Chapter 64

They supported Sara, whose legs seemed to have lost all strength, and brought her to the room.

Fortunately, the door lock properly recognized Sara’s fingerprint.

After opening the locked door, they brought her inside and sat her on the bed.

The maid, who always followed Sara around, was nowhere to be seen.

Since they couldn’t just leave Sara sitting weakly on the bed after entering the room, Yoo Ha-neul, Lee Soo-ah, and Shin So-hee worked together to change Sara’s clothes.

Perhaps it was because of Sara’s condition, but they didn’t think much of it.

They were simply worried about her.

After changing Sara into her pajamas and lying her down on the bed, the three of them awkwardly stood there for a moment.

But no one came into the room.

That was understandable.

They were told that the only people who could enter this room besides Sara were the maid and the chairwoman.

It was something to be expected, given that the maid was nowhere to be seen.

“…It seems like we should leave for today.”

In truth, Yoo Ha-neul wanted to stay by Sara’s side.

She assumed Shin So-hee and Lee Soo-ah felt the same.

However, the atmosphere didn’t allow for it.

Sara, who was lying in bed looking up at Yoo Ha-neul, appeared to desperately want to be alone.

Sara quietly nodded in response to Yoo Ha-neul’s words.

Yoo Ha-neul, Shin So-hee, and Lee Soo-ah exchanged glances and gave Sara a small goodbye.

“See you on Monday.”

“Yes, take care on your way home.”

Sara muttered softly in response.

The three of them hesitated a little before leaving Sara’s room.

Beep.

The door lock clicked shut.

…That sound triggered many thoughts.

Yes, Sara would always come out to the front gate to see them off when the three of them left the mansion.

Now, that locked door cannot be opened until Sara opens it again.

“…Let’s go.”

Who knows how long they had stood there in a daze.

Yoo Ha-neul was the first to speak.

As she began to walk, the other two followed her.

Even as they walked down the hallway and descended the stairs, none of them spoke.

They were each lost in their own thoughts.

Yoo Ha-neul could easily guess that all of those thoughts were about Sara.

This mansion was unnecessarily large, so it took a while to reach the entrance.

Fortunately, or maybe not, it seemed the rest of the staff, aside from the personal maid, were still around.

Two of the staff standing by the large doors of the mansion opened them for them.

They continued walking in silence.

The path through the wide front yard toward the main gate felt unusually long.

Even though Sara wasn’t with them, it still felt like something was missing.

They passed through the main gate.

Crossing that threshold made the stagnant air feel as if it started to move again.

Outside, people walked and chatted all around us.

The atmosphere was completely different from the stillness inside the mansion.

Only now did they start to get a glimpse of what Sara’s life had been like until now.

They had thought they understood, but they were completely wrong.

All they had imagined was just a tiny fraction of Sara’s life.

Beneath it, far deeper, lay a cold, cruel reality that had frozen her heart.

“…”

‘What should I say?’

Yoo Ha-neul’s mind was so full of thoughts that she couldn’t think of how to say goodbye to her friends.

As she hesitated for a moment—

“Excuse me.”

Someone called out to them.

A young woman dressed in a sharp women’s suit stood before them.

Beside her was a small suitcase.

…It was the same person who had been wearing a maid’s uniform not too long ago.

“Um…”

When Yoo Ha-neul hesitated and fumbled for words, the woman gave a slight bow and spoke.

“I’m Yang Hye-in, until just recently, I was Miss Ye Sara’s personal maid.”

“Yes…”

The words “until just recently” suggested she no longer held that position.

Shin So-hee and Lee Soo-ah turned to look at her as well.

Yang Hye-in glanced at the three of them in turn before speaking calmly.

“May I have a moment of your time?”

*

After confirming that the three had left, I quickly got up.

It seemed that my strength had returned.

Thank goodness.

I pushed the blanket aside and hurriedly got out of bed.

I went straight to Ye Sara’s desk.

One of the few records Sara had left behind.

Though the records were short, they contained Sara’s thoughts.

Reading them now, after I had come to understand Sara a little more, would surely feel different from the first time I read them.

Perhaps now, I could finally understand Sara’s thoughts.

If I was lucky, maybe Sara’s memories would resurface—

But when I opened the third drawer, all I found was a single notebook lying inside.

There was no letter or medicine bottle.

“…Oh.”

I stood there, staring blankly at the drawer for a long time, before finally resting my head against it, drained of strength.

Ah, I see.

This wasn’t a place where I could come and go freely.

Unless it was during the holidays or weekends, this room was empty for long periods of time.

The cleaning maid could have entered.

…She could have opened the desk drawers.

Until now, I had naively assumed that nothing would be touched, but I had been wrong.

No, this wasn’t the time to dwell on this.

Although the chairwoman had temporarily backed off, I didn’t know how things would turn out in the future.

Yang Hye-in’s reaction earlier flashed through my mind.

She had avoided making eye contact with me.

She seemed awkward and uncomfortable, unlike her usual self.

If she had read the letter, her reaction made sense.

I stood up.

Had she given the letter to the chairwoman?

Or did she still have it?

Judging by the chairwoman’s lack of reaction, it didn’t seem like she had received the letter yet.

She was the kind of woman who wouldn’t stay silent after reading something like that.

I opened the door and stepped outside.

Even though I was still in my pajamas, it didn’t matter.

I wasn’t planning on going outside anyway.

I had always been someone who stayed within this mansion.

But I couldn’t find Yang Hye-in that day.

*

Perhaps because it was the weekend, most cafes were packed with people.

After entering and exiting several well-known franchise cafes due to a lack of seats, they eventually ended up at the small café we had visited last time with Sara, tucked away in a quiet alley.

‘Did Yang Hye-in know this?’

Yoo Ha-neul thought that she must have.

After all, she was part of the family that had tormented Sara.

It wouldn’t be strange if they had someone following them.

They sat across from each other with a cup of coffee in front of each of them.

Though unintentional, the way they sat around the round table made it seem as though Yang Hye-in was facing all three of them alone.

However, Yang Hye-in didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.

“What is it you’d like to talk about?”

Yoo Ha-neul tried to keep her voice neutral as she asked.

“It’s about Miss Ye Sara.”

Despite having quit her position as a maid, Yang Hye-in’s manner of speaking was still formal and polite.

“…What about her?”

“Before I begin, may I ask you a question?”

Yang Hye-in’s voice remained calm and composed.

“What do you all think of Miss Sara? How do you feel about her?”

The three of them exchanged glances at the somewhat sudden question.

“…I think of her as my closest friend.”

Yoo Ha-neul’s answer was cautious.

Of course, calling someone your closest friend was never a light statement.

It meant they were your one and only among all friends.

But at the same time, it was something you could say to any friend.

There was something more hidden beneath those words, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to express it fully.

After all, she wasn’t even certain herself whether those feelings were truly ‘that kind’ of feeling.

“I want to be like Sara.”

That was Lee Soo-ah’s answer.

Of course, she didn’t mean she wanted to be a bird trapped in a cage.

Quite the opposite.

In her eyes, Sara was someone who had opened the cage and soared freely into the sky.

“I like her.”

Lastly, Shin So-hee gave her answer.

She was honest and direct about her feelings.

“I’d like to marry her.”

Her expression was nonchalant, with her chin resting on her hand.

At a glance, it could seem like a thoughtless or sarcastic comment.

But anyone who knew her actions so far would see it differently.

For her, it was too natural of a fact to be something to hide or shyly confess.

Yoo Ha-neul admired that about her.

“I see…”

Yang Hye-in fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Then, how far would you be willing to go for her?”

“…”

None of them answered.

It wasn’t that the question was difficult to answer.

It was simply that the answer was obvious.

Yang Hye-in seemed to sense the mood and didn’t wait for a reply.

Instead, she pulled something out from her pocket.

It was a white envelope.

‘Was she about to bribe us to leave Sara?’

That’s what Yoo Ha-neul thought, until she noticed the torn edge of the envelope.

On the front, it was addressed “To Mother”.

“Would you mind reading this?”

Yang Hye-in placed the letter on the table.

“…”

They hesitated for a moment, glancing at one another.

In the end, Yoo Ha-neul picked it up.

The envelope didn’t seem particularly fancy for a letter brought by someone who had worked for the richest person in the country.

The letter inside was equally plain—thin, unadorned stationery that could be found at any local store.

But the content of the letter was anything but ordinary.

“Oh.”

After reading the first few lines, Yoo Ha-neul murmured in disbelief.

Her expression hardened as she continued reading.

“…”

The other two quickly moved closer to read along with her.

Although they hadn’t read the letter themselves, the fact that it had been brought by Yang Hye-in, along with her previous words, made it easy for them to guess who the letter was related to.

“…”

Even after reading, their reactions mirrored Yoo Ha-neul’s.

Their faces stiffened, and they remained silent.

The contents of the letter had left all three of them in shock.