126.
It was certainly a situation that could stress Jinhyeon out. He was usually a cool-headed person, but there were times when he wasn’t, especially when it involved Yu Jin. Seeing this made Yu Jin think that Jinhyeon was just an ordinary person after all. He wanted to embrace and comfort him, but it wasn’t possible right now. Even if only shadows were watching, he felt he needed to maintain some direction in his actions.
“First,” Yu Jin spoke in the calmest voice possible. “Why don’t you try to calm down? Let’s think about this rationally.”
“Rationally, huh?” Jinhyeon faced Yu Jin and smiled prettily, his eyes curving. “I am being perfectly rational.”
His whisper, with his head bowed, tickled Yu Jin’s ear.
“I’ve been thinking, and I might be able to shorten the plan. So…”
Jinhyeon’s upper body pressed heavily down on Yu Jin.
“Today, you just need to say no.”
Before Yu Jin could comprehend what that meant, Jinhyeon slipped his hand inside Yu Jin’s top. As Yu Jin blinked in surprise at the sudden action, Jinhyeon’s large hand gathered and roughly kneaded his chest.
“Ouch!”
It was an obvious reaction – Yu Jin was a man, and no matter how soft and tender his flesh was, it would hurt when handled like that. He instinctively tried to push Jinhyeon away, but the solid body didn’t budge an inch.
‘What’s the reason for this behavior?!’
No matter how many times Yu Jin resisted, nothing worked against Jinhyeon. Jinhyeon easily stripped Yu Jin of his clothes, leaving him naked. Then, with a rougher attitude than usual, he began to explore Yu Jin’s body.
He threateningly bit Yu Jin’s slender neck and painfully pinched his erect nipples until tears formed. Fearing that his chest might actually come off, Yu Jin struggled with his whole body. Suddenly, he became aware of a gaze from the ceiling.
Usually, even though he knew shadows were hiding, he couldn’t feel anything. But now, he could clearly sense that someone else was there. And that someone was asking Yu Jin for permission. If Yu Jin just nodded, they would attack Jinhyeon, who was behaving so rudely. Realizing this, Yu Jin raised his tired arm again and slapped Jinhyeon’s cheek.
Slap!
He didn’t think he could actually hit him. The palm of his hand stung from how hard he had struck. Even Jinhyeon seemed affected, as he stopped what he was doing and turned his head.
“Stay still,” Yu Jin commanded the hidden shadow, then called Jinhyeon’s name. “Jinhyeon.”
“Yeah?” Jinhyeon wore a sullen expression, as if wondering when he had pounced. His face looked sad and angry at the same time, making Yu Jin’s heart ache.
‘I really want to hug him.’
Now, Yu Jin thought he could understand why Jinhyeon suddenly acted like this at night. It seemed he was trying to shorten the brainwashing process by behaving in a way that would make Yu Jin dislike him. After all, it was easier to manipulate someone who was hurt than someone who wasn’t. It appeared that Jinhyeon disliked Yu Jin spending too much time with Keith, even if it meant enduring this situation.
Yu Jin covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile. Why did he find even this aspect of Jinhyeon lovable?
“…Get out.”
“Okay.”
Jinhyeon slowly got up and left the bed. As his large body exited the room, Yu Jin’s body also relaxed. He lay down on the bed and covered his face with both hands. He wanted to quickly push away Leviathan and be with Jinhyeon. It seemed he would need to be more proactive from now on.
In the morning, Keith, who was taking care of Yu Jin, noticed the wound on his neck. It was clearly a human bite mark. If an unknown person had visited during the night and mistreated Yu Jin, leaving a wound, the shadow wouldn’t have stayed still. That meant there was only one person who could have left such a mark.
‘That bastard.’
It didn’t take long for Keith to guess why Jinhyeon had acted that way. Although they hated each other intensely, the two had some similarities.
“I think this ornament will suit you today.”
As much as he wanted to cover the wound with a wide necklace, he couldn’t completely hide it if rumors were to spread. Keith fastened an accessory to Yu Jin’s neck that would cover the wound but could easily come loose. Yu Jin seemed to understand the meaning of the accessory.
“Thank you.”
Yu Jin said with a gentle smile, then fingered the accessory. He seemed to be checking where it would come loose.
“It’s pretty.”
“Yes, it is.”
After finishing Yu Jin’s adornment, Keith followed him to the office.
“Good morning,” Keith greeted the butler Geren, whom they encountered on the way, bowing his head just as Geren did. Recently, he had learned that Geren was another disciple of Aksen. This made it easier to identify who among the employees had been planted by Leviathan.
Aksen had a bad relationship with Rector, so even though they were working on the plan together, there were things he kept hidden. For this reason, Keith, as Rector’s disciple, didn’t know all the people Aksen had infiltrated. It was in this situation that he learned about Geren’s true identity.
‘Actually, Aksen probably wanted to keep it hidden longer.’
But it seemed he couldn’t keep it hidden as the situation was moving quickly. This was good for Keith. After finishing the greeting, Geren left with a nonchalant face.
‘I really hate this.’
Just like Rector, Keith also disliked Aksen. Keith took his eyes off the departing Geren and smiled at Yu Jin again. Given what Jinhyeon had done in the middle of the night, he thought about making some progress today.
‘How far should I go?’
He wanted to have a deep and intimate relationship, but that wasn’t possible. Right now, Yu Jin was acting with Keith, and the lead actor didn’t want that. Still, since Yu Jin was so delicate and innocent, not yet aware of Keith’s dark intentions, he thought he could make some advances.
Originally, he had planned to give up. But being by Yu Jin’s side, his desires began to creep up again. It was unfair to Yu Jin, but he just couldn’t give up.
San was trembling with his hands clasped together. Next to him was Gee, who always stood by him reliably, but he just couldn’t calm down. This was because a member of the royal family was standing in front of him.
“My name is Allen. My full name is longer, but that’s easier, so call me that.”
The Emperor had made some kind of agreement with Yu Jin, following Ruhan. They had joined hands to drive Leviathan out of the empire. For this reason, they decided to dispatch someone for this task, and that person was Allen, the son of the Emperor’s younger brother.
“Y-yes! Allen-nim. I-I’ll be careful when addressing you!”
San had spent most of his life in the back alleys. For this reason, it hadn’t been long since he had encountered nobles, and now a royal family member! Like in any country, there were myths associated with the royal family and their connection to the gods, which made commoners regard them as extraordinary beings. It wasn’t strange for San to be nervous in front of such an extraordinary being.
“Can I trust this little one?”
The problem was that Allen became skeptical upon seeing San like this. He had rushed here believing he had found an opportunity to eliminate Leviathan, only to find that his collaborator was too young. Moreover, his social status was deplorably low. They were called commoners, but those living in the back alleys could barely pay taxes to the empire, making them little different from the lowest class.
“You can trust him,” Gee replied in a calm voice, holding San’s trembling hand. “San has done well so far.”
“But he’s shaking like that?”
“It’s because it’s his first time seeing a royal family member. This is usually the right reaction.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
“You don’t seem very nervous.”
Gee responded to Allen’s question with an ambiguous smile. While San had grand illusions about the royal family, Gee was the opposite. He had lived a difficult life from a young age, so he had no illusions about nobles or royalty. Personally, he felt more excited when he met Yu Jin, a noble, than Allen, a royal.
‘It’s not easy to meet such a beauty.’
Although Allen was quite handsome, he couldn’t compare to Yu Jin. Finishing his brief thought, Gee patted San’s back. Finally coming to his senses, San cleared his throat and began explaining the current situation to Allen. Allen’s expression, which had been dubious at first, gradually became serious, and from the middle, he started asking San questions. Having regained his composure, San answered Allen’s questions properly and concisely.
“Impressive!” Allen even praised him. “You’re young but very capable. Have you ever thought about working at the imperial palace?”
He even made an unexpected offer.
“No, I want to work here.”
“Why? You could gain much more at the imperial palace.”
“There are many people I like here.”
San answered, glancing slightly at Gee’s face.
“Ah, I see!” Only then did Allen stop suggesting a career change to San.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
