Kiss the Scumbag-Chapter 45

A faint wave of dizziness marked his return to consciousness. Letting out a soft groan, Yujin forced his eyes open. His blurred vision wavered, unable to focus properly. As he frowned and blinked several times, slowly lifting and lowering his eyelids, the memories of what had happened before he blacked out came flooding back.

In a flash of fear, he tried to sit up—but collapsed back onto his side with a pained groan. Haa, haa. His breathing was shallow and ragged. Panic surged at the thought of suffocating, but thankfully, air continued to reach his lungs.

Calm down, calm down.

You’re okay now.

Muttering to himself and taking a deep breath, he finally managed to steady his dizziness and open his eyes again. That was when he noticed someone sitting in the chair beside the tea table near the window.

Winston.

The moment he recognized him, Yujin’s entire body froze. Without blinking, he stared at Winston—who merely returned his gaze in silence.

He had no idea how many hours had passed. What was clear, however, was that Winston looked much more worn down than before Yujin had lost consciousness. As his eyes lingered on the unshaven stubble roughening Winston’s jaw, the man finally spoke.

“You’re awake now?”

His quiet voice carried no discernible emotion. At the sound of it, Yujin flinched and tensed up. Winston paused briefly before continuing.

“They said it was stress-induced hyperventilation.”

The unfamiliar term made Yujin blink instinctively. He had never had a seizure like that before, so he hadn’t known such a condition applied to him. Winston, perhaps informed by a doctor while Yujin had been unconscious, went on with dull indifference.

“It’s a hypersensitive reaction that can happen when you’re confronted with something extremely distressing or overwhelming. They said it’s nothing to worry about as long as you avoid the triggers.”

Then there’s no reason to be this scared.

As the terror of that blackened, breathless moment came back to him, Yujin—still tense—finally let out a breath of relief. Winston, seeing this, scoffed without mercy.

“Wow. You reject the idea of having sex with me that strongly? So you do have standards after all.”

It was like having a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. Despite the lingering fatigue, Yujin immediately tried to sit up and get out of bed instead of replying. The sound of a chair dragging across the floor followed, and heavy footsteps approached fast.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

In an instant, Winston had crossed the room and grabbed Yujin’s arm. Weakly dragged back, Yujin glared up at him with all the emotion he could muster.

“I’m going to sleep with Angie.”

“Says who?”

Winston shoved Yujin back onto the bed. He fell without even a chance to scream. Climbing on top of him, Winston stared down with dark eyes and muttered coldly.

“Trying to run away again? Don’t even think about it. You haven’t fulfilled your part of the deal yet.”

“L-Let go! I said let me go!”

Yujin struggled with all his strength, but Winston didn’t budge—instead, he laughed at him.

“Hyperventilation, huh?”

He spat the words like venom between clenched teeth.

“You think I’d fall for your bullshit again? You’re just trying to scam me—again.”

“S-Stop! Don’t!”

Yujin’s complexion turned pale in an instant. He pushed at Winston’s shoulders, beat his fists against him, twisting and convulsing like he was having a seizure, but Winston didn’t care. Yujin’s breathing turned harsh again, gasping in uneven, choking noises. As he writhed violently, Winston finally stopped.

“Don’t fake it in front of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° me.”

Haa... haa... Yujin was panting so desperately it looked like he might pass out again. Winston gritted his teeth and hissed.

“I said I’m not falling for it anymore! Cut the crap!”

He shouted, but Yujin’s condition only grew more severe. His face turned completely blue, eyes rolling back as he struggled to breathe. Seeing this, Winston’s demeanor changed completely.

“Yujin!”

Winston pulled Yujin into his arms, shouting like a madman.

“Okay! I won’t do it! I won’t force you, just calm down! I was wrong, I swear I won’t do this again, please!”

Through the haze of fading consciousness, Yujin barely heard the shouting voice. He trembled uncontrollably, then suddenly stopped breathing altogether. His strength drained away, vision darkened again, and his breath halted.

“Yujin...!” ƒrēenovelkiss.com

The voice grew faint and distant. Winston kept calling his name. Thankfully, unlike earlier, Yujin didn’t completely pass out. As consciousness and breath slowly returned, his body relaxed and went limp.

“Yujin, are you okay?”

Winston asked again. His face, looking down in horror, was just like the one Yujin used to love so long ago.

My love.

Yujin moved his lips as if to speak, then closed his eyes. His erratic breathing gradually settled. In Winston’s tight embrace, he said nothing—just focused on breathing. He was too exhausted to feel anything. After a while, Winston heard the soft, even sound of his breathing. Carefully pulling away, he confirmed that Yujin had fallen into a deep sleep, and only then did he release the breath he’d been holding.

Gently, as though handling delicate glass, Winston wrapped his arms around Yujin again. Yujin didn’t resist. Of course not—he was unconscious. Holding him like that for a long while, Winston’s thoughts spiraled.

Will he have another attack the moment he sees me again?

To his surprise, a chill ran down Winston’s spine.

“Winston, Winston! Where has that boy gone?”

Mrs. Campbell, searching for her youngest son, spotted the butler passing by and called out to him.

“Cain, have you seen Winston? I haven’t been able to find him.”

The butler stood at attention before the mistress of the house and answered plainly.

“I saw him riding off on horseback earlier.”

“Again?”

Mrs. Campbell frowned, her expression troubled. Lately, Winston had been going out far too often. His grades hadn’t dropped or anything, but she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

...It’s probably nothing.

Dismissing the thought, she turned away and added,

“Let me know when Winston returns.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With the butler’s faithful response behind her, Mrs. Campbell ascended the stairs. Winston would be entering high school soon. Once that time came, he wouldn’t have so much time to waste. She decided to let the child’s little rebellion slide—for now.

At that very moment, Winston was with Yujin.

“...So that’s how it works. Think you can do it?”

At Winston’s question, Yujin nodded, listening with a serious expression. Once satisfied with the response, Winston handed over a workbook.

As Yujin diligently solved the problems using the formulas he’d just learned, Winston found himself smiling.

It had already been a year since they started meeting like this—just the two of them. As Yujin had said, no one ever came to the annex. Aside from someone dropping by in the morning once a day or every other day to bring food and necessities, there were no interruptions. Winston came straight to Yujin after school and spent almost half the day with him, completely alone.

During that time, Yujin had learned a great deal, thanks to Winston being an excellent teacher. One day, when he mentioned this, Winston had widened his eyes and waved it off.

“No way, it’s only because you’re a fast learner. If you went to school, I bet you’d skip grades.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“No, it’s you.”

They tossed the praise back and forth, then burst into laughter. Winston loved seeing Yujin’s smiling face. Yujin was always beautiful, always adorable, always lovable. Whenever he was with Yujin, his heart felt like it would explode. He’d never felt this way before. If he could, he would’ve spent every moment—morning to night—by Yujin’s side.

But that was impossible. When the appointed time came, Winston had to go home.

As usual, he checked the clock in the living room and spoke in a voice filled with regret.

“I have to go.”

“Already?”

Startled, Yujin looked at the clock as well and sighed in dismay. Time always flew when they were together.

“You’re coming again tomorrow, right?”

Following Winston outside to where he mounted his horse, Yujin asked. With full confidence, Winston replied,

“Yeah. I found a fun book in Spanish. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Seeing Yujin’s eyes sparkle with excitement, Winston felt his heart pound and blushed. Suddenly embarrassed, he turned his horse away in haste.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Winston! Be safe!”

Yujin shouted after him. As Winston turned and waved, Yujin raised both arms and waved back with all his might.