Vol 1 Ch 8

Kim Jinkyung rubbed his eyes several times at the unbelievable sight. He only stopped when the acrid smoke made it almost impossible to open his eyes properly.

 

The fire was caused by an electrical short. A firefighter explained that it was a common cause of fires in old villas, like a curse. Contacting the landlord was easy. The landlord, who lived on the top floor of the villa, was standing in front of the building in his pajamas, looking utterly lost.

 

Seeing the old man’s dazed face, Kim Jinkyung couldn’t bring himself to ask what he should do now. He barely managed to say that he would contact him after the cleanup and left the building.

 

He couldn’t salvage any clothes or books. The building was completely burned, leaving only the frame. Since he was living alone, he didn’t have any expensive belongings. He carried his laptop with him for classes, and he had no valuables. The problem was money. He had sent all the money in his bank account to his parents, leaving him with almost nothing. He had kept his tutoring fees in envelopes inside his desk for possible quick refunds.

 

In the end, he had only about a hundred thousand won left. It was barely enough to get through this week. The only hope was that his next tutoring session was scheduled for tomorrow.

 

Kim Jinkyung contacted a friend he could rely on.

It was a short message. Typical for Seo Sang-il. Still, Kim Jinkyung thought he needed an explanation, so he started writing a longer text.

He was interrupted by a phone call. It was Seo Sang-il.

 

“I was sending a message….”

 

「I had a feeling. But why? What’s wrong?」

 

“The place I was living in caught fire.”

 

「Seriously? Why?」

 

“…They said it was an electrical short, but I don’t know for sure yet.”

 

「Hahahaha. Why is your life so eventful these days?」

 

The guy, who prioritized dopamine over worrying about his friend, burst out laughing.

 

“I know, right….”

 

Kim Jinkyung swallowed a sigh. Including the parts he hadn’t told Seo Sang-il, he was having a harder time lately than all the incidents he had experienced combined. He would rather regress to the past like in those popular novels, or have the world end and towers rise, with awakened people running rampant. That fantasy was more realistic than his current situation.

 

「Anyway, I’m out of the house right now, so just come in. You know the password, right?」

 

“Yeah. Thanks.”

 

「If you’re grateful, buy me meat.」

 

He was crazy about meat, but he wasn’t a bad guy. That’s why they were friends.

 

“Okay. I’ll buy you some when I get paid.”

 

Having solved the problem of where to stay for the time being, Kim Jinkyung smiled faintly as he answered. Until Seo Sang-il added the next words, “Oh, right.”

 

「I’m coming with my girlfriend later, is that okay?」

 

Kim Jinkyung frowned and asked, “What?”

 

「We were going to have drinks together. Noona can sleep in the bed, and you and I can sleep on the floor.」

 

…Is he crazy?

 

Kim Jinkyung declined, saying no way to his friend who was spouting nonsense.

 

「Whyyy? You know Ayeon noona, too. She’ll say it’s okay, too.」

 

He knew that the two of them had similar personalities, and that she would probably be fine with it, but Kim Jinkyung couldn’t do it.

 

“No. I’ll ask another friend today.”

 

「Do you have friends other than me?」

 

“I do.”

 

He didn’t.

 

「Okay, I’ll hang up then.」

 

The call ended. His friend’s kindness never lasted.

 

The burden he had briefly lifted was back on his shoulders. Kim Jinkyung pressed his temples and started searching for a nearby sauna.

 

***

 

“…What is that?”

 

Secretary Kang, who met Kim Jinkyung at the door, asked, looking utterly horrified. Seeing the man, who seemed like nothing could faze him, react like that made Kim Jinkyung shrink even more.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about…. …You came like that?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s face turned as red as it could be. He was wearing a yellow-brown pair of shorts and a t-shirt, with the name of the sauna written on the chest, leaving no room for doubt about where the clothes came from.

 

“Why?”

 

Secretary Kang asked with a face that showed he couldn’t understand at all.

 

Where should he even begin? How could he realistically explain that his apartment had burned down, he had tried to stay at a friend’s house but it didn’t work out, so he went to a sauna, and the next morning his laptop and clothes were stolen, so he was at the police station in this outfit, and then he rushed to take the bus because it was almost time for his tutoring session, all while receiving stares and whispers from everyone?

 

“Something happened….”

 

He didn’t have the strength to make the other person understand his situation. The bus fare to get here was thanks to the detective who took pity on him after hearing his story and gave him ten thousand won. He had barely managed to use a disposable umbrella with three broken ribs.

 

“Young Master will be disgusted.”

 

“He’s always disgusted anyway.”

 

Kim Jinkyung replied with a weak smile.

 

“If he was disgusted, he wouldn’t have….”

 

Secretary Kang stopped abruptly.

 

“Anyway, will you be able to teach?”

 

“Yes. I still have the textbook.”

 

Kim Jinkyung smiled, holding up the textbook in his hand. It seemed that high school math textbooks were useless to thieves. The only thing the thief, who had stolen even his inexpensive clothes, had left behind was the tutoring textbook.

 

“I don’t know if you have a strong spirit or a flower garden for a brain….”

 

Kim Jinkyung clearly heard Secretary Kang muttering. “I’ll go with the former,” Kim Jinkyung said weakly as he entered the study. To be exact, his spirit was weak, his brain was a mess, and he was just pointlessly responsible.

 

As soon as Kim Jinkyung went inside, the black Leopard showed a very displeased expression. However, he didn’t bare his teeth or try to slash him with his claws.

 

Gathering all his strength, Kim Jinkyung finished the two-hour lesson and stood up.

 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to prepare properly for today’s lesson, so there’s no homework. You don’t have to pay for today’s session.”

 

He was desperate for even ten thousand won, but he couldn’t bring himself to take the money. As Kim Jinkyung bowed with a gloomy face, the black Leopard blocked his path.

 

“Do you have something to say?”

 

Black Leopard’s tail drew a sharp arc.

 

“Shall I call Secretary Kang?”

 

Black Leopard nodded. Kim Jinkyung immediately called Secretary Kang. While Secretary Kang bent down and whispered something, Kim Jinkyung went out of the study.

 

He really had no energy left.

 

Could all of this be a dream? It’s strange. He was just an ordinary college student who happened to like men, but suddenly he was involved in a strange tutoring job, humans turning into animals, a fire, and even a robbery.

 

He couldn’t believe that all of this had happened in one month. He had been sitting blankly for a long time at the police station while filling out the victim statement, feeling dumbfounded.

 

If someone was selling amulets against bad luck right now, he would gather all the money he didn’t have and buy one like a sucker.

 

“…Sir.”

 

“…….”

 

“Teacher.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Kim Jinkyung was startled by the voice calling him and looked up.

 

“I heard the place you were staying in was completely burned down.”

 

“How did you know?”

 

…Could it be.

 

“Arson is not our style. We prefer to handle things directly and cleanly.”

 

Secretary Kang immediately continued, as if he had read the suspicion in Kim Jinkyung’s eyes.

 

“I just found out under Young Master’s instructions.”

 

“…….”

 

But your Young Master can’t speak right now.

 

Kim Jinkyung swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

 

“Since you will need a place to stay for the time being, he said you can stay here.”

 

Behind Secretary Kang, he could glimpse the face of the black Leopard, looking dignified. Kim Jinkyung waved his hands, saying no.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll ask a friend.”

 

“Does your friend run a sauna? A forest yellow earth room?”

 

“…….”

 

Kim Jinkyung subtly covered the sauna’s name on his clothes with one arm.

 

“We’re not offering charity for free. Young Master wants additional tutoring, so he’s requesting it.”

 

“Ah, that’s…. …Even so, I can’t impose like that….”

 

The black Leopard snorted at the word “impose” and turned his head.

 

“Teacher.”

 

Secretary Kang called Kim Jinkyung.

 

“Yes!”

 

“Did you see the house next door on your way here?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s Young Master’s house too.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You saw the house next to that one, right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“That’s the same. The one next to that, and across the street, and the one opposite that, all of them.”

 

Secretary Kang clapped his hands together and continued.

 

“This is all property owned by this family.”

 

“…….”

 

“Isn’t there a place for you to lie down in this vast mansion?”

 

It sounded like kind words, but to Kim Jinkyung, it sounded like a threat that there was always a place to bury him.

 

“Stay.”

 

At Secretary Kang’s words, Kim Jinkyung nodded, pale as a ghost. The black Leopard, who was standing next to him, stretched out his front legs as if satisfied, lengthened his body, and disappeared gracefully.