Desires Chapter 4.6 - III. A Gesture to Become Something

Why did I think that after ten days, upon his return, he would naturally entwine himself with me and hold me? I assumed, as before, that he would consume me all night and not let me go.

He didn’t lift a finger. Not even a kiss or an embrace. What were these bewildering feelings I felt in that moment, sent away by a man who didn’t make any contact with me?

‘Could it be… am I disappointed?’

Song Yeongin let out a faint, hollow self-mockery. In the darkness, his refined eyelids blinked slowly. Only then did he realize he was still wearing the man’s coat over his shoulders.

‘I was so flustered I didn’t even return it…’

The man’s unusually cold and desolate scent clung heavily to the coat’s collar. As if he were being held by him, the cool scent embedded in the fabric pierced his heart.

That he had work to finish all night at this late hour made it sound like he had spent precious time because of me, who had disappeared without a word. He had wasted time looking for me and lingering over coffee. Guilt washed over him for stealing the time of a man so busy with overseas business trips.

This place where he stood was the same space where he and that man had entangled themselves all day, embarrassingly so, last time. Left alone in this dark, dim room, Song Yeongin could confront his true feelings honestly. Perhaps he was dense. To realize it only now. To feel upset that he didn’t hold him, during those ten days, I was too…

Missing him.

🌫️

When he woke in the morning, he noticed the coat he had carefully hung by the bed was gone. Did he come into my room just to take it back? If it were a new coat, his wardrobe would already be overflowing…

Song Yeongin reproached himself for his insensitivity, having slept so deeply he didn’t notice a thing.

Hoping he might still be in the penthouse, he forced his weary body up and headed to the living room. Chasing traces of Cha Woojin, who was nowhere to be found, he climbed to the second-floor study.

He had apparently left for work long ago. Not a single trace remained of him having slept… Song Yeongin now truly understood why that man always checked his wristwatch, why he was so sparing with time-wasting and unnecessary arguments.

Because he’s so busy he can’t think straight… He might be the busiest person in the world.

Even living in the same space, Cha Woojin and he were still worlds apart.

Standing at the second-floor railing, Song Yeongin gazed down at the lower floor with slow eyes. Raindrops clung to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The misty view of the Han River filled his orderly sight.

A cold, impersonal house.

A space unnecessarily vast and empty for two people. Living in such a house, it seemed only natural that those sharing it would rarely see each other’s faces.

Is he trying to tame me to miss him by locking me in this house?

🌫️

There were plenty of other servers at Laqueur, so why did he always have to be summoned to this man? Even if it was a coincidence, Song Yeongin didn’t like it.

For a while, he had completely forgotten about this man. Over the past few days, he had meant to mention James Han to Cha Woojin but missed the timing.

Was it even possible to bring up James Han to a man who didn’t touch him and left for work at dawn?

“Are you doing well?”

Song Yeongin didn’t answer, bowing silently and focusing solely on his duties.

“I’ll assist with your order.”

James Han replied.

“Another person will join us. Prepare accordingly.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare.”

When he responded with a professional demeanor, erecting an invisible wall, James Han asked in a leisurely tone.

“How’s Cha Woojin these days?”

Song Yeongin paused momentarily.

“I don’t understand why you keep bringing him up to me.”

His calm, soft voice echoed clearly in the room.

James Han, as if savoring the sound, smiled with a dignified air. Yet he casually ignored the intent behind the words. He spoke arrogantly.

“Cha Woojin must be very busy these days…”

“…….”

“I’ve been keeping him a bit occupied lately.”

Song Yeongin’s composed eyes wavered sharply.

“That way, I get a bit of an opening, don’t I?”

At this point, he concluded it was best to avoid this cunning man.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“In Hong Kong…”

“…….”

“Did Cha Woojin return last night?”

He couldn’t keep up the pretense. In front of someone who saw through everything, how laughable his flimsy facade must seem.

“I hope that friend hasn’t returned from Hong Kong yet… What’s he hiding that he came back to Korea so soon?”

“…….”

“Is he hiding a treasure or something?”

His feigned calm eyes trembled helplessly. Perhaps he really wasn’t cut out for wearing a mask.

“Mr. Song Yeongin, you show me a new face every time… I find that quite fascinating.”

“…….”

James Han relentlessly scrutinized Song Yeongin. The man’s drooping eyes narrowed slightly.

“Is a frightened face supposed to be this provocative?”

His eyes, trembling in silent shock, quivered.

“Beautiful. That expression right now.”

“…….”

“I have a hobby of preserving beautiful things.”

His clear, pure eyes instantly filled with horror. They brimmed with raw fear.

The sinister predator who had found sacred prey no longer hid his vicious claws. James Han reveled in Song Yeongin’s reactions with a debauched gaze, as if thoroughly excited by the game.

Smiling slyly with drooping eyes, he was a seasoned, cunning man.

“Haha, don’t be alarmed. I’ve never preserved a person. I’m just saying there are many ways to possess beauty.”

Song Yeongin shot him a cold, disdainful glare, filled with disgust.

“Your joke goes too far.”

“There’s something intriguing about the expressions on that delicate, artwork-like face, and it makes me want to tease you.”

Song Yeongin let out a low sigh, heavy with indifference.

“Then, I’ll…”

As Song Yeongin turned to leave, James Han added.

“That’s why Director Cha was so desperate to hide you. He knows all about my peculiar collecting habits.”

Song Yeongin replied coldly.

“I have nothing to do with him, so please refrain from talking about him further.”

“Oh, really?”

“…….”

“You’re saying you have nothing to do with Cha Woojin? Can I verify if that’s true or not?”

What is this man?

Song Yeongin stared at him, frozen. James Han scanned him with a leisurely, greedy gaze.

Just then, the VIP room’s door opened.

James Han and Song Yeongin’s eyes turned toward the entrance. Song Yeongin’s heart stopped. The person who walked in was none other than…

Cha Woojin.

A breathless moment. The instant their eyes met, Song Yeongin encountered his cold, emotionless gaze across his composed face. The chilling indifference, like a biting wind, made his blood run cold.

“Director Cha, come in.”

Song Yeongin, startled, glanced at James Han.

“I invited Director Cha here.”

James Han spoke to Song Yeongin with a warm, affectionate tone, as if addressing a lover. That meltingly tender voice was chillingly eerie.

At that moment, Cha Woojin, who had coldly ignored him, brushed past Song Yeongin’s collar. He calmly sat across from James Han.

It was only natural that Cha Woojin ignored him. Song Yeongin quickly bowed and moved toward the door to leave.

“Wait, Mr. Song Yeongin! A new guest has arrived, hasn’t he?”

“…….”

“The order isn’t finished, so come here. By my side… We need to finish that conversation. You said I could verify it, didn’t you?”

The provocative nuance in James Han’s words was enough to invite misunderstanding.

“We were just getting to know each other and having a great time.”

“Wh… What…!”

James Han shamelessly provoked Cha Woojin with blatant lies. Song Yeongin hesitated, glancing nervously at Cha Woojin. James Han urged him impatiently.

“Aren’t you taking the order? You have to finish your job.”

Song Yeongin faltered. But reminded of his duty as a server by the man’s words, he stepped toward James Han to take the order.

In that moment, Cha Woojin stood up. With a fierce stance, he grabbed Song Yeongin’s wrist so tightly it might break as he approached James Han.

“Get out.”

The man’s low, commanding voice scolded him.

This scene felt oddly familiar. He had the same expression as the day he sent Song Yeongin away when Matteo nearly raped him.

“…….”

He ordered again, with ferocious intensity.

“Get out. Now.”

With his wrist gripped, Song Yeongin met Cha Woojin’s eyes.

His eyes were filled with uncontrollable, boiling rage. It was the first time he’d seen him this angry.

Cha Woojin, stripped of his usual calm and composure, was consumed by fury like a runaway chariot. Unlike his usual self, the man openly displayed his emotions, appearing riddled with vulnerabilities. Song Yeongin vaguely feared that this cunning man might devour him.

“Get out!”

Cha Woojin finally shouted explosively.

He had to obey. Coming to his senses belatedly, Song Yeongin bowed and turned toward the door. Behind him, James Han’s boisterous laughter echoed.

“Haha, Director Cha, stop pretending and sit down.”

“…….”

“Let’s make a deal.”

As the door closed, James Han’s voice continued.

“About Woosung Electronics’ Asia semiconductor procurement. If I secure U.S. approval… what can you give me?”

James Han glanced at Song Yeongin as he closed the door, as if wanting him to hear.

🌫️

In the space Song Yeongin left, tension hung thickly. The two men sitting across from each other were silent, like the calm before a storm.

Cha Woojin glared at James Han with a cold, predatory expression. His icy eyes brimmed with menace.

“All this, just because of that kid, you tampered with the U.S. approval?”

“That’s hurtful. You deceived me first, Director Cha.”

Cha Woojin let out a sharp, arrogant sneer, as if dumbfounded.

“You should separate business from personal matters. I didn’t think you’d be so indiscriminate.”

James Han feigned innocence with a seasoned expression.

“That’s strange. I thought you’d catch on sooner, before things escalated… Didn’t Mr. Song Yeongin mention me?”

In that moment, Cha Woojin felt as if he’d been struck in the back of the head.

As he said, if he’d known James Han was behind it earlier. If he’d had time to address it, things might not have escalated this far. The spark James Han ignited had caused the troublesome U.S. approval to fall through.

If he hadn’t dismissed Song Yeongin’s discomfort about being watched even within Laqueur… If he’d thoroughly instructed Jang Haeseong to report every detail of surveillance at Laqueur, he could have easily detected James Han’s involvement.

James Han’s eyes curved slyly.

“Hmm, I wonder… Why didn’t Mr. Song Yeongin tell you about me? Maybe he didn’t mind. Perhaps he enjoyed the attention I gave him?”

“…….”

Cha Woojin, feigning composure, didn’t respond. No, he couldn’t. It was an undeniable truth that Song Yeongin hadn’t told him about James Han.

“I understand why you hid that kid from me.”

James Han unabashedly provoked Cha Woojin.

“He was practically wagging his tail at me. With those innocent, provocative, pretty expressions. Isn’t he a natural at seducing men?”

“…….”

“Does he know he’s doing it, or not? If it’s not innate, what is it? Every little expression and gesture he makes sent shivers through me.”

Cha Woojin couldn’t let himself be swayed or rattled by James Han’s pace. His icy expression barely suppressed the rising anger.

“How was he in bed? How does it feel to have him beneath you?”

A murderous glint flashed in Cha Woojin’s jet-black eyes.

“It must be beyond expectations, right? That’s why a man like you, Director Cha, is so utterly captivated.”

Cha Woojin expressed his displeasure in a stiff, formal tone.

“That’s rude. If you cross the line, I won’t hold back.”

His composed brows twitched as he barely swallowed James Han’s relentless provocations.

Woosung was at a severe disadvantage. For the sake of any deal, he couldn’t afford to offend James Han.

“Fine. So what is that kid to you, Director Cha? A partner? A mistress? Or a sponsored toy? For the record, I don’t mind sharing.”

Cha Woojin’s eyes, cold until now, filled with ferocious menace. Glaring at James Han, he spat out a chilling, commanding voice.

“I’m not interested in sharing with you.”

“…….”

“I despise my things being touched by others. Got that?”

“Whoa, calm down. I’m well aware of Director Cha’s obsession with cleanliness.”

James Han gestured soothingly with a cunning smile.

Cha Woojin let out a cold, hollow sneer, scattering contempt and menace with his biting gaze.

“If you want a beautiful whore to spread their legs, there are plenty out there, aren’t there?”

James Han shrugged with his characteristic foreign gesture.

“Well, I thought so too. Until I saw that kid’s painting.”

Cha Woojin felt struck in the back of the head again.

This was clearly Cha Woojin’s defeat. For the first time, his composed expression faltered, hardening at James Han’s words.

“I won’t deny I want him. If I could have him, I would’ve already. But he’s already yours, isn’t he? I’m not so eager to ruin our long-standing friendly relationship to that extent.”

“…….”

“What I want isn’t him, but his painting.”

Yoon Jioh. As feared, that schemer had made their move.

“You and I are different, Director Cha. From the moment I saw it, I was intensely drawn to that painting… It was much later that I realized the pure, anguished beauty in it resembled him so much.”

“…….”

“From the moment I didn’t know he painted it, I was desperate to have it. So I persistently persuaded Yoon Jioh.”

Cha Woojin furrowed his composed brow in frustration.

“You know my near-mad obsession with collecting, don’t you? I can’t rest until I possess beautiful things… Paintings or people. I own them in any way possible.”

“What did Yoon Jioh do behind my back?”

James Han paused briefly before continuing.

“Yoon Jioh said the painting belongs to you, Director Cha.”

“…….”

“They told me to get your permission if I wanted it so badly. In the process, I had to uncover several truths on my own. Can you imagine how I felt? If that’s not deception, what is? So don’t feel like you’re the only one wronged.”

“…….”

“Give me his first work, [The Ear of the Dead Mother].”

“…….”

“Then I’ll hand Woosung the key to the U.S. tech approval and Asia’s semiconductor procurement. I can’t directly control Woosung Electronics, but with my influence in the U.S. Congress, I can make this approval work in Woosung’s favor.”

Cha Woojin, who had been listening silently, spoke coldly with a critical tone.

“Are you threatening me over just one painting?”

“…….”

“Mr. Han, aren’t you overconfident? We’re not some corner shop. Surely you don’t think there’s no other way without going through you?”

“I know. But if you don’t secure an exclusive deal as quickly as possible, it’s meaningless, isn’t it? If I keep your side tied up in Hong Kong, second- and third-tier manufacturers will lobby the U.S. By then, won’t Woosung already be too late?”

Cha Woojin flashed a bold, leisurely smile in front of the reckless enemy general waging a declaration of war.

“That statement sounds like you’re making an enemy of Woosung. Is that right?”

“I’m not even from this country. I merely sparked a small flame, and I’m not implicated in anything. I didn’t even reveal myself enough for you to notice. Just because Woosung holds sway over Korea, do you think you can play king in the U.S. as well?”

James Han arrogantly tilted his chin at Cha Woojin, mocking him with disdain and belittlement, as if addressing a far younger prince.

“Director Cha, what’s with this absurd threat about the influence of a Korean conglomerate? That’s only important to small-time domestic businessmen like you. It doesn’t apply to me.”

Cha Woojin’s fists trembled at James Han’s mockery and contempt. He retorted in a low voice, burning with desolate rage.

“You’re the one with Korean blood running through your veins, a half-American. Whether you can truly evade Woosung’s pressure remains to be seen, doesn’t it?”

“You seem to be gravely mistaken. The one at a disadvantage here isn’t me, but Woosung. Isn’t it you, Director Cha, who should be clinging to my coattails?”

Cha Woojin fell into a deep silence, brooding.

To counter this rogue, he had to mentally calculate countless strategies and possibilities to find another card to play.

“Director Cha, make a decision. I’m someone who possesses what I want, even if it means preserving it. I’m not asking for Mr. Song Yeongin. As you said, it’s just… merely a painting, isn’t it?”

“Ha…”

Cha Woojin let out a bitter, long sigh.

“It won’t take long. Woosung doesn’t have much time anyway. Out of consideration for our long acquaintance.”

“…….”

“I’ll give you a few days.”

🌫️

“Song Yeongin, where are you right now?”

A heavy, authoritative man’s voice resounded fiercely through Laqueur’s hall. The servers watched with bewildered expressions as the striking man strode across the hall.

Dressed in a black suit tailored tightly to his sharp, imposing frame, the man moved with urgent, disciplined steps.

When Cha Woojin’s gaze reached the far end of the hall, he spotted Song Yeongin inside the bar, wiping wine glasses with a red linen cloth. Song Yeongin, too, stared at the overwhelming man from a distance with a startled expression, unable to ignore him.

The man began cutting through the hall, heedless of the gazes pouring in. He marched straight into the staff-only internal facilities.

Song Yeongin froze in place, holding his breath.

Cha Woojin grabbed Song Yeongin’s wrist roughly with a piercing, cold glare. The forceful grip caused the wine glass Song Yeongin was holding to fall to the floor, shattering with a crash.

Yet, despite being overpowered by the man’s strength, Song Yeongin didn’t utter a single word of protest or resistance. Gripped by Cha Woojin’s wrist, he was dragged along by the rough force.

A male staff member rushed into the bar area.

“Sir, you can’t come in here.”

Cha Woojin, suppressing a ferocious expression on the verge of exploding, gave an authoritative, arrogant glance. Manager Kang Miyeon approached the male staff member, instructing him to leave, while Jang Haeseong followed, managing the situation in the hall.

Cha Woojin dragged Song Yeongin roughly through the center of the hall. The other staff members, shocked, whispered with mouths agape. Until the two disappeared from the hall, people stared at their retreating figures, dumbfounded.

Song Yeongin was silently led by the rough, forceful grip, like a docile lamb without resistance. His eyes, as he was dragged, were profoundly detached.

As they passed through Laqueur’s arched stone corridors, he opened and checked several closed doors, as if searching. Finally, he entered a large storage room marked “Authorized Personnel Only,” as if it were the right place.

As soon as they entered, Cha Woojin slammed Song Yeongin against the wall and locked the door. He had been looking for a place with a lock.

Song Yeongin, thrown against the wall, let out a small groan.

“Hngh, ugh…!”

The sound of ragged breathing filled the large storage room. The only window was a narrow one high up for ventilation, letting in faint light that discreetly illuminated their faces and objects.

“Being dragged along without a word, it seems you know what you did wrong.”

Song Yeongin quietly looked up at the towering man before him.

“What… did I do wrong?”

Cha Woojin slammed his fist against the door Song Yeongin was leaning against with all his strength. The ferocious noise and violent vibration reverberated through his entire body.

The man loosened the tie constricting his neck. The exposed neck revealed straining, aggressive veins. Leaning against the door, he glared fiercely, his voice sounding as if he were about to spew curses.

“Are you enjoying screwing me over?!”

“…….”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Song Yeongin bit his plump lips tightly. He couldn’t understand why this man was so furiously angry at him.

“The mess I’m dealing with, staying up nights on end… that bastard is involved in it! And it’s because of you…”

“…….”

“You should’ve at least given me a heads-up so I could’ve made a judgment!”

“…….”

“Why didn’t you tell me that bastard approached you?! Huh?!”

Startled by Cha Woojin’s words, Song Yeongin’s clear eyes trembled helplessly.

There was no chance to tell him. You were too busy and didn’t even give me an opportunity…

He hadn’t dreamed it was so serious. You weren’t in Korea. I only thought it would disturb you, who was on an urgent business trip. So I couldn’t casually contact someone so busy traveling abroad…

But foolishly, he couldn’t pour out the countless excuses in his heart, his throat tight and trembling with frustration. Why am I like this? I know exactly who I take after.

“Or else…”

A cold contempt flashed in the man’s sharp eyes.

“Like he said, did you enjoy it so much you wanted to hide it from me?”

“What… are you talking about?”

It didn’t matter what lies James Han had told to provoke Cha Woojin. The man was blinded by jealousy and desperate to hurt Song Yeongin.

“Are you saying you enjoyed the attention that damned bastard gave you?! Did you play along with him?! Is that why you kept quiet like a mute?!”

Song Yeongin’s eyes twitched convulsively. The corners of his eyes reddened instantly. His tightly bitten red lips trembled and finally parted.

“…Are you crazy?”

“…….”

Transparent tears welled in his pitifully red eyes. Choking with emotion, Song Yeongin struggled to spit out the words in his heart with a trembling voice.

“You don’t trust me? All this time… I was waiting for you to come back… a chance to speak…”

You never gave me one…

Cha Woojin, leaning against the wall, stared coldly at the sobbing Song Yeongin with merciless eyes.

“When you meet an overwhelming opponent, you calculate the risks… Weighing whether your existence is worth the danger is a great pain for me.”

Song Yeongin clenched his fists tightly.

The icy, ruthless gaze and domineering voice reprimanded him.

The sharp criticism continued.

“Like with Matteo, you haven’t changed. Your carelessness keeps putting me in shitty situations…”

Cha Woojin furrowed his composed brow, brushing back his throbbing head.

Song Yeongin stopped making excuses. Clutching his chest, he restrained his sobs and spoke with control.

“If my existence… makes things so hard for you…”

His trembling hand, gripping his aching chest, shook. Lifting his teary eyes, he spoke calmly, holding it in.

“I’ll… leave you.”

As if losing all self-control, the man exploded, grabbing Song Yeongin’s shoulders violently.

“Are you playing with me right now?!”

Cha Woojin gripped Song Yeongin’s shoulders roughly, sneering with a threatening gaze. His harsh breath scattered coldly in the air.

The trembling shoulders and reddened eyes glared back defiantly. Those merciless eyes scanned the unyielding defiance and quiet rebellion without mercy.

When his gaze reached Song Yeongin’s tightly bitten plump lips, Cha Woojin’s long eyes twisted debauchedly, like a rogue. His sharp face surged toward Song Yeongin’s nose. The man’s arms fiercely grabbed Song Yeongin’s trembling waist. Song Yeongin shuddered under the violent, forceful grip, resisting with all his strength.

“Ah, ugh…! Let go…!”

Cha Woojin scoffed mockingly, as if the resistance were laughable.

“All you have is this body.”

His hand slid unrestrained down Song Yeongin’s slender waist.

“All you can give me… is just this.”

His large hand obscenely gripped Song Yeongin’s buttocks, tightly fitted in his uniform pants.

Song Yeongin’s trembling voice was sharp.

“Don’t touch my body!”

Cha Woojin stared at the venomous eyes, gritted to hold back tears, and lifted Song Yeongin’s delicate chin.

“This pretty face that seduces, this body that stirs desire—Matteo and James Han wanted it… No, every guy around you must’ve gone crazy wanting to touch you.”

The delicate face, held by the chin, twisted pitifully. Even that anguished look was a source of desire for someone.

Cha Woojin violently threw off his suit jacket with a ferocious motion. His taut, sharp muscles revealed a fierce presence through the thin shirt.

Grabbing Song Yeongin’s hair from behind, Cha Woojin yanked it back.

“All you can say is you’ll leave me?”

His cold, jet-black eyes glared fiercely at Song Yeongin.

“As you said, what can someone like me do but cause you trouble?!”

The refined, cold-blooded man’s face sneered mockingly as he spoke softly.

“No, you’re quite useful.”

“…….”

“Because even in this situation, all I can think about is wanting to have sex with you.”

“…….”

“That’s enough for me.”

Cha Woojin sneered coldly, savagely grabbing Song Yeongin’s waist and buttocks. Song Yeongin resisted the crude, debauched hands that spread and toyed with him like a prostitute.

His tearful eyes held a seductive venom, betraying his composure. Glaring at Cha Woojin, Song Yeongin spat out his heart.

“Let go, ugh…! I knew you’d do this…! Treating me like a whore who sells his body…!”

Cha Woojin, gripping his hair provocatively, leaned in with cold, debauched eyes.

“Keep going.”

Suppressing his anger, the man seemed entirely at ease. His other hand kneaded Song Yeongin’s buttocks, toying with him like a prostitute.

“So, I said I’d take payment from you…! Ugh…! Hngh, ugh…!”

Cha Woojin swallowed Song Yeongin’s plump lips, cutting off his words. His fierce tongue thrust in. The man’s erection, pressed against Song Yeongin’s lower body, had been raging since who-knows-when.

Since when? From the moment he threw me in here?

The sharp, rigid nose buried into Song Yeongin’s cheek. He sucked the mucous membranes and roots, leaving him breathless, ravaging his mouth with a skilled tongue, desecrating it like a prostitute. Cha Woojin punished him vulgarly in his mouth until seductive moans escaped.

“Ha…! Ugh…! Hngh…!”

When Song Yeongin, submitting to the violent kiss that melted his senses, let out a vulgar, prostitute-like moan, the aroused Cha Woojin tore apart Song Yeongin’s white uniform shirt with merciless strength.

The man buried his teeth into the smooth, white skin exposed by the torn shirt, like a starving beast devouring prey. Cha Woojin toyed with the sharply protruding red nipples, saying.

“You like it when I touch you here, don’t you?”

The man, teasing the nipples with his tongue, checked Song Yeongin’s humiliated face multiple times with cold, debauched eyes.

“…Ha, the moment I suck your chest, you get hard down there…”

“Ah, hngh…! Don’t… do this…!”

“You know? Then you… sway your hips like this, as if you love it.”

The man roughly grabbed the sleek chest, greedily sucking the swollen, red nipples.

“Ha, let go…! No…! Stop…!”

Song Yeongin pounded the iron-hard shoulders with clenched fists.

“Ugh, hngh…! No…! Don’t do this here…!”

Striking Cha Woojin’s shoulders, Song Yeongin resisted fiercely, but Cha Woojin bound him with brutal strength. He savagely grabbed Song Yeongin’s delicate chin.

The man’s deep, cold eyes curved like a reckless rogue.

“Fuck… shut up! If I don’t do this with you here, I’ll explode with rage.”

His lower lip, bitten so hard, began to bleed. The small, pitiful face, held by the chin, gasped and sobbed, unable to breathe.

“Hngh… Don’t…! Here… where I work… Please, don’t…!”

It didn’t matter if he raped him.

But this was his workplace. Song Yeongin hated being treated like a beast here more than death. Like when Matteo humiliated him in front of his colleagues, having to leave his job in shame again was worse than death.

The gazes of those who didn’t help but despised him, the fingers pointed at him, the cruel visions of his weak childhood buried deep, the hallucinations of whispering strangers came rushing back.

People outside might be pointing fingers at us.

They might overhear the vulgar sounds, my lascivious moans, and call me a slut. Those things lingered worse than rape, strangling Song Yeongin to death.

Cha Woojin grabbed the arms of Song Yeongin, who was crying and resisting wildly. He held the small, pitiful face, tears streaming endlessly.

“Hngh… Don’t… Hngh…”

Holding the face of Song Yeongin, who sobbed more bitterly than when being penetrated, Cha Woojin stared silently at the desperate, pitiful face.

In that moment, Han Jiyeon’s voice inexplicably crossed Cha Woojin’s mind.

‘Compassion is a form of love. I thought even that would be impossible for a cold-blooded sociopath like you, who treats others’ emotions like filthy garbage…’

‘You… love that kid?’

Even thinking back, it was absurd nonsense. Cha Woojin, of all people, knew best that such childish games amounted to nothing.

Yet, contrary to his cold reason, Cha Woojin felt himself weakening before the pitifully sobbing Song Yeongin.

…Compassion. That was the name of this uncomfortable feeling.

Frozen in place, Cha Woojin had to admit that this pitifully crying face, dragging him into an unfamiliar, weak emotion… damn it, was his greatest weakness.

Cha Woojin pulled the trembling, fragile body into his arms. He kissed the plump lips, stained with blood, gently this time, licking the blood off the lower lip. He stroked the curved back soothingly.

“Stop crying.”

“Hngh… Ugh… Let go…! Let me go…!”

Song Yeongin struck Cha Woojin’s chest with exhausted hands.

“I won’t touch you. So stop crying.”

Cha Woojin whispered into the ear of Song Yeongin, still sobbing pitifully like a child in his arms.

“Are you planning to use my weakness against me like that bastard?”

“…….”

Song Yeongin, crying so hard he could barely see, looked up at Cha Woojin with red, teary eyes. His nose and lips were flushed red.

Cha Woojin murmured languidly, as if to himself.

“For someone like me, who pathologically hates losing, having a weakness feels like shit…”

“…….”

“Being threatened with that weakness feels even worse.”

Cha Woojin spoke as if Song Yeongin were his weakness. As if he had been robbed of victory and defeated because of Song Yeongin.

It didn’t make sense. Why would you, because of me? A weakness… threatened? No, that can’t be.

Song Yeongin couldn’t believe his words. A belligerent man born to win wouldn’t choose defeat over someone like him.

Cha Woojin was a man who hated losing more than death. The man who had only known victory and glory was now, for the first time, reliving defeat and frustration with a desolate expression.

Cha Woojin bent down to pick up the black suit jacket he had roughly thrown on the floor. As he straightened, his gaze lingered on Song Yeongin’s torn white uniform shirt.

With all the buttons ripped off, the shirt wouldn’t close, revealing a smooth, white chest. The pale skin glistened with saliva, the red nipples swollen from his sucking.