SLC 32

Kim Jinkyung checked his phone screen.

“Oppa, is something going on?”

A junior who was taking the same class asked while packing her bag beside him.

“Huh?”

“It looks like you’ve been staring at your phone all day. Even during class.”

“Was I?”

Kim Jinkyung awkwardly smiled as he put his phone into his pocket. At that moment, a small vibration buzzed from his pocket. He quickly pulled out his phone to check. It was an ad message.

“What is it? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“What? No. Why?”

“If someone who never even looks at their phone is glued to it all day, it’s obvious.”

“No, it’s just that I’m expecting a message….”

“Hahaha. Sure. Let’s say that.”

She slung her bag over her shoulder, said goodbye, and left the lecture hall. Kim Jinkyung sighed and checked his phone one more time.

Since parting at the hospital, Mok Seongha didn’t contact him. He hadn’t come asking him to solve problems he didn’t know, and there were no requests to tutor him. There were also no demands to fix things when his fever flared up.

Three days ago, Secretary Kang had transferred the tutoring fee, so after some hesitation, Kim Jinkyung sent a message.

Hello. This is Kim Jinkyung. Is the chairman okay?

Secretary Kang immediately replied.

Secretary Kang

Yes.

With just that short word, Kim Jinkyung couldn’t bring himself to ask whether Mok Seongha was doing well. He opened the last message Mok Seongha had sent.

Seongha

I’m going now

The arrogant, self centered wording was exactly like Mok Seongha. Above it were repeated messages with similar content.

I’m going

I’m leaving now

Come quickly

Hey where are you

He wouldn’t even greet him. Kim Jinkyung felt like he could hear Mok Seongha’s slightly brusque voice. He put his phone back into his pocket and stood up from his seat.

He stopped by the library to study, then packed his bag once evening had already passed. As expected, there were still no new messages.

He stopped by a convenience store, bought something simple to eat, and went back to his studio. The apartment Go Jinyoung had lent him was already completely vacated. At the time, he hadn’t had the leeway to look for another place, so he had relied on him for the moment, but he couldn’t keep imposing forever. Of course, he had immediately paid for the time he used it.

‘Hey, forget it. What money do you have that you’re trying to pay me?’

Go Jinyoung had refused the rent.

‘No. Please take it.’

‘That money won’t even show in my account. I won’t take a flea’s liver.’

Living up to the nickname Jinyoung Antoinette, he didn’t hesitate to exhibit his wealth.

It could sound unpleasant depending on how you took it, but he hadn’t said it with bad intentions, Kim Jinkyung didn’t really feel offended.

‘Then please take a flea’s liver this time.’

When Kim Jinkyung smiled and offered the money again, Go Jinyoung had no choice but to accept it.

‘If you’ve got nowhere to go later, contact me. I’m leaving it empty this year anyway.’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to at least rent it out monthly until your cousin comes?’

‘Forget it. It’s annoying. What am I supposed to do with pocket change rent?’

Go Jinyoung laughed. Instead, Kim Jinkyung asked of he could park Mok Seongha’s car there. The building where his studio was didn’t have space to park a car like that.

I should return the car.

He had already contacted Secretary Kang to say he would bring it back. But once again, he received a curt reply.

Secretary Kang

Use it.

Mok Seongha still didn’t contact him.

He must really be angry.

Kim Jinkyung felt unsettled. The words the chairman had said to him before passing out lingered in his mind.

‘I’m the only one who knows what’s best for him.’

It went beyond simple worry about a grandson and it was excessively blind. It would be good if the two of them could speak honestly with each other.

While eating a convenience store lunchbox, Kim Jinkyung looked down at his phone screen again.

At this point, it’s severe.

He sighed, flipped his phone over and set it far away. After eating and brushing his teeth, he tried to read, but he couldn’t register a single word.

…If this keeps up, I’ll definitely mess up my finals too.

Kim Jinkyung gently knocked his forehead against the desk. That was when it happened. His phone vibrated. He jumped up and grabbed it, only to be disappointed.

“Hello?”

–Yeah. Come out.

It was Seo Sangil.

Like a loan shark, he called Kim Jinkyung out almost every day.

“I have to study.”

–Eat meat and study.

“I just ate dinner.”

–Your stomach for rice and your stomach for meat are separate. Come out now. I’m in front of your place.

Kim Jinkyung opened the window to check what his friend had said. Seo Sangil was waving his hand from below.

With no other choice, Kim Jinkyung grabbed his phone and went outside.

“Hey, a new all-you-can-eat beef place opened over there.”

“…You’ll get kicked out.”

Seo Sangil, a meat fanatic, had a hobby of going around all-you-can-eat barbecue places with his teammates and seniors from the athletics club. Getting kicked out under the owner’s glare was his specialty.

“It’s fine. I ate earlier too, so I’ll just eat about 5 servings. Let’s go.”

Kim Jinkyung sighed and followed his friend.

“Hey. Look at that.”

Seo Sangil smiled as he pointed to the standing sign that stated they would not pressure consumers no matter how much they ate.

“Yeah. Eat up.”

Kim Jinkyung sat across from him. As they grilled the meat, Seo Sangil ordered soju and beer.

“Two soju glasses and two beer glasses, please.”

“No. One set is fine.”

When Kim Jinkyung quickly said, Seo Sangil looked at him with a perplexed expression.

“I’m not drinking.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

“You didn’t drink last time either. Don’t tell me…”

Seo Sangil squinted and teased, “You’re regnant?” Kim Jinkyung expressionlessly kicked his friend in the shin.

“Ah, why? You used to drink just fine, so of course it’s weird when you suddenly say you won’t.”

Kim Jinkyung drank some water without saying anything.

If Mok Seongha contacted him, he might have to drive at any time. Once that thought entered his mind, he couldn’t bring himself to touch alcohol.

“Anyway, why have you been so free lately? Did you finally get fired from that tutoring job?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hey, congratulations. You wanted to get fired so badly.”

Seo Sangil raised his glass and suggested a toast. Kim Jinkyung had no choice but to clink his water glass with it.

“You must have been convincing at acting gay.”

Kim Jinkyung choked while drinking water. Then all the ridiculous things he had done trying to get himself fired came to mind.

“What did you do?”

“No, it just sort of happened.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t because he made it obvious that he liked men, but because he suggested to his employer that he go on a blind date.

“Good. That bastard was annoying as hell anyway. Every time I saw him, he pissed me off. His eyes too.”

“Well, but….”

Empty words like he’s actually a good person or he’s serious couldn’t make it out of his mouth. In the end, Kim Jinkyung mumbled, “If you look attentively, his eye color is pretty.”

“Pretty, my ass. What’s pretty about a guy wearing colored contacts because he’s obsessed with appearances?”

“They aren’t contacts.”

“So that’s his real eye color? Is he mixed?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t even know that? You lived in as his tutor. Weren’t you at least kind of close? He even came over to that apartment.”

“…We weren’t close….”

“Then what was that apartment about? It was insanely nice.”

Seo Sangil’s strong point was how simple he was. He changed topics as easily as turning a page.

“An upperclassman I know lent it to me for a bit.”

“Ask him to keep lending it to you.”

His weakness was just as simple. At his thoughtless comment, Kim Jinkyung said “Forget it” and grilled more meat.

“Wow. If it were me, I’d stick to that place and never leave. Oh, right. What happened to that animal? The escaped panther from the zoo never showed up on the news.”

Kim Jinkyung brushed it off, saying it was handled well.

“Yeah. Just, you know…”

“Did it die?”

“It lived.”

“Hey, give me some details!”

“It lived well. The end.”

Seo Sangil grumbled that he was tight lipped as hell. Kim Jinkyung grilled the meat and placed it on his friend’s plate.

He must be alive and well, right?

Kim Jinkyung glanced at the phone lying on the table. At the same time, his eyes widened.

“I need a minute.”

“Why?”

6 missed calls. All of them were from Secretary Kang. It was a noisy barbecue place, so he hadn’t heard it. Kim Jinkyung hurried outside and pressed the call button.

Please, please let it be nothing. Please.

–Teacher

The moment he heard Secretary Kang’s urgent voice, his heart dropped.

“What happened?”

–Are you with the young master right now, by any chance?

“No. Why?”

–Has he contacted you, or did you have plans to meet?

“No. He hasn’t contacted me. What’s going on?”

–The young master suddenly disappeared….

“Isn’t he in the garden?”

When Mok Seongha was in a bad mood, he often spent the whole day in the garden. Especially when he turned into a panther, he spent most of his time there. If he hid himself in that house, it would be hard to find him.

–…He disappeared from the hospital.

“The hospital? Where the chairman is?”

–Yes.

“Did the chairman’s condition get worse?”

–No. His breathing has improved a lot, so they even removed the intubation tube yesterday. He’s fully conscious as well.

“That’s a relief.”

Kim Jinkyung felt genuinely relieved. The last image he had seen kept bothering him.

“Did Mok Seongha-ssi argue with the chairman, by any chance?”

-…He isn’t that ill mannered.

“…….”

That he was a little ill mannered was something even doting Secretary Kang couldn’t deny.

“Could he have gone home?”

–We checked. No one has entered the house.

“Then maybe he’s on the way somewhere….”

–It’s been 3 hours since he disappeared from the hospital.

It seemed Secretary Kang had contacted him as a last resort after checking everywhere else.

–Anyway, if you see the young master, please contact me right away.

“Wait!”

Kim Jinkyung urgently stopped Secretary Kang, who was about to hang up.

“Has Mok Seongha-ssi ever gone somewhere alone by car?”

There was a brief silence, then Secretary Kang denied. His head started to throb.

“Alright. I’ll contact you later.”

Kim Jinkyung ended the call and went back into the restaurant. Seo Sangil, who had already finished one round and gotten a new plate of meat, asked “What’s wrong?”

“I think I need to go. Something came up.”

“What?”

“I’ll pay for the meat and go.”

“You crazy bastard. You think paying is enough?”

Kim Jinkyung took out his card and placed it on the table.

“Order drinks too.”

“Get going.”

Seo Sangil immediately accepted it. Kim Jinkyung left the restaurant and immediately called Mok Seongha. The phone rang several times, but the call didn’t connect.

1 Where are you?

He sent a message. Even after a long time, the 1 didn’t disappear.

What if he secretly went home, but the place is so big that no one can find him?

Then the image of the towering mansion walls and gate came to mind. That height was beyond a panther’s ability to jump.

Then where did he go?

Kim Jinkyung mentally listed the places he and Mok Seongha had gone together. Judging by the thinking of a child who had only started going out less than 2 months ago, there was a high chance he’d go somewhere familiar.

An amusement park, the Han River Namsan and the cafe.

The amusement park was already closed, so he crossed it off the list. That left the Han River, Namsan, and the cafe.

Kim Jinkyung got into a taxi.

“Please take me to Namsan.”

The sky was growing darker. It seemed best to check the places where he was most likely to get lost first.

Kim Jinkyung checked the chance of rain on his phone. It was 15%. It wasn’t a number he could ignore.

“Sir, could you drive a little faster? I’m in a hurry.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

The taxi driver looked at the rearview mirror and asked.

“A student I teach seems to have gotten lost.”

“Oh, in that case I’ll step on it a bit.”

The taxi driver turned the wheel and changed lanes. Kim Jinkyung called Mok Seongha again as the speedometer climbed. This time, too, the call failed to connect.

Kim Jinkyung anxiously stared out the window.