Becoming the “Body Servant”

The brief silence was broken by Donghyeon.

“I understand why you did what you did.

Please be more careful in the future, and if you’re ever unsure about what to do, call me.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night.”

“Yes, I will.”

Since Donghyeon didn’t seem to suspect him, Seha answered with visible relief.

Silence settled between the three of them once again.

Seha turned his head to look out the window.

It felt like he’d aged ten years in a single moment.

Being in a position where he had to tremble at even such an absurd suspicion hit him anew.

He’d thought that after everything he’d been through, this was nothing.

But maybe this job wouldn’t be as easy as he’d imagined.

There was something Seha had overlooked.

Up until now, no matter how awful or nasty the people he met at work were, once the job ended, that was it.

There were coworkers who took his side.

Most bosses appreciated Seha for being competent and courteous in their own way.

It was rare for his job to hang in the balance over a single customer’s word.

People said the customer was king, but that didn’t mean they actually were.

Cha Jeongyun was different.

In the world Seha had just stepped into, Cha Jeongyun was practically a king.

He was someone who could decide Seha’s fate simply because he felt displeased.

Realizing that made the future feel dizzying.

Seha hurriedly closed his eyes and thought of the bank balance filled with the salary the Chairwoman had paid in advance.

As if by magic, his heart eased a little.

When I get home, I should open the banking app and savor those numbers again.

It was a vow that served as a kind of spell to get Seha through the day.

Barely ten minutes after calming himself by thinking about his bank account, Seha had a new thought.

Wow.

This guy is actually insane.

It happened when Cha Jeongyun introduced Seha to his personal trainer as his “body servant.”

It was the first time Seha had ever heard that word used in real life.

He’d thought it only existed in historical dramas.

Sure, when working nonstop, he and his coworkers had joked about being slaves or serfs.

But a body servant.

Apparently, the sickly Cha Jeongyun watched far too many dramas at home.

When Seha stared at him in disbelief, the words that followed were even more absurd.

“What.

A talisman or a body servant, what’s the difference?”

He had nothing to say.

First of all, there was a difference.

A huge one.

“You’re getting paid to block someone else’s bad luck for them.

That’s exactly what a body servant does, isn’t it?”

Cha Jeongyun’s logic was invincible.

And irritatingly, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

The fact that Seha couldn’t fully argue back made it feel even more like he really was a body servant.

And it didn’t end there.

Fetch some water.

Stand there with a towel.

Bring the towel.

Get out of my sight.

Stop making that unlucky face.

Jeongyun ordered Seha around exactly like a servant.

The errands themselves didn’t particularly bother Seha.

They were nothing to him, and he was more than prepared to do even more.

But calling someone a body servant to their face.

That was something else.

Seha vented his pea-sized complaint internally.

And, as a bonus, resolved that if Jeongyun wanted a body servant, he’d happily become one.

After finishing a set, Jeongyun ordered Seha to fetch fresh water.

Seha obediently filled the bottle and returned.

With perfect servant-like posture, he politely held it out and said,

“Here you go, Master.”

Both Cha Jeongyun and the trainer stared at him with wide eyes.

Ignoring them, Seha even bent his waist slightly in an exaggerated bow.

Wasn’t groveling part of the appeal of being a body servant.

But Seha’s effort only made Jeongyun’s expression twist violently.

“Are you insane?”

“Yes?”

“Did you just call me Master?”

“Ah… I was trying my best to act like a proper body servant.

If you don’t like ‘Master,’ should I call you ‘Madam’?

Or perhaps ‘Your Majesty’?”

At that point, the trainer—who’d been biting his lip—finally lost it and burst out laughing.

Jeongyun looked genuinely stunned, as if thinking, What kind of lunatic is this.

Since Seha had no complaints or desire for revenge over being called a body servant, he widened his eyes innocently to emphasize his sincerity.

Jeongyun’s gaze naturally shifted to Donghyeon, who was working out beside him.

Donghyeon, who’d been holding his laughter better than the trainer, looked between the two with trembling eyes before shrugging at Jeongyun.

You called him a body servant first, so what did you expect.

Jeongyun let out a hollow laugh, wondering why he’d brought even his secretary along to work out.

Then, glaring at Jin Seha—who still had his hands neatly folded in front of him—he snapped,

“Just get out of my sight.

Looking at you annoys me.

Don’t answer either.

I don’t want to hear your voice.”

Everything about Seha—his tone, his expressions—was shameless in a way befitting a scammer, and it made Jeongyun’s stomach churn.

Seha did exactly as told.

He didn’t even reply with a “Yes,” retreating a good distance away instead.

Jeongyun treated him like he didn’t exist and returned his focus to his workout.

Yet Seha’s occasional glances kept distracting him, making it impossible to concentrate.

Seha carefully perched himself on a piece of exercise equipment whose name he didn’t know and watched Jeongyun work out.

He didn’t know much about personal training.

But even at a glance, the coaching Jeongyun received looked highly professional and meticulous.

So that was why someone with a weak body was still so strong.

It must be thanks to exercise.

Then again, he must have struggled desperately to become even a little healthier.

That level of care was only natural.

Jeongyun’s expression as he followed the trainer’s instructions looked almost solemn.

After watching for a while, Seha turned his gaze elsewhere.

Whether the gym had been rented out entirely or was designed for one person at a time, there was no one else around.

It was only natural that his thoughts drifted to his sibling, who would be sitting at a desk studying even now.

Exercise was essential for a growing teenager.

Grades mattered, but Seha valued Sejin’s health many times more than test scores.

Before, money had made it unthinkable.

But if he could keep this job, even if not private training, he could easily afford a regular gym membership.

The thought lifted his spirits.

He could vividly picture his sibling using exercise equipment just like this.

Imagining it alone made Seha proud beyond words.

A smile naturally formed on his lips as he resolved to look up gyms before going to bed.

And strangely enough, affection toward Cha Jeongyun—who’d suddenly started treating him like a body servant—rose just as quickly.

If Cha Jeongyun hadn’t been so sick to begin with, this opportunity would never have existed.

Seha clenched his fists tightly.

I’ll do my best as a body servant.

Even if he’s a little nasty, I’ll be generous and look on him kindly.

He’s younger than me, after all.

Yes.

That’s right.

With that renewed resolve, Seha looked back at Jeongyun.

Thinking of his hardworking sibling made him smile again.

When Jeongyun returned home, his expression was foul.

His mood had been ruined the entire workout.

Naturally, it was all Jin Seha’s fault.

That guy kept staring at him and grinning for no apparent reason.

No matter how thick-skinned someone was, that was too much.

Even when their eyes met, he didn’t look away.

He smiled even wider.

It was revolting.

Jeongyun hated being smiled at.

He hated being looked at.

Whether at the hospital or anywhere else, people who knew him always stared.

Being born a third-generation chaebol only to be slowly dying.

They whispered, too.

Poor thing.

All that money and it’s useless.

What a waste of wealth.

How long until he dies.

Tut.

Jeongyun had realized early on that those pitying looks were laced with ridicule.

The fake smiles and forced sympathy whenever eyes met made his skin crawl.

That was why, at some point, he stopped allowing people to look at him at all.

If someone met his gaze, he cursed at them or picked a fight.

Money had power.

Even when someone was half-dead, it was enough to make people lower their eyes and tuck in their tails.

It was pathetic.

So he’d assumed Jin Seha would be the same.

Hadn’t he already shown him enough.

On the first day, he’d grabbed him by the collar and thrown him around.

That night, he’d cursed at him, slammed him to the floor, and kicked him out of his room.

Yet Jin Seha still looked at him and smiled like nothing had happened.

That only made it worse.

It gave him chills.

How desperate for money did someone have to be to act like that.

And now he even had to ride home with the guy.

Seeing one thing told you ten more.

It might take longer than expected to drive him out.

Jeongyun’s irritation deepened by the minute.

Spotting Seha standing awkwardly in the living room, Jeongyun glared at him before turning to Donghyeon.

“Secretary Shin.”

“Yes, young master.”

Jeongyun had used “Secretary Shin” instead of “hyung,” so Donghyeon responded formally.

He’d noticed Jeongyun’s foul mood since the workout.

Bracing himself to be caught in the crossfire yet again, Donghyeon waited tensely for what came next.

Jeongyun spoke.

“Tell the housekeeper not to come in starting tomorrow.

Give her paid leave.”