“Hiiik….”
Letting out a pitiful shriek, Yu-jin quickly slapped his remaining hand over his mouth in a panic. Winston, catching a glimpse of Yu-jin’s obvious fluster, turned his gaze downward and spoke.
“Angie, I think Daddy needs a little rest. Would it be alright if just the two of us decorated the tree?”
At that, Yu-jin hurriedly looked down at the child. Angela was staring up at Winston, her face pale as if in shock. Her earlier words echoed back instantly—clearly, she thought Winston was trying to separate her from Yu-jin again. Seeing the raw emotion on her face, Yu-jin felt as though his chest had caved in.
“I’m fi—”
“Kane.”
Just as Yu-jin hurriedly tried to speak, Winston called for the butler, cutting him off mid-sentence. The butler appeared from somewhere and responded with a prompt, “Yes, sir.” Still holding Yu-jin in his arms, Winston continued.
“Prepare a place for Yu-jin to rest—somewhere close enough that he can keep an eye on Angie.”
At the unexpected instruction, both Yu-jin and Angela widened their eyes in surprise. The butler, showing no change in expression, simply replied, “Understood,” and quickly set the other servants into motion. In no time, they brought in an antique rocking chair, padded it with cushions, and draped a blanket over it. Before long, a comfortable resting spot was arranged for Yu-jin.
“Here.”
Carefully setting Yu-jin down on the chair, Winston spoke.
“This should be fine, right?”
Still dazed from the unexpected turn of events, Yu-jin blinked in confusion. Angela looked just as bewildered. Looking over at her with a similar expression, Yu-jin noticed the girl glancing between him and Winston, her eyes wide. He opened his mouth awkwardly.
“Uh… yeah, it’s fine.”
As Yu-jin responded while watching Angela’s reaction, Winston shifted his attention to the child.
“Are you okay, Angie? Would you prefer the chair to be a little closer?”
If Angela nodded, Winston looked ready to move it immediately. There was no guarantee, but Yu-jin could just tell. Angela blinked blankly and then slowly gave a hesitant nod. Winston, catching her doubtful look, acted right away.
“Wah!”
Suddenly, Yu-jin was lifted again—chair and all. Without hesitation, Winston walked forward, carrying Yu-jin in the seat. In just a few steps, he stopped right in front of the girl and asked,
“How about here?”
Angela’s eyes widened once more. She looked between Winston and Yu-jin, visibly flustered, then nodded.
“Uh… y-yeah.”
With that, Winston gently set Yu-jin down. His movements were courteous and careful. In contrast, Yu-jin was breathing heavily, his heart pounding uncontrollably. He had never realized how grounding it felt just to have his feet touching the floor.
Oddly enough, he hadn’t felt this anxious even when Winston had carried him earlier.
The sudden realization made Yu-jin shake his head hurriedly. What the hell am I thinking? Am I seriously saying I’d rather be carried around by Winston?
“Daddy?”
At the sound of the child’s voice, Yu-jin snapped back to reality, only to find Winston and Angela looking at him with puzzled expressions. Feeling the heat rush to his face, Yu-jin forced an awkward smile.
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
He rushed to speak, trying to dodge the moment.
“How about you finish decorating the tree? I’ll just watch from here.”
Winston peered at Yu-jin’s face, as if trying to read the truth behind his words, but didn’t press for long.
“Alright then.”
Straightening his back, he turned his attention to Angela with a glance that said, Let’s wrap this up. Finally regaining her composure, Angela looked up at Winston with her cheeks tinged pink. As she flapped her small hands in a gesture, Winston leaned down to hear her whisper something.
And then, Yu-jin witnessed something utterly unbelievable.
Winston smiled at the child.
A genuine smile—one that looked affectionate, joyful, as if he couldn’t help himself from being overwhelmed with happiness.
Yu-jin sat silently, watching them with a whirl of emotions stirring inside him.
“What did you and Angie talk about earlier?”
Once they were finally alone, Yu-jin asked the question he’d been holding back. Even after decorating the tree, the three of them had spent a good amount of time together—sharing a meal in the greenhouse, chatting idly about what flowers would bloom in the garden, and even talking about plans for the new year.
Everything had unfolded with such peaceful normalcy, yet Yu-jin couldn’t bring himself to trust it.
Peace? Between Winston and himself? That’s absurd.
Don’t let your guard down for a second.
The moment he lay down on the bed, he’d fired the question with a sharp edge of suspicion. Winston simply tilted his head, feigning ignorance.
“What do you mean? We talked about so much, I don’t even know what part you’re referring to.”
The act of playing dumb was infuriating. Yu-jin opened his mouth again to press him—but Winston didn’t give him the chance.
Leaning in suddenly, Winston brought with him a wave of sweet fragrance that filled the space between them. Yu-jin flinched, startled, and Winston narrowed his eyes, murmuring,
“Baby, what are you so anxious about?”
His low whisper tickled across Yu-jin’s skin. Unable to form words, Yu-jin simply blinked as Winston reached out and gently brushed his arm. The long, firm fingers traced along his skin, making Yu-jin’s breath catch involuntarily.
Winston slowly hooked his fingers around Yu-jin’s and continued in a teasing murmur,
“We were just enjoying Christmas Eve. Like any other family would.”
Family. The subtle implication behind that word struck Yu-jin with intense dissonance. They were technically a family—but only Yu-jin knew that truth. What would happen if Winston ever learned that Angela was his daughter?
That’ll never happen.
Yu-jin slapped Winston’s hand away with firm conviction. This man would never believe me anyway.
“Don’t mess around. There’s no way I’m ever letting that happen again between us.”
His cold, cutting words made Winston’s eyes crinkle as he chuckled softly.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Winston’s shameless reaction made Yu-jin’s temper flare once again. On impulse, he grabbed a pillow and swung it at him—with a loud thud, it landed squarely against Winston’s body.
“Gasp…”
Even though he was the one who did it, Yu-jin was startled and drew a sharp breath. He couldn’t believe he had actually hit someone.
“I… I thought you’d dodge…”
He muttered, sounding almost betrayed, and Winston chuckled as he asked,
“Weren’t you aiming to hit me?”
“Don’t act like you let me hit you on purpose.”
Yu-jin shot back sharply, though he already knew that was the truth. The only kind of person who wouldn’t be able to avoid such a slow swing would be a corpse. In the end, Yu-jin blurted out his real thoughts.
“Why do you keep letting me win?”
His eyes full of suspicion, Yu-jin stared at him. Winston tilted his head in mild confusion.
“I do?”
“Yeah. I’m not an idiot. You’re up to something, aren’t you?”
Yu-jin fired off the accusation without hesitation. Winston stayed quiet for a moment. Whether he was choosing his words or just stunned into silence, Yu-jin couldn’t tell. After a few seconds of stillness, Winston simply changed the subject with a calm voice.
“Are you feeling okay? You still seemed feverish earlier.”
That hit the mark. The suppressant he’d taken that morning had long since worn off. Heat still flickered and surged inside him, and Winston’s pheromones only made it worse—driving him nearly mad. Even lasting this long had taken every ounce of energy Yu-jin had left.
“Yeah, well, I’m going to sleep now, so don’t bother me.”
He purposely snapped more coldly than usual and turned his back to him. Winston lingered, staring at the back of Yu-jin’s head for a moment, then turned and walked away. As he headed toward the bathroom, Yu-jin could hear him humming a little tune.
What’s he plotting now?
A sense of unease crept up his spine as the sound of the bathroom door closed behind Winston and the humming faded into silence.
Alone in bed, Yu-jin went over the day in his mind. As bitter as it all was, he couldn’t deny that he had enjoyed it. Even knowing it was all an illusion.
Just one more day. I just have to hold out for one more day.
With that thought, he forced himself to sleep. He didn’t think it would come easily, but to his surprise, he passed out almost instantly—like a light flicking off. When Winston returned, Yu-jin was already fast asleep, breathing slow and even.
***
Angela, who had also been sleeping deeply, suddenly opened her eyes.
Something felt… off.
Still lying down, she blinked her sleepy eyes and slowly turned her head. It took a few seconds before she realized there was something crouching in the darkness.
…Huh?
Angela rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up clumsily in bed. What is that? The question surfaced dimly in her groggy mind. With both hands, she rubbed her eyes again—
She blinked.
As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the shape before her gradually came into focus.
It was a person.
Gasp!
Angela, startled, immediately clamped her hands—still rubbing her eyes—over her mouth.
