Wait a second—what the hell am I doing right now?
Momentarily thrown off by how adorable the child looked, Yu-jin hurriedly pulled himself together. Seeing a man that huge crouched down and playing house made him instinctively smile, but this wasn’t the time for that. He was both worried and curious about Angela’s reaction, so he quickly composed his expression and peeked through the door again.
The child was clearly flustered—even from a glance, it was obvious. What the heck is this guy doing? That unspoken thought was written all over her face, and just as Yu-jin was about to rush into the room—
“Hmm, I think the tea leaves are old, Sebastian.”
Yu-jin froze. The child had apparently decided to continue playing house. Maybe she felt like there was no other option. Unsure of what was genuine and what wasn’t—and curious to see Winston’s reaction—Yu-jin chose to wait and observe a little longer. He even switched his phone camera to video mode to make sure he caught everything.
“I see. It seems I didn’t store them properly. My apologies.”
The moment Winston bowed and apologized so politely, Yu-jin nearly lost it. Angela seemed to react the same way. Her mouth fell open, eyes wide in disbelief—only to suddenly lock onto Yu-jin. He flinched, realizing she’d spotted him half-hidden behind the door, only a part of his face peeking out. She paused, and Yu-jin mouthed a question.
Want me to come in?
Letting her know she could end this whole thing anytime she wanted, Yu-jin waited. Angela hesitated for a moment, then looked straight at Winston and opened her mouth.
“Then bring me a different tea. Honestly, Sebastian, you can’t seem to get anything right.”
Yu-jin instinctively slapped a hand over his mouth. That line—it was straight out of the period dramas Angela loved. A noble lady scolding her servant. Sebastian—he now remembered—was the name of the butler in that show too. That little realization finally put his heart at ease. Maybe it was okay to just let this play out a bit longer.
What’s he gonna say now?
Yu-jin perked up his ears, waiting eagerly for Winston’s next line. Soon, he responded.
“I’m terribly sorry, my princess. Shall I spend the night again below the castle walls, as I did last time?”
Yu-jin barely restrained himself from slapping his own face. Is this really happening right now?
Winston’s actually getting into the roleplay?
He blinked several times, completely baffled. If only he could see Winston’s face—but his back was turned. A shame. Still, that’s probably what made it possible for Yu-jin to spy like this in the first place.
Comforting himself with that thought, he continued to watch. Angela looked like she was mulling something over very seriously, before finally speaking.
“I’ll let it slide this time, Sebastian. But instead, go to the kitchen and bring me ten cheese rolls. With hot chocolate.”
Winston hesitated. It wasn’t clear if she really wanted him to go or if it was still part of the act. Seeing his uncertainty, Angela dramatically pointed toward the door with a flourish.
“Hurry up. I’m hungry. If you’re late, you’ll be punished again.”
“Mm… Understood. I’ll be back swiftly.”
Winston let out a thoughtful hum, then stood up. Startled, Yu-jin glanced around in a panic and quickly ducked into the adjacent room. Just a second later, Winston exited Angela’s room, his footsteps brushing past the door Yu-jin had hidden behind before gradually fading into the distance.
Once the hallway was silent again, Yu-jin cautiously opened the door and peeked outside. As expected, the wide and long corridor was completely empty. He immediately dashed into Angela’s room, where the child, catching her breath while seated in a chair, lit up the moment she saw him and ran straight into his arms.
“Daddy!”
“Angie, my girl.”
He wanted to scoop her up right away, but his injuries still throbbed, so he held back. Instead, he knelt down to match her height and opened his arms wide. The moment she rushed into his embrace, he hugged her with everything he had.
“What happened? Playing house with Winston? Daddy was totally shocked, you know.”
He laughed as he asked, and Angela pulled away slightly, then answered honestly.
“Well, I was just playing by myself, and he suddenly came over and asked if it wasn’t boring playing alone. So I said if Georgina were here, I’d be playing house with her. Then he asked how you play house, so I showed him.”
“So you told him to be the butler, and he just did it?”
At Yu-jin’s question, Angela nodded enthusiastically.
“He even did my hair—like this!”
Spinning once proudly in his arms, she looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Yu-jin blinked, a bit dazed, as he took in her hairstyle. Winston did this? Braided and pinned up this perfectly?
“You’re sure no one else did it? Winston, really?”
Still finding it hard to believe, he asked again. Angela looked completely serious as she responded.
“I told you—it was Mr. Campbell! Isn’t it pretty? Don’t I look just like a princess?”
Blushing bright pink, Angela spun again. Like a little ballerina doll, she twirled slowly on tiptoes. This time, Yu-jin examined her hair more closely. The pinned-up style was secured with a tiara-shaped hairpin encrusted with countless gemstones. Surrounding it were large pearls, making the whole look even more extravagant. Yu-jin decided not to dwell on whether that dazzlingly radiant pin was made of real diamonds. What mattered was that Angela loved it—and that it looked perfect on her.
“You look beautiful, Angie. It suits you perfectly.”
Smiling warmly, Yu-jin gently stroked her flushed cheek.
“You think you’ll be okay even if Daddy isn’t watching over you the whole time?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Angela answered confidently.
“Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m a grown-up now. I can do just fine on my own.”
Hearing such proud words from a four-year-old, Yu-jin’s chest tightened with emotion. He said nothing and simply pulled her into a tighter hug, then added softly:
“Okay. I’ll be in the next room, then. If anything even feels a little hard, come straight to Daddy’s room, alright?”
“Yup! Don’t worry, Daddy.”
Angela gave him a reassuring nod and gently pulled away first. Just as Yu-jin stood to leave, she suddenly called out behind him.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Yu-jin paused and turned around. Angela continued.
“I’m okay with having a baby now. I’m not sad anymore.”
Her words stunned him. As he stared, speechless, Angela went on.
“The baby’s trying really hard to meet me too, right? So when the baby comes out, I’ll love them. Because they’ll be my little sibling.”
Did my words actually comfort her? Yu-jin wondered, forcing a smile.
“Thank you, Angie. The baby’s going to be really happy.”
The words barely made it out. His throat tightened as if his tongue had grown too heavy, and he quickly excused himself from Angela’s room.
The lie is getting bigger and bigger.
Left alone, the mix of anxiety and guilt crashed over him like a wave. He was even lying to Angela now, and the weight of it twisted painfully in his chest.
Christmas is almost here.
Checking the date, Yu-jin bit at his thumbnail. It was the most crowded time of the year. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
I’ll try bringing it up again today.
And if it didn’t work… then he’d have to resort to other methods. His eyes fixed on the calendar as he set a D-Day. His heart pounded violently in his chest from the tension.
***
When Winston returned to the room, carrying a tray with cheese rolls and hot chocolate himself, Angela was changing her favorite doll’s clothes. She’d perched the doll atop a towering toy castle nearly as tall as she was. Upon seeing the tray, Angela offered Winston—her dutiful butler—unreserved praise.
“Well done, Sebastian. This time, you’ve succeeded.”
Taking a bite of the cheese roll, she nodded approvingly, clearly pleased with the taste. Seeing how good her mood was, Winston responded with a small smile.
“Thank you for the compliment, Princess.”
What even is this situation?
A swirl of tangled emotions churned inside him. He had cleared his entire afternoon schedule… only to end up playing house.
But what really unsettled him was the realization that he didn’t hate it. In fact, seeing Angela enjoying herself made him feel relieved—and even more determined to commit to the role. He watched her quietly as she nibbled on her snack, then spoke up.
“Princess, what will you be doing this Christmas? Have you decided on what gift you’d like?”
