……What on earth happened to lead me here?
I was looking at a rural house in front of me, wondering about that.
It was a countryside house that looked like it had been built a long time ago, with a dark, dull cement wall. The roof, however, seemed new, a vivid blue… Oh wait, it wasn’t even that; it was a red brick house with a roof made of those oddly shaped plates often seen on single-family homes.
The stark contrast between the vivid color and the old gray wall made the house look a bit strange.
If it weren’t for the mountain right behind it not being a bright green, it would have been even weirder. The background would have turned to a dull gray.
“Wow, our granddaughter is here?”
An old lady, who was turning on the water in the yard and doing something, hurriedly ran over to say that.
“……Grandma.”
As Yang Hye-in said that, the grandma, who looked about two heads shorter than her, hugged Yang Hye-in tightly.
“Our granddaughter has come!”
It was genuinely a scene of a grandmother meeting her granddaughter after a long time.
“But who are these kids?”
Perhaps hearing that she was Yang Hye-in’s grandma, the old lady’s face, which looked smaller than even Sara’s, strangely resembled Yang Hye-in’s. Of course, it wasn’t a perfect match, given Yang Hye-in was just in her twenties and the elder had many wrinkles on her face.
Not to mention her curly white hair didn’t quite match either. Yang Hye-in had a more sophisticated urban vibe, after all.
“These guys are…”
“They’re acquaintances I met while working.”
Before Yang Hye-in could call me “Young Master” or “Employer,” I quickly spoke up.
No matter how much we talk about class being irrelevant, being employed by someone much younger could rub me the wrong way.
Yang Hye-in didn’t seem to be bothered much—more like she had her usual poker face—but her grandma in front of us might think differently.
I was not just talking about the fact that Yang Hye-in was below me in rank.
Through a longer talk that day, I had learned that Yang Hye-in graduated from a prestigious university in Seoul with excellent grades, something I would’ve never imagined in my past life.
Naturally, her “only family,” this grandma, would be incredibly proud of her granddaughter.
If that granddaughter chose a job that didn’t utilize her diploma at all, even if she was receiving a lot of money, it wouldn’t sound great.
And to emphasize again, as Yang Hye-in’s nominal employer, I looked much younger than she did.
“Is that so?”
The grandma tilted her head.
“Oh my, your friends all look so young!”
While smiling, grandma looked back and forth between me and Yang Hye-in as she said that.
“……”
It seemed like Yang Hye-in at least understood my intentions. But it looked like she couldn’t outright talk back, so she quietly held her tongue for now.
“Come on, stop standing out here and let’s go inside.”
At grandma’s words, we nodded and began to follow her.
…This is a big deal.
This is way more uncomfortable than I thought.
How am I going to survive the next three days? I already felt overwhelmed.
*
How on earth did I end up following Yang Hye-in to her grandma’s house?
The reason is simple.
Yang Hye-in said she wouldn’t leave my side to protect me, and I kept replying that if she went somewhere for a vacation, she’d have to follow me, over and over again.
At first, our conversation was extremely awkward, but it gradually became more comfortable over time.
Neither Yang Hye-in nor I intended it, though.
“There are only two employees left in this mansion. If I quit now, there won’t be anyone left to manage the whole place.”
“It’s not a big deal if the mansion isn’t cleaned for a few days. I’m not telling you to quit; just take three days off.”
That’s right. Honestly, even when I was living on my own, I often left things unattended for about a week. No, in fact, there were times I left them for much longer, especially during the vacation when I would go back to my hometown, leaving things behind for ages.
Would anything bad really happen if this mansion got left alone for three days? There were places of similar size that could go months without being cleaned.
“If I’m not here, the only ones left in this building would be you ladies and personnel from a private security company. Until Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung is caught, we can’t trust anyone.”
“They’re people hired and paid properly. That’s why I deliberately chose a really big company. If I have problems, the whole company will shake up, right?”
If you start to not trust anyone like that, genuinely, you would end up with no one to rely on.
Or could there really be an incident occurring in a house where undercover cops are always hiding? Wouldn’t they be too scared to do anything?
Moreover, there were women among the security personnel. They were someone I could trust, at least to a degree.
Most importantly, it was Yang Hye-in herself who said it would be the best to use that company.
“Alright, then.”
In the argument, I, who had been continually retreating and trying not to yield, finally blurted out,
“So you’re saying wherever I go, you will follow me?”
And that’s how I ended up in this place.
*
“Geez, why are you all so thin?”
Grandma said that while constantly coming out with something in hand.
“Ah, no, Grandma, we had a meal before coming here. You don’t need to give us so much.”
And my statement was definitely not empty words. We had a simple lunch at a rest area on the way here. It wasn’t a huge meal, but still.
“This isn’t lunch; it’s just some fruit, so it’s fine!”
No matter how much you say it’s not lunch or just fruit, it won’t fit in my stomach!
But I couldn’t refuse what was given to me. I took a piece of apple with chopsticks and slowly put it in my mouth to chew.
If I ate more here, I felt like I was really going to get sick.
If this was just a snack, I didn’t dare imagine how much dinner would be.
…Well, still.
I didn’t feel bad about it. It really felt like I was experiencing ‘grandma’ warmth.
I couldn’t figure out how a gloomy-faced Yang Hye-in came from such a grandma.
But thank goodness that I wasn’t the only one; Sohee, Sua, and Ha Neul also ate much better. Maybe it was because they were teenagers, but their speed of devouring food was remarkable.
Or maybe it was that they were trying to eat to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.
…Yeah, I understand. I feel just the same right now.
No matter how good it is, it’s still someone else’s grandma, not mine. Especially one I’ve just met for the first time. It’s hard to not feel awkward.
Even when meeting distant relatives you hardly see, it feels awkward, let alone meeting the grandma of a friend that isn’t even a close one.
I wasn’t even sure how to use polite speech I usually relied on here.
Above all—
“But girls, what is your relation with Hye-in?”
That’s exactly the kind of question I was extremely worried about.
Earlier, while in the car Yang Hye-in was driving, I had no clue how to explain it. Explaining as employer and servant felt too off, but I had no idea how else I could phrase it.
“Um, well…”
I glanced at Yang Hye-in. She seemed deep in thought, quietly staring down at the fruit on the tray.
“So, um…”
“I’m the daughter of her boss.”
Since I was stalling for time, Yang Hye-in finally seemed to have sorted her thoughts and said that.
Thanks to that, I was saved.
…Okay, so that’s how I could explain it.
To be more precise, I was currently her direct supervisor, and the former employer, Choi Na-kyung, was nowhere to be found, but that wasn’t entirely a lie either. After all, there had been a time it was true.
“I came to visit her workplace and ended up becoming friends.”
“I see! Ah, now I get why you all look so young!”
Fortunately, grandma seemed to understand right away.
“If that’s the case, I need to treat you better. Make yourselves at home. Think of it as your own house.”
“……Yes…”
…Truly, I shouldn’t have pressed my luck.
It was more like I skirted the truth than actually lying, but still… not being able to properly tell the grandmother her granddaughter’s real job felt sincerely apologetic.
I have a bad history with Yang Hye-in, but I had nothing to do with that grandmother.
And it was only after coming here that I realized how precious Yang Hye-in was to her grandma.
For some reason, she went directly to her grandma instead of her parents; it might truly mean they were each other’s only family.
“……”
Ah, this is really uncomfortable.
I just want to go home…
