SLC 8

“If someone is in a really bad situation. But they themselves don’t know it. What would you do?”

At Kim Jinkyung’s question, Seo Sangil, who was eating jjajangmyeon topped with tangsuyuk, asked back, “What?”

“Would you help them?”

“No? Why would I? You said they don’t know. Then they’re living just fine.” Seo Sangil chomped down the rest of his jjajangmyeon.

“But as a matter of human decency…”

“Hey. Kim Jinkyung.”

Seo Sangil frowned as he continued.

“Are you planning to play the sucker again and get beaten up?”

“No. It’s not like that…”

“Yeah, right. You seem to have a hobby of getting pummeled.”

If Kim Jinkyung saw a student getting mugged by thugs on the street, he just couldn’t walk by.

Despite being bad at fighting and weak, he’d always step in, and end up getting beaten every time. Once, Seo Sangil happened to pass by, spotted Kim Jinkyung getting thrashed, and helped him out. That’s how they became friends, but Seo Sangil disapproved of his friend’s meddlesome nature.

“You’re a total coward, yet you always butt in. Anyway, don’t get involved this time. Keep your head out of it.”

…My head’s already in, though.

“Oh, right. Ahyeon-noona asked me to find out where you’re staying. She said you don’t seem to have friends, so you’re not sleeping on the streets, right?”

“Ahaha…”

The two, brutally honest to a fault, were a match made in heaven.

“Where are you staying?”

“Uh, at an acquaintance’s place.”

“Which acquaintance?”

“…Someone you don’t know.”

“Who’s this person I don’t know but you do?”

Uncharacteristically persistent, Seo Sangil continued asking. Kim Jinkyung forced an awkward smile and looked away.

“Are you being held somewhere weird?”

“I’m not being held…I’m just indebted to them for a while…”

He couldn’t deny the “weird” part.

“Who is it? Stop dodging.”

“…The tutoring house.”

Seo Sangil paused with jjajangmyeon in his mouth. “What?”

“That crazy house?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you spout all that nonsense about liking men just to get fired from there?”

“I did.”

Though it wasn’t nonsense, that’s the problem.

“And now you’re staying there? Wait a second.” Something seemed to dawn on Seo Sangil; he raised his sauce-covered chopsticks.

“No way…”

Worried his friend might figure out his secret, Kim Jinkyung’s heart started pounding.

“Is it some kind of cult?”

“What? No…”

The tension drained out of him instantly.

“If it’s not a cult, why would they take someone in so easily? Wait…no. Does that guy like men too?”

“It’s not that. Absolutely not.”

A cult seemed more plausible.

“Think about it: you said you like men, and instead of firing you, he kept the contract, that was suspicious from the start. Be careful. One wrong move and you’ll turn gay.”

“……”

Already did.

Kim Jinkyung silently sipped his tea.

“Anyway, why would he let a tutor he’s barely met sleep over?”

“The house is huge.”

“Even if it’s huge, that’s not normal. He must want something.”

He wanted something?

A flash of insight struck Kim Jinkyung. He jumped up from his seat.

“Thanks, Seo Sangil.”

“Huh? Thanks for what?”

“I have to go. Talk later.”

“Uh, sure. Hey, buy me meat next time.”

Flustered by the abrupt farewell, Seo Sangil still managed to shout about meat. Kim Jinkyung waved vaguely and left the restaurant. He caught the bus straight to the mansion.

He’d finally found a way to drag that oversized cat, who showed no interest in anything, out into the world.

What Mok Seongha wanted right now was one thing only.

University admission.

He was serious about it, serious enough to let a near-stranger he barely knew stay in the mansion and force tutoring sessions out of him.

Kim Jinkyung planned to exploit that.

Arriving at the mansion in high spirits, he ran into a man coming out the front door.

“…Oh.”

Startled, Kim Jinkyung froze with his mouth open.

It was Mok Seongha dressed in a black suit.

The formal attire was completely different from his usual casual clothes. Kim Jinkyung was so shocked he couldn’t move and just stared up at him.

His styled hair and suit gave off an almost suffocating ascetic vibe, yet his face was radiant, drawing his eyes involuntarily. He looked like he could walk a runway right now without missing a beat. All the camera flashes in the world wouldn’t be enough for him.

But what surprised him most was…

“…Are you going out?”

“Yeah.”

Mok Seongha answered while putting on his shoes. The simple reply made Kim Jinkyung feel like an idiot for agonizing over how to get him outside for days.

“Where to?”

“To see the Chairman.”

The word “Chairman” deflated Kim Jinkyung completely. He didn’t know who the man was, but he knew he controlled every decision in Mok Seongha’s life.

“By yourself?”

At the question, Secretary Kang, standing behind, interjected, “I’m going too.”

Several bodyguards, usually unseen, were also present. Kim Jinkyung suddenly felt uneasy.

“Th-then I’ll come along.”

“Why would you?”

The blunt response silenced him. Mok Seongha was right, they weren’t close enough for that level of involvement. But for some reason, he didn’t want to let him go alone.

“…Since I’m the one tutoring Mok Seongha-ssi, I thought it would be proper to at least greet the elder.”

He scraped together a flimsy excuse that might only work in a Confucian society.

“This isn’t the right time for…”

Mok Seongha raised a hand to cut Secretary Kang off.

“Later.”

His short reply came with an unusually stiff expression.

“Then…”

Kim Jinkyung called out as Mok Seongha headed for the door.

“I’ll make up the lesson when you get back.”

It was the best and most he could offer.

“Yeah.”

Mok Seongha left through the front door. Kim Jinkyung stared absentmindedly at the closed door for a while before taking off his shoes.

‎

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Half-asleep, Kim Jinkyung heard a noise and groggily sat up.

Did I imagine it?

As he lay back down, a clearer sound pierced his consciousness. Something shattering.

Startled, Kim Jinkyung jumped out of bed. The noise came from across the hall, the study where they held lessons. He’d waited up late and eventually fallen asleep, but the light was on in that room.

He checked the time.

2 a.m.

While debating whether to go in, another loud crash rang out. Kim Jinkyung instinctively opened the door and rushed inside.

“What’s going…”

He couldn’t even finish speaking.

Mok Seongha stood there. Both hands and face soaked in blood.

This was the second time seeing him covered in blood. The difference this time was that it was all his own.

“Ah, the lesson.”

Spotting Kim Jinkyung, Mok Seongha said it as if he suddenly remembered, then casually wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. Fresh streaks of blood followed the motion.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to do today’s lesson.”

Kim Jinkyung rushed over in horror.

“The lesson isn’t important…s-stay still. The blood…”

Mok Seongha looked down at his hands with an expressionless face. A half-shattered mirror lay on the floor; jagged glass shards were embedded in the raw flesh of his mangled hands, blood streaming freely.

Kim Jinkyung hurriedly grabbed his hand.

“Hold on, we need to stop the bleeding, raise your hand like this…”

His own hands and clothes were soon soaked in the flowing blood. His stomach churned and he felt like fainting, but he held it together. The back of the hand, riddled with irregular glass fragments, wouldn’t stop bleeding easily.

“We need to go to the hospital. I’ll call 119…”

As Kim Jinkyung reached for his phone, Secretary Kang intervened.

“Step aside.”

Secretary Kang pushed him away. Medical staff who followed immediately began emergency treatment. No one panicked, as if this were routine.

“You can return to your room.”

Secretary Kang told Kim Jinkyung. It sounded polite, but it was an order. Kim Jinkyung looked at Mok Seongha, surrounded by people.

Their eyes met, but he said nothing.

In the end, Kim Jinkyung returned to his room. All he could think was that something was wrong.

In the attached bathroom, he washed his hands for a long time. Watching the blood swirl down the drain with the water made his stomach churn again. Even after changing clothes, he couldn’t calm down.

Why isn’t anyone taking him to the hospital?

“Teacher.”

A while later, Secretary Kang knocked and entered the room.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“No. I’m fine. Um, how is Mok Seongha-ssi…?”

“The young master is fine.”

“But there was so much blood…shouldn’t he go to the hospital…”

“Professional medical staff came and treated him, so you don’t need to worry too much. Get some sleep.”

It was a warning not to interfere further. He wasn’t dumb enough to miss that, but Kim Jinkyung wasn’t cowardly enough to just accept it either.

“…But he should get proper treatment. You can’t just leave it like that.”

“What did you say?”

“If scars remain on his face… With wounds that big, just doing first aid is neglect. …And neglect is abuse.”

The last part came out in a barely audible whisper. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

I’m going to get beaten. No, drowned. No, buried… Why couldn’t I hold back…

“Neglect? Abuse? Who to whom?”

Secretary Kang asked back, his face showing utter incomprehension.

“To Mok Seongha-ssi…”

“To the young master? By me?”

Secretary Kang scoffed in disbelief.

“Ha. Unbelievable.”

He massaged his furrowed brows as he continued.

“I swear, if anyone abuses the young master, I’ll snap their spine with my own hands and make them crawl on all fours. They wouldn’t deserve to walk upright.”

Kim Jinkyung felt a chill in his own spine and discreetly rubbed his back.

“Satisfied?”

“No, wait.”

Kim Jinkyung stopped Secretary Kang as he tried to leave.

“What now?”

“Even with his special circumstances, preventing him from going to the hospital…”

“We’re not preventing him. He chooses not to go.”

“But…”

Kim Jinkyung had nearly fainted when he first entered the room. The gashes from the glass were deep enough to expose bone. Blood was literally gushing out, if left like that…

“Teacher.”

Secretary Kang’s voice dropped low.

“Yes?”

“Stop with the unnecessary thoughts and just go to sleep. We’ll talk again tomorrow after checking the young master’s face.”

“……”

Does that mean bury me tomorrow?

“Ah, one last thing.”

As he was leaving, Secretary Kang added something that came to mind.

“The young master is in a bad mood, so don’t provoke him unnecessarily. …On days like this, one wrong move and it’s over.”

“…Understood.”

Secretary Kang closed the door and left.

Kim Jinkyung shuffled back to bed. Even with his eyes closed, he couldn’t sleep. After lying there for a while, he heard footsteps.

The squelching sound of wet feet faded away. Kim Jinkyung stealthily got out of bed.

Opening the door, he saw the hallway floor soaked with water. Droplets trailed from Mok Seongha’s bedroom outward.

The corridor was quiet enough to make the earlier events feel like a dream.

After a moment’s hesitation, Kim Jinkyung carefully followed the water marks. As he stepped outside and walked further, the floral scent grew stronger. Tracing the familiar path, he arrived at the glass garden.

As expected, a large beast lay on the bench. Water dripped around him, as if he’d just emerged soaked.

Kim Jinkyung approached his side. The black panther must have sensed his presence but didn’t even turn his head.

“…Are you… okay?”

Kim Jinkyung cautiously examined the black panther’s face and forepaws. Not a single gash remained, let alone a scratch. He doubted his own eyes.

It was astonishing. No matter how skilled the doctor, this was impossible…

Secretary Kang’s parting words suddenly flashed in his mind.

‘We’ll talk again tomorrow after checking the young master’s face.’

…So that’s what he meant.

But just in case wounds lingered elsewhere, he inspected the black panther’s body all over. Sleek, thick black fur covered him flawlessly.

Maybe the wounds shifted somewhere else…

As Kim Jinkyung leaned in to check under the belly, the black panther irritably swatted his head with a forepaw. Kim Jinkyung sat on the floor, rubbing his forehead. The claws were retracted, but the force left his skull tingling.

“Why did you do that?”

He asked, knowing no answer would come. The black panther remained motionless, eyes still closed.

“Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t do things like that.”

No matter how quickly wounds heal, it doesn’t mean they don’t hurt.

“Don’t do that.”

“…”

The black panther turned his head the other way.

Maybe knowing his age changed things. The panther, about the size of a calf, felt like a not-fully-grown young animal. Of course, young or not, he was a predator and terrifying as hell.

With a slightly trembling voice from fear, Kim Jinkyung continued.

“Go to the hospital later. …The wounds aren’t visible, but…”

The black panther remained unmoving. Kim Jinkyung scanned the surroundings. No signs of anyone, but just in case, he sidled right up next to him.

“Listen.”

He leaned in close to whisper, and the black panther’s rounded ears perked up.

“In case someone hears.”

Even as he spoke, Kim Jinkyung continued vigilantly checking around.

“…You can go outside, right?”

From seeing him go meet the Chairman today, it seemed outings weren’t completely forbidden.

That didn’t erase the sin of raising a child without even sending him to school, though.

The black panther calmly stared at Kim Jinkyung.

His face seemed to say, “why ask something so obvious?”

“I’ll make sure you get into university this year.”

The black panther lifted his head and let out a low growl.

“Yes. I mean it. Seoul National or Yonko… Yonsei or Korea University might be a stretch, but at least a recognizable university in Seoul, somehow…”

Before he could finish, Kim Jinkyung lost his balance and fell backward. The black panther had pounced on him, pinning both his shoulders down.

Even if he was a human in a transformed state, a beast was a beast. With the black panther looming over him, every nerve in his body froze, he couldn’t move a finger. He couldn’t even plead for mercy.

‘Don’t provoke him unnecessarily. …On days like this, one wrong move and it’s over.’

…Since I didn’t provoke you, don’t bite me.

As the black panther snarled, his white fangs became visible. Goosebumps rose on Kim Jinkyung’s skin. It felt as if a golden moon was gazing down at him from within the darkness.

A low, rough sound rose from the black panther’s throat, resonating like a warning. Kim Jinkyung sensed what the black panther intended to convey to him.

Are you serious about what you’re saying right now?

Kim Jinkyung nodded his head.

“Yes. I am serious.”

A massive forepaw, the size of a child’s head, pressed on Kim Jinkyung’s shoulder. The black panther was urging him to continue with his next words.

The reason.

The reason why Kim Jinkyung, a complete stranger, would go to such lengths.

The fierce predator’s eyes scrutinized him relentlessly, as if he were stalking prey. The black panther was assessing whether his opponent was plotting some scheme.

Kim Jinkyung swallowed dryly. He had been timid since childhood. On nights when he watched scary programs on television, he could not even go to the bathroom all night.

As he grew older, he gradually learned to conceal such behaviors, but at this moment, he could not manage it.

His fingertips trembled in an unsightly manner, and tears seemed about to well up.

The reason.

The reason why he, a complete stranger who felt terrified to the point of death, had to persist like this.

Kim Jinkyung himself did not know a proper reason for it. He could immediately list several reasons why he should not interfere in this man’s affairs.

Nevertheless.

“…Because you are my student…”

Kim Jinkyung could not pretend to be unaware. Although this man occupied a position where someone like him dared not offer pity, the fact that the man had lived for a long time alone in the vast mansion without meeting anyone weighed on his mind.

He simply said that.

“Instead…”

Kim Jinkyung slowly raised his body. The distance was close enough for the beast’s breath to reach him. He whispered the next words into the black panther’s ear in a voice so small it was barely audible.