SLC 69

After concluding what Mok Seongha called ‘fucking hot sex,’ Kim Jinkyung passed out for several hours before waking up.

The hotel phone was naturally ringing off the hook. They were supposed to return to the mansion, but since the two people who said they would rest for just a few hours hadn’t emerged, it was only natural that Secretary Kang was anxious.

‘We can’t leave now.’

Even though the person on the other end was throwing a fit, Mok Seongha coolly left those words and unplugged the phone cord.

‘Will it be okay?’

Kim Jinkyung asked with a worried expression. However, he had no strength below his legs and could not even take a single proper step, he could not bring himself to say they should go to the mansion. If he did, Mok Seongha would offer to hold him or carry him on his back, and there was no way Secretary Kang or Chairman Choi would watch that unfold.

‘Well, we might get scolded a bit.’

Mok Seongha threw the phone aside as if it were no big deal and hugged Kim Jinkyung.

‘Ugh.’

Kim Jinkyung groaned, furrowing his brow. Even a slight movement caused a stinging pain to flare up below.

‘Does it hurt?’

Mok Seongha finally asked with a slightly apologetic face.

‘Seongha-ssi. Um, in the future, I wish you wouldn’t… do this.’

‘What? Did I make another mistake this time? Was I terrible? Fuck. Teacher, didn’t you keep coming because you liked it too?’

Mok Seongha asked a torrent of questions with a pale face. Kim Jinkyung shook his head.

‘I’m not saying we shouldn’t do that…’

Thinking that he should use precise proper nouns instead of pronouns when talking to this guy, Kim Jinkyung continued.

‘Sex is go… …it’s fine, but…that, the part where it doesn’t come out.’

‘Why?’

‘It hurts.’

Kim Jinkyung continued.

‘It’s too exhausting and uncomfortable. More than anything…’

Actually, he was scared.

The sensation of his lower half locking into place was not something he could get used to, no matter how many times he experienced it. Even as the shape of the organ changed, Mok Seongha would whisper for his sake that he wouldn’t get pregnant so he should rest easy, which was even more terrifying. Despite knowing the possibility of pregnancy infinitely converged to zero, he couldn’t help thinking “what if?”

‘More than anything?’

Mok Seongha looked up, waiting for an answer.

Kim Jinkyung trailed off, unable to say he was scared of getting pregnant while doing it with him.

‘…Anyway, I don’t want to do this.’

‘It’s not something I can control at will.’

The round ears atop his head drooped.

No. No matter how cute he looked, no meant no. Kim Jinkyung made up his mind and spoke.

‘You can control it. Pull it out before it changes.’

‘Fuck, do you think that’s possible!?’

Mok Seongha shouted as if it were absurd.

‘Your inside is so soft and slippery and tight, how am I supposed to pull it out of there in the middle of sex!’

‘…….’

Does the internet ruin a person this much?

Kim Jinkyung engraved the character for patience in his mind and slowly explained so Mok Seongha could understand.

‘Sexual activity should be done within a range where both parties enjoy it. Like you said, Seongha-ssi, it’s not an act for pregnancy, so that part isn’t necessarily required.’

‘……’

‘Please promise me. Otherwise, I won’t do it with you, Seongha-ssi.’

‘……’

‘You can promise, right?’

‘I’ll try.’

Was it a relief that he at least got him to say he would try?

Kim Jinkyung sighed; then, Mok Seongha suddenly hugged him from behind and rubbed his nose against his shoulder.

‘Is this really your first time doing it with me?’

The grumbling voice asked.

‘Why?’

He had finished correcting the facts regarding his experience just a while ago.

‘Because you were so good…’

Mok Seongha mumbled. Kim Jinkyung found it absurd. Since he had never slept with anyone else, he had no objective data, but he knew for a fact that he was neither skilled nor technical.

‘If you’re lying just to make me feel good, then just…’

‘Do you want it to be a lie?’

‘No, fuck. Absolutely not!’

Mok Seongha clenched his fists and shouted as if the mere thought made him feel filthy.

‘If I see the bastard who did it with you, I’ll bite him to death.’

‘……’

‘And any bastard who does it with you in the future, too.’

‎

‎

‎

Even after he issued a death sentence to both the past and future tenses, Mok Seongha growled for a long time, still unsatisfied.

What should I do with him from now on?

Kim Jinkyung worried for a moment about the distant future, but he decided to sleep until he could move his body.

After he took a nap and became somewhat mobile, Kim Jinkyung thought it was time.

However, that was a huge mistake.

“Right. I heard the gist of the story from Secretary Kang.”

The moment he faced the old man in the wheelchair, Kim Jinkyung felt that it might have been several times safer to stay locked in a cage after following an unknown panther at the airport.

“He said you two had something to discuss, so you stopped somewhere for a bit.”

“Ah, that…”

“I suppose you two had a lot to talk about. I waited for quite a while.”

Chairman Choi said as he slowly scanned the two of them. Mok Seongha tightened his grip on Kim Jinkyung’s hand. It was a hand he had forcibly grabbed before they entered the study, despite Kim Jinkyung’s protest.

“Grandfather. I…”

“My piece is not finished yet. Where do you get off interrupting an elder while he is speaking?”

Anger clouded the old man’s wrinkled face. Mok Seongha immediately shut his mouth.

…Looking at him like this, he seems to have been educated well.

Kim Jinkyung glanced at Mok Seongha and then quickly turned his head when he noticed Chairman Choi’s gaze.

“Right. Are you two finished with your talk?”

The old man asked while looking at Kim Jinkyung.

“…Yes.”

Kim Jinkyung continued calmly.

“We spoke with each other.”

“I see.”

The old man fell silent. Kim Jinkyung’s heart hammered, he had forgotten. He forgot who he was dealing with. He would certainly be buried alive. If he were lucky, he would be buried dead.

“I heard Seongha went to the airport to find Teacher Kim and caused a scene.”

“It wasn’t a scene, Grandfather…”

“You, keep your mouth shut.”

Mok Seongha immediately shut his mouth again.

“Teacher Kim, you tell me.”

“It is true that Seongha-ssi came to the airport to find me. The reason he transformed suddenly was, well…, he didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened suddenly…”

He had to explain as positively as possible, with tact and careful concealment. While he was busy choosing words, Mok Seongha, who stood beside him, jumped in and spoke.

“I did it on purpose.”

Kim Jinkyung’s eyes widened as he looked up at Mok Seongha.

“Grandfather, I did it on purpose. To stop Teacher from leaving.”

“…….”

Chairman Choi stared at his grandson in silence.

His eyes shone with a fierce spirit that could make a person fall ill just by looking at them.

“I did it because I was afraid he would abandon me and leave.”

“So, you pulled that stunt in an airport full of cameras?”

“Yes.”

Kim Jinkyung found it hard to breathe properly during the confrontation between the two predators.

“Even though you knew what would happen if things went wrong?”

“Yes.”

Mok Seongha answered while looking at his maternal grandfather, Choi Dojung, without averting his eyes.

“And I’m dating Teacher. This time, it’s for real.”

Kim Jinkyung recalled that he had made a similar declaration before. He wanted to run away back then, but he wanted to run away this time, too.

…I’m scared.

“Dating?”

The old man asked back in a metallic voice.

“Yes. And I’m going to live with Teacher.”

“With me?”

Kim Jinkyung asked in surprise.

“Then were you going to live separately?”

Mok Seongha asked as if he found the question absurd.

“That…we haven’t discussed that yet.”

“What discussion is needed? You said you would take responsibility and raise me. Then you should be right next to me.”

“But something like that is…”

“Both of you, stop.”

Chairman Choi ended the lovers’ petty squabble.

“Seongha. You tell me what happened first.”

Mok Seongha, having gained the floor, straightened his posture and opened his mouth while looking directly at his grandfather.

“I’ve come to like Teacher. So we fell for each other, and we already slept together.”

“Are you crazy!”

Kim Jinkyung was horrified and pulled at Mok Seongha’s arm. However, it was not enough to block his mouth once it had opened.

“I committed an act that requires responsibility, and I will take that responsibility. You said it yourself, Grandfather. A person must take responsibility for their own actions. That is what a human being does.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

Chairman Choi replied with a face that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“I like him.”

Mok Seongha continued as he raised Kim Jinkyung’s hand.

“It has to be Teacher. I don’t need anyone else.”

It was a confession as honest and simple as a child’s. As he listened to it from the side, Kim Jinkyung’s face burned.

“Right. So that is how my boy feels, but what about Teacher Kim?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I want to hear what Teacher Kim thinks.”

“Ah, I…”

The interrogation began.

The moment he stepped into the mansion, Kim Jinkyung realized how easily he had temporarily forgotten exactly how terrifying his opponent was. He wanted to run away. However, he knew this was a mountain he had to eventually cross.

“I, too, …like Seongha-ssi.”

Kim Jinkyung mustered his courage and slowly spoke the words he had repeated in his mind.

“And?”

“So, that is how we came to date. I know my position as a tutor might look a bit improper. I worried a lot because of Seongha-ssi’s special circumstances, and since he has not had many chances to meet other people, I felt it might not be right. I thought about it a lot, but…”

It was the truth.

If Mok Seongha had not transformed into a panther and clung to him with claws dug into his shoulder, he would have run away.

Kim Jinkyung always wanted to make the right choice. He did what he ought to do and avoided wrong paths. This was the first time in his life he made such an unstable choice.

It would not be easy. They were both men, and his partner wasn’t an ordinary person. He did not know when or in what situation the man might suddenly turn into a panther, nor could he know what changes he might undergo in the future.

However…

“…I have grown greedy.”

Kim Jinkyung said while he held Mok Seongha’s hand.

“I became avaricious and wanted to stick by Seongha-ssi.”

His greed reached out to a choice that might even be the wrong answer.

He liked Mok Seongha.

The man was arrogant, lacked manners, and was short on both common sense and social skills. He was reckless, but Kim Jinkyung liked him because he worked so hard for his grandfather.

Others might not know, but he knew the hours the man spent trying. He knew the time the man spent waiting without resentment, even while knowing his grandfather did not like everything about him. He knew the time the man spent lying alone in the garden when it rained, waiting for someone to call his name.

All the time he would spend with him would likely not be smooth or fine, but he still wanted to stay by his side.

“Greed, you say.”

Chairman Choi muttered, contemplating Kim Jinkyung’s words. The latter was startled and waved his hands.

“I absolutely don’t mean I have greed for anything else. Just to be by Seongha-ssi’s side…”

“That is enough.”

Chairman Choi interrupted Kim Jinkyung. A shiver ran down his spine as cold sweat broke out.

He did not know much, but he was certain he had ruined the chance for a defense that Chairman Choi had provided.

“I called you here to teach the child, yet you are doing something completely useless.”

The old man gestured to the door with his eyes while displaying his disapproval.

“Leave the room now.”

“Chairman. I…”

“Teacher. Wait outside.”

Mok Seongha cut off Kim Jinkyung and let go of his hand. He looked up at Mok Seongha with a stunned expression.

“I’ll talk to the Chairman and then come out. Just wait a moment.”

“…Yes.”

Kim Jinkyung had no choice but to leave the room. Secretary Kang, who was waiting outside the door, guided him, saying “Please follow me.”

Kim Jinkyung followed behind him with a gloomy face.

What were those two talking about? I should not have spoken like that earlier. What if he misunderstands me in a strange way?

His head was a mess. While he debated whether he should go back and correct his words right now, Kim Jinkyung suddenly realized he was walking down a hallway he had never seen before.

“Um, Secretary Kang.”

“Yes?”

“Where are we going right now?”

It was certainly not the study or the living room that Mok Seongha usually used.

“We are going somewhere where there are no people.”

“…….”

Kim Jinkyung came to a dead stop.

There was one more thing he had forgotten. The fact that there was more than one mountain to cross.

If Chairman Choi was Mount Taebaek, then Secretary Kang was Mount Sobaek. Is Mount Sobaek about 1,400 meters? It is a perfect height to fall and die.

Secretary Kang noticed that Kim Jinkyung had stopped in his tracks and looked back.

“What are you doing? Do you want to make me wait any longer?”

“…No.”

Since he felt guilty, Kim Jinkyung followed Secretary Kang without complaining. They turned left at the end of the hallway, went up the stairs, and reached a room on the second floor. Only then did Secretary Kang stop and open the door.

“Please, go in.”

“…Where is this?”

“My room.”

Kim Jinkyung wanted to enter even less now. He hesitated before stepping inside. The heavy door closed behind him. He jumped in surprise and grabbed the doorknob. He turned it several times, but the closed door did not budge.

“Why won’t this open? Excuse me, I think the door is locked.”

Kim Jinkyung spoke with a trembling voice, but Secretary Kang did not even pretend to hear him as he walked past. He then took an apple out of the refrigerator, put a plastic glove on one hand, and began to peel it with a paring knife.

“Secretary Kang, um…”

“Our young master…”

The apple peel made a crisp sound as it slowly coiled into a round shape beneath the bowl.

“Do you know that he likes apples?”

“Yes. I know.”

Mok Seongha didn’t have preference regarding food. He simply ate what he was able to eat. Kim Jinkyung had heard before and knew that apples were at least a fruit he enjoyed.

“The place where the young master was first found was a flower garden complex.”

“Pardon?”

“There was an apple orchard next to the greenhouse. Perhaps that is why he unconsciously feels comfortable with the scent of apples.”

“Oh, …I see.”

This was a story he had never heard. Found? What did that even mean?

“When the young master first came to this house, there was much worry. He was so small and thin. I kept the windows closed at all times because I feared he might fly away if the wind blew.”

“He was that thin?”

It was hard to believe when he thought of Mok Seongha’s current body. He wondered if the story was somewhat exaggerated since Secretary Kang was the one who raised Mok Seongha.

“Yes. He was found about five days after the accident, and he had not touched any food until then.”

Secretary Kang finished peeling one apple, cut it in half, and carved out the core. Kim Jinkyung blinked and asked.

“What… accident are you referring to?”

“A car accident. His parents died instantly on the spot, and only the young master survived.”

“Seongha-ssi never mentioned such a thing…”

“He can’t remember it, so of course he can’t speak of it.”

After placing the evenly sliced apple on a plate, Secretary Kang picked up a second apple.

“The young master has no memories from before the accident.”

‘I have no memories from before I was five. The same goes for memories of my parents.’

He recalled the words Mok Seongha previously said to him. When he heard that the man had no memories from before age five, he simply took it as a lack of childhood memories. He never dreamed that the starting point was an accident linked to the death of his parents.

“For a long while after he came to this house, he refused food. Even the doctors and veterinarians we brought in could not understand it. Normally, if someone starved that much, they should lose their mind at the mere sight of food.”

Apple peels of a consistent thickness piled up on the plate.

“Then we realized the young master would only eat food given to him by the Chairman. It pained me to see the young master so small and thin, so I tried to bring him food separately, but he never touched it.”

Secretary Kang, who had finished peeling the second apple, placed it on another plate and sliced it to refine the shape.

“I worried a lot the entire time the young master was growing up. He was only this big, so I thought he must eat well.”

Every time he said he was ‘only this big,’ Secretary Kang waved the paring knife in his hand. Kim Jinkyung flinched and his breath hitched as he listened to Secretary Kang’s words.

“But he eventually began to eat well without being picky and grew up quickly. It feels like yesterday when he was only this big.”

Secretary Kang continued while emphasizing several times that he was ‘only this big.’

“Yet, that young master stopped touching food entirely.”

“…….”