That night, Eun-ho slept like a baby. He forgot to turn on the heater. However, the chilling cold didn’t wake him up. If anything, it only made him curl more tightly under the thick blanket. After ten years in prison, his body was used to hard beds and rough linens. This feeling of a soft mattress and the silky touch of the bed linens on his skin was foreign but very much welcomed.

He only woke up by the sound of the bell ringing from the front door, followed by a call to his phone on the bedside table. Eun-ho fluttered his long eyelashes and groaned a little before his consciousness returned and he opened his eyes.

For a moment, he didn’t remember where he was. His eyes stared blankly at the white ceiling above him, and he knitted his eyebrows. The cold immediately attacked as he realized he was almost frozen under the thick blanket. Eun-ho immediately got up from the bed and reached out for his phone.

On the screen, he saw the caller ID: Lee Minjung. Eun-ho picked up the call groggily and said, “Hm?”

Assistant Lee sounded worried on the other end. “Hey, are you okay? I have pressed the bell many times, but you didn’t open the door. You also only picked up after I called numerous tries. Where are you?"

“I am inside,” Eun-ho replied.

“Oh…” Assistant Lee sounded relieved. “Are you still in bed? Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have the spare keys with me. But if you want to open the door for me, I will appreciate it.”

Eun-ho immediately got up and went to open the door for Assistant Lee. He wore a thick robe over his pajamas which he had found in the closet. He hadn’t tried all the clothes there, but after checking a few and finding them perfectly tailored to his size, he assumed they were all really in the same size, prepared for him.

Assistant Lee brought a bag of groceries with him and put it on the kitchen counter. He took out the greens, meat, and some other ingredients, put them into the fridge, and closed it.

“We will order food delivery until the housekeeper can come and cook for you,” he said. “However, in the meantime, I’ll stock your fridge with some ingredients for emergencies.”

Eun-ho shook his head disapprovingly. “I don’t need a housekeeper. I can learn how to cook.”

“Well, we want you to eat healthy. So, until you can really cook healthy meals for yourself, I will have a housekeeper take care of you,” Assistant Lee insisted. He looked around and knitted his brows. He only then realized that the apartment was very cold. “Is the heater broken? Why is it so cold here?”

Eun-ho suddenly remembered the heater and moved to turn the thermostat on.

Assistant Lee wrapped his coat tighter to his chest and shivered a little. “That’s better. Did I not turn on the heater when I left you yesterday?”

Eun-ho nodded. “Yeah, and I forgot too.”

Assistant Lee batted his eyes and sighed. “Aigoo… no wonder you slept for a long time.”

He sniffed the air and smiled because he could now breathe better with the rising temperature. The man sat down on the sofa and took out his phone. “Let’s order food delivery. We should have lunch before we discuss your life going forward. Can’t think on an empty stomach.”

Eun-ho sat across from him. He looked at Assistant Lee’s phone with slight interest. Ten years ago, the technology was not as advanced and seamless as it was today. There were many different apps on Assistant Lee’s phone. He opened one which was apparently a food delivery app and turned to Eun-ho. “What do you want to eat?”

Eun-ho was used to eating plain food in prison. He didn’t have any preference. If he had any favorite dishes in the past before he was sent to prison, he no longer remembered them. So he shrugged and replied, “Whatever. I am not particular with food.”

Assistant Lee’s gaze turned to a look of pity, but only for a slight second. He felt deep sympathy for this young man in front of him, but he remembered that he mustn’t show pity in his expression so as not to offend Eun-ho. Even though the young man acted nonchalant and unbothered about anything, Assistant Lee still tried to act careful and subtle toward him.

He thought behind the aloof exterior, Eun-ho must be prickly and would close off at the slightest offense. No matter what, Assistant Lee couldn’t afford to offend this young man under his care. CEO Baek seemed to place great importance on Eun-ho.

Assistant Lee cleared his throat and said, “Very well. Let’s order fried chicken and some burgers from this very popular restaurant. It’s fast and delicious. I’ll also get us some desserts.”

He scrolled his phone down to see the list of mouthwatering desserts and decided on the menu.

“This honey pumpkin tiramisu looks so good!” He almost tapped to order, but then changed his mind, muttering, “No… you’re allergic to honey. Ahh.. this is better. Blueberry cheesecake. What do you think?”

He turned to look at Eun-ho, but his gaze was met with an intense stare from the younger man.

“How did you know I am allergic to honey?” Eun-ho gritted his teeth. “Even I didn’t know that.”

Assistant Lee batted his eyes and looked confused.

“You didn’t? Ahh, perhaps I was mistaken. Or maybe I mixed up your info with others’.” He chuckled. “You know you are not the only inmate whose case we’re working on.” He waved and gestured for Eun-ho to drop the issue. “I think I read it somewhere and I assumed it was you. In any case, it doesn’t hurt to get your health checked to make sure everything is good. I will book an appointment for you.”

Eun-ho found it strange that the people of the Baeksong Foundation knew so much about him that even he didn’t. Since honey was a luxury, he almost never encountered such an ingredient in the prison food, but he vaguely remembered that he got very sick once when he was a child after consuming honey. 

He didn’t get treated by a doctor for the allergy, and so it was probably never mentioned in his records. So.. how did Assistant Lee know?