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Chapter 15
“Kids, it’s time to go home now.”
As Chaeyoon raised her voice while walking over, the children who had been surrounding the two men came rushing toward her.
“Teacher, do you know who those guys are?”
“Teacher, did those men come because they had an appointment with you? They’re not weird people, right?”
“Teacher, I can go home late today, so I’ll stay with you until those guys leave.”
“I can go home late too.”
“Me too, me too! I’ll stay with you, Teacher!”
Seeing the children trying to protect their teacher from the unfamiliar men, Muhyeon wore a dumbfounded expression, while the man standing beside him looked troubled.
For a brief moment, Chaeyoon was tempted to tell the children, “I don’t know those men at all,” just to see the flustered look on Muhyeon’s face.
But she quickly suppressed the childish impulse.
“It’s okay, everyone. I know them, so you don’t have to worry.”
“How do you know them? Are they people with verified identities?”
Jinhee, a fourth-grader and the oldest at the study room, still couldn’t shake her suspicion.
Grateful for the concern, Chaeyoon smiled and gently patted Jinhee’s head.
“Yes. They’re reliable people, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
After nodding, Chaeyoon looked around at the children.
“Hurry home now. Your parents must be waiting.”
Only then did the children seem reassured, chattering noisily as they said goodbye to Chaeyoon.
Until she finished seeing the children off and returned, the two men stood there without moving an inch.
Chaeyoon asked Muhyeon—who looked half-dazed from the children’s chatter—and his companion,
“So what brings you here today?”
“We had a lot to bring, so we left a bit early. As you can see.”
Muhyeon, his expression now perfectly composed, answered while gesturing toward the bags.
Two large suitcases and two Boston bags—enough to make one wonder if he’d brought half his wardrobe. Chaeyoon asked incredulously,
“…Are you planning to keep staying at the villa?”
As if he didn’t see the problem, Muhyeon casually raised an eyebrow. At that moment, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, who had been silent until then, stepped half a pace forward.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Junho, Secretary to Director Seo Muhyeon.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Still stunned that he had even brought his secretary along with all that luggage, Chaeyoon returned the greeting stiffly.
Before she could finish speaking, Muhyeon urged her on.
“So, you’re going to open the door now, right?”
As if he had no interest in her reaction, he finished speaking and started walking ahead.
Apparently assuming she would follow, he strode forward, with the secretary hurrying after him.
Letting out a hollow laugh, Chaeyoon reluctantly began walking toward the villa as well.
They had just reached the door when—
“There was only water in the kitchen. Don’t you eat anything?”
Muhyeon’s voice came from behind Chaeyoon as she opened the back door.
“Come to think of it, the room could use an air freshener too. It hasn’t been used in a long time, so something not too strong…”
Unable to listen any longer, Chaeyoon stopped opening the door and turned around.
“Director Seo Muhyeon. This villa belongs to me now. From my perspective, you’re an uninvited guest—”
Tilting his head slightly to the left, Muhyeon cut her off in a crooked tone.
“An uninvited guest? Me?”
“Someone who barges into someone else’s house and demands a room—what else would you call that?”
“So you’re saying you won’t meet my demands?”
Chaeyoon sighed and muttered quietly,
“You’re not even a tenant—what demands could you possibly have…?”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.”
Junho, who had been standing quietly beside Muhyeon, suddenly interjected.
“Why don’t you just sign a monthly lease? A landlord–tenant relationship would keep things clean for both sides.”
She hadn’t expected that kind of response to her impulsive remark. As she fell silent in surprise, Junho turned to Muhyeon.
“Since I’m already down here, it might be good to draw up the contract as well. Shall we proceed right away?”
Muhyeon didn’t answer. He shot Junho an annoyed look, but didn’t object either.
Taking the silence as consent, Junho turned back to Chaeyoon and asked in a polite voice,
“Would an hour be enough? If you could organize your requirements by then, we’ll take them into consideration.”
After opening the villa’s back door, Chaeyoon went inside with a stiff expression. The moment the door closed, Muhyeon scowled at Junho.
“What are you doing? A contract?”
“I’m just proposing a solution that would look reasonable to anyone.”
As Muhyeon scoffed, Junho calmly explained,
“Like Ms. Song Chaeyoon said earlier, this villa belongs to her. For you—someone with no formal relationship to her—to be coming and going every day isn’t good for either of you.”
“……”
“And how long do you think people in Bangbaedong won’t notice you’re staying here? Once they find out, they’ll come rushing over, and they’ll obviously assume there’s something going on between you and Ms. Song. How are you going to explain that?”
“My mother is something I’ll handle myself—”
“That may be true for you. But what about Ms. Song Chaeyoon? If Madam starts suspecting something, do you think Ms. Song could handle it?”
Junho looked quietly at Muhyeon, then let out a light sigh.
“I don’t know what kind of grudge you have against Ms. Song, but take it easy. Just looking at her, she’s clearly not the type who can handle your personality.”
Two of Junho’s points were things Muhyeon couldn’t deny.
The fact that the moment his mother learned he was commuting from here, she’d rush straight to the villa—and the fact that Song Chaeyoon wouldn’t be able to handle his mother.
Imagining Chaeyoon being summoned and scolded by his mother without knowing why left a strangely unpleasant feeling.
But that thought vanished without a trace when Chaeyoon’s earlier words echoed in his mind.
“From my perspective, you’re an uninvited guest….”
An uninvited guest.
It seemed she had forgotten entirely who it was thanks to whom she was able to live here and even run a study room.
The thought crossed his mind that without his grandfather, she wouldn’t have even dared to dream of this life—and yet she’d done whatever suited her and ended up taking over the villa itself. As that thought surfaced, Muhyeon’s briefly softened expression hardened coldly.
“If she can’t handle this situation, then she should know to step aside.”
At Muhyeon’s icy mutter, Junho subtly shook his head.
Sympathy for Song Chaeyoon was plainly written across Junho’s face.
Seeing that only made Muhyeon feel even worse.
“What? Are you worried about Song Chaeyoon?”
“Not worried exactly. I just feel a bit sorry for her.”
“For what?”
Watching Muhyeon’s expression grow sharper, Junho replied in a heavy voice,
“She got properly targeted by a guy with a terrible temper like you. She’s a young woman living alone, with no one to rely on. Take it easy on her.”
Muhyeon understood what he meant. Lee Junho had always been soft-hearted and highly empathetic. It seemed he was sympathizing with Chaeyoon’s situation.
But understanding didn’t mean accepting everything.
Muhyeon didn’t like Junho’s sympathy for Song Chaeyoon. Honestly, he felt like sending Junho straight back to Seoul right now—contract or no contract.
But if he did that, Junho might genuinely start worrying about Chaeyoon.
And that was something Muhyeon had no desire to see.
He turned his head away without a word. Seeing Muhyeon offer no response at all, Junho let out a shallow sigh.
