TIN 48

“You’re quite delicate too.”

Why was that on the button…

In my hazy mind, I tried to recall Joo Do-hwa’s figure from earlier. The image of him standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a phone to his ear. I naturally thought he was on a call, but it might be that he was actually eavesdropping instead.

“It’s obvious you’re wavering…All to save that one thing.”

He rolled the button in his hand and curled his lips into a slanted smile. It was a crooked smile by anyone’s standards, and his following words were just as twisted.

“Honestly, you hesitated, didn’t you? Whether to tell the truth or do as I say.”

“…”

He didn’t even witness anything, nor did he see it through a camera, just overheard a single conversation. He couldn’t have seen my expression, yet Joo Do-hwa saw right through the hesitation I felt.

“But then you quickly pulled back when you thought that person might get involved.”

Crack. The listening device in his hand shattered. It shouldn’t have broken so easily. With just a firm press of his thumb and index finger, it was flattened.

“You probably thought one person dying like a dog was enough. And involving Kei would be burdensome…and make you feel guilty?”

Joo Do-hwa raised his eyebrows as if seeking some sort of agreement. Though his tone was subtle, I obviously couldn’t affirm it. He carelessly dropped the completely destroyed bug onto the floor.

“Is that how you crush a man’s heart?”

The debris bounced off the floor and rolled to my knees. Inside the split body were tiny wires and small components.

“Poor Kei. Falling for someone so sinful.”

His tone was genuinely sympathetic, and hearing it made me laugh out loud bitterly. It felt like all his words were buzzing around in my ears.

“The bit about the pheromones being on you was a lie.”

This honest confession was nothing short of mockery to me. “Even if it was there, it’s gone now.” 

The added remark was the same. As if telling me not to be too surprised, or perhaps to reassure me, he patted my shoulder and spoke with feigned kindness.

“Rest. You must be tired.”

That was the end of it. He passed by me and left the room without looking back. Click. With the sound of the door closing, my sense of reality, which had felt so distant earlier, came flooding back.

“…Hah.”

All the conversations I had with Kei flashed through my mind like a panorama. Relief that I hadn’t spoken nonsense, frustration at having my saved money discovered. And then, belatedly, a surge of intense anger toward Joo Do-hwa.

“That son of a bitch…”

He made such ridiculous accusations about sucking cock while he was the one who had been eavesdropping. He clearly toyed with me using such vulgar language even though he knew nothing had happened with Kei. I knew he had a foul personality to begin with, but this time it was especially absurd.

I staggered to my feet and roughly loosened the tie that had been bothering me all along. After taking off my jacket and checking the buttons, I also carefully examined the remaining buttons on my vest. Fortunately, there were no listening devices among them, and the same was true for the shirt I checked. I wanted to be absolutely certain there were no other bugs, just in case.

“…”

I swallowed the curses that had risen to my throat. It was because I thought getting needlessly angry would only hurt myself. The problem was the heat still pooling in my stomach.

“…This is awful.”

Looking down, I could see my lower half bulging out. It had never happened before, but my body had helplessly reacted to Joo Do-hwa’s pheromones. The traces that soaked my entire body couldn’t have been more irritating.

That night, I fell asleep alone for the first time in a while. For some reason, Joo Do-hwa didn’t come to my room. At first, I thought he might have had a shred of conscience, but it was more likely just a whim of his.

Of course, it didn’t matter either way. Regardless of the reason, having time to myself was much better.

I went to bed right after showering and tossed and turned for quite a while. The room, where Joo Do-hwa had lingered, was filled with a sweet, sticky air. Because of what had happened, even the density of pheromones was different from usual.

Honestly, trying to sleep while ignoring all of that was just stubbornness. I knew it would be better to just do it once, but I didn’t want to masturbate using his pheromones as stimulation.

So when I finally managed to fall asleep, Joo Do-hwa appeared in my dream. It was a young Joo Do-hwa, smaller and weaker than me, still with baby fat on his cheeks. The child frowned with an angelic face and gripped my fingers tightly with both hands.

‘It’s mine because I picked it up.’

Who was he saying that to? His mumbling voice was sulky, unlike his usual self. I thought he wasn’t talking to me, but his golden eyes were fixed right on my face.

‘But why are you following that person?’

The ‘that person’ the child referred to was one of the estate’s employees. I remember thoughtlessly reaching out to follow him because his long hair reminded me of someone. The employee who was suddenly grabbed looked at me nervously before running away, and it was the child who interrogated me when I was left alone.

‘You should only play with me.’

I hadn’t particularly followed him to play. No, even if he had asked me to play, I wouldn’t have.

But maybe upset by this fact, the child didn’t come to my room that night. It was clearly an uncharacteristic protest from someone who always came shuffling into my space with a pillow in tow. The protest only lasted one day, but I never saw that employee again.

‘How much of a slut were you living as…’

The scene changed rapidly. The small child quickly grew larger than me, and at some point, I found myself kneeling before him. Just as I was about to choke on the fullness in my mouth, he firmly stepped on my lower half.

‘This is what happens when you suck cock, huh?’

An indescribable sensation spread tinglingly. It was an overly stimulating feeling, like being pricked with needles in the most sensitive areas. I wiggled my hips at that detailed pleasure, but the heavy pressure showed no signs of disappearing.

‘…Your mouth stopped.’

If it had been reality, it would have ended there, but in this dream reflecting my subconscious, the situation continued. The terrible content of me unable to overcome my desires, clinging to Joo Do-hwa’s legs, and finally starting to touch myself.

‘Hnngh…’

The male body is quite honest, responding to a certain degree when properly stimulated. 

Especially when sweet pheromones excite the entire body like an aphrodisiac.

I couldn’t even remember when I had taken off my cumbersome suit pants. I groaned while rubbing the sensitive flesh, then gulped down the liquid that entered my mouth. Joo Do-hwa was by my side throughout the entire process, and even the touch caressing my ear felt lewd.

‘Well done.’

Simultaneously.

“…”

My eyelids snapped open.

I was met with the sight of sunlight seeping in from the window, quiet surroundings, an empty bed, and soft blankets. And lastly, the damp sensation in my lower half.

“…”

I quickly threw off the blanket and sat up urgently. Though the situation wouldn’t change by looking, I reflexively pulled at my waistband to peer inside. The mess of sticky fluid was utterly miserable.

“Shit…”

I should have taken care of it before sleeping if I knew this would happen. Because of my needless stubbornness, I ended up in a ridiculous situation that I should have only experienced 10 years ago. Unless life had been too comfortable lately, there was no way I would have had such an idiotic dream.

I got up from the bed and headed straight for the bathroom. I planned to clean up the mess and wash away this unpleasant feeling clinging to my thighs. How fortunate it was to be able to use water—this abundant environment suddenly felt absurd, even laughable.

“I need to leave right away.”

Yoon Ji-soo didn’t come to the party, and luckily, I now had Kei’s contact information. Although I hesitated due to the unexpected circumstances, my plan to leave the mansion hadn’t changed. Opportunities would continue to come, so I needed to act before it was too late.

There were only two desperate aspects to my current situation. One was that even the information Joo Do-hwa obtained was false, and the other was that he found out I had entrusted money to Kei.

Where could Yoon Ji-soo be? Could I find someone that even Joo Do-hwa couldn’t find, no, someone that even Chairman Joo couldn’t find? If I didn’t find her first, who knew what might happen to that person.

I shook my head vigorously. More importantly, I needed to decide what to do with the money I had saved up. Not because I was afraid Joo Do-hwa would take it, but because of an instinctive feeling that something might go wrong. There was a possibility he wouldn’t care at all, but I couldn’t ignore the chance that he might try to dig into the matter. Furthermore, if any trouble were to fall on Kei after I left the mansion, that would be problematic in its own way.

‘Involving Kei would be burdensome…and make you feel guilty?’

“…”

I’m not feeling guilty, I tell you. I never had such a conscientious personality to begin with. In that respect, I was no different from Joo Do-hwa.

If I had to use one word to describe it, it would be…

“It’s troublesome.”

Too many cooks spoil the broth, and a long tail gets stepped on. Since I would be leaving alone soon anyway, I didn’t want to leave anything behind if possible. Be it objects or people.