Chapter 5 : Chapter 5

Yang Hye-in wasn't a housekeeper who had served Ye Sara since she was a child.

She graduated from a prestigious university with top grades and was originally set to be employed at a company under the Eugene Group.

As expected from the Eugene Group, which controlled the entire South Korean business world, the company she was to enter was also a large corporation.

However, on her first day at work, when a personnel department employee approached her, Yang Hye-in's life was completely turned upside down.

The request was to become the housekeeper for the Chairwoman's stepdaughter.

They added that there would be no disadvantages if she refused.

If she accepted, it would be impossible to build a career within the company.

No matter who the employer was, the job itself was being a "housekeeper," and it wouldn't help her resume when she eventually left to find another job.

She would have to care for an "unstable" young lady 24 hours a day, so she wouldn't be able to take vacations as needed.

Moreover, she would have to consistently maintain formal speech and manners with a girl much younger than herself.

For someone like her, who had just graduated with top honors from a good university and entered a major corporation with high self-esteem, the offer wasn't very appealing.

In fact, it was such an absurd offer that she couldn't even understand why they made it to her.

But that thought flew out the window the moment she read the contents of the contract the personnel employee handed over.

The amount listed was something she could never earn in just one year of work.

No, not even one year—maybe not even in five, or perhaps even ten years.

That sum was casually presented as her "annual salary."

"This isn't an offer we make to just anyone."

The employee said, carefully observing Yang Hye-in, whose hands were trembling as she looked at the contract.

"As someone who will personally witness the young lady's private life, of course, you will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Additionally, there will be etiquette training before you start as a housekeeper. Most importantly, you will need the ability to assist the young lady so that she can handle anyone, wherever she goes."

"That's why we chose you."

That was what the personnel employee said.

"..."

In the end, Yang Hye-in accepted the offer.

*

When she started her job, filled with nerves, she thought she was luckier than expected.

The "young lady" she was tasked with was much quieter and more obedient than she had anticipated.

Whenever there was something she had to do, she never refused.

If you told her to go somewhere, she went; if you told her to eat, she ate; if you told her to rest, she rested.

Because of the large sum of money being offered, at first, she imagined a spoiled child, one who had never learned proper manners and acted out from a young age.

Stories of rich kids who abused and cursed at drivers and housekeepers much older than themselves were often in the news.

But the girl she was assigned to, named Ye Sara, was someone who would be an insult even to compare to those kids.

Moreover, because of her quiet personality, her cute appearance stood out even more.

In the first few weeks, Yang Hye-in was even grateful for her luck.

However, as weeks and months passed, she started to notice that something was off.

The girl named Ye Sara had no desires.

Things that any child of her age would naturally want—like going out to have fun, eating something they craved, or wanting to own something—Ye Sara had none of those desires.

If no one instructed her to do something, she did nothing.

Her only hobby was occasionally sitting and writing something in her notebook.

She never left the mansion.

Could she be a child with remarkably few emotions?

No, that wasn't the reason.

As the time she spent with Ye Sara grew longer, Yang Hye-in began to notice, in detail, the environment the child was in.

Ye Sara lived in a large mansion, but not a single person, aside from the employees, ever visited.

Not even her stepmother had ever come to see her, let alone other relatives.

The employees, except for Yang Hye-in, didn't converse with Ye Sara.

Ye Sara, as if it was only natural, didn't attempt to talk to anyone else either.

The mansion was always enveloped in silence.

The chairwoman of Eugene Group was so busy that no matter what happened to Ye Sara, she never visited to see her face.

Even when there was a class observation at school, even when she suddenly suffered from a high fever, and even on her birthday—there was never a phone call.

Except for the few times a year when she visited as if it were a routine inspection, there was almost no contact.

Ah, there was an occasional phone call.

Once, when Ye Sara was too sick to attend school, there was a call from the chairwoman that afternoon.

[I'm disappointed.]

That was all the phone said.

"...I'm sorry, Mother."

That was all Ye Sara replied.

After the call ended, Yang Hye-in took the smartphone and left the room.

For a while, the sound of pitiful sobbing could be heard from outside the door.

It was only then that Yang Hye-in realized that Ye Sara's quietness didn't come from her personality.

Ye Sara was isolated from the world.

And it wasn't just any kind of isolation—it was meticulous and precise, cutting off most of her ties to the outside world.

In the enormous mansion, there wasn't even a single TV.

There was a computer, but it was blocked so that it couldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.

Ye Sara's smartphone was always carried by Yang Hye-in, as a rule.

Ye Sara didn't just 'not' leave the mansion—she 'couldn't.'

When Yang Hye-in saw the employee guidelines for what to do if Ye Sara ever wanted to go outside, she was horrified.

The food Ye Sara ate was always made from the finest ingredients, but her preferences weren't considered.

Ye Sara didn't express what she wanted to eat because she knew no one would accommodate her desires, so she just gave up.

It was the same with what she wanted to wear or where she wanted to go.

She couldn't do anything, and she fell into extreme helplessness.

That was the real face of Ye Sara as seen through Yang Hye-in's eyes.

Ironically, the only connection between Ye Sara and the outside world was the Eugene Group chairwoman, Choi Na-kyung, her only family.

Whenever she visited the mansion briefly, as if checking to see if her doll was still intact, she showed her stepdaughter the minimum amount of affection.

"Ye Sara, come here."

When she said that, holding her palm up, Ye Sara would run to her, rubbing her face into her hand like a puppy waiting for its owner.

While calling her "Mother."

...It was a creepy sight.

Watching that scene, Yang Hye-in involuntarily shuddered.

It was only then that she began to understand why the strange environment around Ye Sara had been created.

*

Having witnessed such scenes, Yang Hye-in found Ye Sara's recent behavior to be extremely strange.

One day, she suddenly screamed and collapsed, and when they went to the hospital, bruises she had never seen before covered Ye Sara's back.

Even though Yang Hye-in had been watching Ye Sara every day, she had no idea when those injuries had appeared.

Suspected of domestic violence by the doctor and thrown out of the emergency room by the hospital's security team, she sat in a daze for a while.

It was true that Ye Sara and Choi Na-kyung had met the day before.

But Choi Na-kyung never laid a hand on Ye Sara.

She merely played with her, like someone who believed only she could love Ye Sara, for about 15 minutes, like she was playing with a puppy.

Since Yang Hye-in had watched the whole thing from nearby, she knew for sure that those bruises couldn't have come from that meeting.

Then, could it be someone in the mansion…?

No.

Hye-in shook her head again.

No one in the mansion had the authority to enter Ye Sara's room except her.

The door would automatically lock when closed, and to open it from the outside, one would have to either input the door lock password or use registered fingerprints.

In fact, the lock was installed more to prevent people from approaching Ye Sara carelessly than to protect her safety, but either way, it ensured that she was safe from those within the mansion.

It was a quiet door lock designed not to make any sound when the password or fingerprints were entered, but only Yang Hye-in knew the password.

She had never told anyone else.

Of course, there was no one who could secretly enter the room and harm Ye Sara.

Moreover, if someone did, it would be easy to identify the culprit by reviewing the CCTV footage.

The footage from the mansion's closed-circuit cameras was distributed and stored across multiple PCs so that no one could delete it recklessly.

Deleting the data would require a police investigation, and that would be proof that someone had done something even more disgraceful than just watching the girl.

And most likely, the chairwoman would not forgive such a person.

Everyone who worked at the mansion knew that.

Money was mightier than the law, and the chairwoman had plenty of money.

All the people working in the mansion weren't just brought in from anywhere.

They were individuals, like Yang Hye-in, who could take pride in their backgrounds, gathered and employed with a lot of money.

There was no one who would recklessly give up the opportunity to work here, let alone throw away their entire future.

So, Yang Hye-in concluded that the bruises on Ye Sara's body were the result of 'self-harm.'

Once she reached that conclusion, her actions were swift.

She immediately picked up her phone and called the security team.

*

With all these factors combined, at first, Yang Hye-in thought that Ye Sara had completely broken down.

Saying strange things like "Status Window!" or suddenly starting conversations with her.

Normally, Yang Hye-in would initiate conversations, and Ye Sara would just nod or give brief, short responses.

Considering that she had somehow managed to self-harm to the point where her back turned blue and had sudden fits at night, it wasn't unreasonable to think she had completely fallen apart.

But over the past two months, Ye Sara has been full of life.

"I've finished eating. Can I go now?"

During their last meeting, when Yoon Da-ho had spoken, she had only hung her head low without saying a word.

But this time, after eating by herself, she made that "request" to Yang Hye-in.

"Yes, Chairwoman."

And for the first time, she called the chairwoman, whom she had always referred to as "Mother," using that word.

"I thought I wouldn't be able to take a picture today, but thanks to you, I did. Thank you."

She said that with a "smile."

Yang Hye-in had been by Ye Sara's side for nearly three years, but she had no idea what had caused such a change in her.

Though she couldn't figure it out at all—

One thing was certain: she couldn't see this change as negative in any way.