Vol 1 Ch 18

“…What’s wrong, Young Master?”

 

Secretary Kang, who found Mok Seongha coming out for breakfast, widened his eyes.

 

“He said the brain needs to be awake in the morning.”

 

“Who?”

 

“The teacher.”

 

Secretary Kang looked at Kim Jinkyung as if he was a little surprised.

 

“I thought it would be better to live according to the test schedule. That’s what most people usually do.”

 

Living together, he saw Mok Seongha’s daily routine. He was a typical owl-type cat, no, human, who woke up late and went to bed late.

 

“To wake up at this time and have breakfast.”

 

Secretary Kang had a deeply moved expression. Kim Jinkyung looked at the clock. 8 a.m. It wasn’t a time to be moved by.

 

“…You need to wake up earlier.”

 

When Kim Jinkyung carefully advised him, Mok Seongha immediately showed his displeasure.

 

“Even earlier than this?”

 

“Yes. Wake up at six o’clock. That’s how your brain wakes up and becomes active.”

 

It was realistic advice. But for Mok Seongha, who had never been to school in his life, waking up in the morning seemed like a difficult task.

 

“Okay.”

 

Mok Seongha listened to Kim Jinkyung even while showing his displeasure.

 

“When I told you that you should wake up early for your health, you didn’t even pretend to listen.”

 

Secretary Kang grumbled as if he was dumbfounded.

 

“I couldn’t help it back then. And even if I wake up late, I’m still healthy.”

 

“…That’s true, but.”

 

Secretary Kang, who looked so vicious that he wouldn’t even blink an eye even if he cut up one or two people with a knife, seemed to be very weak to that ‘little Young Master’.

 

“Have you two been eating breakfast together all this time?”

 

Mok Seongha asked, looking at the two of them sitting coldly at the large table. Kim Jinkyung nodded.

 

There were many employees in this vast mansion, but it was difficult to see them. The person who prepared the meal would set it up and disappear as soon as they were thanked. As a result, Kim Jinkyung had been having most of his breakfasts with Secretary Kang since he came to this house.

 

“Prepare Young Master’s meal.”

 

Secretary Kang contacted someone, and the meal was served immediately. Mok Seongha picked up his spoon without a word.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Now, when Mok Seongha called out “Hey,” Kim Jinkyung’s answer came out reflexively.

 

“About you sleeping with a man a while ago. I’ve been thinking about it.”

 

Secretary Kang, who was about to eat pumpkin porridge, immediately gave him a look of contempt. Kim Jinkyung put down his spoon in frustration.

 

“No, I really only slept.”

 

“You like men so much, so of course you did.”

 

Secretary Kang sneered.

 

He had confessed that he liked men so much, too much, in front of the two of them several times, so Kim Jinkyung gave up on any further explanations.

 

“Ah, maybe that day when I couldn’t reach you…”

 

Secretary Kang glared even more viciously than before. Kim Jinkyung silently ate his porridge. It was also true that he had lost contact after drinking alcohol.

 

“From today, don’t go out and just study inside.”

 

“Yes? Why, why?”

 

“You don’t need to meet men for the time being.”

 

“…….”

 

“Are you going to meet them again?”

 

“It’s not that I’m going to meet them again, but if I just stay here at home…”

 

“If you just stay at home, what?”

 

Kim Jinkyung glanced at Mok Seongha. A white T-shirt and shorts. That was the most he dressed up. He often walked around shirtless. It wasn’t a big problem until he realized he liked him, but once he realized his feelings, it became a very big problem.

 

“What, what’s wrong with it?”

 

Mok Seongha snapped fiercely. Every time he got annoyed, the veins in his neck stood out. His eyes inadvertently went to them…

 

No. Get a grip.

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly pinched his thigh and answered.

 

“It’s stuffy. I used to wander around all the time when I lived alone. I only ate out. They said I have a wandering star when I get my fortune told… Haha.”

 

It was a blatant lie. Kim Jinkyung was a homebody. Even if it was a cramped studio, he liked being inside. He did almost all of his studying and eating in his room.

 

But first of all, he had to prevent being alone with him in a confined space as much as possible. If he heard his heart beating and his feelings were revealed, he would surely be buried alive.

 

“Then do it in the garden.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

“Why.”

 

“…….”

 

The garden of this house was a feast of luxurious trees and flowers. He didn’t know whose taste it was, but it was beautiful and elegant to the point of being useless. It was a spectacle that looked like a Monet painting no matter where you cut it and took a picture.

 

…In a word, it’s too romantic. If you bring anyone and have them face each other there for an hour, it’s a background where an unexpected romance will arise.

 

“I have a pollen allergy.”

 

“Teacher, you said you’re also allergic to cats. Do you take your medicine every morning?”

 

Secretary Kang unintentionally helped. Kim Jinkyung quickly nodded.

 

“I don’t think you have a pollen allergy. I saw it last time.”

 

Kim Jinkyung was startled.

 

He had spent the night in the glass garden with Mok Seongha, who had turned into a black panther, all night.

 

“Anyway, it’s a little difficult in the garden. And, well…”

 

Mok Seongha looked at Kim Jinkyung. His gaze occasionally revealed a suffocating obsession. Once he looked at someone, he didn’t avert his gaze or waver. It was the instinct of a predator aiming for its prey.

 

He was breathless. If he accidentally lost focus for a moment, he felt like he would run straight at him and bite his neck to cut off his breath.

 

…He’ll definitely kill me if he finds out.

 

“…I like being outside. I really want to go outside.”

 

Kim Jinkyung muttered in a small voice like a sigh. At first, he wanted to take Mok Seongha out, but now he just wanted to live.

 

“Okay.”

 

Mok Seongha, who was thinking for a moment, surprisingly agreed. He barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

“But if I don’t get a good score on the June mock exam, I’m going to lock you up and make you tutor me.”

 

“…….”

 

The content was clearly about studying in a healthy way, but if you closed your eyes and listened, it was an atmosphere that felt like a gory confinement.

 

Kim Jinkyung sighed and met Secretary Kang’s eyes. Secretary Kang clicked his tongue and turned his head.

 

He got what he deserved.

 

The scary man’s eyes were saying that.

 

***

 

“Did you see? Over there.”

 

“What is it? A model?”

 

On the way to get coffee on a tray, he heard people whispering. Kim Jinkyung smiled bitterly as he looked at Mok Seongha sitting far away.

 

The reaction from the people around him was the same as always. Whether they did or not, Mok Seongha was still just reading books or solving problems, and didn’t even glance around.

 

Kim Jinkyung deliberately looked for a cafe that wasn’t crowded and had a comfortable atmosphere. Since there weren’t people close by, Mok Seongha seemed more relaxed.

 

He came out because he was uncomfortable being alone in a confined space, but he was glad. One way or another, Mok Seongha would have to come out someday. It would be a little better for the future to practice little by little like this.

 

“Would you like some?”

 

Kim Jinkyung asked, handing over the coffee he had bought, even though he knew he wouldn’t drink it.

 

“I don’t drink it.”

 

“Haha.”

 

He wouldn’t follow if a bad guy, no matter whose cat he was, told him to come with him because he was giving him food.

 

Kim Jinkyung put the two cups of coffee in front of him and opened his book.

 

“Did you solve the problems in the part I told you about?”

 

“Here.”

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly graded them and scanned the wrong problems. It was good to explain the wrong problems, but for someone like Mok Seongha who didn’t have a good grasp of the concepts, it was important to go back to the concepts he didn’t know from the beginning.

 

“You need to understand the concept of cosine and move on, rather than just putting in the formula.”

 

Mok Seongha explained quietly.

 

“I know the cosine formula.”

 

“Then write down the cosine formula here and explain it to me as if you’re teaching it to me.”

 

Kim Jinkyung handed over a blank piece of paper from the notebook. When Mok Seongha hesitated, Kim Jinkyung smiled as if he knew he would and continued.

 

“If you memorize the formula and solve the problem, you won’t be able to solve it if the problem is twisted or becomes difficult. Because you don’t know which formula to bring and solve.”

 

Mok Seongha stared silently at Kim Jinkyung, who was drawing a triangle in his notebook and continuing his explanation. Then, suddenly, he called out to Kim Jinkyung, “Hey.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Did you tutor a lot before?”

 

“Yes. A few times.”

 

The best way to earn tuition and living expenses was through scholarships and tutoring. He tried not to miss out on scholarships as much as possible, but if he failed, Kim Jinkyung increased his tutoring.

 

Just like now.

 

“Did they all study well?”

 

Kim Jinkyung was a little puzzled. It was the first time Mok Seongha had asked about other people.

 

“Some of them were good at studying, some were in the middle…”

 

“Who was the best?”

 

“There’s a friend who went to the same school as me.”

 

“What? How many times did you do it with him?”

 

Since he didn’t attach an object, the question sounded strange.

 

“He was already good, so he was just doing it with me as a supplement while attending the academy, so my influence wouldn’t have been that great.”

 

“Did you do it more often with him than with me?”

 

“No. I’ve never had a student I met and taught as often as I do Young Master.”

 

Mok Seongha’s fierce gaze softened slightly at those words.

 

“You’re not doing it with anyone else besides me now, are you?”

 

“Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have time.”

 

“Would you if you had time?”

 

…I think I was explaining the importance of the object while explaining English grammar.

 

“Well. That’s….”

 

“Hey, a man’s coming.”

 

“…….”

 

I wish he’d stop saying that.

 

“Um, you don’t have to tell me about that kind of thing one by one anymore.”

 

“He’s really coming.”

 

“I’ll take care of the men….”

 

Just then, someone tapped Kim Jinkyung on the shoulder from behind.

 

“Kim Jinkyung!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

It was Seo Sang-il. Mok Seongha tilted his head slightly with a look that said, “See?” A man really had come.

 

“I’m tutoring. What about you?”

 

“Noona wanted to drink coffee, so I’m buying it. She said the lattes here are good.”

 

Seo Sang-il was extremely devoted to his girlfriend. No matter what she asked him to do, he would just say, “Okay, sure,” without complaining and immediately fulfill her request. Come to think of it, this cafe was located halfway between Seo Sang-il’s and his own place.

 

“Anyway, is he that….”

 

As Seo Sang-il greeted Mok Seongha with a friendly gesture, Kim Jinkyung jumped up from his seat and abruptly cut off his friend’s words.

 

“Sang-il, let’s talk for a second.”

 

“Huh? Okay….”

 

“Excuse me for a moment.”

 

Kim Jinkyung excused himself and got up from his seat. After dragging Seo Sang-il to a corner of the cafe, Kim Jinkyung rebuked his friend in a low voice.

 

“Watch your mouth.”

 

“Why? Isn’t he that person?”

 

“He is… Please, watch your mouth.”

 

There were already more than five bodyguards scattered around the cafe. He didn’t want to see his clueless friend get dragged away by them after saying something stupid.

 

“But isn’t he younger than you? Why are you using honorifics?”

 

“…He’s scary.”

 

“Hahahaha.”

 

Seo Sang-il burst into laughter and put his arm around Kim Jinkyung’s shoulder, putting him in a headlock.

 

“Why don’t you use honorifics with me? Am I not scary?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

“Come to think of it, you used honorifics with me for a while when you were a freshman.”

 

“…….”

 

“I was scary then, but not now?”

 

He wondered how to explain with affection that he had naturally assumed Seo Sang-il was a senior in his third year because of his mature appearance when they first met, so he had used honorifics.

 

“It’s because you look old.”

 

“You did it even when we were in the same class.”

 

“That was because it was awkward.”

 

“Hahaha. You’re hilarious.”

 

Seo Sang-il playfully messed up Kim Jinkyung’s hair. Kim Jinkyung pushed Seo Sang-il away, saying, “Ah, seriously.”

 

“Just buy the coffee and go quickly. Your Noona is waiting.”

 

“Ah, right.”

 

Seo Sang-il, who was about to order coffee, rummaged through his pockets and then turned back to Kim Jinkyung with an “Ah.”

 

“Hey, lend me some money. I left my wallet.”

 

“…….”

 

Just as Kim Jinkyung was about to take out his wallet from his pocket to give him money, cursing Seo Sang-il with a cold look.

 

“Huh…?”