What the fuck is this bullshit?
A chill ran down his spine. He instinctively backed away, the chair scraping against the floor with a jolt.
Cha Seohu’s face twisted as he opened his mouth.
“Fu—...!”
But the paralyzed tongue wouldn’t even let him curse.
Irritated, he bit down on his lip and sprang to his feet.
I knew I shouldn’t have come.
What could I possibly expect from a bastard who ignores everything I say and does whatever the hell he wants?
If his tongue were working, he would’ve let loose every insult he could. If his arms weren’t bound, he would’ve at least flipped him off.
But the fact that he couldn’t do anything only made him angrier.
Cursing internally, Cha Seohu turned and headed for the door.
The bodyguards would drag him back anyway, but at least pushing back like this helped blow off some steam.
He strode across the dining room, reaching the door and raising his leg to kick it—
“...!”
Cha Seohu flinched.
A scent began to drift into the air. It wasn’t the thick floral smell he’d caught at the Association.
This was different.
A pleasantly intoxicating aroma...
Just breathing it in made the tension in his shoulders loosen. His mind began to fog.
It was as sweet as lilac, as cool as mint.
All the worries and anxiety that had been clouding his head vanished in an instant.
Cha Seohu swayed. Barely catching himself, he shook his head roughly and glared at the man.
As expected, there was a cigarette between the man’s fingers.
Smoke rose in curls, spreading widely. And with it, the scent grew stronger and stronger.
“S... stop...”
Stop it. Please stop.
I hate this.
But the item embedded in his tongue wouldn’t let him get the words out.
Cha Seohu’s head dropped like a powered-off machine. Ten seconds later, he slowly lifted it again.
“Come here.”
The man had extinguished the cigarette in the meantime and called out once more.
Cha Seohu blinked with a vacant expression and slowly walked toward him.
Once he was standing close beside the seated man, Cha Seohu smiled faintly.
“You still have to eat, even if you’re angry.”
The man pulled him in and sat him down on his thigh.
With his glove removed, his large hand tilted Cha Seohu’s jaw upward and pried open his mouth. His fingers slid in.
“Hm.”
He carefully examined the item embedded in Cha Seohu’s tongue.
He stirred his fingers around inside without hesitation, checking both the item and the tongue itself, and only withdrew once he confirmed everything was intact.
Ting!
After wiping his hands with a wet towel, the man tapped his teacup lightly with a teaspoon.
Immediately, the dining room doors opened, and the attendants filed in.
They rapidly filled the table with food.
Starting with soup and porridge suitable for someone who hadn’t eaten since yesterday, they laid out an assortment of dishes—meats, seafood, and more.
Once the table was full, the attendants quietly withdrew.
The man scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Cha Seohu’s lips.
Cha Seohu, still resting quietly in his arms, obediently opened his mouth.
The man fed him dish after dish with a serious expression. Cha Seohu, apparently quite hungry, didn’t refuse and accepted each bite readily.
When the meal was over, the attendants returned and began clearing the plates with practiced efficiency.
While they worked, the man wiped the corners of Cha Seohu’s mouth with a clean napkin, then reached behind to undo the chains binding his arms.
The chain, though light and designed not to dig into the skin, must have still strained his shoulders and arms.
Once he removed it, he pulled Cha Seohu’s arms forward and gently massaged them.
“Ngh...”
Now freed, Cha Seohu immediately burrowed into the man’s arms.
He let out a soft groan, rubbing his cheek against the man’s chest.
It was an instinctive reaction, seeking the spot where the scent lingered strongest.
While Cha Seohu, in a dazed trance, rubbed his face against the man’s suit jacket, the man carefully massaged his stiff arms and shoulders.
“Sir.”
An attendant brought in a new item.
It looked like a pair of handcuffs, with a round violet gem embedded inside.
It had been specially modified to counteract the item embedded in his tongue. The customization had taken time, so his arms had to remain bound behind him until today.
The attendant had noticed the representative’s concern over the matter since yesterday.
He’d pressured the item production team in the district, and thanks to that, they’d finished the customization a day ahead of schedule.
The man exhaled softly, then pulled Cha Seohu’s arms forward and fastened the new cuffs around his wrists.
Clack.
This way, it would be much more comfortable. His shoulders wouldn’t stiffen either.
With a satisfied expression, the man patted Cha Seohu’s head and stood from his seat—still holding him in his arms.
Leaving the dining room, the man took the elevator down to the 64th floor, where Cha Seohu’s room was. A guard at the door followed behind him and reported,
“The young masters have been repeatedly requesting access to the 64th floor.”
“Lift the restriction starting tomorrow.”
After all, he needed someone to keep an eye on Cha Seohu in his stead, given how busy he was.
“Send Hyun Dowoon to the 64th floor starting today. Make sure the two of them have dinner together.”
“I’ll inform them.”
Arriving at the 64th floor, the man laid Cha Seohu gently on the bed.
Just as he was about to straighten up, Cha Seohu grabbed him.
“N... n-not... go...”
“...”
He clutched the suit jacket, clinging tightly and refusing to let go.
The man looked down at Cha Seohu, whose tongue was still sluggishly fumbling over the words, then undid the button on his suit.
Like handing over a doll, he passed the jacket to Cha Seohu and left the room.
Cha Seohu finally came to his senses three hours later.
“You fucking—”
Regaining clarity, the first thing he did was throw the man’s suit jacket across the room.
Thump! The warm jacket hit the floor with a sad, hollow sound.
“Argh!”
His entire face flushed with fury and shame as he let out a scream more like a roar.
He couldn’t even curse properly because of the item embedded in his tongue.
Grinding his teeth, Cha Seohu stomped down on the jacket in frustration.
That bastard used a skill on me?!
The man’s skill altered substances within smoke.
And smoke could be anything.
The cigarette he used in the dining room, steam, fog, even dry ice—he could use them all as part of his skill.
Any kind of smoke from burning materials or even car exhaust ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) was fair game.
And smoke could become anything.
It could turn into a deadly poison that melted flesh and organs on contact, or mess with the brain directly to drive someone insane.
Because of that, people in the district called him either “the poison guy” or “the drug guy.”
No official examination by the Association, so no one knows his exact rank...
But everyone assumed he was S-rank.
And Cha Seohu, who knew there were grades higher than S, guessed he was at least SS-rank.
He’d seen it with his own eyes long ago—how even Mook Jeongho, whose body was more resistant than most S-ranks thanks to a physical enhancement skill, could barely resist and was left gasping for air.
Ugh, my stomach...
As his rage settled, a wave of nausea hit him like food poisoning.
The worst part about the man’s skill was that the weaker the dose, the more vivid the memory remained.
Fuck. Fuck.
He remembered everything—being held in the man’s arms while eating, rubbing his face into his chest, pulled in by that scent...
“Urgh, blegh!”
He truly wanted to vomit, but it had been more than three hours since he ate. All he could do was gag.
Clutching the toilet and retching fruitlessly, Cha Seohu finally staggered to his feet and gripped the sink.
His pale, hollow face stared back at him from the mirror.
“Huh?”
As he turned on the faucet to rinse his mouth, he suddenly remembered.
That’s right—he undid the restraints!
More precisely, his arms were no longer bound behind him—he was now cuffed at the wrists instead.
It wasn’t even close in terms of mobility.
Only now, after recovering from the shock of the skill, did he realize the restraint type had changed.
“Ha...”
Staring at the cuffs with a glint in his eye, Cha Seohu let out a dry laugh.
This worked out for him.
Smirking, he immediately shoved his hand into his mouth.
He didn’t know how long this window would last—he had to try removing the item embedded in his tongue now.
The moment his fingers touched the small object in the center of his tongue—
CRACKLE!
“AAAGH!”
Sparks flew, and a sharp jolt of electricity surged through his mouth. It was so intense that it brought tears to his eyes.
Just then, Hyun Dowoon—who’d been granted access to the 64th floor by the representative—came running in, startled by the scream.
“Wh-what the hell?! What are you doing?!”
Squatting in front of the sink and trembling from the pain, Cha Seohu muttered quietly.
“Fuck off...”
He would get his revenge.
No matter what—it was going to happen.
Cha Seohu burned with blazing hatred toward that man.

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