Kiss the Scumbag

“Do you need anything?”

The maid’s voice was as stiff as ever. With no other choice, Yu-jin stepped back and muttered, “No.” As the door closed, his face twisted in frustration. At this rate, seeing his daughter was impossible. The maid stood her ground, looking ready to guard the door all night.

He didn’t know whether the order came from the butler or Mrs. Campbell, but the intent was clear.

“Damn it!”

Yu-jin cursed under his breath. If Angela had been there, she would have widened her eyes in shock—but if he were with his daughter, he wouldn’t have needed to curse in the first place.

Every instinct told him to rush over and stay by her side, but his feet wouldn’t move. Maybe that was exactly what they wanted. Biting his nails anxiously, he paced back and forth. If they found any excuse to throw him out of the mansion, things would only get worse. He knew he had only one option.

A memory he had fought to forget resurfaced, sending tremors through his body. The people who had scorned him, the hands that had grabbed his limbs and dragged him out of the mansion, tossing him aside like garbage. And those eyes—those violet eyes, darkened with pure hatred and contempt.

The memory was so vivid, it felt as if it had happened just yesterday. Startled, Yu-jin squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to push down the fear clawing its way up his throat.

Just do as they say.

Rage simmered beneath his skin at his own helplessness, but reality was cruel. Any fleeting sense of victory he had felt earlier had completely vanished.

I knew it…

The crushing weight of despair nearly overtook him, but he shook his head violently. Snap out of it. Now is not the time to fall apart. Scolding himself, he clenched his fists and forced his mind to focus on Angela’s face.

I’ll see her in the morning.

The only tricks they had left were these petty games. In the end, they wanted him—not Angela. They wouldn’t dare harm her.

Repeating those words in his head like a mantra, Yu-jin turned away. Only then did he finally take in his surroundings, his steps faltering at the sight before him.

The room was massive and extravagant—nothing like the one he had left his daughter in. The sheer size of the connected sitting area made it larger than the entire house he and Angela had lived in. The ceiling stretched so high that he had to crane his neck to see it. Enormous framed paintings by renowned artists adorned the walls, and through a set of towering glass doors, he could see a spacious terrace with marble flooring. A round table and chairs were arranged neatly outside, perfectly positioned to enjoy tea while taking in the view of the estate and the wide-open landscape beyond.

The sheer luxury of it all left him dumbfounded. Was this deliberate? Was it meant to make him feel guilty? His daughter was stuck in a shabby little room, yet they had given him a suite fit for royalty.

If that was their goal, then this time, they had succeeded. No matter how many insults had been thrown his way, they had never truly hurt him. But when it came to his daughter—this was different.

For the first time since returning to Delight, Yu-jin felt a wound cut deep.

A weary sigh slipped from his lips as he stood frozen for a moment before finally stepping forward. He opened the glass door and stepped onto the terrace, his gaze sweeping over the breathtaking scenery.

How wonderful would it be to have breakfast here with Angela?

Lost in a fleeting moment of happiness, Yu-jin found himself overwhelmed with longing and guilt for his daughter. He stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head. They would be leaving soon. There was no time for such ridiculous fantasies. He had to stay sharp—he had no way of predicting what kind of spectacle they had prepared for him next.

His expression hardened as he hurriedly undressed. First, he needed rest. At dawn, he would demand to be taken to Angie’s room. And he would never be separated from his daughter again.

He couldn’t afford to let his guard down until the will was officially disclosed.

Strengthening his resolve, he stepped into the adjoining bathroom. Just like the bedroom, the sheer size of it made his shoulders tense involuntarily. The vast space, entirely covered in marble, carried a crisp chill that seeped into his skin. He quickly turned on the shower.

Adjusting the water to the right temperature, he finally felt some of the tension in his body ease. The comfort of the luxurious bathroom was undeniable. He scrubbed himself down, washing his hair thoroughly before pulling on the bathrobe hanging nearby. It was absurdly large, forcing him to fold the sleeves multiple times, but the fabric was undeniably soft. After briefly running a dryer through his damp hair, he stepped back into the bedroom.

Oh.

That was when he realized—he had no change of clothes.

He had left all his belongings in Angela’s room. It was his own oversight, but only because he had assumed he would be returning there. A careless miscalculation. If they had intended for him to stay here from the start, they should have had his things moved. But, of course, such considerations were reserved for welcomed guests. That was the standard of the Campbell family. There was no way the butler or the staff would extend such courtesy to him.

Still, calling for someone to fetch his luggage wasn’t an option.

He briefly considered putting on the clothes he had been wearing all day, but just thinking about slipping back into the dust-covered fabric after a fresh shower made him recoil.

There’s no helping it.

Someone was bound to wake him in the morning. He would bring it up then and have his things retrieved. As soon as he got dressed, he would go straight to Angie. The fact that he wasn’t even wearing underwear made him a little uneasy, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. With a resigned sigh, he climbed onto the bed, still wrapped in nothing but the oversized robe.

The moment his body sank into the plush sheets, a soft gasp escaped his lips. The mattress and bedding were far more comfortable than he had imagined. He clumsily crawled toward the center of the massive bed before finally settling down, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief.

As the breath left his lips, silence instantly swallowed the room.

Not even the faintest sound of wind reached his ears. The eerie stillness sent a shiver down his spine. Keeping his eyes shut, he focused on steadying his breathing. Even the sound of his own breaths felt too loud, so he deliberately slowed them, drawing them out as softly as possible.

Between his concerns for Angela and the anxiety weighing on him, he thought he would struggle to fall asleep. But unexpectedly, before he even realized it—he slipped into a deep slumber.

***

In his dream, he lay in bed.

So did the man beside him.

Like Yu-jin, the man was also naked.

The two of them lay facing each other on the enormous bed, still dazed from the world they had just experienced together. Yu-jin’s cheeks were flushed, his breath coming in uneven gasps. The man, his own breathing still ragged, studied Yu-jin’s face before finally asking, “Did it hurt?”

“No,” Yu-jin answered.

“Liar.”

The man chuckled despite Yu-jin’s response. Yu-jin found himself laughing along with him.

“…It hurt a little,” Yu-jin admitted in a small voice.

At that, the man furrowed his brows and gently caressed Yu-jin’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I was stupid… too big for you.”

“It’s okay.” Yu-jin quietly wrapped his fingers around the man’s large hand, just as big as the rest of him, and whispered, “I just need to get used to it.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized what he had just said. Both of them widened their eyes in shock, but their reactions couldn’t have been more different. Yu-jin’s face flushed a deep red, while the man burst into laughter.

Flustered, Yu-jin tried to slip out of bed, but before he could escape, the man’s arms wrapped around him from behind. Thick, muscular arms pulled him close, trapping him in a firm embrace.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the man murmured, pressing a kiss to Yu-jin’s bare shoulder, his voice still tinged with amusement.

“…You’re mine now.”

Yu-jin whispered back, “And you’re mine.”

“Yeah,” the man said with a smile. “I’m yours. I always have been. And I always will be—forever.”

Their lips met again. As the man’s weight shifted over him once more, Yu-jin welcomed him with open arms, holding him close. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a quiet thought surfaced—before or after this moment, there would never be another time in his life when he felt this perfectly, completely fulfilled.

“I love you,” Yu-jin whispered.

The man tilted his head, smiling, and as their lips met again, he murmured—

“My—”

Click.

The heavy sound of metal snapped Yu-jin’s consciousness awake. His brow instinctively furrowed before his entire body went rigid.

A suffocating pressure filled the air, pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. Motionless, he slowly opened his eyes. The only sound in the room was his own frightened breathing.

The dark space was bathed in pale moonlight filtering through the massive window.

The sweet dream was gone, violently ripped away—replaced by the terrifying weight of reality.

And there was only one thing that remained unchanged.

The massive body looming over him.

With the moonlight at his back, the man’s face was shrouded in shadow, making his features hard to discern. But Yu-jin didn’t need to see him clearly. He knew. With the same certainty as the cold gun pressed against his temple.

He knew exactly who this man was.

And he now understood the sound that had woken him.

The man had cocked the gun.

The barrel rested against his temple, cold as death, and a voice—low, syrupy-sweet—whispered into his ear:

“Welcome back, darling.”

Winston Campbell.

His violet eyes gleamed in the darkness.

Yu-jin’s own eyes widened in pure, stark terror as he stared at the man he had once loved with all his heart.