“You kissed me. You even said you’d wait.”
“Thank you for forgiving me.”
After saying that.
Goodbye.
Winston couldn’t hold back and cursed. Why hadn’t he realized it back then? Everything Yujin said was a lie. The only truth was that farewell.
How could I be deceived again?
A groan escaped through clenched teeth. Even using an immature teenage girl—that was utterly shameless.
And all to run away from me.
His whole body felt as if it was burning with anger and hatred. I will find him no matter what. He gritted his teeth aloud. He felt the urge to choke Yujin, but quickly shook his head. What if Yujin really died? The mere thought sent chills down his spine. He recalled imagining breaking Yujin’s legs but stopped again. Thinking of Yujin’s face twisted in pain and crying made it impossible even to imagine doing that. Moreover, there was another problem. If he harmed Yujin in any way, what would Angela do?
She’d hate me again.
A deep sigh welled up inside him. His anger was maddening, but there was nothing he could do. That fact made him even more furious.
Where on earth are they? What are they doing?
There were no traces of card usage or withdrawals. As far as Winston knew, Yujin was penniless. Where could he and the child be wandering in this winter? Imagining Yujin rummaging through trash or selling his body again and getting beaten to death made Winston feel like he was going crazy.
If he ran off with another man—
He caught himself thinking it might be better that way and let out a hollow laugh. In the end, even if he found Yujin again, there was nothing he could do. Faced with such an obvious conclusion, Winston was utterly trapped.
“Welcome back, Mr. Campbell.”
The butler, waiting as usual in front of the mansion, spoke politely. Winston gave a brief nod instead of answering and brushed past him. The butler immediately followed and continued.
“We are still tracking Yujin’s whereabouts. There is nothing worth reporting yet, but we will keep trying.”
Winston only nodded again. He had no energy left to react to the expected words. He was utterly exhausted. As he silently climbed the stairs, only his footsteps echoed heavily inside the mansion. The mansion was huge and vast, and painfully quiet. The slightest sigh would have echoed, so he held his breath without realizing it.
He was supposed to head to the room at the end of the corridor but stopped first. Standing briefly in front of the adjacent room Angela used, he slowly reached out and turned the doorknob. Beyond the door, a hollow room came into view. The empty room had no warmth, only coldness. Standing there motionless, Winston’s presence made the butler unable to speak, watching awkwardly. Winston entered the room without a word and closed the door behind him. The butler, helpless, turned away with a bitter expression.
Winston stopped after a few steps. The surroundings were deathly silent. He slowly scanned the room, but nothing changed. It was the same the day before, and the day before that. The Yujin and Angela who used to sit on the floor playing house, or share snacks at the tea table, or even lie down reading picture books together on the bed were nowhere to be found. Winston traced their traces with his eyes one by one.
With a heavy sigh, he wiped his face with one hand. At this rate, he felt he might collapse from nervous breakdown.
...Lonely.
Suddenly, he realized. But the moment he understood that, loneliness seeped deep in his chest, freezing his heart. He immediately regretted it, but it was already too late. Standing there pale and shaken, Winston just stared into the empty room. Left all alone.
“Daddy, Daddy! Lemon came again. Can I give him some carrots?”
Lemon was the name of the small rabbit Angela had found in front of the house. In the cold winter, Angela had named the wandering rabbit searching for food and shared carrots from the fridge. After hiding behind the curtain and watching the rabbit cautiously carry the carrot she had left a little distance away, the child eagerly awaited this amazing event to happen again. With rosy cheeks full of excitement, Yujin smiled and nodded at his daughter.
“Go ahead. Don’t touch him, okay?”
“Okay, I know.”
Angela nodded vigorously and ran off. Yujin watched her back with a pleased look. They had arrived here late that evening after leaving Sam’s house. Walking with the cold strong wind hitting him, holding Angela tightly, Yujin almost collapsed from relief when he finally found this house.
I was really lucky.
A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth. Unable to sleep, tossing and turning, worried about when Winston might show up, he asked Sam for permission and borrowed her computer. He had long since turned off his cell phone. First, he bought a temporary phone and wrote an email to the publisher to notify the new number. Just then, as if the publisher was awake, he got a call from the president.
“Yujin, I have good news! Newspaper A will introduce our book as ‘Book of the Week.’ Have you heard of that section?”
Yujin’s eyes widened. Of course he knew! Anyone interested in books would definitely read that section. Yujin himself searched for it online when he wanted information about new books. But among the dozens or hundreds of books released every day, his book? He simply couldn’t believe it.
“Is that true? Did that person really pick my book?”
“Yes! Didn’t I tell you? This book is definitely going to do well!”
He laughed loudly, unable to contain his excitement. His heart pounded like it would burst. Yujin breathed deeply, trying hard not to faint. Was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} this reality? Was he dreaming? His shoulders shook as he didn’t know what to do, and the publisher asked in a still excited voice,
“Let’s start the next book right away. Do you have a manuscript or at least an idea you’re working on?”
“Uh, no, well...”
The sudden question made Yujin lose focus. Blinking and fumbling, he answered with difficulty.
“I do have something...”
In fact, he could create any story. The stories buried deep inside his heart were clamoring to come out into the world. Feeling overwhelmed to the point of numbness, he took a deep breath. The president joyfully said,
“Good, let’s get started right away. How long do you think it will take? I’m thinking of a strategy to prepare works in advance and release them one after another.”
“Ah...”
Of course, Yujin wanted to accept the offer willingly, but there was a big problem. He wasn’t in a condition to write right now.
“Well, you see... I have to find a place to stay first...”
He tried to evade the situation and left his sentence unfinished. The president seemed surprised and asked,
“What do you mean? You’re saying you’re not in a condition to write?”
“Something like that.”
Yujin answered awkwardly. Thinking it was hard to say more, he closed his mouth. Then unexpectedly, the president asked,
“No workspace? Would just a place be enough?”
“Huh?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Yujin opened his eyes wide, and the president made an incredible offer.
“Alright. I’ll rent you a studio. Write your new work there. Will that work?”
“What?”
Yujin could only utter a word of astonishment again. The offer was unbelievable, but it was sincere. After greeting Sam in advance, he departed early at dawn and came here with Angela to the house the president had mentioned.
