Seo Seung-hyun tilted his head to one side, folded his eyes and smiled warmly.
He pulled his flat phone from the back pocket of his tight-fitting trousers. His thumb slid across the screen. The phone that switched to a speaker phone rang. It wasn’t long.
[Yes, CEO. I received your call.]
“Right, Young-hee. Is it ready?”
[No problem.]
Seo Seung-hyun nodded then waved his index finger at Lee Young-jin. Lee Young-jin slowly approached. Seo Seung-hyun smiled and lightly pointed at Lee Young-jin with the same finger, then pointed at his own smartphone.
“Are there any injuries?”
[Not a single hair is damaged.]
“Hm, yes. Of course. There are not that many human rights laws for nothing.”
Seo Seung-hyun chattered cheerfully.
Lee Young-jin’s gaze turned to Seo Seung-hyun’s hand. Beyond Jang Young-hee’s voice heard through the mobile phone, the sound of raindrops falling, the sound of someone’s jolting steps, and the sound of something like a door creaking overlapped in various ways. The corners of his eyes, which could not hide his curiosity, fluttered and the beauty mark underneath moved together. Seo Seung-hyun continued to speak with his eyes fixed on that teardrop mole.
“Do you have anything to say?”
[I want to know if my colleague is alive or dead.]
“Ah.”
Seo Seung-hyun met Lee Young-jin’s eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly and a strange smile appeared on his face.
“It’s a really sweet camaraderie. It’s hard to find on this industry these days, isn’t it, Young-hee?”
The corners of Lee Young-jin’s mouth twitched nervously. As if trying to appeal for something, wet and shiny eyes stared at Seo Seung-hyun anxiously. Seo Seung-hyun happily enjoyed that gaze and instructed Jang Young-hee over the phone.
“Change with that one.”
[Yes.]
The sound of footsteps.
The sound of someone talking quickly.
The sound of crackling electromagnetic waves.
Lee Young-jin listened intently to all the sounds.
After a short silence, the sound of rapid breathing followed.
[…are you Young-jin?]
It was Ji Jung-hoon’s voice.
“Ah.”
Lee Young-jin quietly exclaimed.
He moved closer to Seo Seung-hyun, who was holding the smartphone.
“Mister?”
[Yes. It’s me.]
“Sister…”
[She’s fine as well. You? They said they did this for something you did for them, what the hell did you do?]
“Nothing. I’m okay. Just…did they say they’re freeing mister and sister now?”
[Yes.]
Ji Jung-hoon hesitated for a moment then asked again.
[And you?]
Lee Young-jin clearly knew that he couldn’t be seen, but still nodded his head with all his might.
“I’m fine too. These people have a little more work for me to do. He said he’d let me go if I did that…”
[Let you go?]
“Yes.”
Lee Young-jin looked at Seo Seung-hyun. Seo Seung-hyun deliberately smiled at him. A smile formed on Lee Young-jin’s face, and an awkwardly distorted expression came to view.
[Are you really okay?]
“Hm. I’m okay. I even freed mister and sister…”
[…just be patient and wait a little longer.]
Lee Young-jin said yes, yes, and kept nodding his head.
He was so sad that it could be mistaken for a family reunion. It was enough to think that they weren’t colleagues but ex-lovers. Seo Seung-hyun waited for the conversation between them to heat up moderately, then turned off the speaker mode and brought the smartphone to his ear. Lee Young-jin’s anxious gaze followed him.
“Young-hee.”
Jang Young-hee answered quickly, indicating that he had taken over the cell phone again.
[Yes, CEO.]
“It’s over now, let them go. Finish it well.”
[Of course.]
“Alright.”
Seo Seung-hyun ended the call.
Lee Young-jin was staring up at him with his chest moving. His eyes were even damper than before, and it seemed as if his eyeballs would roll off at any moment. Even the eyelashes, which were slightly lower than usual, were heavily wet.
“Hm.”
Seo Seung-hyun smiled at Lee Young-jin.
“Is that enough now?”
“Uhm…”
A small, vague reply returned. Soon, Lee Young-jin went back and pulled something out from under the bed mattress. It was a smartphone. It contained the video of last night’s sex scene. Lee Young-jin silently handed it to Seo Seung-hyun.
Seo Seung-hyun looked at the cell phone held out to him and at Lee Young-jin’s face holding it out.
The moist black eyes under the two heavily sunken eyelids seemed to have given up and seemed to feel no pain. A cloud of water dried over his pale cheeks. Seo Seung-hyun wondered if it was a tear stain or something else.
The sex video was Lee Young-jin’s only weapon.
From the moment he returned this to Seo Seung-hyun, there’s nothing to protect his life anymore.
Did he already store a copy somewhere? No. If so, there’s no reason not to bargain with it now.
…Seo Seung-hyun held out his hand and received the cell phone.
Their fingertips didn’t even touch.
Lee Young-jin’s arms fell down again. The slanted gaze hovered in the air somewhere on the floor to the right.
“Now then…”
Seo Seung-hyun looked at him and smiled.
“Shall we talk about the second transaction?”
At that moment, Lee Young-jin suddenly raised his head. The blurry pupils then became clear. In disbelief, his lips parted slightly so that he could barely see his front teeth and the tip of his tongue.
The smile that didn’t leave Seo Seung-hyun’s face became clearer.
“There’s something I’d like you to help me with a little more. How is it? Are you interested?”
“Ah, ah…”
Between Lee Young-jin’s plump lips, a low voice that was half sigh and half moan came out. Uncharacteristically, the hesitation was short.
“Do I have a choice?”
It was a cynical expression that did not match the sorrowful face.
Of course, that wasn’t wrong.
There was no answer from Seo Seung-hyun. He crossed his arms and tilted his neck gently, looking down at Lee Young-jin with a smile on his face. That leisurely wait pushed Lee Young-jin’s back more intensely than any urging.
In the end, Lee Young-jin’s head nodded very faintly.
The corner of Seo Seung-hyun’s mouth went up as he watched it.
The alpha, who led the situation as he wanted, didn’t hesitate any longer. Standing in the doorway, Seo Seung-hyun shook his chin at Lee Young-jin.
“Come out.”
He opened the door again.
Lee Young-jin was a bit flustered, but didn’t stumble and followed him out of the room. There was no question or resistance. Lee Young-jin’s expression, following Seo Seung-hyun, seemed aloof at first glance, but the slowly shaking pupils could not hide his panic.
Seo Seung-hyun took Lee Young-jin and came down to the first floor again.
It was a large room currently used as his office and meeting room in this mansion.
The floor, which had been muddy with blood until yesterday, exposed a shiny surface in response to Jang Young-hee’s efforts of mopping it with sodium percarbonate poured over it several times and even sprayed with a commercial disinfectant. There was a bitter scent in the air, like a faint smell of cigarettes mixed with the scent of a strong shower cologne. Lee Young-jin unknowingly twitched the tip of his nose. The room smelled like Seo Seung-hyun. More than anything else, the overbearing and heavy scent told him that this place was Seo Seung-hyun’s space.
A gray leather sofa, a couch, and a low wooden table was inside, all high-end furniture. On one wall hung a large landscape painting, several meters wide. Of course, it wasn’t Seo Seung-hyun’s taste.
Seo Seung-hyun hooked his toe to the leg of the single-person couch and pulled it. The couch, which weighed several tens of kilograms, was dragged along, scratching the floor. Seo Seung-hyun pushed Young-jin’s shoulders and made him sit there. Lee Young-jin sat down with a creaking motion like a wooden doll on a string.
Seo Seung-hyun sat on the other side and lightly tapped the screen of his smartphone with his thumb. [I’m hungry. Bring me something to eat.] Jang Young-hee, who should be in the limousine heading to Pudong Airport by now, sent a reply without delay. [I will ask Assistant Manager Park to prepare meals for the CEO.] [Tell him to bring something simple since I’m eating with Lee Young-jin.] Then a delay of a few seconds. [Yes.] came the reply. Seo Seung-hyun lightly put his smartphone down on the table.
He crossed his legs, burying himself deeply in the antique furniture that seemed to have been made just for him. An inefficiently large sofa that might have been used by generals of the old warlord era was perfect for his massive frame.
Lee Young-jin looked up at Seo Seung-hyun. It was a grim look that seemed to be asking for an explanation.
“I need to eat.”
Seo Seung-hyun replied casually.
“Eat?”
“Yes?”
“Here?”
“Why? Shall we go to the dining room?”
“Oh, no…”
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