HH | Prologue

The first impression the young man who came in with Chief Heo gave was, simply put, clean and bright. His white skin looked well cared for, and his face had a naturally smiling look, as if preserved in amber. The kindness that stood out most was enough to perfectly offset the faintly pitiable air around him. Madam Son liked him for that alone. For some reason, she felt fond of him.

“So, are you good at cleaning?”

Madam Son asked Eunil, the young man, right out of the blue. Eunil, who had been waiting for a chance to introduce himself, widened his clear eyes in fluster, and Madam Son’s expression turned into the look of someone seeing a cute grandson. Of course, with those sharp eyes, no one else would have thought so.

Come to think of it, maybe he was about the same age gap as her first grandson. Madam Son held out a hand toward Chief Heo. Chief Heo, as if he’d been waiting for it, handed over the file containing the resume, and Madam Son skimmed through it absently.

“24 years old?”

“Yes. I took leave early and worked part-time until enlistment. I was discharged in March, and I plan to return to school for the second semester. I needed a three-month short-term part-time job badly, and the posting happened to go up right on time, so I applied.”

She liked that he had a clean impression and that he could rattle off everything on his own. Madam Son’s eyes lit up as she examined Eunil from head to toe, and Eunil, instead, thought he might actually get turned away. The old lady’s expression was that hard to read.

Eunil needed a part-time job. He had taken leave from school and worked nonstop before enlistment, and he had even saved diligently the pay he received from the military, but the balance in his account still fell short of what he expected. He could probably get through one semester for now, but if he factored in living expenses too, he couldn’t be sure about the next.

He hurriedly started looking for work. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to find part-time jobs tutoring and at a cafe near his home. But then the cafe job ended before he could even make it through three months. Who knew the owner would end up wanted for gambling.

That left him with a whole half-day suddenly empty. With no other choice but manual labor, he spent several dawns out in the cold morning air. Then, one day, on the part-time job site he habitually checked, he saw a newly posted recruitment ad for a helper. On a part-time job site mostly used by college students, a helper job… It was unfamiliar, so he clicked on it with curiosity.

48-pyeong town house

Cleaning, laundry, basic duties (excluding kitchen work)

Looking for someone to work short-term for 3 months

5 days a week, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pay: 3 million won after tax

However, young men only.

He first wondered what kind of unbelievably shiny cleaning they wanted that they were looking for a strong man. At first, that was the only fundamental question he had. After all, when people thought of a helper, it was usually seen as the exclusive domain of women. Then, little by little, his chest swelled. Because it started to feel like a part-time job made just for him.

The pay was good, it was exactly a three-month short-term job, and above all, if he only had to work until 3 p.m., he could even take another part-time job. By that point, Eunil felt like he’d struck gold.

Having taken care of the household on his own since childhood because of his parents’ divorce, Eunil had become a model of locker organization even in the military. His tiny 8-pyeong studio apartment looked clean despite its shabby exterior, so much so that friends who came over were always surprised, but it was all thanks to the fact that he scrubbed and wiped it diligently himself.

For Eunil, who was naturally hardworking and liked cleanliness, cleaning wasn’t something he did grudgingly. Whenever he experienced the way a filthy space could become bright and clear, it felt like his own mood brightened with it too. If someone like him didn’t do a helper job, then who would? Eunil sent in his resume within minutes of the job posting going up.

The side that had posted the ad seemed to be in quite a hurry too, because he received a call less than a full day after submitting his resume. He was told to come in for an interview the next day, and unexpectedly, it was at the UK Chemical headquarters. That company had recently been all over the economic news because of a merger with a world-renowned secondary battery company.

“It’s not that we’re looking for a helper for my house. Here, the UK Chemical president is the youngest son of the UK Group.”

Madam Son held up three fingers while gesturing toward the luxurious interior. It seemed she meant the third son. Eunil let out a small, “Ah…” and answered, “Yes.” The place he was going into as a helper did not seem ordinary at all. Sensing Eunil’s intimidated mood, Madam Son added, as if reading his mind.

“Ah, but don’t feel too burdened by it. Our boy isn’t that picky. As long as there aren’t any handprints or moisture…”

Even as she said that, Madam Son’s expression was more displeased than ever. The truth was she wanted her son to hurry up and get married, helper or no helper.

At thirty-four, it was about time. His older brothers had married and settled down long before that age. But the one remaining son was obsessed only with work, and now he was saying that after three months he would leave Korea too, to set up a French branch.

If that was the case, why not at least come live in the main house for the remaining time? That heartless child had even gotten used to living alone and refused that too. And yet the house had to shine without a single handprint in sight, so there was no way they could do without a helper.

“Dogs and cows alike got greedy and tried to throw themselves at him, but if it’s a man, that won’t happen. That alone is enough to put my mind at ease.”

A helper. Haah, just thinking about it made Madam Son shudder. It had barely been a year since she came back after ending her life in America, and this would already be her third helper.

Young or old, it didn’t matter, they all came charging in, and she didn’t know whether she should blame her outstanding son or what. But she also couldn’t keep bringing women into a bachelor’s house when they were practically saying, come eat me alive. So there was no other way. She had no choice but to hire a male helper.

Madam Son looked over the young man sitting quietly and receiving her gaze with calm courage once more. The several scratches on the back of his white hand and the knobby joints suggested that, despite how neat he looked, he hadn’t lived a life of delicate work. His face didn’t seem the type to swing between joy and sorrow either, and he didn’t look especially vulnerable to stress.

Above all, she liked his neat clothes. The shirt with its faded stripes was clearly worn, but both the cuffs and the collar were clean. Most of all, the young man smelled good. She thought it was the kind of soft, clean scent that suited someone like him.

Madam Son suddenly held out her hand. Eunil, a little stunned, quickly took it.

“Let’s get along well. I… like you, Eunil.”

“Ah… thank you. I… like it too.”

Eunil smiled faintly, his face relieved, and joked. The words could have sounded cheeky, but coming from the young man, they somehow only felt familiar to Madam Son. That seemed to be another one of his strengths, the way he gently, subtly, made people loosen up before they even noticed. Madam Son laughed out loud for the first time since coming in today.

“I’m glad you like it. I hope you keep liking it while you’re working here.”

At Madam Son’s joking response, Eunil smiled brightly. The lines of Madam Son’s narrow eyes grew even narrower. Setting everything else aside, just that sunlit smile made her regret the granddaughter she didn’t have.

“Do your best starting tomorrow.”

One way or another, he was a helper. Madam Son gestured toward Chief Heo. Chief Heo, who had stood beside Madam Son with an impeccable posture, went to the work desk, took out a sheet of paper, and handed it to Eunil. The words came from Chief Heo instead.

“It’s the employment contract.”

Eunil wrote down the date and his name, then carefully asked whether there was anything else he should pay attention to. About the president. At the clearly pointed, unfinished question, Madam Son rested her elbow on the armrest of the high-quality sofa and rubbed her fingertips together.

Well… what a difficult son. Heartless, cold, impossible to read, the kind of person who left you feeling uneasy for no clear reason. Not once had he willingly come close to show affection, nor had he ever acted spoiled. A boy who had been an adult since childhood. Always the chilly one. Because he was like that, she wondered whether there was even anything he could lean on in a helper. He only had to clean until everything shone bright, and that would be that.

Madam Son snorted and flicked up the end of her chin.

“Not much. He doesn’t care about the affairs of the world, so what would he bother himself with? Just make sure you clean well.”

After Eunil finished signing, he handed the papers back.

And just like that, he became an official helper.