Chapter 06
After spending a night in an unfamiliar place, morning came.
Perhaps because Seokwoo had given instructions, Yerim was taken to kindergarten in the butler’s car.
“Bye, Mom~ I’m going in a big car!”
“Y-yes. Our Yerim, fighting today too.”
“Okay! See you later, Mom.”
Yerim waved her hand and left the house, and the garage door closed tightly behind her.
Whooo—
A cold wind blew, giving the place a slightly eerie feeling.
As Heeyeon headed up the stairs, she heard some women chatting.
“Ugh, I feel so relieved now that that bitch Aeri got kicked out.”
“You too? Same here.”
“Now that she’s gone, wouldn’t it be great if the boss called me whenever he gets lonely?”
“Hey, wake up from your dream. The boss has ridiculously high standards. Didn’t you see how he didn’t even blink when Aeri threw herself at him naked?”
“If it were Director Cha, he’d have jumped at the chance already.”
“Pfft.”
Again, they were talking about that woman.
From the way they said she had thrown herself at him naked, she must have liked Kang Seokwoo.
But didn’t Seokwoo already have a lover?
Of course, that lover probably didn’t live in the same house, but these women seemed unaware that he had one.
Whatever.
Why should I care?
Heeyeon shook her head.
She took out her phone and checked for missed calls, but there was nothing.
His voice had sounded urgent…
Was he hurt?
Where had he been hurt?
She couldn’t stop herself from hoping that he was safe.
As Heeyeon walked past them, the women glared at her.
“She looks so annoying.”
“Seriously, why did they bring someone like that here and make her the boss’s personal keeper? There are plenty of other keepers.”
“Probably because she’s a woman who won’t have any feelings for him. She’s a mom, after all.”
Heeyeon turned her head sharply when she heard them bad-mouthing her.
The women quickly pretended not to notice and dispersed.
“Honestly…”
Hoo…
After sighing, she headed up to Seokwoo’s room.
Since Seokwoo had returned late last night, cleaning today started at 10 a.m.
When she entered the room, she heard the sound of the shower running.
The bed sheets were completely messy.
Looking at the tangled sheets, it felt like someone had been called over last night. Even though she hadn’t seen anything directly, that was the impression she got.
Some tissues were scattered here and there, looking almost like condoms. Somehow it even felt like there was the smell of a man’s semen in the air.
Was he angry because his lover had run away?
Maybe he called women over every night.
Could he not live a single day without a woman?
Then again, maybe his nights were different from the perfectly composed man he appeared to be during the day.
But what did it matter to her?
Heeyeon started by picking up the tissues from the floor and throwing them into the trash.
While she was sweeping and wiping the floor, she noticed that the sound of the shower had stopped.
“…!”
She glanced over—and suddenly met his eyes.
Under the bathrobe that reached below his knees, he was clearly naked. His still-damp hair gave off a strangely decadent aura.
“It smells a bit like perfume, doesn’t it?”
“N-no.”
The words she had been secretly curious about slipped out, making her ears burn with embarrassment.
“You were looking at it like it was dirty.”
“That’s not true.”
“Really?”
“Enjoy yourself as much as you want. I’ll make sure the bed is perfectly clean.”
“…”
When he didn’t respond, she turned her head—and realized he was staring straight at her.
Something felt strange.
That sharp gaze looked like a beast staring at its prey.
Was it because their conversation had turned to his sex life?
Suddenly she became very aware of him.
It would be nice if he moved aside while she cleaned, but instead he kept watching her like that.
Even though he had already cloned her phone…
It felt suffocating and uncomfortable.
“Aren’t you going to work?”
“I will.”
“Then I’ll prepare your suit.”
“Match the color of the underwear too.”
“…!”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
“No!”
Heeyeon hurried into the dressing room to prepare the suit he would wear.
Matching underwear colors… what kind of thing was that?
Maybe it was just his style.
She opened the drawer and laid out his underwear.
Stretch drawers the size of her palm.
Would that even cover anything?
The piece of cloth looked ridiculously small.
Suddenly, Heeyeon imagined Seokwoo wearing them.
Underwear hanging low on his muscular waist… the dip of his hip bone looking se—
“…!”
Have you gone crazy?
So Heeyeon, what kind of nonsense are you imagining right now?
She hurriedly looked around.
This was the dressing room—Seokwoo wouldn’t see her—but her face was burning hot.
After laying out the suit, underwear, and tie he would wear, she left the dressing room.
At that moment, Seokwoo came in quickly and almost collided with her.
“Ah…”
Without thinking, Heeyeon reached out toward him.
At the same time, he grabbed her waist.
Thud.
They both extended their hands, stopping just inches apart.
When Seokwoo frowned slightly, Heeyeon trembled and quickly pulled her hand away.
“Do you want to fall into my arms?”
“S-sorry.”
Heeyeon hurried out of the room as if running away.
Thump—thump—thump—
Her heart pounded from the tension.
When their hands touched for that brief moment, it felt like a spark of electricity had run through her.
The tingling sensation shocked her.
It’s just static.
Because it’s dry.
Heeyeon tied up her hair tightly and grabbed the vacuum cleaner before going downstairs.
Behind her, a gaze followed.
Seokwoo’s expression twisted sharply.
The place Seokwoo went to afterward was where Pilmo’s last trace had been found.
Deep in the forest, among the dense trees, there were spots of blood on the branches.
“The blood trail ends here.”
“He must have realized I was tracking him.”
“Then he’ll hide even deeper.”
Seokwoo scanned the surrounding forest.
Judging by how much blood had been spilled, Pilmo had probably failed to stop the bleeding.
“I hope he didn’t end up as food for some wild animal…”
Before the chairman was released, Seokwoo had to return Jung Se-ah and Pilmo to their proper places.
But the trail kept disappearing.
The guy seemed perfectly suited for running away.
He must have made thorough plans beforehand. If he fled carelessly, he’d leave a trail.
“Fine. Keep running.”
“I’m holding the things you cherish most in my hands.”
Three days had passed since Heeyeon had unwillingly become a keeper.
She needed information.
Only then could she help Pilmo even a little.
After Seokwoo went to work, Heeyeon cleaned different sections of the house with the other keepers.
One keeper who had disliked her from the beginning glared at her.
“You need to do that side too. Over there as well.”
“Go on, do it.”
“Hurry up. The boss hates dirty things.”
“Alright.”
The butler mostly focused on managing the estate, so the cleaning supervisor was that woman.
Heeyeon wrung out a rag and carefully wiped each step of the staircase.
The cleaning area was enormous. For a mansion over 3000 square feet, there were surprisingly few resident keepers.
After cleaning for nearly three hours, it was finally break time.
A familiar face waved at her.
It was Mina, another keeper—the only one who had been friendly toward Heeyeon.
“Those older sisters are scary. Don’t make them hate you for no reason. Even among us, there’s a hierarchy.”
“What hierarchy? We’re all in the same situation.”
“Even if we do the same work, our circumstances are different. Actually, I was sold here because of my dad’s debt. I only worked at a bar for one month.”
“Ah…”
“If you don’t know something, ask me. You’re twenty-six, right? We’re the same age. It would be nice if we became friends.”
“Should we?”
“That’s great! The older ones used to bully me. I’m happy I finally have a friend.”
Mina looked delighted like a child.
Everyone else seemed busy hating her, so Heeyeon was also glad to have someone to talk to.
She decided to get closer to Mina and gather information about this place.
The mansion actually consisted of two buildings. The other keepers were responsible for the opposite building.
“What’s that building over there?”
“Oh, that’s the main residence where the chairman lives.”
“…What?”
“You didn’t know? This is the house of the JM Capital chairman.”
“…!”
Heeyeon was shocked.
This place wasn’t Seokwoo’s house.
It belonged to the chairman of JM Capital.
“Surprised? Gangsters still come and go here. They’re almost at the level of a quasi-chaebol now, yet they still do this kind of work.”
“It must be profitable. After all, they originally came from the private loan market.”
“Exactly. Everyone working here is a debtor too. Since they can’t repay their debts, they work them off with their bodies. They sign secret contracts… but honestly, it’s better than selling my body at a bar.”
“…”
“But it must be even better for you, Heeyeon.”
“Why?”
“You’ll probably end up doing that kind of thing with the boss anyway.”
