By Zephyria 
“Grant said I could hear the terms first and decide later.”
“He did?”
At the gentle question, Yu-jin let out a small sigh before muttering.
“It’s just… I wondered if it’s okay for me to haggle over the terms like this.”
A brief silence passed. Winston, who had been looking down at Yu-jin with surprised eyes as they awkwardly averted their gaze, opened his mouth a beat later.
“Yu-jin, what do you mean by that? Are you questioning whether it’s right to negotiate the terms? Negotiating the contract terms?”
“Yes.”
Yu-jin grew even more embarrassed as Winston repeated the same question in disbelief. They felt small and pathetic, but having already confessed, they couldn’t deny it now, so they answered in a shrinking voice.
“I thought maybe I should just be grateful that a film adaptation offer came at all…and from such a huge company…”
“Sweetheart.”
Winston cut them off with a small sigh. Looking down at Yu-jin, who had paused momentarily, he continued.
“Sweetheart, you’re a bestselling author now. Not just a book that sold well, but a worldwide hit. That means that many people loved your book.”
Winston furrowed his brow and added, almost scoldingly.
“If you still think that way about such a work, what does that make the people who were moved by reading it? Think of the people at the signing events who told you they loved your book. You… belittling your work like that is also rude to them.”
Winston hastily changed ‘you’ to ‘your work’ to finish his sentence. At his persuasion, Yu-jin blinked in confusion.
“I…… didn’t think that far. You’re right, that makes sense……”
Yu-jin bowed their head, not knowing what to do. They wanted to hide somewhere out of shame. Why hadn’t they thought of that? As they floundered in guilt and bewilderment, Winston spoke again.
“And one more thing. This probably isn’t the first film adaptation offer.”
“What?”
At the unexpected remark, Yu-jin asked again, and he continued calmly.
“Until now, Grant probably turned down offers from unreliable companies or those with poor reputations on his own. The fact that he even mentioned it to you means the company is quite trustworthy. So you can relax and have more confidence.”
It sounded plausible. Moreover, Winston said it with conviction. Partly out of curiosity, Yu-jin tilted their head and asked.
“How do you know? That kind of thing.”
Unable to resist the adorable face asking the question, still flushed red to the ears, Winston quickly planted a kiss. Yu-jin, accepting the sudden shower of kisses in a daze, only managed to ask after their lips parted.
“Wh-what? All of a sudden.”
At the question, asked belatedly and in confusion, Winston felt another surge of affection, but the opportunity to shower more kisses didn’t come. Yu-jin had quickly turned their head away. Regretfully having to settle for brushing their lips against a cheek, Winston let out a disappointed sigh before speaking.
“It’s unlikely to be the first offer for such a hit work. Hyenas exist in every field.”
It was a simple and easily understandable answer. It also meant that Grant was carefully managing the work, and Yu-jin felt newly grateful to him.
“I should thank Grant.”
“Haven’t you done that plenty already?”
Winston subtly voiced his opposition, but Yu-jin smiled and replied, “Even so.”
“I can never thank him enough. All this good fortune is thanks to Grant publishing my book.”
“It’s because your work was good in the first place. If so, then Grant should be thanking you.”
Having drawn his own conclusion, Winston swiftly changed the subject before another man’s name could come up again.
“So, what’s the company’s name? Judging by the atmosphere, it seems like a pretty famous production company.”
Besides, a company this slow-moving must be large. Gathering numerous opinions and going through meetings naturally takes time like this.
They’d probably have to do background checks too.
“P Entertainment.”
Winston, who had been waiting for the answer with his own calculations, couldn’t react immediately to Yu-jin’s words. This time, it was Winston who let a brief silence pass before opening his mouth.
“……What did you say?”
*
The building in the heart of downtown was a landmark of the city. Amidst the crowds of people coming and going, it was almost a set course for tourists to take photos in front of the main entrance and the huge sculpture engraved with ‘P Entertainment.’ Among these, the top floor was where the owner of this massive company resided, accessible only to a very select few.
And one of those select few visited the office today.
Keith Knight Pittman, the owner of P Entertainment, glared across the table at the man sitting on the opposite sofa with a frown. The man opposite, however, was leisurely sipping tea, enjoying a relaxed afternoon. The man, arms crossed and staring daggers at him, finally spoke first.
“So, what’s the reason for this visit? Winston Campbell.”
The fact that he used his surname indicated he was quite displeased. Winston, slowly swinging his crossed long leg in a steady rhythm under Keith’s gaze, instead of answering immediately, set down his teacup and smiled faintly.
“The tea aroma is nice. What brand is it?”
“Campbell.”
This time, he just used the surname. Additionally, Keith curled one corner of his mouth and glared at him with intimidating eyes as he added.
“I’m very busy. State your business and get out.”
If he stalled a little longer, he’d probably see Keith erupt. A volcano erupting in the middle of downtown—what a spectacular sight.
Winston thought to himself, but he didn’t have much time to spare either.
“There’s something I want to clarify regarding the contract.”
At the main topic finally brought up, Keith pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He had expected as much, but hearing it directly from Winston’s mouth was still absurd. It was unthinkable that this man wouldn’t be involved in the film adaptation of Children of November, which is why the contract details had already been reviewed countless times within the company. The publishing house, Winston himself, and numerous lawyers from the Campbell family had scrutinized and negotiated it repeatedly, so there was nothing left to discuss.
Yet, Winston had insisted there was one more procedure and put Yu-jin’s signature on hold. And now, he had come all the way to Keith’s office like this.