AH 3

Chapter 3 

Her fingers moved naturally as she entered the passcode for the front door.

It had already been a week since Dajeong had started going to Jaewoon’s apartment for work.

Just as Youngshin had said, there was nothing particularly difficult about it.

She adapted quickly to her new job, and she had also managed to accept the situation of becoming the person who looked after her first love surprisingly easily.

The Go Jaewoon in his early twenties now belonged to the memories she had tucked away.

But there was one thing, and only one, that she still hadn’t gotten used to.

“P-please, could you at least put some clothes on before coming out?”

Jaewoon came out of the bedroom in his natural state again today.

He yawned widely and ruffled his bird’s-nest hair.

“Get used to it. I normally sleep without wearing anything.”

How was she supposed to get used to something like this?

Her face, still red enough to burst, refused to cool down.

“Then I’d really appreciate it if you could at least put on a robe before coming out.”

He always ended up putting on the robe he tossed over the sofa once he came into the living room anyway.

Couldn’t he just put it on beforehand?

But contrary to Dajeong’s expectations, Jaewoon didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Mr. Go Jaewoon must be embarrassed too…”

Dajeong finally handed him a bottle of water after he put on his robe.

She had quickly noticed that he had a habit of drinking water as soon as he woke up, so preparing it was one of the things she did in this house.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you keep coming out naked in front of a woman…”

“A woman?”

Jaewoon was about to drink the water when he suddenly snorted with laughter.

Dajeong blinked, unable to understand what his laughter meant.

He slowly looked her up and down.

“You don’t even turn me on. You’re just a little kid.”

Perhaps it was the bluntness of his words.

Without realizing it, Dajeong lowered her gaze toward the front of Jaewoon’s robe.

It was hidden now thanks to the robe, but the image she had caught a glimpse of on the first day remained vividly etched in her memory.

She had consciously tried to forget it.

But with Jaewoon greeting her in various states of undress whenever she came to work, the memory occasionally resurfaced at the most inconvenient times.

“See? I told you, you’re a pervert.”

Dajeong, who had been staring blankly, was startled and quickly turned her head away.

“If you’re going to stare at me like that, why did you tell me to get dressed?”

“I’m not.”

“What aren’t you?”

“…It’s not what you think. Ahem. Are you going to eat now?”

She needed to change the subject.

If she let Jaewoon lead the conversation, she felt completely helpless.

She couldn’t keep having conversations like this.

Jaewoon chuckled and stretched his arms high.

It amused him how obviously she was trying to change the subject.

What was the point of trying to act mature when she couldn’t even hide these childish sides of herself that occasionally slipped out?

“I’m not eating. I’m going out.”

“Will you be back late?”

“Dunno.”

He seemed to take everything in the world so easily.

Dajeong envied that relaxed attitude.

“If you’re done for the day, just leave whenever you want.”

She didn’t know what he had been doing while abroad, but he had said he would take some time off after returning to Korea and before joining the company.

It was strange to see someone from such a wealthy family living like an unemployed man.

Dajeong watched Jaewoon slowly walk back into the bedroom, one hand resting behind his head.

Naturally, the day she first met him came to mind.

It was back when Kyungjun was Myeongju’s second great hope and expectation.

Their lives had been comfortable, thanks to their dependable father, who worked at a major company and had been the family’s first source of hope.

Kyungjun had always been a good student. Even at his private high school, he had excellent grades, and he eventually entered a prestigious university.

That was where Kyungjun and Jaewoon met and became friends.

After becoming university students in Korea and completing their military service, they had just returned to school and were supposed to be enjoying their newfound freedom when Hyungsik was forced to retire.

Kyungjun, struggling as he wandered through a difficult period of his life, would meet his friends for drinks, and Jaewoon was occasionally part of that group.

That day, Dajeong had gone out after receiving a call from her drunk brother.

To a seventeen-year-old girl, twenty-three-year-old Jaewoon looked more impressive than anyone she had ever seen.

“Kyungjun’s really drunk. Do you think you can take him home?”

Even the way Jaewoon worried about whether her small frame could handle taking care of a grown man who could barely stand seemed incredibly cool to her.

The other friends were already drunk and barely able to keep themselves upright, but Jaewoon alone stood straight and pressed taxi fare into Dajeong’s hand.

“Even if it’s close, just take a taxi. Call your parents when you get to your house.”

Why had that simple gesture looked so mature to her?

At seventeen, her young heart had caught fire.

Perhaps it was because of how brief yet intense that memory had been.

From that day on, Jaewoon took a place in Dajeong’s heart as her first love.

And now, remembering it while organizing the storage room in his house was almost comical.

The storage room had no air conditioning, so Dajeong was sweating profusely.

Then she heard movement outside and hurried out of the storage room.

“Ah. Welcome ba—”

The front door was already closed.

She had only caught a glimpse of Jaewoon’s heel as he left.

Well, it didn’t matter.

Dajeong wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and opened the door to the owner’s bedroom.

She just had to do her job.

That was all.

“Lenny.”

After heading over to Youngshin’s house, Dajeong picked up Lenny, who eagerly welcomed her.

Since she used to see him every day but could now only visit occasionally, Lenny greeted her even more enthusiastically each time she came.

“CEO is waiting for you.”

“Yes.”

At Manager Kim’s words, she reluctantly put Lenny down.

“Oh, Dajeong.”

Youngshin, who had been on the phone, greeted Dajeong and ended the call.

She smiled when she saw Lenny following Dajeong into the room, then gestured for Dajeong to sit.

“You only need to come here once a week to bring some side dishes now. And when you do, tell me a little about Jaewoon.”

“Understood. But exactly what should I report to you?”

Thanks to Jaewoon’s speakerphone conversation on her first day, Dajeong had realized that keeping an eye on him was also one of her important duties.

But she was a little confused because, compared to the heavy word ‘surveillance,’ the conversation between the two of them had sounded remarkably casual and affectionate.

She couldn’t quite understand why Youngshin needed to assign someone just to find out what Jaewoon was doing.

“Just little things. Whether he’s sleeping well, whether he’s eating properly, things like that.”

Could there be something wrong with Jaewoon?

The question didn’t disappear easily.

For someone who was supposedly being watched over out of concern, he seemed to be doing perfectly fine and living incredibly leisurely.

“Just tell me the kinds of things a parent would normally worry about when it comes to their child.”

“Oh. Yes. Understood.”

She didn’t know the whole story, but she had learned through this job that it was important not to dig too deeply.

Whatever went on in wealthy families was none of an employee’s business, and knowing too much rarely did any good.

Dajeong soon pushed her curiosity aside and nodded.

“He said he had an appointment today. I don’t know who he’s meeting, though.”

“Really? Is this his first time going out during the week?”

“Yes. As far as I know, during my working hours, it is.”

Jaewoon apparently wasn’t bored enough to feel the need to leave the house.

He simply alternated between his bedroom, study, and living room, changing locations from time to time.

“Good. That’s the kind of thing you should tell me. Dajeong, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, CEO.”

After giving her brief report, Dajeong left and spent some time with Lenny.

She felt a little sad knowing that, now that she only came once a week, she wouldn’t be able to see Lenny very often anymore.

So she took a whole bunch of pictures before finally managing to tear herself away.

She liked that summer days were long, but the sweltering heat was another matter.

The moment she stepped outside Youngshin’s house, she frowned at the suffocating heat.

She quickly took the portable fan from her bag and held it near her neck.

She had to get home before dinner and prepare the meal, so her pace naturally quickened.

The next morning.

Dajeong arrived at work at her usual time and was about to begin the routine she had already established.

But the moment she entered the living room, she had no choice but to stop.

The blackout curtains that Jaewoon should have drawn before going to sleep the previous night were still closed.

The robe he usually tossed carelessly onto the sofa was nowhere to be seen either.

No way…

“Mr. Go Jaewoon.”

Three crisp knocks followed, matching her formal address.

There was no sign of movement from inside the bedroom.

“I’m going to open the door.”

She cautiously opened it and looked inside, but there wasn’t even a trace of Jaewoon.

He had spent the night somewhere else.

There was nothing particularly surprising about a thirty-year-old man spending the night out, but there was someone she had to report to every week.

Dajeong calmly took out her phone and typed into her memo app.

“Wednesday. Mr. Go Jaewoon spent the night out.”

She wrote it with such solemnity that it sounded as though some major incident had occurred.

Dajeong nodded to herself and got back to work.

This time, about thirty minutes after she had started working through her usual routine—

“Ah. I’m dying.”

Jaewoon appeared with a hoarse voice.

Holding his head, he walked into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Welcome back.”

Dajeong had just finished cleaning the study and approached him with quick little steps.

Then she slightly furrowed her brow.