“The madam has arrived.”

“I understand.”

Reading the troubled expression on Secretary Kim’s face, Seung Ho realized that his mother, who had returned home after a long time, was in a bad mood. But it didn’t matter.

To him, she was always an indifferent parent pretending to be a good mother……

As he went up to the second floor, a familiar figure came into view.

The madam, who had been looking outside through the large window in the living room, turned at the sound of Seung Ho’s approach.

“Welcome home, my son.”

The gesture of approaching with open arms and a smile mixed with joy and affection still felt strange.

“Yes. It’s been a while, Mother.”

Seung Ho obediently hugged his mother and then pulled away. From a distance, they looked every bit like an affectionate mother and son.

He now gazed at his mother, who was shorter than him. Her eternally youthful and beautiful face, with an unguessable age, bore a strong resemblance to his own. Her gaze, not entirely gentle, scrutinized Seung Ho thoroughly.

“My son, how have you been all this time?”

“As you can see, I’ve been well.”

“Why didn’t you come to America? Your father was quite disappointed when he heard you went to Europe.”

Disappointed, huh…..

Does Father even know which school I applied to? I’m not sure.

In Seung Ho’s memory, his father was always busy, indifferent, and found him difficult. But instead of answering, he just smiled slightly like a good child. This was the fastest way to end a conversation with his mother.

However, today his mother seemed unwilling to let Seung Ho go. She laughed as she looked around at the beautifully displayed butterflies.

“My son, you still love butterflies, I see.”

“……”

“Are your preparations for studying abroad going well?”

At Su Rin’s question, Seung Ho’s lips curled up in what could have been either a sneer or a response. Su Rin had only been away from home for less than a month. Yet she was continuing the conversation as if she had returned from abroad after a very long time.

Perhaps her attitude was natural. His mother had always been a person who cared about nothing but her own well-being. As long as her mood wasn’t seriously upset, she showed no interest in the frequently changing household staff or the career paths of Myung Ho and Seung Ho.

Once again measuring the distance between his mother and himself, Seung Ho recalled her question.

Studying abroad…

In his life, studying abroad was as natural as riding an escalator.

The only question was when to go, as the preparations were already perfect.

But why did he keep hesitating?

These days, he found himself looking into domestic university admissions and thinking about campus life, things he had never been interested in before.

When he imagined someone who would spend their 20s by his side, it was even disappointing that all of this might end up as just imagination.

Seung Ho, who had been staring into space for a moment, pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“I’m still considering it.”

“…Is that so?”

At this honest answer, her face, which had been smiling, instantly turned cold. Su Rin, standing by the second-floor window of the main building where Seung Ho’s room was, had been watching everything since Seung Ho entered through the main gate.

The son she was seeing after a long time had grown much taller than her last memory of him and was even more handsome.

She looked at Seung Ho with a proud face. Unlike her first son, who was lacking in both ability and intelligence, her second son had inherited only the good qualities from his parents and stood out remarkably in the family.

Seung Ho proved that Chairman Shin’s choice of Do Su Rin over women from great families was the right one. Su Rin’s satisfied gaze moved from Seung Ho to the girl next to him.

At first, she thought the girl might be one of Min Woo’s crowd, but seeing her plain appearance, she realized this must be the part-time worker Secretary Kim had mentioned. A sneer appeared on her expressionless lips.

“I knew she wouldn’t be much, but this is ordinary to the point of being too ordinary.”

The girl who had been hired to run errands while he studied was so unremarkable as to be invisible, not even worth dismissing. For something Seung Ho had specifically requested, she didn’t look particularly special.

Although she had told Secretary Kim to keep a close watch, she was certain that her son wouldn’t even glance at such a girl, let alone show any interest.

As she brushed away the anxiety lurking in a corner of her mind and her gaze returned to Seung Ho, her heart sank.

Although he had come from her womb, Seung Ho had been such an indifferent son since childhood that she wondered if he even had emotions. Yet there he was, smiling faintly but unmistakably at this plain, even shabby, girl.

Hearing Seung Ho’s unexpected answer about reconsidering studying abroad, Su Rin moved with a troubled heart.

As she came down to the first floor, Secretary Kim was standing there with the girl.

It was that wench who had appeared with Seung Ho.

Seen up close, her features, which she had assumed would be plain, were quite pretty. Her white skin was clear to the point of being transparent, and her light-colored eyes were even mysterious.

Su Rin had an intuition.

‘So that’s why he’s hesitating about studying abroad.’

As this thought occurred to her, anger suddenly welled up in her chest. Seung Ho was like a gold medal or trophy to Su Rin. He was even evaluated as an outstanding talent who could surpass the previous chairman.

And yet, you dare…

“Madam, this is Ji Hyun, whom I mentioned before.”

As Secretary Kim introduced her in a gentle tone, Ji Hyun bowed her head awkwardly.

“I’m Choi Ji Hyun.”

“……”

Su Rin’s expressionless face as she looked at Ji Hyun was like a wax figure. She arrogantly folded her arms and nodded slightly towards Secretary Kim.

“I have something to discuss with her alone, so Secretary Kim, you may leave now.”

“What? Yes. Understood.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, Secretary Kim was flustered but soon sent Ji Hyun a cautionary look before heading straight for the entrance.

The air surrounding them was heavy. Ji Hyun swallowed dryly from nervousness. Secretary Kim’s warning to dodge if anything was thrown kept replaying in her mind.

After hearing only terrifying rumors among the staff, the chairman’s wife she now faced directly was exceptionally beautiful and resembled Seung Ho much more than she had expected.

“You know what?”

“……”

“I detest cheap things.”

“…Pardon?”

It was a statement that clearly revealed her displeasure towards Ji Hyun. Ji Hyun, who had looked up in bewilderment, gasped. The madam was glaring at her with a cold face.

“Everything you’re wearing is cheap, I’m saying.”

It was shocking. No matter how subordinate Ji Hyun’s position might be, there was no reason to hear such words upon first meeting.

Regardless, the madam’s vitriol continued.

“One butterfly hanging on the second floor is probably more expensive than everything you’re wearing combined.”

As she received this one-sided attack, Ji Hyun readily acknowledged the rumors about the madam.

‘So Seung Ho’s nasty way of speaking comes from his mother.’

She could now understand the treatment that Hyun Sook had explained the staff found unbearable.

‘Less valuable than Italian furniture.’

If only she were treated as furniture; right now, she was being treated as less than a mounted butterfly.

“So don’t even think about it.”

Ji Hyun’s gaze, which had been fixed on the madam’s hands in case something might fly at her, turned towards the madam’s face.

“Pardon?”

The black eyes glaring at her involuntarily reminded her of Seung Ho. The madam’s lips, painted with red rouge, moved slowly.

“I’m saying, don’t even think about my son when you’re not worth even one butterfly.”

“Ji Hyun!”

Hyun Sook came running breathlessly towards Ji Hyun, who had just left the mansion. She had been coming in a rage after hearing from Secretary Kim that Ji Hyun was with the madam. Hyun Sook grabbed Ji Hyun and carefully examined her from head to toe.

“Are you hurt anywhere? You weren’t hit by anything the madam threw, were you?”

“Fortunately not.”

Ji Hyun smiled slightly as if to reassure her. Seeming relieved at her unharmed appearance, Hyun Sook patted Ji Hyun’s shoulder and led her to the annex.

“Did the madam say anything?”

Ji Hyun’s eyes wavered for a moment, but she quickly steadied her gaze, trying to appear nonchalant.

“She didn’t say much.”

“Then why did she call for you?”

Watching Hyun Sook shudder, Ji Hyun smiled awkwardly and spoke.

“Just that. She said she was curious about who the part-time worker was.”

Knowing that what she said wasn’t the truth, Hyun Sook bit her lip tightly.

‘No way, with that personality, there’s no way she didn’t say anything.’

Thinking that this must be related to Secretary Kim’s warning, she gently stroked Ji Hyun’s shoulder.

“Whatever the madam said, don’t take it to heart. She may have a pretty face, but her tongue is completely venomous.”

Hearing her words, Ji Hyun smiled weakly.

Seung Ho frowned as he looked at the empty space beside him. For several days now, Ji Hyun had not been coming to his room. Since it was after he had deliberately followed Ji Hyun and upset her mood when she met her friends, he thought it might be understandable.

It would take some time for her to recover the mental state he had shattered.

But this wasn’t right. Ji Hyun wasn’t showing up at the mansion at all. It bothered him. The empty space was so distracting that now he couldn’t focus on any books or papers.

He called Secretary Kim to inquire about Ji Hyun’s whereabouts, but to no avail. He only received a mechanical response that she had personal matters to attend to.

Feeling restless, Seung Ho put on just a thick wool cardigan and strolled through the garden.

The wind was bitingly cold, but the winter sun warmly illuminated the mansion. The stones laid under the well-landscaped evergreens sparkled in the light. His mood twisted as he looked at the snow-white stones.

These were the stones Ji Hyun had carefully selected. With his hands in his pockets, he gently kicked at the stones with his foot.

‘She pays so much attention to things like this…’

Seung Ho’s gaze naturally turned towards the annex. At a time when the mansion should be bustling with activity, the empty annex was quiet. After standing for a long time chasing Ji Hyun’s shadow, he finally took a step towards the annex.

‘I have no choice. If you won’t come, I’ll have to go…’