SLC 57

Mok Seongha stripped off the clothes he was wearing and threw them aside.

“Wha-What are you doing?”

“I am taking off my clothes.”

“Why are you….”

“I want to sleep comfortably.”

Come to think of it, Mok Seongha usually wore just a pair of drawers or only pajama pants when he slept.

“Do you sleep uncomfortably?”

Mok Seongha asked as he was about to undo his pants buckle. Kim Jinkyung turned his head away and replied, “No, I don’t.”

Mok Seongha finished undressing. Then he approached the bed and lay down.

“You lie down too, Teacher.”

“…….”

This is a predicament.

Kim Jinkyung turned off the room light and intentionally laid his body down on the floor below the bed. He did this because of Mok Seongha’s habit of never sleeping on the floor. However, Mok Seongha immediately came down to the floor and snuggled up to him.

“…Please move away.”

“Why?”

“You should sleep comfortably.”

“I find this comfortable.”

Mok Seongha replied as he nuzzled Kim Jinkyung’s neck. Then he took a long breath and hugged him.

“…I have not showered yet.”

He managed to brush his teeth after he vomited, but he had not yet had the chance to shower.

“I know. You smell like sweat.”

“I will go wash up.”

When Kim Jinkyung tried to get up, Mok Seongha grabbed his arm and made him lie back down.

“It is fine…your scent.”

Mok Seongha muttered while he rubbed his nose against various spots on Kim Jinkyung’s neck. His low voice felt like it was directly touching Kim Jinkyung’s body. The latter curled his toes under the sheets.

“… Your scent was always fine. It is a bit erotic, too….”

Mok Seongha’s foot rubbed Kim Jinkyung’s toes. Heat emanated from his feet. The sensation of the flesh rubbing his thigh became more vivid.

I should push him away. How do I push this away?

“Teacher.”

While Kim Jinkyung was lost in thought, Mok Seongha called him.

“…Yes?”

“Can I… change my form?”

Was he able to do that on command? But why so suddenly? Now?

Several questions flashed through his mind, but Kim Jinkyung nodded for now.

“Sorry. I don’t have the confidence to keep my hands off you.”

Mok Seongha mumbled, and his form smoothly shifted into a black panther. Kim Jinkyung blinked. He had seen this scene several times, but it was fascinating every time he watched it.

“Are you okay?”

Kim Jinkyung asked first. The black panther tilted his head. He did not understand the meaning of the question.

“You have to go to the hospital by tomorrow morning.”

The panther lifted a paw and placed it right on Kim Jinkyung’s lips.

…Is he threatening me with a kiss again?

Kim Jinkyung sighed and nodded.

“I understand. Let’s sleep for now.”

Kim Jinkyung lay back in his spot. The black panther draped his body over him and gently wagged his tail.

“Excuse me.”

Kim Jinkyung mustered his courage and called out. The black panther’s ears perked up.

“…Can I touch your tail?”

The moment he finished speaking, the thick, long tail landed on Kim Jinkyung’s palm. He carefully fiddled with it. He had wanted to touch it whenever the panther held it in his mouth to write.

“It is firmer than I thought.”

“…….”

The panther’s eyes sparkled in the dark as he waited for the next words.

“It has strength all the way to the tip. …Because the bones continue through.”

Kim Jinkyung felt along the tail and confirmed the shape of the bones. Then he heard a low growl. Kim Jinkyung gasped and let go of the tail.

“I am sorry. Did it hurt?”

The panther shook his head and placed his tail back into Kim Jinkyung’s hand.

“Then why….”

Kim Jinkyung reflexively looked down and saw something he should not have seen.

“Ah….”

Is a panther’s tail an erogenous zone? He should have said something then. …No, he can’t speak.

Kim Jinkyung could not touch the tail in his palm, but he couldn’t shake it off either, so he just awkwardly laughed while he held it tentatively.

“It must be hot, so you can move away a little.”

The black panther snuggled up even closer to Kim Jinkyung and purred.

I didn’t see it. I saw nothing.

Kim Jinkyung turned his head toward the wall and continued to speak.

“Since we are like this, I feel like I am hugging a large doll.”

Yes. This is a doll. A male doll with everything attached.

Kim Jinkyung tried to brainwash himself.

Then a large tongue licked his collarbone area. He was protesting that such a doll does not exist.

“Ugh.”

The panther enjoyed Kim Jinkyung’s groan and repeatedly licked him with his tongue.

“Please stop. …Hnh….”

The tongue that was licking his collarbone gradually turned down. Just before the movement of the tongue took on a dangerous intention, Kim Jinkyung grabbed the panther’s head with both hands.

“No! I said no! No!”

“…….”

The panther also seemed flustered by the sudden action, and his already round eyes widened further. Even though he knew the other party was Mok Seongha, Kim Jinkyung felt bad as if he had bullied an innocent animal.

“…Please don’t do that.”

He let go of the panther’s head.

“I will sleep on the bed. Seongha-ssi, you sleep here.”

“…….”

The tail also drooped.

“…Then Seongha-ssi, you sleep on the bed.”

The panther bit Kim Jinkyung’s sleeve with his teeth. Then he weakly tugged it a couple of times.

Don’t go.

It felt as if he could hear his voice.

No. I cannot let my heart soften.

“If you dislike that, then I will go up.”

Kim Jinkyung pretended not to notice and simply went up onto the bed to lie down. He purposefully lay down facing the wall. He heard a small whimper from behind him.

I can’t hear it. I don’t hear anything. I hear no sound at all.

Kim Jinkyung closed his eyes and pulled the sheet up to the top of his face. How much time passed after that? When he could no longer hear any sound, Kim Jinkyung peeked his eyes open.

Is he asleep?

He carefully lowered the sheet and slowly looked back.

“……!”

In a whole lifetime, how many people would have the experience of a wild beast staring down at them in the middle of the night in their own room?

Kim Jinkyung clutched his racing heart and barely managed to speak.

“Why, there…”

The panther lowered his head and pushed his face into Kim Jinkyung’s hand. He knew what that movement meant. He slowly stroked the panther’s cheek.

“You won’t do that again, right?”

“…….”

The drooped ears stood upright. The panther moved his head up and down. Kim Jinkyung sighed

I am a sinner. I, who fell for this, am the sinner.

“Go to sleep quickly. You have to wake up early tomorrow.”

The panther bit the hem of Kim Jinkyung’s clothes and pulled him.

Sleep next to me.

…I am a grand sinner!

Kim Jinkyung went down the bed. As if he had been waiting, the panther placed his body over Kim Jinkyung’s. His intention to not let him move again was apparent..

Kim Jinkyung let out a groan and put a hand on his forehead. Then the panther lifted his head.

Does it hurt?

“No. It is just…. …I feel like my life might be a bit exhausting.”

The panther tilted his head.

…To think a wild beast could be this cute.

Kim Jinkyung grabbed the panther’s head and pushed it down.

“Go to sleep quickly. If you move now, I am going back to the bed.”

The panther started to nod, but then he stopped as if he remembered something and just lay there. How much time passed? He heard the sound of rain from outside the window.

“Oh, rain….”

They said the probability of precipitation was 30%. …The Chairman still has insight.

Kim Jinkyung looked down at the beast in his arms.

“Are you okay?”

The panther did not move and instead made a circle shape with his tail.

He will turn into a human tomorrow, right?

Kim Jinkyung began to worry about tomorrow morning. The panther tapped Kim Jinkyung on the lips with his front paw, as if he knew what he was thinking about.

“…Please sleep.”

Kim Jinkyung lay down and closed his eyes.

He saw the tip of the tail moving gently in the darkness. Suddenly, he recalled the image of the black panther who was watching the rain-soaked flower garden from the glass garden.

‘He didn’t want to come out on rainy days. So I went out.’

He thought of the small beast who must have guarded those long nights alone whenever it rained.

Kim Jinkyung raised his hand and began to slowly stroke the panther’s back. At first, the panther’s ears twitched as if he found it strange, but when Kim Jinkyung only moved his hand without a word, he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Kim Jinkyung slowly stroked his back, very slowly. Around the time he felt the texture of the fur against his palm was soft, he heard a purring vibration.

He did not know if the man had dreams even when he became a panther, but Kim Jinkyung prayed that he would have good dreams at least for tonight.

Only the breathing of the beast and the sound of the rain echoed inside the narrow room.