KTS 46

I don’t want to leave.

Winston urged his horse to run, trying to suppress the urge to go back to Yu-jin. Yu-jin could only stand there and watch Winston’s back as he quickly disappeared. Soon he was out of sight, and Yu-jin was left alone. Amid the silence that always came, the sound of the wind chimes echoed forlornly.

“Aren’t you playing around too much these days?”

Mrs. Campbell suddenly spoke up when it was dinnertime. Winston, who had been cutting his meat, stopped and looked at her. His mother continued with a benevolent smile.

“Your teachers say you’re keeping up well in class, but be careful not to play too much.”

“Is that all?”

Jason, who had been listening, interjected. The mother immediately hardened her face at her second son’s rebellion and asked,

“What are you talking about?”

Mrs. Campbell’s reaction was the complete opposite of how she treated Winston. Jason was momentarily flustered by her cold gaze, but he didn’t lose courage and protested.

“Aren’t you being too biased? You let Winston do whatever he wants, but to us…”

“I have no complaints, Mother.”

It was the eldest son, Gordon, who suddenly interjected. Jason stretched out his hands and shrugged his shoulders at him, as if to say, “What are you doing?” But Gordon cleverly continued,

“Winston is still young, and as long as he doesn’t cause any problems, it doesn’t matter, right? When else will he get to play? Isn’t that right, Winston?”

He even added a smile to his youngest brother. Jason was simply dumbfounded by his flawless brother’s social skills. The mother seemed pleased with her son’s attitude, and she withdrew her sharp gaze and added sternly,

“Winston takes care of all his own affairs. You guys can do that too, can’t you? Especially you, Jason.”

“Mother.”

Jason called out to her as if he felt wronged, but he had nothing more to say. Leaving him with a pout, the meal continued. Catherine, the eldest daughter, who had been cautiously observing the atmosphere, opened her mouth.

“By the way, Father is late today? Is he busy with work?”

Harold was not a caring father, but he did not neglect his duties. One of them was meals, and he tried to have breakfast and dinner with his family no matter how busy he was. When his unusual absence was brought up, the mother’s expression suddenly turned cold.

“He said he would have dinner at the detached house today.”

“Ah…”

Catherine gasped as if she was embarrassed, and Gordon and Jason also watched their mother’s reaction. In addition, Jason thought that his timing was really bad, considering he had rebelled against his mother today.

The detached house?

Winston was the only one who didn’t know what it meant. The atmosphere at the table became heavy, as if everyone knew something, but all Winston knew was that Yu-jin was there.

“Is there something wrong with the detached house?”

At Winston’s question, all eyes suddenly focused on him. This was also an unusual reaction. The mother smiled as usual at Winston, who was frowning and waiting for an answer, and opened her mouth.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

That was the end of it. Everyone turned their eyes away and continued eating. He was curious, but it wasn’t an atmosphere where he could say anything more. Winston had no choice but to stop asking questions.

I can ask tomorrow.

Yu-jin would tell him the answer. Thinking that, he couldn’t stand still. He wanted to see his face right away. Winston finished dinner without even realizing what he was eating.

As night fell, everything was quiet. It was the first time he had come outside at this hour. He carefully crossed the garden, where he could only hear the occasional rustling of leaves and the eerie sound of owls, and when he reached the stables, as expected, there was no one around. Winston looked around and stepped inside.

“Lancelot, Lancelot.”

He called out in a hushed voice, and the horse soon responded. Winston approached his beloved horse and stroked his nose affectionately.

“You weren’t asleep yet. Can you give me a ride for a bit?”

The horse nodded his head up and down as if he understood, then pawed the ground twice with his front hooves. Winston carefully led Lancelot out, put the tack on himself, and climbed onto the horse. His height, which was much taller than his peers, was very helpful in times like these. He walked quietly, and as soon as he felt it was safe, he immediately rode the horse towards the detached house. Lancelot galloped through the wind as if he had been waiting for it.

It felt strange to be riding the road he always took during the day so late at night. But when he thought about going to see Yu-jin, his heart pounded so hard he couldn’t stand it. He’ll see Yu-jin soon. He’s going to see Yu-jin.

I want to see him soon.

Only Yu-jin’s face remained in his head. He didn’t even think about getting caught sneaking out at night or getting scolded. All that mattered was that he was going to see Yu-jin now.

Yu-jin, wait for me. I’m coming now.

He ran so frantically that when he finally reached the front of the detached house, Winston was panting with his shoulders heaving. He had been worried that he might already be asleep, but when he saw the light on in the second-floor bedroom, Winston’s face immediately brightened. He hurriedly got off his horse and ran to the detached house, then immediately knocked on the door and shouted.

“Yu-jin, it’s me! It’s Winston! I’m here, open the door! Yu-jin!”

His voice naturally grew louder in his eagerness. It didn’t matter how loudly he shouted. No one lived here except Yu-jin.

As expected, after a while, he heard footsteps from inside, and soon the door opened.

“Winston!”

Winston’s lips turned up on their own at the sight of Yu-jin’s face looking up at him with wide eyes. Yu-jin was wearing short sleeves and shorts pajamas made of thin cloth, as if he was getting ready to sleep. How could he be so cute? Yu-jin asked, bewildered, as he watched Winston break into a bright smile.

“What’s going on? What brings you here at this hour…”

When he actually tried to answer, the words didn’t come out. As soon as he saw Yu-jin’s face, he forgot everything about why he had come here. No, everything seemed so trivial that there was no need to say it. What could be important? Yu-jin was right in front of him, and Winston stammered unusually before opening his mouth.

“Um, I heard my father came here.”

“Oh, yeah. But he left a while ago. Did you come to look for Mr. Campbell?”

Yu-jin asked cautiously. But Winston already knew he wasn’t there. Of course. He had come after confirming that his father had returned to the main building.

“No, that’s not it.”

Winston took a deep breath and exhaled, confessing as if he were spitting out a lump lodged deep inside.”I came because I missed you.”

“What?”

Yu-jin’s eyes widened in surprise. Winston felt his chest swell and confessed again.

“I missed you so much that I came. I couldn’t stand it.”

Yu-jin just stared at him, but Winston couldn’t wait for an answer and pressed him.

“Do you?”

Winston continued to ask, not giving him a chance to speak.

“Didn’t you miss me? I, I want to see you every day, no, every moment.”

Yu-jin’s face quickly turned pink at the passionate confession. Even his embarrassed appearance was so cute and lovely that Winston couldn’t bear it. He felt like his heart would explode.

“Then I’ll go.”

“Huh?”

Yu-jin was surprised again to see the boy suddenly stepping back. Winston took another step back and said,

“I just came because I wanted to see you. That’s all.”

Belatedly, embarrassment rose. Feeling the heat rising on his reddening face, Winston covered his face with his arm and hurriedly turned around, but suddenly Yu-jin, who had chased after him, grabbed his clothes.

“Wait, Winston!”

Winston, who almost fell, turned around and saw Yu-jin standing in front of him. Standing barefoot and facing Winston, he opened his mouth in a trembling voice.

“I, I also… I also missed you.”

Winston’s eyes gradually widened. Yu-jin couldn’t bear the embarrassment and covered his face with both hands, muttering softly.

“I also think of you every day. I always want to see you.”

Ah, Yu-jin.

Winston’s chest was so full that he couldn’t speak at his sincerity, which he had barely managed to utter. The hand holding Yu-jin’s arm trembled. He gently pulled him closer, and he saw Yu-jin’s face, which was as red as Winston’s. Winston couldn’t take his eyes off him and held both of his hands tightly. Winston’s face filled Yu-jin’s large eyes.

Chup.

With a small sound, their lips touched. Before they knew it, both of them had closed their eyes. A breeze as soft as their touching lips brushed past them.