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Chapter 6
Morning came after spending a night in an unfamiliar place. As instructed by Seok-woo, Ye-rim rode in the butler’s car to kindergarten.
“Bye, Mom~ I’m going in a big car today.”
“Y-Yeah. Our Ye-rim, fighting today too.”
“Okay! See you later, Mom.”
After Ye-rim waved and left the house, the garage door shut firmly. A gust of wind blew past, sending a chill through the air.
As Hee-yeon headed straight up the stairs, she heard women chatting nearby.
“Ugh, I feel so relieved now that that bitch Ae-ri’s been kicked out.”
“You too? Same here.”
“Now that she’s gone, wouldn’t it be nice if the CEO called me whenever he felt lonely?”
“Hey, wake up. Do you know how high his standards are? Even when Ae-ri threw herself at him naked, he didn’t bat an eye.”
“If it were Director Cha, he would’ve jumped at the chance already.”
“Pfft.”
Again, talk about that woman.
From the way they said she had thrown herself at him naked, it seemed she liked Kang Seok-woo. But hadn’t they said he had a girlfriend? Of course, that girlfriend probably didn’t live in the same house. It didn’t seem like these women knew he had one.
Whatever.
Why should I care?
Hee-yeon shook her head and pulled out her phone to check for missed calls. There were none.
He’d sounded urgent.
Was he hurt?
Where was he hurt… She couldn’t stop herself from hoping he was safe.
As she passed by, the women all glared at her.
“She looks so unpleasant.”
“Seriously, why bring someone like that in as his personal keeper? There are plenty of other keepers here.”
“He keeps her close because she won’t have any ulterior motives. She’s a mom, after all.”
Hee-yeon whipped her head toward them at their insults. They immediately looked away and scattered.
Really…
She let out a sigh and went up to Seok-woo’s room.
Since he had come in late the night before, cleaning would start at 10 a.m.
When she entered the room, she heard the sound of running water. The bedsheets were in complete disarray.
From the state of the sheets, it felt like someone had been there the night before. She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but she could sense it. Tissues were scattered here and there, looking almost like used condoms. She thought she could even smell the faint scent of men’s semen.
Was he angry that his girlfriend had run away? Did he call a different woman every night?
Could he not go a single day without one?
Well, perhaps his nights were different from his perfectly composed daytime image.
Either way, what did it matter?
Hee-yeon picked up the tissues from the floor and threw them into the trash.
As she was sweeping and wiping the floor, she noticed the shower sound had stopped.
“…!”
She glanced over—and met his eyes.
Beneath the bathrobe that hung down to below his knees, he was surely naked. His half-dried hair gave off a strangely decadent aura.
“You can smell the perfume, can’t you?”
“N-No.”
The question she’d secretly been curious about slipped out, and her ears burned in embarrassment.
“You looked at it like it was dirty.”
“That’s not true.”
“Really?”
“Enjoy yourself as much as you like. I’ll make sure the bed is spotless.”
“……”
When he didn’t reply, she turned her head. He was staring at her intently.
Something felt off. His sharp gaze was like a predator eyeing its prey.
Was it because they’d been talking about his bed life?
She suddenly became acutely aware of him.
If only he’d step aside while she cleaned. Instead, he stood there the entire time, watching her.
He’d even cloned her phone…
It felt suffocating and uncomfortable.
“Aren’t you going to work?”
“I am.”
“Then I’ll prepare your suit.”
“And match the color of the underwear, too.”
“…!”
“Why? Embarrassed?”
“N-No!”
Hee-yeon hurried into the dressing room to prepare his suit.
Matching underwear too?
Well, maybe that was his style. She opened the drawer and laid out his underwear.
Palm-sized spandex drawers.
Would that even cover everything?
It looked like far too little fabric.
Without meaning to, she imagined Seok-woo wearing them. The briefs slung low across his well-built waist. If his hip bones dipped just slightly, it would look—
“…!”
Have you lost your mind?
So Hee-yeon, what are you imagining right now?
She quickly looked around. This was the dressing room; he wouldn’t see her—but her face flushed hot.
She set out his suit, underwear, and tie, then left the dressing room.
At that moment, Seok-woo entered in a hurry and nearly collided with her.
“Ah…”
Without thinking, she reached out toward him. He grabbed her waist in response.
Thud.
They both extended their hands at the same time, stopping just a breath away from each other.
When Seok-woo’s eyes narrowed, Hee-yeon startled and quickly pulled her hand away.
“Were you trying to fall into my arms?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
She slipped out of the room as if fleeing.
Thump, thump—
Her heart pounded from the tension. Where their hands had briefly touched, it felt like a spark had shot through her.
The tingling sensation flustered her deeply.
It’s just static.
Just static.
She tightened her hair up and went downstairs with the vacuum cleaner.
Behind her, his gaze followed. Seok-woo’s expression twisted harshly.
Seok-woo had gone to see the last trace of Pil-mo.
Deep in the forest, among the thick trees, he spotted faint bloodstains on branches.
“The blood trail stops here.”
“He must have realized I was tracking him.”
“If that’s the case, he’ll hide even more carefully.”
Seok-woo scanned the surrounding woods. Judging by the amount of blood, Pil-mo had failed to stop the bleeding.
“He better not end up as animal feed somewhere…”
Before the chairman returned, Seok-woo had to put Jung Se-ah and Pil-mo back in their proper places.
But the trail kept going cold.
The man seemed optimized for running away.
He must have prepared a solid plan. If he fled recklessly, he’d leave a trail.
“Fine. Keep running. The things you cherish most are already in my hands.”
It had been three days since Hee-yeon had unwillingly become a keeper. She needed information. That way, she might be able to help Pil-mo, even just a little.
After Seok-woo left for work, Hee-yeon divided cleaning areas with the other keepers.
One of the keepers who had disliked her from the start shot her a glare.
“You need to do over there too. And there.”
“I am.”
“Faster, faster. The CEO hates dirty things.”
“Okay.”
The butler mostly focused on overall estate management, so cleaning duties fell primarily to that woman.
Hee-yeon wrung out a rag and carefully wiped each stair one by one. The cleaning area was enormous. For a mansion well over a hundred pyeong in size, there were surprisingly few resident keepers.
After nearly three hours of cleaning, it was finally break time. A familiar face waved at her—it was Min-ah, a fellow keeper. The only one who had been friendly to Hee-yeon.
“Those older sisters are scary. Don’t get on their bad side. There’s a hierarchy even among us.”
“We’re in the same situation. What hierarchy?”
“Even if we do the same work, our situations are different. Oh—me too, I was sold here because of my dad’s debt. I only worked at a bar for one month.”
“Ah…”
“If there’s anything you don’t know, ask me. You’re twenty-six, right? We’re the same age. Let’s be friends.”
“Shall we?”
“Great! The others ostracized me. I’m so happy to have a friend.”
Min-ah beamed like a child. Just as everyone seemed busy hating her, Hee-yeon was also glad to have someone to talk to.
She decided to grow closer to Min-ah and gather information about this place.
The estate had two buildings. The opposite one was managed by other keepers.
“What’s that building over there?”
“Oh, that’s the main residence where the chairman stays.”
“…What?”
“You didn’t know? This is the home of the chairman of JM Capital.”
“…!”
Hee-yeon was shocked.
This wasn’t Seok-woo’s house—it was the chairman of JM Capital’s residence.
“Surprised? You see gangsters coming and going here. They’re practically at quasi-conglomerate level now, but they still do this kind of business.”
“It must make that much money. It started in the private lending market, after all.”
“Exactly. Everyone working here is a debtor. They couldn’t repay their debts, so they pay with their bodies. We signed confidential contracts… Still, it’s better than selling your body at a bar, so I don’t mind.”
“……”
“You’ve got it even better, Hee-yeon. You’ll be doing that kind of thing with the CEO, right?”
