After the storm of establishing the LS Welfare Foundation passed, the charity event was nearing its end.

“I’ll be going now. Sister-in-law, you should head in too.”

Hee Won also came out of the hotel to see off Jun Seo, who had to leave early due to his filming schedule.

“No, Jun Seo helped me a lot today. Thank you.”

“I enjoyed it too. Next time, let’s meet with elder brother Kang Woo.”

Hee Won waved until Jun Seo’s car disappeared. As she was crossing the lobby towards the elevator after seeing him off, someone suddenly grabbed her roughly.

Then with a bang, her body hit the cold wall. Her back stung from the impact.

It happened so quickly she had no time to defend herself.

Pain surged through her as she heard a slapping sound.

Hee Won was extremely bewildered. As she lifted her head, wondering who could do such a thing…

“You think you can play games with people?”

Madam So, who had completely lost her senses, was glaring at her with reddened eyes.

“How dare you, someone like you, to me?”

To think it was none other than her mother-in-law who had struck her.

Hee Won’s mind went blank. And her vision spun.

Her cheek stung and felt like it was torn from how hard she had been hit.

But even in that situation, there was something Hee Won was more concerned about than her own pain.

It was whether anyone had witnessed this scene.

If it was revealed that Madam So of LS Group had slapped her daughter-in-law, Kang Woo would be the one most troubled.

Hee Won rolled her eyes to scan her surroundings.

Fortunately, there was no one around, and she felt relieved.

At that moment, she spotted an employee looking in their direction from the opposite side of the hotel lobby.

For a moment, Hee Won felt more despair at being caught in this situation than from the pain in her cheek. Moreover, the employee’s face had gone pale, as if they had seen everything.

Hee Won nodded slightly, trying to convey with her eyes that everything was fine. Then she looked at the woman, hoping her thoughts would be transmitted – please wait just a moment.

Thankfully, the employee seemed to understand her intention and nodded slightly.

But there was a problem. Misunderstanding Hee Won’s glance elsewhere, Madam So began to rage even more fiercely.

“You, are you thinking of something else while an elder is speaking?”

Not knowing Hee Won’s thoughts, Madam So burst out yelling.

“Who gave you permission to establish a foundation? Did I tell you to take charge next year too? I only said to do it this time.”

“…Mother.”

“Who’s your mother? Why would I be your mother!”

Her mother-in-law seemed to have lost all reason.

If this situation became known, LS Group would ultimately bear the brunt of the criticism.

Watching her mother-in-law act out despite knowing this, Hee Won was both dumbfounded and angered that the mistress of one of Korea’s top conglomerates could behave so emotionally and immaturely.

Her only thought was to somehow quickly escape this situation.

After briefly steeling herself, Hee Won tried to calm Madam So by taking her hand.

“Madam, please calm down. I’ll explain slowly.”

“Hey! Who do you think you’re mocking?”

Madam So refused to listen at all.

“How dare a green girl like you pull such tricks. Cha Kang Woo, you really!”

Shaking off Hee Won’s hand, Madam So continued speaking angrily.

“I’m going to check with the Chairman. If it’s a lie, you and Cha Kang Woo both better be prepared. Understand?”

Fortunately, Madam So’s secretary approached the two of them just then.

“Madam, it’s time for us to depart.”

Before turning away, Madam So glared fiercely at Hee Won one last time and said:

“I shouldn’t have let someone like you in! You don’t know your place and dare to rebel? I won’t forget this. I absolutely won’t let this slide.”

Hee Won had no words to say in response to Madam So’s unspeakable outburst.

Only after Madam So’s car was out of sight did Hee Won enter the hotel.

She headed for the information desk where the employee she had made eye contact with earlier was standing.

“Hello.”

The employee greeted her awkwardly in response to Hee Won’s greeting.

“Hello.”

“If you’re not busy, could we talk for a moment?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Hee Won went out to a small terrace next to the hotel with the employee.

After hesitating, Hee Won asked frankly. She felt that clumsy excuses wouldn’t work with someone who had seen everything.

“You must have been quite shocked, right?”

“Ah, yes. A little.”

“You know who that person was, don’t you?”

The employee nodded instead of answering.

“Do you know who I am too?”

“…Yes, I do.”

“I see. Your name is…?”

Hee Won checked the employee’s nametag before continuing.

“Jo Mi Yeon?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Mi Yeon, may I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

Hee Won briefly considered how to handle the situation.

The actions the woman who witnessed the scene might take were too varied.

She could post anonymously online, or casually tell her friends.

If she posted anonymously online, the rumors would likely spread uncontrollably.

‘It’s okay if I get criticized. But I can’t let Kang Woo be harmed.’

Clenching her fist tightly, Hee Won spoke.

“Could you pretend you didn’t see what happened today?”

“…Pardon?”

The woman’s eyes widened at Hee Won’s words.

“Please, I’m begging you.”

Hee Won bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle to the woman.

“M-Madam. Please don’t do this.”

The woman raised Hee Won up.

In truth, the woman was quite taken aback by Hee Won’s attitude.

Although it was hushed up within the company, everyone knew about Madam So’s tyrannical behavior.

The woman herself had experienced Madam So’s tyranny before.

“Madam…”

So she never imagined Hee Won would come to her like this to make a request.

The wealthy usually looked down on them from above.

But Hee Won was different, which made the woman even more flustered.

After a moment of consideration, the woman spoke.

“I’ll do as you say, Madam.”

Hee Won’s face brightened at the woman’s words.

“Really?”

“Yes. I won’t tell anyone.”

Hee Won grasped the woman’s hands and said:

“Thank you, Mi Yeon. Thank you so much.”

Hee Won smiled brightly at the woman.

“If it’s not too burdensome, please let me treat you to a meal sometime, Mi Yeon.”

“It’s alright, Madam. You don’t need to go that far.”

“I’m truly grateful. I don’t mean to pressure you, so please contact me if you change your mind.”

Hee Won handed Mi Yeon a note with her contact information.

The woman’s expression was complex as she looked at Hee Won – the young-faced woman in her early 20s who was the mistress of LS Group, one of Korea’s top conglomerates.

[This is the timeline separator]

As Hee Won was tidying up, her phone vibrated.

– Are you finished?

It was a message from Kang Woo.

Hee Won called him.

“Kang Woo.”

[Hee Won.]

Strangely, hearing Kang Woo’s voice seemed to make her troubled heart feel better.

“Are you done?”

[Yes, I’m finished. What about you?]

“I’m almost done too. I think I can wrap up within an hour.”

[Is that so?]

“Yes.”

A brief silence followed.

[…Hee Won.]

“Yes, Kang Woo.”

[Are you alright?]

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Hee Won tilted her head at Kang Woo’s sudden question asking if she was okay.

[I was wondering if anything had happened.]

“Ah…”

The incident with Madam So quickly flashed through her mind.

Deciding there was no need to worry Kang Woo unnecessarily, Hee Won answered:

“Nothing happened.”

[Is that so?]

“Yes.”

Hee Won spoke in as bright a voice as possible.

[I’ll come to you. Come out when you’re done.]

Just the thought of meeting Kang Woo made her heart feel truly better.

And so, the charity event that had proceeded amid concerns came to a successful end.

Jun Seo, who hadn’t attended the charity event, made an appearance and drew attention. With Kang Woo’s help, more funds were raised than in previous years. Especially with the news of LS Group’s Welfare Foundation being established going out in real-time, it garnered even more support.

“It seems like the donations are about three times as much?”

At Secretary Ha’s words, Hee Won said with relief:

“Yes, thankfully. I was quite worried.”

Hee Won, who had been concerned about what would happen if the donations were less than when Madam So was in charge, felt relieved at Secretary Ha’s words.

“I’ll take you home.”

“No, I’ll stay until everything is wrapped up.”

“Wrapped up?”

Secretary Ha asked in surprise.

“Yes, why?”

As Hee Won tilted her head quizzically,

“No, I just thought there was no need for you to stay until the very end of the event. The staff will take care of cleaning up.”

Secretary Ha said.

“I’m part of the staff too.”

Secretary Ha looked as if he’d been hit on the back of the head with a hammer at Hee Won’s words.

“…”

“Let’s go, Director.”

Hee Won took the lead, with Secretary Ha following behind.

A strange smile appeared on Secretary Ha’s face.

Before leaving, Hee Won stood in front of the employees, including the part-time workers.

“Thank you all for your hard work today. Thanks to you, we were able to successfully conclude the event.”

She smiled as she took out white envelopes she had prepared in advance.