Chapter 18: The Perfectionist

Then Min Seonwoo, with a smiling face, said:

‘Then Jinho-ssi, you’re fired.’

He shot back. Flabbergasted, I asked how that led to that conclusion, and he answered that he didn’t want an employee who couldn’t even dress properly.

Stung, I boldly declared that I’d just tie the damn knot properly then. At that, Min Seonwoo—who’d been sitting until then—rose from his chair and walked right up to me.

Having a large man tower over me from close range was intimidating. Min Seonwoo looked down expressionlessly at my hands, which were clumsily trying to undo the knot. I tried my damnedest to tie it neatly like he did, but dexterity I never had wasn’t about to appear out of nowhere.

In the end, it turned out just as messy as before. Min Seonwoo, who’d been quietly watching, said coldly:

‘Do it again.’

At that, I bit my lip, untied it, and tried again—when slap—his hand struck the back of mine.

‘Again.’

What followed was a repetition of slaps and “again.”

As time passed, I grew more nervous, and my hands trembled. The back of my right hand was already red and swollen. Though I kept my head down and couldn’t see his face, he was clearly furious—he showed no mercy.

Finally, when another sharp sting hit the back of my hand—beyond the numbness—I burst into tears. I felt wronged, frustrated, and a little scared.

Humiliated and pathetic, I kept my head down, biting my lip hard. After a few minutes of silence, Min Seonwoo sighed, released my hands—which had been gripping the strings tightly—and lowered them.

His large hands took the wrinkled strings and tied a neat knot. Then he lifted my chin, which had been glaring at the floor, so my face was turned toward him.

I didn’t want to meet his eyes, so I cast my gaze downward. Without a word, he used his thumb to wipe the tears streaming down my face, then spoke in a voice still firm but now carrying some warmth:

‘Look at me.’

I considered being stubborn, but not wanting to make things worse, I slowly looked up at him.

‘I don’t care about anything else—but I can’t tolerate things being out of order. So at least when you’re with me, fix it.’

A wave of sorrow surged up.

‘Hu—… but I, I don’t, huu—… know how…’

‘I know. I’m not asking for perfection. If you don’t know, I’ll teach you.’

I nodded. At that, Min Seonwoo’s expression softened. He raised his right hand and gently stroked the back of my hand.

‘Did it hurt?’

His speech had switched back to formal. After letting go of his soothing hand, he applied medicine. He held me in a tight embrace and patted my back until my crying stopped. When he confirmed I’d calmed down, he told me to rest and sent me back to the waiting room.

After that, whenever I was corrected, I fixed it immediately. And if I couldn’t do something, I just asked Min Seonwoo to do it for me.

“I’ll do the dishes, so leave them.”

“No—. It’s my job.”

“Your shift is already over. Give them to me.”

If I just listen well, he’ll even do the dishes for me—so I’ve got nothing to lose. Watching his back from the dining table chair had become quite familiar now.

After watching him do the dishes for a bit, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. Sure enough, as soon as I turned it on, it vibrated continuously. All of it was from Choi Taehyuk, without a doubt.

Just as expected—missed calls and messages, all with his name on them. This too had become routine. I quickly replied to his messages.

The content was similar every day—small things like what happened at work, or why I was running late again. You’d think it’d get boring, but it was actually quite fun. Imagining the huge Choi Taehyuk sending messages on a tiny phone, or saying all sorts of nagging things with a blank expression—it cracked me up.

“You must be really close friends, huh?”

“Huh?”

“No, you just looked really happy.”

Min Seonwoo had finished the dishes and was standing right in front of me. Is there anything he can’t do? He’d whipped through the dishes in no time.

Anyway—should I really call Choi Taehyuk a really close friend? I’d like to, but whether he thinks that way is uncertain… I just vaguely answered that the messages were funny and brushed it off.

I put my phone away and turned my head toward Min Seonwoo. His brown eyes looked darker than before. That was the look he gave when he was about to point something out. What is it? I haven’t done anything wrong… I asked cautiously:

“What is it?”

“…Nothing.”

He blinked once, and when I looked again, his face was back to normal.

Did I imagine it? It was a bit suspicious, but I let it slide.

Anyway—friends. Come to think of it, I’d never once talked about Chae Yeryeong with Min Seonwoo.

Everyone seemed to like that bastard quite a bit, and it felt unfair to only help Choi Taehyuk. Giving him a chance too might actually be better for Chae Yeryeong’s sake.

The problem was that unless Min Seonwoo showed some sign, I couldn’t give him information or create opportunities—and we’d never once talked about romance. Now that we’d built some rapport, maybe I should test the waters? I swallowed once and called out to Min Seonwoo, who was walking back toward the dining table.

“Um… hyung.”

“Yes?”

“Do you… by any chance, have someone you like?”

He’d been glancing at me while pouring water, presumably thirsty—but at my words, he stopped moving. Slowly setting down the water bottle, he tilted his head toward me and opened his mouth.

“Someone I like?”

His reaction, as if asking what kind of nonsense that was, made me think—ah, the natural approach is ruined—but since I’d already started, I decided to just go for it boldly.

“Yeah. You can tell me, it’s fine. I’ll be your counselor.”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

Yeah, even I would’ve asked that if I were him. It was too abrupt. Right. But what can I do—I just said it in my haste. Suppressing the creeping embarrassment, I put on my bold face again.

“Just curious. Do you or don’t you?”

“Hmm—. Well…”

Does he like a guy or something? I asked persistently, but only got vague answers.

If I’m asking this directly, what more do I need to say to get the answer I want? He couldn’t possibly not understand my clear words—he’d even interpreted my mumbling with a bitten tongue perfectly by reading context.

I didn’t expect him to answer right away, but now that he was evading, I was getting anxious. Ah, seriously, I know anyway—just spit it out! I’m trying to help you! If you keep this up, Choi Taehyuk or one of the others might snatch him up first, you know?

But it’s also hard to pretend not to know what I know. I was so frustrated with Min Seonwoo and his annoying answers that I felt like shouting that I already knew he liked Chae Yeryeong—my body was twisting with the urge. On the other hand, I also felt a little hurt that we weren’t close enough for him to open up.

“Forget it. I’m leaving.”

“You’re going already?”

“Yeah. I have cram school today. I need to go.”

“I’ll drive you.”

Min Seonwoo immediately picked up his car keys. It’s not even that far—no need to go out of his way. I’m a proper citizen who uses public transportation.

“I’m fine! I can go by myself.”

“…Are you going to call that person again while you go?”

An unexpected question came back. Call? Ah, he means Choi Taehyuk. As promised with Choi Taehyuk, I always call him whenever I’m moving somewhere. It’s not like we have anything important to talk about—just useless chatter—but it’s definitely thanks to him that I’m not scared of walking at night anymore.

I left Min Seonwoo behind, who’d followed me to the front door to see me off, and put on my shoes while nodding.

“Probably. We promised.”

All done! I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and stood up, turning toward Min Seonwoo. I bowed my head and said “See you tomorrow”—when my phone vibrated. It was Choi Taehyuk. In my haste, I glanced up—and saw the corners of a faintly smiling mouth.

“I’m going!”

Smiling back, I slipped through the open door quickly and put my earbuds in. Feeling the door hadn’t closed yet, I turned back to give another bow—but the timing was bad, and the door shut right away.

“Uh… Did I see that wrong?”

– What?

“Ah! Nothing.”

Through the gap, Min Seonwoo’s expression had looked blank… I must have imagined it.

The new housekeeper Jinho was, frankly, not at all Seonwoo’s type.

Seonwoo always had to be the best. In any domain, the choice given to him was only one: the best, the finest, the maximum. The environment he grew up in demanded perfection from him. Not that he disliked it or found it burdensome—even without others pushing him, he himself despised anything less than perfect.

Though he never felt the need to apply those standards to others, Seonwoo believed that he himself should be closer to perfection than anyone else. For him, his surroundings were always an advantage, never a disadvantage. His father, a chaebol among the top in the country—no, in the world—and his mother, a tenured professor of business at an Ivy League university. His older brother, set to inherit the company, a perfectionist no less than Seonwoo. And his two younger siblings, study-obsessed and eager to follow in their mother’s footsteps. Thanks to this, he was given perfect freedom—free from the burden of having to follow anyone’s path.

In other words, Seonwoo wasn’t a germophobe. Nor was he the tiresome type who imposed his perfectionism on others. Rather, he was quite lenient toward what others did. No—to be precise, he didn’t care either way. If they couldn’t do it, he’d just do it himself—that was his thinking.

Seonwoo enjoyed acting in accordance with others. He smiled because they liked smiling faces. He spoke gently because they liked gentle tones. He was considerate because they wanted consideration.

He found it adorable how quickly people would act smitten when he did that. These weren’t calculated actions—he did them because he genuinely enjoyed seeing those reactions.

So he believed that the version of himself that others saw was his true self. There was simply another side to him as well.

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