Chapter 3 — Ha... Damn It... (3)
Prying further seemed pointless — she clearly had no intention of opening her mouth right now. I picked up the ID card from the table again.
"Okay, so what am I supposed to do with this? I was supposed to be at work today too, and I haven't even called in."
Talking about it reminded me of my phone.
"Right. Where's my phone?"
"Here."
Joohyeok slid the phone across the table toward me.
"You could've given it to me sooner. The café's probably been blowing up my phone by now."
As I reached for it, Joohyeok said, casually, "They won't be calling."
"What?"
"I already told them you won't be able to come in for a while."
My hand stopped.
"Both of your jobs. I said you were in an accident and would be in the hospital for the time being."
I turned the phone on, and sure enough — no missed calls. Instead, a few messages were waiting from my coworkers.
*Heard about the accident. You doing okay? Get in touch once you're better.*
I scrolled through the screen a couple of times, then looked up at Joohyeok.
"You... don't tell me you only handled the part-time jobs?"
"You can't exactly show up at school right now either, can you. So I made sure that side's covered for a while too."
"...The school too?"
"Yeah. You don't need to worry about any of it for now."
This was more than just having an ID card ready. Every time a new problem surfaced in my head, Joohyeok had already dealt with it — and the one after that.
"What about my shifts? If I suddenly disappear, both places are short-handed."
"I found people to cover for you. Both places."
For a moment, I was lost for words.
"Baek Joohyeok."
"Yeah."
"Just how far does this go?"
"Only what needed handling right away. Relax."
There was something oddly chilling about that. As I sat there gaping, Joohyeok continued like it was nothing.
"For now, just focus on getting used to how you look. School, work — anything urgent, I can take care of it."
"...You realize you're saying something seriously terrifying while pretending to help me?"
"I am helping you."
"I never asked you to."
This time, too, Joohyeok didn't deny it. I leaned back against the sofa and let out a long sigh.
"Fine. It's not like I can undo everything you've already done. So what am I supposed to do going forward?"
Joohyeok looked me up and down — specifically, at the maid outfit I was wearing — as if he'd been waiting for exactly that question. A sense of foreboding washed over me.
"...Don't tell me."
"Work here. As my personal maid."
I slowly looked down at myself. I'd wondered why, of all things, a maid outfit had been laid out since this morning — and now one explanation had become very clear.
"Hey. Don't tell me you had this outfit made for that reason too?"
"That's part of it. Also, I figured it'd suit you. Seeing it in person, it suits you even better than I expected."
"Say that one more time and I'm throwing this in your face."
"What did the outfit ever do to you?"
"Shut up."
I genuinely wanted to hit him.
"So if I work as your maid, what exactly do I get? Don't tell me you're going to insist that a room and meals count as a salary."
"You'll get an actual salary. More than you make right now working your two jobs. And if you live here, you pay no rent and barely anything for food, so saving money will be easy."
"...You do realize those terms are incredibly suspicious?"
"It's not charity. You work, I pay you accordingly. That's all."
"There's what, a whole army of people working in this house? Why does it have to be *me* who's your personal maid?"
On that question, surprisingly, Joohyeok didn't have to think at all.
"Because I like having you next to me."
"...You've been saying skin-crawling things with absolutely unsettling ease today."
"If you hate it, you can refuse. I'm not going to force you."
The moment he said that, I wanted to refuse. But reality refused to bend to my mood. For now, I'd adjust to the situation while figuring out how to live outside again — and look into how to turn back to normal. A few months at most, probably. I just had to hold out until then.
"How much is the salary?"
When I asked, Joohyeok laughed.
"You were calling it suspicious as hell a second ago, and now you're curious about the numbers."
"I never said no, did I? I'm hearing the full terms first and making a reasonable judgment. When have I ever said I didn't want money?"
"Then I'll pay you double what you earn from your two jobs. And if that's not enough, I can go higher."
"...Hold on. Don't finish with that. You're swaying me here."
Joohyeok burst out laughing.
I ran the numbers in my head. Double the salary. No rent. Almost no food costs. Even a few months of savings would dwarf everything I'd scraped together from part-time work so far. Pride or no pride, this was enough to shake anyone.
"...Fine. But I have conditions."
"Name them. I'll agree to most things."
"I'm not planning to play maid in your house for the rest of my life. Right now there's nothing I can actually do outside, so this is temporary — once things are sorted out, I'm leaving."
"Sure."
The answer came too easily, which somehow made it more unsettling.
"And don't you dare make me call you 'Young Master' or 'Master' or whatever. The second you try, I quit on the spot."
"Just act like you always do. Call me by my name, curse at me, I don't care."
"Naturally. When have I ever asked permission to curse at you?"
"True. Then consider that a privilege of yours."
"Quit calling things privileges."
I picked up the ID card again. The name beside the photo was still foreign to me.
*Han Sia.*
"...By the way, I really hate this name. Why did you have to change even my perfectly good name to whatever you wanted?"
"What's wrong with Han Sia? It's close to Han Siwoo, so it'll be easy to get used to. And it suits you."
"My name is Han Siwoo. Why does it suddenly need to suit me? You said it yourself — it's only temporary."
"It's a name you'll keep being called for a while. Might as well be a pretty one."
"Who said anything about 'a while'? You said it was temporary."
Joohyeok answered with a laugh instead of words. Seeing that expression made me irritable all over again for no good reason.
I moved to pocket the ID — and my hand stopped. There was no pocket.
"...Damn it. This outfit doesn't even have pockets."
Joohyeok laughed again.
"What's so funny? Is there some rule that maids aren't allowed to carry their IDs?"
"If you need one, I'll have something made with pockets."
"Don't have anything made — just give me normal clothes first. I'm not planning to wear this thing all day."
"You have to wear it on duty."
"I haven't even started working yet."
"You got hired just now."
"...Already?"
I felt like I'd become a slave to capitalism, plain and simple.
Just then, the living room door opened. A woman I hadn't seen among the group from the bathroom earlier walked in. Her neatly tied hair and her immaculate maid uniform alone told you plenty about her personality.
Joohyeok looked at her and said, "Perfect timing. Sia's going to be working here from now on, so give her the basics."
The woman's gaze turned toward me, and I faltered for a moment.
"Could I at least get a moment to mentally prepare—"
Before I could even finish, the woman bowed politely in front of me.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Seo Yujin, in charge of managing the staff of this estate. I will be handling any training you require going forward."
"...I'm Han Sia."
Saying the name out loud with my own mouth felt stranger than ever.
Yujin gave a small nod, then turned to Joohyeok. "What scope should I set for Han Sia's duties?"
"Keep her assigned to me personally. As for everything else, start by helping her settle in and teach her at her own pace."
"Understood."
The conversation was moving along far too smoothly. I looked back and forth between the two of them and raised my hand.
"Excuse me — one question, if I may?"
"Go ahead."
"If I work here, am I required to call Baek Joohyeok 'Young Master' as well?"
Yujin's expression stiffened, if only very slightly.
"...As a rule, yes."
"Then I quit."
"Hey."
"I told you earlier, didn't I? The second you make me do that, I walk."
Joohyeok laughed in disbelief, then turned to Yujin. "Leave Sia as she is. No honorifics for me either — don't worry about what she calls me."
Yujin was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Are you quite certain that's acceptable?"
"That's just how she is."
"Hey — what do you mean, 'that's just how she is'?"
Instead of answering, Joohyeok pointed at me. "You saw it, right? Just let her be."
"...Understood."
Yujin wore the face of someone forcibly memorizing a rule they couldn't bring themselves to accept. I felt oddly wronged.
"What's with that look? I'm not some problem employee with a record."
"It's simply the first time I've seen a maid call the Young Master 'hey' on her first day."
"He's not Young Master, he's Baek Joohyeok."
"...Understood."
Her face said she understood absolutely nothing. Joohyeok was snickering off to the side.
One thing was certain: life in this mansion was not going to be easy.
Only after Yujin walked me through the basics could I finally return to the room where I'd woken up that morning. According to Joohyeok, it was to be my room from now on. I'd been too much of a wreck to take a proper look earlier, but coming back in, it turned out to be far more fully equipped than I'd expected. There was a desk, and every basic living necessity was already in place.
And the moment I opened the closet, I went silent for a long while.
It wasn't just maid uniforms inside. Ordinary clothes fit for going outside, pajamas — everything was sorted by type, hanging in neat rows.
"...This bastard really bought everything, didn't he."
Of course clothes were necessary if I was staying here for a while. He was rich — maybe he'd just thrown together a reasonable spread without thinking much of it. Telling myself that, I pulled out a random piece and held it up. On a whim, I pressed it against my body — the length fit perfectly.
Figuring it was coincidence, I tried a few more. Same result, every one.
Only then did my hands stop moving.
Even when I'd first opened my eyes this morning, I myself hadn't known I'd end up looking like this. And yet every one of these clothes had been prepared to fit exactly who I was now.
I looked down at the garment in my hands, then turned my gaze back to the closet. It felt different from before.
"...Just how long ago did you prepare all this, you lunatic..."