“Phew.”
Yu-jin let out a soft sigh and gently laid the child down on the bed. Still half-asleep, Angela mumbled toward him.
“Where are we, Daddy? Why did we come here?”
“Ah, yeah… Sorry. We couldn’t stay at that house anymore, so we left.”
“Huh…?”
The girl looked confused, but perhaps because she was still drowsy, she didn’t really react.
Yu-jin kissed her forehead and whispered sweetly.
“I’ll explain tomorrow. Go back to sleep, Angie. It’s still a long way till morning.”
“Zero percent…”
Angela murmured like she was talking in her sleep and drifted off again. Seeing his daughter breathing softly with a peaceful face, Yu-jin felt some of the anxiety in his chest ease. He exhaled deeply, but the worry returned almost immediately.
Where do I go now?
All he had brought was a small suitcase, and he didn’t have much money either. He’d even left behind Angela’s favorite doll. What would he do when she woke up and asked for it?
His head ached. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Sleep first. A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him, and he found himself retreating from reality. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep at all, but surprisingly, Yu-jin fell into a deep sleep almost instantly, as if he’d passed out.
***
He was so tired he could die. But Grant couldn’t just lie down and sleep peacefully.
The reason sat on the couch across from him—an imposing man with violet eyes.
After barely escaping a complete disaster and finally making it back home, Grant had taken a shower, still frazzled, and was just about ready to crawl into bed when the doorbell rang loud and relentless.
He tried to ignore it and fall asleep, but it was impossible. The bell rang over and over again, reverberating through the entire house. He pulled a pillow over his face and tried his best to tune it out, but in the end, he gave up and dragged himself to the front door.
“Who the hell—what the fu—ugh, shit.”
He flung the door open, shouting, but when he saw the massive figure standing on the other side, Grant nearly popped his eyes out of his skull and swallowed a gasp.
Before he could say anything, the man grabbed him by the throat. Grant flailed, forced backward by sheer strength.
The man stepped into the house with ease, hand still around Grant’s neck, and scanned the room. Then, without hesitation, he walked straight into the living room—still dragging Grant along.
“Ughk!”
Tossed onto the sofa like garbage, Grant cried out. He barely managed to untangle his limbs and sit upright. The man loomed over him, then finally spoke.
“Where is he?”
The deep voice snapped him wide awake. Grant swallowed hard and looked up.
Winston Campbell stood bathed in moonlight streaming through the window.
A shiver raced down Grant’s spine, but no words came to mind. He licked his dry lips and struggled to form a sentence.
“Wha—who—what are you talking about?”
“Ha.”
The sound barely qualified as a sentence—just a breath of disbelief—and Winston exhaled sharply, as if utterly dumbfounded.
When he turned away, Grant felt a flicker of fragile hope rise within him. But of course, it was futile. The moment Winston casually took a seat on the couch across from him, a defeated sigh slipped out of Grant’s mouth.
A bad feeling crept in. A horrible premonition that this man wouldn’t leave until he got exactly what he wanted. And that dreadful hunch turned out to be true.
“Tell me where Yu-jin is.”
Winston’s voice was low, almost a growl. Grant felt goosebumps prickle along his hand and instinctively rubbed his palm against his thigh.
“I-I don’t know.”
Thankfully, it seemed Yu-jin had escaped clean. But that didn’t mean Grant had expected the man to come back looking for him. Or maybe… maybe he’d just been too naive. Grant bit back despair as the thought hit him—he should’ve known this guy would return to interrogate him if he didn’t find Yu-jin.
Still, even if he had known, Grant would’ve warned Yu-jin anyway.
Because he never imagined it would turn into this kind of terrifying situation.
Like a mouse before a cat, Grant shrank back, watching Winston nervously. But Winston simply stared back at him, not saying a word, as if he intended to wait him out—until Grant opened his mouth on his own.
As the seconds dragged on, the tension began to loosen its grip. Drowsiness crept in, and eventually, Grant’s head lolled back with a start, making him choke on a breath as he jolted upright and wiped his mouth.
Winston smirked.
Grant flinched, but Winston finally spoke—his voice slow and certain.
“You were the one who warned Yu-jin, weren’t you?”
He already knew. Denial would be a waste of time. And it was the truth.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
The apology had slipped out, and Winston wasted no time snapping back with a mocking sneer.
“For fucking my partner?”
“Wha—?!”
Grant shot up from the sofa as if a spring had launched him.
“W-What the hell are you talking about?! I have a wife!”
“You’re divorced.”
Winston’s mouth twisted into a cruel smirk as he spoke slowly.
“It’s fine. Yu-jin probably seduced you. I know you were just a victim in all this.”
What the hell is this guy talking about?
Grant opened and closed his mouth like a fish, then collapsed back onto the sofa, dragging his hands across his face in frustration.
“No, seriously, what the hell are you even saying? You think I slept with Yu-jin? Did he say that to you?”
“Break up with that trash and come to me.”
The exact words he had once shouted in the dark now came boomeranging back at him. Grant gasped, a choked noise escaping as shame punched the air from his lungs. His past self, screaming like a fool, made his skin crawl and every hair on his body stand on end.
Winston, however, continued in a calm, conversational tone.
“Yu-jin must’ve told you all sorts of horrible things about me. Probably poured out every little detail about how miserable and abused he was. Did he cry, by any chance? It’s okay—he did that with me, too. That’s just one of his tricks. Don’t be embarrassed.”
The sheer absurdity of what he was hearing made Grant gasp in disbelief.
“No, that’s not it—not at all!”
“Not at all?”
Winston narrowed his eyes at the repeated denial, then let out a scoff.
“So, what—are you saying you’re actually in love with Yu-jin?”
“N-No! Absolutely not! I mean—yes, I like him, but not like that—”
“Oh?”
“I mean, it’s not like we were sneaking off to some cabin to have a secret affair or anything! I didn’t smuggle him out right under your nose for that!”
Winston bombarded him with accusation after accusation, each one sharper than the last, as if he were laying down undeniable proof. Clutching his head, Grant finally yanked at his own hair in frustration.
“Just… hold on a second!”
He jumped up and headed toward the study. One of Winston’s bodyguards immediately moved to tail him.
Being shadowed like a criminal in his own house—the whole situation was beyond ridiculous. Grant held back a string of curses, grabbed a book from the shelves, and returned.
“Here. Take a look.”
He slammed the book down onto the table with a firm thud, locking eyes with Winston.
“The only reason I helped Yu-jin was because of this.”
Winston furrowed his brows and glanced down. As his gaze fell to the book’s title, Grant continued.
“It’s a novel written by Yu-jin.”
Winston’s body gave a visible jolt. Grant saw his broad shoulders flinch—and for the first time tonight, he felt a flicker of satisfaction. Arms crossed, he stood tall, owning the moment.
“Yu-jin is a contracted author with our publishing company. We’ve already signed him for his next book. I provided him a place to work purely so he could write in peace, as part of my responsibilities in author management.”
Winston said nothing. He just stared down at the book on the table, eyes fixed and unmoving. Well? Grant could already picture him flustered, realizing how wrong he’d been, stammering out an apology.
The thought alone was enough to make a smug smile creep onto his face.
He was still enjoying that small victory when Winston finally spoke, voice calm but slow.
“I heard you left your family’s estate to start a publishing company.”
The words made Grant pause. He turned to listen more closely as Winston leaned back into the couch, stretching out comfortably, gaze locking onto Grant once more.
“And now look at you—publishing some lover’s half-baked scribbles just to give him an alibi? Have you ever considered what your father would think of such a pathetic excuse for a career?”
“What…?”
Grant’s face flushed an angry red. What the hell is wrong with this guy?
For the first time, he felt like he finally understood why Yu-jin had run from this man.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” Grant said through clenched teeth.
“Yu-jin deserves better than someone like you—someone who doesn’t even know, or care to know, what his own partner is doing. Even if I did know where Yu-jin was, I wouldn’t tell you. If anything, I’d help him hide—better.”
The more he spoke, the more his fury surged, raising his voice until his final declaration thundered through the room. His breathing came rough and heavy afterward, the aftermath of venting his rage.
Winston merely looked at him, eyes narrowed to slits, saying nothing.
GO GRANT, BUT maybe stop diggign ur own grave BUT YES GO DIVA PROTECT YU-JIN