TIN 73

“…”

Chairman Joo.

I couldn’t voice the name that came to mind. I had a feeling that the moment I said it out loud, I would have to face a terrible truth. Joo Do-hwa’s father, who had said Yoon Ji-soo was his first love. That man I never wanted to meet again, could he really have been Yoon Ji-soo’s fiancé?

“…Why are you telling me all of this?”

Amidst my confused thoughts, that question arose first. He had asked what I would do if he told me, yet he was freely sharing information about Yoon Ji-soo without receiving anything in return. Why?

From my experience, nothing was scarier than kindness without a price. Especially if it was from Joo Do-hwa. He surely had something to demand from me. He certainly hadn’t started talking just to satisfy my curiosity.

“I’ve always talked about Yoon Ji-soo.”

Joo Do-hwa smiled innocently, as if telling me not to be wary. His beaming smile was excessively suspicious. Of course, what he said wasn’t wrong, but…

“I’m just curious to see how you’d react.”

While I was lost in thought, Joo Do-hwa seemed to have finished what he wanted to say. He glanced at the painting over my shoulder and narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on the sea.

“I won’t be home today.”

As if he ever told me when he was leaving. Even as I thought this, I felt relieved inside. At least for today, I wouldn’t have to be prepared for him to barge in at any given moment.

“Are you going to the company?”

“Yes, they called me in.”

His gaze shifted from the painting of the sea to me. The moment our eyes met, I straightened my back with an inexplicable tension. Joo Do-hwa spoke while staring intently at my face.

“Guard the house well.”

Why did this simple phrase sound like a warning? Was it because he slowly grabbed my wrist, or because his downcast eyes were heavily sunken? Or was it because of what he said next?

“Let’s go to the room now.”

His long fingers rubbed the pulsing part of my inner wrist. Then he whispered in a small voice.

“To have sex.”

“…”

His voice was so ticklish I wanted to scratch inside my ears. I kept my mouth shut and silently followed him. The sea trapped in the painting gradually receded behind me.

* * *

When I came to my senses, I was alone in bed. This was no longer a new occurrence, so I routinely finished cleaning up and left the room. Probably while I was out, an employee would clean the bed thoroughly.

With each step, muscle pain spread from my waist, which had been bent unnaturally all night. A similar pain was felt inside my thighs, which had been excessively strained. If that was all, it would have been bearable, but I just couldn’t get used to the feeling of being spread open down there.

At first, I compulsively touched down there just in case, but the human body was more resilient than I thought. Even when it seemed it would never close, it would somehow return to normal, only to feel overwhelmed again when it was time to receive him once more. Just this dawn, hadn’t Joo Do-hwa been irritated at how tightly it was stretched?

“It would be better if it loosened up a bit…”

Then it might hurt less.

When I staggered down to the dining room, there was only one person’s meal prepared. It seemed Joo Do-hwa had already left for work, leaving me sleeping deeply, as his words about not being home meant he would leave early in the morning.

With my mouth completely raw, it took quite a long time to finish the entire meal. Just when the wound was about to heal, I would chew again, and just when it felt better, I would chew again.

Nevertheless, I stubbornly sat there and ate all the food the chef had provided. I skillfully used a fork to eat side dishes that should have been eaten with chopsticks, emptied a bowl of rice, and even finished the snacks. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to fill my stomach just because my mouth hurt a little.

After finishing a more leisurely meal than usual, I returned to my room to find the bed clean as expected. I thought about sleeping more but changed my mind and slowly walked up to the window.

It was obvious what I would do while Joo Do-hwa was away. At best, I would solve cubes and puzzles, do coloring books, or look at the garden. If not that, I would go downstairs and crouch in front of the huge sea painting all day.

“The weather’s gotten hotter.”

A stuffy breeze blew through the slightly open window. As the date had turned to July, it was now a season that could be considered midsummer. If I were living on the streets, it would be a time to worry about epidemics, but here I didn’t need to worry about heat or disease.

At Oceans, I lived with the days and nights reversed, so since coming here, sitting by the window and basking in sunlight had become a small pleasure and daily routine. However, recently, just seeing the fresh green sprouts made me feel suffocated.

“…”

The fact that I couldn’t leave made my throat tighten. I wasn’t chained, and the door wasn’t locked, but still, I couldn’t leave this place. Even now, with Joo Do-hwa out of the house, I had to spend time blankly waiting for him.

I knew that just because I learned about Yoon Ji-soo didn’t mean I could find her right away. I had told myself dozens of times that nothing would change even if I left. So staying here should be the best option, but why did the feeling that my insides were rotting continue to persist nevertheless?

“That bastard, really…”

The curses I muttered alone didn’t help alleviate my stifling feelings this time either. It only slightly calmed the anger that had risen to my head.

I immediately left the room and strode down the stairs. Joo Do-hwa wouldn’t be here anyway, so I thought I’d look at the painting to my heart’s content. The outside scenery offered no comfort, so I needed to take in as much as I could while it was still bright out.

Unlike when I stole glances at dawn, the sea depicted in oils viewed in bright light had its own charm. Thanks to the shadowed parts being clearly visible, the details of the painting were more apparent. The point where the sunset bleeds into the sky, the finely flowing waves, and even the wispy clouds scattered in the sky were details that were now as clear as ever.

“…”

I slowly reached out my hand. Earlier, I couldn’t touch it for fear of waking from the fantasy, but now it felt like I could. Even knowing it was just a landscape created in oil paint, I couldn’t resist the urge to put its texture to memory.

“Ahem.”

But just before my fingertips could touch it, someone’s cough stopped my action. As if waking from a dream, I froze with my hand still outstretched. Annoyance at being interrupted welled up, but strictly speaking, I was the one in the wrong.

I swallowed a sigh and slowly turned around, thinking it must be one of the nosy employees since Joo Do-hwa wouldn’t be home yet.

However, the person I saw when I turned my head was someone I hadn’t expected.

“You shouldn’t touch household items carelessly.”

Henry, who was covering his mouth with his fist, warned gruffly. He examined me with a displeased look and nodded his head firmly. Assuming he meant for me to withdraw my hand, I lowered my outstretched arm and asked him, “…Why are you here?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Henry retorted with an incredulous face. As if to say, ‘Why are you here?’ I was like a guard dog for the house, so it was natural for me to be here, but hadn’t the master left early this morning?

“Joo Do-hwa said he was going to the company.”

As an assistant, shouldn’t you be following your master? Since he also served as a bodyguard, I thought he’d stick to him like a shadow even more.

“That’s not something for you to worry about.”

Henry replied this time as if to say it was none of my business. It was quite a skill to make such a polite tone without an inflection, making the words he uttered sound even more unpleasant. What was more annoying was that he wasn’t wrong.

Instead of arguing, I kept my mouth shut and looked at the painting once more. Henry remained standing behind me silently as if he had more to say. Because the meaning of his action was obvious, I asserted my innocence in a subdued voice.

“I’m not going to steal it.”

While it was true that I wanted the painting, I didn’t even dare to think about stealing something so large. Anyway, by the time I’d leave this house, I’d be heading to a real sea, so there was no use in taking a fake one.

However, contrary to my expectations, Henry replied without changing his expression.

“I know you can’t steal it.”

Not that I wouldn’t steal it, but just that I couldn’t. His greenish eyes seemed to say, ‘How on earth could you steal this?’ Without  his master around, he seemed to have only half the manners. His gaze that looked down on me was filled with utter contempt.

“That’s all I needed to know.”

What an unpleasant person, really. As I responded halfheartedly, I suddenly realized something new and furrowed my brow.

Come to think of it…haven’t I not seen this person for a long time? He used to be on standby even during meal times, but he hasn’t shown his face for days.

Did he go on vacation or something? If so, it would make sense that he didn’t follow Joo Do-hwa. Of course, either way, it wasn’t any of my business.

“…”

Even as I was thinking to myself, he stood in place just staring at me. Usually, he would disappear right after finishing his business. He was clearly worried I might steal the painting despite saying otherwise.

So as I was considering whether to say once more that I wouldn’t steal it, he spoke as if very reluctant.

“You’ll need to come with me somewhere.”