‘I’m much more capable than I look. I can truly do anything. I won’t pick and choose; I’ll do every single thing you task me with. Everything.’ I had even brought my resume along, hoping I might at least get an interview.
In his life, Seongheon had occasionally seen people who were quite desperate—those who reached a dead end where there was no visible path forward, their desires incredibly urgent.
‘You don’t have to pay me a salary. Just let me work. Please, don’t let my mother be erased from Domyeongjae like this.’
Someone else’s story was a matter outside his interest, less significant than the numbers in an accounting ledger. He had neither the time nor the reason to examine such trifles. Once the relationship and purpose were established, he handled things through cold calculation; there was no need to save those who were falling behind.
Countless people were discarded and replaced during the stages of leveling land and erecting buildings. There was only the bidding dictated by bloodthirsty competition and the subsequent stages of evaluation. How many bankrupt companies and jobless souls had he seen in such a process?
‘Please.’
Seongheon didn’t like the word ‘please.’ A request was merely begging from people who lacked calculation and had no intention of paying a reasonable price.
‘Please. I’m really begging you.’
However, it was strange. While the woman begged for a job as if her life depended on it, Seongheon’s gaze was entirely caught by the features filling her face.
It felt as if, with the clarity of a three-dimensional painting, her lips were moving vividly.
He had never bothered to gauge a woman’s age, so he couldn’t predict it, but there was a youthful essence in her eyes, clouded by deep anxiety, with nothing cluttered or impure mixed in.
There was no sign of a mature spirit that had weathered storms, no thought fully grown; she held a feeling—perhaps pure, perhaps clean—like a white sheet of paper without a single dot of ink.
‘I’m begging you without any regard for shame. I’m truly desperate.’
‘Go ahead and do it.’
The reason he accepted her plea was not for a touching or righteous cause, as the woman might have thought. It was the price of watching, for a little while, the face of a woman sitting there with trembling fingertips, fighting to prevent her family’s misfortune.
‘Thank you. I’ll work hard.’
Seongheon recalled the woman, sparing a brief moment, then raised an eyebrow. He cut off his thoughts, feeling it was a matter not worth pondering.
Living buried amidst the roar of heavy equipment, dust like fog, and laborers soaked in sweat—
Perhaps the woman, who looked like a deer listening to the sound of the wind, was simply unfamiliar to him. That must be why he found her memorable for a moment. That was how Seongheon wrapped up the morning’s events.
Knock, knock. Just as Seongheon was about to turn the first page of the documents, his secretary entered. Seongheon, seeing the man dressed neatly in a black suit, lowered his gaze back to the papers.
“The morning meeting will start in ten minutes. Considering the site conditions, let’s keep it short.”
“Yes, Managing Director. And here, the file you requested.”
As the secretary placed three or four files on the desk, Seongheon pushed aside his previous work and picked up the one the secretary had handed him.
His brow crinkled slightly. The scent of the secretary’s perfume lingering at the tip of his nose was bothersome.
“Managing Director. Representative Cha Gil-wook of Namsong Industrial Development is requesting an early meeting. How shall I handle it? They are the contractor for this pipeline construction.”
Seongheon gave the schedule a cursory glance.
“Let’s carve out some time in a week.”
“Yes. I will relay that.”
“And.”
The secretary, already halfway to the door, looked back.
“Yes?”
Seongheon opened his lips while scanning the Namsong Industrial Development evaluation report.
“It would be better if you wore a little less perfume.”
“……Ah.”
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit sensitive to scents.”
The novice secretary, who had followed him on a long-term assignment to Moksan-Gun, couldn’t hide his embarrassment. The note about ‘no perfume’ he had seen in the instructions suddenly flashed in his mind.
Ah. He had said he disliked the smell of perfume. I forgot.
“I apologize, Managing Director. I will be careful.”
The secretary quickly exited the office, already pulling off his suit jacket.
Seongheon, who had been rubbing his temples due to the heavy woody scent left behind, rose from his seat a moment later and pressed the intercom.
Seongheon disliked the smell of perfume. To be more precise, he was wary of things that approached him quickly without warning. He did not enjoy the feeling of being blindsided while in a defenseless state.
Regardless of the reason, things that approached quickly were dangerous—and fatal.
Because they infiltrated before one could even decide whether they liked them or not.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
—Yes, Managing Director.
Because I could neither escape nor reject them by my own will.
*
Ahead of her official start, Yeonwoo returned home to pack a few simple things.
It was not a smooth journey. Until the moment she caught a taxi and got off in front of her house, Yeonwoo scanned her surroundings several times.
As soon as she entered the house, she closed the suitcase she had brought and ran out. Yeonwoo, who got into the taxi that had waited for her, took deep breaths while clutching her luggage tightly, making the driver glance at her in the mirror.
“Where are you headed next?”
“Yes?”
“I said, where are you headed? You have to tell me so I can go.”
“Ah, the, the public health center.”
Confirming the destination, the taxi driver started the car again. The driver, who kept glancing at Yeonwoo as she clutched her bag like a sacred object and peered out the window, muttered while turning the steering wheel.
“Running away?”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. It’s broad daylight, so it’s not an elopement, and is your husband hitting you? Then you shouldn’t be going to the health center, but the police station.”
“It’s not like that. I’m not married.”
The taxi rolled down the alleyway.
“Anyway, those who hit women should all be dumped on Nanjido. Where is there even a place to hit? There’s an old saying not to hit even with a flower. What do you think that means? Doesn’t it mean to treat them preciously?”
Even though she said she was unmarried, the driver continued on, indulging in the typical meddling nature of Moksan-Gun.
Yeonwoo, who regained her composure bit by bit, explained the places she needed to stop by and said she would return to Domyeongjae at the end, leading the driver to chime in again.
“Didn’t you just come from Domyeongjae? That’s not a place just anyone can enter.”
“Yes. I’m going to work there. Actually, it’s my first day.”
“Oh my. First day? Well, what do you know. It’s a feast at Domyeongjae.”
As the driver sent well-wishes and welcomed the news, Yeonwoo finally gave a faint smile. After mixing the words ‘Domyeongjae’ and ‘work’ and saying them out loud, it finally began to feel real.
Ah. I’m really entering Domyeongjae.
“You’ve gotten a job at a good place, so please hang in there and work hard. My niece is a kindergarten teacher, and she goes to Domyeong Kindergarten. She’s been there a long time.”
“Yes.”
“Since nothing bad comes from places with ‘Domyeong’ in the name in Moksan-Gun, go and do well. If a spot opens up, let me know too.”
As the warm-hearted driver cracked a joke, Yeonwoo laughed a little louder. It was a laugh that had truly burst out for the first time in a long while.
“See, how good you look when you smile. Anyway, it takes about twenty minutes to get to the health center.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve already made my daily earnings thanks to you, young lady.”
The driver stopped at a signal for a moment and then started. Yeonwoo looked blankly out the window and let out a sigh of relief again.
There were many things to resolve before entering Domyeongjae. She had to stop by the health center to apply for a health certificate, cancel her mobile number, and take care of various small banking tasks.
Right. It’s okay. Nothing will happen now. The moment I enter Domyeongjae, I won’t come out into the world for a few months.
Suppressing her heart, which was swirling with irregularly mixed anxiety and relief, Yeonwoo organized her tasks.
It was just as they were entering the main road that a black sedan sped past Yeonwoo’s taxi and turned into the alley.
It was the person sent by Cha Yoonseok, who had come to find Yeonwoo.
*
When Yeonwoo returned to Domyeongjae, it was already time for the sunset to settle. When she entered the dormitory building provided for staff, Ja-Young welcomed her. Ja-Young was a woman who was close to Yeonwoo’s mother and a staff member who had worked at Domyeongjae for over ten years.
“Oh my. You’ve come well, Yeonwoo. I was really sad, thinking your mother was taking off her Domyeongjae uniform for good.”
“Yes, Auntie. Thank you so much for calling the house that day. I was so frantic I couldn’t even thank you properly.”
“No, it’s a good thing you happened to be home.”
“You were very surprised that day, weren’t you? Because Mom got hurt.”
“Don’t even mention it. I wondered what kind of pumpkin was rolling down the vines, but when I looked closely, it was your mother.”
As Ja-Young laughed while helping with Yeonwoo’s luggage, Yeonwoo laughed quietly along with her. Ja-Young, who guided Yeonwoo to the room her mother usually used, neatly arranged the ruffled bed sheets.
Yeonwoo, who had put down her luggage, stealthily looked around the room. The building, built in the 1960s, had undergone minor repairs, but since they were trying to preserve the exterior, it was inevitably in a shabby state.
“It’s very different from the main building, right? Since it was built a long time ago, it’s old, and it’s also terribly damp. You have to wake up and ventilate well.”
“Yes. I will ventilate well.”
When Yeonwoo laughed at her unique way of speaking, Ja-Young straightened her back.
“But is it okay to be away from your company for so long? Even if you’re helping your mother, you must have your own work.”
“Ah, work. It’s okay. I requested a long vacation.”
“The company gave you a long vacation? Your company?”
“Yes. They told me to rest well. As much as I want to.”
“What kind of company is that? At that point, isn’t it a soft forced resignation? Is the vacation unpaid, or paid? This is a very important issue, you know?”
When Yeonwoo just curled up the corners of her mouth in response, Ja-Young tapped her shoulder. She was worried about whether Yeonwoo would be able to endure the stern and heavy atmosphere of Domyeongjae.
“I don’t know if the meticulous Manager Moon will accept you well, but if she says something harsh, listen with one ear and let it out the other. Even if it isn’t Manager Moon, there’s another person who has Cheongyang chili seeds in their mouth, so keep that in mind. Understand?”
When Yeonwoo nodded, Ja-Young patted her back.
“Just think of it as becoming a palace maid who’s been brought in as the youngest for a while. That will be more comfortable for your heart.”
“Still, a palace maid and not a servant is manageable. I thought I might just be a servant.”
“A servant commutes. Their situation is a bit better than yours.”
“Ah, ah. That’s true.”
Telling her to cheer up anyway, Ja-Young let her know a few things to be careful of and stepped aside. Yeonwoo roughly unpacked her luggage, put her clothes in the wardrobe, and stood in front of the small window.
The room felt packed with just one bed and one wardrobe, but she didn’t feel cramped; instead, her heart felt ample.
Yeonwoo stood as if clinging to the window and breathed out deeply. How long had it been since she had breathed like this—without any anxiety, without fear?
I wish no one could find me, even if I lived here for the rest of my life. Yeonwoo looked outside, taking long breaths several times.
The blue colors of Mount Yeosong, spreading out far, surrounding the Domyeongjae main building, filled her gaze. A rare, natural smile hung on Yeonwoo’s lips. The deep green mountains and fields following the winding ridges made even her breathing comfortable.
The feast of spring flowers, vivid to the point of being unbelievable, added freshness, and the brilliant golden sunset spread as if it were racing.
“Mom, you lived while looking at something quite beautiful.”
Muttering quietly, Yeonwoo placed her hand on her thumping chest. Is the natural scenery this overwhelming, enough to make me want to cry? Perhaps she was relieved because the hiding place she had accidentally found was better than she thought.
It was when Yeonwoo, who had to live for some time breathing shallowly in a world of total gray, was taking a clear breath for the first time in a while. When the red sunset, the bright yellow azaleas, the rouge-colored azaleas—everything felt overwhelming.
Yeonwoo, who had inadvertently lowered her gaze, opened her eyes wide. At the same time, her heart beat heavily—thud, thud.
The courtyard, where spring flowers had just danced and passed by. Seongheon, who had returned to Domyeongjae after finishing work, was looking up at the dormitory.
To be precise, at the window where she was standing.