Creeeaaak…
A sinister, eerie sound echoed through the still room. Winston stood frozen, hand on the doorknob, until the sound faded completely. Only after silence returned did he quietly step into the room.
Angela was asleep, her breathing deep and steady. Winston stopped a few paces from the bed, gazing down at the child before letting out a short breath and settling into a nearby chair. As he sat in the darkness, staring blankly at Angela’s sleeping face, the weight in his chest grew heavier and heavier—so much so that he could hardly breathe. One by one, the memories floated before his eyes like phantoms.
The guarded look on her face when they first met.
Angela clinging to Seol Yu-jin, unwilling to let go.
The fear in her wide, trembling eyes as she looked up at him.
Her tiny body, smaller than most children her age, puffing up bravely in an attempt not to be intimidated.
Ah…
A sigh escaped him before he buried his face in both hands. No amount of cursing himself through the night would be enough to express just how foolish, how utterly careless he had been. If only he had trusted Yu-jin back then. If only he’d believed him instead of his own eyes. Why hadn’t it even crossed his mind that it could all have been fabricated?
Suddenly, Andrew’s coarse laugh rang in his ears. Even when he’d opened the file Georgina had handed over, Winston had still been half in disbelief. He hadn’t had the faintest clue what would be in it—but as soon as he opened it, the screen filled with footage.
A room came into view, captured by what appeared to be a pre-installed camera.
“It’s coming soon.”
Madam Campbell’s cold voice rang out. Harold stood in front of her, wearing nothing but a lounge robe over his bare skin, and questioned her again.
“Will it really fall for it? I mean, Winston might… but Yu-jin—”
“I told you, didn’t I? That drug is foolproof.”
Madam Campbell’s tone was sharp, her words laced with irritation.
“It only needs to smell the pheromones. Then it’ll mistake you for Winston. That thing can’t distinguish scents anyway, remember?”
“So it triggers hallucinations…”
Harold murmured to himself, nodding slightly. Madam Campbell gave one last stern reminder.
“You cannot afford to mess this up. Then again, your only job is to screw the kid. If you can’t even manage that, you’re the dumbest man alive.”
She didn’t even bother hiding her contempt as she mocked him.
“Isn’t this what you wanted? You wanted that thing, didn’t you? Go ahead—do whatever you want. Just for today, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
With a cold glare at Harold, she turned and left the room.
Once alone, Harold sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing his father looking so healthy after so long stirred something unpleasant in Winston’s gut. Harold’s face was twisted in internal turmoil, but when he raised his head moments later, his expression had shifted.
He walked over and opened the door himself. When he returned to the bed, he was no longer alone.
Yu-jin.
Winston nearly vomited. He barely managed to clamp a hand over his mouth as he forced himself to keep watching. On screen, Harold stripped Yu-jin of his clothes and laid him down on the bed.
That’s right… This was supposed to be mine.
Harold whispered, “You were mine from the very beginning. I just got distracted for a moment, that’s all.”
His deep violet eyes shifted to gold. The release of pheromones over Yu-jin was so intense, even through the screen, Winston could see it happening. Without realizing it, he shot to his feet.
Just as Harold was about to kiss him, the door opened—and someone stepped in.
It was him.
Winston shut his eyes briefly, pained by the memory. In the footage that followed, he was no longer visible. Overwhelmed by Harold’s outburst and the sheer shock, he’d fled the room.
He was about to shut the video off, unable to bear any more, when he suddenly heard something—something soft. He froze. Then came Yu-jin’s faint voice.
“Winnie… I missed you.”
Moments later, he began to sob quietly. Harold hesitated, then reached out to gently caress Yu-jin’s face.
“It’s all right, Yu-jin. Don’t worry. Everything’s okay now…”
But after saying that, he only kissed Yu-jin on the forehead—and then, strangely, he paused. The overt lust from earlier had vanished without a trace.
Yu-jin…
When Harold whispered his name again, he suddenly saw an apparition. Over the young man’s face, still soft with youth, a different face overlapped—someone he had once loved desperately.
A man stared back at him with a cold, cutting gaze—then chuckled.
“This is exactly why I never chose you, Harold.”
“…Hhk…”
At that moment, Harold gasped sharply and stumbled back. Yu-jin, confused, reached a hand toward him—but Harold slapped it away. Then, without another word, he bolted from the room, leaving Yu-jin behind.
That was the end of the footage.
What came after, Winston had only learned through Andrew.
“Yeah, nothing happened. Between Father and Yu-jin.”
Andrew sat across from him in the visitation room, giving him a faint, empty smile.
“Only Father and I knew that. And now you, me, and Georgina make three, I guess?”
“…Why.”
Winston barely managed to speak. Andrew smirked, almost amused.
“Why did we do it? Why didn’t Father sleep with Yu-jin? Why did I record all of it?”
He said it all like he was singing a tune—then let out a short sigh.
“I only recorded it just in case. If Father had actually slept with Yu-jin, I planned to use it as leverage. As it turned out, the fact that he didn’t made it even more effective.”
“You blackmailed him? Your own father?”
Winston’s face twisted in disgust. Andrew simply nodded.
“He was terrified Mother would find out.”
His tone was flat, indifferent.
“The only reason Mother ever forgave him at all was because she believed he’d slept with Yu-jin and destroyed your relationship. But if she finds out that nothing actually happened… what do you think she’d do? She’d probably dig up his corpse and burn it to ash.”
She might’ve done something even worse.
Winston didn’t need to imagine just how terrifying his mother’s wrath could be—he knew. Still, he pressed on, forcing himself to speak with composure.
“So, the reason Father kept the secret until the end… was it because of Mother?”
“It was probably the last shred of conscience he had left. I mean, it’s true—Father did a lot of unforgivable things to her.”
Andrew glanced down at his faintly trembling hand, then clenched it into a fist—only to release it again, over and over, as if out of habit rather than meaning.
“As a form of atonement to Mother… he threw Yu-jin away?”
Winston’s words sounded more like a murmured thought than a question. But Andrew shook his head.
“No, Winston. You threw Yu-jin away.”
As Andrew pointed straight at him, Winston’s face turned blank—expressionless like a mask.
Andrew laughed, amused.
“I always thought you’d never give up on Yu-jin. Not until the end.”
His chuckle lingered as he kept going.
“You two were like… I don’t know, a couple of ten-year-olds playing house. Adorable. Pure. Clueless about the real world.”
Winston didn’t respond. He simply stared at him. Andrew caught the look and smirked.
“But I figured… you’d throw everything away for Yu-jin. And if that happened, you’d be out of the running for heir. That would’ve worked out great for me. That’s how deeply in love with him you seemed.”
His crooked smile widened, and he began shaking with uncontrollable laughter.
“But the fact that you were the one who abandoned Yu-jin—”
He burst into loud, grating laughter, rocking his entire body as he let it out. Winston shouted.
“That was—”
“Because we conspired and tricked you?”
Andrew cut him off immediately. He sprang up, leaned over the table, and whispered right in Winston’s face.
“Even so, you should’ve trusted him. All the way to the end.”
Winston said nothing. His mouth was open, but no words came out. Andrew scoffed and delivered his final blow.
“You’re the one who didn’t believe him, who threw him away. You, Winston.”
He was right.
Looking down at Angela, Winston turned Andrew’s words over and over in his mind. This is all my fault.
Yu-jin had nearly died multiple times.
He had missed every precious moment of their newborn child’s life.
All of it… because of him.
Yu-jin had endured everything—alone—protecting their child through it all.
And Winston? What had he done? What vile, brutal things had he hurled at the person he was supposed to love?
All those cruel, unspeakable accusations—Now they stabbed back into Winston like knives.
If only I’d trusted you then.
Regret tore through him, ripping at the memories of all the brilliant, priceless moments he’d let slip through his fingers.
With a pained breath, Winston rubbed his face with both hands, as if trying to wipe it all away.
You need to suffer more Winnie!!!!
Oh this is insane… rly insane… wow…. he knows everything… now what is he gonna do now?