Chapter 12: The Black Suits

“Ah, yes.”

“I am Choi Santae, the head steward and overall manager of this estate. Please come inside. I will explain your duties starting tomorrow and the layout of the house.”

I stared intently at the white-haired, suited grandfather who led the way, guiding me through the house. He was exactly the image of a butler you’d see in a fairy tale—like I’d stepped into the Middle Ages.

His neatly swept-back white hair, his kind but not-to-be-underestimated features when he smiled, his black three-piece suit, his straight posture, his precise movements. The grandfather, who even appeared elegant, wore a faint smile and occasionally looked back at me as he kindly explained the house’s layout.

“Now that you understand the layout, I will explain the precautions and your duties.”

To summarize the guidance he gave: the elevator goes up to the fourth floor, but employees may only use it up to the third floor; certain areas on the first floor are the chairman and his wife’s private space, so do not enter; there is a main kitchen in the basement, but each floor has a small kitchen as well, so use the kitchen assigned to your floor as much as possible; and I would be responsible for all housework related to Min Seonwoo—cleaning, laundry, preparing snacks and meals, running errands, and so on.

I nodded to the grandfather, who had stopped walking and turned toward me, to show that I understood. He gave a slightly satisfied smile and continued.

“Currently residing in this estate are the chairman and his wife, the eldest young master, the second young master, the third young master, and the youngest young lady, who has a considerable age gap with the others. However, the chairman and his wife are currently overseas on a trip, the eldest young master is on a business trip abroad, and the third young master and the youngest young lady are studying abroad—so the only person actually staying here is the second young master. During working hours, when the young master is in the estate, you must remain on standby at all times in the waiting room adjacent to his room.”

At the mention of the waiting room, I recalled the room he’d shown me earlier. There was a small but neat desk with a computer and a chair, and next to it a comfortable-looking one-seater sofa. The unusual thing was a lamp-like object on the console beside the sofa. According to his explanation, when Min Seonwoo needed something, he would press a button, and that lamp would light up.

“Your working hours are 8 AM and 5 PM, respectively. You will have two days off per week, but the specific days will vary each week depending on the young master’s schedule and needs, and will be announced one week in advance. If you are unable to come due to personal circumstances, we would appreciate it if you could let us know at least a day in advance. Since this is a short-term position, your pay will be calculated on an hourly basis.”

I’d heard earlier that they typically sign one-year contracts here, and in those cases, pay is monthly. For a moment, I thought this was such an incredible job that I wanted to sign a long-term contract—but I shook my head and dismissed the thought. That’s not what’s important. Let’s not forget why I came here, Kim Jinho. Focus.

“Anything you experience, see, or receive—whether items or documents—during your employment here is strictly prohibited from being disclosed to anyone outside or shared with others. I understand you’ve already signed the employment contract and confidentiality agreement through the company, so I won’t repeat myself. Do you have any questions?”

“Uh… Ah, no.”

“Then you may leave for today. The file you’ll receive upon exiting contains the young master’s basic personal information, a detailed floor plan of the estate, a list of precautions, emergency contacts, and—in case of unforeseen circumstances—photos and names of other employees along with their areas of responsibility, all organized in document form. Please be sure to read it thoroughly at home. When you exit the front door, a guide I’ve stationed in advance will be holding the file. He will escort you to the main gate, so I’ll take my leave here. I look forward to working with you. Goodbye.”

“Ah, yes! Goodbye.”

By the time I came to my senses, I was already nearly home with a thick stack of files in hand. I was so surprised I couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten there. It seemed I’d been charmed by the grandfather’s calm, precise explanations.

A workplace so captivating that I almost forgot my purpose of getting close to Min Seonwoo. That was my first impression of Min Seonwoo’s house.

Every adult man has at least one suit in his closet. Unless you’re a body-type terrorist, it’s a magical garment that instantly boosts your sophistication the moment you put it on, and a grateful presence that lets you exude masculinity.

Whether for job interviews, making a move, formal occasions, or funerals—having just one of these neatly solves all your outfit concerns.

As versatile as they are, there are many designs—but honestly, a basic suit is enough. However, humans are creatures of progress who tend to avoid simplicity, so various designs with subtle differences tailored to different situations have been created. Still, the base is always black.

The butler grandfather at Min Seonwoo’s place wore a black three-piece suit. The tailcoat at a party is also black. The stylish but somehow playboy-looking two-button suit is black. The basic color of a suit coat is black. Black black black black black.

What I’m trying to say is: black suits are stylish, versatile, and just as common.

So the group of black suits that suddenly appeared in front of my sweet lovely house is absolutely nothing unusual.

There must be something happening around here. Maybe a big company was built nearby and they’re having an opening ceremony. Or maybe there’s some party happening. Or—and this is something I really don’t want to think about—a funeral.

It’s an example I really don’t want to think about, but they’re not gathered right in front of my house—they just stopped to chat while passing by, and it happens to be within a 1-meter radius of my front gate.

I clasped my trembling hands together and tried to calm myself with all sorts of thoughts. Those people are huddled together because they feel the cold. The ones looking around aren’t searching for anyone—they’re just shy and checking others’ reactions.

Right, that’s it. They’re such painfully shy people that they’re glaring at me with murderous eyes the moment they spot me, worried I might have overheard their secret conversation.

Thinking that, I barely managed to move my frozen, unresponsive foot one step backward. It’s nothing, Kim Jinho. That two-button suit-wearing playboy-looking bastard standing at the front like he’s the leader is definitely not walking toward me.

I quickly turned around. I bought groceries yesterday, but today I feel like eating meat, so I should go to the butcher shop. Just as I was about to quickly leave the spot, a firm hand landed on my shoulder.

“Excuse me…”

“UWAAAGHAAAGHAAAAMUHEORAAGHAAK!”

It felt like an emergency siren went off in my head.

Black suits, in front of my house, me walking along without a care. I’m going to die. No one’s going to help me again. A gu—, a gun. They’re going to pull out a gun. They’re going to shoot me. What do I do? How do I handle this? I died, so why am I alive? I want to live. I don’t want to die. Save me too, see me too. Rescue me too. No, no! Don’t look at me like I’m a burden!

“Hey—… Hey! Are you okay? Hello?!”

“What… did I do wrong.”

I didn’t do anything. I was just living quietly, trying not to stand out. No matter how shitty life got, I barely cried and never complained. I lived with a smile on my face—so why…? Why does this only happen to me? I didn’t do anything. Just leave me alone. Why is it always me?

My vision went dark. The voices shouting beside me sounded distant.

“Wha—… Why are you crying? Hey! Hello! Can you hear me?”

“…kill… me… black…”

“Huh? What are you saying? Hey!”

“Bla—… black suits… they’ll kill me… me, me, me…”

“Black suits? You’re acting like this because of these clothes… Damn it! Hey! Everyone, take off your jackets!”

“Yes, hyung-nim!”

Suddenly, my vision cleared a little. The black… was gone. No, not gone—reduced. Only then did I take in the situation. Someone leaned their face close to mine as I stood there blankly.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“…Huh?”

“Oh jeez—. ‘Huh?’ You’re asking me that? Do you have any idea what kind of state you’re in right now?”

“Wha—… Uh…?”

I was curled up, covering my ears with both hands. My face was a mess of tears and snot. Oh no, I didn’t actually make a sound, did I?

“So, my stray mutt ended up like this because of you bastards.”

Taehyuk was extremely angry right now. Because of Jinho’s reaction upon seeing the men in front of him—and because Jinho was currently in his arms.

“Stray mu—? Wait, it’s not exactly because of us—”

“Your bastard tapped his shoulder and he flinched so hard he collapsed to the ground. Then he covered his ears, muttered incomprehensible nonsense, and cried—you just said that yourself, didn’t you…?”

“That’s true, but how is that our fault!?”

Despite the man’s indignant cry, Taehyuk’s expression remained unchanged. He had no intention of listening to excuses from the start.

“Did you really need to approach someone whose face went white the moment he saw you?”

“No, but…!”

At this moment, the man wanted to grab his past self by the collar. He had reported to Taehyuk’s question in his usual manner—chronologically, very specifically, as he always did. He never dreamed it would come back as such a cold interrogation.

If he’d truly done something wrong, he was prepared to accept any reproach. But this wasn’t that.