Vol 1 Ch 10

“Then call me if you need anything.”

 

“…Yes. Thank you.”

 

Kim Jinkyung greeted him while sitting awkwardly. The employee who put the food on the table immediately left the dining room.

 

Even with a feast in front of him, Kim Jinkyung didn’t feel like eating.

 

“Why aren’t you eating? Are you praying?”

 

The man sitting at the head of the long table asked. Kim Jinkyung said no and picked up his chopsticks.

 

Kim Jinkyung, who had bought a hamburger set and was coming in, was confronted by Secretary Kang in the hallway, and Secretary Kang snatched the hamburger bag and drove him into the dining room. It was for the purpose of eating proper food instead of such unhealthy food.

 

Of course, Kim Jinkyung was not the only one who had to eat ‘proper food’ at that time. Kim Jinkyung flinched when he found Mok Seongha sitting at the table. Mok Seongha glanced at him but didn’t show any particular reaction.

 

Should he starve?

 

As Kim Jinkyung was pondering for a moment, Mok Seongha said without raising his head, “Sit down.” Kim Jinkyung immediately pulled out a chair and sat down.

 

Thus began the uncomfortable dinner.

 

The food was so great that Secretary Kang, who had taken away his hamburger, was confident, but he didn’t feel like eating much. Kim Jinkyung ate the food on his plate little by little.

 

Mok Seongha ate while looking at a book and didn’t talk to him. An awkward silence hung in the air.

 

“…Are you reading a book?”

 

He wanted to slap himself for not being able to stand the awkwardness and talking.

 

“You told me to study.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You told me to do it like eating.”

 

“Oh….”

 

He remembered answering that he had to keep studying like eating when asked how much he would study.

 

…He was really doing it.

 

He felt a little proud of the other person for keeping his word without thinking.

 

“If you keep doing that, you’ll be able to get into the university you want, if not this year.”

 

He said his honest thoughts. He couldn’t guarantee that he would pass this year because he didn’t have enough physical time, but if he kept at it, he would get good results.

 

“I have to pass this year.”

 

“There are a lot of people who retake the exam these days….”

 

“No.”

 

Mok Seongha raised his head. His eyes were firm. He wasn’t just being stubborn.

 

“Is there a reason why you can’t retake the exam?”

 

“I told the Chairman that I would pass this year.”

 

“……”

 

He vaguely remembered the story that even entering university was the Chairman’s will. Kim Jinkyung carefully started to speak.

 

“…Who is the Chairman?”

 

“Grandfather.”

 

Does he usually call his grandfather Chairman?

 

He was a little doubtful, but Kim Jinkyung thought that he shouldn’t make an issue of the title and continued to speak.

 

“Why don’t you talk to the Chairman? Dae-ib doesn’t determine your life, but if he thinks it’s important, maybe you should….” (Dae-ib is short for Daehak Ibhak 대학 입학, college entrance)

 

Mok Seongha slammed the book he was reading shut. Kim Jinkyung flinched.

 

“Who is he?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Who is Dae-ib to decide my life? A guy I’ve never even seen.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s mind went blank.

 

What did he just hear?

 

“D, Dae-ib?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Displeasure was clearly evident in his golden eyes. Kim Jinkyung shook his head, saying no.

 

“That’s not a person’s name, I’m talking about entering university. It’s short for entering university.”

 

Mok Seongha’s gaze briefly went down and then stared at Kim Jinkyung.

 

“Why shorten it?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why do you shorten it unnecessarily?”

 

Kim Jinkyung was at a loss for words for a moment. He wasn’t joking, he really didn’t know, right?

 

“Um….”

 

Kim Jinkyung, who was thinking about something, opened his mouth with some difficulty.

 

“You said you graduated from high school with a GED, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What about middle school?”

 

“Middle school too.”

 

“…Um, then.”

 

There was a thought that kept circling in his head. Kim Jinkyung continued to speak as carefully as possible.

 

“How about elementary school….”

 

“I didn’t go.”

 

Kim Jinkyung blinked, not knowing what to say to the answer that seemed so natural.

 

Special circumstances, excessive lack of common sense, and the conversations so far….

 

‘Taking private lessons once a week won’t be enough to get into the university you mentioned. You should go to a cram school every day or enroll in a boarding school….’

 

‘That’s absolutely not possible.’

 

‘A tetanus shot. You don’t even need a rabies shot. Young Master doesn’t go outside.’

 

When he put everything together, there was only one conclusion.

 

“By any chance, …do you not go outside?”

 

“Is there a need to go out?”

 

Mok Seongha answered briefly. It was a voice without any emotion. Kim Jinkyung bowed his head.

 

He didn’t feel good.

 

He didn’t go to elementary school, he took the GED for all middle and high school courses, and he doesn’t go out. Even entering university, all decisions are made by a person called ‘Chairman’, not himself.

 

Kim Jinkyung could easily draw a conclusion.

 

Neglect and confinement.

 

Mok Seongha would have been living a life close to neglect, confined in a large mansion. Come to think of it, he had never seen his parents or heard stories about them since he came here.

 

It was also difficult to see other employees besides Secretary Kang. Mok Seongha seemed to have spent almost all his time alone in that vast house.

 

When he realized that, Kim Jinkyung got angry.

 

Is it okay to confine a person, no, an animal, no, a person and an animal, so that they can’t go outside and can’t meet people? Because he turns into a Black panther when he gets wet, he has to live here for the rest of his life?

 

Mok Seongha said that he doesn’t go out because he doesn’t need to, but that was no different from confinement. Was the seclusion chosen by a young child who didn’t even go to elementary school really a voluntary choice?

 

At first, he thought about reporting it to the police. But there are many risk factors. He couldn’t tell anyone about Mok Seongha’s secret, and there was a high possibility that the police wouldn’t accept the report if an adult man was being confined in a large house while living in luxury.

 

Then what should he do?

 

In fact, pretending not to know was the most realistic and reasonable solution. Kim Jinkyung himself was working under duress.

 

…But people shouldn’t do that.

 

“Why.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why are you staring? Do you have something to say?”

 

Mok Seongha, who was solving a problem, asked without raising his head. Perhaps because he had the blood of a beast mixed in him, his sense of detecting signs was extraordinary.

 

“No, haha, well….”

 

How should he say it?

 

Even if he suddenly said he would help, he wouldn’t trust him. Even if he talked about confinement, he wouldn’t care. Above all, this place was likely to be bugged.

 

“Do you… like movies?”

 

“What?”

 

Mok Seongha frowned slightly and raised his head. His long eyebrows went up. They were pretty eyebrows that looked like they had been drawn.

 

“A movie by my favorite director is being released next week. I got free tickets, so if you like movies….”

 

…Did I just come on too strong? Still, getting him out was the priority. If he could make him go out even once, it would be half the battle.

 

“What movie is it?”

 

Okay. He’s showing interest.

 

Kim Jinkyung’s cheeks brightened.

 

“It’s a sci-fi movie, and this movie is like a prequel. But….”

 

“Tell me the title. Secretary Kang will get it.”

 

“What?”

 

“The movie.”

 

Was he going to download it illegally?

 

Kim Jinkyung smiled awkwardly and continued to answer.

 

“Movies are better seen on a big screen.”

 

“We have a movie theater in our house. One in the east wing. The screen is bigger than most movie theaters. You can buy the screening rights.”

 

It’s not easy to get him out because he’s confined in a rich house.

 

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll just watch the movie alone….”

 

Kim Jinkyung muttered awkwardly to himself and looked for another plan.

 

“What do you usually do when you’re bored?”

 

“I’m not bored.”

 

“Oh, then, do you have any hobbies or things you like?”

 

He had to find out something and make him want to go out somehow.

 

“No.”

 

“…Hahaha. You have a peaceful personality.”

 

Kim Jinkyung worked hard to think of other ways.

 

“Then don’t you go to clubs or anything? Do you drink with your friends, or….”

 

Mok Seongha put down the pen in his hand. Kim Jinkyung gasped.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Is this conversation related to studying?”

 

“O, of course….”

 

It wasn’t. It had nothing to do with it.

 

“Yes, it is. Learning, that is, learning methods, should be differentiated according to the individual, so it is important to know the student’s characteristics. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences says so, as well as Carol Tomlinson’s differentiated instruction theory, and….”

 

Kim Jinkyung scraped together all the knowledge he knew to make his weak argument look plausible.

 

“Is that so?”

 

Mok Seongha readily fell for the scam.

 

“Yes. That’s right!”

 

“I don’t go to clubs. It’s more comfortable to drink alone. What else are you curious about?”

 

“…What’s your ideal type?”

 

He was planning to make up a pretty junior who didn’t exist and lure him out under the guise of an introduction.

 

“Not you.”

 

“O, of course you wouldn’t.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned bright red. It was always 0 confessions and 1 rejections, but this time his heart felt more throbbing than usual.

 

…Is it because the other person knows that I like men this time?

 

Mok Seongha glanced at Kim Jinkyung, who quickly became sullen, and added, “I don’t have one.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’ve never thought about a sex partner or anything.”

 

“No, um, not necessarily a sex partner, but first of all, an ideal type starts with feeling attracted, and then that, no, I’m not saying to do it now….”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s words were jumbled and confused. His white skin quickly turned bright red. Mok Seongha stared at Kim Jinkyung’s face, which changed in an instant.

 

“I’m not going to do it anyway, whether it’s now or later.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“I’m not going to do it.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Sex.”

 

Kim Jinkyung almost shouted, “Why?”

 

He couldn’t look at him often because he was scared, but Mok Seongha was beautiful to the point of being useless.

 

The lines drawn on top of the mathematically perfect proportions felt like the essence of art. Especially the gold-flecked irises made his eyes look incredibly luxurious. To have a face that screamed pleasure and debauchery, and then never use it?

 

What a waste! Why? Why ever?

 

“Ah, you’re still young… How old are you?”

 

Kim Jinkyung then realized he didn’t even know the other man’s age.

 

“If I’m younger than you, you’ll get familiar?”

 

“No.”

 

“Twenty-two.”

 

Younger than him. He wanted to get familiar. But his life was more precious than Confucian beliefs, so Kim Jinkyung maintained his respectful tone.

 

“Then you might still be able to do that. Haha.”

 

“No. I’m not doing it.”

 

“Still, when you go to college, you’ll meet a lot of good friends…”

 

He had to give him the best possible impression of the outside world.

 

“I said I’d get the grades to get into college, not that I’d go to college.”

 

Kim Jinkyung was momentarily speechless at the reply.

 

“So, you’re just going to get accepted, and then not go?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Why?”

 

He was curious. It was genuine curiosity.

 

Surely, if the Chairman told him to go to college, it meant he’d let him out if he went? More than anything, Mok Seongha really studied hard. At first, he thought he was just a rich Young Master slathering money on private tutoring, but he wasn’t. Mok Seongha really did his best. To the point where he tied a pen to his tail to solve problems.

 

To go that far and then not go to college?

 

“There’s no need to go that far.”

 

“Well… you don’t do everything because you need to. Sometimes, you can just do it.”

 

“Just do it?”

 

Mok Seongha smiled wryly, resting his chin on his hand.

 

“I’m not a Nike kind of guy.”

 

He said it jokingly, but there was a clear line. It wasn’t just some ignorant young man’s childish words.

 

Kim Jinkyung blinked a few times and carefully opened his mouth.

 

“…Perhaps, do you dislike being around people?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Is there a particular reason?”

 

“Do you have a particular reason for liking men?”

 

A question returned the question. It was a wise answer to a foolish question. Kim Jinkyung pondered and then answered, no.

 

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

 

“…No.”

 

Having said that, Kim Jinkyung continued the lesson.