Over and over again, I contemplated Lady Kim’s proposition for nearly three days and yet,  my mind was still where it started; completely blank.

I couldn’t count how many times I’d pinched myself, believing that the whole conversation was just a dream.

I didn’t know whether to take it as seriously or as a joke at the fact that I was being offered a husband and an empire all at the same time. I also did not know what got me more nervous; the thought of being someone’s wife or the thought of being someone’s boss when I have been the lowest of the low for the entirety of  my life.

My life before the Park Mansion was merely a complete blur to me. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten, more like I wanted it to be forgotten. I’d been part of the lower class the minute my mother birthed me, surely the chairman could see my complete incapability. Maybe she was completely being absurd and just making rash decisions? Had the Chairman thought this through? I decided that the idea was incredibly impossible and I wish she hadn’t put this much confusion in my brain.

The clanging of silverware pulls me from my troubled thoughts as I enter the massiveness of the kitchen, and I suddenly become aware of the flurry in front of me. I’d just finished helping Mr. Yoon fix the rose bushes near the grand entrance and I was absolutely in dire need of a nap. I brush off the bits of thorns stuck to my dark wash jeans as I step into the mess of maids scurrying like mice around the kitchen, rushing to get the endless list of preparations for dinner ready. There, in the middle of all the chaos, stood my beautiful mother, directing the chefs and maids to the tasks that needed to get done. She looks absolutely radiant even when she was the busiest woman on earth.

“Yeeun-ah, bring the carrots over there, Jin-ah, make sure the shrimp are salted and cooked perfectly please,” my mother gestures the sous chefs towards the stove as she glances at the clipboard in her hand.

My mother loves her job as a mom as much as she loves being the head maid of the mansion. It was a tough task to be the person to ensure all was well and functioning and tasks were done in a proper manner. The lines under her eyes were more defined than usual and that proved all the hard work she’s put in her job. She looks more exhausted than she has ever been in her life and I didn’t blame her for it.

It was busier than the usual typical week at the mansion and maybe the fact that the  Chairman made it extremely clear to everyone about her plans of finding an heir was the reason as to why everyone has been on their toes, including my mother.

Today was the busiest Friday I’d ever witnessed in the mansion because today was the day the young masters were expected to come home. All week, the younger maids had swooned and giggled, excited for the young masters to finally live in the mansion. The thought only made me more sick.

“Morning, Yuri-ah,” Head Chef Han smiles at me as he strains the pasta at the sink. I smile and wave enthusiastically and a stream of hello’s and hi’s from the sous chefs and maids are thrown at me as I approach my mother.

“Yuri-ah, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Ms. Choi needs help with the young master’s quarters. Do me a favor and help her please?” My mother pats my shoulder, not even making eye contact with me as she rushes past me to get the fridge to pull out a hand full of eggplants. I smile as I watch her, remembering that there was never a time in my life where I didn’t watch her try to take on everything by herself.

“Fine,” I groan in response and the chefs chuckle as I lazily wave bye and walk out of the kitchen.

Walking to the east wing, I wave a quick hello to the people cleaning the chandelier, the ladies changing the curtains in the foyer, and also the maintenance scrubbing the steps of the staircase. It was the only day in the year, next to Christmas, I’d ever seen every person who worked at the mansion all working at once and the thought of seeing everyone of them made me quite happy.

When I got to the east wing of the mansion, I could already hear Ms. Choi yelling at the other maids for gossiping and I couldn’t help but giggle. This was her daily routine and it never gets old.

“Oh, Yuri-ah! There you are! Thank god! Do you think you can help Jimin clean that last room down the hall? The young masters are about to arrive soon,” she pleads as she frantically folds a dirty comforter and stuffing it into the supply cart. Her round figure and chubby face only made it harder for me to not say no, although working with Jimin was the last thing