Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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……How on earth did it come to this?
I thought that as I stared at the countryside house before me.
It was a rural home that looked very old, with a dingy cement wall.
At least the roof seemed new, a bright blue tile… well, not really tile, but a metal sheet shaped like tiles often seen on single-story houses, over a red brick house.
The bright color contrasted sharply with the dull gray of the old wall, making the house look a little odd.
It would have looked even stranger if the mountain behind it wasn’t such a vibrant green, as the whole scene would have been a dull gray background.
“Oh my, is that my granddaughter?”
Then, an old woman, who had been doing something with the water running in the yard, ran toward us and spoke.
“……Grandma.”
As Yang Hye-in said that, the grandmother, who looked two heads shorter than her, rushed into her arms.
“My granddaughter’s come home!”
It was, how should I put it, the exact scene you’d expect of a grandmother meeting her granddaughter after a long time.
“But who are these people?”
The grandmother, who was apparently Yang Hye-in’s, looked oddly like her despite being shorter than Sara.
Of course, the comparison wasn’t entirely accurate since Yang Hye-in was still in her 20s, while the old woman’s face was full of wrinkles.
Her white hair was tightly curled from a perm, which made them look even less alike.
Yang Hye-in had a very sophisticated, city woman kind of vibe.
“These people are…”
“We’re just acquaintances who met through work.”
Before Yang Hye-in could call me “miss” or “employer,” I quickly spoke up.
No matter what job you have, no one wants to feel like they’re being employed by someone much younger.
Yang Hye-in didn’t seem to care much—her expression was close to her usual blank face—but her grandmother might think differently.
It wasn’t just about the fact that Yang Hye-in technically worked under me.
After a longer conversation that day, I learned that she had graduated with excellent grades from one of the top universities in Seoul—something I couldn’t even imagine in my previous life.
Naturally, as her “only family,” her grandmother would have immense pride in her granddaughter.
If she thought her granddaughter had chosen a job that didn’t fully utilize her degree, it wouldn’t matter how much money she was making—it wouldn’t sound good.
And, as I’ll emphasize again, Sara, the nominal employer, looked much younger than Hye-in.
“Is that so?”
The grandmother tilted her head.
“Oh my, your friends sure look young!”
She smiled, looking between me and Hye-in as she said this.
“……”
At least Hye-in seemed to understand my intentions.
She just kept her mouth shut, perhaps not wanting to use informal speech.
“Well then, don’t just stand out here, come on inside.”
At her words, we nodded and followed her inside.
……This is bad.
This is way more uncomfortable than I expected.
I’m already dreading how I’ll endure these next three days.
*
How did I end up following Hye-in to her grandmother’s house?
The reason was simple.
Hye-in had insisted on not leaving my side to protect me, and I kept repeating that if I went somewhere for vacation, she wouldn’t have a choice but to follow.
At first, the conversation was incredibly awkward, but as we kept talking, it gradually became easier.
It wasn’t intentional on either of our parts, though.
“There are only two employees left in the mansion. If I leave, there won’t be anyone left to manage the place.”
“It’s not a big deal if the mansion isn’t cleaned for a few days. I’m not asking you to quit, just take three days off.”
Honestly, even when I lived alone, I sometimes left my place a mess for a week if I didn’t feel like cleaning.
Actually, I’ve left it much longer, especially when I went home for vacations—the mess would pile up for ages.
Would it really be a problem if a mansion like this was left unattended for just three days?
Big buildings often go months without proper cleaning.
“If I’m not here, the only people left in this building will be you, your friends, and the security staff. We can’t trust anyone while Choi Na-kyung is still at large.”
“We hired them properly and picked the biggest company we could find. If something happens to me, the whole company will be in trouble, right?”
If you start being suspicious towards everyone, eventually there will be no one left to trust.
Besides, with undercover police consistently watching the house, could anything really happen here?
No one would dare, out of sheer fear.
There were even women among the security personnel.
That’s why we trusted them in the first place.
Plus, it was Hye-in herself who said this company was the best choice.
“Fine, then.”
After stubbornly refusing to back down in the argument, I finally said,
“So, you’re saying you’ll follow me wherever I go, right?”
And that’s how I ended up where I am now.
*
“Oh my, why are you girls so skinny?”
The grandmother kept saying this as she brought out more and more food.
“Oh, no, really ma’am, we ate on the way here. You don’t need to go through the trouble of giving us so much.”
And I wasn’t just being polite. We’d stopped at a rest area on the way here for a light lunch. Not much, but still.
“It’s not lunch, just some fruit, so don’t worry~”
Lunch, fruit, it didn’t matter; I really couldn’t fit any more in my stomach.
But I couldn’t refuse something she was offering so kindly.
I picked up an apple slice with my chopsticks and chewed it as slowly as possible.
Any more, and my stomach might actually start hurting.
If this was just the snack, I couldn’t even imagine how much she’d give us for dinner.
……Still.
It didn’t feel bad.
It really felt like something only a “grandmother” would do.
It was almost hard to believe that the usually expressionless Hye-in came from someone like this.
At least So-hee, Soo-ah, and Ha-neul were eating well.
It seemed that, being teenagers, they could devour food at an incredible pace.
Or maybe they were just eating to avoid the awkwardness.
……Yeah, I get it. I feel the same.
No matter how kind she was, this was someone else’s grandmother, not mine.
It was our first time meeting.
It couldn’t be anything but awkward.
I still felt awkward even when I met relatives I barely see, so this was even worse—meeting the grandmother of an employee, not even a friend.
Even the usual titles of respect felt strange to use.
Most of all—
“So, what’s your relationship with our Hye-in?”
That’s right.
I was dreading questions like this.
Even when we were in the car earlier, I had no idea how to explain it.
Saying she’s my employee didn’t seem right, but I couldn’t think of a better answer.
“Well, um…”
I glanced at Hye-in.
She seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the fruit on the tray.
“Well…”
“She’s the daughter of my boss.”
Seeing me hesitate, Hye-in finally seemed to have come up with something and spoke.
I was saved.
……Right, that explanation worked.
Technically, she was still working for me now, and while we didn’t know where her former employer, Choi Na-kyung, was, it wasn’t entirely untrue.
She had worked for Sara’s mother before.
“We got close when she visited work.”
“I see! I knew you looked young.”
Thankfully, her grandmother seemed to understand right away.
“If that’s the case, I’ll treat you even better. Just relax and feel at home. Treat this place like it’s yours.”
“……Yes, ma’am……”
……I shouldn’t have pushed it.
It wasn’t exactly a lie, more like dodging the truth… but still, it felt wrong not being able to tell her the real story of her granddaughter’s job.
I had no ill will toward her grandmother, after all.
And it was only after coming here that I fully realized how precious Hye-in was to her.
Whatever the reason, if Hye-in came directly to her grandmother instead of her parents, it really might mean they were each other’s only family.
“……”
Ah, this is so uncomfortable.
I just want to go home…