Living in that house was like living with a time bomb that could explode anytime and anywhere without any warning. And it would happen if Taeyeon didn’t act carefully enough or took a wrong step. Suzy, Yunho, and Jiyong. 

Each of them carried the key to her freedom. If one of them blew it up, she might lose everything she was striving to hold together.

And so, Taeyeon lived day by day on the alert. To deal with Suzy, she had honed her skill as a good actress. She had learned how to effortlessly put a blank and indifferent expression on her face whenever Jiyong’s around. Thank God Jiyong was so cooperative, even though sometimes he couldn’t control his manner. Just like that day, for example, when they passed each other in the corridor. Actually, Jiyong did nothing inappropriate, only whispering those three precious words. But those words and the way he said it somehow managed to turn Taeyeon’s cheeks to the color of long-stemmed red roses. And just as her luck would have it, Yunho came out from the corner at that moment. Luckily, she could think and act fast enough: she coughed hard -- pretending to catch cold or something -- just so Yunho wouldn’t be suspicious seeing her face so red, while that incorrigible Jiyong -- without showing any remorse for making her went through such thing -- walked away whistling.

Jiyong was one thing. But Suzy, the meanest time bomb, was entirely different thing. She was like a ghost that haunted her victim. 

Those first weeks, she had popped up everywhere, at every corner of the house. Sometimes Taeyeon thought that perhaps Jiyong’s mansion was not big enough. That would explain why she had always come across Suzy so easily. But with 20 rooms inside, not including yards and swimming pool, she knew that she couldn’t blame the house. It must be something to do with Suzy’s inner alarm or something.

But lately, the situation was actually getting better. Suzy didn’t watch Taeyeon as much as she had done before. Maybe because she got tired of it, or perhaps because Taeyeon could finally convince her that she still remembered their deal. Or maybe Suzy was watching her without her knowing. But whatever it was, Taeyeon had not intention to be careless. So much was at stake. So much she couldn’t afford to lose.

On the top of the list would be Jiyong. She had thought that freedom would be the one thing she had craved the most almost all of her life. But these weeks with Jiyong had taught her something else. He was the one thing she didn’t want to live without. Even though those intimate smiles of his could make her mind turned into mush, she craved it. She also loved the way he was looking at her, how he could make her felt gooey and warm inside, and how just being near him could make her felt exhilarated and energized, as if she was a battery that had just been freshly charged. She didn’t know how he could make her feel the way she did, but for whatever reason, she intended to stay there and enjoy it for now. At least until this feeling ran out its course.

She prayed it never would.

On the other hand, much to her satisfaction, Yunho didn’t seem to show much progress on his search either. Taeyeon had often seen him hanging around the house. Must be because there’s not much lead he had to follow, for she had counted that weeks had passed, and yet her true identity hadn’t been revealed yet. But that didn’t mean that she could become careless. She kept her eyes open and her breath held, figuratively speaking, for any sign of movement from his side. But it was all at peace. It’s not until another month had passed that she started to be able to take easier breaths.

What she didn’t know was that it was like the calm before the storm.

That morning Taeyeon was polishing silverware in the dining room. She heard Jiyong’s wonderful voice through the window. At first, Taeyeon tried to ignore it. Even when her heart yearned to join him in the fun, she kept dabbing the silver polisher on the spoons and forks and rubbed it until the silver shone like brand new. But after trying for ten long minutes, she couldn’t help herself but to walk closer to the window. She watched Jiyong playing catch with Satan near the swimming the pool, while her own two dogs were yapping and bulleting away when the water splashed too near for their comfort and then creeping back i