Dong-sun pulled out his brown luggage bag packed with all his male clothes, leaving the female ones behind. His modestly downcast eyes darted at her who was unaffected about his departure. She opened the door and led him out of her apartment without a trace of penitence.
"Do you have to do this?" he pleaded as he snatched her wrist after pressing the button to close the elevator.
"Of course. You breached the contract, so we're over."
"Let me correct you. We breached the contract. If you pushed me away, we could've prevented it from happening."
She grabbed her hand from him.
"Are you blaming me? If you haven't done such a stupid thing first, we wouldn't be arguing about this now."
His brows drew together.
"Stupid? If it was an act of foolishness for you, for me it was..."
His tongue ran out of words to say. Even he didn't know how to describe his feelings.
"What? Love?"
She faked a chuckle.
"Please don't tell me it was love."
His face turned grim as he stepped closer to her.
"What if it was?"
Her eyes gazed straight into his like blades pricked through his heart.
"Then make it stop. It's not my job to make you feel special."
His jaws tightened.
"Sounds easy. But I can't stop just because you say so. I am not a machine."
The door of the elevator opened, and she went out in a rush. He followed her until they reached the highway.
"I'll stop from here," she said.
"Where am I supposed to go?"
"At a sauna or a hotel. I have already given you your salary and a bonus. I think it's enough to start anew."
"You are abandoning me just like that?" he whispered.
A shining yellow Ferrari SF90 spider made their heads turn as its tires reflected on the sun, delivering the smell of leather. It halted in front of them and the window went down, revealing Daewon's pleasant vibe.
"Hey, I can help you with that," Daewon said.
"What do you mean?" Dong-sun asked.
"Reside with me and be my assistant."
Dong-sun's eyes squinted.
"I will not leak a word of your secret to anyone if you'll accept my offer," Daewon added.
His words incapacitated him for a moment. Daewon stepped out, took a grip of his luggage, and placed it in the vehicle's boot. They preoccupied Dong-sun with gushing thoughts when he went inside the car. He didn't bother to throw a glimpse at her and stared blankly at the passing sidewalk.
After a few minutes of curves and twirls, they arrived at Daewon's mansion. It has a total floor area of 386.39 square meters and is three stories high. The style has a modern design with a view of square-shaped rooms and a metallic interior motif.
The first floor comprises Daewon's bedroom, dressing room, a terrace, and a music room. Two guest rooms, a kitchen, living room, and toilet are on the second floor. The third floor is his personal space, which has his office where he writes and stays most of the time. Beside it, is the playroom and the theater.
"This is your room."
Daewon brought him to a colored gray door with a label 'Guest Room 01' and handed him some keys.
"These are the keys to my mansion and your room."
"Okay."
"Give me your phone number so I can call you when I need to."
Dong-sun dialed his digits on Daewon's phone.
"I'll wait for your call," Dong-sun said and closed the door of his room.
He slumped on the soft bed with a neat white sheet.
"I am a stray cat with nowhere else to go, trapped inside a vast house not knowing how my new owner would treat me. I am a ghost pretending to be alive in a queer world."
He laid his head on his hands.
"But why did he take me when he's mad at me? Oh my, is he going to assassinate me and hide my body in this enormous house?"
He pulled the blanket up to his neck with a fretful facial expression.
"Or is he going to torture and slaughter me like a feeble animal?"
He shook his head before his dark imaginations could crawl up to his brain.
"There must be a good reason for this. Daewon is not the wicked type, isn't he?"
He gulped, convincing himself not to stay in fright. It startled him when his phone rang like a loud bomb.
"It's me. I want you to cook for lunch," Daewon said.
"Alright."
He prepared his things and walked through the corridor towards the fancy kitchen.
"Am I Siri or Alexa to him? One thing is similar about her and him. They think I'm a robot," he mumbled.
He opened the fridge and found some ingredients perfect for Hoedeokk (sweet syrupy pancake), Seolleongtang (ox bone soup), and Bulgogi. He wore an apron and began his ritual. An hour passed by when he finished preparing everything and called Daewon but he wasn't answering his phone. So he went upstairs and knocked on his office.
"Come in."
A bunch of shelves filled with hundreds of books greeted him. The smell of old pages inside the colossal library hurried through his lungs. There were also cabinets with trophies and awards on them owned by Daewon from his primary level up to present as a best-selling author.
"Lunch is served."
"I'll be right there. You can eat ahead."
Dong-sun turned his back and muffled, "He hates me indeed."
He was about to take his exit when Daewon spoke.
"Wait. Please sit down before that. I'll orient you to your responsibilities as my assistant. Also, sign this contract."
Daewon handed him the contract with three pages.
"You are going to follow me anywhere I go unless I say not to. Those are the times when you'll either stay at home or do some errands for me. You'll also be my secretary."
"May I ask why don't you have some maids in this mansion? Why are you all by yourself?"
Daewon intertwined his fingers.
"Because I've been firing my employees who don't do their job well. You came right in time to handle my slumber. One more thing, I enjoy isolating myself so I can write in peace."
"Oh."
Dong-sun nodded.
"I don't need lots of people. Your skills amazed Youngsoo, so I believe you alone can do a great job."
Dong-sun signed the contract. He paused when he found a suspicious clause in the contract.
"It says here I'll do everything you'll say. Is this necessary?"
"Of course. It's your role."
"As in everything?"
"Everything."