Desires Chapter 2.2 - II. Coldness and Desire (3)

He had to retrace his steps. Right, so today his route was a little different from usual.

The move-in cleaning job he always did in the morning had been disbanded as of yesterday. Song Yeongin did not leave for work in the early morning as he usually did. Mrs. Heo asked if he would join the team, saying she would contact him right away if another cleaning job came up.

Song Yeongin moved on a different schedule than usual today. With the move-in cleaning job disbanded, he was looking for a job he could do in the morning before going to work at La Cure. One place had contacted him saying it was urgent, so he was just about to go for an interview.

The moment Song Yeongin came out of his house, he was dragged by several large men into a large van and forced inside.

It was so instantaneous that he had no time to come to his senses. He resisted with all his might, but the burly men did not even flinch. After a fierce struggle, Song Yeongin was struck in the abdomen by the man holding his arm.

“Ugh, heuk…!”

A fist as hard as iron struck his upper stomach. In the piercing pain of the violence that tore through his abdomen, Song Yeongin clutched his stomach and groaned. He could not breathe properly.

“Don’t touch him any more than this! He ordered us not to carelessly damage the precious merchandise. If we even scratch him, he’ll throw a fucking fit.”

They tied the hands of Song Yeongin, who continued to resist. They blindfolded him with a long black cloth and gagged his mouth. The cell phone in his pocket was ringing continuously. His covered vision was nothing but darkness on all sides.

In a situation where he couldn’t even use his hands, the men must have turned off his phone, because the vibrating sound that had been ringing was no longer audible. His last hope was gone.

Who could it be?

In the blindfolded darkness, there was only one person Song Yeongin could think of.

‘Maybe that man knew everything.’

That must be why he went out of his way to find him, hand him a business card, and give him such a warning.

It was surely Matteo’s doing. Other than that bastard, there was no one who would do this to him. Had he not clearly declared that he could do something like this?

Should he have sent a distress call asking for protection from the moment Matteo first appeared? Cha Woojin had told him to contact him, but even if he had, how could he have done anything about such a sudden kidnapping?

‘Who could stop… a crime like this.’

Once he thought that, funnily enough, it seemed his heart became a little more at ease in the desperate and frightening situation.

As the car drove for a long time, Song Yeongin stopped resisting and quietly resigned himself. It was the most familiar way Song Yeongin knew how to respond.

A sharp sting arose. They suddenly and forcefully injected a drug into his vein with a syringe. And after that, he seemed to have slowly lost consciousness and fallen asleep. He could not remember much more than that.

🌫️

When Song Yeongin regained consciousness, the black cloth that had been covering his eyes was removed. A dazzlingly bright light suddenly poured into his vision, which had been nothing but darkness. The place he had been moved to was a luxurious hotel room with an unfamiliar view.

What came into Song Yeongin’s sight were the two large, burly men who had restrained him and one unfamiliar woman.

Matteo’s subordinate pushed Song Yeongin, who was sweaty and disheveled from struggling violently, into the bathroom. Song Yeongin thrashed about, not knowing what was happening.

The large, burly man pushed Song Yeongin into the shower booth with brute force. Song Yeongin had no strength in his body, perhaps because of the drug they had injected earlier.

He only had enough strength to barely hold himself up, and his body began to go limp. Song Yeongin was already quite exhausted from resisting and struggling so fiercely. In this state, he couldn’t even think of resisting.

Song Yeongin was still clothed. But then, out of nowhere, the large, burly man turned on the showerhead above him.

“W-what… what on earth do you think you’re doing right now?!”

A waterfall-like stream of water fell from the large showerhead built into the ceiling. Song Yeongin, still in his clothes, was completely soaked, his coat and entire body drenched by the water pouring from the ceiling.

“Please wash up quietly and come out.”

The subordinate was speaking to him in formal language, as if to belie the violence he had used earlier. In his bewilderment, Song Yeongin struggled under the pouring water for a moment before closing his tired eyes. Matteo’s subordinate left a bathrobe hanging and went out.

Lest anyone come in, Song Yeongin quickly locked the bathroom door. Then he quickly rummaged through the pockets of his already soaked, thin coat. But the cell phone was nowhere to be seen.

With a deep sigh, Song Yeongin silently stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked no different from a drowned rat.

‘What on earth is this all about?’

Dragged here without knowing the reason, Song Yeongin was simply crestfallen and dumbfounded.

After a long while, Song Yeongin, wearing a bathrobe, peeked out of the bathroom door. Because his clothes were already soaked, the only thing Song Yeongin could wear after washing himself was a single bathrobe.

The two subordinates were still standing guard at the entrance of this luxurious room. A woman with a kind face approached Song Yeongin, who had come out of the bathroom door and was standing blankly.

“I will escort you this way.”

Song Yeongin looked around, searching for an escape route, hoping to find an opportunity. But the two large men, who seemed like they would not budge an inch, did not take their eyes off Song Yeongin for a single moment, their expressions stern.

Song Yeongin obediently followed the woman. The woman had him sit down at a large dressing table located in the inner room.

With practiced hands, she used a hairdryer to dry Song Yeongin’s wet hair. Song Yeongin could not even begin to guess what was going on.

“Right now, here… what am I doing?”

As his hair was almost dry, the woman styled Song Yeongin’s hair with skilled and professional hands. The woman answered in a gentle voice.

“I was instructed to handle the styling for someone attending a party, and I am currently carrying out that task.”

Song Yeongin looked back and forth between the woman and himself reflected in the mirror with a dumbfounded expression.

“A par… a party…? Me?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

The woman with a suspiciously gentle smile was mechanically carrying out her duties in silence without even making eye contact with Song Yeongin.

“Excuse me… I was forcibly kidnapped and brought here, and I have no idea what this party is. Please, so I can get out of here… please help me…!”

Perhaps hearing Song Yeongin’s suspicious whispering, the two burly men who had been standing by the door approached.

Paying no heed to Song Yeongin’s plea, the woman continued to be absorbed in adorning Song Yeongin with skillful and swift hands. As if she had been instructed to do so, the woman ignored Song Yeongin’s words and conveyed only her own business.

“Your skin is so good and your features are as refined as a painting, so there was almost no need for makeup. Next, I will prepare the outfit you will wear to the party.”

This was a comedy.

The woman sent a signal to the two men, and the burly men made Song Yeongin stand up from his seat. Song Yeongin was once again moved by the two large men.

The woman held up the luxurious clothes hanging on the rack to Song Yeongin’s body several times, and then recommended he try them on.

Song Yeongin, with a dumbfounded face, shouted and asked the two large men.

“Where is my cell phone?!”

When Song Yeongin raised his voice, the burly men approached and grabbed his shoulders so hard it felt like they would break them, and said.

“First, let’s get you dressed. We will safely return your phone when everything is over.”

Song Yeongin had only thought that he would be dragged away by Matteo and suffer some terrible fate. But, what on earth was this situation unfolding before his eyes?

🌫️

“Song Yeongin has disappeared. He is out of contact.”

Cha Woojin, who was sitting in the director’s office approving documents, slowly raised his head.

“It seems he has been kidnapped by Matteo.”

“Park Seongjae….”

“…….”

“How in the world are you handling things?!!”

A low and imposing voice sternly rebuked Park Seongjae. A fierce killing intent lingered in his cool, sharp eyes.

“I apologize. Because Mr. Song Yeongin moved on a different route than usual….”

Park Seongjae had planted people to watch Song Yeongin, but there was a sudden change in his always-the-same route, and at an unexpected moment, Song Yeongin vanished without a trace.

Cha Woojin fiercely barked.

“Track him!”

“The last tracked location is near H Hotel. It is said that Matteo’s birthday party will be held grandly today, with a section of H Hotel being reserved.”

Cha Woojin glared coldly at Park Seongjae.

“Deploy people quickly and search before he pulls any foolish stunts. If a problem arises, you will have to take responsibility for the consequences of your complacent work.”

It was Matteo’s birthday banquet, which he held grandly every year, gathering influential figures and scoundrels like himself.

An invitation must have been sent to Cha Woojin, at least as a formality. It was around this time every year. An invitation would arrive from Matteo’s side, but he had never once attended their unsightly feast of his own volition.

“Did you receive an invitation from Matteo.”

“Yes.”

After a long silence, Cha Woojin frowned with irritation. Cha Woojin loosened the tie that was tightly choking his neck.

“Cancel my evening schedule. I’m going to the hotel.”

Park Seongjae’s face showed bewilderment.

“…Are you serious?”

“…….”

“Tonight’s schedule cannot be canceled. The Chairman himself said he would deliver an important message and has repeatedly requested that all key personnel attend without fail….”

The sharp and neat face crumpled fiercely. Cha Woojin cut off Park Seongjae’s words coldly with a displeased gaze.

“My mouth hurts. Figure it out yourself. That’s within your capabilities, too.”

“I am sorry….”

“Seongjae. Don’t make me say the same thing twice.”

Park Seongjae, showing obedience to his enraged superior’s command, subserviently bowed his head.

“I will keep that in mind.”

🌫️

“You look so wonderful.”

After being styled by the professional woman’s hands, Song Yeongin revealed himself in front of the mirror as he was guided. It was not his usual self.

A flowing suit that revealed a balanced line and a peculiar bone structure without any excess. The silk innerwear beneath, which clearly exposed a beautiful neckline and collarbones, was captivating enough to catch anyone’s eye at a single glance, yet it never lost its luxurious sense of restraint.

A combination of neutral colors that highlighted his characteristically transparent and clear skin and noble impression. The stylish and natural hair, which accentuated his neat image, flowed, enhancing Song Yeongin’s graceful atmosphere.

Song Yeongin, thus luxuriously adorned with the best of everything, was escorted by the two subordinates who feigned politeness, giving him no opening.

Everyone they encountered in the hotel could not take their eyes off this unfamiliar beauty surrounded by two attendants. Even among the invitees inside the luxurious hotel, Song Yeongin gave off a more noble and dignified impression than anyone else.

Waiting for Song Yeongin in the waiting room he was led to by the two large men was none other than Matteo.

As Song Yeongin appeared in the magnificent baroque-style waiting room, Matteo slowly scanned Song Yeongin from head to toe.

“My, my….”

Matteo’s sanpaku eyes, filled with awe, could not take their gaze off Song Yeongin.

“This is, truly… beyond expectations….”

The two subordinates let go of Song Yeongin’s arms, which they had been holding. Matteo’s black lips were getting closer and closer to Song Yeongin. With a dumbfounded and crestfallen face, Song Yeongin glared fiercely at the bastard.

“Kidnapping a person and bringing them here… what is the meaning of this?!”

“Just as I thought. My eye for things is never wrong, you know? Dressed like that, fuck… aren’t you a walking luxury item?”

“…….”

“This feels like a complete windfall?! It’s not easy to look like that even if you slather yourself in money….”

Matteo was drooling, staring at the long, elegant neckline, like that of a deer.

Song Yeongin shot back coldly in a tone of resignation.

“This is a crime.”

Matteo clutched his stomach and chuckled.

“Kekekeke…. No, why?! Isn’t it fun?”

Song Yeongin was at a loss for words.

‘Fun’? For the sake of paltry fun, he had kidnapped a person, used drugs, and put him in this place. He was no ordinary lunatic. To give shame for fun, to give insult… for the sake of becoming a plaything for a bastard like that, Song Yeongin had been decorated and dressed in these clothes and made to stand here.

“I simply invited you to my birthday party. Because you are my doll.”

“…….”

“Everyone gathered here must wonder who you are, and you must be beautiful enough for them to covet…. Today, whatever is mine must be the very best.”

Song Yeongin could not understand what the hell this crazy bastard was spouting.

“What exactly are you going to do with me?”

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you everything here.”

With unfocused, lecherous eyes, Matteo drooled and pushed his disgusting face towards Song Yeongin.

“Have you thought about it?”

“?”

“My offer of a legal sponsorship. In any case, whether you refuse or not, there’s only one choice. The best thing to do is to put on a brave face and pretend you can’t help but accept when I’m treating you well.”

The venomous snake eyes that came right up to his nose touched Song Yeongin’s flowing shirt.

“You’re just a helpless doll like this….”

He swatted away the bastard’s hand that was roaming over his collarbone as if it were a filthy bug. Matteo flared up at the action of brushing away his hand with a disgusted expression.

The bastard roughly raised a brutish hand. However, Song Yeongin did not even blink, his face detached in the face of Matteo’s violence. Matteo suppressed his raised hand, clenching it, and lowered it.

“Fuck…, look at him, he’s not even scared anymore?!”

Matteo clicked his tongue as he looked at Song Yeongin, whose face was detached and without a shred of fear.

“Right, today is for showing you off to people, so I shouldn’t leave any marks…. The party will start soon, so get ready. For my birthday this year, I think I’ll have to receive a very fun toy as a gift.”

“It will never… go your way.”

Song Yeongin snapped at Matteo in a calm voice. Matteo cackled as if it were ridiculous.

“Motherfucker, god damn…! Where the hell did this thing eat something wrong?!”

“…….”

“Listen carefully. You look best when you’re trembling in fear, then spreading your legs and crying.”

Song Yeongin scoffed. His upright and neat face poured cold contempt towards Matteo.

“All you have to do is go out, be docile as you’re told, and just roll your body around as they tell you to roll it. What could be easier than that? Fuck…!”

He would look for a chance to escape as he went out. He had to get out somehow and ask for help. If not that, then he would ruin this party. He would never, ever let Matteo have his way.

He had to call Cha Woojin. Song Yeongin was reciting Cha Woojin’s contact number, which he had memorized, in his head.

“That will… never happen.”

Matteo slowly scanned Song Yeongin’s neat face up close. This little thing, how old was he that his skin still had pretty, soft fuzz on it?

Matteo lecherously tapped Song Yeongin’s soft, white cheek. And, he whispered sweetly in his ear.

“You’d better behave and not cause a commotion.”

“…….”

“So that your tiny little baby doesn’t get hurt.”

He forgot to even breathe.

Without even being able to slap away Matteo’s hand that was disgustingly caressing his cheek, Song Yeongin stood frozen on the spot, his face horrified and aghast.

As if satisfied with that reaction, Matteo showed a sly, snake-like smile. As if to say, at last, I have found your fatal weakness, with a vile and cunning face….

🌫️

Song Yeongin stood blankly with a dazed and vacant expression. The cunning threat Matteo had left behind had completely consumed his mind.

‘So that your tiny little baby doesn’t get hurt.’

Matteo knows about Song Yoon’s existence. When he thought about it, it was no surprise that a bastard who could find his crumbling house and carry out a kidnapping in broad daylight would not know about that.

To the point that the two burly men who followed him like shadows seemed pointless, after Matteo’s threat, Song Yeongin had completely lost the will to run away or to contact Cha Woojin somehow. The fact that his body was unusually limp, perhaps because of the drug that had been injected into his body once more a little while ago, was one of the reasons.

The strangers passing by glanced over the beauty standing vacantly with a forlorn expression. Every one of them glanced at Song Yeongin with interest. Greedy, probing gazes were subtly exchanged. Countless gazes asking about his identity all stuck to this neat and noble beauty.

Everything he was dressed and adorned in shone under the sparkling lights of the banquet hall. From head to toe, Song Yeongin exuded a pure and languid sexiness amidst a graceful and captivating dignity.

The glamorous people gathered at the party hesitated, wanting to ask Song Yeongin his identity. People’s attention was quickly focused on this unidentified new face. There was a familiar face there, too. There was no way Song Yeongin would not know them. Most were faces he had encountered at Jimil.

Without missing the moment, the star of this party, Matteo, made a dramatic entrance. The bastard suddenly approached and snatched Song Yeongin by the waist. Song Yeongin’s waist, which had flinched, trembled.

“Who is that friend?”

Matteo, the star of tonight’s banquet, answered with a smug and proud face, hugging Song Yeongin in his arms.

“My new toy.”

For a moment, a strange silence fell among those surrounding Matteo. Woo Taegyeong, who had been scanning Song Yeongin up and down, burst out laughing with a vile glint in his eyes.

“Wow, you’ve got skills, huh? I didn’t think this kid would actually end up in your hands….”

Matteo swaggered and kneaded the elegant shoulders of Song Yeongin, whom he was holding. Song Yeongin’s flinching face turned deathly pale.

“In the end, I won the bet. Now, get ready to pay up the reward.”

From Matteo’s words, Song Yeongin could guess that this was a game and that he was the offering on the game board. The debauched members of Jimil surrounding Matteo were drooling with lewd and cunning eyes as they looked at Song Yeongin.

“He’s a completely different type from your vulgar mistresses, isn’t he? He looks so clean and innocent… your taste has become quite refined.”

“But you do not know that Matteo, unlike his usual self, only ever kept the cream of the crop with him? He looks like that, but he is quite picky… his eye for things is no joke.”

Woo Taegyeong proposed to Matteo.

“If you let us enjoy him together, I am willing to pay an even bigger penalty…. I will give you three times more.”

“No, five times…!”

Another member jumped into the table, proposing a deal. They were all human beings who reeked of the same disgusting smell as Matteo. Cunning and crafty lips, spewing forth vile lust, showed Song Yeongin a hallucination of beasts. Their greedy faces were slick with glistening lechery and greasy sweat. He knew well that wicked lust flowing through their gleaming eyes. The only difference was that these men also possessed absolute power and authority. The greed of absolute rulers who knew no obstacles was a grotesque horror that surpassed mere vileness.

“How about it? Give us a taste at the party tonight.”

At the members’ begging, Matteo swaggered and acted puffed up. Song Yeongin, blinking his eyes slowly, stared blankly at the scene.

Matteo loves showing off and vanity. He enjoys inflicting shame and humiliation. That is his pleasure and his game. That is why he wanted to find a sacrifice like me.

“Kekeke…. Well, he’s a precious thing I haven’t even tasted yet. I’ll decide after seeing what you bastards do for me.”

At those words, which were painful to hear, Song Yeongin felt a surge of nausea, as if he would vomit right away.

Matteo was still stroking down his back and waist with a hair-raising touch. It was when Matteo’s lecherous hand abruptly descended, groping Song Yeongin’s buttock. Song Yeongin thrashed violently as if having a seizure to avoid that vulgar touch. Matteo hastily snatched Song Yeongin’s waist and spat out a string of curses.

“This… son of a, fucking bitch…! How dare you!”

Song Yeongin pushed Matteo away with all his might and glared at him coldly.

“Let… go…!”

Matteo, who was debaucherously hugging Song Yeongin with brutish strength, nibbled on his earlobe from behind his ear and whispered.

“Fuck…! Was my threat too polite? …If you embarrass me in this place, do you know what crazy things I might do…!”

“…….”

“You, you bitch…! You’ve really got some nerve…? Do you know what I might do to that little baby, yet you give me this public humiliation?!”

Matteo had seen through Song Yeongin. Every time he brought up the story of that tiny baby, Matteo saw Song Yeongin’s fatal weakness in the terrified face that flinched and turned pale, a weakness that would make him fall into being a perfect sacrifice before him.

That lofty child, who could not be bought with money, made a frightened face as if he would burst into tears and tremble whenever the baby was mentioned.

The sight of him, beautifully terrified and trembling, was like the face of someone just before being violated. Seeing the life-or-death fear on that arousing face, Matteo felt the blood rush sharply to his groin.

“I’ll pay you a price that won’t be disappointing, okay…? Hooo, yes… good boy.”

The trembling Song Yeongin, in Matteo’s arms, wore a look of weary resignation.

At Matteo’s gesture, a banquet hall server approached and offered a plate of wine glasses. In front of the members, Matteo picked up a glass of the strongest liquor.

“The night is long, you think you can endure it sober?”

Matteo offered the glass to Song Yeongin. Song Yeongin’s face, deathly pale and ashen, had an expression of resignation mixed with a pitifully forlorn beauty, creating a bizarrely precarious atmosphere.

The thought that that bastard might really do something to Yoonie made Song Yeongin’s hands tremble. Any further rational judgment was impossible. This was not a simple threat. He could tell just by how he had been forcibly kidnapped. This dirty, vulgar bastard was trash who would do even worse things.

If he could not endure it sober, he had to somehow not be sober. With a trembling hand, Song Yeongin accepted the strong liquor Matteo offered. Song Yeongin squeezed his unfocused eyes shut and downed it in one go. He felt a burning sensation in his throat, as if a fire was igniting. Matteo, next to Song Yeongin, showed a bland smile.

“Gulp, gulp. You sure drink prettily.”

Matteo touched Song Yeongin’s red, plump lips, which were wet and glistening with alcohol, as if toying with them. The figures gathered around Matteo whistled. He barely managed to swallow down the rising nausea.

Having downed the strong liquor in one gulp, Song Yeongin was recalling Cha Woojin’s number that he had memorized.

If he could get out through the pool party area connected to the banquet hall, he might be able to borrow a phone or a cell phone from a hotel employee. No, he would just catch a taxi and run.

He had to contact Cha Woojin somehow.

Right now, there was only one person Song Yeongin could ask for help. He had to beg him to save the child. He would have to grab onto Cha Woojin’s pant legs and beg and plead if he had to.

Even though Matteo did not offer any more, Song Yeongin intentionally received strong liquor from a server and poured it into his mouth several times.

If he pretended to be resigned and drunk, they would let their guard down and be at ease. Using that opening, couldn’t he slip out on the pretext of going to the bathroom? If he could get to the lobby without being caught, he might be able to contact Cha Woojin.

“Hey, drink slowly.”

Matteo blocked Song Yeongin’s hand as he drank without restraint. Perhaps because of the drug that the bastard’s subordinate had injected earlier, Song Yeongin’s body started to relax uncontrollably, going limp. He felt himself being consumed by the alcohol faster than he had thought. He knew it well. It only takes an instant for the alcohol demon to devour a person.

“It’ll be a problem if you pass out before the night even comes. I’d rather give you an aphrodisiac, so get high on that…. It’s no fun if you get drunk on alcohol and just pass out and sleep.”

Woo Taegyeong, not missing this, said slyly.

“How about sending him up first? To the hotel penthouse….”

“Kekeke, good. Let’s have a proper orgy tonight.”

He was looking for a chance, so as not to be reduced to their sacrifice.

‘This is not my fault.’

Song Yeongin was barely reciting the spell that man had taught him.

It was when Song Yeongin raised his fifth glass.

Matteo’s hand, which had been lewdly fiddling with Song Yeongin’s body and clutching his waist, froze in an instant.

The gazes of the people gathered in the banquet hall all turned at once towards the end of the hall. Song Yeongin’s esophagus burned with a scorching sensation, as if it had been scalded by the strong liquor.

The man who was receiving everyone’s attention was walking this way.

Matteo blatantly held onto Song Yeongin’s waist even tighter. As if to show off the beautiful spoils he had plundered to the king before him.

Even from a distance, it was the silhouette of a perfect and overwhelming man. Everyone was simultaneously making way for this awe-inspiring male who walked in with leisurely steps as if gliding, as if the main character had appeared.

It was when Cha Woojin reached Matteo, cutting through the countless gazes filled with admiration or jealousy directed at him.

Song Yeongin’s body was frozen like a statue. Because of his fading consciousness, he did not even think to brush away Matteo’s hand that was blatantly wrapped around his waist. His body, possessed by the unknown drug they had injected and the effects of the alcohol, was steadily going limp.

The banquet hall was filled with orderly whispers and, conversely, a strange silence. It was like the eve of battle, just before an explosion.

Everyone was watching Cha Woojin, who stood tall in front of Matteo. A powerful majesty flowed from the tall man. He was like a sharp, famed sword. It was an aristocratic grace that contrasted with the crudeness of Matteo standing opposite him.

Breaking the oppressive silence that was like the eve of battle, the one who opened his mouth was Matteo.

“My, my…. The noble Director Cha Woojin, what brings you all the way here?”

Matteo, with a boorish voice, offered an unpleasant greeting to the uninvited guest, as if to shoo him away.

“Director Cha, as far as I know, you’ve never once shown your face at my party… what’s this all about now?”

Cha Woojin briefly stared at the delicate face losing focus in Matteo’s arms. Soon, that blade-like, cold gaze landed on Matteo’s lewd hand, which was obscenely clutching Song Yeongin’s waist.

Frowning with a cold-blooded face, Cha Woojin took out the invitation from between the lapels of his suit.

“You’re quite inhospitable to an invited guest.”

“Director Cha, welcome.”

The members of Jimil surrounding them tried to curry favor with Cha Woojin, asking for a handshake, but Cha Woojin coldly ignored their outstretched hands and did not even spare them a glance.

When Song Yeongin stirred, trying to escape Matteo’s arms with all his remaining strength, Matteo pulled Song Yeongin back into his embrace with force. Matteo showed Cha Woojin a cunning and vile smile.

“What’s your business? You didn’t come to ruin my place like last time, did you? I’m the star today. I’d rather not have the spotlight stolen by you on my birthday….”

A dizzyingly murderous sneer flashed across the sturdy and perfectly symmetrical, handsome man’s face. Cha Woojin’s nonchalant gaze unabashedly swept over Song Yeongin, who had been adorned by Matteo from head to toe.

A languid sexiness seeped from the flushed, delicate face and the deeply cut collar of his clothes. Even the desperate struggle to get away while being touched by Matteo, who was clutching his waist. Song Yeongin’s movements were being read plainly by Cha Woojin’s eyes.

Finally, Cha Woojin’s cool gaze turned to the glass of strong liquor in Song Yeongin’s hand.

“You seem to be… overdoing it quite a bit.”

A low voice that reigned over others flowed from the man’s lips. His gaze was fixed on Song Yeongin, as if to pierce through him.

The gazes of the banquet hall onlookers who were watching the situation poured onto Song Yeongin all at once. People quickly began to murmur.

Matteo grabbed Song Yeongin’s shoulder as if to show off. Song Yeongin struggled. Matteo, his snake-like sanpaku eyes glinting, pointed at Song Yeongin and said to Cha Woojin.

“Say hello, this is my new….”

Cha Woojin cut Matteo’s words off sharply.

“I’m sorry, but my business today is not with Matteo, but with this person here.”

With a firm voice, Cha Woojin strode forward. He extended his hand to Song Yeongin, who was languidly drenched in the heat of alcohol and drugs.

The long, elegant neckline like a deer’s… the clothing revealing the white, smooth area of his chest and his uninhibited movements exuded an uncontrollably strange sensuality. If he were in his right mind, that neat person would never be in such a disheveled state.

The commanding man’s voice called Song Yeongin’s name as if waking a fuse.

“Song Yeongin.”

“…….”

“I definitely warned you.”

When his three-syllable name was called like a spell breaking a curse, only then did Song Yeongin, who had been dropping his head with unfocused eyes, snap to attention.

“I knew you had a knack for giving people a hard time, but I didn’t know you were this fearless….”

The man narrowed the corners of his eyes, which were long like a sword, and uttered in a low voice.

“Do you know what I had to do to find Mr. Song Yeongin?”

It was the ferocity of a beast that would tear apart anything that blocked its path. The hall held its breath at the hostile man’s gaze that crushed its opponent. The surrounding people, who had been silent, looked back and forth between Song Yeongin and Cha Woojin with surprised expressions.

His neat, transparent eyes were shaking endlessly. Song Yeongin, who had been hesitating, grabbed Cha Woojin’s large, outstretched hand. Then, at that moment, Matteo roughly pulled Song Yeongin’s other arm, who was about to stand up, and forced him back into his seat.

“Cha Woojin…! You bastard, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Cha Woojin strode towards Matteo’s side. The sound of sharp dress shoes echoed in the quiet hall. Cha Woojin, who approached with the intent to kill, spat out in a growl on the verge of exploding.

“Take that hand off.”

Matteo’s eyes widened. Cha Woojin, clenching down on his anger, added in a cold voice.

“If you don’t want to be utterly humiliated in a nice place like this.”

Matteo crumpled his characteristically greasy face as much as he could.

“Fuck, go to hell! This child is my toy that I brought here….”

The ruthless gaze, fiercely harboring killing intent, asked Matteo back in a low and imposing voice.

“How… it seems you kidnapped him?”

“…….”

“Tell me. Is he standing in this place of his own free will.”

At Cha Woojin’s question, Song Yeongin shook his head. His body, which was growing limp, let out a trembling, beautiful voice.

“I was forcibly kidnapped and dragged here.”

At Song Yeongin’s statement, the hall that had been filling the surroundings began to stir.

“Matteo, this is a crime. I’m curious if your father, a former prosecutor general, also knows about this atrocity?”

The small-pupiled sanpaku eyes shot up fiercely. Matteo was trembling all over with anger.

“Cha Woojin, why the hell are you!!!”

Cha Woojin, who did not even blink at the heinous shouting, looked down arrogantly with a nonchalant face. He spat out towards Matteo in a cold voice.

“Yes…, fine. How should I make you pay the price for coveting what is mine.”

“What?! What is yours?!”

When Matteo asked back with a voice that seemed about to burst, people started to murmur. Matteo, who had opened his eyes narrowly and was racking his brain, after much thought, began to laugh boorishly as if he had lost his mind.

“Kekeke, ah…! Oh-ho, right, so that’s what it was.”

At Matteo’s action of clutching his stomach and laughing like a man possessed, the members surrounding him began to whisper as if they had seen something they should not have. Their expressions were as if asking if he had gone mad.

Matteo, with a face that said he finally understood, spoke mockingly.

“Ah, no wonder… fuck, now I get it. I was wondering if someone was behind him. I wondered who was blocking my background check on him as if they were hiding him. Digging into the background of a poor bastard like that… what was so special about it that it was so fucking hard….”

“…….”

“So, I wondered who the hell it was…. I was sure someone was backing him. But, that was Cha Woojin… it was you, wasn’t it?!”

However, the cold-blooded face that looked like it would not bleed a single drop even if stabbed did not even blink at Matteo’s words.

The brutally, flawlessly perfect face approached Matteo’s unsightly nose. It was a threatening gesture, growling as if it would strike a vital point at any moment.

“I have no intention of playing word games with a bastard like you, so shut your trap and answer my questions first!”

A cold madness flashed across the neat, dark face.

“Do you want to come to your senses only after your father, your only pride, is disgraced in front of these people gathered to congratulate you, and your shameful secrets are revealed for all to see….”

“…….”

“You will have to pay a steep price for coveting what is mine. If you really want, I will show you right here. Whose hand holds your leash.”

The madness and killing intent contained in the jet-black eyes were so murderous and powerful that they were enough to shut Matteo’s childish and boorish mouth.

Matteo, who had been heavily silent under Cha Woojin’s furious gaze, finally raised both hands in a flash. And then, out of nowhere, he wiped his face clean and smiled slyly.

“Director Cha…. I really didn’t know. If you had told me sooner, there wouldn’t have been this trouble.”

“…….”

“You don’t think I would have tried to steal what was yours, do you?! This is the first time I’ve learned that you have a hobby of holding men. I never dreamed you enjoyed men’s company…. I thought you were just making this woman and that woman cry. Who would have known that the great Cha Woojin was hiding away a male concubine who gives his ass?!”

Matteo shouted loudly as if he had found a good pretext, and Cha Woojin responded with a blank, bored expression.

“Hey, everyone, speak up. Anyone here who knew that Cha Woojin was deeply into the taste of a man’s asshole?! …See! There’s no one.”

Matteo was jeering with a loud voice as if to make the whole banquet hall hear, in order to humiliate Cha Woojin. However, despite the crowd’s murmuring, Cha Woojin smiled steadfastly and calmly muttered.

“Because I don’t have the talent to go around blabbering like a certain bastard.”

Cha Woojin’s eyes, who responded steadfastly in a low voice, flashed with a ghastly killing intent. When Cha Woojin glared at him with sharp eyes that seemed to stab, Matteo got scared and stepped back.

“Fine, fine. I’ll back off…! If Director Cha Woojin is behind this child, then I will not touch him anymore.”

Matteo’s attitude changed abruptly. His vile face raised his hands in the air as if declaring surrender.

Cha Woojin let out a cold, derisive laugh. He violently grabbed Matteo by the collar as if to rip it off.

“Matteo…. you’re lucky every time.”

“…What…?!”

“Consider it a godsend that you didn’t see blood because there were so many eyes watching.”

“…….”

“Do you understand? This whole place is full of cameras, I can’t exactly trample and beat you to a pulp here.”

His sharp and solid muscular upper arms bulged over his suit. The roaring growl had the light of slaughter, as if it would tear him to pieces.

Matteo, afraid he would be hit like last time, was grabbed by the collar and trembled pathetically, flinching. Cha Woojin growled low in Matteo’s ear.

“Don’t be relieved. I’ll have to think about how I should make you pay for the sins you’ve committed.”

Cha Woojin, having received Matteo’s declaration of surrender, nonchalantly grabbed Song Yeongin’s wrist and led him away.

Like the parting of the Red Sea, the crowd in the banquet hall split with Cha Woojin as the center. Countless eyes watching the two people were sparkling brightly with curiosity from all sides.

Song Yeongin, tipsy from the strong liquor and drugs, lost his balance and staggered as he was led by Cha Woojin’s strength. Cha Woojin stopped in his tracks and quietly observed Song Yeongin. Song Yeongin’s pupils scattered easily like a wilting flower.

Cha Woojin wrapped his arm around Song Yeongin’s limp shoulders. The two people were leisurely leaving the banquet hall, matching Song Yeongin’s unsteady steps.

The gazes of the breathless crowd poured down. All at once, people began to whisper. The countless eyes gathered at this party, having forgotten the star of tonight’s party, would be talking about Cha Woojin and his male lover.

Matteo, watching the two people’s backs as they grew distant, was filled with anger and threw an empty whiskey glass to the floor with a trembling hand. The sharp shattering sound of glass echoed noisily in the hall.

However, the crowd, rather than the actual star of the place, Matteo, could not take their eyes off the dense image of the back of the universally envied Cha Woojin and the beautiful male lover he was embracing.

🌫️

Until the elevator opened, Cha Woojin was holding onto the trembling, straight shoulders. Song Yeongin felt the illusion that his shoulder, held by the man, was burning up like a ball of fire.

In his blurry and distant vision, a sharp nose bridge and a resolute jawline came into view. Cha Woojin looked down as if admiring the small face, which was precariously disheveled and wet with intoxication. An ominous sexiness was darkly coloring the clear and neat face.

Song Yeongin did not avoid that unrestrained and bold gaze. His red face, flushed from the alcohol, silently received Cha Woojin’s dangerous gaze with languid eyes.

He thought that it was too difficult to hold onto his consciousness. The enclosed elevator was filled only with the sound of their two breaths, to the point his head felt dizzy. He was so short of breath he felt he would suffocate in that strange atmosphere.

It was not just because of the strong liquor. He was just about to say that they had injected a drug into his vein earlier.

“Haah….”

He let out a deep sigh. The characteristic low resonance filled the small elevator.

Only then did Cha Woojin slowly scan the atrocities Matteo had committed on Song Yeongin. The silhouette of his smooth body was revealed in its entirety. The deeply cut silk innerwear inside the flowing jacket was transparent against his skin and clung to him flutteringly. The shirt, which his skin showed through, fluttered as if early spring had arrived. The neckline, cut deep to his chest, obscenely revealed his particularly smooth and beautiful neck and chest.

The man had those bad eyes again. Eyes that trampled on normalcy, annihilated peace, and forced unfair power.

“Looks like you were obediently playing the part of that bastard’s doll.”

Even though he clearly knew he had been kidnapped.

Song Yeongin was resentful. This man clearly wanted to hurt him with harsh words.

“Wearing what Matteo dressed you in, drinking the alcohol he gave you… and, what else did you do?”