It’s okay. This is just a time of adjustment.
Yu-jin had always lived isolated from society. It would take time for him to grow accustomed to interacting with people and navigating various systems. After returning to the family, Winston’s first priority was to hire someone who could help with that. Someone who could support Yu-jin in living his own life while Winston immersed himself in work.
I’m not like Father.
He was determined to let Yu-jin do whatever he wanted. But for that to happen, Yu-jin needed an education that would help him discover what he truly wanted. His relationship with the hired tutor seemed to be going well. Yu-jin learned all sorts of things from him. There was even a time when he became completely absorbed in films and spent an entire week watching movies. Then he became fascinated with photography and asked Winston to buy him a camera. Little by little, he was learning and growing. Although it pained Winston that he couldn’t be part of that journey with him, there wasn’t much he could do.
I’ll take some time off next week.
He wanted to go on a trip together and experience firsthand all that Yu-jin had learned. They had shared far too little time together. If they didn’t start creating those moments now, they’d never catch up. That’s why Winston had been willingly working late into the night for several days straight—holding onto the hope that their time would soon come.
You don’t know a damn thing about Yu-jin.
The memory of what Gordon had said suddenly resurfaced, making his blood boil again. He regretted letting him off so easily. He swore to himself that he’d make him regret it someday as he rushed to finish the remaining work.
By the time he finally wrapped everything up, it was well past midnight. He headed toward the hotel to get at least a bit of sleep before his early morning flight, but just then, his phone buzzed. Sitting in the driver’s seat, Winston casually opened his email—and then froze.
At first, he thought it was spam. Some piece of trash sending him a lewd video.
He was about to delete it when a call came in from an unknown number. His brain, sluggish from days of exhaustion, clearly wasn’t functioning properly. Winston, uncharacteristically, answered the call. It wasn’t until he heard the voice on the other end that he realized he’d made a mistake. Letting out a low sigh, Winston listened as the man spoke.
“Uh, Winston Campbell?”
The hesitant voice made Winston furrow his brows, but he didn’t say a word. The silence stretched for a beat before the man, clearly flustered, rushed to continue.
“You’re Winston Campbell, right? Did you get the email I sent?”
With a deep sigh, Winston was about to hang up. As if the caller could see it coming, the man shouted quickly, his words tumbling out.
“W-We’ve got tons of those videos! If you don’t want them going up online, then pay up!”
“Is that so? Thanks for the heads-up.”
Winston replied flatly and immediately hung up. He moved to delete the email as well—but just then, another one came in. Once again, it had a similar video attached.
He scoffed, thinking he’d gotten caught up with some low-life thug. But just as he went to delete it, his hand suddenly froze. The man in the video… looked familiar.
No way.
He went rigid. And then the phone rang again—the same number as before. Winston hesitated for a moment… then hit the answer button.
“Y-You saw it, right? You checked the email I sent?”
The man sounded much bolder than before. Winston waited a beat before responding.
“Anyone can fake a video like that.”
“If you think it’s fake, get it checked by an expert. They’ll tell you it’s 100% real.”
The man was full of confidence. No one in their right mind would pull such a transparent scam… right? For a moment, Winston’s faith in Yu-jin wavered. But he quickly collected himself. Videos like this could easily be forged. It could just be someone with a similar build wearing makeup and prosthetics.
“Even if the video is real, it doesn’t prove that the person in it is someone I know. I’m not wasting my time on this. Don’t call again.”
He was just about to hang up when the voice on the other end suddenly cut in.
“Oh yeah? Then you don’t mind if this gets spread all over the internet?”
Winston hesitated. Even if the video wasn’t real, what if Yu-jin still got hurt because of it? Should he pay just to make sure that didn’t happen?
But if he gave in now, these scumbags would only keep coming.
With a short, tired sigh, Winston replied with detached coldness.
“Do whatever you want. It’s not real anyway. But don’t forget—I will find you and make you pay for this. You can count on that.”
This time, he truly ended the call. There was no point wasting any more time. He moved to delete the email—but the video was already burned into his sight. With clenched teeth, Winston deleted the footage showing someone who looked far too much like Yu-jin, surrounded by multiple men, face awash in ecstasy as he received their semen.
He didn’t need a mirror to know his face was twisted in fury.
Who the hell made this filthy shit…
He was well aware that there were people out there who used tactics like this to blackmail the innocent and extort money. But no one ever really believed they’d be the target of such a crime—at least not until it actually happened. And now Winston understood just how revolting it felt to be on the receiving end.
Let them upload it. I’ll still hunt them down and beat them half to death.
To make something like that featuring Yu-jin—unforgivable. He wanted to erase the other emails too, but forced himself to put the phone down.
Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming urge to see Yu-jin’s face. Right now. He wanted to go to him immediately, see with his own eyes that nothing had happened, and hold him tight. He wanted to kiss him and promise to protect him from the entire world.
If Yu-jin ever found out about this email… how terrified would he be?
Winston struggled between wanting to tell him how dangerous the world could be and wanting to keep him from ever knowing that fear. In the end, he chose the latter. Was there really any need for Yu-jin to know? He could live happily within the safe little world Winston had built for him.
Yu-jin had lived a life of loneliness and isolation until now. He was only just beginning to explore the world freely, meeting new people and experiencing new things. Winston couldn’t—wouldn’t—shut that world off from him again.
It’s going to be okay.
With that thought, Winston started the engine. That was the whole reason he was working so hard—to grow stronger for this very purpose. Yu-jin didn’t need to know about this filth.
Because I’ll protect him.
Winston pressed down on the accelerator, eyes focused and jaw set in determination. He suddenly missed Yu-jin with a burning intensity.
He couldn’t wait until morning.
As he sped down the road, he called the aviation service.
“Sorry for the sudden request, but can I charter a private jet? Right now.”
The VIP service, which operated 24/7, was caught off guard by the urgent call, but immediately began arrangements. It would take just two hours to prepare the aircraft, along with a pilot and crew. Without a moment’s delay, Winston boarded the private jet and flew straight to Yu-jin.
***
By the time the plane landed at the airport, there were still hours left before sunrise. The city at dawn was eerily silent, cloaked in an oppressive stillness. Winston took a taxi straight home. At the entrance, the night guard on duty greeted him with a surprised expression.
“Y-You’re here now, sir?”
The man seemed oddly flustered, but Winston didn’t give it much thought as he headed for the private elevator. Yu-jin was probably asleep by now. Just thinking about holding him close and falling asleep together eased the tension in his shoulders. Watching the floor numbers change one by one, Winston could feel his heartbeat quicken.
Yu-jin!
A smile tugged at his lips as he pictured Yu-jin’s joy when he woke up and saw Winston’s face first thing in the morning. At the same time, the anger over that ridiculous video and the scam behind it surged back up.
There are too many bastards in this world who deserve to die.
Maybe he should start a list. After all, there were plenty of people who’d kill for the right price. As he mentally drafted a kill list, the elevator chimed to signal its arrival. Winston relaxed his furrowed brows and waited for the doors to open.
“Baby…”
He stepped into the foyer with a radiant smile—but stopped in his tracks almost instantly.
An unfamiliar scent filled the entire house.
It was the pheromone of an Alpha.
And it wasn’t his.
