The inside of the antique vintage cabinet was saturated.
Unless the client specifically requested otherwise, the principle was to arrange things according to the photos taken before unpacking. However, the inside of the cabinet in the photos could only be described as a “mess,” even in the best light. Regardless of the luxury of the collectibles, the display condition was very poor.
If the client were present, we could simply ask how they would like things arranged and follow their instructions. But today, the client was absent. We had entered the previous house by entering the door lock password ourselves to start removing the luggage, and it was the same when entering the new house. Even now, with the move almost complete, the client had not shown up.
Just do it appropriately. ―That was all the client’s request amounted to.
Ah, there was one exception.
The paintings, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely handle with extreme care. ―This was an important requirement that the client, who didn’t seem very demanding at the time of the contract, had emphasized several times.
The client, who had moved to an apartment with an excellent view facing the building forest of Yeouido across the Han River, owned a great number of expensive ornaments as well as paintings.
To exaggerate a little, works were hung all over the house to the point where there was no space left on the walls, and one of the four rooms was used solely for storing paintings.
At first, I thought they might be a painter, but despite the large number of works they owned, there were no painting tools to be seen. It was highly likely that they were an avid collector or someone working in a related field.
It had been a very long time since I had faced so many paintings at once. In recent years, the only paintings around me had been the Baby Shark family drawn on the uphill road to my grandfather’s house or the mural of angel wings.
“I don’t know what the world is coming to. Does this kind of thing really happen?”
Behind me, as I was contemplating the position of an elaborate porcelain doll dressed in 18th-century attire, I heard the foreman’s excited voice. He was probably looking at some internet news.
The foreman and the other four members had already finished most of their assigned tasks of tidying up and cleaning. They were sitting on the carpet laid out to protect the floor while moving furniture and boxes, killing time while waiting for the client.
Originally, the auntie in charge of the kitchen and bathroom was also part of the team, but today, the auntie and the foreman’s son and his wife, who are a couple, had an urgent matter, and they needed someone to look after their grandson, who was just over 100 days old, so I was filling in for the auntie.
I was in the top ranks in school, but I didn’t go to college, and I wasn’t confident in being able to handle organizational life smoothly, even in a simple office job. Being in a situation that was almost like being chased, the position of a full-time employee was put on hold for the time being.
Then, I noticed the part-time job at the moving company.
The foreman scolded me for looking like I hadn’t used my strength before, saying it was a waste of my height, but he wasn’t someone who would find fault or be unfair. I had applied thinking only about the daily wage paid on the day, but since it was a part-time or daily job rather than a formal member, I could freely specify the days I worked, and the pay was good.
“What’s wrong? Did something else happen?”
To the other drivers who were expressing their curiosity, the foreman began to convey the contents of the article in an angry voice.
“Some alpha bastard got drunk and caused a scene in a taxi. So the taxi driver got angry and just dropped him off anywhere on the way. This bastard, in his drunken state, didn’t know where he was and wandered around until he ran into an omega. And the amazing thing is, that the omega’s cycle or whatever, started earlier than usual that day, so the boss, thinking he was being generous, sent her home early to take medicine, right?”
Just hearing that, I could guess what had happened. The other drivers seemed to feel the same way, and before the story was even finished, they all expressed their regret in their own ways.
“That bastard kicked the seat and opened the door of the moving car while arguing with the driver… You can’t blame the taxi driver for dragging him out in the middle… If only the boss hadn’t been a bad guy and sent her home early, she wouldn’t have suffered like that. I don’t know how things turn out like that. If even one thing had been different, it wouldn’t have happened….”
I was meaninglessly fiddling with the hem of the 18th-century woman’s dress, silently listening to the foreman’s lament about the cruel fate.
“When you look at it, those alphas are no different from beasts. Even if they have handsome looks or are smart… When you hear about the things they’ve done on the news, it’s a sight to behold. They can’t control themselves with reason, so how can they be human? I’ve lived my whole life without seeing an alpha, so I feel uneasy about the fact that people are swayed by that hormone or whatever.”
The second driver, who had been working with the foreman as a team for about 30 years, raised his voice even louder than the foreman to criticize the alphas.
If the foreman was compassionate, the second driver was closer to being righteous. As a result, it seemed that they had been involved in various incidents during their years together.
“It’s the same for people like us, but alphas and omegas especially need money. If they don’t have money, they lose their dignity and become beasts in an instant. The new drugs and everything cost a lot in maintenance fees. Anyway, I just hope the victim is okay…. And what are the odds of such coincidences happening? The world is full of such things.”
In the world, there were such incredible things, things that could only happen if coincidence piled upon coincidence, things that seemed impossible, were real. Like a large truck hitting the protagonist who was properly crossing the crosswalk on a green light, such things were too sudden and had no plausibility, so they wouldn’t even be used in movies or dramas.
“Maknae, how much longer for the kitchen?”
“I’m done.”
I answered, placing the porcelain doll holding a parasol slightly askew. The work had been finished a long time ago. I was just rustling around because I wasn’t comfortable being mixed in with the older Hyungs who were at least fifteen years older than me.
“The client will arrive in 10 minutes, so let’s finish up and go home.”
As he got up to dust off his butt to tidy up the carpet for the last time, the foreman’s voice was filled with anticipation for leaving work instead of pity for the omega in the news.
As soon as we finished packing up all the cleaning tools and sending them down on the ladder truck, the client arrived. The expression and gestures clearly showed that they were in a hurry. Apologizing for being away for so long, the client handed the foreman an envelope, saying that everyone should have dinner together.
Client service was the foreman’s responsibility, so I only glanced at them, but the client, dressed in comfortable yet stylish clothes, didn’t seem as demanding as I had heard. The inspection was also quick. They only opened the doors and looked inside, except for the room where the paintings were stored.
While waiting for the elevator, everyone was busy praising today’s client. Not just because they gave us a company dinner fee, but because if we only had clients like that, this job wouldn’t be so unbearable.
“But it seems like they live alone in such a house. They must be very capable.”
“I know, right? Even if it’s not owned but leased, this apartment and this size would be around 1.5 billion won.”
“Is this house that expensive?”
The other drivers simultaneously widened their eyes and made the same expression at the information given by the 30-year-old hyung, who was the youngest member except for me.
1.5 billion won. It was an amount that was no different from 10 billion, 100 billion, or even 1 trillion won to me. Just a large sum of money that felt no sense of reality. A very, very large sum of money.
“We met a client who even gave us a company dinner fee, we were lucky today. Should we each buy a lottery ticket?”
“Hyung, how much is it? We’re tired of pork belly and soju, if it’s a lot, let’s eat something else today?”
As the second driver urged him, the foreman took the envelope out of his back pocket and was about to open it when, ding-dong, the sound of the lock being released came from inside the front door we had just come out of. The foreman quickly stuffed the envelope back into its original place.
“Just a moment!”
It was, of course, today’s client who urgently called us to stop.
“Who did the kitchen tidying?”
We all hesitated to answer and momentarily looked at each other, wondering if there was something they didn’t like or if we had made a mistake. The faces of the drivers, who had been excited about the prospect of relieving their fatigue with an unexpected company dinner fee, were filled with dismay.
I calmly retraced my memories, but at least there were no items that had been broken or lost. It wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario. Reassuring myself in that way, I cautiously took half a step forward.
“Our team’s auntie was absent today, so I took over.”
I answered, looking down at the client’s feet instead of their face. They were wearing slippers on their feet with stockings, as if they had followed us out in a hurry.
“Well… this friend is still young, as you can see…. If there was something you didn’t like….”
The client, who was defending me, laughed coolly, saying that wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s not that… Would you like to work at my house? You’re completely my type.”
“……”
I couldn’t understand what they meant, so I could only move my lips.
“Ah, I said it a bit strangely, didn’t I? Your working style is completely my type. I’ve been too busy lately, so my house is a mess… And I’m the type who gets stressed when things aren’t tidy… It’s not easy to find someone I like, so I’ve been having trouble, but I opened the kitchen cabinets and…”
The client, who had been rambling on somewhat lengthily with an explanation mixed with complaints, suddenly stopped talking.
“By any chance… are you Yeehyeon? Seo Yeehyeon?”
From under the brim of the pressed-down hat, I checked the face of the client who had accurately called my name. It was the first time that day that I had properly faced the client’s face.
Based on my life, it was the moment when a person who had been pushed deep into the backstage and completely forgotten suddenly reappeared in the middle of the stage.
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