TIN 112

The subdued voice was familiar. Beyond the tone, the voice itself was too recognizable. While I was blankly blinking, another loud Bang! came from outside the door.

“I said open the door!”

The sharp, clear voice belonged to a woman I knew well. I furrowed my brow and slowly moved my lips.

“…Lingling?”

“Ah…”

Theo sighed irritably and quickly got up to his feet. He might have cursed under his breath, but I couldn’t hear clearly as he immediately left the bed.

Theo glanced at me still lying down, ran his fingers through his hair, and strode out. As he left the room, he closed the door, blocking the living room from view.

“…”

As soon as he left, I awkwardly sat up and stared at the closed door. Through the thin wall, I heard the click of the front door opening and Theo’s heavy sigh afterward.

“Lingling…do you need to wake up the whole neighborhood?”

As expected, the uninvited guest was Lingling. The apartment, which couldn’t even block outside noise, made their voices sound as clear as day; they really sounded as if they were right next to me. Probably having already entered the house, Lingling’s voice became even clearer.

“Well, you should have answered your phone earlier. Why didn’t you pick up?”

“You called?”

“Yes, many times.”

Lingling responded irritably, unlike her usual manner with me. Did she have plans with Theo? I thought this while adjusting my clothes. The T-shirt had ridden up to my chest from our earlier foreplay.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, the boss…”

I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but my ears perked up at the mention of “boss.” However, Lingling suddenly stopped speaking.

“…Is someone inside?”

Though I was hidden behind the door, I found myself awkwardly averting my gaze. It felt like I was having a secret rendezvous with Theo. Though in appearance, it wasn’t much different.

“If you know, watch what you say. You interrupted us.”

“Oh my…sorry about that.”

Though Lingling apologized, she didn’t seem particularly sorry. I could tell by her long, indifferent snort. It was a brazen response, but her boldness was very much like her.

After that, I couldn’t hear their conversation clearly. They seemed to be talking about something, but they had lowered their voices too much for me to make out the content.

“…”

But how was Lingling able to pry herself from Oceans’ operations to come here at this hour?

Oceans’ employees basically handled all their living needs within Oceans’ premises. Theo was just pretending to be an employee, but Lingling was bound to the boss. So how did she manage to go out at this time of night, during peak business hours?

“Well then, I’ll be going now. You can continue what you were doing.”

After a brief conversation, Lingling quickly wrapped up her business. With a click of the front door, she added in a somewhat spiteful tone.

“And tell whoever’s inside not to misunderstand about us.”

Her affected voice made me smirk. She seemed quite annoyed that Theo hadn’t answered her calls and was deliberately using provocative terms. If I had been a lover rather than who I was, I probably would have been concerned about Lingling’s presence.

Even after Lingling left, Theo didn’t return to the room. I finally got up from the bed and slowly headed to the living room. As soon as I gently opened the tightly closed door, I saw Theo simply standing there in the middle of the room.

“Theo.”

“…”

He looked my way. Though his upper body was still exposed, his slightly furrowed face showed no trace of the earlier heat. Or maybe, since I had my eyes closed during our moment together, he might not have been excited even when our bodies were pressed together like that.

“If it’s urgent, I can leave.”

I figured it must be important for her to visit at this hour. At my words, Theo made an unreadable expression. At the same time, his tightly closed lips slowly curled upward.

“You’re not even going to ask what it was about?”

Well…there’s no need to.

Actually, there was a lot I could have asked. Why Lingling came here, what they talked about, why the boss was mentioned, and what he was doing instead of going to work at Oceans’.

However, I was now a complete stranger, and knowing the circumstances wouldn’t change anything. All I needed to do here was pay Theo and get to the sea at the appointed time. As a fugitive, getting more involved in others’ affairs would be a luxury I couldn’t afford.

“Why should I ask? You’re not asking anything either.”

That was why I chose Theo in the first place. Someone who wouldn’t ask about my circumstances, who would show just enough interest without prying too deeply, someone who I could safely cut ties with if needed.

Probably knowing this, Theo had closed the door. To keep Lingling from seeing me, to keep me from getting involved with Lingling here.

“Well, that’s true.”

Theo shrugged his shoulders casually. It was convenient how neither of us pushed too hard at times like this.

“It’s nothing urgent. Lingling’s gone anyway…”

Theo looked first at the closed front door, then at me standing inside, and loosened his neck muscles lightly. Then his reddish eyes gazed at me steadily.

“Well, shall we continue?”

“…”

Ironically, I couldn’t readily answer such a question. It had been barely an hour since I said I’d give him what he wanted, but strangely, words failed me. The sensations I felt earlier, and the discomfort I had to endure through gritted teeth, seemed to creep back up.

“I…”

I reflexively opened my lips. Just as I was about to speak the first word instinctively, not knowing what to say—

“Wait, Theo!”

The closed front door burst open. The unlocked door was woefully inadequate to prevent intrusion. Through the helplessly open doorway, Lingling barged in with what seemed to be an urgent expression.

“Sorry, really sorry, but…”

Naturally, Lingling couldn’t finish her sentence. As soon as she entered, her eyes met directly with mine as I stood in the living room. Her upturned eyes became blank, and a bewildered voice escaped her lips.

“…Bada?”

“…”

I felt dismayed. I couldn’t even blame Theo for not properly securing the door. I just spoke to Lingling while ignoring Theo behind me, who was giving an apologetic wink.

“Long time no see, Lingling,” I said.

***

The cotton ball soaked in disinfectant touched my knee. Though the pain was terrible enough to make me groan, I held back, keeping my lips tightly closed. But I couldn’t help wincing, which made Lingling lower her eyebrows sympathetically.

“It hurts, right? I’ll try to be more gentle.”

“…No, it’s fine.”

Despite my calm response, Lingling’s expression didn’t soften. She just narrowed her brows as if she were the one in pain and gently blew on my knee wound. This was much better than when Henry treated me at Joo Do-hwa’s house, but I had to acknowledge her still-tender heart.

‘Bada, why are you…?’

Earlier, Lingling had worn a bewildered expression for a long time seeing me standing there. Unlike Theo, who acted nonchalant without asking anything, she couldn’t believe that I, who had been sold to Joo Do-hwa, was here.

‘…What exactly is going on here?’

When Lingling finally asked after a while, no one could answer. Both Theo and I had our own complicated circumstances.

Lingling looked between Theo and me with incredulous eyes before finally glaring at Theo outright.

‘It’s not like you two suddenly developed feelings…’

Though her attitude was like interrogating a cheating lover, I couldn’t point that out. After all, Theo had indeed acted like he was hiding me.

Unlike me who stayed quiet like a mute, Theo responded quite brazenly.

‘You can see what’s happening. I told you we were in the middle of something when you came.’

It was a very Theo-like answer, and Lingling looked at him with disgusted eyes. Everyone at Oceans must have been sick of his playboy attitude by now.

The problem was what Lingling muttered when she turned to look at me and saw my legs exposed below the shorts.

‘…Are you hurt?’

When I looked down with sudden realization, my legs were, of course, completely covered in wounds and a mess. It was fortunate that at least the bleeding had stopped. Even at a glance, it didn’t look particularly good.

At this, Lingling immediately scolded Theo coldly.

‘You saw someone in this condition and still felt like doing that?’

‘I did.’

‘Hey, Theo…’

That was what led me to step between them when Lingling took an angry step toward him. However, saying I “stepped between” them wasn’t quite right since it was essentially my business. Lingling allowed me to hold her back, and with a thoroughly exasperated sigh, she said to Theo, ‘…Give me some medicine. Let’s treat him first.’

Like someone used to rough work, Theo’s house was stocked with disinfectant and ointment. Lingling looked at Theo, who was bringing out medicine and bandages, as if he were completely shameless. But this time, even Theo seemed to feel wronged, clicking his tongue awkwardly as he made excuses.

‘I didn’t have time to apply medicine.’

Well, that was understandable. I had proposed the deal as soon as I entered this house. As a result, instead of medicine and bandages, Theo would have been reaching for gel and condoms.