“Again, again, you called me CEO.”

At Tae Wook’s words, Gyeo Wool’s heart sank.

She hadn’t even realized she had made a mistake.

He approached her closely with a reproachful expression.

“It seems this person has gotten used to calling me CEO since starting work again.”

As Tae Wook pointed out Gyeo Wool’s mistake first, Chairman Kang didn’t seem to mind much.

Gyeo Wool inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Aren’t you tired? I told you to go home and rest, but you don’t listen.”

Tae Wook examined Gyeo Wool’s face as if checking her complexion.

If it weren’t in front of Chairman Kang, Gyeo Wool would have thought he was genuinely worried about her, he looked so serious.

“This person came straight to the hospital from the airport, grandfather.”

“Did you go down to Jeju Island again?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

At Tae Wook’s question, Gyeo Wool nodded faintly and said “Yes.”

“She’s creating a vertical garden at the resort, and since I couldn’t get away from work, I asked this person to do it.”

Tae Wook put his arm around Gyeo Wool’s shoulders.

“I want to let her rest, but I keep giving her work.”

“You should have said that earlier. I didn’t know and felt hurt that you only called without coming to see me.”

“That’s why I told you it was because of me.”

Tae Wook’s gaze was directed at Gyeo Wool, not Chairman Kang.

And his face was filled with apology.

“But why are you here when you should be at the company? Did you rush to the hospital as soon as Gyeo Wool said she’d come?”

“I couldn’t get in touch with this person.”

Gyeo Wool looked at Tae Wook with a “What do you mean?” expression.

“Your mobile phone was turned off.”

“That can’t be…”

She took out her mobile phone from her bag. It was indeed turned off.

It seemed Myung Sook hadn’t hung up earlier after all.

“That’s strange. I’m sure I charged it.”

She had plugged her phone into the charger before going to bed last night.

She naturally thought it would be fully charged, but it seems it hadn’t charged at all.

“Are you saying you came running just because you couldn’t reach her by phone?”

“I was worried.”

Tae Wook gently stroked Gyeo Wool’s arm with the hand that was embracing her.

And he slightly lifted the corners of his mouth into a gentle smile.

Before she could avert her gaze, Gyeo Wool was captivated by Tae Wook’s smile.

Her face was turning red.

Her heart was beating more and more fiercely.

It was all a lie.

It was just an act.

Even though she knew, Gyeo Wool was swayed by Tae Wook’s gaze and smile directed solely at her.

“By the way, your father keeps coming to see me, which doesn’t seem right. Is he ill again?”

Chairman Kang thought there must be a reason Ki Bum kept coming almost every day despite being blocked by the security guards.

“Yes. He’s been in frequent contact with people from the political world lately.”

“That foolish man. I told him until I was blue in the face that politics is absolutely out of the question.”

Ki Bum hadn’t been interested in politics from the beginning.

Right after becoming vice chairman, Ki Bum’s interest shifted from the Jisung Group to the political world.

“How can he not know he doesn’t have the capacity for it?”

Chairman Kang shook his head.

He had been opposing his son Ki Bum, saying there are others meant for politics.

Even when he wouldn’t change his mind, Chairman Kang threatened that if he wanted to do politics, he should give up his vice chairman position.

“Tell the security guards again. Even if your father comes, don’t let him in.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Oh my, I’m so tired I could die.”

No sooner had Tae Wook answered than Chairman Kang suddenly let out a voice as if he was in pain.

“Grandfather, are you not feeling well? Should I call a doctor?”

Gyeo Wool asked in surprise.

“What for? I’m not sick, just tired.”

“How can you suddenly be tired for no reason?”

Tae Wook also looked worried.

“It must be because of the tests.”

“Tests?”

“There were various tests before I came, and you said they were hard on you.”

Gyeo Wool thought that was why Chairman Kang was tired.

“My body is weak, so everything is bothersome.”

“Rest.”

Tae Wook bent over close to the bed to help Chairman Kang lie down.

But Chairman Kang reached out his hand and pushed Tae Wook’s body away.

“I’ll sleep on my own, so you two just go.”

“We’ll leave after we see you fall asleep.”

“How long are you going to wait for me to fall asleep? What are you doing? Tae Wook, why aren’t you taking Gyeo Wool out quickly?”

When Chairman Kang urged them with an impatient face, Tae Wook let out a chuckle.

“Grandfather, you’re too obvious. You need to learn to act better.”

Tae Wook realized that Chairman Kang was deliberately trying to send the two of them out of the hospital room.

“Why say such things? You should leave when you sense it.”

Chairman Kang clicked his tongue.

“When I tell Gyeo Wool to go home and rest, you don’t listen, but when I lay out the mat for you, you kick it away?”

“Grandfather, I’m fine.”

Gyeo Wool made an embarrassed expression, knowing it was because of her.

“Fine indeed! What if you collapse like that?”

“Listen to grandfather.”

Tae Wook joined in. He held Gyeo Wool’s hand firmly.

“We’ll be going now.”

The two of them greeted Chairman Kang and left the hospital room.

[This is the timeline separator]

Tae Wook, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced at Gyeo Wool sitting in the passenger seat and asked.

“You didn’t run into father, did you?”

“I almost bumped into him, but fortunately I hid myself.”

“I didn’t know Secretary Han would come to the hospital first.”

“But how did you come to the hospital, sir?”

“It seems father was trying to use me because he couldn’t get into the hospital room no matter how many times he tried. He said he had something to say to grandfather and me.”

“Ah!”

Gyeo Wool nodded her head several times.

She had thought he might have come after receiving a call from Driver Choi.

However, if he had left after receiving the call, he wouldn’t have arrived at the hospital yet.

“You told the vice chairman about me, right?”

Tae Wook had said he would tell Ki Bum, if no one else, about the contract he had made with Gyeo Wool because of Chairman Kang.

Gyeo Wool believed that Tae Wook had already told him.

“Not yet.”

“Why…”

Gyeo Wool looked at Tae Wook with worried eyes.

“You heard earlier, didn’t you? What kind of people father has been meeting recently.”

“You said he’s been meeting people from the political world.”

“That’s why I couldn’t find time to meet separately. When he told me to come to the hospital, I thought it was a good opportunity. I was planning to tell him today.”

“He left very angry.”

Gyeo Wool couldn’t understand.

If he had intended to meet, why had he forbidden the security guards from letting Ki Bum in?

“Whether things weren’t meant to work out, today it was grandfather who blocked him, not me.”

Tae Wook let out a hollow laugh, as if he found it absurd even thinking about it.

“I’ll tell him as soon as possible. So Secretary Han, don’t worry too much.”

Ki Bum had been trying to marry Tae Wook off to the daughter of a wealthy person or a famous politician.

That’s why, unlike Chairman Kang who readily agreed to their marriage, Ki Bum was strongly opposed.

He had come to find Gyeo Wool several times, making a fuss about calling off the marriage.

So Tae Wook understood why Gyeo Wool was afraid of Ki Bum.

“The vice chairman won’t come to your resort office, will he?”

At Gyeo Wool’s worried question, Tae Wook shook his head sideways.

“You should know he’s not the kind of person who’s that interested in me.”

Indeed. Even in the past, Ki Bum rarely sought out his son except for marriage issues.

“Are you worried?”

“He’s a scary person.”

“If I tell him it’s because of the contract, he’ll understand. Even if he doesn’t…”

Tae Wook turned his head to look at Gyeo Wool.

“I’ll protect Secretary Han.”

It was a brief moment, but their gazes met directly and then parted.

Gyeo Wool felt that, even if it was an illusion, Tae Wook’s eyes were blazing so fiercely that his determination could be felt.

[This is the timeline separator]

The night was approaching 11 o’clock.

As Tae Wook, who had gotten out of the car, was walking towards the elevator in the underground parking lot of the apartment, it happened.

A vibration sound came from the mobile phone he had put in his jacket pocket.

It was a call from Ki Bum.

The man who hadn’t been reachable all day was finally calling.

“Where are you?”

Tae Wook asked, thinking he should tell him about Gyeo Wool’s matter.

If they couldn’t meet because it was late, he thought he would talk over the phone.

[I’m having a drink with Assemblyman Choi.]

Assemblyman Choi In Hwa of the P Party?

Tae Wook frowned, furrowing his brow as much as he could.

Ki Bum being with Assemblyman Choi meant that Tae Wook wouldn’t even be able to bring up what he wanted to say.

And it also meant that he would hear the words he disliked the most.

[Assemblyman Choi’s daughter is coming to Korea soon. I’ll set a date, so make sure to meet her.]

Tae Wook remembered that Ki Bum had called a few days ago and said something similar.

“I’ve already told you I have no intention of meeting her.”

Tae Wook flatly refused in a cold voice.

[If you’re worried about grandfather, don’t be. Assemblyman Choi!]

Ki Bum stopped mid-sentence and called out to Assemblyman Choi.

[CEO Kang says he’ll meet her.]

“Father!”

Tae Wook raised his voice in anger at Ki Bum’s lie.

“I clearly…”

Tae Wook couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because Ki Bum had hung up the phone just like that.

“Damn it!”

The harsh words flowed out involuntarily.

Unable to contain his anger, Tae Wook roughly messed up his neatly combed hair with his hand.

Ki Bum, who had political ambitions, must have thought that now, with Chairman Kang lying unconscious, was the perfect opportunity.

After all, Chairman Kang’s opposition had repeatedly blocked his entry into politics.

And he must be trying to marry Tae Wook to Assemblyman Choi’s daughter to secure Assemblyman Choi’s help for certain.

“How could he think of using his son for his own benefit, no matter how much it’s for himself.”

Suddenly, along with anger, fatigue washed over him like a fierce wave.

It was more mental than physical fatigue.

Tae Wook, who had gotten off the elevator, opened the front door and went inside.

His hand, which was about to open the translucent sliding door past the entrance, stopped in mid-air.

The silhouette of a person approaching the door.

His expression, which had been hardened with anger, was unknowingly softening.