My First Day as a Maid (2)
How long had I slept? I was rubbing my eyes in a daze when it suddenly struck me that something was off.
'...What is this?'
The moment I lifted my head, I saw Joohyeok sitting right beside me, reading a book.
"You're awake?"
"...Huh?"
That's when I realized what I'd been sleeping on. I had been leaning against Joohyeok's shoulder.
"..."
I shot upright.
"Damn it! Why didn't you wake me up!"
"You were sleeping so soundly."
"Still, you should've woken me!"
"Whatever. You said you were going to rest anyway."
"I said I'd rest — did I say I'd nap on your shoulder?"
"You slept well, though, didn't you?"
"...How long was I out?"
"Hmm... about an hour, give or take?"
At that, I fumbled my phone out and checked it in a panic.
'Wow... he's right. I actually slept on the job for a whole hour on my first day.'
Anywhere else, I would've been chewed out for sure. But here, my employer was this bastard...
'Should I be calling that a mercy?'
"Haaah..."
"You slept just fine. What's with the sigh?"
"Nothing... Anyway, I should go see Yujin."
With that, I opened the door and stepped out. Walking down the corridor, I ran into Yujin, who was in the middle of cleaning.
"Did you sleep well?"
"...I'm sorry?"
I froze for a second.
"Um... how did you know?"
"I stopped by the Young Master's room and saw."
'I'm dead...'
"Ah... that's..."
"In all my time here, I've never seen anyone fall asleep during work hours on their very first day."
"...I apologize."
"However, the Young Master has said that today will be enough, so we'll proceed with the rest of your training at a more leisurely pace."
"Really?"
"It is not something to be happy about."
"...Understood."
"You haven't eaten yet either, have you?"
"Ah... no, I haven't."
"Then go to the kitchen. Eat your meal first, and I'll inform you of what remains afterward."
"Yes, ma'am! I'm sorry again!"
I bowed at the waist and hurried off to the kitchen. The maid I'd seen that morning was there.
"Um, excuse me..."
"Oh my, Sia, there you are! You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come, sit down here."
"Thank you..."
Feeling self-conscious, I quietly took a seat at the table.
"I can tell you're walking on eggshells. Did Yujin chew you out or something?"
"What? Oh, no, nothing like that. I'm just hungry. Hahaha..."
"Then you'd better eat up, quick!"
She set a plate of food down in front of me and took the seat across from mine.
"Come to think of it, we never properly introduced ourselves! I'm Seo Yura."
"Seo Yura... don't tell me, are you and Yujin..."
"Twins! I'm the older one, and Yujin's the younger!"
"Ah... that explains it."
Up close, they really did look alike — no question about it.
"You're Han Sia, correct?"
"Yes. But how do you know my name?"
"Oh, everyone knows! We were told in advance that you'd be coming."
"Ah..."
Now that I thought about it, no one had asked who I was since yesterday.
"Did Joohyeok tell you that?"
"Yes! The Young Master mentioned ahead of time that a woman named Sia would be arriving. Though he didn't say she'd be working with us, of course."
"..."
I set my spoon down.
'How long has he been planning this, that even his employees know about it?'
"Then... is there anything else you know about me?"
"Sorry? No, nothing. Is there something more?"
"Nope. Haha..."
I picked my spoon back up and took a bite.
"Oh! Don't tell me — you're the Young Master's girlfriend or something?!"
Pfft! Koff—!
"Oh my! Sia, are you okay?"
"Kff! I'm... I'm fine."
'Ha... damn it. Now I'm getting called his girlfriend. This has gone too far.'
"I'm sorry! That was out of line, wasn't it...?"
"N-no, it's fine. Hahaha..."
"Still, seeing how he calls you by name and all, you two must be really close, right?"
"Ah... yes. We've been friends since we were kids."
"Since you were kids?"
"...Sorry?"
Yura tilted her head, puzzled.
"I was under the impression the Young Master's longtime childhood friend was someone else..."
"..."
Oops. That would be me.
"Ah, that... he and I knew each other too."
"All three of you were friends?"
"Yeah. I mean... something like that."
'Damn it. This is falling apart before it even started.'
"Oh my goodness! No way! Then..."
Knock, knock, knock.
"How long do you intend to keep gossiping?"
"Oh my! Yujin, you're here?"
"Didn't we agree to use formal address whenever other employees are present?"
"Sia already knows we're twin sisters. What's the harm!"
"Haa... fine. Then, Unnie, I need to continue Sia's training now. May I take her?"
"Huh? But Sia's still eating..."
Feeling the pressure, I wolfed down the rest of my meal in a scramble.
"I-I'm all finished!"
"Goodness! What if you give yourself a stomachache eating like that!"
Yura fetched a drink from the refrigerator and handed it to me.
"Sip this slowly on your way."
"Thanks."
Only after chugging the entire drink did I follow Yujin down the corridor.
"What am I learning today?"
"You'll be learning the laundry."
When we arrived at the laundry room, I found multiple washers and dryers lined up in a row. I looked around the space, which was far more spacious than I'd expected. Detergent, towels, every necessary supply — all neatly organized by category.
'They dedicate an entire room just to laundry, huh...'
Yujin patiently walked me through how to wash and organize everything, one thing at a time. She also mentioned that for large items like comforters, they preferred to dry them outdoors.
When she'd finished explaining, she figured she might as well have me try it — starting, naturally, with something light: folding laundry.
"Is this good enough?"
"No. This part is still off."
"Sorry? Where...?"
Yujin pointed at a piece of laundry I'd folded, but I had no idea what the problem was and tilted my head.
"Whew... watch carefully. See how it bulges out here?"
"That counts as a problem too?"
"Yes. From now on, align the edges all the way to the end and fold it with crisp corners."
'This is way stricter than I thought...'
"What about this one?"
Yujin picked up another piece I'd folded and turned it over, inspecting it from every angle.
"..."
"What now? What's wrong with it this time?"
"Nothing. This one is acceptable."
"Ha... who knew folding one shirt could be this nerve-wracking."
"If you learn it properly from the start, you won't have to think about it later."
"Were you good at it from the start, Yujin?"
"No."
I looked up at the unexpected answer.
"I learned a great deal from my sister when I first started."
"From Yura?"
"Yes."
"...Huh. That's surprising."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing at all."
Once the laundry was all folded, the comforters still had to be hung outside to dry.
"I can handle this part."
"Are you certain you can be trusted with it?"
"Yes. I don't know about the rest, but I can manage this much."
"Very well. Then I'll show you to the back gate."
I loaded the comforters into a basket and followed Yujin outside. Sure enough, an enormous drying rack came into view.
"Then I'll leave you to it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
I pulled out a comforter one by one, tossed them over the taut lines, gave them a few firm smacks, and hung them up piece by piece.
"Phew. That should do it? Oh, right — she said to fasten them with the big clips so they don't blow away."
Even after hanging every comforter and returning to the laundry room, the day's work wasn't over. I organized the remaining laundry like a review of everything I'd been taught, then trailed Yujin all over the estate, handling one small task after another. Between the relentless hustle, the sun had somehow begun to sink toward the horizon.
"Sia~!"
I turned to see Yura calling for me.
"Coming—!"
When I ran over, she grabbed my hand, saying it was time to start dinner prep, and headed for the kitchen.
"All right, Sia, could you prep the ingredients over here?"
"You got it!"
Falling back on my years of living alone, I chopped through them at a brisk pace.
"Oh my? You're good at this, Sia!"
"This much is nothing. Cook for yourself long enough and it just comes naturally."
"What about cooking itself?"
"I can handle most things."
"Then could you try this too?"
Yura, as if she'd been waiting for exactly this, pushed another batch of ingredients my way.
That's when it happened.
"Hey. Han Sia."
At the familiar voice, I turned to find Joohyeok standing in the kitchen doorway.
"What? Why are you here?"
"When's dinner?"
"How should I know? Ask Yura."
"You're the one making it."
"I'm only chopping ingredients, thanks."
"Then I'm starving. Give me something to eat."
"Hold on. You see my hands are full?"
"Yeah."
"...Argh, that little—!"
Then I noticed the room had gone quiet. I looked around to find that the maids who'd been chattering away just moments ago had all shut their mouths at once.
"What's wrong with everyone?"
"Oh, no... it's nothing."
"Anyway, hurry up with the food. I'm starving."
"Yes, Young Master! We'll have it ready shortly!"
Joohyeok stared at me as if waiting for a response, then turned and headed back to his room.
"Sia... is the Young Master always like that with you?"
"Yep. Why?"
"He talks to us so coldly. Honestly, it took me by surprise."
'Joohyeok? Cold?' That actually threw me a little. I'd never once seen the guy be cold to anyone.
I rushed through the rest of the dinner prep, loaded everything onto a cart, and headed for Joohyeok's room.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Inside the room was Yujin.
"Young Master, I've organized the matters you mentioned earlier."
"Noted."
"Shall I also take care of this—"
"That's fine."
"Understood."
It was a brief exchange. But something about it felt off. The way he spoke was so different that I could hardly believe this was the same guy who'd been pestering me just moments ago.
Once Yujin let herself out, Joohyeok spoke up.
"Hey. Hurry up and bring it over. I'm dying of hunger here."
"Clearly not dying. And did you skip lunch?"
"Yeah."
"What? Why?"
"You didn't bring me any."
"What kind of nonsense is that supposed to be?"
"Lunch just slipped my mind. Anyway, come sit over here."
I set the food down on the table in front of the sofa and sat across from him.
"Why are you sitting there?"
"Where I sit is my business. Just eat already. You said you were starving."
Once Joohyeok started eating, I asked about the thing that had been nagging at me.
"By the way, are you always like that with other people?"
"Like what?"
"When you were talking to Yujin earlier. It was completely different from how you talk to me."
"Wouldn't it be weirder if I treated my friend the same as my employees?"
"...Fair point."
Now that he mentioned it, he wasn't wrong. There was no reason to treat me — someone he'd known for years — the same as the people who worked here. Apparently I'd just never noticed, since I'd only ever seen how he acted around me.
"Oh, right. Yura asked me earlier whether we were dating, by the way."
Joohyeok stopped mid-bite and looked at me.
"And what did you say?"
"What was there to say? I told her no."
"..."
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason."
Joohyeok went back to his meal as if nothing had happened.
'What was that?'
Something had been odd for a second, but I brushed it off without giving it much thought.
When the meal was finished, I stacked the empty dishes back onto the cart and got up from my seat.
"I'm gonna go do the dishes. Looks like today's work is pretty much done anyway."
"Then come back when you're finished."
"Why would I?"
"Because I'm bored."
"Am I your toy or something? If you're bored, read a book."
"I already read earlier. Come on, hurry up."
"Nope. Play by yourself."
With that, I wheeled the cart out of the room. Just before the door closed, I heard Joohyeok laughing behind me.
'What is that bastard so happy about?'
I headed to the kitchen, finished the dishes and cleanup, and made my way back to my room. I stepped into the bathroom to wash off the fatigue, then threw myself onto the bed.
"Ahh, man..."
I'd worked two part-time jobs before, but being a maid was no joke either. Cleaning, laundry, dinner prep — and on top of all that, I'd spent an hour snoozing on my employer's shoulder halfway through the day.
'What a mess I made of my very first day.'
Still, it was more manageable than I'd expected. Yujin was a hardass, but she taught things properly, and Yura seemed like a genuinely good person. And above all...
They said the pay was excellent...
'Right. I just have to hold out for a few months.'
"...First things first, though — gotta set an alarm."
I set my alarm, then flopped back onto the bed.
Tomorrow, I really needed to keep my head in the game.
And here are Seo Yujin and Seo Yura!
