When Eun Seo returned home from work, a short elderly man was lingering in the yard. It was the very person she had seen in the video, Butler Kim.

She recognized him immediately, but of course she couldn’t let on. Eun Seo approached with a deliberately wary expression, feigning ignorance.

“Um, excuse me, but who are you… I was told the landlord would be coming.”

“Ah, you must be the tenant. I apologize for the intrusion.”

The man bowed politely. Though dressed like an ordinary rural farmer, his attitude and way of speaking naturally exuded dignity, perhaps from years of working as a butler.

“I am an acquaintance of the landlord. I came to see the house with him briefly, but he suddenly had to step out, so I’m waiting for him.”

Eun Seo felt puzzled. Seung Joo left on his own in the middle of meeting with the old man?

“Where did he go?”

Butler Kim looked at Eun Seo with slightly perplexed eyes. His gaze seemed to say, why are you asking that? After all, it was none of a tenant’s business where the landlord who briefly came to see the house had gone.

“Actually, I’m also an employee of Daewon Construction. I wanted to greet the CEO when he arrived.”

She took out her employee ID and showed it. Only then did Butler Kim’s expression soften.

“Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, I forgot that the young master mentioned yesterday he was close with the tenant.”

“So where did the CEO go?”

“I’m not sure. He suddenly ran out in the middle of our conversation. He’s not answering his phone either… I was waiting in case he might come back.”

They had planned to meet at lunchtime, and it was evening now, meaning several hours had already passed since he left. Eun Seo felt a sense of foreboding.

“What exactly were you talking about when he left?”

“We were discussing the late madam.”

The word “late” caught Eun Seo’s ear. Wondering if Seung Joo had been upset by the same thing, she deliberately corrected him.

“You mean the CEO’s mother? She’s been missing for a long time, not passed away.”

“Ah, you don’t know, I see.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Butler Kim said:

“Actually, the madam’s remains were found two years ago.”

“What?”

Eun Seo couldn’t believe her ears.

“She had already been legally declared dead long ago, and since it wasn’t good news, we didn’t notify the press. We only reported it to the police and held a quiet funeral with just family members, without receiving mourners. Since there were no news articles, the general public doesn’t know about it.”

Eun Seo’s heart began to race.

To think that Seung Joo’s mother, whom he had waited for so long, was already deceased.

Butler Kim’s face was full of sorrow.

“Even now, my heart breaks when I think of the young master’s expression on the day of the madam’s funeral. He couldn’t even cry because those people were there…”

When he said “those people,” a flash of disgust crossed his otherwise polite face, and Eun Seo could guess what he meant. Probably referring to the stepmother and half-sibling.

The mention of a funeral suddenly reminded her of something.

“Excuse me, when was the madam’s funeral?”

“It was autumn the year before last, around this time.”

“Ah…!”

A groan escaped Eun Seo’s lips.

Autumn two years ago. A rainy day.

The man sitting blankly in this yard.

“Forgive me for asking, but are you perhaps in a special relationship with our young master?”

Taking her hesitation as affirmation, a smile appeared on the old man’s face.

“I thought so. Given the young master’s personality, he wouldn’t easily call someone a close acquaintance.”

He seemed to have misunderstood it as a romantic relationship, but Eun Seo didn’t deny it. Her mind was already filled with worry for Seung Joo.

Where on earth had he gone? How shocked must he be by now?

“He’s a pitiful person who can’t cry even when he wants to.”

Butler Kim took off his hat and bowed politely to Eun Seo.

“Please take good care of the young master.”

*

No matter how many times she called, his phone remained turned off.

[The madam’s remains were enshrined at the Memorial Center in Yangju. It’s where her parents are.]

Upon hearing Butler Kim’s words, Eun Seo immediately rushed out and boarded a train to Yangju.

So the mother Seung Joo had been waiting for all this time was already gone. He had even attended her funeral. He had simply forgotten.

On the way to Yangju, Eun Seo recalled the day she first saw him two years ago. That day, he was wearing a black suit with a black tie. It was unmistakably attire for attending a funeral.

‘So that was his mother’s funeral.’

Kwon Seung Joo had been staring endlessly at the front gate. As if waiting for someone who would never return. Now she understood why he had looked like he was about to collapse.

Imagining how he must have felt at the time made Eun Seo’s heart ache anew. What must it have been like to have the mother he had waited over ten years for return as bones overnight? Having family she had been waiting for a long time herself, the mere thought made her chest tighten.

[I used to live here briefly long ago. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to sit here for just a moment.] [Then… please make yourself comfortable.]

Eun Seo was deeply grateful that she hadn’t chased him away then. At the time, she had answered impulsively without knowing the situation, but if she had told him to leave… The thought alone made her shudder.

The problem was that Seung Joo had only just learned this fact now. How shocked he must be.

[My mom is not the type of person who would die leaving me behind.] [I haven’t given up on my mom either. I won’t give up until the very end.]

Seung Joo firmly believed his mother was alive somewhere. That’s why he had told Eun Seo to hang in there and search together, to hang in there and wait together…

Now she felt the cruelty of losing one’s memories to her very bones. Why make him suffer the pain of losing his mother twice?

In the agonizingly slow-moving train, Eun Seo fidgeted restlessly. He must be crying alone right now. I should be by his side.

After getting off at Yangju Station and taking a taxi for about 20 minutes, she finally arrived at the Memorial Center. Unable to call out “Seung Joo!” in the quiet, solemn place, Eun Seo ran between the areas where the remains were enshrined, searching for him.

The moment she caught sight of a large figure in a suit from behind, she felt weak with relief.

Eun Seo quietly stood beside him.

The name was written on the snow-white urn Seung Joo was staring at.

Kang Hye Sun.

It was Seung Joo’s mother’s name.

“…”

Not daring to look at what expression Seung Joo might have, she quietly gazed at the urn. Eventually, a voice came from above her head.

“Before coming here, I stopped by the police station. The one that used to be in charge of Mom’s case.”

His tone was calm, but his voice was hoarse. She could tell how much he had cried.

“They were already skeletal remains when found, so it’s hard to estimate accurately, but they think she probably passed away around the time she left home.”

“…”

“Not knowing that, I waited every single day. Mom must have been so lonely, all alone in the mountains where no one looked for her…!”

His voice broke with tears again at the end. Eun Seo couldn’t find any words to say.

“…Seung Joo.”

“Why couldn’t I protect Mom? I was just a burden to her, only making things difficult…”

Seeing the innocent child blame himself broke her heart. Eun Seo reached out and grasped both his shoulders.

“Mom would never have thought of you as a burden. Even if it was hard, she lived for your sake.”

“No. In her last letter, she clearly said she was tired…”

“No, it’s thanks to you that Mom endured until then.”

Eun Seo said firmly.

Why? Though she had never met his mother, she could know for certain. Betrayed by her husband, all that woman had left was her child. Seung Joo must have been the only light in her life.

“Did they say she took her own life?”

Seung Joo shook his head, his eyes bright red.

“It was too long ago to determine the cause of death…”

“See? She probably just went out for some fresh air because she felt stuffy and had an accident.”

There was no way it could have been suicide. How could anyone die leaving behind a child like Seung Joo?

Imagining how his mother must have felt in her final moments, Eun Seo choked up. How could she have closed her eyes leaving behind her young son? How much, how much regret she must have felt…

“Do you think so? Really, Mom…”

His broad shoulders shook.

Eun Seo spread her arms wide and tightly hugged the child who had only grown tall. Seung Joo burst into tears, burying his face in her shoulder.

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

Stroking his back, which seemed twice as wide as hers, Eun Seo looked at the snow-white urn over his shoulder.

She spoke in her heart to his mother, whom she knew only by name.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll protect Seung Joo no matter what.’

*

Back at Yangju Station, as they were buying train tickets, Seung Joo suddenly hesitated.

“Can I go with you, elder sister?”

Surprised by the sudden question, Eun Seo turned to look at him.

“What else would you do?”

“I don’t have the excuse of waiting for Mom anymore.”

Only then did Eun Seo realize what Seung Joo was thinking.

“Actually, I knew. If she hadn’t returned in 15 years, it would be hard for her to come back in the future. But I wanted to stay at your house, even with the excuse of waiting for Mom. Because I had nowhere else to go…”

With his eyes still red and swollen, Seung Joo looked at her hesitantly.

“Now that I know Mom has passed away, can I still stay at your house?”