Hoo.
As soon as he finished showering, a deep sigh escaped him. He still couldn’t believe the party was truly over. Not a single mistake. He had actually pulled it off.
A sense of pride swelled within him, along with a small boost of confidence. Of course, Winston’s help had been indispensable, but that didn’t change the fact that he had succeeded.
And on top of that, Winston publicly acknowledged him as a member of the Campbell family.
Maybe that was why he had felt much more respected at the party than before. But why had Winston done that? Had his thoughts about him changed, even slightly…?
No, that’s impossible.
Yu-jin quickly scolded himself. Winston wasn’t the type of man to change so easily. There must have been a reason for it. And it definitely wasn’t for his sake…
A bitter feeling crept in, but regardless, thanks to him, both Yu-jin and Angela had been treated well. Could it be that Winston was trying to reconcile with him? That thought seemed much more plausible. Besides, today, Winston had been nothing but gentle, almost as if he had returned to the way he used to be.
Because of that, Yu-jin couldn’t stop his heart from stirring uneasily.
Maybe… maybe this time, he’ll listen to me. It’s been five years, after all.
A faint glimmer of hope surfaced within him. Yeah, I should at least try. We haven’t even had a proper conversation.
Maybe this time will be different.
Feeling strangely impatient, he quickly dried off, put on his pajamas, and stepped out while roughly toweling his damp hair.
As always, Winston was sitting in a chair by the tea table, smoking. He must have been exhausted after enduring an entire day of socializing, yet he showed no signs of fatigue. It was probably thanks to his trait. Those people were physically superior to normal humans in every way.
Even so, the fact that his body had been half-ruined and still hadn’t fully recovered was, in a way, unsettling. It was proof of just how catastrophic the disaster had been. Thinking back to everything that had happened, Yu-jin felt his heart grow heavy again.
Winston remained motionless, staring blankly out the window with an expressionless face. He seemed lost in deep thought, mechanically bringing the cigarette to his lips before exhaling a slow stream of smoke.
Watching him, Yu-jin summoned his courage and spoke.
“…Hey.”
Clearing his throat with a quick cough to steady his voice, he finally caught Winston’s gaze. His indifferent eyes landed on Yu-jin, making him hesitate before speaking again.
“…I’m done showering. You’re going to wash up too, right?”
Winston didn’t respond. He simply stared at Yu-jin, making him flustered enough to stumble over his words.
“Uh… I mean, um, thanks for today. Because of you, I think I managed to do well.”
So far, so good. The real challenge was keeping the conversation going.
“So, um… I…”
He started to speak but couldn’t quite get the words out. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself, but before he could continue, Winston exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke.
Hoo— A straight plume of smoke drifted into the air…
The smoke drifted across the air, blurring the space between them. The uncomfortable silence made Yu-jin feel increasingly awkward. Maybe now wasn’t the right time. Should he try bringing it up another day?
But he might not get another chance like this. And summoning the courage again wouldn’t be easy.
Determined, Yu-jin parted his lips to speak—only for Winston to beat him to it by a fraction of a second.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
Yu-jin blinked in surprise.
“About me?”
“Yeah.”
What was this all of a sudden?
For some reason, a bad feeling settled in his gut, making him unconsciously tense. Winston took another deep drag from his cigarette before exhaling slowly, as if carefully choosing his words.
What could he possibly be trying to say? The drawn-out pause only made Yu-jin more anxious. His fingers curled into a fist before relaxing again. Then, at last, Winston spoke.
“Is it true that you have a criminal record?”
***
Yu-jin froze, his breath caught in his throat. But it wasn’t just his breathing that stopped—his entire being came to a halt, as if he had been turned to ice.
Winston stared at him, his voice dropping into a low, threatening tone.
“Answer me. Is it true that you have a record for theft and robbery?”
Yu-jin remained speechless, unable to move. Winston ground his teeth and spat out his next words with cold disgust.
“Including prostitution.”
For a moment, everything went black. The small hope he had been holding onto shattered instantly, leaving his entire body drained of strength.
“…How did you find out?”
He barely managed to whisper the words, but the moment he did, Winston’s expression hardened into something glacial. His eyes were filled with contempt, derision, and outright scorn.
As if to say, I expected nothing less from you.
Yu-jin felt his eyes burn with tears.
“So you’re not even going to ask me why?”
His voice trembled as he forced the words out. Winston let out a scoff before answering with a sneer.
“Theft, robbery, prostitution—there’s only one reason people do those things. Money.”
He even went so far as to count each crime on his fingers before shaking his head.
“I didn’t think you’d fallen that low. Then again, it’s not easy to land a gullible idiot willing to throw money at you, is it?”
Mocking laughter escaped Winston’s lips as he lifted the cigarette back to his mouth.
“It’s not like the world is overflowing with rich suckers like me and my father.”
What was I even expecting?
Yu-jin felt utterly pathetic. He couldn’t stand being there any longer. Turning on his heel, he made a break for the door—but Winston caught him just before he could escape.
“Where do you think you’re going? Off to sell yourself to someone else again?”
“So what if I am? It’s just the same thing I’ve always done, isn’t it?”
Yu-jin shot him a venomous glare, his voice sharp with defiance. But Winston merely sighed, as if the whole thing was just tiresome to him.
“Stop running to the kid’s room every time you have a problem.”
A hollow, disbelieving laugh burst from Yu-jin’s lips.
“Oh, so what? You want us to fight it out until one of us kills the other?”
He meant it. If he had a knife in his hand right now, he would have used it. The fact that Winston could say something like that when he damn well knew Yu-jin had been heading to Angela’s room—
The realization of just how much he despised this man hit him all over again.
Winston, however, only laughed—loudly, mockingly.
“Sweetheart, we’re human. We’re supposed to talk things out.”
The way he twisted those words made Yu-jin feel like an absolute fool. How long did this man intend to toy with him like this?
“You think we can have a conversation? Us?”
Yu-jin’s voice was rough with anger. But Winston simply shrugged.
“We could at least try.”
Winston suddenly hoisted Yu-jin over his shoulder without warning and carried him toward the bed. Yu-jin, startled, struggled fiercely, pounding his fists against Winston’s back, but it was useless.
The next moment, he was thrown onto the mattress, and Winston climbed over him.
“I’m going to kill you, Winston Campbell.”
He spat out every ounce of hatred he could muster, but Winston only smiled sweetly and whispered—
“Not before you give me my child, sweetheart.”
Their lips crashed together, but Yu-jin bit down on his tongue without hesitation. The metallic taste of blood spread between them. He could feel Winston laughing.
“Sweetheart, you’re not getting any sleep tonight.”
Winston’s voice was sickeningly gentle. Then, without warning, he flipped Yu-jin onto his stomach. His body collapsed weakly under Winston’s weight as the larger man pressed down on top of him.
“The sooner we have a child, the better, don’t you think?”
His breath was already heavy against Yu-jin’s ear. In one swift motion, his underwear and pajamas were stripped away, leaving him exposed. Something hot and swollen pressed against his bare skin.
He really intends to get me pregnant tonight.
Yu-jin turned his head, glaring at him with all the defiance he could muster.
“Of course. That’s exactly what I want, too.”
Not that it matters—I can’t have children anyway.
Winston let out a quiet chuckle before sinking his teeth into the side of Yu-jin’s neck. A sharp sting followed as he bit down harder.
Then, his cock forced its way inside.
Yu-jin grimaced, his entire face twisting in pain as he took Winston in.
The day I finally leave this house, I’ll make sure to write you a letter. I’ll let you know that all of this was a waste. That I can’t get pregnant.
And I’ll laugh in your fucking face.
Swallowing back bitter tears, Yu-jin burned the promise into his mind.
***
Madam Campbell arrived at the office ten minutes before lunchtime.
Wearing a wide-brimmed hat and one of her favorite designer suits, she entered the room, guided by the secretary.
“You seem busy.”
Winston, who had been reviewing documents, barely lifted his head as she settled onto the sofa.
“I heard you didn’t have any lunch plans today. I thought we could eat together.”
“I’m busy.”
His voice was dry as he continued, “There’s a lot to take care of. I have a meeting this afternoon, so I need to go over things beforehand.”
Madam Campbell’s expression soured, but Winston ignored her and returned his attention to the documents.
There was no need to rush the conversation—he already knew why she had come. She wouldn’t be able to hold back for long.
All he had to do was endure the nuisance.
“How did the party go?”
She pretended to ask casually, but Winston answered indifferently.
“It ended well.”
“Oh? Then I suppose you were lucky.”
Her words dripped with sarcasm, but Winston didn’t react.
She watched him in silence for a moment before furrowing her brows.
No matter how she looked at him, he seemed the same as always.
It was the same expression he always wore.
When she had called Kane earlier before coming to the office, she had gotten a similar response.
In the end, she was the first to reveal her true intentions.
“You must have heard from Gordon. What are you planning to do next?”
