Episode 11
Suddenly, when the option came up for us to stay at the mansion, Ms. Eun-ah looked startled. Uncle Shin-jae calmly persuaded her.
“A-Yoon’s ranking status is unprecedented. Once she officially enters the ranking in three days, the attention she’ll receive will be overwhelming.”
He added that the government’s potential response would also be difficult to handle, so it would be safest for us to stay together at this house. After some hesitation, Ms. Eun-ah finally nodded.
“Then… what about me?”
“It would probably be best if you stayed close to A-Yoon, wouldn’t it?”
“Pardon?”
She seemed surprised.
“Wouldn’t it be too much trouble for you?”
“Mr. Jang Daewon used to live here as well. No one will think it strange if you stay, too.”
“…”
“Besides, someone needs to look after A-Yoon.”
After a moment of thought, Ms. Eun-ah nodded.
“All right. Thank you for being so considerate.”
And so, we safely moved into Uncle Shin-jae’s mansion in Seongbuk-dong.
According to Grandma Go-seong, the doors of the Seongbuk-dong mansion were practically always open.
She explained that key guild members often stayed for several days at a time without special notice.
“Other than live-in staff, the only one who stays permanently is probably Hwan.”
“The boss doesn’t treat this house as a private space, so there are always guests.”
“I see.”
“Most are from the Cheongcheon Guild, so you’ll have plenty of chances to meet them, Ms. Eun-ah. Now, here we are.”
Grandma Go-seong opened a door. Inside was a neatly arranged room.
“This will be your room, Ms. Eun-ah. I made sure it’s close to the infirmary.”
“Thank you.”
“And on the opposite side—A-Yoon?”
“Yesh!”
I raised my hand high out of habit as I answered. Back at the orphanage, there were so many kids that I had learned to respond this way to be noticed.
“Oh my, how adorable.”
Luckily, Grandma seemed to find it cute.
“Now, this is A-Yoon’s room.”
I froze.
“My room?”
Well, come to think of it, Ms. Eun-ah wasn’t my mom. Of course we couldn’t share a room.
But having a room to myself means… I’ll have to sleep alone.
Perhaps noticing my hesitation, Ms. Eun-ah gently stroked my back.
“A-Yoon, do you think you can sleep alone?”
After a short pause, I nodded vigorously.
“Mm-hm!”
Don’t bother Ms. Eun-ah too much.
“나 이제 떼 탈 언니야. 혼자 잘 뚜 이써!”
(“I’m a big girl now. I can sleep alone!”)
“Really?”
“It’s just across the hall, so if anything happens, you can come to me right away,” Grandma said.
“Mm-hm!”
I nodded bravely.
“For now, we’ve furnished it with Hwan’s old furniture from when he was a child. It’s not in great shape though—he was quite the handful back then.”
Just as she said, there were scratch marks and tiny bite marks all over the furniture. I figured Uncle Hwan must have had a bad teething phase.
[system] Your contractor is appalled—he calls this shabby room an insult.
[system] He’s ready to destroy it on the spot.
‘W-wait!’ I shouted inwardly.
‘No! If you touch the room, someone will notice!’
The Administrator grumbled, but Ms. Eun-ah asked, worried,
“A-Yoon, are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“Yesh!”
To prove I was fine, I ran to the bed and flopped face-first into it.
“친대 첨 가져 바요. 조아!”
(“It’s my first bed. I like it!”)
I giggled and rolled around proudly.
[system] Your contractor is displeased—he can’t believe you’re happy rolling around on that straw-heap of a thing.
“Oh dear, it’s not even that good…”
Grandma looked at me with pity.
At the time, I had no idea that this innocent conversation would lead to a certain incident later.
That night.
Uncle Shin-jae came home very late, and Uncle Hwan was nowhere to be seen.
The three of us—Grandma, Ms. Eun-ah, and I—ate dinner quietly and went to bed.
At first, Ms. Eun-ah stayed until I fell asleep, so I drifted off peacefully.
But the problem was…
“Uh-oh.”
…I woke up in the middle of the night.
And I couldn’t fall back asleep.
I pulled the blanket up to my chin, squeezed my eyes shut, and counted numbers, but it didn’t help.
Nervously, I glanced around the dark room. The furniture looked strange in the shadows, totally different from how it looked in the light.
In short—
“Scary…”
What should I do?
I hid under the blanket, the only thing that felt like protection.
I don’t want to wake Ms. Eun-ah…
And I couldn’t run to her room after boasting that I could sleep alone.
“Ah!”
Maybe, like before, Uncle Shin-jae or Uncle Hwan was around somewhere!
Good idea!
I got up quickly and reached out to grab my pillow.
Ms. Eun-ah had left the door slightly ajar, just in case I came during the night, so I slipped quietly into the hallway.
“Huh?”
The hallway looked different.
“Baldda.” (“Bright.”)
Unlike before, the corridor was softly lit, which eased my fear a little.
Thank goodness.
Still clutching my pillow, I started walking aimlessly.
Thus began my midnight adventure.
A living room I’ve never seen before!
A hallway that looks familiar but isn’t!
I wandered through the vast mansion for quite some time, but not a soul was in sight.
Even the softly lit hallway started to feel eerie.
“Mm… A-Yoon go back room…”
Mumbling to no one in particular, I hunched my shoulders and tried to find my way back.
But I must have gone too far. No matter how long I walked, my room didn’t appear.
“W-what do I do…?”
Just as tears began to form—
“Woof.”
“Hiiieeek!”
A sudden sound behind me made me jump.
But what stood before me wasn’t… a dog.
It was a huge, gray-furred creature with glowing eyes staring silently at me.
Then its fur bristled, and its form began to shift!
When it finished transforming, the figure standing before me was—
“Hw-Hwan Uncle?”
“…”
He shook his head slightly and muttered,
“Do you have a habit of wandering around at night?”
But I ignored him and threw my pillow aside, running to hug his leg.
“There you are!”
I thought, Where have you been?!
“I was looking for you forever!”
He stared down at me in disbelief.
“Why were you looking for me?”
“B-because…”
I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I’d been scared—it would hurt my twenty-six-year-old pride buried deep inside.
So I swallowed the truth and declared,
“Because I missed you!”
“You… missed me?”
“Mm-hm.”
I nodded solemnly and raised my arms confidently.
“Hug me.”
“…”
He hesitated, lips twitching slightly.
“What?”
“Didn’t you say I smelled like cigarettes?”
“I did?”
“You did.”
“I don’t remember… oh!”
I finally recalled the time I had coughed to avoid his hand.
After a moment’s thought, I nodded.
“That’s okay. Depending on the situation, I can put up with it.”
Proudly, I raised my arms again. Uncle Hwan considered for a moment, then seemed to decide it didn’t matter and lifted me up.
I snuggled into his chest triumphantly.
Now I’m not scared anymore.
Peace washed over me.
As I buried my face against his chest, he started walking somewhere.
“Where going?”
“Kitchen.”
“Uncle hungry?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded in understanding.
