Kiss the Scumbag – Chapter 201

Seol Yu-jin remained silent for a long time.

He simply stared blankly out the window at the world beyond, blanketed in white.

“…When you were unconscious.”

At last, he spoke—his voice barely a whisper, thin and trembling as though wrung from deep within.

Winston waited quietly for him to continue, just as he always had. Yu-jin exhaled sharply, like releasing the pressure that had been building inside him, then went on.

“I went to see you over and over again. Every time, I was turned away… but there was one time—just once—when I made it through.”

He squinted slightly, brow furrowed, as if trying to pull a distant memory into focus.

“For some reason, there was no one guarding your room that day. The hallway was completely deserted, like it had been emptied on purpose… I was surprised, yeah, but I didn’t waste time hesitating. I was just… grateful. Grateful for the chance to see you. So I went in. And then…”

Hoo… A trembling breath escaped his lips.

Yu-jin’s face twisted in anguish as he mumbled, voice like a faint echo in the air.

“You were all alone.”

His fingers tightened where they were laced together, as if bracing himself. Winston’s gaze briefly dropped to his hands before returning to Yu-jin’s face. He waited in silence, giving Yu-jin space to speak at his own pace.

“You weren’t awake. Most of your wounds seemed to be healing, but… I called your name. I shook you. You didn’t respond… You looked like you were suffering, so I apologized while crying, telling you how sorry I was…”

Suddenly, Yu-jin winced as if his fingers had gone numb, quickly unclasping them and shaking out his hands.

Avoiding Winston’s gaze, he pressed on stubbornly, forcing out the truth.

“You opened your eyes.”

“I did?”

Winston’s voice came out in a blur of disbelief. He had no memory of that at all.

Yu-jin glanced sideways at him, then let out a soft chuckle.

“See? You don’t believe me.”

“No, that’s not it—”

Winston hastily denied it, alarmed by the bitter humor in Yu-jin’s tone.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yu-jin murmured.

“You told me not to cry. You touched my cheek… then you kissed me. And all of a sudden, I caught your pheromone scent, and…”

He bit his lip, then released it, before confessing in a strained voice.

“You went into rut.”

Winston stared at him, stunned.

With Yu-jin unable to go on, it was Winston who asked the next question.

“Are you saying… I slept with you that day?”

His mind felt like a fog, but even through the haze, a cold thread of logic told him this had to be true.

The timing matched.

Until now, he had assumed that Yu-jin had slept with his father while he’d been unconscious and near death—assumed that’s how the child came to be.

But the truth was…

“So that’s why I couldn’t remember.”

A deep sigh escaped him.

With both hands covering his face, he collapsed onto the floor as if his legs had given out. Yu-jin let him be, giving him space while he sorted through the tangled mess in his head.

Winston sat in silence for a while before slowly lowering his hands. His expression still clouded with turmoil, Yu-jin stole a glance at him and finally opened his mouth.

“If we get a DNA test done…”

“It’s okay. We don’t need to.”

There was no strength in his voice.

Staring off into the distance with a completely drained face, Winston murmured, “I believe you. Everything.”

After that, he fell silent again.

What’s going through his head?

Yu-jin didn’t feel the urge to ask—but he was quietly curious. He stole a glance again, and just then, Winston, who looked lost in deep thought, suddenly inhaled sharply and turned his gaze to Yu-jin.

Looking up at Yu-jin sitting upright in the lounge chair, he spoke.

“Did I… force myself on you?”

His voice trembled faintly.

Yu-jin stared at him for a moment. Winston’s eyes wavered anxiously, and only then did Yu-jin realize what he had been thinking.

He was asking if he had raped Yu-jin. For a fleeting moment, Yu-jin was tempted—tempted to weaponize the truth.

But after a pause, he shook his head.

“No,” he said softly. “You weren’t in any condition to do that. But you were suffering so much that I…”

“You what?”

For the first time, Winston pressed him, urgency in his tone. It was clearly a serious issue for him—but to Yu-jin, it didn’t feel that way at all.

“It’s all in the past. Why does it even matter?”

“It matters. It matters to me.”

Winston cut in quickly, almost desperately.

“If I forced you to get pregnant, then I—”

“I told you, it wasn’t like that. You weren’t even capable of doing that. You… couldn’t even get out of bed.”

“Then what?”

Winston was relentless. He showed no sign of backing down.

Yu-jin found himself wishing—regretting—that he had just lied and said Winston had raped him. But it was too late now. Far too late.

In the end, Yu-jin gave in and opened his mouth.

“I…”

He bit his lip hard, then let it go, turning his face away as he quickly confessed.

“I got on top.”

An awkward silence fell over them.

Yu-jin could feel his face flushing with shame, burning red with embarrassment. His heart pounded like it was about to explode, and even his fingertips tingled.

God, no.

He wanted to bolt right then and there, but before he could even move, Winston asked,

“You got on top? On me?”

“Wh-Why would you say it like that?!”

Yu-jin shrieked in horror at the blunt phrasing, snapping his head toward him—only to instantly regret it. Winston was staring at him, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, like someone who had just been struck by lightning.

“You got on top of me…!”

“St-Stop it! I said stop!”

Flustered, Yu-jin hastily clamped both hands over Winston’s mouth to silence him as he kept repeating the same words like someone drunk. But that only made things worse.

As if he’d been waiting for that moment, Winston grabbed Yu-jin’s arms and yanked him forward.

“Wah—!”

Yu-jin let out a startled cry as he toppled forward, landing right on top of Winston.

Still holding him, Winston lay flat on the floor and whispered above Yu-jin’s head,

“I can’t believe I don’t remember that.”

“L-Let go.”

Yu-jin tried to push himself up quickly, but Winston wrapped an arm around his waist to stop him. Now forced to lie atop him, Yu-jin did what little he could to resist—he lifted his head and glared down at him.

But even faced with that glare, Winston only gave a wry smile.

“How could I forget something so precious… I should’ve remembered it even in death.”

“Guess it wasn’t worth remembering.”

Yu-jin shot back, sharp as a blade. But Winston shook his head, firm and unwavering.

“No way.”

His denial was strong.

“My damn pheromones have never felt more cursed than they do right now. If I had only remembered that…”

His words trailed off with a sigh. Yu-jin had been about to tell him to just let go already—but he stopped. Those violet eyes staring up at him were awash in tangled emotions—regret, guilt, and…

A deep, aching longing.

“Yu-jin.”

Winston called his name in a low voice. Yu-jin said nothing. He just stared at his face.

Or more precisely—his gaze was pinned to Winston’s lips, as if fixed there by some invisible force.

Winston’s hand moved gently to stroke Yu-jin’s cheek, then slid down to cradle his neck. He barely applied any pressure, and yet Yu-jin’s face tilted down toward him.

There was no strength left in Winston’s grip.

If Yu-jin had wanted to pull away, he could have—easily. All it would’ve taken was sitting up. But for some reason… he couldn’t.

In his downward gaze, he saw those lips moving ever so slightly.

“Baby…”

The tremble in Winston’s breath brushed against his skin.

He didn’t bother imagining what might happen next. There was no need to.

It was about to become real.

As he closed his eyes, every sense zeroed in on that moment.

It felt like Winston’s body heat was seeping into the very air. A pleasant shiver crawled down Yu-jin’s spine. His lips parted on instinct. He could feel the fierce thump of a heartbeat against his palm.

Winston’s heart was racing like mad. Just like his.

And then—just as their lips were about to meet…

“Daddy, Daddy!”

With loud, frantic footsteps, Angela’s voice rang out.

Yu-jin gasped and shot up like he’d been burned.

In a narrow escape by mere seconds, he managed to be seated in the lounge chair just as Angela burst into the living room.

She had charged in full of excitement but tilted her head in confusion when she saw Winston slowly sitting up from the floor.

“Winnie, what were you doing on the floor?”

“Ahem.”

Yu-jin quickly let out a forced cough—subtle, but clearly telling him to play along.

Winston glanced at him, then turned to Angela and replied,

“I tripped.”

Phew.

Yu-jin let out a silent breath of relief. But Angela only tilted her head, still puzzled.

“Grown-ups fall down too?”

“What is it, Angie?”

Jumping in to change the subject, Yu-jin asked the question, and Angela immediately brightened.

“We have visitors! Come see who’s here!”

“Visitors?”

Didn’t they say no one could come here?

Still trying to process it all, Yu-jin turned to Winston in confusion. But surprisingly, Winston didn’t look the least bit startled.

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention—we were expecting guests.”

As if.

He hadn’t forgotten—he’d left it out on purpose.

Probably wanted to surprise him.

Yu-jin shot him a sideways glare, but if that was the case, then whoever it was must be someone he’d be happy to see.

But who…?

Still wondering, he rose from the chair—just in time for the guests to step into view. And the moment he saw who it was, Yu-jin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Grant… how did you…?”

“It’s been a while, Yu-jin. Thanks for having us, Mr. Campbell.”

“Thank you, Mr. Campbell!”

Beaming brightly beneath him, the small girl echoed her father’s greeting with a cheerful bow.

Yu-jin could only blink in stunned silence as he stared at Grant and his daughter smiling back at him.

Author: Levia