The first impression of the Hannam-dong mansion was perfect.

As the front door opened, a faint woody scent brushed the tip of my nose, and the sound of my suitcase wheels rolling on the marble floor echoed long in the silent interior. Expensive paintings and statues were placed without a gap under the high ceilings, but strangely, there was no sense of it being lived in. It felt more like entering a museum after all the visitors had left than a home where someone lived.

"Call me Mrs. Kim."

A middle-aged woman in a neat uniform stood before me. After scanning me once with an expressionless face, she took my luggage and said calmly.

"There is only one rule. Never go to the west wing corridor on the second floor."

Questions rose to the tip of my tongue, but I eventually swallowed them. Mrs. Kim didn't explain the reason, and I had no intention of being needlessly curious from the first day.

Monthly salary: 8 million won.

I thought I could follow any number of rules for that kind of money.

For a month, absolutely nothing happened. It was a strange house, even though nothing happened.

The boss left the house at dawn and only returned late at night. The employees stopped talking the moment they heard his footsteps, and silence always hung over the mansion. It was so quiet it felt suffocating, yet I strangely felt like someone was constantly watching me.

Then came one night.

A short scream erupted from the end of the corridor. Followed by the dull thud of something hitting the floor.

In an instant, my whole body froze.

Mrs. Kim's warning flashed vividly in my mind.

'Never go to the west wing corridor on the second floor.' But my feet were already heading that way.

The moment I reached the end of the corridor, the tightly closed door slowly opened from the inside.

A deep woody scent leaked out first, and then black leather gloves stained red came into view.

The man, slowly raising his head, looked down at me.

A face where not a single emotion could be read. Mrs. Kim was collapsed at his feet.