By Zephyria Winston’s expression changed strangely. Yu-jin was suddenly scared and flinched his shoulders and looked at him. Is he going to blame me after all? Or is he going to laugh it off and tell me not to lie?
If that happens, then I.
How should I react?
Winston smiled at Yu-jin’s expression, which had turned pale and frozen, and hugged him tightly again. He kissed his forehead with a ‘mwah’ sound as if to reassure him, and then opened his mouth.
“Can you tell me about it in detail? What did your father do?”
Yu-jin looked up with shaking eyes and saw Winston smiling kindly. He swallowed hard, making a small sound, and spoke with difficulty.
“Well, um…… it’s been like that since I manifested, but…… it wasn’t like that before. We just talked a little and talked about the books we read…….”
Winston just listened silently to the rambling words. As if he could wait no matter how long it took. Encouraged by his attitude, Yu-jin barely brought up the main point.
“He keeps telling me to take off my clothes…… and he smells me.”
“Smells?”
“Yeah,” Yu-jin nodded.
“He says I have a pheromone scent. I shouldn’t have a scent until my heat cycle comes…….”
Yu-jin’s face was full of anxiety. Seeing him at a loss, Winston said.
“It’s not strong, just a little. It’s only noticeable from this distance.”
The moment he brought his nose to his skin as if to show him, Yu-jin flinched in surprise. From that reaction, Winston realized that his father had done the same thing to him.
“Did you hate it a lot?”Stroking his cheek with a pitiful heart, I asked, and Yu-jin hesitated before nodding.
“I said I didn’t want to… but Harold got angry, so I had no choice but to keep…”
Soon, his eyes were filled with tears. Yu-jin sniffled and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. From above his head, a deep sigh could be heard. In an instant, Yu-jin was startled and turned pale, lifting his head. Winston, seeing his face, immediately smiled and kissed his cheek. He was a little relieved, but still unable to hide his anxiety, Yu-jin continued with difficulty.
“You… believe me?”
“Yes.”
Winston nodded. Yu-jin’s face immediately brightened at the reaction he couldn’t even imagine.
“Really? Really? You believe me?”
“Yes, Yu-jin. I believe you.”
There was no wavering in Winston’s voice. All the tension in his body was released, and once again, Yu-jin’s eyes filled with moisture.
“Thank goodness…”
Perhaps because he had let his guard down, tears streamed down his face. He hurriedly rubbed them away with his palm, and Winston stroked his head and said,
“I think we should go back inside. It looks like this is going to be a long conversation.”
“…Is that okay?”
Yu-jin asked in surprise, and he gave a bitter smile, rubbing his nose against Yu-jin’s.
“We should have talked first, like you said. I kissed you too much.”
Hearing the self-reproach in his voice, Yu-jin hurriedly said,
“I, I liked it too…”
Seeing him trying to alleviate his guilt instead of scolding him, Winston felt complicated. If they went back inside together like this, he felt like he would only do foolish things again. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly picked Yu-jin up. Startled, Yu-jin urgently wrapped his arms around his neck, and Winston took large strides, sitting down on the steps in front of the entrance.
“Okay, talk.”
“…Here?”
Yu-jin asked, bewildered, and Winston nodded. In any case, it was a desperate measure to focus on the main point as much as possible, and Yu-jin still had a puzzled expression. Winston couldn’t resist and kissed his lips. Soon, his tongue entered between the softly rubbed lips, and Yu-jin, already accustomed to it, lifted his tongue in response to the movement. The red flesh intertwined in his mouth. Gradually, their breaths quickened, and his lower body grew hot. Winston pulled away from his lips before he forgot the main point again. Panting heavily, they looked at each other. Winston, staring at Yu-jin with eyes full of heat, gently touched his lips and then pulled away.
“Tell me, from the beginning. Everything.”
“…Okay.”
Yu-jin nodded with a dazed expression and began to tell his story one by one. As he continued to speak, Winston occasionally smiled or intertwined his fingers with Yu-jin’s and kissed them, but he didn’t say much. It was the first time someone had listened to him so seriously, and Yu-jin poured out everything honestly, filling his heart with trust.
After barely finishing his story, silence fell between them. Yu-jin waited anxiously for Winston’s reaction. Winston, who had been silent for a long time as if lost in thought, finally opened his mouth after a while.
“…I understand what you’re saying. But.”
He quietly asked Yu-jin, who had reflexively become tense.
“You haven’t told anyone about this? Until now? No one knows except me?”
There probably wasn’t anyone to tell.
After saying the words, he came to the answer himself. How stupid, is this the time to say such pathetic things? As he scolded himself, Yu-jin hesitated and answered.
“I told Mrs. Campbell, asked her to help me, but she only… scolded me.”
He was too ashamed to say that he had been slapped. He had a little bit of pride, even if it was very small. As he awkwardly trailed off, Winston said, “Okay,” and hugged Yu-jin. Patting his back gently as if comforting a child, he continued.
“It must have been hard. I’m sorry I left you alone all this time.”
“…”
His nose tingled again. Yu-jin was so happy just knowing that there was someone who empathized with him and comforted him. So happy that he felt like it would be okay to die tomorrow.
“You don’t know exactly when your father is coming?”
Yu-jin obediently shook his head at Winston’s question.
“It seems like it’s almost time, but I can only know the exact date on the morning of… he tells me when he brings the food.”
Yu-jin’s face twisted as if the thought alone was painful. Winston seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then soon concluded.
“I understand. Go inside and rest for now, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“How?”
Yu-jin’s eyes widened at the unexpected words, and Winston smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.”
“But what…”
Yu-jin was anxious, but Winston didn’t say anything more. He readily got up, lowered Yu-jin down beyond the front door, and then straightened his back.
“I won’t be able to come during the day. I’ll come after 9 o’clock, so get plenty of rest during the day, okay?”
“O-okay…”
As he nodded absentmindedly, Winston kissed Yu-jin’s cheek once more and then said his final goodbye.
“Good night, Yu-jin, and don’t think about that.”
After saying that, he finally turned around and walked towards the horse as if running. Yu-jin stood there and watched Winston get on the horse as nimbly as before. Before leaving, Winston turned back to look at Yu-jin and waved once, then rode away. Yu-jin reflexively raised his hand, then lowered it again, feeling awkward. Winston disappeared from sight in an instant. Yu-jin stood there for a while, then hesitated, closed the door, walked through the living room, and went up to the second floor.
He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He lay down on the bed but tossed and turned several times, thinking over and over again. Winston came back. And what did he say? That he would do something about Harold? He really believes me, right? He’s really going to take me out of here? What is he going to do tomorrow? Winston manifested like me. What does this mean? I want to kiss him again even though we kissed so much, I must be incredibly horny. Winston is just as horny as me, right? We’re both lewd!
He couldn’t fall asleep easily with so many thoughts. Yu-jin forced his eyes closed and tried to stop thinking. A faint, sweet pheromone scent lingered around him. But this time, the scent didn’t torment Yu-jin. Rather, it made his heart flutter, and he tried desperately to keep his mouth from opening.
* * *
Winston, who had returned to his room, took a quick shower and sat down in a chair at the tea table by the window. The gentle smile from earlier was nowhere to be seen. He had been replaying Yu-jin’s words with a dark expression, and he coldly accepted reality.
There’s not much I can do right now.
In the first place, he can’t even take Yu-jin out of the Separate Residence/Annex as he pleases. He has to avoid everyone’s eyes and carefully go out only at night, and then return before dawn. Even this was a great adventure from Winston’s point of view.
He knew what Yu-jin was to Harold. The only blood relative left by his first love. And now, someone who has even manifested.
If Harold knew that Winston had been secretly meeting him, he would be incredibly angry. But he hadn’t anticipated this situation. He should have been prepared, and he regretted that he had been too naive. To vaguely believe that he would just protect him because he was the child of his first love. What was he expecting from a man who had brought Yu-jin from that faraway country and kept him locked up in that Separate Residence/Annex all along?
He had learned painfully while in England that he had no choice but to lie low until he took over the family. When that time comes, he will be able to achieve everything he wants. Including Yu-jin.
Can he protect Yu-jin until then?
It will take at least a few years. Moreover, he doesn’t know when Harold will find out about their relationship.
…Is that the only way?
Winston stared into the darkness and sat there for a long time, lost in thought.