TIN 25

The sense of crisis was different from when I had hit Wang Wei. No matter how desperate I must’ve been, I felt like I had picked the wrong target this time.

However, the anger that overcame my fear was even more intense. As my breathing returned to normal, the cold numbness in my head started to heat up in an entirely different way.

“…Then you should have just left me to drown.”

Capricious brat. If you were going to kill me, you should have done it properly. Or at least pulled me out of the water instead of letting me flail helplessly.

“What? Are you upset that the young master’s delicate face got hit?”

My body was trembling, but I gritted my teeth as I spoke. Facing death, I suddenly had the urge to say my piece, even if it meant risking being choked again.

“It was you who bought the item the boss didn’t want to sell. The customer I hit is still in the hospital, and if that was just an act, you didn’t even get the money they gave. It’s easy to check if I was raised well or not, and you, as the dominant one, should know my pheromones the best.”

Alphas and omegas were the only ones who have pheromones. The sweet scent I was sensing from him now meant he must be emitting pheromones too. Just like humans have a natural body odor, even if I tried to conceal it, the dominant him would be able to detect my scent anytime.

“Don’t blame me for your own stupidity in buying that.”

“Stupidity?”

Joo Do-hwa let out a hollow laugh at my outburst. I knew I was just spewing nonsense, but I didn’t want to take back anything I just said.

“Everything you’re saying is just your own guesses, and you know it’s full of contradictions.”

If he had actually investigated properly, he wouldn’t have had these suspicions. It turned out to be the bare minimum of effort. Either he had been treated badly by his father enough to overreact, or he was suspicious enough to warrant such a reaction. If not, he was simply being capricious.

“Don’t take your anger out on me, you bastard.”

I panted heavily after saying that. The sheer effort of holding back each word had left me breathless.

Joo Do-hwa didn’t react at all to being called a “bastard.” He simply silently stared at me. The vacant look in his eyes slowly started to simmer down.

“Do I look like I’m taking my anger out on you?”

Then what was it? 

When he pulled me out of the water earlier, Joo Do-hwa had a furious expression on his face. I didn’t know what had upset him, but I knew he still hadn’t gotten over it yet. Even if it wasn’t pure anger, I knew that at least some of the things he was confronting me about today weren’t warranted.

“It seems like you just completely ignored everything I said…”

Joo Do-hwa trailed off, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his palm. The angry red mark looked just like lipstick.

“At least lower your eyes. Before I really do kill you.”

Damn it, if just lowering my eyes meant he wouldn’t kill me, that middle-aged man he had been deferential to earlier should still be breathing.

“…”

“…”

Tense gazes passed between us for a while. Breaking the precarious silence, Joo Do-hwa spoke first.

“Okay…I guess I wasn’t exactly raised well either.”

Fortunately, he didn’t lay a hand on me again. He simply sighed heavily and turned his gaze away. He blinked, and a faint smile even appeared on his lips.

“So who was the one who told that little pea-brain of yours all that information?”

Joo Do-hwa probably didn’t know. I didn’t learn that information from being told, but from experience. And I had no intention of telling him the truth again. Not because I was afraid of being choked again, but because I was just so fed up with his shameless behavior.

“Who taught you how to swim?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Since you admit you weren’t raised well…”

Oddly, his tone was a bit soothing right then. No, it was more like a warning to start behaving obediently, since he was generously letting me get away with it this time.

“Was it a customer who taught you?”

“…”

After a moment of hesitation, he slowly nodded his head. My fingertips were still trembling, but I at least felt confident he wouldn’t kill me. Since acting on my impulses could only go so far, it was time to find a way to defuse the situation.

“So you were just a rag.”

Joo Do-hwa muttered, sounding somewhat disgusted. He must have understood the hidden meaning behind my offer to teach him swimming. He probably hadn’t heard from the boss that I was a new item. Of course, I didn’t even feel the slightest inkling to correct that misunderstanding.

“Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt this time.”

“…”

“I actually…quite like the idea of you being my brother.”

Despicable brat. I barely managed to swallow down the curses welling up in my throat. Just a moment ago, he was playing along so well, and now he’s calling me “hyung” again—it was obvious what his intentions were.

“But you’ll have to take responsibility for saying it wasn’t at my father’s orders.”

As soon as he said that, I realized something. His “giving me the benefit of the doubt” didn’t mean he truly trusted me. At best, he was just pretending to believe me, and wanted to see if I could handle the consequences.

“I hate liars the most, you know…”

“I’m not lying.”

But if nothing else, at least this one thing was the truth. Since that day 16 years ago, I had never met his father even once. I never even wanted to.

“I don’t listen to your father’s words.”

“That’s a relief to hear.”

Joo Do-hwa responded in a much gentler tone. He didn’t seem to fully believe me, but he did seem to be in a better mood after that. I could tell from the way his previously tense expression had loosened up that that was the case.

“I was actually feeling a bit anxious, but seeing you today has put my mind at ease.”

He rinsed the blood off his hand in the pool and shook the excess water off. When I checked next, the droplets of blood on his lips were almost completely gone.

“With that kind of grit, you wouldn’t be scared even if someone threatened you with a knife.”

Since I left Oceans, there was no one who could threaten me except him. Even if he didn’t have a knife, he was way more dangerous than someone wielding a weapon in that sense.

“From now on, just act like that whenever you meet someone. You should put that impressive acting skill to use everywhere.”

“…Why would I be meeting anyone?”

Wasn’t this childish game just between the two of us? Thinking along those lines, I asked, and Joo Do-hwa shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“Once your face is healed, I’ll take you around with me. Then everyone we meet will pay attention to you.”

It wouldn’t be strange for them to pay attention to me if I was the one Joo Do-hwa was bringing around. But what I found puzzling was why he wanted to show me around in the first place.

“You just have to perfectly deceive those people.”

“What people?”

“Like, for example, my father.”

Did that mean I would be running into Chairman Joo? I knew I couldn’t avoid that, but I really wanted to.

“If they find out you’re a fake, you’re dead.”

I couldn’t respond to his cheerful words. If it was Chairman Joo, I’d be dead even if I were the real thing.

Not knowing my thoughts, Joo Do-hwa added in a very magnanimous tone, “I’ll overlook a few mistakes in front of me.”

In other words, I absolutely couldn’t make any mistakes in front of anyone else. It was a new pardon, but unfortunately, I had an instinctive realization following it. The unpleasant truth that he was using me to try to achieve something.

“Everything we’ve discussed here is a secret. Once you’re in this house, you have to be prepared to risk your life to get out.”

His voice was so matter-of-fact that anyone listening in would think we were having a casual conversation. It wasn’t like I had multiple lives to spare, yet he was threatening to kill me so calmly.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll let you go once I get bored.”

Even with his friendly smile, I couldn’t feel reassured. I was much more uneasy now than when he first told me to imitate someone. It wasn’t because I lacked the confidence, but because I felt trapped, like I’d fallen into a snare.

“If you do a good job, I’ll give you something you want. Money, a house…or maybe even the sea.”

“…”

His mention of giving me the sea truly tempted me. I know it wasn’t an empty promise, but something he could actually deliver on. The seas of this country, all the assets of the 4HAE Group, would eventually belong to Joo Do-hwa.

“So, what do you think of my proposal? Will you accept it?”

I didn’t recall being offered a proposal. This wasn’t an equal contract, but a unilateral order. Pretending to give me a choice was a very bad habit of his. As I was thinking about this, he casually added, as if he had just remembered something.

“I’ll let you go even if I find the real one.”

His toneless voice held no anticipation in it whatsoever. I didn’t know why he was reacting this way, but regardless, this was the only response I could give him at the moment.

“…Okay.”

You didn’t need to add that, Joo Do-hwa.

Joo Do-hwa passed by me and headed out of the pool area, not even looking back. As his retreating figure disappeared, his words echoed in my mind once more.

‘I’ll let you go even if I find the real one.’

You’ll never find him, not for the rest of your life.

If Joo Do-hwa found out this truth, what kind of reaction would he have? The words I hadn’t managed to say were swirling around in my mouth.