Chapter 24
Chapter 24
What exactly is trust?
After becoming Sara's personal maid, Yang Hye-in had contemplated that word seriously many times.
To believe in another person. To think that the other party will not deceive you, that they will not do anything to harm you. To not think they will steal your belongings or take things from you. To not think they will hit you or threaten you.
Their relationship was a minimal one of trust, limited to the absence of direct violence. Sara never regarded Yang Hye-in with fear. At times, it almost seemed as though she forgot Yang Hye-in was even there, but at the very least, she never flinched at Yang Hye-in's slightest movement. Yang Hye-in had never once laid a rough hand on her.
But beyond that, no.
Not watching her. Not telling on her should any strange behavior occur. Not having other personnel tail her from a distance to stop her from running away. Respecting her privacy, and occasionally treating her with warmth.
Yang Hye-in had done none of those things.
So, if 'trust' meant 'believing that the other person will not definitively cause me harm,' then Yang Hye-in probably had not earned Sara's trust.
But sometimes, Yang Hye-in would find herself under the... delusion that she had secured a certain measure of trust. There were times she made that mistake.
Sara was almost always in a situation of being watched, but that did not mean she had no personal time. On the condition that she used no communication devices, Sara could close her door and spend personal time alone in her room.
There was no way to know what she did inside. If a loud noise came from the room, it could be heard from outside, but when alone, Sara rarely made any loud noises at all.
Though the entire mansion was in Sara's name, the only space where she could truly be at ease was inside her room. This place was a sanctuary that even the Chairwoman had ordered left alone. The reason Sara had not yet completely broken down, despite being pressured from all sides, was likely because she had that minimal safety net.
A silent space, free of anyone who might get on her nerves, entirely her own. At least there, Sara found her own form of rest. That was what Yang Hye-in had always believed.
After spending some time inside her room, Sara's expression would become noticeably lighter when she came out. When she was in a very good mood, she would occasionally speak to Yang Hye-in, her maid. Naturally, one rarely heard any truly affectionate words. Most of it was just a few short, barely audible remarks. Even that was just to confirm her schedule. Because she always let the ends of her sentences trail off, sometimes they sounded like formal speech, and other times like informal speech.
Whenever Sara, who was almost always in a doll-like state of lethargy, showed that side of herself, a thought would fleetingly surface in the corner of her mind: perhaps she does trust me after all? Thinking back on it now, it was an absurd thought, but it was something she couldn't help.
Yes, perhaps she had such thoughts because, after watching over Sara for several years, she had grown a certain kind of affection for her.
She was a child in an abnormal environment, but she was a pretty and kind child nonetheless. She had never once caused trouble by being disobedient. Despite being an employee, Yang Hye-in never received unreasonable orders from her. She never badmouthed others or cursed, and she had never even seen her complain about someone else. Though, that was inevitable, given that she wasn't much of a talker in the first place.
People are naturally inclined to want to protect a pitiable existence before their eyes. Sara was clearly that sort of pitiable existence.
...And Yang Hye-in was also one of the people tormenting that pitiable existence in such a chilling and horrifying manner.
*
...Perhaps because it was still early March, the night air was cold.
The coat she wore over her maid uniform was quite warm, but her hands and face, exposed outside the coat, inevitably grew cold.
Honestly, standing out here in front of the main gate, maintaining a respectful maid's posture and waiting for hours, was terribly difficult.
"Miss Yang Hye-in, the night air is chilly. Would it not be better to wait inside the mansion and come out when we call for you?"
One of the security guards stationed at the gate spoke to Yang Hye-in.
All of the mansion's servants, including the security guards, did not speak to Sara. That was the rule. Only the maid in charge of Sara's personal care had the right to directly address her or suggest something to her. In truth, this wasn't exactly written in the contract. The original wording was simply 'do not speak to her unnecessarily.'
But in order to somehow help Sara, who seemed unfamiliar with the act of 'speaking first,' the servants needed to keep speaking to her. They had to ask her repeatedly, what was necessary, what wasn't, what she wanted to do, what she didn't want to do, before Sara would finally express her will with a nod or a shake of her head.
"......."
"Miss Yang Hye-in?"
The guard called Yang Hye-in's name once more.
"I'm fine."
At Yang Hye-in's reply, the guard closed his mouth and did not make the suggestion again.
Unlike the other servants who had barely exchanged conversation with Sara, Yang Hye-in, whom Sara at least expressed her intentions to, was an irreplaceable asset. Because of this, among the servants with no fixed hierarchy, she was the one person the others could not treat carelessly. Moreover, Yang Hye-in was also tasked with periodically reporting on the situation to the Chairwoman.
Once again, a chilly breeze brushed past Yang Hye-in's cheek.
Yesterday, she had waited inside the mansion and only came out after receiving a report. Sara had disappeared, but it wasn't a major problem. In fact, they already had her location figured out. An employee had been tagging along behind her from a distance. Today was the same, though she wasn't sure if Sara had noticed.
'Did you report to the Chairwoman?'
Did she say that because she already knew? If so, why had she climbed over the wall again today? If she knew someone would follow her anyway, there was no need to act as if she were sneaking away. Was it some kind of protest?
Today, too, Sara was said to be walking the streets with those 'friends' of hers.
Since her location was already known, there would be no real problem if she simply waited inside the mansion as she did yesterday and went out once she heard that Sara had returned.
But.
But Yang Hye-in wanted to see for herself.
She felt that if she could see Sara's face as she returned, perhaps while conversing with those 'friends,' she might get a hint as to why Sara had to cross over that wall again today.
*
"Goodbye, see you tomorrow."
The expression on Sara's face as she said that was one Yang Hye-in had never once seen. Ah, of course, she had often seen it on others. It was the expression of people who had spent an enjoyable time with friends, who were parting with regret but could be certain they would meet again. The expression of people living a life with at least a minimum of hope.
It was just the first time seeing that expression on Sara's face.
She had seen her smile yesterday, but it was still astonishing to see her part from friends so naturally.
She had not been completely unable to imagine Sara making friends. Though, in her imagination, Sara had never smiled so naturally like this.
How to put it; she had thought Sara would be a little more clingy.
A person who finally gains what they have longed for their whole life but never had tends to be extremely averse to letting it slip from their grasp. They tend to struggle desperately to hold onto it somehow.
But Ye Sa-ra was treating her newfound friends as if they were just ordinary kids.
...Even though she surely remembered the things that happened in her childhood.
"Did you wait long?"
When she had almost reached the mansion's front, Sara abruptly asked that.
"...Pardon?"
"How long did you wait?"
A question so clearly audible that there was no room for doubt.
"...I did not wait long."
At Yang Hye-in's reply, Sara narrowed her eyes and looked up at Yang Hye-in's face.
"From now on, when I come back late, there's no need for you to wait outside."
"...I will keep that in mind."
Yang Hye-in spoke while dipping her head slightly.
The mansion door opened. The warmth that had filled the interior came rushing out in a wave.
"Let me take your coat."
In the lobby, Yang Hye-in spoke and smoothly took Sara's coat from her.
"Did you report to the Chairwoman?"
Sara, having handed over her coat, turned around just as she always did and looked up at Yang Hye-in as she asked.
"......."
Yang Hye-in hesitated for a moment. Should she really say this?
Sara quietly observed Yang Hye-in's expression, then shrugged her shoulders and turned away. A gesture indicating she didn't much care. It was a light gesture that held no particular expectation, as if to say, you must have reported anyway.
"I did not report it."
Seeing that, Yang Hye-in impulsively answered.
Sara's footsteps, which had been turning away, stopped dead. And then slowly, as if rewinding, her body turned back toward Yang Hye-in.
The expression on Sara's face was unmistakably one of 'surprise.' In truth, if any other servant saw that expression, they might show even greater surprise than Sara herself. That was how expressionless a child Sara was.
"You didn't report it?"
When Sara asked again as if to confirm, Yang Hye-in nodded.
"Yes. I did not report it. Not yesterday, and not today."
Sara's eyes widened a little more.
"Why...?"
Sara asked, sounding as if she genuinely wondered.
Well, why had she done it?
The decision had been a truly impulsive one.
She had sensed that Sara had suddenly changed. And she was well aware that she had formed friendships, something that hadn't existed before.
But, for some reason, she hadn't wanted to report it.
Why was that?
Probably.
Probably, it was because of Sara's unguarded, smiling face that she had seen for the very first time.
She wanted that expression to last, even if only for a short while.
As she looked at Sara's eyes, rounded in surprise for the first time in all the years she had been by her side, Yang Hye-in thought that to herself.