“I can’t sleep.”

Yeo Reum, who was lying down and staring at the ceiling, eventually sat up.

Usually, she could sleep well regardless of where she was, but today her eyes were strangely wide open and her heart felt unsettled.

She picked up the cell phone placed beside her.

12:44 AM.

Time had already passed while she was tossing and turning.

She pushed back the blanket and walked over to the window.

The vast garden visible from the second floor was illuminated by the streetlights.

‘Would it help if I get some fresh air?’

She put on the padded jumper that was placed to the side and went outside.

The long hallway also had lights turned on here and there, and it was quiet as everyone seemed to be asleep since it was past midnight.

She went straight down to the first floor, opened the front door, and stepped outside.

The cold air hit her face immediately.

“It’s cold.”

But it still felt good.

Yeo Reum walked down the entrance steps and slowly began strolling through the garden.

‘Mom and Dad must have walked here too.’

And maybe I was also here in their arms.

Yeo Reum turned around.

Suddenly, this grand Blue House felt a little like her own home rather than someone else’s house.

‘Did Mom and Dad step on this grass too?’

The dry grass under her feet also felt familiar.

As she walked around the vicinity like that, the cold air hit her even more.

Suddenly, a sense of loneliness crept in.

Yeo Reum picked up her cell phone and looked for Mi Rae in her contacts.

‘Ah, I can’t. Mi Rae has to go to work tomorrow.’

Mi Rae especially needed a lot of sleep at night, so she was probably deep in dreamland right now.

Yeo Reum shook her head.

But then a certain number came to mind.

「 A Really Good Tiger 」

She saw San Ha’s number in her contacts.

‘What could San Ha be doing right now? Is he sleeping?’

She wanted to hear his kind voice.

Then somehow it felt like this cold and empty feeling in her heart would be filled, and she thought she could fall into a good dream.

‘Call me if there’s an urgent matter. When it’s really urgent.’

Yeo Reum almost pressed the call button but ultimately put down her phone.

“Not being able to sleep isn’t… an urgent matter.”

She sighed.

But she really wanted to talk to him, even if just once.

After contemplating, she typed a message.

「 Are you sleeping? 」

It was a simple one-word message.

Of course, she didn’t expect a reply.

She just wanted to send him a message like this.

‘No reply. Well, it is late…’

Though she consoled herself like that, in reality, she was just staring at her phone’s home screen.

As expected, there was no response from him.

“He must be sleeping…”

15 minutes passed just looking at the screen.

She felt deflated and suddenly even colder.

“Ah, I should just go to sleep.”

What was she doing alone in the middle of the night?

Sighing, she put her phone in the pocket of her padded jumper.

She had barely taken a step to go back to the Blue House when suddenly a short notification sound rang.

Startled, Yeo Reum stopped walking and quickly picked up her phone.

「 Not yet. 」

A concise one-word reply.

But it felt like she had gained the world.

For a moment, she even forgot it was night and let out a scream.

Of course, she hastily covered her mouth with her hand.

Yeo Reum quickly typed a message.

「 Why aren’t you asleep yet? 」

This time, the reply came quickly.

「 Just because. But why isn’t the magpie asleep yet? 」

Yeo Reum’s hand moved even faster.

「 My mind won’t settle down today. 」

「 Why? 」

「 There was a whole commotion and my room changed too. 」

「 Sounds eventful? 」

Yeo Reum smiled and moved her fingers quickly.

「 Right. Eventful! 」

「 But you won, didn’t you? 」

「 Of course! And I moved to an even better room. But apparently this was originally my room. My room that I’ve used since I was a baby. They say my mom and dad designed this room for me. 」

「 Now that I think about it, you can’t sleep because you’re thinking of your parents? 」

「 Oh, is that it? 」

Is that why her heart felt so unsettled?

「 Your parents must miss you so much too. 」

Yeo Reum looked down at his message and couldn’t reply for a moment.

「 So make sure to live happily no matter what. If you really miss them, look at the moon in the sky from time to time. It’s the same anywhere in the world. 」

Yeo Reum typed a message.

「 Is that by any chance your way of easing longing, San Ha? 」

「 That’s right. 」

「 That’s quite romantic? 」

「 Thanks for saying that. 」

「 San Ha. 」

「 Yeah. 」

「 Are you looking at the moon right now too? 」

After a short pause, his message arrived.

「 Mm. 」

Honestly, she didn’t know much about him.

But she didn’t understand why his loneliness resonated with her heart so much.

Yeo Reum quickly typed a message.

「 I’m looking at the moon right now too. We really are destined for each other! Fate! 」

She waited for his reply.

But even after 1 minute, no reply came.

While worrying if his phone battery might have died, a short notification sound rang.

Yeo Reum quickly checked it and furrowed her brows.

「 I’m not going to look at the moon anymore. 」

Yeo Reum grumbled and moved her fingers.

「 That’s too much. 」

「 Never mind. Just go to sleep. 」

Yeo Reum’s lips curled even more.

Then the short notification sound rang again.

This time it wasn’t a message but a gift coupon.

Yeo Reum checked the product name and burst out laughing.

She laughed clutching her stomach, forgetting it was the middle of the night.

The gift he sent was ‘full moon bread’.

*

“Good morning, Housekeeper!”

Yeo Reum greeted the housekeeper cheerfully as she went down to the first floor living room.

“Yes. Did you sleep well, young lady?”

“Like a baby. The room really is nice. An open view and the floor is warm and cozy.”

“Your back doesn’t hurt from sleeping on the bare floor without a bed?”

“My back is perfectly fine.”

She patted her back with both hands.

The housekeeper smiled and said,

“I’ll give you a furniture catalog today. Feel free to choose whatever you’d like.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to make it totally princess style! White!”

As Yeo Reum laughed, the housekeeper also smiled.

The two slowly walked and entered the dining room.

“Young lady, did you sleep well?”

It was the staff lined up in a row.

“Yes. I slept well. Did you all have a peaceful night?”

“Of course.”

Yeo Reum’s eyes fell on the dining table.

Unlike usual, only one portion of food was set on the large table.

The housekeeper said,

“The chairman and the executive director went out for a breakfast meeting, and the elder madam, younger madam, and young lady Ha Eun said they weren’t thinking of having breakfast.”

“Why aren’t they thinking of breakfast? I get hungry as soon as I open my eyes.”

The housekeeper pulled out a chair.

It was In Pyo’s seat right in front of Ju Hwa.

“Thank you.”

Soon, the head chef brought a warm stew on a serving cart and placed it on the white mat.

“I’ll enjoy the meal, Chef.”

“Yes.”

He was also smiling from ear to ear.

Yeo Reum put her hands together and said loudly,

“I’ll gratefully, deliciously, and really enjoy this meal!”

The cooking team laughed softly.

Yeo Reum picked up her spoon and really began eating her breakfast deliciously.

Just then, Ha Eun entered the dining room holding a mug.

“You’ve even taken over my brother’s seat, looking quite grand.”

“Don’t pick a fight in front of delicious food.”

Ha Eun snorted as if dumbfounded and went outside.

She stopped walking roughly, turned around and said,

“Let’s see how long that attitude lasts.”

*

Yeo Reum spent the whole day in the study except for mealtimes.

In that time, her wristwatch showed 6 PM.

She put down the book she was holding and went outside.

The housekeeper was putting on outerwear.

“Are you going home now?”

“Yes, young lady.”

“You worked hard today.”

“Not at all.”

“Go home safely. See you tomorrow.”

The housekeeper smiled at Yeo Reum’s greeting and left through the front door.

An hour after she left, the staff also went home.

It felt somehow lonely after being together all day.

But it was time for the staff to return to their real families.

When she returned to the study, there was a knock and Hye Suk entered.

“The elder madam is asking to see you in the first floor living room.”

“Why?”

“She says she has something to tell you.”

“Tell her to come here and say it.”

“I can’t say that.”

With no choice, she put down her book and followed Hye Suk.

The three women who hadn’t shown their faces all day were sitting on the living room sofa.

“Why did you call me?”

She first approached the sofa and sat facing them.

Jeong Mi smiled and asked,

“How is it sleeping in our Ha Eun’s room? Are you happy?”

“Yes. I’m so happy I can’t even express it. But did you call a busy person just to ask that?”

“Of course not.”

“What’s this about?”

“No matter how much I think about it, you really annoy me. I absolutely can’t let this go.”

“If you can’t let it go?”

“I think I need to teach you a little lesson.”

Yeo Reum said,

“How so?”

“I’m going to tell everything to elder brother about how you uploaded Ha Eun’s video on the internet.”

“Why the sudden self-destruction?”

“You’re really mistaken about something.”

“What?”

“Someone might think you’re the cherished granddaughter that elder brother dotes on. But in reality, you’re just a good-for-nothing.”

The three women smirked simultaneously.

“Is that so?”

“Of course, our Ha Eun will get scolded by elder brother for her mistake. But elder brother really cherishes Ha Eun. He’ll probably just scold her a bit and let it go. But you’re different.”

Jeong Mi glared at Yeo Reum and said,

“Not only am I appalled by your thoughtless actions, but you’re the one who made this issue blow up this much. Do you know how much disgrace the PR group has to bear because of you? Do you think elder brother will overlook that? You’ll probably die by elder brother’s hand. You’ll have to give that room back to our Ha Eun, and you’ll be eating meals again with the maids in the kitchen.”

“Really?”

“You don’t know how scary our elder brother is when he’s angry? So take down Ha Eun’s video right now before I report it to elder brother.”

Yeo Reum looked at the three women she was facing.

“What a load of nonsense.”

“What?”

“Hey, grandma. You should kneel down and beg me for forgiveness instead. Then I’ll think about it.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“Where do you get off pretending to care about me and threatening me? And I don’t care if that old hag gets mad at me. It’s no loss even if that old hag gets mad at Ha Eun and you too. Grandma, let’s go down together.”

“Hey!”

Whether they raised their voices or not, Yeo Reum got up from her seat.

“I have a lot of things to do, so.”

Yeo Reum leisurely waved a hand and headed to the study.

Furious, Jeong Mi exclaimed in disbelief.

“Is there really someone like that?”

“Mother. What do we do now? I don’t think Yeo Reum will ever take down the video. If this reaches Aunt’s ears, not only the young lady but you won’t be able to avoid responsibility either.”

Jeong Mi finally hit Ha Eun’s back in anger and shouted,

“I can’t live because of you! Why did you have to drink and cause trouble!”

“Mom, it hurts! I said it hurts!”

Sophia shook her head as if pathetic watching the loudly shouting mother and daughter.

*

Jung Rok was sitting at his office desk reviewing documents for approval.

Then there was a knock and the chief secretary entered.

“Chairman, young lady Hae Rin is here.”

“Tell her to go back.”

“Pardon?”

“As you can see, I have a lot of documents to approve.”

“But the young lady came all the way here…?”

As the chief secretary trailed off, Jung Rok raised his head.

“Secretary Kim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Am I engaged to Jin Hae Rin?”

“…Pardon?”

“Then why does everyone treat Hae Rin as my fiancée?”

“Well that’s…”

Jung Rok leaned back in his swivel chair and said leisurely,

“She’s the younger sister of an unfortunate friend. I’m just looking after her a bit because I’m concerned, but you’re all overreacting.”

The chief secretary quickly bowed his head and replied,

“I apologize.”

“You may go now.”

“Yes.”

Bowing politely, he quietly withdrew.

Jung Rok tried to review the documents again but put down his fountain pen.

He opened his laptop and clicked on the email at the very top.

The sender was ‘jjajangmyeon’ and there was no content, just one attached audio file.

That face of the woman who was perfectly fine even after a 2 hour and 49 minute soul-crushing session.

The image of Chogo calmly eating jjajangmyeon even at a luxury store clearly came to mind.

Jung Rok couldn’t help but laugh.

‘She’s really an interesting young lady.’