SLC 79

It rained a lot that day. I saw the expression on Chairman Choi’s face fell when he received the call. After that, I handled most of the tasks. I took care of the bodies of the person and the animal. I managed everything from the funeral preparations to the search for the chairman’s missing grandson.

I didn’t have time for grief. My position did not even allow me to show such emotions.

‘It is difficult to say this, but I think it would be best if you did not see her. Please remember only the good side of your family.’

Despite the mortician’s attempts to stop him, Chairman Choi insisted he must see his daughter. Eventually, I supported him as we entered the place where the shrouding was performed.

The moment he first saw his dead daughter, I couldn’t forget Chairman Choi’s first words.

‘Ah, no! This is not my daughter! Suhyeon! Bring my daughter Suhyeon here!’

That was the first time I saw Chairman Choi Dojung break down and cry. He was always a cool-headed and rational man, someone who was unshaken by anything.

I went in to support Chairman Choi as he collapsed on the floor, and then I saw her.

Choi Suhyeon.

The first time I saw that child was in the summer. I did all kinds of dirty errands for the organization I joined after I left home and wandered Seoul’s streets. I saw that child for the first time in that place where I was dragged, framed for a crime by a man I trusted and called hyung.

‘I don’t think this oppa is the culprit.’

While I could not even open my eyes properly because of the beating, I lifted my head to check the owner of that young voice.

A pure white face. Clean clothes. I recognized immediately from her confident gaze and attitude whose protection she was under.

The child shrugged when her father asked why she thought that.

‘Everyone else says it wasn’t them and that it’s unfair, but this oppa isn’t saying anything. He’s either the culprit, or he really knows nothing. I think it’s one of the two. But he’s too young to be a villain.’

The reason I said nothing was because there was no need. The amount of money I was framed for was too large, and the fabricated evidence was solid. Innocence and unfairness were things that a person who lived his whole life abandoned at the bottom could not dare to possess.

‘I’m going to piano practice now.’

The child left the mansion just like that. Beside me, the guys who claimed they were treated unfairly were dragged out one by one. It was my turn. Chairman Choi walked up to me and asked.

‘Are you… feeling wronged?’

‘…..’

It was the first time. He was the first person to ask me that.

People always interrogated me about my faults first. The school teachers who asked about the whereabouts of money I didn’t steal, the detective I met in middle school who screamed at me to confess to a crime I didn’t commit just because I stood nearby, the grandmother with dementia who shouted that I was a thief who stole rice from an already empty rice jar, my father who lost his mind to drugs and tried to stab me without recognition, and even my mother who said she was unhappy because I was born.

No one had ever asked me that question.

‘I mean, are you responsible for this matter?’

Bloody tears streamed down from my eyes, where the capillaries had burst from the heavy beating. Something hot surged up in my throat, and it was hard to breathe.

‘Answer me.’

‘…No… I am not.’

I barely managed that one sentence while on my knees.

‘I see. Understood.’

Everything changed after that day. Chairman Choi Dojung gave me permission to stay at the mansion and work. I worked for him with everything I had. I woke up earlier than anyone else to sweep the paths, and when it snowed, I cleared the snow. I cleared the path and gathered fallen leaves when it rained.

Chairman Choi didn’t even spare me a glance. The other people working at the mansion ignored me as well. But it didn’t matter. If I could give my loyalty to someone who could believe in me, those things meant nothing.

I spent several years that way, and I could count the number of times I encountered that child on one hand. By the time Choi Suhyeon changed from her middle school uniform to a high school one, I obtained my driver’s license and took the wheel.

While I drove Choi Suhyeon to school, I did not even make proper eye contact with her. We only exchanged formal conversation. I never forgot my rightful place. The Chairman and his daughter were not on particularly good terms. Both possessed strong personalities and often argued; she left to study abroad as soon as she started university.

Choi Suhyeon returned to Korea a few times during her studies. Each time she came, her arguments with her father grew more frequent. Nevertheless, she never missed a single vacation and always visited the mansion. Chairman Choi Dojung also waited for his daughter every time a break approached.

‘Uncle Driver.’

One day, Choi Suhyeon approached and spoke to me while I was cleaning the car. I immediately bowed my head in greeting. She called me oppa at first, but after my desperate plea for her not to use that title, she called me Uncle Driver.

‘This is a gift.’

‘…What is it?’

‘Supplements. I thought things might be hard for you because of my dad.’

Choi Suhyeon handed me vitamins she bought at a duty-free shop.

‘No. It is fine.’

‘Hang in there.’

Choi Suhyeon smiled and walked past. The white bottle contained 120 Vitamin C tablets with a slightly sour taste. I only heard that evening that the child had distributed supplements to every employee in the mansion. After that day, Choi Suhyeon did not return to Korea even when it was vacation time.

The next time she visited the mansion, she was with a man.

The Chairman was furious at the sudden talk of marriage and kicked Choi Suhyeon and the man out, telling them never to return.

‘Shall I drive you?’

I stood by the stone steps of the entrance and asked.

‘No. …Please take good care of my father.’

That was the last conversation I had with Choi Suhyeon.

‘Suhyeon, tell them to bring Suhyeon here. Suhyeon…!’

The lump wrapped in a shroud, lying in a cold storage bin in the mortuary, caught my eye. I supported Chairman Choi and led him outside.

There were too many things to handle after that. After I processed everything in a daze, I met that child.

Mok Seongha.

A little young master who took the form of a black panther, looking exactly like Choi Suhyeon and that man.

I cared for the child on behalf of the Chairman, who found it difficult to look at the black panther. The child turned into a panther whenever it rained or whenever he was drenched in water. Chairman Choi couldn’t hide his disappointment every time he saw his grandson, who barely maintained a human form, return to a panther. Each time, the child hid himself in the garden. I wanted to tell him to roam around without worry, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. I knew how Chairman Choi felt about that beast because of what happened at the scene of the accident.

So, I deliberately pretended to find the beast even cuter. Because I kept treating him that way, I started thinking that he was genuinely adorable. Caring for the child required more effort than I expected. But it was a joyful time… just like those days when I drove that child to school.

The second call announcing misfortune arrived on a Sunday morning. It was the director of the hospital where the Chairman had his health checkup a few days prior. A call from the hospital on a weekend, and at such an early hour, was not a good sign.

That day, Chairman Choi learned what was growing inside his body.

‘It is cancer. They say it is Stage 4.’

My vision blurred at his words. I could only think that something was wrong.

‘They say it progresses slowly in the elderly, so won’t I live a long time if I receive treatment?’

‘Yes.’

I barely managed to answer with that one word. The old man laughed and patted my shoulder.

‘Uicheol-ah. Why do you have a face like you are about to cry? My body is the one that hurts.’

I only wished that my own body was the one in pain. The old man started treatment the very next day. Everything Chairman Choi said was wrong. The progress was not slow just because he was elderly, and his lifespan withered away the more treatment he received.

We used every new drug available, but Chairman Choi nodded calmly when he heard they were useless. He called for me that evening.

‘I asked Director Kim why I ended up with this disease.’

His face was different from the day he was first admitted. It was hard to look him in the eyes.

‘He told me to just think of it as an accident. Like a traffic accident.’

Chairman Choi turned his gaze toward the window.

‘My child left through an accident, and now I am about to leave through an accident too. Haha.’

‘…No, sir. You will make a full recovery.’

‘Uicheol-ah.’

My throat constricted every time he called my name.

My father was a drug addict. He did not use drugs from the start. He worked for a moving company to feed his elderly mother with dementia, his young son, and his wife. He injured his back and touched narcotic painkillers to lessen the agony. Eventually, he fell into drug addiction. It was a common case. However, even if it was common, it didn’t lead to an ordinary life. Once he fell into drugs, he went in and out of prison and began to beat his wife. My mother couldn’t endure the elderly mother with dementia and the drug-addict husband, so she left home. The child left behind became miserable as a matter of course. The only person who called my name so tenderly was my mother, who left home and whose face I could no longer remember.

‘Why are you crying?’

‘…I am sorry.’

‘Uicheol-ah, how many years has it been since you stayed at our house?’

‘It has been 27 years this year.’

‘Right. You have worked hard.’

‘Not at all.’

I quickly wiped away my tears. This wasn’t the place to display my emotions.

‘I think there is much to prepare before I go. I will need a lot of your help, Uicheol-ah.’

‘Just give the word.’

From that day on, I followed the young master instead of the Chairman. Chairman Choi offered to give me a small company if I wanted to leave, but I immediately refused. I knew that once Chairman Choi disappeared, no one would be left to care for the young master by his side.

The young master, who only grew in physical size, still looked like a small child to me. A little young master who hid in the garden when he was depressed, dug up and killed the Chairman’s prized flowering trees when he was angry, and whose big eyes sparkled when he found something he liked.

I agreed with the opinion that the child needed a family, but I had doubts about whether he could ever marry. The young master was too young. He was like a child who had not even reached puberty yet.

However, he began to change after Kim Jinkyung came to the house. At first, I considered it just another typical whim. But the young master changed. He started going out even though he used to stay inside unless it was absolutely necessary; he studied like a madman, and he even ran away from home.

The expression on Chairman Choi’s face subtly changed as he heard the reports. At first, he was angry, but later he fell silent and became lost in thought.

‘What did you say that kid’s name was?’

‘Who do you mean, sir?’

‘The college student who stays by Seongha’s side to tutor him.’

‘It is Kim Jinkyung.’

Kim Jinkyung.

He was the college student the young master kept around, the only one he could tolerate after rejecting every other tutor with all sorts of excuses. He had a pale face, big eyes, a long neck, and slightly curly hair; he gave off a weak and harmless impression overall.

A background check revealed a clean and upright life without a single blemish… except for the part about him liking men a lot.

‘Did you look into him?’

‘Yes. Both his parents are alive and farming apples in Chungcheong-do. He served in the military on active duty….’

I rattled off the details I investigated about him. Chairman Choi listened and nodded his head.

‘However, there is one unusual detail.’

‘What is it?’

‘…He likes men.’

I expected Chairman Choi to shout and demand that I fire such a guy immediately upon hearing that. However, Chairman Choi only asked, ‘Is that so?’

‘No, it is nothing. I reported it simply as an unusual detail.’

‘Well, as long as he teaches well, it shouldn’t matter. It isn’t as if that kid and that guy are going to date.’

The young master’s reaction was similar to the one Mok Seongha showed when Kim Jinkyung revealed that he liked men. As time passed, the young master grew to resemble his grandfather.

I reported everything regarding the young master to Chairman Choi every day. I reported the content of his studies, his daily routine, and even the side dishes he ate.

However, as time went on, things emerged that made me wonder if I should even report them.

‘Doesn’t he smell like apples?’

‘Pardon? Who do you mean?’

‘The teacher.’

When did it start? The young master’s gaze changed whenever he looked at Kim Jinkyung. He followed Kim Jinkyung with his eyes no matter what the man did, and he began to seek him out using incomprehensible excuses.

At first, I didn’t think of it seriously. He was the first peer the young master met and befriended. It just happened that the peer was gay. I thought the young master was swept up in a brief “gay game” and enjoying a childish flirtation.

I figured he would snap out of it with time. But as time passed, far from regaining his senses, he began to act like a madman.

When the two fought and Kim Jinkyung abandoned the young master on the street and ran away, I thought it was for the best. A person like that couldn’t handle the young master. The young master needed someone who could get their own hands dirty. Kim Jinkyung was too weak and too clean for that. I hoped the young master would realize that through this opportunity. I waited for the flirtation to die down.

But after that day, the young master was holed up in the garden in his panther form and did nothing.

He didn’t touch food and just lay there, staring at the flowers in the garden. I got angry and told him he shouldn’t do that. I told him he shouldn’t spend his time like that, if only for the Chairman’s sake.

The Chairman came to the garden to find the young master. I don’t know what they discussed, but the young master returned to his human form. But he didn’t eat. He just sat there and acted like a person waiting for death.

A few days later, the Chairman called for me.

‘Uicheol-ah.’

‘Yes.’

‘You can stop hiding where Teacher Kim is now.’

‘…I am still searching for him.’

I said that, but I worried inwardly. In reality, I found out where Kim Jinkyung was yesterday. I created a clone phone using Seo Sangil’s personal information, he was the teacher’s best friend, and checked every single message he exchanged with those around him. I even had the phones of Kim Jinkyung’s parents copied.

‘I have one major regret.’

The old man placed his hand on the handle of his wheelchair and continued speaking.

‘It is that I only thought I was right and my child was wrong.’

‘…….’

‘I thought she made that decision because she was young and knew nothing. I believed I was right, so I pushed her away.’

‘I think I just waited for her to be wrong. I didn’t even ask what she was thinking or how she felt. Come to think of it, I never had a proper conversation with her after her mother died.’

The old man’s gaze turned vacantly toward the window. After a long while, he came to his senses and asked where he had left off. These days, the old man often lost his memory. He forgot where he was or what he was doing. The doctor explained it was delirium, a common occurrence for those facing death. But the doctor said the Chairman was in very good condition considering the circumstances.

‘You were speaking about the young lady.’

‘Right, Suhyeon. My daughter.’

He continued.

‘She grew up so much. I only thought of her as a child.’

I couldn’t tell which era his memories inhabited. I quietly waited for the Chairman’s words.

‘The child grew even in places where I didn’t look. I didn’t know that. She grew up a lot. So, Uicheol-ah.’

‘Yes, Chairman.’

‘Let him choose for himself. Whatever the result, he must be the one to bear it. He has grown that much.’

Ultimately, I visited Mok Seongha that day and told him Kim Jinkyung’s whereabouts. Whether it was flirtation or something else, if he kept the fire burning, the day would come when he would want to end it himself.

‘Drive me!’

I drove the immature young master to the airport.

‘The one you mentioned back then, is he still doing well?’

Mok Seongha, who had been staring anxiously out the window, asked as we approached Incheon Airport.

‘Who do you mean?’

‘The panther.’

‘…Whose panther?’

‘The one you brought in to take my place.’

I felt a sense of foreboding. A few years ago, while the Chairman was away, the young master had turned into a panther in the middle of the road due to an accident; he was captured alive and dragged away. At the time, I was also abroad to assist the Chairman, so there was no one to respond properly.

As soon as he woke up from surgery and heard the news, the Chairman began making calls everywhere. Then he gathered what was necessary. One of those things was a black panther.

‘…Why him?’

Why ask about the panther now, after never inquiring about his well-being even once?

‘How long does it take to bring him to Incheon?’

‘It’s free.’

‘No, the time.’ The confusion comes from the double meaning of the word 인천 (Incheon) and 공짜 (Gong-jja). In Korean slang, “Incheon” is sometimes humorously linked to the word “free” or “no cost” because of how it sounds in specific dialects or contexts.

‘……’

It was ominous. The young master’s gaze was ominous, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

‘Two hours at the earliest.’

‘Understood.’

There was no time to ask what he understood. As soon as the car arrived near Incheon Airport, Mok Seongha opened the back door and rushed out.

And then, an unprecedented situation occurred. I couldn’t believe it even after hearing the report. To think he would deliberately transform into a black panther in front of people, especially in a space with soldiers and police holding guns, and tackle Kim Jinkyung.

That wasn’t simple flirtation. A fire the size of a house was fiercely blazing. Feeling like I was about to spit blood, I extinguished the flames and finished the cleanup.

The young master returned to the mansion and went back to his normal appearance. He ate, slept, got angry, shouted… and laughed.

Nevertheless, I still didn’t like Kim Jinkyung. It was the young master’s choice, but I could see what he would have to endure later.

I called Kim Jinkyung over and kindly explained what would happen if a punk like him abandoned the young master first.

‘If you don’t have a preferred burial site, I will find a nice sunny spot and bury you well myself. I’ll even plant an apple tree over it.’

It wasn’t a problem if the young master abandoned Kim Jinkyung. In reality, if he made such a decision, I planned to congratulate him. But the opposite must never happen. I had watched from the side as the young master withered away. Kim Jinkyung, looking completely terrified, managed to nod his head.

Ah, I really don’t like him.

But regardless of that, Mok Seongha brought Kim Jinkyung back to the mansion and did not leave his side.

During that time, the chairman passed away. Everything moved rapidly. I was always preparing my heart, but the reality was entirely different. However, since the situation and my position did not allow for the display of emotion, I completed all the procedures as planned.

The young master engaged in every process more calmly than I expected. He showed the dignity befitting his position without a single mistake. Everything seemed to be falling into place. At least on the surface.

‘Did you know?’

The young master fell apart so easily once he discovered the chairman’s diary.

Mok Jinwoo, Mok Seongha’s father.

He was also a human who could transform into a black panther, just like Mok Seongha. Found in his panther form at the time of the accident, he was licking Choi Suhyeon’s body. The police shot the panther dead on the spot.

‘That is not a confirmed fact. The situation at that time….’

Licking a wound makes it heal. That was one of the mysterious traits the young master possessed. I didn’t know if his father possessed it as well. Also, when the young master loses his reason in his panther state, he displays a level of violence incomparable to his usual self. I don’t know if Mok Jinwoo was the same.

‘So you’re saying there were such circumstances.’

Mok Seongha understood the situation accurately. Everything is just circumstantial. However, the possibility is open on either side. It is just that no one can reach a definitive conclusion.

The young master shut himself away in the garden. The only difference from before was that he stayed in his human form rather than as a black panther.

While I was debating whether to forcibly anesthetize him and call a doctor to connect an IV, Kim Jinkyung asked to enter the chairman’s study. He said he had something to find.

A few hours later, he ran to the garden, struggling with a box. I stood prepared outside the garden in case of an emergency. However, the tranquilizer gun I prepared was not necessary.

The young master hid in Kim Jinkyung’s arms and burst into tears like a child.

‘Teacher…. I…what do I do…. My… grandfather…he’s dead….’

Clinging to someone a head shorter than himself, Mok Seongha cried. Kim Jinkyung cried with him and held the young master. I felt ashamed of the hand holding the tranquilizer gun. I returned to the mansion.

A little later, the young master came to my room. His eyes were red and swollen from how much he had cried.

‘You were with grandfather when you found me, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Please tell me the location. The place where the accident happened, and where you found me.’

‘I can tell you, but… why do you ask?’

‘I want to go there.’

It was dawn. The weather was bad, and since he had not slept properly for days, I felt the urge to suggest going another time. However, the expression on the young master’s face as he asked me was so desperate that I wordlessly wrote the address on a post-it and handed it over.

I watched the young master as he grabbed the car keys and asked.

‘Shall I drive you?’

‘No, it’s fine. I’m going with the teacher.’