Like a page getting turned, Seonghwa's demeanour changed during the daytime. He seemed to remember that he had learned something about Hongjoong he was supposed to despise, and from one moment to the next, the sweet comments he had made in private to pursue Hongjoong dropped. In the confinements of his home, where no more nasty rumours about him could spread, he showed his true colours.

"I have several things to discuss with you, and I hope for your cooperation." Seonghwa drew his brows together as either a drunk memory he couldn't place or a stab of his migraine penetrated his brain. His fingers stirred an obscene amount of sugar into his morning tea.

"Of course," Hongjoong replied. He was inquisitive of what Seonghwa would suggest now that they were in a domestic setting and the rush of attraction that the tipsy version of him harboured towards Hongjoong had settled.

"I am no fool. I know how Yeosang plays his games. A man of his calibre wouldn't try to convince an honourable girl from an upper-class family of his dirty ploys. I am well aware you are a girl from the slums dressed in pretty garments. The scent still clings to you."

Hongjoong's frosty smile displayed both his disbelief and his boredom. Last night, until Seonghwa got drunk, Hongjoong thought he might be a gentleman who had been struck by ill will. Seonghwa had tried for a good first impression, but he had discarded that front now.

Seonghwa's eyes searched for agreement on Hongjoong's face. Even if the man was pensive, Hongjoong didn't like how his eyes lingered on Hongjoong's lips for a moment, as if caught up with a thought they invoked.

Hongjoong crossed his legs. The steaming cup in his lap filled his nose with the scent of lemons.

"You aren't wrong with that. Though that doesn't diminish the quality of my promise. I will do my best and wash thoroughly."

Seonghwa made a face at him that looked unattractive on his otherwise carved features. Still, he remained cordial, though his distaste was palpable in the warm air.

"I know it is money you are after, and I offered this dream of luxury for free. I won't draw back that repayment. In return, you should not laze around and try hard to get better at looking like one of us."

A brief grin crooked the corner of Hongjoong's lips. Seonghwa looked alarmed by it for a moment before he busied himself with yet another sip of his tea.

"Don't pity me. I will take what I have been offered but I will accept no alms. If you believe to know who I am, you better understand that I take my own risks by doing this. The people of the streets aren't as obnoxious and fragile as the people you are surrounded with." Hongjoong didn't have to spell out Seonghwa's inclusivity in that for the earl to hear it.

Stormy eyes glared at Hongjoong, but Seonghwa also gulped. He held his tongue as he reached for their breakfast.

"Very well; that makes it easier for both of us. I shall do my fair part of acting as well and pretend as if I weren't repelled by the woman accompanying me to my soirees. I can't be picky in my current situation."

Hongjoong was already fed up with his arrogance. Among the upper class existed no exceptions of decent people.

Seonghwa continued to list off his rules for Hongjoong.

"Don't steal. Don't bother me while I am in my study. Wash before you explore the house to get all that grime off. Remember the customs of propriety when you go out and don't act clumsily around the house if strangers could see you. I hope you are aware of the rules our society has."

"I am," Hongjoong replied. Their conversation irked him, and he wanted to leave to explore already.

Seonghwa took notice of his curt speech. His lips thinned.

"I will leave you many freedoms that may be deemed as inappropriate since I have my oddities as well. The servants need not turn away from you when you pass, and you aren't required to serve if I have guests over. Those who visit me will be aware of your presence and that it holds no true value between the two of us."

"Yes, yes. I already noticed how much of an outstanding gentleman you are." Hongjoong rolled his eyes. His satisfaction when shock took over Seonghwa's features warranted another smug smirk. He had to be unlike all the demure and modest women Seonghwa had ever known.

"I don't appreciate your tone," Seonghwa warned him as if Hongjoong cared.

Hongjoong put down his empty cup and rose from his chair. From above, he looked down at the dark-haired earl.

"Neither do I appreciate yours. You may be the one paying me, but I will not do you any favours to be polite if you don't do the same to me."

"I was certain politeness had no significance in the dirty hole you crawled out of," Seonghwa said between grit teeth. Hongjoong chuckled humourlessly.

"It doesn't, but we play charades anyway. From how good of an actor you are for me, you would fit right in with us." With that, Hongjoong walked off to return to his room. Seonghwa stayed back with thin lips as he finished his breakfast.

Hongjoong greeted Jongho in the corridor when the man emerged from the kitchen. At the sight of Hongjoong, Jongho smiled a gummy grin that looked welcoming in the misty light of the morning.

"Mylady, did you sleep well? I hope everything was to your liking?"

Hongjoong nodded with a grin.

"Everything was delightful, yes."

"May I introduce you to Emily, the maid who shall help you get dressed? She is thrilled to meet you!"

Hongjoong was about to agree when steps behind him had him pause. Seonghwa came to lean in the doorframe to watch them with his mocking eyes.

"What is there to be excited about? It's not as if she has a lot to dress."

It took Hongjoong a moment to catch what Seonghwa was looking at. When it dawned on him, he clasped his hands over his upper arms to hide his chest with an indignant sound.

"How dare you?"

Seonghwa shrugged and pushed off the doorframe to make his way up the stairs. Hongjoong's eyes bore holes into his back until his long legs had disappeared behind the corner.

Jongho winced.

"Please do not mind his rough edges. He didn't have the best upbringing," Jongho apologised for his master yet again. Grumbling, Hongjoong followed him into the kitchen.

"Even if, then he could attempt to become an amiable person now."

Judging by Jongho's contorted smile, he concurred with that.

They dropped the topic since there was no need to be mad without the target nearby. Hongjoong used the moment to look around the kitchen that was kept in bright tones of brown and light blue.

"What is your favourite food? Perhaps, we could prepare it as dinner for today." Jongho adjusted some fresh flowers in a vase. At this time of the year, they must have been carefully tended to in an indoor garden. The pretty daisies matched the blue and yellow blossoms that stood on the table.

To the left, at the kitchen aisle, two servants hurried around. The girl wore a white apron over her black uniform, and a few strands of her hair had loosened from her bun to tangle in her laughing face. The tall man by her side swung pans and cooking spoons as if they were magical weapons as he already prepared lunch ahead of time. His deep voice cracked jokes with no end, drawing giggle upon giggle from the girl.

"I like anything with meat in it," Hongjoong said to Jongho as he watched the lively working in the kitchen area. He had expected the servants here to be just as quiet and brooding as their master and to hold their noses high, but compared to him, they seemed like a fun bunch. They reminded Hongjoong of the kids in the slums that played with sticks and stones while their entire bodies were stained with mud.

"Good choice. Mingi, Emily! Will you two take a brief break from your jests to greet our guest?" Jongho's voice reprimanded the lower-ranking servants, but the two turned with matching grins.

"Hello! What a lovely lady you are! I am Emily, pleased to make your acquaintance." Emily bobbed a curtsy. Her bright grin made Hongjoong smile automatically.

"I'm Mingi! Just as pleased." Mingi bowed with more gravity than his prior fun.

Since the servants skipped manners while at their comfortable living and working space and also didn't fear Hongjoong's wrath over it, Hongjoong introduced himself instead of waiting for Jongho to do it.

"I'm Hongjoong. There is no need to be formal while I am in your care."

Emily clapped her hands in delight while Mingi returned to his cooking. The rich scent of meat had Hongjoong's mouth water despite the early hour. He rarely got to eat good meat in the slums, so whatever meal it was they prepared, Hongjoong knew it would taste like heaven to him.

"Lady Hongjoong, next time you need help to get dressed, count on me! I shall be your helping hand in any matters only a woman may serve with."

Hongjoong wondered if he would ever have the heart to tell her that there was no female solidarity happening. Perhaps, he should let someone know if just Jongho. The safety and understanding it would get him if he didn't apply to female manners would erect a wall between him and Seonghwa's rage once he found out.

"Thank you," Hongjoong agreed.

Jongho and he left the kitchen to leave the other two to their entertaining work.

"Is there anything particular I require knowing about taking a bath here?" The servants had shown no signs of noticing his stench, so Hongjoong suspected it was something Seonghwa believed to smell rather than being an actual smell. Still, he would wash up if it meant Seonghwa left him alone. He appreciated the option.

"Let me run you a bath. Emily may assist you with washing yourself if you so require."

Hongjoong followed Jongho up the stairs. While walking, the servant rolled up his sleeves to expose his muscular forearms.

"I shall manage myself."

Jongho crossed Hongjoong's room with his eyes directed at the bathroom door. Inside the tiled chamber, the tub stood on four feet and connected to the silver handles that led into the wall.

Jongho turned them up to a suitable temperature, given the coldness of the season. He pointed out the things on the shelf in the corner.

"I put towels for you here, and you may use any of these soaps and fragrances; the master picked them for you. If I may make a suggestion? I believe the pine one would smell formidable on you."

Hongjoong hummed as he raked his eyes over the display. He used one soap at home, and it smelt of nothing. It cleaned.

"What is the earl's most favourite scent?" Hongjoong asked. With a chuckle, Jongho picked out a pale pink one to hand it to Hongjoong to smell.

"This one."

It smelt of roses; Hongjoong wasn't surprised. He took it to put it down on the board at the end of the tub for his use. He would hate walking around smelling like an entire rose bush, but Seonghwa would hate it more.

"Let's keep it a secret that I asked," Hongjoong smiled. Jongho nodded as he retreated.

"Of course, mylady." He pulled the door shut behind him as he left, and Hongjoong locked it out of sheer paranoia to be found out. Once naked, he slipped into the lukewarm water with a pleased sigh.

Bathing was not a thing he did often, Seonghwa had been right about that. It felt pleasant to scrub off all the grime. The bath smelled of roses as he washed his body with the soap. He steered around one of the open scars on his thumb where the infection from his last rat job before Yeosang hired him still brooded.

After a cleansing bath, Hongjoong got dressed once more and stayed in his room until his hair dried enough to put the wig on it. Smelling like Seonghwa's worst nightmare, he left to see if he found anything worth his time in the library. Since the offer had been extended to him, Seonghwa perhaps didn't mind intelligence in his women, though his primary concern appeared to be their bosom.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes as he walked into the library that wasn't closed off by a door. For the rest of the day, he would lose himself reading about whatever came into his hands.