Chapter 142
“Ian will be taking over my duties. I’m retiring soon due to family circumstances.”
“Ah.”
“Unlike the West Wing, the East Wing doesn’t require much management because all unused rooms are kept locked. So we don’t need many staff.”
…I see.
Hyeon-woo recalled the room he first infiltrated in the East Wing. He thought he was lucky to find a room covered in dust from lack of human touch, but it seemed other rooms were in a similar state.
“We call the young master that the manager mentioned ‘young sir’ among ourselves. The young sir doesn’t like a lot of talk, so just stay nearby unobtrusively, tend to his needs, and leave when it’s time without being told.”
“……”
“You’ll like the work here much better than in the West Wing. I guarantee it’ll be very comfortable once you get used to it.”
Hyeon-woo nodded and resumed using his chopsticks. While the employees ate breakfast, preparations for the young sir’s meal were in full swing in the kitchen.
Tae-geon’s meal was soon ready, neatly covered with a silver dome. Hyeon-woo followed Lily, who was pushing a heavy trolley into the corridor, along with Scott the chef, heading towards Tae-geon’s room.
Knock knock-
Lily knocked on Tae-geon’s door.
“Come in.”
Hearing the voice from beyond the door, Hyeon-woo tensed up. Lily gestured for Hyeon-woo to open the door. Reluctantly, he pushed the golden doorknob, and the double doors swung open.
There was a long dining table far from the bed. Hyeon-woo helped Lily diligently move the food from the trolley to the table.
Lily’s gaze was sharp as she checked and double-checked the position of the plates and utensils on the table, seemingly not tolerating even a 1mm error in the left-right spacing. Scott’s scrutiny of the dishes was no less intense. Finally, all preparations were complete.
However, instead of announcing this, Lily and Scott simply stepped back one step from the table and assumed a respectful posture with their mouths tightly shut. Confused by this, Hyeon-woo hurriedly stepped back and straightened his posture to match theirs.
As silence fell, Tae-geon finally got out of bed. His steps were so precise and straight as he walked towards them that it would be hard for anyone to believe he had vision problems.
Hyeon-woo inadvertently averted his gaze, afraid of making eye contact with the approaching Tae-geon. Cold sweat broke out on his back.
He imagined Tae-geon might stop in his tracks at any moment, recognizing him and glaring with a look that could burn.
However, contrary to his imagination, Tae-geon’s footsteps didn’t stop. As the sound drew closer, Hyeon-woo cautiously raised his head to observe Tae-geon.
There was no burning intensity in his dark pupils. In fact, there was no warmth, no light, no focus at all. For a moment, Hyeon-woo thought he caught Tae-geon’s gaze, but soon realized it was just his imagination.
Seeing Tae-geon fail to recognize him despite being so close, Hyeon-woo felt a strange, unfamiliar sensation.
Although they were facing each other within arm’s reach, the distance between them felt as vast as the empty vacuum of space, with Tae-geon’s eyes unable to capture even a glimpse of him.
The tension in Hyeon-woo’s body instantly dissipated. An inexplicable bitterness lingered in his mouth.
Tae-geon sat down with familiar movements and said, “It seems we have a new person?”
Only then did Lily speak.
“Yes, he’s on a trial period until this week and will be assisting me in serving you.”
As Tae-geon picked up an empty glass, Lily poured water with a lemon slice. Taking this as a cue, Chef Scott began explaining the dishes laid out on the table, from appetizer to dessert.
“Well then, enjoy your meal.”
After Scott left the room with those parting words, Tae-geon began his meal.
It was only when Tae-geon picked up his chopsticks that Hyeon-woo understood why Lily had been so meticulous about the positioning and spacing of the plates.
Tae-geon’s chopsticks moved with precision, as if following a carefully calculated path. Now that he looked closely, even the food on the plates was arranged in similar shapes, forming an intricate pattern.
At first glance, Tae-geon’s chopstick skills were so fluid that one might not even notice he couldn’t see. However, occasional mistakes where he missed a side dish were noticeable.
When the plates were nearly empty, Tae-geon put down his chopsticks. This was the signal that he had finished his meal.
Hyeon-woo, reading the situation, helped Lily move the empty plates back to the trolley. After clearing the table, Lily placed a cheesecake and an empty coffee cup from the bottom shelf of the trolley on the table. She then tilted an electric kettle to pour hot coffee.
The rich aroma of coffee beans filled the room. This familiar and nostalgic scent made Hyeon-woo’s heart ache.
It was the very same scent he used to smell every weekend morning in the apartment he shared with Tae-geon.
He would come downstairs rubbing his sleepy eyes to find his portion of fried eggs on the table, and across from him, Tae-geon would be sitting with a cup of coffee emitting this exact same aroma.
A memory of those happiest times flashed before his eyes: sitting across from Tae-geon with dazzling sunlight pouring into the living room, engaging in idle chatter over a late breakfast.
Caught off guard by this fragment of the past, Hyeon-woo blinked rapidly, feeling a sudden surge of emotion. He was flustered.
Their relationship had ended with such hurt and wounds that they thought they’d never see each other again, as if putting a definitive full stop to it. He thought there was nothing left to reminisce about, but now, just from smelling the same coffee aroma, a vivid piece of that time emerged, surprising Hyeon-woo.
He couldn’t believe such a warm and intimate memory still lingered in his subconscious. How deeply must it have been rooted to remain so vivid and persistent, without any fading or dulling?
Humans were said to be creatures of forgetfulness, but this didn’t seem to apply to him at all. With a wry smile on his lips, Hyeon-woo glanced at Tae-geon holding the coffee cup.
Tae-geon’s neck, collarbone, and wrists visible outside his thick robe showed protruding bones. His already gloomy and sensitive appearance, now coupled with a sickly pallor, made him look even more arrogant and decadent. His empty eyes, devoid of anything, were tinged with boredom and languor.
After placing the empty cup on the table, Tae-geon stood up and headed towards the bed. Lily settled the remaining dishes onto the trolley.
As Hyeon-woo was helping to clear the table, he suddenly turned his head towards the bed. He saw Tae-geon staring blankly at the window. Following Tae-geon’s gaze, Hyeon-woo looked towards the window, but it was tightly covered with thick blackout curtains, blocking not just the view but even a single ray of light. In Tae-geon’s eyes, even those curtains would be invisible, leaving only pitch-black darkness.
Seeing Tae-geon seemingly staring intently at something beyond that darkness, Hyeon-woo felt a strange sensation in his chest. It was as if he was standing on a rocking ship deck, feeling queasy and his heart tingling.
Lily, having finished the cleanup, tapped Hyeon-woo’s arm, signaling it was time to leave. Snapping back to reality, Hyeon-woo followed Lily out of Tae-geon’s room.
As they walked towards the elevator, Lily’s face turned mischievous like a child’s.
“Looks like you’ve fallen for him.”
“What?”
“You were staring at the young sir so intently.”
“…Ah….”
Unable to find a suitable response, Hyeon-woo fumbled for words. She nodded with a smile.
“It’s understandable. I find myself in awe every day too.”
“……”
“The heavens can be so cruel. To have someone like him confined in a place like this, wasting away his days.”
“…How long has the young sir been here?”
Lily pondered Hyeon-woo’s question for a moment before answering.
“Well, I’m not sure exactly. I’ve been working here for two years now, and he was here before that.”
Two years…
More than two years alone in this mansion…
The image of Tae-geon sitting blankly on the bed with empty eyes kept haunting Hyeon-woo’s thoughts, disturbing his mood. He felt as if something was pressing down on his solar plexus.
The first day in the East Wing ended safely. Apart from preparing meals, the job mostly consisted of waiting in designated positions and killing time appropriately.
“How was it? Just like I said, right? Nothing difficult about it~.”
Lily and Hyeon-woo sat across from each other at the dining table after their late dinner.
“As you saw today, the young sir’s room is a very precise and delicate space where everything has its set place. Even where people stand and move is meticulously calculated. No margin for error is allowed. If you don’t want to disrupt the young sir’s world, Ian must follow this strictly too.”
Hyeon-woo listened carefully to her words.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
