Vol 1 Ch 2

「Ahahahahaha.」

 

Crazy laughter erupted from the other side of the phone. Kim Jinkyung rubbed his reddened neck and muttered, “Stop laughing.”

 

「No, it’s too funny. How did those words come out of you there? Ahahaha.」

 

Seo Sang-il couldn’t stop laughing easily.

 

“Well, I was just in a hurry, so any words came out….”

 

「Even if you’re in a hurry, how can you say you like men? Hey, you should have said you received your enlistment notice. It would be better to go to the army twice.」

 

“…Haha. I guess so.”

 

Regret washed over him, but it was already spilled water.

 

After shouting boldly, ‘I, that is, I like men, a lot!’ Kim Jinkyung literally wanted to die. He confessed his sexual orientation for the first time in his life, and the target was that kind of person he met for the first time today. Moreover, it wasn’t the romantic or ideal atmosphere he had always dreamed of. It was a confession like a scream that he desperately shouted to survive.

 

I want to die. I’m going to die. I have to die.

 

Those were the three thoughts that came to Kim Jinkyung’s mind at that time. The man had no reaction. The living room was chilly. The man, who had been silently silent with a blank expression, asked back, ‘So when?’

 

‘Yes?’

 

‘So when is good for you? Tell me what day is convenient.’

 

Kim Jinkyung blinked. Didn’t he hear? He was sure he shouted very loudly.

 

‘Well, that is, what I mean is…. I….’

 

‘You like men, a lot?’

 

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned bright red. It felt like his ears would rot when the confession he made came out of someone else’s mouth.

 

‘…Yes.’

 

Kim Jinkyung answered with his head bowed.

 

‘So?’

 

‘Yes?’

 

‘What does that have to do with me?’

 

When Kim Jinkyung was surprised and couldn’t speak, the secretary explained in a low voice.

 

‘Whether you like men or not, it just means that you shouldn’t like our young master. If you do like him, you will end your short life.’

 

…It was a very kind, cruel, and unnecessary explanation.

 

‘Sign.’

 

The man handed over the paper. Kim Jinkyung took the pen in a daze and wrote his name on it.

 

「So you got fired?」

 

“If I got fired, would I be worrying like this?”

 

「No, you said you even said you like men, but they didn’t fire you? Isn’t that guy completely crazy?」

 

“…….”

 

His friend was talking nonsense without knowing how he felt, so he had a bitter taste in his mouth. To think he had a crush on this kind of guy all through high school, deceived by his appearance.

 

「So what are you going to do? Are you going to go?」

 

“…I signed it.”

 

「It’s not like the tutoring contract has any great legal effect. You can just ditch it.」

 

If he did that, it felt like that guy would rip his stomach open.

 

“I decided to go, so I have to go.”

 

Kim Jinkyung muttered with a sigh.

 

「You’re such a stubborn bastard. Yeah, Kim Jinkyung has to be like that to be Kim Jinkyung.」

 

Kim Jinkyung was depressed. It was a well-known fact that he was stubborn. He had no intention of refuting that. But it really felt like if he took back his words there, he would become like the unidentified man who was dragged out covered in blood.

 

「The contract doesn’t have any strange contents, does it?」

 

The special clause that ‘Tutoring is canceled on rainy days. Instead, the tutoring fee is paid.’ was a little unusual, but it was a content that was advantageous to him no matter how he looked at it.

 

“…No. It’s just normal.”

 

Kim Jinkyung sighed dejectedly and continued.

 

“If you can’t reach me, report it to the police.”

 

「You crazy bastard. You have to get out of there before that.」

 

“How do I get out? I signed a contract.”

 

「Just get fired. Is it your first time tutoring?」

 

“What do I do?”

 

「Have you never been fired from tutoring before?」

 

“…No.”

 

That’s so Kim Jinkyung-like.」

 

Kim Jinkyung closed his mouth, about to retort that it was strange to be fired from tutoring. It was a priority to get tips on getting fired from tutoring in a short time.

 

「First, you do things that the other person hates.」

 

“How do I know that?”

 

「You said you lied about liking men.」

 

It’s not a lie.

 

Kim Jinkyung swallowed those words and answered, “Yeah.”

 

「What was the reaction like?」

 

“There was no reaction. He just told me to sign the contract.”

 

「Don’t tell me that guy likes men?」

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

「How do you know that? He was even taking off his clothes. Who takes off their clothes to beat people up. He’s completely crazy.」

 

There was no disagreement that he was completely crazy, but the man wasn’t into this kind of thing. It was obvious at a glance. It was an inexplicable truth.

 

“…Anyway, absolutely not.”

 

「Really? Then it’s easy. Show that you like men.」

 

“What?”

 

「Act like someone who likes men. No, not really liking them, but pretending to be like that. Wear flashy clothes, speak softly. Smile when you make eye contact. Like you like men. And be unnecessarily kind. Got it?」

 

Kim Jinkyung’s eyes caught his reflection in the store display window as he passed by the street. A checkered shirt befitting an engineering student, a simple hairstyle, a bag on his back, and sneakers.

 

Kim Jinkyung realized that he had a unique taste around the time his adolescence began. He had no interest in the lewd videos and photos that his friends shared. At first, he thought he was just a late bloomer, but one day, he accidentally saw a nude painting of a man and realized what he had wanted to see all along.

 

However, Kim Jinkyung had never spoken about his sexual preferences. He had never dated anyone and always ended up with unrequited love in his head. Of course, he never dreamed of confessing. It was the same even when he became a university student.

 

He just went to school, did some tutoring as a part-time job, met up with his classmates for drinks, and studied in the library during exam periods.

 

Since he didn’t date, his friends naturally treated him like a hopeless virgin, and Kim Jinkyung was more comfortable with that. In fact, he was a hopeless virgin.

 

…Should he have chosen a checkered shirt with some color?

 

Kim Jinkyung sighed softly as he looked at his gloomy outfit.

 

「What?」

 

“I was wondering if I should buy some flashy clothes.”

 

「You’re wearing that drab checkered shirt again, aren’t you?」

 

“…….”

 

There was a reason why the saying “the soul of an engineering student is a checkered pattern” existed. The neat pattern of straight lines repeated with appropriate regularity gave Kim Jinkyung peace of mind.

 

「I don’t even have to look. If you see any flowers on the way, pick them and stick them in your hair.」

 

“You crazy bastard.”

 

「Remember what I said. No guy can resist if another guy with the same equipment says he likes him. So, if you get fired, buy this hyung some beef.」

 

Kim Jinkyung didn’t answer and hung up the phone.

 

What a jerk.

 

Seo Sang-il always had a smiling face, even when he made rude remarks and casually dug into his wounds. Maybe that’s why he didn’t hate him.

 

Kim Jinkyung walked diligently and arrived at the gate of the mansion. As he pressed the doorbell button, he heard the sound of the intercom camera turning on.

 

“I’m here today….”

 

Before he could identify himself, the door clunked open. Kim Jinkyung pushed the door open and stepped inside. A well-maintained garden came into view. He felt bitter. He didn’t feel like admiring it as he used to….

 

…It is beautiful, though.

 

Kim Jinkyung gave up and admired it to his heart’s content. Beauty is innocent, regardless of time or place.

 

Lilac trees in full bloom surrounded the pond. Flowers that seemed to have no connection to the stark interior of the house filled the garden.

 

Whose taste is this?

 

Kim Jinkyung was looking at the flowers when Seo Sang-il’s advice suddenly flashed through his mind.

 

Stick flowers in his hair?

 

Kim Jinkyung stared blankly at the lilacs and unconsciously reached out his hand. Before his hand could touch the branch, he heard someone shouting.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Startled, Kim Jinkyung tried to turn around but lost his balance.

 

“……!”

 

Behind him was the pond. Ready to be completely drenched, Kim Jinkyung squeezed his eyes shut. But after a long time, he didn’t hear anything. Kim Jinkyung opened his eyes.

 

A man was holding his arm. He didn’t know when he had come out.

 

He saw the man’s face up close. It was like a work of art that a sculptor who had lost his sight had carved out of stone with a chisel without hesitation. It was cold and sharp. The golden threads mixed into his irises sparkled brightly as they caught the light.

 

Too close.

 

“……!”

 

Kim Jinkyung pushed the man away without thinking. In the process, he realized an important fact that he had forgotten.

 

Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

 

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, it was natural that force would be applied in the opposite direction as much as he pushed. With a splash, Kim Jinkyung plunged into the pond.

 

“Sa, save….”

 

Kim Jinkyung, who was about to shout for help, belatedly checked the water level of the pond at the pathetic gaze looking down at him.

 

“…Haha….”

 

Kim Jinkyung smiled awkwardly and lowered his flailing hands.

 

“Do you really need saving?”

 

What does he mean by emphasizing ‘really’?

 

Kim Jinkyung hesitated and tried to stand up, but he felt something strange inside his clothes and lowered his head.

 

“Aaaagh!”

 

Something was wriggling inside his clothes. Kim Jinkyung was horrified and jumped up, leaping out of the pond.

 

“Help! Save me! A snake, this time really save…!”

 

Kim Jinkyung, thinking that a snake had entered his clothes, twisted his arms to take off his clothes, but the wet clothes didn’t move easily.

 

The man reached out to pull Kim Jinkyung out. But Kim Jinkyung, who was in a frenzy with the thought of surviving, didn’t notice. Kim Jinkyung shook off the hand that was trying to grab him with all his might. He only had the thought of getting rid of the strange creature wriggling around in his body. Of course, there was a physical phenomenon that he had forgotten this time as well.

 

Newton’s First Law. The Law of Inertia.

 

An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.

 

The man’s hand, which failed to grab Kim Jinkyung, went into the air, and eventually his body tilted along the trajectory of his arm. On top of that, Kim Jinkyung was desperately begging for help, so the man completely lost his balance.

 

Splash, the sound of a large mass falling into the puddle echoed. Kim Jinkyung also fell with him, getting soaked from head to toe once again.

 

Kim Jinkyung roughly rubbed his face with his palm to wipe away the water. His vision became clear. And there, a black panther with a jet-black leopard print fur was lying.

 

Classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, chemical physics, optics and acoustics, cosmology. All the theories that had fascinated Kim Jinkyung could never come up with an answer for the being in front of him.

 

A drop of water that had been clinging to his hair fell on his eyebrow. Kim Jinkyung quickly rubbed his eyes with his palm.

 

The amber-eyed black panther sighed. The fish that had been flapping in Kim Jinkyung’s clothes escaped at that moment and fell in front of the black panther. Sharp claws accurately cut the creature in half. Blood spread into the pond. The black panther dipped its front paw into the pond and waved it around as if to wipe away the blood.

 

He has to run away. He has to run away….

 

Kim Jinkyung stepped back. Then he made eye contact with the black panther. As if it had read Kim Jinkyung’s thoughts, the black panther flew at him. He saw the beast’s bright red mouth.

 

In the bizarre situation that could not be explained by any logic in the world, Kim Jinkyung fainted.