Kiss the Scumbag

He had completely misunderstood the reason for Yu-jin’s agitation. But instead of correcting him, Yu-jin simply forced a weak smile and said, “Yeah.”

Standing in the cold air, he took a deep breath, and little by little, his mind cleared.

Get a grip. You’re already shaken just from hearing a name—how do you plan to handle what comes next?

Instead of slapping himself, he downed the rest of his water in one go. There was only one reason he had come back to this godforsaken place: to hear the contents of the will and get whatever money he could. That was it.

Winston Campbell no longer had anything to do with his life.

After taking one more deep breath, Yu-jin finally turned and walked back to the car.

“I’m sorry.”

When he apologized again for the delay, Brown smiled reassuringly and started the car. Angela, unable to hide her unease, looked up at him anxiously. This time, Yu-jin gave her a genuine smile.

“It’s really okay, Angie.”

There was no reason for it not to be. After all, he had the most precious daughter in the world.

***

By the time they arrived at the mansion, night had nearly fallen. Yu-jin stood still, gazing up at the grand estate towering against a dark sky filled with stars, his heart tangled in a web of emotions.

During the drive, as evening approached, Brown had taken them to a modest roadside diner for dinner. Yu-jin ordered grilled cod, while Angela had a cheeseburger from the kids’ menu, followed by strawberry ice cream. He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he knew better than to pass up a chance to eat when one presented itself. It was a lesson learned from harsh experience—one that had taught him the importance of stockpiling energy, especially when the future was uncertain. And one thing was crystal clear: whatever awaited him at the mansion, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

As Yu-jin forced down the cod, Brown devoured a large, perfectly grilled steak on his own. Once they finished, they got back in the car and drove for several more hours before finally reaching their destination.

With his sleeping daughter cradled in his arms, Yu-jin stepped out of the car and stood motionless, staring up at the mansion. Brown handed the car keys to a waiting servant before approaching him.

“Let’s head inside. I hope we’re not too late—most of them might already be asleep.”

Without hesitation, Brown strode up the front steps, and Yu-jin followed quietly. During the drive, he had learned that Brown had been recruited by McCoy’s law firm three years ago, having worked in another city before that. That meant he knew nothing about the events that had led to Yu-jin being cast out of the Campbell family. And, of course, McCoy and the rest of the family would never have told him.

They must have erased me from existence, as if I had never been here in the first place.

Yu-jin thought about it, but he didn’t feel particularly hurt. After all, he had erased them from his life just the same. They could have left the past buried forever, each going their separate ways. But now, he had no choice but to confront it again—because of Harold Campbell’s will.

What the hell was written in it?

The fact that McCoy had gone out of his way to track Yu-jin down and insist that skipping the funeral would be a loss for him meant that there had to be something in it to his benefit. And right now, he desperately needed something to go his way. At least, that was what he told himself. If not for that, there was no way in hell he would have come back to this place.

Not when he already knew exactly how he would be treated.

“Good evening, Mr. Brown.”

A butler crossed the grand hall and greeted the lawyer first. Though he had clearly seen Yu-jin standing behind Brown, he made no acknowledgment of his presence, as if he wasn’t there at all. Yu-jin watched the butler’s performance with an impassive expression. If he could have, the man would have simply turned around and walked away, pretending he hadn’t seen anything. But that, of course, was impossible—because there was a third party in this situation who had no idea what was going on.

“Kane, this is Seol Yu-jin, whom I spoke to you about over the phone. Yu-jin, this is Kane, the Campbell family’s butler. He’s been with them for a long time. Do you know each other?”

“Of course.”

After exchanging a few perfunctory words, the lawyer formally introduced Yu-jin to the butler. But before Kane could respond, Yu-jin spoke first.

“You were already the butler when I was here. It’s been a while, Kane. I see you’re still alive.”

He added the remark with a smirk, as if joking, but Brown was the only one who laughed. Of course. Because it wasn’t a joke. Kane remained as expressionless as a mask, his face betraying nothing. Yu-jin, too, dropped his smile and met his gaze head-on. Brown, who had been chuckling, finally picked up on the strange tension between them and looked between the two in confusion. Sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere, he hurriedly changed the subject.

“I’ll be on my way, then. Kane, I’ll leave things to you. Goodnight.”

Brown offered a brief nod to both of them before quickly turning and making his exit. Typical lawyer—sharp instincts. Yu-jin kept his eyes on Kane.

He hadn’t changed much since the last time Yu-jin had seen him. Back then, he had been unwavering in his devotion to Harold Campbell. Now that Harold was gone, it wasn’t hard to guess where his loyalty lay. It was only natural that he would treat Yu-jin with cold indifference—he was simply following his master’s will.

“Where is my room? I need to put my daughter to bed.”

Yu-jin asked plainly, looking him straight in the eye. He was only here because of the will. He would be gone soon enough—so there was no need for Kane to worry. A part of him smirked inwardly at the thought.

The butler cast a brief glance at the sleeping child in Yu-jin’s arms before shifting his gaze back to him.

“This way.”

Without another word, he turned and walked ahead. Yu-jin silently followed, holding Angela close. His arms were starting to go numb, but the warmth and weight of his daughter filled him with an unshakable sense of strength and purpose.

It was just the two of them. Always had been, always would be.

Kane led them to a side door at the end of the hall and began ascending a spiral staircase. As they climbed, the exhaustion in Yu-jin’s body became overwhelming, but he kept moving without complaint.

In the past, he hadn’t even been allowed near the mansion, let alone inside it. His view had always been limited to the grand, opulent exterior and the occasional stolen glimpses through open doors and windows.

Not that anything had really changed.

Even now, walking inside these walls felt surreal, yet at the same time, everything was just as he had expected.

The mansion had a grand, open central staircase, and there was even an elevator on one side. But Kane had deliberately chosen to lead him up a different staircase—one narrow and steep, walled in with no windows, as if it had been hidden away.

A servant’s passage.

It was obvious that they had no intention of treating him as a guest.

There was a time when that thought alone would have been enough to make him cry. But not anymore.

Now, all he felt was mild indifference and the overwhelming desire to rest with his daughter.

When Kane finally unlocked a door, Yu-jin let out an involuntary sigh of relief. As he followed the butler inside, the mansion remained eerily silent.

The only sounds were their own footsteps echoing through the halls.

It felt like they had been walking through that long, empty corridor forever when, at last—

Kane stopped in front of a door. Yu-jin nearly let out a weary sigh but quickly pulled himself together as the butler retrieved a ring of keys from his pocket. Selecting one, Kane inserted it into the keyhole, turned it, and twisted the handle to open the door. Without hesitation, Yu-jin stepped inside, still holding Angela close.

The room was… not what he had expected.

Unlike the grand, antique aesthetic of the century-old mansion, this space looked hastily arranged—cramped and devoid of decoration, with only a single piece of furniture. A narrow bed, barely a single, was pushed up against one wall, as if placed there as an afterthought.

The message was clear.

Their contempt for him was written in every detail of this arrangement, but Yu-jin remained unfazed. If this was their way of trying to humiliate him, it was a pathetic effort.

He and Angela had always shared a tiny bed, falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. This changed nothing.