Taeyong led us downstairs and into the parlor room. Jeno was already there waiting for us along with two other staff members.
Mere moments after we arrived, our attention was brought to the sound of an approaching car engine. Jeno nodded at Taeyong and then towards the two staff members who quickly positioned themselves on opposite sides of the two large doors.
Taeyong leaned in before whispering, "Don't look so nervous. You'll do fine."
I turned my head and nodded, grateful for his words of encouragement though my nerves were anything but soothed.
As the two men began to open the doors, bright ribbons of light began to shine violently, through the crack. After having spent days cooped up inside, my eyes were more irritated than appreciative towards the sudden blast of vitamin d. Before my eyes could fully adjust to the light, both Taeyong and Haechan were gone from my side. Catching a glimpse of their vanishing figures, I began to walk towards the entrance as well.
"Mrs. Lee! What a pleasure it is to see you!" Taeyong greeted as he opened the door of the sleek black Hyundai while Jeno began unloading the luggage from the trunk.
Despite it being bright out, I was unable to even see anything stirring from within the car except for darkness. When Taeyong extended his hand out, I realized why that was the case. A black glove covered hand reached out towards Taeyong's only instead of accepting the gesture, it seemed as though it were simply handing him a large black leather bag. Taeyong was caught off guard by the action and almost fell forward from the sudden weight of the bag. I instinctively took a step forward intent on helping him out but Haechan grabbed my arm to hold me in place.
"Watch, you're not gonna wanna miss this," He chuckled, a wicked grin etched on his face.
A thin figure dressed head to toe in black slowly emerged from the expensive car of a similar shade.
I didn't know what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn't expecting this.
Her outfit looked like that of a 19th century widower still mourning the loss of her husband... but sexy? A crush velvet dress wrapped around her figure, the skirt of which ended just a few inches above the driveway. Every inch of her skin was covered, but by a fabric so tight I could easily imagine Madam Ten sporting a similar ensemble. Everything except for the hat at least, which was draped in a loose charcoal colored netting which covered the wearer's face completely.
I watched as she pulled the netting away from her face, lifting it to reveal a face much younger than I was expecting. From the look of it, she couldn't have been older than 36, but that made almost no sense given that Jaehyun was 22. Then I remembered that Jaehyun was adopted when he was eight years old, so it wasn't actually surprising for her to only be in her mid-thirties.
She looked around, paying no mind to Taeyong as he continued to greet her. When her stare landed on Jeno, she cried out his name.
"Jeno!"
Jeno set down a rather large suitcase on the pavement only to be ambushed by the former lady of the house. I watched as she pulled the much taller man towards her, causing Jeno to stumble into her embrace.
"Oh, how I've missed you!" She squealed, only allowing him to withdraw from her arms so she could look at him.
"Goodness, Jeno! You've lost so much weight your cheeks are practically concave!"
Her hands reached out to grab at the fleshy cheeks which were painted red with embarrassment. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, wondering how anyone could ever look at Jeno and see, not a man with more muscle mass than most of the other occupants of the estate, but a man who was slowly withering away.
Despite his flustered state, Jeno smiled at the woman, his eyes disappearing into little crescents.
"How are you Mrs. Lee? It's been quite a while since we last spoke."
"Mrs. Lee?! Jeno, I needn't remind you again, I will not be referred to by my former title, especially not by you. Let the staff know that I shall only be addressed with my given name, Ho. I am no longer the lady of the house and nor is my late husband the current master. Thus, I shall not be referred to by his family name. You, however, are family. You may call me by either of my first names."
"Ah, Yes, Hyun-ju." Jeno corrected.
There was something off about her voice, something I couldn't place. While her manner of speaking was refined in nature, her nasally accent made her sound more thuggish than any of the actual thugs I had been cohabitating with up to this point. Despite the apparent roughness in her tone, I found it almost comforting in nature, like it was familiar to me.
"How are things going with that that boyfriend of yours? Is he adjusting well to working with the children?" She whispered to Jeno.
He nodded before Taeyong interrupted their little reunion.
"I had yours and Mr. Lee's old bedroom prepared for your arrival."
"Why on earth would you think that I'd want to sleep in a room filled with reminders of my dead husband? I mean really, Taeyong, use your head for once! I will be staying in one of the guest rooms in the north wing so that I can be near my daughter-in-law. Now, where is she?"
Haechan's elbow dug into my side bringing my attention to the fact that I had been summoned.
To say that I was nervous would have been an understatement. If I wanted Jaehyun to keep his word, I'd have to make a good impression on the scantily clad widower.
"Hello," I quietly greeted, drawing attention to my presence.
I did a full 90-degree bow in the hope to not offend her.
She strutted towards me, pausing to take in my appearance I as did hers. Her cold eyes were somehow more frightening than even her son's. I didn't know that such a stare could be passed down from parent to child, especially one lacking in common blood.
I held my breath sure that I had already spoiled her first impression of me when her eyes began to crinkle. She was smiling, no, not even just smiling, she was laughing.
"Oh sweetie, don't look so scared! I don't bite! And speak up. I know you can, us being cut from the same cloth and all."
Suddenly it became clear to me why her voice felt so familiar.
"You're American?" I asked, making sure to speak clearly.
"Born in New York but grew up on the streets of Jersey till I got a nice gig up here in Seoul. How bout you? Where're you from?"
I was taken aback as Mrs. Ho's Korean formality was suddenly replaced with crass English. I was so caught off guard that I could only gawk at her in response.
"What's wrong with ya? Cat got ya tongue?"
I swallowed before responding in English.
"Oh, umm. I moved around a lot, but I guess you could say I grew up in Colorado."
I became aware that Mrs. Ho was smacking her gum as she listened. I quickly explained he states that I had lived in, while she only interjected to saying, "uh huh," "yeah," or "I see." When I was done, she looked at me expectantly.
"Yes?" I asked, still nervous.
"Well, go on then."
I stared blankly.
Mrs. Ho rolled her eyes, though she seemed more amused than annoyed as she maintained a subtle smirk.
"Introduce yourself. Tell me ya name."
"Oh! Umm," I hesitated.
"Come on, spit it out. I ain't got all day."
"Y/N," I finally answered.
"Y/N, huh? Well, you can call me Jessi. It's my English name."
"Why? What's the matter? Don't tell me you're surprised. We're family now after all."
"Oh, okay."
Wow she really has a lot of names.
"Great, now that that's settled."
Jessi turned back towards the car where Jeno and Taeyong were standing idly by.
"Taeyong, bring my bags to my room," She ordered, switching back to Korean.
"Mrs. Lee- I mean, Hyun-ju, I can bring your bags in," Jeno vocalized.
A relieved look spread across Taeyong's features.
"Nonesense! Jeno, honey, you and I need to go over the plans for this week. Let Taeyong do it, he could use a bit of weight training."
"PFFFFT!"
Haechan struggled to maintain his composure as a string of loud giggles escaped the short male.
"This is going to be a hell of a week, isn't it, Y/N?"