[This is Min Soyul. Are you available to talk right now?]
After confirming no one was around, Yeonrok made the call. The other person answered before the ringtone could even sound twice. Leaning against the railing, Yeonrok opened his mouth.
“It’s me.”
― …Yeah. It’s been a while for us.
Yeonrok sighed. It wasn’t that he felt like crying or that he missed her. He just felt a bit bitter. After his Name Manifestation, he had tried desperately hard to abandon his feelings and thoughts about Min Soyul. Now, aside from being embarrassed, he was fine.
“I didn’t expect to run into you there.”
― Me neither. The world is really small.
Silence flowed for a while. Yeonrok didn’t have much to say. They had broken up in such a painful way, and she was someone he had let go from his heart long ago. Since they had encountered each other so suddenly, it wasn’t exactly a welcome reunion. After a moment, Soyul continued.
― I called to tell you that you won’t have to see me again like that in the future.
“If it’s because of me…”
― It is because of you. But actually, it’s for my sake. It’s really awkward that the President’s partner is my ex-boyfriend. I’m not trying to blame you, it’s just the situation. You understand, right? Especially since I’m married now.
“Yeah, well… I guess so.”
How much had Yeonrok wanted to go home all day today? Not only was his Name Partner’s subordinate his ex-girlfriend, but the three of them had to go on a date together? It was truly horrible… Just imagining such a thing happening again already exhausted him.
― My husband just got transferred to Busan, so I was thinking about going down with him. The company said they’d provide a lot of support too.
“Oh, I see. That’s good.”
Suddenly craving a cigarette, Yeonrok fumbled through his pockets. After another moment of silence, Min Soyul spoke.
― I’m sorry about before.
“It’s fine. That’s ancient history.”
Just remembering it is embarrassing, so please don’t even mention it…
― Okay. Anyway… That’s why I called. …Be happy with the President. Let’s never see each other again.
“You too.”
With that brief conversation, the call soon ended. Yeonrok lit his cigarette and exhaled the smoke he had inhaled in a long breath. Chewing on the filter, he tilted his head.
“Why does something feel so off?”
He thought about it carefully. Was there something strange about the conversation just now? He got the odd feeling that she had been lying somehow.
‘That she’s married with a child? The talk about her husband? It seemed real though. That her husband is being transferred somewhere far away, and that we should never see each other again.’
But he couldn’t figure out why he had this nagging feeling. After thinking for a while, he shook his head. It was probably because he’d had such bad luck today. And since she was someone he hadn’t seen in so long, it was natural to feel awkward.
‘But why was I so shocked to hear she’s married with a child?’
Did he still have feelings for her? Soon finding his answer, he smiled bitterly. Flicking off the cigarette ash, he let out a sigh that could have been his breath or cigarette smoke. The truth was, unlike himself, he had been so envious of Min Soyul for starting a family so quickly.
After smoking half his cigarette while lost in thought, he soon stubbed it out in a nearby ashtray. Rubbing his hands stiff from the cold, he came down to the second floor and nearly screamed. Yeom Cheonho was standing tall near the stairs, waiting for him.
“P-President. Why are you standing there…?”
Startled by the sight of the tall man standing ominously without making a sound, Yeonrok placed his hand on his chest and asked. Yeom Cheonho lowered his eyebrows and smiled.
“Ah. I’m sorry. Did I startle you? I had something to tell you but forgot.”
“Something to tell me…?”
Trying to calm his pounding heart, Yeonrok asked. Yeom Cheonho said while casting his gaze somewhere.
“There should be one white door on the second floor.”
Yeonrok furrowed his brow. Since this house was so large and spacious with many rooms, he didn’t remember the color of each door and couldn’t immediately recall it. To Yeonrok who was struggling to remember, Yeom Cheonho said with a smiling face.
“You can go anywhere else in this house, but don’t open that white door. That’s what I was waiting to tell you.”
* * *
“Yeonpil-ah. Do you know the story of Bluebeard?”
Hugging his comfort doll, Yeonrok spoke to the pothos plant. He had even given this plant a name before bed yesterday. Yeonpil.
“Once upon a time, there was a nobleman called Bluebeard who took a bride…”
That nobleman had already been married several times, and he gave the young new bride a key, saying this: ‘You may go anywhere in this castle, but do not enter the room in the basement.’ Naturally, the curious bride opened the door while her husband was away. That secret room was full of the corpses of the former brides the nobleman had killed.
The shocked new bride dropped the key and got blood on it, and the stain on the key wouldn’t come off, so she was eventually caught for entering the secret room. Just before being killed by her enraged husband, she sent a signal to her brother, who killed Bluebeard and claimed his fortune—something like that, he thought.
The reason this story he’d read in the school library long ago came to mind now was naturally because of the conversation he’d had with Yeom Cheonho a few days ago.
‘What’s in that room?’ ‘I can only say that there are things that would trouble you if you saw them, Yeonrok-ssi.’
After finishing that conversation and returning to his room, Yeonrok belatedly became indignant. If there’s something troublesome for him to see, then don’t mention it! Or lock the door so he can’t enter! The distance in his heart that had shrunk considerably after being bought clothes and delicious food had stretched back out again.
The next day, Yeonrok searched thoroughly from the first to the second floor. As a result, he realized: there was only one white door on the second floor of this house.
‘I’m pretty sure I opened that room before too.’
Being unemployed with nothing to do, Yeonrok naturally spent time exploring the house. The structure of this house was roughly as follows:
On the first floor: an indoor garden, living room, kitchen, reception room, and the house owner Yeom Cheonho’s room.
On the second floor: Yeonrok’s, Choi Hwan’s, and Moon Gyeonwoo’s rooms, the Bluebeard room, and the terrace.
Besides that, there was a swimming pool, home theater, study, sauna, exercise room, swimming pool, and a room full of board games and arcade machines, etc.
There was so much to see and do that his pleasure was going into each room and spending time there. But since there were so many rooms, he couldn’t quite remember what was behind that white door on the second floor. In other words, it couldn’t have been a particularly special room.
‘What did he put in that room recently?’
Or was this some kind of trust test?
Come to think of it now, Bluebeard had clearly been testing his bride too. He gave her the key to the room where he’d piled up the bodies of his murdered former brides and even hinted at it—if he didn’t want her to look, why else would he have practically invited her? He just gave her an excuse because he wanted to have fun killing her.
So Yeonrok, after confirming the location of the white door on the second floor, vowed not to go near it. Not only did he not want to create unnecessary trouble, but he also felt some kind of sinister intent from Yeom Cheonho, like Bluebeard.
‘I don’t even have family who would come rescue me…’
So trust test or whatever, let’s just not go near it. Making that firm resolution, he got up from his seat. He was getting hungry.
“Come to think of it, it seems like it’s been about a week.”
Having checked through contact with Yeom Cheonho, he found that holding hands once a week maintained his normal condition. After a week passed, he would start getting tired, sleepy, and getting nosebleeds. Now, having gone several days past a week, his body felt stiff even after sleeping soundly.
“Park Yeosa-nim~. What’s for breakfast today?”
When Yeonrok came down calling out in an aegyo-filled voice, Kim Jeongseong happened to be there. Yeonrok greeted him cheerfully.
“Secretary hyung, good morning!”
“Good morning, Lee Yeonrok-nim.”
Once he took his seat, Park Yeosa ladled out a bowlful of steaming hot kimchi stew and also scooped out a heaping bowl of fluffy mixed grain rice. There was also a table full of delicious side dishes.
“Young Master, eat plenty. If it’s not enough, have more anytime.”
“Yes! I’ll eat well!”
Yeonrok answered cheerfully and took a big spoonful of rice. While eating the tasty kimchi and pork, he glanced at Park Yeosa and Kim Jeongseong.
After secretly watching the white door for the past few days, he discovered that Yeom Cheonho, Secretary Kim Jeongseong, and even Park Yeosa all freely went in and out of that room. In other words, either what’s in the room is nothing special, or the two of them are thoroughly Yeom Cheonho’s people.
He had also felt like asking the two of them what exactly was in that room, but he didn’t even open his mouth, worried this might also be part of the test. Instead, as he had done until now, he decided to thoroughly ignore it as if the room didn’t exist. Separate from that resolution, the white door room stuck in his mind at all times like a pebble in his shoe.
