Around two in the morning, Yuri slipped out of bed and quietly made her way into the living room.

The housekeeper had been there earlier that day, leaving the hardwood floor spotless and the dining table perfectly arranged. Yuri tiptoed to the refrigerator and opened it. Inside, everything was neatly organized.

Neither Yoon-hee nor Kang-hoon liked having strangers living in the house, so instead of hiring a live-in maid, they employed one who came and went during the day.

The basement, however, had clearly been cleaned with much less care. It wasn't nearly as tidy as the upper floor, and the cold air lingering there made the storage room feel even more lifeless.

Yuri knocked softly on the storage room door.

No answer.

She knocked again.

After a moment, the door opened just a crack.

Jun-hyuk's eyes were red and swollen. The moment he saw her, surprise flashed across his face.

"Noona... what are you doing here?"

"Are you okay?"

He hesitated before opening the door wider.

Yuri stepped quietly inside.

"So why did you pour milk on the piano? Do you even know how expensive a grand piano is? Honestly... it's no wonder you got hit."

"I'm sorry... I acted on impulse."

"But why?"

Jun-hyuk lowered his gaze.

"I just... hated him."

"My mom... she's gone now."

"People looked down on her. What she did wasn't something to be proud of... but even so... she tried to take responsibility for me."

"But seeing that lady living comfortably in such a beautiful house..."

"It made me think of my mom."

"And I got angry."

Without a word, Yuri gently patted his back.

Jun-hyuk covered his face as quiet sobs escaped him. He was trying desperately not to cry too loudly.

Watching him struggle to swallow his tears, Yuri spoke softly.

"You don't have to hold it in."

"The basement's well soundproofed."

At those words, he finally broke.

Like a little child, Jun-hyuk burst into tears.

Yuri continued rubbing his back in silence.

She could comfort a lonely boy crying in a cold, dark basement without hesitation.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

Yuri had always found it easy to be kind to people who depended on her.

There was a strange satisfaction in standing at a distance and feeling sympathy for someone else's misery.

The boy rested his head against the girl in the freezing room.

Her long hair carried the faint scent of shampoo.

The years they had never shared made them strangers to one another.

Yet somehow, in the silence of that dark night, unfamiliar emotions quietly tangled between them.

* * * 

It was the year Yuri became a senior in high school and Jun-hyuk entered his second year.

The day they received their first midterm report cards, Kang-hoon was in an unusually good mood. Sitting in the living room with a cigarette in one hand, he studied Jun-hyuk's report card through the thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

"Looks like he inherited my brains."

A faint smile spread across his face.

"Unlike Yuri, who's practically at the bottom of her class. First place in the liberal arts track... that's impressive."

Yuri suddenly remembered the conversation she'd had with Jun-hyuk at the convenience store.

She had assumed that students who excelled academically wouldn't be forced into being errand boys for bullies. But he'd told her the ones who picked on him were good students, too.

At least, he'd said, once he entered his second year and chose the liberal arts track while the others pursued science to prepare for medical school, he wouldn't have to see them anymore.

That was exactly what had happened.

As most of the top students chose the science track, Jun-hyuk entered the liberal arts division—and finished first in the entire school.

For the first time, Kang-hoon praised him with a genuine smile.

"T-thank you."

Jun-hyuk lowered his head as he answered.

"A man who stutters like that... People will look down on you no matter how smart you are."

Kang-hoon said it casually, patting him on the back before turning to Yoon-hee.

"There's an unused room on the first floor, isn't there? From now on, Jun-hyuk can stay there instead of the storage room."

Yoon-hee frowned deeply.

She bit her lip for a moment. Perhaps she remembered that arguing had never changed anything before.

"...All right."

That was all she said.

Yuri bit her own lip.

Despite the size of the house, it suddenly felt as though there was less room left for her.

To Yuri, happiness had always been something limited.

If one person gained more of it, someone else had to lose their share.

For the first time...

She felt threatened.

* * *

"His successor? What do you mean by that?"

Yoon-hee was never one to raise her voice.

She spoke softly and even walked with quiet, rabbit-like steps. But ever since Heo Jun-hyuk entered their home, arguments had become a regular occurrence.

"I've spent my whole life building this company. I can't hand it over to a complete stranger."

"Then why are you giving it to him? It should go to Yuri!"

"When did I ever say I was giving the company to him? Yuri's too stupid and too lazy. I'd only be setting the company up to fail."

"But you should pass it on to your own child!"

"You keep repeating yourself like a parrot." Kang-hoon's voice hardened. "Besides, it's my company. Since when do you get a say in this? And anyway, whether it's him or Yuri..."

"Watch what you're saying!" Yoon-hee snapped. "Yuri is my child too! That's not a decision you get to make on your own!"

Before she could say another word, Kang-hoon cursed and hurled the cup from the dining table at the wall.

It shattered with a loud crash.

Though her voice trembled, Yoon-hee refused to back down.

"You think you built that company by yourself? What about all the support my parents gave you?"

"Enough."

"I've already made my decision. I'll tell the housekeeper to move his things. That's the end of it."

With that, Kang-hoon turned and walked into his room.

Behind her bedroom door, Yuri had been listening to every word.

Her father had always made one thing perfectly clear whenever her report card came home.

"There's no way I'd ever hand my company over to an idiot like you."

Even so...

Deep down, Yuri had always believed she would inherit it someday.

After all, there were only three people in this family—her father, her mother, and herself.

Surely he wouldn't leave everything to a complete outsider.

She had clung to that naïve fantasy.

Now...

That fantasy was falling apart.

Because of a single boy.

The same lonely boy she had comforted in the cold, dark basement late that night.

Because of nothing more than...

...her father's illegitimate son.

From that day forward, Yuri began to resent Jun-hyuk.

After evening self-study ended, Jun-hyuk returned home and quietly began moving his belongings out of the basement storage room and into the vacant bedroom on the first floor.

He owned very little.

A few changes of clothes.

Some underwear.

A handful of worn-out school supplies.

Even so, he tried to make as little noise as possible, afraid he might wake Yuri or Madam Yoon-hee.

But in the silence of the house, even the faint crinkle of a plastic bag echoed through the hallway.

Then—

The sound of a doorknob turning.

Yuri's bedroom door swung open.

"Moving your things?"

The warmth that usually filled her voice had vanished.

Every word was as cold and sharp as thin ice.

Only a single lamp illuminated the living room, leaving half of her face hidden in shadow.

Even so, her expression was unmistakable.

"Y-yes... I was told to change rooms."

He hesitated.

Calling Kang-hoon "Father" felt wrong.

Calling him "Sir" felt just as unnatural.

In the end, he swallowed the words altogether.

Without another word, Yuri quietly closed her bedroom door.

The click of the latch seemed unnaturally loud.

Jun-hyuk paused, his hands frozen in place.

For only a brief moment, their eyes had met.

Yet that single glance sent a chill crawling down his spine.

She wasn't smiling.

She wasn't crying.

But beneath her calm expression...

Something violent struggled to stay buried.

Jealousy.

And hatred.

In the dimly lit living room, those razor-sharp emotions glinted quietly in the darkness.

Author's Note)

When this story takes place, Korean high school students chose either the Humanities or Science track. Since many high-achieving students chose the Science track to prepare for medical school, it was possible for Jun-hyuk to become the top student in the Humanities track.