KTS 45

Consciousness returned with a faint dizziness. Yu-jin groaned and barely opened his eyes. The blurry vision wavered, making it difficult to focus. As he frowned and repeatedly opened and closed his eyelids, he remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.

In an instant, he tried to get up quickly with fear, but ended up lying back down with a groan. Haa, haa. Rough breaths continued. He was terrified that he would have trouble breathing, but fortunately, the air was being delivered smoothly to his lungs.

Calm down, calm down.

It’s okay now.

He calmed himself and took a deep breath, finally easing the dizziness and opening his eyes. It was then that he noticed someone sitting in the chair at the tea table by the window.

Winston,

His whole body stiffened the moment he recognized him. Winston was also just watching Yu-jin, who was staring without even blinking.

He didn’t know how many hours had passed. What was certain was that Winston’s face was more haggard and pale than when he had seen him before losing consciousness. He was absentmindedly looking at his stubbly chin when Winston opened his mouth.

“You’re awake now?”

There was no emotion in his quiet voice. Winston paused and continued, seeing Yu-jin flinch and tense up at the sound of his voice.

“They said it’s stress-induced hyperventilation.”

Yu-jin blinked absentmindedly at the unfamiliar words. He had never had such an attack before, so he didn’t even know he had such a condition. Winston added a simple explanation, as if a doctor had visited while he was unconscious.

“It’s a hypersensitive reaction that can occur when you’re faced with something you really hate or find burdensome. They said there’s nothing to worry about as long as you’re careful about the cause.”

Then there’s no need to be so afraid. Yu-jin, who had been frozen stiff by the fear of the moment when his breath was cut off and his vision turned black, finally let out a sigh of relief. Seeing that, Winston sneered without fail.

“I’m surprised you’re so against having sex with me. So you do have standards.”

It was like being splashed with cold water, and he snapped back to his senses. Although he was still tired, Yu-jin tried to get out of bed instead of answering. Immediately, there was a dull sound of a chair being pushed back, followed by rough footsteps.

“Where are you going?”

Winston, who had walked to the bed in an instant, snatched Yu-jin’s arm. Yu-jin, who was dragged away powerlessly, glared at Winston with emotion instead.

“I’m going to sleep with Angie.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Soon after, Winston threw Yu-jin onto the bed. Winston, who had climbed on top of him after he fell without even screaming, glared at Yu-jin with dark eyes and muttered.

“Dare to run away? No way, you haven’t fulfilled the contract yet.”

“No, let go! Let me go!”

Yu-jin struggled with all his might, but Winston didn’t budge and instead sneered at him.

“Hyperventilation?”

He spat out roughly through gritted teeth.

“You think I’ll fall for that again? You’re just trying to scam me again anyway.”

“No, I don’t want to, don’t do it!”

Yu-jin’s face quickly turned pale. He pushed away his shoulders, punched him, and shook his whole body like he was having a seizure, but Winston didn’t care. Once again, Yu-jin’s breathing became rough and he made a gasping sound. Winston stopped when he saw him twisting his body with a seizure, turning pale and his eyes rolling back.

“Don’t act in front of me.”

Winston gritted his teeth again, looking at Yu-jin, who was breathing raggedly as if he was about to faint.

“I told you I wouldn’t be fooled anymore, stop it!”

Winston shouted, but Yu-jin’s reaction only became more violent. Eventually, Winston’s attitude changed when he saw that he couldn’t breathe at all, turned pale, and his eyes rolled back.

“Yu-jin!”

Winston desperately shouted as he hugged Yu-jin’s body.

“Okay, I won’t! I won’t force you, so calm down! It’s my fault, I won’t do this again, so please!”

The man’s shouts were heard intermittently beyond his hazy consciousness. Yu-jin trembled convulsively and stopped breathing. He had no strength left in his body. Once again, his vision turned black and his breath stopped.

“Yu-jin…!”

The sound faded away faintly. Winston kept calling his name. Fortunately, he didn’t faint like before. As his consciousness and breath slowly returned, the tension in his body was released and he became limp.

“Yu-jin, are you okay?”

Winston asked again. His face, looking down with a pale expression, was like seeing the old him.

My love.

Yu-jin moved his lips and closed his eyes. His irregular breathing slowly settled down. Yu-jin was just silently catching his breath in his arms, which were tightly hugging his body. He was too exhausted to feel any emotion. After a while, Winston heard small, even breaths. He carefully took Yu-jin out of his arms, confirmed that Yu-jin had fallen into a deep sleep, and then finally let out a big breath that had been stuck in his throat.

Gently, as if handling fragile glass, Winston hugged Yu-jin again. Yu-jin didn’t reject him. Of course. Because he was unconscious. For a while, Winston pondered while holding him like that.

Will he have another seizure if he opens his eyes and sees me?

Surprisingly, Winston felt a chill down his spine.

* * *

“Winston, Winston! Where did he go?”Mrs. Campbell, looking for her youngest son, spotted the Butler passing by and called him over.

“Cain, have you seen Winston? I haven’t seen him since earlier.”

The Butler stood straight before the mistress of the mansion and answered as he knew.

“I saw him riding a horse earlier.”

“Again?”

Mrs. Campbell frowned, a serious expression on her face. Lately, Winston had been spending too much time outside. It wasn’t that his grades were falling or anything, but she felt strangely uneasy.

…Surely nothing’s wrong.

She dismissed it as nothing and turned away, saying to the Butler,

“Tell Winston to come see me when he gets back.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the loyal Butler’s reply behind, Mrs. Campbell headed for the stairs. Winston would be going to high school soon. He wouldn’t have time to play like this then. She generously decided to overlook her son’s little escapades. At that time, Winston was with Yu-jin.

“…So that’s how it is. Can you do it?”

Yu-jin, who had been listening with a serious expression to Winston’s question, nodded. Seeing that reaction, Winston said, “Alright,” and placed the workbook he had brought in front of him. While watching Yu-jin diligently solve the problems using the formulas, a smile naturally appeared on Winston’s face.

It had already been a year since they started having these private meetings. As Yu-jin had said, no one came to the detached house. Except for one person coming in the morning once a day, or once every two days, to bring food and necessities, Winston went to see Yu-jin every day after school and spent almost half the day together without any interruptions.

In the meantime, Yu-jin had learned quite a lot, thanks to Winston being a good teacher. When he mentioned it once, Winston widened his eyes and waved his hand.

“No, it’s because you’re keeping up so well. If you went to school, you would definitely skip a grade.”

“It’s thanks to you.”

“No, it’s you.”

They passed the credit back and forth before bursting into laughter together. Winston loved seeing Yu-jin’s smiling face. Yu-jin was always pretty, cute, and lovely. Whenever he was with Yu-jin, his heart pounded as if it would burst. It was the first time he had felt this way. If he could, he wanted to be with Yu-jin every day, from morning till night.

But that was impossible. When the appointed time came, Winston had to go home.

Today, too, after checking the clock in the living room, he opened his mouth with a voice full of regret.

“I have to go now.”

“Already?”

Yu-jin, startled, looked at the clock and sighed. The time they spent together flew by too quickly.

“You’re coming again tomorrow, right?”

As always, Yu-jin, who had followed him out of the detached house, asked as Winston got on his horse. Winston replied with certainty, “Of course.”

“I have an interesting book in Spanish. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing Yu-jin’s eyes sparkling so quickly, Winston’s heart fluttered and his face flushed. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, he hurriedly turned his horse around.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye, Winston! Be careful!”

Yu-jin shouted from behind. When Winston turned around and waved, he also raised both arms and waved enthusiastically.