“Hmm.”
Yu-jin cleared his throat unnecessarily, trying to break the awkward silence. Winston’s gaze locked onto him. Feeling inexplicably uncomfortable, Yu-jin averted his eyes and spoke awkwardly.
“Uh, what are you doing? Aren’t you coming to dinner?”
Winston slowly straightened his posture before replying at a leisurely pace.
“I should.”
Despite saying that, he made no move to stand. His gaze, as if questioning why Yu-jin had even come, made him hesitate before speaking again.
“Uh… I have something to talk about… We can talk over dinner.”
Just as he was about to take a step back, Winston’s gaze flickered toward the empty seat across from him, and he made a different suggestion.
“How about over a drink instead? Have a seat.”
Only then did Yu-jin notice the whiskey and glasses on the table. Extreme Alphas never got drunk no matter how much they drank, so Winston wouldn’t have to worry about the strong liquor. But Yu-jin was different. If he got drunk, he might completely miss his chance.
That said, bringing it up so abruptly felt…
He hesitated for a moment before nodding. Setting the right mood before a conversation was a good strategy. Besides, alcohol would surely give him some courage. Dinner could wait. Even if he ended up too drunk to talk, there was always tomorrow.
He doubted he’d get anywhere with Winston in this atmosphere anyway.
Making up his mind, Yu-jin took the seat across from him. He waited as Winston poured whiskey into an empty glass. “Thanks,” he murmured, lifting the glass—only to instinctively furrow his brows. Even before taking a sip, the pungent scent of alcohol hit his nose.
Yu-jin barely wetted his lips before setting the glass down. Across from him, Winston downed half of his own drink without hesitation.
Did he always drink this much…?
The thought suddenly struck Yu-jin. Even if Winston’s physiology prevented him from getting drunk, he was drinking way too much. On top of that, he was taking painkillers strong enough to be unthinkable for a normal person. Wasn’t this excessive?
“Uh…”
Yu-jin opened his mouth without thinking but then hesitated. It felt like he was meddling unnecessarily, and the words wouldn’t come out easily. Their relationship had improved a bit lately, but not to the point where he could openly voice such concerns.
Winston simply stared at him, silently waiting. His gaze seemed to say, If you have something to say, just say it.
After wavering for a moment, Yu-jin dropped his hand back down. “…Never mind,” he muttered.
Damn it, that was my chance.
Just as he realized his mistake, another opportunity arrived.
“Did something happen today? You seem to be in a good mood.”
Yu-jin’s ears perked up at Winston’s question. Every day, Winston would ask if anything had happened, and Yu-jin’s answer was always the same—nothing special. What eventful thing could possibly happen when he spent the entire day at home with Angela?
But today was different. And maybe that difference was visible on his face because Winston’s question had a slight shift in nuance.
Yu-jin couldn’t hold back his smile. He covered his mouth with both hands, letting out a quiet chuckle.
“Yeah, something did. Something really good.”
A natural blush spread across Yu-jin’s cheeks, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. It was the first time since returning to the mansion that he had looked this full of life. Winston silently observed him for a moment.
“What happened?”
Winston’s slow question made Yu-jin chuckle again. Was the alcohol from earlier finally kicking in? He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. With a bright, happy smile, he replied.
“It’s a secret. Guess.”
All of a sudden, he felt like teasing him. Would Winston get impatient and press him for an answer? If he did, maybe Yu-jin would pretend to give in and tell him. He giggled again, and Winston, who had been quiet for a moment, finally spoke.
“You went out earlier, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
Yu-jin let out a clueless sound before realization struck. Of course—anything that happened inside the house would be reported to him. He must have already known that Yu-jin had gone out alone without Angela.
But he wouldn’t have the slightest clue why.
Puffing out his chest confidently, Yu-jin nodded.
“Yeah, I went out.”
“To that members-only French restaurant.”
Oh, so it was a members-only place? He hadn’t known that. Not that it really mattered. Yu-jin smirked playfully.
“You’ve never taken me to a place like that.”
I got in on my own. Through the invitation of a publishing editor, for a discussion about work.
Every part of that sentence sounded beautiful. Seol Yu-jin, you should be so proud of yourself! Fireworks exploded in his mind as he basked in self-satisfaction.
Winston narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So, did you find another man? One who’d take you to a place like that?”
“Uh…”
Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. He had met someone like that with his own abilities. Not that he had aimed for that restaurant from the beginning, of course.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t at all what Winston had meant, but Yu-jin was too caught up in his own exhilaration to notice.
“You’d never be able to guess.”
A grin spread across his lips before he could stop it. He laughed again, covering his mouth with both hands. Winston simply watched him, saying nothing.
“Darling, I hate to break it to you,” Winston finally spoke, his voice smooth and sweet.
“But you’re absolutely right. Who could ever imagine that after all the attention I give you every day, it still wouldn’t be enough, and you’d go fishing for another man?”
Yu-jin’s smiling face froze in place.
What… did I just hear?
His mind wasn’t processing properly, maybe because of the alcohol. He blinked slowly, once, before finally making a sound.
“…Huh?”
Yu-jin let out a dazed murmur, and Winston scoffed coldly.
“So, you’ve finally decided to sell your body openly? What the hell are you dissatisfied with? You have more than enough money to spend however you want. I thought you’d been quiet for a few days, but I guess you just couldn’t hold back that filthy habit of yours, huh?”
Yu-jin could only stare at him blankly. Reality was so far removed from what he had expected that his mind refused to function properly. Meanwhile, Winston continued his tirade.
“In the meantime, you even managed to seduce the youngest of the Grant family. I really can’t take my eyes off you for a second, can I? I tried being a gentleman for a while, but I guess that wasn’t enough for you. I should have treated you according to your true nature from the start. But then again, that kind of treatment is only suited for someone proper.”
“You think I went out to sell myself?”
Yu-jin barely managed to force the words out. His previously bright mood was utterly shattered, and the wide smile that had filled his face was gone without a trace. The voice he squeezed out trembled violently with rage.
But Winston only sneered at him.
“You want to tell me I’m wrong? Don’t bother lying—I have a witness who saw you receiving a check from that man.”
Clearly, that witness had only seen part of the situation and hadn’t actually overheard their conversation. Not that it would have made a difference. Even if they had listened and relayed everything accurately, would Winston have believed it so easily?
At that moment, Yu-jin realized something.
The truth will never reach this man.
The deep-rooted distrust he had toward Yu-jin had already taken hold. No matter what words he heard, they wouldn’t shake him. To Winston, he would always be nothing more than a filthy slut obsessed with men.
Then what was the point of telling him the truth?
In that instant, Yu-jin let go of any remaining expectations he had for him. None of it mattered anymore. He had no energy to waste on something so meaningless. Wouldn’t that be the real waste of his life?
Yu-jin simply closed his mouth.
Under Winston’s cold gaze, he watched as the man emptied the rest of his whiskey in one go. Leaning back against the sofa, Winston asked in a detached voice,
“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
He still remembered Yu-jin’s initial reason for coming. But it was too late.
Yu-jin opened his mouth.
But what came out was something completely different from what he had originally planned to say.
“I’m pregnant.”
