Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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29.
He scratched at his chin, half muttering to himself.
“I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”
Hee Ju bit into her pizza as though it were of no great consequence. Otherwise, she might realize that this man was being kind only to her.
The half-cooled pizza tasted quite good. Far better than the omelets she’d eaten so far.
***
Noel had said she could use his grandfather’s room, but Hee Ju chose the living room sofa instead. Everything in that room remained untouched, ready for his grandfather to return and use it at any moment.
She didn’t want to disturb it with her own hands. Perhaps it was the last anchor that held Noel steady.
A rush of water sounded from the bathroom. Hee Ju glanced at the closed door, then powered on the Laptop she’d borrowed from Noel.
The expensive device opened an internet browser faster than her phone ever could. She glanced at the bathroom door once more before typing her search query.
[Lord Benjamin Cloph, Senator.]
The screen changed, and several search results appeared. Hee Ju clicked on the Wikipedia article at the top.
The first thing to catch her eye was a photograph of a man. An elderly figure with receding hair, turned slightly toward the camera, facing forward.
A stern expression, jowls that drooped with age, wrinkles etched deep between his brows. At a glance, one could tell he was someone not to be trifled with.
Especially his eyes—sharp as flint, hard as stone.
“Lord Benjamin Cloph.”
Hee Ju murmured his name softly. She scanned the sparse family tree. Liam’s name was mentioned only briefly.
She read through the content quickly. Important keywords arranged themselves neatly in the drawers of her mind.
The history of the Cloph Family, wealth accumulated through munitions manufacturing after the Industrial Revolution, Benjamin Cloph serving as Foreign Minister, various controversies and criticisms.
“……Hm?”
Having scrolled to the end, Hee Ju frowned faintly. Then she went back to the beginning and read through the document more carefully.
Benjamin Cloph’s son and Liam’s father currently served as CEO of a munitions company. His older brother, Philip, was involved in environmental activism and pursuing a career in politics.
Yet nowhere could she find Liam’s name. A single word in the family tree at the beginning was all there was.
Hee Ju clicked on Liam’s father and brother’s names. The page changed.
But this time too, Liam’s name was nowhere to be found. In fact, there wasn’t even a page dedicated to describing him.
“Philip Cloph.”
On the screen, a likable man beamed brightly. A politician’s characteristic warm smile. Eight teeth showing.
“…….”
Philip, who stood before people without hesitation, and Liam, of whom no official news articles could be found anywhere. Though brothers, they were utterly different.
Why?
Hee Ju’s gaze lingered on her mother’s name. The fact that it appeared in blue suggested there was a page for her as well.
Just as she was about to click on her mother’s name, the sound of water from the bathroom cut off. Hee Ju quickly shut down the Laptop and leaned back against the sofa.
Liam emerged with wet hair and retrieved a Blanket from somewhere, draping it over Hee Ju’s shoulders.
“You’ll catch a cold in this temperature.”
Hee Ju turned to look at him with an expression of disbelief. Liam stood there shirtless, shaking out his wet hair.
“Who will? Me, or you?”
“I’m used to this level of cold.”
At those words, something flickered across Hee Ju’s face. A son of a prestigious noble family, a wealthy household that had accumulated great fortune—why would he be accustomed to this cold?
Once raised, questions bred questions in succession. Unanswered questions swirled violently within her.
Liam pulled on the Knit Sweater he’d discarded and sat down in the Wing Chair, speaking.
“Get comfortable and lie down.”
“What about you?”
“This is enough for me.”
“Are you used to that too?”
“Hm?”
Liam raised his brows as if to ask what she meant.
Hee Ju pressed her lower lip firmly between her teeth. A retort about being accustomed to sleeping uncomfortably crumpled in that Wing Chair lingered on the tip of her tongue.
“It’s nothing.”
In the end, she swallowed those words and stretched out on the sofa, extending her legs.
As her eyes closed, darkness descended. And with it, the sounds around her became far more vivid.
The radiator hummed steadily, the Chinese neighbors next door were quarreling with someone, and a young woman’s laughter drifted through.
Wind rattled the windows from time to time, and the muffled thud of music echoed faintly.
“Are you asleep?”
Liam asked. Hee Ju answered with her eyes still closed.
“No.”
“It’s the day after tomorrow.”
“What is?”
“Your father’s funeral.”
For a moment, Hee Ju’s breath caught. Her lips sealed shut. She exhaled quietly, like someone already asleep.
“While you were in the shower, I called the Nursing Home. An employee named Emily answered.”
Hee Ju’s lips twitched slightly, but nothing emerged but her breathing. She sealed her lips again.
She couldn’t understand it. How could she be shaken this deeply by just those words?
She had met her father only once. And even that was brief. A mere ten minutes or so.
She had never longed for him, never loved him. So what was this feeling catching in her throat?
“The Nursing Home seems to have delayed the funeral while they handled the incident. A corpse was left lying in the Gate House, and a nurse has disappeared.”
“……Is that so?”
This time, she managed to produce a sound. Whether it was her usual voice, she couldn’t say for certain.
Liam rose from his seat and walked toward the sofa. She felt him drop heavily to the floor beside it. His back pressed against the sofa.
Hee Ju did not open her eyes. She didn’t know what expression to wear.
If she met his gaze now, he would see right through her, unmasking everything she herself didn’t understand. He always saw through her.
Streetlight from outside cast across her face. Liam slowly reached out and brushed her hair back.
Hee Ju wished he weren’t being kind. Wished he weren’t being gentle.
His large hand slid down her shoulder. His fingers interlaced slowly with her smaller ones.
“Will you attend?”
“The risk is too great. They’re probably anticipating that we’ll show up.”
“We’ll find a way. If that’s what you want.”
“…….”
Hee Ju said nothing again. But silence was answer enough. Liam likely understood that too.
Liam, who had been stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, leaned his head against her chest with a soft thud. Silence settled down around them.
Liam slowly closed his eyes. He felt satisfied without needing anything more. It was quite an unexpected development.
When he looked at Hee Ju, he was often seized by a burning desire. He wanted to explore every inch of her body, to penetrate to the deepest places all at once.
But now this was enough. Even he didn’t understand why, but it was.
And yet at the same time, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to possess more. He wanted to know her more intimately. He wanted to touch places no one had ever touched.
Liam frowned faintly, unable to comprehend the contradictory emotions.
He was someone with a clear mind, with distinct preferences. And he rarely muddled his own feelings.
But now he couldn’t understand his own heart.
The two pans on opposite sides of the scale had held their balance, but now they began to tip to one side.
The side of burning desire. His abdomen grew warm with a dull heat.
Liam lifted their joined hands and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Hee Ju laughed softly—it tickled.
What began as a light kiss, gentle as a small bird pecking, gradually grew more intense. He licked her fingers deliberately, then glanced up at her.
Hee Ju’s face, which had been laughing like a child just moments before, had already grown rigid.
Her eyes wavered. Whether from anticipation or tension, he couldn’t tell.
Liam smiled, his eyes narrowing to slits. At least he knew exactly what power his smile wielded.
“Can one kiss a Minor, even if there’s technically an age gap?”
The half-muttered question drifted toward Hee Ju. She opened her mouth hesitantly.
“Well, to that extent…”
Liam’s eyes narrowed to threads. And in the next moment, he consumed her lips.
“!”
It was like a storm with no warning. Or perhaps more like a traffic accident.
Hee Ju’s eyes closed reflexively. The hand gripping her wrist pulled her face close, preventing her from pulling away.
His tongue, parting her lips, ravaged her without restraint. It advanced relentlessly into the deepest places.
The living room, which had been cool moments before, suddenly filled with heat. Without meaning to, Hee Ju clung to Liam’s arm.
Whether that meant stop or continue, even she didn’t know.
“…….”
It was hot. A pleasure she had never experienced before. It awakened a strange thrill alongside fear. Like a child committing their first transgression.
Liam pulled back from her lips and moved slowly downward. When he licked her neck, Hee Ju trembled without meaning to.
As if to prevent her escape, Liam’s hand gripped the back of her neck.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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