DOTH Volume 2 Chapter 5.2

“That’s enough.”

Director Yeon tapped his toe lightly again before opening his mouth to speak. A butler who had worked under Chairman Jung for a long time wasn’t so foolish as to not understand the command to stop. Halting his movements immediately, Lee Yootae’s lowered gaze landed on the glass table in front of him as he crawled on the floor.

Lee Yootae glanced upward briefly to observe the young alpha seated on the sofa. From his low vantage point, he couldn’t make out the man’s expression. All he could see were the casually crossed legs, the upper body straightening slightly, and the hand moving toward the table.

Director Yeon, fully aware of Lee Yootae’s quick glance directed at him, lazily poured whiskey into a crystal glass. The dark liquid flowed smoothly into the transparent glass, filling it without ice. Placing the now-full glass on the table, Director Yeon gave a short, languid command.

“Drink.”

It was a casual order, yet Lee Yootae could only flinch and didn’t dare reach for the glass. His entire body began to tremble as a sudden thought crossed his mind. What if the drink was drugged? Even though he knew resistance would be futile, his tembling body couldn’t summon the courage to move.

“……”

Director Yeon smirked slightly at Lee Yootae’s foolish defiance. A faint sound, somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle, escaped his lips. The alpha, still reclining on the sofa, leaned forward and picked up the glass himself. His large hand made the crystal glass appear small by comparison. As he moved, the dark liquid swirled gently inside the glass.

“What’s the problem? Do you think I poisoned it?” 

Director Yeon asked in a mockingly gentle tone.

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Then why are you so scared?”

Lifting the glass to his lips, Director Yeon tipped it back without hesitation. The movement of his throat was clearly visible as he swallowed.

“I haven’t even done anything.”

Setting the now half-empty glass back on the table, Director Yeon let it rest with a faint, grating sound as the crystal met the glass surface. The noise carried a subtle undertone of irritation.

Already tense, Lee Yootae’s trembling grew worse, his hands shaking violently as if in a seizure. It occurred to him that Director Yeon might be testing him. He couldn’t understand why he’d been dragged here, but he regretted failing to appease the alpha. The realization came far too late.

While Lee Yootae nervously watched, Director Yeon picked up the bottle of whiskey and poured it again, filling the glass to the brim. He stopped just before it overflowed and withdrew his hand.

“Drink it. Ignoring someone’s gesture of goodwill is rude, don’t you think, Butler Lee?”

Forcing himself to move, Lee Yootae grabbed the glass with trembling hands. The whiskey, filled almost to the top, sloshed over the rim, soaking his fingers before dripping onto the table and floor. The more his hands shook, the more liquid spilled.

Swallowing hard, Lee Yootaefelt a wave of humiliation. The idea of drinking from a glass previously used by someone much younger than himself stung his pride, but survival was far more important.  Squeezing his eyes shut, he downed the liquor in one go. The strong whiskey wetted his lips, passed over his tongue, and burned its way down his throat

“Cough!”

The undiluted whiskey burned his esophagus like fire as it slid down. This wasn’t a drink someone like Lee Yootae, a mere beta, could handle—unlike Director Yeon, who was an alpha.

“Cough, cough! Gah—!”

Choking as if the liquid passed over the wrong tunnel, Lee Yootae bent forward, covering his mouth with one hand as he coughed violently.

“You shouldn’t struggle over only a single drink.”

Director Yeon remarked, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Leaning forward, he gazed down at Lee Yootae, whose face was now flushed from both the liquor and the coughing fit. Despite his obvious discomfort, Lee kept his gaze locked on Director Yeon, desperately trying to decipher the man’s intentions.

The corners of Director Yeon’s lips curved, as he lowered his head slightly. Perhaps Lee Yootae thought it necessary to stay on his good side, as he maintained eye contact even while coughing so hard his face turned crimson. His expression suggested he didn’t quite grasp the meaning of Director Yeon’s words, though it wouldn’t be long before he did.

“Sorry I’m late. The traffic was terrible.”

Before the sentence was even finished, Kim Ji-won entered the room, accompanied by Sim Soocheon and a few team leaders from Jiwoo. Lee Yootae’s face, which had been flushed red moments ago, turned deathly pale. Even if he had no prior relationship with Director Yeon, he wasn’t so detached from the world as to fail to recognize Jiwoo’s key figures.

“Why is he crawling on the floor?” 

Kim Jiwon muttered to himself before gesturing to Shim Soocheon.

“This is uncomfortable, get him off the floor.”

“Yes, yes.”

With an air of nonchalance, Shim Soocheon grabbed Lee Yootae by the scruff of his neck and dragged him across the floor.

“S-Sir!” 

Lee Yootae called out in panic, but Director Yeon merely observed the scene with a bored expression.

“Why?” 

Director Yeon responded with a calm question. Rendered speechless, Lee Yootae had no choice but to let his body be dragged across the marble floor. The nightscape was right behind his back. Fear gripped him as his imagination conjured ridiculous scenarios—what if they threw him off a balcony? But his grim fantasies didn’t materialize. Instead, Shim Soocheon dropped him into a chair, putting him right in the position where he had started.

“Hold his arms. What if he starts kicking? Team leader, just tie him up—it’s less of a hassle.”

“Yes, yes. Always follow the doctor’s orders.”

“What are you two doing?! Let me go! I said, let go!”

Unfazed by Lee Yootae’s resistance, Shim Soocheon subdued him with practiced ease, binding his wrists to the chair’s armrests.

“Oh, right.”

As if suddenly remembering he needed to roll up the sleeve, Shim Soocheon clicked his tongue and used a knife to tear and pull up the fabric on Lee Yootae’s right sleeve.

“What are you doing?! D-Director! Why are you doing this?”

Lee Yootae struggled violently. The chair rattled noisily, scraping against the marble floor with harsh, grating sounds that pierced the ears.

“Don’t get agitated.”

Kim Jiwon snapped his fingers in front of Lee Yootae’s face, as if soothing a child, while retrieving a syringe from his bag.

“If you tip the chair over backward, you’ll crack your skull. You know the floor is marble, right?”

The words that followed sounded far from soothing a child.

“If you bleed everywhere, it’s a hassle for the people who have to clean up, so don’t make it worse.”

“Ugh!”

Seemingly fed up with the pointless resistance, Shim Soocheon drove a punch into Lee Yootae’s stomach. The experienced alpha’s blow was more than enough to silence the feeble attempts at rebellion.

“Ugh… ha… Is that filled with drugs? Have you gone crazy?”

“Don’t you know drugs are illegal in South Korea?”

Kim Jiwon clicked his tongue in disapproval and plunged the syringe’s needle deep into Lee Yootae’s muscular arm. A mysterious liquid began flowing into the restrained beta’s body.

“It’s just a stimulant. No need to worry.”

Discarding the syringe, Kim Jiwon turned to ask.

“What was the injection you gave Heeyeon-ssi?”

“Heeyeon-ssi?”

Who was that? Lee Yootae racked his frozen brain, trying to figure it out. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t immediately recall where he’d heard it. He glanced around nervously and caught sight of Director Yeon resting his chin on his hand, looking bored. If he didn’t answer quickly, he might just die here. Heeyeon. Heeyeon. Heeyeon… Jung Heeyeon.

“Could it be… our young master?”

Lee Yootae barely managed to recall that the young master he had been looking after was named Jung Heeyeon.

“Who said he’s your young master?”

Director Yeon drawled slowly, his head still resting in his hand.

“Uh…”

Lee Yootae let out a foolish noise. His fear-clouded brain struggled to process the situation. Was he captured because of the young master? But he had handed Jung Heeyeon over to Nam Soohyun, not Director Yeon, in exchange for clearing his mounting gambling debts. So why was this man asking about the young master?

“Could it be…”

A futile muttering slipped out between Lee Yootae’s lips. Gambling had drawn him in like a spell. His debts had piled up like mountains. And then came the sweet offer: if he just handed over the young master, all his debts would be erased.

“You’ll be better off talking quickly.”

Kim Jiwon grabbed Lee Yootae’s face, forcing him to look directly at him as he gave his warning.

“That shot earlier wasn’t a truth serum, you know.”

“Th-then what is it?”

“I told you, it’s a stimulant.”

“A stimulant…?”

“It heightens your senses, so you’ll feel pain even more intensely.”

“W-what?”

Lee Yootae began to pant heavily.

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