By Zephyria “He’s just a clumsy man.”
“Clumsy?”
He was very skilled at slandering others. Yu-jin barely swallowed the words that came up to the tip of his tongue. Sam soothed him again, patting the back of his hand.
“Yu-jin, if both sides are stubborn, there will be no conversation.”
“I’ve tried to talk several times. He’s the one who doesn’t listen.”
His tone naturally sharpened, and he immediately flinched, but Sam only gave a bitter smile. But Yu-jin’s heart didn’t soften at all.
“If you came all the way here to persuade me on Winston’s side…”
“I’m on your side, Yu-jin. I just don’t want you to regret it.”
As he tried to continue speaking without hiding his rough emotions, Sam shook her head. Forced to shut his mouth, Yu-jin listened as she added in a calm voice, as if admonishing him.
“Even if it feels unfair and frustrating that you seem to be losing right now, you’ll think you did well later. Honey, which one will you regret more, the one who tries to talk first or the stubborn one who only gets angry in the end? Once you’ve done your best, you won’t have any regrets. Or who knows, maybe later you’ll think you should have tried harder back then. So I’m telling you to try one more time now so you don’t have those feelings.”
Yu-jin was silent for a moment. Seeing his complicated expression, Sam finished kindly.
“I know very well that you are a very gentle and kind child. Talk to Mr. Campbell one more time. Think of this as the last time.”
Yu-jin was shaken without fail by the gentle persuasion. He opened and closed his mouth as if trying to find something to say, then looked up at the ceiling once before finally sighing.
“…What did you talk about with Winston? You heard something, didn’t you? That’s why you’re telling me this, right?”
Asked in a subdued voice, Sam replied in an equally quiet voice.
“It wasn’t much. We just talked about how you’re doing and what kind of relationship he has with you.”
Winston’s expression at the time was immediately drawn in her mind. His rambling, stuttering tone clearly revealed his embarrassment. After confirming twice more that the Sam in front of him was indeed the police officer who had helped him when Yu-jin committed the crime, he collapsed into a chair and rubbed his face with both hands.
What happened to Yu-jin?
In a sighing voice, Sam didn’t tell a long story. Why don’t you ask Yu-jin yourself? When she returned the question, Winston paused before answering.
Yu-jin won’t talk to me anymore.
“This time, he’ll be ready to listen to you too.”
Sam said, recalling the utterly dejected voice in her ear. Yu-jin looked at her face with half doubt.
“If you can’t trust my words, trust the man you used to love. If he was a man worthy of your love, wouldn’t it be worth trying one more time?”
Still silent, Yu-jin received an encouraging pat on the back of his hand from Sam, who then changed the subject.
“Angie, you’ve already done that much? Oh my, you’re really fast.”
As if she had finished everything she wanted to say, Sam immediately shifted her attention. Watching Sam praise the child generously and Angela answer well, albeit awkwardly, Yu-jin sat there for a while.
* * *
To not have regrets.
Yu-jin sat alone in the bedroom after putting the child to sleep, lost in thought. Sam had left after finishing dinner. He had offered to drive her to her accommodation, but she had adamantly refused and called a taxi.
“I just want you to be happy. Come to me anytime if it gets hard.”
After giving her last words, she hugged Yu-jin tightly before getting into the car. Only after Yu-jin was alone did he reflect on Sam’s words. Winston’s words and attitude towards him had been beyond reconsideration. There’s no point in talking anyway, he won’t believe me. Wouldn’t it just accumulate more emptiness? He was almost certain, but Sam’s words kept bothering him. For some reason, she was certain. That this time, Winston would listen too.
That must be why he bothered to call Sam.
It was definitely different from before. Instead of having hope, Yu-jin recalled Sam’s request. Just try one more time. To not have regrets.
He steeled his heart and waited for Winston to return. And Winston came home shortly before midnight.
“Didn’t you say you’d come as early as possible?”
That was the first thing Yu-jin said to him as he opened the door and came in. He didn’t intend to scold him, but even he thought the nuance was strange. Just as he regretted it, thinking that the start of the conversation seemed to be picking a fight, Winston opened his mouth.
“This is the best I could do. My schedule is all messed up because I forced myself to make time.”
There was no particular emotion in Winston’s voice. Yu-jin cautiously watched him take off his suit jacket and hand it to the Butler with an expression that was no different from usual. Inwardly relieved, Yu-jin called out to the Butler, who was about to leave, after Winston went into the connecting bathroom in his shirt.
“Um, could you bring some wine?”
“Yes, sir. What kind of wine would you like?”
It was a nonchalant voice, but Yu-jin couldn’t answer easily. He knew nothing about wine. Hesitating, he gave the safest answer.
“Something Winston would like, two glasses.”
Fortunately, the Butler didn’t ask any more difficult questions and left the room. Yu-jin sighed and relaxed his shoulders. He could faintly hear the sound of water. As he thought about what to say while sitting face to face with Winston, he took several deep breaths.
* * *
When Winston came out after showering, the Butler had just finished setting the wine and glasses on the table. Yu-jin opened his mouth to him, who paused.
“I, um, I thought we could have a glass before bed.”
His voice cracked because he was nervous, so he quickly cleared his throat. Winston looked at Yu-jin’s face without saying a word, then moved and sat on the opposite sofa. The Butler poured wine into two glasses, checked if there was anything else needed, and then tactfully left the room. They were soon left alone.
Winston was the first to move. Yu-jin quietly watched him naturally lift the glass to his mouth, lean back on the sofa, and tilt the glass comfortably.
“…How is it?”
Hesitating, Yu-jin asked, and Winston replied briefly, “Good.” Yu-jin followed suit, lifting his glass and saying,
“Cain asked me what to bring me, but what do I know… I just told him to bring something you’d like.”
As he brought the glass closer, he could strongly smell the unique aroma of aged grapes. He carefully wet his lips, and Winston opened his mouth.
“If you want, we can try a tasting sometime. …Right, I should be able to make time next weekend, so shall we do it then?”
“Uh… yeah.”
It wasn’t a bad start. Perhaps it was because there was alcohol, but Yu-jin nodded, thinking that the atmosphere was okay.
“Yeah, I’ll try it. Sounds fun.”
Winston gave a faint smile and then tilted his glass again. Yu-jin swallowed the small amount of wine he had in his mouth and then exhaled. He felt his face flush quickly.
“Don’t overdo it, you can’t drink well.”
Winston stopped him with a not-so-bad remark. That was right. He had only taken one sip, but he already felt the walls of his heart crumbling.
“…Do you remember what happened then?”
After speaking, he realized what he had brought up. Inwardly anxious, Winston’s lips noticeably crumbled.
“You being drunk on me? Of course.”
Yu-jin’s face quickly turned red. He remembered the past when he had drunk half a can of beer and gotten terribly drunk, and he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to hide somewhere.But bringing up the topic wasn’t so bad. Soon, they were laughing and reminiscing about the past. The time Yu-jin almost drowned while swimming together, the time Winston almost crashed into a roadside tree while teaching him how to drive, even the memory of spending a night alone in the desert.
Before they knew it, they had emptied one bottle of wine and were on their second. Winston wasn’t drunk at all, but Yu-jin’s brain was already softening. But thanks to that, the atmosphere became even more relaxed, making it easier to speak.
“I think you should stop drinking now.”
Winston, stopping Yu-jin from pouring more wine into his glass, snatched the bottle away. Yu-jin, feeling a sense of disappointment, sank into the sofa. The world was spinning pleasantly. The things he had been agonizing over seemed like nothing at all. Yeah, so what, it’s not a big deal. Feeling his whole body warming up, he opened his mouth.
“Whether you listen or not, I have to tell you something.”