Her knees were numb.
The balls of her feet, supporting her weight, throbbed—they must have been bright red by now.
She could have shifted, but she maintained a perfectly straight posture.
The summons from the Lee family had come this morning.
She had headed to Yangundang the moment she got the call.
Delaying a summons from the main house was unthinkable, but this one felt more ominous than usual.
Like an herbivore sensing danger, she moved with caution.
Her eyes were respectfully lowered, and she didn’t move a muscle, determined not to show any weakness.
‘Class must have already started…’
She had arrived at the estate at dawn and entered the reception room at eight, after the family had eaten breakfast.
‘Is it around noon?’
Sunlight filtered through the latticed door.
Judging by the brightness, it had to be.
The thought of the time made her knees throb anew.
Her thin eyelids trembled.
She bit the inside of her lip, soothing her knees, which were screaming in silent protest.
‘Why did they call for me?
So suddenly.’
It wasn’t that she had no idea…
The sound of a page turning echoed rhythmically.
She stealthily raised her eyes.
At the edge of her vision was a foot in a white traditional sock.
An old man, sitting leisurely cross-legged, was turning the pages of an old book.
He was the elder of the Lee family, Heonhyeon Lee, the honorary chairman of the leading construction company, Yangwoo.
“How is Doha?”
It was the first thing he had said after the brief command to sit.
Dana forced a sound from her throat, which had gone dry after hours of silence.
“He is attending school diligently.”
The moment she finished, something small and hard flew through the air and struck her forehead.
The pain was so dizzying that her mind went blank.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a teacup rolling on the floor.
It hadn’t drawn blood, but it stung and throbbed, causing tears to well in her eyes.
Before she could even touch her forehead, a frosty reprimand fell upon her.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Dana held her breath, not daring to speak.
“I heard Doha hurt his finger.”
The image of Jeonghyeon Jeong’s weasel-like face flashed through her mind, his eyes glinting slyly as he tried to dig up information.
‘That bastard…’
“I paid your expensive tuition and sent you to university because Doha wanted it, and because I wanted you to at least be educated enough to be his conversation partner.”
She remained silent, knowing any excuse would be futile.
“But you were so busy with your own trivial life that you neglected him?”
Dana’s lips clamped shut, unspoken protests rising within her.
But she obediently relaxed and listened quietly.
As she remained submissive, Chairman Lee savored the tea he had poured into a new cup.
His lips, holding the rich aroma, moved drily.
“Last time, you couldn’t even stop him from fighting with that brat from the Park family.”
The unspoken protests inside her burned more fiercely.
‘I can’t stop Doha when he’s being stubborn.’
Doha was a rational person, not one to be swayed by others.
But he was particularly unyielding when it came to anything related to Mujin Park.
It was a training session between Espers, and his opponent was Mujin.
Doha wouldn’t have listened to anyone, let alone her.
Besides, she had been in class.
But explaining that now would be useless.
She was Doha’s whipping girl.
Even though she was older now, that hadn’t changed.
To the elders of the main house, all of Doha’s faults were her responsibility.
Dana prostrated herself, pressing her body to the floor until her nose almost touched the wooden planks.
“I will correct my ways.”
The Chairman rebuked her with his eyes.
“You must not forget your place.
Who was it that saved you when you were fated to be killed by a demon beast?”
“It was the Young Master, Doha.”
“Correct.
You must not forget that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m glad you seem to have learned your lesson.
Still, you must be punished for your negligence.” His voice had become benevolent, but Dana only grew more tense.
“Begin.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
As she remained frozen, he taunted her.
“Are you going to take all day?”
Taking a short breath, she slammed her forehead onto the floor.
‘Thud!’
“Young Master, thank you for saving me.”
“Louder.”
She lifted her head higher than before.
‘Thud!’
“Young Master, thank you!”
The spot where the teacup had hit her swelled again, her head throbbing as if it would split, but Dana slammed her forehead against the floor as if she felt no pain.
The old chairman watched her full-bodied display of repentance with a merciless face.
‘Thud!’
“Young Master, thank you.”
“Doha is still young.
He doesn’t know how to handle black-haired beasts.”
‘Thud!’
“Young Master, thank you!”
“I am making sure you don’t forget your place and your duty.”
“Young Master, thank you…!”
“Remember.
Your life exists for Doha,” Heonhyeon Lee stated.
Blood began to stain the hard wooden floor.
Just as her mind was growing hazy, the old man’s gentle voice pierced her ear.
“Dana.”
“Y-yes, sir.” Her head was spinning, and she barely managed to answer, her words slurred.
“Is Doha precious to you?”
“He is.”
“How much?”
“More precious than my own life.”
It wasn’t a lie uttered to escape the situation.
The answer had come out without thinking, entirely sincere.
Doha was her savior, the one who had pulled her from a hell of corpses and demon beast gore.
In her dazed consciousness, her brain rattling, she asked herself: ‘If you took him away from me—the family’s servant, slave, Contaminant—what would be left of me?’
Just a disgusting, trash-like body with purple eyes.
‘A net negative, actually.’
Everything the adults said was right.
Her deceased parents had called her a precious treasure, but even they wouldn’t say that to the person she was now.
“Enough.”
Her head, which had been moving like a pendulum, stopped.
She blinked, her vision blurry.
Her brain felt shaken, and her forehead was excessively hot.
“Keep your distance from Doha for the time being.”
The Chairman’s voice sounded distant.
Understanding his words felt like a threat to her very life.
“What do you mean…”
“Are you continuing with the ‘refining’?”
He called guiding ‘refining’.
A growing sense of dread filled her as she replied that she was.
The savory aroma of more tea being poured spread through the air.
“The old sayings are never wrong.
A black-haired beast is hard to trust, so one must not forget proper discipline.
And a husband and wife must share a blanket to live long and happily, so they should keep their bodies close.”
That was his philosophy.
He took care of his employees so they wouldn’t feel neglected but strictly corrected their mistakes.
He never allowed his son and daughter-in-law to have separate rooms, which was why President Lee and his wife, despite each having their own lovers, always shared a room at the main house.
Dana could never understand the point of keeping bodies close when their hearts were not.
“Traditionally, men and women should not even be in the same room unless they are promised in marriage.
But Doha was born a hero, so he is an exception.
I know that you have been receiving his vigor and affection.”
The Chairman’s dim gaze swept over her from head to toe, as if checking the value of a product he was forced to use.
Dana, who had once worn her status as Doha’s Guide like a shield, felt a hot flush of shame.
“When bodies are close, the heart tends to follow.
Doha cares for you, too.”
She was too stunned to speak.
“I’m not scolding you for that,” he muttered, then got to the point.
“The daughter of the Hwang family is returning this year.”
Dana’s mind raced, but the throbbing pain made it creak and groan.
‘What does that mean?’
A chill ran down her prostrated back.
“From the day I first saw that child, I marked her as Doha’s partner.”
A cold dread washed over Dana.
“A concubine does not occupy the main chamber before the wife has even entered.
It should not be so.”
She listened, feeling as if he were shoving his voice directly into her brain.
“Doha doesn’t know yet.
It’s a woman’s affair, so his mother should be the one to tell him, but I’m taking precautions in case that inflexible child acts up.” He spoke in a softer voice than before.
“I won’t tell you to leave his side.
His mother would have.
But I believe you are necessary to him.
Weren’t you the one who looked after him when the Hwang’s girl was not around?
I hope you will continue to play that role well.”
She couldn’t find the words to reply.
She finally understood.
Yeonhwa was returning to Korea, and this time, the Chairman intended to marry her to Doha.
Until then, Dana was not to do anything that would invite gossip.
A scandal about him fooling around with another woman before his marriage could not be allowed to spread.
‘But I won’t abandon you.
As long as you know your place and act accordingly.’
Yes.
That’s what he meant.
“Do you understand?”
What else could she say?
She simply bowed her head deeper.
Her palms stung.
Warm sunlight shone down on her as she left the reception room.
She opened her hands.
The marks from her fingernails were clearly imprinted on her palms.
Suddenly dizzy, she staggered and grabbed a wooden pillar, standing still for a moment.
As she focused on the rough, cold texture, the vertigo subsided a little.
“Keep your distance from Doha for the time being.”
She chewed on her lip.
A moment later, she pushed herself off the pillar and put on her shoes.
As she stepped down from the stone stoop, she felt a sensation like an insect’s antenna brushing against her body.
Lifting her head, her eyes met with someone who had been watching her.
It was a man in a pitch-black suit, like a crow.
Here, where traditional ‘hanbok’ was the norm, his attire stood out like a sore thumb.
She averted her gaze and walked toward the parking lot, having no intention of staying at the estate without Doha.