Chapter 78
Chapter 78
She would defer judgment until the In-su handover was complete.
By saying that, she had declined to set any deadline for the handover.
In other words, by leaving the In-su handover period open-ended, she was implying that Yang Hye-in could be allowed to stay. Yang Hye-in's work was largely standardized, but the range of tasks was broad and included some that required fairly delicate hand skills. Not so delicate that no one else could do them, of course.
In fact, what Shin So-hee seemed to be learning more than technique was physical deportment—the elegant, composed movements befitting a lady's maid.
Normally, one would have to undergo separate training before becoming a maid, but Shin So-hee's case was a little different.
The standard procedure was to select capable talent from within the group, offer an enormous salary, and send them through thorough maid training. But Shin So-hee had declared she would work even if she had to scale the wall, and the mistress of this mansion, Sara, had permitted it. That was how she came to work here as a maid.
Naturally, she knew nothing about the duties of a maid, much less the proper attitude or mindset a maid ought to have.
Still, when it came to "mindset" and such, it probably didn't matter. Most of the people working in this mansion simply carried out their assigned tasks mechanically. If anything, judged solely on that genuine impulse to help only Sara, one could even say she was the perfect maid for Sara.
......That "heart" might run so overboard that it caused trouble, but if Sara also wanted it, who had any right to object?
And, after deliberately showing her that letter, the odds of Shin So-hee stirring up that sort of trouble—
"Heh heh heh."
—were probably zero, weren't they?
For once, Yang Hye-in felt her heart grow uneasy because of someone other than the Chairwoman and Sara. She had felt a similar unease that morning, when she saw Sara in a dazed state.
Judged solely by Sara's attitude toward her friends, she thought that "really" nothing like that had happened. But she still couldn't entirely shake the anxiety.
Right now, with Sara's still-damp hair before her, Shin So-hee was smiling somewhat darkly.
It was after the two friends had gone home.
Now, within this house, only two people besides Sara herself were permitted to enter Sara's room.
......And the two people currently staying in this room were, apart from Sara, exactly those two.
"......Why are you smiling like that?"
Sara, the very person who had permitted Shin So-hee to work here, seemed a little uneasy herself, and asked while glancing back.
"Oh, no, nothing."
Shin So-hee glossed it over.
Watching this, Yang Hye-in suppressed a sigh and said,
"Please set the hair dryer to the gentlest airflow possible. The young lady's hair must not be damaged."
"Yes, senior!"
Senior, huh.
The word never failed to sound awkward. The last time Yang Hye-in had heard it was back in university. Since then, she had had neither occasion to be called "senior" nor anyone to call her that.
She had simply done her work quietly.
......Now that she thought about it, how desolate this mansion was. It had never been a place meant for raising a child.
—But even so,
"......."
Every time Shin So-hee touched Sara's hair, Sara glanced back uneasily. Her eyes were directed not at Shin So-hee, but at Yang Hye-in.
......She had never imagined they shared the kind of relationship that warranted that much trust.
Well, at least when it came to drying hair, she could trust her. After all, it was Yang Hye-in who had handled this fine, glossy hair every day.
Though one day, even that would no longer be her task.
"......A little slower. Keep the hair dryer farther away. Even on the lowest setting, exposing hair to artificial wind every day has a negative effect."
"Yes."
Still, Shin So-hee approached the task more seriously than her expression suggested.
"......."
Shin So-hee's hands, awkward at first, grew steadily more accustomed. Cautiously parting the strands, the comb slid down slowly. A soft breeze swept through and lifted away the lingering moisture.
"......."
Yang Hye-in watched in silence for a long moment.
......Come to think of it, this was a job one could hardly take pride in. Wasn't it, quite literally, just domestic service? She simply earned more than others; the nature of the work wasn't much different.
Directing the staff? The employees in this mansion already only did their prescribed tasks. Cleaning? The mansion was oddly vast, but they used only certain areas—most of them storerooms. She wasn't the only one cleaning, so it wasn't especially difficult.
Above all, Yang Hye-in had never once felt a great sense of pride.
......That's right. Never.
She had simply thought she was lucky to be working under a well-behaved child, and lucky to be paid accordingly.
She had thought the Chairwoman gave her the creeps. But that was all. In the end, she herself was no different from anyone else working here.
In contrast, Shin So-hee was different.
Because she genuinely wanted to. Because she truly wanted to be here.
......Because she sincerely wanted to protect Sara.
Just being here brought her such joy that she let slip a smile without realizing it, simply from touching Sara's hair.
To her, this work was nothing more than a means. Money wasn't the issue; it was simply the job that let her stay closest to Sara.
She'd said she liked her, hadn't she?
......Yang Hye-in briefly wondered when she herself had become this kind of person.
When had she started turning a blind eye to the injustice unfolding before her, telling herself she only needed to do her own work, and drifting through her days in a daze?
Probably from the moment she'd resolved to take this job, seeing only the "money."
In that sense, the Chairwoman had chosen her very skillfully.
Because if not for Sara, who hadn't lost herself even in these circumstances, she would still be living like a machine even now.
In that sense—
"Heh."
"Ah, sorry."
—No. Someone who pretended to dry long hair while surreptitiously stroking a back could never be an "ideal maid."
Yang Hye-in fixed Shin So-hee with a steady look. Only then did Shin So-hee make an "eek" face and hurriedly refocus on her work.
"Um, so, is this much done...?"
So muttering, Shin So-hee took a step back. The way she glanced at Yang Hye-in seemed to ask for confirmation.
Yang Hye-in approached from behind Sara and carefully inspected her hair before speaking.
"Yes, that's well done. However, please try not to take quite this long going forward. As I said earlier, exposing hair to artificial wind for too long is not especially good for it."
"Yes, senior!"
Should she make her change that form of address?
But somehow, it didn't seem like Sara would want that.
"Good. Then next—"
Right then, the pocket of the apron attached to Yang Hye-in's maid uniform buzzed. Her work phone was vibrating.
"......Excuse me."
Though it was hardly an ordinary situation, Yang Hye-in calmly took out the phone.
She strode out of the room with quick steps and pressed the call button.
*
She had been told a guest had arrived, and when she went out to the main gate, the visitor was one of the friends who had been at the mansion just earlier.
She was still in her school uniform.
......But her whole atmosphere was very different.
Not only that—the uniform itself was in a different state from before. The seam at the left shoulder and chest had burst, exposing a bit of the shirt beneath. The side of her skirt was dusted with gray, as if she'd scraped against something.
Perhaps she'd hit her head somewhere, because blood was trickling from her forehead. Not a large amount, but if she had walked all the way here, she must have drawn plenty of stares.
Her knee was scraped, and her left thigh was reddened and raw, as if it had been chafed against something.
Had she fallen while running?
"Please hide me."
Lee Su-a said it with startling composure.
"I'm being chased right now."
"......."
Yang Hye-in was speechless for a moment before she asked,
"May I ask who is chasing you?"
"I'm being chased by my father."
"......."
Yang Hye-in looked at Lee Su-a again. Yes, the phrase "being chased" fit perfectly. She looked as though she had run in earnest and fallen somewhere.
But chased by her "father"?
Wasn't Lee Su-a's household connected to Yiwon Trading Company? A place famous for its charitable works. They were known for donating more annually than Yujin Electronics gave in contributions. They'd never had a tax evasion scandal, and even the family was known to be harmonious.
......Well.
Even within Yujin Group, where she herself worked, things were like this. It would be hard to know from the outside what was happening inside another group.
She could feel the security guards watching nervously. Whatever hold might be over them, they had merely called Yang Hye-in and couldn't say a word. Under normal circumstances, this was the sort of matter that would have been turned away outright.
......They'd said Shin So-hee climbed over the wall.
It wouldn't be strange if that had been used as leverage for failing to stop her.
"Please come inside for now."
"Thank you."
Lee Su-a offered her thanks without a trace of timidity.
She looked rather different from the girl who had been reading the will.
"......."
Yang Hye-in simply led the way in silence, guiding Lee Su-a.
*
"Su-a!?"
Sara was startled the moment Su-a stepped into the room. And that was understandable: seen inside the bright room rather than the dark outdoors, Lee Su-a's condition looked considerably more serious than it had appeared.
"You don't need to be so shocked. I just fell, that's all."
"Is that just a fall you've got there?"
Shin So-hee chimed in from the side with a pointed remark.
Without a word, Yang Hye-in walked over and opened one of the wardrobes lining the wall. Deep inside was a first-aid kit kept for emergencies. It was always stocked with various over-the-counter medicines and ointments, refreshed before their expiration dates, but it was rarely taken out. It felt a little strange that the first person to use it was a guest rather than the lady of the house, Sara.
"I'm fine, really...."
"If you leave it, it will scar."
At Yang Hye-in's words as she brought over the kit, Sara nodded vigorously. Her eyes were fixed on the blood and wounds on Lee Su-a.
A reaction that said she had never expected this at all.
In truth, no one in this room had.
"But what on earth happened...?"
Sara asked, sounding slightly dazed.
Lee Su-a looked up at Sara. Her eyes were a little moist.
But even as she looked at Sara, Lee Su-a smiled.
"I ran away from home."
Only, the words that came out of her mouth were anything but a laughing matter.