Lights Don't Go Out in the Annex - Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Plastic cups and torn leaves floated in the pool, and the floor was littered with empty beer bottles, half-empty liquor bottles, and broken glasses. Somehow, some of the sunbeds near the pool were even overturned as if something disastrous had happened.
Mrs. Seo unfolded a large trash bag that she had brought with her and began picking up whatever trash she could grab on the ground.
“No matter how isolated this annex is, like a remote island, if the young master keeps making such a ruckus, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches the Chairman’s ears. Even if we try to hush things up among ourselves, he’s sure to find out about this mess.”
Bending over with a grunt, Mrs. Seo picked up a torn stocking from under the sunbed. She had been in charge of cleaning the annex for a while now, so she didn’t seem too surprised by the unknown stocking and simply tossed it into the trash bag. She quickly moved on to tidy up the area around the sunbed.
“I’ve never seen such chaos while cleaning in here. It usually takes a day or two for things to get this messy. Seeing this, I feel like we should clean up as soon as possible, which makes me anxious. Young master, seriously, no matter how enjoyable it is to be filled with youthful energy, there’s a limit to it.”
Mrs. Seo said, expressing her thoughts to herself, as she could never speak confidently in front of the person involved.
“I don’t know how he lived in the United States, but now that he’s returned back home, wouldn’t it be better for him to behave calmly for a while and make a good impression on the Chairman, don’t you think?”
Leeseo replied modestly as she picked up the trash.
“Yes, you’re right.”
“After living apart for twenty years, it’s unlikely that any affectionate feelings between the two have remained. But since the Chairman got very sick, not long ago, he must have felt something, that’s why he called his eldest son back from abroad, to stay with him.”
According to Mrs. Seo, Chairman Kwon was diagnosed with a stroke last winter and spent some time in the hospital. At the age of sixty-six, a stroke could be quite dangerous, but due to his regular monitoring and management of high blood pressure, it was detected early, leading to a relatively good prognosis.
By the end of spring, after completing medication and examinations, Chairman Kwon returned to the mansion. Other than some slight leg weakness, there were no significant aftereffects.
By then, rumors began to spread that the Chairman’s eldest son in the United States would be coming back to Korea. As the head of a massive conglomerate, the Chairman’s health issues raised concerns about the succession problem, and it seemed that the chairman was determined not to delay the matter any further.
Although Shin Joo-ah firmly held her position as the lady of the house, her son was still only twenty years old. Waiting for the second son to be at the prime age to take over the company seemed too long for Chairman Kwon, and he expressed impatience, lowering his voice as he discussed the matter with others.
“How lonely he must have been, losing his mother there, living alone in a place with no blood relatives at such a young age, and having no one to rely on, he must have grown astray, and maybe that’s why he became so indulgent and reckless.”
Mrs. Seo said, straightening her bent back and let out a sigh of pity. It seemed that she was struggling to easily define and understand Kwon Tae-gyeom’s existence.
A prince with a sorrowful past, and a young master with an eccentric and playful demeanor.
“Anyway, it’s better to enjoy the good things without making Chairman Kwon angry. I wish he would do it discreetly, so people won’t notice. I don’t want the Chairman to get all worked up… Oh, Leeseo, don’t touch that, just leave it. You might hurt your hand.”
Mrs. Seo stopped Leeseo from picking up the broken shards of glass from the floor. The scent of alcohol spread in the surroundings.
“We’ll have to get a dustpan for that later. Let’s put for later and start over there.”
The pool area had been cleaned up, except for the broken glasses. Leeseo followed Mrs. Seo across to the jacuzzi in the far corner of the courtyard.
Even though all the guests had left, bubbles continued to rise in the jacuzzi. There were foam and bubbles of uncertain origin gathered along the edges of the tub.
“Oh my goodness!”
Mrs. Seo, who was walking ahead, screamed out of nowhere and jumped up. Following her gaze, Leeseo saw a condom lying on the ground. The end of the condom was tied in a messy knot, with the remnants of semen inside, discarded carelessly.
“Ugh, how disgraceful.”
Mrs. Seo, with her tongue pressed against her cheek, took out the tongs she had kept in the garbage bag. The condom dangling from the end of the tongs lifted heavily into the air.
“No, there are plenty of rooms inside the house, and yet they engage in such behavior outdoors… It’s not appropriate, even animals would not do this, and it’s just disgraceful.”
Muttering to herself, Mrs. Seo was suddenly reminded of Leeseo’s presence and then hastily stuffed the used condom into the garbage bag. She looked back at Leeseo and laughed shakily.
“Let’s just pretend we didn’t see this. The young master must have picked up some habits from America. Anyway, it’s his private life.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you to come along in the first place. You don’t need to deal with this.”
“Oh, no. I don’t mind. It’s just trash, after all.”
The condom itself wasn’t a big deal at all. She wasn’t a naive fool blushing over a mere contraceptive. She had no intention of prying into anyone’s private life. She considered it just a part of her job, for which she received a generous salary.
However, she couldn’t help the image from yesterday’s encounter to pop into her mind. They say arousal makes things bigger, right? The tiny condom seemed impossible to fit around that colossal organ she saw yesterday.
Leeseo didn’t know how well the material stretches, but even if he somehow managed to get the condom on, the thought of something as massive as his manhood going inside a woman’s body seemed unfathomable. She was fascinated by the potentials of the human body, but it also sent chills down her spine.
According to what their school friends said, the larger it is, the better the sensation, but what exactly qualifies as ‘large enough’ remains a question.
Regardless, Kwon Tae-gyeom seemed to have quite a chaotic sexual preference, not hesitating to explore unconventional places, with his body that was far from human-like. Even swimming naked was far from ordinary.
“A promising young person like you should be attending school without any issues. Why did you suddenly take a leave of absence?”
Hearing that sound, Leeseo snapped back to her senses. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she realized what she had been thinking. She forced a smile and replied.
“There you go again. A lot of kids drop out of school these days. Where can you find someone who graduates without ever taking a leave of absence? ? They take breaks, have fun, work part-time jobs, and earn some money for tuition.”
“You know, your father intentionally deposited his retirement money separately into your account. He hopes that with that, you can cover your tuition until you graduate from college and even get yourself a proper studio apartment or at least a small rented room! It would be nice!”
“Really? Is that so?”
Leeseo laughed bitterly. She’d heard it all before, countless of times, but it still made her feel like a sinner every time. Mrs. Seo hit Leeseo’s chest as if she was frustrated with her response.
“What’s wrong with thinking only about your future? Giving away all that money as if it’s nothing. Oh my goodness… just thinking about how I couldn’t stop you back then makes my blood boil, and I still wake up in a shock.”
“…….”
“If you keep living with lingering regrets, you’ll always end up being taken advantage of by others. It’s a tough world out there, and you need to take care of yourself.”
“I didn’t think it was my right to begin with. If I hadn’t given the settlement money, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully at night.”
“Ugh……. Ugh!”
Mrs. Seo sighed deeply, pounding her chest. She was worried about waking up Kwon Tae-gyeom, who was sleeping on the upper floor.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m saving up my salary diligently, so when I have enough money, I’ll go back to school and find a place to live.”
“When did I say I’m worried about you! I’m frustrated, that’s all, just frustrated.”
With a worried gaze, Mrs. Seo looked at Leeseo and then tightly closed the trash bag with the help of the tongs. She barely managed to tie the overflowing bag before placing it on one side of the yard.
“Anyway, go inside and rest for a while. I’ll go get some more bags. Even though we’ve only cleared the outside, they are already full.”
“I’ll go.”
“That’s fine, I’ll be right back, so get some rest!”
Ignoring Leeseo’s words, Mrs. Seo waved her hand and crossed the courtyard. then opened the gate and walked out. As Leeseo watched her disappear, she sighed in self-pity.
Mrs. Seo constant nagging about her returning to school has become less frequent lately. When she first dropped out, she used to push Leeseo to go back to school immediately.
Taking a deep breath, Leeseo opened the door to the annex. Inside, a strong smell of alcohol and stuffy air greeted her unpleasantly. Her nose wrinkled involuntarily.
“What a mess…”
She muttered under her breath as she entered she annex.