The Heiress in Blue (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
A loud bang came from the bathroom door.
The cleaning team looked deeply worried, but Team Leader Pyo stood with her arms crossed and ordered,
“Stack more. More.”
The cleaning team had no choice but to bring another nearby sofa to block the bathroom entrance.
The sofas, already piled high, would be utterly impossible for Yeoreum to open by herself.
Just then, Hye Suk approached Team Leader Pyo.
She held out Yeoreum’s stolen phone and said,
“I’ve turned off all the lights in the bathroom and turned on the air conditioner.”
Taking the phone, Team Leader Pyo asked,
“You set the temperature to the lowest setting, right?”
“Yes.”
Hearing their conversation, the cleaning team felt chills run down their spines.
It sounded as if the two were trying to freeze Yeoreum to death.
“What was the reason for gathering everyone?”
“I sent a text saying it was Team Leader Pyo’s order—told them to come running immediately.”
“Good work.”
She tried to search through the phone, but fingerprint recognition prevented her from opening it.
She simply tucked it into her pants pocket.
Unless someone moved those sofas, Jeong Yeoreum wouldn’t be able to leave the bathroom.
And of course, with the phone in her possession, Yeoreum couldn’t even make a call for help.
Just then, employees were seen arriving on the second floor.
Team Leader Pyo and Hye Suk walked toward the central living room.
The cleaning team followed behind them.
“Everyone, stand up straight!”
Hye Suk shouted toward the employees.
They quickly formed neat rows and stood at attention.
“Go ahead and speak, Team Leader.”
Team Leader Pyo stepped forward with an arrogant expression.
She scanned the face of each employee one by one.
Whenever her eyes met someone’s, they quickly lowered their heads, afraid of being singled out for no reason.
But the Chief Cook was different.
Lean and sharp-tempered, he stared directly at Team Leader Pyo.
“Our Chief Cook Baek is as stiff as ever, isn’t he?”
“What’s the reason for calling all staff here at this hour?”
“Reason? Must there always be a reason when I summon someone?”
“What did you say?”
“Do you still not understand—or are you just pretending not to? I’m your superior, Chief Cook Baek.”
He replied,
“A Team Leader is just a peer. Among the staff, only Butler Park qualifies as our superior.”
“Oh dear, that’s not right at all. With someone like me around—someone who can easily have your head on a platter—we call that real power.”
Seeing the Chief Cook’s scowling face, Team Leader Pyo smiled brightly.
“Anyway, since I’ve gathered everyone, I suppose I should explain my reason.”
The employees, their faces tense, all stared at Team Leader Pyo.
“It seems you’ve all made a serious mistake. So I called you here for a little mental re-education. Specifically, about Jeong Yeoreum.”
The Chief Cook’s brow furrowed deeply.
Team Leader Pyo continued indifferently,
“Let me be absolutely clear once again. Jeong Yeoreum is nothing more than the daughter of Kim Se Jin—the woman who’s our Chairwoman’s sworn enemy. She’s no young lady of this household—just a slave bound to this house for twenty years. No, not even a slave.”
“That’s going too far.”
It was the Chief Cook who spoke.
“How is that too far? It’s the truth.”
“……Team Leader Pyo!”
“Has the Chairwoman ever once looked Jeong Yeoreum’s way? Has she ever acknowledged her? Or even sat at the same table to share a meal? As you all well know, she never has. Chief Cook Baek, you’re old enough—show some awareness. If you want to survive in this house, you’d better choose your side carefully.”
“No matter how you look at it, you can’t deny that the young lady shares the Chairwoman’s blood. And Team Leader Pyo—shouldn’t people live with some humanity? The young lady is still young, torn from her parents against her will. Doesn’t that stir even a bit of pity in you? Don’t you feel any sorrow for her?”
Team Leader Pyo suddenly burst into laughter.
“Feeling pity and forgetting your place are two completely different things. Jeong Yeoreum isn’t the young lady of this house—yet she acts as if she is. I’m simply teaching her proper manners so she learns her true position.”
Team Leader Pyo pointed down the hallway.
It was the massive pile of sofas blocking the bathroom door.
“Team Leader Pyo, you don’t mean to…?”
“That’s right. Jeong Yeoreum is in there.”
“Are you insane?”
Chief Cook Baek finally shouted.
“Insane? I’ve never been more sane. I turned off every light in there and set the air conditioner to its coldest setting. By now, Jeong Yeoreum’s freshly washed body is probably half-frozen.”
Hye Suk stepped in front of Chief Cook Baek just as he tried to turn and rush off.
At Team Leader Pyo’s glance, the cleaning team stood firmly behind him.
“Move! Right now! What kind of barbaric thing are you doing!”
Chief Cook Baek yelled.
“What’s all this noise about?”
A voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned around in unison.
It was Ha Eun, walking up the stairs.
The staff immediately bowed their heads to her.
“Discipline here has really gone downhill. The front door’s wide open, and nobody even notices a guest has arrived. And why are you all gathered like this?”
Chief Cook Baek immediately approached Ha Eun and said,
“Miss, please—save Young Miss Yeoreum.”
“What are you talking about?”
Team Leader Pyo stepped forward and said,
“It’s Miss Jeong Yeoreum. She’s locked in there.”
“What?”
Ha Eun looked toward the hallway Team Leader Pyo indicated.
Sofas had been stacked tightly, completely blocking the bathroom entrance.
“I turned off all the bathroom lights and set the air conditioner to the lowest temperature.”
Ha Eun immediately understood and said,
“Good job.”
Seeing Ha Eun’s praise, Chief Cook Baek’s face twisted in shock.
“I was just boiling with rage over that girl myself.”
“Were you?”
“Don’t even get me started. It made my blood run cold—but Team Leader Pyo just cleared my long-standing frustration. You really are this household’s best employee.”
“Thank you. But Miss—”
“What?”
“There’s someone here openly defying what I’m doing. What should I do about them?”
Ha Eun glanced briefly at Chief Cook Baek and said,
“If anyone dares oppose you, fire them.”
“But is that really okay? It’s outside my jurisdiction.”
“Mother would definitely agree. Team Leader Pyo, do as you please.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Ha Eun, who’d looked weary just moments before, now walked lightly toward her room.
Chief Cook Baek was utterly speechless.
But with a determined look, he turned toward the bathroom.
“If you, Chief Cook Baek, open that door, I’ll fire every single one of these people.”
His hurried steps came to an abrupt halt.
“What?”
Team Leader Pyo stepped right in front of him and said,
“I’ll fire everyone here. Go ahead—be noble and take away these people’s livelihoods. Is that really what you want?”
Looking at her smirking face, Chief Cook Baek said,
“……You’re truly wicked.”
“What did you say?”
“Team Leader Pyo, aren’t we all in the same boat? How can you toy with other people’s livelihoods like this—instead of helping your fellow household staff?”
Even seeing his contorted face, Team Leader Pyo grinned cheerfully and said,
“The same boat? Don’t be ridiculous. With just one word from me, your heads could roll tomorrow. Unlike you mayflies, I’ve got Big Madam backing me.”
Seeing the Chief Cook’s even more twisted expression, Team Leader Pyo smiled maliciously.
“If you’ve got the courage, go ahead and open that door. Thanks to you, funeral wails will echo across multiple households.”
The employees lowered their heads deeply.
Though clearly furious, the Chief Cook turned and walked down the stairs.
But he was seen quickly pulling out his phone.
“He’s probably going to call Butler Park.”
Hye Suk, who had approached Team Leader Pyo, said.
“Let him call if he wants. But it won’t matter—the young lady is on my side. And by the time the butler arrives, Jeong Yeoreum will already be frozen solid.”
“You’re right.”
Team Leader Pyo and Hye Suk burst into giggles.
Hearing their words, the Blue House staff looked even more guilt-ridden—but didn’t dare move a muscle.
*
No matter how hard she pushed with her body, the door wouldn’t budge.
It was definitely blocked tight from the outside.
“Well, I never thought I’d actually experience being locked up like this.”
Chilly air poured in from all directions, rapidly cooling her warm body.
The bathroom was now filled with a cold, biting chill—
even more so since she’d just bathed.
If she stayed here much longer, hypothermia would surely set in.
Anxiety and panic crept in—what if she couldn’t escape this dark, freezing place?
Yeoreum quickly shook her head.
‘No. This is nothing. There’s a way out. I just have to find it.’
The window overhead was large and wide, but the ceiling was too high—without a ladder, she couldn’t reach it, and it was certainly made of reinforced glass.
She wouldn’t be able to break it with her bare hands.
The only exits in this bathroom were the door and that window.
Yeoreum moved toward the window, where faint light still filtered in.
Although the house had many windows like a European castle, they were all quite small.
Still, if she squeezed hard enough, she might just fit through.
‘Of all things, why does it open upward?’
The window opened by lifting upward,
which would make the available space to crawl through even tighter.
Still, she opened the window and poked her head out to look around.
Thanks to the indirect lighting illuminating the garden, she had no trouble identifying her location.
‘It’s the second floor—why is it so high!’
It felt even higher than a third-floor apartment.
Well, this house did have incredibly high ceilings.
Even if she somehow squeezed through this window, there was nothing below to grab onto for climbing down.
Below the bathroom was just a smooth, flat wall—
and the ground was marble.
‘If I jump from here, I’ll probably break my legs—or worse, crack my skull if I’m unlucky.’
Just then, a balcony to the right caught her eye.
If she leaned out and stretched her arm, she might just reach it.
Plus, the balcony sat slightly lower than the bathroom window—if she could land safely there, she could grab the metal railing and jump down.
But unfortunately, directly across from the bathroom window was the smooth wall of the balcony.
“I can do this.”
Yeoreum made up her mind.
She couldn’t just freeze to death here.
She quickly turned around and slowly began pushing her legs out through the window.
But she immediately hit a snag.
Her body got tightly stuck in the frame.
‘Maybe I should’ve eaten just a little less for dinner.’
She wriggled her body desperately, trying to squeeze through.
She even held her breath tightly to shrink herself as much as possible.
Finally, her upper body slipped through—and Yeoreum dangled precariously from the windowsill.
She exhaled sharply, then slowly maneuvered herself as close as possible to the balcony’s wall.
She stretched out her right arm.
“Damn it!”
Her fingertips barely missed the wall.
Hanging from the window ledge, Yeoreum panted heavily.
‘……I can do it. I can grab it. Back in elementary school, I was the jungle gym champion! I used to swing across two or three bars effortlessly with these arms—like a real orangutan!’
Regaining her focus, Yeoreum concentrated all her strength and stretched her right arm out again.
Her hand finally grasped the balcony railing.
She immediately let go with her left hand.
For a moment, she swung freely—but barely managed to shift both hands onto the balcony wall.
Yeoreum gasped for breath.
Her body clung desperately to the thick balcony wall.
‘This is just like the jungle gym—I did this all the time in elementary school. Body, remember! You can do this!’
Compared to back then, her body had nearly doubled in size—but she decided to ignore that fact.
Carefully moving her hands, Yeoreum inched her way toward the front of the balcony.
‘Got it!’
Finally, she managed to grab the metal railing that formed the balcony’s edge—and even found space to plant her feet and catch her breath.
She looked down.
From this angle, the height seemed far less intimidating than it had from the bathroom window.
Even if she jumped, she probably wouldn’t die—
though landing on that marble floor might hurt “just a little.”
Yeoreum crouched down, gripping the balcony railing.
She slowly lowered one leg, then the other.
Once again, she dangled from the railing.
Yeoreum took one last deep breath—
and let go.
Her body dropped rapidly downward.
“Oof!”
Upon hitting the ground, Yeoreum couldn’t help but let out a groan.
“Oof… Oof…”
Barefoot, the impact shot straight through her feet, jolting her entire body.
“…Why does that old hag love marble so much?”
She frantically massaged both legs.
Then she suddenly shot upright.
She lifted first one leg, then the other, testing them.
They tingled slightly—but moved without any real problem.
“I’m perfectly fine?”
She felt genuinely proud of herself.
“Thank you, my body. You’re absolutely amazing. I’m so proud of you!”
Yeoreum hugged herself tightly, repeatedly expressing gratitude to her courageous body.
Then she turned back toward the brightly lit Blue House.
Tightening the bathrobe around her, she gritted her teeth.
“You started this, Team Leader Pyo.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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