By Zephyria It’s nothing, Yu-jin thought, opening his mouth.
“Where’s the bathroom? I’d like to wash up.”
The mansion had countless rooms and bathrooms. Instead of answering which one Yu-jin should use, the butler said something else.
“There is someone you must meet first. Please, follow me.”
“Just a moment.”
Yu-jin spoke quickly and carefully laid Angela down on the bed. Thankfully, his daughter was fast asleep, snoring softly. He told the butler he would be out soon, then closed the door, took off his daughter’s shoes and clothes, and changed her into pajamas. He should have given her a bath, but she was sleeping so soundly and the situation didn’t allow it, so he boldly decided to skip it for today.
One day won’t hurt.
After roughly organizing their luggage, he opened the child’s sketchbook, wrote a large message on a blank page, and placed it by her head so she could see it immediately if she woke up while he was gone. Angela, bless her heart, could already write and read, and was quite good at simple arithmetic. Her intelligence was a great help in times like these. Yu-jin thanked his daughter and kissed her forehead. When he came outside, the butler was still standing there with his back straight. Yu-jin, facing him empty-handed, asked the butler, who turned around without a word.
“Who is it that I have to meet?”
It was already close to midnight. What could they possibly want to talk about that they waited until this hour? Feeling uneasy, Yu-jin watched the butler stop walking and turn his head.
“Mrs. Campbell.”
Ah, he almost sighed involuntarily. There was only one person in this house called Mrs. Campbell. The eldest daughter, who had a brief marriage to a British aristocrat, had to be addressed as ‘Lady,’ and the only daughter-in-law took the Campbell name, but no one called her ‘Mrs. Campbell.’ Only she was recognized as ‘Mrs. Campbell.’ From the time Yu-jin entered this house as a very young child until now.
As if he had nothing more to say, the butler turned and began to walk. Yu-jin, too, kept his mouth shut and followed him.
Only the footsteps of the butler and Yu-jin echoed eerily in the silent house. The once laughter-filled mansion seemed to know of its master’s absence and held its breath in silence. Yu-jin felt a suffocating sense of oppression and walked silently. The butler, retracing the path they had taken earlier, opened the side door and this time headed downwards.
After what felt like a long descent, the door opened to reveal a corridor so long that it made him want to sigh again. While walking, barely suppressing the urge to shout for them to stop, Yu-jin suddenly noticed that the corridor looked distinctly different from before. The paintings lined up on the walls were all of the mansion’s scenery or the faces of those thought to be ancestors. When a portrait of a woman in an antique dress, presumably the long-dead mistress of the mansion, came into view, the butler suddenly stopped. Yu-jin silently watched him knock lightly, pause for a moment, and then turn the doorknob to open the door. The butler then stepped inside and spoke.
“Mrs. Campbell, I have brought the guest.”
He spoke in a dry, emotionless voice, as if reading the instruction manual for an electronic device, and then stepped aside. Yu-jin barely managed to stop himself from taking a deep breath at the sight of the butler extending one arm as if to tell him to enter, and deliberately ignored him as he passed by. Stepping inside, he saw that it was a reception room for greeting guests, and as expected, Mrs. Campbell and another man were sitting there. It was the eldest son, Gordon. He felt his face instantly harden as he met them, but this time there was nothing he could do about it.
Unlike Mrs. Campbell, who was sitting straight with her back erect, Gordon was sitting with his legs wide apart, leaning his upper body diagonally with his arm resting on one thigh, in a posture like a gangster, staring at him.
Yu-jin subtly tightened his grip on his hands, which were hanging down. *It’s okay,* he thought to himself. *It’s different from then. I have Angela.*
For the sake of his child, he could become stronger than anyone in the world.
*So it’s okay.*
Just as he was thinking that, the butler suddenly spoke.
“Shall I prepare something to drink?”
“No, thank you.”
Yu-jin refused immediately. He probably wasn’t asking him anyway. But his intention not to drag things out was clearly conveyed.
The butler glanced at him, standing stubbornly. Looking at Mrs. Campbell as if waiting for instructions on what to do, she waved her hand lightly as if to say it was fine.
Soon, he heard the sound of the door closing behind him. The butler had left the reception room. Yu-jin still stood there, motionless. Except for subtly clasping his hands behind his back.
It was Mrs. Campbell who broke the uncomfortable silence. She furrowed her brow and clicked her tongue softly.
“You haven’t changed. Still don’t know how to greet people?”
Yu-jin simply stared at her with a blank expression at her particularly barbed tone. In the past, he had been too intimidated to find the right timing to greet her, leading to misunderstandings, but now he simply didn’t want to speak to her first. The still young Yu-jin who was hurt by such coldness was no longer here. Nothing would hurt Yu-jin anymore. Never again, ever.
Seeing that Yu-jin still didn’t react, Gordon scoffed and said as if for her to hear.
“What do you expect from that bastard? He’s been selling his body, what could he have learned?”
*I’m glad I put Angela to sleep in the room.* Yu-jin secretly sighed in relief and opened his mouth in a stiff tone.
“Is that all you have to say? It’s late, I’d like to rest.”
At Yu-jin’s question, both Mrs. Campbell and Gordon paused. They clearly hadn’t expected him to be so rude. *Of course not,* Yu-jin thought.
The old him would never have imagined doing such a thing. The past Yu-jin would have been cowering as they wished, his eyes filled with tears, not knowing what to do, begging as if he had committed a mortal sin.
*You expected me to fill your sense of superiority and arrogance like I used to.*
But it had already been almost five years. And during that time, Yu-jin had changed. There was no reason for him to cling to them abjectly like he used to.
Mrs. Campbell, unable to speak immediately at Yu-jin’s gaze that was fixed on her, took a sip of her tea, seemingly shocked. After taking some time to calm her emotions, she returned to her usual demeanor and opened her mouth.
“Is there any need to make things complicated?”
She put down her teacup and looked up. Reptilian, chilling eyes turned to Yu-jin.
“Why don’t you just leave the mansion again as you came? If you disappear without a trace of ever having been here, instead…”
As Mrs. Campbell trailed off, as if it were a signal, Gordon took something out of his suit pocket and placed it on the table. As Yu-jin looked down at the white envelope, Mrs. Campbell spoke.
“You’re not stupid, so I believe you understand what this means. I’ve put in a reasonable amount, so will you please leave? No one here welcomes you.”
Taking the envelope there and leaving the mansion, never to return, wasn’t a bad choice. Yu-jin’s original goal was money, and anyone would know that this was more certain than a will whose contents were unclear. Moreover, he had prepared himself for everything when he decided to come here. He had vowed to endure any insults and humiliation if he could just get the money. But if he could get a check so easily now, wasn’t it an easy and simple choice compared to what he had vowed? There was no reason to refuse.
There shouldn’t be.
Nevertheless, Yu-jin hesitated, unable to reach for the envelope. It wasn’t because of pride. That had been shattered long ago.
But why?
While staring intently at the envelope, unable to understand his own heart, Gordon sneered and opened his mouth.
“It’s no use trying to squeeze out a few more bucks. Think carefully, you might not even get this if you’re greedy. After all, you’ll never earn this much money in your entire life of selling your pathetic body.”
Gordon laughed loudly.
“Well, now that your father is dead, who would buy someone like you? Unless they’re blind.”