By Zephyria 
“It’s okay, darling. I’m here.”
Winston said, forcing a casual smile.
“You’ve been doing so well so far, what’s wrong? Just do as you usually do. It’s not difficult. Nothing has changed, right?”
“It has.”
Yu-jin denied it with a serious expression, different from before. At the strong denial, Winston hesitated, and then Yu-jin muttered weakly with a dejected face.
“It’s the first time I’m the main focus of a party…”
Ah, Winston realized. He was right. All the parties they had held so far were for the children, for the family, for special days like Christmas, or for various other reasons, but there had never been a party solely for Yu-jin.
Of course, there had certainly been attempts to throw a party to celebrate Yu-jin’s birthday. But Yu-jin wanted to spend quiet time just with the family, and Winston readily accepted. Could it be that the reason wasn’t because he wanted time with just the family…?
“Darling, be honest with me.”
Winston suppressed his emotions as much as possible, made his voice calm, and opened his mouth.
“Is that why you didn’t want a birthday party? Because you didn’t have the confidence to handle a party where you’re the host?”
Yu-jin averted his gaze, but that was answer enough. Seeing that reaction, Winston suddenly wanted to punch himself as hard as he could. He was the one who had lowered Yu-jin’s self-esteem to that point. And then, pretending to have forgotten all about it, he had complacently thought, ‘This should be fine.’
“Yu-jin, that…”
He managed to open his mouth, but no more words came out. In the end, Winston tightly closed his eyes and then slowly lifted his eyelids. Before him was still Yu-jin’s figure, turning away from him. Winston tightly grasped Yu-jin’s hand he was holding, then gently loosened his grip.
“But since this is a rare opportunity, how about thinking about it a bit more before deciding?”
That was all he could say. Yu-jin paused, then gave a short nod, but seeing that, Winston sensed that his mind wouldn’t change easily.
Damn, is that the only way after all?
He had no choice but to ask Keith again. It was something he didn’t want to do, but for Yu-jin, he could even kneel before that damn bastard. Asking for one more favor was nothing in comparison.
Having thought that far, Winston steadied his mind and hurriedly recalled his schedule in his head. Unfortunately, for the next two weeks, he couldn’t spare even five minutes. In that case, he should at least try calling that guy. Winston prayed for luck to be on his side and called Keith as soon as the next day arrived. And luckily, a helping hand came to him.
***
“Mr. Pittman’s secretary is coming to visit?”
At the sudden statement, Yu-jin repeated what he had heard verbatim. From the other end of the phone, Winston answered in his usual calm voice.
“Yes, are you okay today? Or should we do it another day? Just tell me a date and time that’s convenient for you.”
In fact, since he was at home almost every day, there was no day that was particularly inconvenient. The problem lay elsewhere. A visit from a stranger? And to meet me to talk about a party?
“Yu-jin, are you okay?”
“Huh? Y-yeah.”
From the other side, Winston asked, sounding worried. Flustered, Yu-jin unconsciously stammered. Winston paused and then spoke again.
“I think it’s better to at least hear them out rather than just refuse the party outright. You can decide after that, it’s not too late, right?”
“Huh? Y-yeah, th-that’s right.”
Answering without thinking, Winston said, “Yeah,” in a softer voice.
“So what should we do? Is today okay? Wouldn’t it be good to meet as early as possible, hear them out, and decide?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s right. Yeah, okay.”
This time too, Yu-jin gave the same answer. Upon hearing that, Winston immediately responded.
“Okay, then how about around 2 o’clock? By then, Angie will have had her snack and rest time, and the baby will be asleep too.”
“Uh, uh-huh. That’s good. Let’s do that.”
To Yu-jin, who was still repeating the same words, Winston spoke affectionately.
“Darling.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Hearing the still flustered voice, he continued.
“If you really don’t want to, you can stop. But I hope you make good use of this opportunity. It’s not a common one.”
“Yeah…”
Differently from before, Yu-jin answered in a somewhat deflated voice.
“I know. …Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After a pause following the added words, Winston spoke as if he had been waiting, then whispered.
“I love you, Yu-jin.”
“I love you too.”
Yu-jin replied in a small but confident voice. Winston let out a small laugh, and soon the call ended. Phew, Yu-jin let out a sigh, swept his hand over his chest, then soon raised his head and turned his body. Winston was right. Let’s at least hear them out.
I can’t avoid it forever.
Being with Winston, a moderate amount of social activity was essential. Among those, there had been quite a few cases where Yu-jin played the host role at parties.
But a party entirely for himself, precisely centered on him and his work, was a first. He already knew all too well how much people in social circles loved to talk about others. And the fact that Yu-jin’s precious family was such stimulating gossip to them. Therefore, Yu-jin was careful to avoid exposure as much as possible and only revealed himself when absolutely necessary for Winston. Since he had never told anyone about such things, he would find the current situation difficult to understand. Nevertheless, Yu-jin felt a small touch of emotion at the effort to consider him as much as possible.
Since I’m the only one who has to endure it……
Having thought that far, he steadied his mind and changed his clothes. Pondering how to refuse in the best possible way, without causing trouble for Winston.
***
The visitor arrived exactly on time, not a minute off from the promised hour. Yu-jin, who had finished preparing in advance and was waiting, took a deep breath as he saw an unfamiliar car through the drawing-room window speeding past the garden toward the mansion. After confirming the butler welcoming the guest, he moved away from the window and headed to the sofa. Meetings with strangers were always nerve-wracking, but this time was especially so. Yu-jin slowly took deep breaths to calm his mind. There was plenty of time until the guest, guided by the butler, came up to the drawing room. He soothed his waiting by slowly rehearsing the words he had prepared in his mind.
And.
Vague footsteps began to be heard. Mixed with the familiar sound of the butler’s footsteps were unfamiliar steps, making him newly nervous, but he clenched and unclenched his hands, steadying himself. Finally, when the sound of two pairs of footsteps stopped outside the door, Yu-jin was sitting with his back straight, waiting with an expression no different from usual. And finally, after a short knock, the door opened a moment later, and at last the visitor revealed themselves. Gulp, Yu-jin carefully swallowed dry saliva and slowly rose from his seat.