FC 04

Chapter 4

“This kind of thing? I don’t eat it!”

“You’ll get hungry later, and then it won’t do. Come on, just one bite. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

“I said I don’t eat it!”

Sung-hyun stopped working and left his study. He couldn’t simply ignore Mrs. Park, who was struggling to deal with Ria.

She had been trying to coax Ria into eating just a little for the past hour.

Because the study was close to the dining room, Sung-hyun had been able to hear every bit of his niece’s fussing, and he felt apologetic.

“Mrs. Park, just leave her be.”

“But she’ll be hungry……………….”

“I’ll take care of it. You’ve done enough.”

Mrs. Park lowered the spoon with a gentle smile. Seeing Sung-hyun bowing politely to her despite the fact that she had barely done anything made her feel even more apologetic.

“Vice President, should I stay a little later today?”

It must be difficult for an unmarried young man to bathe and put a child this difficult to bed, niece or not.

Since Sung-hyun often left work early, she was more than willing to help him.

“You need to rest too. I’ll take over from here, so go change your clothes.”

“There you go again. I still have forty minutes left!”

“It’s fine. Please go ahead.”

The corners of Sung-hyun’s lips curved into a smile, and Mrs. Park couldn’t help smiling along with him.

This quiet young man never laughed out loud and wasn’t particularly expressive.

Even when he smiled, he merely drew a quiet, refined smile across his lips before letting it disappear. And every time he did, he looked more handsome than a movie star.

Fond of Sung-hyun, who was young enough to be her own son, Mrs. Park smiled and looked toward the distant entrance.

“I’ll leave after I see the young lady arrive.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, you didn’t hear the intercom, did you? The young lady who’s going to look after Ria is coming up now.”

A young lady? Sung-hyun asked with his eyes before belatedly understanding what she meant.

“She came early.”

“Her voice sounded very young. I wonder if she’ll really be all right……………….”

Mrs. Park glanced at Ria, who was pushing the food away, and quietly whispered, “I’m worried.”

Sung-hyun nodded once and let out a small laugh.

“I heard she used to be a kindergarten teacher.”

At least, he thought that was what he’d heard.

[You said you were in a hurry, so I hired her right away. But she’s unmarried. If that’s uncomfortable, I can find someone else………………… Well, nothing’s going to happen anyway. Though I really wish something would.]

He had barely listened to the report because he’d been busy working, so he remembered almost nothing beyond a few words.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t even opened the résumé Min-seok had said he’d sent by email.

He must have found someone suitable.

“I was worried for nothing! If she’s a teacher, then she’ll be fine. Ho ho ho.”

Just as Mrs. Park seemed satisfied, the intercom rang.

“I’ll go open the door.”

Sung-hyun took his eyes off Mrs. Park’s retreating back, which looked strangely excited as though she were welcoming a guest, and looked down at the tiny child.

“Don’t come whining that you’re hungry later. There won’t be any food.”

“Hmph!”

“Hmph.”

“Tch!”

“Tch.”

They were responding to each other like children when a loud cry of “Oh my!” came from the reception room.

Then came the sound of a heavy thud, followed by someone landing hard on their bottom.

“Mrs. Park?”

“V-Vice President! Ouch……………. I’m sorry, but could you open the door for me?”

When he went out, Mrs. Park had apparently tripped over her own feet and fallen. She was laughing awkwardly as she tried to get back up, clearly embarrassed.

Sung-hyun quickly helped her to her feet and repeatedly checked to make sure she was all right.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Mrs. Park waved her hands reassuringly before pointing toward the intercom.

Still unable to stop worrying, Sung-hyun rubbed the back of his neck and reluctantly turned away.

He didn’t like the situation.

It made him restless, as though he’d walked into a messy house or found a pile of unfinished approvals waiting for him.

Before he knew it, his mind was rapidly arranging his priorities.

First, open the door. Then have Mrs. Park exchange greetings with the babysitter and send her home. Since it’s the first day, I’ll take care of Ria a little longer, then see how things go and hand everything over completely……………….

After that, I should be able to finish what I was working on.

Will it be difficult?

Hoping that the babysitter would be able to handle Ria, he looked at the intercom screen.

A small-framed woman stood inside the square frame.

She repeatedly touched her hair, silently mouthing a few words before leaning her face closer to the screen.

Sung-hyun silently stared at the face that had spread across the screen like a steamed bun.

Then, all at once, his eyes widened.

Perhaps confused by the lack of a response, the woman took a step back.

He stared intently at her face.

What kind of coincidence was this?

Forgetting even to breathe, he slowly blinked.

“Ha.”

When he finally let out the breath he’d been holding like a sigh, only three syllables remained in his noisy mind.

Seong Ji-won.

“Young lady. Ah, no, Ji-won. You must have been surprised. I fell down, so our Vice President opened the door for me.”

“……Ah, yes.”

“Did you introduce yourself properly?”

“……Pardon? Ah, yes.”

“You’re nervous, aren’t you? It’s all right. It’s just us here.”

With her face pale, Ji-won kept repeating, “Yes? Yes,” making herself seem rather introverted.

Ji-won pulled herself together.

It was quite remarkable that she hadn’t fainted and had somehow managed to walk in despite the shock, but she was definitely not in a good state.

Work. I’m here to work. If I came here to earn money, then I need to earn money. What am I doing?

Ji-won raised her right hand and slapped her forehead.

Mrs. Park jumped in surprise at the sudden action.

“Ji-Ji-won?”

“I look forward to working with you. Please take good care of me. By the way, what should I call you?”

The woman who had seemed so flustered just moments ago suddenly became confident and assertive, surprising Mrs. Park once again.

“Hm? Ah, what should you call me? The Vice President calls me ‘Mrs. Park,’ but it might feel awkward if you do that too, so let’s see…………….”

“If you don’t mind, how about ‘Auntie’? You’re so lovely, just like my own aunt.”

Mrs. Park, who had been about to suggest the only term that came to mind, “ma’am,” stared at Ji-won with wide eyes.

They say you can tell a lot about someone from one thing, and this young lady certainly knew how to speak beautifully.

She had seemed so shy and reserved at first, but who would have thought?

Mrs. Park, who was an excellent judge of character, immediately recognized Ji-won’s warm and personable nature.

“‘Auntie’ sounds good! Yes, I like that.”

“Please speak comfortably with me. I’m much younger than you.”

“Oh, goodness! It’s your first day, so let’s take it slowly.”

“Yes, Auntie.”

They were already getting along wonderfully.

Since Ji-won had approached her warmly first, it was only natural that Mrs. Park would take to her.

“All right, then. I’ll show you around the first floor first, and then I’ll show you the second floor. Ah, when the Vice President is in his study, what was that word again? Wor-wor…………….”

“Working hard?”

“Ho ho ho, that’s right, working hard. He’s doing that right now, so we have to be careful not to disturb him. Let’s move quietly.”

“Yes.”

As Ji-won entered the reception room, she stared at one of the doors not far away.

That was the room he had disappeared into as soon as they entered together.

That must be the study.

[Sorry. I’m going to go.]

[You’re not a ghost. But where are you going?]

[Home……………. I didn’t know she was your child.]

[Did you even have enough decency to worry about something like that? Never mind. Come in.]

The scene from the entrance replayed in her mind.

Her cheeks became unbearably hot, and she bit down on her lip.

She had unexpectedly come face-to-face with the person she had missed the most and, at the same time, felt the most guilty about seeing.

If he hadn’t been the rational person he was, she might have run away.

Fortunately, she was no longer in complete panic, and she had enough composure to smile at Mrs. Park as the older woman showed her around the house.

“………………so it’s better not to open that window.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“This house feels like a playground, doesn’t it? On my first day, I couldn’t even close my mouth when I was looking around the bathroom.”

“Me neither.”

Mrs. Park became even more animated when Ji-won agreed with her and pointed toward the second floor.

“The bedrooms are upstairs. Let’s go.”

Mrs. Park led the way up the stairs, then glanced back and whispered that Ji-won should be sure to greet Ria later.

Lee Ria.

An easy name to remember.

The child who had apparently gone upstairs before Ji-won could even see her face piqued her curiosity.

She’s Sung-hyun’s niece.

For some reason, Ji-won suddenly imagined what the child might look like.

She must be pretty, like her uncle. Not her father, but she must definitely resemble him…………….

Ji-won abruptly stopped her wandering thoughts.

It had only been a few minutes since she’d secretly panicked at the thought that he might already have a child, unable even to show it on her face.

And now that she’d learned the child was his niece, she was bewildered by the relief she felt.

“………………if you’d like, just tell me anytime. I’ll change your room for you. But this room gets the most sunlight.”

The tour of the second floor was over in an instant.

Apparently, the last room Mrs. Park showed her was the one Ji-won would be using.

Good heavens.

She couldn’t begin to describe how hard she had to work to keep her eyes from widening even further.

It’s bigger than my entire house.

The fact that a single bedroom was larger than the home where four people lived was astonishing, yet somehow bittersweet.

“It’s really nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s almost too good for me.”

Afraid that Mrs. Park might notice the shadow crossing her expression, Ji-won immediately returned to her bright, cheerful self.

Mrs. Park answered her radiant smile with an even warmer one before speaking carefully.

“As I mentioned earlier, the Vice President’s room is also on the second floor. But don’t worry. He’s a gentleman, I guarantee it. He’s the kind of person who’d even forget you’re here.”

On their way back downstairs, Mrs. Park warmly took Ji-won’s hand.

“It’s actually difficult to see him. He hardly ever comes out of his study.”

“……Ah. Yes.”

“A young lady came all this way, so I suppose I’m sticking my nose into things for no reason.”

“No, thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Ji-won squeezed Mrs. Park’s hand in return.

She was deeply grateful to the woman, who laughed and called herself an unnecessary meddler.

Standing blankly in front of the sink, Ji-won tried to calm the chaos in her mind.

When she remembered Mrs. Park saying goodbye before leaving, her heart began to churn again.

So she wasn’t a live-in worker after all.

When Mrs. Park had said, See you tomorrow, Ji-won had felt as though she’d been struck on the head.

It’s okay. Really? Is it really okay?

No.

It wasn’t okay.

It really, really wasn’t okay.

With a miserable expression, she repeatedly slapped her forehead.

And what are you going to do if it isn’t okay? Quit?

The ruthless Seong Ji-won inside her fiercely scolded the weak Seong Ji-won.

She wasn’t in a position to be picky about what she could and couldn’t handle.

Pulling herself together, she busily checked the refrigerator.

She’d heard that Ria had been going hungry, so she needed to make something—anything—and feed her before properly greeting her.

Just as she’d expected, the refrigerator was well stocked.

Pre-portioned vegetables, all kinds of ingredients, and even caviar.

For Ji-won, who loved cooking, it was heaven.

She rolled up both sleeves and quickly began setting everything up.

Once she concentrated on something, it seemed as though she could forget the shocks she’d experienced that day.

That’s right. Being shocked is a luxury too. A luxury.

Drawing upon her characteristic positive energy, Ji-won began chopping.

She sliced the stacked bacon with a crisp shhk, shhk and smashed the carrots Ria disliked with firm thud, thud motions.

She moved skillfully between the color-coded cutting boards, showing off the expertise of someone who had mastered household chores.

Then an unfamiliar sound interrupted her from behind.

Click.

The sound of the refrigerator closing.

The sound of someone opening a bottle of mineral water and taking a drink.

“Seong Ji-won.”

It was Joo Sung-hyun’s dry voice.

She didn’t know when he’d arrived.

Her heightened hearing hadn’t missed a single second of his footsteps approaching as he dragged his slippers across the floor.

Ji-won’s heart felt as though it would burst.

She took a deep breath.

Huuup.

Holding the air in her lungs, she blurted out the one thing that, in this moment, she really had to ask.

The question that both he and she needed to ask.

“You……………… have been doing well?”

Her shoulder turned sharply.

Ji-won, who had no choice but to meet his blazing eyes head-on, froze.

The man’s handsome lips curled slightly upward, diagonally.

“Why.”

“Do I look like I have?”