TIN 104

“Yes, a little bit.”

Even to what could have been a teasing question, the man answered compliantly. He blinked, closing and opening his eyes, and quietly leaned his face into Joo Do-hwa’s hand. Even from where Henry stood at a distance, the delicate curve above the thin eyelids was truly elegant.

Perhaps that was why. Joo Do-hwa, who remained unmoved even by Lee Yuna whom others claimed was crazy beautiful, would occasionally admire that man’s face as if in wonder. His beast-like sharp eyes would sparkle, and his arrogant smile would soften whenever he saw this man.

Yes, just like now.

“I’ll be back soon, so wait just a little.”

The voice, sweet as if dipped in sugar, was disconcerting even to Henry who had watched him for a long time. He wasn’t someone who would soothe and comfort others like this. It felt like he was openly doting on him.

He even gently stroked his head as if handling a small, fragile animal.

“I’ll come put you back to sleep.”

Joo Do-hwa had shown his own version of kindness to all the dolls who had come to this house before. He was generally kind, sometimes gentle, and occasionally even acted affectionately as if he were taking care of his real ‘hyung.’

However, he had never shown such an indulgent face to any of them. He had never smiled with crinkled eyes as if amused, nor absentmindedly played with their hair as if fascinated. He had always maintained exactly the attitude of dealing with a stand-in, nothing more, nothing less. Yet with this man, he kept acting as if he were an exception.

In the distant past, there were kings who lost their countries after being bewitched by beautiful people. Henry sometimes worried if his master might end up the same way. Though Joo Do-hwa wasn’t such a foolish man, looking at that pale man made him think such a thing might be possible.

In fact, at first, he too had wondered why Joo Do-hwa had brought home an Omega. When he learned he was a Beta who sold his body, he thought the face made up for it, and when he learned the amount paid, he honestly felt disapproving.

Of course, what bothered him most was the inexplicable sense of déjà vu he was feeling.

“Then I’ll be in my room.”

The man who had been silent for a moment turned his back after saying those words. “Come slowly,” he added, and Joo Do-hwa let out a thin laugh. He seemed amused by the man saying “come” while assuming Joo Do-hwa would naturally come to the room.

“…”

Where had I seen that face before?

Henry thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. It wasn’t a face that would be easily forgotten once seen, yet he couldn’t remember where he had seen it. Since he didn’t enjoy entertainment, he wouldn’t have met him at other establishments, and he had even less reason to visit Oceans.

“Henry.”

As the door clicked shut, Joo Do-hwa called Henry. Though it was a casual call, Henry quickly bowed his head and admitted his fault.

“I apologize.”

It was an apology for not closing the door. Though it hadn’t been something to be careful about until now, it was his job to adapt his approach according to the situation.

However, Joo Do-hwa twisted his lips as he responded to this apology.

“How unusual for you to be so interested, staring like that.”

“…”

It took a moment to understand his words. The content was so unexpected, and he couldn’t immediately recall what he had been staring at. Only after hearing what followed did he belatedly feel bewildered.

“He is pretty, everywhere.”

‘Everywhere,’ what a peculiar way of putting it. The concern should be directed at him, not Henry.

Could this man have thought that his earlier apology was for looking at his ‘hyung’? It hadn’t even occurred to him that it was wrong, but if that was the case, he would need to be careful from now on. Of course, the misunderstanding needed to be cleared up.

“Forgive my presumption, but as a Beta, I prefer women.”

“Being a beta doesn’t mean you have to like women.”

Joo Do-hwa casually countered, wearing a somewhat displeased expression on his face. Though the change in his expression wasn’t dramatic, Henry could tell by the flash of disapproval in his eyes that he was displeased. Though he couldn’t understand the reason, Henry tactfully agreed.

“Of course, there are many betas who don’t.”

It wasn’t a lie. After all, choosing partners based on gender was outdated thinking from hundreds of years ago. Now it was simply a matter of preference, being a beta didn’t mean you had to be with the opposite sex.

“Still, I prefer women.”

Henry shook his head as he explained again. The man belonged entirely to his master, and he had no intention of coveting him in any way. Whether Joo Do-hwa was showing cheap jealousy or possessiveness over his property, Henry had no desire to go against him.

“More importantly…didn’t he hear?”

So Henry tactfully changed the subject, nodding toward the door. Though it was a shallow attempt at misdirection, Joo Do-hwa didn’t pursue the previous topic any further.

“It’s fine if he heard.”

The casual response was remarkably confident. It was so relaxed that Henry wondered if he had been mistaken about the lies told regarding Yoon Ji-soo’s information.

However, the reason for this confidence was different from his assumption.

“Because I promised to take him to the sea.”

“…You’re taking him to the sea?”

Henry, startled, slowly asked again. It was the most shocking thing he had said today. Whether aware of Henry’s astonishment or not, Joo Do-hwa just spoke nonchalantly.

“Maybe because his name is Bada (Sea), he likes the sea.”

The reason was simple. As simple as it was absurd, it almost sounded like wordplay. After delivering the shocking news about taking Bada to the sea, Joo Do-hwa continued making outrageous statements without batting an eye.

“He’ll behave if he wants to come along.”

For common people in this era, the sea was an unattainable fantasy. While it was accessible to the upper class, for others it was a place they might never see in their lifetime. In fact, even Henry wouldn’t have seen it if not for his position assisting Joo Do-hwa.

“…”

And he was saying he would take that man to such a place. A man whose social status made even using the word ‘sea’ as a name worthy of ridicule, let alone actually seeing it.

Actually, many ‘hyungs’ had tried to seduce Joo Do-hwa to go to the sea. But most of them were discarded by Joo Do-hwa before achieving their goal. This man, born with the sea in his grasp, despised people who didn’t know their place most of all.

“What do you think?”

While Henry was collecting his thoughts, Joo Do-hwa casually asked. When Henry responded “About what, sir?” he put one hand in his pocket while pointing to his own eye with the other.

“About hyung’s eyes. We should have them examined, right?”

Eyes? There was no need to ask as the other man quickly added, “They’re cloudy.”

“…”

Were they? Honestly, he wasn’t too sure. Unless it was a striking color like Joo Do-hwa’s, who cared about someone else’s eye color? Though he himself, being of mixed blood, had greenish eyes, in this era that wasn’t even considered rare.

“They look fine because he’s so pretty, but it would be troublesome if it’s a side effect.”

“Ah, about that.”

At the mention of side effects, Henry held out the tablet PC he was holding. When he unlocked it and brightened the screen, simple graphs and various alphabets appeared. This was the last of the “urgent matters” for which he had called Joo Do-hwa out.

“The test results are in.”

“Ah.”

Joo Do-hwa made a short sound in response to Henry’s words. Judging by the smile on his lips, he clearly thought this was finally a topic worth hearing about.

Henry zoomed in on one part of the text on the screen and began, “We tested the hair you brought…”

A few days ago, Joo Do-hwa had brought him several strands of black hair. Without needing to ask whose they were, he had silently proceeded with the tests as instructed.

Until then, there had been no problems, but the important part was the results that had just come in.

“No traces of drugs were detected.”

“…”

Joo Do-hwa showed no reaction to this sudden statement. He just paused briefly before narrowing his eyes as if considering something.

After a long while, he quietly asked, “How accurate is the test?”

“You can consider it 100% accurate.”

Though the researcher claimed 99.9% probability, that 0.1% was merely hedging out of fear of dying by Joo Do-hwa’s hand. While several days had passed since the man had taken the substances, tests conducted on hair with living roots were generally highly accurate. He’d heard they could even determine when substances were taken, but surprisingly, the man’s hair was completely clean.

“As you ordered, we also tested the water glass from the reception room, but there was no particular reaction there either. This includes both typical drugs used as aphrodisiacs and medical drugs.”

They had compared it against all existing drugs, but no positive results appeared. Unless Dongjin Pharmaceuticals had developed a completely new drug compound, this was an impossible result.

Which meant only one thing,

“It was water without any drugs in it.”