By Zephyria 
“…Hah.”
Keith let out a sigh as if he was dumbfounded. Seeing his reaction, the light instantly faded from Yeon-woo’s eyes as if his spirit had been crushed.
“Um, is it not good? Maybe it’s better not to do this after all…?”
At the voice that shrank back without confidence, Keith swallowed the sigh that was about to escape again. Yeon-woo had completely misinterpreted the reason for his sigh.
To even mention something like a party so shamelessly in this situation.
For the first time, Keith felt Yeon-woo was brazen. Right now, his mind was filled entirely with thoughts of where he could take Yeon-woo to explore his entire body to his heart’s content, yet the lovely being in his arms was completely absorbed in some irrelevant thought.
“…You’re going to have to take the punishment.”
“Huh? Suddenly? Why?”
Startled by Keith’s sudden muttering, Yeon-woo flinched and fired off questions in succession. But instead of answering, Keith quickly kissed his lips and then spoke.
“Alright, let’s do it that way.”
“Uh… huh?”
Unable to grasp the sudden shift in topic, Yeon-woo could only stammer. Just how did the conversation get here? Paying no mind to his flustered reaction, Keith readily continued.
“Regarding that matter, I’ll discuss it with Emma and we can proceed together. Want to try doing it yourself?”
“Uh… Ah, yeah.”
He had no idea how the conversation flowed to this point, but a conclusion had been reached nonetheless. Yeon-woo beamed and expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you, Keith.”
In response, Keith smiled and replied.
“See you at home.”
“Yeah.”
Completely oblivious to the hidden meaning, Yeon-woo nodded. After hugging Keith’s neck and even kissing his lips, he said ‘thank you’ one last time before slipping out of his embrace. Without a single thought for what might be in Keith’s mind as he let him go so readily, he hurriedly headed to the secretary’s office to deliver the news. And this happy news was relayed to Yu-jin via Winston that very evening.
***
“What? A charity party? To commemorate the movie adaptation?”
Upon hearing the news, Yu-jin exclaimed in a voice higher than usual, then hastily covered his mouth with one hand. Seeing his lover’s adorable reaction, Winston couldn’t help but let a smile break through as he nodded.
“Yes, this is your first event like this. It seems they like the work so much they’re planning various events for promotion. You’ll attend, of course?”
As he waited for an answer, Winston thought to himself. They probably can’t bring the kids. But spending some time alone with Yu-jin after so long wasn’t bad either. No, in fact, he was looking forward to it. He loved the children dearly, but he also needed time with just Yu-jin. He thought such a day would be far in the future since both children were still so young, but an unexpected opportunity had arrived. Moreover, it was also a chance to boost Yu-jin’s confidence…
“Can I not go?”
“What?”
Startled by the sudden words, Winston snapped out of his pleasant daydream. Did I hear wrong? Stunned by the completely unexpected reply, he could only blink. Yu-jin, avoiding his gaze as if embarrassed, mumbled.
“Um, I’m really thankful and grateful that they’re holding such a party for me… but I don’t really want to go…”
For a moment, Winston’s mind went completely blank. Unable to comprehend the situation, he just stared at Yu-jin. Finally coming to his senses, he asked a question.
“Why? Is it because there are too many people? Or is there something you don’t like about it?”
Since he was the one who had created this situation, Winston couldn’t readily tell him to do as he pleased. Did I misjudge? If his judgment was wrong, he needed to know all the more. So he wouldn’t make this mistake again.
Feeling inwardly anxious but outwardly maintaining a calm facade, he continued.
“Are you worried about the kids? They’re still young, so it can’t be helped. The party will be late, so it’ll be their bedtime anyway…”
“Ah, no, it’s not that, it’s not that.”
Yu-jin shook his head several times as if flustered, then lowered his head with a serious expression. Winston patiently waited for Yu-jin to speak first, not wanting to pressure him. Sitting facing each other across the tea table in their private bedroom, a moment of silence passed. To reassure him, Winston took Yu-jin’s hand and slowly stroked the back of it with his thumb. After a while of silence, when Yu-jin cautiously raised his gaze, Winston smiled. As if to say anything was okay.
Hoo, Yu-jin let out a short sigh, lowered his gaze again, and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“I was wondering… if it’s okay for me to go to the party.”
“Why? What made you think that?”
Winston was genuinely curious about the reason, but he softened his voice as much as possible so it wouldn’t sound like he was pressuring him. Yet, Yu-jin still didn’t answer easily. No, seeing him open his mouth and close it repeatedly, it seemed the words wouldn’t come out. In the end, Winston spoke first.
“Alright, if you don’t like the party, I’ll tell them to try promoting it another way. Then it’ll be okay, right?”
As Winston gently coaxed him, Yu-jin, unexpectedly, shook his head.
“It’s not that I dislike the party. It’s a charity party, so the purpose is good and I think it would help with promotion…”
“But?”
Yu-jin, who seemed to hesitate repeatedly, tightly closed his eyes. And finally, he confessed.
“I… I think I won’t fit in at the party.”
Winston’s hand, which had been affectionately stroking Yu-jin’s, stopped right there. He looked at Yu-jin with surprised eyes and couldn’t speak for a moment. The sound came out several seconds after he opened his mouth.
“Suddenly… what, honey, what are you talking about?”
At his expression, which clearly showed he was flustered to anyone who saw, Yu-jin wanted to run away somewhere, but he couldn’t as Winston was still holding his hand. Instead, swallowing hard and bowing his head deeply, he slowly let out a trembling breath before finally opening his mouth. A faintly trembling voice flowed from between his lips.
“I’m… not sure if I can do it well.”
Faced with the sincerely confessed feelings, Winston didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t realized Yu-jin would shrink back this timidly. The chaotic wedding reception party suddenly came to mind, but they had held several more parties since then. Angela’s birthday, the announcement party for their second child’s arrival… there had been quite a few parties, and Yu-jin had performed his role as host well. So he thought there was no need to worry anymore.
Had that not been enough to make up for it?
He never thought the wounds he had inflicted on Yu-jin would be completely healed by just that. Perhaps this was too hasty and shallow a method. Then what should he do?