By Zephyria Angela was huddled under the bed, holding her breath. She could see the man’s gleaming shoes through the narrow gap. Winston continued to speak as he took off his clothes one by one next to the sofa.
“You heard me, didn’t you? Or did your ears somehow go bad without me knowing?”
“My ears are fine, just like my mind.”
Angela was startled by Daddy’s sharp tone, which she had never heard before. With a pounding heart, she perked up her ears, and then Yu-jin spoke from the bed.
“It’s your head that’s gone bad, I guess everyone’s lost their minds because of pheromones? That trait.”
Pheromones? Trait? What are they talking about?
She had received a brief explanation from Yu-jin before, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying now at all. Angela covered her mouth with her hand and quietly listened.
“I was just worried.”
There was laughter in Winston’s voice, but Angela could tell that he was definitely not enjoying himself. The sweet scent grew even stronger, and Angela was quickly terrified.
“Speak plainly.”
Yu-jin said again in a stiff tone. Winston’s voice reached Angela’s ears as she trembled under the bed.
“I’m saying you don’t have to spend money so urgently that you collapse. You remember the contents of the will clearly, right?”
You’re crazy about money. That’s what Winston was saying. Yu-jin no longer felt it was worth his time to argue and got out of bed.
“Say whatever you want by yourself. I’m leaving.”
Winston immediately grabbed his arm.
“Where are you going?”
“What good is it for me to stay here?”
Yu-jin shifted his gaze from his grabbed hand to Winston’s face and spat out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sleep in this room. Next to you.”
He deliberately added the last part and tried to leave, but Winston didn’t let go.
“Let go of me!”
Yu-jin shouted roughly and tried to shake him off, but of course, it had no effect at all. Unable to contain his rising anger, he gritted his teeth and spat out.
“Angie’s not here, we were sleeping together… I have to check if she’s in her room, let go!”
He felt resentful. Yu-jin wasn’t short, but why was this man so tall? Every time he was overpowered by his physique, he felt frustration and resentment.
All he could do was shout.
“I said let go, can’t you let go right now? I said let go!”
Winston, who had been quietly looking down at Yu-jin’s face as he writhed and twisted his arm, suddenly released his grip. Yu-jin staggered back, glared at Winston one more time, then turned and left the room.
Daddy!
Seeing the feet turning away, Angela desperately crawled out from under the bed and stuck her head out. The only way to reassure Daddy and escape from here herself was to grab him.
Daddy, I’m here!
With a desperate heart, she reached out her hand, but at that moment, the door slammed shut. Panicked, Angela stopped with half her body sticking out from under the bed. Frozen in place, with only her heart pounding, Angela slowly turned her head. It felt like her mechanically turning neck would make a clicking sound with each movement.
The first thing she saw was the shoe from earlier. She slowly raised her gaze from the shoe, which looked as big as Angela’s head, and saw long legs. They were so long that it took a long time to reach his waist. Angela strained her neck as much as she could to reach his head from his large body and broad back, which was incomparable to Daddy’s, but it was almost impossible. Only after placing her hands on the floor and lifting her upper body did she finally find the head at the very end. Even then, it was only a part of it.
The man’s body, seen from a prone position, was truly enormous. Maybe it reached the ceiling? Angela felt even more fear, as if she were seeing a giant from a fairy tale that Daddy had told her. The moment she remembered the fairy tale about a giant who ate children, she was completely terrified.
I, I have to run away.
Angela moved as quietly as possible so as not to be noticed by him. Winston had not yet noticed the child’s presence. Angela continued to glance at him as he slowly took off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt with slow movements. Just a little more, just a little more.
Swallowing the creaking sounds, she crawled diligently like a caterpillar.
Suddenly, she felt strange. Angela, who had paused, froze in that position and slowly turned her head. And the child’s eyes met the purple eyes looking down at her.
“Hic, hic!”
Winston looked down at Angela’s reaction, who screamed in surprise as if she were about to have a seizure, with a frown. He wondered where this child had come from, but it wasn’t the kind of situation where he could ask such a thing. The child’s large eyes quickly filled with tears, and her whole body trembled. Even Winston couldn’t feel good about seeing the sight of a young child who was clearly terrified and chattering her teeth.
“You are…”
He was about to open his mouth to ask when, why, and how she had been doing that. Angela, who had been only trembling until then, suddenly screamed.
“Daddy can’t ride in cars!”
Winston paused at the sudden outburst. The child, her face pale with fear, trembled and shouted tearfully.
“He forced himself to go out to buy me clothes! That’s why he was sick and lying down…!”
Winston was speechless when he saw the child bursting into tears. He had no experience raising children, and crying children were even more of a poison to him. Helpless, he swept back his hair, which hadn’t even fallen down, and opened his mouth.
“Calm down, what on earth are you talking about…”
Without giving Winston a chance to speak, the child cried even louder. Just as he was about to reach out his hand to the child, feeling frustrated and annoyed.
Suddenly, the door burst open without a knock, and Yu-jin rushed in, his face ashen.
“Angie disappeared again… Angie!”
“Daddy!”
The moment Yu-jin saw his daughter lying on the floor crying, he shouted in surprise. Angela, who was crying with snot and saliva all over her face, began to cry in earnest with a sense of relief when she found her only protector and always on her side, Daddy.
“Waaah, Daddy! Waaaaah!”
“Why are you doing this! What happened?”
Yu-jin’s arrow, who was desperately hugging the child, was directed at Winston. Winston, who had been watching them until then, was dumbfounded and spread his hands wide to assert his innocence, but it didn’t work for Angela.
“Bad person! I’ll hate you until I die!”
“Angie, what are you saying!”
Yu-jin, flustered, hurriedly hugged the child and ran out of the room. Even as she was being carried away by Yu-jin, Angela clenched her fists at Winston and continued to shout, “I hate you! Mean person! Villain! I’ll definitely remember!” The child quickly disappeared from view, but her resentful voice continued to echo. Winston stood there, simply listening to the fading voice that left an echo. The child’s cry disappeared only after the door to the next room slammed shut. In the silence, Winston was left alone, simply looking in the direction where the child and Yu-jin had disappeared.
* * *
“You can’t say things like that!”
Yu-jin, who had rushed into Angela’s room in a hurry, closed the door behind him and quickly warned her. But, seeing his daughter’s face, which was about to cry again, Yu-jin’s heart quickly softened, and Angela said to him, sobbing.
“He said, bad things to Daddy. I hate Mr. Campbell. When I grow up, I’ll definitely, re, revenge.”
“I told you not to say things like that.”
Yu-jin didn’t know what to do and hurriedly put the child down on the bed. He never thought Angela would be in the room. She must have heard their conversation. There was no other reason for her to react like this.
“Angie.”
Huff, Yu-jin sighed, made eye contact with the child, and opened his mouth.
“Mr. Campbell didn’t know the situation well, that’s why he did that. If Daddy talks to him well, he’ll apologize for being wrong, so don’t hate him too much, okay? Mr. Campbell bought you those pretty clothes earlier, you know.”
“I won’t wear them, I don’t need them.”
“Angie.”The child seemed deeply hurt. Yu-jin felt helpless and could only hug her. What to do? He had been caught red-handed arguing with Winston, so he had nothing to say.
He had planned to tell her that Winston was her papa when she was older…
Winston would eventually break up with Yu-jin and meet another partner who was ‘up to his standards’ and get married properly. He would have children, and it wouldn’t matter much if he didn’t know about Angela.
But to Angela, he was her only papa. He had been planning to wait until she was old enough and he was sure he wouldn’t lose custody, as she was still young…
Now that she was so hurt, the shock would be immense if she ever found out the truth. It might be better if she never knew. Yu-jin forcibly swallowed another sigh and pondered. Even in his arms, the child continued to cry, repeatedly expressing her resentment towards Winston.