Lee Taemin lets the corners of his crimson lips curve upwards in a menacing smirk as the immobile body of a freshly killed tiger rests peacefully on the stark wooden bench of his gallery. He watches in silent adoration, almost honoring the beast of the forests inwardly. The open jaws of the monstrous creature render no fear in Taemin; because without its life, the tiger was a mere cavity that occupied worthless place on the earth. Death is overwhelming; when it strikes it removes the outward menace off the frivolous beings that pace the earth. Taemin, barely eighteen, silently picks up a glistening knife. He runs his fingers across the sharp edges of the blade and his mind envisages the scene when the lifeless tiger would be torn of its only saving grace; it’s full coat of ginger and black. Taemin waits an instance, watching the tiger and softly lets out purrs and mewls of love. He admires the beast, the silent predator. He admires its smooth coat and menacing incisors. And that’s why he had to own the beast.

“Beauty must be preserved.”

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              In the world, a few people admire beauty from afar while a few embrace the beauty with their hearts. But, only slight fractions of the lot decide to own the beauty. Taemin was one of the very few who desired possession. Beauty should be preserved, and Taemin was willing to go to any lengths to do just that. The perfect symmetry of the anatomy of mammals fascinated Taemin to such a degree that he became fanatic in his longing to own them. The perfect magnificence of the structure of living creatures was all that stumbled along in Taemin’s mind. Taemin preserved beauty but he wrenched away lives. And he had no qualms in doing so.

               But, sometimes, love strikes at the crevices of our hearts and obstructs the singularity of our lives. And sometimes, a single breach of judgment can prove fatal. Mistakes cannot always be rectified; Taemin learns that the hard way.