TIN 23

“Did you do that on purpose?”

I couldn’t answer the sudden question. He genuinely seemed upset. All I did was go swimming when he told me to, so what exactly did I do wrong? Technically, I was just floating, but still.

“What exactly am I doing on purpose?”

“You…”

Joo Do-hwa moved his lips, but no sound came out of his mouth. It seemed like he was struggling to find the right words.

Joo Do-hwa took a deep breath and spoke in a gritty tone.

“I told you to swim, not drown yourself.”

The sharp remark hit the mark. It really was like he could read my mind. How did he manage to see right through my thoughts so thoroughly?

“Why were you underwater for so long?”

The body heat touching my bare skin felt uncomfortably hot. The pounding heartbeat from his chest was transmitted clearly to me. Could it be that he was startled by the sight of me sinking in the pool? Even if he thought I was drowning, this kind of oversensitive reaction was unnecessary.

“I just like being in the water.”

That was the only response I could give. Hearing my words, Joo Do-hwa let out a short laugh, as if finding this entire thing amusing.

“While not even being able to breathe…”

I felt a bit exasperated. The sigh that slipped into his words only seemed to make me feel worse.

“What? Should I have gills or something?”

The remark, delivered jokingly, came across as outright mocking. It was clearly the reaction of someone, who was offended, and I couldn’t understand why he was reacting this way.

“Why are you angry?”

When I asked that, Joo Do-hwa didn’t give me an answer. He simply pressed his lips together, staring at my face up close.

In these types of situations, he was just like when he was young. The puckered lips were a familiar tic that appeared whenever he was displeased about something. Then and now, I had no idea what was bothering him.

I’d rather he just step back a bit. With that thought, I placed my hand on his shoulder. Despite being the one who usually got so close, he frowned the moment my hand touched him. Perhaps now he finally realized the distance between us.

“Let’s talk about this without physical contact.”

“…”

The hand around my waist slowly slid down. The grip on my arm also belatedly loosened. It hurt, probably from how tightly he had been clutching me.

Unlike when he came up to me, Joo Do-hwa backed away very slowly. The gradual retreating motion seemed both cautious and tense all at once. His expression was tightly guarded, just as when he had said he disliked going into the water.

So this was what he looked like when he was serious. Just a slight furrowing of the brow made a noticeable difference from his usual relaxed demeanor, which seemed a bit drugged at the moment.

“Ah…it’s all wet.”

Joo Do-hwa clicked his tongue, looking down at his own body. Through the damp shirt, his solid upper body was clearly visible. The silhouette was so blatant that I wasn’t sure where to look. When I was the one showing bare skin, it didn’t bother me, but now that he was the one exposed, it made me feel a little self-conscious.

“Is that a shirt that can get wet?”

“No, it’s not.”

As I changed the subject, Joo Do-hwa answered matter-of-factly. While the shirt might be fine, the pants would definitely need to be discarded. There were sometimes certain kinds of inefficient clothes that got ruined when wet.

“What a waste.”

At my brief remark, Joo Do-hwa appeared to be puzzled. Wondering why, he spoke in a perplexed tone.

“You have no greed for material things, but you’re lamenting the waste of this?”

“That’s not related.”

To be precise, I was not entirely without greed for possessions. It was just that the things Joo Do-hwa gave me didn’t align with my interests.

“The people who come to my house would even try to sell the diamonds on the chandeliers, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

I had that thought too. But it seemed someone had actually put it into practice, unlike me just thinking about it.

“I won’t steal anything in this house.”

“Is that so?”

Joo Do-hwa responded lightly to what sounded almost like a declaration. Of course, he didn’t look like he believed me.

“I didn’t know you were such a moral person.”

“It’s not about morals…”

I had no intention of bringing up morals. The first thing I learned when going out on the streets was pickpocketing, so there was no way that kind of thing would remain in his house for long. Later, I even resorted to outright robbery to survive, so it wasn’t just because of that.

“There’s nothing I can do with stolen goods anyway.”

Joo Do-hwa’s eyes narrowed. The corners of his previously expressionless lips curled upward, just barely visible.

“You’d get caught the moment you tried to sell them.”

Items only had value once they were converted to money. No matter how expensive medicine was, it was useless unless I was the one injured.

In that sense, I wasn’t stupid enough to steal from the 4HAE Group. However futile the law may be, there was no reason they wouldn’t punish me if their influence really reached that far.

“You’re smart to know that.”

His tone was genuinely admiring. I thought he believed in my innocence, but Joo Do-hwa only let out a sideways smile as he continued.

“But you were tempted by the diamonds, weren’t you?”

“…”

I told you he had sharp edges. He seemed to have realized that the things I said were the result of contemplating whether or not to steal them.

“Don’t steal it for no reason, just tell me. I’ll give you that much.”

His voice, laced with laughter, spoke generously. Was it to at least let me feel better, since I couldn’t do anything with the stolen goods anyway? But he didn’t make the empty promise of paying me.

“I said I have no intention of stealing.”

As I repeated myself, a thought suddenly occurred to me. I couldn’t confirm it, but it was an underlying sense of unfairness that I had been harboring toward Joo Do-hwa all along.

“Before too…I never had that intention.”

“…”

At my slowly spoken words, his gaze turned to me. The smile that had been lingering on his lips had vanished completely. His eyes were chillingly cold, but I continued my speech steadily.

“You thought someone important to you had their things stolen.”

Joo Do-hwa had said that. That I had stolen something important to him and disappeared. But when I left this house, I didn’t even have the thought of taking anything. If I did really steal something, why would I stay behind to give him a proper farewell?

This must be a misunderstanding that arose from somewhere I was unaware of. Whether another employee stole it or not, Joo Do-hwa was clearly mistaken about something, or someone instigated it—something clearly went wrong after I left this place.

“I’m just saying. It’s unfair to be misunderstood.”

Unfair…It was closer to worry, really. If they ever found out I was that child, I might have to pay the price for a false accusation. So I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding to some extent beforehand.

“Ah…”

Instead of saying anything, Joo Do-hwa let out a long sigh. In the water, he tightly clenched his fist, the tension flooding in. Was this finally crossing the line? I couldn’t help but worry about that inwardly.

“I said you were smart.”

Contrary to my expectations all along, he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, admiring me. He still didn’t seem to suspect I was that child, just thinking I had deduced the situation on my own. He even readily admitted it.

“You’re right, the truth is your brother never stole anything.”

“…”

I was surprised, but more than that, I was puzzled. Why on earth did he tell that lie? As I was thinking about it, he slowly moved his lips.

“Unless he stole my memories.”

“…Memories?”

This was the first time I heard about this. Joo Do-hwa lowered his eyes solemnly, without a trace of laughter in them.

“I can’t remember, at all.”

How could those long eyelashes look so forlorn? The water droplets rolling down just looked like tears, even though I knew he wasn’t the type to cry over something like this.

“The face, the name, the voice…”

“…”

“It’s as if someone had just carved out that part.”

He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut without saying a word. It was surprising not only that he couldn’t remember my face, but even my name and voice. Or rather, the fact that he expressed it as “can’t remember.”

“I know, this wasn’t something stolen.”

His tone was matter-of-fact, but that made it all the more self-deprecating. I wanted to ask how much else he remembered, but Joo Do-hwa beat me to the punch.

“Since I shared one of my secrets, won’t you share one of yours too?”

That was a secret? I couldn’t bring myself to confirm something like that. Joo Do-hwa, who had been standing apart, suddenly stepped closer to me. I instinctively took a step back, but unfortunately, I was soon blocked by the wall.

“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”

Placing a hand on the wall, he leaned toward me. Due to the difference in our heights, his long shadow loomed over me.

“Brother.”

The distance was too…too close. Any moment now, his breath might graze my skin. In that instant when I involuntarily flinched, he asked in a slow voice.

“You’re not a Beta, are you?”