KISS THE SCUMBAG Chapter 34

There was only one way to escape this situation quickly: to docilely finish the “duty” as instructed.

Yujin forced a smile and exchanged greetings.

“Hello, thank you for coming. It’s a pleasure to meet you…”

Why do I have to do this?

Inwardly, everything was completely incomprehensible. Everyone here—no, likely the entire population of North America—probably knew they weren’t a genuine couple. So why must they perform this show?

As he let people’s words drift in one ear and out the other, feeling pathetic about himself, Mrs. Campbell suddenly cut into the conversation.

“Winston, look who’s here. My heavens, how long has it been?”

Yujin turned his head reflexively at her unusually high-pitched voice, which was unlike her typically cool-headed self, and instantly froze. The tall woman standing side-by-side with Mrs. Campbell was definitely a face he had seen before. How could he ever forget it? The memory of that day when he had fallen to the very bottom.

Winston, who had turned his head along with him, showed no particular reaction. He just let out a short exclamation of “Ah,” and called her name.

“Evelyn.”

“Hello, Winston. It’s been a long time.”

With thick, dark hair and healthy, sun-kissed skin, she flashed a beautiful smile, fluttering her long eyelashes. From head to toe, the woman was so elegant that anyone could tell she was from a good family. It even made Yujin wonder if she shouldn’t be the one standing next to Winston right now—not him.

In fact, that had been the case.

When he felt a forgotten wound suddenly ache, Winston opened his mouth.

“Introduce yourself. This is Evelyn Bennett, a long-time acquaintance of mine and a friend of my mother’s.”

Mrs. Campbell looked momentarily flustered at the addition, but she quickly put on a smile as if nothing were wrong.

“You joke too much, Winston. Evelyn is… with you…”

“This is my partner who married me today. Yujin Campbell.”

Winston ignored Mrs. Campbell and introduced Yujin as he pleased. He tightened his arm around Yujin’s waist, pulling him close, and smiled. He had the feeling that the surroundings had gone silent. However, the atmosphere didn’t feel uncomfortable because of it.

Of course it wouldn’t. There could be no more interesting spectacle than this.

Yujin chewed on his thoughts.

Who wouldn’t be entertained to see a former fiancée and a current partner in the same place?

Both Mrs. Campbell and Evelyn stood there with expressionless faces. Winston was the only one smiling.

I thought this was just a contract.

The future, which he had imagined would be easy and simple, was flowing in a completely different direction than expected. He suddenly wanted to turn his back and run away, but it was impossible due to Winston’s arm, which was holding his waist firmly.

What do I do?

Yujin couldn’t hide his bewilderment and lowered his gaze. He began to fear the things to come.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Caine!”

As he called the name loudly, the butler, who had seemed to be giving instructions to other employees, turned around. Yujin, who had rushed over, skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

“Where is Angie? Where is she now?”

To his urgent question, Caine moved with his usual demeanor. Yujin had managed to escape the scene with the excuse that he needed to change his clothes for the reception. Since many people had moved to the main hall where the reception was being held, there were few people left. Having found Caine not long after, Yujin could not suppress his impatience and hurried after him.

Thanks to the reception already underway, all the doors surrounding the hall were opened, and the space connecting the garden was completely wide open. The grand mansion, designed to allow one to comfortably move between the indoors and outdoors, was Harold’s pride.

Yujin, passing people dancing to the music in the hall, followed Caine and climbed the stairs hurriedly.

This is the central staircase.

It was his first time using it. Yujin looked back fleetingly, feeling a bit dazed. Smaller chandeliers, hanging at regular intervals around the magnificent, massive chandelier in the center, came into view. Below them, the smooth marble walls and floors glimmered with a subtle glow as they caught the light. He couldn’t help but admire the huge paintings on the side and the ornate decorations visible only when ascending the central staircase. Yujin, who realized just how beautiful the Delight mansion was, soon pulled himself together and hurried his pace, which had momentarily slowed.

Let’s look around slowly with Angie later.

For some reason, he felt like he could do that now. As if he wouldn’t have to busily run around the servants’ stairs anymore.

“Here we are.”

The butler, who had stopped first, spoke to Yujin and opened the door by turning the handle. Yujin, panting heavily, dashed inside.

“Angie!”

“Daddy!”

As soon as he discovered his daughter playing alone in the reception room, he beamed and pulled the child into a hug. Angela also expressed her joy by hugging Yujin back and immediately began to chatter away.

“Daddy, Daddy. You know, I ate crayfish. It’s this big. It’s super chubby. Shrimp is only this big, you know…”

Seeing his daughter stretching out both arms wide as she compared it to the frozen cocktail shrimp he had occasionally bought when he made a rare effort, his chest swelled with adoration.

“And what else? What did you eat?”

“Cookies, chocolate, and juice…”

The foods the child listed on her fingers were things that they could never have dreamed of.

“It sounds like you really liked it, Angie.”

“Yeah. I want to eat it every single day.”

Angela admitted it honestly. Because she was a child who usually didn’t easily voice her desires, considering their difficult circumstances, this reaction actually made Yujin happy.

“That’s a relief. Thank you so much, Caine.”

When he belatedly thanked the butler, he replied, “It is nothing.”

“I was just doing my job.”

His tone and expression remained blunt, but for this moment, Yujin thought he looked like the kindest, most gentle man in the world. After Yujin thanked him again and he replied with another “It is nothing,” the butler asked if there was anything else he needed before leaving the reception room. Yujin turned his attention back to the child and asked.

“You were bored being alone, right? What did you play?”

“I read fairy tales. Caine brought them for me.”

True to her words, several books were scattered on the floor. Yujin was moved by the butler’s consideration.

Maybe I’ve been misunderstanding that man all along.

Rationally, he knew. Caine was just doing his job. But at the time, Yujin had been through so many overlapping situations that he could never see his actions in a good light. His feelings toward Caine had been entirely negative, mixed with bad memories and a wounded heart, but that seemed to have been diluted to some extent this time.

Yujin gave a light kiss to his child’s soft cheek and set Angela down on the floor again. He had to go now. The wedding ceremony wasn’t over yet. Since the more important reception remained.

“Angie, do you want to go outside? It’ll be fun because the reception is starting now.”

Since there were people who had brought their own children, Angela might be able to make some friends. He hoped that Angela would have at least a few more happy memories, if only for today, but his daughter’s thoughts were different from Yujin’s.

“I’m okay, Daddy. I still have a lot of books I haven’t read yet.”

Angela proudly picked up a book and hugged it to her chest. Looking at the title, it was a fairy tale featuring animals the child liked. Yujin smiled and held out his hand.

“Should Daddy read them to you?”

“Yes!”

Yujin, who sat on the sofa hugging the child who had immediately brightened up, checked the cover of the fairy tale and opened the first page.

“In a village long ago, there lived an abandoned puppy…”

It didn’t sound good from the start. Yujin secretly flipped to the back to check the end. Just as his ominous premonition was so accurate, the ending was, as expected, not a happy one.

“Ahem.”

Yujin cleared his throat and began reading the first page again. He intended to make up the ending for this fairy tale, too. Into a happy story that would make the child happy.