The warehouse that Eun Ja led her to was slightly smaller than an elementary school playground, and it was filled with a vast variety and quantity of items, from tableware passed down from the Joseon dynasty to now, rusty metal bowls and cast iron pots that hadn’t been maintained, and farming tools that seemed no longer in use.

Yeon Woo was surprised by the scale of the warehouse, reminiscent of a large supermarket’s display shelves.

It seemed like it would take at least two weeks, no, a full month to sort out this huge warehouse alone. When Eun Ja told her to organize the jumbled items in order, clean them, and then write a log, Yeon Woo asked about the deadline.

“By when should I finish organizing?”

Eun Ja replied in a dismissive tone.

“How would the one giving orders know? The one doing it should know. Three days should be enough to turn it upside down.”

Three days. Eun Ja threw out an impossible deadline and then disappeared.

Standing there at a loss, not knowing where or how to start, Yeon Woo moved as if she had made up her mind. She tied her apron strings tightly, pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and put on loose rubber gloves.

She decided to start with dusting. As soon as she began sweeping, she could see the hazy dust mixing with the beams of light coming through the gaps. Her throat quickly became scratchy and she sneezed repeatedly, but Yeon Woo diligently dusted for about an hour.

After that, she dragged over a rubber basin large enough for three or four children to bathe in and filled it with water. She started by dunking the tableware that looked relatively easy to clean into the basin, and lathered up a sponge with detergent.

With the warehouse doors, which had been closed all winter, wide open, bright sunlight settled on Yeon Woo’s back as she sat in front of the basin. The splashing sounds of water each time she took out and put in dishes were reminiscent of playing in a valley stream during vacation.

The act of washing and drying one set of dishes while the next set soaked was repeated dozens of times. Skipping lunch, Yeon Woo scrubbed and scrubbed the stained dishes until the sun, which had been high in the sky, began to slowly tilt.

Eun Ja’s assumption that giving her hard labor would make her give up quickly proved wrong. For Yeon Woo, Domyeongjae was now the only space she had with no other options.

Rather, Yeon Woo was feeling more at peace now than ever before. The feeling of keeping her life intact, the joy of being able to move about freely outside – these held deeper meaning for Yeon Woo.

Her eyelids, which had barely rested after being on night duty until dawn, grew heavier as time passed, and her back felt like it would break from the fixed posture, but she had no reason to complain.

She was sweating healthy sweat from labor, not cold sweat soaked in fear. Her body was uncomfortable, but she was breathing easily.

So what couldn’t she enjoy if it meant avoiding Cha Yun Seok? Until she found a safer place, she would endure at Domyeongjae by any means necessary.

‘Prove the words you said, that you’d do whatever you’re told’

And, she wanted to prove it to Sung Hun. She didn’t want to hear that he had recruited useless personnel.

Of course, he probably wouldn’t care at all.

*

“I’m telling you, she’s no ordinary woman. They say it’s always the quiet-looking ones who are more crafty behind your back.”

Eun Ja, who had given Yeon Woo work to do and entered the main building, spoke to Manager Moon Ok Rye. Eun Ja, who originally enjoyed gossiping about others, followed Manager Moon around, rattling off criticisms about Yeon Woo.

“Looking like a vixen, she must have seduced quite a few men. You can fool ghosts but not my eyes. Of course. Would men have left her alone? Even if she just sat still, men would be grabbing at her waist.”

“What kind of language is that to use about an unmarried young lady? It’s so vulgar I could die.”

Unable to listen any longer, Manager Moon stopped and looked at Eun Ja.

Eun Ja moved even closer and lowered her voice.

“Elder sister. No matter how uneducated I am, I have an uncanny eye for people. Those who pretend to be so quiet and well-behaved are actually more sinister and dark inside, that’s what I’m saying. Our elder sister, at your age, still can’t read people.”

“Sure. You’re so good at reading people, is that why you’re living like that?”

Eun Ja had lived her whole life bickering with her gambling husband before he passed away a few years ago.

“Elder sister, your words are hurtful. What have I done wrong? I’m just saying what I see written on the new girl’s face.”

“If you’re jealous of her beauty, just say you’re jealous. You’re envious because you never lived that life.”

“Oh my? Elder sister, when I was a young lady, men would line up just to lift my skirt. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hey now. I’ve known you since then, and your face is better now than it was then. Now you can just blame it on being old and ugly. Anyway, just think what you want.”

When Manager Moon spoke, Eun Ja stopped in her tracks with an expression of utter dejection.

“How can you say such things, elder sister? Oh my, this narrow-minded woman’s feet must be burning so hot she can’t even sleep.”

“That’s why you should shut your mouth and work. Your mouth is the problem. If only your hands moved as fast as your mouth, wouldn’t that be nice?”

As Manager Moon continued to scold her to stop talking and just work, Eun Ja pouted.

“Elder sister. Don’t say I didn’t warn you later. You’ll only know how crafty those types are when you experience it yourself, our elder sister.”

“What is the new girl doing?”

When asked about Yeon Woo’s whereabouts, Eun Ja shrugged her shoulders. Quickly erasing her dejected expression and even brightening her eyes, she continued in a whisper.

“I gave her this and that to do, so don’t look for her. I had her organize the warehouse a bit.”

It was a warehouse that no one had touched all winter. Hearing that she had assigned a task that would take all day and still not be finished, Manager Moon narrowed her eyes.

“You’re really determined to swallow up the new girl. You’ve made up your mind.”

“Oh, elder sister. What else should we use a strong, energetic young person for? Time will pass as she does odd jobs, and won’t that be good for her too?”

Eun Ja giggled with a mischievous expression.

“Just wait and see. You don’t like the new girl either, right? She’ll collapse before three days are up, just watch.”

“…”

“We need to firmly discipline the new girl. No matter how I look at her, she seems like she came here to play, relying on her mother. How can we just watch that? Don’t you agree, elder sister?”

Manager Moon’s lips twitched briefly but soon closed evenly. After briefly turning her gaze towards the main building’s courtyard, Manager Moon entered the kitchen without further comment.

*

After returning from inspecting the site, Sung Hun immersed himself in work, intending to handle both on-site and head office tasks.

While reviewing the rapidly accumulating documents requiring confirmation, Sung Hun habitually reached out towards the pen holder.

He unconsciously glanced over and, as he was about to grab a pen, Sung Hun lowered his hand and picked up a business card tucked between the card cases. It was a business card prepared as a spare for visitors.

‘In that case, I’ll take back the business card you gave me. I can’t carelessly possess someone else’s credit card.’

He momentarily relaxed his consistently straight back, loosening the tension. Holding the business card between his fingers, he quietly looked at his own name.

“Nam Sung Hun”

The act of handing over a business card was a way of neatly disclosing one’s personal information to the other party. Name, phone number, workplace and position.

Sung Hun thought he had completed his introduction to the woman by giving her his business card. But suddenly realizing, he knew nothing about the woman.

He only knew that she was the daughter of an injured employee, not even her name.

“Seems like I’m at a disadvantage.”

After staring at the business card with a meaningless gaze, Sung Hun raised his eyes slightly.

…What reason was there to know the woman’s name?

Sung Hun closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. He was quite taken aback that the thought ‘I don’t even know the woman’s name’ had stuck in his head. He was even flustered by the strange sense of loss that spread, feeling he had received nothing in return despite giving away all his personal information.

Sung Hun raised an eyebrow, letting out a hollow laugh at how ridiculous this self-imposed ‘disadvantage’ was.

Originally, live-in staff were people without names or ages. Unless they became a symbol of Domyeongjae like Manager Moon Ok Rye, there was no way to remember their names even if they had worked for decades.

Because he had never known them from the beginning.

‘How long do you plan to work?’

‘I’m thinking about three months.’

Looking back, this too was an absurd question. As if coming to his senses, Sung Hun lowered the business card and turned to sit in his chair.

Even while staying in the same space, he had never spared a glance for the staff. He had never been concerned about them. He had never been curious about anything, nor had he ever asked unnecessary questions.

…But. Why on earth.

‘By then, I think my mother will have safely completed her rehabilitation.’

As if the woman was whispering beside him, her voice echoed, and Sung Hun slowly closed his eyes, trying to trace the memory.

It was a quiet voice, as if holding a secret. A voice that made you focus all your attention, as if it wouldn’t be heard well unless you leaned in to listen.

He wasn’t sure if what he wanted to hear was the answer to the question, or the woman’s voice.

Sung Hun quietly opened and closed his eyes, then turned back to sit in his chair.

Useless thoughts.

As there didn’t seem to be any need for answers to the questions about the woman, Sung Hun put the business card he had taken out back into its case. Lightly dismissing the scattered thoughts as just a moment’s break, he picked up the file again.

Feeling a slight fever as if a cold hadn’t fully gone away, he loosened his tie a little, wondering if it was already getting hot.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock. With a small knocking sound, the door opened.

“Elder brother Sung Hun!”

Sung Hun looked up at the familiar voice. The visitor was his cousin, Hyun Wook.