CHAPTER 1

“Leave as quietly as possible without catching the attention of the young master.”

The atmosphere in the kitchen was tense. With so many people coming and going from the staff quarters, even a few words from each person were enough to create a chattering mess, but the recent atmosphere seemed different.

It had been about two weeks since the owner of the long-empty annex returned. Ever since then, there had been a subtle tension and an inexplicable sense of unease lingering around the mansion.

Leeseo nodded silently Mrs. Seo handed her a tray.

“You told me not to make a single sound or movement in the annex, let alone let a baby ant catch my attention…. Who are we supposed to cater to, anyway?”

Chef Kim clicked his tongue while stealing glances at the kitchen counter, looking frustrated.

“We’re just like shrimps in a whale fight, only getting hurt ourselves be being caught in the crossfire. Why did that spark have to land on you, Leeseo?”

“It’s just a simple errand, really.”

Leeseo smield calmly and lifted the heavy tray with strength in her fingertips.

It had been about an hour ago that the hostess of the mansion, Lady Shin Joo-ah, had unexpectedly summoned Leeseo. She was picking cucumbers in the backyard vegetable garden to make garnish for the bean noodle soup that the staff would have for lunch.

“Would you come over here for a moment?”

At the sudden call, Leeseo turned around to find Lady Shin, who seemed to have been standing there for who knows how long, gracefully beckoning her to approach. As she got closer, Lady Shin gazed at her face intently, then smiling gently. After what felt like an uncomfortably long time, Lady Shin broke the silence.

“I was wondering if you could do me a favor…….

Leeseo stared down at the sandwich neatly placed on the tray. Thinly sliced cucumbers and thickly spread cream cheese in the sandwich.

The task assigned to her by the hostess of the mansion was to deliver the sandwiches to the annex and relay her message to the annex’s owner, suggesting that they dine together in the main building tonight.

It seemed like a simple errand that should not be difficult, but my fingertips trembled slightly with nerves without me even realizing it. Everyone in this mansion knows that the relationship between Lady Shin and the owner of the annex is not exactly friendly.

“Why are you so scared?”

Mrs. Seo nudged Chef Kim’s shoulder as if telling him to stop the unnecessary talk. Then he glanced briefly towards the annex and said.

“Leeseo, don’t worry too much. The young master is probably asleep by now. He only comes in after the crack of dawn. At this hour, the annex is like midnight, midnight.”

As Mrs. Seo mentioned, the owner of the annex had been living a lifestyle where day and night seemed reversed, as if trying to adjust to the time difference since arriving in Korea over two weeks ago. When the sun set, he would go out driving a loud, exhaust-filled car and return around the time the sun rose. On other occasions, he would throw loud parties in the annex that lasted until the early hours of the morning.

Leeseo’s room was even closer to the annex than the staff quarters, so on such days, the booming music from the party would reverberate through the annex walls and into her room. The strong beats feel like they vibrate even the windows, making it difficult for her to fall asleep on the nights when there’s a party at the annex.

“I’ll be back.”

“Sure. I’ll make sure to season the bean noodle soup deliciously, so come back quickly.”

With the tray in her hands, Leeseo left through the side door. The staff quarters had a front door facing the garden to allow easy access to the main building, and the side door was closer to the annex. Once she left through the side door behind the kitchen, a small vegetable garden came into view.

Walking along the path next to the vegetable garden and passing the greenhouse, she reached a small pond. There used to be various flowers planted around the pond, but she heard that the garden’s design had changed since the new hostess took over.

Leeseo held the tray close to her chest and looked up. Climbing over the fence, the intense fragrance of blooming roses filled her nostrils with the wind. The sky was clear, and the scorching noon sun shone overhead.

Despite the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of the secluded surrounding, her lips were tightly pressed due to nervousness. She walked briskly on the way to the annex, hoping that the owner of the annex was deeply asleep, just as Mrs. Seo had mentioned.

She had lived in the mansion since at a young age, so she could draw the path to the annex even with her eyes closed. A faint shadow fell across her cheeks. The fence that separated the annex from the mansion was as tall as the thick walls that surrounding the mansion, towering well above a person’s height.

At the end of the long fence, an arched door appeared. Standing in front of it, Leeseo carefully tucked the tray on one side of her hip and activated the keypad of the door lock.

In the past, there was no locking mechanism, and anyone could freely come and go at any time. It was only installed when the interior of the annex was extensively renovated before the owner of the annex returned. Soon after, access to the annex was strictly forbidden.

‘Unless otherwise instructed, nobody should even come near the annex. It’s the young master’s order. You only come to clean when you’re called, and there’s no need for meals.’

The staff at the mansion gossiped that the master living in the annex had a strange personality.

As Leeseo entered the eight-digit password given by Mrs. Seo, the door unlocked with a cheerful beep. Leeseo swallowed nervously. The extreme caution, as if walking on thin ice, exhibited by the entire mansion’s residents made it evident that the owner of this annex was no ordinary person.

Leeseo shifted the tray to both hands, took a deep breath, and thought, ‘Well, what else can I do? I just have to do as ordered.’ Her fingers tightened around the tray and she pushed the door open with her shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

After pushing the door open with determination and entering, Leeseo’s voice barely came out, like a mouse crawling into a hole. The door closed with a loud thud behind her, and the sound of the lock clicking echoed. Unconsciously, Leeseo hunched her shoulders, taken aback, and her attention was immediately drawn to the view before her.

Although she had been to the annex a few times before, following the adults, it now looked completely different from her memories. They had said that they renovated the interior and replaced some furniture, but the structure itself seemed unrecognizable.

Where the walls used to be, there were now sliding glass doors that opened wide on both sides. Even from where Leeseo stood, she could see the living room of the annex clearly, but it was difficult to find anything that seemed modern. Everything appeared to have an age-worn charm.

The pool out front was filled with water. Having always seen it empty because it was difficult to maintain, she watched the gently rippling surface with a sense of wonder.

The dazzling noon sunlight sparkled on the water’s surface, and one sunbeam, reflecting the golden rays of the sun, cut through the rippling currents creating long, undulating patterns.

For a moment, it felt as if the flow of time itself had paused. The only sound that rang in her ears was the rustling and splashing of the water. As Leeseo stood frozen in awe, the figure that had swiftly glided across the long pool suddenly emerged above the surface in a graceful leap.

The man who emerged from the pool, like a rising nymph, stepped onto the ground with wet feet. A long stream of water trailed down his extended calves, cascading down like a gentle flow. Leeseo’s gaze absentmindedly followed that stream, slowly moving upward.

The man standing before Leeseo was completely n*ked, not wearing even a single thread of clothing. His body was a work of a delicately crafted art, with smooth skin resembling finely sculpted marble. His thighs were thick and powerful, akin to those of a racehorse, and the well-defined muscles beneath his skin seemed to ripple and flex with strength. His back showcased a chiseled and toned form, leading up to the tightly lifted b*ttocks. The man, completely n*ked, didn’t bother to cover himself with anything.

Leeseo gasped in surprise, involuntarily inhaling sharply. Only then did she belatedly realize what she had been staring at. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the tray.

She wondered if the sound had reached the other side. The man’s head snapped up.

As if facing the predatory gaze of a creature positioned at the top of the food chain, Leeseo’s senses were captivated by the man’s intense and primal stare. A shiver ran down her spine, and her mind seemed to go blank, like her breath had been taken away.

Kwon Tae-gyeom, the owner of the annex.

Today was the second time Leeseo had encountered him. Of course, to him, she was just one of many employees, and the young master who had just returned to the mansion wouldn’t remember her at all.

Twenty years ago, when he was around ten years old, he went to study abroad in the United States and lived there for nearly two decades. On the day he returned to Korea, all the mansion’s employees lined up to welcome his return. Standing awkwardly at the end of that line, Leeseo was just a mere extra hand, assisting with various chores around the mansion.

The man, with traces of fatigue on his pale face after a long flight, stepped out of the car with a bored and indifferent expression. He glanced casually at the employees lined up in front of him and then quickly turned away, seemingly uninterested.

As the man walked toward the annex, his languid back came to Leeseo’s mind. At the same time, a faint voice pierced through like an arrow, sticking to her ear.

“What the hell are you looking at?”

Leeseo snapped back to reality, and her eyes widened. The icy cold voice froze her feet in place. But, there was something else that truly perplexed her.

The noonday sun shone down on his broad shoulders, reflecting a transparent gleam on his still-damp skin. His chest was spread wide tapering down to his slim waist beautifully. Even the well-defined abs appeared to be perfectly chiseled, as if they were adorned with a sturdy armor.

The harmony between the perfect straight lines and the alluring curves naturally captured her gaze. And instinctively, her gaze was drawn downward. At the same time, Leeseo’s jaw dropped.

……Oh, my God.