The first day Woo-jin went outside, he refused to leave his room afterward, but on the second day, he seemed more accustomed and even came out of his room after the walk to have lunch and tea.

Soo-yeong, who was tense from anxiety, relaxed seeing his more stable demeanor and sipped her instant coffee contentedly.

“We should start wearing warmer clothes soon as the weather is getting colder,” she suggested.

“Why bother dressing up just to go to the entrance?” Woo-jin grumbled.

“The walking pace might get faster, and we might go further,” she said hopefully.

“Don’t push it. If things go wrong, I might stop going out,” Woo-jin growled. Who was this walk for anyway? Soo-yeong rolled her eyes at him secretly.

“Look straight ahead. Your eyes will become like a flatfish,” he said, noticing her expression.

Startled by his uncanny perception, Soo-yeong quickly looked down.

She thought staying out of his room was a good sign, but his sensitivity was just as sharp as the first day. It seemed he was only outwardly more comfortable.

“If you’re done with coffee, go rest,” Woo-jin suggested.

“What will you do?” she asked.

“I need to sweep the house.”

“There’s no point. You won’t even notice the difference,” he remarked.

“Why not? It looks clean after sweeping.”

“I’ve felt it with my hands, and the dust is still there. Do you know I end up cleaning it again? These days, I’m replacing exercise with cleaning.”

“What? I clean properly…”

Despite her protest, Soo-yeong felt a bit stung. Cleaning was never her strong suit. She had improved a lot, trying not to embarrass her aunt.

But it seemed her efforts were still noticeable. She couldn’t feel the dust that even a blind person could sense.

Soo-yeong glanced around the kitchen and corridor. To her eyes, the floors shone spotlessly.

“And, do you not clean the bathroom? It smells like water in there.”

“Water smell? Can you even smell that? Are you a dog?”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that you can’t smell it?”

“Well, I haven’t noticed it before…”

Woo-jin’s look of disbelief made Soo-yeong’s voice trail off.

“Only you and Ji-hyun use that bathroom. If it smells, it means it’s not cleaned well enough.”

Soo-yeong thought Woo-jin must be tired from his overly developed senses.

He felt the house was getting dirtier since Soo-yeong arrived. He even saw cockroaches he only knew from school storerooms, and his hands felt grimy.

He considered asking Ji-hyun to call a disinfection company for a day, but the thought of strangers intruding gave him a headache.

“I didn’t major in cleaning, you know. I studied education,” Soo-yeong grumbled.

“Who majors in cleaning? There’s no ‘Cleaning Studies’ degree. It’s just about being clean or dirty. I’m clean, you’re dirty.”

“Jeez, it’s about whether you make a fuss about it or not. How can you, who can’t see, tell if it’s clean or dirty?”

“That’s the point. Even I can tell, but you can’t…”

Woo-jin’s face showed increasing disbelief. They were from different worlds, and the conversation seemed endless.

Yet, why they continued to stay together was something neither Woo-jin nor Soo-yeong could fully comprehend.

Then, Woo-jin’s phone started chirping. He hesitated whether to answer it or not.

Soo-yeong peeked at his phone and saw ‘Sister-in-law’ displayed.

“It’s your sister-in-law. Answer it.”

But Woo-jin snapped, snatching the phone.

“Why are you looking at someone else’s phone?”

“I wasn’t trying to look; I just saw it. You can look at my phone too!”

“I can’t see! Are you a goldfish?”
While the two were bickering, the phone that had been chirping fell silent. Then, there were loud knocking sounds from outside the door.

“Who’s that?” Woo-jin asked wearily.

“It’s your sister-in-law. Open the door. She always calls from the front of the house, asking if she can come in.”

Soo-yeong hurried to the entrance and opened the door. Yeon-seo, seeing the neighbor girl she had met before opening the door, was startled, looking around to confirm if she was at the right house. She then loudly greeted.

“Ah, hello? You’re the… niece, right? Soo… Hee?”

Soo-yeong realized for the first time since coming to this house that her name was difficult to remember. From Joo-young to Lee Soo-yeong, and now Soo-hee.

Accustomed to her name being mispronounced, she cheerfully corrected her name.

“It’s Kim Soo-yeong.”

“Oh, right!”

Yeon-seo’s reaction made Soo-yeong think that she and the representative seemed well-matched.

“When do you get off work? I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I get off at 4 PM.”

“Oh? It’s past 4 now?”

Then, suddenly a large presence loomed behind them, and Woo-jin’s sharp voice cut off their conversation.

“We were having tea.”

“Oh, Young Master. Sorry, you didn’t answer your phone…”

Yeon-seo, meeting Woo-jin for the first time since being scolded, cautiously glanced at him. Woo-jin, however, just stared blankly into space.

To break the awkward atmosphere, Soo-yeong gestured with her hand and said,

“Please come in. I was just about to leave.”

“Why are you leaving so soon?”