TIN 75

I belatedly bowed my head deeply. The gaze that had touched my face felt piercing to the point of stinging. The pounding of my heart muffled Chairman Joo’s words.

“How are you…?”

He spoke haltingly as he slowly got up from his seat. Though we were more than ten steps apart, the creaking sound of his chair being pushed back made my heart feel like it was about to sink into the pit of my stomach. My blood ran cold, causing a slight tremor to start from my fingertips.

“Chairman?”

It was Henry who broke the subtle atmosphere. As Henry spoke with a puzzled voice, I heard Chairman Joo swallow hard. Soon after, he let out something between a laugh and a sigh before ordering me, “Come closer.”

“…”

If I could, I wanted to run out of the room right then. I didn’t want to go anywhere near him, face him, or have any type of conversation with him. Not because he had uttered Yoon Jis-oo’s name, but because I feared he might discover I was the real one.

‘The Chairman is cruel too. Showing that child the corpse of the older boy he used to play with.’

According to Lee Yuna, it was Chairman Joo who had retrieved the ‘hyung’s’ corpse from the sea. Since I was alive here, it was clear that he had faked everything to deceive Joo Do-hwa. Unless he already believed I was dead or had lost his memories like Joo Do-hwa, it was only a matter of time before my identity was revealed.

“Mark.”

When I stubbornly refused to move, Chairman Joo called for Henry. Henry, who had been standing there silently, let out a small sigh audible only to me and grabbed hold of my arm. I was startled and tried to shake him off, but he was quicker in pulling me toward the Chairman.

“Ugh…”

The feeling of being dragged by Henry was similar to when Joo Do-hwa had caught me from before. Like livestock being led to the slaughterhouse. The sensation of being overwhelmed by helplessness, unable to do anything despite the suffocating fear washing over me.

“This is what the young master bought from Oceans.”

After presenting me before Chairman Joo, Henry explained my situation in a dry tone. His firm grip on my arm seemed to remind me of what he had said earlier. Although I knew I had to behave, I still couldn’t bring myself to look Chairman Joo in the eye.

“Before working at Oceans, he was wandering without a fixed residence, and there are no reported criminal records. He seemed to have connections with Kim Jaewon, an executive director of Jaekyung Finance, but the young master recently took care of that.”

“Oceans…So that’s where he spent that large sum of money.”

His cracking voice was much rougher than I remembered from the past. Sixteen years was enough time to turn a child into a young adult and a child’s father into a middle-aged man. Although I, too, had become an adult, standing before him made me feel infinitely small, just as I had in my childhood.

“Raise your head.”

“…”

I flinched, my fingertips trembling. Damn Henry. Why did he bring me here? He said he was Joo Do-hwa’s aide, but why was he reporting everything to Chairman Joo? The way he gave his report so familiarly didn’t seem like this was the first time, making me feel betrayed. As I was feeling this, Chairman Joo gently warned, “Do I need to have Mark make you do it again?”

I knew his softened voice pretending to be kind was fake. His way of addressing others hadn’t changed at all over the years. It was the speech of the upper class that seemed gentle at first glance but was subtly laced with contempt.

Left with no other choice, I slowly, very slowly raised my head. If I couldn’t run away immediately, I had to do as told, whether it killed me or not. If I stubbornly resisted now, Henry would forcibly lift my face anyway.

“Yes, that’s good…”

My vision, which had been obscured by my bangs, gradually brightened. I could see Chairman Joo, half-risen, with his eyes narrowed. In his pitch-black pupils, a faint golden light flickered, barely visible.

While Joo Do-hwa generally gave off a languid impression, Chairman Joo was a man with such a chilling presence that one could freeze just by looking at him. It wasn’t for nothing that Joo Do-hwa occasionally exuded that overwhelming aura when he got serious. However, there wasn’t even a trace of prettiness anywhere on that face, which was why I had assumed as a child that the child must have taken after his mother.

“Closer.”

Chairman Joo beckoned with his finger. As if entranced, I took a step toward him. He leaned forward, placing one hand on the desk, and with the other, he abruptly grasped my chin across the desk.

“You…”

His thumb, which had been pressing into my cheek, moved along my face. As if trying to measure something, he felt along my jawline and then scrutinized every corner of my face intently. His gaze, moving deliberately from my eyes to my nose, from my nose to my mouth, was excessively intense.

The same was true for his touch on my skin. I couldn’t tell if it was because I was tense or if Chairman Joo’s body temperature was high. His touch was so hot it felt like it might burn my skin, and it was threatening as if it might crush my jaw at any given moment.

“You resemble someone I know.”

His cold voice felt like it was scratching at the nape of my neck. With my face fixed in his hand, I could do nothing but tremble slightly while only moving my eyes around. His face, which had gradually come closer, was now near enough for me to feel his breath.

“Really…”

“…”

“You look very similar.”

Was it Yoon Ji-soo, or was it my past self?

The pheromones emanating from him slowly filled the air. Although much weaker than Joo Do-hwa’s, it was by no means a negligible amount, as he too was dominant. There was no reason for him to emit such heavy pheromones with me right in front of him. It felt exactly like being bound by the man before my eyes.

“Your name?”

“It’s Bada, sir.”

Henry answered instead of me. “Bada…” Chairman Joo muttered, and for a moment, a hint of mockery seemed to cross his face.

“Pity about the eye color.”

The man quickly withdrew his pheromones and released my face as if throwing it away. Nevertheless, his eyes still held a gaze dripping with lingering interest, causing me to reflexively take a step back. I worried if that might have been rude, but fortunately, Chairman Joo showed no particular reaction and asked Henry instead of me, “He is a Beta?”

“Yes, we’ve completed the blood test as well.”

I was shocked by the following answer. Blood test? When did they take my blood?

“No pheromones were detected in the blood at all.”

I stared blankly at Henry. I had bled many times, but surely they couldn’t run tests with just that. I didn’t even remember getting an injection…

“…”

Suddenly, a memory came to mind. The day I had fallen terribly ill with a cold after a very long time. When I woke up, there was a bandage on my arm, and they said they had given me an injection and IV fluids while I was asleep.

‘Are you still in pain?’

That bastard. To think he had even done a blood test behind my back while pretending to know nothing. And yet, this morning he had emitted pheromones and even tested me.

“He looks young. Is there a possibility he hasn’t differentiated

yet?”

“He’s twenty-five years old. I believe it’s impossible for him to differentiate

 at this point.”

“…Twenty-five?”

Chairman Joo looked me up and down as if quite surprised. His face was full of astonishment, making me wonder how old he thought I was. Henry politely added, “He doesn’t have the bloodline for it in the first place, so there’s no possibility in that direction. Moreover…”

Henry hesitated for a moment, trailing off. As if gauging whether he should say this or not. Then, glancing at me briefly, he continued,  “He doesn’t react to the young master’s pheromones at all.”

“…”

Was it my imagination, or did a slight crack appear in Chairman Joo’s expression? But it was only for a very brief moment, and he quickly smiled with a benevolent face.

“Well, if he weren’t a beta, he couldn’t withstand our Do-hwa’s pheromones.”

Only those of equally extreme dominance could withstand the pheromones of an extremely dominant alpha. In other words, unless one was extremely dominant, no one could endure Joo Do-hwa. Even the man before me wouldn’t be able to surpass Joo Do-hwa in terms of traits.

“You said your name was Bada, right?”

“…”

Chairman Joo’s gaze returned to me. It was a sharp look, and I straightened my back as I answered.

“…Yes.”

“…”

“It’s Bada.”

He finally made me say it with my own mouth. In response to my calmly delivered answer, Chairman Joo affectionately reassured me.

“I hear you’ve been playing doll with our Do-hwa. You must have a hard time.”

I didn’t think he would be unaware of Joo Do-hwa’s hobby. It was already a well-known rumor, so his father, Chairman Joo, must be well aware of it too.

“He’s my son, but he’s unable to forget one dead person. What is he doing…?”

However, his following words were enough to make even me, who had been tense, feel a sense of discomfort. His face, smirking as if amused or as if finding it pathetic, was that of someone intoxicated with victory.

“I fished out that child’s corpse with my own hands, you know.”

His glinting eyes sent chills up and down my spine. Whenever the light hit them, a sharp golden glint flashed. As if he wasn’t proud of having completely deceived Joo Do-hwa, but truly sympathizing with him.

“I felt sorry for the young one, but what could I do with someone already dead? Right?”

“…”

“But our Do-hwa must have been greatly shocked because when he got a bit older, he developed a strange hobby…”

Suddenly, I realized something. This person thinks I’m really dead.