Vol 1 Ch 28

Even though only the two of them were left, Mok Seongha didn’t loosen his grip. Kim Jinkyung tapped Mok Seongha’s arm with his fingers. Mok Seongha slowly released the hand that was holding the back of his head.

 

“Someone you know?”

 

The moment the man’s golden eyes stared directly at him, Kim Jinkyung knew. That he would eventually lose his whole heart to this dead cat.

 

“It’s okay. They didn’t see your face.”

 

When Kim Jinkyung couldn’t answer, Mok Seongha patted the back of his head and continued.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

He was still being held. His fingertips tingled. He should ask to be let go now, but he couldn’t open his mouth. The man’s breath rose and fell near his head.

 

“Hey.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“Did you put on cologne?”

 

Mok Seongha frowned slightly and asked. Kim Jinkyung shook his head. He was using a body cleanser that intentionally didn’t have a scent, let alone cologne.

 

“Why does it smell….”

 

Mok Seongha bent down and brought his nose to Kim Jinkyung’s neck. Kim Jinkyung pushed him away with all his might. At the same time, the elevator doors opened, and Mok Seongha fell backward.

 

“I-I’m sorry. I was suddenly surprised….”

 

Kim Jinkyung also hurriedly got out of the elevator. Mok Seongha looked up at Kim Jinkyung, still sitting on the floor. A sharp chill passed through his golden eyes.

 

Kim Jinkyung took a step back. There was nowhere to run as the elevator had already closed and gone down.

 

He was going to die.

 

He tightly closed his eyes. But even after a long time, no danger approached. Kim Jinkyung slyly opened his eyes again.

 

“Gasp.”

 

Mok Seongha was staring at Kim Jinkyung with his face close.

 

“Do you know that, Sunbae?”

 

…No. He didn’t know.

 

“You’re the only human who’s ever knocked me over and lived to tell the tale.”

 

“…….”

 

“And it’s happened twice.”

 

Kim Jinkyung felt a fear that weighed on his entire body for the first time in a long time. It was a different kind of fear than what he felt in the elevator.

 

“I won’t let it happen a third time.”

 

Kim Jinkyung nodded diligently. A faint smile flickered across Mok Seongha’s lips.

 

“Come here.”

 

He held out his hand. The bodyguards couldn’t ride the elevator because of Mok Seongha’s instructions. There was no one watching. Should he take it anyway?

 

When Kim Jinkyung hesitated, Mok Seongha grabbed Kim Jinkyung’s hand as if snatching it.

 

“Hallway camera.”

 

“…Ah, yes.”

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly stood next to Mok Seongha. Walking side by side down the hotel hallway with their hands held, Kim Jinkyung stared blankly at his hand, which was connected by thick knuckles.

 

Was this how it was?

 

Mok Seongha spread his hands to gauge the width. The body he had embraced was thinner than he thought. Enough to easily break bones if he put strength into his hands.

 

Mok Seongha looked down at his hand.

 

Was he scared?

 

Kim Jinkyung, whom he saw in the elevator, was pale and trembling so pitifully. At first, he wondered if he was surprised because the elevator was moving too fast. It was hard to believe that he had even served in the military; Kim Jinkyung was fragile and easily frightened. He was surprised and scared by every little thing.

 

Kim Jinkyung’s terrified face was very amusing. His eyes widened, his pupils narrowed for a moment, his eyebrows raised slightly, and his lips parted. And even the sound of his rapidly beating heart.

 

It was so amusing that he sometimes deliberately startled him.

 

‘Young Master. If you startle herbivores too much, they might die.’

 

Secretary Kang, who couldn’t stand it, said something. Eventually, he reduced the number of times he teased him, but he couldn’t stop completely.

 

But Kim Jinkyung’s terrified face in the elevator wasn’t amusing at all. No, it was rather unpleasant. Mok Seongha quickly realized that the reason for his fear wasn’t him, but someone else.

 

‘Oh…?’

 

The moment someone tried to acknowledge Kim Jinkyung, an unpleasant feeling surged up from his stomach. Mok Seongha hugged Kim Jinkyung. At first, he was just going to cover his face. Then he wanted to cover his body too. His hair, his shoulders, down to his toes, everything. He wanted to cover everything without leaving anything behind.

 

‘Someone you know?’

 

When he asked that, Kim Jinkyung blankly looked up at him. Kim Jinkyung had a very small dot on the edge of his eyelid where his lower eyelashes grew. A dot that was usually invisible became clearly visible when he looked up at him, terrified.

 

‘It’s okay. They didn’t see your face.’

 

‘…Thank you.’

 

How had he been doing homo things all this time while being so scared? And in such a messy way.

 

Mok Seongha didn’t understand. In fact, Kim Jinkyung was full of things he didn’t understand. The more he knew him, the more he felt that way.

 

Even though he was older than him, his body was warm like a child’s, and he had a face that looked younger than him, and he confidently said that he was rolling around with men in a promiscuous way, and his heart beat louder whenever he was nervous, but it didn’t bother him at all, and above all…

 

‘Hey.’

 

‘…Yes?’

 

The eyes are the window to the soul.

 

That was what his grandfather always said. You can tell what kind of person someone is by looking into their eyes. So always talk while looking them in the eye, he taught him.

 

Kim Jinkyung’s window was always wiped clean without a speck of dust. If you looked into it even a little, you could see everything inside.

 

He hadn’t told anyone, but sometimes when he looked into Kim Jinkyung’s eyes, he felt like he was standing naked in front of him. That’s how innocent Kim Jinkyung was.

 

But lately, whenever he made eye contact with Kim Jinkyung, he often felt like his vision was darkening. It was the same in the elevator and when he was holding him. He felt dizzy and hot.

 

‘Did you put on cologne?’

 

Was it because he was so nervous that his body temperature was unusually high? His scent felt stronger than usual. No, it was a little different. It wasn’t the usual subtle apple scent, but something a little sweeter….

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly shook his head.

 

He definitely smelled something different.

 

Mok Seongha bent down. He wanted to check the scent he had smelled earlier. He was about to put his nose lightly on his neck and inhale when he was pushed by a sudden force and fell over.

 

‘I-I’m sorry. I was suddenly surprised….’

 

It was the same expression he had when he pushed him into the pond in the garden. Why did he keep causing accidents when he was so scared?

 

‘Sunbae has guts, but he loses them very often.’

 

That was the overall assessment Secretary Kang had given Kim Jinkyung.

 

Kim Jinkyung definitely lacked guts sometimes. He did now too. As soon as he entered the suite, he ran into the bathroom to wash up and hadn’t come out after an hour.

 

What on earth was he doing in there?

 

Mok Seongha called out to Kim Jinkyung, “Hey.”

 

“You’re not asleep in there, are you?”

 

A reply came from inside the bathroom. He wasn’t dead, apparently.

 

Mok Seongha flopped onto the bed. He put a pillow under his head and closed his eyes. He frowned slightly at the subtle heat he felt in his body.

 

Was he getting a fever?

 

Mok Seongha put his palm on his forehead. He stayed like that for a while, but he couldn’t tell if he had a fever or not.

 

Was he catching a cold?

 

It had been more than ten years since he last had a cold, so he couldn’t remember what it felt like to have one. Something was definitely different from usual.

 

His body felt languid, and his feet felt loosely relaxed. Above all, he felt a hot heat through his throat every time he breathed.

 

Should he ask Secretary Kang? …No, if he did, he would make a fuss about him coming home, regardless of whether he had sex or not.

 

Secretary Kang seemed to be on his side at times, but at crucial moments, he always sided with the Chairman. It was the same with the marriage issue. Even though he knew how much he hated it, he acted according to the Chairman’s wishes.

 

Just thinking about having sex with someone made him feel sick. He had never done it before, and he never intended to do it in his life. But family be damned.

 

As soon as he received a call telling him to stop doing useless things and go on a blind date, he headed to the hotel suite that his grandfather had booked for the blind date as if to show him. This hotel also had shares in his grandfather’s company, so the news would definitely have been delivered by now.

 

You old geezer.

 

He had been suffering from low blood pressure, so it would be a filial gift.

 

Mok Seongha closed his eyes with one hand on his forehead. He would feel better if he took a nap. But as time passed, the heat began to spread under his skin.

 

He should take some medicine.

 

Mok Seongha slowly got up from his seat.

 

***

 

As soon as he entered the hotel room, Kim Jinkyung ran into the bathroom as if fleeing. He said he would wash up and come out, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

 

How could he run into Go Jinyoung there?

 

Kim Jinkyung calculated the possibility of meeting someone he knew in a hotel he had come to for the first time, especially in an elevator, and then gave up.

 

He felt so sorry for his misfortune that had broken through the slim odds. But fortunately, Mok Seongha hugged him before their eyes met….

 

Kim Jinkyung swallowed a scream inside and scrubbed his body with a shower ball. No matter how hard he tried, the feeling of the man hugging him wouldn’t go away. The fact that Mok Seongha had been holding him for so long made his head more complicated than the fact that he almost ran into his school Sunbae in the hotel elevator.

 

‘Did you put on cologne?’

 

The man’s low voice and the image of his nose coming close flashed through his mind.

 

Ugh.

 

Kim Jinkyung squeezed out a lot of shampoo this time and started lathering his hair. It was the fourth time he had washed his hair already. He had taken a bath in the tub for a long time and then showered three times, but his restless heart wouldn’t calm down.

 

The area around his neck where the man’s breath had touched it itched. His upper body, which his arms had embraced, the back of his head, which his large hand had covered, the area below that had barely touched…

 

No way.

 

Kim Jinkyung let out an anguished inner scream and lowered his head in place. How could he face that person when he went out? No, why was the room so damn big but there was only one bed?

 

Should he take a cold shower?

 

While he was worrying while holding the shower faucet, he heard a noise from outside.

 

“Just a moment.”

 

Kim Jinkyung turned on the water and rinsed the shampoo lather from his hair. It sounded like someone was talking to him from outside, but he couldn’t hear exactly because water was falling from the showerhead.

 

“Just a moment. I’ll wash up and come out soon.”

 

His face flushed after shouting that. It was because he knew what it meant to wash up and leave in a hotel.

 

…Of course, only he knew that meaning.

 

That was a cat. The cat didn’t know anything.

 

Kim Jinkyung muttered and washed his hair. He thought he heard something again faintly.

 

Kim Jinkyung stopped the shower faucet for now and waited, but he didn’t hear any more sounds.

 

What was it? Did he hear wrong?

 

He was about to turn on the water again when he clearly heard something falling outside with a thud.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

Kim Jinkyung asked loudly. But there was no answer. He roughly dried himself with a towel and called out Seongha’s name. It was quiet again.

 

Had he gone out alone?

 

As Kim Jinkyung was about to enter the bathroom again, he saw a dark mass under the opposite side of the bed.

 

Could it be….

 

Kim Jinkyung went around the bed to check. He saw Mok Seongha. No, to be exact, he was lying under the bed, transformed into a Black panther.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly ran over and picked up the Black panther. The Black panther opened its eyes wide, as if it had lost consciousness for a moment.

 

“No, why suddenly…. Is it raining?”

 

Checking the probability of precipitation when going out was essential because of Mok Seongha’s special circumstances. The probability of precipitation today was less than 2%. Kim Jinkyung checked outside the window for the unlikely 2%. As expected, the sun was shining brightly.

 

The Black panther also looked down at its front paws as if it didn’t understand the situation, then turned its head towards the window.

 

“Did you spill water?”

 

Kim Jinkyung looked around the panther’s fur. There was no sign of water stains.

 

“Why did you suddenly transform?”

 

“…….”

 

Kim Jinkyung couldn’t stop asking questions even though he knew he wouldn’t answer.

 

“Is there something wrong? What happened….”

 

A large front paw pushed Kim Jinkyung’s lips away.

 

Shut your mouth.

 

The beast’s golden eyes were saying that. Kim Jinkyung nodded. The Black panther sighed and removed its front paw. The soft texture of the fur remained on his lips. Kim Jinkyung quickly wiped the area around his lips with the back of his hand and carefully asked.

 

“What do we do now?”

 

The Black panther looked around and jumped onto the bed. Then it buried its head in the pillow and lay down.

 

That’s when it happened. A gurgling sound was heard. Not from Kim Jinkyung’s stomach, but from the panther’s.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

“…….”

 

“Would you like a lunch box?”

 

“…….”

 

A Black panther wouldn’t eat rice.

 

“Then, shall we order room service?”

 

The gaze that looked at him with pity returned. He remembered that Mok Seongha didn’t eat food given by other people outside.

 

“Shall I go out and buy some beef?”

 

The Black panther’s tail struck Kim Jinkyung’s forehead.

 

What to do.

 

Kim Jinkyung, who was troubled, opened his mouth with difficulty.

 

“…Shall I contact Secretary Kang?”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s voice trembled as he asked that.

 

Whenever he went out, Secretary Kang always urged Kim Jinkyung to pay special attention so that nothing would happen to ‘Young Master’s well-being’. Of course, the urging was always accompanied by a threat.

 

‘If something happens to Young Master, someone will have to take responsibility.’

 

‘Someone accompanying Young Master must take care so that nothing happens to Young Master’s well-being.’

 

‘If a problem occurs to Young Master, the person who was with him must pay the price for failing to fulfill their duty.’

 

Every time he said this, his menacing gaze was always fixed on Kim Jinkyung. If Secretary Kang found out that ‘Young Master’ had suddenly turned into a Black panther outside, he would surely not leave him alone. Of course, even if he found out later that he had hidden the fact that ‘Young Master’ had turned into a Black panther, he would surely be killed.

 

But now, in this situation, the only person he could rely on was Secretary Kang. The Black panther growled lowly, revealing his discomfort.

 

“I think I should contact him now.”

 

Kim Jinkyung made up his mind and got up to get his cell phone. It was then. The Black panther savagely growled and instantly subdued Kim Jinkyung’s shoulder. It was an enormous force. The Black panther’s sharp teeth touched the base of his neck threateningly. It was the first time this had happened. Kim Jinkyung was so surprised that he froze. He couldn’t breathe properly from the fear of being eaten.

 

Kim Jinkyung’s shoulder was completely exposed through the slipped-down bathrobe. Seeing that, the Black panther took his front paw off Kim Jinkyung’s body.

 

Only then did Kim Jinkyung exhale the breath he had been holding. The Black panther growled threateningly once more and then lay down on the bed.

 

…Scary.

 

Kim Jinkyung rubbed his tingling shoulder and got up. It was a raw fear he felt after a long time. He had become so used to it that he had momentarily forgotten what kind of being was in front of him. The image of the man standing over the bloodied person came to mind.

 

Why had he completely forgotten that those claws and teeth would be directed at him? Then, Kim Jinkyung suddenly realized that he was trapped in a room alone with a hungry beast. He didn’t know when Mok Seongha would return to being human. Moreover, that beast was a picky eater who didn’t eat strange food.

 

…He’s going to eat me.

 

Kim Jinkyung slowly got off the bed. No matter how much he liked Mok Seongha, he refused to be eaten alive. At that moment, the beast, noticing his movement, stretched out his front paw and pressed down on Kim Jinkyung’s shoulder.

 

Kim Jinkyung gasped and covered his head with both arms.

 

“…Please don’t.”

 

At the words shouted in a voice full of fear, a look of bewilderment flashed across the beast’s eyes.

 

“…Don’t eat me. I really don’t taste good.”

 

A sigh flashed across the golden eyes. The Black panther’s long tail slapped Kim Jinkyung’s cheek once and then returned to its place.

 

Kim Jinkyung rubbed his cheek and looked up at the Black panther. He had closed his eyes and was lying still.

 

“You’re not going to eat?”

 

The area around the Black panther’s snout growled and sounded low.

 

Thank goodness. It seemed he wouldn’t be eaten today.

 

The glossy black fur rose and fell regularly. Kim Jinkyung waited for the beast to open his eyes. But even after a long time, he didn’t budge.

 

“Are you asleep?”

 

At Kim Jinkyung’s question, the tail lightly hit the bed sheet as if annoyed. He couldn’t just wait for Mok Seongha to return like this.

 

“Just a moment,” Kim Jinkyung said, then brought a towel and gently wiped the Black panther’s body. As expected, no moisture came off at all.

 

After a moment of contemplation, Kim Jinkyung called the front desk and requested a dehumidifier. He repeatedly asked them to leave it in front of the door after ringing the bell.

 

Not long after, a hotel employee brought the dehumidifier. Kim Jinkyung plugged the dehumidifier in next to the bed and turned it on.

 

He thought that since Mok Seongha changed when it rained, it might be a problem with the humidity in the air.

 

“Would you like me to dry you with a hair dryer?”

 

The tail tapped the floor.

 

Kim Jinkyung brought a hair dryer and waited for water to collect in the dehumidifier while diligently drying the Black panther’s fur. Even after doing that for a long time, the Black panther did not return to his original form. Kim Jinkyung turned off the hair dryer and carefully sat down next to the Black panther. He was starting to get worried about the unusual situation.

 

“Um. Are you okay?”

 

The Black panther slightly opened one eye and then closed it again.

 

“Are you perhaps not feeling well?”

 

The Black panther’s tail hit the floor once. It meant he was okay. But his worried heart didn’t disappear.

 

“…What can I do for you?”

 

He was scared, but he had no choice but to ask. He was the only one who could help the man who had suddenly turned into a Black panther here.

 

A large front paw touched Kim Jinkyung’s lips.

 

Be quiet.

 

Kim Jinkyung quietly nodded his head. Only the beast’s low breathing and the sound of the dehumidifier running echoed in the room. Kim Jinkyung prayed that the dehumidifier would suck up all the humidity in the room and that this inexplicable nightmare would end.