To take away the design, Yun Sook flattered Gi Cheol and directly placed Ga Eun in the position of fashion team leader. Gi Cheol, disliking that Ga Eun, who wasn’t even his own blood, was entering his company, immediately spat out harsh words.

“Other employees all prove their abilities to sit in their positions, but what has she done well to sit in that position?”

A rough gaze that thoroughly disregarded Ga Eun touched her face. At that time, Ga Eun couldn’t even properly look at Gi Cheol’s face.

“Since it’s your wish, I’ll go along with it this time, but if she causes any problems, know that I’ll fire her immediately.”

Gi Cheol had never properly called Ga Eun by her name.

“That one, you.”

Whenever he called Ga Eun, Gi Cheol chose words furthest from the term daughter.

As Ga Eun recalled the past events, a sneer unconsciously spread across her face.

“You know about the proposal to enter J Department Store, right? I heard this director got severely scolded when trying to meet the J Department Store representative.”

At Ga Eun’s words, Gi Cheol cleared his throat as if embarrassed. Ga Eun was well aware that he had planned to secretly change her achievement to the director’s in front of the shareholders and executives.

“I accomplished what Mother couldn’t do in three years. I also increased World Fashion’s sales by 200%. Isn’t this enough qualification for the CEO position?”

At Ga Eun’s words, Gi Cheol couldn’t make any excuses and just kept his mouth shut.

“I must sit in the CEO position. Father.”

As if disliking the sound of ‘father’ flowing from Ga Eun’s mouth, Gi Cheol belatedly cut off her words.

“What’s your purpose for returning to the company?”

At Gi Cheol’s question, a relaxed smile spread across Ga Eun’s lips.

“Because I’m your daughter. I should rise to the position of World Group chairman.”

“The word ‘daughter’ comes out of your mouth too naturally.”

Gi Cheol felt uncomfortable seeing Ga Eun directly referring to herself as his daughter.

“I’m your one and only daughter in this world.”

Ga Eun’s eyes trembled as she looked at Gi Cheol. Gi Cheol fell into deep contemplation at Ga Eun’s attitude. This was because J Department Store was a world-class department store that all domestic companies wanted to enter.

Gi Cheol’s mind was in turmoil, trying to decide which choice would be more beneficial to him. The phone call from CEO Ji Do Jun in the morning also weighed on his mind.

[This is the timeline separator]

Early in the day, Do Jun had called Gi Cheol first.

“I was just about to call you because I was worried.”

Unlike when dealing with Ga Eun, Gi Cheol answered the phone in a gentle voice.

[I heard that my wife made a great contribution to World Fashion this time. It’s a great honor as a business partner.]

Do Jun’s words felt like great pressure to Chairman Yoon Gi Cheol.

[Don’t worry about the Shino Department Store entry. I signed the renewal approval documents today.]

At Do Jun’s words, Gi Cheol laughed loudly, maintaining politeness as if Do Jun were standing in front of him.

“Thank you so much every time. I’m reaping the benefits of having you as a son-in-law.”

Do Jun interrupted Gi Cheol’s words and immediately conveyed his purpose.

[I think it’s time for my wife to take her place. Other corporate heirs are all in CEO positions. Wouldn’t it look strange for only Ga Eun to be in a team leader position? Father-in-law.]

Gi Cheol’s mouth clamped shut at Do Jun’s sudden pressure.

[Shouldn’t our two companies become closer if my wife is the CEO?]

Only after Do Jun’s last words ended did Gi Cheol’s dry lips move with effort.

“I was already considering a promotion in light of this performance.”

As soon as his words ended, Do Jun abruptly hung up the phone.

[This is the timeline separator]

Gi Cheol didn’t want to place Ga Eun in an executive position at his company, but due to the words of the shareholders and Do Jun, he was reluctantly considering Ga Eun’s appointment.

And just then. Ga Eun had come to him on her own. After pondering Ga Eun’s words for a while, Gi Cheol’s lips moved.

“I’ll appoint you as CEO soon.”

Before his words were even finished, Gi Cheol looked straight into Ga Eun’s eyes for the first time and continued.

“Not because you’re my daughter. As you said, it’s because you’ve shown results.”

Gi Cheol denied that Ga Eun was his daughter over and over. At this sight, Ga Eun’s hands clenched tighter.

“I’ll work harder for World Group from now on. Because it’s my company.”

Ga Eun repeatedly uttered words to provoke Gi Cheol. Each time, Gi Cheol couldn’t hide his true feelings and burst out in anger.

“I will never hand this company over to you.”

At Gi Cheol’s fierce words, a sneer flowed from Ga Eun’s mouth.

“Then, are you planning to pass this company to Mother’s family?”

When Ga Eun hit Gi Cheol’s sore spot, he could only glare at Ga Eun’s face without saying anything. Ga Eun leisurely rose from the sofa.

As she was about to open the door of the chairman’s office and leave, she stopped her steps. Her hand was trembling slightly. Before leaving, she turned her head and opened her mouth again as if nothing had happened.

“Father, do you know someone named Ahn Yun Jung?”

When Ahn Yun Jung’s name came out of Ga Eun’s mouth, Gi Cheol’s eyes shook violently. But he cleared his throat once and pretended to be indifferent.

“Who’s that?”

Gi Cheol snapped in a dry tone without properly looking at Ga Eun’s face.

“If you don’t know, nevermind.”

At Gi Cheol’s behavior, Ga Eun pretended to be unfazed and quickly left the chairman’s office.

What kind of relationship did her birth mother and father have?

Was it just a light relationship where they spent one hot night and forgot about it?

Ga Eun’s head spun again with thoughts about her mother.

After she left the chairman’s office, Gi Cheol’s hand, which had pretended to be nonchalant, trembled.

“Ahn Yun Jung.”

Gi Cheol’s lips trembled as if his heart was pounding just from uttering the name. For a while, Gi Cheol repeatedly called that name several times.

[This is the timeline separator]

Only after seeing Ga Eun leave for work did Oh Jipsa also hurriedly finish preparing to go out. She walked for a long time outside the apartment complex, looking around. Then she quickly got into a taxi.

She remained tense until the end, wondering if there might be someone watching her.

The taxi she took stopped at an old nursing hospital on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do. Even when getting out of the taxi, she checked her surroundings several times before entering the hospital.

The nurses greeted Oh Jipsa familiarly, as if they had known her for a very long time.

“The director is waiting for you.”

Oh Jipsa quickly made her way to the director’s office first. After knocking, she entered, and an elderly man greeted her grumpily. The two looked quite similar.

“Father. Have you been well?”

Oh Jipsa spoke affectionately and sat down opposite the director on the sofa.

“How could I have been well? It’s quite outrageous that you don’t show your face often after entrusting me with such a precious task.”

Oh Jipsa smiled kindly at the director and continued with her excuse.

“Well, what can I do when you’re the only trustworthy doctor? You’re the only doctor who doesn’t waver in the face of money.”

Oh Jipsa tried to improve his mood by flattering the director.

“I heard Yun Jung’s finger moved? Does that mean she might wake up soon?”

She had been curious about Yun Jung’s condition but couldn’t ask properly because she was afraid to hear the director’s words. But now that she had moved her finger for the first time, Oh Jipsa’s eyes sparkled with hope.

“The finger moving is a good sign, but the progress is still not good. I’m worried that Yun Jung needs to gather her strength.”

The director’s face darkened as he spoke about Yun Jung. Oh Jipsa pretended to be cheerful as she got up to leave the director’s office.

“I came in the middle of work, so I don’t have much time.”

Oh Jipsa approached the director closely and affectionately hugged him while continuing her plea.

“Please bear with it a little longer, Father.”

She quickly left the director’s office without waiting for his response. And before leaving the hospital, she entered the room at the very end of the ward corridor. The room was different from other nursing homes.

There was a middle-aged woman lying there, dependent on a respirator. The patient’s name was written as Kim Ji Sook.

Oh Jipsa spoke to the patient naturally, as if the lying patient was awake.

“The flowers you like have bloomed a lot outside. It must be spring now, Yun Jung. You liked spring the most.”

Oh Jipsa went into the bathroom attached to the room and dampened a towel with water. Then she gently wiped Yun Jung’s body. Only after wiping every corner of her body did Oh Jipsa speak again.

“Yun Jung. Your daughter is pregnant.”

Oh Jipsa’s voice trembled as she spoke, looking at Yun Jung’s face with tightly closed eyes.

“It seems Ga Eun knows about the existence of her birth mother.”

Oh Jipsa walked to Yun Jung’s side and warmly wrapped her limp, thin fingers while continuing to speak.

“She wants to see you even just once.”

Oh Jipsa bit her lower lip hard, trying not to cry in front of Yun Jung. A long time had passed since Yun Jung fell into a coma. Oh Jipsa was the first to discover Yun Jung when she was hit by a hit-and-run accident.

She had been constantly hovering around Yun Jung, suspecting that there were forces harassing her.

At first, it was a simple contact accident, but things didn’t go well as if someone was deliberately interfering with everything she did. Because of that, Yun Jung had no choice but to live in poverty, moving from job to job throughout her life.

Oh Jipsa still remembered what Yun Jung had said before the big accident.

“I want to tell Gi Cheol. That Ga Eun is his real daughter.”

The day after Yun Jung said those words to Oh Jipsa, she met with a mysterious accident.