Chapter 5

Bzzzz—

A vibration sounded from beneath my pillow.

It was 5 a.m., so my eyelids felt incredibly heavy. It felt as if my body were being sucked into the mattress.

Just five more minutes… Just five more minutes…

Just as I was about to close my eyes again, I suddenly snapped awake.

This bed isn’t mine.

I’m a worker, and this house is my workplace.

My body shot upright like a spring.

If I slept now, it would be no different from wasting part of my salary for the 300 million won.

I slapped my cheeks hard and kicked off the blanket.

“Get up, Lee Da-eun. You have to earn your keep.”

I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

A woman with messy hair was staring back at me.

I had gone to bed after midnight because I had spent the previous night organizing all the groceries I’d bought at the supermarket.

I looked terrible.

But I didn’t have time to be tired.

I started calculating in my head.

Cost of hiring a live-in chef: 4 million won per month.

And on top of that, there was the labor cost of maintaining the dignity expected of a chaebol family’s daughter-in-law.

If I divided the 300 million won and the value of the apartment over one year, 365 days, I had to produce at least several million won worth of value every single day.

Half-hearted effort won’t be enough.

I wasn’t simply going to do housework.

I had to satisfy my difficult and sensitive employer, Kang Seo-jun.

I washed my face with cold water and tied my hair back tightly.

With a determined expression, I opened the bedroom door.

The quiet hallway was cold.

The space felt dead, like a castle where nobody lived.

I had to warm up this cold place in my own way.

When I entered the kitchen, I saw the “battle supplies” I’d bought at the supermarket the previous night sitting on the kitchen island.

One block of tofu.

Zucchini.

Bean sprouts.

A tray of eggs.

And a small package of kimchi and seasoned seaweed.

“Let’s get started.”

First, I washed the rice.

Swish, swish.

The sound of rice grains hitting the stainless-steel bowl broke the silence.

Then I pressed the cooking button on the pressure rice cooker.

[Starting quick white-rice cooking.]

The mechanical voice announcement had never sounded so pleasant.

From now on, it was a speed game.

The knife danced across the cutting board.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

I cut the zucchini into half-moon slices, diced the tofu, and sliced the green onions diagonally.

I made anchovy stock in a small earthenware pot and mixed in soybean paste.

Bubble, bubble.

A savory aroma began to rise.

Is the smell too strong?

I worried for a moment.

But then I thought this house needed a little human warmth anyway, so I turned the exhaust fan to its highest setting.

I coated a frying pan with oil and poured in the beaten eggs.

Sizzle—

The yellow egg roll puffed up nicely.

It was my special “Da-eun-style fat egg roll,” filled with finely chopped green onions and carrots.

Finally, I blanched the bean sprouts and seasoned them with sesame oil and salt.

The nutty aroma of sesame oil spread through the kitchen.

Before I knew it, the clock had reached 6:30 a.m.

The rice cooker made a soft hiss as the steam escaped.

“Done.”

A full Korean-style meal was laid out on the dining table.

Freshly cooked white rice, glossy from the steam.

Soybean paste stew filled with tofu and zucchini.

A thick egg roll with ketchup.

Crisp seasoned bean sprouts.

Store-bought stir-fried kimchi.

And crispy seasoned seaweed.

The cold, lifeless dining table that had previously held nothing but colorful bottles of supplements had instantly been transformed into a meal that looked better than anything from a Korean diner.

This is better than a hotel breakfast.

A 200,000-won level of care made with ingredients that cost only 20,000 won.

That’s the miracle of cost-effectiveness.

I wiped my hands on my apron and looked toward the master bedroom.

The agreed time to leave for work was 7 a.m.

My heart was already pounding as I wondered what Kang Seo-jun’s expression would be when he opened that door.

He emerged from his room wearing a perfectly fitted three-piece suit.

Not a single strand of his pomaded hair was out of place.

He looked like a robot that had finished preparing for work.

Then he suddenly stopped.

“……”

His eyes were fixed on the kitchen.

More precisely, they were fixed on the dining table.

The cold marble countertop that was normally empty, the place where he probably only drank a glass of water before leaving, now held a completely unfamiliar scene.

White steam rose gently from the food.

The savory smell of soybean paste and the rich aroma of oil filled the air.

It felt strange.

In this house that looked like a model home, an overwhelmingly domestic smell had invaded the space.

“What is all this?”

Seo-jun’s brows drew together.

Is he angry?

Or just surprised?

I straightened my back, trying not to show how nervous I was.

“Breakfast.”

“Who doesn’t know that? I’m asking why you made this.”

He checked his watch and spoke coldly.

“I don’t eat breakfast. It’s inefficient.”

It was exactly the reaction I’d expected.

I didn’t back down and smiled.

“It’s part of the ‘labor’ specified in our contract.”

“Labor?”

“Yes. This contract involves 300 million won and an apartment. I have to prove that I’m worth that much. I decided that taking care of your health is also part of my job.”

I quickly opened the lid of the rice bowl.

A cloud of white steam rose, and the smell of freshly cooked rice spread toward him.

“You only take supplements. If you take those on an empty stomach, you’ll hurt your stomach. Koreans need rice to have strength.”

“Ha…”

He gave a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Ms. Lee Da-eun. I have to leave in five minutes. I don’t have time to eat.”

“Five minutes is enough.”

I neatly placed a spoon on the table.

“If you mix the rice into the soup, you can finish it in three minutes. Use the remaining two minutes to brush your teeth.”

“……”

“It would be a waste to throw it away. I paid for the ingredients myself.”

His eyebrow twitched at that.

He looked back and forth between the food and me.

The soybean paste stew bubbled softly in its earthenware pot, almost like ASMR.

I could see his throat move slightly.

You want to eat it, don’t you?

You’re hungry, aren’t you?

My attack with the smell seemed to be working.

He let out a short sigh, unbuttoned his jacket, and sat down.

“Just one spoonful. I’ll only taste it.”

So difficult.

I celebrated silently inside.

He took a small spoonful of soybean paste broth, almost like a royal court lady tasting food to check whether it had been poisoned.

Silence filled the room.

I swallowed nervously and watched his reaction.

Will he say it’s too salty?

Too bland?

Or will he put down the spoon and say cheap food like this doesn’t suit his taste?

He slowly blinked.

His expression was so emotionless that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

But then…

His spoon went back toward the stew.

This time, he scooped up much more tofu and zucchini than before.

His cheeks moved as he chewed.

The sound of his spoon against the bowl became faster.

Without saying a word, he took a large spoonful of rice and put it into his mouth.

Then he immediately picked up a piece of egg roll.

“……”

He never said it was delicious.

But his actions said everything.

He ate as if he hadn’t eaten for several days.

No, as if he had rediscovered a taste he had forgotten for a very long time.

He probably normally ate hotel-style meals or bland health food.

So the strongly seasoned, home-style Korean meal I’d made was bound to be intense for him.

He eats well.

Pride filled my chest.

Is this what a zookeeper feels like?

If my 300-million-won employer gained a little weight by eating my cooking, I felt like the emotional debt between us would shrink a little.

“Executive Director? Five minutes have passed.”

I pointed at the clock.

Only then did he stop.

Half the rice in his bowl was already gone.

He couldn’t seem to put down his spoon.

He looked up at me with a slightly dazed expression.

His cold, sharp eyes had softened slightly.

There was even a little soybean paste broth at the corner of his mouth.

“…Am I late?”

“Yes. One minute over.”

He cleared his throat awkwardly, pulled a tissue from the table, and wiped his mouth.

Then he stood up.

“Thank you for the meal. Let’s go.”

He’s just going to leave?

He couldn’t even say it was delicious or thank me?

Typical chaebol personality.

I pouted and began clearing the empty dishes.

But just as he was walking toward the entrance, he stopped.

He took something from the inside pocket of his jacket and casually placed it on top of the shoe cabinet.

A sleek black card.

The Black.

The legendary black card said to have no spending limit.

“Use this for food expenses.”

“What?”

“Charge yesterday’s groceries to it as well. I don’t want you spending your own money on my meals.”

Without even turning around, he added in a low voice,

“…Is kimchi stew okay tomorrow?”

I stared blankly at the card in my hand.

Then I had to suppress the laugh that was about to burst out.

I noticed that the tips of his ears were slightly red.

“There won’t be any extra charge, so don’t worry. I’ll prepare the best ingredients.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Seo-jun slipped on his shoes using a shoehorn and checked his watch.

“Oh, and Assistant Manager Lee Da-eun.”

“Yes?”

My spine suddenly stiffened at the change in how he addressed me.

Just a moment ago, he had been in husband mode.

Now he had instantly transformed back into my boss.

“We’re leaving in ten minutes. I’ll leave without you if you’re late.”

“Ah…!”

That’s right.

I’m an office worker too.

I had completely forgotten to get ready for work because I’d been busy making breakfast.

“I-I’ll be out soon! Please go downstairs first!”

He gave a short chuckle at my panicked expression and left the entrance.

The moment the door closed, I screamed.

“Aah! My hair!”

Half-eaten bowls of rice remained on the dining table.

And a heavy black card was in my hand.

Mission accomplished.

Item acquired: Unlimited Food Expense Card & Carpool Pass

I shoved the card into my pocket and ran into the bathroom.

There was no time to be touched by the moment.

From now on, it was time to transform from Kang Seo-jun’s wife back into an assistant manager in the Marketing Team.

“Food really is important.”

In the mirror, I grinned at myself with my messy hair.

My first payment for my keep was handled properly.

No.

The real war was only beginning.