DDOS 11

Chapter 11

What kind of work did he mean?

Yeo-eun stared at Ki Seung-do in disbelief. He had appeared out of nowhere and was now saying something difficult to understand.

On the other hand, Seung-do calmly tilted his head at her.

It did not seem like Ki Seung-do would ask her to do something like translation.

His business was construction, after all.

While Yeo-eun tried to catch her breath somewhere between common sense and confusion, the elevator doors began to move.

Seung-do stopped the closing doors with one hand and tilted his head again.

Only then did Yeo-eun realize that he was telling her to get off first.

Coming back to her senses, Yeo-eun stepped out.

Ki Seung-do used the very top floor of this tall building by himself, and naturally, there was only one entrance.

Yeo-eun got off on the floor and helplessly followed Seung-do’s back as he walked toward the front door.

As she did, she wondered if Ki Seung-do himself was a source of confusion.

A dazzlingly luxurious home that was confusing just to look at, an unfamiliar layout.

For some reason, it was so easy to become confused whenever she was around Ki Seung-do.

“But what kind of work……………….”

“What time will you finish your work?”

Before Yeo-eun could finish speaking, Seung-do cut in.

“Since you went to get your laptop, it seems like you have something urgent to do. Finish that first, and then we can talk.”

Finish your work, and then talk to him again.

Because of Ji-on, it was already a given that she would be staying in this house for a while.

But if it were not for Ji-on, Yeo-eun wanted to leave this house as soon as possible.

More precisely, she did not want to face the man in front of her.

He made her uncomfortable.

More than anything, he seemed dangerous.

Whether it was because of her natural personality or because of the environment she had grown up in, Yeo-eun had always been sensitive to danger.

And that instinct was almost always right.

It would not be an exaggeration to call it a kind of disaster warning.

The first time she saw him, the moment she saw Ki Seung-do wrapped in a layer of smiles, Yeo-eun’s instincts had cried out without hesitation.

Danger.

“You said there was something you wanted to give me, too.”

Yeo-eun flinched at Seung-do’s words.

Right.

Something to give him.

She needed to ask what it was.

“You did say that, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Ah.”

The man tilted his head vaguely.

Whether he had expected her not to know, or whether it meant something else, she could not tell.

Yeo-eun found it difficult to understand his intentions.

But even if she tried to figure him out, it was obvious that she was not capable of doing so.

Yeo-eun looked straight into Seung-do’s eyes and tried to speak in a calm, clear voice.

“I don’t know what it is, but if it’s something I can give you, I’ll give it to you.”

What on earth did a man like this want from her?

Whatever it was, it probably was not anything normal.

If he were simply flirting with her like some cheap, vulgar man, she would immediately push him away and run out.

After all, Yeo-eun was at least pretty on the outside.

But she did not think that was what Ki Seung-do wanted.

That did not mean he was some extremely refined gentleman.

Men who flirted with Yeo-eun usually treated her like a body.

It was vulgar, but also very easy to understand, so Yeo-eun had never found it particularly difficult to avoid them.

But Ki Seung-do looked at Yeo-eun like she was an object.

More precisely, like she was simply some ordinary thing placed there.

And yet he smiled at her and pretended to be kind.

If you imagined someone smiling at an inanimate object with no will of its own, you could understand Yeo-eun’s confusion.

It was just too strange.

Moreover, whenever an important subject came up, he would take a step back.

He replaced answers with vague expressions like “what you owe me” and light jokes, then controlled the situation however he pleased.

It was frightening.

Being in this bewilderingly luxurious house without even knowing what the man wanted from her was frightening.

No wonder Yeo-eun had felt as though she had been swimming alone through a vague fog the entire time.

This time, she wanted to hear a clear answer about exactly what he wanted from her.

And she wanted to give him whatever he was asking for quickly and run away.

A house like the rabbit hole from some novel.

If she stayed any longer, she might fall into a pool of tears or meet the Queen of Hearts.

And the most dangerous thing of all was this man.

Yeo-eun’s fingers gripping the straps of her eco-bag had turned white.

Ki Seung-do made an incredulous expression at her words.

Only after a long while did he let out a small laugh and whisper.

“You shouldn’t say things like that so easily, Kang Yeo-eun.”

“……You said you wanted me to give you something.”

Yeo-eun unconsciously bit her lip.

Seung-do’s eyes curved slightly.

“Don’t do that with your lips anywhere else, either.”

Her lips?

Only then did Yeo-eun realize that she had been biting down on her lips.

Just as she was about to ask what he meant, her phone vibrated.

It was the production company.

It was probably another reminder about the deadline.

Seung-do calmly spoke to Yeo-eun, who hesitated after checking the caller.

“You look busy. See me after you finish your work. I don’t mind if it’s late.”

Then, as if he had no intention of waiting for her answer, he walked ahead, opened the front door, and went inside.

By the time Yeo-eun finished all the work piled up, it was very late.

She pressed the send button on the email and stood up.

Her body, which had been hunched over in the chair with almost no movement for several hours, stretched out.

A groan escaped her mouth naturally.

Then she quickly lowered her voice, afraid that Ji-on, who was sleeping on the bed, might wake up.

The table where she had been working was a mess.

Coffee and water cups, snacks, pens, notebooks, and her laptop were scattered everywhere.

The rice cakes, fruit, and sujeonggwa had been brought to her personally by Mrs. Kang after Yeo-eun said she was going to skip dinner.

The melon was cool and sweet, and the rice cakes were soft and savory.

Yeo-eun normally did not eat while working, but these were so good that she kept reaching for them.

The plates were almost empty.

“Work is important, but you need to take care of your health, too.”

Mrs. Kang had said it with concern.

To be honest, Mrs. Kang was the only person in this house whom Yeo-eun genuinely liked.

Those words had made her surprisingly happy.

It was the first time in Yeo-eun’s life that someone had worried about her because she was working and had not even eaten a proper meal.

Of course, Mrs. Kang had only done it because that man had ordered her to.

Yeo-eun turned her gaze and looked around the room she was standing in.

It was the guest room Mrs. Kang had newly shown her.

The first room she had stayed in was apparently Ki Seung-do’s bedroom.

The bedding had carried the faint scent that she had smelled from Seung-do.

The guest room was not small at all.

It was far too large and luxurious for a room where a guest only occasionally stayed.

It even had its own bathroom.

Yeo-eun’s small home, where she lived alone, might have been smaller than this room.

On the large bed, which was spacious enough for two people to sleep in comfortably, Ji-on was sleeping peacefully.

Beside his pillow was the toy he had received when they bought him a hamburger.

Yeo-eun carefully brushed the child’s hair away from his forehead.

A few hours earlier, the moment Ji-on saw Yeo-eun enter with Seung-do, he had run over and wrapped himself around her legs.

His face had been filled with fear and sadness.

“I thought you went somewhere, Unni……………….”

She had clearly told him that she would be back soon, that she was only going to her house to get the things she needed and then return.

But the child had been abandoned by his mother only a few days ago.

It would have been difficult for him to believe Yeo-eun’s words easily.

Yeo-eun had been at a loss over what to say as she looked at the child clinging to her legs.

She had almost no experience comforting a crying child.

For a moment, she tried to remember what she herself had wanted to hear when she was crying.

But she could not find an answer.

Of course.

Yeo-eun had never really been allowed to cry.

Lee Hwa-shin hated it when she cried.

She used to say that crying children drove away good fortune.

It probably had not changed even now, so she must never have said anything sweet to this child either.

The only thing Yeo-eun could barely remember was the many days when she had desperately held back her tears.

Then it happened.

“When you want to cry, you should cry. Otherwise, your tears will feel lonely.”

It was Ki Seung-do who said that as he lifted Ji-on into his arms.

Yeo-eun unconsciously opened her mouth in surprise.

Those words felt as though they had suddenly grabbed her by the back of her neck and lifted her up.

So, uh……………….

Maybe those were the words she had wanted to hear, too……………….

Before Yeo-eun could even understand her own thoughts, the child began sobbing in Seung-do’s arms.

His large hand, covered in faint scars, wiped away the tiny tears running down the child’s cheeks.

“Unni isn’t going anywhere.”

His voice was gentle, but his face was indifferent.

And yet, for some reason, something inside Yeo-eun’s chest gave a sharp twinge.

Before she could become any stranger, Yeo-eun hurried over to the man and took the child from him.

The man handed Ji-on over without saying anything.

The child clung to Yeo-eun, whining like a child should.

Only then did Yeo-eun speak.

“Unni is here. I’m not going anywhere.”

With her eyes fixed on the man’s back as he disappeared down the hallway, she repeated it several times.

Yeo-eun remained lost in thought for a long time.

Then she got up from the bed.

She tied her hair into a single ponytail and opened the bedroom door.

She still had to finish her conversation with Ki Seung-do.