He wanted to go into the bathroom and shower first as well. His hair was damp with sweat, and Han Seung Jae’s pheromones clung to his entire body, making him feel crushed beneath an immense weight even as he sat still.
“Butler Do, please help me.”
When Yi Kyung held out his hand, Butler Do stepped forward. He had cared for Yi Kyung since childhood. He cherished him more than Yi Kyung’s father did and involved himself in his affairs more readily than his own brother. In this household, Butler Do was undoubtedly the only person who could help Yi Kyung. And Yi Kyung did not want anyone to suffer because of him.
“Butler Do is a beta. You know that.”
Seung Jae knew that better than anyone. More importantly, he knew what kind of man Butler Do was and how he had come to remain at Yi Kyung’s side.
In the original novel, Seung Jae had always received detailed reports about “Seo Yi Kyung,” right down to which exhibitions he attended and what art supplies he purchased whenever he visited an art store.
Seung Jae’s eyebrow rose slightly.
Betas could not smell the scents of alphas or omegas. It was therefore only natural that Butler Do could not detect the pheromones filling this room.
At the same time, Butler Do took Yi Kyung’s hand. After hesitating briefly, he pulled the blanket from around Yi Kyung’s waist up over his shoulders and helped him to his feet.
When Yi Kyung staggered on his way to the bathroom, Butler Do caught him to keep him from falling.
Watching the two of them move away, Seung Jae reached out and gripped Butler Do’s shoulder. The moment Butler Do looked back, Seung Jae’s low voice rang out distinctly.
“I’ll do it.”
Hiss—
Water poured ceaselessly from the showerhead. Yi Kyung’s knees buckled as he barely managed to remain standing beneath it. Seung Jae caught him by the elbow, but Yi Kyung’s arm soon slipped from his grasp along with the suds.
Yi Kyung raised both hands to cover his face. Foam washed from his neck, shoulders, chest, and thighs. Even the water striking him hurt. There was not a single place on his body that did not ache.
Watching him, Seung Jae asked, “Why didn’t you ask me to help you?”
Yi Kyung stood beneath the stream as though letting it wash away the foam. Lowering his arms, he answered, “Butler Do happened to be closer. That’s all.”
Even as he insisted that it meant nothing, Yi Kyung rubbed at his eyes. Just then, Seung Jae seized his ass and spread it open. Before the startled Yi Kyung could turn around, Seung Jae thrust two fingers into his hole. Curling their tips, he scraped along the inner walls. The semen he had spilled inside Yi Kyung throughout the night came flooding out along his fingers.
“Seung Jae!”
Yi Kyung took a step forward, but Seung Jae’s fingers did not withdraw. They grazed around the entrance.
“I-I’ll do it myself.”
“Why? Were you going to ask Butler Do to help you with this too?”
Of course not. Yi Kyung had only wanted Butler Do to support him as far as the bathroom. He had intended to wash by himself.
Water broke against Yi Kyung’s straight back and streamed down it. Seung Jae stubbornly swept the inner walls with both fingers. His gaze passed over Yi Kyung’s nipples, swollen red, then moved to his thighs, covered in mottled marks, as he pushed his fingers deeper and scraped out the semen.
Yi Kyung curled his lips inward, swallowing a moan. His thighs trembled. For some reason, every place Seung Jae’s fingers touched tingled faintly.
“That’s enough.”
The instant Seung Jae pulled out his fingers, Yi Kyung fled the shower stall. This was a man around whom he could not let his guard down for even a moment.
He reached out and snatched up a bathrobe, hurriedly thrusting his arms into it to cover himself. Seung Jae approached at a leisurely pace. The hems of his trousers were wet from what he had just done. Yi Kyung hastily pulled the front of the robe closed.
Seung Jae caught hold of the belt dangling at his waist.
“What are you afraid of? Wasn’t I gentle last night?”
Gentle……?
Yi Kyung could not even argue. He was so dumbfounded that words failed him. His body made even walking difficult, like an infant who had only just learned how. What part of that had possibly been gentle?
While Yi Kyung’s lips opened and closed soundlessly, Seung Jae casually tied the belt of his bathrobe before continuing on his way.
When the door opened, Butler Do bowed. Seung Jae swept coldly past him. Only then did Butler Do resume walking.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes…….”
Yi Kyung nodded. He pulled out a towel and dried his wet hair. Butler Do held out the clothes he had prepared in advance.
“Please change into these, and then…….”
Butler Do glanced sideways at Seung Jae as he left through the door, then added, “You may come out. I’ll wait outside.”
Yi Kyung accepted the clothes. Butler Do walked away, and the door closed behind him. Releasing a long breath, Yi Kyung removed his bathrobe.
Not only did he have no appetite, but he wanted nothing more than to lie back down on the bed. He could not do that, however. He did not want Butler Do to be placed in a difficult position. The consequences would eventually affect him as well.
As he put on the drawers and trousers Butler Do had given him, he glanced toward the terrace. His pajamas, which should have been lying there in plain sight, were gone. Butler Do must have discreetly cleaned everything up while he was washing.
Yi Kyung put on a turtleneck and slipped into a cardigan. When he opened the door, Butler Do approached him.
“Director Han has already gone downstairs.”
As Yi Kyung trudged onward, Butler Do changed direction and headed toward the elevator.
When they reached the first floor, a passing housekeeper greeted them. Yi Kyung looked around, and Butler Do immediately realized what he was searching for.
“It seems he has already left for work,” he murmured.
Only then did the tension drain from Yi Kyung’s rigid shoulders.
That’s probably for the best.
Seated behind a desk in a spacious office with a panoramic view, Seung Jae turned his head. The door opened, and Secretary Park entered carrying an envelope.
“I’ve reserved the art museum exhibition for the evening of the sixteenth.”
“Right. I did ask you to do that.”
As though only now remembering, Seung Jae gestured with the hand bearing his wedding ring. Secretary Park placed the white envelope on the desk, then turned and examined the files on the shelves. On one side stood orchids, ceramics, and ornaments Seung Jae had received as gifts. Secretary Park opened a file and inserted a newly drafted contract.
After Secretary Park left, Seung Jae resumed moving his pen as he looked down at the construction contract sent by Woorim Construction. The company where Yi Kyung’s father worked had long been a leader in residential and commercial developments, including apartment complexes, office hotels, and industrial centers.
After staring at the documents for some time, Seung Jae set down his pen and picked up the white envelope Secretary Park had brought. Having checked its contents, he tapped the opening at a steady rhythm with his fingertips.
His suggestion that they attend the art exhibition had been little more than a sudden whim. He had only said it because Yi Kyung’s persistent refusal to meet his eyes irritated him.
After all, Yi Kyung flinched whenever their eyes met and constantly looked away. He appeared so frightened, yet still said everything he wanted to say. His behavior was completely different from everything Seung Jae had previously heard and been told about him.
Seung Jae tossed the envelope onto the desk, and the photographs inside spilled out. They showed Yi Kyung leaving the house late at night in a suit. Butler Do was beside him. There were also photographs of the two of them getting into a car.
Seung Jae knew their final destination better than anyone.
He was the one who had summoned Yi Kyung.
—Butler Do is a beta. You know that.
Yi Kyung’s voice brushed through Seung Jae’s mind.
Allowing Butler Do into the house had been something close to an act of generosity on Seung Jae’s part. Yi Kyung had just married and needed time to adjust to his new surroundings, so Seung Jae had thought it would be better to let him bring along at least one person he trusted.
He had already confirmed that Butler Do was a beta. That was why he had allowed it. And there was no possibility that Seung Jae would be ignorant of someone who remained at Yi Kyung’s side.
Seung Jae signed the construction contract he had been reviewing.
Not permitted.
He closed the approval folder and looked down at the photographs fluttering in the incoming breeze. The look in Yi Kyung’s eyes that morning had not been fear.
If anything, he looked as though he knew me well.
“Have you finished already?”
Holding a plate, Butler Do examined Yi Kyung’s complexion. After hearing that Seung Jae had left for work, Yi Kyung had returned to his room and gone back to sleep. He was now eating a late lunch.
Even so, his chopsticks hovered aimlessly in midair. He surveyed the food on the table.
There was neatly prepared chicken and tofu, along with a bean salad made with fresh green vegetables. He was not being picky. He genuinely could not taste any seasoning. The food went beyond mild—it was bland.
He suddenly remembered what he had eaten at the Chinese restaurant the day before. With Seung Jae sitting across from him, he had not had the composure to savor it, but it had still suited his palate better than this.
Everything he ate at home was either porridge or bland food like this. Was it any wonder that his body had no strength? Even the only meat served was chicken breast, and it had been arranged more like a garnish than a proper portion.
Yi Kyung moved his chopsticks and put some rice into his mouth. The chef was not at fault. Besides, if he did not eat something, he would barely have enough strength to walk.
Watching him, Butler Do asked, “Is the food not to your liking?”
Yi Kyung shook his head. But Butler Do had spent so many years at his side that he quickly noticed the slight shift in his expression. The food clearly did not suit him.
Butler Do examined the plates. These were all dishes Yi Kyung normally ate. Nothing spicy or salty could be found among them.
Nevertheless, Yi Kyung finished every last bite of his rice and side dishes before rising from his seat.
“Thank you. It was good.”
Yi Kyung turned and walked away. Doubt briefly appeared on Butler Do’s face as he looked at the spotless dishes, then vanished.
He did not usually finish everything so thoroughly, but he had skipped breakfast. It was only natural that he would be hungry.
Yi Kyung stepped outside through the front entrance. He followed the stone steps through the garden. Shade gathered beneath the carefully maintained trees, and under them stood an outdoor table decorated with white curved patterns.
As though something had occurred to him, Yi Kyung raised his head and looked up at the terrace on the second floor. Fortunately, it was positioned at an angle that could not be seen from here.
Then again, this was Han Seung Jae. A man as meticulous as him would never place his bedroom where other people could see it.
After walking a little farther, Yi Kyung approached the table and sat down. That morning, it had felt as though his entire body had been ground to powder and shattered, but after sleeping for a while, the pain had become tolerable.
Yi Kyung pushed up the sleeve of his cardigan. The hand revealed beneath it was slender and bony, a dark blue bruise marking his wrist.
“Does he never exercise?”
In the original novel, “Seo Yi Kyung” had mostly stayed in his painting studio and painted. Yi Kyung could not remember reading anything about him exercising. Still, a novel would hardly include every minute detail of someone’s daily routine. Seung Jae, on the other hand, seemed to exercise every morning.
The image of Seung Jae’s back as he went downstairs for his morning workout after keeping him up until dawn flickered through Yi Kyung’s mind. In truth, Yi Kyung had not actually seen him leave. He had merely heard the door opening through the haze.
Yi Kyung looked down at the ring on his finger. He had not possessed enough strength to move so much as a hand and had simply fallen unconscious. When he opened his eyes again, Butler Do was knocking at the bedroom door.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Yi Kyung looked toward Butler Do, who was scanning the garden. The moment their eyes met, Butler Do came straight toward him.