By Zephyria You kissed me. You even said you’d wait.
Thank you for forgiving me.
And then you said that.
Goodbye.
Winston couldn’t help but curse. Why hadn’t he realized it then? Everything Yu-jin had said was a lie. The only truth was that farewell.
How could I be fooled again?
A groan escaped through his clenched teeth. To even use a naive teenage girl, what a shameless thing to do.
And that was to run away from me.
His whole body seemed to burn with anger and hatred. He would find him no matter what. He would never make a fool of him again. He ground his teeth audibly. He felt the urge to strangle Yu-jin, but shook his head. What if Yu-jin really died? The thought alone sent a chill down his spine. He took a step back and imagined breaking Yu-jin’s legs, but then stopped again. When he imagined Yu-jin crying with a distorted face from the pain, he couldn’t bring himself to do it even in his imagination. Besides, there was another problem. What would Angela do if he harmed Yu-jin in any way?
She’d hate me again.
Haa, a sigh welled up from deep within his chest. He was furious to the point of madness, but there was nothing he could do. That fact made him even angrier.
What the hell is he doing, where?
There was no trace of him using a card or withdrawing money. As far as Winston knew, he was penniless. Where the hell was he wandering around with a child in this winter? He felt like he was going crazy thinking that Yu-jin might be rummaging through trash cans again or getting beaten to death after going out to sell his body.
What if he ran away with another man.
He realized that he had inadvertently thought that it would be better that way, and he laughed in vain. In the end, even if he found Yu-jin again, there was nothing he could do. Winston was trapped in a dilemma with the obvious conclusion.
* * *
“Have you arrived, Mr. Campbell.”
The Butler, who was waiting in front of the mansion as usual, spoke politely. Winston nodded briefly instead of answering and walked past him. The Butler immediately followed and continued.
“We are continuing to track Mr. Yu-jin’s whereabouts. There is nothing to report yet, but we will try harder.”
Winston only nodded this time as well. He was too exhausted to react in any way to what he had already expected. He was too tired. As he silently climbed the stairs, only his footsteps echoed heavily inside the mansion. The mansion was too big and wide, and terribly quiet. He held his breath without realizing it, as if even a small sigh would echo.
He had to go to the room at the end of the hallway, but he stopped first. He stood in front of the door to the next room, which Angela used to use, for a moment, then slowly reached out and turned the doorknob. Beyond the wide-open door, a desolate room came into view. The room, devoid of people, was completely devoid of warmth and was only chilly. The Butler watched Winston standing still and hesitated to speak. Winston moved silently into the room and closed the door. The Butler had no choice but to turn away with a bitter face.
Winston didn’t walk far before stopping. The surroundings were as quiet as death. He slowly scanned the room, but nothing changed. It was the same the day before and the day before that. Yu-jin and Angela, who had been sitting on the floor playing house, sitting face to face at the tea table sharing refreshments, or even lying together on the bed reading fairy tales, were nowhere to be found. Winston traced the traces of them that remained in his memory one by one with his eyes.
Haa, with a heavy sigh, he swept his face with one hand. At this rate, he felt like he would collapse from a nervous breakdown.
…I’m lonely.
Suddenly, he realized. But the moment he realized it, a loneliness that seemed to freeze his heart seeped deep into his chest. He regretted it soon after, but it was already too late. Winston stood there with a pale face, just staring at the empty room. Left alone.
* * *
“Daddy, Daddy! Lemon came again. Can I give him some carrots?”
Lemon was the name of a small rabbit that Angela had found in front of her house. In the cold winter, Angela named the rabbit Lemon, who was wandering around looking for food, and shared the carrots from the refrigerator. After hiding behind the curtain and watching the rabbit carefully take the carrots that had been placed a short distance away, the child was waiting for this amazing event to happen again. Yu-jin smiled and nodded at his daughter, whose cheeks were flushed with excitement.
“Go ahead. But don’t touch him, okay?”
“Yes, I know.”
Angela nodded vigorously and ran off. Yu-jin watched his daughter’s back with a happy face. It was late that night when he left Sam’s house and arrived here. Yu-jin, who had been walking while hugging Angela tightly against the cold wind, almost collapsed with relief when he finally found this house.
I was really lucky.
A smile unconsciously appeared on his lips. He couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning, worried about when Winston would come barging in, so he asked Sam for permission and borrowed her computer. He had turned off his cell phone a long time ago. He was going to buy a temporary cell phone and email the publisher to let them know the number, but the president happened to be awake and contacted him right away.“Yu-jin, good news! A Newspaper said they’re going to feature our book as ‘Book of the Week.’ Have you heard of that section?”
Yu-jin’s eyes widened. Of course, he knew it! Anyone with even a passing interest in books would read that section. Yu-jin himself would search for it online when he wanted to find out about new books. But out of the dozens, hundreds of books that came out every day, they chose his? He couldn’t believe it.
“R-really? The person in charge really chose my book?”
“Yes! Didn’t I tell you? I told you this book would be a hit!”
He couldn’t hide his excitement and burst into loud laughter. His heart was pounding like it would explode. Yu-jin gasped for breath, trying not to faint. Was this really happening? Was he dreaming? As Yu-jin, his shoulders heaving, didn’t know what to do, the president asked him, his voice still flushed with excitement.
“Let’s start on our next book right away. Do you have a manuscript you’re working on? Or even just an idea?”
“Uh, no, well….”
He couldn’t wrap his head around the sudden question. Blinking, Yu-jin stammered out an answer.
“I do have something….”
In truth, he could create stories endlessly. The stories he had buried in his heart were clamoring to be released into the world. Feeling as though his entire body was tingling with overwhelming emotion, Yu-jin took a deep breath as the president said happily.
“Great, let’s start right away. How long do you think it will take? I was thinking we could prepare a work in advance and then release them one after another.”
“Ah…”
Of course, Yu-jin wanted to accept the offer, but there was a big problem. He wasn’t in a position to write right away.
“Well, you see… I need to find a place to stay first….”
He trailed off, trying to gloss over the situation as much as possible, and the president, sounding surprised, picked up on it.
“What do you mean? Are you saying you can’t write right now?”
“Something like that.”
Yu-jin answered awkwardly. Thinking it would be difficult to say more, he closed his mouth, and the president suddenly asked.
“You don’t have a place? So, you just need a place to work?”
“Yes?”
Surprised by the unexpected words, Yu-jin’s eyes widened, and the president made an incredible offer.
“I understand. I’ll lend you a studio. Please write your new work there. Will that work?”
“Yes?”
Yu-jin could only utter another exclamation. It was an unbelievable offer, but he was serious. And so, Yu-jin had greeted Sam in advance and left in the early morning with Angela to come to the house the president had mentioned.