TIN 61

“…”

I silently looked at him. The idiot who cracked his head while fucking. His scathing assessment reminded me of someone I had almost forgotten.

‘How much?’

‘How much for one use of the hole?’

Events from just a few months ago felt as distant as memories from a past life. The thick cigar smoke. The pheromones mixed in it and the hands pinning me down. And finally, the blood-mixed liquor that poured out at the end.

“I heard he still can’t use his right hand much…Give him a greeting if you see him.”

His gently curved eyes openly scrutinized me. As if he was expecting some kind of reaction.

“…Ah.”

I was too dumbfounded to show any reaction. I couldn’t ask what nonsense he was talking about, nor could I let out a bewildered laugh. I just sighed quietly and stared blankly ahead.

So now…Wang Wei was coming to this party.

I wasn’t afraid of meeting Wang Wei. Such incidents were countless and weren’t traumatic for me. So if he hoped I’d tremble in fear, that would be a miscalculation.

The only part I couldn’t understand was that Joo Do-hwa knew all this and deliberately brought me here.

Joo Do-hwa was the one who bought me from Oceans. Though I didn’t know the exact purchase conditions, the hospital bills for Wang Wei that I incurred must have come out of his pocket too. It meant Joo Do-hwa had paid off what the manager called my “debt.”

In this situation, to tell me to give him a greeting when we meet was just too much. He wasn’t unaware of what happened that day, and he even called it “fucking” himself.

Wasn’t this a nasty hobby? I didn’t expect him to be considerate or worried, but at the very least, he shouldn’t arrange such a meeting himself. Especially not while watching with such an observant gaze.

“Uh…okay.”

I slowly spoke and tried to compose my expression. As my bewilderment subsided, I finally found it amusing.

“I guess I should ask how he’s doing.”

Why do you keep prodding? Whatever the reason, if that’s what he wanted, I was willing to do it. Greet Wang Wei, ask how he’s doing, and maybe even get hit in the process.

But for some reason, as soon as Joo Do-hwa heard my words, his expression became subtly strange. The smile on his lips slowly faded, followed by his gaze turning ice cold.

“…You’ll ask how he’s doing?”

I couldn’t retort that he had told me to at least greet him. The moment I opened my mouth, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind.

“…!”

I flinched in surprise and took a step closer to Joo Do-hwa. It wasn’t really a situation to be startled, but given the topic of conversation, I became tense. Turning around a beat late, I saw a familiar face blinking at me.

“I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”

The woman apologizing awkwardly turned out to be Lee Yuna, whom I had met previously at Joo Do-hwa’s house. The dominant omega who was said to be Joo Do-hwa’s fiancée and wished to break off the engagement. Lee Yuna, with her long hair now elegantly styled up, was adorned with all sorts of accessories like the other party attendees.

“Hello, Do-hwa. Fancy seeing you here.”

Lee Yuna smiled warmly and waved at Joo Do-hwa. It was the same friendly and shy smile I had seen when we first met.

“…Yuna.”

Joo Do-hwa responded with a voice tinged with a sigh, as if he had never been displeased in the first place. His sharp gaze had already softened into a languid look.

Seeing Joo Do-hwa like this, Lee Yuna smiled brightly.

“You could have told me you were coming.”

Lee Yuna took a step closer and lightly held Joo Do-hwa’s arm as if linking arms. At this intimate action, Joo Do-hwa glanced down at his captured arm.

“Well, when have I ever told you before coming?”

Surprisingly, he didn’t immediately push Lee Yuna away. He just blinked slowly and turned his gaze leisurely. While I was thinking that maybe he treated her differently because she was his fiancée, Joo Do-hwa’s gaze suddenly turned directly toward me.

“…”

It was a subtle look. If he had something to say, he should just say it—I didn’t understand why he kept looking at me like that. It seemed like he was observing, or perhaps waiting for something.

“Still, how could you leave your fiancée behind and bring Mr. Bada?”

Lee Yuna’s words broke the meaningful gaze. Somehow knowing that name, Lee Yuna naturally called me ‘Bada.’ Being called that wasn’t strange, but the honorific ‘Mr.’ attached to it felt quite awkward.

“You know I feel hurt every time you do this?”

While others might take it as sincere, to me it was clearly empty words. Judging by her attitude from before, Lee Yuna wasn’t the type to feel hurt over something like this. It would be more believable if she got annoyed, saying the crazy bastard was being ridiculous again.

“What do you mean, hurt…”

Joo Do-hwa probably had similar thoughts to mine. He responded half-heartedly and withdrew his gaze from me.

The two of them standing side by side looked like a painting. Joo Do-hwa aside, Lee Yuna was certainly a beauty. Her dress, revealing her collarbone, was made of a material that fluttered like flower petals, and the light purple fabric suited her pale skin well.

Coincidentally, Joo Do-hwa’s tie was also purple, making the two look as if they had coordinated their outfits. It looked much better for him to be with Lee Yuna than with me, since from my appearance I  seemed uncomfortable standing there in ill-fitting clothes.

A dominant alpha and a dominant omega. Everyone here would think of them as the perfect couple.

“Young master.”

As they exchanged trivial words, someone approached the two. The person who quietly came up and spoke was Henry. He must’ve been waiting nearby.

“A moment…”

Henry, looking quite troubled, wanted to whisper something to Joo Do-hwa. As Joo Do-hwa lent his ear, Henry covered his mouth with his hand and murmured something.

“…”

Of course, I couldn’t hear Henry’s words, but I could see Joo Do-hwa’s expression gradually changing. Though he didn’t frown, his subtly stiffened face suggested he had heard something quite serious.

“…Now?”

“Yes, you need to go right away.”

As if uncomfortable saying this, Henry kept glancing at Joo Do-hwa. The fact that he didn’t avert his gaze suggested it was quite an urgent matter.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t resolve it at my level…”

“Yeah, I know.”

Joo Do-hwa responded lightly and shook off Lee Yuna’s hand. It was quite a cold action, considering he had been still all this time. He looked at Lee Yuna for a moment, then turned to me and ordered, “Stay here for a while.”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

He didn’t need an acknowledgment. He turned his back before hearing any response. Henry, letting out a sigh of relief, bowed to Lee Yuna and hurriedly followed after him.

“…What’s this?”

The bewildered question came not from me, but from Lee Yuna. Left with her hand awkwardly suspended in the air after Joo Do-hwa shook it off, Lee Yuna chuckled as if in disbelief.

“Wow, he just leaves without even pretending to look at me.”

It was hard to tell if this was fortunate, but she didn’t look as angry as last time. She just shrugged her shoulders and dusted off her right hand. On her right ring finger, she wore the same silver ring as before.

“Have you been well?”

I was blankly staring at the ring when I flinched, furrowing my brow. I had been thinking to myself, ‘That must be the engagement ring.’ As if asking why I was so surprised, Lee Yuna grinned, showing all of her teeth.

“I thought you weren’t trying to seduce him…but you look good.”

She looked me up and down carefully. The fact that this didn’t feel unpleasant was because her gaze didn’t contain any contempt.

Lee Yuna approached me slightly and lowered her voice secretively.

“That bastard’s pheromones are really strong on you.”

“…”

I reflexively looked around. Perhaps thanks to Joo Do-hwa who had been with me until now, the party attendees seemed to keep their distance as if there was an invisible wall. Even now that Joo Do-hwa was gone, it seemed similar–they were probably being cautious of Lee Yuna this time.

“Did you put on perfume to cover the pheromones? I guess you don’t know since you’re a beta, but that has no effect at all.”

The sweet, almost insect-attracting perfume was something Joo Do-hwa had stubbornly applied. I also knew that this was different from pheromones, and that it was insufficient to hide the pheromones remaining on my body. I thought they had faded a lot by now, but apparently Lee Yuna, being dominant, could still sense them.

“Anyway, it’s good. It’s good for you because your fortune has improved, and it’s good for me because I can break off the engagement. Try to seduce him a bit more and make him fall head over heels. Who knows? He might even buy you the sea.”

“…”

“After all, that’s probably what you wanted all along too…”

Lee Yuna, who had been chattering away, quickly closed her mouth when I didn’t say anything. Her misty blue-green eyes gazed intently at me.

After staring for a long while, Yuna casually asked, “Why do you look like that?”

“…Look like what?”

I was just standing still, why suddenly ask about my expression? As I raised a hand to touch my cheek, Yuna narrowed her eyes.

“You look very…”

Her trailing words were meaningful. Lee Yuna made a light nasal sound and continued, “…scared.”

Her sharp gaze seemed to see right through me. It was something I had thought similar to Joo Do-hwa before–sometimes her eyes were excessively sharp. Like the abrupt question she was asking now.

“Don’t tell me he hits you?”