Soo Young, who had slept soundly as if in her own home, opened her heavy eyes with difficulty at the feeling of someone tapping her shoulder. She then saw the person in front of her and got up with a start.

Standing before her eyes was that strange man she had seen at the bookstore.

“Oh!”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

As he said this with a slight smile, Soo Young looked around frantically and asked in confusion.

“H-how did you, where is this?”

Having slept and woken up in a daze, she was even confused about where she had been sleeping.

“Perhaps you came as Young Mi’s replacement?”

“What? Ah! Oh, that’s right! Hello, I’m Kim Soo Young. Jo Young Mi is my aunt, and since she hurt her back, I came instead.”

As she bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle and hurriedly greeted him, he responded with the same gentle smile he had at the bookstore.

“Yes. I heard about that. Is Jo Young Mi doing alright? I didn’t expect she would send her niece as a replacement.”

“Ah, I’m only coming today. Starting tomorrow, someone else is supposed to come.”

“Who else?”

“Pardon? Well, I’m not really sure…”

At this, his expression became quite serious. Soo Young carefully asked while watching his reaction.

“By any chance… are you that sensitive homeowner I’ve heard about?”

“Pardon?”

He suddenly pursed his lips as if trying to hold back laughter, then swallowed his chuckle and said:

“I’m not the homeowner, but I am close with him.”

Just then, his mobile phone buzzed. He looked at the screen and pressed the call button with a slightly stiff expression.

“Yeah, I got it, I got it… I was just talking to her… Yeah, sorry, sorry.”

After hanging up the phone, he let out a small sigh and then, pointing at his phone, spoke in a whisper:

“This person is that person.”

“What?”

“The sensitive homeowner.”

Soo Young turned to look towards the room. Wasn’t she at home?

“Yes. The person in that room is correct.”

He continued to speak in a low voice.

“But why did he call…”

“He extremely dislikes showing his face. Jo Young Mi also never saw the homeowner’s face, right?”

That seemed to be the case. She had spoken about the homeowner as if she had heard about him through someone else, saying things like “I heard he’s like this.”

“Anyway, let’s go out. The sensitive homeowner is very angry right now. You only need to work from 2 PM to 4 PM.”

“Ah, but starting tomorrow, someone else…”

“Oh right, that’s true.”

While maintaining his kind demeanor, he hurriedly guided Soo Young to the entrance.

“It was nice to meet you. I hope Jo Young Mi recovers quickly.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Soo Young awkwardly bowed to him as he closed the front door without looking back, then got on the elevator.

Looking at her watch, it was 4:30 PM. She had stayed 30 minutes over the contracted time. No, she had slept.

Although it was only a short time of two and a half hours, perhaps because she had slept and woken up, it felt as if a very long time had passed. Soo Young patted her cheeks while looking in the elevator mirror.

It felt like she had been in a different world. Maybe it was because she had been in a spacious, cool, and quiet place, but she felt strangely good. She suddenly became curious about who the homeowner might be.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Wow. It’s totally a dream job, isn’t it? There’s nothing to do…”

Soo Young excitedly reported about her part-time job to her aunt at the hospital. Young Mi smiled and replied to her enthusiastic niece.

“Right? But wasn’t there anything to clean up on the dining table? No lunchbox cases or anything?”

“There wasn’t anything. It looked like the kitchen hadn’t been used at all.”

“Really? That’s strange. Is he not eating well again…”

As Young Mi spoke with a rather serious expression, Soo Young asked with a puzzled look.

“The homeowner doesn’t eat well?”

“Seems that way. The representative always asked if there were empty lunchboxes, and if there weren’t, he didn’t like it.”

That strange man must be the representative.

“Does he eat lunch from a lunchbox?”

“Yes. Whether it’s delivered or not, there’s a black lunchbox in the fridge. It seems to be a system where you wash it and put it back, and then they take it away.”

“The homeowner must be rich. Ordering lunchboxes for every meal would be really expensive.”

“The owner seems to be an extremely neat person. There’s absolutely no trace of someone living there, right?”

Soo Young nodded in agreement.

“I thought there was no one in the room either. It was so quiet. But that representative guy said he was in the room. He didn’t come out though, and even talked to that man on the phone.”

“Ah, you met that representative? I’ve only talked to him too. Where’s his business card…”

Young Mi tried to turn towards the drawer but winced and frowned, saying “Ouch.”

“Aunt, be careful. What are you looking for?”

Soo Young asked as she stood up from her seat.

“No, I have that person’s business card in my wallet. I wanted to show it to you.”

“It’s fine. No need to look at it.”

“Did you tell them that someone else will be coming from tomorrow?”

Young Mi asked as she straightened her painful back.

“Who? That representative? No? He didn’t seem to know? So I told him that starting tomorrow, someone else will be coming instead of me.”

At this, Young Mi’s face changed to a slightly bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about? Weren’t they supposed to find someone?”

“Huh? The way they were talking, it seemed like they thought we were sending a replacement person.”

“No, they should find a replacement themselves. If they’re asking me to find someone…”

But thinking about it, since she was the one who got injured, it seemed right that she should find her own replacement. As Young Mi fell silent, lost in thought mid-sentence, Soo Young asked:

“What is it, Aunt?”

“Soo Young.”

“Yes.”

“It looks like they haven’t found anyone yet. Would you be willing to continue this part-time job for just one week?”

“And after a week?”

“After a week, I’ll try to go back somehow.”

At this, Soo Young frowned deeply and said:

“How can you go back with that back? Didn’t the doctor say you shouldn’t move for at least 3 weeks?”

“The work isn’t that physically demanding, and if I’m careful, it should be fine. If you could just cover for me for a week… Ah, nevermind. Your mother would scold me. What am I saying to someone preparing for employment.”

As Young Mi waved her hand dismissively, Soo Young suddenly had a lot to think about.

It’s not like she’s getting employed right now anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to at least do this part-time job in the meantime? It’s not like she’ll suddenly get employed by sticking to the library all the time.

“Aunt. I’ll just do that part-time job until I get employed.”

However, Young Mi’s eyes briefly lit up with expectation before she shook her head again.

“No, what kind of part-time job is this, being a housekeeper? Your mother won’t like it.”

“Then, let’s just not tell mom for now.”

At this, Young Mi let out a small laugh and said:

“Oh my, as if your mother wouldn’t find out.”

Although the idea of working part-time without her mother knowing felt a bit uncomfortable, Soo Young thought it wouldn’t matter much since it was only two hours a day, and she persistently persuaded her aunt.

“I’ll be at the library all day anyway, just leaving for a short time to do the part-time job and coming back. It might be good to clear my head too. And if I keep it going, won’t you be able to continue this job later, Aunt? Are you going to quit just like this? It seemed too good to give up.”

Honestly, the biggest reason for wanting to continue the part-time job was to repay the kindness to her aunt who had raised her during her childhood.

Now that she’s an adult, even if she can’t give pocket money to the aunt who raised her, shouldn’t she at least be able to help with her work?

And she thought that if this was the reason, her mother would understand even if she found out later.

“I’ll do well so that you won’t be criticized, Aunt. I’ll make sure you can return gloriously later. Trust me once.”

As Soo Young said this with a confident smile, Young Mi felt grateful but also somewhat worried. If the homeowner was a man, would it be okay to send a young girl to that house?

But in the six months she had worked there, the homeowner had never once come out of his room. He probably wouldn’t even know who the housekeeper was.

Young Mi thought that nothing would happen in a week and reluctantly nodded her head.

[This is the timeline separator]

The house was just as desolate and immaculately clean as yesterday.

Following what Young Mi had told her, Soo Young first went to the kitchen to check if there was anything to clean up, then quickly took out the nonwoven mop from the utility room and diligently wiped the floor.

The sound-sensitive homeowner even disliked the noise of a vacuum cleaner, so only the nonwoven mop could be used.

The few pieces of furniture just needed to be wiped once with a dry cloth.

When asked about laundry, she was told it was outsourced, so there was no need to touch it. And for all this, 2 million won a month. Is the homeowner a chaebol?

It was a bit bothersome that she had to work from 2 PM to 4 PM even on weekends, but since there was additional pay for weekends, it seemed reasonable enough.

After sweeping the wide floor with the mop and roughly wiping the furniture with a dry cloth, there was inevitably an hour left again.

Afraid she might doze off again if she just sat on the sofa like yesterday, she decided to look around the house to see if there was anything to organize.

Judging by the atmosphere of the house, it was certain there was no woman living here.

There was no trace of anything cute or cozy. The furniture colors were all black or gray, giving a gloomy feeling.

It seemed like no attention was paid to interior design, with only the necessary furniture placed in its position.

If there was anything unusual, it was that one room had been entirely converted into a gym.

From a treadmill to pulling machines, lifting machines, and other unnameable devices, everything was equipped.

There were even dumbbells of various weights. Soo Young carefully picked up the lightest dumbbell.

It seemed like there should be a full-length mirror to check one’s posture, but there wasn’t one.

Come to think of it, there was no mirror in the bathroom either. She had realized this last time while looking at the elevator mirror.

Does the homeowner live without looking at mirrors? Or does he only keep mirrors in the master bedroom? Shouldn’t there be at least one in the bathroom, no matter what?

Lost in thought, Soo Young absent-mindedly lifted and lowered the dumbbell, then put it down and left the room.

Now there were 30 minutes left. Is it necessary to fill the exact time when there’s nothing to do?

Although her aunt had kindly given her the representative’s number, telling her to call him if she had any questions, she didn’t have the courage to ask if she could leave early.

Planning to leave as soon as the clock struck 4, Soo Young had her bag slung diagonally across her body when she suddenly, impulsively, tiptoed towards the firmly closed master bedroom.

She pressed her ear tightly against the door, straining to hear if there was any sound from inside, but there was nothing. Is there really someone in there?

Just as she pressed her ear so hard against the door that her cheek was squished:

“Ahem!”

Suddenly, there was a deliberate cough from inside, as if meant to be heard. Soo Young was so startled that she stumbled backwards and ended up falling on her backside.

The pain in her tailbone was secondary; feeling like she had been caught trying to eavesdrop, she fled from the house like a child caught stealing.

[This is the timeline separator]

The next day, while watching a TOEIC lecture online in the information browsing room, Soo Young hurriedly went out to the hallway to answer a call from her aunt.

As soon as she pressed the call button, her aunt’s flustered voice came through.

“Soo Young!”

“Aunt? How are you feeling?”

“Soo Young, did you touch anything in that house yesterday? Or maybe moved something and didn’t put it back?”

“Huh? No? There’s nothing like that.”

Suddenly, the memory of picking up the dumbbell yesterday flashed through her mind. Where had she put that? She vaguely thought she had put it back in its place, but couldn’t be certain.

“Why? Did something happen?”

“No, that representative person called and said the person who worked yesterday didn’t put things back in their place, causing the homeowner to trip and fall. He asked who had come and gone.”

“Oh no! Did the homeowner get hurt? Because of me?”

As Soo Young raised her voice, forgetting she was in a library, a passing library staff member put a finger to their lips.

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Then what should I do? Is Aunt going to lose her job because of me?”

As Soo Young spoke with a tearful voice, Young Mi tried to calm her niece.

“No. He didn’t say anything like that. So, you don’t know what happened?”

“Honestly, I can’t remember. Aunt, I’ll go and apologize today.”

“No. He said we don’t need to come until my back gets better.”

At Young Mi’s words, Soo Young felt her heart sink. What she had intended to help her aunt had ended up potentially costing her aunt her job.

Suddenly feeling tears welling up, Soo Young quickly blinked to hold them back. As her niece remained silent, Young Mi spoke in a kind voice to console her.

“He didn’t say not to come at all. He just said they’d handle it themselves for now. Don’t worry about it, Soo Young. I was too surprised and called you. Don’t worry and focus on your job preparation, okay? And thank you for helping with my work.”

At her aunt’s words, Soo Young didn’t know what to say. She felt extremely perplexed about how to fix this situation.

She sat back down in the browsing room, but there was no way the content of the online lecture could enter her preoccupied mind.

After much deliberation about what to do, Soo Young decided to go and apologize to the homeowner first.

True to her impatient nature, she quickly packed up her things and slung her bag diagonally across her body. Time was of the essence.

Breathing heavily, Soo Young arrived at the front door of that house. She was about to enter the passcode but thought it would be more polite to officially ring the bell since she had come when told not to.

However, for some reason, the bell sound couldn’t be heard. No matter how many times she pressed it, everything remained silent. As if it had been deliberately set not to make a sound.

“What should I do?”

Biting her nails and pacing back and forth in front of the entrance, Soo Young soon swallowed hard and carefully pressed the six-digit passcode.

As the door opened silently, she cautiously entered the house where, once again, not a single sign of life could be felt.

The house was unchanged from yesterday. The wide space, the gloomy yet luxurious furniture, all in exactly the same places.

Cautiously entering the room where the exercise equipment was placed, just in case, Soo Young was surprised to find that the dumbbells, which had been displayed by weight, had been completely cleared away.

Certain it was because of her, Soo Young could only stand there blankly, feeling desperate again. What should she do?

Coming back out to the living room, she quietly approached the tightly closed door and stood still.

She felt she should meet the homeowner to clarify that it wasn’t her aunt’s fault, but her own, and apologize, but she couldn’t muster the courage to knock.

Raising and lowering her hand several times, she rubbed away the tears that kept welling up with the back of her hand. What should she do?

In the end, unable to knock, as she slowly turned around, her eyes caught something she hadn’t seen yesterday.

On the grand piano, beautifully placed next to the floor-to-ceiling window, she saw a white stick with a red ribbon around it. What could that be?

As she unconsciously approached the piano, a sharp voice of an unbroken tone came from behind her.

“Don’t touch it.”

Startled, she turned around to see that the door that had been closed like a fortress was now open, and in front of it, a character from that Seol Yong author’s work had taken human form and was glaring at her.