KTS 133

Haaa.

Winston rubbed his tired eyes. He had already drunk four cups of coffee, but he couldn’t stop the rising fatigue. It was long past quitting time, but there was still a mountain of documents to be processed in front of him. All of these documents must be reviewed today and sorted by tomorrow morning. Just thinking about it made him feel nauseous.

For a while after joining his father’s company, it was okay. Under the pretext of learning the job, he left work earlier than the regular time and spent time with Yu-jin, and they had such happy days. He taught Yu-jin how to drive and found good restaurants nearby to eat together. He was invited to parties a few times, and in the process, Yu-jin made some friends.

That was very fortunate considering what would happen later. Winston began to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work, and the time they spent together gradually decreased.

Fortunately, before that, Winston taught Yu-jin various things so that he could spend his time. Yu-jin would take taxis or public transportation and go out quite a distance. If he found something he liked, he would buy it and show it to Winston. Sometimes he gave gifts to his friends, and he was doing well. Thanks to that, Winston was able to focus on his work with peace of mind, but at some point, unsavory rumors began to spread one by one.

“Are you going to be late again today?”

Suddenly, a voice flew at Winston, who was quickly processing the overdue documents after hanging up the phone. When he turned his reluctant gaze, Gordon was opening the door and looking at him. His brother’s face, with a good complexion, showed no signs of fatigue at all. Winston knew how lazy his brother was at work. He often left early and sometimes didn’t come at all. Sometimes he couldn’t understand why he had to devote himself to work so much. None of his brothers were this dedicated.

There was only one reason. It was for Yu-jin. Winston wanted to give Yu-jin a more comfortable and peaceful life than anyone else. When they left the family, their lives were a mess. While Winston was busy with work, Yu-jin gradually drank alcohol. It was probably to forget his loneliness. Because it wasn’t a very secure place, he couldn’t go out of the house alone. Because of this, Yu-jin drank one or two glasses of the alcohol Winston had bought every day and fell asleep. Every time he saw that, Winston wondered if he had made the right choice in leaving the family with Yu-jin.

But it’s different now. Yu-jin could go anywhere and was rich enough to do whatever he wanted. It was all thanks to Winston returning to the family. Because of this, Winston was determined not to give up this time.

Someday, if a child is born, he will pass on the empire to that child. To do that, he has to please his father. Once he decided to return to the family, his goal was clear. And he thought his sacrifice now was too trivial. Sometimes he wondered if there was any meaning in a life so busy that he couldn’t even spend proper time with Yu-jin, but.

Everyone has their own place.He thought that way and comforted himself. Gordon and the other brothers were just playing around, enjoying the family’s wealth, but that was the life given to them. Winston wasn’t given that kind of life. But he had no intention of giving up. The only way left was to desperately run down this path.

“I still have a lot of work left.”

Winston, who glanced at the documents piled up as if to show off, lowered his gaze back to the documents he was looking at, and Gordon let out a sigh so loud it was grating on the ears.

“Poor little brother. You’re suffering like this, but that guy is…”

“Yeah, while I’m working, Yu-jin is meeting friends and buying whatever he wants, enjoying the freedom Father took away from him all this time.”

Winston repeated the words he had already repeated to the point of exhaustion. Expressing his weariness completely. Most people would back down at this point. But Gordon wasn’t like most people.

“There’s a clear difference between freedom and licentiousness. Well, if you don’t care, that’s fine, but… it doesn’t feel good to see my brother being taken advantage of.”

“If you have something to say, say it quickly and get out, I’m busy.”

To Winston, who roughly spat out the words ‘I don’t have time to spare like you,’ Gordon chuckled and replied.

“Alright. I just wanted to let you know that your Omega is constantly bringing men into his bed.”

Winston just snorted. As if to say what nonsense he was talking. But Gordon didn’t back down there.

“You might not want to believe it, but it’s true. You know, he was originally a prostitute brought in to be Father’s sperm receptacle. It’s not surprising, he’s just acting according to his nature.”

Winston put down the documents he was looking at without a word. As he slowly got up from his chair and straightened his back, Gordon, who met his gaze, flinched noticeably for a moment. Looking at his brother, Winston muttered in a low, threatening voice.

“You must have expected how I would react when you talked about Yu-jin like that, right?”

“Of course. But someone has to tell the truth, right? I just had to take responsibility as the eldest son.”

At the hurried tone, as if making excuses, Winston visibly twisted the corners of his lips. The pheromone scent that always lingered around him became even stronger, and a golden light flickered in his eyes.

“A mouse that tries to bell the cat is bound to die, isn’t it?”

At this rate, he really felt like he would kill him. Gordon felt a serious sense of crisis and hurriedly backed away.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I apologize. I said something harsh, please forgive me just once!”

At his brother’s attitude of holding out both hands and repeatedly apologizing, Winston calmed down his anger. If it weren’t for the pile of work in front of him, he would have strangled Gordon right away, but he didn’t have the time. Should he just throw him out the window? Winston glanced back at the full-length window behind him. Not a bad choice. It wouldn’t take long either.

As if sensing his thoughts, Gordon retreated far away with a pale face. When Winston frowned, he shouted from afar.

“The day will come when you regret it, you’ll admit that I’m right!”

Leaving those words like a will, Gordon hurriedly ran away. Listening to the gradually disappearing footsteps, Winston, who was standing in his place, violently loosened his tie and sat back down. He had wasted time unnecessarily. How many minutes had he already wasted listening to such nonsense?

This kind of provocation wasn’t a one-day or two-day thing. Not only Gordon but also other family members took turns visiting him. The content was mostly the same, but one thing was the same for everyone. That Yu-jin was deceiving Winston and that he was now enjoying a promiscuous life, constantly changing partners.

Winston snorted and ridiculed them every time. He even felt sympathy for such a shallow trick. It was too low-level a tactic to separate Yu-jin and him. Doing such a thing would only make his feelings for Yu-jin grow stronger. The more Winston realized how much his family despised Yu-jin, the more he thought that only he could protect him.

Yu-jin is cheating on me? What a joke.

He was so dumbfounded that he almost laughed. Winston straightened his posture and focused on the documents again. He wanted to return to Yu-jin as soon as possible.

To the only lover waiting for him.

That’s how time passed, and then one day, that happened.

* * *

“I’m sorry, honey. I don’t think I can go back today.”

At Winston’s words, he heard a small intake of breath from the other side. Imagining his lover’s disappointed face, Winston continued.

“I have to take the last flight, but I can’t finish work by then. I’ll go early tomorrow morning, so please forgive me, okay?”

Yu-jin, who had been silent for a while, replied in a very subdued voice.

“It can’t be helped since you’re working… It’s okay.”

That’s not an okay voice at all.

If he could, he wanted to run over and shower his lover with kisses to comfort him, but he couldn’t. Instead, Winston changed the subject and asked.

“What did you do during the day? Did you meet your friends?”

“Huh? Uh…”

Yu-jin paused before answering.

“Just, walked around…”

“Doing what?”

At Winston’s question, Yu-jin began to list things one by one. As he listened to his words, Winston nodded appropriately, saying “I see,” or “Oh my,” and paid attention. Even while roughly skimming through the documents piled up in front of him and signing them, his attention was mostly focused on Yu-jin’s voice.

“Okay, I’ll hang up now. Sorry, good night.”

At Winston’s words, Yu-jin replied with a dejected voice, “Okay.” Winston also didn’t want to hang up, but he couldn’t help it.