Chapter 60
60
60. The Maid Left Alone (4)
He answered nonchalantly.
“I’ve used it often.”
“You do this often?”
“Only occasionally when I get introduced to this kind of work.”
“Unexpected.”
“I hear that often.”
The pen moved in his hand, creating a pleasant scratching sound. He seemed very familiar with writing, as if he had done it often. When I stared at him, he glanced at me.
“What.”
“No, I guess you can read too.”
“Of course.”
“Then why don’t you do something other than manual labor? Something you can do sitting down.”
“Who would hire someone like me for that kind of job? They’d hire someone more outstanding and educated than me. They say even the same writing looks better when done by someone smart.”
The pitiful words flowed out so calmly. He didn’t seem to care as he spoke. But the meaning behind them was not light. Rather, that calmness seemed to reveal the discrimination he had faced until now.
The difference in status leads to severe discrimination. And the discrimination is even harsher for those whose status is uncertain.
A life that doesn’t matter if it dies. Hadn’t I experienced that to the bone?
Knowing that, I couldn’t easily speak. When I fell silent, he didn’t say anything more either. The sound of the pen scratching filled the room again. But the short silence became heavier and more uncomfortable than before, almost unbearable. Eventually, I spoke again.
“What do you like so much about Alicia?”
“Her name is Alicia?”
“…You asked me to introduce you to her without even knowing her name?”
“Ha, I’ve never even talked to her.”
I sighed at his stammering. My heart, which had been trying to be serious for a moment, felt foolish. He shouted at my reaction.
“I, I could not know!”
“Yeah, yeah. So why do you like her?”
At my question, he calmed down and blushed. I frowned as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have. He replied shyly, not caring.
“She’s pretty.”
It was a blatant answer, but not incomprehensible.
Even though she was my own flesh and blood, Alicia’s appearance was truly flawless. She was worthy of the term beautiful. How could she not be, having cultivated and adorned herself her whole life?
Of course, Alicia knew her strengths well. So she feigned innocence and seduced men, enjoying being confessed to.
But Alicia had no interest in him. None, none at all. His predetermined future was truly pitiful.
“You just like her because she’s pretty?”
“She’s not just pretty, she’s too pretty. I fell in love at first sight. She was so pretty just standing there. She’s exactly the type of woman I’ve been looking for. The moment our eyes met, she smiled at me, and it was so great.”
Seeing his face glow with happiness as he recalled their first meeting, I was dumbfounded. He had said so much, but in the end, he liked her because she was pretty. He was really smitten. I scratched the back of my neck and shook my head.
“You haven’t even exchanged a word with her.”
“Still… haven’t you ever felt that way? Haven’t you ever felt fluttery just by looking at someone?”
He asked suddenly. Just as I was about to retort that I hadn’t, the news I had seen earlier flashed through my mind. A man and a woman who looked so good together, smiling kindly.
The calm face he used to show me suddenly stirred in my mind again. The trivial conversations we had while sitting across from each other, my awkward way of speaking and acting stiffly, and the man who crinkled his eyes at me. That unfamiliar smile.
“Hey, hey. What’s wrong with you?”
A hand waved in front of my eyes. The man who had been smiling kindly disappeared, and a man with wide eyes appeared. Seeing the face examining my condition, my dazed mind returned. I let out a hollow laugh. Memories I had long forgotten sometimes surfaced so vividly like this.
I shouldn’t. It’s because of the news I saw earlier. I shouldn’t have looked at it.
I smiled bitterly and buried my face in the paper. The man kept trying to look at my face. I avoided his gaze and buried my face deeper. My vision was blurry, and I couldn’t see the letters well. I didn’t want to show him my face, which was sure to look strange. Long bangs are useful in times like this.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“No.”
“What?”
“I said no, I haven’t. Not at all. Never.”
“……”
“And give up on Alicia. You’re not a good match for her.”
I always say this, but it’s advice for your own good. I muttered and finished the conversation. I kept my face buried in the paper and focused on copying. I pressed the pen tip hard on the paper, and the scratching sound echoed loudly.
“But when did you learn to read?”
“A long time ago.”
“A long time ago, when?”
“……”
Silence was a warning not to talk. When I didn’t answer, I felt a stinging gaze on my head. I thought he would ask why I was ignoring him, but this time he didn’t say anything more.
A day here passes quickly. I received my daily wage and held it in my arms. Copying pays quite well.
When I opened the door, the sky was dyed red. As I stared blankly, the man who had followed me out tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Why are you asking?”
“We’ll be seeing each other often, so it would be nice to know. My name is Johnny.”
He greeted me brightly. I turned to look at his smiling face with a sullen expression.
“You don’t need to know.”
“What?”
“Don’t act friendly either.”
Forming relationships with people is a hassle. Five years have passed, so there’s no reason to run away anymore, but I still wanted to be careful. Besides, I had never seen anything good come from getting involved with someone who was interested in Alicia. They keep bothering me to introduce them. It’s best to avoid things that will become annoying in advance.
I turned away, leaving him bewildered. The streets were busy with people passing by. Perhaps because a large square was located just beyond the building next door, there were many shops and street vendors in this area, so it was usually crowded, but in the evening, it was difficult to even walk. Thanks to that, I kept getting bumped into by people as I walked.
Just then, people were pouring out of the square. As I walked through the crowd, I suddenly realized that I had left my bag behind. I had been lost in thought and completely forgotten about it. I sighed and turned back.
It was when I reached Emily’s house, pushing my way back through the crowd. I saw someone standing in front of her house. Two adult men in dark coats and dark hats with narrow brims were talking to Emily.
Emily was dealing with them with a look of annoyance. But the men looked quite serious.
Who are they? I also held my breath and watched them.
Then someone tapped me on the shoulder. My body stiffened so much that I couldn’t even scream. I just moved my lips and rolled my eyes. Who is it, who is it? Who is it? I tried to move my stiff body and turned around.
And I met a face looking at me with a bewildered expression.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“……Haha. Hahaha.”
The strength drained from my stiff body. A sigh of relief escaped. The man who had introduced himself as Johnny was standing behind me. Seeing his face, I relaxed.
“What are you doing here?”
“I forgot my bag… What about you, why haven’t you left yet?”
“I was about to leave. More importantly, you! You ignored me and left!”
“Why are you always yelling? It’s noisy.”
“What? Hey!”
He shouted, and I gasped and covered his mouth. The men were still in front of Emily’s house. As I glanced back, Johnny struggled, making “Ugh, ugh” sounds. I dragged him, who couldn’t stay still, into the alley next door.
I only let him go after hiding. Johnny immediately spat out saliva. It wasn’t that bad, you know? I was dumbfounded, but I let it go for now, and hid behind the wall to check Emily’s house again.
Seeing me like that, Johnny asked what I was looking at. I told him to be quiet. Even so, my eyes were fixed on the men confronting Emily.
Seeing me not answering anymore, Johnny also stood behind me and looked ahead.
“Ah, they’re doing that again.”
“Do you know who they are?”
Surprised, I asked, and he looked at me as if to say, “Why wouldn’t I know?”
“Don’t you know? They’re the guys going around looking for people these days.”
“Looking for people?”
“Yeah. They’re looking for people to work. They’re famous these days. Two men in dark clothes with a dark atmosphere. Seems like a perfect match.”
“Famous?”
“Yeah. They seem a bit creepy too. The conditions are funny though.”
Johnny suddenly laughed. He seemed to have thought of the conditions. When I gestured to ask what they were, he continued.
“They only look for pretty people.”
“What?”
“Everyone who’s been offered a job by them is either a beautiful woman or a handsome man. In short, appearance is the condition. The employment conditions are so amazing that they make you gasp.”
He then told me that someone he knew had also received an offer. I looked ahead again. The conversation with Emily seemed to be over, and she was gone. Instead, two dark men were talking to each other. It was too noisy to hear what they were saying.
They only look for pretty or handsome people? It was such a blatant condition that I frowned. Is it the employer’s taste? Could it be a strange job? Like selling your body. That’s definitely possible. They say they go around looking for that kind of thing themselves.
“Did the person you know go with those men?”
“No. They said they felt bad and refused.”
Certainly, they’re strange people in many ways. Thinking that, I watched the men a little more, and then they suddenly turned their heads this way. I quickly hid behind the wall. Johnny, who had also hidden, looked at me strangely.
“What’s wrong?”
When I didn’t answer, Johnny tried to look outside again. I grabbed him and pushed him to the other side.
“Hey, hey, what is it? What’s wrong!”
“Just shut up and let’s go. Okay?”
I forcibly pushed his back, who kept trying to look back. Johnny grumbled and walked away. I glanced back and quickened my pace. The men I had seen earlier floated in my head. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s ominous. And when it’s ominous, it’s best to avoid it.
When I came out after washing up, the sky was dark. It was late, but Alicia didn’t seem to be coming. Did something happen? She’s the type to run off somewhere if left alone, so I was worried. Then the men I had seen during the day came to mind. They said they only look for pretty people, so maybe, she was caught by them?
A sense of foreboding rose. The feeling of apprehension gradually grew.
In the end, I was getting ready to go look for Alicia when the door suddenly burst open. Surprised, I turned around and saw Alicia stomping in.
“This is so annoying!”
She was already angry as soon as she came in.
“Why are you so late? Did something happen?”
“Ha! I had such bad luck on the way.”
Alicia sat down on a nearby chair with a sulky face. She leaned back against the backrest and crossed her legs. She was clearly showing that she was in a bad mood, so something must have really happened.
