/Seungho turns away from Mr. Kim, a bit overwhelmed./

K: I’m not telling you anything that’s a secret.

Hana used to bend every ear she could with her sob story!

It was...

It was even on one of those human interest documentaries in the 90s. 

Shouldn’t we judge her by that? Why...

The only person who seems scandalized by any of this is...

You! 

/Seungho's fingers knit themselves even more deeply into the ends of his scarf. He feels himself shaking. His eyes dart around uncertainly and he feels like he's going to be sick./

K: If only you had the good sense to do a little sniffing around!

Well,

why did you even want to live with Minho in the first place? 

/Seungho shuts his eyes. What Mr. Kim is asking about, feels like a question about another life. Minho is his friend now! Maybe the person closest to him in the world, apart from his own brother./

S: I - 

I’m not sure.

K: I bet 

It was just based on his name. 

You thought, here was another tiger, 

Like you.

/Seungho’s name in hanja is written in the background. "Ho" is written with the hanja for "tiger", or "horangi"./

/Seungho looks down, a little red in the face. He can't remember his own frame of mind, but he can't deny that it was probably as arbitrary as that. Mr. Kim seizes on that hesitation./

K: ...I knew it.

By God, you're such a wholehearted innocent!

But you see, 

the reason why I'm telling you this is because,

Hana sowed menace into that kid. 

/An image of someone rising from the embers, burnt but unhindered./

K: You know,

he was almost expelled for fighting before he arrived. 

Pulling him out of school just about saved his life -

S: Mr. Kim! This isn’t - 

K: But now, 

he's in a group again, 

And so,

What do you think 

He is going to do? 

/The image zooms out to show a woman clinging onto the boy who emerged from the fire. Her hair entwining around his head, her flesh melting onto his face - seemingly determined to impart some of her essence onto him. As her fingers snake around his arm like dessicated tree branches, his hand extends upwards, morphing into the claws of a beast./

K: You're here to pursue your dreams, Seungho, 

But Minho doesn't have that better nature. 

He's going to climb up, tooth and claw, 

Like his old lady did. 

/Mr. Kim pauses for a moment to smooth over his hair. Sweat is glistening on his face - he has become heated in the retelling of this sordid tale, and in the curl of his lip, it seems clear that he is enjoying this far more than his captive audience./

K: You know,

it's interesting...

/Seungho's name reappears, this time scratched out by numerous claw marks. The only legible character is the last syllable, which now shows the character for Minho's name. We can see that in Minho's name, "ho" is instead written with the hanja for "name" or "symbol". But this hanja contains the same radical that is used in Seungho's name - in other words, it contains a small tiger./

K: His hanja only has

a little tiger

and it's hiding in the brambles...

/From behind a grove of pine trees, the disfigured face of a tiger emerges, looking more like a paranormal spectre than an animal. Its jaws open wide, as if in warning./

/Seungho stares back at it, entranced.../

K: Like a criminal,

Like a deviant...

/In the next second, the vision takes a horrific turn, and before Seungho can even discern what is happening, he was covered with his own blood - /

/Pieces of flesh, flying through the air.../

/As he stands, frozen in fear, his head obscured with dark thoughts, Mr. Kim's voice reverberates dimly in the background,/

K: So,

now you know.

And now, 

you have something on him.

Don't let anyone 

make you think less of yourself. 

And don't let that little cat

step out of line. 

Got it?

/In the midst of his occluded thoughts, Seungho feels Mr. Kim's hand on his shoulder once more. What would normally be a gesture of comfort, now feels like he is being handed a cudgel. As if operating entirely on autopilot, he murmurs,/

S: ...Thank you, Sir.

/His thoughts have now become a dull fuzz - like the static of a broken television - or the dizzying stripes of a tiger in motion./

/Some time later.../

/Minho, who had been waiting at the summit of the staircase, gives a start when he sees Seungho walking towards him. Minho had shed his bulky blazer, and has now slung it over his shoulder - the picture of a rebel from old Hollywood./

Mh: You good?

S: Uh,

Yeah.

/Seungho replies listlessly, staring back at Minho with a blank expression. Deep down inside, he couldn't help but feel unsettled by the conversation with Mr. Kim./

/Was there any truth to what Mr. Kim had said? But when he looks at Minho, there seems to be no relationship between the wild, unprincipled son of an opportunist that Mr. Kim had caricatured, and the person standing in front of him: Minho, his closest friend, who he's spent the balance of his days with, who never yells or so much as raises his voice, and who always looks at him as if Seungho is the entirety of his focus./

/When would Minho have even had time to plot against Seungho, unless he was doing it in his sleep? And what possible motive could he have for doing so, now that they have both debuted and are in the same group? Their fates are intertwined now. If Minho had wanted to sabotage Seungho, he could have done it much earlier - could have done it whenever he wanted - /

/The whole thing made Seungho's head hurt and worse, it made him feel like the villain for thinking ill of his friend! Reflexively, he slaps his own forehead./

S: Sorry,

I just got confused, 

I thought you went to look around?

Mh: Look around at what? 

It's our company.

Well, if you’re done, 

let's go.

/Minho doesn't seem to have detected anything strange about Seungho's demeanour, or if he had, he didn't show it./

/But as Minho descends the stairs, Seungho has a sudden impulse - he rushes forward - /

S: Wait,

hold on a minute. 

/Minho looks up at Seungho from the base of the flight of stairs./

Mh: ...

What’s up?

S: I was going to visit

Channie. 

/Seungho is rocking back and forth on his heels, suddenly embarrassed by his own request. There is something weighty about saying Channie's name like this. Immediately, a chasm seems to have opened up between him and Minho. He chooses his next words carefully,/

S: It's still 3:43, 

I think he's probably in class downstairs.

But,

Like, 

You don't...

...Have to stick around.

/One might expect Minho to feel frustrated, being told off twice in one day like this. But his gaze is, if anything, a little sad./

/After studying Seungho's expression for a moment, he looks down at his own feet, and says carefully,/

Mh: No,

I'll wait for you.

Then, we can take the subway home together.

/Minho's words are simple, unvarnished, but something flutters inside Seungho's chest when he hears them. They immediately jumble the thoughts he had so carefully lined up, which now fly around his head like so many scattered butterflies./

S: Well, 

okay,

it’s just that, 

it might take a while...

/Seungho's heels turn inwards - was he twelve??/

Mh: That’s fine.

Chanwoo's still a trainee. You won't see those guys much, after you move out.

You should say goodbye properly.

/Minho says, his gaze never leaving Seungho. Seungho grips his own arm, as if there was a literal chill in the air. Seeing no way out, he simply replies,/

S: Right.

/After all, this was the point, wasn't it? He had wanted to see Channie. Not just because they wouldn't see each other again in person for a while, but because he badly needed a pick-me-up after that disastrous conversation with Mr. Kim./

/Channie is his boyfriend, and he needs him in this moment. So what's the big deal, really...why is he feeling so weird about saying it out loud?/

/Seungho quietly descends the stairs, passing Minho on his way down as nonchalantly as possible. While Minho's eyes continue to follow him.../

/Seungho cracks open the practice room door - a little at first, and then enough to pop his head through. The room is musty with sweat, and there’s an obnoxious high-energy song booming in the background, the bass cranked up to max. Some of the trainees are still taking turns performing./

/Seungho looks down at the trainees seated nearest the door, and gives them a self-conscious smile. He's still not used to the way the youngest trainees would stare at him all agog - and it makes him feel even worse when they all scramble to stand up in his presence./

S: Hey! Oh - 

no need to get up,

is Channie around?

Random boy: It's Seungho.

/Before the trainee has a chance to reply, Seungho spots Channie. His group had just finished their turn, and now he is adjusting his beanie in the practice room mirror - no doubt following a kickass headspin./

S: Ah!

Channie!

/Channie's eyes quickly dart over to Seungho. And then back to the mirror./

/A few moments later, they emerge from the practice room, with Channie gently sliding the door closed behidn them. From inside they can still faintly hear the instructor's bluster,/

Instructor: All right! Next group...

/"Channie" or Chanwoo is a long-limbed, mop-haired trainee who is a few years older than Seungho. He has strong features, a prominent chin and nose, and eyes that look perpetually bemused. Not to put too fine a point on it, but some would argue that he looks a bit too old to still be a trainee?... Today, he is dressed in a simple white tee and cool cotton pants./

Cw: What’s up?

S: Heyyy...

Cw: Hey?

Is today the big day?

S: Kind of! Today was just to terminate my lease,

but the actual move is happening tomorrow morning so...I thought I'd catch you here! You know…

In case I miss you?

Cw: Right.

/Channie replies with no inflection in his voice. Does he even understand what is happening? In fairness, maybe he's still a little dizzy from the headspin./

/As he and Seungho stand there, awkwardly facing each other, he manages to add,/

Cw: It's a shame. 

S: Yeah.

/Out of the blue, Channie places both of his hands on Seungho's shoulders. His eyes dart around conspiratorially./

S: ? ?

Uh...

/And then, seeing no one else around besides them and Minho, he suddenly pulls Seungho in close - /

S: !

/Before Seungho can properly react, Channie's lips are all over his own -/