Yujin sat dazed on the sofa, resting his head against the backrest. Though he had returned to the familiar place called Delight, it felt as strange as if it were his first time there. The time that had passed since he fled from here seemed like a dream.
It wasn’t as if nothing had happened between reuniting with Winston and returning to Delight. Reluctantly following Winston outside the building, Yujin froze pale the moment he saw the waiting car.
“I-I don’t want to... I’m not getting in, I won’t get in!”
“Daddy, Daddy!”
Angela, who was in Winston’s arms, also went pale and shouted at Yujin’s frantic screams and struggles. Winston handed Angela over to a bodyguard and quickly pulled Yujin into an embrace.
“It’s okay, alright? I get it, calm down.”
Repeating this, he immediately spoke to the bodyguard.
“Check if there’s a place nearby where a helicopter can land.”
His order was carried out at once. Using the helicopter landing pad on the roof, they took a helicopter back to Delight. Throughout those events, Yujin became completely exhausted.
He heard the door open but didn’t move, still lying where he was. Naturally, it was Winston who entered. He ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ had no energy even to pretend to be asleep, so he just remained silent as Winston walked across the room and looked down at him. After confirming Yujin was awake, Winston spoke.
“Angela is asleep. She was happy when she saw the teddy bear.”
Yujin didn’t answer. He only vaguely wondered in his mind what the teddy bear was.
“The teddy bear you left at Grant’s villa.”
Was it just his imagination that the name ‘Grant’ carried some strange emotion? Suddenly recalling this, Yujin subtly shifted his gaze toward Winston. When their eyes met, an awkward atmosphere suddenly filled the room.
“...I thought you might kill me.”
Like someone possessed, Yujin finally spoke. Winston twisted his lips into a weak smile.
“I wanted to.”
It seemed full of many meanings. Even until the moment he found Yujin, Winston had been filled with anger. How many times had he repeated such a dreadful and cruel imagination? He firmly believed it would become reality.
Once he realized Yujin was actually in front of him, all the anger faded instantly. What remained in his heart were only relief, joy, and pity. Just knowing Yujin had survived and was well was enough. He wanted nothing more. Yujin had no idea how much Winston was reassured by seeing him so peacefully resting in his own room.
Yujin stayed silent, unsure how Winston would react this time. Winston’s face looking silently down at him was far from anger, but Yujin could not guess what it meant. He only quietly bit his lips, steeling himself, when Winston finally spoke.
“...The car.”
At the unexpected start, Yujin didn’t immediately understand. He just blinked, and Winston slowly continued.
“Why couldn’t you get in the car? Did something happen?”
Yujin looked at him for a while without speaking. Winston’s expression showed no emotion. He didn’t sneer or complain about Yujin bothering him.
“Why do you want to know?”
Yujin asked, his tone dry beyond words even to himself. Winston paused, then answered.
“Just...”
After an awkward silence, he added.
“I wanted to know.”
That was all, but for some reason, Yujin felt for the first time since their reunion the most honest and pure feeling from Winston. No hatred, no contempt, no negative emotion. Winston simply wanted to know.
Why?
“This time, what are you going to accuse me of?”
Smirking, Yujin asked, but Winston didn’t answer. He only stared at Yujin silently.
For some reason, he looked utterly exhausted. Faint wrinkles appeared at his mouth, his cheeks were hollowed, and he was much thinner than before. Suddenly, all of Yujin’s fighting spirit disappeared. What was the point in baring thorns at a man in such a state?
“...There was an accident.”
Feeling somehow resigned, Yujin spoke. Still feeling Winston’s gaze on him, he spoke slowly in a monotone.
“After I was chased out of the Campbell family... I had nothing. I wandered the streets, rummaging through trash bins. Then I met Sam... and barely got a job. One day, someone I worked with said they’d take me home.”
Yujin continued hesitatingly, recalling the memory.
“He was a good person. When he heard I was about to have a child but had no money or place to go, he worried a lot... I was very weak then, so I cried while listening to him. I cried my heart out...”
Remembering that day gave him chills all over, and his breath grew short. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“That person, while comforting me... made a mistake.”
The headlights that had been shining brightly in front of him remained vivid in his memory. Yujin hugged his trembling body with both arms and curled up as he continued.
“He didn’t see the car coming from the opposite direction. Later I found out he’d crossed lanes drunk. He tried to avoid the accident as much as possible... but the collision was inevitable, and both of us were badly hurt.”
The terror of that moment returned, tears threatening to fall. Yujin swallowed his sobs and gasped for air. Winston reached out to him, but stopped there. Hesitating with his hand suspended in midair, Yujin, barely holding back his emotions, spoke.
“I regained consciousness two weeks later, and stayed hospitalized for almost half a year. Angela was born prematurely; she had some time left until the due date. She was born by cesarean and stayed in an incubator for a long time. At that time, I wasn’t in a condition to take care of her...”
Yujin blamed himself for Angela’s frail body and smaller size compared to her peers. He had not eaten properly during the pregnancy, and the birth hadn’t reached full term. If she had been born to someone else, she would have grown up healthier and happier.
Thinking of Angela made his throat tighten and he couldn’t continue speaking. He choked and swallowed his sobs forcibly. Winston silently watched him.
Suddenly, Winston moved. Yujin sensed him going away. Thinking he was leaving, Yujin stayed still, but shortly after, Winston returned.
“Drink.”
Winston said quietly, holding out a cup of water. Yujin stared blankly at the cup, then moved his hand. As cold water passed down his throat, his emotions gradually calmed. After finishing the cup, Yujin exhaled a long sigh and put the cup on the table. When Winston opened his mouth after seeing the empty cup, Yujin, still not facing him, spoke first.
“There’s no child. I’m not pregnant.”
Winston stopped moving at the sudden statement. Only then did Yujin look at him and ask.
“You’re not surprised, right? You knew, didn’t you?”
If he said no, Yujin was ready to tell him not to lie. But Winston didn’t bother with such unnecessary things.
“Yeah, I knew.”
Seeing his calm face somehow made Yujin feel rebellious. He frowned deeply and added.
“Really? Then did you also know this? That I’m infertile.”
Yujin continued.
“Because of the accident, I can’t have children anymore. I can’t get pregnant. You won’t even get a miscarriage. Serves you right.”
He had waited for this moment so long. How satisfying it was. No, he should be so ecstatic that he was gloating. He had lied and endured so much just to see this man broken and frustrated right before his eyes. For this moment alone.
But Winston’s face showed no change at all. Yujin blinked, puzzled. Slowly, Winston’s lips parted and a low voice came out.
“I knew.”
At the quiet voice, Yujin didn’t immediately react. He just stared dumbfounded as Winston continued.
“When Charlotte almost killed you, the doctor said at the hospital. You weren’t pregnant and wouldn’t be.”
What was that? Completely stunned by the unexpected words, Yujin froze. They’d known all along? They bought baby clothes, held me, all pretending for my play?
“So, you knew from the start...”
“From the very beginning.”
Winston corrected Yujin.
“I knew from the very beginning you weren’t pregnant.”
Losing himself again, Yujin heard Winston mutter bitterly with a wry smile.
“I told you, I don’t trust anyone.”
“But then why... if you knew, why?”
Yujin couldn’t form a sentence, stammering continuously. Too shocked and embarrassed, words wouldn’t come out right. Winston stared silently at him and answered.
“Just.”
“Just what?”
It was a series of ridiculous words. Uttered like an exasperated sigh, Winston paused before speaking again.
“I...”
His voice cracked as he stopped. After a small cough and a breath, Winston continued.
“It was enough just to think you had my child.”
Yujin’s eyes widened impossibly. Winston gave a bitter smile and murmured like a lament.
“Did I expect it to actually happen if I pretended?”
What? That? Our child?
As if answering the question that couldn’t form into sound, Winston wiped his face with one hand. Then his faintly trembling voice flowed out.
“I don’t need a miscarriage.”
Winston exhaled sharply. Yujin tensely waited for the next words. After a moment of silence, finally an unbelievable confession came from him.
“I only wanted you.”
A suffocating silence fell. Yujin’s mind went completely blank. Could it be true? Was it possible to say words of love with such a tormented face? Is it really so hard for that man to admit he loves me?
“Don’t lie.”
Yujin spat out between rough breaths. Winston froze, pulling his hand away from his face and looking down at him. Yujin didn’t stop but kept mumbling.
“How can you say you love me if you don’t even try to listen? If you loved me, you would’ve trusted me no matter what. You never tried to listen back then. Even when we met again, you only blamed me every time. I tried to tell you so many times...”
‘You slept with my father!’
Winston’s face screaming at him with hatred came vividly back. Yujin uttered with a voice mixed with tears.
“You still don’t trust me!”
Haa, haa, harsh breaths escaped with intense emotion. Winston didn’t answer immediately but only stared at Yujin silently. Breathing heavily, Yujin glared at him. After a while, the man sighed shortly. Yujin watched as he moved and sat on the single sofa in the place of honor. Winston habitually touched his chest, then listlessly dropped his hand and rested his arm on the armrest. After wasting time on a series of meaningless gestures, he finally spoke.
“Tell me, what happened to you that day.”
His voice, which had been lethargic until then, now held faint hatred.
“I’m curious why you had no choice but to sleep with my father right in front of me.”
Meeting his deep purple eyes, Yujin swallowed dryly. Outside, lightning suddenly flashed brightly, followed by a tremendous thunderclap. As if it were an ominous sign.
