By Zephyria 
Not knowing how to use the intercom, Haon came to the entrance barefoot. His fingertips trembled slightly as he hurriedly opened the door.
Beep-beep-. The sound of the door lock releasing doubled Haon’s tension.
As he opened the heavy front door, he locked eyes with the woman he had seen on the small intercom screen. She was far more beautiful in person.
“Where is In-ho?”
The woman asked. Her voice was a refined, mid-to-low tone.
Feeling a shock similar to when he first met In-ho, Haon hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Ah, um… ahem. He stepped out for a moment.”
He cleared his throat after his voice cracked from answering too quickly. Long eyes with heavy makeup swept over Haon from head to toe. Cowering under an atmosphere that was sharp and entirely different from In-ho’s, Haon’s shoulders slumped.
“P-please, come in.”
Haon welcomed the woman by swinging the inner door wide open. Since her appearance alone gave him a good idea of who she was, he didn’t ask any further questions.
Slipping into the slippers provided at the inner door, the woman walked ahead of Haon. As if familiar with the layout of In-ho’s home, she headed straight for the living room sofa, opened her leather bag, and took out her phone.
With her nails elaborately decorated with sparkling jewels, it was difficult to gauge the woman’s age. She naturally looked older than In-ho, but it didn’t seem like a vast difference.
“Don’t mind me; go back to your room.”
She gestured with the hand holding her phone toward the closed guest room. As expected, she seemed to visit this house quite often. It made sense, since she was family.
“Yes…”
Haon clasped his hands together and gave a small bow. He hesitated and started toward his own room, but then pivoted toward the kitchen.
The woman, her gaze fixed on her phone, paid no mind to Haon’s presence. She didn’t seem curious at all about who Haon was.
While worrying about how he should introduce himself, Haon felt relieved on one hand, but a bit bittersweet on the other.
As I thought, many people come and go from this house.
With that thought, he quietly and carefully took out teacups, trying not to make a sound. Since he didn’t know when In-ho would return, he thought he would at least offer her a cup of tea.
What kind of tea should I serve? He glanced at the sofa while pondering. Sitting with a rigid posture, the woman was silently looking down at her phone. Her straight bridge of the nose and the line of her lips were the spitting image of In-ho.
He had wondered how her skin could be so white and clear. Now that he saw her, it seemed to be a family trait. The woman’s skin was also dazzlingly bright.
Unlike In-ho, her jet-black hair had voluminous waves, making her look like a beautiful princess. Her features were so distinct that at a glance, one might mistake her for a foreigner.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“Pardon?”
“Stop staring and just tell me if you have some business.”
Haon, who had been admiring the woman’s beauty, blinked. Realizing he had been staring at someone’s face again, he quickly offered an apology.
“I just didn’t know what kind of tea to serve you…”
“I told you not to worry about it.”
Muttering as if to herself, the woman turned her gaze back to her phone. However, she didn’t refuse a drink.
“Water is fine.”
“Ah… then shall I bring you warm water?”
The woman’s response stopped. Haon watched her with nervous eyes, and when there was no reaction, he quietly moved his hands.
Three glasses were placed on a silver tray. After some deliberation, Haon prepared cold water, warm water, and lukewarm water. He almost brought the sparkling water that In-ho often drank, but he only took the water, fearing the tray would be too heavy.
“Which one would you like…?”
After cautiously approaching the sofa, Haon swallowed hard and asked. Raising an eyebrow at Haon, who had approached without a sound, the woman picked up the glass containing the lukewarm water.
She looked up at Haon, who had brought three different glasses of water, and set her phone down. The woman’s dark pupils swept over Haon from head to toe once more.
“What is your name?”
Not expecting a question to be thrown his way, Haon gripped the tray. Though she had only asked for his name, he froze as if he had been asked a difficult question.
“I am Jeong Haon.”
Watching him closely, the woman didn’t drink the water but placed the glass on the table.
“You are an adult, right?”
Her sharp eyes fixed on Haon’s small, round face. Seeing her eyes narrow slightly, a sudden fear gripped Haon, and he answered firmly.
“Yes, I am twenty-one.”
He had faced the same misunderstanding when he first spoke with In-ho. Thinking there really was something wrong with his face, Haon tried his best to straighten his shoulders.
“A student?”
“No, I am working.”
“Doing what?”
Watching the woman pick up her phone again, Haon hesitated over his answer. For some reason, he was reluctant to say he worked as a live-in housekeeper at In-ho’s home.
“Restaurant work and cleaning.”
As he phrased it vaguely, the woman’s interest vanished. Withdrawing her gaze from Haon, she spoke in a dry tone.
“You may go back now.”
Haon replied, “Yes,” and took the tray back to the kitchen. Just as he was about to enter his room, the woman suddenly called him.
“Please make a call to In-ho for me.”
Though slightly flustered by the sudden request, Haon took out his phone. He had actually been wondering if he should text In-ho to ask when he would be back.
Ring-ring-. After the ringing tone continued for a short while, In-ho’s voice was heard.
— Yes, Haon-ssi.
“Um…”
Haon, about to speak, paused as he saw the woman reach out toward him. The woman was gesturing for Haon to give her the phone.
“One moment, please.”
After asking In-ho for his understanding, Haon handed over his phone. Having the phone practically snatched away, he stood before the woman in an awkward posture.
“Son, it’s Mom.”
Uh, Mom…?
Haon’s eyes widened in great shock. Looking at her beautiful face without a single wrinkle, he had naturally assumed she was In-ho’s older sister. Moreover, he had expected her to be a sister not much older than him.
“I’ll wait until you get here, so take your time.”
The woman continued in a soft voice. When a smile touched her lips, her face looked even more like In-ho’s. Haon tried to look away so as not to stare again, but his eyes met the woman’s.
“……”
The woman stopped speaking for a moment and stared intently at Haon. She looked as if she were concentrating on In-ho’s words. Unfortunately, Haon could not hear the contents of the call.
“Alright. I’ll hang up.”
As she ended the call and returned the phone, the look in her eyes was subtly different from before.
“Sorry for borrowing it so suddenly. In-ho wouldn’t pick up my call.”
“No, it’s okay.”
The woman gave a bright, eye-curving smile and added a thank you for understanding. Then, with Haon still standing there, she continued the conversation.
“How long have you been staying in this house?”
Haon rolled his eyes briefly to calculate the date. He recalled carefully, fearing he might get the date wrong. He felt even more nervous knowing he was speaking in front of In-ho’s mother.
“A little over two weeks.”
“Two weeks?”
For the first time, the woman looked surprised. Her eyes, which had been calm when Haon first opened the door, widened slightly.
“You’ve been staying here this whole time?”
“Yes…”
Feeling burdened by the gaze that looked at him with disbelief, he subtly turned his head. While pretending to look out the window, he heard a soft chuckle and looked back at the woman. She was laughing. It was a smile that resembled In-ho’s.
“How strange. In-ho doesn’t let anyone stay in the house for that long.”
Having heard this for the first time, Haon perked up his ears, showing interest. That meant he was the one who had stayed in this house the longest. Furthermore, Haon planned to live here for over a year.
“Ah, well. Actually… it’s because I came here as a live-in housekeeper.”
Before his face could turn red, he quickly acknowledged his position and added the explanation.
He was entirely different from the people In-ho had met so far. The reason he had stayed in the house for over two weeks was simply due to a professional employment relationship.
“Did you say your name was Haon-ssi?”
Holding the water glass, the woman gazed steadily at Haon’s face.
“In-ho seems to cherish you quite a bit.”
She merely moistened her lips with the water, set the glass down, and smiled, saying she enjoyed the drink. She picked up her bag and stood up, seemingly intending to leave without waiting for In-ho.
“What happened to your cheek?”
The woman asked, noticing the large bandage covering Haon’s left cheek.
“It wasn’t In-ho, was it?”
“No! Of course not! I just fell and got hurt.”
Startled, Haon denied it vehemently. He hadn’t expected to be misunderstood in that way.
“If you ever need help, contact me here.”
Taking a business card from her bag, the woman personally pressed the stiff piece of paper into Haon’s hand. Unlike when he first entered the house, she showed a deep interest in him.
“For anything. Feel free.”
However, she told him never to mention to In-ho that he had received her business card. He wanted to ask why, but the woman gave Haon no room to speak.
“And please give In-ho a message. Tell him it’s his father’s birthday next Thursday, so he must attend. He’ll understand if you just say that.”
With a rounded, smiling gaze, the woman headed toward the entrance hallway and added one last thing.
“Tell him that if he doesn’t come, I’ll come visit again.”
Contrary to her smiling mouth, there was no laughter in her dark pupils, which seemed to swallow the light.