Why the hell do I have to do something like this?
Gripping the ski pole, Yu-jin stood there trembling, feeling the crushing weight of existential dread. What was so fun about sliding down a snowy slope on these ridiculously long sticks anyway? He could barely keep his balance.
“Hold on, Yu-jin. Straighten your legs. No, keep your feet facing forward, and keep the skis parallel…”
Like hell I care!
Yu-jin barely managed to swallow the urge to yell. Truth be told, he’d felt like crying since the start but was doing his best to hold it in. Most of all, it was hard to just turn his back on this whole mess and say no—especially with his daughter all excited beside him, flailing around on her snowboard even if she wasn’t really riding it.
“Yu-jin, you’re sticking your hips out too much.”
Winston reached out and grabbed Yu-jin’s waist. It was a purely functional touch, but Yu-jin didn’t appreciate it one bit.
“Stop. You can just say it.”
Yu-jin muttered, brushing off the help with a low voice. But, of course, life never plays out as easily as it sounds. Especially not when it came to managing his body on top of a pair of skis. Winston let go, but Yu-jin couldn’t move an inch from that awkward posture—just kept trembling in place. Watching Yu-jin flail helplessly like a newborn calf, Winston tilted forward and whispered near his ear.
“At this rate, Angie’s going to be in college before you even move.”
He would’ve preferred Winston just groan and ask when he was going to start moving. But no—those softly spoken words, as if he were pitying him, made Yu-jin bristle with anger. He wanted to snap at him to shut up, but didn’t have the spare energy. Instead, he glared daggers at him with a furious look. Winston only smiled back, breezy and unbothered.
“Well, maybe you’ll get your form down before she starts high school.”
He said it like he was being generous. Still, thanks to that little jab, Yu-jin somehow managed to lift his back upright. Hah. As Yu-jin finally got into something resembling a proper stance, Winston spoke again.
“Nice. But don’t tense up too much—by tomorrow, your whole body’s going to be aching.”
No need to wait for tomorrow. Yu-jin already felt like his limbs were starting to go numb, but he pretended not to notice. Fueled by the sheer willpower not to show any weakness in front of this man, he summoned all his strength to stay standing and barely managed to open his mouth.
“Happy now?”
“Try moving your feet a little farther apart. No, like this.”
Winston reflexively reached out his hand but stopped midair, glancing at Yu-jin’s face. Now what? Yu-jin frowned at him, and Winston asked with a mischievous grin:
“Can I touch you for just a second?”
He waved his hands exaggeratedly in the air like he was putting on a show. Yu-jin answered stiffly.
“No.”
“Oh dear.”
It was impossible to tell if he was disappointed or just surprised. Murmuring vaguely, Winston pointed with his finger toward Yu-jin’s ski tips.
“Try angling them ten degrees that way. No, a bit more. More than that.”
All of Yu-jin’s focus was locked on moving his feet. He had zero energy left to spare for anything else around him.
Which is why he never noticed the girl speeding straight toward him on skis from behind.
“Uh—uhh, UH!!”
“Move, Yu-jin! Phoebe, turn—steer the other way!”
By the time he registered the frantic shouting, it was already too late. Before he could even turn his head to see what was happening, something slammed hard into his body. The girl barreling downhill at full speed hit with the force of a boulder. Yu-jin didn’t even have time to cry out—he was simply shoved off.
“Uh—”
“Yu-jin!”
The moment Winston shouted—his voice sounding different this time—a frigid gust of wind whipped across Yu-jin’s face. And in that instant, he realized something horrifying.
He was skiing.
Not by choice. Not by control. But skiing nonetheless.
“U-urgh… AAAAAHHHHHH!”
The scream ripped from his throat too late. The poles he’d been clutching were flung away in the panic, and his arms flailed helplessly as his body kept sliding, accelerating with terrifying momentum.
White snow blurred past him on both sides, a dizzying rush. He couldn’t hear a thing over the roaring wind. The only thing he could feel was speed—speed, speed, and more speed.
“HELP MEEEE!!”
Yu-jin screamed, sheer terror twisting his face. Memories of his life flashed before his eyes like a stuttering film reel:
Those endless, lonely nights spent alone in the annex.
That first kiss with Winston.
Angela being born—the tiny body that had curled so trustingly into his arms.
Those poor, humble, but happy days they’d spent together, he and his daughter.
And finally—
Winston, standing across from him in matching ski gear, Angela in his arms, the three of them caught in a fleeting image like some kind of hallucination, like a forgotten dream in which he’d once belonged.
“Yu-jin!!”
His name echoed faintly in the air—then suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist and yanked.
He swayed violently, and in the next moment, the world flipped sideways.
“Ah—!”
A short gasp escaped him, half scream. He shut his eyes tight as his entire body jolted with a dull thud. A wave of vertigo slammed into him, and then—everything stopped.
Silence crashed over the world like snow.
Only their ragged breathing remained—his and another man’s.
“You okay?”
Winston’s voice floated down from above his head, shaky and laced with breathlessness. Yu-jin hesitated, then slowly opened his eyes.
Winston’s face loomed pale and stricken with fear, staring down at him. The expression was raw—like he was terrified Yu-jin might be hurt. Completely thrown off by it, Yu-jin gave a faint nod.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s hurt. Anywhere.”
“Really? Nothing hurts? Really?”
Winston’s hands fumbled over Yu-jin’s body, checking him head to toe with frantic, almost chaotic care. There wasn’t even a hint of lewd intent in it—it was all nervous energy. Yu-jin reached up and gave Winston’s cheek a light tap.
“Calm down. I’m fine. Really.”
Winston had stopped moving, but the fear in his expression hadn’t faded.
Yu-jin met his eyes directly and repeated himself.
“I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”
“Ah…”
Winston let out a trembling breath that sounded more like a sigh than a word, then slowly closed his eyes.
“Thank God. I swear, I thought my heart was going to stop.”
Still holding Yu-jin close, he drew in a deep breath. For a while, the two of them lay there, half-buried in the snow.
The sunlight bouncing off the snow was so bright it stung his eyes, so Yu-jin furrowed his brow and lifted a hand to shield his face. The world had gone still—eerily quiet.
As if the two of them were the only ones left in it.
“It probably would’ve been better for you if I disappeared.”
He said it softly, but the words reached Winston’s ears with crystal clarity.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Winston turned pale as he asked, his voice sharp. Feeling his gaze, Yu-jin continued in a calm, steady tone.
“Isn’t it true? If I’m gone, you become Angela’s only parent. Everything would just fall into place. Easier to inherit the estate. You could marry someone actually suitable for you…”
Why did Evelyn come to mind just then?
The fact that she was still single for some reason lingered at the back of his mind. He knew it was rude to speculate without knowing her true feelings. He knew it, and still, even as he scolded himself—What does it matter to me?—his thoughts tangled up in frustration.
And then Winston, face tightened with emotion, spoke.
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that again. I’ve never—not once—thought that way. Lose you again, all over a damn inheritance? You think I’m that kind of person?”
He shook his head forcefully, like trying to shake off the rising storm inside him. A deep exhale followed. And then—he said nothing more.
Yu-jin stayed silent, too.
For a long time, the two of them just lay there in that frozen stillness.
It was Winston who finally broke the silence.
“When I asked if you’d been with anyone… it wasn’t to criticize you.”
His low voice carried clearly across the quiet snowfield.
When Yu-jin didn’t reply, Winston went on.
“It’s natural, isn’t it? To date someone. To like someone. It’s not something I have any say in. And it won’t be in the future either. Whoever you’re with… whoever you fall in love with…”
He paused, clearly struggling, before finishing.
“It’s not my place. It won’t be my place.”
His voice was thick with pain, like every word had to be wrung out of him.
Yu-jin hesitated, then quietly turned his head to look at him. That small movement stirred just enough noise to draw Winston’s attention.
He turned, their eyes met—and neither of them looked away.
They stared at each other for a long time in that silence.
Yu-jin’s heart began to beat—not fast, but deeply, like it was pulsing through his entire chest.
A flush slowly bloomed across his cheeks.
Winston’s eyes narrowed.
Yu-jin’s eyelids sank lower, slowly. In his narrowing vision, he saw Winston leaning in—but he didn’t stop him.
He simply closed his eyes, already knowing what would happen next.
Darling.
Winston whispered.
Yu-jin’s lips parted instinctively.
Ah—he let out a soft sigh.
Winston’s breath slipped between the space that had opened between them. And then—
When their lips finally met, the heart that had been stirring quietly inside him suddenly surged, pounding violently in his chest.
