A sharp shout drew the attention of two pairs of eyes toward Yujin. Winston frowned deeply, and Charlotte’s eyebrows drooped in fear.
Ah, damn.
Imdiately, Yujin regretted it. He shouldn’t have t Charlotte’s eyes. At that mont, his heart completely collapsed. He felt pathetic for having been trembling in fear all this ti. What more could soone with that expression possibly do? Unable to say another word, he lowered his head hesitantly, and Winston spoke.
“Is it enough just to hear the story?”
“Huh?”
Unconsciously, Yujin looked up, and Winston, with a dry expression, looked back at him and said again.
“I’m asking if it’s enough just to hear it. What you want.”
Yujin glanced at Charlotte again. She was already crying uncontrollably, covering her mouth with both hands, trying to hold back her sobs. Seeing her, Yujin’s guard lted away.
“...Yeah.”
That’s when he felt a strange unease. After answering, Yujin thought Winston’s words sounded odd.
‘What you want.’
Why did it feel like there was sothing more after that?
Hesitating and watching closely, Winston ordered Charlotte.
“Speak up. Yujin wants to hear it.”
At those words, Charlotte jumped in surprise, and Yujin’s eyes widened.
“You, you’re coming too?”
He had naturally assud they’d be left alone, but the unexpected situation startled him quite a bit. Winston, seeing Yujin’s reaction, continued with a tone of disbelief.
“You want to leave you alone with the woman who tried to kill you? Why not leave the gun ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) behind too? This ti, make sure you don’t fail.”
Winston’s sarcastic words crushed Yujin’s spirit.
“That’s not what I ant... You already know, don’t you? But there’s no need to hear it again...”
There’s a huge difference between hearing it alone and with a third person present. Charlotte might not tell the whole truth. If that happens, Yujin would never know. Winston has no reason to tell Yujin anyway — after all, he’d want to keep the family’s misfortune hidden.
“I haven’t heard it.”
“What?”
The unexpected answer broke Yujin’s train of thought. Without realizing it, he asked, and Winston continued slowly.
“There’s plenty of ti. No need to rush.”
His mouth loosened into a faint smile. Even though Yujin couldn’t tell what he was thinking, a chill ran down his spine. That strange feeling from before combined with this mont made him sense sothing.
Could it be Winston is planning sothing to Charlotte...?
Maybe sothing worse than he imagined. Surely so. Winston wants to et her, so he left her unhard. To show that he hasn’t hard Charlotte. But once this is over, Charlotte will definitely...
I’ll listen to what you want, but I’ll finish it.
The sentence ford perfectly in Yujin’s mind. He wavered for a mont. Is this really Winston saying that? The Winston he knew was so kind. He always said he loved, was kind to everyone, and rational in everything. Now, with sharp edges and a piercing attitude like soone ready to sweep away anyone who gets in his way, he wasn’t arrogant or oppressive — but the atmosphere felt deadly. Yujin was now more afraid of Winston than ever.
Well, if it was the old him, he wouldn’t have said such harsh words.
When would he be able to accept that the Winston he loved is gone? Lost again in old mories and briefly forgetting reality, Yujin’s heart twisted. The man before him now was not the one he knew. Correcting his thoughts, Yujin lifted his head, his gaze sowhat steady.
“Alright, then stay there.”
Yujin decided to focus on Charlotte now. Seeing her face again took courage, but he lifted his chin resolutely and t her eyes. Thin and tall, she shrank so much that she looked half her size. Feeling bitter, Yujin spoke.
“Charlotte.”
“I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I—I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that...”
He only said her na, but Charlotte suddenly broke down, sobbing loudly. She cried so hard Yujin worried she might faint. Helpless, Winston warned her coldly.
“I’ll give you only five minutes. Finish talking within that ti.”
He said nothing about what would happen if she didn’t. But it was enough. Charlotte gasped for breath violently, barely stopping her tears. Yujin wanted to give her sothing to wipe her face but had nothing. He just watched her rub her cheek with hands as wet as her face.
“I want to know why you did that to . That’s the answer I want.”
Yujin kept a distance, finally speaking.
“Did I make so big mistake to you? Did you think you had to... kill ?”
The words didn’t co out easily. Like stuck in his throat, they barely connected. Charlotte twisted her face as if she was about to cry again but bit her lips to hold it in.
“You said...”
Between her trembling voice, she finally confessed.
“Gordon hit so woman... the woman almost died. And... they covered it up using a dirty trick.”
Startled by the unexpected words, Yujin was montarily dumbfounded. As he blinked, Charlotte burst out with fierce emotion and shouted.
“How do you know that? Why? How!”
“Charlotte...”
Yujin was flustered and only called her na. He had clearly crossed a line with his words. But even so, to think she would try to kill him ant there must be another reason.
Could it be... no way...
“Do you know who she is?”
Yujin’s voice trembled faintly. Imdiately, Charlotte snorted. The hysterical laughter ca from the woman who had just been sobbing. Holding her breath, Yujin watched as Charlotte glared at him with fiery eyes and clenched her teeth.
“Of course I know. I know all too well.”
She rapidly clenched and unclenched her fists. Whether from tension, difficulty controlling her emotions, or another reason, it was unclear. Then Charlotte finally revealed the truth.
“She’s my sister.”
A heavy silence filled the room with only Charlotte’s harsh breaths echoing. Yujin couldn’t imdiately grasp what he’d just heard. What did she say? Charlotte and that woman... what?
“She’s my sister.”
Charlotte insisted harshly.
“The woman Gordon assaulted almost to death is my real sister. Now do you get it? Why I did what I did?”
Her usually quiet, insecure voice grew louder. Her trembling voice was so harsh it sounded like nails scraping glass. But Charlotte didn’t care and kept arguing.
“That was sothing that shouldn’t have been known. Everyone buried it as a secret. We were living well until now, so why did you tell that? You must have wanted sothing! Trying to threaten ? You’re going to tell people what Gordon and I did! That I... what I did for my sister’s man, what she went through, all to get into the Campbell family... I’ll tell everything...!”
She grabbed her head and scread. It was as if she’d gone mad. As Yujin went pale and curled up, Winston suddenly stood. The huge man’s presence made the spacious hospital room feel suddenly smaller.
“Enough now.”
His voice was still dry. For the first ti, Yujin felt so gratitude toward Winston for sitting with them. Maybe he had expected this outco.
He must have known.
If it was a family matter, he’d know everything, so he must have guessed the reason. That’s why there was no need to rush. Now Yujin felt like he understood Winston’s actions one by one.
“...Enough.”
Yujin answered after a pause, and Winston imdiately grabbed Charlotte’s arm. Terrified, Charlotte tried to cry out and resist but to no avail.
“Wait a mont.”
Winston pushed her out of the hospital room and was about to hand her over to the guards when Yujin shouted at him belatedly.
“I might have more questions, so don’t do anything harsh.”
Even Yujin knew it wasn’t very convincing, but he ant it sincerely. Above all, Charlotte’s face was firmly etched in his mind. If anything happened to her, he wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt.
For my sake.
Yujin thought again. Not because he wanted to protect himself, but for her.
Winston said nothing, looked at Yujin, then turned his head and roughly handed Charlotte over to the guards. Her sobs quickly faded, leaving only the two n alone in the hospital room again.
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