NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5
Yang Hye-in wasn’t just a housekeeper who had been serving Sara since her childhood. Graduating from a prestigious university with excellent grades, she was originally set to join a company under the Eugene Group. True to the power of the Eugene Group, which held the reins of the South Korean corporate world, the company she was supposed to enter was also a large conglomerate.
However, on her first day of work, her life took a complete turn when an HR staff member approached her with a request to become the housekeeper for the chairwoman’s adopted daughter.
He added that there would be no repercussions for refusing.
But if she accepted, building a career within the company would be impossible. After all, her position would be “housekeeper,” and it wouldn’t be useful experience when she eventually left for another job. Given that she would need to tend to the emotionally unstable “young lady” 24/7, taking vacations on time was out of the question, and she would have to constantly speak politely and use honorifics with the much younger “young lady.”
Having just graduated from a good university and entered a big company, her self-esteem was high, making the proposal far from appealing. No, it was such a bizarre offer that she couldn’t even guess why it was being made to her.
However, that thought flew out the window the moment she read the contract offered by the HR staff member.
There was an amount written down that she could never earn in a year.
Not even in a year, perhaps not even in five or ten years’ worth of work. That sum was casually presented as her “annual salary.”
“This is not an offer made to just anyone,” the staff said, observing the trembling Yang Hye-in as she read the contract.
“As someone who will see the young lady’s private life firsthand, you will, of course, have to sign a confidentiality agreement. Additionally, there will be proper etiquette training before you begin your role as the housekeeper. Most importantly, you will need the ability to support the young lady wherever she goes and ensure she can handle anyone she meets.”
That was why we chose you, said the HR staff member.
“…….”
In the end, Yang Hye-in accepted the offer.
*
When she began her new job, tension high, she thought that maybe she was luckier than she had expected. The “young lady” she was in charge of turned out to be much quieter and more obedient than anticipated. If there was a schedule for something, she would never refuse. If asked to go somewhere, she would go; if told to eat, she would eat; if suggested to rest, she would rest.
Since they were offering a massive amount of money, she initially pictured a spoiled child throwing her weight around, lacking any manners, much like the rich kids in the news who would bully their drivers or housekeepers. But Sara, the girl she was assigned to, was a stark contrast to such children.
Additionally, because of her calm nature, Sara’s cute appearance became even more pronounced. For the first few weeks, Yang Hye-in was grateful for her good fortune.
However, as weeks turned into months, she began to notice something strange. Sara, the girl, had no desires.
Typically, children that age would have things they wanted—places to go, food to eat, things to have—but she expressed none of these needs. If no one asked her to do something, she wouldn’t do anything. Her only hobby seemed to be writing something in her notebook from time to time, and she never ventured outside the mansion.
Was she unusually emotionally detached?
No, it was not that.
The longer she spent time with Sara, the more Yang Hye-in noticed the details of the environment surrounding the girl. Living in this enormous mansion, no one except the hired staff ever visited.
Forget about Sara’s relatives; even her stepmother had never come to see her once.
The staff, aside from Yang Hye-in, never spoke to Sara. And Sara, as if it were perfectly normal, never engaged with them either. The mansion was almost always enveloped in silence.
The chairwoman of the Eugene Group, what could she possibly be so busy with? No matter what happened to Sara, not once did she come to see her. Not even for observation sessions at school. Not when Sara suddenly had a high fever. Not even on Sara’s birthday would she make a call. It was almost as if there was a scheduled check-up a few times a year, and otherwise, she rarely made contact.
Oh, speaking of calls, there were occasional ones. Once, Sara was so ill she had to skip school. That afternoon, the chairwoman called.
“I’m disappointed.”
That was all there was to the conversation.
“……I’m sorry, Mother.”
That was all Sara replied.
After the call ended and Yang Hye-in set her smartphone aside, she could hear Sara sobbing outside the door for a while.
It was then that Yang Hye-in realized that Sara’s calmness didn’t stem merely from her personality.
Sara was isolated from the world.
Very meticulously, most connections to the outside world were cut off from her.
This gigantic mansion didn’t even have a single ordinary TV. There was a computer, but it was restricted from use unless necessary. Sara’s smartphone was a rule that it should always remain with Yang Hye-in.
It wasn’t that Sara didn’t go outside; it was that she couldn’t go outside. When Yang Hye-in discovered the staff instructions for when Sara might wish to go out, she was horrified.
The food Sara ate was always prepared with the finest ingredients, but they never considered what she wanted. The reason Sara didn’t express her wishes was that she had learned that there was no one to fulfill them, and thus gave up. The same applied to her desires for clothing, places to go, and everything else.
Unable to do anything, she was in an extremely lethargic state.
That was how Yang Hye-in perceived Ye Sara’s true self.
Ironically, the only connection tying Sara to the outside world was her only family, chairwoman Choi Na-kyung.
Whenever she visited the mansion quarterly, as if checking on a broken doll, she showed her adoptive daughter minimal affection.
“Sara, come here.”
When she extended her palm upward and said that, Sara would rush over and rub her face against her hand, looking like a dog waiting for its owner. Calling her “Mother.”
……It was a chilling sight.
Watching that unfold, Yang Hye-in shivered involuntarily.
Only then did she start to understand the mysterious environment surrounding Sara and how it had come to be.
*
Because Yang Hye-in had witnessed such scenes, the recent changes in Sara’s behavior felt exceptionally strange.
One day, Sara suddenly screamed and fainted, and upon arriving at the hospital, Yang Hye-in saw bruises on the girl’s back that she had never seen before. Despite watching her daily, she had no idea when those injuries occurred.
The doctor suspected domestic violence and, with the hospital security team he called, Yang Hye-in found herself being pushed out of the emergency room, lost in thought for a while.
It was indeed true that Sara had met Choi Na-kyung the day before. However, Choi Na-kyung would never lay a finger on Sara. She merely played with her for about 15 minutes, as if to convey that she was the only one capable of loving her. Yang Hye-in had watched this close-up, so she knew very well that Sara could not have sustained such injuries from that encounter.
So, then, could it be someone within the mansion……?
No. Yang Hye-in shook her head once more.
She was the only one with the authority to enter Sara’s room. The door would lock automatically if closed, and to open it from the outside, one had to input a passcode or use a registered fingerprint. In fact, this was meant to prevent anyone from recklessly approaching Sara rather than for her safety. But, irrespective of that, it ensured that Sara was indeed safe from the people inside the mansion.
Though the quiet lock was designed to avoid making noise when inputting a passcode or fingerprint, Yang Hye-in was the only person privy to that passcode. She hadn’t disclosed it to anyone. Therefore, no one could sneak into her room and harm her.
Moreover, should someone have done such a thing, the culprit could be swiftly identified by reviewing the CCTV records. The video from the mansion’s surveillance cameras was stored in a decentralized manner across multiple PCs to prevent anyone from deleting it recklessly. This meant it could not be easily erased.
Originally, the cameras were installed for dubious reasons to monitor a child, so if the data were deleted, it would lead to police investigations instead. If someone deleted the data first, that would merely serve as evidence that they’d committed something far more disgraceful than merely spying on a child.
And the chairwoman would most likely never forgive someone like that. Everyone working in the mansion knew this.
In this place where close proximity to the law meant the threat of violence, and where money triumphed over muscle, there existed plenty of money in the chairwoman’s hands.
All those who worked in this mansion were not just random hires. They were prideful individuals who, like Yang Hye-in, had been bought with large sums of money to be collected here. No one would casually give up the option to work here, let alone throw away their future.
Therefore, Yang Hye-in concluded that the injuries on Sara’s body were self-inflicted.
Her decision came swiftly. She promptly took out her phone and called the security team.
*
……With all these factors converging, she initially pondered that perhaps Sara had completely shattered.
Talking about odd things like “status windows,” or suddenly addressing Yang Hye-in directly.
Normally, Yang Hye-in would initiate conversation first; Sara would just nod her head or respond shortly.
Seeing her self-harm to the point that her back turned blue and suddenly screaming at night would make anyone think that way.
However, these past two months, Sara had been vibrant.
“It’s time to go back after finishing the meal, right?”
The last time, when Yoon Da-ho spoke, she had merely kept her head down and said nothing. Now, after eating alone, she “requested” this of Yang Hye-in.
“Yes, chairwoman.”
For the first time, she used that word instead of “Mother” when talking to the chairwoman.
“I thought we wouldn’t take any pictures today, but thanks to you, we did. Thank you.”
She smiled as she said that.
Despite Yang Hye-in having stayed by Sara’s side for about three years, she couldn’t grasp what had transformed her so drastically.
Although she had no clue—
One thing was certain: that change could never be regarded as negative.