Yeo Eun’s face contorted as if about to cry as she left Seocho Police Station.

Of all people, Seo In Tae.

How could Seo In Tae end up homeless and get into a fight with a street vagrant. How.

Yeo Eun turned to look back after descending the stairs.

In Tae, who was following behind, stopped in his tracks with a start.

“Elder brother, you.”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.

It’s not that In Tae was always a troublemaker.

Until three years ago, he was someone who at least took care of himself diligently.

Why did he end up like this?

Because Yeo Eun knew the reason all too well, she had to swallow the words she wanted to say.

Yeo Eun let out a small sigh and held out tofu to In Tae.

“Never mind. Just eat this.”

In Tae hesitantly accepted the tofu while gauging her mood.

“Yeo Eun. You see……”

“Don’t say anything. If I get any angrier here, I might throw the tofu at your face.”

Seeing In Tae shrink at Yeo Eun’s words made her feel upset.

At the same time, she felt sorry for In Tae.

“Hurry and eat. Let’s go quickly after you eat. Go see Mom’s face.”

In Tae sniffled once and took a bite of the tofu after opening the plastic bag.

Early October. The night wind was brutally cold. Perhaps that’s why it felt more sorrowful.

After finishing the tofu without leaving any, In Tae got into the taxi Yeo Eun had hailed in advance.

“Yonhui University Hospital, please.”

The taxi departed after she stated the destination.

A smell that one would expect from a homeless person wafted from In Tae, who sat silently.

‘He really must have been living on the streets.’

Looking beside her, In Tae’s fists resting on his knees were clenched tightly.

Whether he had been doing hard labor or had actually been in fights, his fists were covered in wounds all over.

Yeo Eun, feeling a lump in her throat, turned her head to look out the window. Even so, her hand quietly covered her elder brother’s fist.

In Tae firmly grasped her hand in return.

It pained her heart.

“How did we end up like this?”

Though she posed the question, an answer wasn’t necessary.

They both knew too well without having to say it.

“I’m sorry.”

Instead of an answer, In Tae finally apologized and grasped Yeo Eun’s hand even tighter.

“I’m sorry, Yeo Eun.”

In Tae also knew well that his wandering had become a heavy burden for Yeo Eun.

Yeo Eun likewise knew that In Tae wandered more because he felt sorry towards her.

Still, In Tae’s wandering was a heavy burden for Yeo Eun.

It’s been four years already.

In Tae’s wandering began after their father died, leaving behind debt.

Around that time, there was a woman he had been discussing marriage with, but when it was revealed that their father had maintained two households and left behind a large debt, the marriage fell through.

Burdened with the responsibility of being the eldest son on top of his personal difficulties, it must have been hard for the weak-hearted In Tae to endure.

He couldn’t sleep properly and couldn’t eat properly.

Then he made a big mistake at the company he was working for, and eventually ended up submitting his resignation.

Fortunately, In Tae succeeded in finding re-employment by lowering his conditions a bit, and he seemed to have regained his senses.

But that wasn’t the case.

His drinking increased, and he slept even less.

In the midst of this, their mother fell ill, and their circumstances gradually worsened.

The debt grew, and In Tae floundered, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness that he could do nothing.

To make matters worse, In Tae found out that the CEO of the company he had been re-employed at was his ex-girlfriend’s father-in-law.

And about six months ago, In Tae assaulted the company CEO’s son.

The exact reason was unknown, but because of that, In Tae was fired from the company.

After that, he ran away from home, got involved with loan sharks, and now even got into a fight with a homeless person.

What was what, how could things get so tangled up like this?

It felt as if someone was deliberately twisting In Tae’s and her life with their hands.

In Tae, who had been holding Yeo Eun’s hand tightly until they arrived at the hospital, burst into tears as soon as he saw So Jeong, pulling her into his arms.

“Go wash up.”

So Jeong replaced countless words with just the one sentence telling him to wash.

“And eat something too.”

She replaced numerous worries with just telling him to eat something.

In Tae simply nodded his head repeatedly to express his apology.

“Both of you go home. Go and get some rest. You’re all tired from working.”

So Jeong also expressed her apologetic feelings to her two children like this.

“I’ll be going home next week too.”

She wished for discharge even though she knew it wouldn’t happen.

Thinking that was the best she could do as a mother for her struggling children.

Yeo Eun, looking at So Jeong and In Tae with sympathetic eyes, nodded her head.

“Alright. I’ll go.”

After briefly saying goodbye, Yeo Eun handed an envelope to the caregiver who followed her out to the corridor.

“I put a little extra in. Please take good care of our mother.”

Then she left the hospital, pulling In Tae’s arm.

Yeo Eun, who had In Tae sit on a bench outside the hospital, cleaned his hands with the disinfectant she had received earlier with the band at Lotus Hotel.

In Tae flinched as if it stung when the disinfectant touched his wounds.

“Elder brother. We can’t go home together. You know that, right?”

She couldn’t bring herself to look at In Tae’s face.

“Those people have started coming to the house.”

They were people who might do who knows what if they caught In Tae.

Though she felt sorry for In Tae who had been homeless until now, she had no choice but to send him back to the streets.

“If they find out you came home, they’ll cause a scene.”

“You. Are you okay?”

Yeo Eun handed In Tae the disinfectant and bandage box, then looked up with a faint smile.

“If they try to collect your debt from me, that’s illegal debt collection. If they do it one more time, I’ll call the police.”

Yeo Eun rummaged through her bag again and took out an envelope.

It was the incentive envelope she had received earlier from Chairman Cha Ji Seop.

“This is money. It’s quite a lot.”

Yeo Eun was a bit surprised when she looked inside the envelope while heading to the police station earlier.

The incentive was very generous, considering she had only attended the party.

It must mean that Cha Do Ha’s attendance at the party was worth that much.

They said billions of won in business interests were at stake with the marriage to ST Group.

Swallowing the bitterness that rose unbidden, Yeo Eun opened her mouth again.

“For now, use this to get a motel room and stay there. Once you’re in, call me.”

To think of Cha Do Ha even in this situation, she felt full.

Inwardly chiding herself, Yeo Eun placed the envelope in In Tae’s hand and continued speaking.

“Like Mom said, don’t starve yourself and eat something. You’ve gotten too thin, elder brother.”

In Tae, unable to lift his head, tightly grasped the envelope.

His knuckles turning white from the force pained her heart.

That’s how she sent In Tae off.

“What kind of stubborn pride is this?”

It was her honest inner thoughts.

He was putting on airs when he couldn’t handle things alone.

How desperately she needed the money in that envelope, yet she sent it off in In Tae’s hand.

She regretted it just a little bit.

And then she chided herself again for having such thoughts.

“Seo Yeo Eun. You’ve really become quite materialistic.”

Yeo Eun, who had been staring blankly in the direction In Tae disappeared, turned her feet with a bitter heart.

* * *

Do Ha, who had parked his car in a run-down alley in the factory district of Seongsu-dong, looked up at the sky with even the sunroof wide open.

It was an exceptionally bright night with a white moon surrounded by a halo.

The moonlight seemed several times brighter than the old streetlights sparsely illuminating the alley.

Finding it somewhat irritating, Do Ha narrowed his eyes into thin slits.

“So you’re saying there weren’t any CCTV cameras in the party room at Lotus Hotel?”

Do Ha frowned even more at those words, which were as irritating as the bright moonlight.

Then Yi Han quickly replied from the other end of the phone, as if trying to soothe his irritation.

−Who would enjoy a party if there were CCTV cameras there? Even Hae Ri does all sorts of things with Han Dong Joo, would she dare do that if there were cameras? She couldn’t.

“That’s unfortunate. I wanted to send that bastard to jail.”

−Instead, the pretty spy got something good.

Do Ha gripped the phone again.

“What do you mean?”

−Earlier when you briefly went to the front desk to treat Seo Yeo Eun’s hand in the hotel lobby, she ran into me.

Do Ha nodded, recalling what had happened at Lotus Hotel as Yi Han spoke.

“And then?”

−I asked for her phone number, saying I needed to explain the situation to a lawyer to deal with Son Gyu Won. Then she suddenly hands me a voice recorder. Saying recording is essential when dealing with Son Gyu Won.

Seo Yeo Eun made a recording in that situation?

A hollow laugh parted his lips.

Come to think of it, when he first entered that room, the scene he took in was that woman raising a broken glass bottle towards Son Gyu Won.

Her face was pale blue, filled with disgust and anger.

Because of that sight, he rather became calm. The emotions that had been on edge dulled along with relief.

“Did you listen to the recording?”

−Yeah. It’s quite something when you hear it.

Yi Han’s voice became very energetic.

−That bastard Son Gyu Won, he’s finished.

He also seemed very excited, as if it was a truly fascinating story.

−You could even sue him.

“What are you talking about?”

−He was badmouthing you to Seo Yeo Eun from start to finish.

“Badmouthing?”

−Saying to be careful of you. That it would be over after sleeping with you once, so she shouldn’t fall for your seduction. Oh, and he also said you’re actually really bad at it. That you lack skill or something. Apparently it’s the common opinion of women who’ve slept with you.

As he listened to Yi Han’s words, Do Ha leaned back leisurely against the backseat of the car.

He was curious about Seo Yeo Eun’s expression when she heard those words.

What kind of face would she have made?

As he was imagining Seo Yeo Eun in his mind and casting his gaze out the car window, that’s when it happened.

A familiar silhouette hazily entered his field of vision.

“What time is it now……”

A thick vertical line appeared between Do Ha’s brows.

−What?

“Nothing, go on. So?”

−So what? By the way, is there something going on between you and that pretty spy? For you to care about a woman like this…

“Yeah, there is something.”

Do Ha, who had been leaning back leisurely against the seat, straightened up and opened the car door.

“So make sure you catch that bastard who ran his mouth recklessly in front of her.”

−What is it? What’s going on? Don’t tell me you’re actually developing feelings? For your aunt’s spy?

Developing feelings?

Do Ha let out a small laugh.

“I might try it out. That thing called developing feelings.”

Do Ha slowly got out of the car and closed the door.

“So send me a copy of that voice recording file too.”

So I can hear Seo Yeo Eun’s voice.

As the sound of the car door closing with a thud echoed through the quiet alley past midnight, the presence that had been in Do Ha’s line of sight stopped walking.

Then a white face illuminated by moonlight turned directly towards him.

Do Ha slowly began walking as he looked at that face.

−Where are you? If you’re still in Itaewon, I can bring it to you.

“It’s not Itaewon. I came to catch a runaway toy.”

Five steps.

After taking exactly five steps with his stride, Do Ha stopped in front of the presence that had made him wait for a full 40 minutes.

Do Ha, who had hung up the phone without saying goodbye, tilted his head slightly and languidly scanned his target.

“The sixth axe strike.”

The yellow streetlight glow settled in the brown eyes looking at him.

“Let’s begin.”

The yellow streetlight in those eyes wavered and dimmed at the sound of Do Ha’s voice.