Last weekend.
I mentioned to my friends gathered in my room that I was thinking of meeting the chairwoman, Choi Na-kyung, in person. Sohee was my maid, so she spent the weekend in the same place. However, we had agreed that she wouldn’t do any maid duties on the weekend.
When I mentioned that having a minor work on the weekend might lead to her no longer being able to work here, Sohee immediately changed her tune, insisting on wearing her maid outfit even on weekends for some reason.
Now, she was wearing a large shirt and dolphin shorts instead of a maid outfit. She might think nothing of it, but I just couldn’t get used to that outfit. Of course, if I told her to wear something else, she would definitely just put on the maid outfit, so I decided not to say anything.
I couldn’t really object since she said she wanted to wear comfortable clothes while relaxing.
For the record, for some reason, her sleeping habit of snuggling next to me every morning had not changed. Thankfully, despite ‘just sleeping next to me,’ it wasn’t anything that caused major discomfort. But even if I tried to say something about her lack of caution, the fact that I myself was in a female body might make it hard for me to argue.
Waking up to find a girl in a loose shirt sleeping next to me was still a heavy burden though.
Speaking of morning, Sua was also still living in the mansion with us.
It had almost been a week, and I was worried about Sua, who still hadn’t returned home. When I asked if she contacted her parents, she replied, “I text them every day, so it’s fine.”
Not that fine, if you asked me.
That thought came up to my throat, but I held it back. I figured if I told her to go home, she would say ‘no’ with a resolute look.
…I felt I might need to meet Sua’s parents someday. But I shouldn’t worry them too much.
Even though she wasn’t staying in my mansion, Ha Neul had also been around.
Recently, Ha Neul hadn’t stayed over, but she would come to the mansion after school and stay until quite late. It wasn’t exactly midnight, but I was worried about her walking home alone at night. When I expressed that concern, she replied, “It’s fine because I’m going with Hye-in unnie.”
She answered that even though Yang Hye-in wasn’t beside her at the moment. Later, when I checked, it seemed that was indeed the case. After all, if she was close enough to call her ‘unnie,’ that meant they had spent some time together.
Or maybe Ha Neul was just using her charm to call her that… No, thinking about it, it’s odd for a high school girl to call her ‘Ms. Yang Hye-in.’ It’s not like they’re co-workers. Sua had never seen them interact, but Sohee seemed to comfortably call her ‘senpai,’ so perhaps there were just casual titles forming organically.
Anyway, it was nice to have someone who saw off a friend who came to our house every day. Even if nothing serious was happening right now, based on just my brief encounter with Choi Na-kyung, she seemed like a woman who could do something dangerous.
Later, when I casually mentioned to Nam Da-un, what I had heard might just be a ‘rumor.’ Choi Na-kyung was still a dangerous person in my opinion.
Even though it was just the two of us women, the fact that there was an adult accompanying us when it was dark guaranteed some level of safety.
And today, it seemed like she was definitely planning to stay the night. Ha Neul had arrived early on Saturday morning, with a bag full of stuff.
My daily routine, which had been tumbling in different directions for the past three weeks, was finally falling into place. I would say it’s something I could never have imagined if it were in my previous life, but the fact that I entered the body of a villainess and began to live that life was something unimaginable as well.
No, I had seen it on gaming streams, so maybe I could say I had at least imagined it to some extent.
…Well, anyhow.
Back to the main topic, when I said I would contact Choi Na-kyung, my two friends immediately showed worried reactions.
“…Are you really thinking of doing it? Why?”
Seeing my serious expression, Sohee seemed to think I was serious, asking with an intensely serious face. While leaning slightly towards me, Sohee sitting cross-legged on the bed revealed her chest, which had three buttons undone, making me flustered.
“…”
I glanced at Ha Neul. Out of the ‘two people showing concern,’ she didn’t belong. As if she knew I would bring that up, she was just silently looking at me.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Sua, who had been contemplating with a worried expression, cautiously spoke up.
“That person isn’t normal. If you meet her this time, something will definitely happen…”
Seeing Sua speak perhaps a bit desperately almost made my heart waver, but I shook my head.
“No, this is a necessary thing. For the future.”
“Why?”
Sohee peered intently at my face, questioning.
Her first impression resonated with that of a blonde-tanned high school girl, but the more I got to know her, the more I realized she had some pure traits. She even barged in wanting to be a maid all of a sudden and said she would return the favor since she got something to eat…
Thinking it over, maybe it’s not pure but just plain.
…Either way, because of that honesty and simplicity, when Sohee asked me something, it genuinely seemed like she was curious. That innocent face couldn’t be faked.
“…”
I glanced at Ha Neul again. She nodded slightly towards me.
After a small sigh, I said, “Actually, it’s because of my memories.”
““Memories?””
Both Sohee and Sua asked simultaneously in response to what I said.
*
Since I had heard through Ha Neul that the three of us read Ye Sara’s will, I was able to jump right into discussing my memories without further explanation.
I knew that ‘Ye Sara’ had attempted suicide, but I had no idea when or how. It seemed that at the point she attempted it, memories from further in the past had disappeared. However, seeing Choi Na-kyung’s face brought back some past emotions…
Thus, I sincerely believed that the way to recover my memories was by meeting Choi Na-kyung again.
Of course, I explained all of Ye Sara’s actions as my own actions.
The reactions from the two after hearing my story were quite contrasting.
“Um…”
Sohee crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and thought for a while before finally saying,
“If you say so, I guess there’s no helping it.”
“Since I’m your maid. If your master wants to go, I should go too, right?”
Then she said something somewhat awkward.
…Though she looked like a typical girl who might bully one otaku in a class, it was a bit funny that she sometimes spoke lines that seemed straight out of a comic.
When I chuckled, it was adorable to see her bewildered look while asking, “What, why?”
“I…”
After pondering for a moment, Sua grabbed my hand tightly and said,
“Yeah, I agree with that. Regardless of what thoughts or memories we have, Sara is still Sara.”
“…Right.”
Seeing Sua, who slightly flushed and held my hand with moist eyes, felt strangely embarrassing, and I averted my gaze.
Finally, I looked at Ha Neul once again. By that time, Ha Neul, who had been silently watching me, smiled brightly and nodded.
It was the same bright smile she had shown me that day.
*
What went wrong?
Where did it all start to go wrong?
Ever since that time, she had only been thinking of those questions.
Despite having many things to do, she was unable to get a grip on any work. Her thoughts strayed more to Sara than the tasks directly in front of her.
…It wasn’t all that far away. It was a distance that wouldn’t take an hour by car.
She could run to Sara at any time. If she wanted, she could hold Sara in her arms. She had set it up that way.
…But was it really ‘set up’?
“Haah…”
Letting out a long sigh, she placed the pen she had been holding down. The documents in front of her weren’t many. After all, not much paperwork needed to come up here and all unnecessary things were filtered out, narrowed down to the essentials. As the company was large, there were many competent subordinates, allowing her to somewhat manage without specialized economic education.
Of course, there had been quite a bit of noise in the beginning.
‘That incident’ remained a big weakness for her even now. Although it had been mistaken for an illness poor enough to make her image bad at first, it also meant that her opponent was absolutely terrified to just let it slide. However, if another major issue arose later on, it was certain someone would mention that story.
Thanks to that, she could keep flies buzzing around Sara away from her for a while.
…But at the very least, those suspicions had to be tidied up later.
Once sorted out, cracks would begin to appear in the protective shell surrounding Sara.
No, those cracks were already forming even now. Slowly but surely.
“…”
She had thought Sara had taken after her mother.
A poor woman trapped in a cage, merely staring out the window.
…Looking at her made her want to rush in and save her…
However, the hand she reached out was not Choi Na-kyung’s. Before she could even reach out, someone else already held her hand.
Holding hands, kissing, and then—
“…”
Choi Na-kyung brushed her face.
I miss you.
No matter how much time passed, she couldn’t forget.
Because of that, she wanted to love that child who resembled her.
“…How should I deal with this?”
Choi Na-kyung murmured.
If she could, she wanted to do the same thing that was done to her to those pesky intruders. But she was aware that was an unrealistic story.
Just by obtaining such a position without any clear connections, how many rumors had already spread around as if they were the truth?
If any one of those rumors became a reality, she would lose all the power she had until now.
And perhaps even Sara as well.
Vreee—
While she was lost in thought, her smartphone on the desk rang.
“…”
She moved her hand and picked up the phone.
The name displayed on the screen was ‘Mansion.’
Could something have happened?
While the dedicated staff were absent, she had instructed the other servants to keep a close watch on Sara. She had not received any reports during that time.
Which meant the intruder had finally begun to move.
She answered the call.
And the voice that came through the line was—
[Chairwoman, I hope you have been well all this time.]
At the very least, it was a voice that would definitely make her feel anything but well.
