TIN 105

“…You’re saying there were no drugs in the water.”

The words that came out like a sigh were filled with disbelief. In fact, not only Joo Do-hwa but Henry was also puzzled.

On the day of the party, Henry had watched everything that happened on the side. The man suddenly collapsing, Joo Do-hwa holding him with an expression cold enough to kill someone, the man later begging him not to call a doctor, and even the changes that occurred in the room while they were briefly away.

‘Don’t let anyone come in here.’

Though he couldn’t see clearly as the door closed with those words, the man’s condition was clearly not normal. His flushed face and labored breathing were intense enough to remain etched in memory even from that brief glimpse.

Yes, exactly like…

“…He was acting like he was in heat.”

“…”

Henry quickly averted his gaze. He had almost entertained an improper thought. Fortunately, Joo Do-hwa didn’t seem to notice as he quietly stroked his chin while muttering.

“There’s no CCTV in the room…”

While CCTV monitored every part of the mansion, there were a few places it couldn’t cover. Places like Joo Do-hwa’s private spaces, rooms used by the ‘hyungs,’ or reception rooms opened during parties.

Though there was a plausible reason for privacy protection, there was also the fastidious reason that they didn’t want to watch other people’s sex porn. Of course, since all routes from outside to the rooms were monitored, it was impossible to act carelessly inside despite any blind spots.

But this time the situation was quite awkward. They had footage of Dongjin Pharmaceutical’s omega entering and leaving the room, but couldn’t know what happened inside. They had hurriedly caught and interrogated the culprit, but he only made excuses about doing nothing, and now he wasn’t even minimally useful.

“Since the culprit committed suicide, we can’t even ask directly.”

Just an hour ago, the omega detained in the mansion’s basement had committed suicide by biting his own tongue. Some might ask if it was the result of torture, but they had absolutely done nothing to him while he was in the mansion. Though confined to a room, he was provided meals, and he even seemed happy when Joo Do-hwa occasionally visited. He seemed to enjoy the situation, as if he had some perverse tendencies in mind.

So ironically, the reason for suicide was probably withdrawal symptoms. The omega, who had been timid until the second day, started looking drastically worse from the third day. He would tremble and pace around the room, and when Joo Do-hwa appeared, he would grab his pants leg and beg.

“D-Director…Director, please hold me just once, please…please…”

Though drug addicts weren’t normal, it was chilling how he tried to seduce the person who had killed his father. Perhaps wanting to get high on pleasure since he couldn’t get drugs, he knelt down and groped between Joo Do-hwa’s legs. Someone else might have at least let him use their mouth, but unfortunately, Joo Do-hwa kicked him away with his shoe.

“Get away. Don’t get your pheromones on me.”

Joo Do-hwa didn’t even enjoy small contact with others, let alone sex. The dolls he bought were ready to accept him as soon as they came to this house, but he had never laid hands on his ‘hyung.’ No, not even on other omegas who tried to seduce him in the past.

And that Joo Do-hwa had touched someone for the first time, that man from earlier, was a huge matter. As it turned out, this ‘hyung’ would soon be taken to the sea by Joo Do-hwa, receiving excessive preferential treatment, unlike the others.

Though he was more beautiful than anyone they had seen before, Henry couldn’t understand why Joo Do-hwa responded to him. If he was touching him simply because he was pretty, didn’t he have Lee Yuna, a proper Omega, by his side? Yet why was he treating him as if he were special?

“Maybe we should do a blood test too.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Just as he was feeling frustrated by the sensation of something just out of reach, Henry snapped to attention at Joo Do-hwa’s words. Then he scrolled down the tablet screen and pointed to a section marked in red.

“There’s something strange in these numbers, so a blood test might be more accurate for this.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“The nutrients…though it’s not at a serious level.”

He was naturally thin so some nutritional deficiency might be expected, but the problem was that the numbers were clearly lower than when he first came to this house. It didn’t make sense for his condition to worsen when he was being fed such good food regularly.

“That’s troublesome.”

Joo Do-hwa made a short sound along with his light response. While Henry wondered what was troublesome, his following words were unnecessarily considerate.

“He’s afraid of needles.”

He said it so cutely. He had exactly the face of someone who would say it that way. Whether Henry was speechless or not, Joo Do-hwa checked his wristwatch and gave instructions.

“Have a doctor ready to draw blood after midnight.”

Didn’t he just say it was troublesome because the other man was afraid? That question was quickly answered.

“Put some sleeping pills in his dinner. Just enough that he won’t wake up and make sure they don’t have any side effects.”

“…”

Should this be called kindness, or was it a matter of persistence?

“Understood.”

Henry responded as calmly as possible while noting Joo Do-hwa’s instructions on the tablet. Human nature didn’t change easily, and he sometimes felt chilled by Joo Do-hwa’s ruthlessness. It was similar to when he faced Chairman Joo, though at least with Joo Do-hwa, he was confident he wouldn’t be harmed without good reason.

“Ah, and Henry.”

Just before finishing their conversation, Joo Do-hwa casually spoke. When Henry turned to him, he tapped his temple with his long index finger.

“Try to forget it.”

“…”

“You need to stay by my side for a long time.”

Though no subject was stated, Henry instinctively understood. This quickwitted man had noticed the improper thoughts in his head earlier. “I apologize,” Henry said, and Joo Do-hwa left the room first.

He headed not to the third floor but to the garden. Following his master outside, Henry observed the goods being loaded into trucks while Joo Do-hwa gave instructions to the drivers. Large boxes marked ‘4HAE’ contained items that had come in from the recent party.

The pool parties held at the mansion during summer were essentially events for heirs of various groups to offer bribes. Though Joo Do-hwa hadn’t officially announced it, it had reached the point where he couldn’t refuse what they brought unofficially. Of course, if asked whether this situation was intentional, that would be difficult to answer.

Their intent was to beg the Sae Group to distribute their products, and if useful items were selected from among them, sea routes would temporarily open. Though it might look like illegal routes from the outside, surprisingly, the contents were often ordinary. Things like alcohol and cigarettes, of course, but also jewelry, food, fabrics, and paper products.

Actually, though they were bribes, most were trash, but occasionally some truly precious items would be mixed in. This time it was natural diamonds, a trump card brought by the Samkwang Group who wanted to export their obsidian found in volcanoes. Though everyone expected him to just take the diamonds and reject them, Joo Do-hwa unexpectedly showed a generous attitude.

“The black ones are pretty.”

The reason was simple. It looked valuable to Joo Do-hwa’s eyes. While his judgment couldn’t be doubted, his following reason was awkward.

“They look like hyung’s eyes.”

For a moment, Henry was confused about which ‘hyung’ he meant. Since Joo Do-hwa had no childhood memories, he must mean that man who was acting as a substitute, but his words just now seemed too nostalgic for that.

“Is everything loaded?”

“Yes, we just need to transport them now.”

The truck driver politely answered Joo Do-hwa’s question. Joo Do-hwa quickly surveyed the area and pointed to one specific truck.

“That one.”

It was a five-ton truck. Narrowing his eyes to look closer, he could see the door that should have been tightly closed was open just a nail’s width.

“You should lock it properly.”

“No, why is that open…?”

The driver hurriedly locked the cargo door in embarrassment. As he properly secured the lock and checked it twice, Henry spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll replace the person.”

Joo Do-hwa, being naturally meticulous, really hated small mistakes in work. Though they hadn’t departed yet, he had shown inadequacy, so naturally, Henry expected orders to change the person in charge.

“It’s fine. Leave it.”

But unusually, Joo Do-hwa generously overlooked the driver’s mistake. It didn’t seem like he was being merciful, rather, it felt like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Then, checking the time on his wrist, he wrapped things up earlier than usual.

“If everything’s set, send them off.”

After the trucks left through the gate, Joo Do-hwa briefly finished his remaining work in the study. While he worked, Henry stood with his hands behind his back in front of the study door. Though he generally handled miscellaneous tasks, since he also served as security, it was his role to guard him inside the mansion.

“No more schedule today, right?”

After about 30 minutes, Joo Do-hwa asked while closing his laptop. Henry asked back with an internally surprised face.

“…Are you finished with everything?”

“Yes, all done.”

He had completed work that would normally take two hours in less than half that time. Wondering what was going on, Henry observed the atmosphere and followed like a shadow when he saw him get up and grab his jacket.

Wondering why he was in such a hurry to leave, he went straight to the third floor. Since it was obvious who stayed there, Henry could finally guess why he had rushed to finish his work like that.

‘Then I’ll be in my room.’

He must be going to that man. To this turn’s ‘hyung’ who could have caused the fall of a country if Joo Do-hwa had been a king.

“Stay on standby.”

When they reached the door, Joo Do-hwa just said those words and grabbed the doorknob. He naturally didn’t knock, and there was no hesitation in his motion to open the door. Yet he opened it quietly, probably in case his ‘hyung’ was asleep.

He won’t be coming out for a while. Henry thought this as he took his position beside the door. Planning to wait here appropriately and leave if he heard any embarrassing sounds.

But as soon as the door opened, Joo Do-hwa stopped abruptly.

“…”

His expression froze rigidly. His eyes, which had been sparkling just moments ago, turned ice cold. As Henry looked into the room, a quiet bitter laugh pierced his ears.

“…Ha.”

Joo Do-hwa’s lips twisted savagely.

Sunlight in the room, a half-open window, the humid wind blowing through, and a mattress turned inside out.

“Go find him.”

Bada was not there.