KISS THE SCUMBAG Chapter 2

And so, he was returning. Naturally, no one was pleased. To have the scumbag they had barely managed to clear from their sight reappear—anyone would feel the same way. Georgina watched the adults, who didn’t even bother to hide their disgust, with interest, feigning ignorance while pretending to sip her black tea. With his daughter, still a teenager, present, George could not hold back his anger.

“Why on earth is that brat coming back? What is he hoping for!”

At those words, Jason, who had been drinking in a corner, giggled.

“He must be hoping for plenty. Now that the old man is gone, he’s probably looking to get his hands on a big share, right?”

“‘Old man.’ Watch your tongue, Jason.”

Mrs. Campbell coldly scolded her son and then continued in a calm, icy tone.

“Only Mr. McCoy, the lawyer, knows the contents of Harold’s will. And it was McCoy who contacted ‘him’.”

Mrs. Campbell, emphasizing the word “him,” closed her mouth. She seemed to be trying her best to avoid speaking Yujin’s name. As if even saying his name would lower her own dignity or potentially stain her with filth. However, it seemed only Georgina noticed this intent.

“There’s no need to treat a guy like that like a person, Mother! Where did that guy McCoy go? We need to come up with a countermeasure since the situation is like this!”

At Gordon’s shouting, Lady Catherine flapped her handkerchief instead of fanning herself and said,

“He must have gone to fetch him. It’s clear he doesn’t even intend to show his face here until the day the will is announced.”

Lady Catherine didn’t even want to consider him a human being. Georgina thought, Still, using the word ‘it’ is a bit much, but she pushed that thought aside as Gordon grew agitated again.

“Is that guy actually taking that bastard’s side? How dare he? How?”

“Mr. McCoy is the executor of the will, Gordon.”

Mrs. Campbell explained calmly once again. However, that only further fueled Gordon’s anger.

“Are you saying McCoy is bringing that guy all the way here right now? Really?”

“I told you, its name is in the will,” Lady Catherine pointed out.

Gordon shouted again at her, as she crinkled her entire face in an expression of hair-raising disgust.

“That’s exactly what doesn’t make any sense!”

His shouting echoed loudly through the living room. Unable to contain his anger, Gordon paced around the room and spat out harshly.

“Do you believe the story that he’s our relative? Don’t make me laugh; everyone knows that’s garbage Father made up! That guy has no relationship with our Campbell family, no rights whatsoever!”

Though everyone agreed with his heated exclamation, the reality was different. Mrs. Campbell spoke up.

“Regardless of what we think, if ‘it’s’ name is in Harold’s will, we must follow it.”

“Damn it!”

“Gordon, how can you use such vulgar language.”

At the cold reprimand, an oath immediately burst from Gordon’s lips. Lady Catherine’s eyes went round in shock, but her younger brother didn’t even pretend to listen. He grabbed his hair and messed it up violently, then tugged aggressively at his tightly knotted tie.

“We need to come up with some kind of measure! Are you all going to let that guy step foot in this house?”

“Calm down, Gordon. You need to be more rational.”

“Then why don’t you say something, Mother?” Gordon asked sarcastically. “If that guy returns to the estate, you’re the one in the most trouble, aren’t you? What are you going to do if Winston finds out about that?”

Suddenly, the atmosphere froze cold. Seeing Mrs. Campbell’s face turn expressionless like a mask, Georgina felt a chill run down her spine. Amidst the heavy tension, Lady Catherine, who had been watching the exchange between Mrs. Campbell and Gordon, interjected.

“Winston finding out about that… there’s no way that could happen. Regardless, let’s get rid of it as quickly as possible. Since Father is gone now, it has no excuse to cling to this place. We just need to check the contents of the will and send it out immediately. Everyone, watch what you say.”

“Jason, you’re the biggest problem,” Gordon said, shifting his target. “Be careful, and don’t make any mistakes because you’re wasted on drugs.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jason giggled, brought the entire liquor bottle to his lips, and gulped it down. Gordon, watching him with pity, said in a voice full of irritation,

“Why don’t we just shove that guy into a hospital? Just for the duration of Yujin’s stay.”

“That won’t do,” Mrs. Campbell said sharply. “It’s only been a month since Jason was discharged. Do you want to put your brother back in the hospital again?”

Gordon thought it was the best path for everyone, but he had no desire to argue with his mother. Even if Jason was a drug-addicted wretch, he was still a precious son to Mrs. Campbell—even if he was just a useless brother to him.

Georgina watched her uncle, who had gone silent, with interest. It was clear the adults were hiding something. Georgina was the only one in this house who didn’t even have a clue what it was. Having just turned 15, she couldn’t suppress her curiosity and jumped into the adults’ conversation.

“What is ‘that’?”

“Oh my!”

At the sudden voice, Lady Catherine screamed exaggeratedly and recoiled in shock. Mrs. Campbell also turned her head with rare abruptness, and both Gordon and the heavily intoxicated Jason opened their eyes wide in confusion. Everyone’s gaze focused on one spot at once.

“Georgina, how long have you been there?”

The embarrassment was plain on George’s face as he asked, not knowing what to do. Georgina watched her father’s reaction with interest and replied,

“Since an hour ago. More importantly, what is it? The thing Winston shouldn’t know about.”

“There is no such thing.”

Mrs. Campbell rose from her seat, speaking in a voice colder and sharper than usual. Being tall, she intentionally straightened her back and looked down at the still-seated Georgina in an overbearing manner.

“It is vulgar to hide and eavesdrop on conversations without a sound. And it is even more vulgar to spread things you’ve overheard elsewhere. Do you understand?”

Georgina noticed she was trying to silence her. Her rebellious spirit immediately rose, but she had no desire to cause trouble by blabbing everywhere. Above all, she didn’t have the courage to handle the aftermath.

She didn’t know the truth anyway.

Instead of meaningless rebellion, Georgina smiled, stood up, pulled one foot behind the other, and performed a small curtsy.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

As she spoke with as much sarcasm as she could muster as a form of defiance, Mrs. Campbell raised an eyebrow at noticing the meaning, but soon turned her head away. Judging that further eavesdropping was impossible, Georgina left the drawing room. As expected, the gathered adults didn’t say a word until she exited and closed the door.

Once in the hallway, Georgina headed toward the annex where Lady Catherine and George lived. She felt a lingering regret that she should have just sat quietly and listened more, but there was no doubt that Yujin would breathe new life into this boring mansion—whether for better or worse. The adults in this house are too set in their ways; they need a bit of ventilation. Georgina hummed a light tune as she thought this.

Meanwhile, Lady Catherine, who had stared at the closed door for a while, only opened her mouth after enough time had passed that she felt sufficiently safe.

“She’s still just a kid. She probably doesn’t even know what she heard.”

“Fifteen isn’t that young. That’s the age some get married, right? Even if they end up divorced just two years later.”

At Gordon’s words, Lady Catherine lifted her chin with a rare, menacing look on her face. George hurriedly stepped between the two, saying, “Let’s stop.”

“In any case, we will keep a close watch on Georgina, so don’t worry about that. Let’s focus on the matter immediately before us. The topic we should be discussing now is Yujin, not Georgina, isn’t it?”

That was the very reason they had gathered. Mrs. Campbell turned her head and spoke in her usual calm tone.