract.”

“Don’t tell me that bastard likes men?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“How do you know that? You said he was naked, right? Who beats someone half to death without any clothes on? That guy’s a complete freak.”

He couldn’t deny that he was a complete freak, but he definitely wasn’t into men. You could just tell. Some things didn’t need proof.

“…Anyway, definitely not.”

“Then it’s easy. Act like you’re into men.”

“What?”

“Act like a guy who likes guys. Not for real, just pretend. Dress flashy, speak softly, smile when you meet his eyes. Be overly nice, like you’re flirting. Got it?”

As he walked down the street, Jinkyung saw his reflection in a shop window. A checkered shirt fit for an engineering student, neat hair, a backpack, and sneakers.

He’d realized he was different around puberty. While his friends passed around dirty videos and pictures, he’d felt no interest. At first, he thought he was just late to that stuff, but one day he saw a drawing of a naked man and understood what he’d really wanted to see all along.

He’d never told anyone. He’d never dated anyone either, and every crush had just stayed in his head. Of course, he’d never even dreamed of confessing. The same went for his college life.

He went to class, tutored part-time, met friends for drinks, and studied in the library during exam season.

Since he never dated, his friends assumed he was just an awkward virgin, and Jinkyung found that easier to deal with. It wasn’t even wrong.

…Maybe he should’ve at least picked a checkered shirt with some color.

Looking at his dull outfit, Jinkyung sighed softly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was wondering if I should buy some flashy clothes.”

“Are you wearing one of those dreary check shirts again?”

“……”

There was a reason people joked that engineering students’ souls were made of plaid. The clean, evenly repeating lines brought him peace.

“If you see some flowers on the way, just pick one and stick it in your hair.”

“You’re insane.”

“Remember what I said. No man remains calm when another guy flirts with him. When you get fired, buy me beef, got it?”

Jinkyung didn’t answer and just hung up.

Jerk.

Always running his mouth, poking at his wounds, yet somehow still smiling. Maybe that was why he couldn’t hate him.

He walked quickly and reached the mansion gate. When he pressed the doorbell, he heard the intercom click on.

“Um, I’m here for…”

Before he could finish introducing himself, the gate opened with a clank. Jinkyung pushed it open and stepped inside.

The garden came into view. It made him feel bitter. He thought he was too scared to appreciate it now, but…

…it was beautiful.

He gave up and let himself admire it. Beauty was innocent, across all times and places.

Lilac trees full of blossoms surrounded the pond. The flowers, so unlike the cold interior he’d seen before, filled the garden.

Whose taste was this?

As he looked at the flowers, Sangil’s words crossed his mind.

Stick a flower in your hair?

Staring blankly at the lilacs, Jinkyung reached out without thinking. Before his hand could touch a branch, a could voice shouted,

“What are you doing?”

Startled, he turned too quickly and lost his balance.

“…!”

Behind him was the pond. Bracing himself to fall in, he closed his eyes. But no sound came for a long moment. When he opened them, the man was holding his arm.

His face was right in front of his. He looked like a statue carved by a blind sculptor who worked without hesitation, chiseling perfection out of stone. Cold and severe. His golden-mixed eyes sparkled in the light.

Too close.

“……!”

Flustered, Jinkyung instinctively pushed him away. And then he remembered something important he’d forgotten.

Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So naturally, the harder he pushed, the stronger the rebound. With a splash, he plunged into the pond.

“Help…!”

He tried to cry for help but stopped when he saw his unimpressed gaze. Then he noticed how shallow the water was.

“…Ha…”

He awkwardly laughed and lowered his flailing hands.

“Do you really need me to save you?”

“…No.”

What did he even mean by really?

He started to get up, but something strange squirmed inside his clothes. He looked down.

“Ahhh!”

Something was moving under his shirt. Panicking, he jumped up and crawled out of the pond.

“Help! Help! Snake! This time it’s real, help…!”

He tried to pull off his wet clothes, but they were stuck to his skin and wouldn’t move. The man reached out to grab him, but in his frenzy to survive, Jinkyung didn’t even notice. He slapped his hand away with all his strength, thinking only of getting rid of the wriggling creature inside his clothes.

He forgot another law of physics.

Newton’s First Law. The Law of Inertia. An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force.

The man’s hand he had swatted away, moved through empty air, and his body followed the same trajectory. Then, when Jinkyung accidentally grabbed onto him while flailing for help, he lost his balance.

Something large fell into the water with a heavy splash. Jinkyung fell again too, drenched from head to toe.

He rubbed his face with his palms and cleared his vision.

Then he saw it.

A black panther, with dark fur patterned like spots, stood before him.

No theory—classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, chemical physics, optics, acoustics, or cosmology—could explain what he was seeing.

A drop of water fell from his hair onto his lashes. He blinked it away.

The panther with golden eyes sighed. The fish that had been wriggling in his shirt flopped out right then and landed in front of him. The panther’s claws cut it in two.

Blood spread into the pond. The panther dipped his paw in, swiping lazily, seemingly washing away the blood.

He had to run. He had to…

Jinkyung staggered back. The black panther’s eyes met his. As if he had read his mind, the panther jumped toward him. Kim Jinkyung saw the red mouth of the beast.

And faced with a scene that defied all logic, Kim Jinkyung fainted on the spot.