Winston froze in place.
The heat that had been steadily rising between them evaporated in an instant, leaving the atmosphere ice-cold. For a brief moment, the two of them just stared at each other, breath heavy and uneven. Winston’s pale face, as if struck by a wave of shock, twisted slowly into a crooked grin as he looked at Yu-jin.
“So, I’m supposed to be grateful my turn finally came, huh.”
Then, he stood up.
Yu-jin’s body jerked as Winston’s cock suddenly slipped out from deep inside him, leaving behind a jolt that knocked the air from his lungs. Haa, haa. Ragged breaths escaped his lips.
Left dazed, half-naked from the waist down, Yu-jin only came to his senses after a few seconds and hurriedly reached for his clothes. His pants, still looped around one ankle, sagged limply to the floor.
The realization of what he had just done hit him like a truck. A wave of self-loathing surged up inside him.
He fumbled to fix his clothes and turned around—only to find Winston seated casually on the sofa, acting as if nothing had happened.
With one arm draped over the backrest and legs crossed, Winston exuded arrogance more effortlessly than anyone Yu-jin had ever met. Just like always.
“Fine.”
“What the hell was that just now?”
Yu-jin had barely opened his mouth when Winston spoke first, his voice tight.
The serious look in his eyes was loaded with suspicion.
Yu-jin could feel his mouth go dry as he tried to answer, words sticking awkwardly to his tongue.
“What do you mean, what was it?”
He inwardly cursed himself for stumbling like an idiot—but it was already too late.
Winston’s eyes remained narrowed in doubt, staring him down.
He’s probably wondering why I gave in so easily.
But Yu-jin was just as confused as Winston. Which is why, instead of answering, he threw the question back.
“What about you? You started it.”
It was a decent counterattack.
But Winston showed no signs of flinching. He answered smoothly, without even a hint of hesitation.
“If you had a chance to turn a fantasy into reality, who in their right mind would say no?”
A faint smirk curved at the corners of his mouth—as if he were savoring the memory of what had just transpired.
As if to prove it, the scent of Winston’s pheromones thickened, unmistakably heavy in the air.
Yu-jin instantly picked up on it—Winston was turned on again.
Worse, he realized his own insides were trembling in response.
He could still feel the lingering warmth of semen inside him, saturated with that maddening pheromone scent.
He fought hard to pull himself together, barely managing to rein in the primal urge clawing at the edges of his sanity. Then he finally spoke.
“I’ll decide the date for our outing with Georgina. Just be aware of that.”
He said it as coolly as he could manage.
Just as expected, Winston’s brows furrowed. His gaze sharpened as he looked at Yu-jin.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t recall giving you permission.”
He was clearly annoyed.
Yu-jin, catching the shift in mood, leaned in deliberately.
One hand braced on the sofa’s backrest, he brought his face close to Winston’s, his voice dripping with sugary sweetness—despite knowing full well the pheromones in the air were only getting stronger.
“Baby, nothing in this world is free.”
This time, Yu-jin had the upper hand.
And that gave him strength.
Lowering his voice to a near-whisper, he gazed straight into Winston’s deeply violet eyes and murmured,
“You had your fun. Now it’s time to pay the price.”
For a moment, Winston didn’t react.
He parted his lips as if to say something, but no sound came out.
It was only after a few more seconds that a voice finally emerged.
“Payment.”
“Right.”
Winston echoed the word Yu-jin had just spat out, then Yu-jin answered with a smile curling on his lips.
“Why else would I sleep with you? I paid the price to get what I wanted. You’re wondering why I fucked you? It was a transaction. Got it?”
Winston didn’t smile. He just stared at Yu-jin’s face in silence, as if trying to detect even the slightest trace of a lie.
Yu-jin barely managed to endure that unrelenting gaze. In a way, it wasn’t all that hard. After all, he was just doing exactly what Winston had always accused him of. But what was difficult—unbearably so—was resisting the overwhelming scent of Winston’s pheromones.
“……Fine.”
Winston finally opened his mouth, though it felt like an eternity had passed. Yu-jin barely managed to swallow down the sigh of relief that almost slipped out. Then Winston spoke again, his tone slow and deliberate.
“On one condition. Set the date after Christmas.”
“What? Why?”
The retort flew from Yu-jin’s mouth before he could stop himself.
He needed to get out of this place as soon as possible—what kind of ridiculous condition was this all of a sudden?
Winston chuckled at Yu-jin’s immediate backlash, the smirk tugging at his lips as the balance of power shifted in an instant.
“Baby, I’m not satisfied yet. So either keep spreading your legs until I am, or learn to be patient.”
Then, deliberately, he added with unshakable firmness,
“If you really want your ‘payment’.”
For a moment, Yu-jin had the strange sense that Winston was deeply offended by that word—payment.
Why, though?
This was the same man who hadn’t hesitated to call him a whore, a slut, and worse.
Was he now disgusted with himself for giving in and fucking Yu-jin right there in the study?
That had to be it. What else could explain his reaction?
Yu-jin settled on that conclusion, then shot Winston a scornful look, clearly unamused.
“Can you guarantee you’ll keep your word?”
Winston let out a raw, almost mocking laugh in response to the blatant distrust.
“And if you don’t trust me, what the hell do you expect me to do about it?”
He was right, damn him.
Yu-jin clenched his fists tightly, glaring at Winston with everything he had—but he couldn’t bring himself to strike him.
“I sincerely hope you honor your word… for the sake of the Campbell family’s honor.”
He lifted his chin and forced himself to speak with authority.
Of course, to Winston, it was probably just laughable.
But Yu-jin had no choice. Winston was right—what other options did he have?
With no reason to remain a second longer, Yu-jin abruptly turned and bolted from the study like he couldn’t get away fast enough.
Winston didn’t bother to stop him.
Haa, haa.
It wasn’t until he’d closed the door behind him that Yu-jin finally let out the breath he’d been holding, panting heavily.
Only then did a sliver of clarity begin to return to him.
That was dangerously close.
He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he forced himself to walk, one heavy step at a time.
Whatever had been between Winston and Yu-jin had reverted back to how it was before.
For a brief moment, it had felt like something had passed between them—some faint flicker of emotion—but that was the end of it.
In the end, it was Yu-jin who had kicked down the fragile bridge holding them together.
This is better.
Clenching down on the weakness threatening to rise inside him, Yu-jin convinced himself.
It was better this way—better for Winston to look down on him, to believe he had simply traded his body for some gain.
But Yu-jin knew that wasn’t the truth.
What am I going to do…
He couldn’t deny it anymore.
Winston’s pheromones were clouding his mind, over and over again. They were gnawing away at his reason, pulling him toward submission.
Why now, of all times?
Why had he suddenly started sensing them?
Even after sex, Winston’s pheromones continued to stir something inside him.
Time and time again, Yu-jin had to choke down the overwhelming urge to kneel between Winston’s legs, unzip his pants, and take him into his mouth.
No. No way.
He absolutely couldn’t let Winston find out.
If that man saw him breaking down under the weight of pheromones like this, he would laugh—laugh and sneer without mercy.
I just have to hold out until Christmas.
Think positive. There weren’t many days left. If he could make it just a little longer, he’d truly be free.
He’d schedule the outing with Georgina for the day after Christmas.
…But before that—
Yu-jin couldn’t even make it back to his room.
He stumbled into the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind him.
His insides were scorching, like he was burning from the gut out.
With one hand wrapped around his cock and the other shoved between his legs, he let out a string of broken, desperate moans.
The semen pooled deep inside him started to leak out in thick globs, soaking his fingers until they were slick and dripping.
Half out of his mind, Yu-jin kept touching himself for a long time.
But the throbbing heat refused to subside, and eventually, he staggered out of the bathroom, legs trembling, and barely managed to crawl back to his room.
For days afterward, the fever in his body refused to die down.
Even he couldn’t handle the intensity of his own pheromone scent anymore—it was far too strong.
“Yu-jin-ssi.”
That morning, just like the ones before, the butler approached the bed with a worried expression.
Yu-jin was lying there, panting heavily.
“Are you all right? Should I call for a doctor?”
Yu-jin buried his face deeper into the pillow and shook his head.
The butler sighed.
“How strange. It can’t be a heat cycle, since you’re already pregnant…”
At that moment, Yu-jin’s heart nearly stopped from the shock.
