First Housewarming
“Alright, everyone in?”
“Yes~”
Yoo Yeona sat in the driver’s seat, her face bright with excitement as she fastened her seatbelt and glanced at the models in the back. They were the same group who had gone to the amusement park together, each cradling a gift in their arms. Park Jisu in the passenger seat held a luxurious paper bag, while Kim Euna, seated directly behind the driver, had already stowed her luggage in the trunk and was now scrolling on her phone.
“President, is there a reason we’re all riding together like this?”
Lee Chansu, sitting beside Kim Euna and clutching a set of premium towels, directed the question at Yoo Yeona.
“It’d be a hassle if everyone came separately.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Chansu nodded, seemingly convinced, then turned a worried gaze toward the towel set in his lap.
“Hmm…”
To him, everyone else’s gifts looked far more impressive. His mother had told him that housewarming presents should be practical things like towels or tissues, so he had bought an expensive set. Yet Park Jisu had brought luxury perfume, Kim Euna something enormous, and the gifts from Kim Minhyeok—who sat in the back looking anxious—and Yoo Yeona—who gripped the wheel with obvious delight—clearly weren’t ordinary either.
‘Maybe Mom was wrong this time.’
Even though he was a model, Lee Chansu was still in his early twenties. The only invitations he had ever received were childhood birthday parties, so the whole situation left him feeling strangely uneasy.
“Why do you look so glum?”
Kim Minhyeok, seated diagonally behind him, asked lightly after reading his expression. Chansu simply shook his head in response to the question that had caused his discomfort. Minhyeok tilted his head in mild confusion but didn’t press further.
“Yeonbi will definitely like them, right?”
Unable to see Chansu’s face while driving, Yoo Yeona tossed out the remark and began chatting with Park Jisu about this and that. The more everyone laughed and chatted cheerfully, the more uncomfortable Chansu felt.
‘…I should probably leave as soon as I can.’
Just as he made up his mind, the van carrying everyone slowly pulled forward. They left the downtown area where the agency was located and arrived in a neighborhood filled with upscale homes. Among them stood a massive fortress-like house right in the center of the district, drawing everyone’s attention.
Knowing it was their destination, Yoo Yeona felt a slight sense of intimidation. It was the kind of house she might only afford by liquidating her entire fortune. If she sold the agency too, she could probably live comfortably here, but she could never bring herself to do that. So she simply said,
“…It really is different.”
The models reacted similarly. Kim Minhyeok’s mouth fell open as he stared blankly at the house, while Jisu, Euna, and Chansu widened their eyes, taking in both the mansion and the neighboring homes. As the car approached the front gate, Choi Yeonbi stood waiting, waving with a welcoming smile.
“She really is something else,” Yoo Yeona murmured to herself. Park Jisu nodded in agreement.
“Ta-da.”
“We could say a rose has bloomed in the garage, Yeonbi.”
“Should we set up a giant Younghee robot out front too?”
Yoo Yeona chuckled and gave me a light pat on the back at my remark. It had been a while since I’d seen her since that day at the department store, yet she was exactly the same as when we met yesterday. Feeling relieved, I looked over at the models who had come with her. I had seen Jisu recently, and while it had been some time since I last saw Euna in person, we often chatted via messages on social media. Our conversations usually revolved around posts we had uploaded or the brand clothes she had been sponsored with. Occasionally we even exchanged pointless videos—most of which I didn’t understand, so Euna would explain them.
‘I should probably study up on the internet too.’
Thanks to Euna, I was learning about trends. Honestly, it wasn’t the most nutritious kind of learning, but…
‘Still, it’ll be nice for chatting with friends.’
I didn’t think it was a bad thing. I didn’t talk to Chansu often, but he posted so many stories and updates that I ended up seeing his daily life anyway. And standing beside me was Minhyeok, whom I hadn’t seen in quite a while either. The last time was when we went shopping for clothes. Even though it had been so long, everyone was still the same, which was a relief. Though the fact that I had moved into this house made them move a little stiffly.
‘No need to be so tense.’
I wasn’t some investor, nor was I another agency’s model. I just wanted them to think of me as a friend and relax while they were here. After all, that was why I had invited them in the first place.
“I’ll show you to the living room first. You can sit and rest for a bit… After we have something light to eat, I’ll give you a tour of the house.”
In times like this, I needed to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible. After quick greetings, we moved from the garage up into the yard.
“Wow, the yard is inside the house?”
Upon reaching the yard, Euna spoke up in a loud voice and immediately began wandering around every corner of it. Her behavior was exactly like Meonji’s.
“From the outside, I couldn’t imagine what the inside would look like at all. It’s surprisingly open in here.”
Yoo Yeona also expressed her admiration while carefully observing the house’s structure. I smiled faintly at Euna, who was bouncing around excitedly at the sight of the swing chair and hammock, then answered Yoo Yeona.
“The architect wanted to make it so you couldn’t see inside from the outside at all, so they designed it this way. That’s why the yard is enclosed within the building like this.”
“Privacy really is important. Even if the yard is hidden by walls, it’s hard to hide the inside of the building.”
“Couldn’t you just build the walls high enough to cover the house too?”
Minhyeok, who had been listening to our conversation, chimed in with a curious question. Hmm. I used to wonder the same thing. Pleased by the question, I straightened up as if I were an expert and replied.
“There’s a legal height limit for walls under building codes. So even if you tried to build them like a castle wall, it would be illegal.”
“There’s a law like that too? That’s interesting.”
“I think it was something about how if walls are too high, you wouldn’t be able to tell if someone had broken into the house, so they made the law for that reason.”
“I didn’t know it went that far.”
If my knowledge was only vague, I couldn’t verify the details. So I confidently admitted I didn’t know and smiled as I led everyone to the living room.
When we arrived, Nayeon, dressed neatly, greeted everyone with polite formality.
“Hello. My name is Nayeon. I work here as a housekeeper and cook.”
She was already a calm person, but seeing her greet everyone so properly made her seem even more dignified. If I exaggerated a little, she could easily pass as the head maid of some grand estate.
“Hello. I’m Yoo Yeona, president of Yeon Agency. These are our models: Kim Minhyeok, Park Jisu, Lee Chansu, and Kim Euna.”
Yoo Yeona introduced everyone as the representative. After a brief round of greetings, Nayeon headed straight for the kitchen. In the meantime, Yoo Yeona came up beside me and poked my side lightly.
“Yeonbi, did you hire a housekeeper first?”
“She’s been working here since before I moved in. I tried to hire her as my exclusive housekeeper, but she refused, so I asked my sister.”
“I thought you had rushed to hire someone because of the housewarming. I almost felt bad.”
I shook my head with a small laugh. Even if I had hired someone in a hurry, there would have been nothing to feel sorry about.
“Huh? A cat!!”
“A cat?”
“C…cat?”
— Meow!!
While Yoo Yeona and I were sharing our little secret conversation, Meonji suddenly appeared in the living room. Euna and Jisu approached him with bright expressions. Chansu watched Meonji from a slight distance with curious eyes. And then…
Minhyeok, who looked visibly flustered, began slowly backing away. Seeing this, Yoo Yeona let out a small laugh and teased him.
“Come on, are you scared of such a tiny kitten?”
“It’s a cat. And… it’s pitch black…”
What did the color have to do with anything? Was he the type who believed in superstitions about black cats bringing bad luck?
“Are you afraid of cats?”
At my question, he cleared his throat awkwardly and shook his head with a composed expression. Even so, he kept a careful distance from Meonji.
“No, it’s not that I’m scared. It’s just… burdensome. It’s a bit different. Being scared means feeling fear or terror, right? But being burdened is more about how it’s awkward and unfamiliar when a creature that isn’t human approaches you…”
Good grief, what a long-winded excuse. It seemed Minhyeok was quite afraid of animals after all.
“Unni, what’s its name?”
Meonji was rubbing his head against Euna’s leg. With such a small body, he was doing a good job of it.
“Meonji.”
“Meonji? Ah, that’s really cute.”
Seeming to like the name, everyone smiled softly and began watching Meonji as he showed off. It felt less like a housewarming and more like a Meonji appreciation gathering. Everyone looked happy except for one person.
“Well, Yeonbi, as much as I like the cat, how about you show us around the house?”
At the remark that made his intentions obvious, I nodded and gathered everyone to lead them toward the entrance.
“I’ll start with the front door.”
— Meow! Meow!
Meonji seemed displeased that we were all moving away and leaving him alone. Seeing him following us while meowing nonstop, Nayeon picked him up and took him straight to his room. It was also around his feeding time, so if she took him there, he would stay quiet while I gave the tour. Anyway.
I showed them the house one section at a time, starting from the glass walkway leading from the main gate to the entrance, then the living room and kitchen that opened up from the entrance, the view of the yard from the living room, and the swing chair, hammock, and empty pond placed in the yard.
“If we put carp in here, Meonji could go hunting later.”
At Euna’s words as she stared at the pond, everyone burst into laughter. Just as she said, we probably shouldn’t put carp in until Meonji grew up a bit more.
‘No, I should send him away before he grows up.’
I found myself thinking about raising one without realizing it. Shaking my head, I walked over to the indoor elevator this time.
“…This is the first time I’ve seen a house with an elevator.”
Listening to Minhyeok’s somewhat complicated tone, I sent the two older members up to the second floor in the elevator. Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
“Wow, that’s fascinating.”
Yoo Yeona and Minhyeok stepped out of the elevator looking satisfied and met up with us who had come up the stairs.
‘Climbing too many stairs really does hurt your knees.’
I knew that well enough in my thirties. It wasn’t that painful at this level, but I still had to be careful. Anyway, after showing them the kitchen, guest rooms, the room that would become the yoga studio, the room for the game room, and the rooms that would be used as a home theater on the second floor, we went up to the third floor to show the bathroom, kitchen, and terrace there before returning to the first floor.
“In all my life, this is the first time I’ve spent this long touring a house during a housewarming.”
That was Yoo Yeona’s impression after the tour. Everyone nodded at her short and concise review. It wasn’t much different from what I had thought, so a laugh escaped me inwardly.
After the rather long house tour, everyone settled down in the living room. Seeing the lively living room put me in a good mood. Maybe it was because I had only ever seen it empty before. Anyway, even though I hadn’t announced that gifts were necessary, everyone suddenly said they had brought something and carried items in from the car, placing them in front of me. There was a paper bag with a luxury brand logo, an enormous box, a plain but very heavy box, and a box with the logo of a premium towel brand.
“Now it’s time to reveal the housewarming gifts~”
Following that, Yoo Yeona spoke cheerfully as she pulled a rather expensive-looking whiskey box out of the paper bag she had been holding.
“President, this…”
Minhyeok looked startled at the sight of the whiskey bottle. Jisu also seemed a little surprised. But I didn’t really understand why. What was so special about it?
“As expected, you don’t even blink at something familiar to Yeonbi.”
“No, it’s not really like that…”
“Still, it’s filled with my feelings, so accept it properly, okay?”
“Of course… I’ll enjoy it.”
At my sincere thanks, Yoo Yeona grinned and handed over the whiskey box. Just how expensive was it that everyone was reacting like this?
‘I should look it up later.’
Anyway, starting with Yoo Yeona, everyone began handing over the gifts they had prepared one by one. I had never properly had a birthday party or received real birthday presents—only gift cards—and now I was receiving housewarming gifts like this. It felt strangely moving. Maybe because of that, I almost teared up a little. Of course, I forced myself to hold it back. Who in the world cried over receiving housewarming gifts? So, holding back the tears with all my might, I slowly unwrapped each gift one by one.