By Zephyria Yu-jin blinked blankly. What had he just heard? It felt so unreal that he doubted his own ears. Winston, looking perplexed at Yu-jin, who was just staring at him dumbly, opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry for bringing this up so suddenly, but this is the best way.”
“W-wait, wait a minute.”
Yu-jin hurriedly raised his hand to stop Winston and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again, asking as if squeezing the words out.
“What are you talking about? An interview? A family interview? All three of us, including Angie?”
“Yes.”
Winston readily answered the rambling questions.
“We need to provide a different story to replace my mother’s article. That way, they won’t think of anything else.”
Unlike Yu-jin, who was at a loss for words, Winston rattled on. Of course, he would, he must have come here intending to persuade me from the start.
But Yu-jin wasn’t inclined to nod easily. He quickly crossed his arms and adopted a defensive posture, taking a deep breath before speaking.
“It doesn’t have to be that kind of article. Aren’t there any other stories?”
He raised his chin as if challenging him, but the response he received was cold.
“Then you think about it, what could be as sensational as a scandal between you and my father?”
At those words, Yu-jin felt like he couldn’t breathe. He let out a stifled breath and said, as if demanding an answer.
“You should be the one thinking about that.”
“This is the method I came up with. If you don’t like it, you can think of something else.”
This time, Winston didn’t back down easily either. From his reaction, Yu-jin could tell that there really was no other way.
“Ah…”
Letting out a deep sigh, Yu-jin slumped into the chair. He leaned his elbows on the table, rested his forehead on his hands, and fell silent. Winston waited quietly for him to make a decision. After a period of silence, Yu-jin finally lowered his hands below the table.
“Okay, then.”
Winston felt not relief but guilt at his dejected voice, which clearly showed his disappointment.
“I’m sorry.”
At Winston’s low voice, Yu-jin raised his eyes and stared at his face. But Winston avoided his gaze and continued as if muttering to himself.
“I should have taken action sooner, but it’s too late. Once this is over, nothing like this will happen again.”
And he murmured softly.
“It’ll be over soon.”
Taken action? How?
What does he mean by ‘it’ll be over’?
Yu-jin wanted to ask, but he forcibly swallowed the questions. He felt like once he heard the answers, there would be no turning back. Of course, that was the last thing Yu-jin wanted. All he wanted was to quietly leave this house with Angie and never be involved with the Campbell family again.
Including Winston.
He ignored the prickling sensation in the corner of his heart.
“So, what are you going to do?”
Feigning ignorance, he asked, and Winston slowly began to speak.
“We need Grant’s consent.”
“Grant?”
Surprised by the unexpected name, Yu-jin couldn’t help but raise his voice, and Winston replied briefly, “Yes.” As he listened to Winston’s explanation, Yu-jin couldn’t close his widened eyes and continued to be surprised.
* * *
“Huh? What did you say?”
Grant, who had answered the phone, asked in a flustered voice, raising his voice. Yu-jin felt embarrassed for no reason and cleared his throat, trying to compose himself.
“Um, I mean, I’m planning to do a family interview, and I was wondering if it would be okay to reveal that I’m the author there. Of ‘Children of November’.”
He was still very embarrassed to call himself an author. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words, and his ears turned red as soon as he managed to utter them. He fanned his flushed face with his hand, and Grant’s reply came from the other end.
“Oh, of course. That would be great, why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
He continued, his face brightening.
“First, it would be good to let people know about Yu-jin like that and see the reaction. And if there’s a favorable response, we can hold a book signing and a reading session then. We should prepare for the event in advance. What’s the interview schedule?”
Yu-jin was flustered by his much more enthusiastic attitude than he had expected, but on the other hand, he felt relieved. Since Grant was reacting like this, this method must be a pretty good idea. After roughly finishing the conversation, Yu-jin hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and immediately pressed the button on his cell phone again.
“I talked to Grant.”
Yu-jin spoke quickly to the answer that came out almost immediately, even before it had rung a few times. There was a brief pause before the other side replied.
“Okay, good job.”
Yu-jin’s heart fluttered at Winston’s gentle voice, as if praising a child. It felt like he had gone back to his childhood. The boy who always came to see him on horseback. And himself, lingering by the window, waiting for him to arrive. How happy he was when he finally saw the boy in the distance.
“Yu-jin?”
Yu-jin snapped back to reality at the voice calling his name. Realizing that he had been lost in memories inappropriately, he hurriedly cleared his throat.
“Grant wants to know the interview schedule. He said he’s going to plan an event around it.”
“An event?”
“Yeah.”
Yu-jin continued obediently.
“He’s going to do various events right away if the public reaction is good. Nothing’s been decided yet. He said he’s going to have a meeting…”
“I see.”
Winston, who had readily spoken, seemed to hesitate for a moment. What was he going to say? He suddenly wondered, but unexpectedly, he felt more curiosity than anxiety. Why? Just as he was bewildered by his own change, Winston spoke.
“If there’s anything you need, just tell me.”
“Um… Okay.”
Yu-jin answered absentmindedly and hurriedly added.
“There won’t be anything like that.”
He deliberately spoke coldly and brusquely, but unexpectedly, Winston’s reaction was completely different from what he had expected. Startled by the brief sound of laughter, Yu-jin heard him say in a gentle voice.
“Of course, I thought so.”
It didn’t feel like sarcasm, but genuine. As if to confirm that thought, Winston continued.
“Because you’re capable enough to do well without my help.”
“Oh…”Yu-jin could only let out another ambiguous exclamation. He couldn’t believe that Winston was so readily offering him words of encouragement. Moreover, he added, as if to reassure Yu-jin,
“It’ll be over soon.”
“Oh… okay.”
After answering absentmindedly, he suddenly felt strange. Hadn’t Winston said the same thing yesterday?
What’s going to be over?
“I sent you a document.”
He tried to ask this time, but missed the timing. Winston, who had spoken before Yu-jin could, continued to explain.
“The secretary took it, so read it and sign it. It’s a document about Angie.”
“What kind of document is it?”
Flustered, Yu-jin swallowed what he was going to ask and said something else instead. Winston replied in a calm voice.
“It’s nothing much. I just created a Trust Fund for Angie.”
“A Trust Fund?”
“Yes.”
Winston continued in a composed tone.
“This is my personal property. It has nothing to do with the Campbell family or my father’s inheritance. So it’s safe no matter what.”
“I don’t need it.”
Yu-jin refused immediately.
“What I earn is enough. It’s not abundant, but I don’t need to accept your help to that extent…”
“Yu-jin, please.”
Yu-jin was surprised by the unbelievable word and stopped speaking. But it didn’t end there. Winston continued to speak, in a pleading, earnest tone.
“Give me a chance to do something for my daughter.”
Hearing those words, he had nothing more to say. Winston had even given up the chance to tell Angela that he was her father. But to prevent him from even making a token of his feelings seemed too cruel. Inevitably, Yu-jin had no choice but to accept his words.
“Okay.”
As he spoke in a subdued voice, another surprising word came back.
“Thank you.”
Yu-jin couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth. Noticing that something was wrong, Winston asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“No…”
Yu-jin hesitated before answering.
“I’m just not used to you constantly saying thank you and sorry to me.”
Once again, Winston let out a short laugh, but this time it sounded somewhat self-deprecating.
“I should have done it more often.”
He muttered quietly before concluding.
“Then I’ll proceed with the interview like that. I have a schedule, so I’ll be going now…”
“Oh, okay.”
Yu-jin nodded hastily.
“See you later. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Winston repeated the same greeting and hung up the phone. Yu-jin was momentarily dazed by the sudden silence. He had been talking to Winston just a moment ago, but suddenly the world had sunk into silence. Yu-jin sat there and stealthily gripped his phone. He waited with bated breath, but the phone didn’t ring again.