What the hell is going on?
The moment Yu-jin realized that the continuous sound he had been hearing was that of waves, he was thrown into a state of panic. He bolted out of bed and rushed straight out of the room. Sprinting frantically down the hallway, he found himself surrounded by nothing but unfamiliar sights. The paintings on the walls, the elegant carpets lining the floors—everything was different.
“Angela!”
Yu-jin ran, calling out his daughter’s name until he was out of breath.
“Angela, Angie!”
He shouted desperately, his voice on the verge of breaking, but no response came.
“Angie…”
Standing frozen in the middle of a living room with a clear view of the ocean, he could do nothing but mutter his child’s name. The only reply he received was the sound of gentle waves. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, utterly drained. None of this made sense. As tears welled up in his eyes, he struggled to suppress them. Just when he willed himself to stop crying, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
“Did you sleep well?”
Yu-jin spun around so fast he nearly fainted. His wide, terrified eyes finally landed on a face he recognized.
Standing a short distance away, watching him, was a man Yu-jin could never forget.
Winston.
His name echoed in Yu-jin’s mind, yet all he could do was stare, utterly speechless.
Winston met his gaze with an expressionless face. As always, he was impeccably dressed in a sharp suit, a stark contrast to Yu-jin, who stood before him wearing nothing but a loose-fitting shirt. Winston’s eyes wandered, blatantly trailing down to Yu-jin’s bare legs exposed beneath the hem of the oversized shirt.
Yu-jin flinched, instinctively curling in on himself. The realization of how vulnerable he was sent a wave of humiliation crashing over him. The only thing he could do was glare at Winston with pure hostility.
“What the hell is this? You planned this, didn’t you?”
His voice came out shrill, but Winston remained unfazed. The indifference in his expression only stoked Yu-jin’s growing fury.
“Why did you bring me here? Where’s Angela? Stop messing around—this isn’t funny!”
Yu-jin’s breath came out ragged as his emotions spiraled out of control. For the first time, Winston’s face changed. Though barely. The corners of his lips twisted into a slight smirk.
“Does this look like a joke to you?”
A chill ran down Yu-jin’s spine. His mouth snapped shut. He blinked rapidly before forcing himself to gather his courage and spit out his next words.
“Then what? What the hell do you think you’re doing? Dragging me here with no warning, no explanation—if this isn’t a joke, then what is it?”
His voice grew sharper, his words tumbling out in rapid succession as his anger flared beyond control. How could Winston do something like this? Did he even realize what he had done?
Yu-jin was trembling with rage, his entire body tense with frustration, but Winston remained as composed as ever. If anything, his tone was even calmer than usual when he finally spoke again.
“I told you before. If you have my child, then you belong to me.”
The unexpected words made Yu-jin freeze for a moment. Winston watched him with a cold smirk, as if this entire situation was something Yu-jin had brought upon himself.
“Did you really think I’d just stand by and watch you run off with another man? Not a chance.”
Yu-jin opened his mouth but couldn’t form a single word. His lips parted and closed repeatedly before he finally managed to force out a sound.
“Are you seriously insane?”
Now that he had spoken, the next words came a little easier. He stammered but pushed through, determined to say what he needed to.
“If I want to leave, then I will. You can’t control my freedom. And besides… Do you really believe it? That it’s yours? You haven’t even done a paternity test yet.”
Yu-jin’s words came out rushed and unsteady, but Winston only let out a quiet chuckle.
“You’re the one who said you were pregnant.”
“And you suddenly believe me? You’ve never trusted a single thing I’ve said until now, and yet you believe this?”
Yu-jin scoffed, barely aware that the words had slipped from his mouth. Winston’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“So, was it a lie?”
In that instant, Yu-jin realized he had walked straight into his own trap. There was no way to take it back now. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he had no choice but to deflect.
“It might not even be yours.”
One lie always leads to another. Yu-jin found himself tangled in irony, but he had no other choice but to push forward.
“That’s possible.”
To Yu-jin’s surprise, Winston accepted the statement without resistance. But just as he felt the smallest flicker of hope, Winston crushed it without hesitation.
“But does it matter? No one else has to know.”
“…What?”
Yu-jin barely managed to choke out the word. Winston let out a short laugh, his lips curling into a mocking smirk.
“Think about the terms of the will. There’s nothing in there about DNA testing or any kind of verification. All we have to do is have a child.”
Yu-jin had desperately tried to carve out an escape, but Winston had blocked every exit. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So what—you’re willing to raise a child that might not even be yours? You’re saying you’ll just lie about it?”
“Why not?” Winston said smoothly.
“It’s not a bad deal for you either, is it? All you have to do is keep your mouth shut, and the inheritance becomes yours. If you just wait it out, everyone gets a happy ending.”
It wasn’t a lie. If Yu-jin really was pregnant.
“Then why did you bring me here?”
Yu-jin’s voice was urgent now, filled with unease. Winston’s reply was infuriatingly nonchalant.
“You’ll stay by my side until the child is born and the inheritance is secured.”
“What?”
Yu-jin was so stunned that he instinctively asked again. For the first time, Winston’s expression darkened, his brows furrowing slightly.
“You ran off with another man just to screw me over? That’s not happening. I don’t care whose child it is—you’re not leaving until the inheritance is secured.”
At last, Yu-jin began to grasp Winston’s train of thought. Of course. The only reason he would go this far was the inheritance. There was nothing else he could possibly want.
“I—I told you I was staying at a hotel. I wasn’t planning to leave with anyone.”
Yu-jin tried to reason with him, but it was pointless, as expected.
“And you think I’d believe that? Baby, you just said it yourself—that child might not even be mine.”
Yu-jin’s breath hitched. He had no response to that. Meanwhile, Winston never hesitated, never faltered. It was as if he had already planned out every question and every answer. Perhaps Yu-jin had never really escaped the palm of his hand to begin with.
“A-Angie…”
Desperate, Yu-jin seized the only argument he had left.
“What about Angie? She’ll be terrified without me. I can’t leave her alone!”
This time, he meant every word. Without Angela, Yu-jin wouldn’t be able to survive. He shouted in panic, his voice trembling. But once again, Winston responded without the slightest hesitation.
“Don’t worry. The child is safe. As long as you behave, I’ll even let you see her regularly.”
His intentions were clear. There was no way out.
“If I do as I’m told, right?”
Yu-jin gritted his teeth as he spoke. Winston didn’t bother answering. Instead, he simply smiled, a quiet confirmation that said everything.
Yu-jin felt as if he had walked straight into a trap.
***
What the hell is happening?
Yu-jin sat alone on the couch, staring blankly ahead.
Winston had left, saying he had to go to work. Yu-jin had watched in despair as he boarded a helicopter and disappeared into the sky. The moment he was gone, Yu-jin had frantically searched the entire property, only to be met with a grim reality—he was trapped.
This was an island.
The mansion was the only building in sight, and there wasn’t a single soul around. No people. No boats. Nothing.
And without that helicopter, there was no way off.
At least it wasn’t too far from the mainland. The fact that Winston could reach it by helicopter meant it wasn’t completely isolated. But swimming to shore was impossible.
Yu-jin clutched his head in frustration.
How the hell did this happen?
He never saw this coming. Not even for a second. If he had, he wouldn’t have told such a reckless lie. Hell, he wouldn’t have even opened his mouth.
He had tried to escape Winston. But instead, Winston had shackled him in place.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before his lie was exposed.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine how furious Winston would be.
Or worse—maybe he wouldn’t even be angry. Maybe he’d just find it amusing.
After all, it wasn’t like he had ever expected much from Yu-jin in the first place.
And maybe, deep down, he had already considered the possibility that the child wasn’t his.
The important thing wasn’t whose child it was.
As long as there was a child, the inheritance would be his—that was all that mattered to Winston. In a way, it was a logical approach. He had found a loophole in the will and intended to exploit it.
Which meant that until the baby was born, Yu-jin was stuck here.
The real problem?
Yu-jin wasn’t pregnant.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
His head throbbed as he agonized over his predicament, the pressure threatening to crush him. But just when he felt like he was drowning—
A completely unexpected lifeline appeared.
