Consciousness returned alongside a faint dizziness. Yu-jin let out a groan and barely managed to open his eyes. His blurred vision wavered, making it difficult to focus. He frowned, repeatedly blinking in an attempt to clear his sight, and in the process, he remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
Panic surged through him, and he tried to sit up in a hurry—only to fall back onto his side with a groan. “Haa, haa.” His breath came in short, shallow gasps. A sudden fear gripped him at the thought of experiencing respiratory distress, but fortunately, the air was still reaching his lungs without issue.
Calm down, calm down. You’re okay now.
He steadied himself with deep breaths, forcing the dizziness to subside, and finally managed to open his eyes fully. That was when he noticed someone sitting in the chair by the tea table near the window.
Winston.
The moment he recognized the man, his entire body stiffened. Yu-jin stared, frozen, not even blinking, while Winston simply observed him in silence.
There was no way to tell how much time had passed. The only certainty was that Winston looked worse than he had before Yu-jin had blacked out. His complexion was poor, and a faint stubble shadowed his face. Yu-jin found himself absently taking note of the roughness along Winston’s jaw when the man finally spoke.
“You’re awake now?”
His quiet voice carried no discernible emotion. At the sound of it, Yu-jin flinched, tensing up instinctively. Winston let the pause stretch before continuing.
“Hyperventilation due to stress, apparently.”
The unfamiliar term made Yu-jin blink in confusion. He had never experienced such an episode before and had no idea he even had such a condition. Winston must have had a doctor examine him while he was unconscious, as he continued with a detached explanation.
“It’s a hypersensitive reaction that can occur when you’re faced with something extremely unpleasant or overwhelming. As long as you avoid the triggers, there’s nothing to be overly concerned about.”
So… there’s no reason to be this afraid? Yu-jin exhaled shakily, relieved despite himself. The terror of that suffocating moment—the world turning black before his eyes—still clung to him, but at least he wouldn’t die from it.
Seeing this, Winston sneered without hesitation.
“I’m impressed. I never thought you’d reject having sex with me to that extent. So you do have preferences, after all.”
It felt like being doused in cold water. Any lingering exhaustion vanished instantly. Yu-jin ignored the provocation and moved to get out of bed. The moment he did, the harsh scrape of a chair being pushed back echoed through the room, followed by heavy footsteps.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Winston had crossed the distance in an instant and grabbed Yu-jin’s wrist. Dragged back with no resistance, Yu-jin could only glare at him with all the emotion he couldn’t put into words.
“I’m going to sleep with Angie.”
“The hell you are.”
The next moment, Winston forced Yu-jin back onto the bed. Before he could even scream, Winston loomed over him, his dark eyes locking onto Yu-jin’s as he spat out his next words.
“You think you can run? Don’t be ridiculous. You still haven’t fulfilled the contract.”
“N-no, let go! Let me go!”
Yu-jin struggled with all his might, but Winston didn’t budge an inch. Instead, he laughed at him in mockery.
“Hyperventilation, huh?”
The words were spat out between clenched teeth, his voice rough with accusation.
“You think I’ll fall for that again? This is just another one of your tricks, isn’t it?”
“N-no! Stop, don’t!”
Yu-jin’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. He pushed at Winston’s shoulders, pounded at his chest with trembling fists, thrashing like a man caught in a seizure, but Winston remained unmoved. His breathing grew erratic once more, each gasp turning into choked, ragged sobs.
Then, as his body convulsed in sheer distress, Winston’s hands stilled.
“Stop pretending in front of me.”
Watching Yu-jin gasp for breath like he was about to pass out, Winston clenched his teeth hard enough to make his jaw ache.
“I told you—I won’t fall for it anymore! Just stop it!”
Winston’s voice rang sharp, but it only seemed to worsen Yu-jin’s reaction. His struggling became more desperate, his body seizing up until, suddenly, his breath hitched—then stopped altogether. His lips turned blue, his unfocused eyes rolling back as his entire body stiffened.
That was when Winston’s demeanor snapped.
“Yu-jin!”
He pulled Yu-jin into his arms, shaking him as he shouted in panic.
“Okay, okay! I won’t do it! I won’t force you! Just calm down! I was wrong—I won’t do this again, I swear!”
Through the haze of his fading consciousness, Yu-jin vaguely registered Winston’s frantic voice. His body trembled violently before going completely limp. Darkness swallowed his vision, his breath ceasing.
“Yu-jin…!”
The desperate voice calling his name seemed to grow distant. Winston kept shouting, but Yu-jin didn’t respond.
Fortunately, unlike before, he didn’t completely pass out this time. Slowly, awareness crept back into him. His breath, though unsteady, began to return. As the tension drained from his body, he lay there, utterly drained of energy.
“Yu-jin, are you okay?”
Winston asked again, his expression ashen as he gazed down at him. His face—filled with desperation, terror—looked just like the man Yu-jin had once loved.
My love…
Yu-jin’s lips parted slightly, but instead of speaking, he closed his eyes. His erratic breathing gradually evened out. He was too exhausted to feel anything anymore.
Winston held him tightly, his arms wrapped around him with an almost suffocating intensity. But Yu-jin neither flinched nor pulled away—he simply lay still, focusing on breathing.
After a long while, soft, steady breaths reached Winston’s ears. Carefully, as if handling fragile glass, he loosened his grip and pulled back just enough to check Yu-jin’s face. Seeing that he had finally fallen into deep sleep, Winston let out a long, heavy exhale.
Then, with a gentleness that seemed almost out of place, he gathered Yu-jin into his arms again.
Yu-jin didn’t resist. Of course, he didn’t. He was unconscious.
Holding him close, Winston let his thoughts churn.
Will he have another attack the moment he opens his eyes and sees me?
A chill ran down his spine at the possibility.
***
“Winston! Winston! Where did he go?”
Madam Campbell, who had been searching for her youngest son, spotted a passing butler and called out to him.
“Kane, have you seen Winston? I haven’t been able to find him for a while now.”
The butler straightened his posture before responding dutifully.
“I saw him riding out on his horse earlier.”
“What?”
Madam Campbell frowned, her expression growing serious. Lately, Winston had been spending far too much time outside. His grades weren’t suffering, so there wasn’t a tangible reason for concern, yet something about it unsettled her.
…But what could really be wrong?
Dismissing the thought, she turned away, speaking over her shoulder to the butler.
“Let me know when Winston returns.”
“Understood, Madam.”
Leaving the ever-loyal butler behind, Madam Campbell headed for the staircase. Winston would be entering high school soon. Once that happened, he wouldn’t have the luxury of wandering around so freely. She decided to be lenient about his little acts of rebellion for now.
At that very moment, Winston was with Yu-jin.
“So, this is how it works. Think you can do it?”
Winston asked, watching Yu-jin with a serious expression. Yu-jin, who had been listening intently, nodded in response. Seeing that, Winston handed him a workbook.
“Here, give it a try.”
As Yu-jin focused on solving the problems using the formulas he had learned, Winston couldn’t help but smile.
It had already been a year since they started meeting like this, just the two of them.
As Yu-jin had said before, no one ever came to the annex. Aside from the occasional morning visit—when someone would drop off food and other necessities—no one else set foot there. Winston came straight to Yu-jin after school every day, spending almost half the day with him, uninterrupted.
In that time, Yu-jin had learned quite a lot, thanks to Winston’s guidance. When Yu-jin had once mentioned this, Winston had simply widened his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal.
“No way, you’re just a fast learner. If you were in school, you’d definitely be skipping grades.”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“No, it’s because of you.”
They went back and forth, insisting on giving credit to the other, before bursting into laughter together.
Winston loved seeing Yu-jin smile. He was always beautiful, always adorable, always so incredibly lovable.
Whenever they were together, his heart felt like it was about to explode. He had never felt this way before. If it were possible, he wanted to spend every moment from morning till night by Yu-jin’s side.
But that was impossible.
When the time came, Winston always had to return home.
Just as he did every day, Winston glanced at the clock in the living room and let out a sigh of regret before speaking.
“I should get going now.”
“Already?”
Yu-jin, startled, quickly checked the clock himself, then let out a disappointed sigh. Time always passed far too quickly when they were together.
“You’re coming again tomorrow, right?”
As always, Yu-jin followed him outside to where Winston mounted his horse. Looking up at him with expectant eyes, he asked the question.
“Of course,” Winston answered with unwavering certainty.
“I found a really interesting book in Spanish. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Yu-jin’s eyes lit up instantly, sparkling with excitement. Seeing that expression made Winston’s heart race, and before he knew it, his face was turning red. Embarrassed for no reason, he quickly turned his horse around.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Take care, Winston! Be careful!”
Yu-jin called out from behind him. When Winston glanced back and waved, Yu-jin eagerly raised both arms and waved them enthusiastically in return.
