“Young master, are you okay?!”
“Oh my, brother-in-law, no… Aaack…! Onions! Hands!”
“Huh!”
I’m crazy…! It was hands that had cut onions and weren’t properly washed.
“S-sorry…!”
I hurriedly pulled my hands away. The young master rolled around on the floor completely like Eunseong-ssi. Hyeol, who was standing behind him, pulled up the corners of his mouth as if satisfied.
“Extermination complete.”
At Hyeol’s one statement, I was in a dazed state for a while, then moved the young master, who had received attacks from father and son in succession, to the living room and checked his condition here and there. What if something goes wrong with our Hyeol… I was sorry, but I was more worried about Hyeol than the young master.
“Young master, are you okay? Let me see your face.”
The young master continued groaning with his face covered by his arms. Is his condition quite serious? I thought I should go to the hospital right away and was about to call for help on my phone when Hyeol, who had stopped eating, approached next to me. His expression was more rigid than ever.
“Hyeol…”
At first, I thought it was because he felt sorry for what he did to the young master. But that wasn’t it.
“What are you overreacting about again?”
Hyeol spoke carelessly, apparently judging that the young master was being dramatic. His face was full of displeasure.
“Hyeol, you can’t do that. You should apologize to uncle.”
Though I’m unconditionally on Hyeol’s side in my heart, this didn’t seem right, so I spoke in a stern voice. But Hyeol didn’t say anything as if he had done nothing wrong.
“Teacher, I’m sorry…”
That’s when it happened. Jeonghan came over and apologized on behalf of Hyeol.
“What…? Jeonghan, why are you…”
“I just, everything… is…”
Jeonghan’s eyes filled with tears. My chest ached for a moment. This child who had only been quiet without causing trouble to anyone in this house… I felt sorry for making him say such things.
“Sweetie… you didn’t do anything wrong…”
I didn’t know what to do with the child who seemed about to shed tears at any moment, so I just hugged his shoulders.
“Ah, really. I can’t win against kids…”
“…!”
That’s when it happened. The young master removed the arm covering his face and got up with a perfectly fine face.
“Hyung, were you very worried about me? It was just a joke.”
What? It was acting…?
“I thought so.”
Hyeol, who confirmed the young master’s condition, sighed as if he found it pathetic and returned to the dining table. Just then, perhaps the miso soup was finished, as Eunseong-ssi was placing soup bowls for the children on the table one by one.
“This, somehow I ended up cooking together with Kkotsu’s father. Oh? Jeonghan, come here. You need to finish eating.”
When Eunseong-ssi spoke with a proud face and waved his hand, Jeonghan quickly wiped his face with his hand and trotted back to the kitchen.
Phew… I was in trouble, but that was fortunate.
“Young master.”
Acting even in front of the children. I couldn’t let this slide. He needed to be scolded a bit.
“Please don’t do that next time. I was startled thinking something went wrong.”
When I scolded the young master, he scratched his head and muttered an apology.
“Still… I really thought I was going to die earlier. The onion was really more intense than getting stepped on the foot…”
The young master made a tearful face as if it was real. Because his face looked exactly like Hyeol’s, my heart softened.
“That’s really… I’m sorry… I’ll tell Hyeol off sternly too.”
Since what Hyeol and I did was worse, I apologized once more. Then the young master silently waved his hand at me. It meant to come closer.
“…?”
As I sent him a suspicious look wondering what it was about, the young master approached and whispered in my ear.
“Don’t scold Hyeol though.”
“…?”
“Hyung, if you have time later, would you like to stop by my studio?”
“…What?”
Young master’s studio…?
When I looked at him in surprise at the sudden suggestion, he shushed me as if telling me not to make it obvious. It was a gesture indicating that other people shouldn’t hear.
“I have something I’d like to discuss with you separately.”
“…”
I suddenly remembered Baek Woojin saying it would be better to gradually cut contact with the Gwak family people. When I glanced toward the kitchen, Baek Woojin was talking about something with Eunseong-ssi at the dining table. Eunseong-ssi, who met my eyes, smiled brightly at me, but Baek Woojin didn’t even look at me.
Why…? That question came first. Baek Woojin had never avoided my gaze until now.
Ding dong.
Then the doorbell rang. It seemed the meal for the adults had finally arrived.
*
The food Eunseong-ssi ordered was seafood stew. Eunseong-ssi skillfully picked out shrimp and crab meat. It wasn’t something he had done just once or twice. He separated the meat without getting much seasoning on it and brought it to Hyeol and Jeonghan. Jeonghan smiled happily while eating the white flesh of shrimp and crab.
Watching that, I seemed to understand. Although he appeared indifferent, Eunseong-ssi also put his son first. He must have ordered seafood stew because Jeonghan liked seafood.
Click.
The meal ended surprisingly quietly and quickly. Except for Eunseong-ssi, both the young master and Baek Woojin had small appetites originally, and I also strangely found it hard to eat much.
To be precise, I didn’t have much appetite because of someone.
“Wow, I ate well and I’m full. Jeonghan, was it delicious too?”
“Yes, it was delicious.”
Only Eunseong-ssi seemed satisfied with the meal, showing a content smile toward Jeonghan and Hyeol who were watching TV programs.
“Gwak Jin-ssi.”
That’s when it happened. Baek Woojin suddenly called the young master. Since he had been silent throughout the meal, it was natural that everyone’s attention turned to him.
“What did you want to say?”
“Yes…?”
The young master, who had been quietly drinking water, opened his eyes wide in surprise at Baek Woojin’s question.
“Earlier you said to Chae Seungyeon-ssi exactly ‘something I’d like to discuss separately.’ Is it inconvenient to talk about it now?”
What… what, how did he hear that…?
When I was talking with the young master, Baek Woojin definitely didn’t seem to be paying attention to this side… No, and it was a very quiet voice too, how did he hear it?
Moreover, was I thinking wrong? From some point, wasn’t Baek Woojin completely uninterested in me…? Contrary to my thoughts, the fact that he had been listening to the whole conversation was surprising… and also brought relief.
Wait, relief…? Why am I feeling that way…?
“Ah… well…”
Then the young master, who looked at my face with a troubled expression, carefully opened his mouth.
“No… it seems like brother-in-law has been looking for work recently… I was trying to look into some job opportunities for him.”
The young master seemed to know that I was looking for work. I didn’t think I had made it obvious…
“These kinds of matters might be burdensome for the person involved, so I was going to meet separately to discuss it… It’s okay to talk about this, isn’t it, brother-in-law?”
“…”
The young master had been calling me Seungyeon hyung until now, but suddenly called me brother-in-law while watching my reaction. Did he change the title because he still wanted to emphasize that I was a person from the Gwak family?
“Ah… Yes, work… it’s fine. Well… it’s true, there’s nothing to hide…”
I said that, but somehow I felt embarrassed.
Actually, I was having trouble finding work… It was natural though. Chae Seungyeon had no experience or special skills, and I also had no other talents besides taking care of children.
Even though I knew intellectually that it was unavoidable since I had suddenly possessed someone’s body, my heart felt a bit heavy. Still, I didn’t know the young master was looking out for me. Though I don’t know how he knew I was looking for work.
Anyway, Hyeol was going to kindergarten and there wasn’t much money in the bank account… I couldn’t be picky. I needed to work somehow right away.
“Young master, then by any chance… is there work I could do…?”
I asked the young master carefully. I was worried whether there would be work I could actually do.
“Oh, work?! Seungyeon-ssi, are you currently job hunting?!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
