Everything was blurry and fuzzy for Hyeyoon by the time the medical team arrived. Her head was spinning with thoughts of her father and her aunt. It could have been just seconds to an hour, Hyeyoon couldn't tell, but a lot was happening all at once. The only thing she could think about was "my aunt's going to die just like dad".

An emergency medical officer knelt beside her and tried talking to her but she couldn't hear a single word he said. She felt him put on various medical equipment on her while he continued to try to calm her down.

"I'm going to inject you with some medicine," he said to Hyeyoon.

Hyeyoon felt a sharp prick on her shoulder then fell asleep.

 

 

 

She woke up an hour later in an emergency room. A nurse who happened to pass by Hyeyoon's bed noticed she was awake. The nurse approached her and helped her sit up.

“Where’s my sister and my aunt?” she asks, her voice cracking. 

Hyeyoon feels weird, like she’s half asleep and half awake. Her brain feels foggy and sluggish.

“You mean patient Han Mihyang? She's with your guardian two beds away, she's just waiting to be transferred to her ward," the nurse tells her. 

Hyeyoon tries to stand up from bed but she wobbles and nearly loses her balance. The nurse stops her and tells her to lie back down.

“You had a very bad panic attack miss. You were given medicine that calms you down so you're going to feel sleepy and odd for a couple of hours."

So that's why she feels so strange. The nurse assists her back down on the bed. Hyeyoon's eyes immediately close as soon as her head hit the pillow. She felt the nurse putting the blanket on her before she falls asleep. That was the first time Hyeyoon has slept well for almost a year.

 

 

 

The days she spent in the hospital went by like a blur. Hyeyoon was extremely relieved that her aunt was going to be okay and had just fainted from fatigue. But her aunt had to be admitted in the hospital for a week because they found out she had pneumonia. Hyeyoon took care of her aunt while her older sister came by after work.

Hyeyoon was glad that her aunt was her usual cheerful self but she hated being in the hospital. The doctors would come in about twice a day and nurses came in nearly every hour. She didn't like talking to any of them because she thinks all they bring is bad news. Hyerim was the only one who talked with the doctor while Hyeyoon tried her best to block out their conversation.

If her older sister wasn’t there, Hyeyoon wouldn't know how she would manage. Plus, being in the hospital made it even more difficult for Hyeyoon to fall asleep. She wishes she had that calming medicine all the time so she could sleep soundly.

To Hyeyoon's relief, Hyerim didn't bring up her panic attack. Actually, Hyerim did want to ask Hyeyoon about it but she had a lot of things to handle right now. Plus, she was stressed from work. Their mom in the province was worried, but Hyerim reassured her that Hyeyoon and Aunt Mihyang were fine.

Hyerim and her mom know that Hyeyoon still hasn't moved on from her dad's death. She just wasn't the same Hyeyoon they knew. Hyerim suggested that they take her younger sister to a therapist but her mom said Hyeyoon would absolutely refuse. Hyerim turned to Aunt Mihyang who was the closest to their dad. Their aunt was the only sibling her dad had. 

Aunt Mihyang was the one who suggested that maybe taking Hyeyoon to Seoul to live with her for a while would be good. But, because they knew Hyeyoon wouldn't leave her mom alone in the province, they needed a good reason that could fully convince her.

Hyeyoon's mom wanted to suggest letting her attend a Seoul university since she knew that Hyeyoon wanted to become a physical therapist. But, getting into a Seoul university would be difficult for Hyeyoon since she only got a GED because she dropped out of highschool.

So Hyerim tried to talk to her sister, asking her what she wanted to do. She found out that Hyeyoon had thoughts of getting a license in massaging, which was the closest job to a physical therapist. It is one of the few things Hyeyoon thought she could be good at. She used to give her dad massages every day.

It took them months to convince Hyeyoon but she finally agreed. They told her that Aunt Mihyang offered to pay for her classes. They knew she wouldn't like it if Hyerim would pay for her schooling. But, in exchange Hyeyoon should live with her aunt to keep her company and help her aunt's business. 

Ms. Han Mihyang has been living alone for a couple of years after her husband divorced her. Her small business was making homemade side dishes that she sold to well-off households and at the same time she was a housekeeper for a Kpop boy group, whose name Hyeyoon and Hyerim can’t remember.

The two sisters are like yin and yang, they're opposites but they complement each other. Although Hyerim's older, she's the shorter one of the two girls. Her sharp monolids resembled her dad's while Hyeyoon, who is a little taller than average girls, had her mom's double-eyelids. It looks as if she's wearing a little bit of winged eye-liner all time, even though she doesn't wear make-up at all. Hyerim always complemented how pretty Hyeyoon's eyes were but Hyeyoon would also complement her unnie back, telling her that her monolids make her look like a cat.

Hyerim, during her school days, would always get on the honor roll and was voted class president. She was the smart hard-working type that teachers loved and fellow students admired. On the other hand, Hyeyoon wasn't the brightest student but everyone liked her for because of her caring and selfless personality. She always puts other people's needs before herself which is one of the reasons why she's very stubborn when it comes to asking for help. Hyeyoon's mom thinks her selflessness is both her strength and her flaw. Mrs. Han is happy that she has two daughters who get along so well. They were the happiest family in their small town before their father's death.

 

 

 

A day before Aunt Mihyang's was supposed to be discharged from the hospital, the doctor spoke about her condition.

“Ms. Han Mihyang’s body, especially her lungs are weak from overwork and due to pollution. It would be good if you had an air purifier at home. However, the best option for you Ms. Han is resting for a couple of weeks in a place where the air is good, like the countryside. Something could happen if you went right back to work," the doctor said.

“What could happen doctor?” Aunt Mihyang asked.

“Ms. Han, you could develop another lung infection that could get you intubated and needing a mechanical ventilator to breathe. We don't want that to happen.”

After carefully discussing it with their mother, they all decided that Aunt Mihyang will stay with their mother for six weeks in the province while Hyeyoon will move in with Hyerim in Seoul. But Aunt Mihyang was worried that her customers would stop ordering side dishes from her. Hyerim reassured her that her delicious recipes would keep them loyal.

“But how about my housekeeping work? The company told me that if I stopped working, they’ll hire another person to do it! I can’t lose that job, they pay me really well!”

“Hyeyoon's classes don't start until two months from now. How about Hyeyoon do it while your resting?” Hyerim suggested.

“I think that’s a great idea! I know my dear niece Hyeyoon is good at cleaning and cooking! The boys will definitely like you,” Aunt Mihyang says happy at the thought that she could keep her two sources of income.

“I’ll call the company right away to tell them that I’ll be taking some time off but I have a replacement readily available!”

Hyeyoon didn't disagree with their sudden decision to make her work as a housekeeper for six weeks. She was here in Seoul to work.

 

 

 

A few days later, Hyeyoon finds herself facing another unfamiliar place. She’s walking around in the fanciest neighborhood she’s ever been, trying to find where the building was.

Hyeyoon looks around and spots the building with the same name that her aunt told her. It looked new and expensive. Even the lobby seemed so luxurious with its large floor to ceiling windows and modern light fixtures. She felt like she was even more out of place than she already is.

She pressed the elevator button to get to the 5^th floor. Apparently, the group lives in two apartments; one in the 5^th floor and the other one on the 10^th. Her job is to clean both the apartments, do the laundry, and cook lunch whenever the guys were home. Being the housekeeper of ten men living in two apartments seems like a heavy job plus, in her spare time, her aunt made side-dishes. It’s no wonder her aunt fell ill from exhaustion.

She arrives on the 5^th floor and rings the doorbell. Her aunt told her to ring the doorbell twice and wait for a couple of minutes, if no one answers the door then it means that nobody was home and she could enter the apartment by herself. All she needs to do is input the password on the door.

She waits just like her aunt instructed. No one answers so she lets herself in. Right away, she sees that there were a lot of men’s shoes scattered on the entryway. The rest of the house must be a mess too, Hyeyoon thought. There was a large shoe closet right at the entryway so she arranges each pair neatly inside it.

She heads further inside to where the living room was. She was pleasantly surprised to see that the place wasn’t as messy as she thought it would be. The space only had a large couch and a coffee table with various delivery boxes stacked on one corner. There were some mugs on the coffee table so she grabs those and heads to the kitchen. The kitchen is bright and open with a nice dining set in the middle. She begins by washing all the dirty dishes then she wipes all the counters.

Next, she goes into the three rooms and gathers all the laundry. She felt kind of overwhelmed at the amount of clothes that needed to be washed. She separates the whites from the colored ones and puts the white ones on the washing machine first.

While the laundry was being done, she decides to start vacuuming the living room. The sound of the vacuum filled the apartment and somehow, Hyeyoon finds herself feeling relaxed. She’s always liked cleaning. Doing household chores was something natural for Hyeyoon.

She was busily vacuuming the entire living room when she felt a strong arm gripping on her shoulder. She jumped from shock and turned around to face a tall black haired guy with a face that reminds Hyeyoon of a rabbit. A handsome rabbit.

“Who are you?” the unknown handsome guy demanded.

She bows politely and was about to introduce herself as the temporary housekeeper when three more handsome guys with various bright hair colors enter the apartment. The tallest guy had dark red hair, while a tan guy had purple hair with sparkling strands, and the one who looked like he was the youngest had pretty pink colored hair. She couldn’t stop herself from being stunned. They were gorgeous.

“Doyoung hyung who is this?” the tan guy asks.

All of four them were looking at her like she was a trespasser. She was still reeling in from shock, that she forgot what she was trying to say.

“I think she’s a sasaeng,” the tallest guy says.

“I can’t believe you have the nerve to enter our house like this!” the guy who was called Doyoung says to Hyeyoon fuming.

“Please get out now!” he pushes Hyeyoon to the door while she tries to explain that she’s their new housekeeper.

“I’m not Sasaeng! I don’t know who that person is! My name is Han Hye-“ she tries to explain but Doyoung cuts her off.

“I don’t want to know your name!” Doyoung grabs the back of her shirt and shoves her outside the apartment.

“If you do this again, I’m going to call the cops!” Doyoung says before he slams the door.