SLC 52

‘Can I go out for a bit?’

‘Absolutely not.’

Why? I’m only going for a moment.

He just wanted see that face. He planned to go there, check the mug of that tutoring student who was bound to be ugly, and delete that bastard’s contact info from Kim Jinkyung’s phone. If there was time left after that, he would take Kim Jinkyung to a secluded spot to kiss him, bite and suck his neck, heal the wound, suck and bite his shoulder, and heal him again…

‘I don’t know when the Chairman will wake up, and besides, you have to consider tomorrow’s schedule….’

‘Fine.’

Mok Seongha replied irritably and stared at his phone. Once he hung up earlier, Kim Jinkyung continued calling him.

That promiscuous prick. Lewd, messy, and obsessed with men.

Dammit, of all the things to be hooked on, I’m stuck on a guy like this. I miss him so much.

Mok Seongha first switched his phone to silent and stood up.

‘Where are you going?’

‘To wash up.’

‘Why?’

Several question marks appeared on Secretary Kang’s face as he asked. Earlier, Mok Seongha had finished his shower, transformed into a panther, and Secretary Kang had thoroughly dried his fur.

‘Because I’m annoyed.’

He felt like his body was boiling and he was losing control.

It felt exactly like this when he heard that sudden honk while on the phone with Kim Jinkyung before. His vision went dark as if a red-hot fireball flashed before his eyes, and the ground felt like it was caving in beneath his feet. He broke into a cold sweat and felt nauseous. After gasping for breath for a long time, he realized he had transformed into a panther.

If he doused himself in water in this state, there was a high probability he would remain in this form. Since Kim Jinkyung wasn’t by his side, he wouldn’t turn back into a human either. Then, knowing Secretary Kang’s personality, the man would definitely tell him to leave the hospital for now.

Mok Seongha entered the bathroom without hesitation and turned on the shower without even taking off his clothes. Not long after, a pitch-black beast walked out of the shower room, soaking wet. Secretary Kang sighed and turned on the blower to dry his fur.

As expected, he remained the same even after his fur was dry.

‘What is it? Is there a spot that isn’t dry yet?’

A flustered Secretary Kang examined his body here and there. He had to leave soon. Even at this moment, Kim Jinkyung was probably plotting to have a meal with that guy, his supposedly ugly student from the army.

His entire body was overcome with an uncomfortable sensation. His extended claws scratched the floor.

‘Young Master. You mustn’t do this. You’re bleeding.’

He quickly licked his front paw. Secretary Kang let out a sigh.

‘Please sleep here for tonight. Don’t worry too much. If there is any fur that isn’t dry, it will dry overnight.’

What? You won’t let me out?

‘I will prepare a bed inside for today. I’ll give the hospital staff advance notice not to enter and keep the door locked….’

His eyes flashed at the mention of locking the door. That was how the escape commotion broke out. It didn’t even last a minute before Secretary Kang caught him.

‘…I will take you to the teacher’s house for now. Instead, you must return tomorrow morning.’

In the meantime, Secretary Kang, whose face looked ten years older, said that as he put him in a box. The box was also something he prepared in advance for a potential situation. This was a moment when he agreed with his grandfather’s advice about having a well-prepared person by one’s side.

That was how he came to find Kim Jinkyung.

‘Do you want to come out?’

He wanted to jump out the moment he heard the voice from outside the box, but he endured it.

I went through so much shit just to come see you, do you think I’ll jump out just at that one sentence?

‘Are you going to stay in there?’

As if!

He fiercely hit the box with his tail. Then, Jinkyung reached out, hugged his body, and lifted him up. When he went limp because he didn’t want to leave, his body slid downward.

‘Seongha-ssi.’

His ears naturally perked up when he heard Jinkyung calling him. He felt a strange sensation every time Kim Jinkyung said his name. To be specific, it felt good. So much so that he asked him to say his name without stopping.

‘I think I need to go out for a bit.’

He hopped out of the box and protested.

Fuck. Where the hell are you going?! At this hour. To meet a man? Since I’m a panther and not a human, are you going to meet some other human bastard?

‘Do you want to go together?’

…If you plead like that, I suppose I have no choice.

Kim Jinkyung muttered useless things while taking him to the rooftop. While climbing the stairs, he listened attentively to useless, boring stories about the layout of the hallway lights and other nonsense.

Then, Jinkyung started to interrogate him about why he took a shower.

Why do you think? It’s all because of you! Because you said you’d eat with that ugly bastard of a student!

He hit Kim Jinkyung’s thigh with his tail. He rubbed his thigh with an ‘Ouch.’

…He didn’t mean to hit him that hard.

Feeling a bit sorry, he gently wrapped his tail around the thigh. Kim Jinkyung smiled at the sight. His mood improved. If possible, he wanted to wrap his tail around other things too…. While he stole a glance between Kim Jinkyung’s legs and pondered this, Kim Jinkyung continued.

‘But why did you really do that? …It’s dangerous to do that at the hospital. Don’t tell me….’

As if something occurred to him, Kim Jinkyung looked at him with a horrified expression.

‘…….?’

He couldn’t help it.

The switch in his head just flipped the moment he heard Secretary Kang say he would lock the door.

‘If you wanted to come, you could have just come. If something goes wrong, it’ll be a disaster…!’

Who doesn’t know that?! They wouldn’t let me out! Fuck, if I didn’t come, you’d definitely be flirting with that ugly bastard!

‘Even so, …ha.’

Kim Jinkyung frowned as he massaged his brow. It was strange. No matter how angry he was, Kim Jinkyung never looked fierce. Instead, his harmlessness only became more prominent.

Does this guy ever scream and get angry?

‘But why aren’t you turning back?’

Seongha shrugged.

He knew. He knew he would return to normal after he spent a night by Kim Jinkyung’s side…. but what if he didn’t change?

‘You’ll go back to how you were after you sleep for a day.’

Kim Jinkyung noticed his anxiety and said those words. His worries melted away at that single sentence. He even thought it wouldn’t matter if he never changed back.

‘There’s something I want to show you.’

In front of the rooftop door, Kim Jinkyung gave that characteristic awkward smile.

He looks dim-witted. He looks like a fool. …But why does that smiling face of his keep coming to mind?

What is it. What are you going to show me?

‘It’s nothing much. …Don’t expect too much.’

Of course.

There was nothing Kim Jinkyung could give him. He was a human who lived in a studio apartment the size of a palm because he had nothing and no money. Everything Kim Jinkyung had held out to him so far was trivial.

Food he wouldn’t eat, workbooks, a pen with a cat’s paw on it, a bouquet wrapped in cheap paper, and such.

Dull. It’s absolutely dull. That’s why he looked forward to how dull the gift would be this time.

Kim Jinkyung opened the rooftop door.

And there….

‘It’s not a garden, but I thought it might be a bit better for you to look at when you feel suffocated….’

There was a flower bed. It wasn’t beautiful or grand. It was just a collection of various random flowers meticulously arranged.

‘I didn’t grow the flowers myself. I just bought the flower pots, haha. It wasn’t easy to raise these, either. A few of them died.’

The scent of flowers was everywhere. It was the smell he caught while he climbed the stairs. A scent he had dismissed, thinking someone just left a few pots on the roof. …The scent of the garden Kim Jinkyung prepared for him.

‘About the garden.’

Standing in the flower bed, Kim Jinkyung looked back at him.

He saw him standing in the flower garden he used to seek out whenever he wanted to hide.

‘You said it was your mother who planted those flowers, but it was the Chairman who tended to them.’

Your mother planted the flowers in this garden. Your mom cherished you a lot.

He never talked about his father, but his grandfather often spoke about his mother. Every time, he explained how much she loved him and how much she cherished him. He didn’t know well, but he nodded.

So, Seongha…. Only remember the fact that you were loved. Don’t remember the rest, that’s enough.

He wanted to remember only the love. However, he had no memories of his parents. According to his grandfather, he had to recall the love, but his body trembled when he thought of his mother. Every time that happened, he holed up in the garden and hid his shameful body.

‘She must have cherished and loved you very much. No one could grow flowers like that without those feelings.’

Kim Jinkyung’s logic was simple and. With those few words, he made the anxiety and distrust disappear.

He made him believe that he was loved, and that he is loved. It was ridiculously easy.

‘So….’

The moment their eyes met, he pounced on Kim Jinkyung. No thoughts came to mind. Right now, he just wanted to hold him and kiss him.

‘No! This is…!’

‘Is it a no?’

‘Suddenly, how….’

He slid his tongue into Kim Jinkyung’s mouth, which had fallen open in surprise.

Please, I want this. I want to devour it, …it’s not enough. Just a little more….

He held the back of Kim Jinkyung’s head, pulled him close, and pressed their lips together. He felt those small lips move within his mouth. He licked the wet interior and traced Kim Jinkyung’s straight teeth.

He nipped at the soft tissue of his mouth. Kim Jinkyung gasped in surprise. That small reaction made Seongha’s heart throb. His breathing grew heavy as the kiss became more intense, but conversely, he felt like he could finally breathe.

When he pulled his lips away, Kim Jinkyung’s flushed cheeks were the first thing he saw. Next were his eyes, his eyelashes, and the bridge of his nose. When he looked at those things, he realized exactly what it was he wanted.

‘…You said we had to do it in this form.’

Kim Jinkyung had said those words. If so, he had to do exactly that.

‘Do you cherish me, too?’

He abruptly asked.

Do you cherish me too? Is that why you teach me even without payment, hand me trivial things without ever hearing a thank you, spend time with me, kiss a man who isn’t your type, and tend to flowers to make a garden for me?

‘…….?’

When Kim Jinkyung hesitated and failed to immediately answer, his stomach began to churn. His heart wavered and his hands shook. He shouldn’t have asked. He shouldn’t have asked such a question.

Rather than hear that you don’t cherish a beast like me….

‘I cherish you.’

Kim Jinkyung spoke as he grabbed his arm.

‘A lot?’

Even if it were a lie, he wanted to hear it was so. Just like when Kim Jinkyung told his grandfather in the hospital room that his eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.

‘Yes.’

‘How much?’

He wanted to be comforted repeatedly.

So he clung to him like a young beast and begged. If he had to look pitiful, he was willing to look that way. If he could keep Kim Jinkyung by his side, he could become the most pathetic bastard in the world as many times as it took.

I could gouge out the eyes you hate, and I could pull out my teeth. So, to me….

‘A lot. So much.’

Kim Jinkyung looked up at him and gave an answer. He did so with eyes more honest than anyone else’s.

He pulled him into an embrace just as he was. He felt like he might die. No, he wouldn’t mind if he died.

He lay in the most flimsy and poor garden he had ever owned, and they shared a kiss that tasted of soil and dust.