Do Jun and Ga Eun’s gazes collided and shattered in midair. Ga Eun’s dry lips moved slowly in response to Do Jun’s sudden words.

“You are not part of my purpose.”

Do Jun’s gaze wavered at Ga Eun’s cold words. But soon his dark eyes hardened even more as they focused on her face.

“If World Group is your goal, I’ll make you have it.”

Ga Eun’s mouth went dry as if her inner thoughts had been exposed. She swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure.

“Don’t interfere in my life. We’re already over.”

Ga Eun turned away from Do Jun without properly looking at his face.

“We could start again.”

The more Ga Eun distanced herself, the more Do Jun was overwhelmed by an irresistible desire. Do Jun’s hand firmly grasped Ga Eun’s wrist and pulled her into his arms.

“I won’t ask anything, just get in the car.”

At Do Jun’s words, which were close to a threat, Ga Eun reluctantly stopped her body from trying to escape from him.

“It would be better to come back before I change my mind.”

Do Jun looked at Ga Eun as he opened his car door. His persistent voice reached Ga Eun’s ears. She had no choice but to get into the car as Do Jun wished.

After getting in the car, a heavy silence fell between the two. Ga Eun felt her blood burning even more at Do Jun’s actions, who didn’t say a word.

Do Jun maintained his silence until the car arrived at the apartment entrance. As the car stopped, Ga Eun hurriedly opened the door. That’s when Do Jun belatedly grabbed her.

“Make sure to eat your meals on time.”

Ga Eun’s gaze lingered on Do Jun’s face belatedly.

“That’s all you need to do.”

For a brief moment, a warm gaze was felt from Do Jun. Ga Eun’s gaze wavered for just a moment at the look she hadn’t seen once in three years.

“Thank you for the ride.”

Ga Eun quickly got out of the car, still maintaining her distance. Anxiety spread throughout her body at Do Jun’s meaningful words, as if he knew all her intentions. Ga Eun opened the front door and entered the house.

[This is the timeline separator]

Only after confirming that Ga Eun had entered the house did the car with Do Jun depart. As soon as the car started, Do Jun picked up his phone.

“Look into World Fashion. Everything that’s happened recently within the fashion team.”

[Yes, I understand.]

Just as Secretary Kim was about to hang up, Do Jun hastily picked up his phone again.

“Have you found out more about Yoon Ga Eun’s accident?”

[We’re looking for the truck driver who caused the accident, as he has disappeared.]

Do Jun had great doubts about Ga Eun’s traffic accident. Despite the accident, Yun Sook and Gi Cheol showed no movement, as if it were someone else’s business.

“Any other unusual matters?”

At Do Jun’s excited voice, Secretary Kim seemed to be trying to convey the information as calmly as possible.

[There are reports that she frequently visited the city general hospital by bus from where she went on a business trip to the provinces.]

“Find out what kind of treatment she received at that hospital.”

[Yes, I understand.]

Secretary Kim, who had been gauging Do Jun’s mood, quickly changed the subject to business matters.

[There’s less than 30 minutes left until the meeting. Are you alright?]

“I’ll go straight to the meeting place, so don’t worry.”

After hanging up, Do Jun reluctantly picked up the meeting materials. The image of Ga Eun holding the nut chocolate kept disturbing his thoughts.

Unlike her calm face that seemed as if nothing had happened, Do Jun had seen with his own eyes that one of her hands was trembling slightly.

Do Jun’s hand touched his forehead as if he had a headache. The letters on the documents didn’t register in his eyes.

[This is the timeline separator]

Returning home, Ga Eun let out a deep breath. Do Jun’s sudden visit to her parents’ house kept bothering her. Oh Jipsa, who was in the kitchen, quickly came out to the living room and tried to speak casually to Ga Eun.

“Where have you been?”

“My parents’ house.”

Ga Eun trailed off, not having the energy to deal with Oh Jipsa.

“If there’s any food you want to eat, just let me know anytime.”

Oh Jipsa, having finished her task, picked up her bag and moved her lips towards Ga Eun again as she headed for the front door.

“There was nothing in the fridge, so I took the liberty of filling it up.”

Oh Jipsa slightly bowed her head towards Ga Eun and immediately opened the door and left.

As Oh Jipsa left the house, silence fell over the once noisy house. As soon as Oh Jipsa left, Ga Eun opened the refrigerator door. The once empty refrigerator was now full.

There were notes attached to each side dish left by Oh Jipsa. The notes included the name of the dish and even how to eat it deliciously. Although she had no appetite until just now, seeing the freshly made side dishes made her hungry.

Ga Eun started taking out the refrigerator side dishes and putting them in a bowl. She was reminded of the bibimbap that the female lead in a drama was eating.

She put rice and seasoning in a large bowl and slowly stirred the rice with a spoon, just like the protagonist in the drama. As the savory smell of sesame oil rose, her mouth watered. Ga Eun scooped up a large spoonful of rice and put it in her mouth.

A savory taste spread in her mouth, as if her appetite had suddenly returned, unlike at the mansion’s banquet. Since starting morning sickness, Ga Eun couldn’t even remember when she had last eaten a proper meal.

Only after emptying the large bowl in front of her did Ga Eun put down her spoon on the table.

I feel like I can live now.

Looking down at the empty bowl, Ga Eun couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. It felt like it was the first time she had eaten a meal with peace of mind.

Both at her parents’ house and here, she always felt like someone being chased, unable to digest. Because of this, she habitually reached for digestive medicine after eating.

After eating, drowsiness swept over her. Even when she tried to put strength in her eyelids, they wouldn’t listen.

I’ll just lie down for a moment and then clean up. Ga Eun lay down on the living room sofa. As she relaxed her eyes, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

[This is the timeline separator]

After Ga Eun and Do Jun left the mansion, Yun Sook couldn’t contain her anger and stomped her feet in place.

“Jin Ah was supposed to take the team leader position at World Fashion! What are you going to do now?”

Yun Sook had planned to put her niece in the position after Ga Eun stepped down from the team leader role. Having already finished talking to her family, Yun Sook felt greatly perplexed by the suddenly derailed plan.

“With even Ji’s husband stepping in, it’s better for us to take a step back this time. It’s not good to upset Ji’s husband in the current situation. The department store contract renewal is next month. We can kick her out of the team leader position again after the contract is renewed.”

In a brief moment, Gi Cheol turned his mind to figure out which method would benefit him. Many World Group affiliates were tenants in Shinho Department Store as part of a joint business between Shinho Group and World Group.

Thanks to Shinho Group’s image, failing affiliates were slowly gaining ground. In the current situation, Gi Cheol absolutely couldn’t act in a way that would fall out of Do Jun’s favor.

“I even received gifts on the condition of giving her the team leader position!”

Pushed to the edge, Yun Sook revealed her weakness to Gi Cheol, asking for help.

“What?”

Gi Cheol felt awkward at the unexpected situation.

“You go to your parents’ house tomorrow and try to soothe them gently. It’s only two months anyway. Whether she sits in the team leader position now or in two months, we can still keep the promise of giving her the team leader position.”

Gi Cheol tried his best to persuade Yun Sook while turning his mind to protect his goal. After thinking for a while, Yun Sook, still not fully appeased, brought Ga Eun’s name back into the conversation.

“The more I think about it, it seems like Ga Eun is playing tricks. I think she’s putting on a show in front of us, pretending to have lost her memory.”

At Yun Sook’s words, Gi Cheol’s eyes wavered for a very brief moment. But as he recalled Ga Eun’s gaze, breathing, and tone when dealing with him, his doubts disappeared in an instant.

She was a child who couldn’t even look at his face. She was a child whose thoughts he could never understand, but she had never once defied his will in her life.

But the current Ga Eun was not the Yoon Ga Eun he knew. The calm, almost cold gaze and the look that looked down on him were incomparably arrogant.

Gi Cheol thought it was an arrogance that could only come from someone who had no idea that she was World Group’s adopted daughter.

Moreover, there was nothing for Ga Eun to gain by pretending to have lost her memory now.

“She really has lost her memory. She seems like a child who knows nothing about herself.”

Yun Sook felt frustrated at Gi Cheol’s response. Ga Eun’s action of picking up the nut chocolate she had made with her hand and trying to put it in her mouth without any hesitation confused her even more.

“She was a child without any management skills anyway. She was just a team leader in name only, what did she actually do sitting in the World Fashion team leader position? Moreover, with no memory and a bad standing in the company, how long can she hold out?”

Gi Cheol thought that Ga Eun would resign first before long. But Yun Sook, who knew Ga Eun well, thought differently.

Yun Sook was consumed by the ominous thought that Ga Eun must have a clear purpose for returning to the company.

Because Ga Eun had shown exceptional talent and excellence in management, more than Gi Cheol thought.

Yun Sook was certain that because Ga Eun had lost her memory, she would no longer listen to her words.

And the scariest thing was the premonition that she would no longer move according to her will. Yun Sook quietly left the mansion without Gi Cheol knowing. And she quietly made a phone call somewhere.

“We’re in big trouble. It looks like Yoon Ga Eun will return to the company tomorrow.”

She couldn’t hide her excitement and her words became faster.

“We need to kick her out of the team leader position before she finds out everything we’ve done.”

Sweat ran down Yun Sook’s hand holding the phone.

[Yes, I’ll find a way as soon as possible.]

After hanging up, Yun Sook lingered around the mansion for a long time, unable to enter.