It was also Wednesday when I received the offer to move in from Ms. Han.
After telling me that Yuni and Juhan wanted to meet me, Ms. Han offered me to move in while driving me home. It was probably an offer made out of consideration for my situation. Ms. Han didn’t exactly deny it either. In the end, it was a matter of choosing whether to be indebted to Morae and Hyung or to Ms. Han.
“Then that’s even better! If you move into Director Han’s house, it’ll be good for doing both Phantom work and housekeeping!”
“Hey, if Yeehyeon works at Phantom, he’ll be commuting and working overtime every day, how can he handle being a live-in housekeeper? Do you think housework is that easy?”
“I’m also a self-sufficient person who does laundry and throws out food waste on time, you know? Baek Yuni… you’re really showing your true colors.”
Despite Yuni’s nagging, Juhan was smiling broadly for some reason. Although it was a sinister smile with ulterior motives.
“What.”
“You’re just jealous that Yeehyeon is going to live at the director’s house, aren’t you?”
After staring silently at Juhan across from her for a moment, Yuni shook her head.
“I should have just let him go to jail back then.”
The offer to work at Phantom full-time honestly stirred my heart. The moving company job and the housekeeping at Ms. Han’s house were suitable for me and made me feel comfortable, but there was no excitement in them. They were jobs that made me crawl deeper into myself, and that’s why I couldn’t help but feel comfortable there.
But Phantom had… anxiety.
It was like pulling me out of the damp sand on the beach where I was curled up and placing me on the rippling waves, an unpredictable and sudden stimulus.
I knew that it was time for me to choose something in some way. I couldn’t keep living like that, sleeping with a loving couple who had even dared to run away, separated only by a sliding door, and indulging in physical labor because it was good for emptying my head.
“Bringing in one more person doesn’t immediately reduce the workload. Depending on who comes in, it could actually increase the workload, and if you don’t get along, it’s stressful… That’s why I kept putting off finding someone, but I’m telling you this because I think I can work with you happily. Think about it. If you think it’s okay, you can tell us, or you can tell the director.”
I was genuinely happy about their offer. It had been a long time since I had held a brush, but if I could work surrounded by paintings instead, that would be a great substitute.
But there was another reason why I couldn’t honestly rejoice and grab the outstretched hand.
“I don’t think the CEO… would like me joining.”
“What’s there to like or dislike? He’s just someone who’s helping out for a while.” – His indifference still remained within me with weight. Indifferent remarks without temperature can sometimes leave a clearer mark than hateful outbursts.
“Don’t worry about that at all. That guy has had his ups and downs in life, so he can’t trust people easily, but if you get to know him, he’s actually friendly to you. Maybe it’s because he’s a Golden Alpha, but he trusts his intuition a lot. If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have let you into Phantom in the first place. And if he didn’t like you, why would he have asked Director Han about you?”
“……”
Thinking that my stiff eyes and mouth were due to displeasure, Juhan made a face as if he had made a mistake and corrected himself.
“Ah, it’s not like he was prying… it seemed like he was asking if you majored in art, or something like that. The way you talked about the artwork to Inwoo that day was a hot topic among us for a while. Don’t be offended. I was listening from the side, and it definitely wasn’t a question trying to dig into your past with malicious intent.”
I wasn’t offended. There was a surge in my heart, as if a wave was pushing up under my feet, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I was bad at expressing my feelings in words, but I tried hard to explain that I wasn’t offended. Hoping that my sincerity would be conveyed to them.
“Even if you don’t work at Phantom, let’s see each other occasionally like this. Baek Yuni seems to like you very rarely.”
“It’s because he’s a handsome guy, so she likes you.”
“He’s the one who sings about recruiting you every time he sees the CEO, but he’s so tsundere. You’ll get used to it, Yeehyeon.”
That day, I drank three glasses of beer for the first time. I had to rest twice on the stairs leading to my house. The night view of Seoul from the stairs no longer reminded me of squid fishing boats seen from the harbor.
○
Almond cereal, a 1-liter pack of milk, a set of plain yogurt, and finally cranberry juice were placed in the basket, and I was heading to the checkout when Korean melons were already out.
Although you could eat watermelon in the middle of winter and tangerines in the middle of summer, the Korean melons on the stall covered with green non-woven fabric were definitely seasonal fruits, even though they were shipped a little early.
I picked one and held it under my nose, and the scent was quite sweet. If I peel the skin, cut it into easy-to-eat pieces, and put it in the refrigerator, it will be easy to take out and eat.
Grocery shopping wasn’t included in the housekeeping duties at Ms. Han’s house, but I knew that if I didn’t buy things like this, his diet would become even more of a mess, so I would buy and fill up on juice, milk, fruit, cereal, and bread about once a week. If I knew how to cook, I would have liked to make something simple, but all I knew how to make was ramen and fried eggs.
These days, delivery food is so well-developed that he says I don’t have to go grocery shopping, but I’m glad that he seems to eat it regularly, considering the effort I put into buying it. He already pays me generously for a job that’s not even that difficult, so I wanted to be of more help, even if it was just with things like this.
After buying a few more sandwiches and bread from the bakery across from the checkout, I came outside and the sunlight was intense. I made a hand shade to adjust to the sunlight for a moment before moving on.
Ms. Han’s house was a luxury apartment with a view of the Han River, but it was a small complex consisting of only two buildings, so there were no separate shops. There were shops in the large apartment complex right next door, but only a small supermarket, so I would go grocery shopping at a large supermarket a 10-minute walk away and then walk to work.
“Seo Yeehyeon!”
I was just entering the alley that led straight to the apartment after crossing the crosswalk when someone called me. I reflexively turned to the sound, and Ms. Han was smiling at me from the passenger seat of a sleek white SUV. I also smiled with joy and approached the car, when the CEO of Phantom sitting in the driver’s seat caught my eye over Ms. Han’s shoulder.
I hadn’t done anything wrong to him, but my heart sank for no reason. Considering his attitude towards me so far, this reaction wouldn’t be strange.
“I told you you don’t have to go grocery shopping, it’s heavy.”
“It’s not much.”
“Get in. Let’s go up together.”
While I was hesitating, another car was trying to enter the alley. It didn’t seem like a situation where I should decline and be polite, so I got into the back seat. As soon as I closed the door, the car slid down the alley towards the Han River where the apartment was located.
“I had a fender bender on my way to work this morning. I left it at the center, but they said it would take about a week. Thanks to that, I’m getting a ride home in CEO Liu’s car.”
“An…accident?”
At my excited voice, Ms. Han turned around and smiled softly, as if trying to reassure me.
“Ah, yeah. It was just a small fender bender and I’m fine.”
“What’s small about an accident? I know it’s not Director Han’s fault this time, but how many accidents is this already? Think about the position of someone who has to receive a phone call about an accident every few months.”
I didn’t have a moving company job scheduled for today, so I left earlier than usual, so I was already wondering why Ms. Han was leaving work early, but even though he said he wasn’t hurt, he had an accident… This time, I couldn’t help but agree with the CEO of Phantom’s statement.
To hide my trembling hands and calm myself down, I pulled the eco-bag I was using as a shopping bag onto my lap and hugged it tightly.
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I’m a hundred times sorry for worrying you.”
“I tell you every time that your driving style is too aggressive.”
“CEO Liu, stop talking about Director Han getting angry and let’s go back to talking about ShuShu. Huh?”
Ms. Han tried to change the subject quickly, but he seemed quite seriously angry. It was an emotional voice I had never heard before.
“If you don’t want to be nagged, change your driving style. If you can’t change your habits, I’ll even get you a driver.”
“The CEO drives himself, but you’re telling me to ride in a car with a driver? What would people say?”
“Yeehyeon, did you hear what CEO Liu just said? Isn’t that tsundere?”
Ms. Han turned to me in the back seat and asked. It wasn’t exactly a question asking for my agreement.
“If you’re worried about me getting hurt, just say so. Don’t make excuses with Phantom.”
Trying to change the atmosphere, Ms. Han continued to speak in a light, joking tone, and as he gently turned the steering wheel towards the entrance of the apartment’s underground parking lot, he lowered his voice, which had been a tone higher than usual, again.
“If you know so well, please be careful.”
It was a sighing voice that seemed like it would fly away and disappear at any moment. Anyone could tell that his concern wasn’t just nagging.
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