He looked as if he had been struck by lightning. Strange. Why was he reacting like this, as if it were something new? Yu-jin frowned in confusion. It was Winston who broke the silence.
“Say that again. What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
“I said, say it again.”
Winston gritted his teeth as he spoke. He looked like he was barely holding himself back from shouting. Yu-jin let out a short sigh before answering.
“At the reception, you and your friends said it yourselves. Since I’m just a whore who spreads his legs for anyone, it wouldn’t matter if you all took turns using me. It even sounded like they got your permission first. Don’t remember?”
“When?”
Winston’s voice was sharp with urgency.
“They said that in front of you? Who? When?”
Yu-jin didn’t bother answering. His frown only deepened. Why the hell was Winston acting like this now? What would pretending not to know change?
“You were sitting around in the salon with your friends.”
Winston suddenly looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Ah, so he finally remembers. Yu-jin thought bitterly. Guess he’s said shit like that so often he can’t even keep track anymore. Considering how the men had laughed and joked about it, it wasn’t surprising. Winston opened his mouth.
“I wasn’t there.”
Yu-jin, who had been gazing at the ceiling, turned his eyes toward him. What the hell was he talking about? Winston repeated himself in a rough voice.
“I wasn’t there that time, damn it! I swear, I was in the garden with Evelyn!”
Yu-jin simply stared at him in silence. Winston, as if his frustration was boiling over, hurriedly continued.
“I can even have Evelyn confirm it for you. I got a call from someone at the time, but I could barely hear what they were saying. They were just spouting nonsense anyway, so I hung up. I swear. If you want, you can check my call log—”
“Not interested.”
Yu-jin cut him off, his voice indifferent. Winston stiffened for a moment, but Yu-jin continued speaking.
“What difference does it make whether it’s true or not? It wouldn’t change anything.”
“What do you mean it wouldn’t change anything?”
Winston snapped, unable to hold back his anger.
“They said that shit to your face, and you’re saying it doesn’t matter? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you had, I—”
“You what?”
Yu-jin stared at him, his expression void of emotion.
“What would you have done? Kill them? And what difference would that make?”
“You expect me to let those bastards get away with talking about you like that?!”
“That’s the kind of thing you say to me like it’s nothing.”
Winston, who had been spitting out his rage just moments ago, froze in place. Seeing his unfamiliar reaction, Yu-jin continued speaking, his tone flat and unhurried.
“Whore. Slut. Public toilet. Trash.”
Winston remained silent as Yu-jin listed the words one by one. He only continued to stare at him. Yu-jin spoke again.
“You kept calling me that earlier too—while you were fucking me.”
“That’s…”
Winston tried to say something. It was the first time Yu-jin had seen him struggle for words, but he wasn’t about to wait for him to find them.
“So it’s fine when you say that shit to me, but not when someone else does? Who the fuck do you think you are, Winston Atticus Campbell? You think you can say whatever the fuck you want and it’s okay? What, are you untouchable? A god or something? Fuck you, you piece of shit!”
Yu-jin shot up from the bed and screamed at him. The rage that had been festering inside him finally exploded.
“If I’m a slut, then so are you! You fucked me, didn’t you? If I’m a whore and a public toilet, then guess what? So are you!”
Winston didn’t answer. He just stared at Yu-jin, his face twisted with an emotion that could’ve been anger or something else entirely.
Yu-jin didn’t hold back. He climbed off the other side of the bed and stormed toward the bathroom. As he walked away, Winston’s voice rang out behind him.
“Tell me who they were.”
Yu-jin swung the bathroom door open and snapped back at him, his tone sharp and biting.
“Why don’t you find out yourself? You’re Winston Campbell. There’s nothing you can’t do, right?”
He shut the door as quietly as possible and stepped inside. Holding his breath, he listened intently. The room outside was silent. He was half-expecting the sound of something shattering, like last time, but nothing happened.
Haa…
Yu-jin exhaled shakily and sank to the floor. What the hell did I just do?
His heart pounded violently in his chest. He couldn’t believe he had said all of that to Winston. Worse, he had actually cursed at him. What the hell is wrong with me?!
His hands, trembling so badly they blurred in his vision, came into focus. He hugged himself tightly, trying to stop the shaking. He was so worked up he felt like his vision was dimming. But instead of relief, fear overtook him first.
Now that his emotions were settling, he was terrified. He couldn’t bring himself to step outside and face Winston again. If Winston got angry right in front of him, this time… he wasn’t sure he could fight back.
What do I do?
His body started trembling again for a completely different reason. But his worries turned out to be unnecessary. As he sat on the floor, leaning against the bathroom door, he heard a faint sound. The soft click of a door opening, then closing.
And then, silence.
Yu-jin hesitated before cautiously opening the bathroom door.
The large room was empty.
Winston was gone.
The unexpected chance to escape made him move in a panic. He hastily wiped himself down with water, just enough to get rid of the fluids clinging to his skin, then rushed out of the room.
He hurried straight back to the child’s room, making sure to lock the door tightly behind him before finally releasing a trembling sigh.
…Still, I guess I said everything I needed to.
Lying beside his daughter, he mulled things over before finally reaching a conclusion. I’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes. He didn’t want to think about anything else. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Yu-jin soon passed out.
“Daddy, Daddy.”
The sound of his daughter’s voice and the small hands shaking his body pulled him from his sleep. By the time he managed to open his eyes, it was already close to noon. His head still felt unbearably heavy, and he swayed slightly as he pushed himself upright. Angela, who had climbed onto the bed, looked at him curiously.
“Daddy, are you sleeping with me now? Why did you sleep here?”
“Huh? Oh… uh…”
His brain wasn’t working properly yet. Still groggy from sleep, he couldn’t come up with an answer right away. Fortunately, Angela’s attention quickly shifted elsewhere.
“What’s this medicine? Is it mine? What is it?”
At her string of questions, Yu-jin lowered his gaze and spotted the small packet in her hands. Forcing his heavy eyelids to blink, he took the packet and checked the contents. Inside was a bottle of pills he had never seen before. He pulled one out, turning it over in his fingers, when something on the label caught his eye.
Pheromone Suppressant. For Omegas.
Yu-jin froze in shock.
But… I locked the door last night.
As if answering his unspoken question, Angela spoke up.
“It was outside the door. Is it mine? What’s a suppressant?”
“Oh… well…”
Yu-jin fumbled for words, struggling to process his thoughts. And then, a realization dawned on him. He suddenly had a vague idea why Winston had left last night.
Don’t tell me… did he go out to buy this? Him? Himself?
That was impossible. The idea was so absurd that Yu-jin immediately dismissed it. Winston was the kind of man who could get anything he wanted with just the snap of his fingers. And yet, he personally went out to buy something as trivial as a suppressant? For me?
Ridiculous.
“This is for Daddy to take. Thank you for bringing it to me, Angie.”
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Angela beamed before immediately throwing her arms around his neck.
“But Daddy, I smell it here.”
“Hm? Smell what?”
Angela clung to him as if it were the most natural thing in the world and answered,
“That smell. The sweet one.”
Yu-jin froze for a moment, and as if confirming it for herself, Angela added,
“Campbell’s smell.”
Yu-jin stiffened in alarm. Panicked, he lifted the packet to his nose and sniffed loudly, but of course, he couldn’t smell anything. Blinking in confusion, he hesitated before cautiously asking,
“Are you sure, Angie? You’re positive that’s what you smelled?”
Angela leaned in, sniffed the packet carefully, then quickly pulled away.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
She scrunched up her face and pinched her nose between her fingers.
Her innocent, unfiltered reaction left Yu-jin completely at a loss for words. For a moment, all he could do was stare blankly, his mind racing.
