By Zephyria How can I repay Yu-jin for this sin?
How hard must it have been when he was wandering the streets with the child? I couldn’t even imagine how painful it must have been for him when he rummaged through the trash because he had nothing to eat, and even then, he couldn’t find anything, so he decided to sell his body.
He protected the child that way. What on earth did I do?
His insides churned with self-loathing. Yu-jin would want only one thing: not to be deprived of Angela.
It was so obvious. From the moment the baby was born until now, Winston had done nothing for them, so what right did he have to claim any rights?
Winston could only repeat endless regrets and self-reproach in the darkness. The past did not stop tormenting him until the distant, hazy dawn broke. And this long night of pain was destined to continue. Forever, for decades, until he died.
* * *
The next day, Yu-jin felt good for the first time in a while. He had a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time, and he ate quite a bit. He had promised Winston to go to the hospital, but he felt like he didn’t have to go right away. He decided to take care of urgent matters first, and while Angela was playing, he called Grant from his study.
“How are you doing? Are you feeling better?”
Yu-jin told Grant, who asked with concern, that he was much better and asked him to review some of the manuscript he had written first.
“I don’t know if the story is progressing well. I like it, but…”
Grant, who had answered excitedly, added as if he had just remembered.
“If it’s okay with you, how about holding a reading session around next month? The bookstore asked me to.”
“A reading session?”
Yu-jin, surprised, asked with an awkward smile.
“I appreciate it, but… isn’t that something famous writers do?”
He was a rookie writer who had only published one book, so a reading session was embarrassing, absurd, and strange. To his cautious question, Grant jumped up and denied it from across the receiver.
“Yu-jin, don’t you know how famous you are right now? The records are being updated every week, and ‘Children of January’ has been number one for weeks.”
“Number one? Still?”
It had been months since the book came out. But it’s still number one? Grant laughed and replied to Yu-jin, who was surprised.
“Yes, it is. It’s dropped a little bit, but it’s still in the top three. Oh, and we’ve received several inquiries from overseas. We’ve reviewed them and are considering accepting them with a few conditions modified. I’ll send you the details by email…”
That wasn’t all. Invitations to parties, autograph sessions, special autographed book giveaways, and numerous other events were waiting for him. What’s going on? He was dumbfounded, as if he were dreaming. Grant, who had talked about so many things that he couldn’t even remember them all, added as a final note.
“Should I pay the royalties by check? Or into your bank account? Tell me what you want, and I’ll pay you right away.”
“Royalties? Is there any left?”
Yu-jin asked in surprise. He thought he was in the red because he had received quite a bit of money from Grant while he was running away from Winston. But there’s more money? Grant burst out laughing at Yu-jin’s question.
“Of course, Yu-jin. You’ll be surprised.”
He was bewildered and said he would take it by check, and Grant readily agreed.
“Then I’ll tell my secretary right away. Don’t be surprised when you see it. It’ll be more than you can imagine.”
Even after he said goodbye and hung up the phone, Yu-jin was still dumbfounded. He pinched his cheek, but the pain was too vivid. Is this really real? Not a dream?
He was still rubbing his numb cheek when he heard a knock, and a moment later, the Butler opened the door. He gave a brief nod and then spoke in a polite tone.
“A guest has arrived. What should I do? Would you like to meet them?”
“A guest?”
Yu-jin, unknowingly nervous, checked the time without realizing it. He was surprised to see that it was already past five o’clock. He had been on the phone with Grant for longer than he thought. Feeling embarrassed, he blinked, and the Butler continued.
“Yes, Mr. Campbell said he had a request and would like to discuss the details in person.”
“…Who?”
He had no idea, and his heart was only uneasy. As he asked with caution, the Butler readily moved and faced Yu-jin across the wide desk. He placed a small piece of paper he was holding on the desk and pushed it toward Yu-jin. When Yu-jin picked it up, he opened his mouth.
“His name is Nathaniel Miller.”
The same name as the one written on the business card was etched in Yu-jin’s ear. The Butler added indifferently to him, who was surprised and widened his eyes.
“He’s the CEO of Miller Law Firm.”
* * *
Yu-jin felt dazed the whole time. Even as he headed to the drawing room to meet the man, he couldn’t feel any sense of reality. Was what Winston had said to him the day before sincere? He moved this quickly? And the CEO of Miller Law Firm came to see me in person?
Hoo.
He barely stood in front of the drawing room door, took a deep breath, and then finally steeled himself and knocked. After a moment, he opened the door and saw the man sitting on the sofa in the drawing room getting up.
Hic.
Yu-jin was so surprised that he gasped without realizing it. The man with almost silver-blond hair was incredibly tall. He thought he was used to Winston’s large build, but it felt new to see a stranger this big.
Similar to Winston…?
Close to or more than 2 meters, anyway, the man, who was too big for Yu-jin to grasp, had something else in common with Winston.
Purple eyes.
This man has the same trait. Yu-jin was unknowingly nervous, but unexpectedly, he didn’t feel any scent from him. He must have deliberately eliminated his pheromones. Maybe Winston had told him in advance, or maybe it was out of courtesy to the client.
Courtesy to someone with that trait? It doesn’t suit him at all.
That wasn’t all. It was an unavoidable situation because of his height, but the way he looked down on Yu-jin was extremely arrogant. It was surprising that this man had come all the way here after listening to someone, he looked so arrogant. Seeing his cold face, as if he had never taken orders from anyone else in his life, made him feel bad for some reason. Yu-jin deliberately opened his mouth in a stiff tone.
“Hello, I’m Yu-jin Seol.”
He tried to create some distance to gain a favorable position in the conversation with him, but of course, it was just a ridiculous provocation to Nathaniel Miller. Instead of giving his first greeting, Nathaniel said this.
“I’ll skip the introduction since you know about me.”
And he nonchalantly added in front of Yu-jin, who gasped in bewilderment.
“Then let’s get straight to the point. I’m very busy.”
Yu-jin watched in disbelief as he sat down on the sofa first, and then belatedly sat down opposite him.
“I’m busy too…”
Nathaniel, who had lightly ignored Yu-jin’s words, took something out of his suit jacket pocket. He took out a small business card from his wallet and handed it over, adding.
“You can talk to this person about everything. He’ll write down everything you want.”
Yu-jin took his eyes off the business card on the table and looked at Nathaniel.
“Aren’t you going to handle it yourself…?”
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at him, who was flustered.
“I don’t handle such trivial matters, Mr. Campbell.”
A monotonous answer came back as if mocking him. Yu-jin felt embarrassed for no reason and blushed as he protested to him.
“Then why did you come all the way here in the first place? Weren’t you going to discuss the work you were assigned to?”
“My law firm’s lawyers are very busy, Mr. Campbell. Of course, so am I.”
Nathaniel continued to speak in a still cold but sarcastic tone.
“There’s no need to visit and talk about writing these kinds of documents. However, the client wanted to meet you in person to give you a sense of trust, so I came.”
It sounded like this was also part of the work he was assigned to. Feeling bad for no reason, Yu-jin asked sharply.
“If Winston paid that much money, shouldn’t you be the one in charge?”
When he pointed out with his chin raised, Nathaniel slowly raised one corner of his mouth.
“Money?”
At that moment, Yu-jin felt a chill run down his spine.