After finishing a simple breakfast at the main building, Sung Hun rose from his seat. As Sung Hun came around the dining table, Manager Moon handed him his jacket.

Sung Hun put on the jacket without any particular expression, and as he stretched out his hand, Yeon Woo, standing next to Manager Moon, handed him a briefcase.

“I was thinking of boiling some octopus for dinner, how does that sound to you, Director? Young Master Hyun Wook likes octopus.”

While Manager Moon was speaking, Sung Hun grabbed the handle of the bag.

Yeon Woo, who had been standing holding the bottom of the bag neatly with both hands, lowered her hands. Sung Hun glanced at her doing so, then turned his gaze away.

“I’m fine with whatever you decide.”

“Yes, yes. Then I’ll see you in the evening.”

As Manager Moon bowed, Yeon Woo followed suit and bowed as well. Several other employees’ backs bent in turn, and Sung Hun left the main building, leaving the greetings behind.

His footsteps, devoid of any frivolity, created a neat gait. His straight strides drew a line along the sunlit walkway.

Step by step, Sung Hun walked towards the exit door, then stopped briefly after a while.

Then he turned around at the faint sound of someone approaching. Yeon Woo, who had been following at a distance, stopped with a startled expression.

Sung Hun looked at Yeon Woo while putting his free hand in his pocket.

The wind carrying the season blew through the gap of about twenty paces between them, and sunlight filtering through the leaves danced about.

Yesterday, the woman embraced by the sunset made his heart burn—

“Manager Moon asked me to bring the mail.”

This morning’s woman in the sunlight tickled his heart.

The woman, seemingly uncomfortable under his intense gaze, offered an unnecessary explanation. Sung Hun tilted his chin slightly, indicating the direction of the exit.

“Shall we go?”

Shall we go. Sung Hun said, stepping to the side.

Understanding it as a cue to go first, Yeon Woo quickened her pace. As she passed by Sung Hun, she hurried even more, speeding up her steps.

But as Yeon Woo brushed past, Sung Hun started walking alongside her. Unsure if it was a signal to go ahead or to walk together, Yeon Woo’s pace became awkward.

“Is the work manageable?”

At that question, Yeon Woo finally matched her pace to Sung Hun’s.

“Yes. Thanks to your guidance.”

Thanks to my guidance? What did I do?

Sung Hun let out a short, dry laugh at the response that seemed close to empty pleasantries.

‘Yeon Woo was popular in school. She was kind, affectionate, and pretty too.’

There was a gap between the impression of the woman Hyun Wook had described and the woman now.

It had been that way since their first encounter at the bus stop. The woman’s somehow dark atmosphere seemed more fitting to describe as dejected rather than calmly settled.

The woman’s hunched shoulders and stiff expression weren’t particularly uncomfortable, but he hadn’t seen any other expression.

The woman at the lodging had briefly shown a crack of a smile while looking into the distance, but it was only for a moment, and as soon as she noticed him, she had stiffened her expression, leaving in his memory not as ‘a smiling woman’ but as ‘a woman who greeted with a hardened face’.

But this morning’s woman was completely different.

The woman facing his cousin brother burst into laughter like transparent water droplets splashing. It was a natural and comfortable laugh that had let down all boundaries.

Having witnessed that moment, Sung Hun couldn’t help but be bothered by the woman’s consistently stiff expression now by his side.

No, beyond that, it concerned him.

…Bird songs spread between their parallel steps. Sunlight piercing through the leaves created chaotic shadows, making their footsteps ripple.

Yeon Woo walked silently, looking only at her feet, her lips tightly closed all the while.

Though unintentional, Yeon Woo felt infinitely small in front of Sung Hun. Every word was cautious, and her actions became unnatural.

This was because Sung Hun was vaguely a big person, a great adult, and the owner of Domyeong-jae, staying at the very top of its ruling class.

Even without anyone telling her, her instincts accepted the hierarchy. It was natural. The atmosphere of Domyeong-jae was like that, Manager Moon, who was over seventy, was more respectful than anyone, and the manual she was reading whenever she had time was full of instructions on how to treat the Nam family.

Filled only with thoughts of discomfort, Yeon Woo continued to walk. There was no way there could be words to share, conversations to mix.

Before they knew it, Yeon Woo stopped at the door. After looking at the red mailbox outside the door, she turned her body towards Sung Hun and bowed.

“Have a good day at work.”

She hoped Sung Hun would quickly go out the door. But no matter how long she waited, the shoes in front of her showed no sign of moving, so Yeon Woo slowly raised her head.

Their eyes met.

As Yeon Woo tried to avoid his gaze by bowing again, Sung Hun reached out his hand. Startled by the sudden movement, Yeon Woo raised her head again.

“One greeting is enough. I remember receiving greetings at the main building as well.”

…Ah.

But she didn’t have the confidence to omit the greeting. Yeon Woo answered in a small voice.

“I was taught to greet every time I see you.”

“…”

“Even if that’s not the case, since we’re at the door… um… I wanted you to have a good start to work… greeting is the only thing I can do for you…”

Her mind stopped but her mouth kept moving. Yeon Woo trailed off without properly concluding her thoughts.

She couldn’t open the door and go out to get the mail first, but standing still made it hard to breathe, so Yeon Woo just waited endlessly for Sung Hun to hurry out.

But no matter how long she waited, Sung Hun didn’t move—

“Um, do you have something to say or any tasks for me?”

Feeling strange, Yeon Woo asked.

Then Sung Hun slowly lowered and raised his eyelids, giving her a look.

As their eyes met, it felt as if cells in her body that had never been stimulated before were awakening.

His lips, which had been looking at her meticulously as if not to miss even the smallest detail, opened.

“I learned your name.”

…Spring, and morning.

“I learned your age.”

Under the dazzling sunlight.

“I was thinking about what else was left.”

It was hard to distinguish whether it was the sunlight or his voice that was heating her heart.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Yeon Woo froze in place.

*

“Hey rookie. If you’re going to stand like a pillar, go outside and stand with a crossbeam on top.”

As Yeon Woo entered the main building with the mail and stood blankly in front of the dining table, Eun Ja came and patted her shoulder.

It was a sudden touch, but Yeon Woo could hardly shake off her dazed state. Looking down at the dozens of mail items accumulated in a day, Yeon Woo didn’t respond.

So Eun Ja stood next to Yeon Woo. Sipping on a strongly brewed mix coffee, Eun Ja patted Yeon Woo’s arm again.

“Are you sleeping standing up now? That’s quite a talent. If you’re already this limp after just a few night shifts, what are you going to do?”

The distinct sweet scent of mix coffee spread evenly.

“Back in my day, you know. There was something called a hundred-day duty. We had to take night shifts for a hundred days straight without missing a single day. There was no such thing as a short nap. Manager Moon was young then too, so he’d walk around at dawn and scold us if we were dozing off. Now he’s all old and doesn’t come out at dawn. You’re lucky, you know.”

“…”

As there was still no response, Eun Ja waved her hand in front of Yeon Woo’s face. She wondered if she was really sleeping standing up.

“Hey. Can’t you hear me?”

“I can hear you.”

“Oh. So you can hear well. I thought you might have gone deaf or fallen asleep…”

Eun Ja, who had been sipping her coffee, lowered her cup and widened her eyes.

“What’s this? Selective responses? If you’re hearing everything, why aren’t you answering?”

As Eun Ja snapped at her, Yeon Woo finally picked up a box cutter. As she pushed up the blade with a zzrrr sound, Eun Ja flinched slightly and took a step back.

Yeon Woo started opening the mail with her eyes lowered. It was the first task to be done every morning.

As Yeon Woo started opening the mail silently, Eun Ja leaned against a chair and lounged around.

“You know what to do after this, right? Go to the warehouse and organize everything, and today’s the day the rice sacks come in, so when you get the radio call, come over to the main building and move them, and there are a few things that need hand washing, so start scrubbing those too.”

Yeon Woo continued to open the mail.

“Oh, right. What was it, about ten boxes of radishes are coming at ten o’clock, you should do that first. You know we send lunch to our work sites, right? We need it for making kimchi, so open the radish boxes and wash them clean. There should be about eighty.”

“…”

“And after that, you know? Sweep from here in front of the main building to over there in front of the management office and all the way to Wunseon Hall. It’s easy. Since you don’t have any skills, you only get easy work. How nice.”

She neatly opened the mail and sorted it by building. As Yeon Woo remained silent, Eun Ja asked again as if picking a fight.

“Is what I’m saying funny, or are you protesting that there’s too much work? Or is your brain too slow to understand it all, which is it…”

“After distributing the mail, at ten o’clock, receive the radish boxes and slice them, move the rice around lunchtime, do the hand washing, organize the warehouse while sweeping.”

As Yeon Woo neatly summarized the schedule and looked at her, Eun Ja, who had been standing leaning against the chair, slowly drank her coffee.

“If there’s more work to do, please tell me now.”

“You think you can do everything I said?”

“No. I don’t think I can do it all.”

“Then why are you asking for more work? Are you making fun of someone?”

As Yeon Woo closed her mouth again, Eun Ja handed her the empty mug.

“Just do the work you’ve been given well. Don’t be cheeky asking for more work or saying you can’t do it.”

“…”

“What do you mean you can’t do it? You should think about how to get everything done in time somehow. If you can’t do it all, you can’t keep your foot in here at Domyeong-jae. Just pack your bags and leave cleanly.”

At the words ‘pack your bags and leave’, Yeon Woo closed her mouth again. The phrase ‘quit if you don’t like it’ was Eun Ja’s biggest weapon, and Yeon Woo’s biggest weakness.

As Yeon Woo immediately lowered her tail, so to speak, Eun Ja snorted. She pointed to the cup with her chin, saying to wash it and put it in the dishwashing bin, then turned around.

“Sir! Sir! Where have you been! Come have a cup of coffee!”

Eun Ja, who had spotted Manager Moon entering the main building, disappeared with an exaggerated laugh.

Whew, Yeon Woo sighed briefly as she looked down at the mug Eun Ja had left empty.

‘I learned your name. I learned your age.’

What on earth did that mean? Her eyes squeezed shut tightly.

‘I was thinking about what else was left.’

Her head felt like it might reel dizzily.

At times like this, maybe it’s better to have a lot of work, Yeon Woo thought as she organized her thoughts and hurriedly left the main building.