Seol Yu-jin was so taken aback that he momentarily froze. It was shocking enough that the man had appeared in such a state, but now he was saying… what exactly?
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Showing up out of nowhere like this.”
Yu-jin kept his voice as low as possible, careful not to wake his daughter. But Winston didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Instead, he glared at Yu-jin and spat out his words in a dangerous tone.
“Running off on your own without permission—did you forget the terms of our contract? Should I remind you, one by one?”
Yu-jin had no idea why Winston was so furious. His anger flared in response, and he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I slept with you. Isn’t that enough? Do I have to stay in your bed all night, too?”
Winston stiffened. Silence fell between them, thick and charged. His gaze locked onto Yu-jin’s face, filled with raw emotion. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead, he let out a short, incredulous scoff.
“Fine. That aside.”
Yu-jin wanted to demand why Winston was so quick to brush it off, but the man spoke first.
“How the hell did you even find this storage room? I didn’t even know a space like this existed in my own house. Did you really think hiding here meant I wouldn’t find you?”
Yu-jin’s heart pounded. If his daughter woke up and saw this… But expecting Winston to consider that was pointless. Of course, he wouldn’t. Who in the world could ever stop Winston Campbell from doing whatever he wanted?
“Hiding? Me?”
Yu-jin scoffed at the absurdity of it, but Winston narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing.
“Am I wrong?”
His gaze deliberately swept over the cramped space, taking it all in. It didn’t take long. The room was too small for that. In less than three seconds, his eyes were back on Yu-jin, filled with accusation. Daring him to explain. Yu-jin had plenty to say.
“We’ve been staying in this room since we first arrived at this mansion. So why are you acting like this is news to you?”
For the first time, Winston faltered.
“What?”
There was a brief pause before he spoke again, his expression shockingly blank, as if he truly had no idea what Yu-jin was talking about. But Yu-jin wasn’t fooled.
“I said, since we first came here, we’ve been staying in this room. So naturally, I came back. Oh, you didn’t know? Well, now you do. So, goodbye.”
It was a clear dismissal, but Winston didn’t budge. Instead, his gaze swept across the room once more. This time, he took a little longer. But even then, it barely lasted a few seconds.
“You’re not seriously trying to suggest that I deliberately shoved you into this storage room, are you?”
Whether it was deliberate or not, at the very least, he had let it happen. The thought struck Yu-jin, but he quickly dismissed it. It didn’t matter. What mattered now was Angela.
“I don’t care.”
“You don’t care?”
Winston repeated Yu-jin’s cold words. Yu-jin simply nodded and frowned before continuing.
“Since we’re done talking, would you mind leaving now? Angie’s sleeping.”
To make his point, Yu-jin deliberately glanced down at Angela. Winston’s gaze followed, landing on the child. Seeing Yu-jin’s hands covering both of Angela’s ears, his expression darkened.
“Get out. We’re not done talking.”
His voice was low and controlled—likely because of the child. He was clearly holding back his temper, but Yu-jin still didn’t budge.
“Leave. Now. Before I drag you out myself.”
Winston ground his teeth, his words seething with barely restrained fury. His golden eyes gleamed dangerously, and Yu-jin felt a chill run down his spine. Just then, Angela flinched and slowly opened her eyes.
“Daddy?”
Yu-jin jolted in shock and looked down. Angela was rubbing her sleepy eyes as she pushed herself up.
“An… Angie.”
Still holding the child’s ears, Yu-jin stammered, unsure of what to do. Angela blinked drowsily, scanning the room, and then—her gaze met Winston’s.
“Angie, um… So, this person is…”
Yu-jin opened his mouth, struggling to come up with an explanation. But nothing came to mind. Panicked, he blurted out whatever words he could grasp.
“Uh, Angie. This is the owner of the house. You should say hello. Mr. Campbell, hello! Go on, now.”
Yu-jin gently wrapped an arm around Angela’s waist, trying to guide her into a slight bow. But then, he noticed something strange—Angela wasn’t reacting normally.
“Angie?”
Before he could even ask, Angela suddenly burst into tears and threw herself into Yu-jin’s arms.
“Daddy, Daddy! Waaah!”
“Angie!”
Yu-jin reached out to hug her, but to his surprise, Angela clung to him and scrambled behind his back.
What?
Yu-jin tried to pull her forward, intending to comfort her, but Angela resisted with all her strength, pressing herself against his back and crying even louder.
Why was she acting like this? Yu-jin hesitated, unsure how to calm her down. Then he noticed something—Angela was trembling, staring fixedly at one spot.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what she was looking at. Slowly, Yu-jin turned his head. His gaze met Winston’s, whose face was twisted in confusion.
He realized it, too.
Angela was crying because of him.
“Get out,” Yu-jin snapped, his voice firm. “You’re scaring her.”
Winston’s frown deepened, his expression unreadable, but he didn’t move.
“I said get out! Shut that door and disappear! Now!”
When Yu-jin forced himself to raise his voice and shout, Winston finally let out an incredulous breath before speaking.
“We’re not done talking. We’ll finish this soon.”
His words were more of a warning, his teeth clenched in frustration. Then, turning on his heel, he grabbed the door handle. Yu-jin half-expected the door to slam shut in anger, but to his relief, the sound it made was small and controlled. Just the fact that Winston hadn’t taken his rage out on the door was something Yu-jin felt oddly grateful for.
Now that they were alone, Yu-jin turned and pulled the child still clinging tightly to his shirt into his arms.
“He’s gone now. It’s okay to come out.”
His voice was softer than usual, filled with reassurance. This time, Angela let herself be pulled forward with little resistance.
“Daddy.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Her voice was still thick with sniffles as she wrapped her small arms around Yu-jin’s neck. Holding her close, he rubbed her back soothingly before carefully asking,
“Why did you get so scared all of a sudden? Did you have a bad dream?”
Angela shook her head. “No…”
“Then what is it?”
“Smell…”
“Smell?”
Yu-jin repeated in confusion, watching as Angela hesitated before finally pulling back to look at him.
“Daddy, didn’t you smell it? It was really, really sweet. But it wasn’t like cookies… and it wasn’t cake either… Just really sweet. I think… it was coming from Mr. Campbell.”
Pheromones.
Yu-jin instantly realized what she meant. He couldn’t perceive the scent himself, but Angela—who had no such limitations—clearly had.
But for her to be this terrified?
Yu-jin, as an omega, had never felt any fear when he encountered Winston’s scent before. If anything, it had made him feel too good—so much so that he had wanted to breathe in more of it.
Then why?
A sudden realization struck him. When exactly had Angela woken up?
The moment Winston’s eyes turned gold.
And with that, Yu-jin understood. Angela hadn’t just woken up randomly—she had been startled awake by that scent. Pheromones could be used to lure someone in, but they could also be used to instill fear. Winston’s pheromones, laced with anger, must have felt like pure terror to the child.
If only I could have sensed it, this wouldn’t have happened.
Frustration bubbled inside him. Why hadn’t he realized it sooner? He had seen Winston’s eyes change color! Even if he couldn’t smell the pheromones, he could still recognize the signs.
Idiot. Moron.
“You’re okay, Angie. Nothing’s going to happen now.”
It was all he could say to comfort her, and that only made his anger flare again. But there was nothing he could do to change what had already happened.
So instead, Yu-jin just held Angela tightly, waiting for her trembling to subside.
It wasn’t until late afternoon that a servant knocked on the door and told them to move their belongings.
