SLC 41

The child said his grandfather’s full name. But the child’s transformation didn’t last very long. He spent far more time as a black panther. However, because the changes happened more often than before, Chairman Choi created an environment for the child.

He first cleared out the employees around him. He dismissed all unnecessary personnel and kept the number of people working at the residence to an absolute minimum. Even that small number was kept under strict surveillance. If he saw even the slightest disrespectful behavior, he fired them immediately. Even after dismissal, he kept them under watch.

The time when the ‘little young master’ stayed in his human form gradually grew longer. Later on, there were times when he hardly transformed into black panther. But whenever it rained or he got wet, the little young master would without fail return to being a panther.

‘It’s fine. He’s still young. He’ll get better when he grows up.’

Whenever Chairman Choi said that, the black panther quietly lowered his head and fidgeted with his tail.

It sounded as if being a black panther meant something bad, and that bothered Kang Uicheol. But he couldn’t show those thoughts to Chairman Choi.

That didn’t mean the old man disliked his grandson. He loved his grandson in his own way.

The garden in full bloom was a memorial for his daughter, who resembled his wife who had loved flowers so dearly. Every time it rained, he planted flower trees. And those trees became a place of rest for his grandson.

Perhaps because of the memory of the place where he was first found, whenever something happened, the little young master always hid himself among places filled with flower trees. That was the same even on rainy days. Unable to bear watching his grandson get soaked under the flower trees in the rain, Chairman Choi built a large glass greenhouse in one corner of the garden.

On rainy days, Chairman Choi always shut himself away in his study and didn’t come out. At first, the little young master waited in front of the study for his grandfather, but at some point, he began spending his time in the glass garden until the rain stopped. When the rain stopped, Chairman Choi always went to the glass garden to find the little young master and bring him back.

Rainy days became difficult times for both of them. For the old man, it was a day that reminded him of his daughter who had died in the accident. For the child, it was a day when the only grandfather he had left became distant from him.

Because of the little young master’s transformations, Chairman Choi was always on edge on rainy days. Checking the probability of rainfall as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning had long since become a habit for Kang Uicheol.

What happened that day was like a completely unexpected accident. There was a regular checkup scheduled, so they were on their way to the hospital with Chairman Choi and the little young master. A sudden downpour began, one that hadn’t been forecast by the weather service. Kang Uicheol, who was in the car with Chairman Choi, contacted the car carrying the little young master.

‘Turn the car around. Go straight home.’

‘We’re almost at the hospital?’

‘Turn it around now.’

Kang Uicheol hung up and explained to Chairman Choi that they would reschedule the checkup for later. Because it was a sudden shower, Chairman Choi nodded with an anxious expression.

But even after more than 10 minutes had passed since they arrived home, the car carrying the young master didn’t return. Kang Uicheol tried calling to see what was going on, but no one answered. In the end, he drove back along the road they had come from. On the way, he spotted a black car parked on the shoulder. It was the car the little young master had been riding in.

It was strange. There was no reason to stop the car.

Kang Uicheol parked and got out. The rain that had been pouring down like a deluge was already thinning. He knocked on the front windshield of the car parked by the roadside. Because of the young master’s special situation, the car windows were tinted black.

‘What are you doing. Why…’

As Kang Uicheol spoke to the driver, he recoiled in shock. The car window was completely splattered with blood.

‘Young master!’

The little young master was in the back. Kang Uicheol tried to open the rear door, but it was locked from the inside. He could see the little young master sitting in the back. His entire body was drenched in blood, his face pale.

‘Young master? Young master!’

Something was wrong. The little young master didn’t react to his voice, as if he couldn’t hear it, and his pupils were unfocused.

‘Young master!’

Kang Uicheol’s loud shout caused him to turn his head. Their gazes met.

Despite his human shape, he lacked reason and lunged forwards. Kang Uicheol passed out immediately after hearing the car glass shatter.

That day, the driver and one of the bodyguards riding beside the little young master had their arms nearly severed. Kang Uicheol himself was seriously injured as well. It all happened within about 30 minutes.

Even after returning home from the hospital, the little young master didn’t appear in front of Kang Uicheol for some time. There were whispers from other bodyguards that even after quite a while had passed since that day, he still hadn’t returned to human form. Furthermore, they said that the chairman wasn’t looking for the little young master either.

Kang Uicheol searched the garden. As expected, the little young master was hiding among the flower beds.

‘Young master.’

Even though he must have heard his voice, the black panther didn’t turn his head.

‘Young master. Where are you? I can’t see you.’

The tail swayed gently. Kang Uicheol continued pretending not to know and approached, acting as if he was searching for the little young master.

‘Young master. Where could you be? Ah, I guess I should just go back.’

The panther raised his body. An uncomfortable grimace appeared on his face.

Why are you here like this?

The panther lowered his head and tapped the flowers with his front paw.

‘Come inside with me. I’ll read you a book.’

The small young master enjoyed being read to. He was more brilliant and intelligent than anyone else. He memorized any book that was read to him, even if only once.

‘……?’

Normally, if he said he would read him a book, the little young master would have immediately followed, but that day, he only tapped the flowers with his front paw and didn’t move.

‘I’m fine.’

Kang Uicheol bent his knees and explained while meeting his eyes.

‘The car window shattered and a lot of glass got into my arm, that’s all. It isn’t because of you.’

He had heard that after finding out he was injured, the little young master wanted to come visit him in the hospital. He had also heard that Chairman Choi didn’t allow it.

‘Look at this. I’m not hurt that badly, right?’

Kang Uicheol deliberately spoke brightly while showing his hand in a cast. When the black panther saw the small wounds on the back of his hand that still hadn’t fully healed, he suddenly began licking it, for reasons Kang Uicheol couldn’t understand. Kang Uicheol felt his chest tighten. He had been bitten dozens of times just trying to pat his head once.

‘Young master, finally…’

Kang Uicheol couldn’t continue. He saw the wounds on the back of his hand disappearing.

‘Young master, what on earth is this…’

He alternated his gaze between his now spotless hand and the black panther, then abruptly stood up. All he could think about was that he had to report this to Chairman Choi. After hearing that, Chairman Choi immediately rushed out of the study to find his grandson.

‘Mok Seongha!’

The old man, his face terrifying, grabbed the black panther and shouted.

‘I told you! Never show that in front of other people! Never again!’

The black panther froze and his eyes widened in response to the stern reprimand.

‘Promise me. Never, ever use that ability on other people. Do you understand? If you understand, nod your head. Right now!’

The black panther nodded. Chairman Choi staggered as he stood up.

‘Let’s pretend we didn’t see what happened today.’

Kang Uicheol knew what that meant. He bowed his head and answered yes. After that incident, Chairman Choi noticeably avoided the little young master. The reason wasn’t hard to guess. He loved the child his daughter had given birth to, but he despised the man his daughter had loved. Forgiving the man who had caused his daughter’s death and taken her from him forever wasn’t easy.

On rainy days, the little young master was no longer allowed to go out. Even without Chairman Choi saying it, the little young master didn’t want to go outside. He spent more than 20 years hiding himself in the wide flower garden.

When he ran away without explanation, Kang Uicheol was angry and worried at first, but later he ended up laughing in disbelief.

So there finally came a day when he wanted to go outside.

He even felt a bit proud. But he couldn’t let his guard down.

‘If anything happens, please contact me immediately.’

He sent a message to Kim Jinkyung and hoped no call would come. He desperately prayed that the little young master would grumble and open the front door and come back inside.

But the phone rang.

‘… I think there’s a problem.’

From Kim Jinkyung’s usually calm voice, now rambling and disorganized, Kang Uicheol could guess what kind of situation it was.

He told Kim Jinkyung how to respond, then immediately drove off.

Kang Uicheol had already looked up nearby hospitals. He had also prepared ways to deal with things if a body turned up.

Please, please, let him have locked the door and stayed outside.

That prayer wasn’t for Kim Jinkyung. It was for the little young master.

The little young master was extremely attached to that teacher. No one knew what he liked so much about that timid, meek, boring sort of person, but he followed him everywhere and obeyed every instruction he gave. It was natural. He was the first peer he had ever become close to.

If, by any chance, he hurt that teacher, the little young master would definitely shut himself away in the garden forever and never come out again.

He stepped on the accelerator. He had to arrive even a little earlier to contain the situation. The moment he entered the motel parking lot, an ominous feeling traveled up the back of his neck.

The car he had given Kim Jinkyung was parked there carelessly. Even while passing the motel entrance and riding the elevator up, he prepared himself for the worst. Kim Jinkyung hadn’t answered his calls the entire way, and there was no sign of him anywhere near the motel.

Which meant, he eventually…

Holding a tranquilizer gun, Kang Uicheol stood in front of room 302, the one the motel owner had told him about. He opened the locked door with the master key the owner had given him. The first things that entered his sight were the ruined room, the beast, and in front of him…

The moment their eyes met, the black panther bared his teeth and growled viciously, seemingly warning off a rival who had entered his territory.

‘Young master. I…’

When Kang Uicheol tried to step into the room, the black panther let out a far rougher, throat scraping growl than before.

Get out.

He felt like he understood what he was saying. Kang Uicheol immediately closed the door. He panted for breath.

There was something on the bed that looked like a person. Wrapped tightly in the blanket, it had to be Kim Jinkyung…. Was he dead?

Kang Uicheol’s mouth went dry. He had prepared for the possibility that Teacher Kim might be dead, but that didn’t mean he wanted him to be. He was timid and a pushover, but he wasn’t a bad person….

Just then, the door flew open.

‘Uh… Young master?’

Mok Seongha, in human form, was standing there.

‘Young master, how…?’

‘The car?’

Mok Seongha asked while holding a large bundle wrapped tightly in a sheet.

‘Huh? Ah, I parked it downstairs.’

Kang Uicheol looked at what Mok Seongha was holding, or rather, what was wrapped in the sheet. Mok Seongha immediately snarled at him.

‘What are you looking at?’

‘… Uh. I’m sorry.’

Watching him pull the sheet tighter and clutch it to his chest as if he was hiding something precious, Kang Uicheol thought he was really seeing all kinds of things in this life.

Does it wear down just because you look at it? It isn’t even that precious.

‘Let’s go down.’

‘… Like this?’

Mok Seongha wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing.

‘So what? You cleared everyone out around here anyway.’

Mok Seongha, who already knew exactly how Kang Uicheol handled things, didn’t care.

‘Yes. That’s true, but…’

‘Hurry up. I’m hungry.’

‘Understood.’

Kang Uicheol pressed the elevator button. Mok Seongha’s expression, holding the thing wrapped in the sheet, looked pleased.

‘… Are you going to bury that?’

When the elevator arrived and the doors opened, Kang Uicheol cautiously asked. Mok Seongha glared at him as if he had just said something ridiculous.

‘Bury what?’

‘…….’

Even as he said that, Mok Seongha pulled Kim Jinkyung, wrapped in the sheet, even closer to himself.

‘I’m annoyed, so take the stairs.’

‘… Understood.’

Kang Uicheol bowed his head. The elevator doors closed, then opened again.

‘Hey.’

At the little young master’s call, Kang Uicheol lifted his head.

‘If you get down later than me, I won’t let it slide.’

Before the doors even fully closed, Kang Uicheol threw himself toward the stairs. He was relieved that he didn’t have to use the tranquilizer gun, but his head was still a mess from a situation he couldn’t understand.

… He was naked too, right?

The scene he had seen the moment he opened the door flashed through his mind. Kim Jinkyung was sprawled there completely naked, with the black panther on top of him, licking with a satisfied look…

… Let’s pretend I didn’t see any of this today.

Kang Uicheol quickly shook his head and took the stairs five at a time. Getting down to the first floor before the elevator was the only thing he needed to do right now.