SLC 9

‘Let’s have lessons outside.’

The man, or more precisely the black panther, did not understand Kim Jinkyung’s words at first. He had failed to grasp exactly what the scope of the word ‘outside’ entailed.

‘Outside the house.’

Upon the added remark, the black panther stared silently at Kim Jinkyung before swatting his temple with a forepaw in a resounding smack. After that, the black panther shook off the water clinging to his body with a vigorous rustle and vanished swiftly into the darkness.

The negotiation that night ended in failure in that manner. The next morning, Mok Seongha, who had returned to his human form, came to find Kim Jinkyung. He bore a pristine face that showed no trace of the previous night’s rampage.

“Why?”

He asked abruptly.

Kim Jinkyung’s statement that he would take responsibility and ensure university admission if they held tutoring sessions outside made no sense to him. It was only natural, as Kim Jinkyung himself had not yet come up with a reason convincing enough to persuade the other.

“Um, I like going outside.”

“What does your liking the outside have to do with holding tutoring outside?”

Although the man lacked common knowledge, he did not lack logic.

“…I need money.”

“Then take the money and do it at home. I’ll give you double.”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“Really? Then triple.”

“……”

He nearly gave in.

“Quadruple?”

“No.”

Kim Jinkyung barely regained his senses and shook his head. If the conversation continued further about money, he might not be able to handle it himself.

“As I mentioned before, I have a personal life too. I cannot spend all my time only in this mansion.”

“So what exactly is this personal life you can attend to while holding tutoring outside?”

The man was unnecessarily perceptive.

“That’s…”

After pondering for a long while, Kim Jinkyung ultimately chose the easy and despicable path.

“Men?”

“……”

He could feel it. He could sense it. Even with his head bowed, the other’s contemptuous gaze came through undiminished.

“A-As I mentioned, I like them too much, …men.”

Even after saying it, he was overcome with self-loathing. If he did this, how was he any different from Go Jinyoung, who had asked a junior whose apartment had burned down to introduce him to a woman? Moreover, since he had added that he liked money too, it made things even worse.

“There are plenty of men in this house too.”

In response to Mok Seongha’s words, Kim Jinkyung waved his hands in denial.

“No. Absolutely not, I hate it. I wouldn’t do it here even if it killed me.”

“Why do you hate it?”

“…They’re not my type.”

This was true. The employees working here had fierce appearances. They were nothing but faces outside Kim Jinkyung’s preferences.

“Then what kind of guy do you like? I’ll hire one that’s your type.”

“My type…”

He lifted his head and met Mok Seongha’s eyes. Kim Jinkyung quickly averted his gaze.

“I’ll handle that myself. Anyway, I want to have lessons outside.”

“……”

“If you dislike it…”

“Fine.”

“Pardon?”

“Do it outside. But I have a condition too.”

Kim Jinkyung swallowed dryly.

What could it be? If he failed at university admission, would the man perhaps demand he cut off his hand or something?

…Was he staking his wrist on humanitarianism right now?

Kim Jinkyung looked down at his own wrist with a face that had turned deathly pale.

“If you’re going to have sex, do it where I’m not around.”

“Yes. Of course, yes?”

“Do it where I’m not. I have no intention of watching that nonsense.”

“No, of course, why would I…”

As Kim Jinkyung tried to make excuses, he realized what path he had chosen.

I don’t do it. I haven’t done it, I have no plans to do it for a while, of course I wouldn’t do it in front of people, and …I couldn’t, me either.

“…Yes. I won’t do it.”

Pushing aside what he wanted to say, in the end this time too, Kim Jinkyung chose the despicable and easy path.

‎

‎

‎

‎

“Ouch.”

Kim Jinkyung slapped his own leg with his palm. Mok Seongha looked at him with a face that seemed to ask if it was happening again.

“…Mosquitoes keep biting only me.”

Kim Jinkyung smiled while rubbing the spot that had already turned red with marks. He was getting bitten in nearly over ten places. In contrast, Mok Seongha had not been bitten even once.

“My blood must taste good. Haha…”

“It’s not that your blood tastes good, but because your body temperature is high.”

“Body temperature? No, it’s normal.”

Just in case, Kim Jinkyung touched his own forehead. There was no fever, let alone any sore spots.

“Your usual body temperature. It’s about 0.2 degrees higher than others. Didn’t you know?”

“I didn’t. How do you know that?”

Mok Seongha slowly tilted his head. The thick tendons exposed below his jawline became visible following his movement.

“Because I can sense it.”

“……”

“Pulse, body temperature, scent.”

Mok Seongha’s voice had a peculiar quality that evoked a transfer of senses. His low timbre was rough and cold, and every time he uttered a word, it felt as if thin ice spread its territory across the skin.

Mok Seongha continued while looking at Kim Jinkyung.

“You’re a bit noisy, but tolerable enough for me to put up with.”

“Me?”

It was a phrase he had heard for the first time. Kim Jinkyung was not the type who spoke a lot. Although words would leak out like a broken faucet when he was flustered, he usually preferred listening over speaking.

“You’re the type whose heart races incredibly fast when you’re startled or scared.”

“……”

“Like right now.”

“…Ahaha…”

To think that even his heartbeat could be heard. It was almost like a superpower. Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and Kim Jinkyung asked a question.

“So is that why you dislike places with lots of people?”

Unexpectedly, Mok Seongha accepted the proposal to hold lessons outside. That meant his desire for university admission was substantial. However, the next day, he nonchalantly woke Kim Jinkyung at a time close to midnight.

Let’s go out for the lesson.

…What are you saying? How can we have a lesson right now?

Although Kim Jinkyung, with a sleepy face not fully awake, checked the time and protested, it was futile.

‘You said to do it outside. We didn’t specify what time.’

In the end, Kim Jinkyung ended up setting up a table on the Han River embankment and sitting down to conduct the lesson at a time approaching one in the morning.

“Yeah. It’s noisy and smelly.”

Mok Seongha continued while jotting numbers in his workbook.

“And I just dislike it.”

Kim Jinkyung sighed.

Just as there did not need to be a reason for him liking men, there was no necessity to probe for a reason why Mok Seongha disliked people.

“But can you see well? The lighting seems a bit dim.”

Kim Jinkyung said while fiddling with the wireless lamp he had brought for the midnight lesson. His intention was to suggest pulling the lesson time earlier if it was too dark.

“I can see the letters even without turning this on. I turned it on for you.”

“……”

There really was no angle to attack him from.

Kim Jinkyung quietly closed his mouth and watched Mok Seongha solve the problems.

‘You can discern a person’s personality by observing how they solve problems.’

He recalled the words spoken by the professor of the advanced mathematics course he had taken in his first year of university.

Mok Seongha always wrote down the equations without hesitation. It was the same whether he knew the problem or not. He would write first and try to get the answer. It was like hunting. An animalistic method.

“You solved it well.”

After confirming the answer Mok Seongha had derived, Kim Jinkyung wrote another problem in the workbook and handed it over. The method he had just used had luckily yielded the answer. Kim Jinkyung needed to teach him the accurate way to solve the problem.

“Then try this one too. After you solve it, I’ll explain the concept once more.”

Mok Seongha took the workbook. Only the sound of the pen scratching the paper could be heard. The cool night air brushing his cheeks and the sound of water breaking against the riverbank created quite an atmosphere.

…Having a lesson in the middle of the night isn’t necessarily all that bad.

Kim Jinkyung muttered inwardly while sipping the coffee he had gotten earlier.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“A man is passing by.”

“……”

Except for this.

Far away, a man in running clothes passed by, huffing loudly. Kim Jinkyung clutched his forehead.

“Not him?”

Every time a man passed, Mok Seongha would ask that.

“…No.”

“Ugly?”

“I can’t even see his face… Never mind.”

Kim Jinkyung tapped the workbook with his hand and sternly instructed the student to focus on solving the problems.

“What kind of face is your type?”

Mok Seongha lifted his head and asked.

“……”

He would not fall for it. If he described a face that was his type, the man would surely fill the mansion with guys who looked exactly like that.

“Someone who touches my heart.”

Kim Jinkyung deliberately pinpointed an aspect that was not about appearance.

“How does the heart get touched?”

“…If they’re good to me?”

“If someone is good to you and that touches your heart, is that your type?”

Mok Seongha asked back as if it were absurd.

“Yes.”

It was not true. They had to be handsome. The body had to be good too. And kindness was a secondary issue. If a handsome man with a good body was good to him, Kim Jinkyung would inevitably fall in love.

Kim Jinkyung’s crushes were easy. Since they remained as crushes in his mind, they were crushes that did not harm anyone. He neither confessed his feelings nor forced them.

He simply started the crush and met its quiet end.

“The teacher is really promiscuous.”

“…Haha.”

…If I’m promiscuous, then so be it.

Kim Jinkyung swallowed his grievance and soothed his seething insides with coffee.

“Hurry and solve it. We have to finish up to here today.”

Kim Jinkyung held up another textbook. Mok Seongha began solving problems again. Unexpectedly, during lesson time, he followed instructions obediently enough to seem compliant.

‘You’re going to have lessons outside? Are you in your right mind?’

That had been Secretary Kang’s reaction when Kim Jinkyung explained the lesson plan. It was as expected.

‘These days, many do it in cafes or study cafes.’

‘You’re going out with the young master? Are you in your right mind?’ …he absolutely won’t go out on rainy days. I’ll definitely check the weather forecast.’

‘You’re taking that person out? Are you out of your right mind right now?’

Secretary Kang glared at him with wide eyes and kept repeating the same thing. Kim Jinkyung answered with his shoulders completely hunched.

’…I think it’ll be fine…’

Secretary Kang covered his forehead with one hand. Then he let out a deep sigh and quickly continued speaking.

‘Who says it’s fine? Have you raised the young master? You haven’t raised him. I raised that person from the ground up. Don’t go out. Study cafe? I’ll make one inside the house right away. I’ll make it within a week, so listen to me and don’t go out.’

Kim Jinkyung clenched his two sweat-dampened hands. It was the resistance he had anticipated.

‘…He can’t stay inside the house forever.’

He did not specify the subject. Secretary Kang, who had been glaring at Kim Jinkyung with burning eyes, asked.

‘Alright. Did the young master say he’s going out? The person I know would absolutely not go out.’

That must have been the best trump card he could throw.

‘I will go out.’

A relief pitcher appeared. Mok Seongha, who had walked over from behind, picked up an apple from the table. While crunching into the apple, he continued speaking.

‘Because the person Secretary Kang knows has to go to university no matter what.’

Mok Seongha said with a smile. Every time he bit into the apple, the apple scent spread through the air.

Feeling a tickle at the back of his throat, Kim Jinkyung lowered his head.

In the end, Secretary Kang permitted the outdoor tutoring with all sorts of conditions attached.

‘Be careful.’

‘Yes. I’ll be careful. Careful not to touch water, and also…’

‘No, not that…….Anyway, be careful. I warned you.’

Fortunately, this was the third time today, and no particular issues had arisen. The incident after meeting the Chairman felt like a dream, as Mok Seongha had been studying docilely.

It’s fortunate. If things continue like this…

“Someone is coming this way.”

“Please, just…”

Before Kim Jinkyung could even say to stop, someone approached the table where the two were sitting at a rapid pace.

“Excuse me.”

It was a youthful voice. Kim Jinkyung lifted his head in surprise and said, “Yes?” A woman dressed in running clothes continued in a low voice while turning back with a distressed face.

“Um, someone has been following me from behind and keeps trying to talk to me…”

Kim Jinkyung stood up from his seat and checked the direction she pointed. Just as the woman said, two burly men, not in workout clothes, were walking toward this side.

“If you go straight ahead, there’s a convenience store. Go there and ask them to lock the door. If anything happens, call the police right away. Don’t worry about here and hurry along.”

In response to Kim Jinkyung’s words, the woman bowed her head quickly with an anxious face and ran off in that direction.

“Hey, what the hell? Why is she suddenly acting like that?”

One of the men walking this way said in a voice laced with irritation while watching the woman run away.

“Hey, miss over there. I said let’s talk for a bit. Fuck, am I gonna eat you or something? I just want to have a fun chat.”

As the men came closer, the smell of alcohol wafted strongly. Kim Jinkyung cautiously addressed them by saying, “Um.”

“That lady is uncomfortable, so it would be best if you just turned back.”

“Hey, who the fuck are you to tell us what to do? Shit, how do you know if she’s uncomfortable or not. You some mind reader?”

Kim Jinkyung sighed inwardly.

“Hey, you! Don’t go there. I said wait a minute!”

One of the men turned direction to chase after the woman who had run off. Kim Jinkyung hurriedly stood from his seat and blocked the man’s path.

“You are of age, so you shouldn’t act like this. That lady still looks like a student…”

“Age? Ahaha. I’m fucking young, you know? Asshole.”

The man, whose face value was at least mid-thirties, spouted nonsense.

“If I’m younger than you, does that mean I can have a pious conversation with that woman? Huh? You permitting it?”

“If you really keep this up…”

Kim Jinkyung tried to say it wouldn’t work. If Mok Seongha, who had been solving problems, had not stood up. No, more precisely, if Mok Seongha had not stood from his seat and swung the wireless lamp that had been placed on the table at the man’s head.

“Aaaargh!”

At the violence without any warning, the man clutched his head and screamed. Blood spurted out like small fountains from the split skull.

“Wh-what the fuck, you bas… Aaaargh!”

Mok Seongha proceeded to smash the other man’s skull with the lamp as well. Thud, thud, thud. Blood splattered in all directions along with fragments of the wireless lamp.

“Fuck… Fuck, what the hell!”

The man who had been hit only once clutched his blood-streaming skull and spewed curses. Mok Seongha tossed the remaining base of the lamp fragment onto the ground. The man flinched and reflexively shuddered.

“You said you’re young.”

“What?”

“I was wondering why a guy who claims to be so fucking young is using informal speech.”

“……”

You’re using informal speech with me too.

Although Kim Jinkyung had many things he wanted to say, he first tried to stop Mok Seongha.

“Stop it. You can’t do this.”

“Why?”

Mok Seongha asked. His tone suggested he genuinely did not know. Goosebumps rose on Kim Jinkyung’s skin. Then it suddenly occurred to him that Mok Seongha might truly not know. Because he had never had the opportunity to go out and mingle with people.

“You can’t hurt… other people.”

“Like that?”

Mok Seongha finished the sentence for him. He picked up the chair he had been sitting on until just now. The man who had been bleeding realized the gravity of the situation and began to back away hesitantly.

“I know that much, teacher. Even I do.”

Mok Seongha dragged the chair along. From the car parked over there, the bodyguards belatedly noticed the situation and came running.

“But, teacher.”

Mok Seongha’s eyes flecked with golden gleamed unusually. Just like a predator eyeing prey in the darkness.

“In the land of Eastern propriety, a young punk shouldn’t use informal speech.”

He said while swinging down the chair he held in his hand.