Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Maid's Room
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Days slipped by in a haze, and before I knew it, Friday had arrived.
I skipped classes anyway, grabbed haphazard meals from the cafeteria or instant ramen, and spent my evenings glued to the monitor at home. Time flies when you're stuck in a rut like that.
After enduring the last lecture, I got back home and spotted the boxes taking up one corner of the living room.
Three postal delivery boxes. The sender, of course, was Si-eun.
One arrived on Wednesday, another on Thursday, and this one today. She must be shipping her stuff from home in the order she's packing it up.
And today was Friday.
Which meant Si-eun would start staying here from this evening onward.
About an hour later, the intercom buzzed.
There aren't many people who come to this place. And even fewer who would show up at this hour on this day. I knew who it was without asking.
I opened the door, and sure enough, there stood Si-eun.
Her face bore a touch of light makeup. She wore a thin outer jacket over a miniskirt—the same look as the Yoo Si-eun I'd run into at school.
Si-eun raised one hand and spoke.
"Hi."
"Uh, yeah... hi?"
"Why are you acting so awkward?"
"I've never greeted a housekeeper on their first day of work in my life."
"This is my first time starting work as a housekeeper, too."
She snorted in response. Come to think of it, she had a point. I was just being my usual socially awkward self.
Si-eun slipped off her shoes, lined them up neatly, and stepped inside.
At the same time, a subtle fragrance wafted through the air. Perfume, maybe? It hadn't been there last week when she came over.
Thinking back, her outfit had been more casual then. There seemed to be a subtle difference between college-student Si-eun and working-adult Si-eun.
Soon, Si-eun glanced at the boxes in the corner and said,
"You've gathered my stuff."
"I thought about opening them to unpack, but decided to just stack them up."
"Good call. I would've sued you if you'd opened them."
That was a relief. I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside and asked,
"Is this all your luggage?"
"Yeah."
"Less than I expected."
"I tossed anything like cooking tools since I won't need them anymore."
"Hmm."
She'd be living here and working as a housekeeper for a while, so anything like that we already had here wouldn't need to be brought over.
Still, even packing just clothes and her own bedding, three boxes seemed awfully light. She must have always traveled light.
Lost in those thoughts, Si-eun turned to me.
"Which room should I take?"
"Oh."
Come to think of it, I hadn't assigned one. With so many rooms, she could pick whichever. That's as far as I'd planned.
What to do? After a moment's thought, I spoke up.
"I only use my own room anyway, so anywhere but there is fine. Pick whichever of the other three you want."
"Really? I can choose freely?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm~"
Suddenly faced with options, Si-eun looked deep in thought. Any would do. For me, even if she took all three, it wouldn't matter.
Eventually, she peeked into each room, sizing them up,
and pointed to one.
"Then, I'll take this one."
The room she'd chosen was the smallest. It was the farthest from my room, which might make it safer in emergencies. Not that she needed to worry about that.
"Got it. That's your room from now on."
"Okay. I'll move my stuff."
With that, Si-eun picked up one box and headed into her chosen room. I grabbed the other two and followed.
Si-eun set her box down in the empty room and said,
"It's clean and nice."
I set mine down too and nodded.
"Yeah, it is."
As Si-eun said, the room was spotless. It had been clean before we moved in, and the moving company had given it a thorough cleaning afterward.
But... wasn't it a bit too clean?
"Come to think of it."
"Yeah?"
"There's not a single piece of furniture in here."
"Oh."
Si-eun seemed to notice it now, too.
I'd already bought and set up what I needed for my room, but there was no reason I'd have done the same for hers. We'd only just decided on the room today.
I'm no expert on girls' rooms, but surely a vanity and bed were basics. And since she'd need to study, a desk and chair too.
I turned to Si-eun.
"Want me to pick some out and buy them?"
"No need."
But she waved me off.
"Why? It'll be uncomfortable without."
"I'm the hired help. Having you buy that stuff on top would make me even more uncomfortable."
"The furniture stays in the house anyway. I might need it myself someday, so it's fine."
"Still..."
Si-eun looked reluctant, like she thought asking for it would be shameless.
"At least get a bed. Sleeping on the hard floor will leave you sore all over. You might not feel it now while you're young."
"We're the same age. And I don't plan to do this job into old age, so it's fine."
She answered like that, but seemed unable to refuse outright, soon adding,
"Fine. It'd be silly for me to turn down the homeowner offering to buy it."
"Good. Jot down a list of what you want, roughly. I'll order it online."
"...Okay."
Si-eun had a look like she wanted to say more, but she just pursed her lips without speaking. I wasn't about to pry.
A moment later, she turned and asked,
"Dinner?"
"Not yet."
"Then I'll make it. I can grab whatever from the store and cook, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
All the cooking tools and ingredients she'd bought last time were untouched. Good thing she'd picked ones with long shelf lives.
"I've got the tools, and enough money for ingredients. I'll go buy them myself."
"Sure."
Hearing that, Si-eun headed out of the room.
This was her space now. It'd be rude to linger in someone else's private area. I left the room right away, too.
Then our eyes met with Si-eun standing at the entryway.
"I'll be back."
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah."
I ended up seeing her off unintentionally.
I mumbled a response, and Si-eun looked like she might say something but turned and left without a word.
Hmm. Maybe I should do some coding while she's out shopping. With that in mind, I started toward my room.
"Hey."
Si-eun called out unexpectedly, door still open.
"Yeah?"
I asked, puzzled, and after a pause, she said,
"Thanks... for caring."
With that, she shut the door.
The door lock chimed through the house, and Si-eun's fragrance tickled my nose.
Standing there alone, I mulled over the words she'd left behind.
Thanks for caring. Was it about the furniture? I'd told her not to feel burdened.
No, wait. Had she been hesitating all this time just to say that?
The thought brought a wry smile to my face.