Chapter 14
The Villain’s
Pure Devotion
An Ambiguous Farewell
After finishing a light breakfast at the Main Hall, Seongheon rose from his seat. As he stepped around the dining table, Manager Mun handed him his jacket.
Seongheon put on the jacket without much expression. When he reached out his hand, Yeonwoo, who was standing beside Manager Mun, handed him his briefcase.
“I was thinking of boiling some octopus for dinner. How does that sound to you, Vice President? Young Master Hyeonuk is quite fond of octopus.”
While Manager Mun struck up a conversation, Seongheon gripped the handle of the bag.
He caught a glimpse of Yeonwoo lowering her hands after having held the bottom of the bag steady with both palms, then he looked away.
“I don’t mind, so do as you see fit.”
“Yes, yes. Well then, I shall see you this evening.”
As Manager Mun bowed her head in farewell, Yeonwoo followed suit. Several other staff members bowed as well, and Seongheon left the Main Hall with their greetings behind him.
His footsteps, devoid of any haste or frivolity, created a neat, rhythmic sound. His straight-backed stride drew a line across the sun-drenched walkway.
Tap, tap. Seongheon walked toward the exit, but after a moment, he came to a brief halt.
He turned around at the faint sound of someone following him. Yeonwoo, who had been trailing at a distance, stopped in her tracks with a startled expression.
Seongheon looked at Yeonwoo, thrusting his free hand into his pocket.
Between them lay a gap of about twenty paces, through which a seasonal breeze blew, and sunlight danced as it broke through the leaves of the trees.
Yesterday, the woman embraced by the sunset had tormented his insides—
“Manager Mun asked me to collect the mail.”
The woman of the morning, embraced by the sunlight, tickled his heart.
Perhaps finding his heavy gaze burdensome, she offered an unnecessary explanation. Seongheon tilted his chin slightly, gesturing toward the exit.
“Let’s go.”
Let’s go. Seongheon said as he stepped to the side.
Taking it as a sign to go first, Yeonwoo moved with quick steps. As she brushed past him, she hurried even more, quickening her pace.
However, as soon as Yeonwoo passed him, Seongheon began to walk as well. Unsure whether he meant for her to lead or for them to walk together, Yeonwoo’s gait became awkward.
“Is the work manageable?”
When the question finally dropped, Yeonwoo adjusted her pace to match his.
“Yes. It is thanks to your consideration.”
Consideration? What did I do?
Seongheon let out a short, dry laugh at the response, which sounded more like a polite formality than a genuine sentiment.
「Yeonwoo was very popular back in school. She was kind, warm-hearted, and beautiful, too.」
There was a gap between the impression of the woman Hyeonuk had described and the woman standing here now.
It had been that way since they first crossed paths at the bus stop. The somewhat dark aura surrounding her seemed less like a calm composure and more like the air of someone who had lost their spirit.
While her shrinking shoulders and rigid expression weren’t exactly offensive, he had rarely seen her make any other face.
Though she had once worn a faint, thread-like smile while looking into the distance back at the quarters, it had been fleeting; she had stiffened the moment she noticed him. Thus, she remained in his memory not as a ‘smiling woman,’ but as the ‘woman who offered greetings with a frozen face.’
Yet the woman this morning was entirely different.
Standing before his younger cousin, she had let out a laugh that seemed to splash like transparent droplets of water. It was a natural, comfortable laugh that had completely let down all her guard.
Having witnessed that sight, Seongheon couldn’t help but find the rigid attitude she maintained beside him now to be bothersome.
No, more than that, it weighed on his mind.
Though she didn’t intend it, Yeonwoo felt herself becoming infinitely small whenever she stood before Seongheon. Every word was cautious, and her movements became unnatural.
And for good reason—Seongheon was a person of immense presence, a formidable adult, and the master of Domyeongjae, dwelling at the very top of its hierarchy.
Even without being told, her instincts accepted the class difference. It was only natural. The atmosphere of Domyeongjae dictated it, the seventy-something Manager Mun was more respectful than anyone, and the manual Yeonwoo read whenever she had a spare moment was filled with instructions on how to treat the Nam family.
Her mind filled only with the thought of how uncomfortable this was, Yeonwoo kept walking. There was no way they would have anything to talk about or any conversation to share.
“Have a safe trip.”
Having reached the gate before she knew it, Yeonwoo stopped. She looked at the red mailbox outside the gate, then turned her body toward Seongheon and bowed.
She hoped he would just head out through the gate. However, no matter how long she waited, the shoes in front of her showed no intention of moving, so Yeonwoo tentatively lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
As Yeonwoo moved to bow again to avoid his gaze, Seongheon reached out his hand. Startled by the sudden movement, Yeonwoo looked up once more.
“One greeting is enough. I recall receiving one at the Main Hall as well.”
“…Ah.”
But she didn’t have the confidence to skip the formalities. Yeonwoo replied in a small voice.
“I was taught that I should greet you every time I see you.”
“Even if that wasn’t the case… since it’s the gate… um… I wanted you to have a good start to your day… and a greeting is the only thing I can offer you…”
Her brain stalled, and only her mouth kept moving. Yeonwoo trailed off, unable to find a proper way to end the sentence.
- 3 -
She couldn’t exactly push past him to open the gate and grab the mail, and standing still felt like she was suffocating. Yeonwoo waited endlessly for Seongheon to just hurry up and leave.
But no matter how long she waited, Seongheon didn’t move—
“Um, do you perhaps have something to say or a task for me?”
Feeling that something was strange, Yeonwoo asked.
At that, Seongheon slowly lowered and raised his eyelids, fixing his gaze on her.
As their eyes locked, it felt as if cells in her body that had never been stimulated before were waking up.
His lips parted, having watched her with a delicate intensity as if trying not to miss a single small detail.
“I know your name now.”
…Spring, and the morning.
“I know your age, too.”
Under the sunlight that shone so brightly it made her eyes sting.
“I was wondering what else was left.”
It was hard to tell whether it was the sunlight or his voice that was heating her heart.
“Well then, I’m off.”
Yeonwoo was left frozen where she stood.
“Hey, rookie. If you’re going to stand there like a pillar, you might as well go outside and hold up a main beam.”
Yeonwoo, who had entered the Main Hall with the mail and was standing blankly in front of the table, felt a tap on her shoulder from Eunja.
It was an abrupt touch, but Yeonwoo couldn’t quite shake off her dazed state. Looking down at the dozens of pieces of mail accumulated over the day, Yeonwoo didn’t offer much of a response.
Eunja stood beside her. Sipping on a thickly brewed mix coffee, Eunja tapped Yeonwoo’s arm once more.
“Are you sleeping standing up now? Quite a talent. What are we going to do if you’re already this limp after just a little night duty?”
The characteristically sweet scent of mix coffee wafted through the air.
“In my day, we had something called hundred-day duty. We stood duty for a hundred days straight without missing a single one. Naps? What naps? Back then, Sister Mun was young, so if she caught you dozing off while she was walking around at dawn, she’d give you a real earful. Now she’s old and doesn’t come out at dawn. Consider yourself lucky.”
“……”
When there was still no reply, Eunja waved her hand in front of Yeonwoo’s face. She really wondered if the girl was sleeping on her feet.
“Hey. Can’t you hear me?”
“I can hear you.”
“Right. Good. I thought you’d gone deaf or were asleep or someth—”
Eunja, who had been sipping her coffee, lowered her cup and narrowed her eyes.
“What’s this? Selective responding? Why aren’t you answering when you can hear me just fine?”
As Eunja snapped at her, Yeonwoo finally picked up a box cutter. Click-clack. As she pushed the blade up, Eunja looked startled and stepped back slightly.
Yeonwoo lowered her eyes and began to open the mail. It was the first task she had to handle every morning.
When she began opening the mail in silence, Eunja leaned against a chair with a swaggering posture.
“You know what to do after this, right? Go to the warehouse and tidy everything up. Today’s the day the rice sacks arrive, so when you get the radio call, come over to the Main Hall and move them. There are a few things that need hand-washing, so get to scrubbing those too.”
Yeonwoo continued to open the mail.
“Oh, that’s right. What was it? At ten o’clock, about a dozen boxes of radishes are coming, so you’d better do that first. You know we send lunch out to the site, right? We need them for the kimchi, so open the boxes and wash them clean. There should be about eighty of them.”
“……”
“And after that, you know? Sweep the front of the Main Hall, and from the Management Office over to Unseondang. Ah, how easy. Since you’ve got no skills, you only get the easy jobs. Must be nice.”
Yeonwoo neatly opened the mail and sorted it by building. When Yeonwoo remained silent, Eunja asked again, as if trying to pick a fight.
“Are my words funny to you? Or are you protesting because there’s too much work? Or are you just too slow to understand it all? Which is it…”
“Distribute the mail, then at ten, receive the radish boxes and julienne them. Move the rice around lunchtime, do the hand-washing, tidy the warehouse, and then sweep.”
As Yeonwoo looked up after neatly summarizing the schedule, Eunja, who had been leaning against the chair, slowly drank her coffee.
“If there is more to do, please tell me now.”
“And you can do everything I said?”
“No. I don’t think I can do it all.”
“Then why are you asking for more work? Are you making fun of me?”
When Yeonwoo fell silent again, Eunja handed her the empty mug.
“Just do the work you were given. Don’t be arrogant and ask for more or say you can’t do it.”
“What do you mean, ‘can’t do it’? You should be thinking of how to get it all done within the time, no matter what. If you can’t do it all, you won’t be able to stay here at Domyeongjae. Just pack your bags and leave.”
At the words ‘pack your bags and leave,’ Yeonwoo fell silent again. The threat of quitting if she didn’t like it was the biggest weapon Eunja held, and it was also Yeonwoo’s greatest weakness.
When Yeonwoo immediately seemed to back down, Eunja let out a derisive snort. Telling her to wash the cup and put it in the drying rack, Eunja pointed at the cup with her chin and turned away.
“Sister! Sister! Where have you been? I told you to have a cup of coffee!”
Discovering Manager Mun entering the Main Hall, Eunja disappeared with a burst of loud laughter.
Whew. Yeonwoo let out a short sigh and looked down at the mug Eunja had emptied.
‘I know your name now. I know your age, too.’
What on earth could that mean? She squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I was wondering what else was left.’
Her head was so dizzy she felt as if she might stumble.
Maybe it’s better to have a lot of work at times like this, Yeonwoo thought as she gathered her composure and hurried out of the Main Hall.
