“Doctor! Please look at my wife here! It’s urgent!”

It was a continuous chaos. The hospital seemed to have gotten even busier.

With only a few hospitals nationwide specializing in high-risk pregnancies, the obstetrics ward at Sanmyung University Hospital was always hectic.

Today, two emergency patients were in surgery. All the professors had gone into the operating room when another emergency occurred. Da Jung ran here and there.

“Something is flowing down below…!”

Da Jung urgently approached the bed to observe the patient.

“I’ll take a look. Excuse me, ma’am.”

“There, there was a popping sound. Sob. Nurse. Please save my baby.”

Lifting the blanket revealed a pool of water mixed with blood. The amniotic sac had ruptured. Da Jung quickly checked the patient’s chart and closed her eyes. 33 weeks.

But there was no time to despair.

“It’s an emergency. We’ll move you quickly, ma’am.”

As Da Jung ran to the desk to find an available chief surgeon and contacted pediatrics to secure a NICU spot, the patient was quickly wheeled to the operating room.

“Nurse Yoon, did Kim So Ra just get the lung maturity injection?”

“I’ll check.”

Still holding the phone, Da Jung clicked the mouse with one hand to check the chart. Despite returning to work after a long break, there was no time for a leisurely adjustment period. The hospital was a battlefield every moment.

“Doctor! This is Yoon Da Jung from obstetrics. Yes. NICU. Oh, that won’t work. We just had an emergency C-section come in. Yes, yes. 33 weeks. The water broke, so we can’t delay. Yes. Please. Yes, yes. 2.2 kg. Singleton. Oh, thank you!”

Da Jung spoke on the phone while her eyes scanned the chart to grasp the details.

“She got the lung maturity shots. Twice.”

“That’s a relief.”

Her coworkers marveled at her accurate handling of the situation, hard to believe she had been away for a month.

“Wow. As expected of our ace.”

“Now that Yoon Da Jung is back, we can breathe! I can finally catch my breath.”

Letting the praise go in one ear and out the other, Da Jung picked up a blood pressure monitor and thermometer to start her rounds. She needed to instruct the bed cleanup for Kim So Ra who just went into surgery, and it was good to frequently check the condition of patients undergoing drug treatments.

Her colleague nurse Yumi grabbed Da Jung’s arm.

“Take it easy. You haven’t sat down once since you got here, right? I’ll go.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Why are you like this? Are you trying to make up for a month’s worth of work in one day? Catch your breath. Have some coffee too.”

Before Da Jung could reply, Yumi snatched the blood pressure monitor and headed towards the ward. Da Jung suddenly looked down at her now empty hands.

“That’s right. Nurse Yoon has been working non-stop since she came back. Like a workaholic.”

Young Sook left, saying she would make a cup of coffee.

As a moment of leisure arrived, he fearfully barged in. Jae Ho stood beside her, smiling as he gazed at Da Jung. The autumn sunlight shattered through his hair naturally swaying in the sea breeze. His relaxed smile and low laughter clawed at her heart.

‘Yoon Da Jung. You look so pretty today too.’

Da Jung snapped back to her senses. She touched her dry face once before quickly walking to the desk to find work. Organizing charts, checking schedules. Ah, what else should I do? What, I need to do something. I have to work. He keeps… keeps…

While she was restless, a call came in. It was a request for one person to assist in the operating room if possible. Da Jung ran off without looking back.

Today, once again, she had to push her body to the limit and fall asleep like passing out. The man always lingered around, watching for opportunities and squeezing in at the slightest gap. And for some reason, he kept smiling.

The breakup hurt more than expected, and Da Jung had no tolerance for such things. The more she tried, the more she was consumed by him.

**

As he dug into the death of the late Executive Director Lee Jin Woo, he was reminded of the past. Director Jung leaned back in his chair, recalling the old days.

The day he first met Jae Ho.

Perhaps it was bothering him because of what Director Choi had said a few days ago.

13 years ago. Director Choi personally contacted him, despite his unremarkable academic background and qualifications. He never imagined he could get a job at a big company like Taemyung, but Choi offered an incredible salary and benefits.

There were only two conditions. To assist Taemyung’s sole heir. To keep secrets.

‘Min Ho Jung. The reason we chose you is because your brother was a victim of the . Jae Ho needs someone he can rely on like a real brother. Embrace him with the heart of a younger sibling. From now on, everything I say is top secret.’

After hearing everything, Director Jung decided to become Taemyung’s man and signed a confidentiality agreement. At first, it was probably curiosity. He was curious about the child who survived. He also wanted to ask him about the truth of that day. Why did you survive when my brother died?

You’re so lucky. Do miserable things only happen to common people like us? What’s different about Taemyung’s bloodline? Is it so noble that it can even evade death?

Although he knew it wasn’t his fault, pointless resentment filled his heart. His initial feelings were that sharp.

It was when he first set foot in Pyeongchang-dong. He opened the front door, fixing his unfamiliar suit several times, when a shouting voice hit his ears.

“You still haven’t come to your senses!”

“Father. Please calm down.”

“How long are you going to be like this!”

Crash. Something shattered.

Director Choi, who was guiding Director Jung inside, briefly assessed the situation and quietly said,

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Then he went inside and began to restrain Hun Tae Lee.

“Chairman, Jae Ho is frightened. Let’s hear him out first and…”

“What is there to hear? He still claims he’s Kim Sung Hyun and stubbornly wants to visit that neighborhood, why should I listen to that!”

“Grandfather.”

A youthful voice, on the cusp of boyhood turning to manhood, rang out quietly. Though not loud, it carried as clearly as Hun Tae’s shouting voice, causing Director Jung to peek his head out.

He saw the back of a boy kneeling on the floor.

So it’s you.

Director Jung clenched his fist.

“I spent millions on your name. I gave you a name fit to lead the group and command the world, yet you still mention that slum!”

“It wasn’t a slum. It was a neighborhood where ordinary people lived.”

“How many times do I have to say that Taemyung’s heir was never meant to be ordinary! Kim Sung Hyun doesn’t exist. That child was never born. You were born in this Pyeongchang-dong house, had a wealthy childhood, and will soon go abroad to study business and eventually become the leader of Taemyung.”

“…Grandfather, I lived in a semi-basement.”

“Director Choi. Do I need to keep listening to this?”

“Grandfather. Please let me go. I’ll only be gone for a moment. I promised to visit for a friend’s 49th day memorial service.”

“Director Choi!”

“Grandfather. This doesn’t change my past. Please. I beg you.”

“Lock Jae Ho up.”

“Chairman!”

“Father!”

Director Jung unconsciously entered the living room. As if possessed, he walked step by step and stood beside the kneeling boy. The boy’s tightly clenched fist had turned bloodlessly white.

“So I can keep my promise…”

Several guards pushed Director Jung aside and grabbed Jae Ho’s arms to lift him up. His thick glasses fell from his face, marred with frustration. Director Jung held his breath for a moment, seeing the stunningly handsome profile. How could a man’s nose be so straight?

“Lock him in his room on the second floor.”

“Father! Please. Jae Ho hasn’t eaten for two days already.”

“Did I starve him?! He’s the one who stubbornly decided to fast, what can I do!”

“Grandfather. I made a promise to someone. They’ll be waiting. Please let me at least send a message.”

It was a voice that refused to yield its opinion even while being forcibly restrained. When Director Jung kept staring intently, Jae Ho finally turned his head to look at him. Their eyes met.

They were eyes like a barren desert. A terrible loneliness where not even a blade of grass seemed able to grow. And pain.

The eyes of the surviving child were dead.

You’re unhappy too.

The dam built up in his heart came crashing down. The boy he had hoped would be an arrogant and shameless third-generation chaebol didn’t seem truly alive. The desire to hate him just for surviving scattered like dust.

As if entranced, Director Jung grabbed Jae Ho’s arm.

“Chairman. I’m greeting you for the first time. I’m Jung Min Ho, assigned to assist Lee Jae Ho. I’ll stay by Jae Ho’s side as well.”

Eyes unable to subdue their anger poured towards Director Jung. Director Choi quickly explained.

“This is Jung Min Ho, Jae Ho’s personal secretary I mentioned before. Chairman. He’ll be taking care of Jae Ho 24 hours a day starting today.”

Director Jung spoke up again.

“I was instructed not to leave Jae Ho’s side for even a moment. If you must confine him, I’ll go in with him.”

That night. Did he try to slit his wrists?

Director Jung rubbed his brow hard and smiled dryly.

He was a stubborn one.

Does the chairman know that he might have seen his grandson’s corpse if I hadn’t been there?

Jae Ho, who had all sharp objects including knives confiscated by Director Jung, didn’t take even a sip of water. After two more days like that, he finally collapsed, and Hun Tae surrendered, clicking his tongue.

“Stubborn kid.”

Belatedly given one day, Jae Ho rushed to Da Jung’s house, but the family had all moved away. Without time to inquire further, Jae Ho also left to study abroad. Director Jung went with him.

It took ten years to open that stubborn one’s heart. Only after fully opening up to Director Jung did Jae Ho reveal his past.

After that, he never brought up the past again. He just waited for the right time. It was also why Director Jung began to search for people through dark channels. Only after returning home and becoming an actor did Jae Ho secretly start looking for Da Jung.

However, too much time had passed, making it difficult to find her, and to make matters worse, Jae Ho had mistaken Da Jung’s age, causing more confusion. He remembered her as being three years younger, but it turned out to be only a two-year difference.

In the end, only after Da Jung revealed herself to Jae Ho did his intense wandering come to an end.

No, he thought it had ended. Director Jung let out a long sigh.

Why was Lee Jae Ho crumbling again?

Since returning to Seoul from Taean, he once again had eyes filled with intensity. Director Jung couldn’t sleep due to a vague sense of unease.