TIN 64

The brightly shining gaze quietly settled down. That was all, but Wang Wei froze as if he had just turned into an ice statue. He had been talking so well until now, but perhaps he finally sensed danger. His pale face seemed to realize something had gone wrong.

“Go on.”

“…Uh.”

Despite the gentle urging, Wang Wei couldn’t easily continue speaking. At some point, a sweet pheromone had flowed out and settled heavily around them.

Joo Do-hwa asked him again as if he couldn’t understand.

“You’re not going to?”

“Why wasn’t he doing it,” he muttered to himself in a chilling tone.

Was it because his transparent eyes had sharpened like those of a predator, or because the heavy pheromone was suffocating? Wang Wei, frozen stiff, moved his lips in a halting manner.

“Look, Director Joo, what I mean is…”

“Henry.”

There was a moment of tension. Wondering if he might pull out a gun again. But Joo Do-hwa spoke without even turning to look at Henry.

“Do you have a cigarette?”

“…No, sir.”

I’d never even seen him smoke, so how could he have such a thing? When Henry answered glumly, Joo Do-hwa asked Wang Wei this time, as if he didn’t expect much from him anyway.

“Do you have a cigarette?”

“What…?”

He didn’t even listen to his answer. Joo Do-hwa pulled at the front of Wang Wei’s jacket as if it didn’t matter either way. Before Wang Wei, startled, could pull back his upper body, the unhesitating hand dug in and pulled out a cigar case from his inside pocket.

“…”

Why suddenly cigarettes? No one could express such a question. They all just watched Joo Do-hwa’s actions while holding their breaths.

“You smoke troublesome things.”

With this light observation, Joo Do-hwa took out a cigar and placed it between his fingers. Befitting the belongings of a tobacco company president, the leather case contained expensive cigars, a cutter, and even a small torch. The amusing thing was that the ‘4HAE’ mark was stamped on the outside of the case.

After cutting the end of the cigar with the cutter, Joo Do-hwa put the cigar to Wang Wei’s lips and held up the flame.

“Here, take a big puff.”

“…”

It was an action that didn’t fit the situation, but it was clearly a very tempting offer. As if enchanted by something, Wang Wei took a long drag on the cigar. Watching him inhale deeply enough to hollow his cheeks, Joo Do-hwa curled up the corners of his mouth.

“That’s right.”

The gentle tone, as if dealing with a child, gave rise to such a guess. Perhaps he was letting Wang Wei smoke a cigar to calm him down in his excited state? Given his capricious nature, he might also be trying to help him forget the pain in the hand he himself had damaged.

There was no way that drug addict would be smoking an ordinary cigar, so the rolled tobacco leaves must be mixed with all kinds of drugs. Cannabis of course, and probably various expensive substances handled by Hwayang Tobacco. The unpleasant smoke spreading thickly was likely because of this.

As expected, after just three puffs, Wang Wei’s face became languid as if he had just climaxed. His long-slit eyelids fluttered and his pupils became unfocused. As even his lips loosened, Joo Do-hwa spoke gently.

“Ah, go ahead.”

“…?”

On the fourth puff, he thought he was given permission to smoke the cigar. Wang Wei probably opened his mouth willingly with the same expectation.

However, Joo Do-hwa grabbed his chin with one hand and pressed the lit cigar down into his mouth.

“Ugh, aagh…!”

The sound of flesh burning was explicit.

Joo Do-hwa extinguished the cigar by rubbing it on Wang Wei’s tongue, then shoved the remaining butt into his mouth. The hand that had gripped his jaw so forcefully it could have broken bones now forced his mouth shut.

“Urgh…!”

The grinding of teeth was likely not Wang Wei’s intention. Perhaps it was due to Joo Do-hwa holding his head with both hands, clutching his jaw as if he was about to crush it.

“Chew and swallow.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t spit it out just to eat it again.”

The implication was that if he spat it out now, he’d be made to eat it again. Wang Wei struggled frantically, but the more he fought, the stronger the grip holding him became. Even the pheromones that burst out as if in a final struggle couldn’t overcome Joo Do-hwa’s.

“Urgh…”

It was an overwhelming difference in strength. Wang Wei couldn’t win against Joo Do-hwa in grip strength, physique, or even rank. No matter how frustrated he was, there was no way out of this situation. Unlike when he had grabbed my collar earlier, even Lee Yuna wasn’t trying to stop Joo Do-hwa now.

“…”

I suddenly realized. Even if Joo Do-hwa killed Wang Wei here, nothing would happen to him. Just like with Kei, he only kept him alive because cleaning up afterward would be troublesome. No one would dare to go against a dominant alpha, especially the heir of the Sae Group.

“…Kuh, ugh.”

Finally, Wang Wei began to chew the cigar in his mouth, his face turning beet red. While he chewed and swallowed the crackling tobacco leaves with difficulty, Joo Do-hwa watched without even blinking.

After dry heaving several times, Wang Wei finally moved his Adam’s apple and swallowed the cigar in his mouth.

“You should have done that from the start.”

Joo Do-hwa smiled with satisfaction and patted his cheek with the back of his hand. It was an insulting gesture, like praising a dog, and what followed was equally demeaning.

“There happened to be an ashtray right in front of me, so I used it. That’s okay, right?”

“Ugh…”

Of course, it wasn’t okay, but that infuriatingly pleasant smile was getting to be rather unbearable.

What was even more ridiculous was that Wang Wei, who had been shouting until just now, was completely dumbfounded. It was hard to believe this mess of tears and snot was the same person as before.

“Be careful. It would be troublesome if you became a toilet instead of an ashtray.”

Joo Do-hwa added kindly that it would be a problem if he got a taste for cum. At this, Wang Wei shuddered as if he’d just seen a ghost.

Born into the upper class, how many times would he have received such threats? I thought that it must have been especially unfamiliar to Wang Wei, who treated most people like toilets.

Instead of further warnings, Joo Do-hwa stood up. As he dusted off his hands, Henry, who had been standing nearby, quickly brought a damp handkerchief over to him.

After meticulously wiping the fingers that had touched the cigar, Joo Do-hwa extended one hand toward me as if he wanted to escort me.

“Let’s go, hyung.”

“…”

His face wore a faint smile, eerily gentle for someone who had just toyed with a person. It felt even more so because he was looking straight at me as if oblivious to the stares around us.

Although I desperately wanted to run away, this was the only action I could take.

“…Yeah.”

I obediently placed my hand on his. The touch of his fingers wrapping around mine felt quite chilly despite the warmth.

For the first time since meeting him, I thought it was fortunate that I was his “hyung.”

＊＊＊

Needless to say, no one tried to stop us as we left the party venue. Joo Do-hwa held my hand as he walked, and I followed him, bearing the full brunt of the piercing gazes. I tried to pull my hand away midway, but his grip showed no signs of loosening easily.

Joo Do-hwa personally opened the car door for me, which felt more like coercion than courtesy. It felt even more so because he stared at me intently as if saying to get in while he was asking nicely. I was going to get in anyway. Why give me such a pointed look unnecessarily?

As I got into the back seat and fastened my seatbelt, I suddenly realized something. Come to think of it, I hadn’t managed to meet Yoon Ji-soo this time either. I hadn’t really expected to from the start, but it was funny how even Joo Do-hwa, who had initially brought it up, had completely clammed up about it.

Even after the car set off for home, Joo Do-hwa didn’t take his eyes off me. His leaning forward and staring intently was suffocatingly uncomfortable. If that were all, it might have been bearable, but his silent demeanor oddly overlapped with how he had bullied Wang Wei earlier.

“…”

Why was he angry?

Though his face was expressionless, I think I understood now. Somehow, I must have seriously upset him again.

If it were just about venting anger, he’d surely done enough of that to Wang Wei. An uneasy feeling crept up, and I had no other choice but to ask him first.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“…”

His bright red lips moved almost imperceptibly. He remained still for a while, then suddenly reached out toward me. I instinctively shrank my neck slightly at the abruptly approaching hand.

“…I don’t understand.”

I couldn’t ask what he didn’t understand. His hand that came toward me lightly brushed the area near my cheek and fell away. It was a light touch like a feather grazing my skin, but even that was enough to spread a stinging pain all over me.

“Getting scared by something like this…”

I could vaguely guess the hidden meaning in his trailing words. It occurred to me that the reason he had been staring at me all this time might be because he had noticed the wound on my cheek.

Still, that’s no reason for you to be angry. Just as I thought this, his plain voice asked,”Do you like getting hit?”