Vol 1 Ch 7

Kim Jinkyung checked the weather forecast on his phone as soon as he woke up in the morning. His hope that the rain icon might have disappeared was immediately dashed. It was supposed to be the full-fledged rainy season, and the forecast showed rain not only for this week but also for the entire next week.

 

Was it right to teach animals and get paid for it?

 

Kim Jinkyung had left the envelope he received two days ago untouched on his desk. He was planning to refund the money if the black panther didn’t understand his lessons.

 

He waited, wondering if a message canceling the lesson would arrive, but there was no contact from the mansion. Eventually, in the afternoon, he prepared for the lesson and trudged along.

 

Should he just disappear somewhere until the rainy season ends and then come back?

 

Kim Jinkyung opened the mansion’s front door with a gloomy expression.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Yes, hello.”

 

Secretary Kang, who opened the door, greeted him and glanced at Kim Jinkyung’s hand.

 

“Ah, haha. It’s alright.”

 

“If you need a doctor’s opinion, you should go to a big hospital instead of a local one. We have a foundation hospital.”

 

Kim Jinkyung felt a chill down his spine. Just in case, he had gone to a local hospital yesterday to have the wound checked.

 

“…Do you investigate me every day?”

 

“Why do you ask something so obvious?”

 

“……”

 

Escaping even for a short period was out of the question.

 

“Ah, and Teacher.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Please refrain from touching.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

He felt like he knew what the object was without having to ask.

 

Kim Jinkyung adjusted his bag and went to the door. He was about to go straight in, but he knocked just in case.

 

“I’m coming in.”

 

Kim Jinkyung opened the door slightly and went inside. The black panther was sitting in a chair, waiting for him.

 

“Hello.”

 

“……”

 

“It’s raining again today.”

 

Knowing that there would be no response, Kim Jinkyung couldn’t stop himself from talking.

 

“It really should stop soon, or this could be bad….”

 

Kim Jinkyung doubted his eyes for a moment. The black panther was wearing gloves on his paws. Only on his front paws.

 

It must be because of the accident that day?

 

Kim Jinkyung took out his book and examined the black Panther’s expression. His face, contorted in a grimace, looked very uncomfortable.

 

“Um, aren’t you… hot?”

 

His tail slammed against the floor forcefully.

 

It was clear that he was very hot.

 

“You can take them off.”

 

The black Panther glanced down at his body. And Kim Jinkyung immediately understood what that meant.

 

“Ah, no, I mean, I’m not saying take off your clothes, well, you’re already not wearing any, I mean take off your gloves…”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned bright red. The fact that the black Panther sitting in front of him was not wearing clothes had struck his mind.

 

“…No, I really didn’t mean it like that, I do like men, but animal males, absolutely not, that kind of…”

 

Kim Jinkyung couldn’t even lift his head, feeling like he had become the most shameless person in the world. Amber eyes stared silently at his face, neck, and earlobes, which were flushed.

 

“You must be uncomfortable, take off your gloves. I’m okay.”

 

His voice was barely audible. The black Panther chuckled and bit the gloves off his front paws, throwing them away.

 

The large front paws landed on the table with a thud. Kim Jinkyung’s heart fluttered, but he didn’t show it and started the lesson.

 

“The homework…”

 

The thick front paw slid a stack of papers forward. Illegible letters were scrawled haphazardly. Kim Jinkyung calmly graded the problems with a red pen.

 

“You got one more question right than last time.”

 

At Kim Jinkyung’s words, the black Panther’s round ears perked up.

 

“Amazing. How did you solve it…”

 

He met the yellow eyes. They looked somehow triumphant. The inside of his throat tickled a little. Kim Jinkyung cleared his throat and drank some water.

 

Is it really an allergy?

 

“I’ll explain the concepts focusing on the wrong questions.”

 

Kim Jinkyung started explaining one by one, writing out the formulas with a pencil. The black Panther listened to the lesson without moving, just like that day.

 

“Can you understand what I just explained?”

 

The tail thumped once.

 

“Haha. It would be good to try solving a problem…”

 

The only way to check his understanding was to have him solve a problem. Just then, the black Panther pressed a button on the desk with his front paw. Then, a knock was heard from outside.

 

“I’m coming in.”

 

It was Secretary Kang.

 

He just said it would be good to solve some problems, are they going to kill him for this?

 

Kim Jinkyung stared at Secretary Kang, completely frozen. Secretary Kang ignored Kim Jinkyung and approached the black Panther, kneeling down. He took out a string from his pocket, tied something, and then left immediately.

 

“What are you doing…”

 

Before Kim Jinkyung could ask, the black Panther showed him the answer. He looked at Kim Jinkyung with his tail, tied with a pen, in his mouth. Kim Jinkyung could understand what that meant. With trembling hands, Kim Jinkyung took out the printouts he had brought in case the rain stopped.

 

The black Panther started solving the problems. With his tail tied to the pen in his mouth.

 

Kim Jinkyung felt a chill as he witnessed the bizarre sight he had never seen before.

 

…It’s scary. But cute. But scary. And cute.

 

Emotions intertwined. Kim Jinkyung lowered his head and pretended not to see. The black Panther spat out his tail, as if he had finished solving the problems.

 

“Are you done?”

 

Instead of answering, his front paw slid the paper over. Kim Jinkyung carefully checked the problem-solving process and graded it. He got all but one question right. Even that one question was a calculation mistake at the end, but the problem-solving process was accurate.

 

“You got almost everything right.”

 

Kim Jinkyung checked the wrong question and continued.

 

“…Amazing.”

 

It was a sincere admiration. When he first started tutoring, it was hopeless. Even while teaching, he wondered if he would be able to keep up. In fact, since a few days ago, he had been in animal form, so he was prepared to return the tuition fee.

 

But he clearly understood the part he explained and perfectly solved the problems. He had felt a serious lack of common sense when he kept talking about Korea University and Yonsei University, so he had actually given up halfway.

 

But this was the result.

 

“We can go a little faster. From this unit now…”

 

As Kim Jinkyung, in a slightly excited tone, opened the textbook to explain, he saw the black Panther looking at him with his ears perked up.

 

He looked somehow proud. …Is it just his imagination?

 

Kim Jinkyung cleared his throat and continued.

 

“From this unit, we’ll proceed a little faster. Is that okay with you?”

 

Black Panther tapped the chair lightly with his tail. But the pen happened to get caught on the armrest of the chair and fell to the floor. The black Panther raised his lips slightly, growling and expressing his displeasure.

 

“Ah, I’ll get it.”

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly picked up the pen. Black Panther stared at Kim Jinkyung. His tail drew an arc in the air.

 

Tie it.

 

It was as if he could hear the voice without him speaking. With trembling hands, Kim Jinkyung began to tie the pen to the black Panther’s tail.

 

His hands kept slipping, perhaps because he was nervous.

 

He mustn’t touch it. He had to be careful not to touch it as much as possible…

 

When he dropped the pen on the floor about twice, he heard a small growl. Sharp teeth were visible. His heart sank.

 

He’s going to die.

 

Kim Jinkyung squeezed the pen and closed his eyes tightly. But what touched his cheek was not the teeth of a beast, but a soft bundle of fur.

 

“…Huh.”

 

Black Panther’s tail touched his cheek. The tail, moving a few times as if scratching his cheek, was surprisingly soft. Kim Jinkyung blankly grabbed his cheek.

 

This time, the tail struck Kim Jinkyung’s hand with a fierce speed.

 

Tie it!

 

“Yes!”

 

Kim Jinkyung quickly wrapped the string around the tail and tied the pen. He felt it sinking in as he tightened the knot with the string.

 

“If I tied it too tight, I can loosen it a bit…”

 

Instead of answering, Black Panther put his tail in his mouth again.

 

…It’s bizarre and cute.

 

Kim Jinkyung rubbed his arm, which had goosebumps, and lowered his gaze.

 

“Anyway, um, you’re amazing. Like I said before.”

 

Kim Jinkyung continued with the most timid and weak praise in the world.

 

“You seem to have a good understanding. (More than I thought). You also learn quickly. (More than I expected). And you’re diligent. (More than I anticipated).”

 

When the praise ended, the corners of the black Panther’s lips, with the pen in his mouth, lifted slightly.

 

“If you work hard, you’ll get good results.”

 

Kim Jinkyung added a word. He spoke timidly, as if muttering, but it was his honest thought. Although it was to earn money, Kim Jinkyung liked teaching someone.

 

There was nothing more rewarding than seeing a student achieve gradual progress from the side.

 

But this person, no, animal, no, sa…, anyway, he, was not at the level of gradual achievement. It was rare for someone to show this much progress in such a short period of less than a month.

 

It was like seeing a sprout growing in a barren, rocky field. He was happy and amazed. So Kim Jinkyung ended up saying something he shouldn’t have.

 

“If you do this well in other subjects, you’ll definitely…”

 

Having said that far, Kim Jinkyung pushed his tongue between his teeth. Then, he pressed down on his tongue with his molars.

 

What did my tongue just do?

 

Black Panther’s head tilted to the side. A chilling light flashed in his amber eyes. The large front paw pressed the bell.

 

“No, no. That’s not what I meant…”

 

Secretary Kang appeared as if he had been waiting. The black Panther started writing letters on the paper.

 

It can’t be, no. It shouldn’t be.

 

Kim Jinkyung prayed anxiously. But as Black Panther’s head, which had been covering the paper, disappeared from view, the cruel four letters clearly revealed their existence.

 

【Additional Tutoring】

 

“Oh.”

 

Secretary Kang pretended to be surprised in a tone that wasn’t surprising at all and went outside.

 

“I won’t do it!”

 

Kim Jinkyung shouted belatedly, but Secretary Kang appeared with a warm contract before long.

Kim Jinkyung sighed and adjusted his bag strap.

 

He had broken out in a sweat trying to fend off Secretary Kang, who was rushing to write an additional tutoring contract. He persuaded him that he didn’t know exactly what his intentions were in his current state, so it would be better to talk about it after he returned to being human.

 

‘Young Master? No. That can’t be. He’s the same as usual, just with a very cute appearance.’

 

‘…Very… what?’

 

‘Sign here.’

 

Kim Jinkyung stubbornly shook his head. He didn’t want to dig his own grave any deeper.

 

‘I can’t do more than this. I have school classes and assignments, and I also have a personal life…’

 

‘What personal life are you talking about?’

 

Secretary Kang asked in an absurd tone. Kim Jinkyung knew that he had people investigating him.

 

‘That’s…’

 

His personal life was all about going to the library to study, eating, drinking coffee, and taking walks. He should have lived a little more dissolutely.

 

It was a belated regret, but Kim Jinkyung created an answer in his head to make the other person dislike him as much as possible.

 

‘I, I have to meet men!’

 

The moment he said that, the black Panther’s eyes, who was next to Secretary Kang, flashed with scorn and contempt.

 

‘Ah.’

 

Secretary Kang expressed his opinion with a short exclamation. Kim Jinkyung’s face was on fire, but he couldn’t take back what he had said. For now, they decided to postpone the discussion about additional tutoring until the ‘Young Master’ returned to his original state.

 

He should go home quickly, take a shower, finish his assignments, read a book, and then sleep…

 

As Kim Jinkyung was diligently making plans for rest in his head, he raised his head at the loud noise.

 

“Uh…”

 

A siren sounded in the distance.

 

Did a fire break out somewhere? That’s a big deal. There shouldn’t be any casualties.

 

Kim Jinkyung mulled over his worries and moved his feet. But as he got closer to home, the siren grew louder and louder, and he was able to know exactly where that ‘somewhere’ was.

 

“Move! It’s dangerous! Everyone move!”

 

“Don’t take pictures there! Get out now!”

 

Amid the shouting firefighters and police officers, people were buzzing and taking pictures of the fire scene. One of the men raised his phone and said admiringly.

 

“Wow, it’s really burning well.”

 

The man was right. Kim Jinkyung’s studio apartment was really burning well.