Chapter 3

　　Startled, Yiseo gasped and stumbled backward. He cut me off before I could even finish!

　　It was an act as rude and ill-mannered as his abrasive speech.

　　Yiseo stared at the gate blocking her path and let out a choked, disbelieving laugh. She impulsively reached for the keypad, but her hand froze in mid-air. Even if she stormed back inside in a fit of rage, she knew it was pointless.

　　A rational conversation was clearly impossible, let alone clearing up the misunderstanding.

　　Taegyeom Kwon was not just strange; he was deeply disturbed. And it was best to stay as far away from him as possible.

　　Yiseo exhaled slowly, trying to calm her ragged breathing. Her face was burning with humiliation. As she fanned herself, a loud splash echoed from over the wall.

　　She flinched, then glared at the stubbornly closed gate with a look of utter bewilderment. To slam the door in someone’s face and then just go for a leisurely swim. How utterly ridiculous.

　　She could perfectly picture him on the other side, slicing through the water. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen someone swim, but the image was seared into her memory with an unnerving intensity. His powerful shoulders and broad back rose from the water.

　　The elegant lines of his muscles would ripple with each stroke. His soaking wet black hair and his skin glistening in the sun. The vivid scene replayed in her mind, inevitably leading to that one, mortifying detail.

　　Yiseo shuddered violently and shook her head. Am I going crazy? What is wrong with me! Yiseo Hyeon, get a grip. The humiliating, obscene image from today had to be wiped clean from her mind.

　　As if fleeing from the splashing sounds that seemed to follow her, she hurried away.

* * *

　　"Oh, that’s enough! Leave it and go to your room!" A firm hand slapped Yiseo’s back just as she placed a rice bowl in the sink and reached for the rubber gloves. Matron Seosan, having smacked her back to get her attention, nudged her aside with her hip.

　　"Honestly, Yiseo, what do you know about washing dishes? Why are you always offering? Come here and finish your cinnamon punch, then go on to your room."The staff members still seated around the table gestured for her to join them.

　　Yiseo had no choice but to set down the gloves and return to the table. A bowl of Korean sweet cinnamon punch with two pine nuts floating on top was pushed in front of her.

　　"This cinnamon punch turned out perfect. It’s even better cold."

　　"Mr. Yoon said the young master used to love this when he was a boy."

　　"Really? I was wondering why we were having it all of a sudden. I guess that was why."

　　Manager Yoon was the longest-serving employee at the estate and was now in charge of the main house. While the live-in staff gathered for dinner, he had yet to return to the quarters, likely still busy at the main house. The non-residential staff had all left long ago.

　　The staff quarters were situated across the garden from the main house.

　　Standing at the sink and pulling on her gloves, Matron Seosan gazed at the main house through the long kitchen window. "It’s been over two weeks since the young master returned, but this is the first time all four of them have gathered together. When Manager Yoon heard they were having a family dinner, it must have reminded him of the old days, so he made it in a hurry."

　　"Good on him. It’s not like he could have had proper cinnamon punch in America. Maybe when the first Madam was still alive, but after he was left all alone over there, he probably never saw it again."

　　"Are you drunk on cinnamon punch? We have to be careful, even if it’s just us. What if someone hears you? You’ll be in serious trouble." Matron Seosan turned and waved her hands dismissively.

　　Realizing their indiscretion, the chattering staff members fell silent.

　　Yiseo, who had been sitting quietly amongst them, finished her drink and stood up.

　　"Thank you for the meal. I’m going to head back now."

　　"Alright, dear. Go on and get some rest. You did a great job today."

　　After bidding the others good night, Yiseo opened the side door and stepped out into the evening. The crisp night air, poised on the boundary between spring and summer, rushed to meet her. She inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled.

　　The feeling of fresh air filling her lungs caused the corners of her lips to relax. Her body ached with fatigue, but it was the pleasant exhaustion that comes after a hard day’s work, a feeling that spread through her as she headed home. The faint, sweet scent of cinnamon lingered on her breath.

　　A small, senseless chuckle escaped her. To think that man likes cinnamon punch. It doesn’t suit him at all. The thought was so incongruous it was almost comical.

　　A glass of strong liquor seemed a far better match for the strange eccentric in the annex than a sweet and spicy traditional drink.

　　Lost in thought, Yiseo suddenly glanced back. The lights of the main house were blazing. Did he actually go to dinner after kicking me out like that?

　　She shook her head. What does it matter to me whether he went or not? Listening to the staff gossip must have made her curious about all sorts of useless things.

　　Ever since Taegyeom had returned, he had become the hottest topic of conversation among the staff. From his vampiric habit of only venturing out at night and his bizarre, all-night parties, to endless speculation about the life he had led in America. Working here meant that stories about him were unavoidable; they happened to find their way to her ears.

　　He hadn’t always been the master of the annex. Before he left for America, he had lived in the main house. Of course, that was a lifetime ago, something Yiseo only knew from rumors. Apparently, he had returned to Korea intermittently over the past few years whenever Chairman Kwon summoned him.

　　But Yiseo had never once seen him. That was likely because after starting university, she had lived in the dorms in Songdo, a satellite city of Seoul, only returning to the estate on the rarest of occasions. Back then, the estate was a place she missed with a painful ache, yet simultaneously a place she never wanted to return to.

　　Yiseo walked along the edge of the vegetable patch, the air alive with the chirping of insects. The rich, earthy scent of the damp ground was fragrant. As she passed the glass greenhouse, a single, suspicious red ember pulsed in the darkness of the unlit interior.

　　Curiosity slowed her steps. She narrowed her eyes, trying to identify the source of the red light, when she felt as if she had locked eyes with someone inside. The flickering light arced downward, and she belatedly realized it was the cherry of a cigarette.

　　Yiseo stopped dead in her tracks, her gaze fixed on the greenhouse. Of all the places on this estate, why smoke in an enclosed space like that? It was baffling, and it bothered her.

　　The greenhouse contained many delicate plants that required special care. It was the gardener’s pride and joy. It was unbelievable that someone was smoking in there… she could vividly picture the old man turning pale with horror if he found out.

　　The smoke that had been obscuring her view slowly dissipated. The man exhaled a long stream of gray smoke with a soft huff, then brought the cigarette back to his lips.

　　It was the Kwon family’s second son, Jingyeom Kwon.

　　Twenty years ago, when the Chairman’s first wife left for America with their son Taegyeom, the current mistress, Jua Shin, had moved into the estate as if she had been waiting for the opportunity. A rising actress of only twenty at the time, she had arrived already heavily pregnant.

　　Jingyeom exhaled another long stream of smoke and flicked his hand at Yiseo. It was an ambiguous gesture, which could have meant come here or get lost. Deciding that getting involved was a bad idea, Yiseo chose to interpret it as the latter and turned away.

　　She had quickened her pace when she heard the click of a door opening behind her. Jingyeom’s voice rang out, sharp and loud.

　　"Hey. I said Come here."

　　Instead of responding, Yiseo glanced toward the main house. The lights were on in every first-floor window. Weren’t they supposed to be having a family dinner?

　　"What a funny girl."

　　She turned her head at the voice, which was now far too close, and found Jingyeom standing right beside her. Yiseo instinctively held her breath and took a step back. As if finding her reaction amusing, he let out a light snort and flicked his fingers with an air of annoyance.

　　"Hey, didn’t you hear me? I said, Come here."

　　The cigarette butt flew from his fingers in a long arc, landing on the garden curb. Yiseo frowned at the discarded butt.