By Zephyria The guys who had been chattering suddenly became mute. Seeing them just looking at each other and keeping their mouths shut, Yu-jin was convinced of his guess.
This can’t be happening.
Suddenly, the world seemed to collapse. Winston slept with someone other than me. I’ve been waiting for Winnie all this time. How could he do this?
“Um, Winston’s constitution is like that, so he can’t help it.”
When one guy bravely spoke, others chimed in as if they had been waiting for it.
“That’s right, I heard that if he doesn’t get rid of pheromones, he’ll go crazy.”
“No one wants to go crazy and die, right? Anyone in that situation would have no choice but to do that.”
“It’s a good thing that he can solve pheromones with sex.”
“That’s right, that’s what you call cost-effectiveness. Avoiding a big risk without putting in much effort…”
Yu-jin just hung his head, letting the sounds of them talking as they pleased flow through one ear. Their words were right. It’s not like he wanted to, it’s an unavoidable choice because of his constitution. There are people in the world who can’t drink milk because of their constitution. It’s no different from that.
He’s only been kissing me so far, so he must have had to get rid of pheromones that way.
Yu-jin forcibly suppressed his feelings and tried to smile as if nothing was wrong.
“You said it was unavoidable. It’s okay, he just doesn’t have to go anymore.”
It’s okay, I’ll get rid of pheromones for him from now on. There’s no way Winnie will go to a place like that again, leaving me behind.
Seeing him add that inwardly as if making a promise to himself, the guys hurriedly started chattering to make up for their mistake.
“Yeah, that’s right. Just let it go.”
“It’s nothing, you have to put up with that if you’re dating an extreme alpha.”
All the words that came out were things he didn’t like. They’re calling these words comfort. Yu-jin was about to open his mouth to point out sharply when another guy added before him.
“You’re not going to be together for that long anyway. Winnie’s going to marry Evelyn anyway.”
Suddenly, his mind went blank. Yu-jin’s face, which had been smiling, froze, and he heard another guy agreeing with him.
“That’s right, Yu-jin won’t think about it seriously either. Right?”
“You’re just enjoying the moment, there’s no need to go into it deeply.”
“That’s right, it’s all just for a while anyway.”
They were laughing and clinking the necks of their beer bottles as if to toast, but Yu-jin was just staring blankly at them.”……What?”
The guys who had been spouting nonsense jokes stopped and turned their attention to Yu-jin’s reaction, which was just a dumbfounded exclamation. Yu-jin was still just staring blankly at them with wide eyes. The smiles disappeared from their faces at the unusual reaction, replaced by expressions of bewilderment.
“Uh, well… you didn’t know?”
One of the guys mustered up the courage to speak. Another hesitated and spoke to Yu-jin, who still looked dazed.
“S-sorry, we thought you knew…”
“We didn’t mean anything bad. Good things are good, so…”
They kept saying something, but not a single word reached him. Their words just kept swirling around in his ears.
“You’re getting married to Evelyn?”
That was all he could manage, squeezing the words out of his throat. The guys looked at each other, disconcerted by Yu-jin’s trembling voice. As if they didn’t know how much they should say. After exchanging glances for a while, one of them stepped forward.
“They’ve been friends since they were very young, and their families know each other well… they’re already engaged, the two of them.”
“Hey, do you have to say that much…”
Someone tried to stop him, but another shook his head.
“It’s too late anyway. What’s the point of hiding it when you’ve already said everything?”
At those words, the expressions of the other guys also softened as if they had resigned themselves. One of them continued.
“Everyone thinks they’re going to get married. It’s been like that for a long time. It probably won’t change.”
“Winston has to carry on the family line, so who he marries is important too.”
“Look, sorry. We didn’t need to say all this…”
“No.”
Yu-jin barely managed to answer in a hoarse voice to someone’s apology.
“Thanks for letting me know. I need to know too…”
That was all. He didn’t know what else to say.
Yu-jin stood there blankly, staring into the distance. He had put on a show of being okay, but it had all gone up in smoke. He was already in a daze just from the fact that Winston was sleeping with someone else, but now he had been hit with a counterpunch. Yu-jin was completely unable to recover.
It was then.
“Yu-jin.”
Suddenly, Winston’s voice was heard from behind, and he gently wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close. Winston buried his face in Yu-jin’s hair, who was limply pulled into his arms, and took a deep breath. Then, with one arm around his waist, he offered him the beer he was holding with his other hand.
“Here, sorry I’m late. I was looking for something cold.”
His voice was still affectionate, but it didn’t melt Yu-jin’s heart. The guys who had gathered were slowly looking around, and then one by one they made excuses and left. Even then, Yu-jin just stood there in that state without saying a word.
“Yu-jin, what’s wrong?”
Winston, belatedly noticing the strange atmosphere, asked with a puzzled expression. But for some reason, Yu-jin couldn’t bring himself to speak. The shock might have been too great. He had no idea what to say or how to ask. Only the same words kept swirling around in his head.
Winston is sleeping with so many people.
He doesn’t want to marry me either. I’m just a plaything before he marries Evelyn.
Was even the word ‘like’ a lie?
…I don’t know.
Belatedly, the tip of his nose tingled painfully. Yu-jin tried to hold back the tears, but it wasn’t easy. He bit his lip and struggled, and the moment he blinked, a thick teardrop fell down.
“Yu-jin, are you crying now? Why?”
Winston, who immediately noticed it, asked in a raised voice as if he was flustered. But Yu-jin couldn’t answer easily. Winston was at a loss for a moment at the sight of him hurriedly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, but soon found the cause.
“What did those bastards do while I was gone?”
Yu-jin had been with them while he was away, so the cause was obvious. Winston tried to soften his voice as much as possible so that Yu-jin wouldn’t be scared.
“What did they say? Or did something bad happen? It’s okay, Yu-jin. Tell me. Nothing will happen, okay?”
He kept trying to soothe Yu-jin, but it had the opposite effect. The affectionate voice made Yu-jin even more hurt, and he finally started sobbing. At that moment, Winston completely lost his mind.
* * *
Hoo.
Yu-jin took a deep breath, exhaling with a trembling breath. The tears had stopped a long time ago, but the sobs didn’t subside easily. He wiped his stinging eyes again and calmed himself down, sitting on the bed, when he heard a knock. The person who opened the door and came in was, of course, Winston.
“Are you okay?”
Winston, who had soaked a towel in cold water, strode over and asked worriedly. Yu-jin said thank you and buried his face in the towel. The cold, soft texture seemed to cool the heat on his face.
“The friends…? Did they all leave?”
“A while ago.”
Winston spoke briefly, but Yu-jin knew it too. He had seen him yelling and kicking out the uninvited guests.
“You didn’t have to shoot a gun…”
To Yu-jin, who spoke in a small voice, Winston continued, saying it was okay.
“Those guys wouldn’t leave unless I did that much. I should have done that from the start.”
Thanks to that, even the police came. If it hadn’t been for the name Campbell, he might have been arrested right away. While Winston was explaining to the police that it was just an accidental misfire, Yu-jin was sitting on the bed anxiously. Thanks to that, he had time to stop crying and calm down, but it’s better not to do such dangerous things.
“Don’t do that in the future. I’m scared you’ll get hurt, and you might get arrested.”
“Okay.”
Winston readily promised and stroked Yu-jin’s hair. With a worried expression on his face.
“Why did you cry?”
Yu-jin suddenly felt like something was stuck in his throat. A heavy silence flowed between them.