As the sound of two people talking was heard, Ga Eun tried to maintain a calm expression as if nothing had happened.

“Ji, what brings you here without calling first?”

While welcoming Do Jun, Yun Sook, his stepmother, had to quickly rack her brain for a moment to see if there was anything Do Jun could hold against her.

“I wanted to have dinner together.”

Do Jun’s gaze was fixed on Ga Eun’s back as she sat in the living room, as if he had no interest in conversing with Yun Sook.

As Do Jun walked towards the living room, Yun Sook hurriedly called out to Moon Jipsa.

“Please prepare one more cup of tea.”

Yun Sook quickly sat down on the sofa where Ga Eun had been sitting to continue with her plan.

“This is perfect timing. I made chocolates myself.”

Yun Sook went into the kitchen, making a fuss, and brought out more chocolates. She stared intently at Ga Eun’s lips, as if trying to confirm whether she had eaten the chocolates.

“It’s my first time making them, so they might not taste good. How are they?”

Ga Eun had no choice but to pick up another chocolate at Yun Sook’s words. Both of their gazes were fixed on Ga Eun’s fingers holding the chocolate.

Just as Ga Eun was about to put the chocolate in her mouth, as if she could no longer avoid it, Do Jun grabbed her wrist and put the chocolate in his own mouth.

“It’s delicious, Mother-in-law.”

After briefly boosting Yun Sook’s spirits, Do Jun slowly moved his lips as if about to state his main point.

“You can’t eat this chocolate.”

Ga Eun’s eyes widened in surprise at Do Jun’s sudden intervention.

“You have a nut allergy.”

At Do Jun’s statement, both Yun Sook and Ga Eun’s gazes wavered for a brief moment.

“That was a close call.”

Ga Eun began acting as if she had lost her memory, and Yun Sook also had to explain the current situation in front of Do Jun.

“Oh my, I’m sorry Ga Eun. How could I not know my own daughter has an allergy? That could have been really dangerous.”

Ga Eun’s gaze lingered on Do Jun’s face for just a moment.

‘How did he know?’

She had never told Do Jun about her nut allergy. She couldn’t even properly remember when she had last had a proper meal with him.

She knew that someday Yun Sook would plan something like this to test her. That’s why Ga Eun always carried allergy medication that was safe for pregnant women to take.

As Yun Sook got up to prepare dinner, Do Jun stared intently at Ga Eun’s face.

She wanted to ask him right away how he knew about her allergy, but fearing he might ask an even bigger question in response, Ga Eun had to keep her mouth shut for now.

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything you don’t remember.”

Do Jun’s large hand stroked Ga Eun’s hair, which was frozen with tension. Ga Eun knew that Yun Sook had deliberately prepared the chocolates despite knowing about her allergy.

Probably thinking it was the surest way to check if she had really lost her memory.

Ga Eun’s sharp gaze turned towards Yun Sook’s back as she stood in the kitchen. Trying her best to maintain an expression of knowing nothing, Ga Eun asked Do Jun:

“How did you come here?”

Ga Eun asked indirectly, wondering if Do Jun had someone following her.

“I thought you might be here.”

His arrogant voice continued, full of confidence. At that moment, Ga Eun became afraid of how much Do Jun knew about her. Just as Ga Eun was about to ask him another question, Chairman Yoon Gi Cheol burst through the front door noisily.

“How dare you order me around.”

Gi Cheol, displeased with Ga Eun’s words, entered irritably and locked eyes with Do Jun. Gi Cheol clamped his mouth shut as if he had made a mistake.

“What brings you here?”

Gi Cheol awkwardly cleared his throat as he greeted Do Jun.

“I wanted to have dinner together after a long time.”

Gi Cheol scrutinized Ga Eun’s face with narrow eyes, as if trying to determine if she had said anything about his lie.

“If you had told us in advance, we could have prepared dinner. I’m not sure what to do since we don’t have much prepared.”

Yun Sook, who had been preparing dinner in the kitchen, heard Gi Cheol’s voice and walked into the living room.

“Being together for a meal is more important than the food itself.”

Do Jun’s gentle voice surprised all three of them.

Gi Cheol had made all sorts of excuses to persuade Do Jun to have dinner together, but each time Do Jun had frequently declined dinner invitations, using company meetings as an excuse.

“You must be hungry, let’s have dinner.”

At Yun Sook’s words, Do Jun stood up from the sofa and extended his hand to Ga Eun who was sitting.

Ga Eun avoided Do Jun’s gaze and walked in the opposite direction from where he was standing as she got up. Do Jun could only stand there staring blankly at Ga Eun’s back as she rejected his outstretched hand.

Contrary to Yun Sook’s words, a large amount of food was laid out on the table, more than enough for four people. Ga Eun felt extremely awkward sitting at the dining table in this house.

Even when she lived in this house, Ga Eun often had to eat separately in her room, unable to sit at the table.

“If your father sees your face, how can he eat comfortably?”

Due to Yun Sook’s meddling, there wasn’t a day when Ga Eun didn’t receive Gi Cheol’s hatred. Nevertheless, Ga Eun had struggled to gain Gi Cheol’s love. As memories of the past came flooding back, a bitter smile spread across Ga Eun’s lips.

As Ga Eun sat blankly without eating, Do Jun placed some beef ribs on top of her rice. Ga Eun still had no appetite due to morning sickness.

“This is freshly made kimchi. It’s fermented to a perfect taste.”

Yun Sook pushed the kimchi towards Do Jun. As the smell of kimchi suddenly wafted into her nose, Ga Eun felt like she was about to vomit. She gripped the edge of her chair tightly, trying her best to manage her expression.

Just as Gi Cheol was about to speak first to gauge Do Jun’s mood, Ga Eun’s lips moved first.

“I’m planning to go back to work at the company starting tomorrow.”

Surprised by Ga Eun’s sudden announcement, Gi Cheol and Yun Sook exchanged glances. Ga Eun’s initial intention of running away to a place where no one knew her after divorcing Do Jun had gradually shifted in a different direction.

Her desire for revenge against Yun Sook, who had tarnished her with a dirty stigma, grew stronger. Even if she were to run away, her desire to restore her honor increased.

“How can a child who hasn’t even regained her memories try to work at the company?”

Gi Cheol moved his dry lips, watching Do Jun’s reaction.

“I thought doing familiar tasks might help me recover my memories faster.”

Like a snake, Ga Eun slowly began to tighten her grip on Yun Sook’s throat. This wasn’t the first time Yun Sook had tried to stigmatize her.

Each time, Ga Eun had no choice but to follow Yun Sook’s wishes, citing the reason of repaying the kindness shown in adopting and raising her. But now that she knew the whole truth, things were different.

Hearing Ga Eun’s words, a visibly flustered Yun Sook had no choice but to interject in their conversation.

“It pains me to say this in front of Ji, but the truth is, Ga Eun…”

Yun Sook tried to say that Ga Eun had been fired from the company due to an unsavory incident, loud enough for Do Jun to hear. But at that moment, Do Jun, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, suddenly interjected.

“If it helps in recovering her memories, I think it would be good for her to go to work.”

With Do Jun intervening directly, Gi Cheol’s expression became even more uncomfortable. Ga Eun looked at Yun Sook’s face, which couldn’t hide her furrowed brow, with an expression of knowing nothing.

After Ga Eun left for a business trip to a regional fashion branch, Yun Sook created another incident at World Group.

She claimed that Ga Eun had received bribes from a fabric supplier and then used cheap foreign fabrics to make products instead of the originally selected ones.

The supplier’s CEO, who had never even met Ga Eun, came forward and pointed to her, throwing World Group into chaos. Yun Sook’s plan was to kill Ga Eun in a traffic accident and then create this dishonorable incident to bury the truth of the accident.

During her business trip, Ga Eun sensed something strange and spent a long time gathering all the evidence of who the real bribe-taker was and who had framed her.

With even Do Jun pushing for Ga Eun’s reinstatement, Yun Sook had no choice but to bring up the unsavory incident.

“Because of the incident where you took money from the supplier, your reputation among the employees is still not good.”

Yun Sook, pretending to be concerned for Ga Eun, leaked information about her crime to Do Jun. Seeing Yun Sook’s acting face made Ga Eun feel even more nauseous than before.

“I took money?”

Ga Eun asked, looking directly at Yun Sook’s face.

“Do you have evidence?”

Ga Eun finally said what she couldn’t say back then.

“The email records of the exchanges are still intact.”

Yun Sook, not backing down from Ga Eun’s words, explained everything that had happened at that time.

“I can’t remember, but I find it hard to believe I did that. Why would I do such a thing?”

Ga Eun persistently pressed Yun Sook. She knew that Yun Sook couldn’t threaten her now that she had lost all her memories. Do Jun, who had been listening to the two women’s sharp exchange, finally spoke.

“Ga Eun is not the kind of person who would do such a thing.”

At Do Jun’s firm words, Yun Sook was momentarily speechless.

“I will look into that incident properly myself, Mother-in-law.”

As Do Jun personally volunteered to catch the real culprit, Yun Sook had no choice but to back down.

She too was well aware of Do Jun’s persistent personality. If it was Do Jun, he might find the real culprit before long.

“No, we should resolve matters that occur within World Group ourselves.”

With Do Jun personally stepping in, Gi Cheol and Yun Sook had no choice but to listen to Ga Eun’s words.

“If it helps in recovering your memories, you should start work again from tomorrow.”

Yun Sook, feeling the heat rise inside her, gulped down the water from the glass in front of her.

“Thank you, Father.”

Ga Eun smiled even more brightly, trying to provoke Yun Sook further. As the meal ended, Do Jun stood up first.

“Thank you for dinner, Mother-in-law.”

Following Do Jun’s action, Ga Eun also stood up.

“Why don’t you have some fruit before you go?”

“I think I need to go back to the company.”

Politely declining Yun Sook’s offer, Do Jun naturally took Ga Eun’s hand. Ga Eun couldn’t shake off Do Jun’s hand as her parents were watching.

The two walked out hand in hand, receiving a send-off as they opened the mansion’s front door. Once they were completely outside, Ga Eun let go of Do Jun’s hand first.

“You should go to the company. I’ll take a taxi.”

Ga Eun had to hurry her steps to get away from Do Jun before he could ask her persistent questions. As a taxi stopped in front of Ga Eun, Do Jun approached and grabbed her wrist.

“What exactly is your purpose?”

Do Jun asked, looking straight into Ga Eun’s eyes. As Ga Eun didn’t get into the taxi, it quickly passed by her.

At Do Jun’s sudden question, Ga Eun felt her mind go blank. As she couldn’t easily open her lips, Do Jun’s lips moved first.

“From now on, my purpose is Yoon Ga Eun.”