“It’s okay to sit in front… .”

Even though she mustered the courage to open her mouth, unable to finish her words under Seung Ho’s sharp gaze, Ji Hyun reluctantly got up and moved to sit beside him.

As soon as she sat down, one of the books Ha Jun gave her was placed in front of her with a thud.

“Read.”

“I’ll read it later when I go back to my room.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to make me repeat myself?”

Having no choice, Ji Hyun opened the book and began reading the text in a small voice.

“We proclaim that our Great Korea is a completely independent and democratic self-reliant nation, and that our Great Korea is not a Great Korea of other races… .”

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“Who told you to read out loud?”

“Oh… .”

‘So that’s not what he meant by reading.’

Her face flushed hot with embarrassment. It was a small mistake, but just because Shin Seung Ho was watching, it felt unnecessarily amplified, and a sense of self-loathing washed over her.

‘That’s why I said I’ll read it later!’

Ji Hyun changed the subject.

“Well, I’ll take care of this on my own, so just tell me if you have anything you need me to do.”

“I’ve been feeling this since last time… .”

“… .”

Instead of ordering her around, Seung Ho only moved his eyes to stare intently at her face.

“Why are you speaking casually to me?”

Flustered, Ji Hyun frantically responded. He hit the nail on the head.

“Uh, what?”

Narrowing his eyes, he pressed her further in a sarcastic tone.

“You used to speak politely before, but now you’re openly speaking casually?”

‘Ugh!’

Feeling guilty, Ji Hyun shut her mouth.

After learning that Ha Jun, her friend, was friends with Shin Seung Ho’s friend, she developed a strong aversion to using polite speech with him.

Secretary Kim would be shocked if he knew, but in fact, from the moment her rebelliousness towards Seung Ho overflowed, Ji Hyun had been subtly using casual speech instead of honorifics with him.

“Well, since you’re a friend of a friend of a friend… .”

In the midst of her convoluted excuse, she tactfully omitted the word ‘you’ before ‘friend’. In truth, she should be calling him ‘young master’, but it felt somehow spiteful to use it to his face.

Shin Seung Ho, who treated her like a maid while going on about class, would naturally dislike casual speech. The final moment had come when she had resolved to use polite speech if caught.

“If you don’t like hearing it, from now on, I’ll use polite…”

“I don’t care.”

“What?”

When a surprised Ji Hyun asked back at his unexpected words, he let out an irritated sigh.

“Didn’t I say not to make me repeat myself? It’s not like you’re showing off your stupidity.”

“… .”

After his sharp words, Seung Ho’s gaze returned to the book he was reading.

Although she couldn’t shake off a somewhat unpleasant feeling, it was still a fortunate thing for her.

‘Well, if that’s the case, it’s lucky for me, but… .’

When Ji Hyun turned her head back to the book, she remembered something she had forgotten.

“Huh?”

The photo that should have been attached was nowhere to be seen. She had pasted a photo with the funniest face, intending to look at it and gain strength every time she studied. She rummaged through, wondering if it had fallen off somewhere else due to the weak adhesive, but the photo didn’t turn up.

‘Could it be… .’

A thread of suspicion was directed at Seung Ho sitting next to her. The books had been in his room all of yesterday, and with Shin Seung Ho’s nasty personality, he was the type to rip off the photo because he found it unpleasant to look at.

However, it was difficult to easily conclude that he was the culprit without a convincing reason and evidence.

He had a personality that was too indifferent to others, and even now, despite her busy movements to find the photo, the fact that he was focusing only on the book without a single question as to why she was doing that proved it.

‘Why would Shin Seung Ho do such a thing? No, it can’t be.’

Thinking that she should bring another photo she had and paste it, Ji Hyun forcibly buried her head in the book.

“Come again tomorrow.”

As she descended the stairs to the second floor, Ji Hyun let out a deep sigh. She had spent the entire day at the table.

In front of her eyes was a book, and beside her, Shin Seung Ho watched over her like a grim reaper from hell. Whenever Ji Hyun, who had given up on finding the photo, tried to do anything else even a little bit, criticism unfailingly flew at her.

Is this a new torture method?

Anyway, if he had tormented her in a different way, the torture would have been successful. The appropriately warm room was perfect for feeling sleepy, and Ji Hyun had to pinch her thighs to keep her eyes wide open and read the book.

What was even more terrible was that she had to continue doing this tomorrow and the day after.

When she almost reached the first floor, her eyes caught sight of the helper lady and her aunt Hyun Sook entering.

“Auntie.”

At Ji Hyun’s delighted call, the two stopped their low conversation.

“Are you finished now?”

Hyun Sook, who had assessed the situation with a glance, asked with an awkward smile.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go to the dormitory.”

As Ji Hyun followed Hyun Sook, who was leading the way to the annex, she was curious about what she had talked about with the lady. Secretary Kim’s expression in the morning, when he mentioned positions, had been bothering her all along.

“Um, Auntie.”

“Yes?”

“May I ask what you were talking about with the lady earlier?”

At the cautious question, Hyun Sook’s exhaled breath spread out white.

“It seems that Young Master Seung Ho told Madam that he needs his own person who can serve him like hands and feet while studying next to him.”

Ji Hyun repeated Hyun Sook’s words, not letting them pass, inside her mouth.

Like hands and feet, in other words, he needs a servant… .

“So Madam said she would find someone of a similar age who can communicate well and assign them… .”

Hyun Sook turned her body to look at Ji Hyun. A dark and complex gaze mixed with emotions, the same gaze as Secretary Kim’s in the morning.

“The young master specifically pointed to you.”

A fiercely cold wind brushed past Ji Hyun’s cheek. The faint smile that said he didn’t mind her speaking casually scattered along with the chilly air.

“So Madam became a bit curious about you.”

Ji Hyun’s lips trembled slightly. She couldn’t tell herself whether it was because of the cold or the humiliation.

In other words, it meant that she was being suspected of whether the precious second son might have taken a liking to someone who does menial work like a servant in the mansion, or whether that lowly girl had wagged her tail at him.

If there was one thing she had learned while staying in this house, it was that an employee with a bad reputation was coldly driven out before long.

Ji Hyun’s affairs were soon Hyun Sook’s affairs. Thinking about the impact the rumors about her would have on Hyun Sook, her heart burned to ashes. For Hyun Sook, this house was her workplace and a precious haven.

“It’s not like that, Auntie. It really isn’t.”

Hyun Sook gently soothed Ji Hyun’s stiffly hardened shoulders.

“Of course I know. Don’t worry. Secretary Kim said he spoke well to Madam, so there won’t be any big issues.”

“… .”

Only then did the strange scenes make sense. Secretary Kim’s gaze towards her in the morning was one of surveillance and concern.

Suspicion of what if and worry of what to do. It was always Ji Hyun, in the thoroughly subordinate position, who was tossed about. The hand holding Ji Hyun’s trembled weakly.

“I don’t want to do this. I hate being subjected to such absurd suspicions.”

Contrary to what she had always expected, that Hyun Sook would naturally say it’s okay not to do it if you don’t like it, Hyun Sook gave a different answer.

“Don’t say that. It’s a good thing for you too.”

“Auntie… .”

“You’re in your third year of high school now, and if you keep doing chores like you are now, you won’t be able to study. Rather, it’s an opportunity.”

“But still… .”

“Make the most of that time next to the young master to study for yourself. Okay? Don’t think about anything else.”

Without waiting for Ji Hyun’s answer, Hyun Sook, who had started walking ahead again, muttered in a low voice.

“There’s no way that cold-blooded person would do that.”

It was clear that Madam Shin, the chairman’s wife, didn’t know her own son, even if she didn’t know him well.

Some time later, Min Woo, who had finished his trip and returned to Korea, visited the mansion.

“Hey, Shin Seung Ho. You traitor.”

Seeing Min Woo, who announced his appearance with a pointing gesture instead of a greeting, Seung Ho turned his head with an expressionless face. He was holding a butterfly for preservation and doing rehydration work for the first time in a while.

“Get to the point.”

Far from hospitality, Min Woo exploded with pent-up grievances at the ruthless attitude of treating him as an unwelcome guest.

“How could you leave like that by yourself? Do you know how startled I was?”

When he returned to the villa after skiing excitedly, Seung Ho was nowhere to be seen where he should have been. Thinking that he had gone out for a while, Min Woo waited, but he never showed up.

Just as he was agonizing over whether to file a missing person report, he received a message that Seung Ho had left for Korea without a word. It was absurd.

“Do you know how worried I was about you?”

“Get rid of your goggle marks before you speak.”

“What?”

The skin tanned on the snow at the ski resort made the marks from wearing goggles even more distinct. Min Woo fumbled around his eyes with an embarrassed expression.

“This happens even if I apply sunscreen. Anyway, why did you leave like that?”

Instead of answering, Seung Ho examined the butterfly’s hard wings this way and that. Its vivid colors seemed like they would crumble at the slightest touch.

“Everyone’s enthusiasm completely fizzled out without you there. Especially Yu Bo Ra, she cried and made a fuss.”

Seeing Seung Ho, who acted as if nothing he said had anything to do with him, Min Woo swallowed a curse.

‘Heartless bastard. His friends are worse than preserved butterflies to him.’

Seung Ho’s touch was quite careful as he picked up a syringe and slowly injected water into the wings with a long needle.

Seemingly giving up on further conversation at the sight of him immersed in the butterfly, Min Woo plopped down on the sofa.

“Did you go back so urgently just to preserve specimens?”

“… That’s not it.”

Faintly sensing someone coming up the stairs to the second floor, he slowly took off his gloves. Seung Ho’s eyes sparkled with a glint as he slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“I’m thinking of raising a live one this time.”