Hazardous Concentration Chapter 40

In truth, he had guessed that Eunhoo’s situation was quite difficult. Eunhoo was unaware, but at the beginning, the owner had been hesitant to hire him, thinking he looked like someone with a complicated backstory. However, the manager and the chef had wanted to keep him because his eyes looked clear and he seemed to have tenacity. In reality, he worked very hard. Furthermore, they thought it was fortunate that he got along well with the other staff members.

The owner, too, softened as Eunhoo worked quite well; since Eunhoo had nowhere to go, he provided various benefits, such as allowing him to stay at the restaurant.

But this time, when the manager heard the news of his mother’s surgery and asked the other staff, he was slightly surprised that no one knew about his situation. He had worked there for over a year, yet they knew so little.

“Well, it’s my fault, too. I should have paid attention sooner.”

To the manager who spoke while clicking his tongue, Eunhoo barely managed to regain his composure and asked,

“Um, Manager, about my mother… how on earth did you find out?”

Eunhoo couldn’t help but ask. He was dying to know how the manager knew about something he had never mentioned once.

“Pardon?”

“I’m not trying to question you; I’m just really curious. I’ve never told anyone, so I’m surprised you know so well….”

A moment ago, the manager had asked why he hadn’t said anything, but Eunhoo’s thoughts were different. Complaining to others didn’t improve his predicament, and in the end, bad news always returned as a weakness.

Eunhoo hadn’t been like this from the beginning. Of course, given his basic temperament, he hadn’t been one to blabber to everyone, but he had been more open-minded than he was now.

Not long after his first part-time job ended in misery, Eunhoo immediately started a second one. And there, he became rapidly close to an older brother (hyung).

At first, he felt a bit burdened. As someone who liked to observe people at a leisurely pace before getting close, Eunhoo thought this man, who had suddenly lunged into his life, didn’t suit him. However, as he continued to spend time with him and observe him, he could feel that the man was simply a good-natured person with a lot of compassion.

When others happened to find out about Eunhoo’s situation, they looked at him through tinted glasses, but this hyung shared in the heartache of Eunhoo’s circumstances. Eunhoo, already weary, thought he had gained a hyung he could rely on, so he gave his trust away more easily than usual.

But from when did it start? The man began to habitually refer to Eunhoo as a “pitiful kid,” treating him lightly.

‘I’m not asking to sleep with you for free. I’ll pay you. I’m paying a price.’

At these unbelievable words, Eunhoo was so shocked he couldn’t say anything. The man’s glistening eyes were filled with sinister desire.

‘Hy, hyung, why are you like this?’

To Eunhoo, who asked again because he couldn’t believe it, the man shouted as if he were annoyed.

‘Why? It’s about helping each other out. In fact, didn’t you secretly want this too? Otherwise, how does it make sense for you to look at someone, huh? Looking at people with moist, wet eyes every day?’

‘Hyung!’

He didn’t know what kind of looks he was supposedly giving. He was simply too hurt by the betrayal. Putting aside the owner, this hyung was a grateful person he had trusted and relied on next to his family.

‘Were you this kind of person, Hyung?’

‘What about me! To be blunt, the owner of the place you worked at before was the same. In fact, didn’t you seduce him?’

At the words turning a terrifying experience into his own fault, Eunhoo felt his heart turn cold. It must have been evident in his expression. The man shouted, turning the tables on him.

‘How can you look at someone as if they’re trash?! I was thinking about giving a little charity to a pitiful kid. Fuck, forget it!’

That was the first time he realized that his misfortune could become a weakness for others to emotionally manipulate him.

Ever since then, Eunhoo didn’t talk about himself even if he became reasonably close to people. Yet, was it still obvious? There were those who expressed interest, claiming they could “feel a story” in his eyes. Fearing that he would be misunderstood as leaving room for others to take advantage, Eunhoo became even more cautious.

That was why, even after being hired at [Songrim], he hid his personal life as much as possible. Of course, not entirely. He had mentioned very briefly that his mother was a bit unwell, as he had to ask for understanding several times because of her. But he had never told anyone the details.

“Ah, that? I was contacted by someone claiming to be your aunt this morning. She said she was contacting me on your behalf because you were too busy with your mother’s work.”

At the manager’s words, Eunhoo frowned.

An aunt? There was such a person, but hadn’t their ties been completely severed a while ago?

Unable to understand at all, he asked, “My aunt?” and the manager nodded, saying yes. Eunhoo’s expression hardened further.

“That’s impossible.”

A caregiver briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly concluded that wasn’t it either. Not only was there no reason for her to do so, but the most important fact was that the caregiver didn’t know where he worked.

As Eunhoo continued to tilt his head in confusion, the manager spoke up.

“What was her name again? She said her name was Yoon something….”

As the manager continued, Eunhoo’s confusion only intensified.

Several hours had passed since Eunhoo vanished from the mansion. Butler Yoon was gathering the servants on the first floor of the main house and reiterating her warnings.

“Keep this in mind. No matter what you see in this house, just let it pass.”

Although they had signed confidentiality agreements when hired, human lips weren’t trustworthy, so Butler Yoon made them memorize this every day.

“And the same goes for the guest you saw today. Do not try to find out, and do not be curious.”

Eunhoo thought he hadn’t run into a single person while leaving the house, but a few servants had seen him leaving as if he were fleeing.

“Lastly, I will be cleaning the second floor by myself for the time being, so no one is to go up.”

“Yes.”

All nineteen servants replied to Butler Yoon in unison. There were twenty servants in total, including Butler Yoon. Two of them were gardeners, and the rest were in charge of household chores like cleaning, laundry, and meals.

At first glance, one might wonder if that many servants were necessary, but even this was a massive reduction. A few years ago, the number of mansion staff alone exceeded forty. As Chairman Yeo fell into a coma and was hospitalized, and even the second young master left to study abroad, the personnel were drastically downsized.

The current master of the mansion, Yeo Taejun, usually left at dawn and returned at midnight, and eight out of ten meals were taken outside. Consequently, the work for the servants in the mansion naturally decreased, and their numbers dropped accordingly.

“When cleaning the first floor, try to make as little noise as possible and finish quickly.”

“Yes.”

Once Butler Yoon finished her instructions and dismissed them, they dispersed as if they had been waiting for the signal.

Left alone, Butler Yoon scanned the spacious first floor living room once before heading to the second floor. The second floor felt completely different from the first, which exuded an oriental atmosphere with its black and cream interior, lattice doors, and pottery. With its uniquely shaped lighting and cold-toned colors, the sense of chill was much stronger.

She headed straight to the study. It was to perform the cleaning she had been putting off. She stepped inside to ventilate the room first, then paused. The interior was much messier than she had thought. Sheets of paper were scattered in all directions, fallen under the desk, and water bottles were rolling around in various places.

While sweeping and mopping the room with the cleaning tools she had brought, Butler Yoon didn’t show it on the outside, but she thought it was extraordinary. She had worked in this house for nearly thirty years and had seen all sorts of things, but Yeo Taejun had been truly unfathomable since he was young. He had changed as he grew up, but when his mother was alive, he was a child who smiled often. Though there was always a cold side to him, however slight. Anyway, his smiling face was so lovely that not only the servants but even the guests who visited the house would go out of their way to give him whatever they could.

The Chairman and the late Madame were both truly beautiful people, but Yeo Taejun was beyond that. It was amazing how he had picked and inherited only the best traits from both his mother and father; he boasted a breathtaking appearance from a young age.

Yeo Taejun became a different person after his mother passed away. First, his facial expressions disappeared, and later, he would only pull up the corners of his mouth when he smiled.