TIN 60

I was aware that I had acted suspiciously. I openly reacted to Yoon Ji-soo’s name when it was mentioned and even asked him why he was trying to kill her. Not only that, I tried to persuade and dissuade him as much as I could. It would have been stranger if he hadn’t noticed.

However, I could say with certainty that I didn’t know it would hold me back like this. I thought that even if he found out we knew each other, it would end there, and after meeting Yoon Ji-soo, we could just escape together. As long as he didn’t pry into how we knew each other—or even if he did, I thought I could just deny it.

‘Yoon Ji-soo will be there too.’

But with just one sentence, Joo Do-hwa shattered my hopes. With sharp eyes like a predator’s, he gently scratched at me, as if asking if I really had nothing to lose. Knowing I couldn’t refuse, he pretended to give me a choice, feigning a generous face.

I didn’t think he noticed that I was planning to run away. If he had, he wouldn’t have given me the card or told me to withdraw and use cash. So my guess was that his intention was to probably provoke me somehow and see my reaction.

‘It seems to be quite reliable information this time…’

What reliable information? It’s either a lie or a worthless exaggeration.

But the problem was that I couldn’t leave without regrets, even knowing he was doing this on purpose. The moment he mentioned Yoon Ji-soo, he might as well have set a snare at my feet. I knew that no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t escape this time.

What could I do? The desire to find that person was practically the goal and direction of my life. I couldn’t let go of even false hope, since it was still hope.

I was someone who searched the entire city just based on the information Theo gave me. Joo Do-hwa’s informants were certainly more reliable than Theo’s, and of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility. If by any chance, if even slightly it turned out to be real information, I couldn’t ignore it.

It was simple. What if Yoon Ji-soo really showed up? What if Joo Do-hwa found her first and killed her in anger? Or if he persuaded Yoon Ji-soo to betray Chairman Joo?

Every assumption that came to mind led to misfortune, so even though I knew it was foolish, I couldn’t leave. Despair was scarier than hope, and I always lived preparing for the worst of the worst.

So this time too, wasn’t adapting to the given environment the best option all around?

“…”

The bustling surroundings were full of people dressed as flamboyantly as peacocks. The jewels on their clothes sparkled in the chandelier light, and the towering champagne tower displayed its grandeur like a waterfall.

If we went back exactly one week, would it be like this? The party held in the banquet hall of a high-rise building in the heart of the city was not much different from the one Kei had hosted. Except for slightly changed decorations and the host greeting the guests, it could be considered the same party.

‘There’s another party this weekend.’

As if to prove that those words weren’t a lie, Joo Do-hwa immediately prepared to attend the party as soon as he heard my agreement. He called a designer to remeasure my size, tried on different clothes every day, and only chose a suit he liked the day before. After choosing the shoes himself, he knelt on one knee and personally put them on me, just like before.

‘Do you know what the guests coming to this party have in common?’

Of course, I couldn’t answer his question. That they’re filthy rich? That was about the only commonality I could think of.

Joo Do-hwa told me the answer as he crossed the shoelaces in an X shape and pulled them tight.

‘They’re all regulars at Oceans, apparently.’

His long fingers neatly tied the shoelaces. He seemed to be good with his hands, tying quite a pretty bow, but before I could admire his handiwork, he continued, ‘I wonder how many of them will recognize you.’

‘…’

It was a statement tense enough to make my back stiffen. Even though I hadn’t committed any crime, I felt a sense of crisis that I shouldn’t be found out. Even if someone recognized me, I wouldn’t be able to recognize most of the guests, but still, I had no idea what strange demands Joo Do-hwa might make based on this.

‘So dress prettily.’

I couldn’t point out the connection between meeting the guests and dressing prettily. I just silently put on the shoes as he helped me and thoroughly applied the perfume that was said to resemble his pheromones.

And so, the party I attended was hosted by some famous surgeon. Though I didn’t know exactly who it was, the face seemed vaguely familiar, but fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t acknowledge me. Come to think of it, most people wouldn’t bother to acknowledge me in such a public place anyway.

More than that, compared to last time, this place is a bit…

“…Noisy.”

Pfft, I heard a laugh. Joo Do-hwa, standing close by, burst into laughter at the words I had muttered without even realizing it. Covering his mouth and making a deflating sound, Joo Do-hwa looked down at me with gently curved eyes.

“And here you said you were out of it last time…”

This time, just like last time, he was perfectly dressed. Though he wasn’t wearing any jewels, his eyes were like jewels themselves, and while he wasn’t particularly extravagantly adorned, his natural appearance was no different from being adorned.

“You’re like a house cat, I tell you.”

However, this time he didn’t offer to call Henry if I was struggling. He didn’t look at me with worried eyes or bend down to meet my eye level. All he did was gently wrap his arm around my shoulder and walk toward a less crowded area.

“You should get used to it too, hyung. …This kind of thing will be quite frequent from now on.”

“…”

His softly whispering voice was filled with amusement. To me, it sounded like he meant, “I’ll use Yoon Ji-soo’s name to make you attend parties next time too.” Even if it was an exaggeration, I couldn’t say it wasn’t implied at all.

“Just look at the people. Who knows, there might be a familiar face.”

It felt like the ground beneath my feet was sinking deeper and deeper. I felt increasingly overwhelmed as if I was stuck in a swamp. The more I struggled, the deeper I sank, to the point where I felt I might eventually give up resisting and quietly comply.

“A familiar face…There’s no such thing.”

I brushed off his arm and stepped half a step away from him. He twisted his lips in annoyance, but I ignored it and tightened my tie a bit more. My voice had only recently returned to normal, so I didn’t want to give him any reason to nitpick like Kei did.

“They’re all strangers.”

Yes, I need to think rationally. Even if I left the mansion, finding Yoon Ji-soo was my top priority. My next move would be to make sure she wasn’t in the city, so attending the party wasn’t a bad idea. Even if I gained nothing from here, there was still that.

“Did you put a bug on me this time too?”

I glanced up at him while casually fiddling with my vest buttons. It was half sarcasm, half genuine concern. When I checked earlier, there didn’t seem to be anything. As I was thinking this, he curled his lips into a smile.

“Not on the buttons.”

“…”

My brow furrowed involuntarily. Saying it wasn’t on the buttons implied it might be somewhere else. Creepy bastard. I glared at him as I thought this, but Joo Do-hwa didn’t seem like he cared at all.

“Don’t try too hard. It’s pitiful.”

His hand sneaked up, trailing down the back of my head to massage my neck. As his warm temperature gripped my nape, I reflexively stiffened my shoulders. Joo Do-hwa, with a nonchalant face again, quietly murmured, “If you keep doing that, it makes me want to touch you more.”

“…”

His fingers, burrowing between my shirt collar, rubbed the junction of my shoulder and collarbone. The touch was intimate enough to reveal his intentions, and even without meaning to, it reminded me of our previous night together.

“Even if you want to suck cock today, hold back a bit.”

It hadn’t even been three days since I started walking after leaving the bed. My lower back still had muscle pain, and even the inside of my thighs ached. Even without that, I had no intention of sucking cock, so his unnecessary mention of it was extremely annoying.

“Come to think of it, there’s one person coming that you should definitely know.”

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he quickly removed his hand. As he shrugged his shoulders, I pressed my lips together and frowned. If he was talking about Yoon Ji-soo, I needed to maintain an appropriate silence.

However, what came out of Joo Do-hwa’s mouth was referring to someone else, not her, “The idiot who cracked his head while fucking has been discharged from the hospital.”