By Zephyria Only the sound of rain continued between them until an answer came. Yu-jin felt that the mere seconds of silence felt like torture. The pain and guilt of that time were revived, and he wanted to cry, when Winston opened his mouth.
“It was just the price of foolishness.”
That was all. No, Yu-jin wanted to say, but he couldn’t open his mouth.
“Winston, I…”
He barely made a sound, but he couldn’t continue. Winston’s eyes, looking at him, suppressed his tongue like a stone.
“…You wouldn’t believe anything I say, would you?”
Yu-jin asked weakly, drooping his shoulders, and Winston chuckled. He frowned and openly ridiculed Yu-jin, and said with the corners of his mouth still twisted.
“Honey, I saw it with my own eyes.”
What you saw with your eyes isn’t all the truth.
Yu-jin stopped trying to say more. It was as if a huge, thick wall stood between him and Winston. Winston would never believe Yu-jin’s words. Because he ‘saw’ it ‘directly’, as he said.
“…Okay.”
That was all Yu-jin could do.
“Now that you’ve taken your medicine, you’re okay, right? Then I’ll really go. Rest well.”
He spoke mechanically and stiffly, and then tried to leave the room, but he belatedly remembered something and stopped.
“Angie is fine. She ate the soup and fell asleep again, and she was grateful that you came to find her.”
He only told the truth, but Winston didn’t accept it readily.
“Crying just by looking at my face from afar?”
Yu-jin answered, excluding as much emotion as possible, to him who was still only sneering.
“That’s because of your scent. Angie is very afraid of your pheromones. She says it feels like it’s crushing her whole body.”
Instead of a sneer, a question arose on Winston’s face. As if to say, what on earth does that mean. Of course, he would. This must be his first time experiencing this. Yu-jin thought and continued to add explanations.
“If you don’t want the child to be scared and cry when she sees you, you can get rid of the scent. Extreme alphas can do that, right? Spilling pheromones at any time is something you do voluntarily.”
He had said everything he had to say. Yu-jin said good night this time and left the room. Anyway, there was nothing more he could do, and he had done everything he could. If he needed anything, he would call the Butler then.
Even though he thought so, Yu-jin waited for a long time beyond the closed door. He was anxious that he might hear ominous sounds from Winston’s room again, but all he heard was the fading sound of rain.
What am I doing.
Feeling self-loathing, he returned to his bed and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Once revived, the memories were not easily buried again. Mrs. Campbell’s voice, grabbing the dying Winston and screaming and cursing Yu-jin, echoed in his ears louder than the sound of rain.
* * *
The lightly touching lips parted and the two stared blankly at each other. For a moment, they didn’t know what they had done. It was a few seconds later that they realized they had kissed.
With a gasp, Winston stepped back and Yu-jin covered his mouth with both hands. The two looked at each other with wide eyes. Their faces, illuminated by the lights coming from the Separate Residence/Annex, were both flushed red.
“Th, that, well, that is.”
Winston opened his mouth first, but couldn’t form a sentence. Yu-jin just rolled his eyes, watching Winston stuttering in a fluster.
“…I’ll go!”
In the end, Winston chose to run away. Yu-jin, who belatedly came to his senses behind Winston, who hurriedly turned around and got on his horse, shouted.
“Winston!”
Winston, who paused at the sound of his name, stopped his horse and turned around, and Yu-jin, who had been following him for a few steps, stopped and asked.
“You’ll… You’ll come again, right? Huh?”
Yu-jin’s voice was full of anxiety and fear. He seemed terrified that he might never see Winston again. Seeing that face, Winston couldn’t stand it, got off his horse and ran straight to Yu-jin.
Winston pressed his lips a little harder this time and hugged Yu-jin tightly.
“Of course, Yu-jin! I’ll come again. I’ll definitely come!”
At the forceful voice, Yu-jin also raised his hesitant arms and hugged Winston back. Their hearts were pounding against each other as if they would burst. Winston carefully turned his head and kissed Yu-jin’s lips again. Lips met and parted repeatedly, making a smacking sound.
Suddenly, he felt an urge to go somewhere with Yu-jin as he was. He didn’t want to be apart from him for even a moment. He wanted to be alone with him. In a place where no one in the world was, just the two of them.
“Come tomorrow.”
Yu-jin whispered, reluctantly letting go of his arm. Winston said okay, then grabbed Yu-jin’s cheeks and kissed his lips again. Yu-jin barely took his feet off and got on his horse, but this time Yu-jin didn’t hold him back and instead waved his arm. Winston also smiled as if to say don’t worry, then headed back on his horse.
I didn’t ask about his father…
It was only when he saw the mansion that he remembered. But right now, that didn’t mean anything. The important thing was that Winston had kissed Yu-jin. And the fact that Yu-jin was so cute.
I have to marry Yu-jin.
Winston, who secretly put his horse in the stable and returned to his room, lay on the bed and fell into his own imagination. His heart felt like it would burst when he imagined them making vows of love to each other and exchanging rings. Winston fell asleep before he knew it, with a smile on his face.
Yu-jin appeared in his dream. His white skin dyed pink, he sat on the bed, covered his body with a sheet, and waited for Winston.
Welcome, my husband.
When Yu-jin shyly lowered the sheet, his pink nipples were visible. Winston woke up when he felt a dizziness that made his eyes spin. And he learned in succession that he had wet his underwear. It was his first wet dream.
* * *
“A charity party?”
He asked in surprise at the news he received as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning, and the Butler nodded and added an explanation.
“Yes, you have been invited together, so you must go. The clothes and necessary accessories you will wear will be delivered in the afternoon. If you don’t like the design, I will call someone else tomorrow.”
Yu-jin blinked in confusion at the smooth words. The nightmarish memories of the wedding reception came to mind, and Yu-jin’s complexion quickly turned pale, and the Butler asked, puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong?”
Yu-jin barely suppressed the urge to vomit and opened his mouth.
“Um, is that… Is that a place I can’t avoid going to? Maybe if I’m not feeling well or something…”
“You must go.”
The Butler mercilessly cut off the glimmer of hope. He watched the desperate emotion spread across Yu-jin’s face and continued.
The Butler mercilessly cut off the glimmer of hope. He watched the desperate emotion spread across Yu-jin’s face and continued.
“You can’t refuse these kinds of events forever. It will be easier to get used to it. If you attend this time, you may be able to make excuses and skip the next time…”The afterthought offered another glimmer of hope. Yu-jin, half in doubt, asked about the tip the Butler had given him.
“So… you’re saying that since I can’t avoid them all, it’s okay if I show my face once or twice and then make excuses to be absent?”
The Butler didn’t answer, but Yu-jin’s guess was correct. Considering his position, where he couldn’t outright tell him not to attend the parties, this alone was a tremendous help.
“Thank you, Cain.”
As he expressed his sincere gratitude, the Butler casually changed the subject.
“Angie woke up a little while ago and is looking for you, Mr. Yu-jin. Would you like to have your meal in Angie’s room?”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
Hurriedly saying so, Yu-jin got out of bed, then suddenly remembered and asked.
“Um, how is Winston…? Is he doing any better?”
The memory of him suffering last night weighed heavily on his heart. The Butler replied in the same even tone as before.
“He went to work.”
“Yes? What did you say?”
Yu-jin was surprised and raised his voice without realizing it. The Butler’s expressionless face came into view in his wide-open field of vision.
“Today is a weekday, and it’s a day for him to go to work. He left a little while ago.”
“…I see.”
In response to Yu-jin’s dazed muttering, the Butler continued.
“Mr. Campbell doesn’t take days off unless he’s asleep after a Rut or in some other very special circumstance. He always went to the office even when he was in worse condition than he is now.”
If he hadn’t seen his condition the day before, he wouldn’t have been so concerned. But the image of him in pain kept flashing before his eyes, and Yu-jin couldn’t easily accept it.
“I went to Winston’s room yesterday and saw him collapse.”
Yu-jin reluctantly confessed. He carefully continued, speaking to the Butler, who was waiting silently.
“He had trouble getting up and lying down on the bed. I brought him medicine and even made sure he took it, but that’s medicine that extreme alphas take, right? So the effect must be incredibly strong, and he took five pills….”
“That’s a lot less.”
Yu-jin, who had been speaking with concern, stopped talking. The Butler continued in a calm, businesslike voice.
“In the past, when he had a seizure like yesterday, he would take a whole bottle in a day. Now it’s five pills, so he’s really gotten better. He’ll get even better in the future. You don’t have to worry so much.”
Then he added in a monotonous tone.
“As you know, the recovery rate of extreme alphas is incomparable to that of other species.”
And yet he’s still like that, so how bad must it have been?
He seemed to be trying to reassure Yu-jin, but Yu-jin felt even more uneasy. The last time he had seen Winston, five years ago, he had been using a cane.
But at that time, he had thought it was because it hadn’t been long since the accident and he hadn’t recovered yet.
But to think he’s been in that condition until now.
‘It was just the price of foolishness.’
Winston’s words echoed in his ears. The price for loving Yu-jin had been too high for him. Perhaps that was why Winston hated Yu-jin so much. Because the sense of betrayal must have been that great.
‘Honey, I know better than anyone else in the world just how much of a messy slut you are.’
Yu-jin stood blankly, repeating Winston’s words. The angry golden eyes that had glared at him flashed before his eyes once again.