TIN 86

It was an absurd accusation. Seducing a woman? If offering someone a seat counted as seduction, how rudely did he expect me to treat Lee Yuna?

“I just made a suggestion. We can’t keep her standing forever.”

“How kind of you.”

Why don’t you try being kind yourself? The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back. If he was going to be concerned about his fiancée, he should at least pretend to take care of her. Though Lee Yuna probably wouldn’t want that anyway.

“Since that’s what he’s saying, what do you think, Yuna? Care to sit?”

Joo Do-hwa shrugged his shoulders and patted the space beside him. Though it was an invitation to sit, Lee Yuna only moved her lips with a sour expression on her face.

“It’s fine. I prefer standing.”

“You’d better sit. Or just go somewhere else.”

The command-like statement carried more weight in the latter part. As if suggesting she should preferably go elsewhere, Joo Do-hwa smiled and tilted his head to the side.

“You’re making hyung uncomfortable.”

“…”

That wasn’t really what made me uncomfortable. The one truly making things uncomfortable wasn’t Lee Yuna, but him.

“…Fine, I’ll sit for a moment.”

Left with no other choice, Lee Yuna plopped down next to Joo Do-hwa. Seemingly thirsty, she grabbed a beer from a passing waiter and gulped it down. At the last party, she had warned me about not drinking anything because something might be mixed in the drinks, but apparently, Joo Do-hwa’s house was safe enough.

“Mind if I smoke?”

Lee Yuna pulled out a pack of cigarettes. It seemed like she was asking out of courtesy, but Joo Do-hwa immediately stopped her.

“Don’t smoke. Hyung isn’t feeling well right now.”

“Oh? Are you sick?”

Lee Yuna asked while looking at me, so for a moment I thought she was talking to me. Of course, Joo Do-hwa answered for me.

“You don’t need to know that much.”

Wow, what a jerk.

That thought that crossed my mind was probably the same as Lee Yuna’s. That must be why her expression crumpled as if she’d bitten into something rotten.

“If you’re sick, wouldn’t it be better to go up and rest in your room?”

“I already said that.”

Again, Joo Do-hwa responded to Lee Yuna’s words instead of letting me answer. As if deliberately trying to block any conversation between us. Lee Yuna must have noticed this too, as she let out a small, hollow laugh and took another sip of beer.

With Lee Yuna not saying anything too, silence fell once again in our little group. Joo Do-hwa wasn’t one to lead conversations to begin with, and I especially had nothing to say to them. As the meaningless silence stretched on, the current situation became increasingly annoying.

“…”

Should I just go up? Yoon Ji-soo wasn’t coming anyway, and there was nothing to gain by staying here. Though Lee Yuna said she had something to tell me, it seemed she wouldn’t bring it up in front of Joo Do-hwa. Besides, if my condition worsened, I would be the one to suffer.

“Hey, Do-hwa.”

As soon as I made my decision, I carefully spoke up. I was planning to say sorry that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to return to my room.

But before I could state my business, someone came up to the three of us.

“D-Director Joo!”

Joo Do-hwa, who had been wearing a bored expression, turned to look. It wasn’t much of a reaction—it was more like just raising his eyes to look. At this disinterested response, the other person greeted him with a trembling voice.

“H-Hello…”

The awkwardly smiling figure was a man with boyish features. He seemed about my height or slightly shorter, and his hunched shoulders made his frame look particularly small. At first, I thought he was just another person coming to make an appearance, but looking closer, his features seemed familiar.

“Um, it’s been a while since we last met.”

Where have I seen this person? The stammering speech, the tense, stiff face, and even the awkward smile seemed familiar.

“I-I’m not sure if you remember…”

“…”

Joo Do-hwa said nothing and slowly looked him up and down. It was an incredibly arrogant gesture, but the man didn’t seem offended at all. Rather, he even straightened his shoulders as if savoring the attention from the other man.

“Uh, why…we met inside last time…”

As soon as I heard those words, a memory came back. Early in my time at this house, during breakfast with Joo Do-hwa, two men who had visited the mansion.

‘When I was young…I saw Director-nim before.’

Ah, he was the son of the middle-aged man Joo Do-hwa had shot dead. The omega who had recited lines that seemed obviously memorized, claiming he was the hyung Joo Do-hwa was looking for. The man who had been so terrified after witnessing his father’s death that he’d wet himself.

“…Have you been well?”

Why did this person come here?

His reddened ear tips were concerning. His face was too shy for someone facing his father’s killer. While I was feeling this subtle sense of unease, the man bit his bottom lip and bowed his head deeply.

“I should have greeted you earlier…but I was…I was confused…”

His mumbling words were barely audible. His voice was already quiet, and he kept stammering.

Joo Do-hwa, who had been silently staring at the man, turned to me and spoke.

“What is it?”

“Huh?”

“You just called me.”

He turned out to be blatantly ignoring the man. The man’s face twisted so dramatically that I felt uncomfortable on his behalf.

“No, it was nothing.”

While it wouldn’t have been hard to say I was going to my room, I worried Joo Do-hwa would leave with me if I did. Given his current attitude, that seemed likely. And I didn’t want to do something so mean to someone trying so hard to just talk to him.

“Go ahead and talk. It’s nothing.”

“…”

He clicked his tongue. Though irritation seemed to flash across his face, the man quickly seized the moment to speak again.

“Um, if it’s alright…could we talk…alone for a moment? Would you come inside with me?”

The way he peeked up through his lashes was clearly that of someone trying to seduce. Lee Yuna must have thought the same, as she let out a deflating laugh. She wasn’t mocking the man but rather seemed amused by the situation.

The problem was that Joo Do-hwa, the actual target, showed no reaction at all.

The man raised his voice a bit more.

“I-I have some really good drugs…”

Unless he’d taken those good drugs himself, he wouldn’t say such things to Joo Do-hwa. Setting aside that Joo Do-hwa’s fiancée Lee Yuna was right there, he had seen with his own eyes how his father had died that day.

“W-What do you think…?”

“…”

Though the man asked, Joo Do-hwa didn’t answer again. He simply stared at the man with the same exact expressionless face. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, but his next question seemed to hint at his curiosity.

“Does this drug make betas wet too?”

“What?”

“You said you have good drugs. I’m asking if it makes betas melt too.”

Why did I get chills down my spine when I heard those words? Was it because Joo Do-hwa’s voice had dropped low, or because his golden eyes were glinting sharply? It felt like my hair was standing on end as if being alerted of danger.

“Y-Yes! That’s right. It makes betas melt too.”

The man, oblivious to my unease, nodded eagerly with an excited face. He seemed happy that Joo Do-hwa was finally showing interest. Then, just like his father once had, he started listing various benefits as if promoting a product.

“It’s a new product from our company. There are almost n-no side effects, and the effects wear off after just one night…”

“Then just give me the drug and leave.”

“…What?”

The man blinked. Joo Do-hwa spoke coldly as if saying he shouldn’t have to repeat himself.

“I said give me the drug and go. Don’t be annoying.”

“…”

I suddenly realized something. That he had actually been quite lenient with Lee Yuna. His utterly indifferent gaze now was clearly different from when Lee Yuna had greeted him earlier.

“D-Don’t be like that…”

Like father, like son, you might say—the man persisted in trying to talk. He should know it would be better for his well-being to just leave. The man took a step closer and subtly released his pheromones.

“I can really…satisfy you…”

The unfamiliar pheromones approached close by. These pheromones, with their clear intent, had the characteristic softness of an omega, unlike Joo Do-hwa’s. They were quite faint, probably due to being recessive, but as soon as I sensed them, my stomach violently turned.

“Ugh…”

I quickly covered my mouth with one hand. An instinctive revulsion crawled up from my toes as if my internal organs were twisting. My head spun and I felt the blood in my entire body run cold.

“…What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

Lee Yuna was the first to speak. Just as Yu-na was about to reach out to me, someone else grabbed my shoulder first. I gritted my teeth tightly at the strong grip and shuddered at the voice close by.

“Hyung.”

“…!”

I roughly shoved Joo Do-hwa’s hand away. Ah, fuck, this is bad. Though I thought that, the physical pain was too intense to maintain my rationality. A buzzing rang in my ears and my stomach churned as if I would vomit at any given moment.

“Sorry, just…ugh.”