The next day, I moved into Baek Yihyeok’s house. Even without registering the marriage right away, it seemed he wanted to get me under his control early—to help me grow familiar with the household and prevent any other problems from arising.
From early in the morning, I rode the car that Baek Yihyeok’s personal secretary had sent to pick me up, and we drove for quite a while. Starting from our house on the far outskirts of Seoul, we headed toward what people called prime real estate, and that was where the car stopped.
Directly in front of us stood a wall so high I couldn’t even dream of climbing it, cleanly encircling the property. That wall alone was enough to tell me this was wealth beyond any comparison to the well-off households I’d once visited as a tutor.
A camera mounted on the wall blinked as if scanning the car, and the gate opened. The car glided smoothly inside.
“When you go in, there will be a staff member waiting. She will show you to your room and go over everything you need to know.”
“So Baek Yihyeok isn’t there right now?”
“The Executive Director is at work at this hour.”
So he does actually work. Given that arrogant bearing of his, I’d have expected him to just sit around smoking while leaving everything to his subordinates.
The car followed the ramp down into an underground parking garage that came into view the moment the gate opened. Looking now, it seemed this wasn’t the main entrance but a side or rear vehicle entrance.
This was a house where “moving in” felt like the wrong word—”making an entrance” would have been more fitting. Not a single skid mark on the floor of the underground parking garage. I’d seen plenty of wealthy people in my life, but a home like this was something else entirely.
Am I about to suddenly wake up or something? The situation had unfolded so rapidly that everything still felt unreal and disorienting.
“Wow…… who lives here?”
I asked the secretary, who had managed to park in a single clean motion. Baek Yihyeok’s personal secretary with the round glasses—he was the man who had been holding an umbrella over Baek Yihyeok the first day we met.
He pushed his glasses up out of habit and looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“This is the Executive Director’s private residence.”
So Baek Yihyeok lives here alone? In this enormous house?
I figured as much, but he really is something else.
I’d better give this everything I’ve got.
“Oh, I can get out on my own.”
The secretary had stepped out of the driver’s seat and was moving to open the rear door as though it were simply the done thing, so I hurried out of the car and closed the door myself. He gave me a brief look, then offered a piece of advice as he walked ahead.
“You’d do well to get used to it. It helps the Executive Director as well.”
“Oh, right. I’ll keep that in mind from now on.”
He means don’t do things that might make me look easy to push around in front of others.
But despite what I’d said, I lingered near the trunk. My few belongings had been loaded into it, and the secretary showed no sign of taking them out—he seemed about to walk away and leave them.
“The staff will bring your things later.”
I let the attachment drop from my expression and stared at the trunk, but there was no choice but to follow the secretary, who was waiting for me without budging an inch.
My belongings amounted to nothing more than two well-worn paper bags, but they weren’t worth earning more pointed looks over.
Following the secretary across the wide parking garage, nothing but the quiet echo of footsteps filled the space.
By the time the silence had become familiar, the secretary spoke.
“You’ll be living with the Executive Director from here on. Is there anything you’d like to know?”
“About Baek Yihyeok? Nothing in particular right now……?”
The secretary was quiet for a moment. Wondering if there was something I should know, I glanced at him—just as the elevator arrived. But even with the doors open, he didn’t get in.
“This may be somewhat presumptuous of me, but there is something I’d like to ask of you.”
His tone had softened considerably from a moment before. The elevator doors slid shut, having carried no one, and the motion-sensor lights in the parking garage flickered once.
“Please, go ahead.”
The atmosphere had taken on a strange weight, and all the chaebol dramas I’d watched over the years began flashing through my mind.
If he wants to ask a favor…… it’s got to be something like smuggling out confidential documents behind Baek Yihyeok’s back. Or reporting his every move. Or maybe……
“The Executive Director does not eat properly. And yet he takes a great deal of medication and also suffers from insomnia. What that means is that it wouldn’t be strange for his health to give out at any time.”
It wasn’t any of the answers I’d imagined. That Baek Yihyeok’s condition was such a mess was surprising enough, but the secretary relaying that fact so matter-of-factly felt oddly out of character. I’d taken him for something like a machine, but there was a faint trace of humanity in it.
“And so?”
“Would you be able to help the Executive Director eat at least one proper meal a day?”
An image of the difficult-seeming Baek Yihyeok flashed to mind. Come to think of it, the contract had said I was to do the cooking myself. But in a chaebol household like this, wasn’t there usually someone else handling things like cooking and cleaning?
“One million won per meal.”
“Of course I’ll do it.”
That’s literally what I signed on for. I snapped at the bait without hesitation and gave him an amiable smile.
“Should I help with the insomnia too?”
“That part is fine. He can sleep for a while if he takes his medication.”
“Oh, what a shame.”
“Pardon?”
“I said it must be really hard on Yihyeok.”
I switched course quickly. The secretary didn’t seem to notice, thankfully—he pushed his glasses up and pressed the elevator button.
“Then I’ll be leaving this in your hands.”
“It’s really nothing.”
A million won every time I feed him a meal? If I do well, I could make three million a day. It was a golden opportunity. I had to bite down on my lower lip again to hold back the grin trying to break through.
Please, don’t let this be a dream. Every step I’d taken since yesterday felt like stumbling over another nugget of gold—the whole thing still felt surreal.
“And there is something I have for you.”
I took a breath and stepped into the elevator. The secretary held something out to me.
A sleek black smartphone. The latest model.
“The Executive Director asked me to tell you this is his first gift to you.”
“Oh wow, I didn’t have one. Please tell him thank you.”
“Of course. And……”
He trailed off in a way that wasn’t quite like him. I glanced over, and he smiled—just barely, just enough to see.
“The Executive Director hopes you won’t save any other numbers.”
“……In case I cheat?”
“That wouldn’t be the reason.”
The elevator doors opened to reveal a clean white corridor. The secretary angled his shoulder slightly—a wordless indication for me to go first.
“The Executive Director’s personal number is already saved.”
“Right…… okay. Got it.”
He never said not to save other numbers in the contract. But besides my parents, I didn’t have anyone to save anyway, so it hardly mattered.
Stepping out of the elevator, the walls on both sides of the corridor were hung with paintings and decorative pieces whose value I couldn’t begin to guess.
“Wow……”
And this was still just the corridor—my mouth fell open anyway, and I was busy looking around in wide-eyed wonder.
This must be Baek Yihyeok’s taste. The atmosphere was restrained and orderly rather than excessive, which was unexpected. Going by that arrogant attitude of his, I’d have thought gilding the front gate would barely be enough.
I passed by the paintings and decorative pieces and looked up at the ceiling. The indirect lighting running along the ceiling of the corridor was soft and warm.
“Secretary Choi, it’s been a while.”
“Good day.”
At last the corridor ended and opened into a wide space. The corridor ceiling had already seemed high, but stepping out of it, the new ceiling soared so high I had to tilt my head all the way back just to see it. That there was even a third-floor button in the elevator with ceilings like these was remarkable in itself.
The space strongly evoked a hotel lounge. It was far more private, with only a modest sofa in what felt more like a lobby, but the resemblance was there.
Money, money, money everywhere.
There wasn’t a single surface that hadn’t been touched by restrained, understated wealth.
“Is this the person you mentioned?”
“Yes. I’ll leave him in your capable hands.”
I closed my mouth, which had been hanging open without my realizing. In front of me, a woman who appeared to be middle-aged and the secretary were exchanging greetings. She was probably the staff member the secretary had mentioned who would show me around.
Our eyes met.
“I see.”
Her sharp gaze swept over me appraisingly. Going by how respectfully the secretary treated her, she seemed to have worked in this house for quite a long time. There was a seasoned, polished quality to her air that confirmed it.
“I’ll ask you to cover just the basics.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Take care.”
The secretary gave me a courteous bow of his head as well before heading back down the corridor he’d come from.
“Min Seongha.”
“Hello. I look forward to working with you.”
The woman was wearing a loose grey dress, and her bearing alone was enough to make you mistake her for the mistress of this house. Her hair was pulled up in a hairnet without a single strand out of place—striking.
She studied me with the look of someone running an assessment, with a clear resolve to find at least one flaw. But her voice and manner of speaking were elegant and warm.
“Follow me.”
Following her through the lounge-like space led to yet another long corridor. This time, there were a few doors set into the walls on either side. And when that corridor ended, my eyes went wide again.
A living room opened up before me—spacious and airy beyond any comparison to the lounge area. The sense of scale was extraordinary. Along the wall that connected to the terrace were three large arched windows, giving the impression of walking into an exhibition hall.
“You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the layout quickly. You’re going to be the mistress of this house, after all.”
“Ah, yes.”
This kind of memorizing, learning a new job—this I was confident in. There wasn’t a part-time job I hadn’t done.
“For now, let me show you to your bedroom first. Normally staff aren’t supposed to come through this way, but I need to show you around today, so please understand.”
“Of course.”
“Rest in your room today, and I’ll start teaching you things from tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
I nodded and pushed the sleeves covering my wrists up to my elbows.
Maybe because I’d given the same answer twice in a row, the woman ahead of me turned to look back. I gave her the smile that had always worked on employers everywhere.
“By the way, what should I call you?”
“Whatever is comfortable for you. The young master calls me Aunt.”
“Hmm…… then I’ll call you Manager. Would that be alright?”
Her eyes widened for just a moment, but it was only a flash. She turned her back as if her expression had never changed at all.
“If that’s what you prefer.”
The reply came without her even looking at me, but there was a subtle lightness to her tone that hadn’t been there before—she seemed pleased.
Winning the goodwill of older adults wasn’t difficult. Every employer I’d worked for at all my various part-time jobs had liked me so much they’d pressed extra money into my hands when I left, reluctant to see me go, and wherever I’d gone, I’d never failed to hear that I was sharp and capable.
The source of all of it was a quick read of the room, and that instinct for reading people was what had kept me afloat everywhere I’d been.
And now it was time to survive inside Baek Yihyeok’s house.
