By Zephyria What the hell is going on?
The moment he realized that the sound he had been hearing was the sound of waves, Yu-jin panicked. He jumped out of bed in a hurry and immediately ran out of the room. He ran down the hallway without thinking, but everywhere he looked, the scenery was unfamiliar. The paintings hanging on the walls and the antique carpets on the floor were all different.
“Angela!”
Yu-jin called out his daughter’s name as he ran out of breath.
“Angela, Angie!”
He called out desperately until his throat was hoarse, but there was no answer.
“Angie…”
He stopped in the living room with a clear view of the sea and blankly recited the child’s name. All that came back was the sound of gentle waves. Yu-jin slumped down powerlessly. He couldn’t understand the situation at all. Suddenly, tears welled up. Just when he wanted to stop crying, a voice suddenly flew in from behind.
“Did you sleep well?”
At that moment, Yu-jin was so surprised that he almost fainted and turned around. For the first time, a familiar face appeared in his wide eyes. Yu-jin was at a loss for words at the sight of the man standing at a distance and staring at him.
Winston.
Winston just stared at him with a blank face, only repeating his name in his mind. The man, dressed in a flawless suit as usual, was completely different from Yu-jin, who was only wearing a shirt instead of pajamas. Winston’s gaze turned blatantly to Yu-jin’s long legs exposed under his shirt. At that moment, Yu-jin was flustered and cowered. He felt humiliated by his absurdly defenseless state. All he could do was glare at Winston with hostility.
“What is this? Did you set this up?”
Winston didn’t react to the shrill voice. Seeing him still staring at him blankly, he belatedly felt angry.
“Why the hell did you bring me here? Where’s Angela? Don’t joke around, it’s not funny at all.”
When Yu-jin couldn’t suppress his emotions and breathed roughly, Winston’s expression changed for the first time. But all he did was twist the corners of his mouth and chuckle.
“You think this is a joke?”
He was momentarily frightened and shut his mouth. Yu-jin blinked for a moment before squeezing out the courage to spit out the words again.
“Then? What the hell is this, taking me to a place like this without any explanation, if it’s not a joke?”
His tone gradually quickened and his voice rose. He couldn’t stand the anger that was rising. Unlike Yu-jin, who was restless with intense emotions, Winston was still calm. He opened his mouth in a voice that was no different from usual, perhaps even calmer.
“I told you, if you have a child, it’s mine.”
Yu-jin paused for a moment at the unexpected words. Winston sneered at him. As if this situation was of Yu-jin’s own making.
“You think I’d just let you run away with another man? No way.”
“That…”
Yu-jin opened his mouth but couldn’t finish his sentence. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally making a sound and asking.
“Are you really crazy?”
Once he managed to get the words out, the next one was a little easier. Yu-jin tried to continue speaking, even though he was stammering.
“If I say I’m leaving, I’m leaving. You can’t stop my freedom. And… do you really believe it? That it’s your child? You haven’t even done a DNA test yet?”
Winston chuckled at Yu-jin’s rambling questions.
“You said you were pregnant.”
“You’ve never believed anything I’ve said before, but you believe that?”
Winston narrowed his eyes at the words he blurted out without realizing it because he was so dumbfounded.
“So it was a lie?”
At that moment, Yu-jin realized that he had been caught in his own lie. He couldn’t say no now. Yu-jin, who was trapped in a dilemma, had no choice but to change the subject.
“It might not be your child.”
Once you tell a lie, you have to cover it up with bigger lies. Yu-jin was caught in an irony. But all he could do was keep moving forward.
“Maybe.”
Winston unexpectedly agreed readily. But before Yu-jin could have a glimmer of hope, he continued.
“But what does it matter? No one knows that.”
“…What?”
Yu-jin barely managed to utter those words with a pause. Winston chuckled briefly and twisted the corners of his mouth as if mocking him.”Think about the contents of the will. There’s no mention of genetic testing or how to verify it. We just need to have a child.”
He had barely found a breakthrough, but Winston immediately blocked it. Yu-jin couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So, you’re saying you’ll raise a child that might not be yours as if it is? You’re talking about lying?”
“It wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”
Winston brushed it off lightly.
“It wouldn’t be a bad deal for you either, would it? Just keep your mouth shut, and the inheritance is yours. Just bear with it until then, and it’s a happy ending for everyone.”
It wasn’t wrong. If Yu-jin was really pregnant, that is.
“Then, why did you bring me all the way here?”
Yu-jin asked anxiously, and Winston replied nonchalantly.
“You have to stay by my side until the child is born and the inheritance is settled.”
“What?”
Yu-jin asked back, momentarily flustered, and Winston frowned for the first time.
“Are you going to leave with another man and screw me over? You can’t do that. I don’t care whose child it is, you can’t leave until I get the inheritance.”
Only then did Yu-jin think he understood Winston’s train of thought. Well, he would, wouldn’t he? There would be no reason to do this other than the inheritance.
“I, I said I’d stay at the hotel. I wasn’t even thinking about leaving with another man.”
Yu-jin tried to persuade him somehow, but of course, it didn’t work.
“You think I’d believe you? Honey, you just said it yourself. That this child might not be mine.”
Yu-jin was speechless. On the other hand, he never seemed to run out of things to say. It seemed Winston had already thought of all the questions and answers. Maybe Yu-jin was never able to escape his grasp in the first place.
“Angie, what about Angie?”
Yu-jin quickly continued.
“What about Angie? She’ll be scared if I’m not there. I can’t leave her alone!”
This time, he was sincere. Besides, Yu-jin couldn’t live without Angela. Winston readily answered Yu-jin, who was pale and shouting.
“Don’t worry, the child is safe and sound. If you behave yourself here, I’ll let you see her regularly.”
His intention was clear. Yu-jin had nowhere else to run.
“If I listen to you?”
He asked through gritted teeth, and Winston responded with a faint smile instead of an answer. Yu-jin felt like he had fallen completely into a trap.
* * *
What on earth is going on?
Yu-jin sat alone on the sofa, blankly lost in thought. Winston had left the mansion, saying he had to go to work. Watching him leave in a helicopter, Yu-jin fell into complete despair. After frantically looking around on his own, he barely accepted that he was facing the worst-case scenario.
This was an island, and the only house was the mansion Yu-jin was in. There wasn’t a single person to be seen on the island. This also meant that there was no way out except for the helicopter that Winston had taken.
It’s not far from the mainland.
The fact that it was close enough to travel by helicopter was a relief. But that didn’t mean he could swim across. Yu-jin just clutched his head.
How could this happen?
He never imagined this situation would happen. If he had even the slightest inkling, he wouldn’t have uttered such a lie, let alone opened his mouth. He was trying to get away from Winston, but instead, he was being held back.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before his lies were exposed. He couldn’t even imagine how angry Winston would be. No, he might just be dumbfounded. He probably didn’t have high expectations for Yu-jin anyway.
He seems to think it might not be his child.
The important thing isn’t whose child it is. He thinks it doesn’t matter as long as he has a child and can receive the inheritance. Perhaps it was a rational idea. It was also exploiting a loophole in the will. In the end, he has to stay here until the child is born. The problem was that Yu-jin wasn’t pregnant.
What should I do?
Just as he was suffering with a splitting headache, unexpectedly, a helping hand reached out to him.