“It seems chopping wood suits you well.”

“I’m a servant after all.”

Tsk. Da Hae laughed lightly.

A faint smile spread across his face as he tenderly embraced the delicate body leaning into him, but soon the shadow of an abyss fell over his expression.

A deserted island. A place where complete separation from the mundane world is possible if there’s rain and wind.

Being here with a woman who relied entirely on him, the option of ‘giving up’ that he had never considered before suddenly came to mind.

The woman he met to achieve his goal was gradually fading the reason for that goal.

Restoring the honor of Choi Ae Jung, who was unjustly cast out. Punishing Bang Mi Mi for her evil deeds.

He had lived fiercely for the day he would bring shame and loss to Kang Chul Won, the root of all evil and the worst bystander.

Yet the people involved were living well, adapting to their own lives. He never cared about fame and power to begin with. The unhappy childhood was just the past.

If he didn’t see them anymore, could he shake off all lingering attachments to those things? Would it be alright to forget everything and live like this?

…But that was all his life had been. Letting go of it felt like denying the days he had lived. It felt like he would be left an empty shell without substance. So he couldn’t stop on the path he was on.

His heavy eyes drifted to the distant sea. The moonlight, obscured by clouds, lost its vitality and grew dim.

“It’s going to be busy for a while.”

Following the low voice uttered above her head, her eyes glanced up briefly before returning straight ahead.

Saying it would be a bit noisy due to management succession and share distribution. The voice adding to contact him right away if reporters became bothersome was clearly tired.

So that’s why he couldn’t sleep and came out here like this.

The man who said being cautious was a habit ingrained in him probably had nowhere to openly talk about the hardships of having to fight with family.

The weariness of fighting alone for this moment was beyond comprehension.

Since the ultimate reason for the contract marriage was inheritance, she wanted to be willingly used if she could be of even a little help. If only she could.

As if dawn was about to break, the sky that had been only dark grew faintly blue. The horizon revealed was far distant, and the sea’s surface was calm without a single wrinkle.

“Look at that sea. It’s so peaceful.”

Da Hae turned her shoulders and raised her head, steadily gazing into the black pupils already directed at her.

“Even yesterday’s storm eventually passes.”

The cry of dew-soaked insects rose chirping above the ground. Their gazes meeting calmly held each other without wavering.

So.

“Don’t try too hard.”

Like the sun rising to illuminate the darkness where not an inch ahead could be seen, light fell on an empty corner of Kang Jae Kyung’s heart.

Jae Kyung stared for a while at her clear face smiling with furrowed brows, as if engraving it in his pupils, before his lips spread into a faint smile.

It was then that a short scream burst out.

“Ah…!”

Da Hae’s eyes widened suddenly as her view rose higher.

Lifted like a princess by the man who had risen while still seated, Da Hae wrapped her arms around his neck to avoid falling.

“…Da Hae.”

“Why…”

“I’ll do well.”

“What…”

As she looked up at him from her cradled position, his meaningfully smiling eyes deepened as his face drew closer.

His lowered gaze traced her lips and slowly rose up, prettily creasing the corners of his eyes. The sea they had been gazing at until now became an afterthought.

* * *

President Kang Chul Won’s office.

Bang Mi Mi who had barged in unexpectedly refused the offered tea and stood guard by the window.

“You’re calmly working now? When it looks like it’s falling right into Kang Jae Kyung’s hands?”

“Even if the sky falls, work must be done. Haha.”

That idiot! Chewing on her elaborately decorated nails, her viciously narrowed eyes glared at her husband as if he were pathetic.

The day Chairman Kang Cha Dol would step down from active duty was approaching.

As expected, attention was focused on the issue of gifts, but he suddenly made an official statement without a word of discussion.

The cunning old man. Perhaps to prevent focus on the share distribution structure, he announced plans for social contribution along with inheritance.

Saying he would return some of his private assets such as stocks, real estate, and cash-like assets to society, with details to be announced later.

Headlines like ‘True entrepreneurial spirit, rewriting donation history’ poured out.

Public interest was entirely focused on the donation plans.

The succession of chaebol management rights to the owner’s family was common, so that was pushed to the back burner.

However, there was interest among minority shareholders as to whether the shares would be distributed to strengthen the control of Kim Chul Won, president of Samyeong Electronics and eldest grandson of Chairman Kang Cha Dol, or to bolster the control of the young and promising Kang Jae Kyung, CEO of Samyeong Entertainment who had firmly established his position with rapid growth.

“Will the shareholders just sit still?”

The unpleasant high-pitched voice cut through the air.

Taking a sip of the cooled jujube tea, Chul Won put down the tablet he was holding.

“The situation has changed a lot. Not only because of the growth of the IT market that Jae Kyung is in charge of, but also because Chairman Bae Jung Soon’s backing can’t be ignored. There’s no one who doesn’t have some connection with that person.”

“Why on earth is everyone so flustered over that old lady!”

Before Kang Jae Kyung formed a marriage alliance with the Young Son Group, Kang Chul Won had the full support of influential shareholders.

Until those sneaky ones who had greatly benefited from their marriage alliance quietly turned their backs and the momentum shifted. In such a situation, Kang Pil Seung wasn’t even mentioned.

Even though his own family was not lacking in wealth. He was overwhelmed and pushed back in front of Kang Jae Kyung’s in-laws, who far surpassed Kang Chul Won’s in-laws.

“Do you have the ability to handle the inheritance tax? Even if you gather stock dividends and assets, it’ll be difficult to manage. Ha, are you planning to beg your in-laws for that too?”

Since it wasn’t a posthumous inheritance, even the legal inheritance ratio was useless.

Even if something were to happen to the healthy Chairman Kang Cha Dol right now and his property became an estate, it was obvious that he would have meticulously prepared wills and testaments.

But sitting here with his hands tied like this, he was on the verge of collapsing from anger and frustration.

“No matter what, how does it make sense for that young boy to become the head instead of you!”

“It’s the chairman’s property, after all. Haha.”

“Ha! You find this funny? The Kang family has produced a great scholar. Indeed they have!”

How can he be so nonchalant? A typical workaholic with no ambition or greed.

Nevertheless, the reason she chose this man was because he had no stubbornness. Because it was easy to manipulate him to her will.

That calculation was accurate, but she never dreamed there would be such a variable. She should have married off that fox-like Kang Jae Kyung earlier.

Chewing furiously on her perfectly lined lips, Bang Mi Mi stamped her foot irritably where she stood.

Her high heels made an unpleasant noise as they struck the tiles with a clack, clack.

“What are you going to do about our Pil Seung! Please come to your senses, President Kang!”

“That child is still young, dear. I don’t want to throw Pil Seung onto the battlefield so early.”

“If this was your plan, you shouldn’t have sent him to the military!”

“Should one abandon their duty of national defense just because they’re out of the succession? CEO Kang isn’t such a cold-hearted person that he would do something to Pil Seung.”

Not funny at all. Is this because he’s still his own flesh and blood even if he’s a cold-hearted son, ha!

With the situation like this, she was tempted to rely on the meaningful words Pil Seung had said during a round of golf, but she was properly stepped on the day he showed up with some entertainer-like girl as his girlfriend.

She didn’t show it in front of the Kang Jae Kyung couple, but how upset she was that day.

When even bringing the daughter of a great business figure would be barely enough.

She needs to find a clever move before it’s too late. This Bang Mi Mi can’t just take this lying down.

Even if Kang Jae Kyung gets it, the thought of him eating it smoothly and being happy is infuriating even just to imagine.

Even if she has to give up the bones, she must take the meat.

“You just stand by no matter what I do. Like you’ve done until now. Don’t get involved.”

Leaving a kiss on Chul Won’s cheek as she passed the reception sofa, the woman disappeared out the door with an order-like request.

A heavy sigh flowed into the space where silence had fallen.

Rubbing the lipstick that must have been left on his cheek with the back of his hand, Chul Won took out his phone and opened a received message.

A photo of three Dobermans standing dignifiedly in their adult form, side by side. Below it, briefly typed words.

Creating the illusion of voice support, her uniquely firm tone was imagined in his head.

A deep sigh escaped through Chul Won’s lips again. As he put down his phone, he also took off the glasses he was wearing and placed them on the table.

Then as now, she was soft. What could she do with just three dogs.

Bang Mi Mi was a woman who could smuggle in tigers.