The sun had barely set when Yuna stepped through the iron gate of meihua manor. Snow whispered under her shoes as she crossed the long stone path, flanked by sleeping cherry trees and flickering lanterns. Her coat was thin. Her breath visible.
She wore her maid uniform black with gray trim, her ID badge clipped carefully at the hem but her posture was different. Firmer. Focused.
The guard at the front door spotted her immediately.
"Miss Yuna?" he asked, a little surprised. "You're not scheduled tonight."
"It's urgent," she said. "Chairman Jang needs to know something. Now."
He hesitated just a second then nodded and opened the door.
Warmth and light met her like a memory. Meihua Manor was too quiet, as always. Too pristine. She walked in with quick, controlled steps, turning left past the dining hall and into the back corridors.
She passed the sitting room. The chandelier glittered above an empty table set for no one.
She stepped into the kitchen.
Another maid was cleaning silverware by the sink a younger girl with wide eyes and quick hands.
"Have you seen Chairman Jang?" Yuna asked softly.
"He's in the study," the girl replied. "Upstairs. Right hallway."
Yuna nodded and didn't say more.
She climbed the stairs, her hand brushing lightly along the wood banister. Every step echoed in her ears. Not because she was afraid but because her thoughts were moving faster than her feet.
By the time she reached the study, her breath had steadied.
She knocked once.
"Come in," came the calm voice inside.
She entered.
Chairman Jang Huilin sat behind his antique desk, reading a leather-bound book. The windows behind him were tall and black with winter. A single lamp lit the room. The man looked… exactly like always.
Still. Sharp. Cold as precision steel.
He looked up when he saw her.
"Yuna. You're not scheduled."
She stepped forward, her hands clenched at her sides.
"Sir… someone approached me today. At the café."
His brow didn't move, but the air shifted.
"Go on."
"He knew everything. About me. My records. My… lack of records. He asked me to steal something."
A pause.
"Ashen Bloom."
Finally, Jang set the book down.
"He wanted you to take the painting?"
"Yes. He said it doesn't belong to you. He said… someone placed it here to frame you. I don't know what to believe."
There was silence.
Then Jang spoke quietly, almost as if to himself.
"I thought they'd wait longer."
He stood slowly, walked to the tall cabinet near the bookshelves, and pressed his thumb to a hidden panel.
The cabinet hissed softly then clicked open.
Inside, behind glass, Ashen Bloom stared back at them. Gray petals over soft ash. A single, wrong brushstroke where the ribbon should have been.
"I didn't steal this painting," he said, eyes fixed on it. "It arrived anonymously. I didn't report it. That's my mistake. But this wasn't theft. It was bait."
He turned to her.
"You've always been honest with me, Yuna. I owe you the same."
He pressed a button on the desk phone.
"Have the painting brought to my secretary. It's to be returned immediately."
"Yes, Chairman," came the reply.
Jang walked back to her and opened a drawer. He pulled out a small envelope thick with crisp bills.
He held it out to her.
"For your loyalty," he said. "A reward. Not for staying silent. But for speaking first."
Yuna hesitated… then bowed lightly, accepting it.
"Thank you, sir."
He watched her quietly.
"Be careful, Yuna," he said. You're dismissed"
She smiled and left with the envelope pressed lightly in her hand
Outside, of caffe a men waited, leaned casually against a black car He saw her approach, and his expression didn't change.
A second man stepped from the shadows, dressed in gray, clean-shaven, with pale gloves. He took the painting case from secretary nodded once, and passed a thick white envelope toward Yuna.
"Payment. For being stupid,but useful" the first man said dryly.
She didn't take it.
So he tossed it on the stone table near the hedge.
"Suit yourself."
They left without another word.
Yuna waited until the tail lights vanished down the private road.
Only then did she pick up the envelope.
Her fingers curled around it — not greedy, just deliberate.
She walked.
The snow had begun again quiet and slow as she reached the bus stop at the edge of the estate. She stepped into the bus, slid into the back seat, and stared out the window in silence.
The city blurred past.
Glowing neon. Empty tracks. Faded posters. Then… shadows. The bus veered into older streets.
(These houses of sin awaken only at night.)
A quiet voice called out through the speaker.
"Next stop Qilin District."
The tires hissed against wet pavement. The bus slowed near a rusted stop with no signboard just a crooked pole and peeling paint.
Yuna stepped off.
No one else got off with her.
(Their paths lie open, arms wide for whoever dares enter.)
She walked a few minutes through silence, narrow alleys, and the hum of unseen power lines until she reached a gate. Iron. Tall. Blackened by age. Vines grew between the bars.
Beyond it, a mansion stood crooked on a small hill. Older than the rest of the neighborhood. Almost sleeping.
She rang the bell.
A long pause.
Then… the heavy door creaked open.
A healthy women, wrapped in velvet shawls and smelling of lavender and metal, grinned at her from behind thick lashes.
"Ah… finally."
She stepped aside, bowing slightly.
"Welcome back, Deniz."
Yuna said nothing.
She crossed the threshold, leaving the snow behind and stepped into a world no one knew she belonged to
These houses of sin awaken only at night. Their paths lie open, arms wide for whoever dares enter
"Smiles are false."
" Identities a lie."