Desires Chapter 4.2 - III. A Gesture to Become Something

Song Yeongin swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His ears were flushed as if painted red. Whether due to the wine or not, his eyes were hazy and intoxicated as he responded.

“From the first time I saw you…”

“…….”

“I just wanted to draw you.”

Why? He didn’t know. For Song Yeongin, drawing wasn’t about “why” or “how.” It was an instinctual act, as natural as breathing or falling asleep. If he didn’t do it, he felt he would die.

From the moment I first saw you, I wanted to draw you so badly… If I didn’t, I felt like I would die. That’s why I drew you.

Cha Woojin, caught off guard by the unexpectedly honest and straightforward answer, gave a defenseless smile.

“Why did you sneak a look at someone else’s things?”

“I meant to glance and put it away, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it.”

“…….”

“You, and your drawings… maybe you’re born to captivate people’s attention.”

Under Cha Woojin’s piercing, unfiltered gaze, Song Yeongin turned his flushed face away.

“So I started looking through them, one by one. Even though they were just unfinished, uncolored sketches, they gripped my attention so fiercely they wouldn’t let go…”

Song Yeongin let out a low, uneasy sigh.

“Please… I’d rather you not talk about this.”

“…….”

“I’m not going to draw anymore, and talking about painting makes me uncomfortable.”

For Song Yeongin, who was always silent, to speak so openly about his preferences was a rare occurrence. Cha Woojin narrowed his eyes sharply and countered.

“Why?”

“…….”

“Why did you make that decision?”

Song Yeongin fell into a quiet pause, then finally offered an answer he had pieced together.

“I don’t have the talent, and I don’t have the time.”

Drawing makes me unhappy.

He almost said it but stopped. Did drawing make him unhappy, or did he draw because he was unhappy? Song Yeongin didn’t know. But at some point, the two had become one and the same.

If he kept drawing, he would have drowned in it and been unable to live a normal life or support himself. There were people relying on him, and he no longer wanted to indulge in such useless pursuits. Just making a living was already exhausting.

“I thought you’d come up with a better excuse…”

Cha Woojin’s eyes narrowed at the candid, unpretentious response.

“Should I say you’re good at knowing your place, or that you give up quickly?”

“I just accepted my reality…”

“So that’s why you’re going on about payment?”

Song Yeongin’s prim face paled.

“Is that what you think your situation is now—selling your body to me like a prostitute?”

“There’s no difference.”

Song Yeongin responded with a detached, brazen answer. Cha Woojin gave a hollow, cold laugh. This boy had a peculiar talent for provoking people.

Rising from the couch, Cha Woojin approached Song Yeongin with commanding presence. His refined, delicate face was flushed, perhaps from the wine, and glowed vividly. Seeing him silently meet his gaze without flinching, he might already be quite drunk.

Pathetically. From just three glasses.

“Payment, huh…”

“…….”

“It’s good to know your place, but don’t cross the line.”

“…….”

Cha Woojin touched Song Yeongin’s flushed cheek.

His hand felt so cold against the heated cheek that Song Yeongin shivered.

Silently staring at Song Yeongin, Cha Woojin stretched his stiff, muscular body lightly, as if relieving tension. The brief, disciplined, and refined movement was striking.

“Want to swim?”

Cha Woojin pointed to the long pool stretching to the end of the greenhouse. Without waiting for an answer, he abruptly stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside.

His perfectly sculpted, regal physique was revealed—broad shoulders and a toned, bare torso. The loosely hanging black water pants sat precariously low, embarrassingly provocative, accentuating his sharply defined pelvic muscles.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cha Woojin strode out of the cabana and dove into the pool.

Splash—!

Water sprayed in all directions with the dive. His tall, lean body began to swim skillfully. It felt like a scene from a painting. Song Yeongin’s wide eyes slowly took in Cha Woojin.

Under the setting sun, the man brushing back his wet hair was dazzling. His raw masculinity and radiant vitality sent shivers through Song Yeongin’s chest. Too bright, like staring directly at the scorching sun, his eyes shied away, unable to fully take him in.

Everything about him was innately bold and confident. Unknowingly, Song Yeongin found himself revering Cha Woojin’s dazzling, regal aura in a daze. If there was a past life, he must have been a king there too.

“Come in.”

Cha Woojin’s long eyes curved boyishly with a clear, bright expression. He beckoned with a cheerful glance. Song Yeongin shook his head quietly. His hesitant, refined voice trembled faintly.

“I don’t…”

“If you can’t, I’ll teach you. Just come in.”

Cha Woojin was reminding him anew that he lacked the courage to strip so confidently in front of others and dive into the water without hesitation.

The drenched man emerged from the pool, water dripping from him. His imposing body approached Song Yeongin. Cha Woojin grabbed his hand and pulled.

“Come here.”

Led by his hand, Song Yeongin approached the pool. The water brushing his toes was pleasantly warm. Before he knew it, the swift and agile man had pulled Song Yeongin into the water, enveloping him in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, his entire body was submerged in lukewarm water. He was soaked from head to toe. Song Yeongin’s T-shirt absorbed the water, stretching down to his shoulders, revealing his pale, elegant collarbone.

“Ah…!”

The pool seemed tailored to Cha Woojin’s height, quite deep. When Song Yeongin stepped in, the water reached his shoulders. He brushed back his soaked hair in the pool, wiping his wet eyelids with the back of his hand like a child. Watching the drenched Song Yeongin, Cha Woojin couldn’t take his eyes off him and said,

“You look even better all wet…”

The wet hair swept back revealed a seductive, clear forehead and finely textured eyebrows. Following the gentle curve of Song Yeongin’s neat eyebrows, Cha Woojin softly traced them with his thumb.

“There’s not a single part of you that isn’t beautiful…”

Song Yeongin’s face flushed bright red instantly. He couldn’t believe such embarrassing words could be said to his face.

Maybe it was because he was drunk. Though Cha Woojin hadn’t said anything sad, Song Yeongin’s heart crumbled as if pierced. The overwhelming emotion surged uncontrollably.

Everything that couldn’t last forever was there. Everything imperfect was there.

The realization that this moment would vanish like a lie struck him deeply. It felt like folding a precious page to keep deep within a drawer.

🌫️

The water-soaked T-shirt kept stretching, revealing his sleek, bony shoulders. Cha Woojin’s gaze lingered on Song Yeongin’s deer-like, pale neck and straight shoulders.

The man’s long, sharp eyes narrowed. Unable to withstand the relentless gaze, Song Yeongin’s flushed face turned away.

“Take it off. How long are you going to keep wearing that?”

When Song Yeongin didn’t move, he asked again.

“What, do I have to take it off for you?”

His sharp physique drew closer. The man with broad, muscular shoulders and long arms peeled off Song Yeongin’s wet T-shirt.

“You’re not a child. Do I have to do everything for you?”

Grumbling awkwardly, he gently removed Song Yeongin’s T-shirt. Both now bare, they faced each other in the water.

Cha Woojin hoisted the hesitant Song Yeongin onto his broad, drenched shoulders without restraint. Song Yeongin flailed briefly before giving up and letting him do as he pleased.

Cha Woojin began swimming with Song Yeongin on his back. The sharp, tightly packed muscles and the healthy man’s skin exuded a raw, primal scent, mixed with a faint cologne. The man walked steadily through the water, carrying Song Yeongin.

Leaning against his sturdy, broad back, which seemed unbreakable even in the harshest storms, Song Yeongin relied on Cha Woojin. Hiding behind him like this, it felt like nothing could scare him.

“How is it?”

He asked. Soaked in lukewarm water, the intoxication surged sharply. Song Yeongin felt dizzy. But being carried on his back, peacefully gliding through the water, felt warm and pleasant, like walking on water, tickling his stomach delightfully.

Closing his eyes, Song Yeongin pressed his face against Cha Woojin’s bare skin. Breathing drunkenly against the back of his neck, he murmured,

“…It’s nice…”

That single word stirred him intensely. As if excited by the small act of Song Yeongin rubbing his cheek against his bare skin, Cha Woojin turned him around, unable to restrain himself, and fiercely sucked on his lips. The man’s unrestrained breath brushed against Song Yeongin’s cheek.

It wasn’t meant in that way, but Song Yeongin couldn’t fathom what he was thinking. Devouring his full lips, then kissing his nose, cheeks, eyebrows, and forehead… Cha Woojin passionately kissed his entire face.

The man’s threateningly erect member pressed against Song Yeongin’s lower body in the water. The large hand gripping his waist slid down to his hips, kneading them casually.

“No holding back like last time.”

Laughing boldly, he kissed Song Yeongin’s long, pale neck.

“For the past few weeks, you have no idea what I’ve imagined, wanting to be inside you.”

“…….”

“Abstaining the entire time I was on that business trip…”

“…….”

“I saw you in my dreams. Do you think wet dreams make sense at my age?”

His fingers boldly slipped into Song Yeongin’s wet pants, kneading his hips and probing the thin folds around his entrance.

“Hnngh… ugh…!”

It was hot down there. The tightly closed folds parted eagerly at his touch. As a thick finger entered the crevice, the entrance pulsed in the water.

Song Yeongin, ashamed of his body eagerly accepting the finger, reflexively pushed back. The eerie sensation, coupled with his own simultaneous erection, made him shudder in denial.

Cha Woojin lifted Song Yeongin with a single, powerful motion and sat him on the pool’s edge. He swiftly climbed out, his sensual body moving nimbly. His massive, aggressively erect member protruded heavily, forming a menacing outline through his water pants.

“Suck it… with that pretty mouth of yours.”

Cha Woojin pushed Song Yeongin into the cabana. The spacious cushioned cabana was perfect for such acts, like a bed. Song Yeongin couldn’t believe Cha Woojin’s claim that he’d never brought anyone here.

This was the ideal place for such audacious acts. It felt like a bedroom designed for this, romantically cozy. Against the backdrop of an exotic paradise, it was dreamily surreal, as if meant for secret trysts.

There was no way he was the first.

Both completely bare, Song Yeongin, dazed with intoxication from the lukewarm water, didn’t resist Cha Woojin’s touch. He looked up into those dark, relentless eyes. Kneeling obediently as Cha Woojin commanded, he held the man’s hard, menacing member in his hand. His full, red lips gently bit it, as if testing. When his pretty lips took in the overwhelming size, Cha Woojin let out a low breath, unable to hide his surging desire.

“…Haa…”

Struggling with the size, Song Yeongin took only the thick tip into his mouth, but the eroticism and sadism of that small face overwhelmed Cha Woojin. His member throbbed, leaking slick fluid.

Cha Woojin placed a large hand on the back of Song Yeongin’s head, stroking his wet, thin hair. When Song Yeongin kept lowering his head, he pulled it back up.

“Lift your head and show me that pretty face.”

His pale skin flushed red. His eyes, full lips, and flickering red tongue were all tinged with crimson. Even a slight thrust from Cha Woojin brought delicate tears to his red-rimmed eyes.

Cha Woojin gazed at Song Yeongin sucking him as if admiring a grand spectacle. The boy kneeling beneath him was so provocative, it could drive a man to obsession, chaining him with desire.

Just having that face, those soft, full lips wrapped around his grotesquely erect member was enough. How could it evoke such lascivious, intense urges?

He wanted to ravage him. The desire to crush and violate that small face, gazing up seductively, pierced his spine with electric intensity.

The thought of Song Yeongin under another man, making that face, accepting another, filled Cha Woojin with a violent, sinister urge to tear them apart.

Now he understood why others went mad, desperate to have this boy beneath them. Song Yeongin, kneeling and sucking him, was proof of that.

Unable to contain his excitement, Cha Woojin began thrusting his thick member forcefully into that pretty mouth. At first, Song Yeongin gagged on the size, but gradually his throat stretched, admirably taking in Cha Woojin’s massive length. As he pushed to the root, Song Yeongin’s mouth widened, accepting it even as it reached his throat.

Tears streamed pitifully from his lustful, red-rimmed eyes. Overcome with sadistic pleasure, Cha Woojin violently thrust his heavy, bursting member into Song Yeongin’s throat.

His member twitched, eager to release, but compared to their clumsy touches and kisses that night, Cha Woojin found it strange that Song Yeongin could handle deep-throating so skillfully.

“Haa, fuck… this is pissing me off.”

Cha Woojin, trembling in Song Yeongin’s mouth, deliberately released early in a surge of anger. Even as he shuddered through his climax, he kept his still-heavy member in that seductive, pretty mouth.

Song Yeongin slapped Cha Woojin’s thighs—thwack! thwack!—crying as he swallowed the semen, unable to pull away.

When the climax fully subsided, Cha Woojin withdrew his thick member. Song Yeongin gasped, choking back the urge to gag.

“Hngh… ugh…! Haaagh…!”

Holding Song Yeongin’s flushed face, Cha Woojin devoured his semen-coated lips again. The taste was bitter.

Those refined, chaste eyes, now red and bewitching, transformed into something seductive.

Cha Woojin had no intention of stopping here. He traced the provocative curve of Song Yeongin’s waist and plump hips, sliding a thick hand between them to probe the pink, wrinkled entrance. It pulsed lewdly, as if tamed by him, craving more.

He thought Song Yeongin was exhausted from sucking him, but his red, erect member stood upright.

Noticing this, Cha Woojin felt blood rush to his own member again. The earlier release, driven by anger, was incomplete, making his arousal surge back quickly.

“Getting hard while lewdly sucking me off.”

Cha Woojin gripped Song Yeongin’s slender chin, forcing him to look up. Then, grabbing his wet hair, he yanked it roughly. His cold, cruel eyes curved harshly.

“You’re worth the payment… your skill at sucking is impressive.”

Song Yeongin, his mouth violated, trembled and shed tears. His silent, full lips and swollen, red eyes were a mess of raw desire. Facing that sensual face, Cha Woojin’s member hardened again.

From then on, Cha Woojin was like a runaway locomotive.

He flipped Song Yeongin over, raising his hips. The sleek waist and tantalizing hips, with their dreamily sensual lines, made his heavy member throb painfully.

He inserted a finger into the pulsing, eager entrance, loosening it. Cha Woojin felt something dormant deep within him awaken and explode violently. His probing grew faster.

“So easy…”

A body that opened so readily. It would probably get wet for anyone who touched it.

As his thick, long finger entered the tight entrance, the red membrane clung slickly. Song Yeongin’s body trembled in pain.

“Hah, it hurts…! Ugh, it hurts…”

Without cleaning up after the earlier release, Cha Woojin thrust his still-slick member into the impossibly tight entrance in one go.

Knowing Song Yeongin’s entrance was narrower than most and that forcing his massive member in fully might draw blood, Cha Woojin couldn’t restrain his boiling anger.

“Ahh, ugh…! Hnngh… it hurts. Stop!”

Gripping Song Yeongin’s hips, Cha Woojin thrust mercilessly—thud! thud! thud!—with rhythmic force, indulging in reckless abandon. The tight entrance opened and closed frantically, trying to cope with the heavy intrusion.

“Thrusting into your mouth drove me insane…”

“Hngh, ugh…! It’s tearing…!”

“Haa, fuck… how can you be so skilled at taking a man’s cock and making him come with your mouth?”

As the tight entrance clenched his fiery member, Cha Woojin barely managed to pull out. With immense strength, he turned the limp, trembling body to face him.

The small, tear-streaked face looked at Cha Woojin, tears falling endlessly.

“Haa… tell me. Who trained you to take it so deep, skillfully stretching your throat to swallow me?!”

Cha Woojin was cautious about taking others’ bodies and obsessively particular, almost pathologically so. He had no interest in touching a used body. The idea of taking something others had tamed was unimaginable.

The wet hair, wet eyes, wet body—all trembling pitifully, flushed red. Those clear, pure eyes drove Cha Woojin mad, knowing that throat was not so innocent.

“How recklessly have you played… acting all chaste in front of me, like you wouldn’t even touch yourself.”

Cha Woojin roughly spread Song Yeongin’s slender legs again. The sight of him splayed for a man was chillingly lascivious and obscene.

Cha Woojin thrust his menacingly erect member back in. Thud…! Thud…! Thud…! He pounded violently.

His cold, predatory eyes narrowed with a murderous glint. He traced Song Yeongin’s pale, delicate neck with long fingers.

“…Haa, tell me. How many have been in here, huh?!”

His cold, emotionless voice, low and flat, cut deeper into Song Yeongin’s heart.

In pain, Song Yeongin’s erection wilted, leaving him an empty shell. His flushed, detached face held no expression.

Song Yeongin endured Cha Woojin’s violent thrusts with resigned eyes. Even in this shameless moment, as the man relentlessly pounded into him, Song Yeongin spoke in a detached voice.

“Don’t you dislike it?”

The man, who had been thrusting mercilessly inside Song Yeongin, sneered coldly and asked.

“What?”

His tear-streaked face, swallowing pain, looked at Cha Woojin with transcendent eyes.

“You thought I was innocent, unaware of men, but now that you see I’m a filthy, worn-out rag, does it disgust you?”

“…….”

Cha Woojin stopped his ferocious movements as if Song Yeongin’s words were a lie. Pulling out his thick member, he felt his desire vanish instantly in front of that face casually spouting such things.

The body learns. For something that shouldn’t enter a throat to do so naturally, tightening and accepting it without resistance, was strange. Such behavior couldn’t be innate without being learned.

Song Yeongin, with tearful, red eyes, continued speaking calmly and detachedly.

“…There were always people…”

“…….”

“Not just at Jimil… not just Matteo, but always…”

“…….”

“People who made me, someone who knew nothing, do those things…”

His smooth brow furrowed harshly, and Cha Woojin sank into a deep silence.

“Boys my age… adults who were supposed to protect me… they told me to open my throat. To spread my legs… Or else, my sister would have to do it.”

“…….”

“They said I had to take the punishment instead of my mute sister.”

“…….”

“They said it was because of me… that it was all my fault…”

Because you’re too pretty, because you’re lascivious, because you have a tempting face, because you seduced me…

“…Hngh, ugh… how is it my fault…?”

Song Yeongin broke down, sobbing in front of Cha Woojin like someone who had lost their reason. His frail shoulders trembled like aspen leaves. Large tears rolled down his pitiful cheeks, dripping one by one. The lips, always tightly sealed, were now pouring out his story as if vomiting it.

Cha Woojin held the sobbing Song Yeongin in his broad arms, soothing him. It wasn’t a cathartic cry. It was a silent, pitiful whimper. This fragile boy didn’t even seem to know how to cry properly. His stifled, suppressed sobs were heartbreaking. The trembling shoulders in his embrace convulsed.

Despite the painful lump still lodged in his chest, Song Yeongin’s eyes, unlike his sobs, were resigned and detached. How harsh must his days have been to have such eyes? How could someone with such sacred, childlike purity in their eyes also bear the detached gaze of someone who had endured such cruel times? Cha Woojin had always wondered about this.

The man stood, retrieved a large towel from the cabana, and wrapped it around Song Yeongin’s entire body.

Cha Woojin gently rubbed his back. The boy felt so pitiful that Cha Woojin felt unfamiliar with himself. The trembling shoulders and small, wet face seemed like a child washed ashore, so fragile that Cha Woojin, overwhelmed by an indescribable helplessness and confusion he had never felt before, could only hold Song Yeongin’s frail body tightly.

“Shh… I’m not blaming you.”

Cha Woojin held Song Yeongin for a long time, soothing him. He pressed the boy’s soft, youthful cheek against his ear, gently patting his heaving back.

“It’s not your fault.”

Cha Woojin had to accept it. A sacred offering, this beautiful and frail sacrifice, could not have escaped the vile hands that coveted it. One didn’t need to look far—just at Jimil—to know how depraved and filthy scum had lusted after and dreamed of tormenting this boy.

Now, Cha Woojin stood as his shield, but back then, the young Song Yeongin had no one to rely on or protect him. Could a deaf mother or a drunken father have protected him? It was obvious without looking. They might have even driven him to the edge.

At Jimil, he became a target for powerful rogues. If not for Cha Woojin, Song Yeongin would have long been Matteo’s prey. If not Matteo, then Woo Taekyung’s, and if not him, then James Han’s, or someone else’s…

Cha Woojin held Song Yeongin’s small face. His resolute, dark, and cold eyes locked onto Song Yeongin’s. With a firm, unyielding voice, he spoke.

“Listen carefully… It wasn’t true back then, but you’re different now.”

Cha Woojin thought to himself. Just as exotic flowers and fruit trees that couldn’t grow in winter bloomed and bore fruit in this greenhouse, this boy needed his help.

“If you want, I can slaughter them, tear their limbs apart, and destroy them.”

“…….”

“If I feel like it, I can track down every single one of those who did this to you and crush them.”

“…….”

“So, use me.”

Song Yeongin, barely breathing, held the blazing man in his wet eyes.

“Don’t cry. Take revenge on those who made you like this. If you want, use me to protect yourself.”

“…….”

“I can make that happen.”

Tears rolled down his cheeks from his neat, glistening eyes.

Song Yeongin thought to himself.

I’ve seen those eyes before. The steadfast warmth hidden behind arrogance and coldness. Audaciously, I knew, just as I do now, that in the final moment, this man could never be a villain.

All the aspirations I could never have were in him.

The confidence and steadfastness only those who boldly overcome crises could show. The unyielding storm, the ferocity I had lost entirely. This man was a blazing flame that nothing could extinguish.

The day he came to me, telling me to contact him if Matteo bothered me, he said it wasn’t my fault and looked at me with those same eyes.

Cha Woojin was the only person who ever told me it wasn’t my fault.

He saved me from Matteo, despite the stigma of being called a sodomite. And not just me—he was protecting my sister-in-law and nephew by moving them to a safe place.

Perhaps Cha Woojin was the savior of my misfortune-filled life. I understood why he was angry when I said I’d accept payment. To a man sincerely trying to help and rescue me from misery, saying I’d take payment was the height of ingratitude.

Tears blurred his vision again.

A feeling he couldn’t hide. Words he should never say to this man… Finally, the words he had suppressed deep in his throat burst out.

“…I like you.”

A long silence fell, like a blackout.

The man’s sharp, refined face froze.

But it didn’t matter. Even if it was the first and last confession he ever made to another, it didn’t matter.

“If only he doesn’t tire of me… If only I don’t become uninteresting…”

This body, this entrance, this worthless face. To a man who had everything, this was all I could offer.

🌫️

— Director, you absolutely must return tonight.

“I’ll take the morning flight.”

— That’s too tight a schedule.

“I’ll go straight from the gate to the meeting. Have Manager Park start the presentation first.”

He was preparing for a critical meeting to negotiate the relocation of a factory in eastern China. To make the morning schedule, he had to delay his plan to take a leisurely night flight.

Song Yeongin, who had sobbed until he was dehydrated, shivered with chills after emerging from the water and lost consciousness, with a fever persisting through the night.

Cha Woojin washed Song Yeongin’s unconscious body, quickly cleaning the traces of their intimacy, and carried him to the bedroom to lay him down.

When the boy’s fever didn’t subside, he immediately called his personal doctor. Only after administering a fever reducer through an IV did the chills and convulsions gradually fade.

Perhaps it was because he had been so violent and merciless with his frail, malnourished body. Thinking this, Cha Woojin couldn’t bring himself to leave Song Yeongin’s side. That pitiful voice lingered in his ears.

“…I like you.”

He had suffered through the night like a fever. Song Yeongin, trembling even in his sleep as the fever persisted, lay there.

His neatly drawn eyes were softly closed. Those refined eyes slowly opened in the dim dawn light.

Dazed and unfocused, he lay there, rolling his eyes slowly. In the early morning, the view of the artificial forest came into sight through the window. Searching through hazy memories, Song Yeongin realized he was in Cha Woojin’s bedroom.

To move, he thought he’d first need to remove the IV needle in his arm. As he reached for it while lying down, a man who had been silent approached and grabbed his arm.

“Stay still.”

A heavy, low voice broke the silence of the bedroom. Startled, Song Yeongin tensed his limp body. The gaunt Cha Woojin brushed back his hair.

“Planning to bolt as soon as you open your eyes?”

Song Yeongin stared at Cha Woojin with a blank, pale face. He couldn’t fathom why the man was standing guard by his side. Having always woken up alone after losing consciousness, he hadn’t imagined Cha Woojin would be there. Struggling, Song Yeongin sat up in bed.

Cha Woojin, looking down at him, was freshly shaved and impeccably dressed in a crisp suit. The image of him swimming, carrying Song Yeongin with his strong, bare body, felt like a distant dream.

…Is he heading to work?

The neatly dressed man reached out. A large hand, adorned with a heavy metal watch, coolly brushed Song Yeongin’s clear forehead. The cool touch wasn’t unpleasant, and he accepted it quietly. Soon, the man checked his watch.

“Now that I’ve seen you awake, I have to go.”

“…….”

It sounded as if he had been waiting by Song Yeongin’s side until he opened his eyes. Cha Woojin picked up a briefcase from beside the bed.

“When I leave, Dr. Jo will come in.”

At those words, Song Yeongin’s pale face showed unease.

“Don’t worry. He’s an old friend of mine. A skilled doctor. Don’t hesitate to tell him if anything’s wrong.”

With that, Cha Woojin turned to leave quickly. Sitting on the bed, Song Yeongin blinked slowly with a pale face.

“I don’t want to be left alone again…”

Reflexively, Song Yeongin grabbed the sleeve of Cha Woojin’s suit as he turned. Cha Woojin looked down at him with a calm, composed gaze.

Only then did Song Yeongin realize how childish his action was. His hoarse, fading voice slipped through his red lips.

“…When will you be back?”

The soft, cracked voice, even in this moment, provoked wicked thoughts. Cha Woojin gave a warm smile to the pitiful face looking up at him. It was the first time Song Yeongin saw such gentle warmth in those deep, cold eyes.

“It might take longer than expected.”

“…….”

“Don’t hesitate to call. I’ll answer no matter what.”

Song Yeongin slowly released the suit sleeve.

As Cha Woojin turned to leave, he came back, as if remembering something. His dignified, refined face approached boldly, kissing Song Yeongin’s nose and forehead.

The man’s Adam’s apple protruded prominently above his tie. Cha Woojin then turned his sharp face toward Song Yeongin’s dry, cracked lips.

Song Yeongin hesitated. Having sweated coldly all night, he worried he might smell unpleasant.

“I haven’t washed…”

Cha Woojin firmly grabbed the wrist pushing against his chest. Holding it, he kissed again without hesitation. His cool breath rushed in.

Cha Woojin’s breath, his distinct cold and crisp scent, pierced deep into Song Yeongin’s heated mind. Their breaths intertwined. The man reluctantly sucked on the edge of Song Yeongin’s full lips. The sharp ridge of his nose felt like it might cut his cheek.

It might have been the scent of cologne. The fragrance from him was refined and urban. The man’s polished demeanor made Song Yeongin, unwashed and disheveled, feel ashamed.

“I’ll consider this compensation for staying up all night cleaning up after you.”

Unable to believe he’d stayed up all night tending to him, Song Yeongin stared at him for a long time. The time-pressed man didn’t linger and hurried off.

His perfectly tailored, high-end suit and striking presence disappeared from view.

Only then did Song Yeongin realize he had recklessly confessed to this man. He thought regret would flood in upon waking, but there was none.

He hadn’t expected a response or a change in their relationship. He had no expectations or greed. The words had simply overflowed and spilled out. There was no taking them back.

“If I’m a burden to him… will we never meet again?”

That thought felt a little sad.

But having never fully possessed what he wanted and always learning to give up first, perhaps it was fortunate in this moment that he felt no vain expectations or greed.

Song Yeongin shivered with a chill, as if everything he had was slipping away.

Then, with a knock, a man in a white coat entered Cha Woojin’s bedroom. The clean-faced, trustworthy-looking man approached and asked directly.

“How’s your body feeling?”

His tone was warm and sociable, like a pediatrician speaking to a child.

“Oh, I know you, but you don’t know me. I’m Jo Seungyeon, Cha Woojin’s personal doctor.”

Jo Seungyeon extended his hand for a handshake. Sitting up, Song Yeongin took the offered hand. Jo Seungyeon smiled brightly, shaking it warmly.

“You’re trembling… Are you cold?”

Song Yeongin shivered with chills.

“Yes… I’m cold.”

“Your fever’s gone down, but the antipyretics given overnight might still cause chills. It’s normal, so don’t worry.”

The doctor checked his temperature, examined his throat, and completed a brief check-up before sitting on a chair by the bed.

“Now, don’t be shy. For the final check, can you turn around?”

“…What?”

Huddled under the blanket, Song Yeongin realized he was wearing nothing but a thin gown. Embarrassment flashed across his pale, chilled face. To the silent, stiff Song Yeongin, Jo Seungyeon spoke firmly, without a smile.

“Turn around so I can check the affected area.”

“…….”

“To see how torn it is, how severe the laceration is. Why do you think you had a fever? There could be internal injuries or infection…”

Song Yeongin lowered his head in silence.

“Don’t get the wrong idea… I’m a surgeon, and I’m just checking the affected area. I’ve already examined you when you were unconscious before, so there’s no need to be embarrassed.”

Before… Oh, that time…

Finally accepting it, Song Yeongin replied in a calm voice.

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

Wearing the thin gown, Song Yeongin got up and turned to lie face down. Jo Seungyeon put on medical latex gloves, lifted the gown, and positioned himself to examine the area clearly.

The doctor probed the torn, damaged entrance. Song Yeongin kept reminding himself this was a medical examination.

Jo Seungyeon clicked his tongue.

“Still, it’s not as bad as last time, which is a relief.”

Song Yeongin recalled his first time with Cha Woojin, the relentless, beastly night that tormented him.

“Avoid intercourse for a while.”

“…….”

“You sustain a lot of trauma because… your passage is much narrower than average. You need to be properly loosened during intercourse. Unless you want to damage the muscles…”

“…Yes.”

Too embarrassed to lift his head, Song Yeongin replied in a barely audible voice.

“I’ll discuss this separately with Cha Woojin.”

Jo Seungyeon removed the gloves, placed them in a medical waste bin, and handed Song Yeongin medication and ointment.

“Apply the ointment twice a day, deep inside.”

“…Thank you.”

Song Yeongin bowed politely, like a student before a teacher. The doctor’s professional demeanor made Song Yeongin feel oddly out of place for being embarrassed.

Jo Seungyeon looked at Song Yeongin’s face and spoke quietly.

“He called me out of the blue at midnight to administer antipyretics, but I didn’t expect him to stay by your side until dawn…”

“…….”

“I’ve never seen him act like this… It’s kind of fascinating.”

Jo Seungyeon glanced at Song Yeongin, assessing him. Cha Woojin being with a man, maintaining a relationship with one person, didn’t align with the Cha Woojin he knew.

His family had served as the personal doctors for Chairman Cha’s household for generations. Growing up as childhood friends due to their fathers’ close bond, Jo Seungyeon had been Cha Woojin’s closest companion. Following in his grandfather and father’s footsteps, he served as the family’s doctor and managed hospitals funded by Woosung, living off their support.

He considered himself Cha Woojin’s only true friend. He prided himself on knowing him better than anyone. But the Cha Woojin he saw now was far from the one he’d known for years.

Cha Woojin was meticulously cautious about physical relationships. What was surprising was that, despite such caution, he had no lingering attachment to the bodies he’d been with. His lack of possessiveness or obsession with others felt almost pathological. His aversion to re-engaging with someone he’d been with was so extreme it bordered on an obsessive cleanliness about physical intimacy.

Jo Seungyeon had vaguely assumed this stemmed from a childhood trauma when Cha Woojin nearly died from poisoning by his grown half-brother.

Whether objects or people, Cha Woojin despised others touching what was his and discarded anything tainted without hesitation. His cold, ruthless nature had sparked countless rumors and misunderstandings in his youth. But Cha Woojin never bothered to explain himself.

As the heir of Woosung, his immense power and wealth allowed him to take what he wanted and discard what he didn’t without consequence. He had the means to weather any scandal.

How could a fastidious purist like Cha Woojin suddenly engage in physical intimacy with a man and indulge in anal intercourse? Jo Seungyeon found it baffling. How could someone so obsessively particular repeatedly and intensely embrace the same person, indulging in them persistently? It was hard to believe.

However, unlike the last time when the boy was unconscious, seeing him awake, making eye contact, and conversing face-to-face, Jo Seungyeon felt his doubts begin to clear. No, he was certain he understood.

The boy’s face, voice, body, demeanor, and even the private areas just examined were impeccably clean, without a single blemish or flaw. They embodied the essence of Cha Woojin’s taste for flawless purity and cleanliness, pursued with an almost obsessive perfectionism.

From childhood through adolescence, into young adulthood, and up to now, Jo Seungyeon had grown up alongside Cha Woojin, laying bare their deepest selves to each other. He knew what aroused Cha Woojin and what he preferred.

In his eyes, the boy before him seemed to condense every preference Cha Woojin had, as if someone had meticulously crafted him to match those tastes perfectly.

🌫️

“Seongjae.”

The commanding resonance in the low voice echoed through the office.

Park Seongjae knew that when Cha Woojin called him by his name, omitting his title of manager, it meant his anger was at its peak.

Having returned from a meeting to his Shanghai office, Cha Woojin finished signing a stack of pending documents and summoned Park Seongjae.

“Yes, Director.”

“Have you ensured Matteo can’t pull any stunts?”

“Yes, Kwon Yoonbae’s group, armed with videos of Matteo’s rapes, gang rapes, and violent crimes, has thoroughly intimidated him and silenced him. He’s very concerned about becoming a liability to his father, who’s preparing for the opposition party leadership election. Matteo’s cautious about his father due to inheritance disputes with his eldest brother and issues related to the company’s capital increase.”

“Put people on it. On Cha Seokhyeon and Song Yeongin… Monitor them closely to ensure Matteo can’t reach or contact either of them.”

At the end of a heavy pause, Cha Woojin, his face sharp with fatigue, spoke with a cold edge. His piercing eyes gleamed with a sharp, keen light.

“Dig into Song Yeongin’s background.”

“…….”

“From his school days, no, from his childhood, his very origins…”

“…….”

“Especially any clues or suspects related to incidents that might suggest rape or gang rape, and the full details of those events.”

“Understood.”

“It’ll take patience and time to uncover things hidden beneath the surface. Bribe and cajole as needed in the process.”

Park Seongjae nodded in acknowledgment. It was rare for Cha Woojin to give him such detailed instructions.

“Seongjae, you personally make contact with Father Kang Hajong.”

Park Seongjae, usually expressionless, showed a flicker of surprise. Cha Woojin let out a cold sneer.

“What, forgotten the name because it’s been so long?”

“No, sir.”

“Just as my mother took you, an orphan from the House of Sky Children, and raised you as my shadow… Song Yeongin grew up under Kang Hajong’s grace and has deep ties with him. Use your background as a pretext to approach the priest and gather information.”

“Yes… Understood.”

The information Park Seongjae received from Cha Woojin was entirely unexpected. He had never imagined Song Yeongin might also be connected to Father Kang Hajong, just like himself.

As an orphan, Park Seongjae had been taken in by the House of Sky Children in his childhood, where he was greatly indebted to the middle-aged Sister Anna and the young Father Kang Hajong.

Recognized as a prodigy and advancing to middle school, Park Seongjae received sponsorship from Kang Moonhee, Father Kang Hajong’s sister and Cha Woojin’s mother, Ms. Kang Moonhee. He followed an elite path befitting that support.

He was raised strictly as Cha Woojin’s shadow, trained to assist him, support his succession at Woosung, and protect him in emergencies. Even in that training, Cha Woojin, the heir, always surpassed Park Seongjae physically and intellectually. The born emperor destined to inherit Woosung—that was the kingdom of Woosung and the lord Park Seongjae met at fourteen.

He was conditioned to be a bullet shield for Cha Woojin if needed, to die in his place. If Cha Woojin’s organs failed, Park Seongjae’s body was to serve as a perfect transplant match, selected by Ms. Kang Moonhee for that purpose.

Cha Woojin’s dark eyes glinted.

“Get the genetic test results for Kang Hajong and Song Yeongin.”

“…….”

Park Seongjae, standing still, couldn’t hide his shock at his superior’s request. He pictured Kang Hajong and Song Yeongin together—their transcendent, almost sacred auras so strikingly similar.

“Handle it discreetly. Neither Song Yeongin nor Kang Hajong must ever suspect.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Park Seongjae bowed his head. Cha Woojin’s sharp eyes seemed to seek an answer he already knew, needing only confirmation.

Cha Woojin furrowed his smooth brow. If the two were biologically father and son, would that make Song Yeongin part of his own bloodline?

“Cousins, then…”

Cha Woojin, his tired eyes drooping, gave a bitter smile.

“Things are getting complicated.”