Chapter 4

Beep.

The heavy front door opened silently.

Instead of the cheap “beep beep beep” button sound, it opened smoothly the moment it recognized a fingerprint.

Even in that brief moment as the door opened, I could somehow smell money.

“Come in.”

Executive Director Kang Seo-jun took off his dress shoes and entered the house with his usual flawless movements.

I stood there awkwardly.

The entrance was huge, with marble floors polished like mirrors.

I felt embarrassed taking off my old pumps and leaving them there.

“Wear these.”

He took something out from underneath the shoe cabinet and casually tossed it to me.

They were brand-new white slippers, still in their packaging.

They were the soft, thick slippers you usually get as hotel amenities.

“…Thank you.”

I neatly placed my shoes in the corner and slipped my feet into the slippers.

The unfamiliar softness wrapped around my feet.

“Your luggage?”

“Oh, it’s here.”

I struggled to drag my 28-inch suitcase and an additional large travel bag into the entrance.

Twenty-nine years of my life, and all my belongings fit into just two bags…

“Is that everything?”

“Yes. I was in a hurry, so I only packed clothes and basic necessities.”

“What about the rest of your furniture and appliances?”

“I’ll call a small moving truck tomorrow and put everything into storage. If I keep it in a container, it will only cost 200,000 won a month.”

Even as I said it, my heart hurt.

My Bespoke refrigerator still had six months of installment payments left.

If I left it in the apartment that was going through the auction process, it could eventually become subject to forced execution during the eviction process, regardless of whether the apartment was successfully sold. I might even have to pay the related costs.

It was better to spend some money and move everything somewhere safe.

That way, someday, when I found a home of my own again, I could proudly fill it with my belongings.

Kang Seo-jun nodded.

He didn’t even offer the basic courtesy of carrying my suitcase.

“Follow me.”

He crossed the living room and headed down the hallway.

Rumble, rumble.

The wheels of my suitcase rolled noisily across the smooth marble floor.

The slippers silenced my footsteps, but because the space was so empty, the sound of the suitcase wheels echoed all the way up to the ceiling.

“Even breathing would echo in here.”

I muttered without thinking.

A calm reply immediately came back.

“The house is perfectly soundproofed, so don’t worry. There won’t be any knife fights over noise between floors.”

Oh. He heard me.

I quietly shut my mouth.

Beyond the huge living-room windows, Seoul’s night view spread out like a panorama.

Countless lights glittered far below my feet.

Somewhere down there was probably the villa where I used to live, the one that had now become a mountain of debt.

I felt dizzy.

I looked away from the window and followed his back.

The hallway was long.

I had to pass through the entrance and living room, then walk down another long hallway before reaching the bedrooms.

Kang Seo-jun stopped in front of the room at the very end.

“This is your room.”

The inside looked as if someone had moved an entire hotel suite into the house.

A king-size bed.

A built-in wardrobe.

A private bathroom.

There was even a small terrace.

“Is this… my room?”

“Yes.”

Kang Seo-jun pointed toward the opposite end of the hallway.

Far away, I could see a tightly closed black door.

“That is my room.”

The distance between his room and mine looked to be at least twenty meters.

“They’re at opposite ends.”

“That was intentional.”

He crossed his arms and added coldly,

“I don’t like running into people at home.”

“……”

“Let’s not get in each other’s way. I hate having my privacy invaded.”

His tone was firm, clearly drawing a line between us.

It was almost as if he were saying:

You may live here, but you have no right to invade my space.

I wasn’t hurt.

If anything, I was relieved.

Having to constantly run into that difficult boss even at home?

That would be no different from an office where I could never leave, or endless overtime without overtime pay.

Just imagining it made my stomach churn.

“Understood.”

I smiled brightly and pretended to be cool.

“If you need anything, tell Secretary Kim.”

As if he had nothing else to say, he turned around.

“Get some rest. Starting tomorrow, come down to the parking lot by 7 a.m.”

“Yes. Good nigh—”

Bang!

Before I could even finish saying goodbye, the door closed.

Left alone in the room, I stared blankly at the closed door before slowly looking around.

Hotel-style bedding.

Soft lighting.

A built-in air-conditioning system.

Until yesterday, I had been sighing with anxiety because I didn’t know when I might be kicked out of my home.

And now, overnight, I was living in what was basically a five-star hotel.

Even the monthly rent for this room alone would probably be more than my salary.

For a 300-million-won prison, it was pretty luxurious.

I pushed my suitcase into a corner and sat down on the bed.

The soft mattress gently wrapped around my body.

Expensive things really are different.

The mattress was as soft as a cloud.

But my heart was as uncomfortable as if I were sitting on a bed of thorns.

I hurriedly unpacked a few things and went into the bathroom.

I wanted to wash away all the useless thoughts in my head.

Whoosh.

The moment I turned on the faucet, hot water poured out without even needing time to warm up.

There had been days when I considered even the time it took for the water to heat up a waste.

I naturally remembered the days when I washed my hair with cold water just to save a little on the heating bill.

Even this insignificant stream of water tasted like money.

After drying my wet hair with a towel, I threw myself onto the bed.

“Ugh…”

I stretched my legs out completely.

In my tiny two-room apartment, there had barely been any space between the bed and clothes rack, so I had slept curled up.

Here, I could spread myself out completely and still have plenty of room.

As the tension left my body, exhaustion washed over me.

I happened to look up at the ceiling, and tears suddenly filled my eyes.

…What am I doing right now?

The huge sense of self-loathing that had been hiding behind my relief came rushing over me.

The first jeonse home I had managed to get by taking out loans.

My perfect little castle, filled completely with things I had chosen according to my own taste.

But that beautiful home had been a trap that swallowed my entire fortune.

I had worked so hard to save that money…

And now I was living in a strange man’s house in exchange for 300 million won.

This soft bed.

This comfortable air.

Everything was the price of pretending to be his “fake wife.”

I buried my face in the pillow.

The soft blanket was almost painfully comfortable, which somehow made me even sadder.

“My daughter, living in Seoul isn’t too hard, is it? You’re eating properly, right?”

My mother’s voice echoed in my ears like a hallucination.

I could naturally picture my mother’s swollen, rough hands.

Hands that had spent her entire life working in a restaurant kitchen.

If I collapse, Mom might even let go of the ladle she’s holding.

No. She must never find out.

The tip of my nose stung.

I forcibly pushed down the part of me that wanted to become weak.

Then it happened.

As if mocking my sadness, a sound broke through the silence of the room.

Ding.

[1 day until credit card payment]

[Scheduled payment: 1,850,000 won]

My tears disappeared instantly as reality hit me.

This was no time to become emotional.

I jumped up from the bed.

Get a grip, Lee Da-eun.

This room isn’t free.

I have to pay for it with my labor.

Starting tomorrow, it’s war.

In this cold penthouse, I have to keep my difficult landlord happy.

300 million won and an apartment.

I need to earn my keep.

No.

I need to get every bit of value out of this deal that I possibly can.

I absolutely refused to let that man say,

“You’re not worth the money.”

That was my last bit of pride.

Grrrrr…

Because I hadn’t even had a sip of water all day, my stomach felt like it was sticking to my back.

I slowly opened my bedroom door.

The hallway was completely silent.

Just water.

I’ll only get some water and come back.

I walked toward the kitchen as quietly as a stray cat.

The moment I opened the enormous refrigerator door…

“…Huh.”

I was speechless.

It was practically empty.

Twelve bottles of Evian water.

Four cans of beer.

That was all.

There wasn’t even a single side-dish container or a piece of kimchi.

“Is this really someone’s home?”

Does this man live on morning dew or something?

Cold air from the refrigerator rushed against my face.

I turned my head and noticed the corner of the kitchen island.

There were bottles of all kinds of supplements.

Multivitamins.

Omega-3.

Lutein.

Liver supplements.

“He survives on medicine instead of food.”

I clicked my tongue.

He had said eating was a waste of time.

Apparently, he was extending his lifespan as efficiently as possible, like oiling the parts of a machine.

I took out a bottle of water and gulped it down.

The cold water flowed down my throat and instantly cleared my head.

“…This is an opportunity.”

Actually, this was perfect.

An empty refrigerator meant I had plenty of space to fill.

I crushed the empty water bottle and checked the time.

10 p.m.

The supermarkets should still be open.

“Let’s go.”

I was going to fill this bleak refrigerator, and this entire house, with my own ability.

I grabbed my wallet, crossed the hallway, and stood in front of the elevator.

The doors opened.

The shiny golden interior reflected my image.

A worn-out tracksuit with stretched-out knees.

Slippers on my feet.

An old shopping bag in my hand.

I looked completely out of place in the luxurious penthouse.

So what?

I held my head high.

Cinderella wore glass slippers.

But I carried a shopping bag.

That was the real-life Cinderella’s way of paying off a 300-million-won debt.

“Just wait and see. Tomorrow morning, I’ll make you wake up because the smell of food is too good to ignore.”

With a determined expression, I headed toward the darkened lobby on the first floor.