SLC 64

“This way.”

A man dressed in a dark suit followed the employee’s lead with quick strides. Even a high-end suit could not hide the man’s natural ferocity. Furthermore, the air around him felt hostile because he wore a scowl.

“Hello. I am Park Junkyung, the Head of Security Management. I spoke with you on the phone earlier.”

A sturdy-looking man stood up from his seat and greeted him.

“I am Kang Uicheol.”

Kang Uicheol reached out his hand. He had a scar on his face, and it twitched whenever he spoke, which made his expression look even more aggressive. He continued speaking after the greeting.

“These are the documents you mentioned. You may speak with the lawyer regarding compensation for damages and legal dispositions.”

The tall man standing behind Kang Uicheol bowed his head in greeting. The Head of Security and the lawyer shared a brief exchange.

“Where is he?”

“Please follow me this way.”

Kang Uicheol walked down the hallway following the man’s lead. Standing in front of the holding cell, the Head of Security spoke with a slightly troubled expression.

“Now, we did try our best to ensure he wasn’t hurt, but he was so agitated…. We were forced to restrain him.”

The preamble was long. It meant the situation was a complete mess. Kang Uicheol nodded. Then, the Head of Security opened the cell door with an air of determination.

As soon as the door opened, the man sitting inside looked up in startle.

Kang Uicheol’s expression darkened when he saw Kim Jinkyung.

His face was covered in bruises, his lip was torn, and his hair was a mess, as if he had been beaten by someone. He was barefoot, his clothes were torn, and his hands were in handcuffs.

…Just what the hell did he do? That bastard.

“Secretary Kang!”

Kim Jinkyung recognized Kang Uicheol and ran toward him. His feet seemed injured as well, as bloody footprints stained the floor with every step. Regardless, he started rambling like a madman.

“Something terrible happened. Seong… No, I mean, he was taken away. You have to release him quickly. This isn’t the time for this. Hurry….”

“Please unlock the handcuffs first.”

The Head of Security nodded at Kang Uicheol’s request. A security officer unlocked the handcuffs on Kim Jinkyung’s hands. His skin was torn in the shape of the cuffs on both wrists, perhaps because he had struggled even while restrained.

…He will definitely cause a scene.

Kang Uicheol frowned when he saw Kim Jinkyung’s wrists.

“Secretary Kang. Did you hear me? Right now, that, that child was taken away.”

Kim Jinkyung could not even say Mok Seongha’s name properly, he thought it would cause a disaster to mention it.

“I heard you.”

Secretary Kang replied calmly. Then he asked the airport employee standing next to him what his shoe size was.

“Pardon?”

The employee was surprised by the sudden question and hesitated, unable to answer readily. Secretary Kang asked with a specific number, “270?”

“Yes. Around that.”

“Take them off.”

“Are you talking to me?”

The employee asked with a confused expression on his face. Secretary Kang took out dozens of 50,000 won bills from his wallet and handed them over.

“Take them off.”

“Yes.”

The employee immediately took off his shoes and handed them over without another word.

“Put them on.”

Secretary Kang placed the shoes in front of Kim Jinkyung.

“Shoes are not the problem right now. He was taken away just now. His appearance, I mean, he was taken away as a panther…. What do I do? We have to find him quickly.”

Kim Jinkyung was on the verge of tears as he rambled. Secretary Kang gestured to the man standing next to him, and he forced the shoes onto Kim Jinkyung’s feet.

“Follow me.”

Secretary Kang spoke to Kim Jinkyung after the shoes were on.

“Secretary Kang. Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes. I heard you, so follow me.”

“Where are we going? We’re going to him right now, right? He was loaded into a car earlier. We have to go that way.”

“No, I am taking you home, Teacher.”

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned pale.

“What do you mean? What about him? Why? Why are we going home?”

Kang Uicheol sighed, then he grabbed Kim Jinkyung by his collar and began to drag him away.

“No. I have to go get him. I said I would go get him earlier!”

The employees who forcibly captured Mok Seongha after he changed into a panther barely managed to get him into a cage. Kim Jinkyung said several times that he was a pet he was raising, but it was useless. No one listened to him or believed him.

Kim Jinkyung told the beast as he was being dragged away in the iron cage that he would come for him.

‘I will come to get you. I will definitely come. I’m coming, so….’

Before he could even finish his sentence, airport security guards grabbed both of Kim Jinkyung’s arms.

‘Let go. Wait a second. This….’

The panther trapped in the cage began to wild out ferociously once Kim Jinkyung was seized. His face turned deathly pale. If something went wrong, the panther might actually be shot.

Kim Jinkyung shook off the two men who held his arms and clung to the iron cage.

‘It’s okay.’

‘…..’

‘Wait for me. Don’t be angry, and don’t bite anyone….’

He could not even finish warning him. Both Kim Jinkyung and the panther were dragged away separately. The sound of the panther’s roar echoed. Kim Jinkyung felt like he was going crazy. He had never felt a violent impulse toward anyone once in his entire life. However, the moment he saw the employees dragging Mok Seongha away, he felt as if fire was sparking from his eyes.

He screamed that they must not take him away and begged them not to kill him, but the security officers eventually subdued him. He suffered a torn lip and a nosebleed while he struggled and caused a scene. In the end, he was dragged out with handcuffs on both wrists.

Even after he was locked in the holding cell, he could not stay still. He was beaten after he shouted several times to release his panther.

Later, he pleaded through tears. The security officers simply looked at him as if he were a madman and didn’t answer.

Kim Jinkyung sat down and clutched his head. Then, his thoughts began to clear.

There was still hope. Mok Seongha would not have come to the airport alone. He had never learned how to drive. Secretary Kang would certainly be waiting nearby. If he could call him, the man would resolve the situation.

‘Please let me use the phone just once!’

Kim Jinkyung shouted urgently.

‘Who are you going to call?’

‘Kang….’

Kim Jinkyung realized that he had not memorized Secretary Kang’s phone number.

‘Do you have any family members we can contact?’

‘….’

He could not contact his parents in the countryside over an incident like this. Kim Jinkyung shook his head.

‘Then, is there anyone else who can verify your identity?’

The only person whose phone number he knew was Seo Sangil. That man would not be of the slightest help in this matter.

Why on earth did he put his phone in water, smash it, wrap it in a trash bag, and throw it away?

Kim Jinkyung clutched his hair while he cursed his past self. A security officer saw this and clicked his tongue, wondering how a young man ended up like that.

Sitting in the holding cell, Kim Jinkyung struggled to remember Secretary Kang’s number. The door opened just as he was squeezing his brain to piece together three of the four digits that followed 010.

The moment he saw the intimidating man with the scar on his face, he felt as if a Sanctus was ringing in his ears.

‘Follow me.’

But this reaction was unexpected. He could not understand it.

“What exactly are you saying? Why are we going home?”

“Then do you plan to live at the airport for the rest of your life? Do you have any idea how much compensation for damages I paid just to get you out of here? Hah, consider yourself lucky that your luggage wasn’t loaded onto the plane. If that had happened, the plane wouldn’t have been able to take off. The compensation would have increased astronomically and the problem would have become far more complicated.”

It was strange. Secretary Kang had not mentioned Mok Seongha once for some time. He acted as if the man did not exist.

“What about Seongha-ssi?!”

Kim Jinkyung finally said his name.

“What do you plan to do about Seongha-ssi?”

Secretary Kang came to a halt. He looked up before he met Kim Jinkyung’s gaze.

“For someone who worries so much, you certainly had no problem abandoning him on the street.”

“Pardon?”

“Forget it. Let’s talk about the young master later.”

“When is later? Right now he…he’s locked up.”

Kim Jinkyung quickly scanned the surroundings to ensure no one was listening to their conversation before he spoke again in a rush.

“He is locked up right now. I don’t know where he’ll be taken. In the worst-case scenario….”

“Well, it would be confiscation, or in the worst-case scenario, euthanasia.”

A panther was an endangered species that an individual could not bring into the country. Kim Jinkyung had searched for information about panthers and learned they were rare animals with only a few existing in the nation.

The moment the word ‘euthanasia’ left Secretary Kang’s mouth, Kim Jinkyung’s face turned even paler than before. He turned around to go back through the door he had just exited, but Secretary Kang grabbed him by the collar.

“It’s not that way.”

“Let go. I’m going to find him.”

“Find what?”

The difference in strength was immense. No matter how hard Kim Jinkyung tried to walk forward, he only flailed in the air.

“I have to find Seongha-ssi!”

Kim Jinkyung shook the man off with all his might while he was being dragged away. Secretary Kang looked down at his own hand with an expressionless face.

“If you are going to leave, go by yourself, Secretary Kang. I am not going.”

The man, who looked as if he had lived a weak and harmless life without ever hurting anyone, spoke with a determined expression.

Secretary Kang let out a sigh.

Based on his temper, he felt it would be perfect to simply strike the man on the back of the head, knock him out, and load him into the trunk of the car.

“Get in the car. I have been running around until I have a bitter taste in my mouth just to handle your business, Teacher.”

“What about Seongha-ssi? Why are you not thinking about handling Seongha-ssi’s situation?”

“That is not a matter for me to handle.”

Secretary Kang cherished Mok Seongha. Jinkyung could not hide his astonishment when he learned that the title ‘Young Master’ was no longer used at the residence. He felt so much affection for Mok Seongha that one might sometimes wonder if Secretary Kang cared for him even more than the Chairman did.

So why was he suddenly drawing a line?

“How was I released!?”

Secretary Kang grabbed Kim Jinkyung’s forearm and began to drag him along again. Kim Jinkyung raised his voice and asked exactly how he had been released. It was quite a sight to see a human, who seemed incapable of ever getting angry, shouting out of irritation. However, this Kim Jinkyung was not the least bit amusing to Secretary Kang.

“I said you were a crazy person. You were released by claiming mental and physical infirmity. I obtained and submitted a medical certificate from a psychiatrist, submitted a pledge to accept legal punishment, and pledged to compensate for the damages caused to the airport. You must appear in court later. Of course, a lot of other money was spent during this process as well.”

“Even if I am a crazy person, that is fine. I said it was a panther I am raising. Then I should be the one detained.”

“Ah, that.”

Secretary Kang continued with an expressionless face.

“I told them you were a human with a peculiar fetish for animals and that you shouted those things due to a delusion.”

“…….”

…What about my human rights?

“Just get in the car quickly.”

Secretary Kang dragged Kim Jinkyung toward the front of the parking lot again.

“No!”

Kim Jinkyung screamed desperately.

“He is mine!”

The image of the beast being loaded into a vehicle while trapped in a cage came to mind. He did not want to leave it as his final memory.

He remembered Mok Seongha’s eyes as the panther lunged through the air to glare at him. He recalled the sound of the rough breath as the panther dug claws into his shoulder, that black fur, and the tail…. If he had known things would turn out like this, he would not have turned away so coldly. He should have just let the plane go and taken him to a quiet place to speak with him properly.

Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

In the end, his own greed ruined everything. This whole problem would have ended if he had simply kept his one-sided love quiet and folded his feelings like before, but he had ruined it.

Kim Jinkyung wiped his eyes with his sleeve. His bruised face was quickly soaked with tears again.

“I said I am raising him. Since he is mine, I will take the punishment or be locked in prison….. I will take responsibility.”

It was natural for the party involved to be punished for smuggling a panther. However, in this case, if Kim Jinkyung was exempted due to mental infirmity, he would not even be able to ask about the panther’s whereabouts.

“Do you know how much money it costs to raise a panther? Just release him into the wild.”

“I don’t want to. I will raise him. I will take responsibility and raise him.”

Kim Jinkyung grabbed Secretary Kang’s clothes and begged. Tears trickled down before they even had a chance to pool.

“…I will look after him… until I die… so please….”

“He says he will do just that.”

Secretary Kang spoke as he opened the door of a parked van. Kim Jinkyung froze in place. He made eye contact with a man who was just about to put on his pants over his drawers. Mok Seongha pulled up his zipper and picked up a T-shirt.

“…How….”

“Get in for now.”

Secretary Kang pushed Kim Jinkyung’s back. He climbed into the car. Mok Seongha sat Kim Jinkyung down beside him and fastened his seatbelt.

“Start the car.”

Secretary Kang got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Kim Jinkyung could not take his eyes off Mok Seongha until the car left the parking lot.

Is this a dream? How on earth did he get out of the cage…. Ah, it is a dream.

Kim Jinkyung slapped his own cheek.

“Hey! Why are you hitting yourself!”

Mok Seongha urgently grabbed his hand. Then he examined his face here and there.

“Fuck, the only parts of you worth looking at are your face, neck, hands, legs, back, and hair, and they made you look like this?”

“……”

Why don’t you just say that looking at that person from head to toe wouldn’t be enough even if you spent the whole night doing it?

Secretary Kang, holding the steering wheel, suppressed his urge to scold the young master. Even if he did not say anything, the chairman, who would have turned into a tiger, would be waiting for them when they returned to the residence today.

“Wait, I’ll….”

Mok Seongha looked at Secretary Kang in the driver’s seat. Then he whispered to Kim Jinkyung, “I’ll lick you later.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Kim Jinkyung, whose ears turned bright red, answered while covering one ear with his hand.

“You recorded that earlier, right?”

Secretary Kang answered Mok Seongha’s question with a “Yes.”

“What did you record?”

“The part where you said I am yours. The part where you said you would raise me and take responsibility for the rest of your life.”

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned deep red as if it might explode at any moment.

“Yes. I recorded it.”

“Why, why would you do that? When did you…. Please don’t lie.”

Secretary Kang took his phone out of his pocket and showed the screen that was currently recording.

“Why are you doing that? Delete it immediately.”

Secretary Kang did not even pretend to listen and put the phone back in his pocket.

“Does it have legal effect?”

“Yes. Well..”

Secretary Kang caught a glimpse of the two sitting in the back through the rearview mirror. Seeing Mok Seongha insist on legal effect even in this situation, he thought the man had certainly inherited the right bloodline.

“Why on earth, no….Wait a minute. I clearly saw you being dragged away earlier. I definitely saw it.”

Before being locked in the holding cell, Kim Jinkyung saw the panther being transported by car. At that time, he had screamed until his throat felt torn, thinking that might be the last time.

‘You must not bite other people. You have to stay still. I will come to get you! If you wait, I will definitely come! He is a child I am raising, so you must never lay a hand on him!’

He was horrified when he realized his frantic crying and all those scenes he made would now be dismissed as the ravings of a psychopath with a zoophilic fetish.

Kim Jinkyung rubbed his aching head with his hand and mumbled once more, “I definitely saw it.”

“That is right. He was loaded into the car.”

“Then how did you get out of there? Don’t tell me….”

Kim Jinkyung grabbed Mok Seongha’s hand as if something had just occurred to him.

“Did you transform in front of people?”

Mok Seongha stared down at Kim Jinkyung’s hand holding his own. The clean, pretty fingernails were broken and jagged. Mok Seongha frowned.

“What happened to your nails?”

Kim Jinkyung realized Mok Seongha’s gaze was fixed on his nails and quickly hid his hands behind his back.

“Who did this? Fuck, turn the car around.”

Kim Jinkyung shouted urgently when he saw Secretary Kang lift his hand on the steering wheel.

“Don’t turn around! I did this to myself. I was just… in a hurry, and I made a fuss.”

In reality, he had not even realized his nails were broken. He had really lost his mind. What would happen if Mok Seongha could not find his way back? Or worse, what if he suddenly transformed in front of everyone?

Kim Jinkyung had been unable to keep his wits about him, paralyzed by the fear of extreme outcomes like euthanasia or vivisection.

“I asked if you really transformed in front of people. Answer me.”

“No. I changed here, inside the car.”

“Then how did you get out?”

“I didn’t get out. The panther is still loaded in that car.”

Mok Seongha looked at Kim Jinkyung’s neck. Then his chin, his lips, and those eyes still submerged in anxiety.

“What do you mean? Are you saying another Seongha-ssi is loaded in there?”

“A different panther, not me.”

Mok Seongha answered as he stroked Kim Jinkyung’s neck with his finger.

Only a few hours ago, he had seriously considered sinking his teeth into this spot and snapping it.

“What panther? Who?”

“A black panther to be caught in my place. I was raising one.”

Mok Seongha pressed his thumb down and wiped the sweat from Kim Jinkyung’s neck. He noticed a mole there.

“Who raises a panther? Why? How do you even raise one?”

Kim Jinkyung’s mind was chaotic from all these sudden events, and he could not think straight.

“The young master once transformed in front of people due to an accident in the past,” Secretary Kang began to explain.

“Coincidentally, the Chairman was out of the country, so the handling of the matter was delayed. Because of that, the young master was locked up for quite a long time.”

It was an accident. He had gone out for a moment and was hit by a sudden deluge of water. Rain from the previous day had pooled in a shop awning, and unable to bear the weight, it suddenly poured down on him. It was a literal bolt from the blue.

Mok Seongha, his head suddenly soaked, transformed into a panther right there on the street. It just so happened that some police officers had come there for lunch and ended up face-to-face with the panther. The police and the panther both looked like they knew they were screwed as they faced off, and a chase ensued. In the end, he was hit by a tranquilizer gun and captured.

Upon hearing the news, Chairman Choi set out to rescue the panther as soon as he returned to the country. He demanded the panther be released immediately, but the problem was not as simple as he thought. The panther was an endangered species, an animal that individuals could not bring into the country. According to international agreements, permission from the minister was required. Only organizations with research and conservation purposes, specifically those registered as zoos, could hold them. The necessary forms and documents alone were immense.

At that time, the Minister of Environment visited Chairman Choi’s residence and explained this process while sweating profusely. In the end, Chairman Choi built a zoo. It was a zoo that neither exhibited nor conducted research, but he created an organization registered with the Ministry of Environment that could ‘officially import panthers.’ He did not stop there; Chairman Choi brought in one more black panther later on. He did it to prepare for a ‘just in case’ situation. It cost an astronomical amount of money, but it was a method very typical of Chairman Choi.

“After that, the Chairman brought in another panther to prepare for any possible situation. …Well, so we swapped them.”

“…When?”

“Before he was loaded into the car.”

Kim Jinkyung felt dizzy. Did he really cry and act like a lunatic in front of a panther he didn’t even know?

..No wonder, that panther looked a bit fat and short.

“What about the airport cameras?” Mok Seongha asked.

“The records have already been secured and deleted,” Secretary Kang said. Kim Jinkyung’s eyes widened.

“Is that even possible?”

The airport was a public enterprise owned by the government. He could not easily believe that records from a public institution were deleted so carelessly.

“Normally, it is not possible,” Secretary Kang replied.

“Then how….”

“If you use a very, very large amount of money, it becomes possible.”

Kim Jinkyung recalled Secretary Kang’s earlier scolding about whether he knew how much money it cost to pull him out of detention.

Kim Jinkyung covered his face with both hands.

“What is wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”

Mok Seongha asked in a worried voice.

“..Why did you do that?”

“What?”

“Why did you suddenly… transform there….”

When they entered the departure gate, Mok Seongha’s voice had broken. At that moment, Kim Jinkyung turned around and their eyes met. Then, the suddenly transformed Mok Seongha pounced and tackled Kim Jinkyung.

“To catch you.”

Mok Seongha grabbed Kim Jinkyung’s arms to make him lower his hands before he continued.

“To keep you from going, to catch you.”

“…….”

Kim Jinkyung thought he had transformed because he could not control his emotions. But that was not it. At that moment, Mok Seongha had transformed of his own will.

Every event that followed was resolved quickly, as if they had been waiting. Mok Seongha knew how things would be handled after he transformed. He caused the incident with all of that calculated.

“Even so, how could you do such a thing?! Something terrible could have happened. Just what were you thinking….”

Their eyes met. Or rather, Mok Seongha had been watching him the whole time, and Kim Jinkyung only look up at him.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,”

Mok Seongha said in a cold voice.

“I only had one thought: I had to catch you.”

Mok Seongha had thought about it constantly ever since he let Kim Jinkyung go at that crosswalk. What would have happened if he had just transformed right then and caught Kim Jinkyung? If he had lunged and grabbed him with that hideously body, would things have been different? If he had spoken a bit more kindly back then, if he had held him more gently when they kissed, if he had paid more attention to his spelling when he sent texts…. Why did he think he would be able to find him again so soon? What would happen if they never met again, if… if he could not find him?

Mok Seongha ruminated over those thoughts the entire time he sat in Kim Jinkyung’s apartment, waiting for a tenant who would never arrive.

“Something terrible could have happened.”

Kim Jinkyung spoke with a face pale as a ghost. The moment the airport security appeared with guns was a scene he could not erase from his mind. If luck had not been on their side, he might have actually been shot.

“…You could have died.”

Kim Jinkyung’s vision blurred. Heat rose to his reddened rims. Reality sunk in, making his fingertips tremble. Kim Jinkyung stifled his sobs as tears began to fall.

He could have died. Mok Seongha, the big cat he loved, could have died right in front of him.

“But I caught you,” Mok Seongha said as he took hold of Kim Jinkyung’s hand.

“You were caught by me.”

“……..”

Tears ran down his cheeks. He couldn’t stop crying once he started.

“Teacher. Don’t cry.”

Mok Seongha wiped away the tears flowing down Kim Jinkyung’s face. He felt a red-hot emotion, making his throat burn.

“You said you would raise me. For the rest of your life, by your side…. You said so yourself that I was yours.”

While he hugged the transformed Mok Seongha, Kim Jinkyung had shouted to the people. He told them “He’s mine, so please don’t hurt him. Don’t shoot him. …Please do not take him away.”

Mok Seongha rubbed his face against Kim Jinkyung’s hand and asked.

“Was that a lie earlier?”

Kim Jinkyung shook his head. Large teardrops soaked Mok Seongha’s hand.

“Then stay by my side.”

Mok Seongha spoke as he kissed Kim Jinkyung’s hand.

“Since I am yours, stay by my side forever.”

Kim Jinkyung nodded, and Mok Seongha hugged him.

“…You might as well just get a room.”

Secretary Kang, unable to watch any longer, finally spoke up. At that moment, Mok Seongha’s eyes flashed. It was the gaze of a predator that had found the prey it wanted.

“You know a hotel on the way, right?”

“…….”

I dug my own grave.

Secretary Kang’s face instantly turned ashen.

“Get one for me.”

“……”

I’d rather be buried alive with the dead.

Secretary Kang gripped the steering wheel with his teeth clenched.