CHAPTER 3

Startled, Leeseo  quickly took a step back, inhaling sharply.

The man’s rude and brash behavior was as sharp and unpleasant as his words, lacking even the tiniest shred of courtesy to let her finish her sentence.

Leeseo couldn’t help but let out a incredulous laugh in front of the door that had abruptly shut in her face. She impulsively reached out towards the keypad, but hesitated and withdrew her hand into thin air.

Even if she were to storm back in, it was unlikely to clear up the misunderstanding or lead to the normal conversation she was hoping for. The more she thought about it, the stranger the owner of the annex, Kwon Tae-gyeom, seemed to her. Avoiding him might be the wisest choice at this point.

Leeseo exhaled slowly to calm her ragged breathing. Her flushed face felt like it was about to burst into flames. As she fanned herself with her hand, loud splash of water sounds flowed from beyond the door.

Stunned, Leeseo stared in disbelief at the door, which remained firmly closed. She couldn’t believe that the man, after rudely dismissing her, would simply go back to swimming alone. It was absolutely mind-boggling.

The image of the man swimming behind the door was intensely etched in her mind. Although she had seen people swimming before, there was something strangely captivating about him, leaving a strong impression in her mind.

His firm shoulders and broad back, rising powerfully above the water’s surface. With each stroke of his arms, the well-defined muscles flexed and created graceful lines. His black hair, wet from the water, and his skin glistening brilliantly in the sunlight.

The vividly replaying scene in her mind had reached an awkward point. Shivering, Leeseo vigorously shook her head to clear his thoughts.

I must be crazy. Why am I like this? Pull yourself together, Hyun Leeseo.

She needed to snap out of it, to clear the embarrassing scene from her mind. With the sound of rushing water echoing in her ears, she hurriedly moved away, as if escaping from it.

* * *

“Oh, stop it! That’s enough! Just leave it and quickly go to your room!”

As Leeseo placed a rice bowl inside the sink and grabbed a rubber glove, a warm hand touched her back. Mrs. Seo, gently swatting her back, motioned for her to move aside with her hip.

“Yeah, Leeseo. You’re always willing to help with the dishes. Come here and finish your tea before heading to your room.”

The other staff members, who were still sitting at the table, gestured towards Leeseo to join them. She reluctantly put down the rubber gloves and approached the table. A bowl with two dates floating in tea was placed in front of her.

(Translation Note: Sujeonggwa is a traditional Korean tea made from boiled water with two or three red dates (jujubes) added for sweetness.)

“Sujeonggwa is very refreshing. It tastes even better in this weather.”

“I heard from Chief Yoon that the young master used to love Sujeonggwa when he was young.”

“Ah Really? I wondered why we suddenly had Sujeonggwa. Maybe that’s why they were prepared.”

Ms. Yoon, the chief manager, was the most experienced employee working at the mansion. She was responsible for overseeing the main house’s affairs. As the other staff members gathered for dinner, Chief Yoon had not yet returned to the quarter. It seemed like her work in the main house was not yet finished.

The commuting employees had already left a long time ago. The quarters provided for the resident staff of the mansion was located on the opposite side of the main building, with the garden in the center.

Mrs. Seo, standing by the sink with her hands clad in rubber gloves, looked out the long kitchen window towards the main building.

“Oh, the young master has been back in Korea for over two weeks now, and it’s the first time that all of them are gathering in one place. Chief Yoon suddenly remembered and hurried to prepare this when we heard that the family were having a meal together.”

“You did well because where could the young master have properly tasted Sujeonggwa in the US? They might have never seen it alone there, let alone taste it. If Chief Yoon was there, maybe he could have tried it then.”

“Hey, be careful with your words, even when talking about him enjoying Sujeonggwa. Even though we are among ourselves, we should watch what we say. If anyone overhears and spreads it around, it could cause a problem.”

Mrs. Seo turned around and clapped her hands loudly. As a result, the table, where everyone had been adding their two cents, instantly fell silent.

Leeseo, who had been sitting quietly in the middle, quietly put down the Sujeonggwa cup and got up from her seat.

“I had a good meal. I’ll head back first.”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead and rest quickly. You worked hard today.”

After waving goodbye to the staff, Leeseo opened the side door and stepped outside. It was the boundary between spring and summer, and the refreshing night air enveloped her.

She took a deep breath, savoring the sensation of the air circulating deep into her lungs. The fatigue in her body was evident, but the pleasant exhaustion of completing a day’s work spread through every corner of her being.

As she exhaled, she caught a faint whiff of the Sujeonggwa she had. Leeseo couldn’t help but let out a light, carefree laugh.

That man likes Sujeonggwa. Doesn’t really match his personality. Perhaps the strange man of the annex would be more suited to strong alcoholic drinks rather than sweet and tangy traditional beverages.

As she thought about it, Leeseo suddenly looked back. The main house was fully lit.

He’d just kicked someone out after pretending not to hear, but now he seems to have joined the family dinner.

Leeseo shook her head slightly. Whether that man attended the family dinner or not was none of her concern. It seemed like the talk she overheard from the staff made her curious about unnecessary things.

Ever since Kwon Tae-gyeom, the owner of the annex, returned to the mansion, he became the hottest topic among the staff.

He is not a vampire, but he seems to only go out at night, and he often throws wild parties in the annex. Working in the mansion, Leeseo couldn’t help but overhear various discussions about Kwon Tae-gyeom that she didn’t particularly want to hear, like what kind of life he really led in the United States.

He wasn’t really the owner of the annex from the beginning. Before going to the US, he lived in the main house of the mansion, they said.

Of course, these were just rumors from the distant past, and Leeseo only heard them through word of mouth. For the past few years, Tae-gyeom occasionally came to Korea whenever Chairman Kwon called him, but she had never seen him.

After spending her early school days at this mansion, Leeseo lived in the university dormitory since starting college, and only came back here on very rare occasions. For her, the mansion was a place she missed with sentimental memories, but also a place she didn’t want to return to.

She trudged through the garden, the sound of grasshoppers echoing in her ears. The earthy smell of the damp earth was fragrant.

When she passed by the greenhouse, she noticed a peculiar red light glowing suspiciously inside the dark interior. Intrigued, Leeseo’s steps slowed down. Frowning, she peered inside to see what the red light was and found her gaze meeting someone’s inside.

The flickering red light fell in a downward trajectory. It was only then that she realized it was a cigarette.

She stood still, silently staring into the greenhouse, puzzled and bothered, wondering why someone would choose to smoke a cigarette in such an enclosed space when there were plenty of places in the mansion to do so.

Inside the greenhouse, there were many plants that required special care due to their sensitivity to the environment. Mr. Lee, the elderly gardener poured his heart into this place, the greenhouse was especially dear to him. The thought of smoking inside the greenhouse sent shivers down Leeseo’s spine, imagining how horrified the old gardener would be if he found out.

The cigarette smoke that had been obstructing the view gradually dispersed. After blowing out a long puff of grayish smoke, the man placed the cigarette between his lips again.

It was Kwon Jin-gyeom, the second son of Chairman Kwon.

Twenty years ago, the Chairman’s first wife had vacated the mansion to accompany her son Tae-gyeom on his study abroad. At that time, the current hostess, Shin Joo-ah, entered the mansion as if she had been waiting for it. A rising actress in her twenties at the time, Shin Joo-ah was already pregnant with a full belly when she entered the mansion.

Jin-gyeom exhaled a long puff of smoke and flicked his hand towards Leeseo, signaling her to come closer.

Feeling uncertain about Jin-gyeom’s intentions, whether he wanted her to come closer or just ignore him, Leeseo decided it was best not to get involved and turned her head away.

However, just as she was walking away, she heard the door behind her creak open. Jin-gyeom called out to her loudly, commanding her to come over.

“Hey, I said come here.”

Without responding to his call, Leeseo glanced back at the main building. The lights were brightly lit in every window on the first floor. Could it be that the family was not dining together?

“Look at this funny one.”

Jin-gyeom’s voice was much closer, and Leeseo turned her head to find him standing right behind her. Unconsciously, she took a step back, holding her breath.

With a mocking smirk, Jin-gyeom flicked his fingers in an irritated gesture towards her.

“Can’t you hear me calling you to come here?”

The cigarette butt on his fingers flew through the air, drawing a long arc and landing on one side of the garden path. Leeseo looked at the fallen cigarette that landed on a stone with a frown.