TIN 13

“I told you yesterday, let’s play a role-playing game.”

It was a refreshing voice. He lightly twitched the finger he had pointed at me.

“You’re the Hyung.”

Then he pointed to himself.

“And I’m the younger brother.”

I wondered if he really developed an inc3st fetish. The suspicion that had emerged yesterday gained a little more weight. No, if it’s not about satisfying his s3xual desires, the word ‘fetish’ might be strange.

“Is that it?”

“That’s it.”

Joo Do-hwa nodded his head kindly, without showing any displeasure, and added another seemingly plausible reason.

“I’m not desperate enough to buy someone for s3x.”

“…”

He wasn’t wrong. He was the heir to the 4HAE Group, a dominant Alpha, and had a beautiful appearance that could captivate anyone. Even having just one of those traits would be enough to make Omegas swoon.

However, if we look at it strictly, the customers who visited Oceans weren’t exactly starving either. Most of them were also from wealthy families, and while they weren’t dominant Alphas, they were still Alphas with decent appearances. They were certainly not as superior as Joo Do-hwa, but they had a certain advantage.

So the reason to buy a person would be either to have a more convenient object to manipulate, or to enjoy the sense of superiority over someone. As for genuinely desperate people who couldn’t satisfy their desires… at most, one or two showed up a year, and even then, it was more about indulging in luxury than any genuine need.

What exactly is Joo Do-hwa aiming for? He said ‘that’s it,’ but no matter how I think about it, the numbers don’t add up. If he just wanted to make me play the Hyung, it would be much better to hire someone instead of buying a person.

“…How much did you pay for me?”

Then, in the very unlikely and remote possibility that the boss had sold me off as a troublesome burden for a discounted price.

I asked with that possibility in mind, but unfortunately, this time too, the answer was far from what I’d expected.

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

What do you think you’re going to do with that information? Joo Do-hwa sneered with that exact expression. His tone was kind, but the content wasn’t.

“It’s more money than you could earn in a lifetime from those… cheap tips you used to get.”

I knew he wasn’t trying to insult me by using the word “cheap.” The brief pause in his speech suggested he’d almost used something even more degrading but decided against it.

“That’s why I bought you. Because you were expensive.”

“…”

“I thought you must be worth the price.”

The excuse the boss gave for selling me at a high price was all too obvious. Things like ‘brand new,’ ‘hard to come by,’ or ‘doesn’t require a lot of work.’ There was even a chance that the additional cost of Wang-wei’s hospital bill was added, since I had caused a major incident.

But normally, people don’t just pay that high a price without expecting s3xual gratification in return. If he has no intention of satisfying his desires, there would be no reason to willingly pay that much.

That left only one possible explanation.

“You must have wanted an older brother.”

“An older brother?”

Now that I think about it, he was somewhat lonely even as a child. That thought had led me to say it, but Joo Do-hwa’s eyes widened as if he had heard an unfamiliar word. A strange light briefly flashed in his slightly lowered eyes.

“Maybe…”

The fleeting emotion that passed through him was of a different, unfamiliar kind than before. The subdued energy was clearly different from the previously loose atmosphere. The shift was jarring, and just as I instinctively opened my mouth to say something, he interrupted with a seemingly unrelated remark.

“I’ve found a person before, when I was young.”

“…Huh?”

What an out-of-the-blue topic. Undeterred by my reaction, Joo Do-hwa spread his hands about shoulder-width apart.

“There was a box washed up on the beach, and when I opened it, there was a person inside.”

“…”

Hearing that, a memory came to mind. A sliver of light filtering through the narrow crevice of the cramped box, where it was difficult to even breathe.

“At first, I thought it was a doll. It was so… beautiful, you know?”

His tone was uncertain, as if he was recounting his own experience. “Probably,” he added in a similar wavering voice.

“Anyway, since I found it, it’s mine. I took it home and raised it.”

The expression ‘it’s mine’ sounded rather peculiar. It sounded almost as if Joo Do-hwa were talking about picking up a stray puppy to care for. The way he said it so nonchalantly only added to the odd feeling. Then again, he had fed, clothed, and sheltered me, so perhaps, in a twisted way, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“It was about half a year… that we were together.”

So he hadn’t forgotten the incident from his childhood. I thought he had buried such memories in the past.

“But one day, that person disappeared.”

I knew this part of the story. That’s why I instinctively averted my gaze, but the following words were something I had never heard before.

“They stole something important to me.”

“…Stole?”

I blurted out the question in my confusion. What was he talking about? I hadn’t stolen anything from him. The accusation felt so unwarranted that it was almost laughable.

“That’s not the point.”

Regardless, Joo Do-hwa waved his hand, as if it didn’t matter. As if something other than the fact that something was stolen was more important.

“I was curious. Why did they run away?”

This time, I was completely at a loss for words. The gaze he spoke with had grown heavy and sunk down. The long shadow cast by his lowered eyelashes suddenly felt ominous.

“Even though I treated him so well… I even called him ‘hyung’.”

“…Well.”

I opened my mouth, trying to say something—anything—but he cut me off before I could form a coherent response. Or rather, he had no interest in hearing whatever I might say.

“It’s better not to say useless words. I didn’t bring this up to get some cheap consolation.”

I didn’t mean to console him. I had no choice but to keep quiet at the harshness in his voice. I realized that no matter what I said, it would only irritate him.

“At first, I tried to look for him. But as you can see, in the end… it ended up like this.”

“…”

Honestly, I thought he hadn’t even looked. If Joo Do-hwa had gotten involved, there would be no one he couldn’t find in all of South Korea, given that the 4HAE Group had the country in the palm of their hand. And back then, I was just a child, not even hiding my face.

“He disappeared so completely. It’s as if he ascended to the sky or sank into the ground, or maybe someone hid him.”

Should I tell him that’s not the case? That I’m right here in front of him, just living an ordinary life, wandering the streets, and even sometimes regretting leaving this place.

“What you have to do is simple, hyung.”

Joo Do-hwa snapped his fingers, as if to draw my attention. Reflexively, I met his gaze. Joo Do-hwa’s expression became serious, as if the past story had come to an end.

“Just imitate the person who was here before. As closely as possible, like the exact same person.”

So that’s what it meant to be the ‘hyung’. Even if it’s difficult for me, it’s not an impossible request. After all, I just have to live as I am, since I’m supposedly the same person.

However, I’m curious about one thing.

“…Why?”

At my blunt question, he furrowed his brow. The upturned corners of his mouth became rigid, but I couldn’t take back the question I had already voiced.

“Why are you looking for someone to… impersonate that person?”

I know it’s an impertinent question. After all, everything about me now belongs to him, so I should just go along with what he wants.

“What was that person to you?”

But no matter how I think about it, the fact that he is obsessed with the past me is strange. It may have been an unforgettable experience for me, but for him, it was just like finding a new toy.

Yeah, it was probably just that. To the point that he couldn’t even recognize me in front of him.

“Even if you were looking for him, there’s no need to have me impersonate him. If he ran away despite you treating him well, you probably wouldn’t even want to see him anymore.”

I could understand why he might have searched for me. Even if I hadn’t stolen anything, if he thought something had been taken, it made sense to want to catch the culprit. But it was strange of him to go as far as finding a replacement for someone who’d supposedly betrayed him.

“But why insist on the impersonation…”

“That’s an interesting expression you used.”

His soft voice cut off my words. Should I be relieved? Joo Do-hwa didn’t seem too upset. He just let out a slight chuckle and looked at me with an amused expression.

“‘Insist’?”

“…”

I suddenly realized my question was a bit odd.

“Is that what you’re curious about?”

His drowsy eyes were now sharp, like a predator’s. The same serene smile was still on his beautiful face.

“What kind of speech patterns he used, what his personality was like, what kind of games we played, how to imitate him, how old the age difference between us was…”

“…”

“Aren’t you curious about those things?”