Then Eunseong-ssi suddenly jumped up from his seat and shouted.
“Wow, this timing is killer! Seungyeon-ssi, don’t look elsewhere and work at my office! I’ve been looking for an office assistant for a while now…!”
“Office assistant…?”
It was tempting. Working in the same space with Eunseong-ssi was a bit burdensome, but this wasn’t a situation where I could be picky about such things.
Work was like that, and housing too… No matter how much he might become family in the future, I couldn’t keep freeloading at Baek Woojin’s house forever. I was planning to find work first and combine it with the money in Chae Seungyeon’s bank account to somehow find a place to live.
“If it’s office assistant… what kind of work would that be?”
I asked Eunseong-ssi. Since I showed interest, Eunseong-ssi scratched his head and explained.
“Ah! Office assistant? Well… office assistant assists with office work…!”
“Then do I need certifications or experience… or anything like that? I know how to use computers, but I’m a bit inexperienced with handling programs. I only know the basics…”
“Hey, that’s enough. Since I know well, I can teach you too?”
“Ah, that’s a relief… Then it’s okay if I just know how to use computers?”
“That’s right. I’m not really the type to make people work hard either. It won’t be that difficult. How about it, would you like to try…?”
“He won’t do it.”
“What? So bluntly… no… why is Kkotsu’s father…?”
The answer wasn’t from me. It was Baek Woojin.
When Eunseong-ssi looked at him with a bewildered expression, he immediately stood up from his seat.
“If you’re all finished eating, I’d like everyone to go home now.”
“What…?”
“Please go home now.”
Baek Woojin requested everyone to leave with the most rigid face I had ever seen.
*
“Woojin-ssi, today really… I’m sorry in many ways…”
I bowed my head deeply in front of Baek Woojin and apologized. I had no choice. Because of me, people who didn’t need to come had rushed into Baek Woojin’s house and even ate a meal before leaving.
‘Thanks to Baek Woojin-ssi, we ate well. I hope next time we can come invited rather than as uninvited guests.’
The young master acted politely but somehow seemed shameless,
‘This… I feel like we’re just causing trouble before leaving. If I say this, Kkotsu’s father will definitely be positive, so I’ll cut my words short and withdraw now.’
Eunseong-ssi didn’t hide his uncomfortable mood.
‘Teacher… can I see Kkotsu’s face just once more before I go?’
Unlike the two grown men, only Jeonghan seemed to have visiting Kkotsu as his purpose, asking with teary eyes.
With Baek Woojin’s permission, Jeonghan looked at Kkotsu’s sleeping face once and came out of the room.
Thus the uninvited guests all returned home under Baek Woojin’s scolding that wasn’t quite scolding. After they left, we seemed to have fallen into a lull for a while.
If Hyeol, who had been sitting sullenly on the sofa, hadn’t left to wash up, I might have stayed dazed even longer.
“I’m sorry…”
And I repeatedly apologized to Baek Woojin.
“Woojin-ssi…?”
But Baek Woojin remained silent for a long time despite my apology. I hesitated for a moment and then raised my head toward Baek Woojin. He was standing like a wooden post, staring at me intently.
Gasp, the sound came out naturally. It was his usual blunt face, but I couldn’t easily read what the current Baek Woojin was thinking.
He seemed really angry. That’s all I could see.
“After putting Hyeol to bed, let’s have a talk between the two of us.”
“…Yes.”
When I answered in a voice as small as a mosquito’s, Baek Woojin just looked at me for a moment and went into Kkotsu’s room.
“Phew…”
Until just before, I had been extremely uncomfortable because of the noisy people, but now my uncomfortable feelings because of Baek Woojin wouldn’t go away.
He was definitely angry at me. He had been giving off that nuance continuously. But I couldn’t tell when it had started. Definitely when he was tying my apron in the kitchen, it didn’t seem like that…
“Dad, I’m sleepy…”
While I was digging a tunnel alone with such thoughts, Hyeol came out of the bathroom rubbing his eyes and clinging to me.
“Already?”
I wasn’t even mentally prepared to have a conversation with Baek Woojin yet…
I had that thought for a moment, but it was something I had to face eventually. I steeled my resolve and headed to the guest room to put Hyeol to bed.
“Then shall we go to sleep? Did you brush your teeth?”
“No, I was going to brush teeth with dad.”
I hugged Hyeol, who spoke as if it was natural, and headed back to the bathroom.
*
“Hyeol, were you very tired today?”
“No…”
I changed Hyeol into pajamas and lay down on the bed with him. I stroked the soft hair of the child who lay with his head on the pillow, chatting quietly until he fell asleep.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Dad…”
Then Hyeol called me while blinking his eyes, then buried his face in my arms.
“Dad’s smell…”
He sniffed against my neck, making me worry if I smelled strange, but seeing him burrow deeper into my arms, it seemed he liked it.
“Dad likes Hyeol’s smell too.”
I also hugged Hyeol tightly and deeply inhaled his scent. Children always smell like sunshine.
“Hand…”
“Yeah, let’s sleep holding hands.”
At Hyeol’s small murmur, I quickly took his hand. I closed my eyes feeling the small, chubby hand curled up in my palm. A smile naturally formed.
Recently, Hyeol’s affection had increased noticeably. No, maybe he had always been like that but had been suppressed because of his surroundings.
The cold marble floors, the mansion where there were more hired people than family members… The large and glamorous house had no warmth to be found. Thinking of Hyeol who had lived in such a place made me feel tender.
Honestly, it was ironic that after possessing Chae Seungyeon’s body, I felt this way toward Hyeol, who wasn’t even my child. But I decided to accept it naturally now.
At first, I thought Chae Seungyeon and I had nothing in common… but now my thoughts had changed a lot. Maybe I too was becoming assimilated into Chae Seungyeon’s life and this lifestyle…
‘After putting Hyeol to bed, let’s have a talk between the two of us.’
“…”
Even while thinking it was fine, I was actually restless in one corner of my heart. Because I was inwardly worried about what Baek Woojin would say.
I guessed it might be about the young master or Eunseong-ssi who I had brought to the house today. If not that, then the housing situation where Hyeol and I would live…
“Hyeol, are you sleeping…?”
“…”
I opened my eyes and carefully asked Hyeol. There was no answer except for the sound of breathing. Hyeol fell asleep quickly today.
I quietly reached out and turned off the light. Unlike the darkened interior, light seeped through the slightly open door crack. If I opened the door and went out from here now, Baek Woojin would probably be standing there like a wooden post.
I desperately wanted to avoid it… but on the other hand, I was also curious about what Baek Woojin wanted to say to me.
“Sleep well, Hyeol.”
I carefully got out of bed so as not to wake Hyeol and left the room.
“Woojin-ssi…?”
I thought Baek Woojin would be right there when I went out to the living room, but he wasn’t visible. The kitchen and Kkotsu’s room were the same. I was thinking about whether to go to Baek Woojin’s bedroom when…
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi.”
The door leading to the veranda opened and Baek Woojin appeared.
“This way.”
“Outside…?”
“Yes, I have a blanket with me.”
“Yes…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
