MIM 10

After finishing his shower and getting dressed, more than 30 minutes had passed. Jae-seung sat alone at the large table, leisurely eating breakfast while casually chatting with those who kept refilling his milk and bringing him fruit.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, young master. Do you need anything else?”

“Some more milk, please.”

It wasn’t difficult to confirm through these brief exchanges that Shin-woo had gone out. The child who brought the milk even babbled about what Shin-woo had eaten for breakfast (inari sushi stuffed with tofu and chicken breast). Jae-seung finished his meal naturally, without showing any signs of being on edge, and even took the leisure to clear his own plates.

To ensure no one noticed that he had recovered part of his terrible memories, he left the mansion saying he was going for a walk and strolled through the garden at a leisurely pace. He greeted the gardener who was busy clearing weeds and lingered nearby, pretending it was just another ordinary day. He calculated his walking speed and direction while feigning nonchalance. As he walked around the large garage, he gradually moved out of sight of the employees.

Behind the garage, Shin-woo’s annex stood isolated like a remote island. Jae-seung double-checked that no one was around and quickened his pace.

The annex door was wide open, as if it didn’t matter what happened to it. The open door exuded a smell of neglect and danger. Although reluctant, Jae-seung stepped inside.

The interior was in even worse condition than the exterior.

The dining room and living room on the first floor were modest and utterly empty. All the furniture in the living room seemed to have been arranged by someone with no aesthetic sense, each piece clashing with the others. The sofa didn’t match the rocking chair by the window at all, and the awkwardly sized rug was the worst. The dining table was narrow, with only four chairs, and the refrigerator contained nothing but water and milk. Even the bananas in a small basket  had begun to turn brown.

It felt like an abandoned space. It was so devoid of human presence that it felt eerie. Was there a reason for neglecting only the annex while maintaining the mansion? The atmosphere here was so unfamiliar that Jae-seung wondered if it had been his father’s instruction.

“Even a dog wouldn’t be kept in a place like this.”

Jae-seung muttered to himself as he headed to the second floor. He was about to grab the stair railing but quickly withdrew his hand upon seeing the thick layer of dust. Living and eating in such a place every day – it must take quite a strong stomach, fitting for someone from Mangwol District.

There were five rooms on the second floor, but finding Shin-woo’s room wasn’t difficult. Except for the room at the very end, the doorknobs of all the other rooms were smashed.

It was a trace of deliberate destruction by someone. Given that they could have been repaired at any time but were left as is, Shin-woo might have damaged them himself. Or perhaps he didn’t care because they weren’t his room.

Jae-seung stood in front of the leftmost door, the only one intact. It was Shin-woo’s room.

The door was unlocked this time as well. It seemed like the doorknob had been smashed like the others and then replaced, but even that was loosely fitted, rattling when pulled. Jae-seung held his breath and carefully opened the door, stepping inside. The room was quiet and had a slightly musty smell.

“Shit… how can anyone live in a place like this?”

Jae-seung dusted off his hands and pinched his nose. The second-floor room was in even worse condition than the first floor. The old wallpaper was moldy and stained in places, and the few pieces of furniture were all damaged – broken and scratched. From the narrow, long wardrobe to the oversized table for the room’s size, and the worn-out bed, it looked like a space filled with furniture picked up from the street. Old, discarded items, each with a different owner and taste.

And in the middle of it all stood a large model house.

As Jae-seung approached, he could immediately recognize the model. It was a toy house made by assembling hundreds of tiny blocks no bigger than a fingernail. It was a toy from a famous brand – did he have a hobby of collecting such things? Jae-seung examined the model carefully.

Ironically, the toy house was in much better condition than the annex. Amidst the dirty piles of dust, only this toy house was clean. It had not only been frequently cleaned and maintained but even placed in a glass case for protection. Jae-seung searched around for a while, wondering if there might be other models, but couldn’t find anything else besides the house model.

Turning his gaze from the block house, Jae-seung began to thoroughly inspect the room. In the vase by the window was a single withered flower, dried and dead. The dresser was full of clothes, while the wardrobe was empty. Leftover packaging from disinfecting wipes lay strewn on the bedside table, probably items Shin-woo had brought over from his last place without discarding them.

Jae-seung sighed. He was about to curse at the lack of home training, but then held his tongue, realizing it wasn’t the right thing to say about someone who might never have been taught any.

At least the bedding smelled nice. The pillowcase was clean too. It seemed certain that Shin-woo slept here. Why did he insist on staying in this annex when there were plenty of rooms in the mansion? As Jae-seung felt around the bed, his fingertips touched something hard. There was a notebook under the pillow.

Without hesitation, as if he had every right, Jae-seung opened the notebook. Shin-woo. Shin-woo. Shin-woo. The first page was filled with the name scribbled multiple times. As Jae-seung was about to skim through it quickly, he noticed the three characters ‘Ma Shin-woo’ written small in the corner. While the other letters were pressed hard when written, ‘Ma Shin-woo’ was scribbled lightly, as if just the tip of the pen had touched the paper.

“…Ma Shin-woo?”

Jae-seung snorted. It seems he wanted to bear the Ma surname, not knowing his place. He had spouted insincere words about leaving if told to, but behind the scenes, he was harboring such sinister thoughts. While Jae-seung could generously understand his desire for wealth as a result of growing up poor, this was going way too far.

The next pages were filled with incomprehensible doodles and writings. There was even a page with a crooked self-portrait, as if he had tried to draw despite lacking talent. Jae-seung frowned as he flipped through the notebook without finding anything significant. A newspaper clipping was sticking out slightly from the edge of the notebook.

Jae-seung’s face hardened as he looked at the photo. In the picture was his father, smiling broadly. It seemed to be an ordinary photo taken with business associates, but what was peculiar was the bright red circle drawn over his head. The ink had seeped through the neck area, which was tattered as if it had been traced over multiple times with a marker.

Just then, Jae-seung sensed movement behind him.

Startled, he turned around, but the room’s desolate scene remained unchanged. Jae-seung quickly took a photo of the newspaper clipping with his phone, returned the notebook under the pillow, and left the room. He closed the door silently and walked towards the stairs with large, quiet strides.

Jae-seung, who had been practically running out, stopped abruptly at the front door. Someone was waiting for him at the entrance.

It was Butler Hwang. Upon spotting Jae-seung, he first surveyed the surroundings.

“Young master. What are you doing here?”

“This is my house too. Is there any reason I can’t look around?”

Although he had peeked into someone else’s room, as the owner of this mansion, he had no reason to feel guilty. Caught in the act, Jae-seung brazenly smirked as he descended the stairs. Butler Hwang hurriedly followed behind him as he left the annex.

“Shin-woo-nim asked that no one enter here.”

“Don’t speak so respectfully of that guy in front of me.”

Jae-seung retorted without slowing his pace. Calling him ‘Shin-woo-nim’ was a complete reversal of roles. While Jae-seung had been bedridden, Shin-woo must have replaced all the household staff, so they couldn’t help but be wary of him. The image of the photo with the bright red circle drawn over his father’s head flashed in his mind. He intended to find out in which article and when that photo had been published. If it was an article from before Shin-woo came to Maseong, it would mean his intentions for coming here were impure from the start.

“Young master.”

Butler Hwang’s breathing behind him was rough. There was no way the small, elderly man could keep up with Jae-seung’s nearly 190cm stride. Knowing this, Jae-seung still didn’t slow down. He was beyond angry, practically seething with rage.

“Huff… Young master! He’s your guardian, so I couldn’t address him casually, but there was no other intention.”

“I’m an adult now, so I don’t need a guardian or anything like that.”

“Please don’t antagonize him and act with patience. Rather than jumping to conclusions, carefully observe the situation.”

Concern was evident in Butler Hwang’s voice. It was even insulting that he seemed to worry about Jae-seung’s well-being just because he disliked one employee. Jae-seung rolled his eyes and stopped in his tracks. Butler Hwang bowed again, apologizing to Jae-seung’s back.

“I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you, young master…”

“What purpose did Father have for building such an ugly annex? It’s too shabby to be for guests. Or was it here since Grandfather’s time?”

Jae-seung cut him off, showing he didn’t want to hear any more. The annex was strange no matter how he looked at it. Only the bare minimum of necessary furniture was placed, and the atmosphere and colors were bleak. It was also incomprehensible that everything was left as is, whether mold grew on the wallpaper or doorknobs broke. If Shin-woo had issued a no-entry order, he was curious about the reason. What secret could be hidden in a place where even the doors weren’t locked?

“Some employees stayed in the annex according to your father’s instructions. I don’t know of any other purpose beyond that.”

Butler Hwang answered calmly. Some employees, huh. Jae-seung pondered deeply. Those who stayed in the annex with Shin-woo must have been in charge of the same kind of work. There was no way they would have housed employees who cooked, tended the garden, and cleaned alongside Shin-woo in the annex.