15 – TIO

“Aaaagh!”

Staring at his twisted hand, Seo Dong-hu let out a blood-curdling scream that sounded as if his throat were tearing.

“Keep talking.”

Snap. Han Seung-jae released the arm he had been holding. Seo Dong-hu remained hunched over, suppressing the screams trying to leak out as he cradled his limply shaking hand.

“Are you crying?”

Han Seung-jae applied pressure with his fingers, grabbing Seo Dong-hu by the hair and forcing his head up. The corners of Seo Dong-hu’s eyes were red. Part of it was due to the blood flowing from his forehead, but tears had pooled beneath his eyes.

“So, which hand?”

Han Seung-jae’s grip tightened. Blood and dirt were matted into the scalp that had been partially torn away. The pin on Han Seung-jae’s tie glinted as he leaned over.

As those cold features drew closer, Seo Dong-hu felt his knees tighten with fear. Cradling his broken hand against his chest, Seo Dong-hu shrank back.

Unable to even breathe properly due to the surging pain, Seo Dong-hu’s Adam’s apple trembled irregularly. Lying would be useless. It was clear that Han Seung-jae already knew everything and was simply confirming it.

“I’m asking you.”

Swallowing the pain, Seo Dong-hu barely managed to squeeze out the words.

“Fuck, fuck! I was wrong! I’m sorry!”

Tears streamed pathetically down the corners of Seo Dong-hu’s eyes. Tsk. Han Seung-jae clicked his tongue lowly.

“Is my question that difficult?”

Han Seung-jae grabbed the arm supporting the broken wrist. Seo Dong-hu’s lips trembled. Before the words could become sound, a sharp tone pierced his ear.

“See, it would have been better if you’d just told me it was this hand from the start.”

Seo Dong-hu spat out the words quickly.

“Seung-jae. No, Director Han. I said I was wrong… Aaaagh!”

Seo Dong-hu’s screams echoed throughout the office. Added to that were the successive sounds of bones snapping.

“Aaaagh!”

Han Seung-jae withdrew his hand. At his feet, Seo Dong-hu writhed. His breathing came out ragged.

“Hah, ugh…”

Looking down repeatedly at his twisted arm, he wore a devastated expression.

Step. Once the situation calmed down, Secretary Park approached and handed over a handkerchief. He had been standing with his back to the door, watching everything. Even so, there was nothing he could do to intervene.

Han Seung-jae took the handkerchief and wiped his soiled hands. Then, rubbing the blood-stained ring, he spoke.

“I’m not fond of wine. It feels like no matter how much I drink, I don’t get drunk.”

In the eyes of the shivering Seo Dong-hu, the wine on the table came into view. It was what he had brought a moment ago, claiming it was a wedding gift. A gold thread string hung from the carefully wrapped paper box.

“Take it.”

Seo Dong-hu’s pupils shifted to his two broken arms. Soon after, his weak knees hit the floor. Leaning his upper body toward the table, he opened his lips, smeared with blood and saliva, and bit onto the string.

Secretary Park opened the door. The chauffeur waiting outside turned his head slowly, then rushed inside in a panic.

“V-Vice President!”

The chauffeur took the wine that Seo Dong-hu was holding in his teeth. Blood and saliva were matted into the trailing gold thread.

“From now on.”

The voice echoing behind him was so low it felt eerie. With blood flowing down, causing one eye to keep closing, Seo Dong-hu turned his head back. Han Seung-jae was looking at him with one hand in his pocket.

“If you want to enter my house, come to me first.”

To Seo Dong-hu’s ears, it sounded like a threat to break his legs. It felt as if he was being told to try and come, even if he had to crawl.

Furthermore, Han Seung-jae was not someone who could be met simply by visiting. Most of Seo Dong-hu’s calls were filtered out by Secretary Park. Thus, it was uncertain if he would even be able to see his face. The business currently being conducted was also with the father.

Seo Dong-hu was not unaware of this fact. That was why he had gone to see Seo Yi-kyung recklessly.

Han Seung-jae’s words were essentially telling him not to visit. Or perhaps, it was a warning not to catch his eye.

* * *

It was late at night.

Seo Yi-kyung, who had been asleep, opened his eyes. He instinctively tried to rub his eyes, but paused at the cast wrapped around his right hand. Soon, the carnage from the afternoon came back to him.

Butler Do had forcibly torn Seo Dong-hu away from his arm. Slap. Simultaneously, Seo Dong-hu had been struck hard across the cheek once more. However, he stopped reacting and called for people.

The drawing room had been a scene of chaos. But since Seo Yi-kyung had been curled up, clutching his arm, he couldn’t see the sequence of events. He had simply headed to the hospital with the help of others.

Rustle. Seo Yi-kyung sat up. He was alone in the large bed.

‘I guess he hasn’t come yet.’

Seo Yi-kyung put on his slippers and walked. He went into the bathroom, washed his face with one hand, and came out. As he wiped his face with a dry towel, his eyes landed on one spot.

“…?”

Because he had just woken up, he hadn’t noticed before, but he definitely saw a black silhouette moving beyond the curtains, out on the terrace.

Something moved… Taking slow steps, Seo Yi-kyung cautiously grabbed the curtain and flinched.

On the terrace, Han Seung-jae was sitting with his back to the lights cast over the garden. His sharply upturned eyes looked intellectual. There was no expression on his honed bridge of the nose and cool features.

He lifted a glass containing a round piece of ice. The amber liquid barely brushed against his lips.

At that moment, his eyes met Han Seung-jae’s as he turned his head. Seo Yi-kyung’s entire body froze instantly.

What should I do? Seo Yi-kyung bit his lower lip. It looked as if he had been peeking. He considered turning back, but instead, he opened the door. This was because Han Seung-jae’s gaze was directed at his casted hand.

“They said a ligament was slightly stretched.”

With the cast on his wrist, only Seo Yi-kyung’s fingers were visible. His fingertips fidgeted.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’m going back to sleep, so please enjoy your drink.”

It was just as Seo Yi-kyung was about to close the narrowly opened door.

“If you’re done with the excuses, come and sit.”

“…”

Seo Yi-kyung hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t simply pretend he hadn’t heard; he wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath. He opened the door further and stepped onto the terrace. The rushing night wind swept across the shirt he was wearing. To push away the awkward silence, he spoke.

“When did you arrive?”

“If you knew, what would change?”

The question was returned as a question. Seo Yi-kyung moved his steps slowly. He felt tension throughout his body. Enduring Han Seung-jae’s cold gaze was no easy feat for him. As he painstakingly reached the table, he saw the whiskey. There was only one glass in front of it.

“Want a drink?”

The voice echoing in his ear was quite soft. But there was no way he could refuse. Perhaps his opinion didn’t even matter.

He didn’t like alcohol, but maybe it would help him sleep. Since he had just woken up, he would have to pretend to sleep soundly until morning.

After thinking it over, Seo Yi-kyung reached out with his left hand. His fingertips barely brushed the glass, but the glass was pushed away. It was because Han Seung-jae had grabbed his wrist and pulled.

“!”

Seo Yi-kyung’s upper body was pulled down. As he tilted forward, his parted lips met the other’s membranes.

Simultaneously with the kiss, Han Seung-jae quickly released the gripped wrist and wrapped both arms around Seo Yi-kyung’s waist, pulling him to sit on his lap.

Seo Yi-kyung’s spine shivered where the large hand touched. Unlike the cold lips pressed against him, the tongue that pushed inside and tangled with his was hot, and his breath smelled of sweet alcohol.

“Ngh.”

As the hand slid up under his shirt, Seo Yi-kyung’s side twitched. He tried helplessly to push away the tongue occupying his mouth.

In the narrow space of the mouth, flesh rubbed together, being pulled out and returning repeatedly. Wet, rupturing sounds were crushed upon the tongue.

Seo Yi-kyung began to suffocate from the movement of the obsessively entwining tongue. Even so, it swept through the tender inside of his mouth, scraping the roof of his palate and digging deeper.

Meanwhile, the fingers that had entered under the shirt swept up to his chest. The fingers pinched his pointed nipple and gripped the sparse flesh firmly.

“Hng, ngh…”

Out of habit, Seo Yi-kyung reached out with his right hand. The casted hand touched the firm chest. His fingers, lacking any real strength, merely pushed slightly, but the clinging lips parted.

A long string of saliva stretched downward. Seo Yi-kyung panted with wet lips.

“Haa…”

Breathing heavily, he looked at Han Seung-jae, completely captivated by him. His eyes were so full of passion that Seo Yi-kyung felt that if he turned his head or tried to flee, Han Seung-jae would bite his neck and drive into him right then and there.

Perhaps it was because of the lights cast over the garden. The shadows in his eyes made them look even deeper. In contrast to his cool features, the temperature of the tongue that had ravaged his mouth was high. Just the kiss seemed to make his mind melt. Just as his thoughts drifted there, he was startled by the languid movement of the fingers teasing his nipple.

“Are you drunk?”

Seo Yi-kyung placed his casted arm against the back of Han Seung-jae’s hand inside the shirt. At that, the movement stopped for a moment.

Han Seung-jae’s gaze slowly shifted over Seo Yi-kyung’s shoulder. The ice in the glass made a clinking sound as it melted.

“No way.”

“Then, why…”

His lower lip, wet with saliva, parted as he gasped for air.

“Why didn’t you just keep pretending to be asleep?”