By Zephyria Another loud thunderclap echoed outside the window. Yu-jin flinched and cowered at the sound that shattered the suffocating silence, but Winston did not react. Embarrassed by his motionless gaze, he hesitated and straightened his shoulders, and Winston, who had been watching quietly, slowly opened his mouth.
“So.”
He continued, having heard that he had tried to meet Winston but was unable to because of everyone’s obstruction.
“Why did you sleep with my father?”
Winston’s face was full of boredom. Yu-jin explained how he had fallen into the trap, recounting the events of that time step by step, but he felt a sense of futility at this reaction.
“I didn’t sleep with your father.”
Yu-jin mumbled in a weak voice. Yu-jin confessed in a fading voice to Winston, who frowned.
“I thought it was you. The pheromone scent… was the same as yours.”
“Ha.”
Winston exhaled loudly. As if to say, tell me something that makes sense.
“My father and I have the same traits.”
“I know.”
Was that the only reason for the misunderstanding? When Winston spoke sarcastically, Yu-jin replied weakly.
“But I thought it was your scent at the time. I never thought it was Harold’s.”
When all his efforts failed, Yu-jin finally went to Harold. Knowing it was shameless, he knew that he was the only person who could help him.
“Harold met me.”
The memory of that time made him feel miserable. Yu-jin took a trembling breath and slowly continued.
“I sat across from him on the sofa and drank tea. I first apologized to him… I told him how ungrateful I had been and begged for forgiveness. Harold mercifully… said he forgave me.”
Yu-jin did not raise his head while saying that Harold had embraced him and comforted him as he burst into tears. Winston’s face, who was watching him concentrate only on what he was trying to say as if he was just fulfilling his assigned task, was still expressionless, but from the moment Harold’s name came out, his fist, which he had been clenching slightly, was clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and never loosened.
“I said I wanted to see you. But no one would listen to me… I said that if they let me see you just once, I wouldn’t ask for anything else. Harold didn’t say anything, but told me to go back for now and he would think about it and let me know…”
Huff, Yu-jin took another deep breath and closed his mouth. Winston opened his mouth at the sight of him hesitating as if he couldn’t bring himself to say the next words.
“Continue, I’m listening.”
Yes, Yu-jin nodded instead of answering, then took another deep breath in and out.
“I got a call a few days later.”
His voice was trying to feign calmness, but it was trembling faintly. Realizing this, Yu-jin put strength into his words and uttered each word carefully, more slowly than before.
“I was waiting for Harold’s call, so I answered as soon as the phone rang. Harold seemed a little surprised… then he just asked me a few routine questions. How I was doing, whether I had eaten…”
Winston suddenly realized that his hand was numb and frowned as he looked down. Unhappy that he was clenching his fist more tightly than necessary, he consciously released the strength in his hand. Yu-jin’s voice continued to be heard.
“I was impatient, but I tried to be as polite as possible so as not to upset Harold. I just hoped that Harold would bring up the topic first. And finally, Harold asked. Whether I was still willing to do anything if I could just see Winston. I said of course, without hesitating for even a second.”
Gulp, Yu-jin swallowed hard. Harold, with his hands clasped tightly as if he needed tremendous courage to say the next words, finally opened his mouth. In a very hoarse voice.
“He asked if I would sleep with him.”
He felt the strength returning to his hands, which he had finally unfolded, but Winston could not unclench his fist. It was as if he would break something if he didn’t. Another bright light flashed outside the window, followed by thunder a moment later.
60
Silence fell again. Winston, who had been watching Yu-jin as he tried to suppress his rapid breathing as if trying to calm his emotions, opened his mouth.
“So.”
He continued in a much lower voice than usual, as if struggling to hold back a scream.
“So you slept with my father? Just to see me?”
“What else was there in my life besides you?”
Yu-jin protested in a tearful voice. Winston’s heart turned cold, wondering if he was crying, but fortunately, there were no tears on Yu-jin’s face when he raised his head. Only his eyes were more watery than usual.
Their eyes met for a moment, but Yu-jin soon turned away. He continued, unsure whether he was trying to hide his emotions or for some other reason.
“It was such an unexpected offer that I couldn’t answer. If he had made such an offer when we first met, if I had had time to think, I might have accepted it. But at the time, I was just so surprised and confused that I couldn’t think. Harold, seeing that I was just at a loss, said that it was just something he said… and that he knew how I felt.”
What was Harold thinking at that time? Maybe he was serious. Would something have changed if I had said I would do it back then?
Yu-jin repeated the question he had asked countless times, but it was meaningless now.
“I thought Harold was just testing me. I was too relieved… and he was the only one who would talk to me, so I trusted Harold. He said he would let me see you, and told me to come to Delights… I took the car Harold sent, and went to the mansion.”
Yu-jin ran his fingers through his hair with trembling fingers, then stared into the distance for a moment. As if trying to recall a forgotten memory. During the silence that lasted only a few seconds, Winston was just looking at Yu-jin’s profile.
“I drank the tea the Butler gave me and waited for Harold, but my body started to feel strange. I felt like I was in heat… and I was out of my mind. I was flustered and tried to leave the mansion…”
A sweet scent.
Yu-jin seemed to have returned to that day in an instant. With a dazed look in the distance, he continued in a whisper.
“I had no reason left. I just followed the scent. …How could I resist? It’s your scent, I missed you so much. Harold kept his promise. You’re waiting for me…”
And when the door opened and a strong scent poured over him, Yu-jin saw it. Winston’s face smiling brightly at him.
Winnie.
Yu-jin jumped into his arms without hesitation. Taking in the sweet scent deep into his chest, he embraced the beloved man’s longing body with all his might, and fell into a happier reality than ever before.
That was the end of his memory.
“When I opened my eyes, I was lying alone in a shabby motel I had never seen before.”
Yu-jin confessed in a listless voice.
“I had no idea what happened. I tried to meet Harold, but it was impossible… I did get some money from his secretary, but that’s not what I wanted. I begged him to let me see you so many times, so many times…”
Yu-jin sincerely thought that Winston might be dead. Otherwise, there was no way he would leave him like this. If Winston was dead, he had no reason to live any longer. He had to die too. Living without Winston, how could that be possible?But he couldn’t die. Just as he was about to decide to die, he had a reason why he shouldn’t.
He was pregnant. With Winston’s child.
He couldn’t handle raising this child alone. At the time, he was struggling just to take care of himself.
But he couldn’t lose Winston and the child. Just as he thought he had to endure somehow, Yu-jin saw the article.
An article on the front page of the newspaper with the headline that Winston and Evelyn were engaged.